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The Rise of Sumer

The Rise of Sumer. 3.2. AN ADVANCED SOCIETY

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The Rise of Sumer

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  1. The Rise of Sumer 3.2

  2. AN ADVANCED SOCIETY In southern Mesopotamia about 3000 BC, people known as the Sumerians (soo-MER-ee-unz) created a complex, advanced society. Most people in Sumer (SOO-muhr) lived in ruralareas, but they were governed from urbanareas that controlled the surrounding countryside. The size of the countryside controlled by each of these city-states depended on its military strength. Stronger city-states controlled larger areas. Individual city-states gained and lost power over time.

  3. Around 2300 BC Sargon was the leader of the Akkadians (uh-KAY-dee-uhns), a people who lived to the north of Sumer. Sargon built a large army and defeated all the city-states of Sumer as well as all of northern Mesopotamia. With these conquests, Sargon established the world’s first empire. It stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. The Akkadian empire lasted about 150 years.

  4. Sargon’s Empire, c. 2330 BC According to legend, a gardener found a baby floating in a basket on a river and raised him as his own child. This baby later became the Akkadian emperor Sargon. As a young man, Sargon served Ur-Zababa, the king of Kish. Sargon later rebelled against the Sumerian ruler, took over his city, and built Akkad into a military power. He was among the first military leaders to use soldiers armed with bows and arrows. Sargon gained the loyalty of his soldiers by eating with them every day. From Where to where did Sargon’s Empire stretch?

  5. The City-State of Ur Ur was one of the earliest and largest cities of ancient Mesopotamia. This great trading center and port was home to roughly 30,000 people. Located on the Euphrates River near the Persian Gulf, Ur carried on a rich trade with merchants from distant lands like India. This illustration shows what Ur may have looked like around 2000 BC. What can you see in this illustration that shows Ur was an advanced city?

  6. RELIGION SHAPES SOCIETY Religion played an important role in nearly every aspect of Sumerian public and private life. Sumerians practiced polytheism, the worship of many gods. They believed that their gods had enormous powers. Gods could bring a good harvest or a disastrous flood. The gods could bring illness or they could bring good health and wealth. The  Sumerians believed that success in every area of life depended on pleasing the gods. Each city-state considered one god to be its special protector. People relied on prieststo help them gain the gods’ favor. Priests interpreted the wishes of the gods and made offerings to them.

  7. A social hierarchy developed in Sumerian city-states. Kings were at the top. Below them were priests and nobles. The middle ranks included skilled craftspeople and merchants. Farmers and laborers made up the large working class. Slaves were at the bottom of the social order. Although the role of most women was limited to the home and raising children, some upper-class women were educated and even became priestesses.

  8. Sumerian society was divided into different groups. This ancient artifact shows Sumerian leaders celebrating a military victory while a musician plays his instrument.

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