SUMER

The Sumer civilization’s land was first inhabited around 4500 BCE by a people known as the Ubaid [i]. Not much is known about the Ubaid people, but they founded communities that later became Sumerian city-states [ii]. It is unclear exactly when the Sumerians arrived in Mesopotamia, yet they were well-established in the region [iii] by 3000 BCE. Over time, the city-states grew larger and more powerful, though invasions [iv] sometimes infringed upon their independence. The fall of Sumer [v] ultimately came around 2004 BCE, when the Elamite people took control of the Sumerian cities. The Elamites and Sumerians were then absorbed into Amorite [vi] culture, becoming Babylonians [vii].

Conflict amongst Sumerian city-states was common, as they often rivaled one another over land, water access, and other resources. However, the city-states were also occasionally united under one king; such as when Enembaragesi led the Sumerians against Elam [viii] in 2700 BCE in history’s first ever recorded war [ix]. The Sumerians also had strong trading relationships [x] with other states. The first empire [xi] was formed when a rival of the Sumerians, the Akkadians, conquered Sumer. Perhaps Sumer’s greatest rivals were the Gutians [xii], who invaded in 2193 BCE and presided over a dark age [xiii] in Sumerian history. Sumer’s end [xiv] was ultimately caused by the Elamites.

The Sumer civilization’s impact on history and the modern day cannot be overstated. One of the civilization’s most important influences was its writing system, Cuneiform [xv], which was adopted by several other cultures, and continued to be used until the first century [xvi] CE. Another significant impact was the formation of cities. The largest Sumerian city, Uruk [xvii], is estimated to have had up to 80,000 inhabitants at its height. Arguably the Sumerians’ biggest influence on modern life was in time keeping [xviii]. They were the first to determine that sixty seconds make up a minute, and that sixty minutes make up an hour.

Though typically referred to collectively, “Sumer” was only occasionally unified. For most of its history, Sumer was a collection of independent city-states [xix], each with its own king. These cities grew out of “households,” or closely-knit communities that worked together. Priests served as a bureaucracy [xx] in the Sumerian governments. The world’s oldest known law code, the Code of Ur-Nammu [xxi], was written in Sumer between 2100 and 2050 BCE. The code declares that Ur-Nammu’s kingship was bestowed by the gods, and lays out punishments for various crimes, including murder, robbery, kidnapping, and adultery. It also sets out laws regarding slaves and the courts.

The Sumerians secured their control of Mesopotamia by 3000 BCE. Over the next few centuries [xxii], they established cities, cuneiform, trade routes [xxiii], and more. The civilization established formal kings around 2900 BCE, leading to the First Dynasty of Lagash [xxiv] in 2500 BCE, which ruled most Sumerian cities. The Dynasty lasted until 2334 BCE, when the Akkadians conquered Sumer. The Akkadians remained in power until the Gutians invaded in 2218 BCE, creating a dark period for the Sumerians. In 2047 BCE, the city of Ur [xxv] took back control of Sumer, establishing a new era which lasted until the Elamites and Amorites took control.

Along with their large cities, the Sumerians also had architectural and artistic accomplishments. They built ziggurats [xxvi], or pyramid-like terraced structures with temples on top to honor the gods. These structures were adorned with sculptures, mosaics, and mural paintings. Another major accomplishment was Sumerian literature [xxvii]. They had a large body of work, though only fragments of this exist today. The most well known Sumerian work is the Epic of Gilgamesh [xxviii]. The Sumerians also had great accomplishments in science and engineering. They created ditch systems to control flooding, and developed irrigation systems [xxix], allowing them to take advantage of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Though Mesopotamia had fertile land and water, it lacked other vital natural resources. As a result, the Sumerians had to develop extensive trade networks [xxx] with other lands. Maritime and terrestrial routes were established to civilizations around the known world. They traded for copper with Dilmun [xxxi] in modern-day Bahrain. They went to Anatolia [xxxii] and Phoenicia [xxxiii] for wood, and to Oman [xxxiv] and the Indus valley [xxxv] for precious stones. To get lapis lazuli, a gem featured prominently in Sumerian art and jewelry, they traveled as far as modern-day Afghanistan [xxxvi]. Importing these raw materials allowed the Sumerians to then export [xxxvii] textiles, oil, wool, and barley.