User:SomeGuyWhoRandomlyEdits/History of Sumer
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The history of Sumer is taken to include: the prehistoric period of the Ubaidians, the protoliterate period of the Urukeans, and the historic periods of the archaeological culture of Jemdet Nasr, the Early Dynasties (ED), the Akkadian, Guti, Ur III empires, and Isin-Larsa kingdoms (c. 5500 – c. 1736 BCE). The Sumerian people claimed that their civilization had been brought—fully formed—to the city of Eridu by one of their gods (Enki) or by his advisor (Adapa). The first people at Eridu may have introduced elements from the Samarra culture in upper Mesopotamia to the Ubaid culture of lower Mesopotamia; but, it is not yet known whether the founders of Eridu were Sumerian. The Sumerian King List (SKL) is an ancient regnal list (written using the cuneiform script)—listing kings of Sumer—including several foreign dynasties. Some of the earlier dynasties on the SKL may be mythical; the historical record does not open up before a time of the earliest archaeologically-attested rulers—while conjectures and interpretations of archaeological evidence may vary for earlier events.
The culture of the Ubaidians developed during the Late Neolithic and continued into the Late Chalcolithic. The name is derived from Tell al-'Ubaid in lower Mesopotamia (where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid material was conducted). In southern Mesopotamia: the Ubaid period is the earliest-known period along the alluvial plain; although, it is likely earlier periods exist obscured underneath the alluvium. In the south: it has a very long duration between c. 6500 – c. 3800 BCE—until replaced by the Uruk culture.[1] In the north: the Ubaid period runs only between c. 5300 – c. 4300 BCE.[1]
Most historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently settled (c. 5500 – c. 3300 BCE) by a west Asian people who spoke the Sumerian language; however, the ethnic composition of Mesopotamia throughout the Ubaid and/or Uruk period(s) cannot be determined with certainty.[2][3][4][5][6] It is connected to the problem of the origins of the Sumerians in lower Mesopotamia and the dating of their emergence (assuming that they were thought of as natives), or their arrival (assuming that they were thought of as foreigners). There is no agreement on the archaeological evidence for a migration, or on whether the earliest form of writing already reflects a specific language. Some argue that it is actually Sumerian (in which case the Sumerians would have been its inventors), and would have already been present in the region by the final centuries of the fourth millennium BCE. Whether or not other ethnic groups were also present—especially the East Semitic ancestors of the Akkadians and/or one or several pre-Sumerian peoples—is also debated and cannot be resolved easily by excavation alone.
The Sumerian city-states may have risen to power at some point throughout the Ubaid, Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, and/or ED period(s). The recorded history of Sumer may go as far back as the 29th century BCE (and/or even centuries before); however, the historical record remains obscure until the Early Dynastic III (EDIII) period (c. 2600/2500 – c. 2350/2230 BCE) when a (now-deciphered) syllabary writing system was developed—which has allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions. Classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian empire in the 23rd century BCE. There was a brief, Neo-Sumerian revival and renaissance during the 21st century BCE—cut short in the 20th century BCE by the invasions of a West Semitic people—the Amorites. The predominantly Amorite dynasties of the Isin-Larsa period persisted until c. 1736 BCE—when Mesopotamia was re-united by an Amorite dynasty of Babylonia.