Sumer

Sumer was one of the first great civilisations in the world, along with ancient Egypt, Elam, the Caral-Supe civilization, the Indus Valley civilization, the Minoan civilization, and ancient China. Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus from which enabled them to form urban settlements.

The Sumerians themselves referred to their land as *Kengir*, the 'Country of the noble lords' (𒆠𒂗𒄀, *k-en-gi(-r)*, lit. 'country' + 'lords' + 'noble') as seen in their inscriptions. The origin of the Sumerians is not known, but the people of Sumer referred to themselves as "Black Headed Ones" or "Black-Headed People.

Proto-writing dates back before 3000 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, and date to between c. 3500 and c. 3000 BC.. Located in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), by the late fourth millennium BC Sumer (or Ki-en-gir, 'Land of the Sumerian tongue'), was divided into approximately a dozen city states which were independent of one another and which used local canals and boundary stones to mark their borders.

Many early events are found only in the Sumerian king list, which lists the rulers of the Mesopotamian city states, and one which was updated until about two centuries after the fall of Sumer. Ranging from legendary early names (backed in lilac and which may still have a basis in historical fact), to the later fully-historical dynasties which are confirmed by archaeology, the list records many names and lengths of rule (exceptionally long where the legendary rulers are concerned), but omits others. It also lists some contemporaneous dynasties as if they followed each other, suggesting that the kingship which was handed down by the gods could only be passed to another city through military conquest.

There are at least four different translations which sometimes agree and sometimes disagree on the names of rulers and their (legendary) lengths of rule. Here, for kings listed after the flood, List 1 (Samuel Kramer) is primarily used. For the most part, **List 2** (JA Black, et al) and List 4 (LC Gerts) seem to agree with one another, so the latter is omitted here. Where List 2 and **List 3** (Michael) provide a noticeably different translation from List 1, the data is shown here in the respective text colours. List 1 is used exclusively for pre-Flood kings. Some additional data comes from the WB-62 translation of the list.

The Sumerian lugals (or kings, a title which long outlived the Sumerians themselves) exercised power in eleven cities in southern Mesopotamia (according to the Sumerian king list). This amounted to a total of 134 kings (MS P4+Ha has 139), who altogether ruled for 28,876 + X years (MS P4+Ha has 3,443 + X years). While the lengths of rule for the semi-legendary kings are calculated on a scale which makes them appear fanciful, the names themselves probably reflect real rulers.

### Pre-Deluge

The Sumerian city states rise to power during the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods (5300-2900 BC), but the historical record only begins to emerge with the Early Dynastic period from *circa* 2900-2334 BC, although it remains rather thin until the Lagash Dynasty period begins in *circa* 2550 BC.

The early city states of Sumer in order of ascendance are as follows: Eridu, Bad-Tibira, Larak, Sippar, Shuruppak, and Nippur (usually without a kingship of its own). Other ante-diluvian cities exist, but without any known kingships of their own.

### The Dark Times

Following the Great Deluge, the flood that destroyed many of the major cities of Sumer, the Deluge brought a new rivalry between the cities of Sumer which lived previously in harmony. This tested the cities of Sumer for who could recover the fastest in a time of autonomy

### The New Golden Age

After years of distrust between the cities, trade resumed through alliances and the regain of some technologies that had been lost or nearly lost because of the flood. However, these new alliances brought more rivalry than before as the cities started to vie with each other for supremacy. Where though on the surface, each city state is independent, while competing amongst themselves for land and resources and forming various shifting alliances, some are under the control of others.