Download Mesopotamian Women Life in Ur

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Mesopotamian Women
Life in Ur
What was life like for a young woman growing up in the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia? Sumerians
inhabited the city of Ur, in modern-day Iraq, as early as 3500 BCE. It was built on the banks of the Euphrates
River, which, along with the Tigris River, surrounded an area of land called the Fertile Crescent. This area
contained rich soil from the river valleys and included many farms. The people who farmed this fertile land and
established Ur were called Sumerians. Among their many achievements was the formation of the first citystates, or territories having independent governments. They also developed cuneiform, which was one of the
first written languages in the world. Read the passage below to learn what life may have been like for a young
woman in Ur.
By the year 3000 BCE, Ur was a powerful city-state based on agriculture and trade. However, when the
city was founded several hundred years earlier, hostile tribes living in the surrounding area threatened the
people of Ur. For protection, the ancient Sumerians built a great wall around their city. The walled area
contained both Ur and the fertile farmland that surrounded the city. The walls around Ur, and many of the
buildings in Ur, were made from mud bricks. These were created by pressing mud into brick shapes and
allowing them to bake in the sun until hard. These mud bricks were made from local materials, but they did not
last forever. The Sumerians lacked enough timber and stones to build a larger, more permanent city. For this
reason, trade became very important in Ur. Using the Euphrates River for transportation, the Sumerians traded
their agricultural goods for much-needed building materials. The city-state soon developed into a center of
commerce and culture. Agriculture was an important part of life in Ur, both for trade and for the Sumerian
people. The farms there grew plenty of barley and wheat. The grains were made into cereals, beverages and also
into a favorite food: bread. The ancient Sumerian language contains more than 300 words for types of bread.
The Class System in Ur
Ur had a rigid social class system. For a young woman in this society, her family’s social standing had a
great influence on her life. There were three main classes. The highest class was made up of priests, kings (who
headed the military), and wealthy landowners. There was also what would today be considered a middle class.
This group was made up of farmers, craftsman, merchants, and skilled tradesman. Finally, there was a class of
enslaved people. Some people were forced into slavery because they owed a debt. Others became enslaved after
they were captured in battle.
Ur society had rigidly defined roles for women, too. In most cases, a woman was not permitted to have
a life outside the home. Some wealthy women who were already married were allowed to participate in
activities outside the home, though such cases were rare. Young women were raised to become wives and
mothers. They were taught to cook, keep house, weave cloth, and make clothing. Some young women learned
to make beverages from grains grown at Sumerian farms and then became innkeepers or tavern owners. These
jobs gave women more independence.
Growing up in Ur was very different for each class of people. A young woman might be lucky to be part
of a wealthy class, especially if her father worked for the government. These young women usually grew up in
large houses made of stone, not mud brick like most houses. They also ate a broader range of foods, which
included beef, lamb, pork, goat, and fish. For women in the middle and lower classes, life had less privilege and
variety.
Although most women received little education, women who were members of the wealthiest class
would be more likely to learn to write at what were called tablet schools. Students at tablet schools attended
classes for 12 hours each day and went to school for 12 years. After completing her education, a wealthy young
woman could be lucky enough to work as a scribe, someone who writes and copies documents. The Sumerians
created a system of writing called cuneiform. Cuneiform allowed the people of Ur to record laws and business
transactions, as well as history and literature. The language is made up of more than 600 characters. After years
of schooling, scribes often got jobs with merchants, the government, or at temples. Although female scribes
were rare, they made contributions to Sumerian culture. Archaeologists have found literary works, including
lullabies and love songs that were written by female poets.
Women and Religion
Religion was very important to the people of Ur. They believed in many different gods and built temples
called ziggurats. Each ziggurat was devoted to a different god or goddess. Wealthy women paid to have statues
of themselves made. The statues represented female figures praying and were placed in the temples. The women
wanted the gods to see their statues in a constant state of worship. Because most people could not read or write,
scribes were sometimes assigned to work in temples. Scribes would read the legends of the gods aloud to the
people. That way, the myths and stories of the people and their faith were passed from one generation to the
next.
In addition to worshipping at the ziggurats, many families in Ur also had small shrines built in their
homes. A shrine is a small sacred area, built especially for religious worship. In the home, women would
worship the family god. The family god was the god said to watch over and protect the family. Each family
would have a different family god. Women would help keep the family god happy by leaving small offerings of
food at the home shrine. She might also pray for good fortune and strong crops. Wealthy families might even
have a family chapel, a space much larger than a shrine. The chapel might even have a small cemetery attached
to it, where members of the family were buried after their death. The afterlife was very important to the
Sumerians, and the dead were often buried with their important possessions.
Women and Marriage
Most young women in Ur at this time married when they were teenagers. For a woman in the wealthy
class, her marriage was arranged by her parents and her fiancé’s parents, who were also from the wealthy class.
Neither the young bride nor the groom had a say in who they would marry. Once engaged, the woman was
considered to be part of her fiancé’s family. In fact, if her fiancé died, she was married to another man in his
family. After her marriage, she took on the role of wife and mother, keeping house and tending to her new
family. A very wealthy woman might have servants to help her raise her family, which would allow her to keep
any job she might have. For most women, however, having children would change their focus to their family.
Stories Left in the Ruins
The great city-state of Ur flourished for more than 3,000 years. At one point, it was the most powerful
city in Mesopotamia. Over the years, Ur was conquered, destroyed, and rebuilt. Then, around 300 BCE, the
Euphrates River changed course. As the river moved farther away from the city, the city’s fortunes changed.
Lacking a source of water or a waterway, Ur was abandoned. It exists today only as ruins, its many magnificent
buildings, including its ziggurats, now part of a barren landscape.
Although only ruins remain, they tell a rich and interesting story. Over the years, many excavations have
been conducted at the site of Ur. They have excavated houses, temples, and tombs. They have discovered the
way of life of the ancient people of Ur, how they lived, worshiped, and what they wrote. That is how historians
pieced together today what life may have been like for a young woman who lived nearly 5,000 years ago.
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Question (8 points)
1. Describe how a young woman’s day-to-day activities were influenced by the class she was born into,
including her social standing, education, and practice of her faith. Provide details to support your
answer.