Ancient near east works

The Laws of Hammurabi discuss how justice should be administered, as well as how to regulate property, irrigation, slavery, marriage, trade, loans, wages, adoption and many other issues during the time. The Laws of Hammurabi are the longest and best organized of the law collections that survive from ancient Mesopotamia. It was a long hymn originally written in cuneiform, it is one of the wider known Mesopotamian religious writings. His reforms call for erasing corruption in the lands, the first example of a judicial code. The Reforms of Urukagina discusses the changes brought forth by Urukagina, the ruler of Laggash. The law collection itself is mainly comprised of a compilation of legal verdicts describing specific offenses and the penalties to be enforced in particular situations, but was used as an example from then on. The story is significant as it part of the Epic of Gilgamesh and describes how one can become immortal during the time, and perhaps godlike. The Epic of the Flood is a Babylonian story that resembles that of the Bible’s Noah and his ark. It is significant to the time because, it tells of the proper way an individual should relate to society during this time; the way the gods relate to man, the proper way to rule a people, and the proper way to obey a king, and what man owes to the gods. The Shamash Hymn reflects the view of their society toward the sun. Utnapishtim learns of a great flood coming to wipe out all of the lands inhabitants and gains immortality from the gods for surviving the flood.