The Sumerian Social Pyramid: Class, Labor, and Power in the First Civilization

SUMERIAN Civilization SERIES 4500–1900 BCE Article # 4

Long before medieval feudalism or modern class systems, the Sumerians established a complex and hierarchical society in southern Mesopotamia. This early structure of power and labor division laid the groundwork for how humans would organize themselves for millennia. The Sumerian “social pyramid” was not just based on wealth, it was built on divine justification, labor roles, birth status, and temple affiliations. Understanding this social system reveals how the first cities functioned not only through innovation and religion but also through order, control, and inequality.

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(Lugal-kisal-si, the King of Uruk and Ur) Picture credit goes to Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)/Wikimedia Commons/Pergamon Museum