Was the Harrapan Civilisation a State-Level Society?

Indus Valley Civilisation | April 22

2013

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Was the Harappan Civilisation in the Indus Valley a state‐level society like contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt? | Z3415127 |

Was the Harappan Civilisation in the Indus Valley a state‐level society like contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt?

The ancient civilisation of the Indus Valley cannot be regarded as a state level society when compared with the politically and socially dynamic tributary states of Mesopotamia and Egypt. From the evidence attained, the Indus Valley society, whilst highly complex, can only be regarded as a complex society due to a number of major fallings. Firstly, there is little evidence to ascertain that the Indus Valley society had a distinct class differentiation. Secondly, there is a lack of evidence to highlight a large extent of social and political organisation comparable to those of contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt. Furthermore there is an absence of a large syndicate of armed forces for guarding and extracting surplus as well as branching out to other lands.

At the centre of a state is a power structure which enables the management and production of surplus for its benefit. Fundamental to most early states are ideologies, usually in the form of gods or god-like figures, which give birth to a power structure. Those who have connections to the gods establish a legitimate power that is seen as natural by the public underneath. In both Mesopotamia and Egypt there is evidence of a power structure constructed out of a belief in the divine. For example the Pharaoh in Egypt, is both the king and the religious leader. In Mesopotamia the ziggurat in the city Uruk was the centre and was believed to have been dedicated to Anu, the sky god. Evidence similar to that in Mesopotamia or Egypt - where individuals attach themselves to a deity to gain power - is not as prominent in the Indus Valley archaeological sites. Whilst there are statues of so-called “Priest-Kings,” the significance they hold...