The
Sumerians were the first known people to settle in Mesopotamia over 7,000 years
ago. Located in the southernmost part of Mesopotamia between the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers (modern day Iraq), Sumer was often called the cradle of
civilization. By the 4th millennium
BC, it had established an advanced system writing, spectacular arts and
architecture, astronomy and mathematics. The Akkadians would follow the
Sumerians, borrowing from their culture, producing a new language of their own,
and creating the world’s first empire.
The
origin of the Sumerians remains a mystery till this day. They
called themselves Saggiga (the "black-headed" or "bald-headed
ones") and their country, Kengi ("civilized land"). Some
believe they came from around Anatolia or modern day Turkey. Others
suggest they might have come from India and were Caucasian in origin.
They were established in southern Babylonia, in what is now Iraq, by at least
3500 BC.
Located
in what the ancient Greeks called Mesopotamia, meaning "the land between
the rivers," Sumer was a collection of city-states or cites that were also
independent nations, some of which endured for 3,000 years. Beginning
around 3500 BC, the Sumerians began to build walled cities, including Ur, the
capital of the civilization. Each of these cities contained public
buildings, markets, workshops, and advanced water systems, and were surrounded
by villages and land for agriculture. Political power originally belonged
to the citizens, but as rivalry between the various city-states increased, each
adopted the institution of kingship. See pictures and read the complete article
at -- http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/rise-and-fall-sumer-and-akkad-003192
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