ABSTRACT
Agency, the capacity of acting, of a person or group, depends primarily on access to social and cultural resources, and secondarily on gender and status. Also critical is if a person or group can influence the creation and interpretation of symbols and symbolic representation. Status may change quickly, but gender regimes are of longue durée. Change is often caused by socio-political upheaval, revolt or revolution and particularly war, whether victor or vanquished. Ancient Mesopotamians recurrently experienced upheavals, but fragmentary and uneven chronological and geographical distribution of sources preclude comprehensive reconstruction of the history of Mesopotamian women. In addition, scholarly interpretation of texts and images is often controversial and conditional.1
