Civilization in Sumerian City-States
As we learn about World History, it is fascinating to imagine how civilizations began. For as long as there have been historians, they have asked and studied this very question. Through the work of archaeologists, scholars, and historians, we have pieced together what life looked like thousands of years ago.
Historians believe that human civilization began with the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Sumer was a collection of city-states in southern Mesopotamia, including Ur, Bad-tibira, and Eridu, which is believed to be the oldest city in the region.
The Sumerians referred to their land as Kengir, meaning "Country of the noble lords".
Through their development, we can see interesting aspects of their life that have spanned the test of time and are even present in today's civilizations. These include the establishment of advanced cities, complex institutions, specialized workers, advanced technology and record keeping.
In about 5000 BCE, nomads living in the region began to settle in the fertile land near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They formed small villages which grew into larger towns and cities, and eventually developed into the civilization known as Sumer. Some advanced city-states in Sumer had over 80,000 people. Sumerian cities were organized around a ziggurat, or temple, and included streets and housing.
Within these cities, Sumerians created complex institutions such as government. Government in Sumer was a form of theocracy, meaning government and religion were intertwined. Kings were believed to be descended from heaven. Kings and priests claimed that deities or gods gave them divine guidance to rule their lands.
The Sumerians had over 3,000 gods. Each city had its own government and laws. Kings ruled these city-states in the name of the gods they worshipped until eventually one king created an empire and Sumer became one of the first monarchies in the world.
Sumerian society shows an advanced use of a specialized workforce. Once they used irrigation from the rivers to help increase crop and food production, there was a surplus of workers. This allowed for people to take on other jobs like merchants, weavers, artists, and soldiers.
The Sumerians had advanced achievements in science and art as well. They developed the first writing system known as cuneiform. Scribes recorded the names of rulers, laws, and history into clay tablets. One of the first epics, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written in cuneiform.
The Sumerians showed use of advanced technology such as canals for irrigation of crops, sun dried bricks for building, the first wheeled vehicles, and the use of bronze to create stronger weapons and tools. They even invented mathematical equations and tables and, studied astronomy by mapping out the movement of the moon and stars.
In tracing the arc of Sumerian civilization, we witness the foundations upon which subsequent societies would build. Their governance, specialized labor, and technological prowess laid a cornerstone for human progress and resonate in the very fabric of our contemporary world.