Sumer

1. Sumer Brandon Mark, Chris Charran, Keara Pagniello, Sarah Ahmed and Sybil Tong

3. The term "Sumerian" is the common name given to the ancient non-Semitic inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia, Sumer, by the SemiticAkkadians. • The Sumerians referred to themselves as "the black-headed people".

4. Sumer Religion Keara Pagniello

5. There was no organized set of gods • Each city-state had its own patrons, temples and priest-kings. • But since the Sumerians were the first ones to write down their beliefs, it was the inspiration for the much later Mesopotamian mythology, religion and astrology.

6. Who did Sumerians worship? Tell Asmar votive sculpture 2750-2600 BC

7. Anu; • as a full time god, equivalent to “heaven” – indeed, the word “an” in Sumerian means “Sky” and his consort Ki means “earth” Ur III (Middle Bronze Age) form of the cuneiform character DINGIR (AN) (dingir), meaning "heavens" or "deity" 

8. Enki; • in the south at the temple in Eridu. Enki was the god on beneficence, ruler of the freshwater depths beneath the earth, healer and friend to humanity who in Sumerian myth was thought to have given humans the arts and sciences, the industiries and manners of civilization; The first law book was considered his creation Enki

9. Enlil; • was the lord of ghost-land, in the north at the temple of Nippur. His gifts to mankind were said to be spells and incantations that the spirits of good or evil were compelled to obey, Enlil with his wife, Ninlil

10. Inanna; • the deification of venus, the morning (eastern) and evening (western) star at the temple (shared with An) at Uruk. One version of the star symbol of Inanna/Ishtar This is Inanna on the Ishtar Vasein the French museum Louvre.

11. Utu; Nanna; • was the sun god at Ur • was the moon god at Sipper

12. These deities were probably the original matrix: there were hundreds of minor deities.

13. The Sumerian gods related with different cities and their religious importance often grew and advised with those cities political power. • Sumerians believed that the universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin dome. The Sumer afterlife involved a descendant into a gloomy netherworld to spend eternity in a worthless existence as a ghost.

14. Ziggurat • Sumerian temples had a central nave with aisles along either side. Next to the aisles would be rooms for the priests. At one end there would be a podium and a mudbrick table for sacrifices. Granaries and storehouses were located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to build the temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising terraces.

15. Sumer Intellectual and Writing Sarah Ahmed

16. Writing • Sumerians have the oldest known text to humans. This form of writing is calledcuneiform.

17. They Even Had Developed Their Own Alphabet

18. There’s Nothing Like It! • The Sumerian language is a language isolate in linguistics. It belongs to no known language family!!!

19. They Even Developed Their Own Style of Counting…

20. The Sumerian continued to be the language of religion and law in Mesopotamia long after Semitic speakers had become the ruling race.

21. Spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BC. • Replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BC, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial and scientific language in Mesopotamia until about 1 AD.

22. That’s 4001 years of existence!

23. Architecture • The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats, large layered platforms which supported temples. Some scholars have theorized that these structures might have been the basis of the Tower of Babel described in Genesis.

24. The Arch • The Sumerians also developed the arch, which enabled them to develop a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several arches.

25. Sumer Science & Technology Sybil Tong

26. Sumerian Inventions • The wheel (c. 3700 BC) • The potter’s wheel • Boats and ships (wood, reeds, skins, etc.) • Beer • Tools and Weapons (ex. saws, chisels, hammers, nails etc.) • Bronze metal

28. Science and Math • Math system based on the numeral 60 • Algebra and Geometry • System of weights and measures • Irrigation systems • Sewer system • Mapped constellations • Agriculture • Barter/trade system

30. Importance • Geographical conditions in Mesopotamia were poor • Without Sumerian technology, there would not have been a successful civilization • Without Sumer, there would not have been any other of the Mesopotamian city states

31. Sumer Government and Law Chris Charran

33. The King • The king was responsible for constructing buildings and temples, maintaining the city borders and irrigation systems, and enforcing the laws. Even though the king had power, he was not allowed to act as a dictator.

34. King Followers/Enforcers • The king had people known as Scribes, which were like the public secretaries. Their duty was to collect taxes and keep records for the government. • The king also had Advisors who assisted him in decisions; also helped him ruled and ensured that people obeyed his laws. • Sumerian people also had to pay taxes (land, crops, etc.) to the government.

35. King Hammurabi • The Akkadian Dynasty only lasted 200 years in Mesopotamia, and a new king was crowned his name was King Hammurabi. • King Hammurabi devised a plan to rule over such a large area but with structure and justice. • The King Hammurabi created what is known as the “Code of Hummaurabi”. The code was written by Hammurabi himself. Its goal was to maintain a society of strict and justice and that the strong may not opress the weak

36. The Code • The Code was above everyone, even the king was not exempted from the law. There were very severe punishments for whoever broke the code; sometimes it might even lead to death depending on what law was broken. • The code was openly displayed to all of the citizens of Sumerian, in doing so nobody could say they did not know the law, and use that as an excuse.

37. The Code • The code was carved in stone, and as a result it was binding and it could not change no matter who was being punished by the code. • Hammurabi code provided a clear separation of religious authority and non-religious authority.

38. Sumer Military Brandon Mark

39. The Sumerian military were the first to invent many weapons and defenses making them far beyond other nations or empires at the time.

40. Some of the inventions consisted of; Helmets, Socket axes, Sickle swords, chariots, and full plated body armor.

41. The first uses of helmets were extremely important at this time for one reason; it protected them from one of the deadliest weapons at the time (the mace).

42. Socket axes were also crucial during this time period because of their potential to pierce armor and replacing the mace.

43. Sickle swords and chariots became some of the most used tools later in history for their military purposes. The fact that the Sumerians invented the chariot suggests that they also invented the wheel.

44. The first use of plated body armor was also from the Sumerians along with their fighting style called Phalanxes. Phalanxes are organized six files deep, with an eight-man front all bearing shields and spears. The use of Phalanxes was extremely difficult and suggested that the Sumerians were the first civilization in human history to have a standing professional army.