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ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Circa 4000 B.C.E. people began moving in large numbers into the
river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia. This is considered by historians to
be the beginning of civilization and urban society in the Western World.
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Gradually new technologies like the invention of writing, the calendar and
the wheel were introduced, and out of this civilization came our foundations
for law codes, religious rituals, astronomy, mathematics, literature, and
culture in general. Today this area is composed of the modern countries of
Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. Why did civilization
occur here in Mesopotamia? Located between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, this land is part of the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia is Greek for
the land between the rivers. Torrential spring showers came too late to
water the main crops that were harvested in April, so irrigation and manmade canals were necessary. The unpredictable flooding of the rivers
brought fertile soil to the area where rocks and trees were not hindrances to
the production of crops. Thus, the productivity of Mesopotamian agriculture
was extremely high compared to other areas as the soil was so fertile that it
could be farmed for generations without the need to lay fallow like in
Europe. Over the centuries even longer canals were built to channel water
to distant fields. Both the government and wealthy people invested in canal
building and maintenance.
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The Egyptians also claim their culture was the earliest, but where they originally settled was in the Nile Delta and
that region has not been excavated as that is where so many Egyptians live today.
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Civilization Began in Sumer
Historians relate that the earliest civilization in this area of
Mesopotamia was in the southern part in the area called Sumer. It was the
Sumerians that are given so much credit for their early inventions, including
the writing. Their language was neither Semitic nor Indo-European. It is
thought that perhaps they came originally from the Caspian Sea area.
As
they had a surplus of grain far beyond their daily needs, it gave them time
to develop new skills and inventions. Now there were artisans, traders,
priests, scribes, and merchants that were sustained by the efforts of the
farmers.
The system of government that emerged went through the normal
process of developing civilizations: first clans or tribes, then villages, then
cities or towns, and finally city-states. Many scholars believe that cities
grew from pilgrimage sites where shrines or temples were located. Even
today there are small shrines in Iraq. Over time these city-states were ruled
by a priest/king, in what is called a theocracy. Sumer’s kings established
theories of justice, raised armies, and built a network of global trade. By
about 2500 B.C.E. the combined population of a dozen or so cities was
approximately 500,000 people and about four-fifths of them lived in the
cities.
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The Rise of City-States
Uruk in today’s Iraq was the first known city-state, and became the
prototype for others in the ancient world.2
By 2700 B.C.E. Uruk included
seventy-six outlying villages, and the city itself covered more than one
thousand acres, and housed nearly 50,000 people. The earliest evidence for
writing was discovered here, and its six miles of walls were built by the
semi-legendary king, Gilgamesh.3 Ur was another great metropolis of the
third millennium b.c.e. Near the center of the city was a temple or ziggurat
complex dedicated to the Moon God Nanna and his wife the goddess Ningal.4
This ziggurat acted as a beacon from as far as twenty miles way, and a
peasant could see this and be assured of the gods’ protection.
War and the Development of Rulers
One of the endemic problems in this region of Mesopotamia was war.
It was partly due to geography as there were no prohibitive natural barriers
to invaders from the East and West. Probably more important, during the
earliest of times of development was the conflict between the Sumerian citystates where expanded city boundaries led to quarrels over territory and
over diversion of waters from the rivers for irrigation. Every new canal
upstream lessened the amount of water downriver.5 Perennial hostilities
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It is known in the Bible as Erech
More on him later when we discuss the Epic of Gilgamesh
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It is still standing and was partially refurbished with new bricks stamped with Saddam Hussein name on them.
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A problem even today in the Middle East
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even occurred over the transformation of the structure of government.
Councils of aristocratic elders originally were the leaders, and in times of
crisis such as war, a single leader was appointed. As the peace intervals
shortened this lugal or leader stayed in power longer, and inevitably his
military authority extended to all phases of government. The word lugal
came to mean king, as over time a lugal would appoint his successor,
introducing the concept of dynasties. This increased power of the kings
grew to rival the various power of the priests in the temple sites devoted to
the numerous deities. In time the king became the deity’s earthly
representative, a “divine right” ruler. Rituals instituted by the priesthood
sanctified the king and increased the power of the priests. The most
important festival occurred on New Year’s Day, when the King ascended in a
solemn procession to the top of a city’s principal ziggurat6. Here is where
the symbolic marriage was performed uniting him as a substitute for the god
to a priestess who represented the Goddess of fertility, Inanna.7
Bureaucracies were added to handle the increased civic activities such as
inspectors, tax collectors, and scribes.
Development of Writing
One of the most important inventions for the world occurred in Sumer.
This was writing. As early as 3300 B.C.E. numerical notation tablets were
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New Year’s Day in ancient times was celebrated usually in March when the lunar calendar began
Many scholars of women’s history consider Inanna one of the original creation deities, and as the languages
change she becomes Ishtar, Astarte, and Asherah.
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invented, and when the earliest writing was discovered in Uruk it was
already highly complex. It is thought that it was invented by merchants to
keep track of their transactions, and then the priesthood utilized this.
Initially pictographs, symbols changed from concrete representation to
abstraction. Next scribes experimented with phonetic symbols, and six
hundred characters stood for sounds and ideas rather than objects. By 2500
B.C.E. the reed point they used had taken on a triangular shape that was
pushed easily into wet clay, leaving a wedge-shape impression. Much later
it was given the name cuneiform from the Latin for wedge-shaped.
Akkadian Invasion & Conquest of Sumer
The next important development in Mesopotamian history was the
invasion and conquest of Sumer by the Akkadian king, Sargon the Great,
born about 2335 B.C.E. Ancient mythology relates how Sargon was
illegitimate and placed in a reed basket in the Euphrates River.8 This was
the first time all of Mesopotamia was united under a single ruler. Sargon
established his new capital at Agade, but the site today remains unknown.
The dynasty of Sargon’s lasted less than a century due to internal and
external conflict. Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon, is now given credit
for being the first known writer by name in world history. Her prayers and
hymns to the goddess Inanna have been translated into modern English.
Enheduanna had many responsibilities, including being chief priestess to
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Compare this to the story in the Bible one thousand years later of Moses
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Nanna, and the substitute ruler for her father when he was away
conquering.
Epic of Gilgamesh
The world’s oldest surviving epic was told and eventually written down
during these times, The Epic of Gilgamesh. A cuneiform tablet dates from
2000 B.C.E., but it is thought by scholars that Gilgamesh was a real
historical figure, a Sumerian king that may have ruled circa 2600 B.C.E.
Like Homer’s Odysseus, Gilgamesh wanders the earth, fighting battles, and
sexually abusing women. Gilgamesh’s main goal seems to be the
achievement of immortality. Given to Gilgamesh by the Goddess Ishtar
(Inanna) was a male companion Enkidu, but Gilgamesh was to acknowledge
this gift by sleeping with Ishtar. Unfortunately Enkidu was not civilized so
he was given a harlot by Gilgamesh to lie with her for six days and seven
nights. When Enkidu came down from the hills, he was civilized, an idea
that shows women are the civilizing influence on men. When Gilgamesh
later refuses to sleep with Ishtar, she becomes extremely angry and killed
Enkidu.9 Woefully mourning his dead friend, Gilgamesh goes in search of
the secret to immortality. He met up with an old man and his wife who were
just getting off their ark or boat after being saved by the gods who had
determined to destroy the world by a flood. This couple informed Gilgamesh
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This story relates back to the sacred marriage rite when after the male ruler lay with the priestess who
represented the goddess on New Year’s Day, he was killed. Gilgamesh did not want this fate.
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that immortality was unobtainable for him, but gave him the distant location
of a plant capable of restoring lost youth. Unfortunately, after finding the
plant, Gilgamesh left it unguarded while asleep and a snake stole and ate it.
Gilgamesh finally realizes that he should enjoy each day as it comes without
worrying about tomorrow. Be kind to your family and those you rule. The
moral of this epic is really the search for the meaning of life.
Other Notable early inventions
Some of the other notable inventions of ancient Mesopotamia were the
lunar calendar, sexagesimal system, and the invention of the wheel. While
many historians think that women gatherers in the prehistoric times
invented the calendar as they have a natural one in their body, others say
that it was invented during these times. It was a crucial invention
nonetheless as planting and harvesting needed to be done at the proper
times. It was the ancient Egyptians who developed the more accurate solar
calendar. Developing the sexagesimal system occurred circa 2000-1600
B.C.E. This is the use of the number sixty, where there are twenty-four
hours and each hour has sixty minutes, and each minute has sixty seconds.
Inventing the wheel probably from a potter’s wheel was another impressive
invention for the Sumerians. An ox or donkey hitched to a wheeled court
could pull three times the load an animal could cart on its back.
Code of Hammurabi
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The next important invention of the ancient Mesopotamians was
accomplished by the Old Babylonians or Akkadians, who conquered the
Sumerians. Hammurabi, the most important king of these people reigned
for forty-two years circa 1792-1750 B.C.E. He built and established his
capital at Babylon (now in ruins). His most famous legacy is undoubtedly
the Code of Hammurabi. There were law codes before Hammurabi, like UrNammu, ruler of Ur in the twenty-first century B.C.E. His laws prescribed
fines instead of corporal punishment or mutilation for inflicting a physical
injury, whereas Hammurabi’s code inflicted such penalties as mutilation,
whipping, burning, and drowning. Despite the severity of the Code of
Hammurabi, there is a spirit of justice and a sense of responsibility
pervading it. The Code has two main characteristics. The first is that the
law differed according to the social status of the offender. Aristocrats were
not punished as harshly as commoners, nor commoners as harshly as
slaves. The second tenet is that the code demanded punishment to fit the
crime, hence the famous saying “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” This,
though, only applied among equals. An aristocrat who destroyed a
commoner’s eye or a slave’s eye could pay a fine and not lose his own eye.
As long as the criminal and victim shared the same social status, the victim
could demand exact vengeance. As there were no public prosecutors or
district attorneys, people brought their own complaints before the court.
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Another important concept was that merchants and businessmen were to
guarantee the quality of their goods and services. Consumer protection or
buyer beware are not just modern ideas. House builders guaranteed their
work with their lives. Careless work could result in the collapse of the
house, and the death of its inhabitants. If that happened, the builder was
put to death. If the son of the house owner died, then the builder’s son was
killed. Agriculture issues and marriage and divorce laws were dealt with
extensively. Anyone who neglected the irrigation canals that resulted in
damaged crops had to bear all the expenses of the lost crops, and those who
could not pay were forced into slavery. If a female was raped in the city,
then it was her fault as she should have cried for help, but if she was raped
in the hills, then she was not guilty as no one would be able to hear her cry
out. When she was declared guilty she was killed.
Structure and Social Customs of Mesopotamia Society
The structure of ancient Mesopotamian society was pyramidal in
shape. During the third millennium three distinct classes emerged:
aristocracy or patrician, middle group or commoners or plebeians, and the
slaves. Within the aristocracy were the king, government officials, most
prominent priests, and the wealthiest merchants and landowners. Within
the middle group, which were the majority of the ancient Sumerians were
free citizens such as farmers, fishermen, artisans, and scribes. Slaves came
from forced bondage because of political or economic circumstances, parents
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selling their children into slavery, and a man or all the family into slavery for
debt.
Marriage and divorce customs were interesting. Polygyny was
probably an option for the wealthy, and there is even some past evidence of
polyandry, though the rulers condemned the practice. Parents arranged the
marriages. The first step was the betrothal, which was legally recognized
when the groom gave money to the bride’s father. A contract was drawn
up, specifying the duties of each spouse with even the penalties a husband
needed to pay if he decided to divorce his wife. A husband could take one or
more concubines, and divorce his wife if she was barren. The family was
patrilineal with property passing from father to son.
Role of Women
The status and various roles of women varied, but labor seems to have
been sexually divided. The most common work for women was working in
the textile industry as exports of finished cloth were a major source of
wealth in much of the area. Women from the upper classes could be
priestesses, and some were the highest official in a temple, as mentioned
earlier concerning Enheduanna. Women under Mesopotamian law could buy,
own and sell property. They could engage in business and be a witness in
court.
Religious Practices
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Ancient Sumerian and Mesopotamian religious beliefs and practices
were passed down to the next generation, century after century. For the
Sumerians that had the belief that Eridu10 was the site of the Creation of
Humanity. Thousands of different deities were recognized, even some in
animal form. Virtually every realm of nature and human endeavor were
presided over by a different deity. Plows, picks, molds for brick making,
rain, sun, and the moon each had a deity connected with them. Gods and
goddesses were not equal however. Ancient Sumerians believed that there
were four main gods of heaven, air, earth and water. One of these always
reigned supreme. At first the most powerful was An, ruler of the heavens,
but later superseded by Enlil, god of the air. As mentioned earlier the
worship of Nanna, the moon god and his wife, Ningal were important. These
various deities communicated their wishes to humans by letting the priests
and priestesses know what they wanted through such omens as the shape of
a liver found in a sacrificial sheep. Scholars state that Sumerian religion was
not a particularly hopeful one. According to one Sumerian myth, people
were molded out of clay for the sole purpose of serving as the gods’ slaves.
Failure to revere and propitiate the deities could bring horrible catastrophes
such as floods, drought, pestilence, and raids by hill tribes. As such
calamities occurred frequently, people developed chronic anxiety, which
made religion powerful and pervasive, greatly benefitting the priesthood and
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It was an ancient Sumerian city that is now Tell Abu Shahrain in southern Iraq.
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their temples. These ziggurats had facades of blue-glazed tiles, just as can
be seen today on many mosques in Iraq. Temples could own sizable tracts
of land, and the priests oversaw the farming. One temple in the city of
Lagash provided daily bread and beer rations for 1200 or more people.
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ancient Mesopotamians even had a special goddess, Ninkasi, whose name
means “lady who fills the mouth”, and we have found a nearly four thousand
year old Hymn to Ninkasi, which is a recipe for beer. Microbrewers have
made this beer, which was flavored with dates, one of the main staples for
the ancient Mesopotamians.