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Many social structures are based on a hierarchy in which some people are valued more than others.

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"People in Mesopotamia believed that a king was the link between the earth and the heavens. A kingdom would only prosper if the king pleased the gods."

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There was a big middle class, made up of common people like merchants, artisans, and builders.

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Enslaved people were the lower class, at the bottom of the hierarchy.

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still in the upper class, were priests and priestesses. They were responsible for religious ceremonies, and could read and write.

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Priestesses were also healers who provided the world’s first medical care and dentistry.

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The middle class was the working class: makers and artists, cart drivers and sailors, sellers and soldiers. Farmers grew food for the city. Merchants and artisans traded goods with people from other places. Builders made canals, walls, statues, ziggurats, and more.

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The lower class was all enslaved people. They became enslaved for different reasons, such as selling themselves (or being sold by someone else!) to pay off debt, or being taken as prisoners in war. Over half the Mesopotamian population was enslaved at one point. However, enslaved people were able to do work suited to their talents and skills, and could earn their freedom.

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"In the early years of Mesopotamia, men and women were seen as equals and had the same opportunities. Women could do things like study writing, be a doctor or priestess, or own a business. As time went on, though, the power and status of women changed."

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While the Code of Hammurabi was supposed to make society more fair and just, it ultimately created more inequity. It clearly favored men and the upper class. This official set of laws has certainly had a long-lasting effect, as gender inequality remains a problem today in most parts of the world.

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mesopotamia started as an equal with every gender, everyone being able to be any part of the social sturcutere, although as time went on women started to be their own part of the social sturucter doing lots of work for others.

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The kings were the highest part of the hierarchy. this is important because if their wasn't a king, or people In the higher ups, the rest of the people in the community wouldn't be able to function as they were meant to.