History of Sumer

The history of Sumer, taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BC, ending with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BC, followed by a transition period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BC.

The Sumerians claimed that their civilisation had been brought, fully formed, to the city of Eridu (possibly from Dilmun, later identified with Bahrain) by their god Enki or by his advisor or Abgallu (from Ab=water, Gal=great, Lu=man), Adapa U-an (the Oannes of Berossus). This claim may be in part based upon fact, as Eridu was then on the coastline of the Persian Gulf, and was the oldest city of southern Mesopotamia.

The list of Sumerian kings contains a traditional list of the early dynasties; however much of it is likely mythical, and only a few of the early names have been authenticated through archaeology. The best-known dynasty, that of Lagash, is not listed there at all.

Periodization

(All date ranges are approximate)

[edit] Earliest city-states

It is difficult to identify what, other than the development of irrigation, may have inspired urban settlement. The centres of Eridu and Uruk, two of the earliest cities, had successively elaborated large temple complexes built of mudbrick. Developing as small shrines with the earliest settlements, by the Early Dynastic I period, they had become the most imposing structures in their respective cities, each dedicated to its own respective god. From south to north, the principal ones were

Historians until recently agreed that before 3000 BC the political life of the city was headed by a priest-king (ensi) and based around these temples, but some more recent authors have asserted that the cities had secular rulers from the earliest times. The development of a sophisticated system of administration led to the invention of writing of numbers about 3500 BC, pictographic writing about 3100 BC, and syllabic writing about 2600 BC.

             Early Dynastic period

Cities having hegemony in Sumer before the deluge, according to the Sumerian kinglist

Archaeologists divide the Early History of Sumer into three periods -

No inscriptions have yet been found verifying any names of kings that can be associated with the Early Dynastic I period. The Sumerian king list portrays the passage of power over time from the south to the north of the country, before finishing with a description of a universal flood. Archaeologists have confirmed the presence of a widespread layer of riverine silt deposits, shortly after the Priora oscillation, interrupting the sequence of settlement, centred on the city of Shuruppak, and extending as far as Kish.

] 1st Dynasty of Kish


History of Sumer:
Notable Rulers of Sumer

Legendary Kings: 

Alulim Dumuzid Ziusudra

First Dynasty of Kish: 

Etana Enmebaragesi

First Dynasty of Uruk: 

Enmerkar Lugalbanda Gilgamesh

First Dynasty of Ur: 

Meskalamdug Mesannepada Puabi

Dynasty of Adab: 

Lugal-Anne-Mundu

Third Dynasty of Kish: 

Kubaba

First Dynasty of Lagash: 

Ur-Nanshe Eannatum En-anna-tum I
Entemena Urukagina

Third Dynasty of Uruk: 

Lugal-Zage-Si

Dynasty of Akkad: 

Sargon Enheduanna Manishtushu
Naram-Sin Shar-Kali-Sharri Dudu Shu-turul

Second Dynasty of Lagash: 

Gudea

Fifth Dynasty of Uruk: 

Utu-hegal

Third Dynasty of Ur: 

Ur-Nammu Shulgi Amar-Sin Shu-Sin Ibbi-Sin

Inscriptions have been found bearing some Early Dynastic II names from the King List. After the flood, Kingship is said to have resumed at Kish, under the reign of a king Etana. This first name on the list accompanied by any additional detail is that of Etana, whom it calls "the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries". He was estimated by Roux[1] to have lived approximately 3000 BC. Of the 11 kings that followed over a period assumed to have been about 350 years, a number of Semitic Akkadian names are recorded, suggesting that these people made up a sizable proportion of the population of this northern city. The first monarch on the list whose historical existence has been independently attested through archaeological finds is Enmebaragesi of Kish (ca. 2700 BC), 22nd king of that dynasty, said to have conquered Elam and built the temple of Enlil in Nippur. His successor, Agga, is said to have fought with Gilgamesh of Uruk, the 5th king of that city. From this time, for a period Uruk seems to have had some kind of hegemony in Sumer. This illustrates a weakness of the Sumerian kinglist, as contemporaries are often placed in successive dynasties, making reconstruction difficult.

 1st Dynasty of Uruk

Meshkiagkashar is listed as the first King of Uruk. He was followed by Enmerkar, claimed by David Rohl as having been Nimrod the Hunter, mentioned in the Bible as founding Erech. The epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta tells of his voyage by river to Aratta, often considered an early form of the name Urartu, but believed by some Iranian archaeologists to have been a reference to the newly-discovered Jiroft civilization although it cannot be reached by river from Sumer. Amongst the kings of Uruk who followed are Dumuzi the Shepherd, who also appears in mythology as the husband and consort of Inanna of Uruk, goddess of that city. He was followed by a Lugalbanda.

The most famous monarch of this Dynasty was Gilgamesh, hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, copies of which have been found in Hattusas in Anatolia, Megiddo in Israel and Tell el Amarna in Egypt.

 1st Dynasty of Ur

Meskalamdug is the first recorded King (Lugal from Lu=man, Gal=Great) of the city of Ur. Another king named on the list, Mesannepada of Ur, seems through archaeological evidence to have succeeded his grandfather, Meskalamdug, and father, Akalamdug. Mesannepada is recognised as the first king of Early Dynastic III phase, defeating Lugalkildu of Uruk (ca .2560 BC) and Mesilim of Kish, founder of the short-lived 2nd Dynasty of that city. Mesannepada thereafter assumed the title "King of Kish" for himself, a title that seems to have been used by most kings of the preeminent dynasties for some time afterward.

En-hegal, is recorded as the first known ruler of Lagash, being tributary to Uruk. His successor Lugal-Shag-Egur was similarly tributary to the first Dynasty of Ur. Mesalim, founder of the 2nd Dynasty of Kish, achieved some kind of independence of these Dynasties. Mesilim was also mentioned in some of the earliest monuments from Lagash that claim he arbitrated a border dispute between Lugal-shag-engur, high priest of Lagash, and the high priest of their traditional rival, the neighbouring town of Umma.

The Sumerian records also show Nin-Kasalsi, as the first ruler of the city of Adab, at about this time. Like the later "King" of the 3rd Dynasty of Kish, Nin-Kasalsi was a woman. Shortly thereafter Sumerian records begin for a dynasty of rulers of the city of Mari, far to the north.

 Dynasty of Lagash

 Ur-Nina

At about 2494 BC, Ur-Nina (also called Ur Nanshe), the new high priest of Lagash, achieved independence from A-annepadda, son of Mesannepada of Ur, and made himself king, founding a dynasty. He succeeded Lugal-Shag-Ekur as high priest. In the ruins of a building attached by him to the temple of Nina, terra cotta bas reliefs of the king and his sons have been found, as well as lions' heads in onyx reminiscent of Egyptian work and onyx plates. These were "booty" dedicated to the goddess Bau. One inscription states that ships of Dilmun (Bahrain) brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands. He was succeeded by his son Akurgal in about 2465 BC.

 Eannatum

Stele of the vultures

Stele of the vultures

Eannatum, grandson of Ur-Nina, made himself master of the whole of the district of Sumer, together with the cities of Uruk (ruled by Enshakushanna, of the King List), Ur, Nippur, Akshak, and Larsa. He also annexed the kingdom of Kish; however, it recovered its independence after his death. Umma was made tributary - a certain amount of grain being levied upon each person in it, that had to be paid into the treasury of the goddess Nina and the god Ingurisa.

The so-called "Stele of the Vultures," now in the Louvre, was erected as a monument of the victory of Eannatum of Lagash over Enakalle of Umma. On this, various incidents in the war are represented. In one scene, the king stands in his chariot with a curved weapon in his right hand, formed of three bars of metal bound together by rings, while his kilted followers, with helmets on their heads and lances in their hands, march behind him.

Eannatum's campaigns extended beyond the confines of Sumer. He overran a part of Elam, took the city of Az on the Persian Gulf, and exacted tribute as far as Mari; however many of the realms he conquered were often in revolt. During his reign, temples and palaces were repaired or erected at Lagash and elsewhere; the town of Nina --that probably gave its name to the later Niniveh-- was rebuilt, and canals and reservoirs were excavated.

 En-anna-tum

He was succeeded by his brother, En-anna-tum I. During his rule, Umma once more asserted independence under Ur-Lumma, who attacked Lagash unsuccessfully. Ur-Lumma was replaced by a priest-king, Illi, who also attacked Lagash. Akshak too achieved independence with a line of rulers extending from Puzur-Nirah (2420-2400), Ishu-Il (2400-2360) and Shu-Sin (c2360), son of Ishu-Il, before being defeated by the rulers of Kish.

 Entemena

His son and successor Entemena (ca 2455-2425 BC) restored the prestige of Lagash. Illi of Umma was subdued, with the help of his ally Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk, successor to Enshakushanna and also on the king-list. This Lugal-kinishe-dudu seems to have been the predominant figure at the time, since he also claimed to rule Kish and Ur.

A tripod of silver dedicated by Entemena to his god is now in the Louvre. A frieze of lions devouring ibexes and deer, incised with great artistic skill, runs round the neck, while the eagle crest of Lagash adorns the globular part. The vase is a proof of the high degree of excellence to which the goldsmith's art had already attained. A vase of calcite, also dedicated by Entemena, has been found at Nippur.

After Entemena, a series of weak, corrupt priest-kings is attested for Lagash. The last of these, Urukagina, was known for his judicial, social, and economic reforms, and his may well be the first legal code known to history.

 Empire of Lugal-anne-mundu of Adab

Following this period, the region of Mesopotamia seems to have come under the sway of a Sumerian conqueror from Adab, Lugal-anne-mundu (ca. 2400-2330 BC), ruling in Uruk, Ur and Lagash. According to inscriptions, he ruled from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, and up to the Zagros Mountains, including Elam. However, his empire fell apart with his death.

His power may have been limited, however, as his reign seems to have been contemporaneous with the Third Dynasty of Kish, inaugurated by Ku-bau or Ku-baba (ca .2400-2360 BC), unique in the fact that she was the only woman ever to reign as "king". Before overthrowing the rule of En-shukash-anna of the 2nd Uruk Dynasty and becoming monarch, the king-list says she was a tavern-keeper. In later centuries she was worshipped as a minor goddess, achieving important status in the Hurrian and Hittite periods, when she was identified with the Hurrian goddess Hannahannah[citation needed]. In the post-Hittite Phrygian period she was called Kubele (Latin Cybele), Great Mother of the Gods.

 Empire of Lugal-zage-si of Umma

Urukagina was overthrown and his city Lagash captured by Lugal-Zage-Si, the high priest of Umma. Lugal-zage-si also took Uruk and Ur, and made Uruk his capital. In a long inscription that he caused to be engraved on hundreds of stone vases dedicated to En-lil of Nippur, he boasts that his kingdom extended "from the Lower Sea (Persian Gulf), along the Tigris and Euphrates, to the Upper Sea" or Mediterranean. His empire was finally overthrown by Sargon of Akkad, who founded the first Semitic Empire.

 Akkadian Empire

Main article: Akkadian Empire

 Gutian period

Main article: Gutian period

Following the fall of Sargon's Empire to the Gutians, a brief "dark ages" ensued; however, one prominent Sumerian ruler of this time was Gudea of Lagash.

 "Sumerian Renaissance" (3rd Dynasty of Ur)

Main article: Third Dynasty of Ur

The Gutians were finally driven out by the Sumerians under Utu-hegal of Uruk — who was in turn defeated by Ur-Nammu of Ur, who founded what is known as the 3rd dynasty of Ur. Although the Sumerian language ("Emegir") was again made official, Sumerian identity was already in decline, as the population became continually more and more Semiticised.

After this 'Ur-III' dynasty was destroyed by the Elamites in 2004 BC, a fierce rivalry developed between the city-states of Larsa, more under Elamite than Sumerian influence, and Isin, that was more Amorite (as the Semitic speakers had come to be called). The Semites ended up prevailing in Mesopotamia by the time of Hammurabi of Babylon, who founded the Babylonian Empire, and the language and name of Sumer gradually passed into the realm of antiquarian scholars (although their influence on Babylonia and all subsequent cultures was indeed great). A few historians assert that some Sumerians managed to preserve their identity in a sense, by forming the Magi, or hereditary priestly caste, noted among the later Medes.

Archaeologically, the fall of the Ur III dynasty corresponds to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age.