Egypt as "the large and most necessary class in the community," with a social status inferior only to the priesthood and the secular ruling/military class (Wells 199-200). The Code also reflects the political realities of the ancient world inasmuch as it was characterized by various wars of conquest or defense and territorial expansion.
Wells describes the early empires almost entirely in terms of conquest and counterconquest, a "history of warring kings and republics" (Wells 148). One account of Hammurabi's life explains that, once he established his military gains throughout Mesopotamia, he "devoted his energies to protecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of the empire" ("Hammurabi"). This entailed attention to everything from tax collection to irrigation and agriculture. Provisions of the Code appear meant to effect a high level of rational social and political organization that would serve the quality of life in Babylonia.
The Code deals extensively with property rights--particularly of men who serve in th
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