Editing Sumer (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Sumer}}
[[File:Portrait of a Sumerian prisoner on a victory stele of Sargon of Akkad.jpg|thumb|Portrait of a Sumerian prisoner on a victory stele of [[Sargon of Akkad]], {{circa|2300 BC}}.<ref name="ArchaeologyofElam">{{cite book |last1=Potts |first1=D. T. |title=The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56496-0 |page=104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&pg=PA104 }}</ref> The hairstyle of the prisoners (curly hair on top and short hair on the sides) is characteristic of Sumerians, as also seen on the [[Standard of Ur]].<ref name="TwoSteles">{{cite journal |last1=Nigro |first1=Lorenzo |title=The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief |journal=Iraq |volume=60 |date=1998 |pages=85–102 |publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq |doi=10.2307/4200454 |jstor=4200454 |hdl=11573/109737 |s2cid=193050892 }}</ref> [[Louvre Museum]].]]

The Sumerian city-states rose to power during the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumerian written history reaches back to the 27th century BC and before, but the historical record remains obscure until the Early Dynastic III period, {{circa|23rd century BC}}, when the language of the written records becomes easier to decipher, which has allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions.

The [[Akkadian Empire]] was the first state that successfully united larger parts of Mesopotamia in the 23rd century BC. After the [[Gutian period]], the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III kingdom]] similarly united parts of northern and southern Mesopotamia. It ended in the face of [[Amorites|Amorite]] incursions at the beginning of the second millennium BC. The Amorite "dynasty of [[Isin]]" persisted until {{circa|1700 BC}}, when Mesopotamia was united under [[Babylonia]]n rule.
*[[New Stone Age#Pre-Pottery Neolithic C|New Stone Age]]: {{circa|10000|5000 BC}}
**[[Ubaid period]]: {{circa|6500|4100 BC}}
*[[Copper Age]]: {{circa|5000|3300 BC}}
**[[Uruk period]]: {{circa|4100|3100 BC}}
***Uruk XIV–V phases: {{circa|4100|3300 BC}}
***Uruk IV phase: {{circa|3300|3100 BC}}
*[[Early Bronze Age I]]: {{circa|3300|3000 BC}}
**[[Jemdet Nasr period]] (Uruk III phase): {{circa|3100|2900 BC}}
***Uruk III phase: {{circa|3100|2900 BC}}
*[[Early Bronze Age II]]: {{circa|3000|2700 BC}}
**[[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]] {{circa|2900|2334 BC}}
***Early Dynastic I period: {{circa|2900|2800 BC}}
****Eridu dynasty ([[Alulim]])
****Bad-tibira dynasty ([[Dumuzid]])
****Larak dynasty ([[En-sipad-zid-ana]])
****Sippar dynasty ([[Enmeduranki]])
****Shuruppak dynasty ([[Ziusudra]])
****Kish I dynasty ([[Enmebaragesi]])
***Early Dynastic II period: {{circa|2800|2600 BC}}
****Uruk I dynasty ([[Gilgamesh]])
***Early Dynastic IIIa period: {{circa|2600|2500 BC}}
****[[First dynasty of Ur|Ur I dynasty]]
****[[Awan dynasty]]
****Kish II dynasty
****Hamazi dynasty
***Early Dynastic IIIb period: {{circa|2500|2334 BC}}
****Uruk II dynasty
****Ur II dynasty
****Adab dynasty
****Mari dynasty
****Kish III dynasty
****Akshak dynasty
****Kish IV dynasty
****Uruk III dynasty
*[[Early Bronze Age III]]: {{circa|2700|2200 BC}}
**[[Akkadian Period|Akkadian period]]: {{circa|2334|2154 BC}}
***[[List of kings of Akkad|Akkad dynasty]] ([[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]])
*[[Early Bronze Age IV]]: {{circa|2200|2100 BC}}
**[[Gutian period]]: {{circa|2154|2119 BC}}
***Uruk IV dynasty
***Gutian dynasty
*[[Middle Bronze Age I]]: {{circa|2100|2000 BC}}
**[[Ur III period]]: {{circa|2119|2004 BC}}
***Uruk V dynasty
***Ur III dynasty
*Middle Bronze Age II A: {{circa|2000|1750 BC}}
**[[Isin-Larsa period]]: {{circa|2004|1736 BC}}
***[[Dynasty of Isin|Isin I dynasty]]
***Larsa dynasty
*Middle Bronze Age II B: {{circa|1750|1650 BC}}
**[[Old Babylonian period]]: {{circa|1736|1475 BC}}
***[[Sealand Dynasty|Sealand dynasty]]

===Ubaid period===
{{Main|Ubaid period}}
[[Image:Frieze-group-3-example1.jpg|thumb|right|A pottery jar from the [[Late Ubaid Period]]]]
The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia and the [[Persian Gulf]]. The oldest evidence for occupation comes from [[Tell el-'Oueili]], but, given that environmental conditions in southern Mesopotamia were favourable to human occupation well before the Ubaid period, it is likely that older sites exist but have not yet been found. It appears that this culture was derived from 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. The story of the passing of the gifts of civilization ([[me (mythology)|''me'']]) to [[Inanna]], goddess of Uruk and of love and war, by [[Enki]], god of wisdom and chief god of Eridu, may reflect the transition from Eridu to Uruk.<ref name="WolksteinKramer1983">{{cite book|last1=Wolkstein|first1=Diane|url=https://archive.org/details/inanna00dian/page/174/mode/2up|title=Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer|last2=Kramer|first2=Samuel Noah|publisher=Harper & Row|others=Elizabeth Williams-Forte|year=1983|isbn=978-0-06-014713-6|location=New York|pages=174}}</ref>

===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. The Uruk period is a continuation and an outgrowth of Ubaid with pottery being the main visible change.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Henrickson |first1=Elizabeth F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnpyREWsfG0C&pg=PA353 |title=Upon this Foundation: The N̜baid Reconsidered : Proceedings from the U̜baid Symposium, Elsinore, May 30th–June1st, 1988 |last2=Thuesen |first2=Ingolf |last3=Thuesen |first3=I. |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-87-7289-070-8 |page=353}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Glassner |first=Jean-Jacques |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fhMTRcUm9WsC&pg=PA31 |title=The Invention of Cuneiform: Writing in Sumer |publisher=JHU Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8018-7389-8 |page=31}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| perrow = 2
| total_width = 250
| caption_align = center
| direction = vertical
| header = Uruk King-priest feeding the sacred herd
| image1 = Yale University. Uruk period priest-king.jpg
| caption1 = The king-priest and his acolyte feeding the sacred herd. Uruk period, c. 3200 BC
| image2 = Uruk King priest feeding the sacred herd.jpg
| caption2 = [[Cylinder seal]] of the Uruk period and its impression, c. 3100 BC – [[Louvre Museum]]
}}
By the time of the Uruk period, c. 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 [[Slavery in antiquity|slave labour]] 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 western [[Iran]].<ref name="Algaze, Guillermo 2005">[[Guillermo Algaze|Algaze, Guillermo]] (2005). ''[[iarchive:urukworldsystemd0000alga|The Uruk World System: The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization]]'', Second Edition, University of Chicago Press.</ref>{{Rp|2–3}}

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"/>{{Page needed|date=August 2021}}

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 name="Jacobsen">Jacobsen, Thorkild (Ed) (1939),"The Sumerian King List" (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; Assyriological Studies, No. 11., 1939).</ref> It is quite possible that the later Sumerian [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] was modeled upon this political structure. There was little evidence of organized warfare or professional soldiers during the Uruk period, and towns were generally unwalled. During this period Uruk became the most urbanized city in the world, surpassing for the first time 50,000 inhabitants.

The ancient [[Sumerian King List|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 name=Jacobsen/>

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|0-415-12735-1}}.</ref>

===Early Dynastic Period===
{{Main|Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|First Dynasty of Ur}}
[[File:Meskalamdug helmet British Museum electrotype copy original is in the Iraq Museum, Bagdad.jpg|thumb|Golden helmet of [[Meskalamdug]], possible founder of the [[First Dynasty of Ur]], 26th century BC]]
The dynastic period begins c. 2900 BC and was associated with a shift from the temple establishment headed by council of elders led by a priestly "En" (a male figure when it was a temple for a goddess, or a female figure when headed by a male god)<ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild (1976), "The Harps that Once...; Sumerian Poetry in Translation" and "Treasures of Darkness: a history of Mesopotamian Religion".</ref> towards a more secular Lugal (Lu = man, Gal = great) and includes such legendary patriarchal figures as [[Dumuzid]], [[Lugalbanda]] and [[Gilgamesh]]—who reigned shortly before the historic record opens c. 2900 BC, when the now deciphered 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 (Sumer)|Kish]]. The earliest king authenticated through archaeological evidence is [[Enmebaragesi]] of Kish (Early Dynastic I), whose name is mentioned in the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''—leading to the suggestion that Gilgamesh himself might have been a historical king of Uruk. As the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' shows, this period was associated with increased war. Cities became walled, and increased in size as undefended villages in southern Mesopotamia disappeared. Both Gilgamesh and one of his predecessors Enmerkar are credited with having built the walls of Uruk.<ref>George, Andrew (Translator) (2003), "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (Penguin Classics).</ref>

====1st Dynasty of Lagash====
[[File:Stele of Vultures detail 02.jpg|thumb|A fragment of [[Eannatum]]'s [[Stele of the Vultures]]]]
{{Main|Lagash}}
The dynasty of Lagash (c. 2500–2270 BC), 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, 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.<ref name=roux1993>{{cite book |last=Roux |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Roux (assyriologist) |year=1993 |title=Ancient Iraq |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-012523-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientiraq00roux }}</ref> Eannatum's [[Stele of the Vultures]] depicts vultures pecking at the severed heads and other body parts of his 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 [[Sargon of Akkad]].<ref name="Leick, Gwendolyn 2003"/>

===Akkadian Empire===
{{Main|Akkadian Empire}}
[[File:Prisoners on the victory stele of an Akkadian king circa 2300 BCE Louvre Museum Sb 3.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Sumerian prisoners on a victory stele of the Akkadian king [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]], {{circa|2300 BC}}.<ref name="ArchaeologyofElam" /><ref name="TwoSteles" /> Louvre Museum.]]

The Akkadian Empire dates to {{circa|2234}}–2154 BC ([[middle chronology]]), founded by [[Sargon of Akkad]]. The [[East Semitic languages|Eastern Semitic]] [[Akkadian language]] is first attested in proper names of the kings of Kish {{circa|2800 BC}},<ref name=roux1993/> preserved in later king lists. There are texts written entirely in Old Akkadian dating from {{circa|2500 BC}}. Use of Old Akkadian was at its peak during the rule of [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon the Great]] ({{circa|2334}}–2279 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 Ur III period that followed it.<ref name="auto">T. Jacobsen. ''Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture.''</ref>

Akkadian and Sumerian coexisted as vernacular languages for about one thousand years, but by around 1800 BC, Sumerian was becoming more of a literary language familiar mainly only to scholars and scribes. [[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 name="auto"/> It is certain that Akkadian was also briefly imposed on neighboring parts of Elam that were previously conquered, by Sargon.

===Gutian period===
{{Main|Gutian dynasty of Sumer}}
c. 2193–2119 BC (middle chronology)

====2nd Dynasty of Lagash====
[[File:Gudea of Lagash Girsu.jpg|thumb|[[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]], the Sumerian ruler who was famous for his numerous portrait sculptures that have been recovered.]]
[[File:Ur-Ningirsu ruler of Lagash portrait circa 2110 BCE.jpg|thumb|A portrait of [[Ur-Ningirsu]], son of Gudea, c. 2100 BC. [[Louvre Museum]].]]
{{Main|Lagash}}
{{circa|2200}}–2110 BC (middle chronology)

Following the downfall of the Akkadian Empire at the hands of [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Gutians]], another native Sumerian ruler, [[Gudea]] of Lagash, rose to local prominence and continued the practices of the [[List of kings of Akkad#Sargonic dynasty (c. 2334 – 2193 BC)|Sargonic kings]]' claims to divinity.

The previous Lagash dynasty, Gudea and his descendants also promoted artistic development and left a large number of archaeological artifacts.

===Ur III period===
{{Main|Third Dynasty of Ur}}
Later, the Third Dynasty of Ur under [[Ur-Nammu]] and [[Shulgi]] (c. 2112–2004 BC, middle chronology), whose power extended as far as southern [[Assyria]], has been erroneously called a "Sumerian renaissance" in the past.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Jerrold S. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/944087535 |title=Problems of canonicity and identity formation in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia |date=2016 |others=Kim Ryholt, Gojko Barjamovic, Københavns universitet, Denmark. Problems of Canonicity and Identity Formation in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (2010: Copenhagen, Denmark) Literature and Identity Formation (2010: Copenhagen, Denmark |isbn=978-87-635-4372-9 |location=Copenhagen, Denmark |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |pages=1–18 |chapter=Sumerian literature and Sumerian identity |oclc=944087535}}</ref> Already, the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the resurgence of the Akkadian-speaking Semites in Assyria and elsewhere, and the influx of waves of Semitic Martu ([[Amorites]]), who founded several competing local powers in the south, including [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Eshnunna]] and later, Babylonia.

The last of these eventually came to briefly dominate the south of Mesopotamia as the [[Babylonian Empire]], just as the [[Old Assyrian Empire]] had already done in the north from the late 21st century BC. The Sumerian language continued as a sacerdotal language taught in schools in Babylonia and Assyria, much as Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was used.

===Fall and transmission===
This period is generally taken to coincide with a major shift in population from southern Mesopotamia 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.<ref>{{Cite Q|Q34677808}}</ref> 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.<ref name="auto1">{{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 |doi=10.5195/jwsr.2004.288 |volume=10 |pages=612–652 |issue=3 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219134627/http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol10/number3/pdf/jwsr-v10n3-thompson.pdf |archive-date=February 19, 2012 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

During the Akkadian 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 name="auto1"/> This greatly upset 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 remained only a [[literary language|literary]] and [[Sacred language|liturgical]] language, similar to the position occupied by [[Latin]] in [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Europe.

Following an Elamite invasion and sack of Ur during the rule of [[Ibbi-Sin]] (c. 2028–2004 BC),{{citation needed|reason=Doesn't cite any evidence of sack of Ur?|date=October 2015}} Sumer came under 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]] c. 1800 BC.

Later rulers who dominated Assyria and Babylonia occasionally assumed the old Sargonic title "King of Sumer and Akkad", such as [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] of Assyria after c. 1225 BC.