Legal Codes Through History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ur

Ur-Nammu was the first governor and later king of Ur, and creator of a dynasty that lasted 100 years. The code covers capital punishment and monetary fines. Capital punishment is applied to offences such as murder, rape and adultery by women. Monetary fines, paid in silver, were imposed for minor offences like knocking out teeth or gouging an eye of another person.

Answer: Cuneiform

Hammurabi was a king of Babylon from 1792 to 1750 BC. The Code was written in Cuneiform. Laws that resulted in the death sentence were, amongst others, breaking into a house to steal, false accusation of a fellow man, stealing the property from a temple or receiving stolen temple goods and kidnapping. Laws imposing monetary fines include felling trees without the owner's permission, storing corn in another man's house, gouging an eye or knocking out teeth from a fellow man and payments for the hiring of carts and oxen.

Answer: Hittites

It is not clear who the author of the document is, but he must have been a person in authority who would have been able to enact this set of Laws. The death penalty is applied sparingly and mainly for taking other people's lives. Emphasis is placed on monetary compensation for other offences like bodily harm, stealing, arson and the mis-treatment of slaves.

Answer: Assyria

The code was in force around 1075 BC. The code is very strict and punishments include the removal of fingers, hands, noses and lips. One striking example is that a woman's fingers will be removed if she injures the testicles of a man.

Answer: Torah

The Torah or Pentateuch comprises the first five books of the Old Testament. As well as recording the early history of the Jewish people, it comprises a mixture of religious obligations and civil law. We normally associate Moses with the Ten Commandments but that is just the beginning of one's obligations towards God and society.

Answer: Draco

The Draconian Constitution/Law was the first written Athenian laws. Most of the offences carried the death penalty. The laws were so harsh that it is said that they were written in blood.

Answer: Crete

Gortyn or Gortyna is located in the central plain of Crete, Mesara, and towards the South of the island. The law code of Gortyn was implemented around the year 450 BC. It covers things like legal actions, rape, adultery, divorce, inheritance, relations between free people and slaves and adoption. Most offences were punished by monetary fines.

Answer: 12

The 12 tables of Roman law appeared around 450 BC. This is the earliest written evidence of Roman legislation. The tables covered the procedures for courts and trials, debt, rights of fathers, legal guardianship and inheritance, acquisition and possession, land rights, laws of injury, public law and sacred law.

There are some harsh provisions like "A dreadfully deformed child shall be killed" or giving the lender the power to execute a debtor that fails to meet his obligations.

Answer: Hindu

It is also known as "Manava Dharma Shastra" and is one of the holy books of the Hindus. Gurus base their teaching on this book. The book is split into 12 chapters giving guidance to both social and religious life. It was written about 500 BC.

Answer: Justinian code

The code was compiled by order of Roman Emperor Justinian I. This work was commissioned in order to simplify the old Roman law and was carried out by a committee composed by eminent law experts. The "Corpus Juris Civils" is divided into four parts, Institutes, Pandect, Codex and the Novels. The code was developed between 529 and 565 AD.