Periodization
- Ubaid period: 5300–4100 BC Early Chalcolithic)
- Uruk period: 4100–2900 BC (Late Chalcolithic
- Uruk XIV-V: 4100–3300
- Uruk IV period: 3300–3000 BC
- Uruk III = Jemdet Nasr period: 3100–2900 BC Early Dynastic period
- Early Dynastic I period: 2900–2800 BC
- Early Dynastic II period: 2800–2600 BC
- Early Dynastic IIIa period: 2600–2500 BC
- Early Dynastic IIIb period: ca. 2500–2334 BC
- Akkadian Empire period: ca. 2334–2218 BC
- Gutian period: ca. 2218–2047 BC
- Ur III period: ca. 2047–1940 BC
Eridu, E-Abzu, Enki
Permanent year-round urban settlement may have been prompted by intensive agricultural practices. The work required in maintaining irrigation canals called for, and the resulting surplus food enabled, relatively concentrated populations. However, this analysis, often identified with Karl Wittfogel's theories on the Asiatic mode of production, is hotly contested, and few archaeologists or historians today accept it as a sufficient explanation for the first cities. The centres of Eridu and Uruk, two of the earliest cities, had successively elaborated large temple complexes built of mudbrick. Developing as small shrines with the earliest settlements, by the Early Dynastic I period, they had become the most imposing structures in their respective cities, each dedicated to its own respective god. From south to north, the principal temple-cities, their principal temple complex, and the gods they served, were
- Ur, E-kishnugal, Nanna (moon)
- Larsa, E-babbar, Utu (sun)
- Uruk, E-anna, Inana and An
- Bad-tibira, E-mush, Dumuzi and Inana
- Girsu, E-ninnu, Ningirsu
- Umma, E-mah, Shara (son of Inana)
- Nippur, E-kur, Enlil
- Shuruppak, E-dimgalanna, Sud (variant of Ninlil, wife of Enlil)
- Marad, E-igikalamma, Lugal-Marada (variant of Ninurta)
- Kish, ?, Ninhursag
- Sippar, E-babbar, Utu (sun)
- Kutha, E-meslam, Nergal
Historians until recently agreed that before 3000 BC the political life of the city was headed by a priest-king (ensi) assisted by a council of elders and based on these temples, but some more recent authors have asserted that the cities had secular rulers from the earliest times. The development of a sophisticated system of administration led to the invention of writing of numbers about 3500 BC and ideographic writing about 3000 BC, which developed into logographic writing by about 2600 BC.
In the possibly mythical pre-dynastic period, the Sumerian king list portrays the passage of power from Eridu to Shuruppak in the south, until a flood occurred, from where it relocated to the northern city of Kish at the start of the Early Dynastic period. Archaeologists have confirmed the presence of a widespread layer of riverine silt deposits, shortly after the Piora oscillation, interrupting the sequence of settlement, that left a few feet of yellow sediment in the cities of Shuruppak and Uruk and extended as far north as Kish. The polychrome pottery characteristic of the Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900 BC) below the sediment layer was followed by Early Dynastic I artifacts above the sediment layer.
The Early Dynastic Period began after a cultural break with the preceding Jemdet Nasr period that has been radio-carbon dated to about 2900 BC at the beginning of the Early Dynastic I Period. No inscriptions have yet been found verifying any names of kings that can be associated with the Early Dynastic I period. The ED I period is distinguished from the ED II period by the narrow cylinder seals of the ED I period and the broader wider ED II seals engraved with banquet scenes or animal-contest scenes. The Early Dynastic II period is when Gilgamesh, the famous king of Uruk, is believed to have reigned. Texts from the ED II period are not yet understood. Later inscriptions have been found bearing some Early Dynastic II names from the King List. The Early Dynastic IIIa period, also known as the Fara period, is when syllabic writing began. Accounting records and an undeciphered logographic script existed before the Fara Period, but the full flow of human speech was first recorded about 2600 BC at the beginning of the Fara Period. The Early Dynastic IIIb period is also known as the Pre-Sargonic period.
Hegemony, which came to be conferred by the Nippur priesthood, alternated among a number of competing dynasties, hailing from Sumerian city-states traditionally including Kish, Uruk, Ur, Adab and Akshak, as well as some from outside of southern Mesopotamia, such as Awan, Hamazi, and Mari, until theAkkadians, under Sargon of Akkad, overtook the area.
First Dynasty of Kish
After a flood occurred in Sumer, kingship is said to have resumed at Kish. The earliest Dynastic name on the list known from other legendary sources is Etana, whom it calls "the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries". He was estimated by Roux to have lived approximately 3000 BC. Among the 11 kings who followed, a number of Semitic Akkadian names are recorded, suggesting that these people made up a sizable proportion of the population of this northern city. The earliest monarch on the list whose historical existence has been independently attested through archaeological inscription isEn-me-barage-si of Kish (ca. 2700–2600 BC), said to have conquered Elam and built the temple of Enlil in Nippur. Enmebaragesi's successor, Aga, is said to have fought with Gilgamesh of Uruk, the fifth king of that city. From this time, for a period Uruk seems to have had some kind of hegemony in Sumer. This illustrates a weakness of the Sumerian kinglist, as contemporaries are often placed in successive dynasties, making reconstruction difficult.
First Dynasty of Uruk
Mesh-ki-ang-gasher is listed as the first King of Uruk. He was followed by Enmerkar. The epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta tells of his voyage by river toAratta, a mountainous, mineral-rich country up-river from Sumer. He was followed by Lugalbanda, also known from fragmentary legends, and then by Dumuzid, the Fisherman. The most famous monarch of this dynasty was Dumuzid's successor Gilgamesh, hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where he is called Lugalbanda's son. Ancient, fragmentary copies of this text have been discovered in locations as far apart as Hattusas in Anatolia, Megiddo in Israel, and Tell el Amarna in Egypt.
First Dynasty of Ur
This dynasty is dated to the 26th century BC. Meskalamdug is the first archaeologically recorded king (Lugal from lu=man, gal=big) of the city of Ur. He was succeeded by his son Akalamdug, and Akalamdug by his son Mesh-Ane-pada. Mesh-Ane-pada is the first king of Ur listed on the king list, and it says he defeated Lugalkildu of Uruk. He also seems to have subjected Kish, thereafter assuming the title "King of Kish" for himself. This title would be used by many kings of the preeminent dynasties for some time afterward. King Mesilim of Kish is known from inscriptions from Lagash and Adab stating that he built temples in those cities, where he seems to have held some influence. He is also mentioned in some of the earliest monuments from Lagash as arbitrating a border dispute between Lugal-sha-engur, ensi (high priest or governor) of Lagash, and the ensi of their main rival, the neighbouring town of Umma. Mesilim's placement before, during, or after the reign of Mesannepada in Ur is uncertain, owing to the lack of other synchronous names in the inscriptions, and his absence from the king list.
Dynasty of Awan
This dynasty is dated to the 26th century BC. According to the Sumerian king list, Elam, Sumer's neighbor to the east, held the kingship in Sumer for a brief period, based in the city of Awan.
Second Dynasty of Uruk
Enshakushanna was a king of Uruk in the later 3rd millennium BC who is named on the Sumerian king list, which states his reign to have been 60 years. He was succeeded in Uruk by Lugal-kinishe-dudu, but the hegemony seems to have passed to Eannatum of Lagash for a time.
Empire of Lugal-Ane-mundu of Adab
Following this period, the region of Mesopotamia seems to have come under the sway of a Sumerian conqueror from Adab, Lugal-Ane-mundu, ruling over Uruk, Ur, and Lagash. According to inscriptions, he ruled from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, and up to the Zagros Mountains, including Elam.However, his empire fell apart with his death. Sumerian records also show Nin-Kasalsi as the first ruler of the city of Adab. Like the later "King" of the Third Dynasty of Kish, Nin-Kasalsi was a woman.
Kug-Bau and the Third Dynasty of Kish
Lugal-Ane-mundu's power may have been limited, however, as his reign seems to have been contemporaneous with the Third Dynasty of Kish, inaugurated byKug-Bau or Kubaba, unique in the fact that she was the only woman ever to reign as "king". Before overthrowing the rule of Enshakushana of the Second Uruk Dynasty and becoming monarch, the king-list says she was a tavern-keeper. In later centuries she was worshipped as a minor goddess, achieving important status in the Hurrian and Hittites periods, when she was identified with the Hurrian goddess Hannahannah . In the post-Hittite Phrygian period she was called Kubele (Latin Cybele), Great Mother of the Gods.
Dynasty of Akshak
Akshak too achieved independence with a line of rulers extending from Puzur-Nirah, Ishu-Il, and Shu-Suen, son of Ishu-Il, before being defeated by the rulers in the Fourth Dynasty of Kish.
First Dynasty of LagashHis son and successor Entemena restored the prestige of Lagash. Illi of Umma was subdued, with the help of his allyLugal-kinishe-dudu or Lugal-ure of Uruk, successor to Enshakushana and also on the king-list. Lugal-kinishe-dudu seems to have been the prominent figure at the time, since he also claimed to rule Kish and Ur. A silver vase dedicated by Entemena to his god is now in the Louvre. A frieze of lions devouring ibexes and deer, incised with great artistic skill, runs round the neck, while the eagle crest of Lagash adorns the globular part. The vase is a proof of the high degree of excellence to which the goldsmith's art had already attained. A vase of calcite, also dedicated by Entemena, has been found at Nippur. After Entemena, a series of weak, corrupt priest-kings is attested for Lagash. The last of these, Urukagina, was known for his judicial, social, and economic reforms, and his may well be the first legal code known to have existed.
Eannatum, grandson of Ur-Nanshe, made himself master of the whole of the district of Sumer, together with the cities of Uruk (ruled by Enshakushana), Ur, Nippur, Akshak, and Larsa. He also annexed the kingdom of Kish; however, it recovered its independence after his death. Umma was made tributary—a certain amount of grain being levied upon each person in it, that had to be paid into the treasury of the goddess Nina and the god Ningirsu. Eannatum's campaigns extended beyond the confines of Sumer, and he overran a part of Elam, took the city of Az on the Persian Gulf, and exacted tribute as far as Mari; however many of the realms he conquered were often in revolt. During his reign, temples and palaces were repaired or erected at Lagash and elsewhere; the town of Nina—that probably gave its name to the later Niniveh—was rebuilt, and canals and reservoirs were excavated. Eannatum was succeeded by his brother, En-anna-tum I. During his rule, Umma once more asserted independence under Ur-Lumma, who attacked Lagash unsuccessfully. Ur-Lumma was replaced by a priest-king, Illi, who also attacked Lagash.
Empire of Lugal-zage-si of Uruk
Urukagina ( ca. 2359–2335 BC short chronology) was overthrown and his city Lagash captured by Lugal-zage-si, the high priest of Umma. Lugal-zage-si also took Uruk and Ur, and made Uruk his capital. In a long inscription that he made engraved on hundreds of stone vases dedicated to Enlil of Nippur, he boasts that his kingdom extended "from the Lower Sea (Persian Gulf), along the Tigris and Euphrates, to the Upper Sea" or Mediterranean. His empire was overthrown by Sargon of Akkad.
| Sargon | ca. 2334–2279 BC | |
| Rimush | ca. 2278–2270 BC | younger son of Sargon |
| Man-ishtishu | ca. 2269–2255 BC | elder son of Sargon |
| Naram-Suen | ca. 2254–2218 BC | son of Man-ishtishu |
| Shar-kali-sharri | ca. 2217–2193 BC | son of Naram-Suen |
| Irgigi | ||
| Imi | ||
| Nanum | ||
| Elulu | ||
| Dudu | ca. 2189–2168 BC | |
| Shu-Durul | ca. 2168–2147 BC | Akkad defeated by the Gutians |
The Akkadian period lasted ca. 2334–2218 BC (short chronology).
Following the fall of Sargon's Empire to the Gutians, a brief "Dark Ages" ensued. This period lasted ca. 2147–2047 BC (short chronology).
This period lasted ca. 2260–2110 BC.
| Ki-Ku-Id | ||
| Engilsa | ||
| Ur-A | ||
| Lugalushumgal | ||
| Puzer-Mama | ca. 2200 BC | contemporary of Shar-kali-sharri of Akkad |
| Ur-Utu | ||
| Ur-Mama | ||
| Lu-Baba | ||
| Lugula | ||
| Kaku or Kakug | ||
| Ur-Bau or Ur-baba | ca. 2093–2080 BC (short) | |
| Gudea | ca. 2080–2060 BC | son-in-law of Ur-baba |
| Ur-Ningirsu | ca. 2060–2055 BC | son of Gudea |
| Pirigme or Ugme | ca. 2055–2053 BC | |
| Ur-gar | ca. 2053–2049 BC | |
| Nammahani | ca. 2049–2046 BC | grandson of Kaku, defeated by Ur-Nammu |
This dynasty lasted between ca. 2055–2048 BC short chronology. The Gutians were ultimately driven out by the Sumerians under Utu-hegal, the only king of this dynasty, who in turn was defeated by Ur-Nammu of Ur.
The Third Dynasty of Ur is dated to ca. 2047–1940 BC short chronology. Ur-Nammu of Ur defeated Utu-hegal of Uruk and founded the Third Dynasty of Ur. Although the Sumerian language ("Emegir") was again made official, Sumerian identity was already in decline, as the population became continually more and more Semiticised.
After the Ur III dynasty was destroyed by the Elamites in 2004 BC, a fierce rivalry developed between the city-states of Larsa, more under Elamite than Sumerian influence, and Isin, that was more Amorite (as the Western Semitic nomads were called). Archaeologically, the fall of the Ur III dynasty corresponds to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The Semites ended up prevailing in Mesopotamia by the time of Hammurabi of Babylon, who founded the BabylonianEmpire, and the language and name of Sumer gradually passed into the realm of antiquarian scholars. Nevertheless, Sumerian influence on Babylonia, and all subsequent cultures in the region, was undeniably great.
During the third millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespreadbilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian (and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium as a sprachbund.
Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the third and the second millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate), but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the first century AD.