Historical Codes of Law

Who was Hammurabi? 

• God in Ancient Sumer
• emperor of Babylonian Empire
•  warrior who fought Gilgamesh
• scribe known throughout Mesopotamia

What is Hammurabi's Code?

• story of Babylonian empire's creation by the gods
• written language of Babylonian Empire
•  collection of written laws from the Babylonian Empire
• book describing warfare from the Babylonian Empire

Hammurabi said he wrote this code "to bring about the rule of righteousness  in the land" What word best defines righteousness in this context?

• Kindness
• Justice
• Equality
• Punishment

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

• keep the peace
• punish people
• organize people
• collect fines

What did Hammurabi do with the code of laws to make sure everyone knew of them?

• He had scribes write and display them for all to see
• He required fathers to teach the code to their children
• He had teachers make students memorize them
• He required priests to pray them to the gods as worship

If a man has knocked out the teeth of a man of the same rank, his own teeth shall be knocked out.  If he has knocked out the teeth of a plebeian (commoner), he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver."
--Code of Hammurabi
Which statement is best supported by this excerpt from Hammurabi's code of laws?

• Law sometimes distinguishes between social classes.
• All men are equal under the law.
• Violence must always be punished with violence.
• Fines are preferable to physical punishment.

Hammurabi's code is a famous system of laws because it ...

• is thought to be one of the earliest written set of laws
• led directly to the development of democracy
• had such lenient punishments
• was considered unfair, causing people to rebel in the world's first insurrection

Which of the following is  NOT true of Hammurabi's code?

• It covered many aspects of Babylonian life, not just crimes.
• it was used by many later civilizations as a model
• It treated all people the same under the law.
• It was carved in stone.