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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[]

Team bonus[]

Town Centers cost -25%.

Missing technologies[]

Metallurgy, Iron Shield, Craftsmanship, Astrology, Afterlife, Monotheism, Fanaticism, Zealotry

Missing units[]

Legionary, Improved Bowman, Elephant Archer, Cavalry, Armored Elephant, Ballista, Catapult Trireme

Overview[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

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[]

ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires[]

Age of Empires Definitive Edition icon Definitive Edition[]

  • Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 30% faster.
  • Farms provide +125 food.
  • Coinage is available.
  • Heavy Transport is available.

AoE2Icon-ReturnRome 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:

NuRoR priest idle Voices of Babylon[]

RoR Sargon of Akkad 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[]

Names shown in italics are only used in the original game, names shown in bold are used in both the original game and its expansions.

  • Gilgamesh (𒄑𒉈𒂵𒈩) - King of Uruk around 2600 BC
  • Sargon (𒈗𒁺) - King of Akkad c. 2334-2279 BC
  • 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
  • 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

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 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.
  • Despite being a Mesopotamian people, they had the Egyptian architecture, like the Assyrians. Since Return of Rome, Sumerians have been moved to the Mesopotamian architecture, but not Assyrians.
  • The civilization crest (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.
  • 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.
    • In Return of Rome, the Sumerians' architectural set has been correctly changed to the Mesopotamian style shared with the Babylonians and the Persians.
  • The UI emblem artwork of the Sumerians depicts the Warrior-God Ninurta battling the demon Anzu, Temple of Nimrud, 9th C BC

Gallery[]

References[]

Civilizations in Age of Empires categorised by architecture set
East Asian architectureChoson AOE DE ROR icon Choson · Lac Viet AOE DE ROR icon Lac Viet · Shang AOE DE ROR icon Shang · Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato
Egyptian architectureAssyrian AOE DE ROR icon Assyrians · Egyptian AOE DE ROR icon Egyptians · Hittite AOE DE ROR icon Hittites
Greek architectureGreek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks · Minoan AOE DE ROR icon Minoans · Phoenician AOE DE ROR icon Phoenicians
Mesopotamian architectureBabylonian AOE DE ROR icon Babylonians · Persian AOE DE ROR icon Persians · Sumerian AOE DE ROR icon Sumerians
Roman architectureCarthaginian AOE DE ROR icon Carthaginians · Macedonian AOE DE ROR icon Macedonians · Palmyran AOE DE ROR icon Palmyrans · Roman AOE DE ROR icon Romans
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