4)rc+Socio-Political+Culture

Socio-Political Culture

(Carter, Stolper pg. 230-245) //Political Culture // -Elamites provided bureaucracy for the early Achaemenid kings, as witnessed by thousands of clay tablets in Elamite, found at Persepolis -Well-organized bureaus governed the Elamite and the Achaemenid Empires -Divided into provinces called satrapies, each governed by an official called a satrap -Satraps ruled & lived like minor kings -But the kings of kings, who ruled the Empire, had final absolute authority -A secret service, which the Greeks called the “eyes and ears of the king”, informed the king of affairs throughout the empire

//Social Culture // -Elamite dress & customs greatly influences the Achamenids (ancient Persians) -Important people or high officials were only ones to live in cities -There were work shops -Tools found for jewelers, potters, leather workers, metalworkers, carpenters, and basket makers -People who lived in the city provided food & drink: the butchers, bakers, and brewers -People who were not high officials or mid-higher class people did not often live in cities -A majority of farmers lived outside the city -In the cities there were ziggurat temples, palaces, & important government buildings -Public squares -Walls around the outside -Workshops & homes on the edges of the city

(Shutter, 36-38) //Religion // -They believed in Gods of nature, such as the sun & the sky  -he major kingdoms/city-states of the early-mid Elamite periods were Awan, Anshan, Simash, & Susa, the capital -Each city-state had 1 god or goddess who they thought looked after them -Most cities had several temples, but the biggest, more central temple belonged to the God of the city -The bigger & more beautifully decorated the temple was, the happier the Gods would be -People worshiped at open space in front of temples -Often worshipped for religious festivals -Many festivals were tied into the cropping year to ask for good crop & water -Most people worshipped at chapels built on street corners in the cities -If they lived on the country side they had often had shrines in their own homes -Often prayed for personal matters -Ziggurats—temples with 3 levels, one on top of the other, each smaller than the last

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