Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now southern Iraq), during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages, and one of the first civilizations in the world, along with Ancient Egypt, Norte Chico, Minoan civilization, Ancient China and the Indus Valley. Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus from which enabled them to form urban settlements. Prehistoric proto-writing dates back before 3000 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, and date to between roughly c. 3500 and c. 3000 BC.
Name
The term "Sumer" (???, Sumerian: eme.gi7, Akkadian: Šumeru) is the name given to the land of the "Sumerians", the ancient non-Semitic-speaking inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia, by their successors the East Semitic-speaking Akkadians. The Sumerians themselves referred to their land as "Kiengir", the "Country of the noble lords" (???, ki-en-gi(-r), lit. "country" + "lords" + "noble") as seen in their inscriptions.The origin of the Sumerians is not known, but the people of Sumer referred to themselves as "Black Headed Ones" or "Black-Headed People" (? ?, saĝ-gíg, lit. "head" + "black", or ? ? ?, saĝ-gíg-ga or sang-ngiga phonetically /saŋ ɡi ɡa/, lit. "head" + "black" + "carry"). For example, the Sumerian king Shulgi, described himself as "the king of the four quarters, the pastor of the black-headed people".
Copyright 2024 puzzlefactory.com All rights reserved.
