1.
Why are laws created? (give 3 reasons)
2.
Why is a scale used to represent Justice?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHLkRLJxCXs&list=TLiuaWwMcrUxPgOcZt
KVoVVKKYgGkOROP3
An empire brings together several peoples, nations, or
previously independent states. It puts them under the
control of one ruler.
Centuries of fighting between the city-states made the
Sumerians weak.
• In 2350 BCE, the conqueror Sargon defeated Sumer
and captured other cities to the north.
• A few hundred years later, The Babylonians
conquered the Sumerians. They established the
Babylon was a city-state located
on the Euphrates River near what
is today Baghdad, Iraq.
By 1800 BCE, however, it was
home to a powerful government of
its own.
In 1792 BCE, Hammurabi became
Babylon’s king. He would become
the city’s greatest monarch.
MONARCH:
a ruler of a kingdom or empire.
Hammurabi
(King of Babylonian Empire from 1792 to 1750 BCE.)
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maintained control of the
empire by a code of law.(His
kingdom included 24 cities)
Claimed the gods had chosen
him “to promote the welfare
of the people,… to cause
justice to prevail in the land,
to destroy the wicked and
evil, [so] that the strong
might not oppress the weak,
to rise like the sun over the
people, and to light up the
land.”
∑ Hammurabi was a brilliant leader.
∑ He Expanded the Babylonian Empire
throughout Fertile Crescent.
∑ Installed governors and judges
to help him keep order.
∑ Oversaw building & irrigation projects
∑ He improved the tax system.
You may have heard the expression
“an eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth.”
hamster giving an eye
Bad Pun for Hammurabi’s
Eye for an Eye.
This means that whoever commits an injury should be
punished in the same manner as that injury. If someone
puts out another person's eye, their eye would be put out
in return.
The laws assembled by King Hammurabi were known as
the Code of Hammurabi.
Hammurabi’s laws were known to be
strict and detailed.
Punishment was harsh.
For example, if you broke another
person’s bone, then your bone would be
broken. Or if carpenter built a house
that later collapsed and killed the son
of a homeowner, then the carpenter’s
own son would be put to death.
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The code of Hammurabi had 282 laws.
It was arranged under headings such
as trade, family, work and property.
It took 3,600 lines of cuneiform to
write them all down.
The laws were carved on a stone table
that was placed in the center of the town.
On the top of the column sat Samash, the
god of the sun and justice.
• Hammurabi standing
saluting god Shamash
• Hammurabi rules
with the permission
of the god
• Shamash hands the
code to him
Hammurabi’s Code was
important not only for how
thorough it was, but also
because it was written
down for all to see.
People all over the
Babylonian Empire could
read (if they knew how)
exactly what was against
the law.
Stele of
Hammurabi
Penalties varied according
to status. Wealthy people
were usually allowed to pay
a fine instead of receiving a
physical punishment.
If the victim was a poor
person, the rich might not
be punished at all.
Social Structure had a lot to do
with how Laws and Punishments
were handled.
Many of the laws are now
considered harsh and
outdated; however,these
laws helped govern ancient
Babylon during the rule of
King Hammurabi.
The actual code of law was divided up into groupings. Many of
the laws that had to do with one subject were grouped together.
This would have helped people to find and read just the laws that
pertained to them. Here are some of the major sections of the
code:
•Prologue •Legal Procedures •Household laws •Slavery
•Trade and business •Religion •Epilogue
The prologue introduced the Code. The prologue describes how
the god Shamash gave the laws to Hammurabi.
What other documents have a Prologue?
 Hammurabi's Code is important
because it set the first written
laws in human history.
 First written legal document.
 It teaches us about
Mesopotamian society, class
divisions, political & economic
factors.
 It is the basis of our modern
day legal code.
Society wouldn't be
the same if it
weren't for this
code of laws. It
was the start of a
civilized group of
people.
Its influence is obvious
in Hebrew and Islam
laws today, and in the
U.S. judiciary system.
GREAT OVERVIEW 3 MIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO1r2dvLS
Ko&list=TLiuaWwMcrUxPgOcZtKVoVVKKYg
GkOROP3
Another 3 Min Video for Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDALXORbtR4
You Decide!!
Decide what you think to be a fair way to deal with
each of the following problems.
Would Marduk, the supreme god, be
pleased with your decisions?
What should be
done to the
carpenter who
builds a house
that falls and
kills the owner?
Put him
on trial
Put him
to death
Nope!!
Try again
If a builder builds a house for a man and does
not make its construction sound, and the house
which he has built collapses and causes the
death of the owner of the house, the builder
shall be put to death.
What should be
done when a
"sister of god"
(or nun) enters
the wine shop
for a drink?
Put her
on trial
Burn
her
Oops!!
Try again
If a "sister of god" (nun) who is not
living in a convent opens a wine
shop or enters a wine shop for a
drink, they shall burn that woman.
What
happens if a
man is
unable to pay
his debts?
Sell his
family
Put him
to death
Uh-oh!!
Try again
If a man be in debt and is unable to
pay his creditors, he shall sell his
wife, son, or daughter, or bind them
over to service. For three years
they shall work in the houses of
their purchaser or master; in the
fourth year they shall be given their
freedom.
What should be
done about a
wife who
ignores her
duties and
belittles her
husband?
Make fun
of her
Throw her
in water
Yikes!!
If the woman has not been
careful but has gadded about,
neglecting her house and belittling
her husband, they shall throw that
woman into the water.
What should be
done if a son is
adopted and
then the birthparents want
him back?
Birth
Adoptive
parents
parents
get him
get him
Argh!!
Try again
If a man takes in his own home a
young boy as a son and rears him,
one may not bring claim for that
adopted son.
How is the truth
determined when
one man brings
an accusation
against another?
Drown
him
Water
test
Oh,
well!!
Try again
How is the truth determined when one man brings an
accusation against another?
If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the
accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he
sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his
house. But if the river prove that the accused is not
guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought
the accusation shall be put to death, while he who
leaped into the river shall take possession of the house
that had belonged to his accuser.
What should
happen to a
boy who slaps
his father?
Put him
to death
Cut off
his hand
Oopsy!!
Try again
If a son strikes his father,
they shall cut off his hand.
How did Hammurabi's Code deal with
witchcraft?
Anyone accused of witchcraft underwent an
ordeal by water
Accused were thrown in the Euphrates
- if they sank: they were guilty
- if they floated they were innocent.
It was believed that the ordeal would allow
the gods to render legal decision
Code 218.
If a physician make a large incision
with the operating knife, and kill
him, or open a tumor with the
operating knife, and cut out the eye,
his hands shall be cut off.