Sumerians: Inventors of Civilization

"The semimythical Sumerian King List (composed circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE) claims that, when kingship was established on earth by the gods, it descended from heaven to the city of Eridu, linking the concepts of law and order with that of the city, a paradigm that would continue throughout Sumerian civilization. Sumer was the southern counterpart to the northern region of Akkad,"

"After the rise of the Amorites in Mesopotamia, and the invasion of the Gutians and then the Elamites, Sumer ceased to exist and was only known through references in the works of ancient writers, including the scribes who wrote the biblical book of Genesis. Sumer remained unknown until the mid-19th century, when excavations in Mesopotamia unearthed their civilization and brought their many contributions to light."

Sumerian kingship was said to descend from heaven to Eridu, binding law and urban authority. Sumer occupied southern Mesopotamia opposite Akkad; Sumerians called their region "the land" or "the land of the black-headed people." Sumer produced numerous cultural and technological firsts and is described as the "Inventors of Civilization." Conquests by the Amorites, Gutians, and Elamites ended Sumerian political existence, leaving only literary references until mid-19th-century excavations rediscovered the civilization. By circa 2900 BCE Sumerians were established in the south. Scholars divide the region's history into six eras from Ubaid to Ur III; Ubaid origins remain unknown, but Ubaid communities evolved into Uruk city-states and Early Dynastic kingship.

Read at World History Encyclopedia