The Code of Hammurabi
{photo by Fritz Grögel via flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0}
This week’s mix-ins include links about the ancient kingdom of Babylon and it’s famous ruler Hammurabi. Use your own parental discretion with the following optional videos and activities, and enjoy if you have time!
VIDEOS:
Time Warp Trio: The Seven Blunders of the World – In this animated time-traveling tv series for kids, the characters warp to ancient Babylon:
Who Built The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? – A fascinating clip from a PBS documentary:
Here’s another clip from the same documentary: Archimedes' Screw and Hanging Gardens of Babylon:
The full documentary, The Lost Gardens of Babylon, can be found here.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Gardens of Babylon, Part 1 – This is one segment of a BBC documentary on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Below is Part 1, and here is Part 2.
Here’s the full documentary on The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:
Ancient Babylon: The Bible's Buried Secrets – Here’s another full-length documentary, this time from the History Channel:
Writing Cuneiform – From the Getty Museum, here's a quick demonstration of someone writing in cuneiform:
The Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi – This is a 3-1/2 minute video of art historians talking about one of the most famous objects on display in the Louvre, Paris:
For those kids who like to build in Minecraft, perhaps this video showing someone’s creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon will be inspiring:
WEBSITES:
ABCs of Mesopotamia – An interactive Prezi presentation.
Learn about the Astronomers of Babylon and Trade in Ancient Babylon.
See some of the problems Hammurabi faced, or If you really want to read his entire code, here it is: Hammurabi’s Code of Laws.
Hammurabi Game – A “classic game of strategy and resource allocation.”
Seven Wonders-Get Clued In – from PBS
Ancient Mesopotamian Activities
Hanging Gardens of Babylon craft
Ancient Babylon online word search
