Sumer

Sumer: The Invention of History How the First Cities, Laws and Myths Shaped Civilization Step into the world where history truly began. In the fertile plains of southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerians built the first cities, created the first writing system, composed the earliest laws and shaped myths that would echo across civilizations. This book offers a clear and compelling introduction to the foundations of human society, presenting the achievements of Sumer through solid research and accessible narrative. You will explore how irrigation turned desert into farmland, how temples evolved into ziggurats, how the first kings claimed divine authority, and how clay tablets preserved everything from trade records to epic poetry. The book also examines the great myths of the Sumerians, including the creation of humanity, the descent of royal power and the ancient flood tradition that inspired later stories. Perfect for readers interested in ancient history, archaeology, religion and the origins of writing, Sumer: The Invention of History gives you a complete view of a civilization whose ideas shaped law, politics, science and urban life for millennia. If you want to understand where civilization truly began, this is the essential guide.

Sumer: The Invention of History How the First Cities, Laws and Myths Shaped Civilization Step into the world where history truly began. In the fertile plains of southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerians built the first cities, created the first writing system, composed the earliest laws and shaped myths that would echo across civilizations. This book offers a clear and compelling introduction to the foundations of human society, presenting the achievements of Sumer through solid research and accessible narrative. You will explore how irrigation turned desert into farmland, how temples evolved into ziggurats, how the first kings claimed divine authority, and how clay tablets preserved everything from trade records to epic poetry. The book also examines the great myths of the Sumerians, including the creation of humanity, the descent of royal power and the ancient flood tradition that inspired later stories. Perfect for readers interested in ancient history, archaeology, religion and the origins of writing, Sumer: The Invention of History gives you a complete view of a civilization whose ideas shaped law, politics, science and urban life for millennia. If you want to understand where civilization truly began, this is the essential guide.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia: the Sumerians. The exploits and achievements of other Mesopotamian peoples, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, were already known to a large segment of the population through the Old Testament and the nascent field of Near Eastern studies had unraveled the enigma of the Akkadian language that was widely used throughout the region in ancient times, but the discovery of the Sumerian tablets brought to light the existence of the Sumerian culture, which was the oldest of all the Mesopotamian cultures. Although the Sumerians continue to get second or even third billing compared to the Babylonians and Assyrians, perhaps because they never built an empire as great as the Assyrians or established a city as enduring and great as Babylon, they were the people who provided the template of civilization that all later Mesopotamians built upon. The Sumerians are credited with being the first people to invent writing, libraries, cities, and schools in Mesopotamia (Ziskind 1972, 34), and many would argue that they were the first people to create and do those things anywhere in world. For a people so great it is unfortunate that their accomplishments and contributions, not only to Mesopotamian civilization but to civilization in general, largely go unnoticed by the majority of the public. Perhaps the Sumerians were victims of their own success; they gradually entered the historical record, established a fine civilization, and then slowly submerged into the cultural patchwork of their surroundings. They also never suffered a great and sudden collapse like other peoples of the ancient Near East, such as the Hittites, Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians did. A close examination of Sumerian culture and chronology reveals that the Sumerians set the cultural tone in Mesopotamia for several centuries in the realms of politics/governments, arts, literature, and religion. Even today, the world owes the Sumerians a tremendous amount. When Western Europe was still in the Stone Age, it was the Sumerians who invented writing and the wheel, divided time into minutes and seconds, tamed nature, and built gigantic cities. They embraced culture and the arts, and their caravans crossed the desert, opening up the first trade routes. Their myths and legends inspired various origin stories, and their memory lives on in the Old Testament. They wrote the history of the birth of mankind. The heritage of the Sumerian civilization and their successors is everywhere. Sumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia's First Civilization chronicles the most important people, places, and events that took place across Sumer. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Sumer like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia: the Sumerians. The exploits and achievements of other Mesopotamian peoples, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, were already known to a large segment of the population through the Old Testament and the nascent field of Near Eastern studies had unraveled the enigma of the Akkadian language that was widely used throughout the region in ancient times, but the discovery of the Sumerian tablets brought to light the existence of the Sumerian culture, which was the oldest of all the Mesopotamian cultures. Although the Sumerians continue to get second or even third billing compared to the Babylonians and Assyrians, perhaps because they never built an empire as great as the Assyrians or established a city as enduring and great as Babylon, they were the people who provided the template of civilization that all later Mesopotamians built upon. The Sumerians are credited with being the first people to invent writing, libraries, cities, and schools in Mesopotamia (Ziskind 1972, 34), and many would argue that they were the first people to create and do those things anywhere in world. For a people so great it is unfortunate that their accomplishments and contributions, not only to Mesopotamian civilization but to civilization in general, largely go unnoticed by the majority of the public. Perhaps the Sumerians were victims of their own success; they gradually entered the historical record, established a fine civilization, and then slowly submerged into the cultural patchwork of their surroundings. They also never suffered a great and sudden collapse like other peoples of the ancient Near East, such as the Hittites, Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians did. A close examination of Sumerian culture and chronology reveals that the Sumerians set the cultural tone in Mesopotamia for several centuries in the realms of politics/governments, arts, literature, and religion. Even today, the world owes the Sumerians a tremendous amount. When Western Europe was still in the Stone Age, it was the Sumerians who invented writing and the wheel, divided time into minutes and seconds, tamed nature, and built gigantic cities. They embraced culture and the arts, and their caravans crossed the desert, opening up the first trade routes. Their myths and legends inspired various origin stories, and their memory lives on in the Old Testament. They wrote the history of the birth of mankind. The heritage of the Sumerian civilization and their successors is everywhere. Sumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia's First Civilization chronicles the most important people, places, and events that took place across Sumer. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Sumer like never before.