1. King Hammurabi ruled Babylon, located along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, from 1792-1750 BCE. During his time as king he oversaw a great expansion of his kingdom from a city-state to an empire

2. However, today he is most famous for a series of judgments inscribed on a large stone stele and dubbed Hammurabi's Code.

3. As ancient communities grew larger, they needed a stronger central government to complete and take care of necessary public projects -- such as the canals that enabled Babylon to grow surplus foods -- and to maintain law and order for keeping life in cities running smoothly.

4. The Code of Hammurabi, inscribed on a large stone stele-an upright slab--was uncovered by a French expedition in 1901. Its leader, Father Vincent Scheil, translated the code the following year. At the time, it was the oldest known set of what appeared to be laws

5. In the prologue, Hammurabi claims that his authority comes directly from the gods. He also states that the purpose of the Code is "to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land… so that the strong should not harm the weak." Precepts. 4 th - set fines, 6 th - sharecropping, 108 th - women's right to own businesses.

6. What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner?

7. Code 2: 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 to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner?

8. What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties and belittles her husband?

9. Code 143: 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.

10. What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birth- parents want him back?

11. Code 185: 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.

12. How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation against another?

13. Code 2: 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.

15. 1. Hypothesize Hammurabi's purpose in creating and distributing his "Code." 2. How was Babylonian society different from past city- states under Hammurabi's Code?