Axial Age
Almost all Near Eastern societies of the Bronze Age (3000-1200 BCE) and Axial Age (800 to 300 BCE) were patriarchal with patriarchy established in most by 3000 BCE. Eastern societies such as the Akkadians, Hittites, Assyrians and Persians relegated women to an inferior and subordinate position. There are very few exceptions, but one can be found in the third millennium B.C. with the Sumerians who accorded women a position which was almost equal to that of men. However, by the second millennium, the rights and status of women were reduced.