social life of Mesopotamia
Answers
Most Mesopotamian commoners, whether in the city or countryside, owned small plots of land, sometimes as individuals, but more often as part of their family or clan. Clans and extended families owned land and all members of the family worked that land, at least in the countryside. Even city dwellers might own a small bit of land for a garden.
Besides farming, Mesopotamian commoners were carters, brick makers, carpenters, fishermen, soldiers, tradesmen, bakers, stone carvers, potters, weavers and leather workers. Nobles were involved in administration and a city’s bureaucracy and didn’t often work with their hands.
A day’s work began early for Mesopotamian commoners. Women were up and making the morning meal by sunrise. Breakfast was simple but filling: a barley or wheat porridge flavored with onions and garlic or fruit, bread and beer. Beer was the favorite Mesopotamian beverage even among the wealthy, who could afford wine.
Mesopotamian commoners’ houses were one or two stories, made of mud bricks with rooms around an open courtyard. The walls were plastered and whitewashed both inside and out to help reflect the heat. Roofs were flat, and families slept on the roof when it was hot.
Because of the hot climate, dress was simple. Men either wore a kilt-like skirt which reached to their ankles or a long robe. They were either clean-shaven or had long beards. Women wore long robes draped to leave the right shoulder bare. They wore their hair braided, then put it up in fashionable hair dos. They often wore elaborate headdresses and ribbons. Poorer people could only afford wool for their cloth; the wealthier wore linen, a much lighter fabric in hot weather.
Once the day was over, families congregated for the evening meal, which could be a meat and vegetable stew, or roasted meats such as mutton, lamb, duck or pork served with vegetables, fruit, bread and beer. Cakes were eaten on special occasions, sweetened with honey. Families enjoyed singing and story-telling after dinner.
While free commoners held no religious or political power, they could move up the social ladder through marriage or enterprise. Some Mesopotamian commoners were successful enough at their trade to buy land, which they could then rent. Commoners were taxed a percentage of their labor or products. They might also be drafted into the military in times of war or to work on public buildings such as temples or palaces. Nevertheless, they often lived comfortable if not luxurious lives.
Introduction:
Some of the first cities developed in ancient Mesopotamia. Social life in many ways has not changed in 4,000 years. There were social classes with a few holding most of the wealth and power and most being poor. Girls played with dolls. Boys wrestled. Families play board games. Men and women tried to look their best, using perfumes and makeup. It sounds very familiar; wouldn’t you say?
Mesopotamia means the “land between two rivers,” primarily covering modern day Iraq. It is known as the “cradle of civilization” because the first cities were formed there. Cities made life more complicated, including a complex social life.
Social Classes
City life led to the development of classes of people with different jobs, expectations and rights.
Mesopotamia was not a society where each person was accepted as equal in society and under the law. However, some people were able to rise to a higher status by hard work, strategic marriages, political connections, and other ways.
[1] Upper Class
The leader of the community was the king. He had a special connection to the gods.
Priests also were in the upper class. They not only were in charge of religious rites, but were the first healers — the first physicians and dentists. Early on, men and women were priests, but it eventually became much more a job for men.
Other wealthy and powerful positions were scribes (few people knew how to read and write) and those with various high level governmental positions.
[2] Middle Class
A small middle class existed. It was made up of minor governmental workers, merchants, and craft workers. They played an important role in day-to-day affairs.
One sign of class status, like today, would be the type of house one lived in. The middle and lower classes lived in mud brick (good for insulation, keeping homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter) homes with flat roofs where people would sleep during hot, long summers.
The upper classes had more elaborate homes, often two or three stories high.
[3] Lower Class
Lower classes were made up of such people as labourers, farmers, soldiers, and sailors.
The lower classes, the so-called “commoners,” were an important part of a thriving community. They were taxed a part of their labour and goods, for example paying with a portion of their crops. They also were occasionally required to help with public work projects and to serve in the military.
The poor might not be able to afford things like wooden beds and slept on mats on the floor.
The lower class did not have a role in the governing of society, but was the largest group. Punishment for breaking the law was also different for the lower class (See Hammurabi’s Code). If the lower class was not happy, there could be trouble.
[4] Slaves
The lowest class were slaves. Mesopotamian slaves were not of any specific race or ethnicity. People could become slaves in a variety of ways: prisoners of war, payment of debts, punishment for a crime (compare: the Thirteenth Amendment), and being kidnapped to sold into slavery.
They often had the hardest job, such as building roads and temples. There were some more educated slaves who taught or did jobs such as jewellery making and accounting. Slaves could also have special responsibilities, such as running a household. They had diverse roles.
Both men and women were slaves. Slaves sometimes were able to work for their freedom.
Women
Only men were expected to go to school, though there was no law against women learning how to read and write. Girls stayed home and helped their mothers. Girl play, including with dolls, prepared them for their adult lives.
Shortly after puberty, a girl’s father arranged a marriage for her. Women were expected to do the household tasks such as raising children, cleaning, cooking and weaving.
Women, unlike many communities at the time, did have various rights. They were allowed to leave their houses and go to the market, own property, and divorce their husbands in cases of abuse or adultery. Some women also took part in various businesses.
Men were allowed basically a “no fault” divorce. Men alone also were allowed to have concubines (lovers) and to go to prostitutes. Prostitution was more acceptable in Mesopotamian times than it is in our society today.
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