ePub General Omar Bradley and the Korean War: A Study in Modern Strategic Leader Competence by United States Army War College in History

Description

Sumer was the first ancient urban civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia; modern-day southern Iraq; during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze ages; and arguably the first civilization in the world. Proto-writing in the region dates back to c. 3500 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr and date back to 3300 BC; early cuneiform writing emerged in 3000 BC. Modern historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently settled between c. 5500 and 4000 BC by a West Asian people who spoke the Sumerian language (pointing to the names of cities; rivers; basic occupations; etc.; as evidence); a language isolate. These conjectured; prehistoric people are now called "proto-Euphrateans" or "Ubaidians"; and are theorized to have evolved from the Samarra culture of northern Mesopotamia (Assyria). The Ubaidians (though never mentioned by the Sumerians themselves) are assumed by modern-day scholars to have been the first civilizing force in Sumer; draining the marshes for agriculture; developing trade; and establishing industries; including weaving; leatherwork; metalwork; masonry; and pottery. However; some scholars contest the idea of a Proto-Euphratean language or one substrate language. It has been suggested by them and others; that the Sumerian language was originally that of the hunter and fisher peoples; who lived in the marshland and theEastern Arabia littoral region; and were part of the Arabian bifacial culture. Reliable historical records begin much later; there are none in Sumer of any kind that have been dated before Enmebaragesi (c. 26th century BC). Professor Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians were settled along the coast of Eastern Arabia; today's Persian Gulf region; before it flooded at the end of the Ice Age. Sumerian civilization took form in the Uruk period (4th millennium BC); continuing into the Jemdat Nasr and Early Dynastic periods. During the 3rd millennium BC; a close cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians; who spoke a language isolate; andAkkadian-speakers; which included widespread bilingualism. The Sumerian culture seems to have appeared as a fully formed civilization; with no pre-history. This book present a thorough history and background of the Sumerian civilization. This book is designed to be an overview of the topic and provide you with the structured knowledge to familiarize yourself with the topic at the most affordable price possible. The level of discussion is designed to be a more in-depth discussion than books such as “Computers for Dummies” but less technical than “The IEEE standards for the Core 2 Duo processor of the Intel Centrino chipset.” The accuracy and knowledge is of an international viewpoint as the edited articles represent the inputs of many knowledgeable individuals and some of the most currently available general knowledge on the topic based on the date of publication.