Ancient Mesopotamia became a region where historically one of the most ancient models of power organization within a single city was first tested historically, and the Sumerian states can be considered the oldest example of a relatively centralized political association. The history of this people, in documents calling itself "black-headed", covers a significant period of time: from VI to III millennium BC. e. But the last date did not become a milestone in their existence: the Sumerians had a significant impact on the formation of further types of statehood, such as the Assyrian or New Babylonian empires.
Sumerians: hypotheses and assumptions
One should start all the same with who the mysterious sag-gig-ga from ancient clay tablets are. The history of the Sumerian city-states from the 5th grade becomes known to everyone, but for obvious reasons the school history textbook is silent about the fact that the Sumerians do not exist in principle. The ancient scribes called both their compatriots and neighboring peoples the ethnonym sag-gig-ga.
The name "Sumer" as a designation of the common territory of ancient state associations, as well as the conventional name of the ethnic groups that created them, appeared due to a number of assumptions. The rulers of Assyria, which appeared many centuries later, proudly called themselves the kings of Sumer and Akkad. Since it was already known that the Semitic population of Mesopotamia used the Akkadian language , it was suggested that the Sumerians were the very non-Semitic peoples who organized the oldest state associations in this territory.
Linguistics very often comes to the aid of historians. Thanks to tracking changes in the language that occur according to certain rules, it is possible to establish an ancestor language, and at least draw a dotted line on the trajectory of movements of a particular people. The Sumerian language is decrypted, but the study of texts left by its native speakers has given a new problem: the adverb of "blackheads" has no connection with the well-known ancient languages. The problem is complicated by the fact that the Sumerian language was deciphered through Akkadian glosses, and it was possible to read Akkadian texts thanks to translations from it into ancient Greek. Therefore, the reconstructed Sumerian language can differ significantly from the existing one.
The “blackheads” themselves did not say anything about their ancestral home. We only got confused texts that talk about the existence of a certain island that the Sumerians left due to some problems. Currently, there is a bold theory that the Sumerian island existed in the territory of the modern Persian Gulf and was flooded as a result of the movement of tectonic plates, however, it is not possible to prove or refute this hypothesis.
Ancient Mesopotamia
Not too much is known about the predecessors of the Sumerians in this territory: the tribes of the Subareans. However, the presence of various human societies here in such a distant time indicates that Ancient Mesopotamia has long been an attractive region for life.
The main wealth of this territory was two large rivers - the Tigris and Euphrates, thanks to which the name Mesopotamia arose (the Russified version is Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia). Subarea did not master the technique of irrigation farming, so they were not able to create any developed system of statehood. Researchers have firmly established that it was the hard work to create an irrigation system that contributed to the decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of the first slave states.
The emergence of centralized associations in ancient Egypt and the Sumerian city-states in the list of topics belonging to the problem field of modern oriental studies occupies a special place. Using the example of these two regions, it is especially evident how important the geographical location was. The Egyptians were completely dependent on the floods of the Nile and were forced to concentrate their efforts on building canals for irrigation of fields in dry times, due to which the degree of centralization became extremely high, and one of the oldest empires in the world arose in North Africa. The population of Mesopotamia did not face such problems, therefore the tribal associations, on the basis of which the ancient Sumerian city-states subsequently arose, were local, and the development of agriculture stopped at a primitive, compared with the Egyptian, level.
The rest of Mesopotamia did not differ in special wealth. There was not even such an elementary building material as stone. Instead, a mixture of clay and natural asphalt was used. The plant world was represented mainly by cereals (wheat, barley). In addition, date palms and sesame were cultivated. Cattle breeding was also among the main occupations of the inhabitants of the Sumerian city states: wild goats and sheep were tamed in the northern regions of Mesopotamia, and pigs in the southern regions.
The emergence of state associations in Mesopotamia in time approximately coincides with the transition to the Bronze Age, and soon the Iron Age. But archaeologists did not find a large number of metal products in the region. Only the metals of meteorite origin were accessible to its oldest population, while there were no significant deposits of iron and copper in Mesopotamia. This very quickly made the ancient Sumerian city-states dependent on imported metal, which contributed to the development of statehood.
The collapse of tribal communities and the emergence of slavery
In the existing climatic conditions, the Sumerian city-states were inevitably interested in increasing the profitability of agriculture. Since the lack of metals and their high cost impeded the improvement of tools, the Sumerians needed other ways to increase their output. This problem was solved by one of the most obvious ways: the introduction of slave labor.
The emergence of slavery in the Sumerian city-states in the list of topics relating to the history of the Ancient World, occupies a special place. Although, as in other ancient Eastern societies, the majority of slaves entered the slave market due to various wars, the oldest Sumerian codes allow the father of the family to sell their children into slavery. Daughters were especially often sold: they were not considered particularly useful in agriculture.
Developing slavery undermined the patriarchal tribal system. The surplus product obtained through agriculture and cattle breeding was distributed unevenly. On the one hand, this led to the separation of the nobility from whose midst the first kings of the Sumerian city-states came, and on the other, to the impoverishment of ordinary communes. The very sale of family members into slavery was caused not only by the need to receive grain for sowing or just food, but also required to regulate the size of the family.
Nominee statehood
The theme of the Sumerian city-states is interesting from the perspective of their organization. Above, differences between Sumerian agriculture and ancient Egyptian have already been noted. One of the main consequences of these differences is the lack of need for strict centralization. But almost the best climatic conditions existed in ancient India. Sumerian city-states in the list of topics relating to the development of ancient Eastern statehood, again occupy a special place.
The Sumerians, unlike the nations that replaced them, did not create a centralized empire. One possible explanation is the autarchy of ancient tribal associations. Their members worked only for themselves and did not need contacts with neighboring tribal unions. All subsequent state associations of Sumer arose precisely within the borders of a tribe or tribal union.
The following fact is noteworthy: the population density in Mesopotamia during the period under review was so high that the distance from one proto-state center to another sometimes did not even exceed thirty kilometers. This suggests that there were a huge number of such pre-state associations. The prosperous subsistence economy in them did not bring predominance to any of the ancient Sumerian city-states. The conflicts between them ended only in the theft of part of the population into slavery, but did not aim to completely subordinate one to another.
All this caused the emergence of new statehood in Mesopotamia. The word "nom" is of Greek origin. It was used in the administrative division of ancient Greece. Subsequently, it was transferred to the realities of Ancient Egypt, and then to Sumer. In the context of the history of Sumerian city-states, the term “nom” refers to an independent and enclosed city with an adjacent district.
By the end of the Sumerian period (the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC), there were about one and a half such associations that were in a state of relative equilibrium.
The main nomes of Sumer
The most important for the subsequent evolution of statehood were located near the rivers of the city-state. From the 5th grade, the history of ancient Sumerian associations becomes known from such as Kish, Ur and Uruk. The first was founded at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. near the junction of the Euphrates and Irnina rivers. At the same time, another famous city-state rises, which existed until the IV century BC. e. - Lv. It was located directly at the mouth of the Euphrates. The first settlements on the site of the future Ur appeared two thousand years earlier. The reasons for such an early settlement of this place include not only the obvious favorable conditions for agriculture. From the current name of the area - Tell el Mukayyar, which translates as "bitumen hill" - it is clear that there was an abundance of natural asphalt, the main building material in Sumer.
The first settlement of Southern Mesopotamia, having acquired its own walls, is Uruk. As in the case of the already mentioned Sumerian city-states, its elevation dates back to the middle of the fourth millennium BC. e. The favorable location in the Euphrates Valley allowed Uruk to very quickly declare his claims to leadership in the region.
In addition to Kish, Ur and Uruk, in the ancient Mesopotamia there were other city-states:
- Aesnunna, built in the valley of the Diyala River.
- Shurpak in the Euphrates Valley.
- Nippur is located nearby.
- Larak, located between the large canals extending from the Tigris.
- Adab in the headwaters of the Inturungal River.
- Sippar, built at the place of separation of the Euphrates into two branches.
- Ashur in the middle Tigris region.
The degree of influence of these city-states in the district was different. Towards the end of the Sumerian period, Nippur advanced to the role of the cult center of the "blackheads", since the main sanctuary of the supreme god of the Sumerian pantheon Enlil was located there. However, this did not make the city a political center. To a greater extent, Kish and Uruk claimed this role.
Flood and political realities
Everyone is familiar with the biblical legend about the wrath of God on the people who rejected his commandments and the flood sent to him, in which only the family of the righteous Noah and the plants and animals saved on his ark survived. Now there is no doubt that this legend has Sumerian roots.
Sources recorded frequent floods at the turn of the XXX-XXIX centuries. BC e. Their presence was also proved by archaeological data: scientists discovered river sediments belonging to that era. The situation was so critical that many ancient nomes fell into desolation, which later allowed both the priests and folk tales to create a story about the general ruin and mass death of people. But the natural cataclysm that happened with Sumer is interesting not only as evidence of the reflection of reality in the ancient epic. One of its consequences was an imbalance in the region.
Firstly, the weakened Sumer became easy prey for the Semitic tribes that penetrated the region from the south and east. Their appearance on the Sumerian territories was observed earlier, but before it was more peaceful, and, as already mentioned, the Sumerians did not make any special differences between themselves and foreigners. Such openness ultimately led to the disappearance of the Sumerian civilization and the massive borrowing of their achievements by newcomers.
Obviously, the Semites managed to gain a foothold in the largest Sumerian city-states. The climate after the flood has changed significantly, agricultural products are already not enough to ensure the livelihoods of independent communities. The need to defend against intrusions greatly accelerated the evolution of forms of state power: in the largest nomes, lugals, who are often called "tsars" in the Russian historical tradition, come to the fore.
The competition between Kish and Uruk became the most fierce. Their echoes came to us in an ancient epos. In particular, the Uruk Gilgamesh meadow became the central hero of a number of Sumerian legends. He was credited with a duel with a certain dangerous demon, a search for the grass of immortality and a personal meeting with the only man who survived the Flood, Utnapishtim. The latter is especially interesting because it allows us to make assumptions about Gilgamesh as the heir to the Sumerian traditions of statehood. This hypothesis becomes even more interesting in the light of the legends telling about Gilgamesh being in slavery at the Kish mega named Aga. However, it is practically impossible to verify theories based on fragments of ancient legends.
The crisis of the Sumerian civilization
Somewhat pessimistic is the name of the epic about Gilgamesh in Akkadian: Ša nagba imuru - “About all that has seen”. There is some reason to believe that the name was translated from the Sumerian language. If such a theory is true, then the highest literary achievement of the most ancient civilization reflects the eschatological moods that engulfed society. This is in clear contradiction with the legends of the flood, in which the idea of prosperity after the crisis is clearly held.
The new millennium, which began after the battles of Gilgamesh with numerous enemies, brought the Sumerians new problems. The once favorable climatic conditions of the Sumerian city-states made it possible to flourish. From the beginning of the II millennium, they, albeit indirectly, accelerated the death of their founders: Sumer is increasingly becoming the object of expansion.
The power of the lugales, increasingly acquiring despotic features, turned self-sufficient communities into a source of labor. Endless wars demanded more and more soldiers and absorbed most of the surplus product. In the process of struggle for hegemony, the Sumerian city-states mutually weakened each other, which made them easy prey for enemies. Particularly dangerous were the Semites, in particular, the Assyrians who settled in Ashshur and subjugated the Akkadians in the central regions of Mesopotamia.
Sumerian city-states known from history, such as Kish, Ur and Uruk, gradually lose their former meaning. New powerful nomes come to the fore: Marad, Dilbat, Push and, the most famous of them - Babylon. However, the invaders had to withstand the attacks of new peoples who wanted to gain a foothold in the fertile lands of Mesopotamia. The ruler of Akkad Sargon for some time managed to consolidate the lands that came under his power, but after his death, the power he created did not withstand the onslaught of numerous nomadic tribes, which in the sources are called "peoples of the Manda." They are being replaced by cuties, who soon subjugated Southern Mesopotamia. The north of the region was ruled by the Hurrians.
Behind all these wars and devastating raids, the name of the Sumerians gradually disappears from the sources. Representatives of the most ancient civilization gradually merge with alien peoples, borrowing their traditions and even language. At the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. the Akkadian language of Semitic origin supplants the Sumerian dialect from colloquial speech. It is used only in cult activities and for writing down legislative codes (for example, Shulga laws). However, the unified grammar and the general nature of the entries allow us to say that Sumerian was not a native language for scribes, but a learned language. Thus, the Sumerian performs the same function for the new population of Mesopotamia that it performed for Europeans.
The end of the Sumerian civilization
The last attempt to preserve the Sumerian civilization dates back to the XXII century BC. e. In the system of nome statehood, the ancient Ur again came to the fore in which the kings from the III dynasty ruled. They patronized the Sumerian culture in every possible way: hence the persistent attempts to find application in fact already dead language. But it should be noted that the patronage of the Sumerians was more declarative and was caused by purely political needs: the III dynasty had to not only withstand attacks from neighbors, but also fight against the discontent of the lower classes. Formally supporting the Sumerian culture and signs of attention in the form of fixing laws in the Sumerian language (it must be borne in mind that in ancient civilizations the attitude to the word was special: any text was certainly sacred), the kings did not interfere with the semitization of the population.
However, even declarative support for some time allowed the remnants of the once great civilization to exist. During the reign of Ibbi-Suen (2028 - 2004 BC), the onslaught of the Western Semitic tribe of the Amorites, who allied with Hutran-tempti (2010-1990 BC), the king of the then powerful Elam state, intensified. The last representative of the dynasty tried in vain to resist the invaders. In 2004 BC e. Ur was captured and subjected to a terrible rout, which lasted at least six years. This was the last blow to the Sumerian civilization. With the establishment of a new regime in Ur, they finally disappear from the historical scene.
It is assumed that the Sumerians showed themselves a little later again: in the II millennium BC. e. Sumerian ethnic substrate, mixed with Akkadian and a number of other ethnic groups, gave rise to the existence of the Babylonian nation.
The results of the existence of city-states in Mesopotamia
Sumerian civilization did not disappear without a trace. Not only epic and mythology or monumental architectural structures have survived to our days. As part of the Sumerian civilization, discoveries were made and the knowledge that modern people use was gained. The most famous example: the idea of time. The successors of the Sumerians on the territory of Ancient Mesopotamia preserved the adopted hexadecimal number system. Thanks to this, we still divide the hour into sixty minutes, and the minute into sixty seconds. From the Sumerians, the tradition of dividing the day into 24 hours and the year into 365 days has been preserved. The Sumerian lunar-solar calendar is also preserved, although it has undergone significant changes.
However, these are distant consequences. In the immediate historical perspective, the Sumerian civilization left its successors nom statehood, determined by the special natural conditions of the Sumerian city-states. Despite the attempts of one or another city-state to achieve full hegemony in the territory of Mesopotamia, with the exception of short-term success, no one managed to do this. At different times, Babylon and Assyria extended their power to vast territories, and Ur under Sargon managed to subjugate territory on such a scale that only a half and a half years later the Persians managed to surpass it during the Achaemenid dynasty. But the outcome of these gigantic empires has invariably been a protracted crisis and collapse.
The most obvious reason that each time large states in Mesopotamia disintegrated along conventional lines that determine where the Sumerian city-state, taken as a separate socio-political structure, lies precisely in their unusual stability. It has already been noted above that the struggle for hegemony in the region was caused by an extraordinary destructive natural disaster and the subsequent invasion of Semitic tribes. Those came with their idea of statehood, while in Sumer a system of self-sufficient state formations, tested and hardened over four thousand years, had already been formed. Even having necessarily joined the political struggle at the last stage of their existence, the Sumerians, as follows from the sources, in their obviously lowered position in society, clearly understood the compelledness of their participation in wars.
Here, any historian enters the realm of hypotheses and assumptions. But the whole history of ancient Sumer is woven from them, and it is with hypotheses that this article began. The appearance on the territory of Mesopotamia of tribes and tribal associations, whose origin is still impossible to establish even at a hypothetical level, after several thousand years of the existence of a special type of statehood ended with the same disappearance in the unknown. The mystery surrounding the beginning and end of the history of Sumerian civilization has become the basis of numerous modern speculations. Of particular interest is the figure of Ethan, King Kish, who, according to legend, somehow ascended to heaven. Modern "researchers" are happy to use these words to prove that no Sumerians existed at all, and that all religious buildings were created either by aliens or similar creatures.
Instead of these nonsense, it is much more reasonable to turn to the fact from the life of the ancient Sumerians, which has already been repeatedly mentioned here: these people, no matter where they came from, did not know how to stand out. They simply existed within the framework of their tribal associations, cultivated the land - not too hard, - accumulated knowledge about the world and, sadly, did not care about tomorrow. Indeed, it is possible that the memory of the global flood was preserved not so much because it was so destructive - the floods of two large rivers that formed Mesopotamia were hardly a rare occurrence, but because it became unexpected. Of course, one should not see in the ancient Sumerians some sybarites, unable to withstand the disaster, but their whole history seems to indicate the most ordinary unwillingness to withstand this event.
Distracting from philosophical reflections on the first real civilization on earth, the following should be noted: nom statehood, being the invention of the ancient Sumerians, belongs not only to them. Under a different name, this strategy was tested by another great civilization of antiquity, also engaged in the search for knowledge. Under the name of numerous policies, the nomes seemed to be reborn in ancient Greece. It is difficult to keep from parallels: as the Sumerians assimilated with the Semites, losing their culture to them, so the ancient Greeks, significantly raising the cultural level of the Romans, left the historical scene. But, unlike the Sumerians, not forever.
Sumerian civilization in modern secondary education
The cultural and historical communities of the Ancient World are the first civilizations that a schoolboy meets in the 5th grade. Sumerian city-states in the history of the Ancient East represent a special section in modern textbooks. Since the student is not yet able to master the main problems of this topic, it is considered in the most fascinating way: literary versions of episodes from the epic are given, initial information about the political organization is reported. As practice shows, the assimilation of initial historical knowledge is greatly facilitated with the help of tables, maps and illustrations on the topic "Sumerian city-states."
An important element of learning at school are various certifications. In 2017, it was decided to conduct the All-Russian Verification Work (VPR). Sumerian city-states are one of the topics checked during certification.
Since knowledge of dates and a huge list of kings of various nomes is not obligatory for a schoolchild, as part of testing, attention is primarily paid to the assimilation of cultural knowledge. In the proposed model of the CDF for history for the 5th grade, Sumerian city-states are one of the main topics to be checked, but the most difficult thing for the student is to determine the belonging of this or that architectural and sculptural monument to the Sumerians. Most of the proposed questions are aimed at revealing the student’s ability to express their thoughts on the topic, analyzing heterogeneous elements in order to find common signs, and also to separate the main information from the secondary. Thus, the topic "Sumerian city-states" in the UPR for the 5th grade will not cause special problems for students.