Podcast
Questions and Answers
Match the following individuals with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
Match the following individuals with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
Father Jean-Vincent Scheil = "a moral and political masterpiece" C. H. W. Johns = "one of the most important monuments in the history of the human race" John Dyneley Prince = "the most important event which has taken place in the development of Assyriological science" Charles Francis Horne = "wise law-giver" and "celebrated code"
Match the following languages with their early editions of Hammurabi's Code:
Match the following languages with their early editions of Hammurabi's Code:
French = Father Jean-Vincent Scheil German = Hugo Winckler English = C. H. W. Johns Italian = Pietro Bonfante
Match the following rediscovered collections with their respective dates:
Match the following rediscovered collections with their respective dates:
Code of Lipit-Ishtar = 1947 Laws of Eshnunna = 1948 Code of Ur-Nammu = 1952 Hammurabi's Code = rediscovered in 1902
Match the following scholars with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
Match the following scholars with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
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Match the following with their respective descriptions:
Match the following with their respective descriptions:
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Match the following with their respective content on the Code of Hammurabi stele:
Match the following with their respective content on the Code of Hammurabi stele:
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Match the following with their respective content of the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following with their respective content of the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following with their respective timeline of the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following with their respective timeline of the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the ancient legal collection with its respective description:
Match the ancient legal collection with its respective description:
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Match the archaeological finding with its location:
Match the archaeological finding with its location:
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Match the attribute with the Code of Hammurabi's influence:
Match the attribute with the Code of Hammurabi's influence:
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Match the following individuals with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
Match the following individuals with their comments on Hammurabi's Code:
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Match the following individuals with their role in the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following individuals with their role in the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following materials with their descriptions in the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following materials with their descriptions in the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following legal areas with their inclusion in the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following legal areas with their inclusion in the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following features with their descriptions in the Code of Hammurabi stele:
Match the following features with their descriptions in the Code of Hammurabi stele:
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Match the following ancient legal collections with their predating dates:
Match the following ancient legal collections with their predating dates:
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Match the following locations with their significant archaeological findings related to the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following locations with their significant archaeological findings related to the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following legal systems with their primary focus in the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following legal systems with their primary focus in the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following individuals with their role in the history of the Code of Hammurabi:
Match the following individuals with their role in the history of the Code of Hammurabi:
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Match the following attributes with their influence on the history of law:
Match the following attributes with their influence on the history of law:
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Match the following languages with their primary usage:
Match the following languages with their primary usage:
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Study Notes
The Code of Hammurabi: History, Influence, and Copies
- Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC and secured Babylonian dominance over the Mesopotamian plain through military prowess and diplomacy.
- Hammurabi's aggressive foreign policy and construction works were balanced by his concern for the welfare of his subjects and interest in law and justice.
- The Code of Hammurabi was the first Mesopotamian law collection to be discovered and was not the first written; several earlier collections survive, written in Sumerian and Akkadian.
- The similarities between the Code of Hammurabi and earlier law collections suggest a consistent underlying legal system, but interpreting the purpose and underlying legal systems of these collections poses challenges.
- The Code of Ur-Nammu, the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Laws of X are extant collections predating the Code of Hammurabi.
- Mesopotamia has a comprehensive surviving legal corpus from before the Digest of Justinian, including contracts, judicial rulings, letters on legal cases, and reform documents.
- The most complete copy of the Code of Hammurabi is on a 2.25 m stele displayed in the Louvre, with an image of Hammurabi and Shamash at the top and about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text.
- The Louvre stele was found in three large fragments at the ancient Elamite city of Susa, modern-day Khuzestan Province, Iran, and was excavated by the French Archaeological Mission.
- Fragments of a second and possibly third stele recording the Code were found at Susa, and over fifty manuscripts containing the laws were found in various locations.
- Copies of the Code were created during and after Hammurabi's reign, becoming part of the scribal curriculum, with some copies dating from one thousand years after the stele's creation.
- The influence of the Code on the Mosaic Law is a subject of discussion, with the "eye for an eye" principle underlying the two collections and Hammurabi being regarded as an important figure in the history of law outside Assyriology.
- Replicas of the stele are found in numerous institutions, including the United Nations headquarters in New York City and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, and the U.S. Capitol has a relief portrait of Hammurabi alongside other historic lawgivers.
The Code of Hammurabi: History, Influence, and Copies
- Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC and secured Babylonian dominance over the Mesopotamian plain through military prowess and diplomacy.
- Hammurabi's aggressive foreign policy and construction works were balanced by his concern for the welfare of his subjects and interest in law and justice.
- The Code of Hammurabi was the first Mesopotamian law collection to be discovered and was not the first written; several earlier collections survive, written in Sumerian and Akkadian.
- The similarities between the Code of Hammurabi and earlier law collections suggest a consistent underlying legal system, but interpreting the purpose and underlying legal systems of these collections poses challenges.
- The Code of Ur-Nammu, the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Laws of X are extant collections predating the Code of Hammurabi.
- Mesopotamia has a comprehensive surviving legal corpus from before the Digest of Justinian, including contracts, judicial rulings, letters on legal cases, and reform documents.
- The most complete copy of the Code of Hammurabi is on a 2.25 m stele displayed in the Louvre, with an image of Hammurabi and Shamash at the top and about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text.
- The Louvre stele was found in three large fragments at the ancient Elamite city of Susa, modern-day Khuzestan Province, Iran, and was excavated by the French Archaeological Mission.
- Fragments of a second and possibly third stele recording the Code were found at Susa, and over fifty manuscripts containing the laws were found in various locations.
- Copies of the Code were created during and after Hammurabi's reign, becoming part of the scribal curriculum, with some copies dating from one thousand years after the stele's creation.
- The influence of the Code on the Mosaic Law is a subject of discussion, with the "eye for an eye" principle underlying the two collections and Hammurabi being regarded as an important figure in the history of law outside Assyriology.
- Replicas of the stele are found in numerous institutions, including the United Nations headquarters in New York City and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, and the U.S. Capitol has a relief portrait of Hammurabi alongside other historic lawgivers.
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Description
Test your knowledge of the Code of Hammurabi with this quiz covering its history, influence, and copies. Explore the impact of this ancient Babylonian legal code and its similarities to other Mesopotamian law collections.