Mesopotamian Civilization: Society, Economy, Religion

The Rise of Mesopotamian Civilization

On the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the main urban settlements that were to play a leading role in the three millennia of Mesopotamian history emerged. The periodic overflowing of their banks irrigated and enriched the surrounding land, allowing intensive agricultural exploitation. This favored the appearance of stable settlements and their development. Cities such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Assur, Mari, and Babylon, among many others, arose, governed independently from a temple-palace.

Mesopotamian Society and Governance

The temple-palace organized the economy and held the political and military monopoly, as it was where the production and surplus from their economic activities were stored. Society was organized into strongly marked classes. These were slave societies, where slaves, among other things, built the great buildings, such as temples, palaces, and walls. Slaves were mainly used for domestic and sexual exploitation.

Above them was the popular class, which was very heterogeneous, including those involved in:

• Agriculture
• Livestock breeding
• Craftsmanship

Also in this class were the members of the rank and file army and the merchants/traders, though they were not considered privileged. Finally, the king monopolized politics, the army, and religion, uniting the administrative and religious functions.

Religion in Mesopotamia

The religion of Mesopotamia greatly influenced later civilizations. It started with beliefs in nature and spirits and evolved to gods in human form, that is, anthropomorphic deities. It was a polytheistic religion, with multiple gods and legendary characters.

Mesopotamian Economy

The central axis of the Mesopotamian economy was the temple-palace, a unit that controlled the means of production and organized the city's economy. It was here that surpluses were accumulated, and it was the officials who controlled their distribution according to their needs or as forms of payment and established which products were necessary to obtain.

The basic element of the economy was Mesopotamian land, all of it in the hands of the temple-palace. This land was exploited primarily for agriculture. For this purpose, all the land was organized into three types:

1. Land reserved for the temple so that what was produced there was destined for divine worship and payment of rations for all those who served the temple.
2. Land reserved for the direct cultivation of the most important priests and administrators of the institution. These lands were exploited through slaves and the impoverished free peasantry.
3. Land reserved for rental to the peasants so that they would receive a share of the produce from them.

The craftsmen worked for the temple, as they received raw materials from it and made manufactured products which they gave to the temple in exchange for their corresponding rations.