Ancient Mesopotamia, now modern Iraq, was divided by the Akkadians to the north and the Sumerians to the south (Dlott, et al.). Their government was made up of cities and states and both parties had similar cultures but spoke different languages ​​(“Ancient Mes: Akkadian Empire”). But even though the two languages ​​were different in Mesopotamia, they were still very similar to each other. Sumer, was the southern part of Mesopotamia and is generally defined as the “cradle of civilization” (Mark). This is because the Sumerians are actually the oldest civilization recorded in history. The Sumerian period spans approximately 5000 BC to 1750 BC, a reign of over 3000 years (Mark). The Sumerian language has undergone numerous changes as the civilization itself has changed and developed over its years. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to the article "Sumer", the first settlers of Sumer settled in the country between 4500 and 4000 BC These settlers were non-Semites and known as Ubaidians, this referred to the village of Al-Ubaid where they were found for the first time the remains of these people. The Ubaidians were the first civilized force in Sumer with established industries that included weaving, masonry, pottery, and much more. They also managed to develop a trading system. After the Ubaidians migrated to the southern part of Mesopotamia, many Semitic people infiltrated their land and mixed their cultures with their own. The result was a pre-Sumerian civilization (“Mark”). “By the 3rd millennium BC the country was home to at least 12 separate city-states: Kish, Erech, Ur, Sippar, Akshak, Larak, Nippur, Adab, Umma, Lagash, Bad-tibira, and Larsa,” (“Sumer”) . “Sumer” also says that each of these city-states was independent with its own rules and form of society. It states that they worshiped their own separate Gods and Goddesses and that political power belonged to the people. But as time passed, tensions and rivalries began to intensify between the states and the kingship system (“Sumer”) was adopted. The article states that there are records showing that 8 kings ruled Sumer before the great flood. The 3rd millennium of the Sumerian period was the Dynasty of Ur. The first king of this era was Ur-Nammu and he established the first code of laws in the history of Mesopotamia (“Sumer”). This third dynasty seemed to be a vital period for the Sumerians. Not only did they expand their territory into the southern parts of Mesopotamia and develop a form of government, but this was also when their language was first attested (“Sumerian Language”). “As Sumerian cities began to transform into cities and their civilization began to build, people needed ways to keep track of government records, business transactions, and property rights” (“Ancient Mes: Writing”). Communication was necessary for all of these things to happen and for a government to be successful. In 3300 BC, the Sumerians began to develop a solution to all their documentation and traceability problems. “Around this time, the Sumerians began using figurative symbols imprinted on clay tablets to keep track of data. The way they did this was to take a stick made from a reed [otherwise known as a stylus] and press their symbols into soft, damp clay. Once the clay hardened, they would have a permanent record” (“Ancient Mesopotamia: Writing”). Their symbols were very simple and easy to understand. Supposedly an image of someone's head, it literally meant head. Over time, they began to add sounds and meanings to scribes on the clay by adding wedge marks. This form of writing wasknown as wedge writing (“Ancient Mes: Writing”). “Ancient Mesopotamia: Writing” also talks about understanding the Sumerian tablets and why the language is so difficult to translate. He said there are over 700 symbols and meanings of symbols making it difficult to get a clear idea. As if that wasn't enough, all these symbols and meanings also change between cities and regions and even with time. However, most of the tablets to date have been deciphered and this is how experts know so much about the government, culture and general lifestyle of the Sumerians. After the great flood that occurred in ancient southern Mesopotamia, kings would temporarily gain power. one on top of the other. They fought for hundreds of years and this made them vulnerable to attack and the risk of being conquered (“Sumerian”). As a result, around 2300 BC, they would be conquered by the Akkadians and leading the way was the king known as Sargon. “Although Sargon's dynasty lasted only about 100 years, it united city-states and created a model of government that influenced all Middle Eastern civilization” (“Sumer”). The Akkadians saw many positives in bringing their cities and states together. They conquered all of Sumer and expanded their empire to the Mediterranean Sea. They had a reign from 2300 BC to 2100 BC when the Sumerian city Ur conquered Akkad. And even though it was ruled by a Sumerian king, the nation remained united (“Ancient Mes: Akkadian Empire”). During this period, the article “Sumerian Language” states that the spoken Sumerian language was replaced by the Semitic Akkadian language, but it was still used in written form almost until the end of the Akkadian language. This represented a huge step backwards in the development of the language because it was only spoken in a small area of ​​the city of Sumer while Akkadian was spoken throughout the entire Akkadian empire. “…the New Sumerian period ended around 2000 BC, when new incursions by Semitic peoples from the desert succeeded in destroying the third dynasty of Ur and founding the Semitic dynasties of Isin, Larsa and Babylon” (“Sumerian language” ). The period of these dynasties is known today as the “Old Babylonian period” (“Sumerian language”). The “Sumerian language” talks about the Old Babylonian period and explains how the Sumerian language was damaged. According to the article, during this period the Sumerians lost all their power and their language slowly began to disappear. However, Akkadian was still the main language spoken in the Babylonian period to the Sumerian language because the Akkadian language was actually developed from the Sumerian language itself. It was “written in a cuneiform script developed from that of the Sumerians, containing about 600 word signs and syllables. The phonetic system of the language had 20 consonants and 8 vowels (both long and short a, i, eeu)” (“Akkadian language”). The Sumerian language became completely extinct around the Christian era ("Sumerian language") when the Akkadian language began to split into a set of dialects and evolve until both languages ​​ceased to exist ("Akkadian language"). Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Now, over time, the Sumerian language is known as the oldest written language in existence so far. It was a language developed by an intelligent civilization that went through very difficult times. The language had great potential to continue to grow and expand, but due to the unfortunate events that occurred during the Sumerian period it never occurred. Even though they were the same group of people, they had a lot of internal conflicts between them. If they found a way for each city/state to make peace.