A True Warrior

Power is everywhere. Nobody can live life without using and exerting control. We have seen this everywhere, in stories, literature, history and life today. King Hammurabi is very set on power and uses it to his advantage when ruling over his land.

It is very interesting that King Hammurabi is a warrior. Through all that we have seen in our readings, it looks like a leader who wishes to maintain power must be a person who is a warrior. Gilgamesh was a warrior. He was in power and kept it that way by fighting. Enkidu, his later adopted brother, wished to take Gilgamesh out of power and tried to through combat. However, Gilgamesh succeeded him in strength and kept his power of the throne. If Gilgamesh had not known how to fight, then he would not have been able to stay in power. His expertise as a warrior made him a leader and kept him in control of Uruk.

Kind Hammurabi does the same; he is a warrior. Yet his warrior like ways can be seen in a different light. He uses his brains more than his brawn. This can be seen through his treaty with the Zimri-Lim, the King of Elam. They worked together and compromised in order to let both sides be recognized. That was a warrior like way to work, by strategizing and seeing the reason for negotiation and concession.