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Introduces the idea of written laws and why they were important for keeping order in a city.
Imagine playing a game of tag, but the person who is 'it' keeps making up new rules so they never lose. How would you feel if the rules changed every single day?
Long ago, around the year BCE, a king named Hammurabi ruled a great city called Babylon. Babylon was a busy place with many people living close together. Before Hammurabi, rules weren't always written down. This meant a judge could change the rules whenever they wanted! King Hammurabi wanted his city to have order. He decided to create a list of rules that would stay the same for everyone, no matter who they were.
Quick Check
Who was the king who decided to write down the laws for Babylon?
Answer
King Hammurabi.
Hammurabi didn't just write his laws on paper. He had all laws carved into a giant, black stone pillar called a stele. This stone was over feet tall! He placed it in the middle of the city where everyone could see it. Even if someone couldn't read, they knew the laws were there and wouldn't change. This was the Code of Hammurabi. It told people exactly what would happen if they broke a rule.
One of Hammurabi's laws was about finding things that belong to others: 1. A person finds a lost sheep in the street. 2. The law says they must try to find the owner. 3. If they keep it and get caught, they are punished. This rule helped people feel safe that their things wouldn't be stolen.
Quick Check
Why was it important to carve the laws into a giant stone pillar?
Answer
So the rules were permanent, couldn't be changed easily, and everyone could see them.
Hammurabi’s laws were famous for a type of justice called 'an eye for an eye.' This meant that if someone hurt you, the same thing would happen to them. If a builder built a house so poorly that it fell down and hurt the owner, the builder would be punished in a similar way. Hammurabi thought this was the only way to be fair. Today, we think some of these laws were very harsh, but back then, they helped stop people from fighting.
Imagine a builder named Anu: 1. Anu builds a wall for a neighbor. 2. Anu is lazy and uses weak bricks. 3. The wall falls down the next day. 4. Under Hammurabi's law, Anu would have to pay to fix the wall himself using his own money ( profit) to make it fair for the neighbor.
Think about a school rule today versus a Babylonian law: 1. Today: If you break a window by accident, you might have to help clean it up or lose recess. 2. Babylon: If you broke someone's window on purpose, you might have to pay for a whole new house or face a very scary punishment. Why do you think our rules are different today?
What was the name of the city Hammurabi ruled?
How many laws were carved into the stone pillar?
Hammurabi's laws were written on paper and hidden in his palace.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to remember the name of the giant stone pillar and why Hammurabi chose to use stone instead of paper.
Practice Activity
Create your own 'Code of the Classroom.' Write down 3 rules that you think are fair for everyone in your class and draw a picture of them on a 'stone' (a piece of gray paper)!