The Weld-Blundell Prism, a portion of the Sumerian King List, Iraq, 1800 BC, Sumerian, via The Ashmolean Museum Oxford It established hegemony throughout the region early on, and by the end of this period was home to some 40,000 people. Uruk in particular, called the “New York of ancient Mesopotamia” by one writer, is identified as the first major ancient city. It was at some point during this period that Sumerians invented the concept of the city, as we see the many city-states of southern Mesopotamia begin to crop up.
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In the Uruk Period, from the end of the Ubaid until 2,900 BC, we begin to see evidence of a more sophisticated Sumer. But where the inhabitants of the land originated and how they got there is unknown. The earliest Sumerian material culture comes from these years. Six Periods Of Sumerian Civilization Head of human statuette found in Nippur, Iraq, 2,600 BC, Sumerian, via The Penn Museum, PhiladelphiaĪrchaeologists have defined six distinct periods of Sumerian civilization. The first, called the Ubaid Period, takes place between 5,000 and 4,100 BC. And a complex irrigation system throughout that land proved essential to the region’s massive population. Its warm climate and position between two great rivers made for extremely fertile land. It was rather a collection of sovereign city-states that shared a cultural identity and religious system.Īmong the most notable cities were Eridu, the sacred place of the god Enki, principal Sumerian god and Inanna’s father Ur, the biblical birthplace of Abraham, husband of Sarah and patriarch of the Abrahamic faiths and Uruk, whose patron goddess was Inanna. Similar to ancient Phoenicia, Sumer was never one nation ruled by a singular king. By 2,900 BC, there’s evidence of a firmly rooted civilization, but the existence of its material culture dates back as far as 5,000 BC. Sumer occupied southern Mesopotamia, in what is modern-day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers with the Persian Gulf to its south and the land of Akkad to its north. Whether you call it the Cradle of Civilization or the Garden of Eden, ancient Sumer’s importance to human history and culture cannot be understated.Īncient Sumer On The Map Map of Ancient Sumer’s boundaries within the greater Near East, via Age of Empires And despite its ruins being lost until as recently as the 1800s, ancient Sumer’s ingenuity lived on through subsequent cultures. By the time construction on the Pyramids of Giza had been completed, Sumerian civilization was already at least 1,600 years old. In terms of linear history, Sumer is about as ancient as it gets. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you! This myth, much like Sumerian civilization, would go on to influence other ancient cultures throughout the Mediterranean and Near East. And so goes the first part of the most famous ancient Sumerian myth: Inanna’s Descent. Eshkegel convinced the seven judges of Kur to convict Inanna of conspiracy and sentence her to death. At the first, she removed her turban at the second, her necklace then her breast jewels at the third at the fourth, her pectoral then her rings, followed by her measuring rod and, finally, at the seventh gate she removed her dress.Ĭompletely nude, she entered the underworld and was met by her sister who had been plotting against her. As she passed through each of the seven looming gates of hell, she was compelled to relinquish a piece of her identity.
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Inanna, Queen of Heaven, barreled toward the shadowy underworld where she intended to steal the throne from her sister, Eshkegel. Clay relief of a female nude believed to be Inanna, 19th – 18th century BC, Southern Mesopotamia with LIFE Magazine June 1956 Issue cover featuring Ancient Sumerian Queen Puabi, USA, via The British Museum, London