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Explore the fascinating world of the ancient Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia and made significant contributions to civilization through their inventions, artistry, and governance. Learn about their beliefs, gods, and the epic story of Gilgamesh. Discover the reasons behind the eventual decline of their civilization.
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When They Lived • The Sumerians lived from 3500 B.C. – 2000 B.C. ,although other sources say that the civilization started as early as 3000 B.C.
Where They Lived • The Sumerians lived in Mesopotamia or the Fertile Crescent. This area is between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and runs along the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. The word Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “Land between the Rivers.”
What They Were Like The Sumerians were very inventive and worked hard. They were mostly farmers and had well organized communal (community) life.
Their Jobs The Sumerians were also skilled in the use of such metal as copper, gold, silver and had developed by 3000 B.C. fine artistry as well as considerable knowledge about technology. They were not only craftsman and farmers, but scribes, scholars, priests, priestesses, and merchants also.
Worshipping The Sumerians built temples called ziggurats in the center of their cities. They were used as a house for the cities’ gods. The temple was raised on a platform, and was made of thousands of mud bricks.
Gods Some of the gods that they worshipped were Anu, the heaven god, Ea, the water god , and Enki, the god of wisdom.
Cuneiform At first, scribes used writing to record business transactions. But then, its use quickly grew to include the recording of mythology, poetry, mathematics, and literature.
Gilgamesh • The ancient Sumerians were great story tellers. Thousands of years ago, they created the story of Gilgamesh, an epic, a long story about a hero • Gilgamesh is one of the oldest recorded stories in the world. It's about an ancient King of Uruk who may have actually existed and whose name - Gilgamesh - is on the Sumerian King List. • According to the epic, Gilgamesh was not just a hero. He was the first superhero! He was part god and part human. He had many special powers.
Inventions The Sumerians made many contributions to modern civilization. They invented the sail. This allowed them to trade up and down the Tigres and Euphrates
More Inventions The Sumerians invented the wheel. They developed mathematics. They established the city-state as a way to govern people. They invented irrigation.
The Number Six The Sumerians had a counting system based on the number six, and they made a system of tracking time based on this system. This is why our modern system of time uses numbers that are divisible by six: 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 24 hours.
Living The Sumerians built small square houses built of mud.
Cities Some of the most well known cities in the Sumerian civilization were Uruk, Ur, Kish, Evida, Lagash, Nippur, and Sumer.
Leaders The Sumerians first leaders were the wise elders, but as they started to go to war with other civilization, strong army generals became king. The Sumerians called their kings Lu-gal-gals, which means “big man”
Code of Hammurabi • An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth • 282 laws • Influenced later civilizations’ laws
Code Of Hammurabi • What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner? • If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction sound, and the house which he has built collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house, the builder shall be put to death.
Why Did The Civilization End? • The Sumerians civilizationended because of many reasons • One, because Sargon of Akkad from northern Mesopotamia took control. • Two, the water supply was scarce. • Three, cities and states were fighting among each other.
