Sumer:
The first seeds of human civilization were sown in Mesopotamia, a fertile land nestled between the mighty Tigris, and Euphrates. Known as the land between two rivers, Mesopotamia saw the first emergence of civilization, in a southern region known as Sumeria. Sumerian civilization emerged in 3000 BCE, and quickly led to the creation of agricultural processes such as irrigation, the wheel, writing, textiles, science, trading networks, and the concept of cities. In the walled cities, of Akkad, Babylon, Ur, Uruk, and Assyria, civilization was in full bloom.
The Sumerian civilization is most notable for its creation of the first written system known as cuneiform. Cuneiform, began as a system of pictograms, used for calculation and keeping …show more content…
Rought with frequent invasions, Sumerian city-states (which composed Sumer), were fortified with heavy brick walls, and deep moats. “Larger towns like Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Kish, and Nippur held populations as large as forty or fity thousands, but five to ten thousand was more common” (Backman, 14). Not used to large amounts of population, cities were often filled with waste and disease. At the center of the city, was the Ziggurat, a massive temple which served as the earthly home of the patron deity. Believing their gods to command the forces of nature, the Sumerians created a priestly caste to devout their time to the appeasement of the gods and goddesses. Because of their direct relationship with the gods and goddesses, the Sumerian priests often wielded a great deal of power, resulting in the creation of a theocracy. In addition to priests, kings, or lugal 's, emerged. Commanding the military, and acting as “bulwarks and standard-bearers of the priests’ institutionalized religion”, the king demanded everyone’s obedience. Kings, in fact wielded as much power, that the Sumerians composed a king list- which listed the various monarchs that ruled over Sumer for over 200,000 …show more content…
Surrounded by the unnatural forces of nature, the Sumerians created a complex polytheistic religion. According to Sumerians the world was divided into three components: Heaven (where spirits dwelled), the Great Above (where gods and goddesses lives), and the Great Below. By sacrificing to the gods and goddesses of the Great Above, the Sumerian people believed they would be aided by divine intervention, protecting their civilization, and granting their wishes. However, humans according to Sumerian religion were created solely to provide food and comfort to the gods, therefore humans were the servants of the gods. As a polytheistic religion, the religion contained more than three thousand gods, however “only the major deities like Enlil, Enki, and Nin-Kharsag enjoyed wide recognition” (Backman, 19). Similar to the anthropomorphic images found in the Chauvet Cave, and in Çatalhöyök, the gods and goddesses of the Sumerian religion had human characteristic (though far more than those of Neolithic and Paleolithic
The first seeds of human civilization were sown in Mesopotamia, a fertile land nestled between the mighty Tigris, and Euphrates. Known as the land between two rivers, Mesopotamia saw the first emergence of civilization, in a southern region known as Sumeria. Sumerian civilization emerged in 3000 BCE, and quickly led to the creation of agricultural processes such as irrigation, the wheel, writing, textiles, science, trading networks, and the concept of cities. In the walled cities, of Akkad, Babylon, Ur, Uruk, and Assyria, civilization was in full bloom.
The Sumerian civilization is most notable for its creation of the first written system known as cuneiform. Cuneiform, began as a system of pictograms, used for calculation and keeping …show more content…
Rought with frequent invasions, Sumerian city-states (which composed Sumer), were fortified with heavy brick walls, and deep moats. “Larger towns like Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Kish, and Nippur held populations as large as forty or fity thousands, but five to ten thousand was more common” (Backman, 14). Not used to large amounts of population, cities were often filled with waste and disease. At the center of the city, was the Ziggurat, a massive temple which served as the earthly home of the patron deity. Believing their gods to command the forces of nature, the Sumerians created a priestly caste to devout their time to the appeasement of the gods and goddesses. Because of their direct relationship with the gods and goddesses, the Sumerian priests often wielded a great deal of power, resulting in the creation of a theocracy. In addition to priests, kings, or lugal 's, emerged. Commanding the military, and acting as “bulwarks and standard-bearers of the priests’ institutionalized religion”, the king demanded everyone’s obedience. Kings, in fact wielded as much power, that the Sumerians composed a king list- which listed the various monarchs that ruled over Sumer for over 200,000 …show more content…
Surrounded by the unnatural forces of nature, the Sumerians created a complex polytheistic religion. According to Sumerians the world was divided into three components: Heaven (where spirits dwelled), the Great Above (where gods and goddesses lives), and the Great Below. By sacrificing to the gods and goddesses of the Great Above, the Sumerian people believed they would be aided by divine intervention, protecting their civilization, and granting their wishes. However, humans according to Sumerian religion were created solely to provide food and comfort to the gods, therefore humans were the servants of the gods. As a polytheistic religion, the religion contained more than three thousand gods, however “only the major deities like Enlil, Enki, and Nin-Kharsag enjoyed wide recognition” (Backman, 19). Similar to the anthropomorphic images found in the Chauvet Cave, and in Çatalhöyök, the gods and goddesses of the Sumerian religion had human characteristic (though far more than those of Neolithic and Paleolithic