1. center2745740My Personal Time Travel Journal to<br />Sumeria<br />By: Michael Nelson<br />Date: July 4000 BC<br />Journal,<br />29083001628140I have never experienced a phenomenon like this before! This is the reason why I am keeping a log of my travels. After arriving at the time period of 4000 BC, I have begun to witness the founding of the glorious Sumerian civilization. The first Sumerians have established communities along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Wondering why the Sumerians were doing this, I asked them why.<br />One replied back, “We are doing this because the flooding of the rivers and the fertile soil is essential for our crops. That is the reason why we will settle here.” <br />I believe that settling there will also become a reason why the Sumerians rise to power. <br />Date: September 3500 BC<br />Journal,<br />Much time has passed since the founding of Sumeria. Now the Sumerians have formed city-states. Each city-state is made of a city and its surrounding land. When I look around from where I stand I see that it was smart to build a society on the banks of two rivers. The soil is fertile, the crops are lush, and the society is strong. I can also see that in each city-state, thousands of residents dwell inside their homes.<br />Date: May 3300 BC<br />Journal,<br />-139065650240How prosperous the Sumerians are becoming. They have now started to trade. The Sumerians trade all around Southwest Asia, by land or by sea. Since I wanted to learn more about this I spoke with a merchant in the city-state of Ur.<br />“Can you tell me about your trade routes and to whom you trade with?” I asked.<br />“Certainly,” the merchant replied, “Well, we trade all over the Southwest Asia area. We use caravans for land and ships for the sea. We can sail the Mediterranean or the Persian Gulf.”<br />“Thank you for your help,” I said. After that I left. Today I learned of the development of trade in Sumeria. Knowing full well how important trade will become.<br />3251200335915Date: June 3200 BC<br />Journal,<br />What an outstanding society Sumeria is becoming. Already the Sumerians have developed a writing system. I have just talked to a local scribe in the city-state of Uruk to learn about the system. <br />He said, “The writing system is called cuneiform and the system has over 600 symbols. Each symbol in cuneiform is made by pressing marks into a clay tablet, using a writing utensil called a stylus.” <br />I wonder what other literary and scientific achievements await me the next time I arrive here. <br />Date: December 3100 BC<br />Journal,<br />I have just witnessed a historically significant event. I have seen the rise of the city-state of Uruk. I have visited Uruk before, when I saw the creation of cuneiform, but it never was anything like this. Uruk has truly transformed into a place of power. In Uruk I saw schools, temples, and houses. Scribes were being trained, people were worshipping, people were fishing, and the sciences were developing. Currently, the city of Uruk is flourishing. This may have happened because of rich farmland, rich trade, or both. The land around Uruk has never looked better.<br />Date: February 3000 BC<br />Journal,<br />-63500335915The Sumerians have learned the art of metallurgy! I have witnessed the creation of bronze in the local metal workshop. I also asked the smith who works there how bronze is created. <br />He then told me, “The creation of bronze is a delicate process that involves alloying copper with other metals. This creates a hard, but flexible metal, bronze.” <br />After that I thanked him for his help and left. I can only predict that the invention of bronze shall lead to an even more powerful Sumeria.<br />Date: March 3000 BC<br />Journal,<br />For the first time in this journey I have explored the rulers of each city-state. The ruler of a city-state is known as an ‘ensik.’ The ensik is the ruler of each city-state and the ensik also has some connections to the Sumerian religion. In order to learn the full extent of the ensik’s power, I talked to the ensik of Ur. After talking to him I learned that an ensik is comparable to a king. Also, the ensik is in one of the top spots of the Sumerian social pyramid.<br />Date: January 2750 BC<br />359473526035Journal,<br />It truly is a legendary time period currently. Right now the city of Uruk is under the rule of the king Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh led Uruk to an even more prosperous period of wealth and growth. He also built a wall around Uruk to repel invaders and to protect the city. Under his rule Uruk has reached new heights in the Sumerian society. Even now the land around Uruk prospers. Crops are grown, animals are hunted, feasts are prepared, and overall everything is wonderful.<br />Date: August 2600 BC<br />Journal,<br />-62865322580Something great has occurred in Sumerian history. The Sumerians have created a system of numbers. In this system all numbers are based on 60. In order to more fully understand this concept I spoke with a leading Sumerian mathematician.<br />He told me, “Our number system is based off of the number 60. We have divided a circle up into 360 degrees in this system also. Resulting from this a clock is divided into 60 minutes, with each minute divided into 60 seconds.”<br />After expanding my understanding of this system I proceeded on with my journey. <br />Date: April 2330<br />Journal,<br />-139065813435Oh, what a sad day it is. The Sumerians were just conquered by the Akkadians. The ruler of the Akkadians is the ruthless Sargon. He is ruthless, but brilliant, for he has created a huge political and economic empire. He marched his army between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, conquering as he went up the valley. Now he rules an area that stretches east from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Now I must say what a beautiful journey it was, following the development of the Sumerian civilization. Also, I believe settling in between two very fertile rivers had a very positive impact on Sumerian society. However, the disadvantage of that area is that many marauding nomads attack that region and the region has no geographic protection from other peoples.<br />Citations<br />Carrington, Laurel, et al. World History: The Human Journey. 1st ed. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. 30-38. Print.<br />quot;
Sumerian Timeline.quot;
History World. World History Project, Jan. 2007. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://history-world.org/timeline.htm>.<br />Steiner, Hermelinde. quot;
History of the Horsemen.quot;
History: Horsemen-Nomads. Face Music, Nov. 2009. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.face-music.ch/nomads/assyrer_en.html>.<br />Hansen, Mogans. A Comparative Study of Six City-State Cultures: An Investigation. 1st ed. Denmark: Special-Trykkeriet Viborg, 2002. 37-38. eBook<br />quot;
CLEP: Western Civilization.quot;
ProProfs Flashcards. ProProfs, 2011. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/download.php?title=clep-western-civilization><br />quot;
The Age of Metals.quot;
The Sumerian Civilization Part 2. Web Promotion CR, 7 Apr. 2010. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/sumerian_civilization%202.htm><br />