Nimrod Research Paper

c. 5000-3500 BC: The first city-states gradually develop in southern Mesopotamia. This is the achievement of the Sumerian people. c. 3500: Writing begins to be developed. At first this is based on pictograms, and takes about a thousand years to evolve into a full cuneiform script.

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

The society of Sumer, as said in a document “ was home to a privileged class of elites who headed households by nearby irrigated land”. Sumer was a growing civilization with a written language, education, government, religion, economy, and family hierarchy. “Sumer was a particular civilization that developed in the region of Mesopotamia.” Due to Mesopotamia being so plentiful, this let Sumer bloom into a great civilization. A written language in Sumer was in the form of cuneiform, characters formed by the arrangement of small wedge-shaped elements.

Ur was one of the most powerful cities in Sumer between 3000 and 2000 BCE. It was located roughly 300 kilometers (about 187 miles) southeast of Baghdad which was surrounded by the arid, salt-encrusted plain of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Today however, Ur is far from the Persian Gulf and is surrounded by a wall about 8 meters tall. The temples were a major economic entities because it help them bring

Sumerian cities also faced external tribulations because of their wealth and virtually defenseless entrances o their land. Because the land and location was so flat and vulnerable the cities built defensive walls and organized military forces.6 Gilgamesh built a very similar structure. The wall of Uruk was an amazing barrier that sheltered every square mile of land. The citizens of Uruk claimed the wall to be "the pure treasury." 7 It becomes evident in Mesopotamian culture as well as with Gilgamesh that major defense mechanisms are needed in order to maintain security. When a city --state gains structure the next step is to become proactively aggressive; therefore, conquering and punishing other cities. For example, "External threats came later to Egypt than to Mesopotamia, but the invasion of the Hyksos prompted the pharaohs to seize control of regions that might pose future threats." 8

The two rivers had a delta which was called the Fertile Crescent. This was because of its crescent-like shape and because of how fertile it was due to the two rivers depositing rich silk into it, giving it the ability to support agriculture. The two rivers were incredibly important to the ancient Sumerians because it supplied them with water for their irrigation systems. They were able to also dump their sewage as well. The water gave them mud to use as clay for building. The river led them to the concept of regional government, which was used to manage their irrigation systems, consequently resulting in them creating a city-state. Unlike the Chinese and Harappan people, the Sumerians left behind records that we today are able to decipher. Their writing system was called ‘cuneiform’, which they wrote on clay tablets. This tell us that the Sumerians were civilized and organized. Unlike the Chinese, they utilized their time to learn how to read and write instead of fighting

The Sumerians were the first people to build civilization and attempt empire in the western world. Like Rome, they had a governmental structure, conducted military operations to expand and ensure trade, and build a lasting civic structure. The Sumerians, however, were not as effective as the Romans in most respects. Rome had a strong central government; the Emperor was absolute ruler.

This is proof of the Sumerian architectural abilities. The architecture in Mesopotamia are considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities, but there was some complexity in the architectural design during this Protoliterate period (c. 3400-c. 2900 BC). This is shown in the design of many religious buildings. Typical temples of the Protoliterate period--both the platform type and the type built at ground level--are, however, much more elaborate both in planning and ornament. The interior was decorated with cones sunk into the wall, covered in bronze. Most cities were simple in structure, but the ziggurat was one of the world's first complex architectural structures.

The geographical makeup of Mesopotamia made Nineveh, Assur, and Mari three of its key cities. During the summer, the Sumerian plain was hot and the heat kept the resources to a bare minimum. Thanks to the annual flooding of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, these cities flourished with deep, rich soil that could be used for farming. Because the Tigris River flowed fast and deep, early settlers favored the land around the shallower, slow-moving Euphrates river. Mari is located on the banks west of the Euphrates, therefore it is logical to assume that the growth of this city flourished with farmers. Likewise, Nineveh and Assur are located to the east of the Tigris River. The growth of these cites depended on the irrigation of these flooding rivers.

Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a

Sumerian gods and the Hebrew’s god were part of everyday people’s lives. These gods influenced people’s decisions. The Sumerian worked to please their gods, and the Hebrews’ view of their god was based on faith and obedience. The Sumerian gods, as well as the Hebrew’s god, were powerful. For instance, they could create and destroy life, but these gods cared about their people as well. While the Hebrews had a covenant between them and their god, that could not be broken if they wanted to prosper, the Sumerian had the Code of Ur-Nammu. This code was the will of the gods and was administered by the state (Joshua J., 2014).The Hebrew’s god was also severe, strict and righteous. Breaking a clause of the covenant would result in facing the anger of god.

In early Sumerian cities, the temple stood at the very centre of public life, both political and religious. The god of the city was held to own the city; in practice, this translated into the temple controlling

Generally within textbooks on Western civilization it tells us about how the Sumerians began organized agriculture, domesticated wheat and such animals as the horse and donkey, initiated urban living by building cities, and invented writing and the wheel. The Sumerians, apparently, initiated human civilization 6000 years ago. Nevertheless, European (white) written textbooks do not recognize them like they

During 3000 BC, Sumerian was the first cyclical empire, even though they came to a fall the Sumerian people made an impact on Western Civilization. This empire kept history alive, but never forgotten. The wheel was one of their many inventions which are still used today for cars, and manual labor like wheel barrels and lawnmowers. The epic poem Gilgamesh is still a book read today in English classes. This epic poem is inspiring and was an actual historical figure. The Sumerians contributed several ideas, the first organized religion temples and priests. The Sumerians also gave us the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, which was a story about a river dividing itself into 4 river heads, two of the four being the Tigris and the Euphrates River. The water supply was an accommodating way of trade. The Sumerians were the first international traders. They also invented writing, the Sumerians wrote of cuneiform blocks, now student can write on paper but it was a start being able to write thoughts down. The Sumerians had countless clever ideas; they also invented the potter’s wheel, which was used for making pottery to store food and goods. The plow was used for farming and the sailboat was used for traveling up or down the river, for trading or

By about 4000 BCE, the peoples of Sumer organized themselves into several independent city-states. Each of these city-states surrounded a ziggurat dedicated to that particular city’s patron god and were ruled