define the lower class in the Mesopotamian Civilization
Answers
Mesopotamia is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq, Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish–Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders.
The Sumerians and Akkadians. dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire.
Answer:
Daily life in ancient Mesopotamia cannot be described in the same way one would describe life in ancient Rome or Greece. Mesopotamia was never a single, unified civilization, not even under the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great. Generally speaking, though, from the rise of the cities in c. 4500 BCE to the downfall of Sumer in 1750 BCE, the people of the regions of Mesopotamia did live their lives in similar ways. The civilizations of Mesopotamia placed a great value on the written word. Once writing was invented, c. 3500-3000 BCE, the scribes seem almost obsessed with recording every facet of their cities lives and, because of this, archaeologists and scholars in the present day have a fairly clear understanding of how the people lived and worked. The American author Thornton Wilder once wrote, “Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about `em is the names of the kings and some copies of wheat contracts and the sales of slaves” (Our Town). Wilder was writing fiction, of course, not history, and there was much about Mesopotamian history still unknown at the time he wrote his play; still he was wrong about what the modern world, even the world of his day, knew about the people of Mesopotamia. We actually know a good deal more than just the names of kings and the sales of slaves.
Explanation:
The population of ancient Mesopotamian cities varied greatly. In c. 2300 BCE Uruk had a population of 50,000 while Mari, to the north, had 10,000 and Akkad 36,000 (Modelski, 6). The populations of these cities were divided into social classes which, like societies in every civilization throughout history, were hierarchical. These classes were: The King and Nobility, The Priests and Priestesses, The Upper Class, the Lower Class, and The Slaves.
Sumerian Votive Plaque
Sumerian Votive Plaque
by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA)
The king of a city, region, or empire was thought to have a special relationship with the gods and to be an intermediary between the world of the divine and the earthly realm. The depth of a king’s relationship with his gods, and the god’s pleasure with his rule, was gauged by the success of the territory he ruled over. A great king would enlarge his kingdom and make the land prosperous and, by doing so, show that the gods favored him. Although many of the regions of Mesopotamia rebelled repeatedly against the rule of Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BCE) and the dynasty he founded, he still became a legendary figure because of his successful military conquests and the expanse of his empire. These accomplishments would have meant that, however an individual human being or community felt about Sargon’s rule, he was favored by the gods he served (in his case, Inanna).
The priests and priestesses presided over the sacred aspects of daily life and officiated at religious services. They were literate and considered adept at interpreting signs and omens. They also served as healers. The first doctors and dentists of Mesopotamia were priestesses who attended to people in the outer court of the temple. Among the most famous priestesses was Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE), daughter of Sargon of Akkad, who served as High Priestess at Ur and is also the world’s first author known by name. Enheduanna would not have served as a healer; her day would have been spent in taking care of the business of the temple and that of the surrounding complex, as well as officiating at ceremonies.
EVERY TEACHER WAS A SCRIBE, & ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES TAUGHT IN EVERY MESOPOTAMIAN SCHOOL WAS WRITING.