Sumer

Sumer (or Shumer) (3500-2334 BCE) was an ancient civilization located in the southern part of Mesopotamia (modern day southeastern Iraq) from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. The term "Sumerian" applies to all speakers of the Sumerian language. It is the oldest civilization in the world. The term "Sumerian" is an exonym, first applied by the Akkadians. The Sumerians called themselves "the black-headed people" and their land "place of the civilized lords." Sumerian civilization was among the oldest urban civilizations on the planet. In Sumer the first attempts at writing emerged to produce ancient cuneiform, a form of administrative language written as wedged strokes on clay tablets. And in ancient Sumer the first detailed records of military battles appeared written or carved in stone.

The period of interest is that from 3000 to 2316 B.C., the date that Sargon the Great united all of Sumer into a single state. This period was marked by almost constant wars among the major city-states and against foreign enemies. The almost constant occurrence of war among the city-states of Sumer for two thousand years spurred the development of military technology and technique far beyond that found elsewhere at the time.

The stele (slab, column, pillar, or wall erected for commemorative purposes with pictures and/or text carved on it) demonstrates that the Sumerian troops fought in phalanx formation, organized six files deep, with an eight-man front, somewhat similar to the formation used in Archaic Greece. Fighting in phalanx requires training and discipline, and the stele thus suggests that the men in this battle were professional soldiers.