Jump to content

Sumer: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
ClueBot (talk | contribs)
1,596,818 edits
m Reverting possible vandalism by 206.9.76.250 to version by Til Eulenspiegel. False positive? Report it. Thanks, ClueBot. (776471) (Bot)
←Replaced content with 'hi'
Tag: blanking
Line 1: Line 1:
hi
{{Ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{expand}}
'''Sumer''' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{cuneiform|&#x121A0;&#x12097;&#x120A0;}} ''{{lang|sux-Latn|[[Ki (earth)|ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform)|en]]-ĝir<sub>15</sub>}}'' "Land of the Lords of Brightness", <ref>{{lang|sux-Latn|ĝir<sub>15</sub>}}'' means "native, local", in some contexts also "noble"[http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/epsd/e2182.html]. Literally, "land of the native (local, noble) lords". Stiebing (1994) has "Land of the Lords of Brightness" (William Stiebing, Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture). Postgate (1994) takes ''en'' as substituting ''eme'' "language", translating "land of the Sumerian tongue" ({{cite book|title=Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History|author=John Nicholas Postgate|publisher=Routledge (UK)|year=1994}}. Postgate believes it likely that eme, 'tongue', became en, 'lord', through consonantal assimilation).</ref><ref name="SumerFAQ">[http://www.sumerian.org/sumerfaq.htm#s37 Sumerian Questions and Answers]</ref> [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: ''Šumeru''; possibly Biblical ''[[Shinar]]'') was a [[civilization]] and historical region in southern '''[[Iraq]]''' ([[Mesopotamia]]). It is the earliest known civilization in the world and is known as the [[Cradle of Civilization]]. The Sumerian civilization spanned over three-thousand years and began with the first settlement of [[Eridu]] in the [[Ubaid period]] (mid [[6th millennium BC]]) through the [[Uruk period]] ([[4th millennium BC]]) and the Dynastic periods ([[3rd millennium BC]]) until the rise of [[Babylonia]] in the early [[2nd millennium BC]]. Sumer was the birthplace of [[Cuneiform script|writing]], the [[wheel]], and many other things. The term "Sumerian" applies to all speakers of the [[Sumerian language]].

The cities of Sumer were the first to practice intensive, year-round [[history of agriculture|agriculture]] (from ca. 5300 BC). However, such agriculture appeared independently in multiple civilizations close to the same time as Sumer. The surplus of storable food created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating after crops and grazing land. It also allowed for a much greater population density, and in turn required an extensive labor force and [[division of labor]]. This organization led to the development of [[history of writing|writing]] (ca. 3500 BC).

== Origin of name ==
The term "Sumerian" is the common name given to the ancient inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia by their successors, the [[Semitic]] [[Akkadians]]. The Sumerians called their land ki'engir but referred to themselves as ùĝ saĝ gíg-ga, phonetically ''uŋ saŋ giga'', literally meaning "the black-headed people".<ref>{{cite book|author=W. Hallo, W. Simpson|year=1971|title=The Ancient Near East|publisher=New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich|page=28}}</ref> The [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] word ''Shumer'' may represent the geographical name in dialect, but the phonological development leading to the Akkadian term ''šumerû'' is uncertain.<ref name="SumerFAQ"/><ref name="Nimrod">{{cite journal|title=Nimrod before and after the Bible|author=K. van der Toorn, P. W. van der Horst|journal=The Harvard Theological Review|year=Jan 1990|volume=83|issue=1|pages=1–29}}</ref> Biblical ''[[Shinar]]'', Egyptian ''Sngr'' and Hittite ''Šanhar(a)'' could be western variants of ''Shumer''.<ref name="Nimrod" />

==City states==
{{See|Cities of the Ancient Near East|Geography of Sumer}}
[[File:Ur3.JPG|thumb|240px|Map of Sumer]]
By the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into about a dozen independent [[city-state]]s, whose limits were defined by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered on a temple dedicated to the particular patron god or goddess of the city and ruled over by a priestly governor ([[ENSI|ensi]]) or by a king ([[LUGAL|lugal]]) who was intimately tied to the city's religious rites.

{| style="background:transparent" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"
|- valign="top"
|
The five "first" cities said to have exercised [[Sumerian king list|pre-dynastic]] kingship:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
# [[Eridu]] (''Tell Abu Shahrain'')
# [[Bad-tibira]] (probably ''Tell al-Madain'')
# [[Larsa]] (''Tell as-Senkereh'')
# [[Sippar]] (''Tell Abu Habbah'')
# [[Shuruppak]] (''Tell Fara'')
Other principal cities:
<ol start="6">
<li> [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]] (''Tell Uheimir & Ingharra'')
<li> [[Uruk]] (''Warka'')
<li> [[Ur]] (''Tell al-Muqayyar'')
<li> [[Nippur]] (''Afak'')
<li> [[Lagash]] (''Tell al-Hiba'')
<li> [[Ngirsu]] (''Tello or Telloh'')
<li> [[Umma]] (''Tell Jokha'')
<li> [[Hamazi]] <sup>1</sup>
<li> [[Adab]] (''Tell Bismaya'')
<li> [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] (''Tell Hariri'') <sup>2</sup>
<li> [[Akshak]] <sup>1</sup>
<li> [[Akkad]] <sup>1</sup>
<li> [[Isin]] (''Ishan al-Bahriyat'')
</ol>
<small>(<sup>1</sup>location uncertain)</small><br>
<small>(<sup>2</sup>an outlying city in northern Mesopotamia)</small>
|
Minor cities (from south to north):
# [[Kuara (Sumer)|Kuara]] (''Tell al-Lahm'')
# [[Zabala (Sumer)|Zabala]] (''Tell Ibzeikh'')
# [[Kisurra]] (''Tell Abu Hatab'')
# [[Marad]] (''Tell Wannat es-Sadum'')
# [[Dilbat]] (''Tell ed-Duleim'')
# [[Borsippa]] (''Birs Nimrud'')
# [[Kutha]] (''Tell Ibrahim'')
# [[Der (Sumer)|Der]] (''al-Badra'')
# [[Eshnuna]] (''Tell Asmar'')
# [[Nagar, Syria|Nagar]] (''Tell Brak'') <sup>2</sup>
<small>(<sup>2</sup>an outlying city in northern Mesopotamia)</small>
|}

Apart from Mari, which lies full 330&nbsp;km northwest of Agade, but which is credited in the [[Sumerian king list|king list]] as having “exercised kingship” in the Early Dynastic II period, and Nagar, an outpost, these cities are all in the Euphrates-Tigris alluvial plain, south of [[Baghdad]] in what are now the [[Babil Governorate|Bābil]], [[Diyala Governorate|Diyala]], [[Wasit Governorate|Wāsit]], [[Dhi Qar Governorate|Dhi Qar]], [[Basra Governorate|Basra]], [[Al Muthanna Governorate|Al-Muthannā]] and [[Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate|Al-Qādisiyyah]] governorates of [[Iraq]].

== History==
{{Main|History of Sumer}}
The Sumerian city states rose to power during the prehistorical [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]] and [[Uruk period|Uruk]] periods. Sumerian history reaches back to the 26th century BC and before, but the historical record remains obscure until the Early Dynastic III period, ca. the 23rd century BC, when a now deciphered syllabary writing system was developed, which has allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions. Classical Sumer ends with the rise of the [[Akkadian Empire]] in the 23rd century BC. Following the [[Gutian period]], there is a brief "[[Sumerian renaissance]]" in the 21st century, cut short in the 20th century BC by [[Amorites|Amorite]] invasions. The Amorite "dynasty of [[Isin]]" persisted until ca. 1700 BC, when Mesopotamia was united under [[Babylonia]]n rule.

*[[Ubaid period]]: 5300 – 4100 BC (Pottery [[Neolithic]] to [[Chalcolithic]])
*[[Uruk period]]: 4100 – 2900 BC (Late [[Chalcolithic]] to [[Early Bronze Age]] I)
** Uruk XIV-V: 4100 – 3300 BC
** Uruk IV period: 3300 – 3000 BC
** [[Jemdet Nasr]] period (Uruk III): 3000 – 2900 BC
*Early Dynastic period ([[Early Bronze Age]] II-IV)
** Early Dynastic I period: 2900 – 2800 BC
** Early Dynastic II period: 2800 – 2600 BC ([[Gilgamesh]])
** Early Dynastic IIIa period: 2600 – 2500 BC
** Early Dynastic IIIb period: ca. 2500 – 2334 BC
* [[Akkadian Empire]] period: ca. 2334 – 2218 BC ([[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]])
* [[Gutian period]]: ca. 2218 – 2047 BC ([[Early Bronze Age]] IV)
* [[Ur III period]]: ca. 2047 – 1940 BC

===Ubaid period===
{{expand section}}
{{Main|Ubaid period}}
The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Persian Gulf]]. During this time, the first settlement in southern Mesopotamia was established at [[Eridu]], ca. 5300 BC, by farmers who brought with them the [[Samarra]]n culture from northern Mesopotamia. It is not known whether or not these were the actual Sumerians who are identified with the later Uruk culture. Eridu remained an important religious center when it was gradually surpassed in size by the nearby city of [[Uruk]].

===Uruk period===
{{Main|Uruk period}}
The archaeological transition from the Ubaid period to the Uruk period is marked by a gradual shift from painted pottery domestically produced on a slow [[Potter's wheel|wheel]], to a great variety of unpainted pottery mass-produced by specialists on fast wheels.

By the time of the [[Uruk]] period (ca. 4100–2900 BC calibrated), the volume of trade goods transported along the canals and rivers of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of many large, [[social stratification|stratified]], temple-centered cities (with populations of over 10,000 people) where centralized administrations employed specialized workers. It is fairly certain that it was during the Uruk period that Sumerian cities began to make use of slave labor captured from the hill country, and there is ample evidence for captured slaves as workers in the earliest texts. Artifacts, and even colonies of this Uruk civilization have been found over a wide area—from the [[Taurus Mountains]] in [[Turkey]], to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in the west, and as far east as Central [[Iran]]<ref name="Algaze, Guillermo 2005">Algaze, Guillermo (2005) "The Uruk World System: The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization", (Second Edition, University of Chicago Press)</ref>.

The Uruk period civilization, exported by Sumerian traders and colonists (like that found at [[Tell Brak]]), had an effect on all surrounding peoples, who gradually evolved their own comparable, competing economies and cultures. The cities of Sumer could not maintain remote, long-distance colonies by military force<ref name="Algaze, Guillermo 2005"/>.

Sumerian cities during the Uruk period were probably theocratic and were most likely headed by a priest-king (ensi), assisted by a council of elders, including both men and women<ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild (Ed) (1939),"The Sumerian King List" (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; Assyriological Studies, No. 11.)</ref>. It is quite possible that the later Sumerian [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] was modelled upon this political structure.

{{Notable Sumerians}}
The ancient [[Sumerian king list]] includes the early dynasties of several prominent cities from this period. The first set of names on the list is of kings said to have reigned before a major flood occurred. These early names may be fictional, and include some legendary and mythological figures, such as [[Alulim]] and [[Dumuzid, the Shepherd|Dumizid]]<ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild (1939) "Sumerian King List" (Univ of Chicago)</ref>.

The end of the Uruk period coincided with the [[Piora oscillation]], a dry period from c. 3200–2900 BC that marked the end of a long wetter, warmer climate period from about 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, called the [[Holocene climatic optimum]]<ref>Lamb, Hubert H. (1995). Climate, History, and the Modern World. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415127351</ref>.

===Early Dynastic Period===
{{expand section}}
The Dynastic period begins ca. 2900 BC and includes such legendary figures as [[Enmerkar]] and [[Gilgamesh]]—who are supposed to have reigned shortly before the historic record opens ca. 2700 BC, when the now decipherable syllabic writing started to develop from the early pictograms. The center of Sumerian culture remained in southern Mesopotamia, even though rulers soon began expanding into neighboring areas, and neighboring Semitic groups adopted much of Sumerian culture for their own.

The earliest Dynastic king on the [[Sumerian king list]] whose name is known from any other legendary source is [[Etana]], 13th king of the first Dynasty of Kish. The earliest king authenticated through archaeological evidence is [[Enmebaragesi]] of Kish (ca. 26th century BC), whose name is also mentioned in the [[Gilgamesh epic]]—leading to the suggestion that Gilgamesh himself might have been a historical king of Uruk.

====1st Dynasty of Lagash====
[[File:Stele of Vultures detail 02.jpg|thumb|left|Fragment of [[Eannatum]]'s Stele of the Vultures]]
{{Main|Lagash}}
ca. 2500 – 2270 BC

The dynasty of Lagash, though omitted from the king list, is well attested through several important monuments and many archaeological finds.

Although short-lived, one of the first empires known to history was that of [[Eannatum]] of Lagash, who annexed practically all of Sumer, including [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Uruk]], [[Ur]], and [[Larsa]], and reduced to tribute the city-state of [[Umma]], arch-rival of Lagash. In addition, his realm extended to parts of [[Elam]] and along the [[Persian Gulf]]. He seems to have used terror as a matter of policy—his stele of the vultures has been found, showing violent treatment of enemies. His empire collapsed shortly after his death.

Later, [[Lugal-Zage-Si]], the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered Uruk, making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. He was the last ethnically Sumerian king before the arrival of the [[Semitic]] king, [[Sargon of Akkad]].

===Akkadian Empire===
{{Main|Akkadian Empire}}
ca. 2270 – 2083 BC ([[chronology of the ancient Near East|short chronology]])

The Semitic [[Akkadian language]] is first attested in proper names of the kings of Kish ca. 2800 BC<ref>Roux, Georges "Ancient Iraq" (Penguin Harmondsworth)</ref>, preserved in later king lists. There are texts written entirely in Old Akkadian dating from ca. 2500 BC. Use of Old Akkadian was at its peak during the rule of Sargon the Great (ca. 2270 – 2215 BC), but even then most administrative tablets continued to be written in Sumerian, the language used by the scribes. Gelb and Westenholz differentiate three stages of Old Akkadian: that of the pre-Sargonic era, that of the Akkadian empire, and that of the "[[Neo-Sumerian]] Renaissance" that followed it. Speakers of Akkadian and Sumerian coexisted for about one thousand years, until ca. 1800 BC, when Sumerian ceased to be spoken. [[Thorkild Jacobsen]] has argued that there is little break in historical continuity between the pre- and post-Sargon periods, and that too much emphasis has been placed on the perception of a "Semitic vs. Sumerian" conflict.<ref>See ''Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture'' by T. Jacobsen</ref> However, it is certain that Akkadian was also briefly imposed on neighboring parts of [[Elam]] that were conquered by Sargon.

===Gutian period===
{{Main|Gutian dynasty of Sumer}}
ca. 2083 – 2050 BC ([[chronology of the ancient Near East|short chronology]])

====2nd Dynasty of Lagash====
[[File:Head Gudea Louvre AO13.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]]]]
{{Main|Lagash}}
ca. 2093 – 2046 BC ([[chronology of the ancient Near East|short chronology]])

Following the downfall of the [[Akkadian Empire]] at the hands of [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Gutian]]s, another native Sumerian ruler, [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]], rose to local prominence and continued the practices of the Sargonid kings' claims to divinity. Like the previous Lagash dynasty, Gudea and his descendents also promoted artistic development and left a large number of archaeological artifacts.

===Sumerian Renaissance===
[[File:UR 17 01 2004 003.jpg|thumb|left|[[Great Ziggurat of Ur]], near [[Nasiriyah]], [[Iraq]]]]
{{Main|Sumerian renaissance}}
ca. 2047 – 1940 BC ([[chronology of the ancient Near East|short chronology]])

Later, the [[3rd dynasty of Ur]] under [[Ur-Nammu]] and [[Shulgi]], whose power extended as far as northern Mesopotamia, was the last great "Sumerian renaissance", but already the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the influx of waves of Martu ([[Amorites]]) who were later to found the [[Babylonia]]n Empire. The Sumerian language, however, remained a sacerdotal language taught in schools, in the same way that Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was utilised.

===Decline===
This period is generally taken to coincide with a major shift in population from southern Iraq toward the north. Ecologically, the agricultural productivity of the Sumerian lands was being compromised as a result of rising salinity. [[Soil salinity]] in this region had been long recognized as a major problem. Poorly drained irrigated soils, in an arid climate with high levels of evaporation, led to the buildup of dissolved salts in the soil, eventually reducing agricultural yields severely. During the [[Akkad]]ian and [[Ur III]] phases, there was a shift from the cultivation of [[wheat]] to the more salt-tolerant [[barley]], but this was insufficient, and during the period from 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that the population in this area declined by nearly three fifths.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Thompson| first=William R.| year=2004| title=Complexity, Diminishing Marginal Returns and Serial Mesopotamian Fragmentation| journal=Journal of World Systems Research| url=http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol10/number3/pdf/jwsr-v10n3-thompson.pdf| format=pdf| doi=10.1007/s00268-004-7605-z| volume=28| pages=1187}}</ref> This greatly weakened the balance of power within the region, weakening the areas where Sumerian was spoken, and comparatively strengthening those where Akkadian was the major language. Henceforth Sumerian would remain only a [[literary language|literary]] and [[liturgy|liturgical]] language, similar to the position occupied by [[Latin]] in [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Europe.

Following an [[Elam]]ite invasion and sack of [[Ur]] during the rule of [[Ibbi-Sin]] (ca. 1940 BC), Sumer came under [[Amorites|Amorite]] rule (taken to introduce the [[Middle Bronze Age]]). The independent Amorite states of the 20th to 18th centuries are summarized as the "[[Dynasty of Isin]]" in the [[Sumerian king list]], ending with the rise of [[Babylonia]] under [[Hammurabi]] ca. 1700 BC.

== Population ==
[[File:Sumer1.jpg|right|350px|thumb| First farmers from [[Samarra]] arrive in Sumer, and build shrine and settlement at [[Eridu]]]]
In spite of the importance of this region, genetic studies on the Sumerians are limited and generally restricted to analysis of classical markers due to Iraq's modern political instability. It has been found that [[Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)|Y-DNA Haplogroup J2]] originated in Northern Iraq.<ref>[http://dna-forums.org/index.php?showtopic=4514 Sumerians and haplogroup J - DNA Forums]</ref><ref>N. Al-Zahery et al, "Y-chromosome and mtDNA polymorphisms in Iraq, a crossroad of the early human dispersal and of post-Neolithic migrations," Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2003)</ref>
The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people and were at one time believed to have been invaders{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}, as a number of linguists believed they could detect a [[substrate language]] beneath Sumerian. However, the [[archaeological record]] shows clear uninterrupted cultural continuity from the time of the Early [[Ubaid period]] (5300 – 4700 BC [[Radiocarbon dating|C-14]]) settlements in southern [[Mesopotamia]]. The Sumerian people who settled here farmed the lands in this region that were made fertile by silt deposited by the [[Tigris]] and the [[Euphrates]] rivers.

Despite the lack of corroborating written records, it is generally agreed that Sumerian speakers were farmers who moved down from the north, after perfecting irrigation agriculture there. The [[Ubaid]] pottery of southern Mesopotamia has been connected via ''Choga Mami Transitional'' ware to the pottery of the [[Samarra]] period culture (c. 5700 – 4900 BC [[Radiocarbon dating|C-14]]) in the north, who were the first to practice a primitive form of irrigation agriculture along the middle Tigris River and its tributaries. The connection is most clearly seen at Tell Awayli (''Oueilli'', ''Oueili'') near [[Larsa]], excavated by the French in the 1980s, where 8 levels yielded pre-Ubaid pottery resembling Samarran ware. Farming peoples spread down into southern Mesopotamia because they had developed a temple-centered social organization for mobilizing labor and technology for water control, enabling them to survive and prosper in a difficult environment.

Many historians and archaeologists, provide strong circumstantial evidence to posit that Iraq's [[Marsh Arabs]] share the strongest link to the ancient Sumerians.<ref>[http://www.simplysharing.com/sumerians.htm Iraq's Marsh Arabs, Modern Sumerians] - The Oregonian, May 14, 2003</ref>

== Culture ==
=== Social and family life===
{{expand section}}
In the early Sumerian period (i.e. Uruk), the primitive pictograms suggest<ref name="Sayce"/> that:
*"[[Pottery]] was very plentiful, and the forms of the vases, bowls and dishes were manifold ; there were special jars for honey, butter, oil and wine, which was probably made from dates, and one form of vase had a spout protruding from its side. Some of the vases had pointed feet, and stood on stands with crossed legs ; others were flat-bottomed, and were set on square or rectangular frames of wood. The oil-jars - and probably others also - were sealed with clay, precisely as in early Egypt. Vases and dishes of stone were made in imitation of those of clay, and baskets were woven of reeds or formed of leather."
*"A feathered head-dress was worn on the head. Beds, stools and chairs were used, with carved legs resembling those of an ox. There were fire-places and fire-altars, and apparently chimneys also."
*"Knives, drills, wedges and an instrument which looks like a saw were all known, while bows, arrows and daggers (but not swords nor, probably, spears) were employed in war."
*"Tablets were used for writing purposes, and copper, gold and silver were worked by the smith. Daggers with metal blades and wooden handles were worn, and copper was hammered into plates, while necklaces or collars were made of gold."
*"Time was reckoned in lunar months."

There is much evidence that the Sumerians loved music. It seemed to be an important part of [[religious]] and civic life in Sumer. [[Lyres]] were popular in Sumer; see [[Sumerian music]].

According to inscriptions describing the reforms of king [[Urukagina]] of [[Lagash]] (ca. 2300 BC), he is said to have abolished the former custom of polyandry in his country, on pain of the woman taking multiple husbands being stoned with rocks upon which her crime is written<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=mpjk74blFDgC&pg=PA62&dq=urukagina+%22two+men%22&client=firefox-a&sig=29we4cFBrgMpJ9qsy4zjpCywAQY ''Gender and the Journal: Diaries and Academic Discourse'' p. 62] by Cinthia Gannett, 1992</ref>.

Though women were protected by [[cuneiform law|late Sumerian law]] and were able to achieve a higher status in Sumer than in other contemporary civilizations, the culture was male-dominated. The [[Code of Ur-Nammu]], the oldest such codification yet discovered, dating to the Ur-III "Sumerian Renaissance", reveals a glimpse at societal structure in late Sumerian law. Beneath the ''lu-gal'' ("great man" or king), all members of society belonged to one of two basic strata: The "''lu''" or free person, and the slave (male, ''arad''; female ''geme''). The son of a ''lu'' was called a ''dumu-nita'' until he married. A woman (''munus'') went from being a daughter (''dumu-mi''), to a wife (''dam''), then if she outlived her husband, a widow (''numasu'') who could remarry.

Historian [[Alan I. Marcus]] has observed, "Sumerians held a rather dour perspective on life." One Sumerian wrote: "Tears, lament, anguish, and depression are within me. Suffering overwhelms me. Evil fate holds me and carries off my life. Malignant sickness bathes me." Another wrote, "Why am I counted among the ignorant? Food is all about, yet my food is hunger. On the day shares were allotted, my allotted share was suffering."<ref>[http://www.gial.edu/GIALens/vol1-2/K-Bruce-Paper.pdf The Wisdom Fest] by Kathleen L. Bruce, D. Miss.</ref>

===Language and writing===
{{expand section}}
{{Main|Sumerian language|Cuneiform}}
The most important archaeological discoveries in Sumer are a large number of tablets written in Sumerian. Sumerian pre-[[Cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] script has been discovered on tablets dating to around 3500 BC.<sup>{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}</sup>

The Sumerian language is generally regarded as a [[language isolate]] in [[linguistics]] because it belongs to no known language family; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], by contrast belongs to the [[Afro-Asiatic languages]]. There have been many failed attempts to connect Sumerian to other [[language family|language groups]]. It is an [[agglutinative language]]; in other words, [[morpheme]]s ("units of meaning") are added together to create words, unlike [[analytic languages]] where morphemes are purely added together to create sentences.

Sumerians invented picture-[[Logogram|hieroglyphs]] that developed into later [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]], and their language vies with [[Ancient Egyptian]] for credit as the oldest known [[writing system|written human language]], with the oldest Sumerian cuneiform tablets predating the oldest Egyptian hieroglyphs by a couple of centuries. An extremely large body of hundreds of thousands of texts in the Sumerian language has survived, the great majority of these on clay tablets. Known Sumerian texts include personal and business letters and transactions, receipts, lexical lists, laws, hymns and prayers, magical incantations, and scientific texts including mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Monumental inscriptions and texts on different objects like statues or bricks are also very common. Many texts survive in multiple copies because they were repeatedly transcribed by scribes-in-training. Sumerian continued to be the language of religion and law in Mesopotamia long after Semitic speakers had become the ruling race.

Understanding Sumerian texts today can be problematic even for experts. Most difficult are the earliest texts, which in many cases don't give the full grammatical structure of the language.

===Religion===
{{Main|Sumerian mythology}}

[[File:Mesopotamia male worshiper 2750-2600 B.C.jpg|thumb|[[Tell Asmar]] votive sculpture 2750-2600 B.C]]
It is not surprising that the religious beliefs of the Sumerians changed during the long period of their history. According to British archaeologist [[Archibald Sayce]]:<ref name="Sayce2">[http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologyofcun00sayc/archaeologyofcun00sayc_djvu.txt "The Archaeology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions"], Second Edition-revised, 1908, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, Brighton, New York; at pages 93-95 [http://www.archive.org/details/archaeologyofcun00sayc Not in copyright], see also Sayce: "The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia", at pp. 276-80.</ref>

{{bquote|In historical Babylonia the gods were conceived of in the form of man. Man was created in the image of God because the gods themselves were men. But the conception cannot be traced back further than the age when the Sumerians and Semites came into contact with one another. In pre-Semitic Sumer there are no anthropomorphic gods. We hear, instead, of the zi or 'spirit', a word properly signifying 'life' which manifested itself in the power of motion. All things that moved were possessed of life, and there was accordingly a 'life' or 'spirit' of the water as well as of man or beast. .... Sumerian theology, in fact, was still on the level of animism... Vestiges of the old animism can still be detected even in the later cult: by the side of the human gods an Assyrian prayer invokes the mountains, the rivers and the winds, and from time to time we come across a worship of deified towns. It was the town itself that was divine, not the deity to whom its chief temple was dedicated. So, again, the god or goddess continued to be symbolized by some sacred animal or object whose figure appears upon seals and boundary-stones...}}

{{bquote|With the advent of the Semite all is changed. The gods have become men and women with intensified powers and the gift of immortality, but in all other respects they live and act like the men and women of this nether world. ... The Semitic god of Babylon was 'lord of gods' and men, of heaven and earth; Assur of Assyria was 'king of the gods' and lord of 'the heavenly hosts'.}}

{{bquote|It was natural that, corresponding with this lord of the heavenly hosts, there should be a lord of the hosts of earth, and that as the divine king was clothed in the attributes of man, the human king should take upon him the divine nature. Like the Pharaohs of Egypt or the emperors of Rome, the early kings of Semitic Babylonia were deified. And the deification took place during their life-time, in fact, so far as we can judge, upon their accession to the throne. In the eyes of their subjects they were incarnate deities, and in their inscriptions they give themselves the title of god.}}

There was no organized set of gods; each city-state had its own patrons, temples, and priest-kings. The Sumerians were probably the first to write down their beliefs, which were the inspiration for much of later [[Mesopotamian mythology]], [[religion]], and [[astrology]].

The Sumerians worshipped:
*[[An]] as the full time god, equivalent to "heaven" - indeed, the word "an" in Sumerian means "sky" and his consort [[Ki (goddess)|Ki]], means "Earth".
*[[Enki]] in the south at the temple in [[Eridu]]. Enki was the god of beneficence, ruler of the freshwater depths beneath the earth, a healer and friend to humanity who was thought to have given us the arts and sciences, the industries and manners of civilization; the first law-book was considered his creation,
*[[Enlil]], lord of the ghost-land, in the north at the temple of [[Nippur]]. His gifts to mankind were said to be the spells and incantations that the spirits of good or evil were compelled to obey,
*[[Inanna]], the deification of Venus, the morning (eastern) and evening (western) star, at the temple (shared with An) at Uruk.
*The sun-god [[Utu]] at [[Sippar]],
*the moon god [[Mesopotamian mythology|Nanna]] at [[Ur]].

These deities were probably the original matrix; there were hundreds of minor [[deity|deities]]. The Sumerian [[god]]s thus had associations with different cities, and their religious importance often waxed and waned with those cities' political power. The gods were said to have created human beings from clay for the purpose of serving them. If the temples/gods ruled each city it was for their mutual survival and benefit—the temples organized the mass labor projects needed for irrigation agriculture. Citizens had a labor duty to the temple which they were allowed to avoid by a payment of silver only towards the end of the third millennium. The temple-centered farming communities of Sumer had a social stability that enabled them to survive for four millennia.

Sumerians believed that the [[universe]] consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin [[dome]]. The Sumerian [[afterlife]] involved a descent into a gloomy [[Sumerian nether-world|netherworld]] to spend eternity in a wretched [[existence]] as a [[Gidim]] (ghost).

[[Ziggurat]]s (Sumerian temples) consisted of a forecourt, with a central pond for purification.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} The temple itself had a central [[nave]] with aisles along either side. Flanking the aisles would be rooms for the priests. At one end would stand the [[podium]] and a [[mudbrick]] table for [[animal]] and [[vegetable]] [[sacrifice]]s. [[Wiktionary:Granary|Granaries]] and [[storehouse]]s were usually located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to place the temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising terraces, giving rise to the later Ziggurat style.

There were many different types of priests. Some of the more common ones:
*''āšipu'' an exorcist and physician
*''bārû'' a diviner and astrologer
*''qadištu'' a priestess and prostitute

=== Agriculture and hunting===
{{expand section}}
The Sumerians adopted an agricultural mode of life. In the early Sumerian period (i.e. Uruk), the primitive pictograms suggest that "The sheep, goat, ox and probably donkeys had been domesticated, the ox being used for drought, and woolen clothing as well as rugs were made from the wool or hair of the two first ... By the side of the house was an enclosed garden planted with trees and other plants; wheat and probably other cereals were sown in the fields, and the [[shaduf]] was already employed for the purpose of irrigation. Plants were also grown in pots or vases."<ref name="Sayce"/>

The Sumerians practiced the same irrigation techniques as those used in Egypt.<ref>{{cite book| last = Mackenzie| first = Donald Alexander| year = 1927 | title = Footprints of Early Man| publisher = Blackie & Son Limited}}</ref> American anthropologist [[Robert McCormick Adams]] says that irrigation development was associated with urbanization,<ref>{{cite book| last = Adams| first = R. McC.| year = 1981 | title = Heartland of Cities| publisher = University of Chicago Press}}</ref> and that 89% of the population lived in the cities.[http://cniss.wustl.edu/workshoppapers/gatpres2a.pdf].

They grew [[barley]], [[chickpea]]s, [[lentil]]s, [[wheat]], [[Date (fruit)|date]]s, [[onion]]s, [[garlic]], [[lettuce]], [[leek (vegetable)|leek]]s and [[Mustard plant|mustard]]. They also raised cattle, [[sheep]], [[goat]]s, and [[pig]]s. They used [[ox]]en as their primary beasts of burden and [[donkey]]s or [[equids]] as their primary transport animal. Sumerians caught many fish and hunted [[fowl]] and [[gazelle]].

Sumerian agriculture depended heavily on [[irrigation]]. The irrigation was accomplished by the use of [[shaduf]]s, [[canal]]s, [[Channel (geography)|channels]], [[dyke (construction)|dykes]], [[weir]]s, and [[reservoirs]]. The frequent violent floods of the [[Tigris]], and less so, of the [[Euphrates]], meant that canals required frequent repair and continual removal of [[silt]], and survey markers and boundary stones continually replaced. The government required individuals to work on the canals in a [[corvee]], although the rich were able to exempt themselves.

After the flood season and after the Spring Equinox and the [[Akitu]] or New Year Festival, using the canals, farmers would flood their fields and then drain the water. Next they let oxen stomp the ground and kill weeds. They then dragged the fields with [[pickaxe]]s. After drying, they [[plowing|plowed]], [[harrow (tool)|harrowed]], and [[rake (tool)|raked]] the ground three times, and pulverized it with a [[mattock]], before planting seed. Unfortunately the high evaporation rate resulted in a gradual increase in the salinity of the fields. By the Ur III period, farmers had switched from wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley as their principal crop.

Sumerians harvested during the dry [[autumn|fall season]] in three-person teams consisting of a [[reaper]], a [[binder]], and a [[sheaf arranger]]. The farmers would use [[threshing wagon]]s to separate the [[cereal]] heads from the [[stalk (botany)|stalk]]s and then use [[threshing sled]]s to disengage the grain. They then [[winnowing|winnowed]] the grain/chaff mixture.

=== Architecture ===
{{expand section}}
{{Main|Sumerian architecture|Ziggurat|Mudhif}}
The Tigris-Euphrates plain lacked minerals and trees. Sumerian structures were made of plano-convex [[mudbrick]], not fixed with [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] or [[cement]]. Mud-brick buildings eventually deteriorate, so they were periodically destroyed, leveled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, which thus came to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resultant hills, known as [[tell]]s, are found throughout the ancient Near East.

According to [[Archibald Sayce]], the primitive pictograms of the early Sumerian (i.e. Uruk) era suggest that "Stone was scarce, but was already cut into blocks and seals. Brick was the ordinary building material, and with it cities, forts, temples and houses were constructed. The city was provided with towers and stood on an artificial platform ; the house also had a tower-like appearance. It was provided with a door which turned on a hinge, and could be opened with a sort of key ; the city gate was on a larger scale, and seems to have been double. ... Demons were feared who had wings like a bird, and the foundation stones - or rather bricks - of a house were consecrated by certain objects that were deposited under them."<ref name="Sayce">[[Archibald Sayce|Sayce, Rev. A. H.]], Professor of Assyriology, Oxford, [http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologyofcun00sayc/archaeologyofcun00sayc_djvu.txt "The Archaeology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions"], Second Edition-revised, 1908, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, Brighton, New York; at pages 98-100 [http://www.archive.org/details/archaeologyofcun00sayc Not in copyright]</ref>

The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the [[ziggurat]]s, large layered platforms which supported temples. Some scholars have theorized that these structures might have been the basis of the [[Tower of Babel]] described in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]. Sumerian [[Cylinder seal|cylinder]] [[Seal (device)|seal]]s also depict houses built from reeds not unlike those built by the [[Marsh Arabs]] of Southern Iraq until as recently as 400 AD. The Sumerians also developed the arch, which enabled them to develop a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several arches.

Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques, such as [[buttress]]es, [[recess]]es, [[Column|half column]]s, and [[clay nail]]s.

=== Mathematics ===
{{expand section}}
{{Main|Babylonian mathematics}}
The Sumerians developed a complex system of [[metrology]] c 4000 BCE. This metrology advanced resulting in the creation of arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. From 2600 BCE onwards, the Sumerians wrote [[multiplication table]]s on clay tablets and dealt with [[geometry|geometrical]] exercises and [[Division (mathematics)|division]] problems. The earliest traces of the [[Babylonian numerals]] also date back to this period.<ref>Duncan J. Melville (2003). [http://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/3Mill/chronology.html Third Millennium Chronology], ''Third Millennium Mathematics''. [[St. Lawrence University]].</ref> The period 2700–2300 BCE saw the first appearance of the [[abacus]], and a table of successive columns which delimited the successive orders of magnitude of their [[sexagesimal]] number system.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Ifrah|2001|p=11}}</ref> The Sumerians were the first to use a place value numeral system. There is also anecdotal evidence the Sumerians may have used a type of slide rule in astronomical calculations. <sup>[http://books.google.com/books?id=BKRE5AjRM3AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sherlock+holmes+in+babylon&sig=ACfU3U2XZtiWSoTgchQhcKHQD95X3F-35Q#PPA7,M1]
</sup>

=== Economy and trade===
{{Expand|section|date=December 2008}}
Discoveries of [[obsidian]] from far-away locations in [[Anatolia]] and [[lapis lazuli]] from northeastern [[Afghanistan]], beads from [[Dilmun]] (modern [[Bahrain]]), and several seals inscribed with the [[Indus Valley civilization|Indus Valley]] [[Indus script|script]] suggest a remarkably wide-ranging network of ancient trade centered around the [[Persian Gulf]].

The [[Epic of Gilgamesh]] refers to trade with far lands for goods such as wood that were scarce in Mesopotamia. In particular, cedar from Lebanon was prized.

The Sumerians used slaves, although they were not a major part of the economy. Slave [[women]] worked as [[weaving|weavers]], pressers, [[miller]]s, and [[porter (carrying)|porter]]s.

Sumerian [[pottery|potters]] decorated pots with [[cedar oil]] [[paint]]s. The potters used a [[bow drill]] to produce the [[fire]] needed for baking the pottery. Sumerian [[masonry|masons]] and [[jewelry|jewelers]] knew and made use of [[alabaster]] ([[calcite]]), [[ivory]], [[gold]], [[silver]], carnelian and [[lapis lazuli]].

===Military===
[[File:Standard of Ur chariots.jpg|frame|thumb|Early chariots on the [[Standard of Ur]], ca. 2600 BC.]]
[[File:Stele of Vultures detail 01.jpg|right|thumb|Battle formations on a fragment of the [[Stele of Vultures.]]]]

The almost constant wars among the Sumerian city-states for 2000 years helped to develop the military technology and techniques of Sumer to a high level. The first war recorded was between Lagash and Umma in ca. 2525 BC on a stele called the ''Stele of Vultures''. It shows the king of Lagash leading a Sumerian army consisting mostly of [[infantry]]. The infantrymen carried [[spear]]s, wore [[copper]] [[helmet]]s and carried [[leather]] or [[wicker]] [[shield]]s. The spearmen are shown arranged in what resembles the [[phalanx formation]], which requires training and discipline; this implies that the Sumerians may have made use of [[professional]] soldiers.

The Sumerian military used carts harnessed to [[onager]]s. These early [[chariot]]s functioned less effectively in combat than did later designs, and some have suggested that these chariots served primarily as transports, though the crew carried battle-axes and [[lance]]s. The Sumerian chariot comprised a four or two-[[wheel]]ed device manned by a crew of two and harnessed to four onagers. The cart was composed of a [[basket|woven basket]] and the wheels had a solid three-piece design.

Sumerian cities were surrounded by defensive [[City wall|wall]]s. The Sumerians engaged in [[siege|siege warfare]] between their cities, but the [[mudbrick]] walls failed to deter some foes.

===Technology===
{{expand section}}
Examples of Sumerian technology include: the [[wheel]], [[cuneiform]], [[arithmetic]] and [[geometry]], [[irrigation]] systems, Sumerian boats, [[lunisolar calendar]], [[bronze]], [[leather]], [[saw]]s, [[chisel]]s, [[hammer]]s, [[Brace (tool)|brace]]s, [[Horse tack|bit]]s, [[nail (engineering)|nail]]s, [[pin]]s, [[jewelry ring|ring]]s, [[Hoe (tool)|hoe]]s, [[axe]]s, [[knife|knives]], [[lance]]points, [[arrow (weapon)|arrowheads]], [[sword]]s, [[adhesive|glue]], [[dagger]]s, [[Bladder|waterskin]]s, [[bag]]s, [[harness]]es, [[armor]], [[quiver]]s, [[war chariot]]s, [[scabbard]]s, [[boot]]s, [[sandal (footwear)|sandals]] and [[harpoon]]s.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

The Sumerians had three main types of boats:
* clinker-built sailboats stitched together with hair, featuring [[bitumen]] waterproofing
* skin boats constructed from animal skins and reeds
* wooden-oared ships, sometimes pulled upstream by people and animals walking along the nearby banks

== Legacy ==
{{expandsection}}
Most authorities credit the Sumerians with the invention of the [[wheel]], initially in the form of the [[potter's wheel]]. The new concept quickly led to wheeled [[vehicles]] and mill wheels. The Sumerians' [[Cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] writing system is the oldest for which there is evidence (excluding proto-writing such as the [[Vinča signs]] and the even older [[Jiahu Script|Jiahu signs]]). The Sumerians were among the first astronomers, mapping the stars into sets of constellations, many of which survived in the zodiac and were also recognized by the ancient Greeks.<ref name="Thompson">[http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gtosiris/page11-4.html History of Constellation and Star Names]</ref> They were also aware of the five planets that are visible to the naked eye.<ref name="SumerFAQ2">[http://www.sumerian.org/sumerfaq.htm#s39 Sumerian Questions and Answers]</ref>

They invented and developed arithmetic by doing several different number systems including a [[mixed radix]] system with an alternating base 10 and base 6. This [[sexagesimal]] system became the standard number system in Sumer and Babylonia. They may have invented military formations and introduced the basic divisions between [[infantry]], [[cavalry]] and [[archery|archers]]. They developed the first known codified legal and administrative systems, complete with courts, jails, and government records. The first true [[city states]] arose in Sumer, roughly contemporaneously with similar entities in what is now [[Syria]], Israel and Palestine. Several centuries after the invention of cuneiform, the use of writing expanded beyond debt/payment certificates and inventory lists to be applied for the first time, about 2600 BC, to messages and mail delivery, history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records and other pursuits. Conjointly with the spread of writing, the first formal schools were established, usually under the auspices of a city-state's primary temple.

Finally, the Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive [[agriculture]] and irrigation. [[Emmer wheat]], [[barley]], sheep (starting as [[mouflon]]) and cattle (starting as [[aurochs]]) were foremost among the species cultivated and raised for the first time on a grand scale.

==See also==
* [[History of Sumer]]
* [[History of Iraq]]
* [[Mesopotamia]]
* [[Akkadian Empire]]
* [[Third Dynasty of Ur]]
* [[Sumerian language]]
* [[Sumerian architecture]]
* [[Sumerian king list]]
* [[History of writing numbers]]
* [[Code of Hammurabi]]
* [[Epic of Gilgamesh]]
* [[Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement]]
* [[Sumerian Farmer's Almanac]]
* [[Ziggurat]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Ascalone, Enrico. 2007. ''Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians (Dictionaries of Civilizations; 1)''. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520252667 (paperback).
* Bottéro, Jean, André Finet, Bertrand Lafont, and George Roux. 2001. ''Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia''. Edingurgh: Edinburgh University Press, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
* Crawford, Harriet E. W. 2004. ''Sumer and the Sumerians''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Leick, Gwendolyn. 2002. ''Mesopotamia: Invention of the City''. London and New York: Penguin.
* Lloyd, Seton. 1978. ''The Archaeology of Mesopotamia: From the Old Stone Age to the Persian Conquest''. London: Thames and Hudson.
* Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea. 1998. ''Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia''. London and Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
* {{cite book | author=[[Samuel Noah Kramer|Kramer, Samuel Noah]] | title= The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character | publisher= [[University of Chicago Press]] | year=1963 | isbn=0-226-45238-7}}
* [[Samuel Noah Kramer|Kramer, Samuel Noah]]. ''Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium BC''.
* Kramer, Samuel Noah. ''The Sumerians : Their History, Culture, and Character''.
* Roux, Georges. 1992. ''Ancient Iraq'', 560 pages. London: Penguin (earlier printings may have different pagination: 1966, 480 pages, Pelican; 1964, 431 pages, London: Allen and Urwin).
* Schomp, Virginia. ''Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, And Assyrians''.
* ''Sumer: Cities of Eden (Timelife Lost Civilizations)''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1993 (hardcover, ISBN 0809498871).
* [[Leonard Woolley|Woolley, C. Leonard]]. 1929. ''The Sumerians''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sumer}}
;Geography
* [http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/images1/mapANEprecip.jpg Map of The Fertile Crescent]
* The History Files [http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainFeaturesMesopotamia.htm Ancient Mesopotamia]
* The History of the Ancient Near East [http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Sumer.html Ancient Sumer]

;Language
* [http://www.sumerian.org/ Sumerian Language Page], perhaps the oldest Sumerian website on the web (it dates back to 1996), features compiled lexicon, detailed FAQ, extensive links, and so on.
* [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ ETCSL: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature] has complete translations of more than 400 Sumerian literary texts.
* [http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/ PSD: The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary], while still in its initial stages, can be searched on-line, from August 2004.
* [http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/ CDLI: Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative] a large corpus of Sumerian texts in transliteration, largely from the Early Dynastic and Ur III periods, accessible with images.

[[Category:Sumer]]
[[Category:History of Iraq]]
[[Category:Civilizations]]
[[Category:Lists of coordinates]]
[[Category:Fertile Crescent]]

{{Link FA|ka}}
<!-- interwiki -->

[[af:Sumeriese beskawing]]
[[als:Sumer]]
[[am:ሱመር]]
[[ar:سومر]]
[[an:Sumeria]]
[[ast:Sumeria]]
[[az:Şumer]]
[[bn:সুমের]]
[[zh-min-nan:Sumer]]
[[bs:Sumer]]
[[br:Sumer]]
[[bg:Шумер]]
[[ca:Sumer]]
[[cv:Шумер]]
[[ceb:Sumer]]
[[cs:Sumer]]
[[da:Sumer]]
[[de:Sumer]]
[[et:Sumer]]
[[el:Σουμέριοι]]
[[eml:Sumér]]
[[es:Sumeria]]
[[eo:Sumero]]
[[eu:Sumeria]]
[[fa:سومریان]]
[[fr:Sumer]]
[[fy:Sumearjers]]
[[gl:Sumeria]]
[[gan:蘇美爾]]
[[ko:수메르]]
[[hi:सुमेर]]
[[hr:Sumerani]]
[[id:Sumeria]]
[[is:Súmer]]
[[it:Sumeri]]
[[he:שומר]]
[[ka:შუმერი]]
[[sw:Sumeri]]
[[ku:Sumer]]
[[la:Sumer]]
[[lv:Šumera]]
[[lt:Šumeras]]
[[li:Soemer]]
[[hu:Sumer]]
[[mk:Сумер]]
[[ml:സുമേറിയന്‍ സംസ്കാരം]]
[[ms:Sumeria]]
[[nl:Sumer]]
[[ja:シュメール]]
[[nap:Sumeri]]
[[no:Sumer]]
[[nn:Sumer]]
[[oc:Sumèr]]
[[nds:Sumer]]
[[pl:Sumer]]
[[pt:Suméria]]
[[ro:Sumer]]
[[ru:Шумер]]
[[sq:Sumerët]]
[[scn:Sumeri]]
[[simple:Sumer]]
[[sk:Sumeri]]
[[sl:Sumerija]]
[[sr:Сумер]]
[[sh:Sumer]]
[[fi:Sumer]]
[[sv:Sumer]]
[[tl:Sumerya]]
[[ta:சுமேரியா]]
[[th:สุเมเรียน]]
[[tr:Sümerler]]
[[uk:Шумер]]
[[ur:سمیری]]
[[vi:Người Sumer]]
[[diq:Sumer]]
[[zh:苏美尔]]

Revision as of 19:05, 24 September 2009

hi

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Sumer&oldid=315972700"