- Key People:
- Ernest de Sarzec
- Related Topics:
- âEridu Genesisâ
Sumer
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What was Sumer?
Sumer, the site of the earliest known civilization, was located in southern Mesopotamia, in the region that later became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq. It was first settled between 4500 and 4000 BCE by a non-Semitic people called proto-Euphrateans or Ubaidians, who drained the marshes for agriculture and developed trade and industries. The Sumerians, whose language became the prevailing language, arrived around 3300 BCE. By the 3rd millennium BCE, Sumer was the site of at least 12 separate city-states, each with its own deity and temple. Sumerian civilization left a number of technological and cultural contributions, including cuneiform, the first system of writing.
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Where was Sumer located?
Sumer was the site of the earliest known civilization, situated in the southernmost region of Mesopotamia, specifically between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This area corresponds to what later became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq, stretching from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. The ancient city of Eridu, south of Ur, was an important urban center in Sumer.
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What were the main cities of Sumer?
Sumer, the earliest known civilization, was located in Mesopotamia, in the region that is now southern Iraq. By the 3rd millennium BCE, Sumer was home to at least 12 city-states, each consisting of a walled city, surrounding villages, and land. Each city-state worshipped its own deity, whose temple was the city's central structure.
Major Sumerian cities:
* Kish
* Erech (Uruk)
* Ur
* Sippar
* Akshak
* Larak
* Nippur
* Adab
* Umma
* Lagash
* Bad-tibira
* Larsa
* Eridu5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What were some important achievements of the Sumerians?
The Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) from around 4500 to 1900 BCE, made several important contributions to civilization.
Some key achievements:
* They created the first writing system, cuneiform, initially for record-keeping but later for literature and history.
* They developed advanced mathematics, including a base-60 numeral system that influences time measurement today.
* They invented the wheel and potter's wheel, revolutionizing transportation and pottery production.
* They established the first city-states, like Ur and Uruk, with complex social structures and governance.
* They created early law codes, such as that of Ur-Nammu, which influenced later legal systems.5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Sumerian writing, called cuneiform, work?
Cuneiform, the writing system of ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia, used wedge-shaped impressions to represent ideas and sounds. Sumerians, around the end of the 4th millennium BCE, used pictographic tablets to keep lists of commodities.
Early cuneiform used word writing, with drawings to represent objects, but it soon incorporated the rebus principle, using shapes to evoke sounds. The writing evolved to include phonetic symbols, enabling the expression of grammatical elements. Over time, the script became more cursive, and the strokes turned into wedge shapes pressed into clay, which was the primary writing material. The Akkadians adopted the Sumerian writing system and expanded its phonetic properties.
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How did Sumerian civilization influence later cultures in Mesopotamia?
The Sumerian civilization, which emerged in Mesopotamia around 4500 to 4000 BCE, significantly influenced later cultures in the region. After 1900 BCE, though the Sumerians lost their distinct identity after the Amorite conquest, their cultural legacy endured through their Semitic successors.
Sumerian influence can be seen in:
* Writing System The Sumerians developed cuneiform, the first known writing system, which was later adopted and adapted by the Akkadians and others.
* Legal Codes The Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest known law code, influenced later legal systems in Mesopotamia.
* Political Structures The Sumerians developed the concept of the city-state, which became a fundamental political unit in Mesopotamia. Sargon of Akkad's unification of these city-states served as a governmental model for Middle Eastern civilizations.
* Technological Innovations They invented the wheel, potter's wheel, and made advancements in irrigation.
* Religious Beliefs Mesopotamian religion, rooted in Sumerian traditions, shaped the social, economic, legal, political, and military institutions of the time, influencing cultures beyond Mesopotamia.6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Sumer, site of the earliest known civilization, located in the southernmost part of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the area that later became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq, from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf.
A brief treatment of Sumerian civilization follows. For full treatment, see Mesopotamia, history of: Sumerian civilization.
Sumer was first settled between 4500 and 4000 bce by a non-Semitic people who did not speak the Sumerian language. These people now are called proto-Euphrateans or Ubaidians, for the village Al-ÊżUbayd, where their remains were first discovered. The Ubaidians were the first civilizing force in Sumer, draining the marshes for agriculture, developing trade, and establishing industries, including weaving, leatherwork, metalwork, masonry, and pottery. After the Ubaidian immigration to Mesopotamia, various Semitic peoples infiltrated their territory, adding their cultures to the Ubaidian culture and creating a high pre-Sumerian civilization.
The people called Sumerians, whose language became the prevailing language of the territory, probably came from around Anatolia, arriving in Sumer about 3300 bce. By the 3rd millennium bce the country was the site of at least 12 separate city-states: Kish, Erech (Uruk), Ur, Sippar, Akshak, Larak, Nippur, Adab, Umma, Lagash, Bad-tibira, and Larsa. Each of these states comprised a walled city and its surrounding villages and land, and each worshipped its own deity, whose temple was the central structure of the city. Political power originally belonged to the citizens, but, as rivalry between the various city-states increased, each adopted the institution of kingship. An extant document, The Sumerian King List, records that eight kings reigned before the great Flood.
After the Flood, various city-states and their dynasties of kings temporarily gained power over the others. The first king to unite the separate city-states was Etana, ruler of Kish (c. 2800 bce). Thereafter, Kish, Erech, Ur, and Lagash vied for ascendancy for hundreds of years, rendering Sumer vulnerable to external conquerors, first the Elamites (c. 2530â2450 bce) and later the Akkadians, led by their king Sargon (reigned 2334â2279 bce). Although Sargonâs dynasty lasted only about 100 years, it united the city-states and created a model of government that influenced all of Middle Eastern civilization.
After Sargonâs dynasty ended and Sumer recovered from a devastating invasion by the semi-barbaric Gutians, the city-states once again became independent. The high point of this final era of Sumerian civilization was the reign of the 3rd dynasty of Ur, whose first king, Ur-Nammu, published the earliest law code yet discovered in Mesopotamia.
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After 1900 bce, when the Amorites conquered all of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians lost their separate identity, but they bequeathed their culture to their Semitic successors, and they left the world a number of technological and cultural contributions, including the first wheeled vehicles and potterâs wheels; the first system of writing, cuneiform; the first codes of law; and the first city-states.