00:00 The narrator explores the ruins of Ur, an ancient city in Mesopotamia, and reflects on the significance of the Sumerian civilization that once thrived there.

09:52 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers brought life to the arid desert of southern Iraq, leading to the development of the first human civilizations, including the Sumerians and Akkadians, who were skilled farmers and built cities in the marshy southern landscape.

19:20 The Sumerians and Akkadians had a symbiotic relationship, with the Sumerians being a mysterious people who spoke a language isolate and may have arrived in southern Iraq by boat, possibly from India, while the Akkadians were known to have spoken a Semitic language and had more knowledge of their history, and the theory that the Sumerians may have originated from a population devastated by a great flood is worth considering.

28:24 The Sumerians may have originated from a land that is now at the bottom of the sea, and they referred to themselves as the black-headed people, and had a flourishing civilization where they made advancements in various fields such as music, mathematics, and architecture.

37:34 The Sumerians developed advanced systems of irrigation and water management, which transformed the landscape of southern Iraq and led to the rise of the first true states and cities.

46:54 The invention of writing in Sumeria allowed for the recording and transmission of knowledge, leading to advancements in technology and the emergence of a separate class of scribes.

56:17 The city of Uruk in Sumeria had fortified walls, urban planning, and a diverse economy, with markets full of produce, houses made of baked bricks, and a love for beer, while the city of Ur became the new center of Sumerian culture and a booming hub of trade.

01:05:28 The Sumerians engaged in global trade, obtaining goods such as spices and gemstones from the Indus Valley civilization, and the city of Ur became incredibly wealthy as a result, as evidenced by the grave goods found there, including the ornate standard of Ur, which depicted scenes from everyday life; however, the power of Ur eventually began to decline, leading to the rise of Lagash, a slaving city that conquered much of southern Mesopotamia and established the first true empire in the world, but its rule was short-lived due to overextension and internal revolts, allowing the king of Umma, Lugalzagesi, to seize power.

01:14:34 Lugalzagesi sacked and burned the city of Lagash, claimed to have conquered all the lands between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean coast, but his empire eventually fell due to civil wars and rebellions, leading to the rise of Sargon of Akkad.

01:23:42 Sargon of Akkad centralized the empire's administration, reformed the dating system, and began using Akkadian in official inscriptions, causing resentment among the Sumerian-speaking cities and leading to open rebellion after his death.

01:33:02 The Guti invaded and destroyed the city of Akkad, causing the collapse of the Akkadian Empire and leading to a period of suffering and a miniature dark age in Mesopotamia.

01:41:50 Utu Hengal, a Sumerian man, successfully led a rebellion against the Gouthi rulers and brought back the kingship of Sumer, marking the beginning of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the Neo-Sumerian Empire.

01:51:02 The decline of the Sumerian civilization was due in part to the increasing salinity of the soil, which made it difficult for crops to grow, and the constant threats from nomadic groups such as the Guti and the Matu who raided and plundered the Sumerian lands.

02:00:28 The Sumerian empire fell apart due to the invasion of the Matu, the collapse of the kingdom's defenses, famine, and the siege and destruction of the capital city of Ur by the Elamites.

02:10:03 The fall of Ur marked the end of the unified Sumerian state, leading to a dark age where individual city-states vied for control over the ruins, and the Sumerian people began to flee the region as refugees, resulting in a vast population movement and the blending of cultures that would give rise to the empires of Babylon and Assyria.

02:19:34 The Sumerian people passed out of history, but their clay tablets remain, waiting for archaeologists to discover them and uncover the records and recipes, music and prayers, loves and grief, triumphs and lamentations of the Sumerian people, as well as their wistful philosophies and melancholy meditations on loss.