Here, we are talking about merchants, artisans, scribes, priests, and the top of it all: the King. They were a little above average to very wealthy, and high up on the social chain. They could all afford most things, and wore sheep's wool cloaks to keep warm. The lower end of the higher class were the merchants and artisans. They were the ones who made civilization possible by producing all of the city's wealth. They were also the traders. They traded with all the nearby countries, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Cyprus.
They wore some jewelry, especially rings, and had fancier homes than the lower class. The men wore skirts, had curly mustaches and long hair. The women had elegant one-shoulder dresses and fancily arranged hair. This class invented Cuneiform, a system of writing, to write down all of their trade deals. They also made tools, jewelry and weapons. They invented calendars similar to what we use today, to keep track of trade.
Scribes were the class slightly above merchants and artisans. They represented the educated class, made up mostly of men. They were able to read and write, but were about as wealthy as merchants and artisans. They worked most of the important jobs. They had to complete training in order to be called a "scribe".
Priests were the highest class, only after the King. They were Ancient Mesopotamia's doctors, and very much in power. If you were sick, a priest would take care of you. Priests were also in charge of making sure you were behaving in a certain way to appease the gods. All of the priests shaved their heads. They ran the school system and decided how much land everyone got.
Kings were believed to be gods on land. What they declared was law, and they could buy everything in their land. They were the head of their land's army. They were sometimes priests as well as kings. They controlled everything and had up to hundreds of wives.
