Sumerian civilization (c.3000–2000 B.C.) and the civilization of ancient Egypt were the two earliest in recorded human history. Although there are many Egyptologists, relatively fewer scholars have studied Sumer. Sumer has also left fewer physical remnants than ancient Egypt has. In spite of that, Sumerian civilization was momentous.
Sumer also lacked the relative political unity of ancient Egypt, and this would prove to be important in its ultimate collapse. Sumerian civilization was really a collection of warring city-states. These disparate political entities were sometimes united under a strong ruler. Sargon of Akkad (ruled c.2334–2279 B.C.) was the perhaps the greatest of these rulers. By 2100, Akkad fell to invading barbarian tribes;the exact genetic makeup of these invaders and the dates of their arrival is unknown. (Rome also fell to invading barbarians two-and-a-half millennia later.) A final Sumerian ruler built the great ziggurat at Ur, which still stands today as a legacy of this ancient civilization.
Beginning around 2100 BCE there was a major population shift from Southern to Northern Mesopotamia, which went on for more than three centuries. The primary cause of this was a decline in agricultural production caused by rising soil salinity, frequent droughts and poor drainage. By the time of the Sack of Ur by the Elamites in 2004 BCE, this declining population had already left the Sumerians severely weakened.
The Sack of Ur and consequent fall of the Ur III dynasty marked the end of Sumerian dominance in the South of Mesopotamia. Sumerian remained the official language, but power devolved to the Elamites in Larsa and the Amorites in Isin. The struggle for power between these two groups lasted until the Babylonian empire, under Hammurabi, grew out of the Amorite state in the 18th Century BCE. By this time Sumerian culture and language, as well as political power, had been altogether overtaken by Akkadian, a situation which was rendered permanent by the ascendancy of the Akkadian-speaking Babylonian state.
Sumer and different Iraqi states engaged in devastating warfare, which adversely affected all the participants. Cultural beliefs substantially contributed to the fall of the Sumerian civilization as well. Shulgi of Ur, a Sumerian city, demanded countless sacrifices at the national shrine in Nippur. These rituals included the burning of food and supplies. The main idea was to appease the gods, but these activities severely deteriorated the Sumerian economy.
Moreover, agriculture did not reach its peak, considering the drought that was facing Mesopotamia. As a result, the misfortune exhausted the Sumerian resources. Population increase was another significant factor in the fall of Sumer. With the rise in population, the demand for agricultural products increased, and the supply decreased, while the prices skyrocketed. Lastly, Sumer's international trade collapsed, and government communications failed. Increased raids on the city followed and marked the fall of the Sumerian civilization.
The fall of Sumer was predated by the greatest advancements the civilization ever produced. The period between 2047 and 1750 BCE is known as the Sumerian Renaissance and allowed Sumer to fully cement its legacy in civilization. Schools, the legal Code of Hammurabi, and a time system based on sixty are all important elements of modern civilization, and all came from this Sumerian period. Another development of this period was a massive wall built to keep out the Amorite invaders. Three generations of leaders worked to fortify the wall, but ultimately Sumer did not have the resources for upkeep or proper guards on the wall. Around 1750 BCE the Amorites were successful in invading and conquering Sumer. However, the Amorites were not successful in controlling the territory, and famine caused many Amorites and Sumerians alike to leave the land.
Sumer had been conquered and controlled by invaders before in its history, but it was this migration that truly marked the end of its long civilization. The Sumerian language fell into verbal disuse, and the people dispersed.
https://www.ancient.eu/sumer/
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