Sumerology

The article I will present below is the newest and most advanced study proving the commonality of Turkish and Sumerian in terms of words, morphology and grammar. Written by a Russian author Kurmaev in 2019. Norm Kisamov translated it from Russian to English and then sent to me. "Between 1914-1915, the German Sumerologist Fritz Hommel compared 200 Turkish-Sumerian words that matched in meaning and phonetics, and wrote an article for a book called "Sumerian is Turkish". However, the article was not published because of the intervening World War I, perhaps because of the racism that started later. A manuscript copy of the article still exists" (1). Noah Kramer, in his publication "Sumerians, Their History, Culture and Character", discussed the Sumerian-Turkish relationship extensively in 1963 (2). Vecihe Hatiboğlu, Osman Nedim Tuna and Olcas Sülaymanov wrote works on the same subject (3). Osman Nedim Tuna published 165 common Sumerian Turkish words (4). Then he increased the number of words. Suleymanov showed 60 common Turkish-Sumerian words only on the subjects of "man, nature and faith" (5). Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, in her book "Sümerler Türklerin Bir Koludur", discussed this relationship extensively and gave many examples of words (1). The most comprehensive Sumerian-Turkish common words list that I have read so far is Polat Kaya's mini dictionary published in English (6). At the end of the article, I will also give many examples from that list.

While working in southern Iraq, archaeologist Sir Leonard Wolley uncovered 16 royal tombs in the cemetery of ancient Ur. The wealth in these tombs, which remains unparalleled in Mesopotamian archaeology, included some of the most celebrated pieces of Sumerian art that now grace the halls of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. They were a remarkable but grisly find. Inside the 4,500-year-old tombs,​ Woolley was meet by a macabre scene of human and animal sacrifice

Ur III letters, most often formulated as requests for transactions, frequently stress the urgency of the requested transaction by stock phrases. Letters were written for special situations that deviated from routine procedures, especially if matters of the royal sector were involved, and they also induced modifications and rearrangements in existing legal relations. Furthermore, Ur III letters served as legally valid documents that permitted transactions at a distance confirmed by the sealing of the sender. Reports were sent mainly to superiors; orders were written to subordinates or to “brothers” on the same social stratum.

Writing is typically viewed from the perspective of speech — as a mode of communication that strives to accurately and unambiguously capture the spoken word in visible form. From this standpoint, however, writing can only be but a pale reflection of speech as it fails to express much of the information of the speech act — intonation, gesture, and facial expression, for example, are not generally notated in writing. Yet from a different perspective — one more compelling but less commonly considered — writing, by virtue of visibility, materiality, and permanence, is capable of expressing meaning beyond speech. Color, size, style, and format, for instance, are often recruited as vehicles of meaning by writing systems of all kinds. Logographic scripts, which employ word signs, not only make use of these same means, but can also graphically express complex semantic associations that are conditioned by culture and worldview. Seen Not Heard explores the various ways in which the earliest writing systems — Egyptian, Anatolian, and Maya hieroglyphic systems, Mesopotamian cuneiform, and Chinese writing — exploited visible language to express meaning beyond the spoken word.

The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest literary explorations of the purpose and meaning of human life. The poem’s hero embarks on a quest for immortality, only to discover that, for humankind, eternal life lies in enduring works and contentment in domestic comforts.

The motif of body cleaning – including the washing of hair and skin, anointment with perfumes, and the wearing of spotless garments – is woven through the epic narrative. Enkidu, a wild man who has been reared in the steppe, is cleaned and groomed as part of his transition into human society. Ninsun, the divine mother of Gilgamesh, bathes before making a ritual offering to the sun-god Shamash. Gilgamesh washes himself on his return from an expedition to slay the monster Humbaba. In each episode, the cleansing of the body provides entrée to a new social context. Freshly washed, Enkidu gains admission to the company of other human beings, Ninsun to the company of the gods, and Gilgamesh to the intimate company of a woman. When, at the close of the epic, Gilgamesh bathes for a final time following his quest to the end of the earth in search of everlasting life, the cleansing heralds his acceptance of his own mortality and his readmission to the ranks of humanity.

The epic establishes the clean body as a requirement for participation in society, and those who stand outside of the human social order are marked by their uncleanliness: these include wild animals, the grieving, and the dead. In a text whose aim is to establish what human beings can and should aspire to in the face of the inevitability of death, cleanliness emerges as a key value, a prerequisite to leading a rewarding human life of full social participation.

At the end of the 24th century, c.2300±30 bce, Sargon of Akkade (2324–2285±30 bce) defeated Lugalzagesi, king of Uruk, unified the whole of Babylonia proper in a single territorial state, and laid the foundation of the Akkadian Empire. Sargon, his sons Rimush and Manishtushu, and his grandson Naramsuen led their armies as far as the Mediterranean in the west, reached the springs of Euphrates and Tigris in the north, and campaigned as far as highland Iran in the east and the Arabian Gulf in the south, dominating the political landscape of Mesopotamia for more than a century (2300–2181±30 bce). Under Sharkalisharri, westerners and Guteans penetrated the empire, provinces defected, and Akkade was reduced to a petty state. After a short period of confusion, Dudu and Shudurul (2177–2142±30 bce) presided over an Akkadian resurgence, but the Guteans successively conquered central and northern Babylonia and thus eliminated Akkade from the political stage.

#1. Neolithic technology, especially technology involving the use of reeds and weaving, was highly advanced long before the beginning of Sumerian civilizations. Many of these technologies were based on 'basket weaving technology' and were involved in the creation of a wide variety of products from bitumen treated basket-buckets used in irrigation to large reed ships.
#2. These advanced Neolithic technologies formed the bedrock, the foundation, for the emergence of these civilizations. These technologies were crucial, for example, to the development of irrigation and dredging the canals.
#3. When more advanced technologies appeared such as copper, bronze, and fired bricks (many treated with bitumen), the earlier technologies played a supporting role and were involved in their development and their production.
#4. Although new technologies emerged, they did not entirely replace the older technology which continued to be used in a variety of roles both traditional and in support of the new technologies.
#5. There have been many misconceptions about the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia which has made it hard to grasp the 'big picture'. Housing made of reeds, for example, may have been much more widespread than previously thought and a huge fleet of reed boats and coracles made with reeds may have been as important, if not more important, than the large wooden ships that were developed to haul heavy cargoes and to import goods from distant ports. In addition, there was an extensive reed industry that existed from Neolithic times and continued with the Sumerian civilizations but this industry has not been properly identified.

Eine Hommage an die Entwicklung des naturwissenschaftlichen Denkens vom Paradies bis in die Neuzeit mit überraschenden mythischen und historischen Erkenntnissen. KAPITEL XXIX. bis XXXV. Eine Hommage an die Entwicklung des naturwissenschaftlichen Denkens vom Paradies bis in die Neuzeit mit überraschenden mythischen und historischen Erkenntnissen.

Il testo
Dimenticate per secoli, le civiltà dell'antica Mesopotamia sono state riscoperte solo nell'Ottocento. Migliaia di tavolette di argilla incise in scrittura cuneiforme hanno permesso di portare alla luce una tradizione letteraria che, attraverso due lingue, il sumerico e l'accadico, si è sviluppata nell'arco di tre millenni. Dal primo racconto del diluvio e della creazione dell'uomo alle discese infere e le battaglie contro mostri caotici, dalle vicende epiche dei sovrani mitici alle gesta dei loro successori, dai grandi inni alle preghiere quotidiane e gli scongiuri, dalla riflessione teologica sulla vita a quella filosofica e umoristica, le composizioni sumeriche e accadiche costituiscono una delle più antiche, varie e lunghe tradizioni letterarie dell'uomo. La letteratura sumerica del III millennio a.C. e quella accadica (assira e babilonese) del II e I millennio a.C. sono qui presentate attraverso una descrizione dei diversi generi e l'analisi di contenuti e motivi. Una scelta di testi letterari, pubblicata in digitale sul sito www.mondadorieducation.it, completa il volume.

L'autore
Lorenzo Verderame insegna lingua e letteratura sumerica e accadica alla «Sapienza» Università di Roma. È autore di numerose monografie e articoli scientifici dedicati a differenti aspetti delle culture dell'antica Mesopotamia, tra cui l'editio princeps dei primi sei capitoli del compendio astrologico Enūma Anu Enlil (2002) e diversi volumi con l'edizione di documenti neo-sumerici. Le sue ricerche si sono concentrate sull'amministrazione e la cultura materiale della Mesopotamia del III millennio così come su vari aspetti della religione e della letteratura mesopotamica. Svolge attività di ricerca e collabora con diverse istituzioni universitarie e musei, tra i quali il British Museum e la Yale Babylonian Collection, dove dirige, rispettivamente, un progetto di edizione dei testi neo-sumerici e delle lettere paleo-babilonesi. Dal 2014 è l'epigrafista della missione archeologica italiana a Nina (Tell Surghul) nell'Iraq meridionale.

Indice
Prefazione; 1. Introduzione; 2. Le vicende divine; 3. Le gesta dei re; 4. L'uomo si rivolge al dio; 5. Le riflessioni sulla vita; 6. Composizioni varie; Schema delle principali divinità mesopotamiche; Quadro cronologico; Appendice cartografica. La Mesopotamia e il Vicino Oriente tra il III e il I millennio a. C.; Bibliografia; Opere citate; Indice dei nomi, delle opere e delle cose notevoli.

Testi tradotti disponibili gratuitamente online : http://www.mondadorieducation.it/media/contenuti/universita/verderame_letterature_mesopotamia/index.html

The mutual influence of East-Semitic Akkadian and isolate Sumerian on each other is the first known and documented example of contact-induced language change. Speakers of East-Semitic and Sumerian may have been in contact for over a thousand years, and the contact resulted in similarities on the level of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. This chapter describes the linguistic traits of Akkadian that may have developed under the influence of Sumerian. Except for a considerable number of loanwords from Sumerian, this influence manifests itself in shared patterns, categories, constructions, and meanings but not in loaned forms, a fact which alone may be an indication of prolonged and stable bilingualism.

Kültür, milletin DNA kodlarını içinde barındıran bir unsur, dil ise o milletin kimliğidir. Atatürk; Türk milletinin hafızasını canlı tutmak için Türk dili, tarihi ve kültürünün, bilimin ışığında derinlemesine araştırılıp incelenmesini ister. Bu araştırmalar ve incelemelerin yapılabilmesi için de birçok kurumun açılmasına öncülük eder. Atatürk’ün gayretleriyle açılan kurumlar arasında ayrı bir önemi olan Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesindeki bölümlerde yapılan çalışmalarla, Türklerin binlerce yıl önce de dilleriyle ve kültürleriyle tarih sahnesinde oldukları kanıtlanmaya çalışılır. Fakültedeki Sümeroloji bölümü de Türk dilinin ve kültürünün geçmişinin saptanması konusunda önemli bir işleve sahiptir. M.Ö. 4000’lerde yaşamış olan Sümerlerin dillerinin Türkçeye benzemesi, kültürlerinin Türk kültürüyle kesişen noktaları olması ve Mezopotamya’ya Orta Asya’dan gelmiş olabilecekleri düşüncesi araştırmacılara Türklerle akraba olabileceklerini düşündürür. Atatürk’ün Sümerlere olan ilgisi de bu sebepledir. Atatürk’ün, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesindeki Asuroloji olan bölümün adını Sümeroloji olarak değiştirtmesi, yeni açılan bir bankaya Sümerbank adını verdirtmesi, kitaplardaki Sümerlerle ilgili bölümlere aldığı notlar ve Dil-Tarih kongrelerinde bildirdiği görüşler, Sümer-Türk ilişkisi hakkında araştırmacılara ilham kaynağı olur. Bu çalışmada, Atatürk’ün Türk kültürüne verdiği değer, bu alanda yapılacak çalışmalar için gösterdiği gayret ve onun öngörüsüyle başlatılan çalışmalarla kat edilen yol değerlendirilmiştir.

Culture is a component of a nation’s DNA codes, and language is the identity of that nation. Ataturk; Turkish language, Turkish history and Turkish culture in order to keep the memory of the Turkish nation alive wants to be investigated in depth in the light
of science. He also pioneers the opening of many institutions in order to be able to carry out these investigations and examinations. With the efforts made in the departments of Language and History-Geography faculties, which are a distinguishing feature among the institutions opened by the efforts of Atatürk, it is tried to prove that the Turks are on the history stage with their tongues and cultures thousands of years ago. The Department of Sumeriology at the faculty also has an important function in the identification of the history of Turkish language and culture. Sumerians who lived in 4000 BC resemble Turkic languages, that their culture has points that intersect with Turkish culture and that they might have come to Mesopotamia from Central Asia, researchers think that they might be related to the Turks. Atatürk’s interest in Sumerians is also due to this reason. The change of the name of the Department of Asurology in Atatürk’s Faculty of Language and History-Geography to the name of Sumeriology, the giving of a name to Sumerbank to a newly opened bank, the notes of the sections related to the Sumerians in the books and the opinions expressed in the Language-History congresses are the inspiration for the researcher about the Sumerian-Turkish relationship. In the study, the value given by Atatürk to Turkish culture, the effort he made for the work to be done in this area, and the way it was carried out with the works initiated by his foresight were evaluated.

The conception of humanity's destruction because of a flood plays an important role in the beliefs of the most ancient people in Mesopotamia. One of the literary texts, which depicts the extinction of human kind as a result of a deluge sent by gods, is Gilgameš; and the other is Atra-hasis. The Atra-hasis epic, as in the example of Gilgameš, has been copied for many years and spread from Mesopotamia to the West. This epic begins with the creation of humans who toil instead of the gods. However, the population of the humans increase in number in time. Their noises disturb God Enlil very much and he gets annoyed at them. Thus, Enlil decides to wipe them out. His first attempt is a plague, the second is famine, and the third is a flood. Enki (Ea) saves the humans from those disasters with the orders given to Atra-hasis. The Atra-hasis epic can also be traced in the Hittites. There are some fragments of the Atra-hasis Epic in Hittite and Akkadian languages among the thousands of cuneiform tablets which were found in the archeological excavations dug in the capital city of the Hittites, Hattuša. Those fragments are broken in small pieces and small in number. The
Bu makale, " Hitit Kültüründe Hurri Etkisi " adlı doktora tezinden hazırlanmıştır.

Представлена детальная реконструкция систем мер длины, применявшихся на территории Древней Месопотамии до завоевания ее персами.
(There is detailed reconstruction of the systems of measures of length used on the territory of ancient Mesopotamia until its conquest by the Persians.)
(Das ist detaillierte Rekonstruktion der Systemen der Maßen der Länge, der  auf dem Gebiet des Alten Mesopotamien bis zur Eroberung durch die Perser  verwendet.)

Questo libro si propone come un breve manuale introduttivo allo studio della lingua sumera nella sua forma classica, e nasce dal desiderio di colmare, almeno in parte, una grave carenza del panorama editoriale italiano: la mancanza di un testo introduttivo che non sia dedicato agli accademici.