Episode 8 of the Fall of Civilizations podcast, a roughly two and a half hour history of the Sumerians. It covers their mysterious origins, invention of writing and mathematics, great early cities and eventual collapse, with myths, proverbs and recreated music.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters strongly recommend it as an audiobook-length, deeply informative introduction to Sumer and early Mesopotamian civilization.
“I highly recommend the _Fall of Civilizations Podcast_ episode 8.”HN comment, 2022
“I highly recommend the _Fall of Civilizations Podcast_ episode 8.”
Audiobook-length episode teaching a ton about Sumerian civilization
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If you’re interested in the history of Lagash and the wider Sumerian civilization, I highly recommend the _Fall of Civilizations Podcast_ episode 8. this video At 2.5 hours it’s more like an audiobook. During the pandemic this was my gateway into learning a ton about this ancient civilization, when humanity first began to write and thus be able to communicate with us thousands of years later.
Strongly recommendsStromNov 2022
“Fall of Civilizations is absolutely amazing stuff, I double recommend it.”
Episode covering Ur and Sumer
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Fall of Civilizations is absolutely amazing stuff, I double recommend it. It has an episode that covers this specific topic as well - this video
RecommendsoblioNov 2020
“If you have 1 hour, hear/listen to this podcast/video”
Hour-plus podcast on Fertile Crescent civilization
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> The producer of "civilization and culture"? In what sense? Farms produce the goods we eat, how does that lead to culture and civilization? I'm not that knowledgeable at history - if that is the case, then I'd really like to read more about it. Well, I recommend any history book about the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Egypt. If you have 1 hour, hear/listen to this podcast/video: this video
RecommendswanderingstanFeb 2021
“after listening to the excellent “Fall of Civilizations Podcast” episode about Sumer”
Sparked deeper interest in cuneiform
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I went down the cuneiform rabbit hole last summer after listening to the excellent “Fall of Civilizations Podcast” episode about Sumer: this video This led to many of Finkel’s videos and the book mentioned in this post. (So far I’m not too impressed with the book, TBH.)
RecommendsandyxorAug 2021
“btw this is great series on that time (and what preceded it)”
Series on Sumer and what preceded it
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this is just 30km from Ur, I thought Akkad capital was more to the north , in the traditionally Akkadian territory link btw this is great series on that time (and what preceded it) "The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities" this video
RecommendsmannerheimSep 2021
“I recommend the Fall of Civilizations podcast for more on this and other societies”
Covers collapse of Mesopotamian civilizations
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Arizona is very hot, very arid, and also very favourable for agriculture, with significant production of lettuce and cotton. As long as you can make sure your crops get water through irrigation (which ancient Mesopotamians were very skilled at), your crops will thrive. In fact, the heat and sunlight actually provide a bit of an advantage. However, a number of factors eventually led to the collapse of the civilisations in the fertile crescent. One factor has been the region getting warmer and drier, which poses a challenge even with irrigation. As an example of how different the climate is now from what it was then, Uruk used to be on a channel of the Euphrates, but now that riverbed is completely dried up. Meanwhile, Ur was once a coastal city, but is now ten miles inland. Another factor for the collapse of these civilisations is that the process of irrigation accumulated salt in the soil. The very process that made complex civilisation possible in this part of the world eventually contributed to its end. I recommend the Fall of Civilizations podcast for more on this and other societies: this video
RecommendsmiltondtsDec 2021
“I especially enjoyed”
First cities were advanced and lasted centuries
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And one more resource with the history of many civilizations: link I especially enjoyed this video , as I had no idea the first cities were already so advanced and lasted for so many centuries. EDIT: fixed youtube link.
RecommendsmiltondtsDec 2021
“I especially enjoyed”
First cities were advanced and lasted centuries
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Fall of civilizations has the history of many: link I especially enjoyed this video , as I had no idea the first cities were already so advanced and lasted for so many centuries.
RecommendsdavedxMay 2022
“This YouTube series is a great deep dive into it all”
Deep dive into Sumerian history and language
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Yeah, the sea level rise thing is one explanation for why Sumerian is a language isolate. This YouTube series is a great deep dive into it all: this video
RecommendsStromNov 2022
“It's a great episode and I also recommend it.”
Visual version of the episode
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It's a great episode and I also recommend it. For those who wish to have something visual the better link would be this video
RecommendswanderingstanFeb 2023
“I was introduced to Sumerian history by this excellent episode”
Excellent introduction to Sumerian history
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Related: I was introduced to Sumerian history by this excellent episode of the “Fall of Civilizations Podcast”: this video
Cites itmwattsunApr 2022
“Full show”
Source of a clip on why 360 degrees
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I clipped this from Fall of Civilizations - The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities. I'm not sure if they got it right, but it sounds good. (not monetizing, so not promoting) link Full show this video
