Social Stratification Maintenance

Social stratification has a high chance of being maintained in the Mesopotamian society, especially considering the consultations with the gods. Since humans (and kings) are servants to the gods their actions depend on omens. Omens provided a sort of checks and balances system upon the King’s decisions, so that he is not too powerful. The king is considered subordinate to the gods, and a king with little ideological guidance may prove to be a tyrant like Gilgamesh, as depicted in the early ancient epic. Subordinate to the king are his people, and they are mainly kept in their social classes. This is aided by the belief in a fixed destinies, which was often attributed to social class. Peasants were expected to provide service to the king and temple, thus also the gods. Oracles and soldiers were given separate respect due to their societal functions, and they were often placed in higher regards than peasants. Oracles were expected to offer the answers of the gods, and Assyrian soldiers were given credit for military success. These social roles thus have their own place in the stratification of Mesopotamia, and is enforced by the ideological ritual or meaning.


Enemies were also treated differently and symbolically placed very low after death, which also encouraged the maintenance of social stratification. Bodies of enemies were not given the same treatment as the king’s citizens. They were often denied proper burial rituals (202), and sometimes their bodies or body parts were publicly displayed. Weapons that were given names and destiny for great power could also enhance the social stratification, since those wielding special weapons are expected to succeed against enemies. The king was one who could wield such divine tools, even if they resembled other non-divined weapons. Since success and defeat were outcomes of divine will the gods would either lend aid or not, but if a king was still in power social stratification remained as “Mesopotamians never acknowledged defeat in war”(204). Enemies were still subordinate to the kingdom (if left independently standing), and citizens remained subordinate to their king.