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1、1苏美尔文明SumerianCivilizationItisanastonishingfactthathumancivilizationshouldhaveemergedintothelightofhistoryintwoseparateplacesatjustaboutthesametime.Between3500and3000B.C.whenEgyptwasbeingunitedunderPharaohicrule,anothergreatcivilizationaroseinMesopotamia,the“landbetweentherivers”.Andforcloseto300
2、0years,thetworivalcentersretainedtheirdistinctcharacters,eventhoughtheyhadcontactwitheachotherfromtheirearliestbeginnings,andtheirdestinieswereinterwoveninmanyways.ThepressuresthatforcedtheinhabitantsofbothregionstoabandonthepatternofNeolithicvillagelifemaywellhavebeenthesame.ButthevalleyoftheTig
3、risandEuphratesrivers,unlikethatoftheNile,isnotanarrowfertilestripprotectedbydesertoneitherside.Itresemblesawideshallowthroughwithfewnaturaldefenses,crisscrossedbytwogreatriversandtheirtributaries,andiseasilyencroacheduponfromanydirection. Thusthefactsofgeographytendedtodiscouragetheideaofuniting
4、theentireMesopotamianareaunderasinglehead.Rulerswhohadthisambitiondidnotappear,sofarasweknow,untilaboutathousandyearsafterthebeginningsofMesopotamiancivilization,andtheysucceededincarryingitoutonlyforbriefperiodsandatthecostofalmostcontinuouswarfare.Asaconsequence,thepoliticalhistoryofancientMeso
5、potamiahasnounderlyingthemeofthesortthatdivinekingshipprovidesforEgypt.Localrivalries,foreignincursions,thesuddenupsurgeandequallysuddencollapseofmilitarypower–theseareitssubstance.Againstsuchadisturbedbackground,thecontinuityofculturalandartistictraditionsseemsallthemoreremarkable.Thiscommonheri
6、tageisverylargelythecreationofthefoundersofMesopotamiancivilization,whomwecallSumeriansaftertheregionofSumer,whichtheyinhabited,neartheconfluenceoftheTigrisandEuphrates. TheoriginoftheSumeriansremainsobscure.Theirlanguageisunrelatedtoanyotherknowntongue.Sometimebefore4000B.C.,theycametosouthernMe
7、sopotamiafromPersia,andthere,withinthenextthousandyears,theyfoundedanumberofcity-statesanddevelopedtheirdistinctiveformofwritingincuneiform(wedge-shaped)charactersonclaytablets.Unfortunately,thetangibleremainsofSumeria
