The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character
The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.

Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.

"There are few scholars in the world qualified to write such a book, and certainly Kramer is one of them. . . . One of the most valuable features of this book is the quantity of texts and fragments which are published for the first time in a form available to the general reader. For the layman the book provides a readable and up-to-date introduction to a most fascinating culture. For the specialist it presents a synthesis with which he may not agree but from which he will nonetheless derive stimulation."—American Journal of Archaeology

"An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity."—Library Journal
1139791257
The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character
The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.

Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.

"There are few scholars in the world qualified to write such a book, and certainly Kramer is one of them. . . . One of the most valuable features of this book is the quantity of texts and fragments which are published for the first time in a form available to the general reader. For the layman the book provides a readable and up-to-date introduction to a most fascinating culture. For the specialist it presents a synthesis with which he may not agree but from which he will nonetheless derive stimulation."—American Journal of Archaeology

"An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity."—Library Journal
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The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

by Samuel Noah Kramer
The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

by Samuel Noah Kramer

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Overview

The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.

Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.

"There are few scholars in the world qualified to write such a book, and certainly Kramer is one of them. . . . One of the most valuable features of this book is the quantity of texts and fragments which are published for the first time in a form available to the general reader. For the layman the book provides a readable and up-to-date introduction to a most fascinating culture. For the specialist it presents a synthesis with which he may not agree but from which he will nonetheless derive stimulation."—American Journal of Archaeology

"An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity."—Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780226452388
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication date: 02/15/1971
Series: Phoenix Books
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 372
Product dimensions: (w) x (h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Samuel Noah Kramer was Clark Research Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also Curator Emeritus of the Tablet Collections. He is the author of Sumerian Mythology and The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character.

British audiobook narrator and AudioFile Earphones Award winner Nigel Patterson has many credits as a stage, screen, and voice-over actor that influence his powerful characterization across a broad range of genres. AudioFile commented "his keen ear and impeccable diction give insights into the prevailing attitudes of the period . . . his wholly credible characters stay with you long after you unplug." A graduate linguist of the University of Oxford, he is fluent in French and Spanish, has lived and worked in the U.S. for fifteen years, and knows many different accents and dialects from around the world.

Table of Contents

1. Archeology and Decipherment
2. History: Heroes, Kings, and Ensi's
3. Society: The Sumerian City
4. Religion: Theology, Rite, and Myth
5. Literature: The Sumerian Belles-Lettres
6. Education: The Sumerian School
7. Character: Drives, Motives, and Values
8. The Legacy of Sumer
Appendixes
A. The Origin and Development of the Cuneiform System of Writing
B. The Sumerian Language
C. Votive Inscriptions
D. Sample Date-Formulas
E. Sumerian King List
F. Letters
G. Ditilla's (court decisions)
H. Lipit-Ishtar Law Code
I. Farmers' Almanac
Selected Bibliography
Index
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