Hammurabi Code

One reason Hammurabi's code is famous is that

• it was the first set of laws recorded in writing

• it was written in a sophisticated code that took years for historians to translate

• it was beautifully written on a single giant stone of polished basalt

• it was the first set of laws to rhyme to help people remember them

How was Hammurabi's code displayed?

• Scholars are not sure but many believe that the laws were kept secret

• The laws were placed in public so that all people could see them

• the laws were carved into hundreds of different stones along the road to the city

• nobody knows because the original code was destroyed

Who was Hammurabi?

• He was a god.
• He was a king of the first city of Ur.
• He was the king of the Babylonian empire.
• He was a Mesopotamian scribe.

How would you describe his laws?

• Fair and balanced.
• Very harsh by our modern standards.
•  Too lenient (easy on the offender)
• complicated

What were the ancient people like in Mesopotamia?

• They were a lot like us. Everyone was treated equally.
• They believed that the gods gave their kings authority.
• They were very unkind and unjust.
• They believed in one god.

Which modern idiom refers to Hammurabi's Code?

• An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth
• It's raining cats and dogs.
• Break a leg!
• The wisdom of an old man brings wealth.

What is Hammurabi's Code?

• a collection of 282 laws believed to be the first written laws

• a group of soldiers and noblemen who lived in ancient Mesopotamia

• the ancient idea that a punishment should fit the crime

• the punishment for stealing sheep from a nobleman in ancient Mesopotamia

What is the main idea of this text?

• In the time of Hammurabi's Code, it was illegal for a shepherd to steal a sheep from the flock of a nobleman.

• The U.S. Constitution is mostly based on the ideas and laws mentioned in Hammurabi's Code.

• Hammurabi’s code and the U.S. Constitution differ in that the laws in Hammurabi’s Code often depended on social standing.

• Hammurabi's Code was the first collection of written law and advanced the rule of law in Mesopotamia.

Read these sentences from the text.

In an effort to make the punishment fit the crime, Hammurabi’s Code often required the criminal to receive the same injury that he or she had inflicted on a victim. Such laws may seem harsh today, but they were intended to prevent society from descending into chaos and disorder.

Based on this evidence, what might King Hammurabi have wanted to promote in society?

• chaos and confusion

• justice and order

• anger and violence

• wealth and fortune

What does the bolded phrase in the sentence mean :  The purpose of the laws was to unify and maintain order. 

• keep the peace
• punish people
• organize people