Ancient Babylonia - Sumer
The term Sumer is used today to designate the southern part of ancient
Mesopotamia. From the earliest date of which there is any record, S Mesopotamia was
occupied by a people, known as Sumerians, speaking a non-Semitic language. The
questions concerning their origin cannot be answered with certainty. Some
evidence suggests that they may have come as conquerors from the East (possibly from
Iran or India). At any rate, as modern excavations have shown, there was in the
5th millennium B.C. a prehistoric village culture in the area. By 3000 B.C. a
flourishing urban civilization existed. Sumerian civilization was predominantly
agricultural and had a well-organized communal life. The Sumerians were adept
at building canals and at developing effective systems of irrigation. Excavated
objects such as pottery, jewelry, and weapons show that they were also skilled
in the use of such metals as copper, gold, and silver and had developed by 3000
B.C. fine artistry as well as considerable technological knowledge. The
Sumerians are credited with inventing the cuneiform system of writing. Between the
years 3000 and 2340 the kings of important Sumerian cities, such as Kish, Uruk,
and Ur, were able from time to time to extend their control over large areas,
forming various dynasties. However, Mesopotamia was also the home of a group of
people speaking Semitic languages and with a culture different from that of the
Sumerians (see Semite). From the earliest times the Semites were in contact
with Sumerian culture, and the increasing Semitic strength, which was already
present in the north, culminated in the establishment (2340) of the Akkadian
dynasty by Sargon, who for the first time imposed a wide imperial organization over
the whole of Mesopotamia. This conquest gave impetus to the blending, already
long in progress, of Sumerian and Semitic cultures. After the collapse of Akkad
(2180) under the pressure of invading barbarians from the northeast, peace and
civilization were maintained only in Lagash, under Gudea. However, the Sumerians
were able to recover their political prestige and had a final revival under
the third dynasty of Ur (2060). After this dynasty fell (1950) to the W Amorities
and the Guti, a tribe from Elam, the Sumerians were never again able to gain a
political hegemony. With the rise of Hammurabi, the control of the country
passed to Babylonia, and the Sumerians, as a nation, disappeared.
Ancient Babylonia
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