Sumerians

Sumerians were a presumably non-Semitic? group of nomadic people, who may have come from the East (India or ancient Persia) and settled on Mesopotomia? to establish one of the first major civilization of the world, even before ancient Egyptians. Although their exact arrival date is unknown, they seemed to exist in the area as a minor agricultural and organized civilization as early as the 5th millennium BC. Different than previous city states, their country was the first large state formed by collection and organization of several small cities.

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, though in all historical records it was male-dominated. See Sumerian Mythology.

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