SUMERIANS
A. Cities Sumerian cities were often rectangular in shape, surrounded by high, wide walls. Inside the city gates were broad avenues used for religious processions or victory parades. The largest buildings were ziggurats (ZIHG uh rats), pyramid-temples that soared toward the heavens. Their sloping sides had terraces, or wide steps, that were sometimes planted with trees and shrubs. On
top of each ziggurat stood a shrine to the chief god or goddess of the city.
Rulers lived in magnificant palaces with spacious courtyards. Most people, though, lived in tiny houses packed in a tangled web of narrow alleys and lanes. Artisans who practiced the same trade, such as weavers or carpenters, lived and worked in the same street. These shop-lined streets formed a bazaar, the ancestor of today's shopping mall. B. Economy Trade brought riches to the cities. Traders sailed along the rivers or risked the dangers of desert travel to carry goods to distant regions. (Although the wheel had been invented by some earlier unknown people, the Sumerians made the first wheeled vehicles.) Archaeologists have found goods from as far away as Egypt and India in the rubble of Sumerian cities. C. Government Sumer included many independent city-states. Rival cities often battled for control of land and water. For protection, people turned to courageous and resourceful war leaders. Over time, these war leaders evolved into hereditary rulers. In each city-state, the ruler was responsible for maintaining the city walls and the irrigation systems. He led armies in war and enforced the laws. As government grew more complex, he employed scribes to carry out functions such as collecting taxes and keeping records. The ruler also had religious duties. He was seen as the chief servant of the gods and led ceremonies designed to please them. D. Social Structure Each Sumerian city-state had a distinct social hierarchy (HI uh rahr kee), or system of ranks. The highest class included the ruling family, leading officials, and high priests. A small middle class was made up of merchants, artisans, and lesser priests and scribes. At the base of society were the majority of people, peasant farmers. Some had their own land, but most worked land belonging to the king or temples. Sumerians also owned slaves. Most slaves had been captured in war. Some, though, had sold themselves into slavery to pay their debts. E. Role of Women In the earliest Sumerian myths, a mother-goddess was the central figure of creation. She may have reflected the honored role of mothers in early farming communities. An ancient proverb advised, "Pay heed to the word of your mother as though it were the word of a god." As large city-states emerged with the warrior leaders at their head, male gods who resembled early kings replaced the older mother-goddess. Stil, in the early city-states, wives of rulers enjoyed special powers and duties. Some supervised palace workshops and ruled for the king when he was absent. One woman, Ku-Baba, became ruler herself, rising from the lowly position of tavern owner to establish a ruling family in Kish. Over time, as men gained more power and wealth, the status of women changed. Because they devoted their time to household duties and raising children, women became more dependent on men for their welfare. Despite these changes, women continued to have legal rights. Well-to-do women, for example, engaged in trade, borrowed and loaned money, and owned property. F. Religion Like most ancient peoples, the Sumerians were polytheistic, worshipping many gods. These gods were thought to control every aspect of life, especially the forces of nature. Sumerians believed that gods & goddesses behaved like ordinary people. They ate, drank, married, and raised families. Although the gods favored truth and justice, they were also responsible for violence and suffering. To Sumerians, their highest duty was to keep these divine beings happy and thereby ensure the safety of their city-state. Each city-state had its own special god or goddess to whom people prayed and offered sacrifices of animals, grain, and wine. People celebrated many holy days with ceremonies and processions. The most important ceremony occurred at the new year when the king sought and won the favor of Inanna, the life-giving goddess of love. The king participated in a symbolic marriage with the goddess. This ritual, Sumerians believed, would make the new year fruitful and prosperous. Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians believed in an afterlife. At death, they believed, a person descended into a grim underworld from which there was no release. The gloomy Sumerian view of an afterlife contrasts with the Egyptian vision of the Happy Field of Food. Possibly differences in geography help account for this contrast. The floods of the Tigris and Euphrates were less regular and more destructive than the Nile floods. As a result, Sumerians may have developed a more pessimistic view of the world. G. Contributions to Civilization 1.
2. System of Numbers. The Sumerians developed a number system based on the
unit 60. They divided the hour into 60 minutes and the circle into 360 degrees, as we still do today. They also developed basic algebra and geometry.
3. Astronomy. Priests studied the skies, recording the movement of heavenly bodies. This knowledge enabled them to make accurate calendars, which are so essential to a farming society.
4. Literature. A long, narrative Sumerian poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one of the oldest works of literature in the world. This epic is a collection of stories
about a hero named Gilgamesh. In one of these Gilgamesh travels the world in search of eternal life. On his journey, he meets the sole survivor of a great flood
that destroyed the world. (Archaeologists have found evidence suggesting that a catastrophic flood devastated Mesopotamia somewhere about 4,900 years ago.) By
the end of the story, Gilgamesh has learned the greatest truth of all- that even heroes must die
H. End of the Sumerians? Armies of conquering peoples
swept across Mesopotamia and overwhelmed the Sumerian city-states. Often the newcomers settled in the region and adopted ideas from the Sumerians. For example, newcomers adapted cuneiform to their own languages and
helped spread Sumerian learning across the Middle East. By means of various peoples who conquered the Middle East, Sumerian knowledge passed on to the Greeks and Romans. They, in turn,
had a powerful impact on the development of the western world.
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Cuneiform Writing
. By 3200 B.C., the Sumerians had invented the earliest known form of writing called cuneiform, a system of writing about as old
as Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Sumerians employed a sharp-pointed instrument- called a stylus - to inscribe wedge-shaped characters on soft clay tablets, which
were then hardened by baking. Reading and writing in cuneiform were difficult because the Sumerian alphabet consisted of about 550 characters. Sumerian
scribes had to go through years of strict schooling to acquire their skills. Nevertheless, cuneiform was widely used in the Middle East for thousands of years.
