The Code of Hammurabi

Check my other channel Geographics:

→Subscribe for new videos every day!

Follow Simon on social media:

Never run out of things to say at the water cooler with TodayIFoundOut! Brand new videos 7 days a week!

More from TodayIFoundOut:

Has Any Passenger Ever Landed a Commercial Airliner and How Likely is it You Could?

Can Police Really Commandeer Your Vehicle Like in the Movies?

In this video:

Hammurabi was the oldest son of Sin-Muballit, and he became the sixth king of Babylon upon his father’s abdication around 1729 BC (based on the short chronology timeline).

Sources:

[TodayIFoundOut]

Have you checked out my latest channel Business Blaze? It's interesting business stories with a dose of ridiculousness thrown in. Check it out here: 

[martijnvanweele]

*Solon:* "Here, I have made these laws. I want everyone to abide by them and nobody can change them but me. Now I am going to leave the city for 10 years. Good luck with that."
*Athenian:* "But Solon..."
*Solon:* "Solon, suckers."

[MurdocsMinion]

I remember one law from the Code of Hammurabi. For some reason I haven't been able to entirely forget it, and it occasionally just...pops up in my head sometimes, for no reason.

"If a child dies while in the care of a wetnurse, she may not feed another child until informing the parents of the dead child. If the wetnurse breaks this law, the punishment is to have her left breast cut off." Or something to that affect (its been 20 years since I read it).

[VILmonkey]

In the Professional Practice course (called Pro Practice by students) in Architecture School, we were taught that the law concerning the house you designed falling down, killing someone, and thus resulting in you being put to death is considered to be the first building code.

[darkashtar]

I remember learning about this in high school, I actually went to a high school that taught actual world history not just the Romans and the Greeks.

[Fuzzycat]

i can point your social media finger at someone and quite literally destroy their lives...this is 2020 after all.

[mikanmandarin]

The 9:59 length of this video stresses me one more second.... just one....

[tabcat]

An amusing legend about Draco: When he was meeting with his supporters, they showed their appreciation in the traditional way by throwing their capes at him. So many capes were thrown that they buried him and he suffocated.

[kimberlystratton]

There's so so much to learn how often nothing much has changed.
Thank you Simon. You're the best.

[LudvigIndestrucable]

He's really going all out after losing the dollar shave club gig

[pookywooky]

The Hammurabi Code also stated people with epilepsy (a seizure disorder) couldn’t marry, and if a slave showed signs of epilepsy within 3 months of purchase, that slave could be returned for a full refund.

[Basilisk]

I read the title of this video too quickly and thought it was titled “The Code of Harambe.”

[wesleymorris]

I've been watching Simon for years, and even though I haven't even watched this video yet, this is like my FAVORITE stuff. I can't believe that not only did I never find this, but also it took so long for YouTube to recommend it!

Love you all, Simon and team!

[MUNTraiano]

It is said that Drakon himself, when asked why he had fixed the punishment of death for most offences, answered that he considered some crimes to be worse than other but he thought these lesser crimes to deserve the death penalty, and he had no greater punishment for more important ones

[itarry]

The issue with laws like the Draco ones that demanded death for a minor theft or indeed the 3 strikes laws that are in some places, they basically make it worth the criminals time and effort to kill the person to take their fruit or whatever, especially if there are no other witnesses around, they were far more likely to get away with an unwitnessed murder than a witnessed theft. This is very much the case in ancient times when being seen committing the crime was virtually the only way for someone to be caught, obviously other than the massive corruption around at the time. Not so much these days with all the other crime detection methods but still a far more likely choice for the criminal than it would be otherwise.

I liked the fact the laws of Hammurabi were harsher for the rich than the poor as was sometimes the case, or at least in theory and according to the law. I'm sure things were quite different in reality and the rich would st0get away with much the poor would be convicted of.

[shelleynobleart]

Writing so good here. Such an excellent way to describe how this code was the cutting edge social technology of its time.

[willmatheson]

Going back to the wife who was accused but not caught, she doesn't necessarily drown in this scenario. Apparently, "if a woman’s husband accused her of adultery she may in the presence of a priest swear to her innocence and then return home, but if someone else was to accuse her she was to swear before the gods to her innocence and then jump in the river. If she drowned it was a sign of guilt; if she survived it meant the at the river spirits knew of her virtue and saved her.
" Although this might just be someone's undergrad paper I'm linking to!

[vernicethompson]

Thank you for this video, reminding everyone about Hammurabi and the first known Law Code.

[alansmithy]

Wait so if a slave had both ears removed and still insists he has no master, what then? Im betting its not being set free.

[sno]

I saw the title and flinched because this is what we're learning about in grade 11 history right now