Mesopotamia: City-States, Writing & Laws
Aligned to C3.D2.His.2 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
In Mesopotamia ("land between the rivers," the Tigris and Euphrates), the Sumerians built the first independent city-states, each ruled by a king and centered on a temple called a ziggurat. To track trade and grain, they invented cuneiform, the earliest known writing, and later rulers published written laws that applied to everyone.
Worked example
Around 1750 BCE, King Hammurabi of Babylon had 282 laws carved on a tall stone pillar. His principle of "an eye for an eye" set fixed, public punishments so people could know the law in advance instead of depending on a ruler's mood.
Practice questions
- What did the Sumerians use cuneiform writing for?
- Explain why writing down laws (like Hammurabi's Code) was a big change from unwritten rules.
- Hammurabi's Code punished a noble and a commoner differently for the same crime. What does that tell you about fairness and social class in Babylon?
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Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
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Mesopotamia: Ciudades-Estado, Escritura y Leyes
En Mesopotamia ("tierra entre rios", el Tigris y el Eufrates), los sumerios construyeron las primeras ciudades-estado independientes, cada una gobernada por un rey y centrada en un templo llamado zigurat. Para registrar el comercio y el grano, inventaron la escritura cuneiforme, la mas antigua que se conoce, y gobernantes posteriores publicaron leyes escritas que se aplicaban a todos.
Ejemplo: Hacia el ano 1750 a.C., el rey Hammurabi de Babilonia mando grabar 282 leyes en una alta columna de piedra. Su principio de "ojo por ojo" establecio castigos fijos y publicos, para que la gente conociera la ley de antemano en lugar de depender del humor de un gobernante.
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