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Sumer (or ''Šumer'') was the earliest known civilization of the until the rise of Babylonia in the late 3rd Millennium BC . The term "Sumerian" applies to all speakers of the Sumerian Language . Sumer, together with Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilization , is considered among the first settled societies in the world to have manifested all the features needed to qualify fully as a " Civilization ". ORIGIN OF NAME The term "Sumerian" is the common name given to the ancient inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia by their successors, the '', Egyptian ''Sngr'' and Hittite ''Šanhar(a)'' could be western variants of ''Šumer'' . CITY STATES By the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into about a dozen independent City-state s, whose limits were defined by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered on a temple dedicated to the particular patron god or goddess of the city and ruled over by a priest (en), king ( Lugal ), or governor ( Ensi ) who was intimately tied to the city's religious rites. The principal Sumerian sites (from North to South) were the cities of:
Minor cities:
Apart from Mari, which lies full 330 km northwest of Agade, but which is credited in the King List to have "exercised kingship" in the Early Dynastic II period, these cities are all in the Euphrates-Tigris alluvial plain, south of Baghdad in what are now the Bābil , Wāsit , Dhi Qar , Al-Muthannā and Al-Qādisiyyah governorates of Iraq . HISTORY The Sumerian city states rose to power during the prehistorical Ubaid and Uruk periods. The historical record gradually opens with the Early Dynastic period from ca. the 29th century BC, but remains scarce until the Lagash period begins in the 26th century. Classical Sumer ends with the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century. Following the Gutian Period , there is a brief " Sumerian Renaissance " in the 22nd century, cut short in ca. 2000 BC by Amorite invasions. The Amorite "dynasty of Isin " persists until ca. 1730 BC when Mesopotamia is united under Babylonia n rule.
Ubaid period See Also: Ubaid period A distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery spread throughout Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf region in the Ubaid Period , when the ancient Sumerian religious center of Eridu was gradually surpassed in size by the nearby city of Uruk . The archaeological transition from the Ubaid period to the Uruk period is marked by a gradual shift from painted pottery domestically produced on a slow Wheel , to a great variety of unpainted pottery mass-produced by specialists on fast Wheels . The date of this transition, from Ubaid 4 to Early Uruk, is in dispute, but Calibrated Radiocarbon Dates from Tell Awayli would place it as early as 4500 BC . Uruk period See Also: Uruk period By the time of the Uruk period ( 4500 - 3100 BC calibrated), the volume of trade goods transported along the canals and rivers of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of many large temple-centered cities where centralized administrations employed specialized workers. It is fairly certain that it was during the Uruk period that Sumerian cities began to make use of slave labor (Subartu) captured from the hill country, and there is ample evidence for captured slaves as workers in the earliest texts. Artifacts, and even colonies of this Uruk civilization have been found over a wide area - from the Taurus Mountains in Turkey , to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and as far east as Central Iran . The Uruk period civilization, exported by Sumerian traders and colonists (like that found at Tell Brak ), had an effect on all surrounding peoples, who gradually evolved their own comparable, competing economies and cultures. The cities of Sumer could not maintain remote, long-distance colonies by military force. The end of the Uruk period coincided with the Priora Oscillation , a dry period from c. 3200 - 2900 BC that marked the end of a long wetter, warmer climate period from about 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, called the Holocene Climatic Optimum . When the historical record opens, the Sumerians appear to be limited to southern Mesopotamia — although very early rulers such as Lugal-Anne-Mundu are indeed recorded as expanding to neighboring areas as far as the Mediterranean, Taurus and Zagros , and not long after legendary figures like Enmerkar and Gilgamesh , who are associated in mythology with the historical transfer of culture from Eridu to Uruk, were supposed to have reigned. Early Dynastic The ancient Sumerian King List recounts the early dynasties of several prominent cities. The first set of names on the list is of kings said to have reigned before the Great Flood . These early names may be fictional, and include some legendary and mythological figures, such as Alulim , Dumuzid , and Ziusudra . The first post-diluvian king on the list whose name is known from any other source is Etana , 13th king of the first Dynasty of Kish. The first king authenticated through archaeological evidence is that of Enmebaragesi of Kish, the 22nd and penultimate king of that Dynasty, whose name is also mentioned in the Gilgamesh Epic , and who may have been king at the time hegemony passed from Kish to Uruk once again. This has led to the suggestion that Gilgamesh himself really was a historical king of Uruk. Lagash dynasty See Also: Lagash The dynasty of Lagash, though omitted from the king list, is well known through several important monuments, and one of the first empires in recorded history was that of Eannatum of Lagash, who annexed practically all of Sumer, including Kish, Uruk, Ur, and Larsa , and reduced to tribute the city-state of Umma , arch-rival of Lagash. In addition, his realm extended to parts of Elam and along the Persian Gulf. He seems to have used terror as a matter of policy - his stele of the vultures has been found, showing violent treatment of enemies. Lugal-Zage-Si , the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty, took Uruk, making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. He is the last ethnically Sumerian king before the arrival of the Semitic named king, Sargon Of Akkad .5 Akkadian dynasty See Also: Akkadian Empire The Semitic Akkadian Language is first attested in proper names around 2800 BC. From about 2500 BC one finds texts written entirely in Old Akkadian. The Old Akkadian language period was at its height during the rule of Sargon the Great (2350 - 2330), but most administrative tablets even during that period are still written in Sumerian, as that was the language used by the scribes. Gelb and Westenholz differentiate between three dialects of Old Akkadian - from the pre-Sargonic period, the period of rule by king Sargon and the city of Agade, and the Ur III period. Speakers of Akkadian and Sumerian coexisted for about one thousand years, from 2800 to 1800, at the end of which Sumerian ceased to be spoken. Thorkild Jacobsen has argued that there is little break in historical continuity between the pre- and post-Sargon periods, and that too much emphasis has been placed on the perception of a "Semitic vs. Sumerian" conflict.See ''Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture'' by T. Jacobsen However, it is certain that Akkadian was also briefly imposed on neighboring parts of Elam that were conquered by Sargon. Gutian period See Also: Gutian dynasty of Sumer Following the downfall of the Akkadian Empire at the hands of Gutian s, another native Sumerian ruler, Gudea of Lagash, rose to local prominence, promoting artistic development and continuing the practices of the Sargonid kings' claims to divinity. Sumerian renaissance See Also: Sumerian renaissance Later, the 3rd Dynasty Of Ur under Ur-Nammu and Shulgi , whose power extended as far as northern Mesopotamia, was the last great "Sumerian renaissance", but already the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the influx of waves of Martu ( Amorites ) who were later to found the Babylonia n Empire. Sumerian, however, remained a sacerdotal language taught in schools, in the same way that Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was utilised. Ecologically, the agricultural productivity of the Sumerian lands was being compromised as a result of rising salinity. The evaporation of irrigated waters left dissolved salts in the soil, making them difficult for agriculture. There was a major depopulation of southern Mesopotamia, affecting many of the smaller sites, from about 2000 BC, leading to the collapse of Sumerian culture. Downfall Following an Elamite invasion and sack of Ur during the rule of Ibbi-Sin (ca. 2004 BC ), Sumer came under Amorite rule (taken to introduce the Middle Bronze Age ). The independent Amorite states of the 20th to 18th centuries are summarized as the " Dynasty Of Isin " in the Sumerian king list, ending with the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi in ca. 1730 BC . This period is generally taken to coincide with a major shift in population from southern Iraq toward the north, as a result of the increase in soil salinity. Soil salinity in this region had been long recognised as a major problem. Poorly drained irrigated soils, in an arid climate with high levels of evaporation, led to the deposit of crystalline salt in the soil, eventually reducing agricultural yields severely. During the Akkadian and Ur III phases, there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley, but this was insufficient, and during the period from 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that the population in this area declined by nearly 3/5ths.6 This greatly weakened the balance of power within the region, weakening the areas where Sumerian was spoken, and comparatively strengthening those where Akkadian was the major language. Henceforth Sumerian would remain only a literate, sacerdotal or sacred language, similar to the position occupied by Latin in Middle Ages Europe. POPULATION arrive in Sumer, and build shrine and settlement at Eridu ]] The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people and were at one time believed to have been invaders, as a number of linguists believed they could detect a speculates that modern Kuwait is may be their descendants. (Cavalli-Sforza: "The History and Geography of Human Genes", Princeton University Press 1994, p. 252.) Despite the lack of corroborating written records, it is generally agreed that Sumerian speakers were farmers who moved down from the north, after perfecting irrigation agriculture there. The , excavated by the French in the 1980s, where 8 levels yielded pre-Ubaid pottery resembling Samarran ware. Farming peoples spread down into southern Mesopotamia because they had developed a temple-centered social organization for mobilizing labor and technology for water control, enabling them to survive and prosper in a difficult environment. CULTURE Sumerian culture may be traced to two main centers, Eridu in the south and Nippur in the north. Eridu and Nippur may be regarded as contrasting poles of Sumerian religion. The deity Enlil , around whose sanctuary Nippur had grown up, was considered lord of the ghost-land, and his gifts to mankind were said to be the spells and incantations that the spirits of good or evil were compelled to obey. The world he governed was a mountain (E-kur from E=house and Kur=Mountain); the creatures that he had made lived underground. Eridu, on the other hand, was the home of the culture god . Long before history is recorded, however, the cultures of Eridu and Nippur had coalesced. While Babylon seems to have been a colony of Eridu, Eridu's immediate neighbor, Ur , may have been a colony of Nippur, since its moon god was said to be the son of Enlil of Nippur. However, in the admixture of the two cultures, the influence of Eridu was predominant. Historian Alan Marcus has been quoted as saying that "Sumerians held a rather dour perspective on life." One Sumerian wrote: "Tears, lament, anguish, and depression are within me. Suffering overwhelms me. Evil fate holds me and carries off my life. Malignant sickness bathes me." Another wrote, "Why am I counted among the ignorant? Food is all about, yet my food is hunger. On the day shares were allotted, my allotted share was suffering." There is much evidence that the Sumerians loved music. It seemed to be an important part of Religious and civic life in Sumer. Lyres were popular in Sumer; see Sumerian Music . According to inscriptions describing the reforms of king Urukagina of Lagash , he is said to have abolished the former custom of Polyandry , on pain of the woman taking multiple husbands having her teeth bashed out with a clay tablet. Though women were protected by Late Sumerian Law and were able to achieve a higher status in Sumer than in other contemporary civilizations, the culture was male-dominated. The Code Of Ur-Nammu , the oldest such codification yet discovered, dating to the Ur-III "Sumerian Renaissance", reveals a glimpse at societal structure in late Sumerian law. Beneath the ''lu-gal'' ("great man" or king), all members of society belonged to one of two basic strata: The "''lu''" or free person, and the slave (male, ''arad''; female ''geme''). The son of a ''lu'' was called a ''dumu-nita'' until he married. A woman (''munus'') went from being a daughter (''dumu-mi''), to a wife (''dam''), then if she outlived her husband, a widow (''numasu'') who could remarry. Language and writing The most important archaeological discoveries in Sumer are a large number of tablets written in Sumerian. Sumerian pre- Cuneiform script has been discovered on tablets dating to around 3500 BC . The Sumerian language is generally regarded as a Language Isolate in Linguistics because it belongs to no known language family; Akkadian belongs to the Afro-Asiatic Languages . There have been many failed attempts to connect Sumerian to other Language Groups . It is an Agglutinative Language ; in other words, Morpheme s ("units of meaning") are added together to create words. Sumerians invented picture- Hieroglyphs that developed into later Cuneiform , and their language vies with Ancient Egyptian for credit as the oldest known Written Human Language . An extremely large body of hundreds of thousands of texts in the Sumerian language has survived, the great majority of these on clay tablets. Known Sumerian texts include personal and business letters and transactions, receipts, lexical lists, laws, hymns and prayers, magical incantations, and scientific texts including mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Monumental inscriptions and texts on different objects like statues or bricks are also very common. Many texts survive in multiple copies because they were repeatedly transcribed by scribes-in-training. Sumerian continued to be the language of religion and law in Mesopotamia long after Semitic speakers had become the ruling race. Understanding Sumerian texts today can be problematic even for experts. Most difficult are the earliest texts, which in many cases don't give the full grammatical structure of the language. Religion Like other cities of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, Sumer was a Polytheistic , or Henotheistic , society. There was no organized set of gods, with each city-state having its own patrons, temples, and priest-kings; but the Sumerians were probably the first to write down their beliefs. Sumerian beliefs were also the inspiration for much of later Mesopotamian Mythology , Religion , and Astrology . The Sumerians worshipped Anu as the primary god, equivalent to "heaven"-- indeed, the word "an" in Sumerian means "sky", and his consort Ki , meaning "earth". Collectively the Gods were known as Anunnaki ((d)a-nun-na-ke-ne = "offspring of the lord"). An's closest cohorts were Enki in the south at the Abzu temple in Eridu, Enlil in the north at the Ekur temple of Nippur and Inana , the deification of Venus, the morning (eastern) and evening (western) star, at the Eanna temple (shared with An) at Uruk. The sun was Utu , was worshipped at Sippar, the moon was Nanna , worshipped at Ur and Nammu or Namma was one of the names of the Mother Goddess , probably considered to be the original matrix; there were hundreds of minor Deities . The Sumerian God s (Sumerian ''dingir'', plural ''dingir-dingir'' or ''dingir-re-ne'') thus had associations with different cities, and their religious importance often waxed and waned with the political power of the associated cities. The gods were said to have created human beings from clay for the purpose of serving them. If the temples/gods ruled each city it was for their mutual survival and benefit - the temples organized the mass labor projects needed for irrigation agriculture. Citizens had a labor duty to the temple which only towards the end of the third millennium were they able to avoid by a payment of silver instead. The temple-centered farming communities of Sumer had a social stability that enabled them to survive for four millennia. Sumerians believed that the Universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin Dome . The Sumerian Afterlife involved a descent into a gloomy Netherworld to spend eternity in a wretched Existence as a Gidim (ghost). and Storehouse s were usually located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to place the temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising terraces, giving rise to the later ziggurat style. Agriculture and hunting The Sumerians adopted the agricultural mode of life which had been introduced into Lower Mesopotamia and practised the same irrigation techniques as those used in Egypt.7 Adams says that irrigation development was associated with urbanization,8 and that 89% of the population lived in the cities {Link without Title} . They grew Barley , Chickpea s, Lentil s, Wheat , Date s, Onion s, Garlic , Lettuce , Leek s and Mustard . They also raised cattle, Sheep , Goat s, and Pig s. They used Ox en as their primary beasts of burden and Donkey s or Equids as their primary transport animal. Sumerians caught many fish and hunted Fowl and Gazelle . Sumerian agriculture depended heavily on Irrigation . The irrigation was accomplished by the use of Shaduf s, Canal s, Channels , Dykes , Weir s, and Reservoirs . The frequent violent floods of the Tigris , and less so, of the Euphrates , meant that canals required frequent repair and continual removal of Silt , and survey markers and boundary stones continually replaced. The government required individuals to work on the canals in a Corvee , although the rich were able to exempt themselves. After the flood season and after the Spring Equinox and the Akitu or New Year Festival, using the canals, farmers would flood their fields and then drain the water. Next they let oxen stomp the ground and kill weeds. They then dragged the fields with Pickaxe s. After drying, they Plowed , Harrowed , and Raked the ground three times, and pulverized it with a Mattock , before planting seed. Unfortunately the high evaporation rate resulted in a gradual increase in the salinity of the fields. By the Ur III period, farmers had switched from wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley as their principal crop. Sumerians harvested during the dry Fall Season in three-person teams consisting of a Reaper , a Binder , and a Sheaf Arranger . The farmers would use Threshing Wagon s to separate the Cereal heads from the Stalk s and then use Threshing Sled s to disengage the grain. They then Winnowed the grain/chaff mixture. Architecture The Tigris-Euphrates plain lacked minerals and trees. Sumerian structures were made of plano-convex Mudbrick , not fixed with Mortar or Cement . Mud-brick buildings eventually deteriorate, and so they were periodically destroyed, leveled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, so that they came to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resultant hills are known as Tell s, and are found throughout the ancient Near East. The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the Ziggurat s, large layered platforms which supported temples. Some scholars have theorized that these structures might have been the basis of the Tower Of Babel described in Genesis . Sumerian Cylinder Seal s also depict houses built from reeds not unlike those built by the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq until as recently as A.D. 400 . The Sumerians also developed the arch. With this structure, they were able to develope a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several arches. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques, such as Buttress es, Recess es, Half Column s, and Clay Nail s. Economy and trade Discoveries of Obsidian from far-away locations in Anatolia and Lapis Lazuli from northeastern Afghanistan , beads from Dilmun (modern Bahrain ), and several seals inscribed with the Indus Valley Script suggest a remarkably wide-ranging network of ancient trade centered around the Persian Gulf . The Epic Of Gilgamesh refers to trade with far lands for goods such as wood that were scarce in Mesopotamia. In particular, cedar from Lebanon was prized. The Sumerians used slaves, although they were not a major part of the economy. Slave Women worked as Weavers , pressers, Miller s, and Porter s. Sumerian Potters decorated pots with Cedar Oil Paint s. The potters used a Bow Drill to produce the Fire needed for baking the pottery. Sumerian Masons and Jewelers knew and made use of Alabaster ( Calcite ), Ivory , Gold , Silver , carnelian and Lapis Lazuli . Military , ca. 2600 BC.]] The almost constant wars among the Sumerian city-states for 2000 years helped to develop the military technology and techniques of Sumer to a high level. The first war recorded was between Lagash and Umma in 2525 BC on a stele called the ''Stele of Vultures''. It shows the king of Lagash leading a Sumerian army consisting mostly of , which required training and discipline, and so implies they were Professional soldiers. The Sumerian military used carts harnessed to Onager s. These early Chariot s functioned less effectively in combat than did later designs, and some have suggested that these chariots served primarily as transports, though the crew carried battle-axes and Lance s. The Sumerian chariot comprised a four or two- Wheel ed device manned by a crew of two and harnessed to four onagers. The cart was composed of a Woven Basket and the wheels had a solid three-piece design. Sumerian cities were surrounded by defensive Wall s. The Sumerians engaged in Siege Warfare between their cities, but the Mudbrick walls failed to deter some foes. Technology Examples of Sumerian technology include: the Wheel , Cuneiform , Arithmetic and Geometry , Irrigation System s, Sumerian Boats , Lunisolar Calendar , Bronze , Leather , Saw s, Chisel s, Hammer s, Brace s, Bit s, Nail s, Pin s, Ring s, Hoe s, Axe s, Knives , Lance points, Arrowheads , Sword s, Glue , Dagger s, Waterskin s, Bag s, Harness es, Armor , Quiver s, War Chariot s, Scabbard s, Boot s, Sandal (footwear) and Harpoon s. The Sumerians had three main types of boats:
LEGACY Most authorities credit the Sumerians with the invention of the Wheel , initially in the form of the Potter's Wheel . The new concept quickly led to wheeled Vehicles and Mill Wheels . The Sumerians' Cuneiform writing system is the oldest there is evidence of (with the possible exception of the highly controversial Old European Script ), pre-dating Egyptian Hieroglyphics by at least seventy-five years. The Sumerians were among the first astronomers, mapping the stars into sets of constellations, many of which constellations survived in the zodiac and in the constellations known to the ancient Greeks History of Constellation and Star Names . The five planets that are visible to the naked eye also have Sumerian names Sumerian Questions and Answers . They invented and developed arithmetic using several different number systems including a Mixed Radix system with an alternating base 10 and base 6. This Sexagesimal system became the standard number system in Sumer and Babylonia. Using this sexagesimal system they invented the clock with its 60 seconds, 60 minutes, and 12 hours, and the 12 month calendar which is still in use. They may have invented military formations and introduced the basic divisions between Infantry , Cavalry and Archers . They developed the first known codified legal and administrative systems, complete with courts, jails, and government records. The first true City States arose in Sumer, roughly contemporaneously with similar entities in what is now Syria and Israel . Several centuries after their invention of cuneiform, the practice of writing expanded beyond debt/payment certificates and inventory lists and was applied for the first time about 2600 BC to written messages and mail delivery, history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records and other pursuits generally corresponding to the fields occupying teachers and students ever since. Accordingly, the first formal schools were established, usually under the auspices of a city-state's primary temple. Finally, the Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive Agriculture and irrigation. Emmer Wheat , Barley , sheep (starting as Moufflon ) and cattle (starting as Aurochs ) were foremost among the species cultivated and raised for the first time on a grand scale. These inventions and innovations easily place the Sumerians among the most creative cultures in human pre-history. SEE ALSO
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