Reply To: Ruling Mesopotamia

[Kaylyn Kelly]

The rulers of the Mesopotamian cultures had a common theme. They all connected their leadership to the Gods and other religious ways. Their artwork showed the communication that they believed and told individuals they had with the Gods. Religion was a huge part of individuals lives during that era. The rulers could use this against the common people because of how much the commoners believed in the Gods. They didn’t want to disobey their Gods so they also listened to the kings rules. This is why the rulers created large structures of Gods to go up in their communities. They used it for the commoners to see. If they could visually see their Gods they wouldn’t disobey as much. Rulers again used this as a tactic to rule and show power. Rulers also used their “power” to make their communities build the religious structures for them. People also wouldn’t say no because it was for a religious purpose. An example of that would be the Ziggurat of Ur.
The Ziggurat of Ur has been used by modern political forces. Saddam Hussein parked his jets near the Ziggurat of Ur because its an ancient site hoping it wouldn’t be bombed. He thought others countries wouldn’t bomb the ancient site.