Ancient Mesopotamia Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Cultural Background of Ancient Mesopotamia One of the Earth’s first major civilizations, Mesopotamia, was a culture rich land where ideas thrived and population flourished. Greek for “between two rivers,” Mesopotamia had many different cultures, but was uniform on a couple key features. The people had many of the same gods, attitudes toward religion, and systems of government (Mark). Kings had the power to make and enforce laws. One well-known ruler of this time was Hammurabi, notable for his concept of an eye for an eye (Mark). Different from kings, priests were religious leaders in ancient middle eastern society. Only the priests could enter the ziggurats, which were step-pyramids located at the center of each Mesopotamian city (Mark). …show more content…
Many would not expect such an early society to be so advanced in gender equality, but Mesopotamia did offer numerous amounts of rights to women. Females could own land, file for divorce, trade freely, and start businesses (Mark). In the eyes of the ancient middle easterners, men and women had equal rights and were both entitled to work for their country. Most of the time this meant farming, but other occupations were also available. Scribes, artisans, weavers, potters, shoemakers, teachers, priests, fishermen, and healers were additional careers Mesopotamia had to offer. The careers of brewing alcoholic beverages and healing were primarily the jobs of the women, until ultimately being overtaken by men