The Pros And Cons Of The Sumerians

The Sumerians began to settle and farm the flat lands in southern Mesopotamia around 3300 BC. The region’s curved shape and the richness of its land lead it to be called The Fertile Crescent. The Tigris and Euphrates river and held in Mesopotamia, the flow southeastward to the Persian Gulf. The advantage that attracted the Sumerians was the good soil, but there were definitely some disadvantages to the new environment as well. Unpredictable flooding was an issue, considering that the Tigris and Euphrates river were near the area. There were also little to no rain at all, in fact the land sometimes almost became a desert. The Sumerian village was basically defenseless because they had no natural barriers for protection. The natural resources of Sumer were very limited, even building materials and other items were very little.

The government had to set laws to help resolve the issues. The Sumerians had built a number of cities and each had their own governments and rulers. Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by the temple priest. Priest demanded the farmer’s crops as taxes. However, in time of war, the priests did not lead the city. Commanders were put in charge to lead the military. As time went on, the priest allowed the commanders permanent control of the armies. Sumerians invented the wheel, the sail, the plow, and were the first to use bronze. Arithmetic and Geometry also played a very large part of Sumerian science. They developed a number base to measure time. They used Geometry and Arithmetic to build and plan irrigation systems. Arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid shaped the layout of the ziggurat and influenced the Mesopotamian civilization. The Sumerians also created a system of writing, which was called