In it contained laws, which applied to all social classes. For example, code 196 said: If a man destroys the eye of another man [of equal status], they shall destroy his eye. Code 198 stated: If he destroys the eye of a client [one of lesser status] or breaks the bone client, he shall pay one mina of silver. By comparing the two above codes one can see how The Law Code of Hammurabi is based around social status. By being in the upper class one would have more leeway in the legal systems of the ancient worlds. Being a slave of war or a lower class meant being subjected to crueler penalties. An analogy for this prejudice of classes can best be described as the upper class always having five dollars in their pockets and the lower classes always being fifty cents short. Though it may seem the Law codes were fair to the upper class, the lower classes were questioning the current laws. One must then ask what justifies the reason for such favoritism? Hammurabi justified the law code by the generally accepted concept that law comes from the gods through the king, Hammurabi himself. Since the laws were handed down to Hammurabi directly from the gods then many (like many others of their time) believed that the laws given were just and fair.
The Egyptians laws were developed differently than the Mesopotamian law codes. In Mesopotamia, laws were handed to the king directly by the god. The Egyptian pharaoh (one powerful king-nomarch) was god incarnate and therefore had all authority .
and everyone listened when the pharaoh spoke the laws. The Egyptian law system did not discriminate against the social classes in their punishments, which resulted in few complaints of favoritism. Like modern law, the accused was innocent until proven guilty. Unlike the Mesopotamians, the Egyptian laws were characterized by the equality of all people. Again the question is raised, how were these laws justified by the Egyptians? Temples were built solely for the preservation of pharaohs.
