There were also many civil servants. “But such conditions prevailed everywhere in antiquity; nor would it be difficult to parallel them in much later ages, and even among some of the leading nations of modern times. Among the rivers and streams, the Sumerian people built the first cities along with irrigation canals which were separated by vast stretches of open desert or swamp where nomadic tribes roamed. During her reign, women attained remarkably high status. Sumerian Theocratic Government. The Hebrews are no exception, and one need only read the pages of their own chronicles to match therein some of the cruelties so vividly depicted by the Assyrians on their monuments. One vase from Uruk shows a king presenting a whole set of gifts to a temple of the city goddess Inana.
Type of Government: Mesopotamia was ruled by kings. It was personified by the Goddess Nanshe, the first real welfare queen immortalized in hymn as a benefactor who “brings the refugee to her lap, finds shelter for the weak.”... Nanshe, the Mesopotamian goddess, was hailed by some bards of Sumer for her compassion and, undoubtedly, denounced by others as a dupe." For example, the city of Babylon was ruled by King Hammurabi. The geography of Mesopotamia had a profound impact on the political development of the region. To the study of the religion of Babylonia and Assyria the summons is full of promise:— in - troile, nam et hie dii sunt. The earliest reforms protecting the poor, widows and orphans was found in Ur and <> Religion and government were closely linked in Mesopotamia. The mobilization and settlements of nomadic groups, or the great Arab migratory current, were one of the first signs of tension and conflict, and that would initiate a long period of conquest and imposition of new policies. <> As noted, the Persian model influenced that of the Roman Empire, which would further impact later cultures right up to the present-day example of the United States of America … The higher officials had endowments and official residences. With the expansion of Assyria and Babylon, this official took on more importance below the figure of the emperor; Among the many titles attributed to him, is one that translates as"governor." has been called “the first international age.” It was a time when there was increased interaction between kingdoms. Government. The Babylonians could well re-echo the denunciations of the Hebrew prophets against those who removed the boundaries of their neighbours’ fields. We hear, occasionally, of persons of humble birth rising to high positions, but the division of the classes into higher and those of lower ranks was on the whole rigid. Most Sumerian writing recorded administrative information and kept accounts.
Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of country or topic discussed in the article. We use cookies to provide our online service. Until the fall of the last of the Mesopotamian cities, the divine figure of the King was used with planned political and ideological ends within the society. Because scholars do not know precisely where the tablets were found, however, the site of ancient Garsana cannot be excavated for further information.” [Source: Jason Felch, Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2013] Like any civilization, the Sumerians needed to have a form of government. The inscriptions on these stones conclude with dire curses in the names of the gods against those who should set up false claims, or who should alter the wording of the agreement, or in any way interfere with the terms thereon recorded. We are become more humane, though the lowest instincts of man remain, and may always remain unconquered. They made records of the tithes and transactions of farmers. Uprisings were not infrequent both in Babylonia and Assyria, and internal dissensions, followed by serious disturbances, revealed the dissatisfaction of the majority with the yoke imposed upon them, which, especially through enforced military service and through taxes for the maintenance of temples, armies, and the royal court, must often have borne heavily on them. The king's messengers could commandeer any subject's property, giving a receipt. The pious Jews of later ages saw the divine punishment sent for the many crimes of these empires of the East, in the obliteration of the vast cities of the Euphrates Valley and the region to the north, until their very foundation stones were forgotten. The symbols of the gods were engraved on these boundary stones as a precaution and a protection to those whose rights and privileges the stone recorded. Communication among the isolated cities was difficult and, at times, dangerous. Sumerian princess in the city of Garsana that has made scholars rethink the role of women in the ancient kingdom of Ur. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Only priests were allowed to write. The king, the figure that marks the form of government of Mesopotamia The arrival of Sargon and the founding of the Akkadian empire served to establish an"independent"system of government between cities under the figure of an emperor. Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1910-1911 ]