Hammurabi's Code
- First major set of written laws
- Harsh code of law in Babylon (in Mesopotamia)
- Created by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon
- Had harsh punishments for offenders
- Different punishments for members of different social classes
- Lex Talionis = Law of Retaliation (for example, "an eye for an eye")
- Benefitted the people of the Babylonian civilization:
- Emphasized human rights and the protection and security of citizens of Babylon
- Established rules and regulations to govern a society in a just manner
- Laid out how people were supposed to live and the consequences for straying from that path
Ten Commandments
- Set of moral laws for the Hebrews
- Laid the basis for Hebrew religious traditions
Twelve Tables
- Laws of the Roman Republic
- Could be described as the Constitution of the Roman Republic
- Featured the idea of "innocent until proven guilty"
Justinian's Code
- Old Roman laws were collected by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian into Justinian's Code
- Byzantine law code
- Justinian codified old Roman laws into Justinian's Code, which united all laws under one code to better fit Byzantine society
- Provided the framework for western law today
- Preserved the core of Roman and Byzantine law for all time
Common Law in England
- Instituted by King Henry II of England
- Created a national law in England, ending the practice of each area in England using different local laws
- Trials were held in front of a jury
- Itinerant judges (traveling judges) went around England making rulings and judgements based on this common law
- Legal decisions were based on precedent (previously made court rulings)
The Magna Carta
- The Magna Carta = "The Great Charter"
- Granted rights to nobles
- Limited the power of the English King
- First English document to limit the power of a ruler
- King John of England was forced the sign the Magna Carta by his nobles
The Edict of Milan
- Roman edict
- Made by Emperor Constantine
- Made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire
- Ended persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
- Allowed everyone in the Roman Empire to practice whatever religion they wanted
The open and free exercise of their respective religions is granted to all others, as well as to the Christians. For it befits the well-ordered state and the tranquillity of our times that each individual be allowed, according to his own choice, to worship the Divinity. - Edict of Milan
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