Sumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia’s First Civilization

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient the Sumerians. The exploits and achievements of other Mesopotamian peoples, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, were already known to a large segment of the population through the Old Testament and the nascent field of Near Eastern studies had unraveled the enigma of the Akkadian language that was widely used throughout the region in ancient times, but the discovery of the Sumerian tablets brought to light the existence of the Sumerian culture, which was the oldest of all the Mesopotamian cultures. Although the Sumerians continue to get second or even third billing compared to the Babylonians and Assyrians, perhaps because they never built an empire as great as the Assyrians or established a city as enduring and great as Babylon, they were the people who provided the template of civilization that all later Mesopotamians built upon. The Sumerians are credited with being the first people to invent writing, libraries, cities, and schools in Mesopotamia (Ziskind 1972, 34), and many would argue that they were the first people to create and do those things anywhere in world. For a people so great it is unfortunate that their accomplishments and contributions, not only to Mesopotamian civilization but to civilization in general, largely go unnoticed by the majority of the public. Perhaps the Sumerians were victims of their own success; they gradually entered the historical record, established a fine civilization, and then slowly submerged into the cultural patchwork of their surroundings. They also never suffered a great and sudden collapse like other peoples of the ancient Near East, such as the Hittites, Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians did. A close examination of Sumerian culture and chronology reveals that the Sumerians set the cultural tone in Mesopotamia for several centuries in the realms of politics/governments, arts, literature, and religion. Even today, the world owes the Sumerians a tremendous amount. When Western Europe was still in the Stone Age, it was the Sumerians who invented writing and the wheel, divided time into minutes and seconds, tamed nature, and built gigantic cities. They embraced culture and the arts, and their caravans crossed the desert, opening up the first trade routes. Their myths and legends inspired various origin stories, and their memory lives on in the Old Testament. They wrote the history of the birth of mankind. The heritage of the Sumerian civilization and their successors is everywhere. The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia’s First Civilization chronicles the most important people, places, and events that took place across Sumer. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Sumer like never before.

Genres: History

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2018

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete compendia of the cities and peoples of one of the first civilizations, and simply thinking about 6,100BCE is like trying to imagine myself as a man, something I can't even comprehend when I try to think about being around that long ago! Before Ramses II or Hapshetsut of Egypt, before the formation of the Athenian republic, there was the Sumerians, and when you read this book, you'll transport yourself into a dusty street in what is now Iraq, surrounded by 2 rivers and irrigation canals to create a life in what we can no longer imagine as Eden, or the Fertile Crescent. These are our ancesters, our inheritance from them covered in the pages here, our mistakes and successes, the pains and joys of life today pretty much indistinguishable from those of 8,000 years ago...
The writing is good, though most of what is here is in books about the seperate cities important at the time, such as those I've read about Eridu and Ur/Uruk. A little repetative in that respect, but there's much else here I haven't come across previously, and which I ate up with relish! There are moments where words are used twice in a sentence and I have to just replace the second one with another so I cna make it read better, which is just about my only complaint - it only happens a few times, and though jarring, it doesn't detract from the story of these amazing people.
I'll let other readers be taken back themselves and discover what we have today of the inventions of the Mesopotamians, and marvel at the length of time you can transport yourself through! xx

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always impressed by the amount of research that can be found in Charles River books and this one is no exception. Sumer was touched upon in Ancient History courses in high school and college but I learned so much more about these mysterious people in this book. I did have a bit of trouble with some of the pronunciations but that is a minor thing.
I was especially taken by the history and mythology of the gods. As a believer in alien intervention in the history of humankind, I couldn't help but picture the Sumerian gods as being in fact extraterrestrial beings who guided the people in establishing their civilization. I say this not to start a discussion on this topic but merely to add another possible explanation for how and why the Fertile Crescent became the cradle of civilization.
This is well worth the time to read. There are plenty of references, footnotes and photos included to satisfy the most curious of readers.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me a very long while to read lol. It had lots of good info but no real spark. Plus I was hoping for more info on Gilgamesh but there was very little