Journal 9: The Devil Is in the Details

1st Draft: Revenge was very important during the time of Hammurabi’s rule. Because of the laws he laid out, and his brilliant leadership skills, he was able to take a small civilization and eventually take over all of Mesopotamia. (Mark) This was not an easy task, but when his people followed strict law, it was easier. Once he ruled all of Mesopotamia, he needed a strict, universal law even more. Ruling such a big nation couldn’t have been easy, so he had to rule with an iron fist, as the saying goes. Sociological studies suggest that one’s value system can be very much influenced by the rules and laws of the country they live in. An article from Psychologytoday.com said “Your values form the foundation of your life… Despite this importance, few people choose their values. Instead, they simply adopt… the dominant values of society. Because of this, Hammurabi know that the importance of justice had to be very visible to his citizens. If the Mesopotamians saw that justice and revenge was important to society, it would be important to them. If justice and revenge was important to them, they would encourage and enforce Hammurabi’s laws.

2nd Draft: Revenge played a very important role in the everyday lives of the people that lived during the time of Hammurabi’s rule. Because of the laws that Hammurabi laid out, and his brilliant leadership skills, he was able to take a small civilization and eventually take over all of Mesopotamia. (Mark) This was not an easy task to do, but when his people followed strict laws, such as the ones that he enforced, it was easier. Once he ruled all of Mesopotamia, the importance of strict, universal laws was even more important. Ruling such a big nation couldn’t have been easy, but he was able to do it because he ruled with an iron fist, as the saying goes. Sociological studies suggest that one’s value system can be very much influenced by the rules and laws of the country they live in. An article from Psychologytoday.com said “Your values form the foundation of your life… Despite this importance, few people choose their values. Instead, they simply adopt… the dominant values of society.” Because of this, Hammurabi know that the importance of justice had to be very visible to his citizens. If the Mesopotamians saw that justice and revenge was important to society, it would be important to them. If justice and revenge was important to them, they would encourage and enforce Hammurabi’s laws.