Which of the following statements are true?

The earliest societies of Mesopotamia believed their rulers had divine right (1). As these societies grew in size, more complex governments and bureaucracies emerged (2). As a result, ancient Mesopotamia became the birthplace of a secular society that separated church and state (3).

(1) True

(2) True

(3) False

Explanation:

The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia comprehend Sumeria, the Akkadian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, and the Assyrian Empire, among many other kingdoms, that were located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what today is Iraq. These were some of the first great civilizations in History. The agrarian production allowed accumulation of resources and the rivers Tigris and Euphrates permitted to trade different goods and connected all the cities of the region creating a strong trade network. Therefore, these societies grew in size and organized politically in vast empires. In ancient Sumeria, the first writing system was invented around 3500 BCE, which allowed the political authorities to establish a bureaucracy that would write laws, codes, judgments, and to take note of all the resources of the empire. In these ancient empires, politics and religion were completely intertwined. The kings and emperors had a divine right to the throne and it was under the guardianship of the priests that had authority over the commoners. For this reason, it is false that ancient Mesopotamia was the birthplace of a secular society that separated church and state. The separation between Church and state happened more recently with the upcoming of modernity in Europe.