The Ancients – Fall of the Sumerians
Host: Tristan Hughes (History Hit)
Guest: Dr. Paul Collins (British Museum)
Date: September 11, 2025
Series: Great Disasters
Overview
This episode explores the so-called "fall of the Sumerians"—not as a simple collapse of a people or cities, but as a complex, multilayered transformation of society, language, and identity in ancient Mesopotamia. Through a detailed conversation with Dr. Paul Collins, the episode revisits the nature of Sumerian civilization, the impact of empire (Akkadian and then Neo-Sumerian), and the enduring—yet shifting—legacy of the Sumerian language and culture. The discussion nuances what "fall" really means and challenges the simplicity of civilizational decline narratives.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Defining Sumer and the Sumerians (05:22–08:51)
- Regional Focus: Sumer was southern Iraq, from south of Baghdad to the Persian Gulf—one of the birthplaces of urban civilization.
- Origins: Urban centers in Sumer and Syria emerged around 4000 BC, as part of a broader Middle Eastern phenomenon.
- City-States: Sumer was made up of rivalrous, independent city-states like Uruk, Ur, Eridu, Nippur, and Lagash, each with its own god/goddess at the heart of civic life.
"Sumer is effectively southern Iraq... the area roughly from south of Baghdad down to the head of the Persian Gulf."
— Dr. Paul Collins (06:44)
2. The Importance of Writing and Archaeological Evidence (08:51–10:13)
- Cuneiform Tablets: The Sumerians are known for some of the earliest writing in the world, preserved on clay tablets. Their script, cuneiform, facilitated the spread of ideas, administration, and identity.
- Ongoing Archaeology: Both Iraqi and international teams continue to uncover new insights into Sumerian and early Mesopotamian life.
3. Sumerian Society and Political Organization (10:13–13:01)
- City-State Governance: Each was theoretically ruled by a deity but administered by mortal kings, who acted as intermediaries and temple builders.
- Dynastic Rivalry: Power passed hereditarily, but rival city dynasties were in constant flux, leading to periodic conflict.
4. The Rise of Akkad and Empire (13:17–18:29)
- Sargon of Akkad: Around 2350 BC, Sargon, a Semitic-speaking king, unified Sumerian city-states and beyond, forming the Akkadian Empire—often considered the world's first empire.
- Continuity in Cities: Despite Akkadian conquest, most Sumerian cities retained prior structures, and Sumerian language/identity saw continued, even increased, importance.
- Cultural Synthesis: Sumerian became the language of kings and religion, with Akkadian dominant in economic matters; a duality expressing both tradition and change.
"Sargon... managed to consolidate control across the entire alluvial plain."
— Dr. Paul Collins (15:41)
5. Life Under and After Empire (18:35–31:57)
- Duration: The Akkadian overlordship lasted 150–200 years. Local city rulers sometimes rebelled, showing enduring city-centric identity over imperial loyalty.
- Rebellion and Decline: Massive coalitions of city-states rebelled against Akkadian "empire," such as under Sargon's grandson, Naram-Sin.
- Empire's Fragility: Environmental factors (notably drought, famine caused by climate change and shifting river patterns) along with external invasions (Elamites, Guti) and internal unrest led to Akkad's downfall by ~2150 BC.
"If you've got an empire or an extensive control over these city states, that too becomes immensely vulnerable..."
— Dr. Paul Collins (30:05)
6. After Empire: Resilience and Neo-Sumerian Revival (34:09–45:06)
- Return to City-State Dominance: Following Akkad’s fall, city-states like Lagash and Ur regained prominence. Gudea of Lagash is noted for wealth and temple-building.
- Neo-Sumerian/Ur III Period (Third Dynasty of Ur): Under Ur-Namma (~2100 BC), Ur emerges as the most powerful city-state, attempting to recreate imperial structures and using Sumerian as a language of administration, though it was dying as a spoken tongue.
- Sumerian as "Latin": Sumerian became akin to Latin in medieval Europe—a language of educated administrators, not everyday speech.
"It's actually a political decision... Sumerian becomes less and less spoken in the street. But at that very moment, the new authorities in power see this language as ancient, as connected to their land, but especialized... like Latin would be used in the medieval period."
— Dr. Paul Collins (42:32)
7. The Final Decline of Sumerian Prominence (46:07–59:47)
- Ur III Collapse (~2000 BC): Combination of climate stresses, administrative overreach, and assaults by external groups (especially Elamites) led to downfall.
- End of Sumerian as a Living Language: After Ur’s fall, Sumerian persisted only among educated elites for administration and religion; Akkadian became the main spoken and written language.
- City Identity Endures: Populations remained, but city-states’ relative political or cultural dominance waxed and waned based on control of resources (notably shifting river courses).
"Sumerian has an echo long after the last person has spoken it, for thousands of years. But it doesn't define as a way, a group of people or a particular culture."
— Dr. Paul Collins (60:21)
8. The Real "Fall" – Language vs. Cities and People (62:35–65:23)
- No Single Collapse: The episode argues against the notion of a single, dramatic “fall.” There is no precise moment of total collapse—cities and culture morph, language transitions, but urban and cultural life persist in various forms.
- Monumental Legacy: Ziggurats and cuneiform archives outlast the spoken language, inspiring later civilizations; the cuneiform tradition persists into the first centuries CE.
- Legacy of Sumer: Sumerian remains foundational to subsequent Mesopotamian culture, law, learning, and legendary memory—much as Greek and Latin are to the Mediterranean world today.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the Endurance of Urban Life:
“Regardless of the language you spoke, as kings and princes fell and rose, life in the streets may not have altered very much at all.”
— Tristan Hughes (24:01) -
On Interpreting the Sumerian Collapse:
“I think it's much more interesting. I think it's much more complex real world that we're dealing with. And very often all we're seeing is that top elite royal level... But fundamentally, these mixed populations connected very much their identity with their cities.”
— Dr. Paul Collins (63:09) -
On the Language’s Long Echo:
“So Sumerian continues to be written... Sumerian in that sense is never lost because it continues to be used by these scribes, by these scholars, right the way down to the end of cuneiform culture in the early centuries of the common era.”
— Dr. Paul Collins (57:29)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 05:22 — What is Sumer? Defining the region and early cities
- 09:01 — Sources and cuneiform writing explained
- 12:20 — The major Sumerian cities
- 13:17 — Sargon of Akkad and rise of the world’s first empire
- 16:29 — Impact on conquered cities; language as power
- 19:27 — rebellions and limits of Akkadian rule
- 24:56 — Persistence of city-states’ independence
- 27:56 — Collapse of Akkad: climate, invasion, and internal revolt
- 34:09 — Chaos and the resurgence of city-states; the Neo-Sumerian revival
- 38:12 — Gudea of Lagash and local dynasty restoration
- 39:21 — The “resurrection” of Ur as a dominant city
- 41:41 — Neo-Sumerian period: Sumerian language as elite script
- 46:07 — Ur-Namma’s rule, law code, and ziggurats
- 51:01 — The end of Ur III: climate, invasion, bureaucracy
- 53:28 — Lamentations and legendary memory of the Ur III fall
- 57:29 — Long Sumerian legacy in writing
- 59:59 — Can we date “the fall”? The persistence and transformation of tradition
- 62:35 — Enduring centrality of city identity and Sumerian in later ages
- 65:23 — Sumerian as intellectual pursuit; conclusion
Tone and Conclusion
The episode maintains a scholarly but enthusiastic tone, demystifying “decline and fall” narratives and highlighting the resilience, adaptation, and legacy of Sumerian cities and culture. Dr. Collins and Tristan Hughes consistently emphasize nuance: the “fall” is not so much a dramatic end as a transition, especially marked by the transformation in the use and status of the Sumerian language.
Last Word
“It just goes to me to say thank you so much for taking the time to come back on the podcast.”
— Tristan Hughes (65:51)
For listeners seeking to understand not only how civilizations end, but how their memory endures, this episode is a revelatory, myth-busting deep dive into one of humanity’s earliest urban societies.