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Economic and social ideas in Mesopotamia.
Key words: Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylon.
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.
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.
The upper class included merchants who owned their own companies, scribes, private tutors, and, in time, high-ranking military men. Other occupations of the upper class were accountants, architects, astrologers (who were usually priests), and shipwrights. The merchant who owned his own company, and did not need to travel, was a man of leisure who could enjoy the best beer in the city in the company of his friends while attended by slaves. Scribes were highly respected and served at court, in the temple, and in the schools. Every teacher was a scribe, and one of the most important disciplines taught in every Mesopotamian school was writing. Only boys attended school. While women did enjoy almost equal rights, they were still not considered intelligent enough to be able to master literacy. This paradigm remained in place even after the notable career of Enheduanna. Private tutors were also held in high regard and were paid well by the wealthy families of the cities to help their sons excel at their school work. Private tutors not in the employ of a school (which was often run by the temple) were considered men of exceptional intelligence, virtue, and character. They devoted themselves completely to the student, or students, under their tutelage and, if they had a client of high means, lived almost as well as he did.
The lower class was made up of those occupations which kept the city or region actually operating: farmers, artists, musicians, construction workers, canal builders, bakers, basket makers, butchers, fishermen, cup bearers, brick makers, brewers, tavern owners, prostitutes, metallurgists, carpenters, perfume makers, potters, jewelry makers, goldsmiths, cart and, later, chariot drivers, soldiers, sailors, and merchants who worked for another man's company. Of those listed above, prostitutes, perfume makers, jewelry makers, and goldsmiths could also be considered upper class professions under the right circumstances (such as exceptional skill or finding favor in a wealthy patron or the king). Any member of the lower class could, however, climb the social ladder. The Assyriologist Jean Bottero notes that, "the town of Kish was ruled not by a king but by an energetic queen called Ku-baba, a former tavern keeper, about whom we know nothing else" (125). For the most part, women were relegated to the lower class jobs but, clearly, could hold the same esteemed positions as males. Women were the first brewers and tavern keepers and also the first doctors and dentists in ancient Mesopotamia before those occupations proved lucrative and were taken over by men.
The lowest social order was the slaves. One could become a slave in a number of ways: being captured in war, selling oneself into slavery to pay off a debt, being sold as punishment for a crime, being kidnapped and sold into slavery in another region, or being sold by a family member to relieve a debt. Slaves had no single ethnicity nor were they solely employed for manual labor. Slaves kept house, managed large estates, tutored young children, tended horses, served as accountants and skilled jewelry makers, and could be employed in whatever capacity their master saw they had a talent in.
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