Process & Resources

Your teacher will assign you a role in Babylonian society: scribe, student learning to be a scribe, farmer, soldier, craftsperson, merchant, upper class wife, free wife, astronomer, or a medical practitioner. Then you will meet with others who have the same role and discuss the task of this WebQuest.

As a group, review Chapter 3, "Ancient Mesopotamia" and Chapter 4, "Early Empires" to find information about daily life in Mesopotamia and Hammurabi's Code that you can apply to your role. Include the following materials in your review:

Audio Material
Starting with a Story: The Long Dry Spell
Starting with a Story: Day of Misfortune

Maps
Mesopotamia, 2400 B.C.
Fertile Crescent, 2400–1600 B.C.

Click on Babylonians and the Code of Hammurabi to get to your resources and worksheet.

Babylonians and the Code of Hammurabi

Research how the different people in Babylonian society lived and some of the things they might have done and experienced. Learn more about Hammurabi's Code and imagine how the code might affect your role.

Important: When researching and answering the question about how Hammurabi's Code might affect you, you may not find any laws specific to your job, but you may find laws that affect your role as a husband, wife, or child. Answer the question from this point of view.

Use the key below to research Hammurabi's Code. Each section of laws is specific to certain types of people.

Laws 1–50: merchants, farmers
Laws 51–100: farmers
Laws 101–150: merchants, wives, husbands
Laws 151–200: wives, husbands, sons, slaves, craftsmen
Laws 201–250: physicians
Laws 251–282: farmers, slaves

After your team has completed the worksheet, you will join another group of four to five students who have investigated different roles. Share with your new partners the role you play in Babylonian society and the worksheet you completed. Then, imagine that the scribe, farmer, merchant, and others meet at the center of the city, Babylon. Discuss the conversation you might have about Hammurabi's code and your daily life.

Work together to write a conversation that includes the following components:

• a conversation opener
• a reference to each character's job and life
• a discussion of why Hammurabi's Code was created and whether it is necessary
• a discussion of how each character might be affected by the new code of law
• a conclusion to the conversation and farewells

Everyone in the group will be responsible for writing at least three lines of dialogue and performing them in front of the class. Next to each line, write the initials or the name of the student who wrote that line.

After the group has finished writing the conversation, practice reading it a few times. On the day of your performance, you may want to wear costumes or bring in props to help you play your character.