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Absolute Power Priests Priestkings Military kings Hereditary kingship Gilgamesh ca. 3100-2700 BCE - Priest/King Thought to be more of a priest-king: have the responsibilities of both the religious rites and state administration (incl. military leadership) Gilgamesh is listed in later Sumerian records as the king of Uruk and builder of its great city wall. The written stories of Gilgamesh show him to be half-man, half-god. He may be largely legendary, but his city is real enough as an early center of civilization. The city wall, dating from a little after 3000 BC, is about six miles long. And it is from Uruk that the earliest written tablets survive. Sargon of Akkad: ca. 2350 BC •SARGON OF AKKAD was an ancient Mesopotamian military king who reigned approximately 2334-2279 BC. • He was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran). • He established the region's first dynasty and was considered the founder of the Mesopotamian military tradition. • Although the Akkadians now ruled over Sumer, they kept many of the same common and religious traditions. Moving from the priest-king • Akkadians formed new form of government which became a model for later rulers. • Akkadian kings were military kings and had an absolute power, while the title was hereditary. • Priesthood still played very important role throughout the history of Mesopotamia. • Akkadian rulers named themselves Lord of the Four Quarters (of the Earth) and were eventually elevated to the divine status. • Unlike in ancient Egypt, the divine status of the Mesopotamian rulers was more of an exception than the rule. Urukagina ca. 2275 BCE -Ruled the Sumerian city-state of Lagash around 2275 BCE -Thought to be the first ruler to pass laws that protected the people -Reform: to create or change laws to protect the welfare of the people -laws were written by scribes and not forgotten Hammurabi ca. 1800 BCE Hammurabi was king of Babylon, north of Sumer and Akkad. He conquered those kingdoms. • The Law Code of Hammurabi is significant because it is one of the oldest set of laws yet discovered. • Hammurabi also appointed judges to uphold the law. (He was sharing power) • Like the Akkadians, the Babylonians also kept many of the traditions of the Sumerians. • His own dynasty collapsed following his death, but the code of laws which he instituted endured because they were recorded in tablets and stone Babylonians • Babylonian kings also retained centralized administration introduced during the Akkadian Period. • Babylonian kings were military kings having complete authority. • The famous Code of Hammurabi indicates that the Babylonian kings had supreme authority as law-maker and judge. Law Code of Hammurabi currently resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris.