Ur, was the first city humans build, writing was developed
by these first Mesopotamians, so we can date the city and it existed at least from 6,500 BCE.
Ur probably existed for two thousand years before the invention of cuneiform.
Cuneiform was the first written language, the earliest was record keeping of
sheep sacrificed at the temples. Slowly cuneiform developed to express ideas,
record battles, and save oral traditions. Cuneiform scribes wrote of the heroic
deeds and events that happened thousands of years before their time.
I have read several history books written by eminent
archeological professionals. I have read many modern translation of Cuneiform.
A picture of our first civilization emerges that I found surprising.
The first city started as a temple that farmers and shepherds
would travel to for religious rites. Eventually the priest build themselves permanent
residents, support personal for the temple starting living at the shrines.
Slowly a city came into being.
Other city states followed, Kisk, Uruk, Niveveh, Sippar,
Assur, Lrasa, and finally Babylon. All appear to have started as temple complexes,
each city was created by a God. The creation myths told of the Gods bringing “Me”
to the people. “Me” being those principles of civilization.
The first civilizations were a theocratic communism, the
temple own everything, all land, all beast, and all people. The priest managed
central planning, the temples collected all food stuff and redistributed as
needed, all worked to their ability and all received as they needed. Of course,
the priest were more equal than the farmers. The priest did not rule, they were
just passing on the desires and wishes of the Gods. After the collection of the
farmer’s required foodstuff, any surplus was allowed for sale in a market
place. The Gods set the selling price and the qualities allowed for sale. The
Gods decided who could sale and what they could sale. No one cheated on the
system, the God would see you cheating and visit plagues and misery on your
family.
The Gods were a terrible and vengeful bunch, often starting
wars with each other. Humans were commanded (through their priest) to attack
another city, or to depopulate a desirable farming region for their God's pleasure, which priest would
take over. The priest would tell that they had no choice, no input into the God’s
demands, the Gods demands were duly recorded and published, and everyone accepted that this
was the way the world worked. Cities were run by the Gods, and anyone defying a
God died a horrible death. The smallest scratch could become infected (by the
God) and you died.
The Gods were the center of everything. Storms, floods, drought,
disease, good luck, bad luck, would your child be born boy or girl, would your
child survive their first year, even solar eclipses and comets were due to the
Gods seeming vanity. Humans were an afterthought, we are just the flotsam of
the Gods.
The theocratic command economy and priestly ruling elite
quickly passed into history. Their downfall was war. Priest make very bad
generals.
The generals redefined society’s meme, the generals became
Kings. The King could talk back to the Gods, and the Gods listened. Kings ruled by divine right.
Cities now became a hereditary communist state, the state still
owned everything, including the people. The concept of citizen was thousands of
years into the future. The word “Ama-gi”, which could be translated as freedom, would
not appear until 2350 BCE. Central planning and redistribution became a highly
refined and perfected system, a large agrarian population could be supported
with specialist such as boat builders and soldiers, and of course, priest.
Again war became the problem. The original King would be a Great
War Master, a bold tactician and strategist. The son, due to the dice roll of
genetics, would be great at flower arrangements.
And so things continued for 6,000 years until Greece and
then Rome rewrote the meme once more and started us to our modern form of civilization.
Communism is the oldest and most successful of human institutions.
It moved us from hunter gathers to the Roman republic. The new concepts (memes) of
citizenship and freedom prevailed the old fashion way, it won wars.
The next time someone tells you communism only works till
all the money is spent, ask them why Hammurabi and Sargon the Great never ran
out of money.
