Sumer, the Glossary
Sumer is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC.[1]
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419 relations: Abacus, Abzu, Adab (city), Adhesive, Afghanistan, African humid period, Afroasiatic languages, Afterlife, Agglutinative language, Agriculture, Aide-mémoire, Akitu, Akkad (city), Akkadian Empire, Akkadian language, Akshak, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Alabaster, Alcove (architecture), Alulim, Amorites, Anal sex, Analytic language, Anatolia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Ancient Mesopotamian underworld, Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement, Ancient Near East, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Anu, Arch, Archaeological record, Archery, Archibald Sayce, Arithmetic, Armour, Arrow, Assyria, Astrology, Awan dynasty, Axe, Babylon Governorate, Babylonia, Babylonian cuneiform numerals, Bad-tibira, Badakhshan, Baghdad, Bahrain, Barley, ... Expand index (369 more) »
- 6th-millennium BC establishments
- Archaeology of Iraq
- Bronze Age civilizations
- Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC
- States and territories disestablished in the 20th century BC
- States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC
- States and territories established in the 4th millennium BC
Abacus
An abacus (abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a hand-operated calculating tool which was used from ancient times in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, until the adoption of the Arabic numeral system.
See Sumer and Abacus
Abzu
The Abzu or Apsu (Sumerian: 𒀊𒍪; Akkadian: 𒀊𒍪), also called (Cuneiform:,; Sumerian:; Akkadian: —.
See Sumer and Abzu
Adab (city)
Adab or Udab (Sumerian: Adabki, spelled UD.NUNKI) was an ancient Sumerian city between Girsu and Nippur.
Adhesive
Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia.
African humid period
The African humid period (AHP; also known by other names) is a climate period in Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic epochs, when northern Africa was wetter than today.
See Sumer and African humid period
Afroasiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic, sometimes Afrasian), also known as Hamito-Semitic or Semito-Hamitic, are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahara and Sahel.
See Sumer and Afroasiatic languages
Afterlife
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body.
Agglutinative language
An agglutinative language is a type of synthetic language with morphology that primarily uses agglutination.
See Sumer and Agglutinative language
Agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry for food and non-food products.
Aide-mémoire
Aide-mémoire ("memory aid") is a French loanword meaning "a memory-aid; a reminder or memorandum, especially a book or document serving this purpose".
Akitu
Akitu or Akitum (𒋾 |translit.
See Sumer and Akitu
Akkad (city)
Akkad (also spelt Accad, Akkade, or Agade, Akkadian:, also URIKI in Sumerian during the Ur III period) was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force in Mesopotamia during a period of about 150 years in the last third of the 3rd millennium BC. Sumer and Akkad (city) are Levant.
Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire was the first known ancient empire of Mesopotamia, succeeding the long-lived civilization of Sumer. Sumer and Akkadian Empire are archaeology of Iraq and states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Akkadian language
Akkadian (translit)John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages.
See Sumer and Akkadian language
Akshak
Akshak (Sumerian:, akšak) (pre-Sargonic - u4kúsu.KI, Ur III - akúsu.KI, Phonetic - ak-su-wa-ak) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated on the northern boundary of Akkad, sometimes identified with Babylonian Upi (Greek Opis).
See Sumer and Akshak
Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate
Al-Qadisiyah Governorate (القادسية), also known as the Al-Diwaniyah Governorate (ٱلدِّيوَانِيَّة), is one of the governorates of Iraq.
See Sumer and Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate
Alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder.
Alcove (architecture)
In architecture, an alcove is a small recessed section of a room or an arched opening (as in a wall).
See Sumer and Alcove (architecture)
Alulim
Alulim (Álulim; transliterated) was a mythological Mesopotamian ruler, regarded as the first king ever to rule.
See Sumer and Alulim
Amorites
The Amorites (author-link, Pl. XXVIII e+i|MAR.TU; Amurrūm or Tidnum Tidnum; ʾĔmōrī; Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Sumer and Amorites are archaeology of Iraq and states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Anal sex
Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.
Analytic language
An analytic language is a type of natural language in which a series of root/stem words is accompanied by prepositions, postpositions, particles and modifiers, using affixes very rarely.
See Sumer and Analytic language
Anatolia
Anatolia (Anadolu), also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula or a region in Turkey, constituting most of its contemporary territory.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa. Sumer and ancient Egypt are Bronze Age civilizations.
Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs (concerning the gods, creation and the cosmos, the origin of man, and so forth) and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD.
See Sumer and Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Ancient Mesopotamian underworld
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian as Kur, Irkalla, Kukku, Arali, or Kigal, and in Akkadian as Erṣetu), was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region known as Tartarus from early Greek cosmology.
See Sumer and Ancient Mesopotamian underworld
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer.
See Sumer and Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran, and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Persia (Elam, Media, Parthia, and Persis), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, Armenia, northwestern Iran, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan), the Levant (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus) and the Arabian Peninsula. Sumer and ancient Near East are Levant.
See Sumer and Ancient Near East
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
See Sumer and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Anu
Anu (𒀭𒀭, from 𒀭 an "Sky", "Heaven") or Anum, originally An (𒀭), was the divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion.
See Sumer and Anu
Arch
An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it.
See Sumer and Arch
Archaeological record
The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past.
See Sumer and Archaeological record
Archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.
Archibald Sayce
Archibald Henry Sayce (25 September 18454 February 1933) was a pioneer British Assyriologist and linguist, who held a chair as Professor of Assyriology at the University of Oxford from 1891 to 1919.
Arithmetic
Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that studies numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Armour
Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity (e.g.
See Sumer and Armour
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow.
See Sumer and Arrow
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: x16px, māt Aššur) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC, which eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC to the 7th century BC. Sumer and Assyria are archaeology of Iraq, Bronze Age civilizations and states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects.
Awan dynasty
The Awan Dynasty (Sumerian: lugal-e-ne a-wa-anki, "Kings of Awan") was the first dynasty of Elam of which very little of anything is known today, appearing at the dawn of historical record.
Axe
An axe (sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split, and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol.
See Sumer and Axe
Babylon Governorate
Babylon Governorate or Babil Province (محافظة بابل Muḥāfaẓa Bābil) is a governorate in central Iraq.
See Sumer and Babylon Governorate
Babylonia
Babylonia (𒆳𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠) was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria and Iran). Sumer and Babylonia are archaeology of Iraq and Bronze Age civilizations.
Babylonian cuneiform numerals
Babylonian cuneiform numerals, also used in Assyria and Chaldea, were written in cuneiform, using a wedge-tipped reed stylus to print a mark on a soft clay tablet which would be exposed in the sun to harden to create a permanent record.
See Sumer and Babylonian cuneiform numerals
Bad-tibira
Bad-tibira (Sumerian:, bad3-tibiraki), "Wall of the Copper Worker(s)", or "Fortress of the Smiths", identified as modern Tell al-Madineh (also Tell Madineh), between Ash Shatrah and Tell as-Senkereh (ancient Larsa) and 33 kilometers northeast of ancient Girsu in southern Iraq, was an ancient Sumerian city on the Iturungal canal (built by Ur III ruler Ur-Nammu), which appears among antediluvian cities in the Sumerian King List.
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China.
Baghdad
Baghdad (or; translit) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab and in West Asia after Tehran.
Bahrain
Bahrain (Two Seas, locally), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia.
Barley
Barley (Hordeum vulgare), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally.
See Sumer and Barley
Basket
A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane.
See Sumer and Basket
Basra Governorate
Basra Governorate (محافظة البصرة), also called Basra Province, is a governorate in southern Iraq in the region of Arabian Peninsula, bordering Kuwait to the south and Iran to the east.
See Sumer and Basra Governorate
Beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used.
See Sumer and Beer
Birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Bit (horse)
The bit is an item of a horse's tack.
Bitumen
Bitumen is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum.
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear.
See Sumer and Boot
Borsippa
Borsippa (Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI; Akkadian: Barsip and Til-Barsip): Vol.
Bow drill
A bow drill is a simple hand-operated type of tool, consisting of a rod (the spindle or drill shaft) that is set in rapid rotary motion by means of a cord wrapped around it, kept taut by a bow which is pushed back and forth with one hand.
A brace is a hand tool used with a bit (drill bit or auger) to drill holes, usually in wood.
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London.
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids, such as arsenic or silicon.
See Sumer and Bronze
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was a historical period lasting from approximately 3300 to 1200 BC.
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall.
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
Canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi).
See Sumer and Canal
Caral–Supe civilization
Caral–Supe (also known as Caral and Norte Chico) was a complex Pre-Columbian era society that included as many as thirty major population centers in what is now the Caral region of north-central coastal Peru.
See Sumer and Caral–Supe civilization
Carnelian
Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone.
Cattle
Cattle (Bos taurus) are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Mature female cattle are called cows and mature male cattle are bulls. Young female cattle are called heifers, young male cattle are oxen or bullocks, and castrated male cattle are known as steers.
See Sumer and Cattle
Caucasus
The Caucasus or Caucasia, is a transcontinental region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia.
Cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word cavalerie, itself derived from cheval meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback.
Cedar oil
Cedar oil, also known as cedarwood oil, is an essential oil derived from various types of conifers, most in the pine or cypress botanical families.
Cedrus libani
Cedrus libani, the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar, is a species of tree in the genus Cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin.
Cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together.
See Sumer and Cement
Cereal
A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain.
See Sumer and Cereal
Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper.
Channel (geography)
In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait.
See Sumer and Channel (geography)
Chariot
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power.
Chickpea
The chickpea or chick pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae.
Chisel
A chisel is a wedged hand tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade, for carving or cutting a hard material (e.g. wood, stone, or metal).
See Sumer and Chisel
Choga Mami
Choga Mami is a Samarran settlement site in Diyala province in Eastern Iraq in the Mandali region. Sumer and Choga Mami are Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC.
Chronology of the ancient Near East
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties.
See Sumer and Chronology of the ancient Near East
City-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory.
Civilization
A civilization (civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languages (namely, writing systems and graphic arts).
Classical planet
A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to the planets).
See Sumer and Classical planet
Clay nail
Used by Sumerians and other Mesopotamian cultures beginning in the third millennium BC, clay nails, also referred to as dedication or foundation pegs, cones, or nails, were cone-shaped nails made of clay, inscribed with cuneiform, baked, and stuck into the mudbrick walls to serve as evidence that the temple or building was the divine property of the god to whom it was dedicated.
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian 𒁾) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age.
Code of Ur-Nammu
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known law code surviving today.
See Sumer and Code of Ur-Nammu
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below.
See Sumer and Column
Copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu and atomic number 29.
See Sumer and Copper
Corvée
Corvée is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year.
See Sumer and Corvée
Cosmogony
Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe.
Cradle of civilization
A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was developed independent of other civilizations in other locations.
See Sumer and Cradle of civilization
Cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East.
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) is an international digital library project aimed at putting text and images of an estimated 500,000 recovered cuneiform tablets created from between roughly 3350 BC and the end of the pre-Christian era online.
See Sumer and Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
Cylinder seal
A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay.
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon.
See Sumer and Dagger
Date palm
Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates.
Death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism.
See Sumer and Death
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors.
Deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over the universe, nature or human life.
See Sumer and Deity
Der (Sumer)
Der (Sumerian: 𒌷𒂦𒀭𒆠 uruBAD3.ANki; Akkadian: 𒌷𒂦𒀭𒆠 uruBAD3.ANki or urude-e-ru(ki)) was a Sumerian city-state at the site of modern Tell Aqar near al-Badra in Iraq's Wasit Governorate.
Dhi Qar Governorate
Dhi Qar Governorate (translit) is a governorate in southern Iraq, in the Arabian Peninsula.
See Sumer and Dhi Qar Governorate
Dilbat
Dilbat (modern Tell ed-Duleim or Tell al-Deylam) was an ancient Near Eastern city located 25 kilometers south of Babylon on the eastern bank of the Western Euphrates in modern-day Babil Governorate, Iraq.
See Sumer and Dilbat
Dilmun
Dilmun, or Telmun, (Sumerian:,Transliteration: Similar text: later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), NI.TUKki.
See Sumer and Dilmun
Diorite
Diorite is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals.
Divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action.
See Sumer and Divine retribution
Division (mathematics)
Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic.
See Sumer and Division (mathematics)
Division of labour
The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (specialisation).
See Sumer and Division of labour
Diyala Governorate
Diyala Governorate (محافظة ديالى) or Diyala Province is a governorate in northeastern Iraq.
See Sumer and Diyala Governorate
Dome
A dome is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere.
See Sumer and Dome
Donkey
The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine.
See Sumer and Donkey
Dumuzid
Dumuzid or Dumuzi or Tammuz (𒌉𒍣|Dumuzid; italic; Tammūz), known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd (𒌉𒍣𒉺𒇻|Dumuzid sipad) and to the Canaanites as '''Adon''' (Proto-Hebrew: 𐤀𐤃𐤍), is an ancient Mesopotamian and Levantine deity associated with agriculture and shepherds, who was also the first and primary consort of the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar).
Dynasty of Isin
The Dynasty of Isin refers to the final ruling dynasty listed on the Sumerian King List (SKL).
Eannatum
Eannatum (𒂍𒀭𒈾𒁺) was a Sumerian Ensi (ruler or king) of Lagash circa 2500–2400 BCE.
Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)
The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. Sumer and Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) are archaeology of Iraq.
See Sumer and Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)
East Semitic languages
The East Semitic languages are one of three divisions of the Semitic languages.
See Sumer and East Semitic languages
Eastern Arabia
Eastern Arabia, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province), and the United Arab Emirates.
Egypt
Egypt (مصر), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and the Sinai Peninsula in the southwest corner of Asia.
See Sumer and Egypt
Egypt–Mesopotamia relations
Egypt–Mesopotamia relations were the relations between the civilizations of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the Middle East.
See Sumer and Egypt–Mesopotamia relations
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language.
See Sumer and Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian language
The Egyptian language, or Ancient Egyptian, is an extinct branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages that was spoken in ancient Egypt.
See Sumer and Egyptian language
Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt.
See Sumer and Egyptian pyramids
Elam
Elam (Linear Elamite: hatamti; Cuneiform Elamite:; Sumerian:; Akkadian:; עֵילָם ʿēlām; 𐎢𐎺𐎩 hūja) was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. Sumer and Elam are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
See Sumer and Elam
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL) is an online digital library of texts and translations of Sumerian literature that was created by a now-completed project based at the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford.
See Sumer and Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
En-men-dur-ana
En-men-dur-ana (also Emmeduranki) of Zimbir (the city now known as Sippar) was an ancient Sumerian king, whose name appears in the Sumerian King List as the seventh pre-dynastic king of Sumer.
En-sipad-zid-ana
En-sipad-zid-ana appears as the second king of Larak in some versions of the Sumerian King List (SKL).
See Sumer and En-sipad-zid-ana
Enūma Eliš
(Akkadian Cuneiform:, also spelled "Enuma Elish"), meaning "When on High", is a Babylonian creation myth (named after its opening words) from the late 2nd millennium BCE and the only complete surviving account of ancient near eastern cosmology.
Enki
Enki (𒀭𒂗𒆠) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), crafts (gašam), and creation (nudimmud), and one of the Anunnaki.
See Sumer and Enki
Enkidu
Enkidu (𒂗𒆠𒄭 EN.KI.DU10) was a legendary figure in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, wartime comrade and friend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk.
See Sumer and Enkidu
Enlil
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms.
See Sumer and Enlil
Enmebaragesi
Enmebaragesi (Sumerian: Enmebárgisi) originally Mebarasi was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the Sumerian King List.
Ensi (Sumerian)
Ensi (cuneiform:, "lord of the plowland"; Emesal dialect: umunsik; italic) was a Sumerian title designating the ruler or prince of a city-state.
Entemena
Entemena, also called Enmetena (𒂗𒋼𒈨𒈾), lived circa 2400 BC, was a son of En-anna-tum I, and he reestablished Lagash as a power in Sumer.
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic from ancient Mesopotamia.
See Sumer and Epic of Gilgamesh
Equidae
Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils.
Ereshkigal
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆠𒃲, lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology.
Eridu
Eridu (𒆠|translit. Sumer and Eridu are Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC.
See Sumer and Eridu
Erligang culture
The Erligang culture is a Bronze Age urban civilization and archaeological culture in China that existed from approximately 1600 to 1400 BC.
See Sumer and Erligang culture
Eshnunna
Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Sumer and Eshnunna are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Etana
Etana (E.TA.NA) was the thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian King List.
See Sumer and Etana
Euphrates
The Euphrates (see below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Sumer and Euphrates are Levant.
Existence
Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing.
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (formerly the Faculty of Oriental Studies), is a subdivision of the University of Oxford.
See Sumer and Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent (الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran.
See Sumer and Fertile Crescent
First Dynasty of Ur
The First Dynasty of Ur was a 26th-25th century BCE dynasty of rulers of the city of Ur in ancient Sumer.
See Sumer and First Dynasty of Ur
First Sealand dynasty
The First Sealand dynasty (URU.KÙKIWhere ŠEŠ-ḪA of King List A and ŠEŠ-KÙ-KI of King List B are read as URU.KÙ.KI), or the 2nd Dynasty of Babylon (although it was independent of Amorite-ruled Babylon), very speculatively c. 1732–1460 BC (short chronology), is an enigmatic series of kings attested to primarily in laconic references in the king lists A and B, and as contemporaries recorded on the Assyrian Synchronistic king list A.117.
See Sumer and First Sealand dynasty
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish.
Fowl
Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes).
See Sumer and Fowl
Garlic
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus Allium.
See Sumer and Garlic
Gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus Gazella.
Geometry
Geometry is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures.
Gerzeh culture
The Gerzeh culture, also called Naqada II, refers to the archaeological stage at Gerzeh (also Girza or Jirzah), a prehistoric Egyptian cemetery located along the west bank of the Nile.
Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions
There are many references to ghosts in ancient Mesopotamian religion – the religions of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and other early states in Mesopotamia.
See Sumer and Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦|translit.
Girsu
Girsu (Sumerian Ĝirsu; cuneiform 𒄈𒋢𒆠) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of what is now Tell Telloh in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.
See Sumer and Girsu
Goat
The goat or domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a species of domesticated goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock.
See Sumer and Goat
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has symbol Au (from the Latin word aurum) and atomic number 79.
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Granary
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed.
Gudea
Gudea (Sumerian:, Gu3-de2-a) was a ruler (ensi) of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled –2060 BC (short chronology) or 2144–2124 BC (middle chronology).
See Sumer and Gudea
Guillermo Algaze
Guillermo Algaze (born November 24, 1954) is a Cuban-born American anthropologist and recipient of a 2003 MacArthur Award, Algaze is a former chair of the anthropology department at University of California, San Diego, and project director of the Titris Hoyuk excavation in southern Turkey.
See Sumer and Guillermo Algaze
Gutian rule in Mesopotamia
The Gutian dynasty (Sumerian:, gu-ti-umKI) was a line of kings, originating among the Gutian people. Sumer and Gutian rule in Mesopotamia are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
See Sumer and Gutian rule in Mesopotamia
Hamazi
Hamazi or Khamazi (Sumerian:, ha-ma-ziki, or Ḫa-ma-zi2ki) was an ancient kingdom or city-state which became prominent during the Early Dynastic period.
See Sumer and Hamazi
Hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object.
See Sumer and Hammer
Hammurabi
Hammurabi (𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉|translit.
Hand axe
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history.
Haplogroup E-M215
E-M215 or E1b1b, formerly known as E3b, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup.
See Sumer and Haplogroup E-M215
Harappa
Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal.
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows and whales.
Harriet Crawford
Harriet Elizabeth Walston Crawford, Lady Swinnerton-Dyer (born 1937) is a British archaeologist.
See Sumer and Harriet Crawford
In agriculture, a harrow is a farm implement used for surface tillage.
Hegemony
Hegemony is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global.
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head.
See Sumer and Helmet
Hieros gamos
Hieros gamos, hieros (ἱερός) meaning "holy" or "sacred" and gamos (γάμος) meaning "marriage," or Hierogamy (Greek: ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία "holy marriage"), is a sacred marriage that plays out between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.
History of institutions in Mesopotamia
The history of institutions in Mesopotamia concerns the origin and evolution of institutions (economic, social or political) in the Mesopotamian civilization.
See Sumer and History of institutions in Mesopotamia
History of Iraq
Iraq is a country in West Asia that largely corresponds with the territory of ancient Mesopotamia.
History of writing
The history of writing traces the development of writing systems and how their use transformed and was transformed by different societies.
See Sumer and History of writing
Hittite language
Hittite (𒌷𒉌𒅆𒇷|translit.
See Sumer and Hittite language
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural and horticultural hand tool used to shape soil, remove weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops.
Holocene climatic optimum
The Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO) was a warm period in the first half of the Holocene epoch, that occurred in the interval roughly 9,500 to 5,500 years BP, with a thermal maximum around 8000 years BP.
See Sumer and Holocene climatic optimum
Horse harness
A horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a horse-drawn vehicle or another type of load to pull.
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein a monarch's servants are killed in order for them to continue to serve their master in the next life.
Hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals.
Hurrians
The Hurrians (Ḫu-ur-ri; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. Sumer and Hurrians are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Ibbi-Sin
Ibbi-Sin (𒀭𒄿𒉈𒀭𒂗𒍪), son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned c. 2028–2004 BCE (Middle chronology) or possibly c. 1964–1940 BCE (Short chronology).
Ideogram
An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek 'idea' + 'to write') is a symbol that represents an idea or concept independent of any particular language.
Imports to Ur
Imports to Ur reflect the cultural and trade connections of the Sumerian city of Ur.
Inanna
Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility.
See Sumer and Inanna
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent.
See Sumer and Indo-European languages
Indus River
The Indus is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia.
Indus script
The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script and the Indus Valley Script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Indus Valley Civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Sumer and Indus Valley Civilisation are Bronze Age civilizations and states and territories established in the 4th millennium BC.
See Sumer and Indus Valley Civilisation
Indus–Mesopotamia relations
Indus–Mesopotamia relations are thought to have developed during the second half of 3rd millennium BCE, until they came to a halt with the extinction of the Indus valley civilization after around 1900 BCE.
See Sumer and Indus–Mesopotamia relations
Infantry
Infantry is a specialization of military personnel who engage in warfare combat.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996.
See Sumer and Institute of Museum and Library Services
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Turkey to the northwest and Iraq to the west, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea, and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south.
See Sumer and Iran
Iranian Plateau
The Iranian Plateau or Persian Plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian Plate, and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate. The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Köpet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Indian subcontinent to the east.
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia and a core country in the geopolitical region known as the Middle East.
See Sumer and Iraq
Iron
Iron is a chemical element.
See Sumer and Iron
Irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns.
Isin
Isin (modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq which was the location of the Ancient Near East city of Isin, occupied from the late 4th millennium Uruk period up until at least the late 1st millennium BC Neo-Babylonian period.
See Sumer and Isin
Isin-Larsa period
The Isin-Larsa period (–1763 BCE, Middle Chronology, or 1961–1699 BCE, Short Chronology) is a phase in the history of ancient Mesopotamia, which extends between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the conquest of Mesopotamia by King Hammurabi of Babylon leading to the creation of the First Babylonian dynasty. Sumer and Isin-Larsa period are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
See Sumer and Isin-Larsa period
Ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks.
See Sumer and Ivory
Jemdet Nasr
Jemdet Nasr (جمدة نصر) (also Jamdat Nasr) is a tell or settlement mound in Babil Governorate (Iraq) that is best known as the eponymous type site for the Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900 BC), and was one of the oldest Sumerian cities.
Jemdet Nasr period
The Jemdet Nasr Period is an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
See Sumer and Jemdet Nasr period
Jewellery
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks.
Jiahu
Jiahu was the site of a Neolithic settlement based in the central plain of ancient China, near the Yellow River.
See Sumer and Jiahu
Juris Zarins
Juris Zarins (Zariņš) (February 17, 1945 – July 8, 2023) was a German-born American archaeologist and professor at Missouri State University, who specialized in the Middle East.
Ki (goddess)
Ki (Sumerian) was the earth goddess in Sumerian religion, chief consort of the sky god An.
Kish (Sumer)
Kish (Kiš;; cuneiform: 𒆧𒆠; Kiššatu, near modern Tell al-Uhaymir) is an important archaeological site in Babil Governorate (Iraq), located south of Baghdad and east of the ancient city of Babylon. Sumer and Kish (Sumer) are Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC.
Kisurra
Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian tell (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish.
Knife
A knife (knives; from Old Norse knifr 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt.
See Sumer and Knife
Kutha
Kutha, Cuthah, Cuth or Cutha (كُوثَا, Sumerian: Gû.du8.aki, Akkadian: Kûtu), modern Tell Ibrahim (also Tell Habl Ibrahlm) (تَلّ إِبْرَاهِيم), is an archaeological site in Babil Governorate, Iraq.
See Sumer and Kutha
Lagash
Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: Lagaš) was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq.
See Sumer and Lagash
Lahm
Lahm is a surname.
See Sumer and Lahm
Lance
The English term lance is derived, via Middle English launce and Old French lance, from the Latin lancea, a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infantry and cavalry, with English initially keeping these generic meanings.
See Sumer and Lance
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language or parental language, called the proto-language of that family.
Language isolate
A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages.
See Sumer and Language isolate
Lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
Larak (Sumer)
Larak (or Larag, Sumerian:, LA-RA-AKKI also written UD.UD.AKKI) was a city in Sumer (modern Iraq) that appears in some versions of the Sumerian King List as the third of five cities to exercise kingship in the antediluvian era.
Larsa
Larsa (𒌓𒀕𒆠|translit.
See Sumer and Larsa
Last Glacial Period
The Last Glacial Period (LGP), also known as the Last glacial cycle, occurred from the end of the Last Interglacial to the beginning of the Holocene, years ago, and thus corresponds to most of the timespan of the Late Pleistocene.
See Sumer and Last Glacial Period
Latin
Latin (lingua Latina,, or Latinum) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages.
See Sumer and Latin
Leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay.
Leather crafting
Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both.
See Sumer and Leather crafting
Lebanon
Lebanon (Lubnān), officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Sumer and Lebanon are Levant.
Leek
A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek (syn. Allium porrum).
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Lentil
The lentil (Vicia lens or Lens culinaris) is an edible legume.
See Sumer and Lentil
Leonard Woolley
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia.
Lettuce
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae.
Levee
A levee, dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure used to keep the course of rivers from changing and to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river or coast.
See Sumer and Levee
Lexical lists
The cuneiform lexical lists are a series of ancient Mesopotamian glossaries which preserve the semantics of Sumerograms, their phonetic value and their Akkadian or other language equivalents.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
List of kings of Akkad
The king of Akkad (Akkadian) was the ruler of the city of Akkad and its empire, in ancient Mesopotamia.
See Sumer and List of kings of Akkad
List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited as a city.
See Sumer and List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
Literal translation
Literal translation, direct translation, or word-for-word translation is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence.
See Sumer and Literal translation
Literary language
Literary language is the form (register) of a language used when writing in a formal, academic, or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as formal language.
See Sumer and Literary language
Logogram
In a written language, a logogram (from Ancient Greek 'word', and 'that which is drawn or written'), also logograph or lexigraph, is a written character that represents a semantic component of a language, such as a word or morpheme.
Louvre
The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world.
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Lugal
(Sumerian) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler".
See Sumer and Lugal
Lugal-zage-si
Lugal-Zage-Si (LUGAL.ZAG.GE.SI; frequently spelled Lugalzaggesi, sometimes Lugalzagesi or "Lugal-Zaggisi") of Umma (reigned 2358 – 2334 BCE middle chronology) was the last Sumerian king before the conquest of Sumer by Sargon of Akkad and the rise of the Akkadian Empire, and was considered as the only king of the third dynasty of Uruk, according to the Sumerian King List.
Lugalbanda
Lugalbanda was a deified Sumerian king of Uruk who, according to various sources of Mesopotamian literature, was the father of Gilgamesh.
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, incorporating lunar calendars and solar calendars.
See Sumer and Lunisolar calendar
Lyres of Ur
The Lyres of Ur or Harps of Ur is a group of four string instruments excavated in a fragmentary condition at the Royal Cemetery at Ur in modern Iraq from 1922 onwards.
Magan (civilization)
Magan (also Majan) was an ancient region in what is now modern day Oman and United Arab Emirates.
See Sumer and Magan (civilization)
Marad
Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum (also Wana-Sedoum), Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city.
See Sumer and Marad
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2)) that have crystallized under the influence of heat and pressure.
See Sumer and Marble
March equinox
The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth.
Mari, Syria
Mari (Cuneiform:, ma-riki, modern Tell Hariri; تل حريري) was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Sumer and Mari, Syria are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs (عرب الأهوار ʻArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as Ahwaris, the Maʻdān (معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog (label "those from the east")—the latter two often considered derogatory in the present day—are Arab inhabitants of the Mesopotamian marshlands in the modern-day south Iraq, as well as in the Hawizeh Marshes straddling the Iraq-Iran border.
Masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar.
Masturbation
Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person sexually stimulates their own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm.
Mattock
A mattock is a hand tool used for digging, prying, and chopping.
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes.
See Sumer and Max Planck Society
Maykop culture
The Maykop culture (scientific transliteration: Majkop), c. 3700 BC–3000 BC, is a major Bronze Age archaeological culture in the western Caucasus region.
Me (mythology)
In Sumerian mythology, a me (Sumerian: me; paršu) is one of the decrees of the divine that is foundational to Sumerian religious and social institutions, technologies, behaviors, mores, and human conditions that made Mesopotamian civilization possible.
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, on the east by the Levant in West Asia, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border.
See Sumer and Mediterranean Sea
Meluhha
or (𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠) is the Sumerian name of a prominent trading partner of Sumer during the Middle Bronze Age.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent.
Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies the area of present-day Iraq.
See Sumer and Mesopotamian mythology
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures.
Metrology
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City.
See Sumer and Metropolitan Museum of Art
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period (also spelt mediaeval or mediæval) lasted from approximately 500 to 1500 AD.
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English Translations of this term in some of the region's major languages include: translit; translit; translit; script; translit; اوْرتاشرق; Orta Doğu.) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
Miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour.
See Sumer and Miller
Mina (unit)
The mina (manû; mn; mənēʾ; māneh; manyāʾ; mnā; mina) is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight for silver or gold, equivalent to approximately, which was divided into 60 shekels.
Mixed radix
Mixed radix numeral systems are non-standard positional numeral systems in which the numerical base varies from position to position.
Monocropping
In agriculture, monocropping is the practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land.
Morpheme
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful constituent of a linguistic expression.
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste which hardens to bind building blocks such as stones, bricks, and concrete masonry units, to fill and seal the irregular gaps between them, spread the weight of them evenly, and sometimes to add decorative colours or patterns to masonry walls.
See Sumer and Mortar (masonry)
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest.
Mudbrick
Mudbrick or mud-brick, also known as unfired brick, is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of mud (containing loam, clay, sand and water) mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw.
Multiplication table
In mathematics, a multiplication table (sometimes, less formally, a times table) is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication operation for an algebraic system.
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Music of Mesopotamia
Music was ubiquitous throughout Mesopotamian history, playing important roles in both religious and secular contexts.
See Sumer and Music of Mesopotamia
Mustard plant
The mustard plant is any one of several plant species in the genera Brassica, Rhamphospermum and Sinapis in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family).
Muthanna Governorate
Muthanna Governorate (المثنى Al Muthannā) or Al Muthanna Province, is a province in Iraq, named after the 7th-century Arab general al-Muthanna ibn Haritha.
See Sumer and Muthanna Governorate
Nail (fastener)
In woodworking and construction, a nail is a small object made of metal (or wood, called a tree nail or "trunnel") which is used as a fastener, as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as a decoration.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by the, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
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National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.
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Natufian culture
Natufian culture is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture of the Neolithic prehistoric Levant in Western Asia, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago.
See Sumer and Natufian culture
Nave
The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel.
See Sumer and Nave
Near East
The Near East is a transcontinental region around the East Mediterranean encompassing parts of West Asia, the Balkans, and North Africa, specifically the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, East Thrace, and Egypt.
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek νέος 'new' and λίθος 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ninhursag
Ninḫursaĝ (𒀭𒎏𒄯𒊕 Ninḫarsang), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer.
Ninlil
Ninlil (DNIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil.
See Sumer and Ninlil
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian: Nibru, often logographically recorded as, EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory: Vol. 1, Part 1, Cambridge University Press, 1970 Akkadian: Nibbur) was an ancient Sumerian city.
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Non-penetrative sex
Non-penetrative sex or outercourse is sexual activity that usually does not include sexual penetration.
See Sumer and Non-penetrative sex
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of the Western Sahara in the west, to Egypt and Sudan's Red Sea coast in the east.
Numeral system
A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers; that is, a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using digits or other symbols in a consistent manner.
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth.
Old Assyrian period
The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Ushpia 2080 BC, and consolidated under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state and empire after the accession of Ashur-uballit I 1363 BC, which marks the beginning of the succeeding Middle Assyrian period. Sumer and Old Assyrian period are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
See Sumer and Old Assyrian period
Old Babylonian Empire
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period.
See Sumer and Old Babylonian Empire
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country in West Asia.
See Sumer and Oman
Onager
The onager, also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass, is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia.
See Sumer and Onager
Onion
An onion (Allium cepa L., from Latin cepa meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium.
See Sumer and Onion
Ox
An ox (oxen), also known as a bullock (in British, Australian, and Indian English), is a bovine, trained and used as a draft animal.
See Sumer and Ox
Paint
Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer.
See Sumer and Paint
Pantheon (religion)
A pantheon is the particular set of all gods of any individual polytheistic religion, mythology, or tradition.
See Sumer and Pantheon (religion)
Penn Museum
Penn Museum, formerly known as The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary
The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary (PSD) is a project to compile a comprehensive dictionary of the Sumerian language.
See Sumer and Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf (Fars), sometimes called the (Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in West Asia.
Phalanx
The phalanx (phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together.
Phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages systematically organize their phones or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs.
Pickaxe
A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for prying.
Pictogram
A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object.
Pig
The pig (Sus domesticus), also called swine (swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal.
See Sumer and Pig
Pin
A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together.
See Sumer and Pin
Piora Oscillation
The Piora Oscillation was an abrupt cold and wet period in the climate history of the Holocene Epoch; it is roughly dated to c. 3900-3000 BC.
See Sumer and Piora Oscillation
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root.
Pleuroploca trapezium
Pleuroploca trapezium, common name: the trapezium horse conch or striped fox conch, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies.
See Sumer and Pleuroploca trapezium
Plough
A plough or plow (US; both) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting.
See Sumer and Plough
Podium
A podium (podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings.
See Sumer and Podium
Polyandry
Polyandry is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time.
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects or cargo for others.
See Sumer and Porter (carrier)
Potter's wheel
In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in the shaping (known as throwing) of clay into round ceramic ware.
Pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form.
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
The Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) represents the early Neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent, dating to years ago, (10000 – 6500 BCE).
See Sumer and Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Premarital sex
Premarital sex is sexual activity which is practiced by people before they are married.
Proto-Euphratean language
Proto-Euphratean is a hypothetical unclassified language or languages which was considered by some Assyriologists (such as Samuel Noah Kramer) to be the substratum language of the people who introduced farming into Southern Iraq in the Early Ubaid period (5300–4700 BC).
See Sumer and Proto-Euphratean language
Proto-writing
Proto-writing consists of visible marks communicating limited information.
Puabi
Puabi (Akkadian: 𒅤𒀜 pu3-AD or Pu-abi "Word of my father"), also called Shubad or Shudi-Ad due to a misinterpretation by Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, was an important woman in the Sumerian city of Ur, during the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 2600 BCE).
See Sumer and Puabi
Quiver
A quiver is a container for holding arrows or bolts.
See Sumer and Quiver
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
See Sumer and Radiocarbon dating
A rake (Old English raca, cognate with Dutch hark, German Rechen, from the root meaning "to scrape together", "heap up") is a broom for outside use; a horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, or tines fixed to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from lawns, and generally for purposes performed in agriculture by the harrow.
Ram in a Thicket
The Ram in a Thicket is a pair of figures excavated at Ur, in southern Iraq, which date from about 2600–2400 BC.
See Sumer and Ram in a Thicket
Reaper
A reaper is a farm implement or person that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe.
See Sumer and Reaper
Reaper-binder
The reaper-binder, or binder, is a farm implement that improved upon the simple reaper.
Religion
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.
Reservoir
A reservoir is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Ring (jewellery)
A ring is a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry.
See Sumer and Ring (jewellery)
Robert McCormick Adams Jr.
Robert McCormick Adams Jr. (July 23, 1926 – January 27, 2018) was an American anthropologist and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1984–94).
See Sumer and Robert McCormick Adams Jr.
Royal Cemetery at Ur
The Royal Cemetery at Ur is an archaeological site in modern-day Dhi Qar Governorate in southern Iraq.
See Sumer and Royal Cemetery at Ur
Sacred language
A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is a language that is cultivated and used primarily for religious reasons (like Mosque service) by people who speak another, primary language (like Persian, Urdu, Pashtu, Balochi, Sindhi etc.) in their daily lives.
Sacred prostitution
Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are purported rites consisting of paid intercourse performed in the context of religious worship, possibly as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage.
See Sumer and Sacred prostitution
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship.
Samarra
Samarra (سَامَرَّاء) is a city in Iraq.
Samarra culture
The Samarra culture is a Late Neolithic archaeological culture of northern Mesopotamia, roughly dated to between 5500 and 4800 BCE. Sumer and Samarra culture are 6th-millennium BC establishments.
Sandal
Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle.
See Sumer and Sandal
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad (𒊬𒊒𒄀|Šarrugi), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.
Saw
A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material.
See Sumer and Saw
Scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons.
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
See Sumer and Semitic languages
Sexagesimal
Sexagesimal, also known as base 60, is a numeral system with sixty as its base.
Sexual ethics
Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality of sexual behavior.
Shadoof
A shadoof or shaduf is an irrigation tool that is used to lift water from a water source onto land or into another waterway or basin.
Shamash
Shamash (Akkadian: šamaš), also known as Utu (Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god.
Sheep
Sheep (sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock.
See Sumer and Sheep
Shekel
Shekel or sheqel (šiqlu, siqlu; ṯiql, šeqel, plural šəqālim, 𐤔𐤒𐤋) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver.
See Sumer and Shekel
Shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm.
See Sumer and Shield
Shinar
Shinar (Šīnʿār; Sennaár) is the name for the southern region of Mesopotamia used by the Hebrew Bible.
See Sumer and Shinar
Shulgi
Shulgi (dšul-gi, formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur.
See Sumer and Shulgi
Shuruppak
Shuruppak (𒋢𒆳𒊒𒆠, SU.KUR.RUki, "the healing place"), modern Tell Fara, was an ancient Sumerian city situated about 55 kilometres (35 mi) south of Nippur and 30 kilometers north of ancient Uruk on the banks of the Euphrates in Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.
Siege
A siege (lit) is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault.
See Sumer and Siege
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz.
See Sumer and Silt
Silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag (derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*h₂erǵ'')) and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite.
See Sumer and Silver
Sin (mythology)
Sin or Suen (𒀭𒂗𒍪, dEN.ZU) also known as Nanna (𒀭𒋀𒆠 DŠEŠ.KI, DNANNA) is the Mesopotamian god representing the moon.
Sippar
Sippar (Sumerian:, Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river.
See Sumer and Sippar
Slavery in antiquity
Slavery in the ancient world, from the earliest known recorded evidence in Sumer to the pre-medieval Antiquity Mediterranean cultures, comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war.
See Sumer and Slavery in antiquity
Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political).
See Sumer and Social stratification
Soil salinity
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization.
Spear
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.
See Sumer and Spear
Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer.
St. Lawrence University
St.
See Sumer and St. Lawrence University
Standard of Ur
The Standard of Ur is a Sumerian artifact of the 3rd millennium BC that is now in the collection of the British Museum.
Stele of the Vultures
The Stele of the Vultures is a monument from the Early Dynastic IIIb period (2600–2350 BC) in Mesopotamia celebrating a victory of the city-state of Lagash over its neighbour Umma.
See Sumer and Stele of the Vultures
Stratum (linguistics)
In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a historical layer of language that influences or is influenced by another language through contact.
See Sumer and Stratum (linguistics)
String instrument
In musical instrument classification, string instruments or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
See Sumer and String instrument
Subartu
The land of Subartu (Akkadian Šubartum/Subartum/ina Šú-ba-ri, Assyrian mât Šubarri) or Subar (Sumerian Su-bir4/Subar/Šubur, Ugaritic 𐎘𐎁𐎗 ṯbr) is mentioned in Bronze Age literature. Sumer and Subartu are states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
Sumerian King List
The Sumerian King List (abbreviated SKL) or Chronicle of the One Monarchy is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and kingdoms in southern Mesopotamia during the late third and early second millennium BC.
See Sumer and Sumerian King List
Sumerian language
Sumerian (Also written 𒅴𒄀 eme-gi.ePSD2 entry for emegir.|'native language'|) was the language of ancient Sumer.
See Sumer and Sumerian language
Sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting.
See Sumer and Sword
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. Sumer and Syria are Levant.
See Sumer and Syria
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları or Toroslar, Greek: Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau.
See Sumer and Taurus Mountains
Tărtăria tablets
The Tărtăria tablets are three tablets, reportedly discovered in 1961 at a Neolithic site in the village of Tărtăria in Săliștea commune (about from Alba Iulia), from Transylvania.
See Sumer and Tărtăria tablets
Tell (archaeology)
In archaeology a tell (borrowed into English from تَلّ,, "mound" or "small hill") is an artificial topographical feature, a mound consisting of the accumulated and stratified debris of a succession of consecutive settlements at the same site, the refuse of generations of people who built and inhabited them and natural sediment.
See Sumer and Tell (archaeology)
Tell al-Lahm
Tell al-Lahm (also Tell el-Lahm or Tell el-Lehem) is an archaeological site in Dhi Qar Governorate (Iraq).
Tell Brak
Tell Brak (Nagar, Nawar) was an ancient city in Syria; its remains constitute a tell located in the Upper Khabur region, near the modern village of Tell Brak, 50 kilometers north-east of Al-Hasaka city, Al-Hasakah Governorate.
Tell el-'Oueili
Tell el-'Oueili (also Awayli; Təll əl-ʿOwēli) is a tell, or ancient settlement mound, located in Dhi Qar Governorate, southern Iraq.
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider to have been a nascent empire. Sumer and Third Dynasty of Ur are states and territories disestablished in the 20th century BC and states and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC.
See Sumer and Third Dynasty of Ur
Thorkild Jacobsen
Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature.
See Sumer and Thorkild Jacobsen
Threshing
Threshing or thrashing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached.
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat (𒀭𒋾𒊩𒆳 or, Thaláttē) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic Enûma Elish, which translates as "when on high".
See Sumer and Tiamat
Tigris
The Tigris (see below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. Sumer and Tigris are Levant.
See Sumer and Tigris
Time Life
Time Life is an American company formerly known for its production company and direct marketer conglomerate known for selling books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products.
Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I (meaning: "my trust is in Ninurta"; reigned 1243–1207 BC) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire.
See Sumer and Tukulti-Ninurta I
Turbinella pyrum
Turbinella pyrum, common names the chank shell, sacred chank or chank, also known as the divine conch or referred to simply as a conch, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae.
See Sumer and Turbinella pyrum
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly in Anatolia in West Asia, with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe.
See Sumer and Turkey
Ubaid period
The Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. Sumer and Ubaid period are archaeology of Iraq.
Umma
Umma (𒄑𒆵𒆠; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been suggested that it was located at Umm al-Aqarib, less than to its northwest or was even the name of both cities.
See Sumer and Umma
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland.
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents.
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States.
See Sumer and University of California, Los Angeles
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England.
See Sumer and University of Oxford
Ur
Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar (mound of bitumen) in Dhi Qar Governorate, southern Iraq.
See Sumer and Ur
Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian:, ruled c. 2112 BC – 2094 BC middle chronology) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule.
Urartu
Urartu (Ուրարտու; Assyrian:,Eberhard Schrader, The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: Urashtu, אֲרָרָט Ararat) was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands.
See Sumer and Urartu
Uruk
Uruk, known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river.
See Sumer and Uruk
Uruk period
The Uruk period (c. 4000 to 3100 BC; also known as Protoliterate period) existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Sumer and Uruk period are archaeology of Iraq.
Urukagina
Uru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina (𒌷𒅗𒄀𒈾; 24th century BC, middle chronology) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash.
Vehicle
A vehicle is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both.
Virginity
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse.
Warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods.
Wasit Governorate
Wasit Governorate (translit) is a governorate in eastern Iraq, south-east of Baghdad and bordering Iran.
See Sumer and Wasit Governorate
Waterskin
A waterskin is a receptacle used to hold water.
Weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth.
Weir
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level.
See Sumer and Weir
West Asia
West Asia, also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost region of Asia.
Wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a staple food around the world.
See Sumer and Wheat
Wheel
A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing.
See Sumer and Wheel
Winnowing
Winnowing is a process by which chaff is separated from grain.
World population
In world demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living.
See Sumer and World population
Yoke lutes
Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the code 321.2 in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification.
Zabala (Sumer)
Zabala, also Zabalam (zabalamki, modern Tell Ibzeikh (also Tell el-Buzekh or Tell Ibzaykh), Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq) was a city of ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia, located in what is now the Dhi Qar governorate in Iraq.
Ziggurat
A ziggurat (Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ziqqurratum, D-stem of zaqārum 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew zaqar (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. Sumer and ziggurat are archaeology of Iraq.
Ziusudra
Ziusudra (𒍣𒌓𒋤𒁺|translit.
Zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year.
See Sumer and Zodiac
See also
6th-millennium BC establishments
- Baijia culture
- Beixin culture
- Dadiwan culture
- Dispilio
- Dudești culture
- Erbil
- Ertebølle culture
- Hamangia culture
- Hemudu culture
- Ifri N'Amr Ou Moussa
- Kongemose culture
- La Jolla complex
- Linear Pottery culture
- Narva culture
- Neman culture
- Paloma (archaeological site)
- Samarra culture
- Shulaveri–Shomu culture
- South American dogs
- Starčevo–Körös–Criș culture
- Sumer
- Swifterbant culture
- Tisza culture
- Vinča culture
- Xinle culture
- Zayandeh River Culture
- Zhaobaogou culture
Archaeology of Iraq
- Akkadian Empire
- Amorites
- Archaeological looting in Iraq
- Assyria
- Babylonia
- British Institute for the Study of Iraq
- Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)
- Gutian people
- Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period
- Kassites
- Kudurru
- Neo-Assyrian Empire
- Qurnah disaster
- Stele of Ushumgal
- Sumer
- Sumerian religion
- Tell Deir Situn
- Ubaid house
- Ubaid period
- Uruk period
- Ziggurat
Bronze Age civilizations
- Aegean civilizations
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Mesopotamia
- Assyria
- Babylonia
- Bronze Age in China
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Indus Valley civilisation
- Late Bronze Age collapse
- River valley civilization
- Sumer
- Ugarit
- Vedic period
- Yangtze civilization
- Yellow River civilization
Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC
- 'En Esur
- Anshan (Persia)
- Ascalon
- Beifudi
- Beit She'an
- Choga Mami
- Dispilio
- Durankulak
- Durankulak (archaeological site)
- Erbil
- Eridu
- Eva site
- Godin Tepe
- Khirbet edh-Dharih
- Kish (Sumer)
- Kuahuqiao site
- Nightfire Island
- Nineveh
- Ras Baalbek
- Starčevo
- Sumer
- Tel Lachish
- Tel Tsaf
- Tepe Sialk
- Ugarit
- Xinglonggou
- Xishanping
- Yarim Tepe (Iran)
States and territories disestablished in the 20th century BC
States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC
- Akkadian Empire
- Amorites
- Assyria
- Bactria
- Eighth Dynasty of Egypt
- Elam
- Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt
- Eshnunna
- Fifth Dynasty of Egypt
- Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
- Gutian people
- Gutian rule in Mesopotamia
- Hurrians
- Hồng Bàng dynasty
- Ib'al
- Isin-Larsa period
- Kerma culture
- Mari, Syria
- Minoan civilization
- Ninth Dynasty of Egypt
- Old Assyrian period
- Phoenicia
- Rapiqum
- Second Dynasty of Egypt
- Seventh Dynasty of Egypt
- Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
- Subartu
- Sumer
- Tenth Dynasty of Egypt
- Third Dynasty of Egypt
- Third Dynasty of Ur
- Xia dynasty
States and territories established in the 4th millennium BC
- Ebla
- First Dynasty of Egypt
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Lower Egypt
- Proto-Elamite (period)
- Sumer
- Upper Egypt
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer
Also known as Ancient Sumer (Eight Features of Civilization), Ancient Sumerian, Discription of Sumerians, Sag-giga, Sagiga, Shumer, Sumer Empire, Sumer civilization, Sumeria, Sumerian civilisation, Sumerian civilization, Sumerian cultural centres: Eridu and Nippur, Sumerian culture, Sumerian people, Sumerians, Sumeric, Sumerologist, Sumers, Summerians, Šumer.
, Basket, Basra Governorate, Beer, Birth control, Bit (horse), Bitumen, Boot, Borsippa, Bow drill, Brace (tool), British Museum, Bronze, Bronze Age, Buttress, Calcite, Canal, Caral–Supe civilization, Carnelian, Cattle, Caucasus, Cavalry, Cedar oil, Cedrus libani, Cement, Cereal, Chalcolithic, Channel (geography), Chariot, Chickpea, Chisel, Choga Mami, Chronology of the ancient Near East, City-state, Civilization, Classical planet, Clay nail, Clay tablet, Code of Ur-Nammu, Column, Copper, Corvée, Cosmogony, Cradle of civilization, Cuneiform, Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, Cylinder seal, Dagger, Date palm, Death, Defensive wall, Deity, Der (Sumer), Dhi Qar Governorate, Dilbat, Dilmun, Diorite, Divine retribution, Division (mathematics), Division of labour, Diyala Governorate, Dome, Donkey, Dumuzid, Dynasty of Isin, Eannatum, Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), East Semitic languages, Eastern Arabia, Egypt, Egypt–Mesopotamia relations, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian language, Egyptian pyramids, Elam, Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, En-men-dur-ana, En-sipad-zid-ana, Enūma Eliš, Enki, Enkidu, Enlil, Enmebaragesi, Ensi (Sumerian), Entemena, Epic of Gilgamesh, Equidae, Ereshkigal, Eridu, Erligang culture, Eshnunna, Etana, Euphrates, Existence, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Fertile Crescent, First Dynasty of Ur, First Sealand dynasty, Fishing, Fowl, Garlic, Gazelle, Geometry, Gerzeh culture, Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions, Gilgamesh, Girsu, Goat, Gold, Granary, Gudea, Guillermo Algaze, Gutian rule in Mesopotamia, Hamazi, Hammer, Hammurabi, Hand axe, Haplogroup E-M215, Harappa, Harpoon, Harriet Crawford, Harrow (tool), Hegemony, Helmet, Hieros gamos, History of institutions in Mesopotamia, History of Iraq, History of writing, Hittite language, Hoe (tool), Holocene climatic optimum, Horse harness, Human sacrifice, Hunting, Hurrians, Ibbi-Sin, Ideogram, Imports to Ur, Inanna, Indo-European languages, Indus River, Indus script, Indus Valley Civilisation, Indus–Mesopotamia relations, Infantry, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Iran, Iranian Plateau, Iraq, Iron, Irrigation, Isin, Isin-Larsa period, Ivory, Jemdet Nasr, Jemdet Nasr period, Jewellery, Jiahu, Juris Zarins, Ki (goddess), Kish (Sumer), Kisurra, Knife, Kutha, Lagash, Lahm, Lance, Language family, Language isolate, Lapis lazuli, Larak (Sumer), Larsa, Last Glacial Period, Latin, Leather, Leather crafting, Lebanon, Leek, Lentil, Leonard Woolley, Lettuce, Levee, Lexical lists, Linguistics, List of kings of Akkad, List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, Literal translation, Literary language, Logogram, Louvre, Lugal, Lugal-zage-si, Lugalbanda, Lunisolar calendar, Lyres of Ur, Magan (civilization), Marad, Marble, March equinox, Mari, Syria, Marsh Arabs, Masonry, Masturbation, Mattock, Max Planck Society, Maykop culture, Me (mythology), Mediterranean Sea, Meluhha, Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian mythology, Metalworking, Metrology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Middle Ages, Middle East, Miller, Mina (unit), Mixed radix, Monocropping, Morpheme, Mortar (masonry), Mozambique, Mudbrick, Multiplication table, Music of Mesopotamia, Mustard plant, Muthanna Governorate, Nail (fastener), National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Natufian culture, Nave, Near East, Neolithic, Ninhursag, Ninlil, Nippur, Non-penetrative sex, North Africa, Numeral system, Obsidian, Old Assyrian period, Old Babylonian Empire, Oman, Onager, Onion, Ox, Paint, Pantheon (religion), Penn Museum, Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, Persian Gulf, Phalanx, Phonology, Pickaxe, Pictogram, Pig, Pin, Piora Oscillation, Plant stem, Pleuroploca trapezium, Plough, Podium, Polyandry, Porter (carrier), Potter's wheel, Pottery, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Premarital sex, Proto-Euphratean language, Proto-writing, Puabi, Quiver, Radiocarbon dating, Rake (tool), Ram in a Thicket, Reaper, Reaper-binder, Religion, Reservoir, Ring (jewellery), Robert McCormick Adams Jr., Royal Cemetery at Ur, Sacred language, Sacred prostitution, Sacrifice, Samarra, Samarra culture, Sandal, Sargon of Akkad, Saw, Scabbard, Semitic languages, Sexagesimal, Sexual ethics, Shadoof, Shamash, Sheep, Shekel, Shield, Shinar, Shulgi, Shuruppak, Siege, Silt, Silver, Sin (mythology), Sippar, Slavery in antiquity, Social stratification, Soil salinity, Spear, Spring (season), St. Lawrence University, Standard of Ur, Stele of the Vultures, Stratum (linguistics), String instrument, Subartu, Sumerian King List, Sumerian language, Sword, Syria, Taurus Mountains, Tărtăria tablets, Tell (archaeology), Tell al-Lahm, Tell Brak, Tell el-'Oueili, Theocracy, Third Dynasty of Ur, Thorkild Jacobsen, Threshing, Tiamat, Tigris, Time Life, Tukulti-Ninurta I, Turbinella pyrum, Turkey, Ubaid period, Umma, United Kingdom, Universe, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Oxford, Ur, Ur-Nammu, Urartu, Uruk, Uruk period, Urukagina, Vehicle, Virginity, Warehouse, Wasit Governorate, Waterskin, Weaving, Weir, West Asia, Wheat, Wheel, Winnowing, World population, Yoke lutes, Zabala (Sumer), Ziggurat, Ziusudra, Zodiac.