September 21 is the International Day of Peace and the day of general ceasefire and renunciation of violence. But today there are almost four dozen hot spots recorded in the world. Where and for what humanity is fighting today - in the material TUT.BY.

Gradation of conflicts:

Low intensity armed conflict- confrontation for religious, ethnic, political and other reasons. It is characterized by a low level of attacks and victims - less than 50 per year.

Medium-intensity armed conflict- occasional terrorist attacks and military operations using weapons. It is characterized by an average level of victims - up to 500 per year.

High intensity armed conflict- constant hostilities using conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction (with the exception of nuclear weapons); involving foreign states and coalitions. Such conflicts are often accompanied by massive and numerous terrorist attacks. It is characterized by a high level of victims - from 500 per year or more.

Europe, Russia and Transcaucasia

Conflict in Donbass

Status: regular clashes between separatists and the Ukrainian military, despite the ceasefire

Start: 2014

Death toll: from April 2014 to August 2017 - more than 10 thousand people

The armed conflict in Donbass began in the spring of 2014. Pro-Russian activists, inspired by Russia's annexation of Crimea and dissatisfied with the new government in Kyiv, proclaimed the creation of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics. After the new Ukrainian authorities attempted to suppress protests by force in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a full-scale armed conflict began, which has been dragging on for three years.

The situation in Donbass is not off the world agenda, as Kyiv accuses Moscow of helping the self-proclaimed republics, including through direct military intervention. The West supports these accusations, Moscow consistently denies them.

The conflict moved from the active phase to the medium-intensity phase after the launch of "" and the beginning.

But in the east of Ukraine they are still shooting, people are dying on both sides.

Caucasus and Nagorno-Karabakh

There are two other pockets of instability in the region that are classified as armed conflicts.

The war in the early 1990s between Azerbaijan and Armenia led to the formation of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (). The last time large-scale military actions were recorded here, about 200 people died on both sides. But local armed clashes in which Azerbaijanis and Armenians die.

Despite all the efforts of Russia, the situation in the Caucasus remains extremely difficult: counter-terrorism operations are constantly being carried out in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, Russian special services report on the liquidation of gangs and terrorist cells, but the flow of reports does not decrease.

Middle East and North Africa

The entire region was shocked in 2011 by "". From then to the present, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Egypt have been hot spots in the region. In addition, the armed confrontation in Iraq and Turkey has been going on for many years.

War in Syria

Status: constant hostilities

Start: 2011

Death toll: from March 2011 to August 2017 - from 330,000 to

After the US invasion in 2003 and the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq began a civil war and rebellion against the coalition government. And in 2014, part of the country was captured by Islamic State militants. Now a motley company is fighting the terrorists: the Iraqi army with the support of US troops, the Kurds, local Sunni tribes and Shiite militias. This summer, the largest city that was under the control of ISIS, there is currently a struggle for control of Anbar province.

Radical Islamist groups are fighting Baghdad not only on the battlefield - in Iraq constantly with numerous casualties.

Libya

Status: regular clashes between different factions

Start: 2011

Exacerbation: 2014

Death toll: from February 2011 to August 2017 - t 15,000 to 30,000

The conflict in Libya also began with the Arab Spring. In 2011, protesters against the Gaddafi regime were supported by airstrikes by the United States and NATO. The revolution won, Muammar Gaddafi was killed by a crowd, but the conflict did not die down. In 2014, a new civil war broke out in Libya, and since then dual power has reigned in the country - in the east of the country, in the city of Tobruk, a parliament elected by the people sits, and in the west, in the capital of Tripoli, the Government of National Accord, formed with the support of the UN and Europe, is ruled by Faez. Sarraj. In addition, there is a third force - the Libyan national army, which is fighting the Islamic State militants and other radical groups. The situation is complicated by the civil strife of local tribes.

Yemen

Status: regular missile and air strikes, clashes between different factions

Start: 2014

Death toll: from February 2011 to September 2017 - more than 10 thousand people

Yemen is another country whose conflict dates back to the Arab Spring in 2011. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, transferred his powers to the country's Vice President Abd Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, who won early elections a year later. However, he failed to retain power in the country: in 2014, a civil war broke out between Shiite rebels (Houthis) and the Sunni government. Al-Hadi was supported by Saudi Arabia, which, together with other Sunni monarchies and with the consent of the United States, is helping with both ground operations and air strikes. Former President Saleh, who is supported by some Shiite rebels and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also joined the fight.

The armed confrontation between the Turkish government and the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, who are fighting for the creation of Kurdish autonomy within Turkey, has continued from 1984 to the present. In the last two years, the conflict has escalated: Turkish authorities accused the Kurds of several crimes, after which they carried out purges.

The Knife Intifada and Lebanon

There are several other hot spots in the region that military experts classify as low-intensity “armed conflicts.”

First of all, this is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the next escalation of which was called “”. Between 2015 and 2016, there were more than 250 attacks by Islamic radicals armed with bladed weapons against Israelis. As a result, 36 Israelis, 5 foreigners and 246 Palestinians were killed. Attacks with knives and screwdrivers have died down this year, but armed attacks continue: in July, three Arabs attacked an Israeli police officer on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Another smoldering hot spot is Lebanon. The smoldering conflict in Lebanon is at a low level of intensity only due to the authorities' emphasized neutrality regarding the civil war in Syria and the related conflict in Lebanon between Sunnis and Shiites. Lebanese Shiites and the Hezbollah group support the pro-Assad coalition, Sunnis oppose it, and radical Islamist groups oppose the Lebanese authorities. Armed clashes and terrorist attacks occur from time to time: the largest of them in recent times was the double terrorist attack in Beirut in 2015, as a result of which.

Asia and Pacific

Afghanistan

Status: constant terrorist attacks and armed clashes

Beginning of the conflict: 1978

Escalation of the conflict: 2001

Death toll: from 2001 to August 2017 - more than 150,000 people

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, NATO and the United States military contingent entered Afghanistan. The Taliban regime was overthrown, but a military conflict began in the country: the Afghan government, with the support of NATO and US forces, is fighting the Taliban and Islamist groups associated with Al-Qaeda and IS.

Despite the fact that 13 thousand NATO and US troops still remain in Afghanistan and there are now discussions about whether to do so, terrorist activity in the country remains high: dozens of people die in the republic every month.

The smoldering Kashmir conflict and the internal problems of India and Pakistan

In 1947, two states were formed on the territory of former British India - India and Pakistan. The partition took place along religious lines: provinces with a predominantly Muslim population went to Pakistan, and provinces with a Hindu majority to India. But not everywhere: despite the fact that the majority of the population of Kashmir were Muslims, this region was annexed to India.

Since then Kashmir- a disputed territory between the two countries and the cause of three Indo-Pakistani wars and several smaller military conflicts. According to various sources, over the past 70 years it has claimed about 50 thousand lives. In April 2017, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research published an annual report that identified the Kashmir conflict as one that could trigger a military conflict involving the use of nuclear weapons. Both India and Pakistan are members of the “club of nuclear powers” ​​with an arsenal of several dozen nuclear warheads.

In addition to the general conflict, each country has several hot spots with varying degrees of intensity, all of which are recognized by the international community as military conflicts.

There are three of them in Pakistan: separatist movements in the western province Balochistan, the fight against the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan group in an unrecognized state Waziristan and clashes between Pakistani security forces and various militant groups in the semi-autonomous region " Federally Administered Tribal Areas"(FATA). Radicals from these regions attack government buildings, law enforcement officers and carry out terrorist attacks.

There are four hotspots in India. In three Indian states - Assam, Nagaland and Manipur Due to religious and ethnic clashes, nationalist and separatist movements are strong and do not disdain terrorist attacks and hostage-taking.

And in 20 of the 28 Indian states there are Naxalites - Maoist militant groups who demand the creation of free self-governing zones, where they (of course!) will build the most real and correct communism. Naxalites practice attacks on officials and government troops and carry out more than half of the terrorist attacks in India. The country's authorities have officially declared the Naxalites terrorists and call them the main internal threat to the country's security.

Myanmar

Recently, the media, which usually does not pay attention to third world countries, has focused attention.

In this country, in August, the religious-ethnic conflict between the residents of the Rakhine state - Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims - escalated. Hundreds of separatists from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ASRA) attacked 30 police strongholds, killing 15 police and military personnel. After this, the troops began an anti-terrorist operation: in just one week, the military killed 370 Rohingya separatists, and 17 local residents were also reported accidentally killed. How many people died in Myanmar in September is still unknown. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, creating a humanitarian crisis.

Southern Thailand

A number of radical Islamic organizations advocate the independence of the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat from Thailand and demand either the creation of an independent Islamic state or the inclusion of the provinces in Malaysia.

Bangkok is responding to the demands of the Islamists, supported by attacks and attacks, with counter-terrorism operations and suppression of local unrest. Over 13 years of escalating conflict, more than 6,000 people have died.

Uyghur conflict

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR, abbreviated Chinese name for Xinjiang) is located in northwestern China. It occupies a sixth of the territory of all of China, and the majority of its inhabitants are Uyghurs - a Muslim people, whose representatives are not always enthusiastic about the national policies of the country's communist leadership. In Beijing, Xinjiang is perceived as a region of “three hostile forces” - terrorism, religious extremism and separatism.

The Chinese authorities have reason for this - the active terrorist group “East Turkestan Islamic Movement,” whose goal is to create an Islamic state in China, is responsible for unrest and terrorist attacks in Xinjiang: over the past 10 years, more than 1,000 people have died in the region.

Now the conflict is characterized as sluggish, but Beijing has already been threatened with an escalation of the situation after the Chinese authorities introduced a ban on wearing beards, hijabs, and performing marriage and mourning ceremonies according to religious customs instead of secular ones. In addition, Uyghurs were urged to sell alcohol and tobacco in stores and not to publicly celebrate religious holidays.

Armed conflict in the Philippines

For more than four decades, the Philippines has been in conflict between Manila and armed Muslim separatist groups in the south of the country, which traditionally advocate the creation of an independent Islamic state. The situation worsened after the position of the Islamic State in the Middle East significantly weakened: many Islamists flocked to Southeast Asia. Two major factions, Abu Sayyaf and Maute, pledged allegiance to IS and captured the city of Marawi on the Philippine island of Mindanao in May. Government troops still cannot drive the militants out of the city. Also, radical Islamists stage armed attacks not only in the south, but also.

According to the latest data, from May to September this year in the Philippines, a total of 45 civilians and 136 soldiers and police were killed as a result of terrorist actions.

North and South America

Mexico

In 2016, Mexico had the second highest death toll on the list of states where armed conflict continues, behind only Syria. The nuance is that officially there is no war on Mexican territory, but for more than ten years there has been a battle between the country’s authorities and drug cartels. The latter are still fighting among themselves, and for good reason—income from drug sales in the United States alone amounts to up to $64 billion a year. And drug cartels receive about $30 billion a year from selling drugs to Europe.

The international community calls this confrontation in Mexico an armed conflict with a high degree of intensity, and justifiably: even in the most “peaceful” year of 2014, more than 14 thousand people died, and in total, since 2006, more than 106,000 people have become victims of the “drug war.”

"Northern Triangle"

Drugs come to Mexico from South America. All transit routes pass through the three countries of the Northern Triangle in Central America: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The Northern Triangle is one of the most violent regions in the world, where powerful transnational criminal organizations have flourished, many with ties to Mexican drug transit countries; local organized crime groups; gangs like the 18th Street Gang (M-18) and the Pandillas street gangs. All these groups and clans are constantly waging war among themselves for the redistribution of spheres of influence.

The governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have declared war on both organized and street crime. This decision was warmly supported in the United States, where 8.5% of the Northern Triangle population has immigrated in recent years due to high levels of violence and corruption.

The countries of the Northern Triangle are also recognized as participants in armed conflict with a high degree of intensity.

Colombia

The confrontation between the Colombian authorities and the left-wing extremist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) lasted more than 50 years. Over these years, about 220 thousand people died, about 7 million lost their homes. In 2016, an agreement was signed between the Colombian authorities and the FARC. Rebels from the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN) refused to join the agreement, which, together with the problem of large-scale drug trafficking, leaves the military conflict in the country at “medium intensity” status.

Africa: Sub-Saharan

IN Somalia Lawlessness has reigned for more than 20 years: neither the government, nor UN peacekeepers, nor the military intervention of neighboring countries can stop the anarchy. The radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab is active in Somalia, and the coastal areas have begun to make money from piracy.

Radical Islamists terrorize and Nigeria. Boko Haram militants control approximately 20% of the territory in the north of the country. They are fought by the Nigerian army, which is assisted by military personnel from neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Besides the jihadists, there is another conflict zone in the country in the Niger Delta. For more than 20 years, Nigerian government troops and mercenaries of oil companies, on the one hand, and ethnic groups of Ogoni, Igbo and Ijaw, on the other, have been trying to establish control over oil-bearing areas for more than 20 years, with varying success.

In another country, the youngest of the recognized states in the world - South Sudan, — the civil war began two years after gaining independence, in 2013, and despite the presence of a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Formally, it is between government troops and the rebels, but in essence it is between representatives of the dominant Dinka ethnic group (President Salva Kiir is one of them) and the Nuer tribe, from which Vice President Riek Machar comes.

Uneasy in Sudan. In the Darfur region in the west of the country, an inter-ethnic conflict has been ongoing since 2003, resulting in an armed confrontation between the central government, the informal pro-government Arab Janjaweed armed groups and local rebel groups. According to various estimates, as a result of the Darfur conflict, from 200 to 400 thousand people died, 2.5 million people became refugees.

Armed conflict in Mali erupted between government forces, Tuaregs, various separatist groups and radical Islamists in early 2012. The starting point of the events was a military coup, as a result of which the then current head of state, Amadou Toure, was overthrown. To maintain order in the country, UN peacekeepers and a French contingent are present, but despite this, hostage-takings are constantly taking place in Mali.

In the eastern provinces Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite all the efforts of the authorities and peacekeepers, the situation has remained tense for many years. Various Islamist and Christian groups, armed formations of local tribes and gangs from neighboring states operate in the country. All of them are attracted by colossal reserves of rich minerals: gold, diamonds, copper, tin, tantalum, tungsten, more than half of the world's proven reserves of uranium. According to the UN Panel of Experts on the DRC, illegal gold mining “clearly remains the main source of funding for armed groups.”

IN Central African Republic (CAR) Muslim rebels overthrew a Christian president in 2013, sparking sectarian strife in the country. Since 2014, there has been a UN peacekeeping mission in the country.

» Sumerians

For thousands of years, people believed in the supernatural nature of the gods, attributing to them the ability to live forever, and they themselves sought to achieve divine immortality. The Sumerian king Gilgamesh wandered in search of the flower of eternal life, the legendary conqueror Alexander the Great looked for a stream of living water, the navigators Christopher Columbus and Ponsade Leon showed miracles of courage, trying to discover the Fountain of Youth in the Western Hemisphere. Little by little, immortality turned into a myth. However, in ancient times, people could become like gods and live tens of times longer than their fellow tribesmen.

Sumerians- this is the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. The Sumerians drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system.

Where did the ancient people get such amazing knowledge? Thousands of Sumerian texts and illustrations on astronomy and mathematics have been discovered. Among them are works on fundamental mathematics, calculating the areas of complex figures, extracting roots, solving equations with two and three unknowns. The Sumerians used a complex sexagesimal number system, based on a combination of the numbers b and 10. Complex number systems of this kind began to be used in the modern world quite recently, with the advent of computers. Among ufologists there is a version that the Sumerians received knowledge... from aliens. Here are these fabrications in brief.

Sumerian texts contain information about the origin, development and structure of the solar system, including a list and characteristics of the planets. One of the drawings depicts the solar system. In the center is the Sun, surrounded by all the planets known today. Only Pluto was placed next to Saturn by the Sumerians and described as its satellite. And between Mars and Jupiter, the Sumerians “saw” an unknown large planet. They called it Nibiru, which means "crossing." Nibiru supposedly had a very elongated and inclined orbit and passed between Mars and Jupiter once every 3600 years. It was from this planet, as read in the Sumerian texts, that the Anunaki came to Earth, “descending from heaven to Earth” approximately 445 thousand years ago. (Before this, they studied all the planets of the solar system from their observatories.) Why did the inhabitants of Nibiru land on Earth?

Moreover, as Sumerian writings claim, not just once, but regularly, every 3600 years? It turns out that the planet Nibiru is faced with an environmental problem. To protect their increasingly thin atmosphere, the Anunaki created a shield of gold particles. (The exact same idea is used in modern spacecraft to protect astronauts from radiation.)

The Anunaki needed gold. They discovered it on the seventh planet, counting from the outside in - that is, on planet Earth - and sent the first expedition to Earth. At first they unsuccessfully tried to extract the precious metal from the waters of the Persian Gulf, and then began developing mines in Southeast Africa. About 300 thousand years ago, the Anunnaki, who worked in gold mining, got tired of the hard work and rebelled. Then alien scientists, using genetic manipulation, created special workers - homo sapiens. The aliens endowed them with their knowledge and skills. Gradually, a merger of two civilizations took place - earthly and alien; Homo sapiens and the Anunnaki had common children.

Modern archaeological research has confirmed that there was indeed mining activity in South Africa during the Stone Age. Archaeologists have discovered extensive gold mines up to 20 meters deep and determined the age of the mines - from 80 to 100 thousand years! By the way, Zulu legends say that flesh and blood slaves, artificially created by the “first people,” worked in these mines. The existence of the lost planet Nibiru is indirectly confirmed by the discovery of American astronomers. They discovered fragments of a planet that revolve around the Sun in a highly elongated elliptical orbit, passing just between Mars and Jupiter.

The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority.

The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, who settled in the northern regions of Babylonia and adopted Sumerian culture, became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. OK. 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi.

In their state structure, the Sumerians had all the attributes of a modern developed state. Judge for yourself: jury trials, a bicameral parliamentary system consisting of elected deputies, citizen councils (analogous to self-government committees). And this is the fourth millennium BC! In medicine, the Sumerians used herbal medicine, had a good knowledge of anatomy and chemistry, pharmaceuticals, astronomy and many branches of modern mathematics. Developed weaving and textile industry, progressive efficient agriculture could become an example for similar modern industries.

Although the Sumerian people disappeared from the historical scene and the Sumerian language ceased to be spoken in Babylonia, the Sumerian writing system (cuneiform) and many elements of religion formed an integral part of Babylonian and later Assyrian culture. The Sumerians laid the foundations for the civilization of a large part of the Middle East, and the methods of organizing the economy, technical skills and scientific information inherited from them played an extremely important role in the lives of their successors.

Very few architectural monuments of the Sumerian era have survived. But judging by the amazing temples, we can safely say that the religion of the Sumerians was highly developed. The Sumerian temple was built on a compacted clay platform. Long stairs or ramps led to it - gently sloping platforms. Raised above the residential part of the city, the temple reminded people of the indissoluble connection between Heaven and Earth. The temple had no windows; light entered the premises through openings under flat roofs and high entrances in the form of arches. The walls of Sumerian temples were decorated with reliefs that told about historical events in the life of the city and about everyday affairs. The relief consisted of several tiers. Events unfolded before the viewer sequentially from tier to tier. All the characters were the same height - only the king was always depicted as larger than the others. Sumerian ziggurats are famous. A ziggurat is a stepped pyramid with a small sanctuary on top. The lower tiers were painted black, the middle tiers red, and the upper tiers white. A three-tiered ziggurat was built in Ur, the height of which was 21 meters. Later it was rebuilt, increasing the number of tiers to seven.

What are Sumerians? Meaning and interpretation of the word shumery, definition of the term

Sumerians -

the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. They drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system.

The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority. The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, who settled in the northern regions of Babylonia and adopted Sumerian culture, became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. Around 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi.

Although the Sumerian people disappeared from the historical scene and the Sumerian language ceased to be spoken in Babylonia, the Sumerian writing system (cuneiform) and many elements of religion formed an integral part of Babylonian and later Assyrian culture. The Sumerians laid the foundations for the civilization of a large part of the Middle East, and the methods of organizing the economy, technical skills and scientific information inherited from them played an extremely important role in the lives of their successors.

Sumerians

the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. They drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system. The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority. The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, who settled in the northern regions of Babylonia and adopted Sumerian culture, became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. Around 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi. Although the Sumerian people disappeared from the historical scene and the Sumerian language ceased to be spoken in Babylonia, the Sumerian writing system (cuneiform) and many elements of religion formed an integral part of Babylonian and later Assyrian culture. The Sumerians laid the foundations for the civilization of a large part of the Middle East, and the methods of organizing the economy, technical skills and scientific information inherited from them played an extremely important role in the lives of their successors.

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Introduction

The SUmerians were the first of the peoples who lived on the territory of Ancient Babylonia (in modern Iraq) to reach the level of civilization. Probably still ok. 4000 BC The Sumerians came to the swampy plain (Ancient Sumer) in the upper reaches of the Persian Gulf from the east or descended from the mountains of Elam. They drained swamps, learned to regulate river floods, and mastered agriculture. With the development of trade with Iran, Elam, Assyria, India and areas of the Mediterranean coast, Sumerian settlements grew into prosperous city-states, which by 3500 BC. created a mature urban civilization with developed metalworking, textile crafts, monumental architecture and a writing system.

The Sumerian states were theocracies, each of them considered the property of a local deity, whose representative on earth was a high priest (patesi), endowed with religious and administrative authority. The most important centers in this early historical period were the cities of Ur, Uruk (Erech), Umma, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur, Sippar and Akkad - a Semitic state in northern Mesopotamia. Cities constantly fought among themselves, and if a city managed to capture several neighboring ones, then for a short time a state arose that had the character of a small empire. However, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Semitic tribes from the Arabian Peninsula, who settled in the northern regions of Babylonia and adopted Sumerian culture, became so strong that they began to pose a threat to the independence of the Sumerians. OK. 2550 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered them and created a power that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. After about 2500 BC The Akkadian power fell into decline, and a new period of independence and prosperity began for the Sumerians, this is the era of the third dynasty of Ur and the rise of Lagash under the rule of Gudea. It ended approx. 2000 BC with the strengthening of the Amorite kingdom - a new Semitic state with its capital in Babylon; The Sumerians lost their independence forever, and the territory of former Sumer and Akkad was absorbed by the power of Hammurabi.

1. History of the formation of the state of Ancient Sumer

In the second half of the 4th millennium BC. e. Sumerians appeared in southern Mesopotamia - a people who in later written documents call themselves “black-headed” (Sumerian “sang-ngiga”, Akkadian “tsalmat-kakkadi”). They were a people ethnically, linguistically and culturally alien to the Semitic tribes who settled Northern Mesopotamia at approximately the same time or somewhat later. The Sumerian language, with its bizarre grammar, is not related to any of the surviving languages. They belong to the Mediterranean race. Attempts to find their original homeland have so far ended in failure. Apparently, the country from which the Sumerians came was located somewhere in Asia, rather in a mountainous area, but located in such a way that its inhabitants were able to master the art of navigation. Evidence that the Sumerians came from the mountains is their way of building temples, which were erected on artificial embankments or on terraced hills made of brick or clay blocks. It is unlikely that such a custom could have arisen among the inhabitants of the plains. It, along with their beliefs, had to be brought from their ancestral homeland by the inhabitants of the mountains, who paid honor to the gods on the mountain peaks. And another piece of evidence is that in the Sumerian language the words “country” and “mountain” are written the same way. There is also a lot to suggest that the Sumerians came to Mesopotamia by sea. Firstly, they primarily appeared in river mouths. Secondly, in their ancient beliefs the main role was played by the gods Anu, Enlil and Enki. And finally, as soon as they settled in Mesopotamia, the Sumerians immediately began organizing irrigation, navigation and navigation along rivers and canals. The first Sumerians to appear in Mesopotamia were a small group of people. There was no need to think about the possibility of mass migration by sea at that time. The Sumerian epic mentions their homeland, which they considered the ancestral home of all humanity - the island of Dilmun, but there are no mountains on this island.

Having settled at the mouths of the rivers, the Sumerians captured the city of Eredu. This was their first city. Later they began to consider it the cradle of their statehood. Over the years, the Sumerians moved deeper into the Mesopotamian plain, building or conquering new cities. For the most distant times, the Sumerian tradition is so legendary that it has almost no historical significance. It was already known from Berossus’ data that the Babylonian priests divided the history of their country into two periods: “before the flood” and “after the flood.” Berossus, in his historical work, notes 10 kings who ruled “before the flood” and gives fantastic figures for their reign. The same data is given by the Sumerian text of the 21st century BC. e., the so-called “Royal List”. In addition to Eredu, the “Royal List” names Bad Tibiru, Larak (later unimportant settlements), as well as Sippar in the north and Shuruppak in the center as “antediluvian” centers of the Sumerians. This newcomer people subjugated the country without displacing - the Sumerians simply could not - the local population, but on the contrary, they adopted many of the achievements of the local culture. The identity of material culture, religious beliefs, and socio-political organization of various Sumerian city-states does not at all prove their political community. On the contrary, it is more likely to assume that from the very beginning of the Sumerian expansion into Mesopotamia, rivalry arose between individual cities, both newly founded and conquered.

I Early Dynastic period (c. 2750-2615 BC)

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in Mesopotamia there were about one and a half dozen city-states. The surrounding small villages were subordinate to the center, headed by a ruler who was sometimes both a military leader and a high priest. These small states are now commonly referred to by the Greek term “nomes.”

Of the cities of the Sumerian-East Semitic culture located outside Lower Mesopotamia, it is important to note Mari on the Middle Euphrates, Ashur on the Middle Tigris and Der, located east of the Tigris, on the road to Elam.

The cult center of the Sumerian-East Semitic cities was Nippur. It is possible that initially it was the name of Nippur that was called Sumer. In Nippur there was E-kur - the temple of the common Sumerian god Enlil. Enlil was revered as the supreme god for thousands of years by all Sumerians and Eastern Semites (Akkadians), although Nippur never constituted a political center either in historical or, judging by Sumerian myths and legends, in prehistoric times.

Analysis of both the “Royal List” and archaeological data show that the two main centers of Lower Mesopotamia from the beginning of the Early Dynastic period were: in the north - Kish, dominating the network of canals of the Euphrates-Irnina group, in the south - alternately Ur and Uruk. Outside the influence of both the northern and southern centers were usually Eshnunna and other cities of the Diyala River valley, on the one hand, and the nome of Lagash on the I-nina-gena canal, on the other.

II Early Dynastic period (c. 2615-2500 BC)

Aga's defeat at the walls of Uruk caused, it seems, an invasion of the Elamites, conquered by his father. The Kish tradition places after the I dynasty of Kish the dynasty of the Elamite city of Avan, which, obviously, established its hegemony, in addition to Elam, in the northern part of Mesopotamia. The part of the “list” where one would expect the names of the kings of the Awan dynasty is damaged, but it is possible that one of these kings was Mesalim.

In the south, parallel to the Avana dynasty, the First Dynasty of Uruk continued to exercise hegemony, whose ruler Gilgamesh and his successors managed, as evidenced by documents from the archives of the city of Shuruppak, to rally a number of city-states around themselves into a military alliance. This union united states located in the southern part of Lower Mesopotamia, along the Euphrates below Nippur, along Iturungal and I-nina-gene: Uruk, Adab, Nippur, Lagash, Shuruppak, Umma, etc. If we take into account the territories covered by this union, we can , probably attribute the time of its existence to the reign of Mesalim, since it is known that under Meselim the Iturungal and I-nina-gena canals were already under his hegemony. It was precisely a military alliance of small states, and not a united state, because in the archive documents there is no information about the intervention of the rulers of Uruk in the affairs of Shuruppak or about the payment of tribute to them.

The rulers of the “nome” states included in the military alliance did not wear the title “en” (cult head of the nome), unlike the rulers of Uruk, but usually called themselves ensi or ensia [k] (Akkadian ishshiakkum, ishshakkum). This term apparently meant “the lord (or priest) of the laying of structures.” In reality, however, ensi had both cult and even military functions, so he led a squad of temple people. Some rulers of the nomes sought to assign themselves the title of military leader - lugal. Often this reflected the ruler's claim to independence. However, not every title “lugal” indicated hegemony over the country. The hegemonic military leader called himself not just “the lugal of his nome,” but either the “lugal of Kish” if he claimed hegemony in the northern nomes, or the “lugal of the country” (lugal of Kalama); in order to receive such a title, it was necessary to recognize the military supremacy of this ruler in Nippur, as the center of the pan-Sumerian cult union. The rest of the lugals practically did not differ in their functions from the ensi. In some nomes there were only ensi (for example, in Nippur, Shuruppak, Kisur), in others only lugali (for example, in Ur), in others, both of them in different periods (for example, in Kish) or even, perhaps, simultaneously in some cases (in Uruk, in Lagash) the ruler temporarily received the title of lugal along with special powers - military or other.

III Early Dynastic period (c. 2500-2315 BC)

Stage III of the Early Dynastic period is characterized by rapid growth of wealth and property stratification, aggravation of social contradictions and the tireless war of all the nomes of Mesopotamia and Elam against each other with an attempt by the rulers of each of them to seize hegemony over all others.

During this period, the irrigation network expands. From the Euphrates in a southwestern direction, new canals were dug: Arakhtu, Apkallatu and Me-Enlila, some of which reached the strip of western swamps, and some completely devoted their waters to irrigation. In the southeast direction from the Euphrates, parallel to Irnina, the Zubi canal was dug, which originated from the Euphrates above Irnina and thereby weakened the importance of the nomes of Kish and Kutu. New nomes were formed on these channels:

Babylon (now a series of settlements near the city of Hilla) on the Arakhtu Canal. Dilbat (now Deylem settlement) on the Apkallatu canal.

Marad (now the site of Vanna wa-as-Sa'dun) on the Me-Enlila canal. Kazallu (exact location unknown).

Push on the Zubi channel, in its lower part.

New canals were also diverted from Iturungal, and also dug inside the Lagash nome. Accordingly, new cities arose. On the Euphrates below Nippur, probably based on dug canals, cities also arose that claimed independent existence and fought for sources of water. One can note such a city as Kisura (in Sumerian “border”, most likely the border of the zones of northern and southern hegemony, now the site of Abu Khatab), some nomes and cities mentioned by inscriptions from the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period cannot be localized.

The raid on the southern regions of Mesopotamia, launched from the city of Mari, dates back to the 3rd stage of the Early Dynastic period. The raid from Mari roughly coincided with the end of the hegemony of the Elamite Awan in the north of Lower Mesopotamia and the 1st Dynasty of Uruk in the south of the country. It is difficult to say whether there was a causal connection here. After that, in the north of the country two local dynasties began to compete, as can be seen on the Euphrates, the other on the Tigris and Irnin. These were the II dynasty of Kish and the Akshaka dynasty. Half of the names of the Lugals who ruled there, preserved by the “Royal List,” are East Semitic (Akkadian). Probably both dynasties were Akkadian in language, and the fact that some of the kings bore Sumerian names is explained by the strength of cultural tradition. Steppe nomads - Akkadians, who apparently came from Arabia, settled in Mesopotamia almost simultaneously with the Sumerians. They penetrated into the central part of the Tigris and Euphrates, where they soon settled and began farming. From about the middle of the 3rd millennium, the Akkadians established themselves in two large centers of northern Sumer - the cities of Kish and Akshe. But both of these dynasties were of little importance compared to the new hegemon of the south - the Lugals of Ur.

According to the ancient Sumerian epic, around 2600 BC. e. Sumer unites under the rule of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, who later transferred power to the dynasty of Ur. Then the throne is seized by Lugalannemundu, the ruler of Adab, who subjugated Sumer from the Mediterranean Sea to southwestern Iran. At the end of the 24th century. BC e. the new conqueror, the king of Umma Lugalzagesi, expands these possessions to the Persian Gulf.

In the 24th century BC. e. Most of Sumer was conquered by the Akkadian king Sharrumken (Sargon the Great). By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Sumer was absorbed by the growing Babylonian Empire. Even earlier, by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e., the Sumerian language lost its colloquial status, although it persisted for another two millennia as a language of literature and culture.

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