Sumerian Culture

Sumerian is an umbrella term for the people who lived in ancient Mesopotamia and spoke the common Sumerian language. A language often compared to Basque and Iberian whose origin is unknown and just seems to pop onto the scene out of nowhere. Those people shaved their heads and wore tunics made of wool.

Although each city-state had its own patron god. The cities of Eridu and Nippur are considered to be the main religious and cultural centers of Sumerian life. Eridu was considered to be the home of the god Enki, who gave humanity art, science, industry and the manners for civilization. Nippur on the other hand was home to the god Enlil, who ruled the underworld and gave humanity spells and incantations.

The priest-kings of Sumer used corvee labor to build and maintain the irrigation canals that allowed Sumerian culture to thrive. It was not until late in Sumerian history though that the wealthy were allowed to exchange pieces of silver for their share of the labor necessary for the construction and maintenance of Sumerian infrastructure. In all my reading for this article I’ve only come across one source that claims that military warlords held social/political power in Sumerian culture, this source though backs its position up only with examples of later European cultures and a discussion of barbarian invasion.

The Sumerian military was very organized. Depictions of Sumerian battles reveal pictures of phalanx and chariots. Both of which are indicative of Sumerian city-states having professional warriors to defend themselves as well as attack enemies. Sumerian warriors were also familiar with siege warfare, many Sumerian cities having tall mud brick walls surrounding them for defense.

The people of Sumer had extensive trade relations with their neighbors. Cedar was imported from Lebanon, Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan. It is possible that Sumerian merchants and traders ventured as far away as Egypt and Pakistan.