Introduction: The Importance of Mesopotamia Today:
Universally consider as the birthplace of civilization, Mesopotamia was detect between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; present-day Iraq. It was in this area that cities, writing, law, and large-scale farming all came into existence, however, there was more than just monumental inventions. Taking a closer look at Mesopotamia through its step-by-step development we can see the beginnings of human rights through ideas concerning Justice, Social Order and our common responsibility as members of a community as outlined in The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The purpose of this 3000-word article is to provide an organized way to learn about Mesopotamian society as it relates to current-day discussions about human dignity and rights while following the highest standards of Privacy and Compliance as per the reader’s warrants.
Geography and the Dawn of Civilization:
The first step in examining our surroundings is to determine what Environmental Factors exist. Ancient Mesopotamia, known to the Greeks as “the land between the rivers,” refers specifically to a region within what is now known as Iraq but also included some of Syria, Turkey and Iran. Due to the humide (fertile) nature of the land due to Settlements of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; the Agricultural Revolution began (approximately 10,000 B.C.E.). The transformation from nomadism (hunting and gathering) into sedentary agriculture provided an abundance of food that allowed for increasing populations leading to some of the earliest city-states such as Uruk, Ur, and Lagash, established by 4500 B.C.E. The establishment of sedentary societies was a necessary step toward developing complex societies and creating written codified laws.
The Sumerians and the Development of Protection Concepts
Sumerians were the first civilization to establish urban areas. They made a number of advancements that were technological (wheel, plow), but also created social concepts such as the cuneiform writing system (approx. 3400 BCE). The main objective of writing was to keep track of administrative details, including rations, labor, and goods. This method of documenting rations can be viewed as a form of economic rights because it established a minimum level of distribution from temples and palaces. While these are not rights in the sense we think of today, these early systems helped create a social contract of labor and loyalty in return for food and safety.
Justice in the City of the Ancient Mesopotamia
The rulers of the Sumer cities were kings. These were viewed as divine intermediaries. As rulers, their duty was to safeguard the ‘Me’, a Sumerian term signifying the laws which created and preserved cosmic and human order. Universal arrangement, truth, and justice. For example, Sumerian kings touted their ability to return freedom (amargi in Sumerian meaning literally “return to mother“) to the disenfranchised (often debtors), and to the many indentured citizens within their kingdoms. Many historians cite the Reforms of Urukagina of Lagash (about 2350 BCE), as the first written code of law in history and the first effort to curb the rights of property owners to illegally seize and exploit the property of the weaker members of society.
The Code of Hammurabi:
The Code of Hammurabi represents an important milestone in the establishment of legal systems, it dates to 1754 BCE; the code itself was a fundamental component of Babylonia’s history and through the engraved laws on the large black diorite stelae established by King Hammurabi, the code created a uniform standard of Justice within the entire Babylonian empire. Similar to many of the legal systems that developed after, one of the most recognized parts of the Hammurabi Code was the lex talionis, or “eye for an eye” rule. The lex talionis defined the extent of revenge and the level of punishment that shall be meted out for the crime. Besides being hierarchical (the type of punishment applied is based on the class of the person causing the crime; lower class persons were given a less severe form of punishment than higher class persons) the Hammurabi Code established three fundamental legal principles established by it:
1. The Audacity of Innocence: The accused has the right to present proof to keep up his/her case.
2. Systematize valid Procedures: A consistent method for making judgments.
A Strict Social Order:
The Assyrian Empire (c. 1350–600 BCE) has been found to have its own laws, which were not only harsher than the other civilizations established in that period, but to place great emphasis on social structure. The Middle Assyrian Laws document in detail family members and their responsibilities to their property and each other. The evidence provided in the Middle Assyrian Laws provides insight into the hierarchical nature of ancient Near Eastern legal systems, but they are also representative of a codification of a system intended to control human behavior and prevent disorder.
Daily Life and Implied Rights:
Expectations for daily life in Ancient Mesopotamia beyond those imposed by Royal Decree were formed through unwritten expectations by society. Merchant archives found on clay tablets provide extensive details about trade, loan and partnership contracts to enforce binding agreements and fair dealings. Family correspondence indicates a high degree of caring for family members with respect to their welfare and inheritance. Labour practices related to the running of large estates within the temple and palace were also guided by the provisions of the businesses of those estates, indicating labour practices at an early stage in society. Together, all these written records of commerce, correspondence, and management illustrate the myriad ways in which individuals and organisations established expectations of each other.
Legal Foundations & Rediscovery Of Human Rights
Due to the rediscovery of artifacts from early Mesopotamia such as the Rosetta Stone, in conjunction with the advancement of the field of stratigraphy in the early 1800s, scholars became able to read, understand, and compare the laws of early Mesopotamia, and develop a connection between the codification of laws and the establishment of modern-day legal systems. Although no direct connection is made between Hammurabi’s decree to protect the weak and other modern-day legal traditions, the major tenets associated with legal systems have laid the groundwork for many legal systems across the globe, including the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Modern Iraq’s role as a steward of Mesopotamian Heritage:
Modern Iraq’s job is to preserve the heritage of humanity through its physical evidence: sites such as Ur (about 3000 years ago), Ninevah (around 600 BC), Babylon, etc. The projects under consideration demonstrate a sense of shared responsibility to all mankind. U.N.E.S.C.O. (U.N. International Education & Cultural Organization), along with Iraqi Antiquities Department and
partners world-wide, are protecting these sites against looting, war, and climate change, while also informing the public on sustainable cultural heritage tourism through responsible development—an improvement on how Ancient Civilizations were taught in comparison to modern practices, thus providing a means of linking our moral obligations to Cultural Preservation today with what we have learned from historical events.
The Enduring Framework:
Our last step is synthesis. Mesopotamia did not develop human rights but built the first sustainable framework for civilization in which the concept of human rights would one day thrive. It established:
1. That laws should be written and public.
2. That rulers are responsible for dispensing justice.
3. That societies need to have rules to balance the power and protect society (no matter how narrowly defined) from the whims of those in authority.
These are essential precursors to delivering a comprehensive system of human rights. The passage from the cuneiform tablets from ancient Sumer through to the age of digital human rights are lengthy, but the journey started when all communities needed a way to organize and manage their lives fairly and orderly along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.