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THE WORLD’S FIRST CITIES were built on the banks of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. About 5,000 years ago, the people of
Sumer, the area of southern Iraq where the two rivers flow together, began
to build what would become great, bustling cities. They made bricks from
the riverside mud to build houses and massive temples. The Sumerians also
developed one of the world’s earliest writing
systems, by making marks in soft tablets of
clay, which they left in the sun to harden.
Their earliest cities, such as Ur and Uruk,
became famous all over the Middle
East, as Sumerian merchants traveled
abroad, trading food grown in the
fertile local fields. The Sumerians
flourished until about 2000 bce,
when desert tribes invaded.MESOpOTAMIA
The land between the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers is known
as Mesopotamia. The home of
the Sumerians was in southern
Mesopotamia, and Ur was one
of their greatest cities.zIggURAT
At the center of each Sumerian city was a
stepped tower called a ziggurat, topped by a
temple. By building their ziggurats high, the
Sumerians believed that they were reaching
up to the heavens, so that each temple could
become a home for one of Sumer’s many
gods and goddesses. Only priests were
allowed to worship in the temples.SARgOn
Originally
the servant of a
king of Kish, in Akkad, north of
Sumer, Sargon rose to become
Akkad’s ruler. In around
2325 bce, he conquered Sumer,
Mesopotamia, and the eastern
territory of Elam. He made
Mesopotamia into a united
country for the first time. Sargon
was a powerful king who
protected merchants and built
up flourishing trade.Reed huts were common
in southern Mesopotamia.Bricks were left to bake
dry in the hot sun.Sumerians traveled
along the rivers in
boats made from local
reeds. Fishermen
used similar boats.Brickmakers
poured soft
mud into a
mold.SUMER
The land between the two rivers
was fertile but dry. Farmers dug
canals to bring water to their fields,
and found that this meant they
could produce huge harvests—
there was usually enough to sell.
The Sumerians found other useful
resources near the rivers. They
used reeds for boat-building and
simple houses, and clay for making
bricks and pottery.Sumerians
Cuneiform script
consisted of wedge-
shaped marks made
with a reed writing-
stylus. Mud-brick ziggurat
towered over the city.Farmers
scattered seeds
by hand.Oxen pulled
wooden
plows.Reed beds grew
on the banks
of the river.Palm trees
provided dates
and wood.Neatly-trimmed
beard typical of
Mesopotamian
fashion.PERSIAN GULFUrukUrMESOPOTAMIAWorkers dug up clay to make bricks.Alphabets
Bronze age
WheelsFind out more
gILgAMESH
The Sumerians created the earliest
written story that has survived to
modern times. Written on clay
tablets, the story tells of gilgamesh,
King of Uruk, and the son of a
goddess and a man. gilgamesh
begins as a cruel king, but be
becomes a hero when he kills
two fearsome monsters. Later,
gilgamesh visits the underworld
to try to search for immortal life.US_509_Sumerians.indd 509 09/02/16 5:28 pm