• 9/24 Focus:
– Hammurabi established the Babylonian Empire
in Mesopotamia.
– Hammurabi created one of the first code of
laws that would apply to everyone in his
empire.
• Do Now:
– What was one effect of a lack of natural
barriers in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
• How did the Sumerians view their gods?
• What type of structure is shown in this
image?
• What form of writing was developed by
the ancient Sumerians?
• Frequent
warfare and
foreign
invasions
weakened the
Sumerian city
states
• Ruler from the city of
Akkad
– Located on the Euphrates
River
• Conquered all of Sumer
and northern
Mesopotamia
– Established the world’s
first empire
– Last about 140 years until
tribes invaded from the
east
• Amorite tribe invaded
Mesopotamia from the
East
• Hammurabi
– Amorite king that
united all of
Mesopotamia into the
Babylonian Empire in
1792 B.C.E
• Capitol was Babylon
• Under his rule the empire
grew wealthy through
expansion of trade
• Expanded public works
projects
• Kept elements of the
Sumerian culture
– Honored Sumerian gods
• Allowed priests to retain
power
– Continued to teach
Sumerian language and
cuneiform
• The first major collection of
codified laws in history
– 282 written laws
• Dealt with everything
from trade to murder
• Laws written for all to see
– Established standards of
justice
– Harsh Punishments
• “An eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth”
• What led to the decline of Sumerian
cities?
• What is the earliest form of codified
law that we know of?
• Why was the Code of Hammurabi a
significant achievement?