Hammurabi

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Desmond Manny

Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Explore the captivating history of Hammurabi.

The story of Hammurabi is the story of 43 years jam-packed with conquest, temple- and wall-building, irrigation efforts, and lawmaking, but it’s also a story of broken relations and rising and falling empires. 

It’s a story of betrayal and shifting alliances, a story where even the gods take a backseat to the matters of common men. It’s a tale that’s both thousands of years old and, interestingly enough, just as contemporary as it was when Hammurabi still drew breath. And like all great tales of history, it’s a yarn that teaches the common man that no feat of greatness comes without a price and that human nature is just as complex as it was when Babylonians praised Marduk and hailed Hammurabi as a god in his own right.    

In Hammurabi: A Captivating Guide to the Sixth King of the First Babylonian Dynasty, Including the Code of Hammurabi, you will discover topics such as:

• Babylon before Hammurabi: Position of the city in Mesopotamia, early rulers
• Rise of Hammurabi: Wars and achievements chronology of Hammurabi
• Reign of Hammurabi: Babylon during his reign, relations to other cities. Hammurabi’s Babylon
• Hammurabi’s character: physical appearance, relations with other rulers, glimpses of his personality
• The Code of Hammurabi and early Mesopotamian law
• Dissecting the code
• Hammurabi’s legacy
• And much, much more!

©2018 Captivating History (P)2019 Captivating History

Interesting

This book provides a brief overview of the life of Hammurabi (1810 B.C.E.-1750 B.C.E.). Under the rule of Hammurabi, the Babylonians ended up ruling all of Mesopotamia. He is known for the Code of Hammurabi; the first written legal code.

I had never heard of Captivating History before obtaining this book. Apparently, their goal is to provide a brief interesting overview on a historical topic. Looking at their collection I see books on ancient leaders, FDR and the Haitian Revolution. The books are short only averaging 100 pages. If you want a quick overview of a historical topic, they seem to be a good choice.

The book is well written and researched. They packed a lot of information into a short time frame. Information about Hammurabi was provided as well as some general information about the time. Glad I listened to this on an audiobook as I would never be able to pronounce all the names. I noted that the Middle East was constantly at war at the time of Hammurabi and is still at war.

The book is three hours and 6 minutes. Desmond Manny does a good job narrating the book. Manny is a voice-over artist and audiobook narrator.

Incredible

This is a great biography of an important king of ancient Mesopotamia. The book puts into a historical context the life and times of the King who created the famous "Law Code of Hammurabi". If you are interested in the ancient history of a region unfamiliar to most people, I would recommend this book.

Informative

This book is very helpful in aiding us to understand how laws developed and how the Bible differed from other ancient laws. Usually the Bible was more compassionate, but not always.

Agreed

One wonders if the elder influenced the younger since “an eye for an eye" appears in Genesis and Leviticus (and other places) as well as in Hammurabi's Code. Even though not the earliest, Hammurabi's appears to be the oldest extant code.

I Loved It

This is a good book that gives you some history into the Old Testament of the bible. It's just a great book.

So Far So Good

A timeless classic. If we implemented some of the consequences they used, there would probably be less crime today!

Its Good

Fascinating to read this from a 21st century perspective: most of what's included still rings true, no matter where.

Grab This Book

I always remember the first time I heard about this law from junior high school back then without knowing what's being written inside of it, though.

What an informative book

In this codex, Hammurabi covers issues regarding murder, thievery, slavery, leases, trade, and some about children and women. It's fascinating that such ancient laws were able to be created and even documented in a smart fashion unto stone tablets and steles, to be deciphered by nowadays linguists.

Good Overview

It's an essential text that should be part of the academic curriculum. It's more than obvious the relationship of the Code and later Jewish writings as well as the Christian Bible.

Easy To Understand

This is an easy and understandable read for anybody interested in some of the world's oldest recorded laws. I highly recommend this book if you're interested in the evolution of popular morality.

Great Author

I will update this review if I find any complementary literature, because the laws don't mean much on their own without an understanding of the culture of these people. If anybody else wants to provide suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

Great Deal

I also found it interesting to find notion of average rent which probably was gained from experience of execution of older rent laws.

Really Captivating

Overall the Code of Hammurabi was a worthwhile read, and without the Prologue and Epilogue, a breakthrough in the evolution of the Law as a social institution.

Well Written

It uniforms in its treatment of all the people of the Babylonian nation, but it recognized the political corruption inherent in offices of authority, and introduced a great deal of measures to prevent abuse of that power, as well as heightened penalties for the privileged classes in violation of the code.

Incredible

The Code of Hammurabi was a great breakthrough in the criminal justice system, setting a precedent for future refinements in the codes of various cultures.

Great Audiobook

Considering its origins and its being the first known code of law in the world, it was very well-ordered and thorough; assaults, murder, theft, slander, trade, land, animals, slaves, hirement, public services, political corruption, marriage, adoption, inheritance and other family affairs... with 282 laws, the code covers all the aspects of life.

Satisfying

It is not my place to discuss the justice or the harshness of these laws (some of which were pretty harsh, I tell you), but I found this book... satisfying.

A Good Book

The only truly interesting things about this was its origin. It's the first known code of laws. But other than a few harsh punishments for seemingly minor things, there's not much to marvel at.

Amazing

I think King Hammurabi's words break the lens of cultural relativism. Today, we have unique problems that need addressing. But I think we've come a long way since the Bronze Age