Summary
Highlights
In 1625, Pietro della Valle discovered the ruins of Ur in the Middle East, a city of the Sumerian civilization. His accounts detail ancient bricks, unique writing, and the challenging environmental conditions that surrounded these ruins. Della Valle's discovery brought to Europe the first examples of a long-lost language, sparking questions about who built these structures and the meaning of their symbols. This introduction sets the stage for exploring Sumer, a civilization credited with laying the foundation for much of human society as we know it.
The Taurus Mountains in Turkey give rise to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, whose waters carry fertile silt to the plains of modern-day Iraq, known as Mesopotamia—'the land between the rivers.' This silt makes the arid desert exceptionally fertile, supporting agriculture. Despite extreme heat, scarce rainfall, and unpredictable floods, this region became the unlikely birthplace of civilization. Early humans, migrating from upstream, learned to cultivate crops and adapted to the challenging environment by building elaborate irrigation systems. This led to organized communities, the development of canals, and eventually, the rise of city-states.
Mesopotamia was inhabited by two major groups: the Sumerians and the Akkadians. While Akkadian, a Semitic language, is well understood, the Sumerian language is an isolate, perplexing archaeologists. This linguistic uniqueness suggests the Sumerians might have migrated from elsewhere, possibly by sea, as indicated by legends like that of Oannes, a fish-like being who taught them agriculture and writing. The theory of a 'Great Deluge,' aligning with global sea-level rise after the last ice age, suggests a rapid migration of peoples into the fertile river valleys, potentially including the Sumerians. This period of contact and cultural blending led to a symbiotic relationship between the two peoples.
Sumerians, calling themselves 'the black-headed people,' developed advanced technologies despite lacking natural resources. They innovated in brick-making, pottery, transportation (potter's wheel, wagon wheel, sailboat), and complex architectural designs. Their mathematical prowess led to a sexagesimal (base-60) system, influencing timekeeping and angle measurement, which are still used today. The creation of vast irrigation networks fostered social organization and bureaucracy, leading to the rise of city-states. Uruk, emerging around 3200 BCE, became the largest city, showcasing mass production, a thriving economy, and a stark social hierarchy. Daily life involved working in fields, brewing beer, and coping with the city's chaotic and odorous environment.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving literary works, chronicles the reign of Uruk's King Gilgamesh, offering insights into Sumerian society. It highlights Uruk's formidable fortified walls, indicating a shift towards increasing warfare. The city's structure, divided into urban areas, gardens, and fields, along with its impressive White Temple, illustrates a highly organized society. Following Uruk's decline, Ur rose to prominence, benefiting from its strategic location at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. Ur became a major trade hub, facilitating trade with diverse regions, including the Indus Valley Civilization, and importing valuable resources like copper, tin, silver, gold, and cedar wood. This trade fueled immense wealth and artistic development, as seen in the treasures from Ur's royal tombs.
By the mid-third millennium BCE, Sumerian cities became increasingly militarized. Lagash, a slave-owning city-state, grew rich through raiding and was in constant conflict with neighboring Umma over fertile land. The 'Stele of the Vultures' vividly depicts the brutal warfare of this period, with Lagash's King Eannatum leading his troops to victory, culminating in shocking displays of cruelty. Lagash's temporary empire, though short-lived, marked the first true empire. Its oppressive rule led to widespread rebellion, led by Lugalzaggesi of Umma, who sought revenge and systematically dismantled Lagash's dominance, eventually moving his capital to Uruk and sacking Lagash.
The Akkadian people, speaking a Semitic language, emerged from the shadow of Sumerian dominance under Sargon, 'the true king.' Legend says he was found as a baby in a basket on the Tigris, mirroring the story of Moses. Rising from cupbearer in Kish, Sargon led a daring rebellion against Lugalzaggesi's empire, capturing Uruk and dismantling its defenses. Sargon consolidated power, destroyed city walls to prevent future rebellions, and centralized his administration, creating a calendar and reforming the state. He promoted Akkadian as the official language, and appointed Akkadians to key positions, leading to growing resentment among the Sumerian population in the south.
After Sargon's death, his successors faced internal rebellions. Shar-Kali-Sharri, his great-grandson, ruled during the '4200 BP climatic event,' a sudden and mysterious global climate change. This led to a catastrophic decrease in rainfall and prolonged drought for over a century, devastating agriculture in Mesopotamia. As resources dwindled, many northern cities were abandoned. The Akkadian Empire, weakened by famine and internal strife, became vulnerable. The Gutians, a nomadic tribal people from the mountains, seized the opportunity to invade, described in Sumerian texts as monstrous and savage. Their 'strike and run' tactics ravaged the Akkadian economy, leading to the empire's collapse and the sacking of Akkad.
The Gutian occupation of southern Iraq for over 150 years plunged the region into a 'mini Dark Age.' Their ineffective and destructive rule led to widespread famine and infrastructure collapse. This period of chaos, however, presented an opportunity for Sumerian resurgence. Utu-Hengal of Uruk led a successful rebellion against the Gutians, driving them back to the mountains and restoring Sumerian rule. His successor, Ur-Nammu, marked the beginning of the Third Dynasty of Ur, or the Neo-Sumerian Renaissance. Ur-Nammu proved to be an efficient ruler, standardizing weights, currency, and establishing the first surviving legal code. He was also a prodigious builder, constructing monumental ziggurats, with the Great Ziggurat of Ur being a testament to his ambition.
Despite the Sumerian Renaissance, internal and external pressures continued to mount. The long-term problem of soil salinization, caused by irrigation in an arid climate, gradually reduced agricultural yields, particularly of wheat, which was replaced by more salt-tolerant barley. This environmental degradation, combined with persistent droughts and increasing scarcity of food, weakened the Sumerian state. The Gutians continued to pose a threat, eventually leading to the death of Ur-Nammu in the mountains. Successive kings struggled with these challenges, facing new threats like the Martu, nomadic Semitic peoples from Syria and Lebanon, who invaded Sumerian lands due to their own environmental hardships. The construction of the massive 'Wall of the Amorites' proved to be a desperate and ultimately failed attempt to hold back these incursions.
The last Sumerian king, Ibbi-Sin, witnessed the rapid disintegration of his empire. City-states rebelled, and the Martu breached the defensive wall, leading to widespread famine and chaos. General Ishbi-Erra, sent by Ibbi-Sin to acquire grain, instead declared himself king in Isin, further fragmenting the empire. Ultimately, Ur, the last stronghold, was besieged and sacked by the Elamites, former subjects from Iran. King Ibbi-Sin was captured and died in captivity, marking the definitive end of Sumerian civilization. The destruction was immortalized in lamentations, recounting the horrors of the fall. The remaining Sumerian population migrated north, their language and culture gradually absorbed by the Akkadians and the incoming Martu. While Sumerian as a spoken language vanished, it lived on as the language of myth, magic, and religion for subsequent Mesopotamian empires like Babylon and Assyria, eternally influencing their titles and traditions. Today, the ruins of Ur and Uruk stand as silent testaments to a once-great civilization, gradually reclaimed by the desert.