City-states and Their Gods

A Milestone Documents E-text
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City-states and Their Gods
https://doi.org/10.3735/9781961844568.book.part.009

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Abstract

Mesopotamian society was ordered around city-states that mostly maintained their autonomy. Although these city-states interacted with each other frequently and shared a culture (including language and religion), they were governed inde-pendently. Most city-states were organized around a central temple that focused on the worship of a particular god. The Mesopotamians felt that the gods played an active role in their lives, particularly in crop growth, and thus the priests (who were responsible for maintaining the gods’ happiness) were among the most important members of early Mesopotamian society.

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