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Fertile Crescent Law Project Directions: Please complete each task listed below that pertains to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. Copied answers will receive zero credit. Make sure that you use the related links for each question and those links only. Make sure to answer all parts of the question. This project is worth 50 points and is due on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at the beginning of class. If you have any problems with the project please email Mr. Lindstrom at [email protected] Task Number 1 (8 points) Read: http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/mesopotamia.html then answer the following. 1. According to the article, what is a possible answer as to why some Mesopotamian cities, and even Mesopotamia as whole, faded away and lost their influence over time? 4 pts. 2. What evidence exists today that supports this claim? 4 pts. Task Number 2 (12 points) Visit this website: http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/LawMuseum/tabid/345/articleType/ArticleVie w/articleId/44/The-Timetable-of-World-Legal-History.aspx#2350bc Then answer the following. 1. What punishments did the very first legal codes hand out? In your eyes, were these codes brutal or necessary? 4 pts. 2. According to Urukagina's Code, who appointed the kings? Why is this important for the early civilizations of Mesopotamia? 4 pts. 3. Read the information sets on Hammurabi’s Code and the Ten Commandments. What does the article claim the connection is? 4 pts. Task Number 3 (6 points) Read the article “Was Hammurabi really the first law maker in history?” which is attached below, then answer the following. 1. Why does the author claim that Hammurabi’s Code was “remarkable?” 2 points 2. How much credit do you give Hammurabi in inventing his legal code? Why? Who gave Hammurabi the right to install these laws? 4 points Task Number 4 (6 points) Take a look at the following scenarios found at http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_situation_index.htm then answer the following. 1. According to the scenarios that you read, do you believe the punishments were fit for the crimes? Why or why not? 3 pts. 2. Though the punishments may differ today, what principles in the scenarios do we still follow today? Do you agree with any of Hammurabi’s laws? Which ones? 3pts. Task Number 5 (10 pts.) Use the following link to help answer the questions. http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_codeindex.htm 1. After reviewing rule #5, would you be in favor of this law existing today? Why or why not? 2 pts 2. After reviewing laws #53-55, what principles do these laws set? Do we believe in these principles today? Why or why not? 2pts 3. After reviewing law #126, how do we know if the person who is making the claim is telling the truth? Does this contradict our belief in the separation of church and state? 2 pts. 4. Beginning with law #151, why is it so important that Hammurabi included laws about marriage and the rights of sons in his set of laws? 2 pts. 5. What is the main principle laid out in rules # 195-200 that we value today? Was the punishment the same if the crime was done to a slave? 2 pts. Task Number 6 ( 8 points) Review Constitution from this link http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/constitution/const.htm Review the amendments from this link http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html 1. What are the purposes of our Constitution? Does every society need a legal code or constitution? 4 pts. 2. What is the purpose of the amendments to our Constitution? Would Hammurabi agree with any of these rights? Why or why not? 4pts Was Hammurabi really the first lawmaker in history? Babylon the world’s first metropolis appears often in history as the place where many momentous events took place; a city where history took decisive turns and shaped the path of civilization. In our context, it also the land of Hammurabi, the king who ruled over this metropolis in 18th century B.C. Hammurabi was known for his code of laws which gave the city much of its greatness. He was known by his subjects as the most righteous and fair among rulers. He is also known as the first ruler to bring all his subjects together under one common code of laws. The code of laws was binding on man and his servant, on man and his wife, on the ruler and the ruled. He took his royal charge as given to him by a divine order. Relics of the era (1795 – 1750 B.C.) during Hammurabi's reign are preserved in a museum and evoke the glory of those days. These include the famed Hammurabi’s Code of Laws, which offers great insight about not only Babylon but also about the ruler who made these laws. Truly he was a king of great vision and a believer in justice for all. Hammurabi’s remarkable Code of Laws is by far the earliest-known example of a ruler proclaiming publicly to his people an entire body of laws, arranged in orderly groups, so that all men might read and know what was required of them. The code was engraved on an 8 foot high black stone monument and placed where everyone could read it. The Code begins and ends with addresses to the gods they believed in, pointing to a sense of divine justice. Today’s prayers accompanying any legal oath sound more like curses upon whoever shall neglect or destroy the law. The code regulated the organization of society, by ensuring peace and justice with laws that were impartial and binding, upon all. Some examples: The witness who falsely testified earned the death penalty; if a man built a house and it later collapsed killing the owner and its occupants, the builder got the death penalty; if the owner’s son was killed in the collapse, the builder’s son was slain; if a judge blundered in his duties, he was expelled from judgeship forever. These were perhaps the original source of the Hebrew law “an eye for an eye”. The stone provides an interesting insight about the people’s way of life. Swimming, it appears, was unheard of then. Because the only exception to all the deathly punitive measures is the “Casting into the river Euphrates”. Hammurabi’s laws made no exception and left little room for excuses or explanations, once the accused was proved guilty. But if an accused person’s guilt could not be proved beyond doubt, he was allowed to cast himself into the river Euphrates. If he survived the ordeal and the current bore him to the shore alive, he would be declared innocent and spared. Hammurabi’s Code of Laws implied that the justice dispensed by the king was the justice of the ruling gods. Some historians believe that Hammurabi’s Code of Laws is not the oldest recorded of such codes. The fact that Hamurabi formed these laws, suggests that there might have been a preceding set of laws to inspire him. The preceding sets of laws have disappeared and some people claim to have found traces of them. It may be interesting to note that this stone monument of Hammurabi’s Code was found, in the year 1901, not in Babylon, but in a Persian city. Obviously, a later Persian King must have triumphantly carried it off after capturing Babylon. Additional links for future reference of Ancient Mesopotamian Societies History of Mesopotamia http://www.crystalinks.com/mesopotamia.html Rulers of Mesopotamia http://www.killeenroos.com/1/anccompl.htm Sumerians http://www.crystalinks.com/sumer.html Babylonians http://www.crystalinks.com/babylonian.html Hitties http://www.crystalinks.com/hittites.html Persians http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM