The Sumerians were the people of southern Mesopotamia whose civilization flourished between c. 4100-1750 BCE. Their name comes from the region which is frequently – and incorrectly – referred to as a “country”. Sumer was never a cohesive political entity, however, but a region of city-states each with its own king.
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Definition
Timeline
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6000 BCE - 1750 BCESumerian civilization in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.
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c. 5400 BCEThe City of Eridu is founded.
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c. 5000 BCESumer inhabited by Ubaid people.
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c. 5000 BCE - 4100 BCEThe Ubaid Period in Sumer.
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c. 5000 BCEEvidence of burial in Sumer.
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c. 4500 BCEThe City of Uruk founded.
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c. 4500 BCEThe Sumerians built their first temple.
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4100 BCE - 2900 BCEUruk Period in Sumer.
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c. 3600 BCEInvention of writing in Sumer at Uruk.
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c. 3200 BCEFirst instance of written language in Sumerian.
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2900 BCE - 2334 BCEThe Early Dynastic Period in Sumer.
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c. 2500 BCEBeginning of literature in Sumerian.
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2350 BCEFirst code of laws by Urukagina, king of Lagash.
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c. 2150 BCE - c. 1400 BCEThe tales of Gilgamesh written which inform The Epic of Gilgamesh
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2047 BCE - 1750 BCEThe Ur III Period in Sumer, known as the Sumerian Renaissance.
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2047 BCE - 1750 BCEThe Ur III Period in Sumer. Great Wall of Uruk still standing.
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c. 1772 BCEThe Code of Hammurabi: One of the earliest codes of law in the world.
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1750 BCEElamite invasion and Amorite migration ends the Sumerian civilization.
