HAMMURABI’S CODE
(RULED FROM 1792 BCE-1750 BCE)
HAMMURABI’S CODE: WHY?
•Babylon stretched far and wide
•Many different cultures to rule
•(EMPIRE)
HAMMURABI’S CODE: WHAT?
•282 LAWS COVERING:
•COMMUNITY
•FAMILY RELATIONS
•BUSINESS CONDUCT
•CRIME
What should happen to the boy that slaps his father?
CODE 195: If a son strike his father, his
hands shall be hewn (cut) off.
What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house
that falls and kills the owner?
•CODE 229: …the builder shall be put to
death
What should be done to a free person who strikes the eye
of another free person?
•196. If a free person puts out the eye of
another free person, that person's eye
shall be put out.
What should happen if a surgeon saves the life of a free
person? A slave?
215. If a surgeon performs a major operation which saves the
life of a free person, that surgeon shall be paid eighty grams of
silver.
217. If the person is a slave, the owner shall pay sixteen
grams of silver to the surgeon.
What happens if a free person kidnaps another free
person?
•14. If a free person kidnaps the son of another free
person, the kidnapper shall be executed.
What if a slave denies their master?
•282. If a slave says to the master, "you are not my
master," the master shall cut off the slave's ear.