Dbq on Patriarchy in Mespotamia

Patriarchy is a system of society where men are the supreme authority. They control everything and women have none or, if any at all, very little power. Patriarchy was the foundation of Mesopotamia, Ancient China, and Aryan India. It created a structure on how life would be lived and who would control what was going on in the society. Mesopotamia was very specific when it came to the laws. The Code of Hammurabi was very straight forward in the sense that woman controlled nothing. If the husband died the son inherited his possessions. If the son was young the wife got one-third of the land. When the boy grew up the land would become his. Many laws in the Code affected woman harshly. Sometimes the women didn’t do much of anything to deserve the consequence. For example, if a woman owned a tavern and didn’t take the right amount of corn for a drink, she was thrown into the water. Men of Mesopotamia were also very cautious about the women they married or “spent their time with”. You didn’t want to be with the wrong type of female whether it was for image purposes or just the type of marriage you were involving yourself with. Elite men rewarded each other with gifts of gold, horses, slaves etc. Although patriarchy was the way of life they did view their god as a woman whom they valued very much. Ancient China was also believers in the concept of “men are free to roam outside, but the woman must stay inside.” Men were nobles, high ministers, emperors etc. They stood as authority as women stood beside them. Philosophers concluded that if you were superior no one would oppose you. Men were very cocky with their superiority. “But it is the accord of brothers that makes the harmony and happiness lasting”, just before this line the poem says that a loving family is great but then as you read it states that men make it better. Many of the Buddhist statues at Sanchi show great details of men sitting on these beautiful, massive elephants while the women stand off to side leaning off of trees. It gives off that women were there for one reason, to lie with and reproduce. Men represent greatness and dignity in this culture. As you go into Aryan India you find many of the same attributes. “There are none equal to brothers”, that already sets men apart from women. Men built the temples that people worshiped in, men were the priest that preached inside the temples, men were the people who drew out the make of the temple. Women did not have their own fate; they were to share their husbands. Some woman were considered not worthy of her husband, such as if he was a warrior. Her husband was to defend her. She had no say in anything. Even her son would become greater than her in old age. It was okay to argue and bicker in your home, as long as you resolved it. Though to be insulted outside of your home was not granted. If you were a man, you were to stand your grounds and show pride. Through patriarchy they found a system that kept everything in place. Mesopotamia, Ancient China and Aryan India all share that. Women were inferior to men, therefore men would control the ways of things. A document that showed the women’s point of view would have been great to show the other side of things. To see how a woman felt during this time period would’ve changed the perspective of patriarchy and shed light on the thoughts of the unheard.