*-*-*History of Sumer*-*-*

For those who are interested here is a little text on where my village name came from >>>>

Country in southeastern Mesopotamia, and birthplace for the first civilization in world history. The history of Sumer is counted as lasting from about 3500 BCE until 2000 BCE, where after other cultures, based upon the Sumerian, continued the civilization. These cultures were principally the Assyrian and the Babylonian.
Sumer represented one half of Mesopotamia, where Akkad, to the north, represented the other half. The heartland of Sumer corresponds much to the heartland of Babylonia.

SOCIETY and ECONOMY

From early on, Sumer consisted of 12 city-states: Adab, Akshak, Bad-tibira Erech, Kish, Lagash, Larak, Larsa, Nippur, Sippar, Umma and Ur. These city-states were independent entities, that often waged war against each other, but there were also wars against a unity of them and Akkad and Elam.
Central in every city was the temple, and every city had its own deity, that was believed to protect the city. The city was fortified, and to it belonged a rural zone where agriculture was performed. The major crops were barley, wheat, dates and vegetables. They also raised cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats. Textiles were made from wool from the sheep.
The Sumerians also performed trade with foreign countries, they even trade with other peoples out in the Persian Gulf, from where they among other things bought home ivory and other luxury items.

CULTURE and SCIENCE

The Sumerians were the first to start using the alloy bronze, which allowed them the development of much better instruments than what had been possible before. The discovery of how to mould bronze soon spread all over the rest of the Middle East.
Among the earliest cultural expressions in Sumer, was pottery. Around 3000 BCE the Sumerians started carving in stones and shells, and creating statues. Jewellery was also created from gold and silver.
It was the inhabitants of Sumer that developed the first pictographic writing system, which after a few hundred years developed into the writing style that we now call cuneiform. They also developed what is the oldest known law system, as well as the city-state, as it is known through cities like principally Ur. The city-state was a prerequisite for urbanization in those days — the city had to precede the state.
The Sumerians also developed the studies of mathematics, astronomy, along with other sciences. The Sumerians developed many ways of understanding time. They even had an accurate calendar, that was vital to planning agriculture.
The Sumerians also developed pseudo-science like astrology, within the context of religion. The believed that the stars on the sky were gods that controlled the events in the world, and that the position between these gods could be used to predict events in the world, as well as the fortune for individuals.
The architecture of Sumer was limited, in the respect that there were no solid building materials available in the region. Stone, metal and wood had to be imported. Therefore, they had to use mud and reed for most houses, but this gradually developed into using mud brick.
Of technical developments, Sumerians developed the potter's wheel, the sailboat and the seed plow.