Global 2.3 City-States of Ancient Sumer

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Global I Table of Contents

Civilization in the Fertile Crescent

 * Sumer was the civilization that developed in the Middle East in the area known as the fertile crescent, or Mesopotamia. The civilization of Sumer was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
 * The Epic of Gilgamesh
 * One of the oldest works of literature in the world. A fantastic tale about the hero Gilgamesh.
 * Mesopotamia- "Between the rivers"
 * Control of the rivers was vital for surviving in the river valley. The Tigris and Euphrates periodically flooded violently and washed away topsoil and villages. The Sumerian people built dikes to protect themselves from flooding and irrigation ditches to transport water to their fields in the dry season.
 * The civilization of Sumer had very little natural resources, however they made do with what they had. They lacked stone and timber so they built structures out of dried clay bricks.
 * The great city of Ur was a Sumerian city made from clay bricks. It had broad streets used for religious processions or parades. The Sumerians also built ziggurats, which were large pyramid-temples that held a shrine to the chief god at the top.
 * The streets of Sumerian cities were lined with merchants and shops, which formed a "bazaar," an ancient shopping mall.
 * Sumerians developed the first wheeled vehicles and used these vehicles to travel in order to trade extensively. Archaeologists have found goods from Egypt and India in Sumerian ruins.
 * The rulers in Sumer had political as well as religious, military, and economic responsibilities.
 * Each city in Sumer had a distinct social hierarchy, or systems of ranks. The lowest social rank in Sumer were the slaves. Most slaves had been captured in war, but some sold themselves into slavery in order to pay their debts!
 * Religion


 * Polytheistic- each city would be dedicated to a specific god that they would try to please
 * Every year the Sumerians would celebrate a ceremony where the king would participate in a symbolic marriage with the goddess of love, Inanna. This was in hopes that the next year would be fruitful and prosperous.
 * In Sumerian beliefs, the gods and goddesses acted just like ordinary people, eating, drinking, and raising families.
 * The Sumerians had a much more pessimistic view of the afterlife than the Egyptians did. The Tigris and Euphrates often were much more violent that the Nile. This may have contributed to the Sumerian's view of the world.
 * "I will assault the door; I will break down the gate; I will attack the entrance; I will split open the portals; I will raise the dead, to be the devourers of the living. Upon the living, the dead shall prey!" -the goddess Inanna
 * Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing called cuneiform. Evolved from pictograms as a way to communicate more  complicated thoughts.
 * Sumerians had schools where schools where students would learn to be scribes by learning to read and write cuneiform on clay tablets.
 * Sumer made great advancements in learning, including:
 * Basic algebra and geometry
 * Divided hour into 60 minutes and circle into 360 degrees
 * Made accurate calendars
 * Tracked the movement of planets, predicting eclipses of the sun and moon.
 * As invaders took over the area in the Fertile Crescent, the culture of Sumer began to spread all across the Middle East. Through the people that conquered them, the Sumerians had an impact on Greek and Roman culture, two civilizations that have shaped society today.