Review: A VERY INTERESTING DOCUMENT...And Hey, its free!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 23, 2012
What we have here is a very interesting free Kindle download.  "Babylonian Laws," which most of us were (I am not sure if this is still the case) exposed to in Junior High, or at the very latest, in High School, are of course more popularly known as "The Code of Hammurabi" and are the oldest known (I stress "known") laws we presently have access to.This copy, which was published in or around 1903 by C.H.W. Johns (1857 - 1920) contains all the know elements of this code.  Some of the material here is rather fragmented and much has been lost down through the ages.  After all, this work was created around B.C. 2285 - 2242.In this particular work we are given a very nice forward by C.H.W. Johns who was an Assyriologist and Church of England Clergyman.  Johns has quite a number of academic papers under his belt, this being one of them.After the introduction the actual code, or what we know if it, is recorded in all of its known sections.  I personally found this to be an interesting read.  I must admit to having never read the Code in its entirety before and this gave me a golden opportunity to do so.The reader will find that almost all aspects of society at that time were covered.  Quite a number of the situations found during those times no longer exists, but on the other hand many do and for me it is interesting to note that mankind has not changed all that much down through the ages.It is of particular note the various punishments required for infractions of many of these laws.  I covered the first 15 or so pages and I fear to tell you that had I lived at that time my life would have been rather short due to the fact that the death penalty seemed to be the main form of punishment...with drowning and burning being at the top of the list as to methodology.These laws, while quite primitive in our eyes, covered trade, marriage,  slave ownership, concubine management, farming, trade, social interaction and on and on.This is not a good forum to discuss all of these laws item by item as a large number of volumes have been published down through the years addressing this code and most have easy access to these works - if of course, there is interest.For those that are familiar with our current laws (those that possess a far greater understanding than I care to have) will be fascinated as to how this Code has influenced the laws of various societies down through the years.This, as I said, is a free down load and it is a most worthwhile download.  This is a part of our history ergo, we all need to be at least somewhat familiar with it.Don BlankenshipThe Ozarks