Hammurabi: A King of the People

In “Governing the New State”, Van de Mieroop transitions from a historical account of Hammurabi’s military reign to a description of his governance within his newly acquired territory. He places an emphasis on Hammurabi’s challenge of unifying the different cities under a specific national entity. It is an interesting dilemma that has been seen throughout history, with the acquisition of territories leading to enforced changes in core values in the areas of religion, language, and political preferences. In this large territory of Babylonia, people were forced to assimilate to new environments that promoted different ideals that they were accustomed to. Hammurabi’s role was to oversee this transformation of an individualistic, city-based identity, to one that encouraged nationalistic values.
According to Van de Mieroop, Hammurabi embraced this challenge and truly strived to be a ruler of the people. He writes, “The king was indeed a conscientious ruler, who wanted the land to prosper and people to receive their fair share”. Through the governmental strategies that Hammurabi utilized, it is obvious that he placed a great deal of importance in being involved in almost every aspect of government, from military strategies to judicial rulings. It can be seen that King Hammurabi’s ability to unify this great territory was largely due to the love he had for his people, and the emphasis he placed on justice for all.