Lesson 4: Hammurabi's Code

Hammurabi was an important king of the Babylonian Empire. One of his most significant contributions was to draw up a set of laws that everyone in the empire had to follow. This was known as Hammurabi's Code.

Many of Hammurabi's laws were about business, but others gave protection to women, children, and the poor. It was evident, though, that a noble was considered more important than a common person, for "If a man has stolen an ox, or a sheep, or a pig from the priests or the king, let him pay thirtyfold. But if he has stolen from a poor man, he shall repay tenfold."

Some of Hammurabi's laws seem harsh and cruel to us today. There were thirty-four crimes that were punishable by death. Other punishments were match to fit the type and severity of the crime. For example, "If a man puts out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. If he knocks out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out."

Hammurabi had his code of laws carved on a huge block of stone that he set up in the main temple in Babylon. Today it is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

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