Temples as Economic Powerhouses

Temples functioned as economic headquarters, managing vast agricultural estates and employing artisans. The temple of Inanna at Uruk controlled thousands of hectares and employed weavers, brewers, and bakers. Worship and the local economy ran through the same institution.

The relationship between gods and humans was fundamentally transactional. Humans served the gods, who in return provided rain and protection. Failure to maintain temples invited divine punishment through flood or famine.