What place drew up a harsh government code calling for the death penalty for many offenses?

Answer 1

Answer

There is undoubtedly more than one answer to this question, since no geographical location or time frame was mentioned, but one example is the Code of Hammurabi (or Codex Hammurabi), a set of 282 laws and penalties devised by the Babylonian King, Hammurabi, in approximately 1700 BCE.* Twenty-five of Hammurabi's laws carried death penalty specifications.

Only one complete example of the codex remains today. It was discovered by Egyptian archeologist Gustav Jéquier in Iran (formerly Susa, Elam), in 1901, and is on display at the Louvre, in Paris.


* According to historian Peter James, author of Centuries of Darkness, scholars disagree about date Codex Hammurabi was written, with estimates spanning a period of approximately 250 years.

"Pinches dates Hammurabi c. 2000 BC. Van De Mieroop dates him c. 1800 BC. Other suggestions based on shorter chronology suggest c. 1700 BC. Based on king lists Hammurabi son of Sin-mubalit son of Abil-Sin belonged to the First Babylonian Dynasty.

Following traditional dating we have the following (approximate) claims

• 1750 BC in traditional Egyptian chronology corresponds to the 12th and 13th Egyptians dynasties
  
  
• The first Babylonian dynasty ended with the fall of Babylon
  
  
• The fall of Babylon is dated c. 1500-1600 BC which corresponds to the beginning of the 18th Egyptian dynasty"

The text of Codex Hammurabi has been translated from cuneiform to English. You can view a copy via Related Links, below.


Answer

Another possibility is Draco (Drakon), the 7th century BCE Greek law maker who created the first written constitution of Athens, in c. 620 BCE. Draco's written code was posted on wooden tablets around the city, so all literate people would be aware of the laws and their consequences.

Draco's laws indiscriminately punished both trivial and serious crimes with death, giving rise to the term "draconian," an adjective used to describe particularly harsh and unreasonable rules or laws.

Answer 2

Answer

There is undoubtedly more than one answer to this question, since no geographical location or time frame was mentioned, but one example is the Code of Hammurabi (or Codex Hammurabi), a set of 282 laws and penalties devised by the Babylonian King, Hammurabi, in approximately 1700 BCE.* Twenty-five of Hammurabi's laws carried death penalty specifications.

Only one complete example of the codex remains today. It was discovered by Egyptian archeologist Gustav Jéquier in Iran (formerly Susa, Elam), in 1901, and is on display at the Louvre, in Paris.


* According to historian Peter James, author of Centuries of Darkness, scholars disagree about date Codex Hammurabi was written, with estimates spanning a period of approximately 250 years.

"Pinches dates Hammurabi c. 2000 BC. Van De Mieroop dates him c. 1800 BC. Other suggestions based on shorter chronology suggest c. 1700 BC. Based on king lists Hammurabi son of Sin-mubalit son of Abil-Sin belonged to the First Babylonian Dynasty.

Following traditional dating we have the following (approximate) claims

• 1750 BC in traditional Egyptian chronology corresponds to the 12th and 13th Egyptians dynasties
  
  
• The first Babylonian dynasty ended with the fall of Babylon
  
  
• The fall of Babylon is dated c. 1500-1600 BC which corresponds to the beginning of the 18th Egyptian dynasty"

The text of Codex Hammurabi has been translated from cuneiform to English. You can view a copy via Related Links, below.


Answer

Another possibility is Draco (Drakon), the 7th century BCE Greek law maker who created the first written constitution of Athens, in c. 620 BCE. Draco's written code was posted on wooden tablets around the city, so all literate people would be aware of the laws and their consequences.

Draco's laws indiscriminately punished both trivial and serious crimes with death, giving rise to the term "draconian," an adjective used to describe particularly harsh and unreasonable rules or laws.

Answer 3

Lots, but I suspect you're thinking of Athens under the rule of Draco. According to Plutarch, his reasoning was that he felt the lesser offenses deserved death, and unfortunately for the important ones he had no greater punishment to hand out.

Answer 4

solon

Answer 5

draco