Sumeru

Sumeru is a term used in several distinct traditions and media. In historical contexts, it refers to Sumer, the ancient civilization of southern Mesopotamia. In Asian cosmology, it refers to Mount Sumeru, the central axis of the cosmos in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. In modern popular culture, Sumeru is the name of a fictional nation in the video game Genshin Impact.

Sumer, located in southern Mesopotamia (present-day southern Iraq), flourished from around 4500 to 1900 BCE as one of the world’s earliest urban civilizations. It comprised city-states such as Ur, Uruk, and Lagash and contributed inventions including cuneiform writing, complex irrigation, and monumental architecture.

In Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology, Mount Sumeru (Meru) is depicted as the world’s central mountain and the axis mundi around which sacred geography is arranged. It is sometimes described as surrounded by seas and alternating continents.

In Genshin Impact, Sumeru is a fictional nation in the fantasy world of Teyvat, introduced in 2022. It emphasizes scholarship and hosts the Akademiya, a leading academic institution. Its geography includes varied landscapes and a culture drawing on Middle Eastern and South Asian influences.

The name Sumeru reflects transliterations across languages and religious traditions and is used for both the historical region and the mythic mountain in different contexts.