Sumer Book Series

Late in the 3rd millennium bc (around 2100bc) civilisation faced one of its first setbacks. The Akkadian Empire, arguably one of the first true empires known to man, had control over what we now call Mesopotamia. The majority of Mesopotamia was inhabited by a people called the Sumerians, a people who arguably created the first known civilisation in human history. The Sumerians however were not thought to be natives, as were the Semitic Akkadians, though they seemed to live in relative harmony with one another. Mesopotamia was a natural cradle for civilisation, a warm climate, two large fresh water rivers and fertile soil. Though by the late 3rd millennium a series of long droughts, coupled with the salinification of much of the farm land from hundreds of years of mineral deposits caused the Akkadian Empire to suffer greatly. This changing weather pattern also drove the Guti, a savage mountain people down from the Zagros mountains and into the civilized lands. Sargon the Great's descendants could possibly have dealt with one or the other, but combined would prove too much.