Ancient Mesopotamian Society Essays Example

Ancient Middle East is considered to be a cradle of human civilization by many historians. Before Leonard Wooley excavated an ancient city Ur, no archaeologist had ever studied this region in such a detailed way. Egyptology developed much faster due to a great number of artifacts found here and a lot of curious myths and legends connected with Egyptian tombs. However, the first cities in a modern understanding of the term were built in Ancient Mesopotamia, and the first rules and laws came from here as well. Ancient Ur, for example, was one of the first cities that had all of the characteristics of modern society; in the center, there was a Ziggurat of Ur, which was quite different from Egyptian pyramids. Ziggurat was not only dedicated to a certain god, a patron of the city (here – the moon god Nanna), but it was also a place where people hid from flood. Interestingly enough, it was a great example of a hierarchy in the early society: lower class citizens could stay on the lower levels of the Ziggurat, while scribers and priests (the wealthiest people) had the upper floors, where water couldn’t reach. Ancient Mesopotamia was also a place where writing first appeared. People wrote on clay tablets, many of which remained untacked today. Probably the most well-preserved text was “The Epic of Gilgamesh” – an ancient journey of a half-human and a half-divine hero. Cuneiform script changed with time (the Akkadian and the Assyrian signs are different), but most of the signs were decoded by the archaeologists from Europe in 1850s.
The first law codes are coming from this part of the world as well. Some historians claim that laws were first established long before famous ruler Hammurabi by one of his predecessors called Ur-Nammu. Ur-Nammu’s law code was very primitive, yet it was a great attempt to organize the first society. However, Hammurabi’s law code is considered to be the most detailed and informative about the Mesopotamian society, many laws describe problems of that time: theft, murder of slaves and low class citizens and injustice. Hammurabi was famous for trying to protect the poor; his laws described what would happen to those who abuse their power or steal or damage others’ property. Unfortunately, discrimination can be found there as well; if an upper class citizen committed a crime, the punishment would be less brutal than that for a lower class citizen. The law code of Hammurabi did not cover all of the areas of the society’s life, but it is still believed to be one of the most important signs of a developed city.
As we go further in history, we can see how Ancient Mesopotamia grows and establishes contact with other civilizations. It is known from a business correspondence that they were in a close relationship with Greece and Anatolia, where the Hittite Empire was situated. From the “Diplomacy of Mycenaeans and the Hittites” scholars are able to understand that during the Bronze Age, people realized the importance of interacting with neighbors and creating allies. The Hittite Empire was at some point the strongest state in the world, and being allies with it meant a powerful protection.