Hammurabi's Code
This ancient Mesopotamian king is famous for creating one of the world’s oldest written law codes.
Who is Hammurabi?
This international organization adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
What is the United Nations?
This word describes a system where people or things are ranked from highest to lowest, like levels on a ladder.
What is a hierarchy?
This empire, led by Sargon the Great, is considered the first empire in world history.
What is the Akkadian Empire?
Issued in A.D. 313, the Edict of Milan made this religion legal in the Roman Empire.
What is Christianity?
Hammurabi’s Code was carved into this tall, stone monument so everyone could read the laws.
What is a stele?
The UDHR states that all people are born with these, which cannot be taken away.
What are human rights?
When everyone follows the same rules, measurements, or procedures so things match or work together, this process is happening.
What is standardization?
This Mesopotamian empire is famous for its king Hammurabi, who created one of the world’s earliest written law codes.
What is the Babylonian Empire?
This Roman emperor, who later converted to Christianity, helped issue the Edict of Milan.
Who is Constantine?
This short phrase, often linked to Hammurabi’s Code, describes its principle of equal punishment, such as “an eye for an eye.”
What is “lex talionis” or the law of retaliation?
This former First Lady of the United States chaired the committee that drafted the UDHR.
Who is Eleanor Roosevelt?
Hammurabi did this when he wrote laws down so everyone could see them—turning rules into an organized written system.
What is codification?
Known for its strong army and advanced iron weapons, this empire ruled Mesopotamia with strict control from its capital at Nineveh.
What is the Assyrian Empire?
Instead of forcing people to follow one religion, the Edict of Milan guaranteed this right for all citizens.
What is freedom of religion?
Hammurabi’s Code helped keep order by doing this—something modern laws still do—explaining the consequences for breaking rules.
What is setting clear punishments?
(Also acceptable: “What is maintaining justice?”)
Article 19 of the UDHR protects this freedom, which allows people to share their ideas without fear.
What is freedom of expression?
This Latin phrase protects people from being jailed without being told why and without a fair chance to challenge it.
What is habeas corpus?
King Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilt Babylon and may have created the legendary Hanging Gardens during this later empire.
What is the Neo-Babylonian Empire?
The Edict of Milan required that property taken from Christians during persecutions be given back. This process is known as this.
What is restitution?
Hammurabi claimed his laws came from this Babylonian god of justice, whose image appears at the top of the Code’s stele.
Who is Shamash?
The UDHR is not a law but this type of document, meaning it sets important standards and goals for nations around the world.
What is a declaration?
hese two Latin terms describe how something might exist “in practice” versus “in law,” even if the two don’t match.
What are de facto and de jure?
This empire lasted the longest of the four Mesopotamian empires and was known for its network of roads and harsh military tactics.
What is the Assyrian Empire?
Though often credited to Constantine, this co-emperor of the eastern Roman Empire also signed the Edict of Milan.
Who is Licinius?