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Sumer |
The people of Mesopotamia used irrigation to bring water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to the dry farmlands, allowing crops to be grown - agriculture was a huge success, and the population grew. As these people worked together toward common goals, they formed a civilization: a centralized society with developed forms of religions, ways of governing, and learning.
The southern part of Mesopotamia was called Sumer (see map). The people of Sumer used irrigation for farming and to protect their land from flooding. They developed technology: skills and products to make products or meet goals. Irrigation was one example of their technology. They also invented use of the wheel around 3500 BC. The wheel could be used to make carts - these carts could be used to move construction materials for houses and other buildings as cities grew. Animals were used to pull these carts. The Sumerians also invented the use of sailboats to move goods and to travel....TRADE.
The people of Sumer used mud bricks to build houses and temples. Ziggurats were huge mud-brick temples built by constructing layer upon layer. These ziggurats towered high above anything else around, and were used as shrines to the gods. Sumerians believed in many different gods. Polytheism is the belief in many gods. The Sumerians believed in gods representing all of the elements of nature and natural resources: god of air, god of water, god of war, god of food, god of rain, etc. Ziggurats were built as temples for each of these gods. Since agriculture was so important (agriculture = food = survival), the Sumerians believed that if they pleased their gods, they would get large harvests of food. Floods and other natural disasters were believed to be signs that the gods were angry with them. The ziggurat was the center of activity for the cities, surrounded by other buildings (homes, workshops, etc).
The greatest of the Sumerian ziggurats was the ziggurat of Ur: its upper level was over 100 feet high and its base was 200 feet by 150 feet.
With the growing population in Sumer, people needed rules or laws to keep order. This means they needed a government. Government is an organized system that groups use to make laws and decisions. Sumer had many separate city-states, each surrounded by farmlands. A city-state is a city and its surrounding farmlands, with its own leaders and government. Each city-state of Sumer was run by a small group of leaders and a chief leader chose by that group. Together they made laws and decided what work had to be done.
The city-states of Sumer often waged war on outsiders and on each other, to enlarge their farmlands or to protect it. They also waged war over the right to use water supplies. Because of this danger of war, the city-states needed to have a single, strong leader in order to make decisions quickly and wisely. This resulted in the formation of monarchies. Monarchy is a system of government with one person (a king or queen) who rules. This one person has complete authority: the right to rule in peacetime and to lead soldiers in wartime.
The Sumerian kings ruled over every part of Sumerian life including religion, agriculture, and building plans. The Sumerians believed their kings were selected by the gods to rule. So the kings were believed to have great strength and power. Stories and legends about Sumerian kings were common.
The city-states of Sumer continued to grow. The growing population led to a continued success of agriculture. Their farms produced enough food to create a surplus: an extra supply. This surplus led to a division of labor. Since an extra supply of food was available, not everyone had to be farmers. People became craft workers in stone, clay, and leather. Others became metalworkers, using copper, tin, and bronze. More products were made. Some people became managers, people who were skilled at directing the work of others. Other people became merchants, people who buy and sell goods to make a living.
Sumerian merchants traveled west by land to trade throughout the Fertile Crescent and toward the Mediterranean Sea. They also used sailboats to travel through the Persian Gulf, trading to the east. This trading allowed the Sumerians to get resources they needed.
With the growing population and people now having different type of jobs, the city-states were divided into social classes: groups of different levels of importance. The highest social class in Sumer was made up of the kings, priests, and other important leaders and their families. This was only a tiny part of the population. Most of the people belonged to the middle class, a ranking based on the amount of property owned and by the standing of the family in the community.
People of the middle class had many different types of jobs including merchants, managers, carpenters, potters, bricklayers, doctors, and scribes. A scribe was a person who wrote things for others. Writing was a valuable skill in Sumer, especially since most people (even kings) could not read or write. Scribes kept records, wrote letters for other people, and copied down stories and songs. Scribes and other workers exchanged their services or the goods they made for the services and goods they needed.
The lowest social class in Sumer was made up of slaves. Most slaves were prisoners of war, or enslaved as a punishment for crimes or to pay off debts. These slaves were not slaves for life - once they had paid off their debt or served their punishment, they would be set free.
The growing societies of Sumer led to further innovations. Innovations are new ways of doing things. People needed to mark boundaries for farming which led to a unit of land measurement the Sumerians called the iku (today we call it the acre). The need to measure barley and wheat harvests led to the use of the quart as a basic unit of measurement. The need to carry trade goods up the river led people to build cargo boats with sails. The need to keep a record of ownership, taxes owed, and trade led to the Sumerian's greatest innovation: writing (done by the scribes).
The Sumerians developed cuneiform: the use of wedge-shaped symbols for writing. Each symbol stood for a different syllable and was based on a spoken sound. Scribes made cuneiform marks in soft clay using a stylus (a sharpened piece of reed). The clay was then baked or left in the sun until it became hard. Cuneiform writings that have been discovered give a record of Sumer's growing economic activity and way of life (culture).