Sumerians

We explore the Sumerian civilization, and discuss their main inventions. In addition, we describe their characteristics, society, and more.

Who were the Sumerians?

The Sumerians were an ancient civilization that inhabited Mesopotamia between 3500 and 1750 BC. Throughout their history, the Sumerians founded hundreds of city-states along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, controlled by priests and military leaders seeking to secure dominance in the region.

Through centralized political units, they organized agricultural production and trade, commissioned the construction of major works, established legal systems, and formed large armies.

The Sumerians are best known for the invention of one of the earliest writing systems, as well as for the Epic of Gilgamesh poem, which stands as the first account of the world flood myth.

• See also: Persian Empire

Characteristics of the Sumerian civilization

The main characteristics of the Sumerians were:

• They inhabited Mesopotamia between 3500 and 1750 BC, and founded dozens of cities around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• They organized themselves into independent city-states, controlled by a caste of priests and warrior leaders who held political, economic, and social power.
• Their history was marked by constant warfare between the cities and attempts to bring other peoples under their rule and thus attain political supremacy.
• Their cities were conquered by foreign peoples, but they regained independence in different time periods.
• They invented cuneiform writing, used to keep track of the goods and services in the city.
• They developed various literary, epic, and religious texts that influenced both contemporary and subsequent cultures throughout the region.

Geographic location of the Sumerians

The Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia. This region encompassed nondesert areas of modern-day Iraq, and extended to the northwestern border with Syria. It was a fertile area along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, surrounded by the Arabian Desert, the Taurus Mountains, the Zagros Mountains, and the Persian Gulf.

The region was divided into:

• Upper Mesopotamia. The northern area, where the rivers originate. It supported natural irrigation agriculture.
• Lower Mesopotamia. The southern area, encompassing the slope and mouth of the rivers. Due to the dry and hot climate, the construction of canals was necessary to manage droughts and river floods.

Origin and history of the Sumerians

The Sumerians were a people of Asian origin. Though the exact time of their migration to the Mesopotamian region is unknown, archaeological remains predating 3500 BC have been linked to the later Sumerian cities. Scholars divide Sumerian history into the following periods:

• Uruk Period (c. 3500-2900 BC). The Sumerians settled in Lower Mesopotamia, founding over 30 cities, including Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Kish, and Umma. During this period, priests were the political elite of the city-states, and temples served as religious, political, and administrative centers. The city of Uruk concentrated political and cultural hegemony in the region.
• Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334 BC). Population growth and disputes over resources between cities (water, land, and raw materials) shifted political power toward military leaders, who became kings. The center of power in cities passed from temples to royal palaces. Despite constant warfare, the population growth continued due to agricultural advancements, and new cities were founded.
• Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BC). Beginning around 2400 BC, the Semitic Akkadians began to populate central Mesopotamia and founded the city of Mari. In 2334 BC, under Sargon’s leadership, the Akkadians captured Kish, and launched military campaigns to take over the region. Sargon was proclaimed "King of the Four Corners of the Universe", and established a kingdom centered in Akkad, exacting tribute from subjugated peoples.
• Gutian Period (2218-2047 BC). Sumerian cities began a series of rebellions that weakened Akkad’s political power. At the same time, the Gutians (a people from the mountainous region of modern-day Iran) invaded Mesopotamian cities, destroying Akkad’s capital. The Gutians subjugated Sumerian cities, exacting tribute from them. They adopted Akkadian customs and language.
• Sumerian Renaissance (2047-1800 BC). Following a series of rebellions to free themselves from Gutian rule, Sumerian cities expelled the Gutians from Mesopotamia. The city of Ur spearheaded unification and alliances between cities. During this period, cities like Ur and Lagash flourished, with ziggurats (terraced pyramids featuring temples and long staircases) being their characteristic structures. The independence of Sumarian cities lasted until the Amorite invasion of Lower Mesopotamia around 2000 BC, which destroyed buildings and seized cities and resources.
• Babylonian Empire (1792-1750 BC). Hammurabi, King of Babylon, brought the Assyrian peoples under Babylonian rule and subjugated Sumerian cities. The Babylonian Empire sought to centralize power and unify its territories through a common legal system and the imposition of Akkadian culture in all cities. Following Hammurabi's death, rebellions and raids by neighboring peoples led to the empire’s collapse.

Sumerian social structure

Sumerian society was hierarchical, with classes divided based on the role or occupation of citizens. Priests controlled the administration and organization of Sumerian city-states, and were considered intermediaries between the people and the gods. In exchange for their religious services, they owned land and collected tributes.

As conflicts between cities intensified, warriors gained greater political importance and, alongside priests, established themselves as the elite of Sumerian society. They came to control government administration and the distribution of goods obtained through taxes.

Additionally, certain social groups carried out specialized tasks, receiving food and other goods from the State. This class encompassed scribes, warriors, officials, merchants, and skilled artisans.

Most of the population consisted of peasants living in villages, who engaged in producing food and working the land. They also had public obligations, such as participating in major construction works, cultivating royal lands, or serving in the military.

Sumerian society had slaves, who were prisoners of war.

Sumerian political organization

Throughout their history, Sumerian political organization evolved according to the historic context. During the independence period, Sumerian city-states had a theocratic form of government.

Initially, cities were governed by patesi, priests in charge of religious, legal, economic, and social affairs. Temples served as centers for political activity in addition to hosting religious ceremonies and offerings.

With urban growth and increased and constant warfare, the political power of warrior kings consolidated. Priests now dedicated exclusively to religious functions, and governments were taken over by lugals, military princes whose seat of power were urban palaces. These reigns were dynastic (inherited through generations of royal families), and remained tied to religious beliefs, as the lugal was considered a representative of the gods on Earth.

Babylonian economy

The economy of Sumerian city-states was based on agriculture, trade, and the collection of tribute. Cities controlled the surrounding land, which provided food for their populations.

In lower Mesopotamia, large-scale irrigation agriculture was practiced. The construction of canals and hydraulic works was necessary to regulate the rise and fall of rivers. This prevented floods and enabled artificial irrigation during droughts.

A part of what farmers produced had to be paid to the city government as tribute. These goods were stored in temples and palaces, and were used for trade with other cities, construction of public works, maintaining social groups (scribes, warriors, and other officials), and aid during crises (droughts or wars).

Sumerian religion

The Sumerians were polytheistic, that is, they believed in the existence of many gods. In Sumerian worldview, the gods had once lived in cities, and had created humanity to carry out the tasks they did not themselves wish to perform.

Each Sumerian city had a principal god:

• Enki (god of earth and water) was the patron deity of Eridu.
• Enlil (god of wind and storms) was venerated in Nippur.
• Nannar (god of the moon) was worshiped in Ur.
• Utu (god of the sun) was the principal deity in Lagash.
• Anu (sky god) was the chief deity of Uruk.

They also believed that all cultural knowledge and technical achievements were gifts from the gods. Military victories as well as defeats were considered divine decisions. Therefore, it was essential to appease the deities through ceremonies and offerings performed by priests. Temples became public buildings at the heart of Sumerian civilization throughout its history.

Sumerian culture

The main cultural traits of the Sumerians were:

• Architecture. Sumerian architecture was characterized by the use of fired bricks without cement. Buildings required periodic improvement, which caused cities to be elevated above the surrounding plains. A distinctive structure of Sumerian architecture was the ziggurat, a pyramid-shaped construction built with sun-dried bricks. At the top of the structure was a sanctuary dedicated to the city's patron deity. Ziggurats were conceived to symbolize a staircase that the deity would use to descend and protect the city.
• Writing. The Sumerians developed a writing system to keep track of the goods stored in temples and palaces. This task was performed by scribes, who were people specially educated for this purpose. Throughout its history, Sumerian writing had different stages:
  • Pictographic writing (drawings representing objects)
  • Ideographic writing (ideograms representing concepts)
  • Phonographic writing (symbols representing sounds combined to form words)
  • Cuneiform writing (a more complex system with stylized signs for smoother writing).
• Literature. Archaeologists have discovered a large number of Sumerian texts written on clay tablets. These texts recount stories, legends, and myths that reveal the Sumerians' worldview. Particularly renowned is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which stands as the earliest narrative of the world flood myth, later adopted by other religions.
• Legislation. Sumerians based their laws on customary law, dictated by tradition. Around 1790 BC, the King of Babylon compiled these laws into a written text known today as the Code of Hammurabi. The compilation, containing 282 laws, addressed topics as diverse as theft, murder, commercial disputes, marriage, and slavery. These laws imposed severe punishments based on the principle of the lex talionis or law of exact retaliation: "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". According to this principle, offenders should receive a punishment equivalent to the damage they caused.

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