Job Specialization / Social Structure
Like many civilizations of the time period, the civilizations of Mesopotamia had a social structure that corresponded with the job one performed. At the top of the chain were the priests and he upper class. The priests gained importance as the people adopted the belief that if the gloomy gods weren’t appeased, the harvest would yield little in the way of crops and the people would starve. Along with them was the upper class that were often educated and served as scribes merchants and artisans. They distinguished themselves in groups with their expensive jewelry and fancy hair styles. Under them were the commoners who ran shops or worked the farms all day. They didn’t experience all of the luxuries the rich had access to but still lived comfortably. At the bottom were the slaves who were most often brought back from the areas conquered by the Sumerians/Babylonians. Their jobs mostly consisted of working for the king, priests within their ziggurats, and the wealthy that could afford them. One thing to note about the social structure of this area was that it was not impossible for one or their children to move up in rank unlike the caste system of India. Another thing to note was the treatment of women, and it is said that they were given more rights than in other civilizations. They were able to own their own property, start businesses, and even serve as council for the king.