where is mesopotamia located on the world map
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia , as shown by successive law codes , those of Urukagina , Lipit Ishtar and Hammurabi , across its history became more and more a patriarchal society , one in which the men were far more powerful than the women . For example , during the earliest Sumerian period , the `` en '' , or high priest of male gods was originally a woman , that of female goddesses , a man . Thorkild Jacobsen , as well as many others , has suggested that early Mesopotamian society was ruled by a `` council of elders '' in which men and women were equally represented , but that over time , as the status of women fell , that of men increased . As for schooling , only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals , such as scribes , physicians , temple administrators , went to school . Most boys were taught their father 's trade or were apprenticed out to learn a trade . Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking , and to look after the younger children . Some children would help with crushing grain or cleaning birds . Unusual for that time in history , women in Mesopotamia had rights . They could own property and , if they had good reason , get a divorce .
Mesopotamia , as shown by successive law codes , those of Urukagina , Lipit Ishtar and Hammurabi , across its history became more and more a patriarchal society , one in which the men were far more powerful than the women . For example , during the earliest Sumerian period , the `` en '' , or high priest of male gods was originally a woman , that of female goddesses , a man . Thorkild Jacobsen , as well as many others , has suggested that early Mesopotamian society was ruled by a `` council of elders '' in which men and women were equally represented , but that over time , as the status of women fell , that of men increased . As for schooling , only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals , such as scribes , physicians , temple administrators , went to school . Most boys were taught their father 's trade or were apprenticed out to learn a trade . Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking , and to look after the younger children . Some children would help with crushing grain or cleaning birds . Unusual for that time in history , women in Mesopotamia had rights . They could own property and , if they had good reason , get a divorce .