Sumeria established the basic definition of civilization. Its society was based upon economic surplus and was able to support priests, government officials, merchants, and artisans. The spreading irrigation systems made regional coordination vital. A clearly defined government developed. Most individuals lived in the countryside. In the emerging cities, residents amassed wealth and power; they exchanged ideas encouraging technological innovation and artistic development; they promoted specialization in trade and manufacture. The government defined state boundaries, regulated and enforced religious duties, and provided court systems for justice.
Kings were responsible for defense and warfare, and, along with priests, controlled land worked by slaves. Political stability and the use of writing allowed urban growth, and agricultural, commercial, and technological development.
The Sumerians also introduced writing to meet the needs of recording religious, commercial, and political matters. Their system of writing, called cuneiform, evolved from pictures baked on clay tablets which eventually became phonetic elements. Its complexity confined its use mostly to specialized scribes. Writing helped to produce a more elaborate culture. The world’s oldest story, the Gilgamesh epic, portrayed a hero constantly defeated by the gods. In art, statues and painted frescoes adorned temples and private homes. The Sumerians created patterns of observation and abstract thought, such as the science of astronomy and a numeric system based on units of 12, 60, and 360, still useful to many societies. Their religion, based upon a pantheon of anthropomorphic gods intervening arbitrarily in human affairs, was accompanied by fear and gloom among believers. Each city had a patron god. Priests were important because of their role in placating gods and in making astronomical calculations vital to the running of irrigation systems. Many Sumerian religious ideas influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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