[Illustration: BABYLONIAN CONTRACT TABLET The actual tablet is on the right, on the left is a hollow clay case or envelope.] IMPORTANCE OF HAMMURABI'S CODE Hammurabi's laws thus present a vivid picture of Oriental society two thousand years before Christ. They always remained the basis of the Babylonian and Assyrian legal system. They were destined, also, to exert considerable influence upon Hebrew legislation. Centuries after Hammurabi the enactments of the old Babylonian king were reproduced in some of the familiar regulations of the laws of Moses. In this way they became the heritage of the Hebrews and, through them, of our modern world. THE MOSAIC CODE The laws which we find in the earlier books of the Bible were ascribed by the Hebrews to Moses. These laws covered a wide range of topics. They fixed all religious ceremonies, required the observance every seventh day of the Sabbath, dealt with marriage and the family, stated the penalties for wrongdoing, gave elaborate rules for sacrifices, and even indicated what foods must be avoided as "unclean." No other ancient people possessed so elaborate a code. The Jews throughout the world obey, to this day, its precepts. And modern Christendom still recites the Ten Commandments, the noblest summary of the rules of right living that has come down to us from the ancient world. 17. RELIGION NATURE WORSHIP Oriental ideas of religion, even more than of law and morality, were the gradual outgrowth of beliefs held by the Asiatic peoples in prehistoric times. Everywhere nature worship prevailed. The vault of heaven, earth and ocean, sun, moon, and stars were all regarded either as themselves divine or as the abode of divinities. The sun was an object of especial adoration. We find a sun god, under different names, in every Oriental country. BABYLONIAN BELIEF IN EVIL SPIRITS Another inheritance from prehistoric times was the belief in evil spirits. In Babylonia and Assyria this superstition became a prominent feature of the popular religion. Men supposed themselves to be constantly surrounded by a host of demons which caused insanity, sickness, disease, and death-- all the ills of life. People lived in constant fear of offending these malignant beings. MAGIC