Sumer — The First Civilization

Where it all began — the first cities, the first writing, the first epic. The oldest chapter in the human story.

Origin

In the marshes of southern Mesopotamia, Sumer became the oldest civilization known to humankind — the place where history itself begins. Here, more than five thousand years ago, people built the world's first cities — Uruk, Ur, Eridu — and invented writing, the wheel, the plow, the school, and the written law. Everything that follows in the human story begins on Sumer's clay.

The Heroes

• Gilgamesh — king of Uruk and hero of the world's first great epic.
• Enheduanna — high priestess of Ur and the first author in history known by name.
• Ur-Nammu — king of Ur, who issued one of the earliest law codes ever found.
• Sargon of Akkad — who forged the world's first empire from the cities of Sumer.

Symbols of the Lineage

Cuneiform pressed into clay — the first writing on earth. The ziggurat, the stepped temple-mountain. The eight-pointed star of Inanna. The reed of the marshes, and the golden treasures of the royal tombs of Ur.

Beliefs & Worldview

The Sumerians honored a great pantheon — An of the sky, Enlil the king of the gods, Enki of wisdom and the sweet waters, and Inanna of love and war. The gods dwelt in the temples atop the ziggurats, and the people believed themselves made to serve them. Their flood myth, written on clay, would echo down into scripture itself.

Timeline — Major Events

• c. 4500 BCE — The first cities of Sumer rise.
• c. 3200 BCE — The invention of cuneiform writing.
• The age of the city-states — Uruk, Ur, Lagash, and Eridu.
• c. 2334 BCE — Sargon of Akkad builds the first empire.
• c. 2100 BCE — The Third Dynasty of Ur and the code of Ur-Nammu.

Cultural Artifacts

The earliest cuneiform tablets ever written. The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Standard of Ur and the golden Lyre of Ur from the royal tombs. The Great Ziggurat of Ur, still standing in the desert. The Sumerian King List.

The Living Lineage

Every word ever written descends from Sumer's cuneiform. The city, the wheel, the school, the written law — the very foundations of civilization are theirs. To claim Sumerian heritage is to claim the very first page of the human story.

Recommended Reading

The Epic of Gilgamesh; Samuel Noah Kramer, History Begins at Sumer.

The First Civilization

The people who began the human story deserve an heirloom worthy of it. Each piece in the Sumerian Collection renders cuneiform, the ziggurat, and the star of Inanna in black and gold — the dawn of civilization, fixed for the wall. Explore the collection →