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Sumer was the southern region of ancient Mesopotamia, located in what is now southern Iraq and parts of Kuwait. It is widely regarded as the birthplace of civilization. The name 'Sumer' originates from the Akkadian language of northern Mesopotamia and means 'land of the civilized kings.' The Sumerians are credited with many foundational human innovations, including the earliest known system of writing and the development of the city-state.
The Sumerians referred to themselves as 'the black-headed people.' In the biblical Book of Genesis, the region is called Shinar. According to the Sumerian King List, a foundational historical document, civilization began when the gods established the city of Eridu in Sumer. While the city of Uruk is often cited by archaeologists as the world's oldest city, ancient Mesopotamians believed civilization started at Eridu.
Human settlement in Sumer is thought to have begun around 5000 BCE, though this date is debated, and human activity likely started earlier. The first settlers were not the Sumerians but a people of unknown origin. Archaeologists call them the Ubaid people, named after the site of al-Ubaid where their artifacts were first discovered.
It is unclear when the people who became the Sumerians arrived. By the Ubaid period, approximately 6500-4000 BCE, the inhabitants of the region had transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural society. Excavations have revealed Ubaid artifacts, including stone tools like hoes and knives, as well as distinctive painted pottery. These people initiated the first steps toward civilization in the region.
According to scholar Samuel Noah Kramer, the first recorded ruler of Sumer was a king named Etana of Kish, who may have ruled early in the third millennium BCE. The King List describes him as 'he who stabilized all the lands.'
The Sumerian King List is a cuneiform document created by a scribe from the city of Lagash around 2100 BCE. It records the kings of the region and their achievements, attempting to establish that kingship descended in an unbroken line from the dawn of civilization at Eridu. The Sumerians viewed civilization as the result of the gods imposing order upon chaos. Scholars believe the King List was compiled to legitimize the rule of a king named Utu-Hegal by connecting him to earlier legendary rulers.
Utu-Hegal, it is thought, was trying to link himself to such earlier hero-kings through the creation of the SKL. Since the Mesopotamians believed that the gods had set everything in motion, and that human beings were created as co-laborers with the gods to maintain order and hold back chaos, the early writers of history in the region focused on the link between their rulers and their gods, as expressed in the SKL, which attempts to show an unbroken succession of kingship from the first king of Eridu down through the Isin-Larsa period.
The list includes mythical figures like King Etana, central to the Myth of Etana, which tells of his flight to heaven on an eagle. Other kings, such as Dumuzi and Gilgamesh, were celebrated for superhuman deeds. Utu-Hegal likely sought to associate himself with these hero-kings. Since Mesopotamians believed the gods initiated all things, early chroniclers emphasized the divine connection of rulers. However, the Sumerian King List is not considered a fully reliable historical record. Early scribes did not prioritize recording purely human history, so much of early Sumer has been reconstructed from archaeology and geology rather than texts.
By 3600 BCE, the Sumerians had developed the wheel, writing, the sailboat, agricultural irrigation, and the concept of the city. While other regions also have early urban sites, it is generally accepted that the first true cities emerged in Sumer. Major centers included Eridu, Uruk, Ur, Larsa, Isin, and Kish.
Notably, the names of these cities are not Sumerian in origin; they derive from the earlier Ubaid people. These sites likely began as Ubaid villages and grew into major urban centers during the subsequent Uruk period (c. 4000-3100 BCE). Sumerian history spans from about 4000 BCE to 1750 BCE, when they ceased to exist as a distinct cultural group.
With the establishment of the cities of Sumer, their history unfolds from approximately 4000 BCE to 1750 BCE, when the Sumerians ceased to exist as a people after Sumer was invaded by the Gutians, Elamites, and Amorites. Trade had been firmly established with foreign lands by the Uruk period, and writing evolved from pictograms to cuneiform script. It is thought that trade was the main motivator in the development of writing, as there now had to be some means for accurate, long-distance communication between the merchants of Sumer and their agents abroad.
During the Uruk period, trade networks became well-established. Writing evolved from simple pictographs into the more complex cuneiform script, a development scholars believe was driven by the needs of long-distance commerce. The concept of kingship also solidified at this time. Each Sumerian city-state was governed by a monarch, assisted by a council of elders. Kramer notes that after Etana, the next several kings in the King List had Semitic names; Sumerian names only appear after eight rulers.
The Early Dynastic period (c. 2900-2350 BCE) saw a shift in leadership from a priest-king, or ensi, to a more powerful ruler called a lugal, or 'big man.' City-states frequently fought for control of fertile land and water resources.
Around 2500 BCE, the First Dynasty of Lagash rose to power. Under King Eannutum, Lagash created a small empire covering much of Sumer and parts of Elam. This empire was in place when a young man, who later claimed to have been the king's gardener, seized power. This was Sargon of Akkad, who founded the Akkadian Empire, history's first multinational empire.
The Akkadian Empire ruled over the majority of Mesopotamia, including Sumer, until a people known as the Gutians invaded from the north (the area of modern-day Iran) and destroyed the major cities. The Gutian period (circa 2141 to circa 2050 BCE) is considered a dark age in Sumerian history, and the Gutians were universally reviled by Sumerian writers in later histories, most of which consider them a punishment sent by the gods. Historians continue to debate the claims of Sumerian scribes, however, and it is thought that climate change, rather than invasion, caused the fall of cities like Akkad or at least weakened them prior to invasion.
The Akkadian Empire came to control most of Mesopotamia, including Sumer. Its dominance ended when a people called the Gutians invaded from the north, destroying major cities. The Gutian period (c. 2141-2050 BCE) is often considered a dark age in Sumerian history. Later Sumerian writers reviled the Gutians as a divine punishment. Historians debate these claims, with some suggesting that climate change may have weakened cities before or during the invasions.
The final great era of Sumerian history is known as the Ur III period, named for the Third Dynasty of the city of Ur. It is also called the Sumerian Renaissance due to significant cultural advances. Kings Ur-Nammu and his son Shulgi prioritized cultural development, maintaining peace which allowed art and technology to flourish.
In his book History Begins at Sumer, Samuel Noah Kramer lists 39 'firsts' attributed to the region. These include the first schools, proverbs, flood narratives, love songs, legal precedents, and moral ideas.
The Sumerians also fundamentally shaped how we measure time. Their number system was based on 60, which gave us the 60-second minute and the 60-minute hour. They divided day and night into 12-hour periods, established workday limits, and created holidays. Scholar Stephen Bertman writes, 'The hand of Mesopotamia still determines the hourly length of the traditional workday and even the length of our electronic entertainment.' Bertman also notes that the modern practice of reading horoscopes originates from ancient Sumer, as the astrological signs were first named by the Mesopotamians.
Ur-Nammu established the first known legal code in Sumer, setting a precedent for the later, more famous Code of Hammurabi. Scholar Paul Kriwaczek observes that Ur-Nammu's laws demonstrate 'the compulsion to regulate every aspect of life.' Under the Third Dynasty, Sumer became a patrimonial state, ruled like an extended family with the king as a paternal figure.
Ur-Nammu wrote the first legal code in Sumer, which became the precedent for the much later and better-known Code of Hammurabi of Babylon. Scholar Paul Kriwaczek writes:
Shulgi is considered the greatest king of this Neo-Sumerian period. To demonstrate his prowess, he reportedly ran 200 miles between the cities of Nippur and Ur and back in a single day to officiate at festivals in both. While perhaps exaggerated, scholars believe such a feat was possible, and creating awe was central to the authority of the Ur kings.
During Shulgi's reign, a long wall was built to deter nomadic Amorite tribes. His successors renovated it, but the wall was ineffective; it was difficult to garrison fully, and invaders could simply go around its ends, which the Amorites eventually did.
Forces from Elam breached the defenses, marched on Ur, and sacked it around 1750 BCE. The Amorites had already infiltrated the land. A severe famine, likely caused by climate change and over-farmed land, exacerbated the crisis, prompting a southward migration. Among these migrants is thought to have been the patriarch Abraham, who left Mesopotamia for Canaan.
After Ur's fall, many Sumerians migrated north. The Sumerian language faded from daily use, replaced by Akkadian, marking the end of distinct Sumerian culture.
Their legacy, however, endures in countless aspects of modern civilization that we often take for granted. From the way we structure our laws and cities to how we measure the hours of our day, so much began in the fertile plains of Sumer. As noted, everything has an origin, and for many foundational elements of contemporary life, that origin was Sumer.