The Ancient Sumer - Info sheet

The Ancient Sumer was a remarkable early civilization that emerged in the region of Mesopotamia, centred around the Tigris–Euphrates river system, which corresponds to southern Iraq today. It holds the distinction of being the first urban civilization in this fertile area and, at its peak, was home to a population estimated to be between 800,000 and 1.5 million people. Despite its eventual assimilation into the Amorite empire, Sumer's legacy is profound, having developed one of the earliest writing systems known as cuneiform and establishing the world's first known law code. Their societal advancements extended to the domestication of animals, with sheep, pigs, goats, and cows forming a crucial part of their food supply, while oxen were used to plough fields, wool for clothing, and donkeys for transport. Eridu, a city within Sumer, is often cited as the oldest city in the world, while Uruk, another Sumerian city, is believed to have been the largest in the world at one time. The Sumerian language continued to be used for literary purposes until the first century AD, and the Sumerians are also noted for their unique numerical system, which was based on 60 rather than the decimal system based on 10.

The significance of the Sumerian civilization is highlighted by its many contributions to human progress. Their pioneering use of the cuneiform script paved the way for written communication and record-keeping. The oldest law code discovered, attributed to the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu, provides evidence of their structured society and legal principles. Furthermore, the Sumerians' innovative approach to mathematics and timekeeping, utilizing a sexagesimal (base-60) number system, has had a lasting impact, as it is still reflected in the way we measure hours, minutes, and seconds today. The question of why the Ancient Egyptian civilization was considered ahead of its time, along with the understanding of other contemporaneous civilizations, offers a broader context to the achievements and advancements of these early societies, which have laid the foundations for modern civilization.