# data[].attributes.body
I think that government is the most important characteristic of ancient Mesopotamia because it is a very important component of all structure in Mesopotamia. One reason I say that is when looking at  Mesopotamia you can see that the government was the main reason for the laws and for their ability to maintain order among the different social classes. Also the government was the cause of the wars and their ability to expand their land/territory.

# data[].attributes.body
"The Code of Hammurabi was meant to ensure that people would fix the harm they caused. However, people were treated differently based on their social class. The Code was one of the earliest examples of the presumption of innocence, and in some ways, it seemed fair."(Elements of Civilization: Government)

# data[].attributes.body
"...particularly under King Hammurabi of Babylon. He created a centralized government, tax system, and most famously, the Code of Hammurabi. This was a set of 282 laws that were carved into stones and placed in public areas so that everyone could see them." (Elements of Civilization: Government)

# data[].attributes.body
This shows that the government was a very important part of why the laws were created to ensure peace and order throughout their lives. It also shows how this of set laws and ideals of were put in place to make sure that the people who committed the crime would fix their actions and to repair the damage done, creating the saying an eye for an eye. Showing how the laws were a very important factor controlling every one’s decisions throughout their lives

# data[].attributes.body
This demonstrates that the government had a very important impact on the structure of their taxes and general rules of living in Mesopotamia, especially the fact that they were able to create laws and a centralized form of government. That would later have impacts on the flow of power and setup of the different more powerful divisions of Mesopotamia. The different laws would also have an impact on the lives of the citizens that lived under the code of laws created. Showing how the government was the most important part of Mesopotamia.

# data[].attributes.body
However, some may argue that social structure is the most important component of the ancient Mesopotamian society. They may think that because the text states "... unless their crime harmed someone above their social class. Hammurabi dictated more severe punishment in that instance. For example, if a rich person hurt an enslaved person, they would be fined. But if an enslaved person hurt a rich person, they would lose a hand or be put to death." (Elements of Civilization: Government) That shows how social structure was a very important part of the law and how the consequences associated with your social class. Also the social classes were a very important part of if you got an education or not. The higher classes were able to read and the lower classes were not able to read so that would also impact the type of job you could obtain and to be a scribe or a priest you would have to be able to read. That is why some people would argue that social class is the most important component of ancient Mesopotamia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
this is a representation of their social structure 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is a representation of their taxes 