Posted on 13th of October 2014
Transcript[]
Sumer invented forms of writing, governance, warfare and culture that would go on to influence Western Civilization to this day. The “land of the civilized kings” made some of the most important advancements in military technology the world had ever seen. The Sumerian invention of the chariot allowed them to establish dominion across the entire fertile crescent.
Sumer is also the origin of some of the earliest myths and legends we have records from. The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered the origin point of modern literature. And the cult of the Sumerian sky god Anu has descendents and variations that cover the rest of the world throughout history.
Name: The Sumerian Civilization
Continent: Asia
Time Period: 4000-2300 BC
Succeeded/Conquered By: Akkadian Empire
Currently: Iraq
The Sumerians were brilliant, with an ability for complex and abstract thought that made them seem like higher beings to their stunted neighbors. And how could such grubby dirt farmers fathom the thoughts, ethics and morals of a people higher up the evolutionary chain?
From the outside, the Sumerians could seem to be cold, applying their ruthless logic on a grand scale. Nevermind how it impacted an individual – especially one who stood in the Sumer’s way. But from them we shall learn the value of thinking on a global scale, putting the welfare of the wider world ahead of the petty interests of the individual.