In earliest times it was a crime to displease either the gods or the king. The Mesopotamian king Hammurabi (1795-1750 BC), “the exalted prince, who feared God” felt be was divinely called “to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak.” Discovered in 1901, the Code of Hammurabi was carved into the sides of an eight-foot-high monument, for the first time that was know of spelled out clearly, for all to see, the expectations and penalties that applied to each inhabitant of the realm. [read more]
