Editing Sumer (section)

====Trade with the Indus valley====
{{main|Indus-Mesopotamia relations}}
[[File:British Museum Middle East 14022019 Gold and carnelian beads 2600-2300 BC Royal cemetery of Ur (composite).jpg|thumb|The [[etched carnelian beads]] with white designs in this necklace from the [[Royal Cemetery of Ur]], dating to the [[First Dynasty of Ur]], are thought to have come from the Indus Valley. [[British Museum]].<ref name="BM Carnelian">British Museum notice: "Gold and carnelians beads. The two beads etched with patterns in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley. They were made by a technique developed by the Harappan civilization". [[:File:Ur Grave gold and carnelian beads necklace.jpg|Photograph of the necklace in question]].</ref>]]
[[File:Mesopotamia-Indus.jpg|thumb|left|The trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Indus would have been significantly shorter due to lower sea levels in the 3rd millennium BC.<ref name="JR12">{{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian E. |title=The Indus-Mesopotamia relationship reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-0312-3 |pages=12–14 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28245304 }}</ref>]]
Evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur can be found from around 2350 BC.<ref name="JR14">{{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian E. |title=The Indus-Mesopotamia relationship reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-0312-3 |pages=14–17 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28245304 }}</ref> Various objects made with shell species that are characteristic of the Indus coast, particularly ''[[Turbinella pyrum]]'' and ''[[Pleuroploca trapezium]]'', have been found in the archaeological sites of Mesopotamia dating from around 2500–2000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gensheimer |first1=T. R. |title=The Role of shell in Mesopotamia : evidence for trade exchange with Oman and the Indus Valley |journal=Paléorient |date=1984 |volume=10 |pages=71–72 |doi=10.3406/paleo.1984.4350 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1984_num_10_1_4350}}</ref> [[Carnelian]] beads from the Indus were found in the Sumerian tombs of Ur, the [[Royal Cemetery at Ur]], dating to 2600–2450.<ref name="JMI">{{cite book |last1=McIntosh |first1=Jane |title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives |date=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-907-2 |pages=182–190 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&pg=PA189 }}</ref> In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley, and made according to a technique of acid-etching developed by the [[Harappa]]ns.<ref>For the etching technique, see {{cite journal |last1=MacKay |first1=Ernest |title=Sumerian Connexions with Ancient India |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |issue=4 |date=1925 |pages=699 |jstor=25220818 }}</ref><ref name="BM Carnelian" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimet |first1=Musée |title=Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan |date=2016 |publisher=FeniXX réédition numérique |isbn=978-2-402-05246-7 |page=355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA355 |language=fr}}</ref> Lapis lazuli was imported in great quantity by Egypt, and already used in many tombs of the [[Naqada II]] period (c. 3200 BC). Lapis lazuli probably originated in northern [[Afghanistan]], as no other sources are known, and had to be transported across the [[Iranian plateau]] to Mesopotamia, and then Egypt.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Demand |first1=Nancy H. |title=The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-4234-5 |pages=71–72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVSg-DOHzJMC&pg=PA71 }}</ref><ref name="CP">{{cite book |last1=Rowlands |first1=Michael J. |title=Centre and Periphery in the Ancient World |date=1987 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-25103-7 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YDs9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA37 }}</ref>

Several Indus seals with Harappan script have also been found in Mesopotamia, particularly in Ur, Babylon and Kish.<ref>For a full list of discoveries of Indus seals in Mesopotamia, see {{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian |title=Indian Ocean In Antiquity |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-15531-4 |pages=148–152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtzWAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA148 }}</ref><ref>For another list of Mesopotamian finds of Indus seals: {{cite book |last1=Possehl |first1=Gregory L. |title=The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective |date=2002 |publisher=Rowman Altamira |isbn=978-0-7591-0172-2 |page=221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmAuAsi4ePIC&pg=PA221 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Indus stamp-seal found in Ur BM 122187 |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=805148&partId=1&images=true |website=British Museum}}<br />{{cite web |title=Indus stamp-seal discovered in Ur BM 123208 |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=804667&partId=1&museumno=1932.1008.178&page=2 |website=British Museum}}<br />{{cite web |title=Indus stamp-seal discovered in Ur BM 120228 |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=805338&partId=1&images=true |website=British Museum}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gadd |first1=G. J. |title=Seals of Ancient Indian style found at Ur |date=1958 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.33779/page/n11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTvRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|first=Amanda H.|last=Podany|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-971829-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Aruz |first1=Joan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA246 |title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |last2=Wallenfels |first2=Ronald |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-58839-043-1 |page=246 |quote=Square-shaped Indus seals of fired steatite have been found at a few sites in Mesopotamia.}}</ref>

[[Gudea]], the ruler of the Neo-Summerian Empire at Lagash, is recorded as having imported "translucent carnelian" from [[Meluhha]], generally thought to be the Indus Valley area.<ref name="JMI"/> Various inscriptions also mention the presence of Meluhha traders and interpreters in Mesopotamia.<ref name="JMI"/> About twenty seals have been found from the Akkadian and Ur III sites, that have connections with Harappa and often use Harappan symbols or writing.<ref name="JMI"/>

The Indus Valley Civilization only flourished in its most developed form between 2400 and 1800 BC, but at the time of these exchanges, it was a much larger entity than the Mesopotamian civilization, covering an area of 1.2 million square kilometers with thousands of settlements, compared to an area of only about 65.000 square kilometers for the occupied area of Mesopotamia, while the largest cities were comparable in size at about 30–40,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cotterell |first1=Arthur |title=Asia: A Concise History |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-82959-2 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_vVTWXK5kQC&pg=PT42 }}</ref>