The Twelve Tables: The Code Of Hammurabi

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The Twelve Tables is an early attempt to create a code of law and is the earliest piece of literature coming from the Romans. They were the first formal codification of Roman laws and customs. (Spielvogel 116) The Twelve Tables created the idea that all free citizens were protected by the law and they were also the basis of the Roman legal system. One of the abnormalities of Roman society is its strongly patriarchal nature. The eldest male in the line had full power over all his descendants, male or female. This entire system is described in the Twelve Tables. It represents the families into which the clans were divided. However much significance belonged to the gens in the kingdom. It clearly it had lost any importance by the early Republic. In terms of justice, there were severe punishments for reasonable and unreasonable causes. Advantages were given to aristocracy. The Law enforced morality. The Twelve Tables was the foundation for Roman law. Which means they were a basis for the early American legal systems. Roman law represents the legal system applied in most of Western Europe, until the end of the 18th century. The Twelve Tables provided a basis of knowledge of justice, equality, and punishment. The influence of the Twelve …show more content…
They both used taking limbs and deaths as punishments. By today's standards their views are obviously considered harsh. People could not have marriages between social classes. Some differences are: The Code of Hammurabi had 300 laws and The Twelve Tables had 12 laws, Hammurabi had different laws according to social classes and the Twelve Tables had laws that applied to everyone despite their social class. The Twelve Tables was the first to introduce the rule of “prove before guilty” and did try to be fair. It was very important that both of these set of laws were written for people to