The Responsibilities Of The Hittite Empire

The role of a king was very important in the Sumerian society. “A king would have multiple roles in protecting and making sure their people where safe.”

These women were the crushes of those poets. In a manner, this can be viewed as respect for women’s inner beauty and intelligence. Some might perceive this as the only case of women having the upper hand on society. “When a guardian violates the chastity of his female ward, he shall be sentenced to deportation, and all his property shall be confiscated to the Treasury, although he must still suffer the penalty that the laws inflict upon ravishers” (Bailkey, 472). Although stated in many sources that male figures held complete control over females, men were still not allowed to take advantage of women morally. Guardians would be deported if they slept with their daughters. Despite women not having the same equality that men had, to a certain extent they were respected. “A man who contracts matrimony with his female ward in violation of the decree of the senate is not legally married; and he who was her guardian or curator can be prosecuted for adultery if he marries a girl under twenty-six years of age who has not been betrothed to him, or destined for him, or mentioned for this purpose in a will” (Bailkey,

In current times in America, the role of women and the role of men is about equal. When it comes to home life, it’s just as common for women to go out and work as it is for a man to do it. Women have even run for President. However, in the Harappan society in ancient India, and in Sumerian times in ancient Mesopotamia, the equality and respect of women weren’t as strong as it is today. Regardless, women were respected to a certain level. Overall, the respect of women in ancient India was similar to the respect of women in Mesopotamia because goddesses were seen as powerful, young women were admired, and women were highly regarded for being able to give birth.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. One particular issue that is demonstrated among several others in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the status of women. Since this is a story of women's status many years ago, it is indeed an interesting issue to discuss,

The ancient civilization of Egypt was ruled by despotic Pharaohs who were the political and religious dignitaries of upper and lower Egypt.The kingdom of Ancient Egypt, whose people believed in a pantheon of various gods who governed the world around them,decided that the rule of the Pharaohs was justified through religious beliefs, but unlike the much later Kings and Queens of England, Pharaohs right to rule came not from approval from God, but from being considered gods themselves. Most contracts were oral agreements, sealed with a handshake or its ancient Egyptian equivalent in the presence of a few witnesses. But occasionally, permanent records were made which throw a light on the society and its sense of legality.The government of Ancient Egypt depended on two important factors; the Pharaoh and agriculture. The Pharaoh was an vital part of the Egyptian government and he appointed the other officials during most periods. The highest officials took their orders directly from the king. Agriculture was the foundation of Egypt 's economy and government. A significant treaty entitled the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, provided an atmosphere of enmity between Hatti And Egypt after a long war between the Hittite Empire and the Egyptians, who had fought for over two centuries to gain mastery over the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Although there were differences in how members of the various social classes were treated and judged, neither riches, nor nobility raised a

Gortyn was a city-state populated by descendants of the Mycenaean’s and Dorian settlers. Greek city-states that were settled by Dorians including Sparta, gave greater rights to women then city-states, which instead were settled by other tribes. In Ancient Greece, it could be argued that many saw adultery as an act, which was worse than rape. The Gortyn law Code could therefore be classed as unusual as in there is a punishment albeit only financial. ‘If one commit rape on a free man or woman, he shall pay 100 staters …and if a slave on a free man or woman he shall pay double, and if a free man on a male or female serf, five drachmas, and if a serf on a male or female serf, five drachmas.’ The fine is largely determined by the difference in social status between the victim and the accused. A free man raping a slave is the lowest fine and a slave raping a free man or woman is the largest fine. Free women seem however, to have a respected place in society if raping a woman is seen as a punishable offence, which in the ancient world wasn’t always seen as that. It emphasises how Gortyn society valued omen based on what social class they adhered

* The status of women in Mesopotamia was lower then men. Women enjoyed some protection and liberties, yet not as much as men.

Gender roles in ancient Mesopotamia were clearly defined (teachmiddleeast.edu). Generally, men worked outside of the home and women stayed inside of the home while focusing on raising their children and keeping up with work that took place in the home. However, there were exceptions; we know of women who were “bartenders” and even women who were priestesses, but with limited responsibility. Due to the fact that some were from socially higher families and owned large amounts of property, those women were not allowed to marry. Women at the time were given much less freedom than men, however, women were more protected than men, which is seen in Hammurabi’s Code of Law, specifically in his 130th law:

However, in Mesopotamia, the males subjugated the women. To stop married women from tempting other men, they were forced to cover their bodies, except for their faces, with veils. Women in Mesopotamia were often arranged into marriages, without a say on the subject. The Mesopotamian women had little impact on their society, while certain Egyptian women were able to gain highly influential positions in their society. One Egyptian woman even became the Queen of Egypt, alongside her son. Due to Egypt being less strict towards the women, Egyptian women were able to have a greater influence on their society. Although both civilizations were patriarchal, they varied on how strict they were towards women.

They did not have the right to divorce their husbands, and almost all women were uneducated. In Mesopotamia, women were also treated very poorly. They were taught to attend to all of their husband’s needs, and could be punished severely if they did not do as their husband said. In Babylonia, during Hammurabi’s rule, there was even a law that stated that if a woman did not obey her husband or was unfaithful to him in any way, he was legally allowed to throw her in the river, ultimately drowning her.

This led to justifying male domination over females in the Mesopotamian society. Men were in control and held the power, allowing them to abuse their wives, sell them into slavery to pay off debts, and partake in consensual sexual relations even if married, while women were drowned to death as punishment for committing adultery. In Mesopotamia, women were mostly responsible for tending to the children and household. Women did not have the power to make life decisions for themselves and instead, relied on the men in their family to make those decisions for them.

Despite the ancient Egyptians' conservative nature and keeping to their core values, there were many changes within the infrastructure of their society during the middle kingdom. When Historians and scholars study the Old Kingdom, and the Middle Kingdom, One will notice that alterations to their religion, art, and architecture changed through both periods in history. Internal forces, as well as outside influences, shaped ancient Egyptian civilization. One would argue that the terms Old, middle and knew Kingdoms were of a hellenistic idea, instead of a Ancient Egyptian Ideology. The Old Kingdom founds its reign lasted from 2700- 2200 B.C. This time period consisted of the third through the sixth dynasty, beginning with Djoser and ending

The early cities of Mesopotamia fell from one warlord to another, and were constantly changing, unlike the kingdoms of Ancient Egypt that kept its stability. The Egyptians lived along the Nile River, which probably made it easier to govern the people. The King was the owner and ruler of all Egypt and was considered a god by the people. The economy was a royal monopoly, the peoples duties was to serve the King. In the old Kingdom

In today’s society, we as women often take for granted the rights, freedoms, and equality we share with men that women in the ancient world were not granted. As all civilisations in the ancient world exercised different treatment towards, this essay will illustrate a few comparisons in the status of women during ancient Egypt with women during ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one considers ancient civilizations. The legal status of women in society, the domestic atmospheres and roles that each unique region’s women held, and the possible occupations available to these women, will be discussed.

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly