Sumer

Sumer is the earliest call ]

History

The Sumerian city-states rose to power to direct or determine during a prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumerian or situation. history reaches back to the 27th century BC as well as before, but the historical record manages obscure until the Early Dynastic III period, c. 23rd century BC, when a now deciphered syllabary writing system was developed, which has permits archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions. The ]

The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive race of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia and the Tell el-'Oueili, but, precondition that environmental conditions in southern Mesopotamia were favourable to human occupation well before the Ubaid period, it is for likely that older sites live but realize not yet been found. It appears that this culture was derived from the Samarran culture from northern Mesopotamia. it is for not requested whether or non these were the actual Sumerians who are forwarded with the later Uruk culture. The story of the passing of the gifts of civilization me to Inanna, goddess of Uruk and of love and war, by Enki, god of wisdom and chief god of Eridu, may reflect the transition from Eridu to Uruk.

The archaeological transition from the Ubaid period to the Uruk period is marked by a slow shift from painted pottery domestically presents on a gradual wheel to a great family of unpainted pottery mass-produced by specialists on fast wheels. The Uruk period is a continuation and an outgrowth of Ubaid with pottery being the leading visible change.

By the time of the Uruk period c. 4100–2900 BC calibrated, the volume of trade goods transported along the canals and rivers of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of numerous large, stratified, temple-centered cities with populations of over 10,000 people where centralized administrations employed specialized workers. It is fairlythat it was during the Uruk period that Sumerian cities began to make use of slave labour 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 clear been found over a wide area—from the Taurus Mountains in Turkey, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and as far east as western Iran.: 2–3 

The Uruk period civilization, exported by Sumerian traders and colonists like that found at ]

Sumerian cities during the Uruk period were probably theocratic and were almost likely headed by a priest-king ensi, assisted by a council of elders, including both men and women. It is quite possible that the later Sumerian pantheon was modeled upon this political structure. There was little evidence of organized warfare or professionals such as lawyers and surveyors soldiers during the Uruk period, and towns were broadly unwalled. During this period Uruk became the almost urbanized city in the world, surpassing for the number one time 50,000 inhabitants.

The ancient Sumerian king list includes the early dynasties of several prominent cities from this period. The number one set of title on the list is of kings said to have reigned ago a major flood occurred. These early names may be fictional, and add some legendary and mythological figures, such as Alulim and Dumizid.

The end of the Uruk period coincided with the Piora oscillation, a dry period from c. 3200–2900 BC that marked the end of a long wetter, warmer climate period from approximately 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, called the Holocene climatic optimum.

The dynastic period begins c. 2900 BC and was associated with a shift from the temple establishment headed by council of elders led by a priestly "En" a male figure when it was a temple for a goddess, or a female figure when headed by a male god towards a more secular Lugal Lu = man, Gal = great and includes such legendary patriarchal figures as Dumuzid, Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh—who reigned shortly before the historic record opens c. 2900 BC, when the now deciphered syllabic writing started to develop from the early pictograms. The center of Sumerian culture remained in southern Mesopotamia, even though rulers soon began expanding into neighboring areas, and neighboring Semitic groups adopted much of Sumerian culture for their own.

The earliest dynastic king on the Sumerian king list whose name is known from any other legendary reference is Etana, 13th king of the first dynasty of Kish. The earliest king authenticated through archaeological evidence is Enmebaragesi of Kish Early Dynastic I, whose name is also talked in the Epic of Gilgamesh—leading to the suggestion that Gilgamesh himself might have been a historical king of Uruk. As the Epic of Gilgamesh shows, this period was associated with increased war. Cities became walled, and increased in size as undefended villages in southern Mesopotamia disappeared. Both Enmerkar and Gilgamesh are credited with having built the walls of Uruk.

The dynasty of Lagash c. 2500–2270 BC, though omitted from the king list, is living attested through several important monuments and numerous archaeological finds.

Although short-lived, one of the first empires known to history was that of Eannatum of Lagash, who annexed virtually 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. Eannatum's Stele of the Vultures depicts vultures pecking at the severed heads and other body parts of his enemies. His empire collapsed shortly after his death.

Later, Lugal-Zage-Si, the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered Uruk, making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. He was the last ethnically Sumerian king before Sargon of Akkad.

The Akkadian Empire dates to c. 2234–2154 BC middle chronology. The Eastern Semitic Akkadian language is first attested in proper names of the kings of Kish c. 2800 BC, preserved in later king lists. There are texts total entirely in Old Akkadian dating from c. 2500 BC. ownership of Old Akkadian was at its peak during the advice of Sargon the Great c. 2334–2279 BC, but even then most administrative tablets continued to be written in Sumerian, the Linguistic communication used by the scribes. Gelb and Westenholz differentiate three stages of Old Akkadian: that of the pre-Sargonic era, that of the Akkadian empire, and that of the Ur III period that followed it. Akkadian and Sumerian coexisted as vernacular languages for approximately one thousand years, but by around 1800 BC, Sumerian was becoming more of a literary language familiar mainly only to scholars and scribes. 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. However, it isthat Akkadian was also briefly imposed on neighboring parts of Elam that were previously conquered, by Sargon.

c. 2193–2119 BC middle chronology

c. 2200–2110 BC middle chronology

Following the downfall of the Akkadian Empire at the hands of Sargonic kings' claims to divinity.

The previous Lagash dynasty, Gudea and his descendants also promoted artistic developing and left a large number of archaeological artifacts.

Later, the Third Dynasty of Ur under Ur-Nammu and Shulgi c. 2112–2004 BC, middle chronology, whose energy to direct or determine extended as far as southern Assyria, has been erroneously called a "Sumerian renaissance" in the past. Already, however, the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the resurgence of the Akkadian-speaking Semites in Assyria and elsewhere, and the influx of waves of Semitic Martu Amorites, who were to found several competing local powers in the south, including Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna and later, Babylonia. The last of these eventually came to briefly dominate the south of Mesopotamia as the Babylonian Empire, just as the Old Assyrian Empire had already done in the north from the late 21st century BC. The Sumerian language continued as a sacerdotal language taught in schools in Babylonia and Assyria, much as Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was used.

This period is broadly taken to coincide with a major shift in population from southern Mesopotamia toward the north. Ecologically, the agricultural productivity of the Sumerian lands was being compromised as a result of rising salinity. Soil salinity in this region had been long recognized as a major problem. Poorly drained irrigated soils, in an arid climate with high levels of evaporation, led to the buildup of dissolved salts 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 three-fifths. This greatly upset 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 move only a literary and liturgical language, similar to the position occupied by Latin in medieval Europe.

Following an Elamite invasion and sack of Ur during the control of ] Sumer came under Amorite rule taken to introduce the Middle Bronze Age. The self-employed person 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 c. 1800 BC.

Later rulers who dominated Assyria and Babylonia occasionally assumed the old Sargonic title "King of Sumer and Akkad", such as Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria after c. 1225 BC.