Ancient Sumerians Reviving a civilization from the past Megan Frisella, Joy Lim, Sriya Pidatala, Tony Vuolo Who were the Sumerians? ➔ A civilization that populated land in southern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq and Kuwait) ➔ The Sumerians are known for the first cities and innovation in writing, governance, and technology. ➔ Sumer existed from around 4000 BCE to 2000 BCE. Origin of the Sumerians ➔ 4500-4000 BCE (in Mesopotamia) ◆ Ubaid people - civilization built around farming communities ➔ 3000 BCE - Sumerians took over the region and controlled it until 2000 BCE Sumerian City-States ➔ Sumerian city-states were walled in communities surrounded by agricultural villages ➔ Governed by a king/priest who serves as a political and religious leader ◆ Each city is dedicated to a Sumerian deity who is worshiped by the city’s inhabitants ➔ The first cities in the world were in the Sumerian civilization ◆ Uruk : The first city in the world and the capital of the Sumerian empire Government ➔ Government could levy taxes; allowed them to have public works like large canals and monuments ➔ A record of kings was found inscribed on a tablet ➔ Lugalzagesi was the last ruler before Sumer came under the control of another nation ➔ Captured by the Akkadians Language ➔ One of the first writing systems was cuneiform ◆ Cuneiform uses pictographs, written with a reed stylus on a wet clay tile ➔ Employed scribes to keep records in government or religious settings ◆ Stamps with symbols that indicate what is being traded ◆ Detailed trade reports (for taxes, etc.) Social Structure 1. King/Priest 2. Subordinate Priests (religious leaders and healers) 3. Upper Class (self-employed, high in the military, scribes) 4. Commoners (Fishermen, craftsmen, artisans, merchants, farmers, temple workers, dependents of nobility) 5. Slaves Slavery in Sumer ➔ People became slaves in 3 main ways: ◆ Prisoners of war that resulted from battles between city-states ◆ Selling oneself into slavery to pay debts ◆ Being sold into slavery by a family member to pay debts ➔ They were free to purchase their freedom and were not overly mistreated ➔ Labor from slavery allowed the Sumerians to expand their empire and create a successful civilization ➔ Enslaved individuals worked in agriculture, industry, as personal servants, and in any field that they had talent in Energy ➔ Primary energy sources were biomass, hydropower, solar energy, and wind ◆ main source of labor was, muscular power provided by humans and domesticated animals. ➔ Oil was a biomass used by the Sumerians. ➔ 3 BCE: evidence that they use lamps (powered by plant oils) for lighting Family & Gender Roles ➔ The man was the head of the family and could have more than one wife ➔ Both men and women worked ➔ Men were craftsmen, merchants, fishermen, farmers ➔ Women enjoyed almost equal rights, but were not given an education. ◆ They could hold high positions (such as priestesses) but were generally employed in lower occupations. ➔ Children learned the roles of their corresponding parent Temples ➔ Temples - religious, economic, and social life ➔ Fancy architectural features, extensive decoration ➔ Largest ones 300 ft tall ➔ Lots of religious sculptures Religion & Tradition ➔ Religion was animism ➔ Had lots of myths, deities ◆ Epic of Gilgamesh ➔ High class people were sometimes buried with goods and other corpses when they died Agriculture ➔ Lived on Fertile Crescent = successful agricultural industry ◆ Fertile land because of the two rivers which often flooded (both good and bad) ● feeds people when there is no food and increases exports so that they can get more goods ● If crop is destroyed than there is no food and less things to trade for food ➔ Complicated irrigation systems were overseen by managers ➔ Inventions include the wheel, which helped the creation of wheeled carts and the plow. Trade ➔ Most of wealth came from trade ◆ Didn’t have a lot of natural resources in region ◆ Precious Metals: One of the earliest users of metal and bronze ◆ Sumerian tablets record trade of copper, gold, and silver between Ur (modern day Iran) and Magan (~modern-day Oman) ➔ Transportation: ◆ Large quantities (grain) transported by boat ◆ Small quantities (precious stones) transported by foot or donkey ➔ Traded at, at least, 8 foreign trading outposts in Mesopotamia (neighboring and across seas/deserts) Technology & Innovation ➔ City walls helped protect various city states from invaders and siege ➔ Canals/locks were very useful in several ways ➔ Numerous inventions Significant Events, Part 1 ➔ Sumerian influence and general power ◆ Peaked in 2500 BCE ➔ Sumerian expansion ◆ King Shulgi captures parts of southwestern Iran ◆ Walls are built to keep out enemies ➔ Nippur Temple Complex constructed, 2100 BCE ◆ Nippur was settled in 5000 BCE, and remained until 800 CE ◆ Temple complex includes temples, priest quarters ◆ Assembly halls, courtyards, workshops and craft shops were included in complexes built from 4000-2100 BCE Significant Events, Part 2 ➔ Third Dynasty of Ur ◆ Started with the Gutian relinquishing of power over Ur around 2120 BCE ◆ Ur-Nammu created a small empire from the remains of the Gutian realm ◆ Last native dynasty to control Sumer ◆ Cities controlled by UR at some time: Uruk, Isin, Eridu, Larsa, Nippur, Adab, Kish, Eshnunna End of Sumer ➔ Elamite invasion in 21ST century BCE ◆ King Shulgi (ca. 2094-2047 BCE) takes over most of Elam during his reign ◆ Hostile Amorites started settling the fields outside of Ur ◆ Elamites first take over Ur in 2004 BCE ● King is taken prisoner ● Townspeople are slaughtered ◆ Elamites destroyed Ur in the 1900s BCE Works Cited Akpinar-Ferrand, Ezgi. "History of Energy: Ancient Sumer and Babylon." Encyclopedia of Energy, edited by Morris A. Pierce, vol. 2, Salem Press, 2013, pp. 572-578. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2075100253/GVRL?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=GVRL&xid=af7a81fb. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018. “Ancient Mesopotamian Warfare.” SiOWfa15 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, sites.psu.edu/ancientmesopotamianwarfare/slavery/. Carnagie, Julie L. "Social Class System and the Economy." UXL World Eras, vol. 1: Ancient Mesopotamia: 3300–331 BCE, UXL, 2016, pp. 53-76. World History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3629700010/WHIC?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=WHIC&xid=9baac3e3. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018. Charvát, Petr. “Enki's Gift: How Civilization Bubbled From the Waters of Mesopotamia – National Geographic Blog.” Birth of the State: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China, Charles University, 15 Dec. 2013, ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.wpi.edu/lib/wpi/reader.action?docID=1996723&query=. "Elam and the Elamites." The Ancient Near East: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited by Ronald Wallenfels and Jack M. Sasson, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000, pp. 66-70. World History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2897300130/WHIC?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=WHIC&xid=1934dee0. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018. Frye, Richard N., et al. “History of Mesopotamia.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia#ref55467. Harte, Julia. “Enki's Gift: How Civilization Bubbled From the Waters of Mesopotamia – National Geographic Blog.” National Geographic Blog, 23 Apr. 2013, blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/04/23/enkis-gift-how-civilization-bubbled-from-the-waters-of-mesopotamia/. History.com Editors. “Sumer.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 Dec. 2017, www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/sumer. Kjeilen, Tore. “3rd Dynasty of Ur - LookLex Encyclopaedia.” Third Dynasty of Ur, looklex.com/e.o/ur.3rd_dynasty.htm. Kramer, S. N. “Commerce and Trade: Gleanings from Sumerian Literature.” Iraq, vol. 39, no. 1, 1977, pp. 59–66. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4200049. Mark, Joshua J. “Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 22 Sept. 2018, www.ancient.eu/article/680/daily-life-in-ancient-mesopotamia/. Works Cited Akpinar-Ferrand, Ezgi. "History of Energy: Ancient Sumer and Babylon." Encyclopedia of Energy, edited by Morris A. Pierce, vol. 2, Salem Press, 2013, pp. 572-578. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2075100253/GVRL?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=GVRL&xid=af7a81fb. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018. “Ancient Mesopotamian Warfare.” SiOWfa15 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, sites.psu.edu/ancientmesopotamianwarfare/slavery/. Carnagie, Julie L. "Social Class System and the Economy." UXL World Eras, vol. 1: Ancient Mesopotamia: 3300–331 BCE, UXL, 2016, pp. 53-76. World History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3629700010/WHIC?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=WHIC&xid=9baac3e3. Accessed 25 Sept. 2018. Charvát, Petr. “Enki's Gift: How Civilization Bubbled From the Waters of Mesopotamia – National Geographic Blog.” Birth of the State: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China, Charles University, 15 Dec. 2013, ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.wpi.edu/lib/wpi/reader.action?docID=1996723&query=. "Elam and the Elamites." The Ancient Near East: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited by Ronald Wallenfels and Jack M. Sasson, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000, pp. 66-70. World History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2897300130/WHIC?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=WHIC&xid=1934dee0. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018. Frye, Richard N., et al. “History of Mesopotamia.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia#ref55467.