Download Hammurabi of Babylon Hammurabi was born around 1810 BC in the

Hammurabi of Babylon
Hammurabi was born around 1810 BC in the Mesopotamian city-state of Babylon. His father
was king of Babylon. Although not a lot is known about Hammurabi's youth, he was raised as
the crown prince of Babylon. He likely attended a school called the tablet house. He was
taught about the Babylonian gods and the history of the great leaders of Mesopotamia. He
also learned and how to fight and lead an army. As he grew older, he learned how to rule by
watching his father and listening to his advisors.
When Hammurabi turned eighteen years old, his father became very sick. Soon his father died
and young Hammurabi was crowned king of the city-state of Babylon. At this time, Babylon
was a fairly small kingdom. It was now Hammurabi's job to keep the city safe and help it to
prosper.
For the first several years of Hammurabi's reign, he concentrated on improving the city of
Babylon. Hammurabi knew he needed peace to make these improvements so he established
treaties with the most powerful nations in Mesopotamia. Once he felt the city was safe, he
went to work. Hammurabi worked to improve the defenses and infrastructure of the city. He
strengthened the city walls, improved the city's irrigation system, and built new temples to the
gods. The city became prosperous and grew in power.
Once Hammurabi had conquered Mesopotamia, he didn't consider his work done. He wanted
to improve the way of life for all the people in his kingdom. He embarked on many reforms
and construction projects. He built new canals, aqueducts, and temples throughout the land.
Today Hammurabi is most famous for enacting a new set of laws called the Code of
Hammurabi. He was tired of people constantly changing the law for their own benefit so he
decided to make permanent laws that were written down and could not be changed. These
laws were carved into stone columns called stele that everyone could read. There were 282
laws that were written for the citizens of Babylon. Hammurabi’s laws were seen by some
people as very cruel and harsh.
Hammurabi died in 1750 BC after 43 years of rule. His final years were ones of peace and
prosperity for the people of Mesopotamia. Some ideas from his code can be found in the U.S.
Constitution such as the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.” His picture can be found in
both the U.S. Capitol Building and the U.S. Supreme Court as one of the world's great
lawgivers.
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Hammurabi of Babylon – Questions
1. When and where was Hammurabi born?
2. Name three things that Hammurabi was taught in his youth?
3. How did he prepare and learn how to rule a city-state?
4. What happened when Hammurabi’s father died?
5. What was Hammurabi’s job as the new king of Babylon?
6. What did Hammurabi concentrate on during his first years as king?
7. Name three improvements that Hammurabi made to the city of Babylon.
8. Name three improvements that he made throughout the empire of Mesopotamia.
9. What is Hammurabi most famous for today?
10. Why did Hammurabi want to write down the laws for Mesopotamia?
11. How did the citizens of Mesopotamia know about Hammurabi’s Codes?
12. Describe Hammurabi’s final years as king of Mesopotamia.
13. What major idea set forth by Hammurabi is now found in the U.S. Constitution?
14. On what two U.S. government buildings can Hammurabi’s picture be seen?