Lesson 15 of 73 in this sequence

21%

Not completed yet

Saved on this device only — not synced to an account yet.

Learning path

Step 15 of 73

Continue the sequence

ResumeReturn to this step ReviewRevisit the core idea RemediateGet repair practice Next stepChoose the next lesson manually

Completion

Review objectives and instruction
Complete the activity with manual learner confirmation
Answer every understanding-check item
Show completion feedback and reward only after the learner finishes the check

Progress

Step 15/73
15 content types
AI help source context available
Auto-advance blocked

Review objectives and instruction

AI help

Available only with source grounding, privacy limits, age controls, and measurement.

AI source context

Hammurabi's Code: Ancient Babylon's First Written Laws · learn · history · en

Evidence: local lesson AI-help metadata only; source-grounding, privacy, age-safety, and measurement hooks do not prove real model quality, production telemetry, child AI approval, or AI tutor production readiness

Production AI readiness not claimed

AI source context

Assessment shape

Local lesson assessment shape is complete.

Local shape only; production answer-attempt telemetry, live ownership/RLS evidence, mastery interpretation, release, and production readiness are not claimed here.

Objectives: 4
Activity: Prompt ready
Quiz items: 2 items, 2 answer keys, 2 explanations
Reward: Completion reward ready

Assessment progress stays manual: do not auto-advance through uncertain answers, failed writes, consent, media, payment, learner choice, or AI-assisted checks.

Learning-loop evidence: Content-map contract only; persistence and production learner-progress writes require route/API evidence.

Manual policy: assessment, media, consent, payment, learner choice, failed writes, and AI-uncertain help stay under learner control.

Prerequisite: Complete or review Great Fire of London, 1666

AI guardrails

Privacy

Do not send raw child free text without consent
Use source excerpts and non-identifying progress state only
Asset is not registry-gated

Age safety

Apply learn audience controls before AI-help claims
Keep child learner AI paths behind guardian/product review evidence before readiness claims

Measurement

Log AI help usage by surface and asset slug
Evaluate answer quality against source-grounded rubric before production-readiness claims
Tie remediation prompts to completion, retry, or review outcomes

Local AI-help guardrails only; they do not prove guardian approval, production telemetry, model evaluation, release, deployment, or AI tutor production readiness.

Source and rights

Source path: koydo-app/scripts/curriculum-authoring
License: ai-generated-koydo
Attribution: Attribution decision needs owner review
AI provenance: claude-opus-4-8

Source review gates: attribution_missing

Local source evidence only; this does not prove publication rights, attribution approval, AI provenance clearance, release, deployment, or production readiness.

Route review

Current route: /library/learn/history
Route source: Authored canonical route
Candidate route: No candidate route

Local route evidence only; fallback candidates need owner-approved canonical route policy before route writes, production discoverability, or readiness claims.

lessonslessonslesson objectivesmedia scenesdrillspractice setsquizzesfeedbackcharacterscitationsconcept mapsprogressresumereviewremediationnext steps

Hammurabi's Code: Ancient Babylon's First Written Laws

with Scribe

The scribe Enu crouches at the base of a tall black stone pillar in a busy Babylonian marketplace, his reed stylus tracing cuneiform symbols as he reads the carved laws aloud to a small crowd of merchants and farmers gathered around him.

Explain why King Hammurabi created a written law code for Babylon around 1754 BCE.
Identify at least two specific laws from Hammurabi's Code and their consequences.
Describe how punishments in the Code differed depending on a person's social rank.
Compare the idea of written laws in ancient Babylon to how rules work in communities today.

Key terms

law code: An organized, written collection of laws that applies to everyone in a society
stele: A tall stone pillar carved with writing or images, often set up in a public place
lex talionis: The 'eye for an eye' principle that a punishment should match the harm that was done
social class: A group people belong to based on rank, such as noble, free person, or slave

One Code for a Kingdom

Before Hammurabi, each Babylonian city followed its own customs, and the powerful often decided disputes as they pleased. By carving nearly 300 laws onto a public stele, Hammurabi created a single written standard that merchants, farmers, and builders could all see and know in advance. Publicly written law was a major step toward predictable, shared rules across a whole kingdom.

Justice Tied to Rank

Many laws followed 'an eye for an eye,' but the penalty depended heavily on social class. Harming a noble brought a harsher punishment than harming a free commoner or a slave. This was structured justice, not the equal justice we expect today. Reading the Code carefully shows that its idea of fairness was built around a person's rank in society.

Worked examples

Was Hammurabi's Code equal justice for all?

State the claim to test: that the Code treated everyone the same.
Examine the evidence: penalties changed depending on whether the victim was a noble, commoner, or slave.
Compare cases: harming a noble was punished more harshly than harming a slave.
Judge the claim: differing penalties by rank means the Code was class-based, not equal.

Answer: No. The Code applied different punishments based on social class, so it was structured justice rather than equal justice.

"Lean in close," says Enu the scribe, tapping the towering black stele with his reed stylus. "This is the Code of Hammurabi — nearly 300 laws carved into stone by order of King Hammurabi of Babylon around 1754 BCE. Before this code, each city set its own rules, and disputes were settled however the powerful decided. Hammurabi wanted one set of written laws across his whole kingdom so that merchants, farmers, and builders all knew what was expected of them. The code covered trade deals, property, wages, and punishments for harm. Many laws followed the idea of 'an eye for an eye' — if you caused harm, you received the same harm in return. But here is something important to notice: the punishment often depended on your rank in society. A noble who harmed a noble faced harsher penalties than a noble who harmed a slave. This was not what we call equal justice today — it was structured justice, tied to social class. If you feel unsure about a law, try reading it as two parts: what the person DID, and what CONSEQUENCE followed. That structure will help you match them."

Activity

Drag each action on the left to its correct consequence from Hammurabi's Code on the right.

Practice

Explain why carving the laws on a public stele was important to Hammurabi's goal.

Describe how a person's social class could change their punishment under the Code.

Common mistakes to avoid

Hammurabi's Code gave everyone equal punishment.Punishments differed by social class, so the Code was class-stratified rather than equal for all.

Check your understanding

Why did King Hammurabi have nearly 300 laws carved onto a large stone pillar?

A noble and a slave both commit the same offense in Hammurabi's Code. What does the Code say about their punishments?

Recap

Hammurabi's Code was one of the earliest written law codes, carved publicly on a stele around 1754 BCE so all Babylonians knew the rules, though its punishments followed 'an eye for an eye' and varied by social class.

Reflect

How is the idea of laws being written down and public still important to us today?