Overview
This lecture explores the rise of the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia, its innovations, social structure, spread, and enduring cultural legacy.
The Birth of Sumerian Civilization
- Sumer developed in southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq), a region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
- Early Sumerians used irrigation, dams, and reservoirs to farm previously dry land around 5000 BCE.
- Sumerians built the first cities using clay bricks made from mud, due to lack of stone and wood.
Early Innovations and Society
- The potter’s wheel was invented for crafting goods, later adapted for chariots and wagons.
- Sumerian cities emerged by 4500 BCE, featuring multi-storied homes and monumental temples.
- Social hierarchy: priests/priestesses (nobility), merchants, craftspeople, farmers, and enslaved people.
City-States and Religion
- Sumer consisted of city-states like Uruk, Ur, and Eridu, each with its own king and patron deity.
- Each city’s main structure was a ziggurat (stepped pyramid temple) dedicated to its patron god.
- City-states were loosely connected by language and religion but not under central control.
Growth, Trade, and Writing
- Sumerians expanded after 3200 BCE, using boats with linen sails for long-distance trade.
- They traded with Egypt, Anatolia, and Ethiopia for valuable resources (gold, silver, lapis lazuli, cedar).
- Trade led to the invention of cuneiform, the earliest writing system, first for accounting, then as a script.
Education, Literature, and Law
- Sumerians created the first written laws and established schools for teaching writing and mathematics.
- Scribes studied literature and composed works including hymns, myths, fables, and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- Sumerians pioneered bureaucracy and taxation systems.
Decline and Legacy
- By 2300 BCE, Sargon of Akkad conquered the Sumerian city-states, integrating Sumerian culture into Akkadian life.
- Successive invasions led to Sumer’s decline by 1750 BCE, but Sumerian culture persisted through Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and later civilizations.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Mesopotamia — region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, site of Sumer.
- City-state — independent city with its own government and patron deity.
- Ziggurat — a stepped pyramid temple central to each Sumerian city.
- Cuneiform — earliest known writing system, first used for trade/accounting.
- Epic of Gilgamesh — early written epic about a Sumerian king.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the social hierarchy and functions of Sumerian city-states.
- Study the importance of cuneiform and its impact on recording history.