Hammurabi’s Code

“An eye for an eye”

What was it?

• One of the earliest and most complete ancient legal codes was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C.

• His code, a collection of 282 laws and standards, stipulated rules and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice.

• It was rediscovered in 1901 by a French archaeological team in present-day Iran.

Who was Hammurabi?

• Hammurabi was the sixth king in the Babylonian dynasty, which ruled in central Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) from c.1894 to 1595 B.C.

• In the 30th year of his reign Hammurabi began to expand his kingdom up and down the Euphrates, until all of Mesopotamia under his sway.

The Need for a Code

• As he conquered other city-states and his empire grew, he saw the need to unify the various groups he controlled.

• Hammurabi understood that to achieve this goal, he needed one universal set of laws for all of the diverse peoples he conquered.

• Legal experts were sent throughout his kingdom to gather existing laws. These laws were reviewed and some were changed or eliminated before compiling his final list of 282 laws.

Hammurabi’s Goal

• The prologue or introduction to the list of laws is very enlightening. Here, Hammurabi states that he wants "to make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil-doer, that the strong might not injure the weak."

Examples of some Laws

• If you accidentally break someone’s arm…

• If a slave talks back to his master…

• If a you hit your father…

• If you break into another’s house…

• Then your arm will be broken

• Then, his ear shall be cut off

• Then, your hand will be cut off

• Then, you shall be put to death

A Few More Examples

• If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.

• If a slave says to his master: "You are not my master," if they convict him, his master shall cut off his ear.

• If a physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, his hands shall be cut off.

• If a builder has built a house for a man, and has not made his work sound, and the house he built has fallen, and caused the death of its owner, that builder shall be put to death. If it is the owner's son that is killed, the builder's son shall be put to death.

Was it Fair?

• A number of the laws refer to jumping in the Euphrates River as a method of demonstrating one's guilt or innocence. If the accused returned to shore safely, they were deemed innocent; if they drowned, they were guilty. This practice follows the Babylonians's belief that their fates were controlled by their gods

Was it Fair?

• From the code, it is evident that the Babylonians did not believe all people were equal. The code treated slaves, commoners, and nobles differently

Examples of Social Class Differences

• “If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out,” committing the same crime against a member of a lower class was punished with only a fine.

• If a man killed a pregnant “maid-servant,” he was punished with a monetary fine, but if he killed a “free-born” pregnant woman, his own daughter would be killed as retribution.

Your Turn

• Now it’s your turn to create your own set of laws or “code”.

• Using the style of Hammurabi’s Code as an example, create your own code for school.

• Try to come up with at least 10 laws and consequences if the laws are not followed.