Discussion 1

 
Topic 1: Law Code of Hammurabi
Required Reading:
Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 2
Website: Law Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon – http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon
Website: Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws – http://www.livescience.com/39393-code-of-hammurabi.html
Website: 8 Things You May Not Know about Hammurabi’s Code – http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-hammurabis-code
 Website: Hammurabi, The Code of Hammurabi [-2250] (scroll about half way down the page past the transliteration to the English translation) http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hammurabi-the-code-of-hammurabi 
 
After reading Chapter 2 and the material at the websites, and viewing the videos, please make a 250-word initial post that answers the following discussion prompt about the primary source:
You can see from the web readings and the video that there is disagreement about the purpose, nature, and fairness of Hammurabi’s Code, a primary source created at the time of Hammurabi. There are 282 “laws” in the Code. Scan the whole Code at http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hammurabi-the-code-of-hammurabi and then read 28 “laws” (10%) carefully before answering the discussion prompts: How is the Code organized? Why do you think some laws are first? What do the laws tell you about the nature of early urban life? What seem to be major concerns? Do the laws seem just? Why or why not?