Question 1

True or false: Hammurabi claimed his laws were given to him by the sun god Shamash.

Accepted Answer

True. The stele shows Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the god of justice, to legitimize his rule.

Question 2

True or false: Hammurabi was the king who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Accepted Answer

False. The Hanging Gardens are traditionally associated with Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled centuries after Hammurabi.

Question 3

True or false: Hammurabi unified all of Mesopotamia under one empire during his reign.

Accepted Answer

False. He conquered much of Mesopotamia but never controlled the entire region; his empire later fragmented.

Question 4

True or false: Hammurabi's code was the first known legal system to include a presumption of innocence.

Accepted Answer

False. The code focused on strict retaliation and burden of proof on the accused; presumption of innocence emerged much later in Roman law.

Question 5

True or false: Hammurabi’s laws were the first to introduce the concept of 'an eye for an eye' justice.

Accepted Answer

False. Similar retributive justice existed in earlier Sumerian codes; Hammurabi popularized but didn't invent it.

Question 6

True or false: The Code of Hammurabi included laws about beer prices and tavern keepers.

Accepted Answer

True. Yes, it regulated beer quality and prices—tavern keepers could be executed for serving bad beer.

Question 7

True or false: Hammurabi’s code was carved on a stone stele that was discovered in 1901 in modern-day Iran.

Accepted Answer

True. French archaeologists found the stele at Susa, where it had been taken as war booty by Elamites.

Question 8

True or false: Hammurabi’s code contained laws about adoption and divorce, protecting women’s rights.

Accepted Answer

True. It allowed women to own property and seek divorce, though with strict conditions favoring men overall.

Hammurabi Trivia Questions