History of Slavery and Hammurabi's Code

Vocabulary flashcards covering early historical developments of slavery and key elements of Hammurabi's Code.

Mesopotamian and Sumerian civilisation

The oldest known slave society, located in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates region between $6000$ and $2000\text{ BCE}$.

Tigris-Euphrates region

The fertile geographical area where the Mesopotamian and Sumerian civilisation, the oldest known slave society, existed between $6000$ and $2000\text{ BCE}$.

Hammurabi's Code

One of the earliest and most complete surviving Babylonian codifications of laws, consisting of $282$ laws/judgments dealing with family, property, crime, debt, and slavery.

Hammurabi

The King of Babylon during the first half of the eighteenth century $\text{BCE}$ who enacted a collection of legal judgments engraved around $1750\text{ BCE}$.

Akkadian

The language in which Hammurabi's Code was written, utilizing the cuneiform script.

Cuneiform

The script used to record Hammurabi's Code in the Akkadian language.

Shamash

The Mesopotamian god associated with justice, depicted on the stele standing before Hammurabi to demonstrate that the king's authority and laws had divine approval.

Stele (Hammurabi's Code)

A stone monument engraved around $1750\text{ BCE}$ containing $282$ legal judgments and a carved image representing royal authority and divine approval.

Enslaved people (in Hammurabi's Code)

Individuals treated under Babylonian law as part of household property and labour force who could be bought, sold, inherited, and punished, with penalties and compensation depending on social status.