ANCIENT EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CIVILIZATIONS Standard Analyze the origins

ANCIENT EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CIVILIZATIONS • Standard: Analyze the origins, structures, and interactions of complex societies in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500 BCE. • Essential Question: What were the origins, structures, and interactions of complex societies in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500 BCE?

ACTIVATOR • Why would a society settle along a river?

HAMMURABI’S LAW CODE DESCRIPTION • 282 laws • inscribed on an 8 -foothigh stele (stone slab)

LAW CODE • engraving of King Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash • Babylonian Sun-God • believed to oversee justice in human affairs • based on the principle of retaliation • conditional sentence • if you do this, you will receive this punishment

PURPOSE FOR THE CODE • “to promote the welfare of the people, make justice visible in the land, destroy the wicked person and the evil, in order that the strong might not injure the weak. ” • placed all groups in the empire under one law

PURPOSE FOR THE CODE • deals with many aspects of daily life: property rights, trade(business), family issues, professional services, and crime • contained consumer protection laws to encourage the proper performance of work • largest group of laws dealt with marriage and the family

MARRIAGE & FAMILY LAWS • Parents arranged marriages, and the two parties signed a marriage contract • protected women and children • Women still had fewer privileges and rights than men • expressed the patriarchal nature of Mesopotamian society • enforced the obedience of children to parents

PURPOSE FOR THE CODE • Penalties were severe • punished the rich and poor differently • Main Idea = governments job to look after its people

ACTIVITY • Students will individually complete the Hammurabi’s Law Code guided reading assignment. • Students will select 3 of Hammurabi’s Law Codes they agree with the most and explain why.

SUMMARIZER • Do you agree with Hammurabi’s Law Code? Why or Why not?