The Sumerians: Lost Civilizations PDF
Preview The Sumerians: Lost Civilizations
The sumerians lost civilizations The books in this series explore the rise and fall of the great civilizations and peoples of the ancient world. Each book considers not only their history but their art, culture and lasting legacy and asks why they remain important and relevant in our world today. Already published: The Aztecs Frances F. Berdan The Barbarians Peter Bogucki Egypt Christina Riggs The Etruscans Lucy Shipley The Goths David M. Gwynn The Greeks Philip Matyszak The Indus Andrew Robinson The Persians Geoffrey Parker and Brenda Parker The Sumerians Paul Collins THE SUMERIANS LOST CIVILIZATIONS paul collins reaktion books To my parents Published by Reaktion Books Ltd Unit 32, Waterside 44–48 Wharf Road London n1 7ux, uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk First published 2021 Copyright © Paul Collins 2021 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library isbn 978 1 78914 415 4 Contents Chronology 7 1 Origins 13 2 The Sumerian Problem 39 3 Invasion, Occupation and Ownership 59 4 The First Cities 93 5 The First Writing 127 6 Back to the Beginning 175 References 185 bibliography 196 Acknowledgements 205 Photo Acknowledgements 206 Index 207 Chronology c. 6000–4000 bc Ubaid period c. 4000–3800 bc Early Uruk period c. 3800–3500 bc Middle Uruk period c. 3500–3100 bc Late Uruk period Proto-cuneiform, probably developed at Uruk c. 3100–2900 bc Jemdet Nasr period Proto-cuneiform adopted in cities across southern Mesopotamia c. 2900–2350 bc Early Dynastic period 2800 bc Archaic tablets from Ur in Sumerian 2500 bc Royal inscriptions and administrative texts in Sumerian; some Akkadian texts c. 2350–2150 bc Agade Empire c. 2150–2100 bc Lagash Dynasty Cylinders of Gudea are longest known texts in Sumerian 7 the sumerians c. 2110–2000 bc Third Dynasty of Ur Sumerian a dying or dead language, the official administrative language of the state; royal title ‘King of Sumer and Akkad’ introduced; literary texts composed, including stories of Bilgames (Gilgamesh) c. 2000–1600 bc Old Babylonian period Sumerian a dead language, school boys copy some Ur iii texts, new literary works created, Sumerian King List copied and expanded c. 1500–1150 bc Kassite Dynasty Ancient temples excavated and rebuilt; Sumerian a literary language 950–610 bc Neo-Assyrian Empire 669–c. 630 bc Ashurbanipal reads Sumerian 610–539 bc Neo-Babylonian Empire 539–331 bc Achaemenid Persian Empire 331–141 bc Seleucid Empire 141 bc–ad 224 Parthian Empire ad 75 Last dated cuneiform inscription 224–641 Sasanian Empire 641–61 Rashidun Caliphate 8 chronology 661–750 Umayyad Caliphate 750–1258 Abbasid Caliphate 1258 Mongol forces capture and sack Baghdad 1401–1508 Black and White sheep Turkmen dominate Mesopotamia 1508–1638 Safavid Persian Empire 1638–1918 Ottoman Empire 1747–1831 Mamluk Dynasty Victorian scientists develop schemes of racial classification that are exploited by some to justify colonization and slavery 1845–1914 Thousands of antiquities shipped to Istanbul, London, Paris, Berlin, Chicago and Philadelphia 1849–90 Sumerian and Akkadian languages identified 1914 British invasion and occupation of Mesopotamia 1920 Iraqi revolt against British Mandate 1921 Kingdom of Iraq established 1922–39 Thousands of antiquities shipped to London, Chicago, Oxford and Philadelphia 1924 Gertrude Bell’s antiquities legislation introduced 9
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