Ancient Babylonia - Shamash the Sun God
Shamash, the Babylonian sun god, was their god of law and justice and as that he was said by the Babylonians to have given mankind their laws.
In ancient Babylon including the time of Hammurapi (1792-1760 BC), there were
many and varied punishments for crimes. For most serious crimes the punishment was death. This was done in many ways
with two of the most common being by drowning or burning. Also used were
mutilations. Typically a part of the body, such as hands or ears were cut off. Most
minor crimes, however, tended to be punished by a fine.
See Stele of Hammurapi
Three of the most famous law codes of the time were that of
Hammurapi: King of Babylon (1792-1760 BC),
Ur-Nammu King of Ur (2113-2093 BC) and
Moses (1200) BC: leader of the Israelites.
The first two sets of law, which are Mesopotamian, differ considerably from
that of Moses.
Ancient Babylonia
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