Why did Hammurabi make the law if a son strikes his father his hands shall be cut off

“An eye for an eye …” is a paraphrase ofHammurabi’s Code, a collection of 282 laws inscribed on an uprightstone pillar. The code was found by French archaeologists in 1901while excavating the ancient city of Susa, which is in modern-dayIran. When he began ruling the city-state of Babylon, he hadcontrol of no more than 50 square miles of territory. As heconquered other city-states and his empire grew, he saw the need tounify the various groups he controlled. In his code, law195 reads:If a son strikes his father, his hand shall be cut off. Not hishands. He reasoned that such a son shouldn’t need to runanymore.