-City-States in Mesopotamia -City-States in Mesopotamia #9#9

Hammurabi’s CodeHammurabi’s Code

Warm Up

Agree or disagree – “an eye for an eye, a life for a life.” Explain.

Have Vocabulary Sheet out.Have Vocabulary Sheet out.Chapter 1 Reading Questions due tomorrowChapter 1 Reading Questions due tomorrow

Sumerians invented:

• Brick technology• Wheel• Base 60 – using the circle . . . 360 degrees• Time – 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in

a minute• 12 month lunar calendar• arch• ramp• ziggurat

When heaven above was not yet named, nor earth below pronounced by name, Apsu, the first one, their begetter and maker Tiamat, who bore them all, had mixed their waters together, but had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds. When yet no

gods were manifest, nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed, then gods were born within them.

Sumerian Writing: cuneiform

Cuneiform is created by pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet.

Hammurabi’s Code of LawHammurabi’s Code of Law

I. Babylonian Empire [2000 BC – 1680 BC]1. Nomadic warriors overtook the Sumerians.

II. Hammurabi’s Code1. In 1790 BC, king wrote the world’s first large

collection of laws.III. Legal Principles of Hammurabi

1. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”A. 282 specific laws.

2. Punishments would be based upon social class of lawbreaker.A. Wealthy citizens would pay fines, commoners

would face physical punishment.B. Government had a responsibility for what

occurred in society.

Partnered Students Handout

Hammurabi, the king of righteousness,On whom Shamash has conferred the Law,

am I.

When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to the land,

I did right and in righteousness brought about the well-being of the oppressed.

Below are situations Hammurabi faced.  You and your partner decide what you think to be a fair way to deal with the problem.

Then together we’ll view what Hammurabi actually declared.  We’ll find out if Marduk, the supreme god, will be pleased with your decisions?

1. What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner? 2. What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties and belittles her husband? 3. What should be done when a "sister of god" (or nun) enters the wine shop for a drink? 4. What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birth-parents want him back? 5. What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts? 6. What should happen to a boy who slaps his father? 7. What happens to the wine seller who fails to arrest bad characters gathered at her shop?8. How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation against another?

http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_situation_index.htmCompiled and Illustrated by

Phillip Martincopyright 1998

If a freeman brings false testimony in a case that

carries the death sentence, he shall be put to death.

If a builder builds a house and does not make the construction

firm and the house collapses and causes death of the owner, that

builder shall be put to death.

If a freeman wants to disinherit his son but the judges find the son has done no grave wrong, the

father may not disinherit his son.

If a freeman rents a field but does not cultivate it, he shall pay the

owner grain based on the yield of adjoining fields.

If a trader borrows money from a merchant and then denies it, and the merchant can prove this loan was made, the trader shall pay the merchant three times the

amount he borrowed.