| “ | Cultivate the rich soils of Mesopotamia, invent writing and the wheel, and wage the wars of Gilgamesh and Sargon. No enemy city will withstand your fearsome siege engines! | ” |
| —Description[1] | ||
The Sumerians are a playable civilization in Age of Empires, based on the inhabitants of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Sumeria, who were responsible for many of the most important innovations, inventions, and societal concepts which are considered to be the foundation of human civilization and urbanization, such as writing, the wheel, the calendar, among others.
Characteristics[]
Civilization bonuses[]
- Villagers have +15 hit points.
- Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 45% faster.
- Farms provide +125 food.
- Camels have +1 pierce armor.
Team bonus[]
- Town Centers cost -25%.
Missing technologies[]
Missing units[]
Overview[]
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They are a siege based civilization, and excel at developing a strong economy. In the late game, they can use a combination of Centurions and Heavy Catapults, despite lacking upgrades on the former, due to the bonuses on the latter and the units covering each other's weaknesses. They also having highly mobile options such as Heavy Horse Archers, Scythe Chariots, and Camel Riders.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Architecture set is Egyptian.
- Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 42.5% faster (but stated 50%).
- Farms provide +250 food.
- Coinage is not available.
- Heavy Transport is not available.
Definitive Edition[]
- Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 30% faster.
- Farms provide +125 food.
- Coinage is available.
- Heavy Transport is available.
Return of Rome[]
- Architecture set is Mesopotamian.
- Team bonus added.
- Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 45% faster.
- Camels have +1 pierce armor.
Campaign appearances[]
The Sumerians appear as AI players in:
Voices of Babylon[]
- 1. The Holy Man
- Sumerians - Enemy (since the Definitive Edition)
- 2. The Tigris Valley
- Mari Raiders - Enemy (since the Definitive Edition)
- 5. The Great Hunt (original version)
- Elam - Enemy
- 5. The Great Hunt (Return of Rome version)
- Elamites - Enemy
Sargon of Akkad[]
This campaign is played as the Sumerians.
- 1. The Chosen One
- Allied Villages - Ally
- Sippar - Enemy → Potential Ally
- Borsippa - Enemy → Potential Ally
- Ur-Zababa - Enemy
- Assassins - Enemy
- Kish - Enemy
- 2. Divine Will
- Neutral Villages - Ally
- Susa - Enemy → Ally
- Isin - Enemy → Ally
- Larsa - Enemy → Ally
- 3. The Prophecy
- Isin - Ally
- Uruk - Enemy
- 4. The Land of Kings
- Akkad - Ally
- Coastal Village - Neutral
- 5. Subartu
- Sumerian Allies - Ally
- Sumerian Villages - Ally
- Sumerian Rebels - Enemy
AI player names[]
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Sumerians AI characters.
- Gilgamesh (𒄑𒉈𒂵𒈩) - King of Uruk around 2600 BC
- Lugalzaggesi (𒈗𒍠𒄄𒋛) - King of Sumer 2296-2271 BC
- Rimush (𒌷𒈬𒍑) - King of Akkad 2283-2274 BC
- Urukagina (𒌷𒅗𒄀𒈾) - King of Lagash, 25th or 24th century BC
- Enheduanna (𒂗𒃶𒌌𒀭𒈾) - High Priestess of Ur, daughter of Sargon
- Naram Sin (𒀭𒈾𒊏𒄠𒀭𒂗𒍪) - King of Akkad 2254-2218 BC
- Lugalbanda (𒈗𒌉𒁕) - Mythological king of Uruk
- Emmerkar (𒈗𒌉𒁕) - Mythological king of Uruk
- Mesannepada - King of Ur, 26th or 25th century BC
The following AI players are only present before the Definitive Edition:
- Gilgamesh II - Did not exist in Sumer
- Sargon II - Did not exist in Sumer
- Sargon III - Did not exist in Sumer
- Gilgamesh III - Did not exist in Sumer
- Sargon IV - Did not exist in Sumer
History[]
- Main article: /History
| “ | 5000 to 2230 BC The Sumerians were one of the earliest civilizations. Their growth and expansion was dependent on rich river valley farmlands. They were not as fortunate as others in terms of mineral resources or strategic position, however, and did not enjoy the long existence of the Egyptians. They are considered one of the most important early cultures, nevertheless, because of the many advances attributed to them. Because their location was weak in terms of defense and poor in terms of resources, they were forced to innovate. In many ways they were more important to history because of their innovations than the much richer Egyptians. The Sumerians are most noted for the invention of the wheel and writing (both circa 4000 BC). The wheel was important for transport and for pottery making (the potter's wheel). Sumerian writing, called cuneiform, consisted of groups of stylus wedge impressions pushed into clay to form stylized pictograms representing words. This writing grew out of record keeping and seals from business transactions. |
” |
| —Age of Empires manual | ||
Sumerian civilization took form in the Uruk period (4th millennium B.C.), continuing into the Jemdat, Nasr, and Early Dynastic periods. It was conquered by the Semitic-speaking kings of the Akkadian Empire around 2400 BC. Native Sumerian rule re-emerged for about a century in the third dynasty of Ur (Sumerian Renaissance) of the 21st to 20th century (short chronology).
The cities of Sumer were the first civilization to practice intensive, year-round agriculture, by 5000 BC showing the use of core agricultural techniques including large-scale intensive cultivation of land, mono-cropping, organized irrigation, and the use of a specialized labour force. The surplus of storable food created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating after crops and grazing land. It also allowed for a much greater population density, and in turn required an extensive labour force and division of labour. Sumer was also the site of the first early development of writing, progressing from a stage of proto-writing in the mid 4th millennium BC to writing proper in the third millennium.
Trivia[]
- The civilization's icon introduced in Return of Rome portrays a symbol called the Star of Ishtar, associated with Ishtar (called "Inanna" by the Sumerians), the Mesopotamian goddess of love, beauty, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sex, divine law, and political power. The symbol is emblazoned on a typical Sumerian shield which was used in shield-walls.
- The user interface image in Return of Rome depicts the Warrior-God Ninurta battling the demon Anzu, Temple of Nimrud, 9th C BC
- The Sumerians have a hidden civilization penalty for their Helepolises which have a reduced fire rate of -50% if played in the Scenario Editor. With the release of Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, they are the only civilization that still have a penalty.
- Historically, the Sumerians built Ziggurats; however, before Return of Rome they shared their architectural set and Wonder (which is the Great Pyramid) with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, while the Ziggurat was the Wonder of the Babylonians, the Hittites, and the Persians, which is quite inaccurate for the latter two.
- It was corrected in Return of Rome by getting the Mesopotamian architecture.
Gallery[]
References[]
| Civilizations in Age of Empires categorised by architecture set | |
|---|---|
| East Asian architecture |  Choson ·  Lac Viet ·  Shang ·  Yamato |
| Egyptian architecture |  Assyrians ·  Egyptians ·  Hittites |
| Greek architecture |  Greeks ·  Minoans ·  Phoenicians |
| Mesopotamian architecture |  Babylonians ·  Persians ·  Sumerians |
| Roman architecture |  Carthaginians ·  Macedonians ·  Palmyrans ·  Romans |