Hammurabis Code

Hammurabi Code is the earliest form of law that we are able to read and study because, in 1901, a French expedition to Mesopotamia uncovered a copy of the Babylonian king's laws. The stone pillar where Hammurabi had his laws engraved is on display at the Louvre, a museum in Paris, France.
It helps us understand what life was like in ancient Babylon. Equal punishment existed only when the two sides were of equal rank. The punishment would be less if the injured person was a woman or a slave. One law said, "if a man strikes a free-born woman so that she loses her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss." Another says, "if a man has caught either a male or female runaway slave in the open field and has brought him back to his owner, the owner of the slave shall give him two shekels of silver."

10 Laws of Hammurabi's Code 1. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.  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.  3. If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death.  4. If he satisfy the elders to impose a fine of grain or money, he shall receive the fine that the action produces.  5. If a judge try a case, reach a decision, and present his judgment in writing; if later error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his own fault, then he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case, and he shall be publicly removed from the judge's bench, and never again shall he sit there to render judgement.  6. If any one steal the property of a temple or of the court, he shall be put to death, and also the one who receives the stolen thing from him shall be put to death.      7. If any one buy from the son or the slave of another man, without witnesses or a contract, silver or gold, a male or female slave, an ox or a sheep, an ass or anything, or if he take it in charge, he is considered a thief and shall be put to death.  8. If any one steal cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirtyfold therefor; if they belonged to a freed man of the king he shall pay tenfold; if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death.  9. If any one lose an article, and find it in the possession of another: if the person in whose possession the thing is found say "A merchant sold it to me, I paid for it before witnesses," and if the owner of the thing say, "I will bring witnesses who know my property," then shall the purchaser bring the merchant who sold it to him, and the witnesses before whom he bought it, and the owner shall bring witnesses who can identify his property. The judge shall examine their testimony -- both of the witnesses before whom the price was paid, and of the witnesses who identify the lost article on oath. The merchant is then proved to be a thief and shall be put to death. The owner of the lost article receives his property, and he who bought it receives the money he paid from the estate of the merchant.
10. If the purchaser does not bring the merchant and the witnesses before whom he bought the article, but its owner bring witnesses who identify it, then the buyer is the thief and shall be put to death, and the owner receives the lost article.

The Earliest Cities: Mesopotamia

Sumer - occupied the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Population increased drastically due to new irrigation techniques. Cities and towns were founded, some as many as 40,000 inhabitant. More adequate food storage allowed for diversity in professions: priest, tradesmen, artisans, politicians and farmers. Kings emerged, as did family dynasties and the concept of the "City-State" Sumerians invented the earliest forms of writing, know as "cuneiform"
A pantheon of Sumerian gods and goddesses emerged, with many of deities representing the natural elements of the world. The worlds first ( surviving ) epic was the Sumerian "Epic of Gilgamesh", which told of great flood. Sumerians first dived the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds; they also organized a calendar based on the moon cycles. The Ziggurat was a Sumerian temple built on top of a " mountain " of earth.

Civilizations of Mesopotamia

Wandering nomads drove herds of domesticated animals in many areas, especially to the south of Sumer in Arabia. Sumer was conquered by the Akkadians c. 2350 BC, Conquers god took place of previous gods and all were forced to worship them. King Hammurabi of Babylon created a serious of laws know as "Hammurabi's Code" Hammurabi's laws included '' an eye for an eye " and regulations of marriage, divorce, and punishments for all sorts of crimes.

     3 Laws of Hammurabi's Code

195 - If a son should strike his father, they shall get there fingers chopped off

21 - If a man make a breach in a house, they shall put him to death in front of that breach and they shall trust him therein

168 - If a man set his face to disinherit his son and say to the judges: " I will disinherit my son '' , the judges shall inquire into his antecedents, and if the son have not committed a crime sufficiently gave to cut him from son ship, the father may not cut his son from son ship.  

Prehistoric Era

The origins and ''ages'' of human begins
- 200000 years ago a human species emerged in South Western Africa
- 14000 years ago, a worldwide human race existed
- Earliest prehistoric age is the Paleolithic age (stone age)
- Neolithic age ( new stone age ) was marked by advancing tool making and the beginnings of agriculture
- Initially, humans were parts of migratory groups which hunted fished and gathered and gathered parts for food
- The Agriculture Revolution also know as the Neolithic Revolution, this was a shift from itinerant hunting/gathering to more permanent settlements centered on agriculture ( beginning in Southwest Asia )
- Population rose due to increased ability to care for young children
- Hierarchies appeared in village life, the status of women was lowered as women were confined more to domestic duties
- Invention of the wheel and plow made it possible to produce enough food for storage
- Villagers were polytheists worshipped multiple nature, human and animal goods    

West Civ Day 1

We learned in the first day of West Civ that we were supposed to order books for the class yet those books weren't on the order form like all the others. So im sure that Mr. Schick and Mr. Teter are probably going crazy about this because they have no clue what to do. But I know that Mr. Schick and Mr. Teter are going to make this work. Anyway we didn't really learn anything today, all we did was go over what we will be studying and what and how we will be getting a good grade and stuff. Im really excited for this unit I already know a lot about the West Civ and the middle east. I hope this semester will be good just as the last one was. That's how the day went we really didn't do anything else because it was a two hour delay and we had very little time to talk and stuff like that.