Editing Mesopotamia (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Kudurru Melishipak Louvre Sb23 n02.jpg|thumb|King [[Meli-Shipak II|Meli-shipak I]] (1186–1172 BC) presents his daughter to the goddess [[Nanaya|Nannaya]]. The crescent moon represents the god [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]], the sun the [[Utu|Shamash]] and the star the goddess [[Inanna|Ishtar]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=156, 169–170}}{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}}]]

===Festivals===
Ancient Mesopotamians had ceremonies each month. The theme of the rituals and festivals for each month was determined by at least six important factors:

# The [[Lunar phase]] (a waxing moon meant abundance and growth, while a waning moon was associated with decline, conservation, and festivals of the Underworld)
# The phase of the annual agricultural cycle
# [[Equinoxes]] and [[solstices]]
# The local mythos and its divine Patrons
# The success of the reigning Monarch
# The [[Akitu]], or [[New Year]] Festival (first full moon after spring equinox)
# Commemoration of specific historical events (founding, military victories, temple holidays, etc.)

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Mesopotamia}}
[[File:The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. C. 2500 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg|left|thumb|The Queen's gold [[Lyres of Ur|lyre]] from the [[Royal Cemetery at Ur]]. {{circa|2500 BC}}. [[Iraq Museum]]]]
Some songs were written for the gods but many were written to describe important events. Although music and songs amused [[Monarch|kings]], they were also enjoyed by ordinary people who liked to sing and dance in their homes or in the [[marketplace]]s.

Songs were sung to children who passed them on to their children. Thus songs were passed on through many [[generation]]s as an oral tradition until writing was more universal. These songs provided a means of passing on through the [[century|centuries]] highly important information about historical events.

===Games===
[[File:Jemdet Nasr Cylinder Seal With Hunting Scene.png|thumb|Jemdet Nasr Cylinder presenting a hunting scene, with two lions and an antelope. {{circa|3100}} to 2900 BC.]]
[[Hunting]] was popular among Assyrian kings. [[Boxing]] and [[wrestling]] feature frequently in art, and some form of [[polo]] was probably popular, with men sitting on the shoulders of other men rather than on horses.<ref>{{Citation |author=Nemet-Nejat |first=Karen Rhea |title=Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia |year=1998}}.</ref>

They also played a board game similar to [[senet]] and [[backgammon]], now known as the "[[Royal Game of Ur]]".

===Family life===
[[File:Babylonian marriage market.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''The Babylonian marriage market'' by the 19th-century painter [[Edwin Long]]]]
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. [[Thorkild Jacobsen]], as well as others, have 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.<ref name="Harris">{{Citation |author=Harris |first=Rivkah |title=Gender and Aging in Mesopotamia |year=2000}}.</ref>

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.<ref name="Harris"/> 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. Unusually for that time in history, women in Mesopotamia had [[rights]]. They could own [[property]] and, if they had good reason, get a [[divorce]].<ref name="Kramer1963">{{cite book |last1=Kramer |first1=Samuel Noah |url=https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu |title=The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character |date=1963 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-45238-8 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|78–79}}

===Burials===
Hundreds of [[grave (burial)|graves]] have been excavated in parts of Mesopotamia, revealing information about Mesopotamian [[burial]] habits. In the city of [[Ur]], most people were buried in family graves under their houses, along with some possessions. A few have been found wrapped in mats and [[carpets]]. Deceased children were put in big "jars" which were placed in the family [[chapel]]. Other remains have been found buried in common city [[graveyard]]s. 17 graves have been found with very precious objects in them. It is assumed that these were royal graves. Rich of various periods, have been discovered to have sought burial in Bahrein, identified with Sumerian Dilmun.<ref>Bibby, Geoffrey and Phillips, Carl (1996), "Looking for Dilmun" (Interlink Pub Group).</ref>