Western Civilization I / Unit 1 WC1 0008 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Priests, Patron Gods, and the First Kings
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The idea
Each city belonged to a patron god whose priests claimed its output, taxed and demanded labor. Kings arose as war leaders, endorsed by priests as god-chosen, and by about three thousand B.C.E. kings ruled above priests.
In practice
The king as ensi, the god's representative on earth.
Where people slip
Priest and king shared power. The typical city-state of twenty-five hundred had both.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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