Sumeria

Sumeria, commonly called Sumer, was an ancient civilization in southern Mesopotamia, along the lower Tigris and Euphrates in what is now southern Iraq. It arose as one of the world’s first urban cultures around 4500–4000 BCE and flourished until about 1900 BCE. The region consisted of rival city-states centered on temples and irrigation economies, including Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Nippur, and Eridu. Sumerians spoke Sumerian, a language isolate, and the culture contributed foundational developments in writing, law, architecture, and literature that influenced later Mesopotamian civilizations.

Society was organized into independent city-states rather than a centralized nation. Each city controlled surrounding lands and was governed by a priest-king or administrator (ensi or lugal) with authority grounded in temple economies. Rivalries and alliances shaped irrigation, war, and trade. Over time, Akkadian-speaking rulers asserted control over Sumer, producing a fusion of cultures while Sumerian persisted in religious and literary contexts.

Key innovations include cuneiform writing, developed for administration around 3200–3000 BCE; early legal codes such as Ur-Nammu’s; advances in mathematics and astronomy; and technologies like the wheel and sophisticated irrigation. Monumental architecture featured ziggurats, while art produced cylinder seals and figurines. Sumerian literature encompasses myths, hymns, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, reflecting religious and social ideals.

Decline and legacy: By the early 2nd millennium BCE, Sumerian political power declined under Akkad, Gutians, and Amorite dynasties in Babylonia. The Sumerian language gradually ceased to be spoken but remained a scholarly and liturgical language for centuries. Sumerian contributions—writing, law, urban planning, and material culture—shaped Mesopotamian civilization and influenced later cultures across the region.