Rise and Fall

A 24th-century BC statue of a
praying Sumerian man
(modern day eastern Syria)

The Sumerian city-states rose to power during the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumerian written
history reaches back to the 27th century BC and before, but the historical record remains obscure until the
Early Dynastic III period, c. the 23rd century BC, when a now deciphered syllabary writing system was
developed, which has allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions. Classical
Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 23rd century BC. Following the Gutian period,
there was a brief Sumerian Renaissance in the 21st century BC, cut short in the 20th century BC by
invasions by the Amorites. The Amorite "dynasty of Isin" persisted until c. 1700 BC, when Mesopotamia
was united under Babylonian rule. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into the Akkadian (Assyro-
Babylonian) population.
 Timeline
Ubaid period: 65004100 BC (Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic)
Uruk period: 41002900 BC (Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age I)

Uruk XIV-V: 41003300 BC

Uruk IV period: 33003100 BC

Jemdet Nasr period (Uruk III): 31002900 BC

Early Dynastic period (Early Bronze Age II-IV)
Early Dynastic I period: 29002800 BC

Early Dynastic II period: 28002600 BC (Gilgamesh)

Early Dynastic IIIa period: 26002500 BC

Early Dynastic IIIb period: c. 25002334 BC

Akkadian Empire period: c. 23342218 BC (Sargon)
Gutian period: c. 22182047 BC (Early Bronze Age IV)
Ur III period: c. 20471940 BC
The Samarra bowl, at the Pergamonmuseum, Berlin.
The swastika in the center of the design is a
reconstruction.
Map and Geography
 Location

- Sumeria is located in Mesopotamia

- Mesopotamia is divided into two parts;

upper mesopotamia and sumer.

 Geography
- Surrounded on both sides with rivers; Tigris and Euphrates

- The land is fertile since the river moved out of their position, sediment and silt was left behind.

- At one point went into Persian Gulf independently

- There are some parts surrounded by deserts

- The rivers flooded frequently

 Climate
- Hot and Dry

- The rain usually came as a storm form from the Persian Gulf
Cities and states
In the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into many independent city-states, which were divided 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 priestly governor (ensi) or
by a king (lugal) who was intimately tied to the city's religious rites.

The five "first" cities, said to have exercised pre-dynastic kingship "before the flood":

1. Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain) 9.Adab (Tell Bismaya)

1. Kutha (Tell Ibrahim)
2. Bad-tibira (probably Tell al-Madain) 10.Mari (Tell Hariri) 2
2. Der (al-Badra)
3. Larsa (Tell as-Senkereh) 11.Akshak 1
3. Eshnunna (Tell Asmar)
4. Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah) 12.Akkad 1
4. Nagar (Tell Brak) 2
Other principal cities:
5. Shuruppak (Tell Fara) 13.Isin (Ishan al-Bahriyat)
1. Uruk (Warka) Minor cities (from south to north):
2. Kish (Tell Uheimir & Ingharra) 1. Kuara (Tell al-Lahm)
3. Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar)
2. Zabala (Tell Ibzeikh)
4. Nippur (Afak)
3. Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)
5. Lagash (Tell al-Hiba)
4. Marad (Tell Wannat es-Sadum)
6. Girsu (Tello or Telloh)
5. Dilbat (Tell ed-Duleim)
7. Umma (Tell Jokha)
6. Borsippa (Birs Nimrud)
Government and Law
 Government
- Combination of monarchy and democracy

- Invented to organize labor and appoint officials to sort problems

- Set up government to make laws which are enforced by courts

- Organize the kingdoms into city-states and the king assisted by priests, scribes, and nobles rule each
city-states for the gods

- Before 3500 BC ruled by priest who attended the gods who really ruled.

Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, was said to be two-

thirds God and one-third human, and 18 feet
tall.
 Priest king
- Until 3000 BC kings were elected to a temporary ruling position only in times of crisis (war/famine)

- After 3000 BC the position of king was hereditary

- Elected officials served in the Assembly also ruled people, even kings had to ask them for
permission.

- Priests had the most responsibility; designed and supervised the building of irrigation canals,
decided cases of justice, scribes measured land into square units and decided taxes to be paid, and
kept accounts of foreign goods unloaded from ships.
 Law
- Performed by a two-house legislature

- Upper House - composed of elders

- Lower House - composed of free male citizens

- Laws were not written down yet in Sumerian

 Sumerian writing
-Sumerian were responsibles for the 1st writing
system,know as cuneiform.

- Using a tool called the stylus,they would make

wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablet.
Division of labour
Specialized Job
 Social classes
Social Classes:
Upper class contained nobles, priests, government officials and warriors.
Merchants, traders and artisans made up a Middle or "Freeman" Class.
Slavery is a bottom class.
 Public work
Broad dirt roads leading to the city walls
Small houses without windows
Wealthy people lived in two-story houses
Houses were closely packed together on the streets
Government officials planned public works projects
 Religions
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of Sumer

The Sumerians believed that the universe had come into being through a series of cosmic births.

First, Nammu, the primeval waters, gave birth to An (the sky) and Ki (the earth),

who mated together and produced a son named Enlil. Enlil separated heaven from earth and
claimed the earth as his domain.

Humans were believed to have been created by Enki, the son of An and Nammu.
 Inventions
Pictographs
- Form of communication, which were images and pictures drawn on rocks or stones
Mathematical system (sexagesimal)
- Allows Sumerians to calculate roots, multiply into millions and use fractions
Law
- Covered the punishment for murder, robbery, kidnapping, adultery, rape, practicing sorcery, lying
and rudeness.
Tools
- Discovered bronze
City-states
- Cities were operated as countries : had their own government and military
- Ruled by kings who collected taxes and enforced the law
Medicines
- First to use pills and creams to treat illnesses
Business and trade
Art & architure

The science of building is architecture.

While Sumerian rulers lived in palaces, the average person lived in one-story homes.

The most impressive display of Sumerian architecture was a ziggurat.

Ziggurats were temples shaped like pyramids.

Long staircases led up to the platform and shrine at the top..

 Slavery
Slaves came from:
- Person who owes money
- Unemployed workers
- Volunteers
- Sold by their parents/ husband
- Prisoners of war

Roles
- Agricultures
- Building public buildings and temples
- Domestics
- Concubine