Reply To: Social stratification in the Ancient Near East

[Kaitlyn]

I think the artwork gives us a pretty good idea of the social hierarchy. The king, or King-priest was glorified by the people, and served by slaves more than one piece of art depicts such a scene, like the carved vessel, or “ASSURBANIPAL AND HIS QUEEN IN THE GARDEN”. In the Stele of Hammurabi it shows the king to be the same height as the god (unless the god was to stand up) which means the king was seen to be the highest figure of authority. The common people would gather for ceremonies or celebrations for the king, as one piece shows to watch him kill lions as a symbol of his strength. The lives of the common people are not shown in the artwork but it is implied the people were to follow the kings rules, maintain the land, help build the enormous structures, and the other less desirable jobs. So, there was the king, and royal family at the top of the social hierarchy, most likely followed by priests, the soldiers, the common people, then the slaves. The gods were a very important aspect to in everyones life regardless of their social class.