Social Classes and Religion

The Sumerian Civilization

• Sumerians shared common culture, language, and religion
• City-states governed themselves
• Laws regulated the roles of women & men 🡪 men had far more rights

Sumerian Religious Beliefs

• Polytheistic - Belief in more than one god
• Sumerians believed gods-controlled nature: wind, floods, fires.
• The Sumerians’ goal in life was to please the gods.
• Priests were the only people who could speak to gods.
• Each city built a ziggurat dedicated to their gods.

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Ziggurat

• Ziggurats were found at the center of each city
• Built for the god or goddess of each city

How Did Sumerians Show Their Devotion?

Sumerians had many kinds of religious ceremonies to show their dedication to the gods. These ceremonies could include MUSIC or HUMAN sacrifices.

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Social Classes in Sumer

• Upper Class
• Ruling family - King
• Leading officials
• Priests
• Middle Class
• Lesser Priests
• Scribes
• Merchants
• Artisans

• Lowest Class
• Farmers
• Unskilled workers
• fishermen

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The Upper Class

• People in the upper class were powerful and wealthily.
• The upper class included
• The kings
• Nobles
• Priests
• government officials
• warriors �

The Upper Class-Priests

• The priests were powerful. The priests shaved their heads.
• They were in charge of making sure everyone behaved in a way that would make the gods happy.
• Priests distributed land, employed workers and managed trade.
• They were the doctors of the time.
• If you were sick, you called for a priest. 

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The Upper Class- Wealthy Men and Women

• Men and women wore jewelry, especially rings.
• Men wore skirts and had long hair, curly moustaches, and long beards.
• Women wore dresses, off one shoulder. They had long hair, which they braided or wore up in fancy arrangements.

The Middle Class

• The middle class was made up of:
• Farmers
• Fisherman
• Artisans
• Merchants
• In ancient Sumer, people were paid for their work. If they ran a shop or worked in the fields, they were paid for their goods or labor.
• Everybody paid, even the king. Stealing was a serious crime and punishment was severe.

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The Middle Class

• Although the lower class did not have the luxury lifestyle of the rich, they were comfortable.
• There was no law that said they could not move up the social scale, or more likely, have their children move up the social scale by becoming a scribe, or a priest or priestess.
• People in the Middle Class worked hard to raise their status

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The Lower Class- Slaves

• Slaves performed all manual and domestic work.  Slaves worked for the king, the temple and the wealthy.
• Slaves were taken at the end of wars between the city-states.
• Among the slaves were captured people, debtors, poor children, orphans and criminals.

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The Lower Class- Slaves

• Slaves were bought and sold. A slave bought at auction cost less than a donkey but more than a cow.
• Slaves who tried to escape or disobeyed their masters received harsh punishments.
• Despite being the property of their masters, slaves still had many rights. They could hold property, participate in business, marry a free man or women, and eventually even purchase their own freedom.

Sumerian Society

• Government
• King makes all the rules
• Religion
• Polytheistic
• Each city has a specific God protector (mascot)
• Priests interpret the will of the Gods
• Build massive pyramid temples called ziggurats
• Society
• Social hierarchy
• Kings
• Priests
• Merchants and skilled workers (artisans)
• Laborers and farmers
• Slaves

ECONOMY

ECONOMY

• Economy - a system of making and trading things of value
• Traded with other cities around the Persian Gulf
• Traded for beads, jewelry, pottery, gold and silver
• Used slaves
• Sumerians (Mesopotamians) were known to trade with the Egyptians and the Indus Valley civilizations.

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