come take a tour of the In 2000 B.C., Amorites invaded Mesopotamia. They overwhelmed the Sumerians, and established the empire of Babylon, located on the Euphrates River. The Babylonians were a powerful nation under the reign of Hammurabi, and obtained many resources which made it one of the greatest, most successful civilizations of all time!

Education Hammurabi, the emperor of Babylon, reigned from B.C. He created perhaps the most interesting language, or code of laws. Hammurabi recognized that a single code of laws would help advance with empire. With that, he created the Code of Hammurabi. The code was a written language for all Babylonians, inscribed on stone tablets my Hammurabi himself. It was a uniform code that included laws, rules and judgments. Some crimes, such as steeling and at fault, may result in death. Others, like putting out the eye of a free man, may result in paying one gold mina. Copies of the code were sent all over his empire for all people to read and follow.

Education continued There are about 282 laws dealing with the community. Since many people were farmers, merchants or traders, many laws were related to the property issue. Some laws protected women and children from unfair treatment. The same laws applied to everyone, but there were different punishments for poor women and poor men. Hammurabi’s Code basically reinforced everything that the government has a responsibility for what occurred in the society. For example, if a man was robbed and the robber was not caught, it was the government’s responsibility to find the thief and deal with him.

B ABYLONIAN GOVERNMENT Ruled by a Theocracy The king interceded with the gods A monarchy, like most ancient governments After the Hammurabi collapsed, the Persians took over and soon everything grew and developed into bigger and better things The king was the overall ruler The system of laws was very important

Babylon contained a ziggurat that was over 300 feet tall which enabled astronomers to get a better look at the atmosphere. Chaldean astronomers began to study the position and change of the stars and planets visible in the sky. Astronomers soon concluded that the sun, moon, Earth, and five other planets belonged to the same solar system. The Babylonians’ observations formed the basis of astrology and astronomy in our world. The Babylonians adopted much of their culture from the Sumerians. They developed irrigation systems and agriculture techniques by copying the Sumerians. Science Technology

R ELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY There were three main religions in ancient Babylonia: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Babylonians also developed a blend of two religious groups: the Sumerians and the Semitics. This encouraged the belief that everything had a certain significance in the world. A certain group of people strongly believed in the triad of gods: the moon god Sin, the sun god Shamash, and the goddess Ishtar. There was also another idea of a supreme goddess. Overall the Babylonians had many differed religious beliefs.

T HE S OCIAL L IFE OF THE B ABYLONIANS Three Classes of People Awilu- A free person of the upper class Wardu- A slave Mushkenu- A free person of low estate If free people committed a crime, they could be forced into slavery. Parents could sell their own children in time of need. Men could also sell their entire family in order to pay off debt, but not for more than three years.