The Sumerians are also credited with inventing the cuneiform? writing system. Some of their major cities were Kish, Uruk and Ur. As the local Semitic tribes (Akkadians, Amorities and Elamites) grew in strength, the Sumerians began to loose their political hegemony over most parts of Mesopotamia and after a major blow from the Babylonians, they completely disappeared about the 2nd millennium BC.
The Sumerian religion has also been carefully studied and is thought to be the basis or source of inspiration for many religions since. The Sumerians believed in a polytheistic matriarchical cosmology, even though all historical records indicate that their society was male-dominated. See Sumerian Mythology.
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