Essay On The Sumerians

River Valley civilizations were the first to occur throughout time. Two of the most advanced were Egypt and Mesopotamia. Although both had a male dominant government that was supported by a patriarchal king or leader, Egypt had a strong, centralized government whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized and was based upon small city-states operating independently. To add, Egypt was also classified as self sufficient rather than Mesopotamia who relied on trade because of unstable agriculture. Due to Egypt surpassing Mesopotamia in areas such as governmental structure, self sufficiency, and cultural traditions, Egypt proves to be the more advanced society.

There were many civilizations that inhabited Mesopotamia, but the first, and most important civilization were the Sumerians. The Sumerians were the base of civilization. They set the foundation for future civilizations to come, and had great influence over all other civilizations, whether culturally or technologically. Although there were many important ancient civilizations, the most significant were the Sumerians due to the fact that they created important mathematical concepts that we still use today, invented technology important to almost all civilizations and is still used today, and developed the first writing system in history.

Sumerians was ancient groups of people that lived in southern Mesopotamia. From everything I have researched, the Sumerians had a different way of life, they hunted prey, lived in caves or huts, provided their own type of language among themselves and had a very religious lifestyle. The Sumerians was so religious they build temples that best suited their religious interests, their main temples was man made holy mountain that they called ziggurats, their they put god figures that they would hold and worship; the figures had huge eyes with the praying hand gestures. The Sumerians had a different religious lifestyle than most, but are quite interesting when studying their artistic history and religious lifestyle.

Another example of how the Sumerians felt about their gods came from The Epic of Gilgamesh. The gods brutally punished Enkidu, causing him death, because he aided Gilgamesh in killing the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba. This is portrayed in a quote by Anu, a Sumerian god, “Because they have killed the Bull of Heaven, and because they have killed Humbaba who guarded the cedar mountain one of the two must die”. Since Gilgamesh was part god, the gods chose to kill Enkidu, the full human. This demonstrates how merciless the Sumerians portrayed their gods.

Civilization. The word “civilization” comes from the Latin term for “city.” The first civilizations were the river-valley civilizations, so-called because they all developed alongside major rivers to secure an adequate water supply for agricultural production. 2 of the greatest river-valley civilizations were Mesopotamia and Egypt. All though they both supported having a patriarchal leader or king, Egypt had a strong, centralized government, whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized, and built based on small city-states operating independently.

Early civilizations and empires of the Middle East and Egypt developed several distinct characteristics. Babylon, Ancient Israelites, and Egypt developed characteristics that included governmental, social, and economic structures as well as distinct religions and innovations. These civilizations and empires existed between 2,575 B.C. - 323 B.C. and most of them had notable rulers.

The earliest societies, such as Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt exhibiting indicator traits of civilization developed along the floodplains of great rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, and the Nile in Egypt. People had settled in Mesopotamia by 7000 B.C. and the First Dynasty of Egyptian

Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a

His son, Samsu-Iluna took over the throne in the King’s last years. At this time, conflict was rising and Hammurabi’s kingdom was falling. After his death, Samsu-Iluna was left to fight against forces and keep the kingdom alive, but it was no use. The kingdom of babylonia began to fall apart within only one year of Hammurabi’s death. Soon the Elamites invaded and even carried off the Code of Laws. This was seen as a huge disappointment because everything Hammurabi fought for and kept for many years, vanished in just a matter of time. In his time, Hammurabi was known as a ruler of Mesopotamia who united and governed the kingdom in the same way that Sargon the Great of Akkad had done before. However, Hammurabi differed because he did not have to re-conquer cities and land, but once they were under his ruling, he was only interested in improving the cities and giving the people the best lifestyles and conditions. In our time today, Hammurabi is known best for his law codes, and for how his codes were a standard base for future laws. The code of Hammurabi was later found in the city of Susa in 1902 CE. His legacy still remains today as a law and social justice

The first time they were conquered, they were conquered by Sargon the Great of neighboring Akkad around two thousand three hundred B.C.. Sargon the Great of Akkad once ruled the city state of Kish. He was an Akkadian, a Semitic group of desert nomads who eventually settled in Mesopotamia just north of Sumer.He conquered the Sumerians

This topic includes Who ruled Mesopotamia, How the civilization came into power, and how long the power or reign of authority. The person who mostly ruled Mesopotamia was Hammurabi. (Rest in introduction) Mesopotamia’s power came to be through the Babylonian’s rise of power. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, two new empires rose to power. They were the Babylonians in the south and the Assyrians to the North. The Babylonians were first to form an empire that would encompass all of Mesopotamia. The city of Babylon had been a city-state in Mesopotamia for many years. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, the city was taken over and settled by the Amorites. The city began its rise to power in 1792 BC when King Hammurabi took the throne. He was a powerful and capable leader who wanted to rule more than just the city of Babylon. Not long after becoming King, Hammurabi began to conquer other city-states within the area. Within a few years, Hammurabi had conquered all of Mesopotamia including much of the Assyrian lands to the North. Under Hammurabi’s rule, the city of Babylon became the most powerful city in the world. Located on the banks of the Euphrates River, the city was a major trade hub bringing together new concepts and products. Babylon also became the largest city in the world at the time with as many as 200,000 people living there at its peak. At the center of the city was a large temple called a ziggurat. This temple looked

Babylonian empire was one of the earliest civilization established, which was located in Mesopotamia that lasted for almost two millenniums. Much of the early history of the Babylon is lost because of rising sea levels over the course of centuries, which has covered the ruins of Old Babylon. The first and most known king of Babylon was Hammurabi.

The first people to control mesopotamia were the Akkadians. For about 1200 years Sumer was a place of freedom and independence. Then in 2300 B-C-E the Akkadians came and took over all of mesopotamia. The Akkadians were lead by a mighty general named Sargon. He was the first of the kings of the akkadians. With his military skills and strategies he built a large army of strong trained men. He trained his men to fight tight and skillfully. He used the skills that he had to win land for his people. And he defeated

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

Thousands of years ago, there was a land known as Mesopotamia, there were some great and powerful leaders of Mesopotamia which were, Sargon and Hammurabi, They were both leaders of the Mesopotamian empires. All of the civilizations that lived in Mesopotamia rose and fell like the sun.