The First Written Words

The Cuneiform writing system was developed by the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia. The Cuneiform system contained over 600 symbols and if you think that English is hard with our mere 26 letters well then, I recommend never learning Cuneiform. Today, I am here to tell you about the importance of Cuneiform and how it affected Mesopotamia’s civilization and culture. Now not everyone in Ancient Mesopotamia could write in Cuneiform, in fact, it was mainly the scribes who could write in Cuneiform and that was where many famous texts came from. Some of these texts include The Code of Hammurabi, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Enki and the World Order, and some Ancient Sumerian prayers that I will talk more about later. Now without more talk, I will dive right into the topic.

I would like to start with more depth and insight on cuneiform. Cuneiform as I first mentioned was the first writing system, as far as we know, to ever be developed. Cuneiform according to the World History Encyclopedia originated around the time 3500-3000 BCE. It was also, as I mentioned, first developed by the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Back then paper was not a thing and instead, they had soft clay on which to engrave their writing. Their writing was shapes and symbols. In order to achieve these small signs and shapes, they would use reeds. Now mainly the higher-ups knew and performed the task of cuneiform since cuneiform was such a complex writing system with over 600 symbols. It was not only used by the Ancient Summarians but also by other groups within Mesopotamia. These groups were Akkadians, Babylonians, Elamites, Hatti’s, Hittites, Assyrians, and Hurrians. With Cuneiform and these different people, the writing was used for about 15 different languages. This information was also found in the World History Encyclopedia. Each of these places in Mesopotamia used cuneiform and it played a large role in their cultures.

Now as I mentioned in the paragraph above Cuneiform could only be used by a select few people. In this case, it wasn’t because some people were not as high up in status but it was because it took a lifetime to learn and master. The people who mainly knew Cuneiform were known as scribes. They dedicated their lives to learn and write for their people. They wrote about things simple as trading as well as writing for their gods and goddesses to deliver news to the people. A professional scribe would be taken at a certain age sometimes even at birth and raised to dedicate his life to the art of writing. Now you may be thinking, why did he not learn later? The reality is that that would have never worked. It takes on average 1-2 years for us English speakers to learn the alphabet. The alphabet consists of 26 letters. Now take a person from ancient Mesopotamia and think about how long it would take to learn a writing system with 600 letters. Also keep in mind that people back then were way more susceptible to sickness, a decline in health, and were more likely to die earlier on in life. A professional scribe would have to start young and would end up (if successful) with other scribes in court at the service of the king.

Scribes not only learned to write but learned other things as well. They learned mathematics and went to school. They were some if not the most educated people in the world back then. Being a scribe was not as easy as it may have seemed. It cost money and took a large toll on the parents. Now scribes were not just men but at the beginning they were. It took some time before woman scribes would appear. The schooling for scribes was harsh and the time was taxing, but in the end, it was worth it. Scribes were set for a bright future with nice jobs, good meals, and good pay. The options for a scribe were unlimited and the future never dreary. And it was that way for the parents of a scribe as well. Scribes did not just write for the other higher-ups and for trading and keeping track of things but sometimes wrote for themselves. Scribes were the first-ever authors as we have seen in multiple places. Scribes ultimately were keys to power because they were able to write down things happening. A mistake or “accident” could change a court decision or make a new law. This is why scribes were so high up in status.

Although scribes were high up in status and ultimately “ruled” Mesopotamia there were still those higher up than them. Those people being the kings and rulers of Mesopotamia. The kings and rulers in Mesopotamia had a very big play in the art of Cuneiform. While they may have not written most of it, they were the center of a lot of cuneiform writings. Kings in Ancient Mesopotamia were also known as “Divine Agents.” The people believed that the king was personally chosen by the gods to rule them. That status put them in charge of things such as laws and the military. The laws were often written by the Kings themselves and were not only a huge part of society back then but are a huge part of history nowadays. The laws that we know of that played the biggest part in not only cuneiform but in Mesopotamia culture and society are known as the Code of Hammurabi.

The Code of Hammurabi was written by the ruler known as Hammurabi who was the sixth king in the first Babylonian empire. Ruling from 1792 BCE to 1750 BCE King Hammurabi is known not only for the laws he wrote but he is also known for restoring the city of Balolonia. However, he is best known for the laws he created to rule the people. Some of these laws were based on agriculture, family and marriage, slaves, religion, and other things as well. An interesting fact about the Code of Hammurabi is that there is no 13th law. Some people believe there was no thirteenth law because it was unlucky, others say it was an error. There are also what historians believe to be thirty-four missing paragraphs of which we have no record. The term a “tooth for a tooth” and “an eye for an eye” come from these laws as well. These laws could very well define Mesopotamia culture and civilization altogether, as many of these laws are what made Mesopotamia what we know it to be. To get into how these laws helped define ancient Mesopotamia I am going to take a paragraph or two to get in deep on the subject.

The laws in The Code of Hammurabi were a way to keep peace and serve justice to those who had overstepped any boundaries. Some of the laws which stick out to me are laws, thirteen, forty-eight, one-hundred and ten, one hundred ninety-six and two hundred. The first law I want to talk about is the thirteenth law which does not exist. According to History.com the first records of thirteen being an unlucky number dates back to the Code of Hammurabi. The laws of Hammurabi were not even traditionally labeled back then they were in fact just written in lines. What seemed to be the thirteenth line was missing which is why people believe thirteen to be such an unlucky number. The second law I want to bring up is law forty-eight which is as follows: “If anyone owe a debt for a loan, and a storm prostrates the grain, or the harvest fails, or the grain does not grow for lack of water; in that year he need not give his creditor any grain, he washes his debt-tablet in water and pays no rent for this year.” The reason I find this law so interesting is that it’s such a fair and harsh law. Back in Ancient Mesopotamia, they didn’t have access to foods as we do nowadays. What they grew they ate. Chances are that if someone’s crops failed other people’s crops failed as well. So the punishment for not paying your debt was no food. You didn’t have to pay your creditor but you made no profit and probably risked death. This is why I find this law so interesting and so harsh.

The next few laws I wanted to bring up are one hundred and ten, one hundred ninety-six and two hundred. I find one hundred and ten very interesting because it reads “If a "sister of a god" opens a tavern, or enters a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death.” In ancient Mesopotamia, beer was often associated with the act of intercourse. Drinking was also associated with poor judgment, confusion, and loss of control. Taverns/bars have always had a bad reputation on them. So while a regular woman could go to a tavern and enjoy herself; it would be considered inappropriate for a Sister of God to do so. Since religion was a big thing back then this could be considered extremely offensive and wrong. Now, I’d like to focus on the next laws one hundred and ninety-six and two hundred. These laws are as follows: “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out,” and “ If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.” These laws are the first record we have of the terms, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” The eye for an eye term according to Britticana was a principle of retaliation for injuries and damages. The tooth for a tooth was for justice for a person who was a victim of some sort of misfortune. These sayings are terms that have dated back to Mesopotamia and are still used today mainly in Christian churches. The people in Christian religions have a book called the Bible in which the man Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew lists laws made by their god in which these phrases are mentioned. Although these phrases are most commonly found in religions, you can find them today in our justice system and other justice systems as well. They are not said directly as they used to be said but are fitted to our nowaday language. Throughout the years in ancient Mesopotamia, these words have been used and are still being used. The Code of Hammurabi was a way to keep peace and establish justice. These laws most applied to the people whom Hammurabi ruled. These laws are similar to the laws we have today in America. While the laws are not the same they have the same purpose to rule the people and keep them in check.

Regular people in ancient Mesopotamia played a huge role in its civilization as well, without the people there would be no need for law or need for cities. No city can exist without the people. These people had roles such as farmers, musicians, tavern owners, soldiers, prostitutes, perfume makers, goldsmiths, and the list can go on. (Ancient History Encyclopedia) Of these careers in Ancient Mesopotamia according to a few sources three of these professions were considered more upper class and these are as follows: Prostitutes, perfume makers, and goldsmiths. I found this particularly interesting because in Ancient Rome and other ancient civilizations prostitutes were looked down on. And going back to my review on the Code of Hammurabi law one hundred and ten which for a reminder is “If a "sister of a god" opens a tavern, or enters a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death.” This is why I find this particularly interesting. While it is looked down on it is also looked up too as well. But I suppose this is considered more of an upper-class thing because of the money made. For a Sister of God, it may have been inappropriate, but for normal everyday women money was often made by men and not a woman, and being rich and having wealth as a woman back then was probably an inspiration to other women. Perfume makers plays into prostitution as well and just women back then in general. Perfume was something used by not only prostitutes but by the woman of the court. People of higher up would have wanted this product so the perfume makers would have done well. With the last higher up it in itself is explanatory, gold was considered a precious metal back in ancient Mesopotamia. Kings and people of the court would have wanted gold made into sculptures, statues, and other things as well. They would have been paid well to make these things for important people.

While prostitutes, perfume makers, and goldsmiths were rich in money and the people below them might not have been. The low incomes may have had some of the most important roles in civilization and it was to them that the laws of the Code of Hammurabi mainly applied to. These people were farmers, musicians, soldiers, tavern owners, and other professions as well. All of these professions are what you first think of when you think of society. That’s because these people are the ones who held up society. Back in the Neolithic revolution when agriculture began to be a thing and our ancestors stopped migrating with the seasons civilizations started to rise. It started with farmers, builders, protectors, and entertainers. Then later came King/rulers and others as well but it started with these lower people who held up the kingdom. Although the people may not have known how to read or write, cuneiform played a huge part in their lives through not only law but in religion as well.

Religion in Mesopotamia was different for each person. Mesopotamia was a large area and consisted of not only the Sumerians but the Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Persians for some time. Each different people had their own gods and goddesses in which they believed in. This is similar to Ancient Greece; each big city would have its own patron god or goddess of each city. According to the World History Encyclopedia, one of these cities in Ancient Mesopotamia was Nippur which was in Summaria and would have been in nowadays Iraq. Nippur was the home of the god Enlil who according to historians was the god of air wind and the earth. Another city in Ancient Mesopotamia that had a patron god was the Assyrian city of Assur whose people made their patron god Ashur. Ashur was another famous god as he was the god of war and many statues had been made in his name after battles/wars. However, the one god in Mesopotamia I have done the research on is Enki. He was the patron god of Eridu (which is argued to be one of the biggest Mesopotamian cities.) Eridu is located in southern Mesopotamia and was a Sumerian city. Enki is the god of water, knowledge, and mischief. Enki plays a large part in Mesopotamian’s cuneiform history. He is the center of the Cuneiform script “Enki and world order.” The script “Enki and word order” is an Ancient Sumerian poem broken down into four parts. The first part praises Enki in the third person and the second Enki praises himself. In the third part, the third person talks about Enki’s travels through the land of Summaria. In the last part, Inanna complains to Enki to which he responds. The reason why this text is important is because it gives us a glimpse into the past. Ancient Mesopotamia was around thousands of years ago and the fact that we have this much detail on a god from that long ago is important to world history. It shows us the beginnings of religion and how it all started. Enki, Enlil, and Ashur are all the beginning steps to what would form a true religion. This is why this cuneiform text is so important.

While cuneiform was important in religion; religion and cuneiform played hand in hand together to create politics in Ancient Mesopotamia. Kings and Queens in Ancient Mesopotamia were thought to be the descendants of gods. The Kings made laws for the people from the gods to take care of the people and often thought of themselves as shepherds. Others called themselves “Great King,” or “The Universe.” Some of the most remembered Mesopotamian kings are Sargon the great and Hammerubi (whose laws I previously discussed above.) Sargon the Great is remembered for the land he conquered, while Hammurabi on the other hand is known for his important laws, the first known to mankind, “The Code of Hammurabi.” Both kings played a large part in Mesopotamia culture as we know it today.

Now, besides Kings and Queens, Mesopotamia contained many more players on the chessboard. They had governors, nobles, wise men, scribes, temple officials, and free citizens who all played their parts in politics back then. However, the two groups that played the biggest role next to the king were the wise men and the citizen’s council who had the right to overrule any law they deemed wrong. They were the ones who went over the laws of the code of Hammurabi and approved them to be just and fair. Another person/persons who played a large role was the governors. “One governor was assigned to each city-state and this system of governors started in Assyria which included Samaria, Arpad, and the famous Nineveh. The governors were in charge of taxes, enforcing the law, construction, and sending men to battle.” (Taken from History Ten) Each of these roles were seen over by the scribes and temple officials. The ones who wrote history and the ones who oversaw religion. Mesopotamia held claim to a lot of things that were important back then but are also important now. Like how religion ties into politics. Which in America we see religion in politics as well. As it is embedded “In God we Trust.” We see writing all around the world with politics. In ancient Mesopotamia, they had “The Code of Hammurabi.” A strict set of rules they lived by. In America today we have the Constitution. A strict set of rules lived by.

In each nation throughout the land writing makes the laws. But writing not only makes laws but they make reading, entertainment and all sorts of other things. Some of the most famous texts in Cuneiform may have been “Enki and world order,” and “The Code of Hammurabi,” but that does not mean they were the only ones known to us. Some other texts that we are aware of are Atrahasis, The descent of Inanna, and The Enuma Elish. To get to know cuneiform a bit better I’m going to go more into depth on each one of them.

To start I’d like to go into Atrahasis. This is a tale about the Great Flood sent by the gods to rid all human life. This text is even older than the Epic of Gilgamesh and was written in the 17th Century BCE. This tale is similar to that of Noah's ark which can be found in the book of Genesis in the bible. Except that Noah's ark is dated back to the third century BCE which makes Atrahasis older than the tale of Noah's ark. However, the tale of Atrahasis is different in name. Instead of the man Noah who was righteous enough to start a new world after a terrible crisis, it is Atrahasis who is that man who is righteous enough to survive the flood. The Atrahasis is in another way similar to Noah's ark. Noah’s ark can be found in the book of Genesis as I mentioned before. Like the book of Genesis, the Atrahasis talks about world creation and the gods who created it. That makes the Atrahasis a very important cuneiform script because it has a strong association with not only the religious culture of Mesopotamia but because even today this script is still being talked about in a different form in Christianity and other religions.

The Descent of Inanna is another religious cuneiform text. It dates back to the third dynasty of Ur. This text focuses on the visit of the queen of the sky “Inanna” who goes to visit her widowed sister “Ereshkigal” who is the queen of the dead. Inanna is taken to the underworld but cannot leave without someone taking her place. Inanna refuses to let her sons and daughters take her place because they are all mourning for her apparent death. However, when she sees that her lover does not mourn, she goes into a rage and her lover Dumuzi is dragged down to hell where he for half the year must take her place. Like the Atrahasis which can be seen in modern-day Christianity, The Descent of Inanna is similar to that of the tale of Demeter and Persephone which are ancient greek myths. What is different about these two tales is that Persephone was taken to the underworld by the god Hades against her own free will. While in this tale Inanna went to visit her sister of her own free will. Unlike the Atrahasis which is more of a warning against the people or as some people suspect, a story about the flood of the Tigris and Euphrates river, The Descent of Inanna is a story to tell. To help people know more about the gods and goddesses back then, to feel like they knew them better.

All things started somewhere. The Gods and Goddesses of Mesopotamia started with the story of the Enuma Elish. This story according to Ancient.eu is known as “The Seven Tablets of Creation.” This story or better put ‘myth’ is about the beginning of the universe and the world. In science, we call it The Big Bang with our only beginning being nothingness. In Christianity, they say there was a spirit world before. But in Ancient Mesopotamia, there was water swirling in chaos. But out of this water came the Gods and Goddesses. From this chaos there was a fight and from this dark fight came a man Lullu. His purpose is to help keep peace within mankind. The Enuma Elish dates back to 1200 BCE and these texts are not only religious but back then would have been taught in everyday life as religion and the Gods were a huge part in people’s lives.

Today many Cuneiform tablets are held in museums. The largest collection of cuneiform tablets can be found at British Museum. This museum holds around 130,000 tablets and is still collecting many. Other important museums that hold cuneiform tablets are as follows. The Louvre, the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Louvre Museum holds the Code of Hammurabi and is one of its most famous items held. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds around sixty cuneiform tablets and I will discuss a few that interest me.

With the tablets found at the Metropolitan Museum, we get once again a glimpse into the life of Ancient Mesopotamians. While this museum holds many relief panels it also holds one document that I find very interesting. This tablet gives us a look into the Mesopotamian criminal justice system. While this tablet does not have a famous name it is known because it holds a record of a lawsuit held in 1836 BCE. Before telling us exactly what the tablet is about, The Met museum starts by telling us about merchants in Ancient Mesopotamia. Many merchants could write in cuneiform as they had to record transactions, loans, and business deals. Oftentimes these merchants were not at home with their families so they would send letters/cuneiform tablets to them. This tablet records an argument made between two merchants who both claimed to own the same property. The two merchants were brought before the government of merchants and the god Ashur. Unable to prove who the property belonged to, the merchant government sent them to the king. No further knowledge is known of the case.

Another tablet that drew my attention can be found at the British Museum in England. The tablet is Sumerian and is named: Counting Beer for the Workers. This script is a ration tablet for beer. Unlike a normal cuneiform script with wedge marks for letters; this ration tablet uses pictures to represent goods. The reason that they recorded with pictures is that most likely the person who made this tablet was not a Cuneiform scribe and didn’t know the actual wedge symbols. This tablet also shows not only men drinking the beer but women and children as well. Back in Ancient Mesopotamia beer was much better tasting and safer to drink than water. According to the British Museum, this tablet was found in southern Iraq and was probably made around 3100-3000 BCE.

Many precious cuneiform tablets like this one can be found in museums. Other tablets can be found in old Mesopotamian cities, others are undiscovered. But each of these tablets no matter how big or small has helped contribute to Mesopotamia civilization and culture. Whether it has helped us know about politics, religion, criminal justice, or even something as simple as trade, these scripts have been the key to our knowledge today. It is my sincerest hope that from this paper I have sparked your interest in this topic and given you the desire to go discover more yourself.

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