CHW3M Mesopotamia Religion Continued Death and Afterlife/ Social Organization/ Everyday Life February 19 th, 2015

D EATH AND A FTERLIFE Mesopotamian people feared _______ They believed that once they died, they entered a bleak ___________ that was a land of no return A place with seven walls and no gates, where the dead would live forever, ______ in darkness It was important for the dead to take their most treasured __________ along with them into the _________ When a king died, the people’s fear of death ________ – considered a ruler’s death to be a ____ omen for the future

D EATH AND A FTERLIFE C ONT ’ D A deceased king being prepared for ________ was sprinkled with ________, anointed with _____, and clad in his royal _______ He rested in a huge rectangular ______ chest or sarcophagus (great rings inset in the sides so that cords or rods could be passed through to help move it) A lid was fixed in place with bronze bolts, and a _____ label was attached to the outside to ________ potential grave ________ Once a sarcophagus was buried along with treasure, ________ were made inside the palace Royal cemetery of Ur revealed that the Mesopotamians buried the ________ of a dead king or queen in the tomb

S OCIAL O RGANIZATION

In Mesopotamia, _______ were at the pinnacle of the social pyramid They derived their ______ from being head of government Sumerians – divinely ordained as ________ Assyrians – actual gods on _______ The word of the ______ was LAW

S OCIAL O RGANIZATION C ONT ’ D ______ and ______ formed the _______ class or nobility of Mesopotamia Priests were _________ because of the importance of religion Sumerians accepted that the priests were the only direct ______ with the gods of their cities Priests were also influential because they __________ the distribution of land to ________, and ran the schools where scribes were _________

S CRIBES Scribes were the ________ class (were able to _____ and _______) Mesopotamians were one of the ____ civilizations to develop a system of _________ This development made it possible to _______ knowledge! This brought great ________ to those who were educated Scribes were primarily ______ of the wealthy, worked either for the _______, the ________, the government, or the ________ Others worked at merchants/public writers

M ERCHANTS & A RTISANS The merchants and artisans were the _______ and _____________ They helped develop Mesopotamian civilization by exchanging ________ and ______ throughout the territory and beyond The artisans of Mesopotamia produced _______ products such as gold _______, statuettes inlaid with lapis lazuli (deep blue semi precious stone), and intricate _______ containers used to hold coloured cosmetics

M ERCHANTS & A RTISANS C ONT ’ D The evolution of this ________ group (and their specialization in the economy), was made possible because of the ______ food supply The fact that they had other areas of specialization, other than _________, indicates that this time period was ___________ of a ‘true’ civilization

T HE C OMMON P EOPLE The common people made up the _______ class and earned their living from the land as ________ Close family ties were __________ Although the ________ was the head of the family, _______ in Mesopotamia enjoyed more rights than in most other ancient civilizations

S LAVES Slaves performed household _______ and various chores Were at the _______ of the social pyramid and had no _______ They were identified by a _______ name only When they lost their _________, their family name was _______ away Masters _______ their slaves outright, any slave caught trying to escape was _______, branded (marked or identified), and put in ________ If a slave was ________, the master received the compensation, not the slave

S LAVES C ONT ’ D In Mesopotamia, there were two kinds of slaves 1 st group included _________ captured in battles against foreign cities – they were given as slaves to the ______ or sold by auction to wealthy _________ 2 nd group included debtors who _____ themselves, or members of their family, into slavery for a number of years to pay off ______ In general, most masters treated their slaves _____, but the slaves were expected to work long and hard

E VERYDAY L IFE - F AMILY In Mesopotamia, the family was considered _________ and the birth of a child was a welcome event Father – head of the family – had ________ authority over his children Legal documents of the period describe the father as ‘_______’ or ‘________’ of his children Parental _________ was the focus of a child’s upbringing

F AMILY - W OMEN Women in Mesopotamia had ______ rights than women living in many other _______ at the time Women were: Highly _________ Could own _____ and __________ Could also set up their own ___________ However, they could not ______ or ______, and were not considered _______ to men In upper-class families, women stayed in a __________ part of the house

F AMILY C ONT ’ D Parents __________ marriages for their sons and daughters when their children were still in their ________ During the engagement ceremony, the future ________ poured perfume on the head of his future ______ and brought her presents – after this, she would be considered a _____ member of her future husband’s family On the wedding day, the bride was ________ to her husband where he veiled her in the presence of ___________ and declared her to be his wife

M ARRIAGES Newlyweds usually went to live in the household of the ________ until he was old enough to set up a household of his own – if the family was rich, they would stay until the father _____ and the son was granted the estate The bride brought with her a shirqu or _______ as well as a trousseau (clothing/linens) If the bride’s father was rich enough, he gave her a gift of ______, ________, furniture or ______ at the time of her engagement – she could use the gift ________ she wanted This property remained ______, even if the husband _______ her

M ARRIAGES C ONT ’ D While _________ was the rule among the people of Mesopotamia, some men took in _________ wives The title ‘wife’ was reserved for the _______ wife alone Secondary _______, sometimes referred to as concubines, were often members of the ______ class and were __________ within the household and society