Was it Just?
🔹 100 pts
Law: If a person puts out another’s eye, their own eye is taken.
Q: What kind of justice is this?
A) Revenge
B) Equal
C) No punishment
✅ Correct: B – Equal
🔹 100 pts
Law: If a man breaks another man’s bone, his own bone will be broken.
Q: What does this law suggest about society?
A) People were treated equally
B) Only rich people could break bones
C) Hammurabi loved violence
✅ Best answer: A — It suggests fairness when people were in the same class.
🔹 100 pts
Scenario:
A man accidentally ruins a neighbor’s crops by letting his ox run wild.
Q: What is the fairest punishment?
A) The man should fix or replace the crops
B) The man’s ox should be taken away
C) The man should be whipped in public
✅ Best answer: A — Restoration over revenge. This sets a tone for a justice system.
Law: If a builder’s house falls and kills someone, the builder is executed.
Q: Was this law fair?
A) Yes — builders must take responsibility
B) No — accidents happen
C) No — the owner should be blamed
✅ Best answer: A (but B is arguable → great discussion!)
🔹 200 pts
Law: If a noble breaks the bone of a poor person, he only pays silver.
Q: What does this tell us about ancient Mesopotamia?
A) Poor people had more power
B) Class affected justice
C) Nobles were always punished the same
✅ Correct: B — Class shaped how people were treated under the law
🔹 200 pts
Scenario:
A scribe lies while giving testimony in court.
Q: Which law would you choose?
A) The scribe must pay a fine and lose his job
B) The scribe is whipped 20 times
C) No punishment — lying is common in court
✅ Best answer: A — But this opens up great debate about punishment, power, and trust.
🔹 300 pts
Law: If a rich person breaks a poor person’s bone, they only pay money.
Q: What does this tell us about justice?
A) It was equal for all
B) It was based on class
C) It favored farmers
✅ Correct: B – Based on class
🔹 300 pts
Law: If someone steals from the temple, they will be killed.
Q: Why was this seen as a more serious crime?
A) Temples were sacred and tied to the gods
B) Stealing was never punished
C) Most people hated temples
✅ Correct: A — This law reflects belief and theocracy
🔹 300 pts
Scenario:
A priest is caught stealing food from the temple.
Q: What kind of punishment is most just?
A) Death — the temple is sacred
B) He pays back what he stole plus more
C) He is banned from the temple forever
✅ Best answer: B — This promotes a system of restorative justice, but A and C are defensible.
🔹 400 pts
Law: If a son strikes his father, the son’s hands are cut off.
Q: Choose the best explanation:
A) Hammurabi believed in family respect
B) Hammurabi didn’t care about sons
C) Violence was okay in some families
✅ Correct: A
🔹 400 pts
Law: A judge who makes a bad ruling is fined and removed from his job.
Q: What value does this law show?
A) Power — Hammurabi kept control of judges
B) Class — Poor people didn’t like judges
C) Belief — Judges were priests
✅ Correct: A — This is about power, especially centralized power
🔹 400 pts
Scenario:
A wealthy noble injures a poor farmer in a fight.
Q: What law would YOU write?
A) Fine the noble 50 pieces of silver
B) Break the noble’s arm in return
C) Make the noble work the farmer’s land for a week
✅ Best answer: C — It’s creative, restorative, and addresses class imbalance without total violence.
🔹 500 pts (Double or Nothing)
Law: A man is killed for stealing from the king’s temple.
Q: Which idea BEST explains why the punishment was so harsh?
A) To scare people into behaving
B) Because stealing is always the worst crime
C) To protect sacred and royal spaces
✅ Best answer: C — connects to theocracy & royal power
🔹 500 pts (Double or Nothing)
Law: If a woman becomes widowed and has no sons, her husband’s property goes to her.
Q: What does this law suggest about women’s status?
A) They were completely equal to men
B) They had some protection, depending on family
C) They had power over everyone
✅ Best answer: B — They had limited rights tied to family and class, a nuanced response that provokes rich discussion
🔹 500 pts (Double or Nothing)
Scenario:
A woman accuses a man of cheating her in a trade deal. There are no witnesses.
Q: As Hammurabi, what do you do?
A) Assume the man is guilty and punish him
B) Hold a public trial and let others vote
C) Write a new law that includes punishment for lying or cheating in trade
✅ Best answer: C — It shows growth of the legal code, and invites students to create law, not just react.