Sumeria: the final parts of the essay

History, archaeology, historiography, peoples, and personalities of ancient Rome and the Mediterranean.

Moderator: Aldus Marius

Sumeria: the final parts of the essay

Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Sat Oct 05, 2002 5:15 pm

Salvete
these are the final parts of the Sumerian essay. Please forgive me for any errors and keep in mind that there are still some 2 or 3 parts that need to be translated.Mesopotamian & Soemerian paintings
Of the actual paintings we do not know a lot about because allot of it went lost with the architecture. But we do know more about the glazing of the region. The one-side brick walls were covered with beautiful glazed relief's, that depicted colored flower rosettes and animal figures. In the Pergamum museum in Berlin is a wall fragment shown for display from the palace of Babylon and one of the 120 lions in the processionstreet can also be found there. It is colorful done against a blue background: hair, tongue and tail are yellow, back and legs are white.
Soemerian clothing:
The clothing is different compared to other cultures. A Sumerian of high rang is usually dressed in a skirt which was made of wool. To drink, they served themselves straws. This was at first so. In the next era they dressed themselves with clothes made of wool fabric. Their clothing was also made of materials like wool or of plants. Men ran around with their chest naked while that the men had a skirt on that was tied to the waste. Women carried some kind of gown. That covered their body from toe to shoulder. Of course the clothes changed with the seasons. Despite of the fact that rich as poor Sumerians wore the same cloths, man and women of higher social positions wore cloths that were made of expensive materials.
Ur and the political center:
Ur is known in the Bible as the city of the Chaldeans who settled there around the year 900 BC. It is also known as the Sumerian City and the city of Abraham, father of all Jews. The ruins are located between the modern city of Baghdad and the head of the Persian Gulf. The city was located about 140 miles south of Babylon. It was the capital of a small, prosperous empire during the 3rd millennia BC. Even though Sumerians are known to found the first cities, it was the Ubaidians who were given credit as the first people who build a settlement. The Sumerians took allot over from them. The art and literature was more advanced than those of the Ubaidians. Of allot he Sumerians cities, Ur was the biggest of them all. The other cities were known as Ukak, Eridu and Kish with whom Ur was constantly in war with. The first king was Mes-Anni-Padda who was succeeded by his son A-Anni-Padda. Being constantly in war with other cities had weakened Ur by which it couldn't defend themselves against the invading Akkadians. Ur was captured. Ur went in some kind of dark ages. This remained so until a new king came to power whose name was Ur-Nammu who successfully created a government that made laws and rules who were to be followed. The time was taken to bring back life into the city and build even prettier temples like the Ziggurat. The worship of the patron deity Nannar, a lunar deity, was promoted. This and the acceleration in irrigation and agriculture put a stop to the first depression of Ur. The third dynasty was attacked by barbarians and conquered. Eventually Ur was conquered by the Babylonians who had to fled the city due toe rising sand which engulfed the city. I will present a list of Pre- Argonic kings who ruled over the cities of Ur, Lagash, Umma and Uruk:
Date Lagash Umma Uruk Ur

2500 En-hegal


Ur-Nanshe
Akurgal


Pabilgaltuk
Ush
Ur-Pabilsag

Meskalamdug
Akalamdug
2450
Eannatum

Enannatum I
Enmetena
Enakale

Urluma



Lugalkiginedudu Mesannepada
A'annepada
Meskiagnuna

Lugalkiginedudu
2400
Enannatum II

Enentarzi



Lugalanda



Gishakidu

U'u

Lugalkisalsi




Urzage

Lugalkisalsi


Elili
2350
Uruinimgina
Lugalzagesi
Enshakushana

The last king of Umman Lugalzagesi united Sumeria for a brief period of 25 years because Sargon of Agade defeated him and started an empire that would be long remembered. Through Sargon became Agade the political center of the region. Here is a list of kings and dates:
- Sargon, ruled 56 years, 2334-2279
- Rimush, ruled 9 years, 2278-2270
- Manishtushu, ruled 15 years, 2269-2255
- Naram-Sin, ruled 37 years, 2254-2218
- Shar-kali-sharri, ruled 25years, 2217-2193
- Now comes a confusing period with different leaders.
- Dudu, ruled 21years, 2189-2169 (with a smaller domain than Shar-kali-sharri)
- Shu-Turul, ruled 15 years, 2168-2154
The Sargonic dynasty would face many dangers but the raids of a mountain people brought it down from the east. It led to a period of political fragmentation in that resulted to the disintegration of the Empire. Through art and literature, shined a short light on Agade that would disappear by the founding of the Ur3 dynasty by which Ur became the political center of the region again. The most noticeable on the Ur3 dynasty is that it turned away of the Akkadian- Semitic language and prefer the ancient Sumerian language and communication.
- Ur-Nammu, ruled 18 jaren, 2112-2095
- Shulgi, ruled 48jaren, 2094-2047
- Amar-Suen, ruled 9jaren, 2046-2038
- Shu-Sin, ruled 9jaren, 2037-2029
- Ibbi-Sin, ruled 25jaren, 2028-2004
Ibbi- Sin would be the last king of the Ur3 dynasty through the constant threat of the Amorites and the eventual invasion by the Elamites would put a stop to the Ur3 dynasty. In the 2nd millennia BC, there would come a change in the political power in Mesopotamia. Isin would battle with other states for control under the leadership of the Amorite king Ishbi-Erra. But the centralization that was accomplished by the Ur-Nammu dynasty would slip through the fingers of Ishbi-Erra and his successors. The kingdom or Larsa with its connections with Elam, would succeed to stop the political ambitions of Isin. The king Rim-Sin of Larsa would start a new era from the beginning of the victory over Isin. Rim-Sins glory lasted few decades before intrigues started to put the several states within the region up against each other. Hammurapi of Babylon stopped this who conquered all his competitors to the rise of power. Through ecological disasters several states in Sumeria were forced to leave and the political centers would move to the north where the Hittites destroyed the dying political power.
Soemerian and Mesopotamian economy:
Through irrigation and a lot of food, came economy and trade into existence and could further develop. Farmers used the surplus of food to require services and other goods. The temple was the chief employer of trade and commercial activity. Ur was also the center of trade and commerce. Trade was able to develop because people had the need for something they didn't have and encounters with other cultures usually led to trade and commerce. In the beginning of civilization, economy was kind of simple and was more about trading stuff. I couldn't find anything more on this subject.
valete optime
Sokarus Aurelius Orcus
Quintus Aurelius Orcus
Rector ColRel
Rogator
Princeps gentis Aureliae
User avatar
Quintus Aurelius Orcus
Senator
Senator
 
Posts: 937
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2002 5:05 pm
Location: Ghent, Belgica

Return to Collegium Historicum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests