Natural Disasters and the Ancient Sumerians - Essay Example

NATURAL DISASTERS AND ANCIENT SUMERIANS The ancient story concerning the great floods that are told in the bible is believed to have originated from the region of the ancient Sumerians known as Mesopotamia. The Sumerians had settled in the Mesopotamia region and they were considered to have a great impact in the subsequent civilization of the region. Different version of narratives has been said concerning the floods. Most of these stories also try to solve the riddle concerning the origin of the Sumerians as they were forgotten until the nineteenth century, when their deciphered and writings were discovered1.

These different legends and myths also involved the data concerning the location and the duration the last great floods are perceived to occur as it is the one that caused the rise and development of these narratives. Even though there is no existing evidence concerning the enormous floods that is believed to have covered almost every mountain in the world, only many narratives from all over the world that is told concerning the great floods which was the major disaster that was faced by the people of Sumerian2.

The floods are considered to have destroyed the human race in the unsociable past and which resulted in the map of the world to change in the process. As a result of the floods, the Sumerians were forced to migrate and as a result of this migration, the early Mesopotamia culture was passed to the people where the Sumerians settled3.In the year 5000 BC, the floods of the Caspian Sea and the black sea occurred. The effects of the floods were greatly faced on the northern shores of the sea as in causing the water level of the Mediterranean Sea to rise.

This made the red sea to connect itself to the mar Mara Sea that is located next to the modern turkey. The developing pressure that was happening in the earths crust resulted in a region that is considered to be active and of high earthquake magnitude. This is believed to have triggered some of the major earthquakes and some of the volcanic eruptions4.This was also regarded as the great floods as it is explained by the Sumerian legends, which was later hired by the civilization of the ancient Mesopotamia and was eventually recorded down in the bible.

The people who managed to escape the floods relocated from these fertile lands to the Western Europe region even though many of the Sumerians went to regions that were warm which is believed to be the southern Mesopotamia region. While in the southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerians found the first humankind civilization and where their literature was preserved and it is the one that is understood today5.Of late, many stories have emerged that states that the story of the great floods that was narrated by the Sumerians legendary is contained in the flooding of the black sea basin.

Several researches have been conducted in order to determine the possible locations where of the floods and to determine the possible duration when the great floods occurred. The solution that was considered the best indicated that the floods occurred around 5500-5000 BC in the region of the northern black sea. This conclusion was based on all the evidence that is present from the history of geology, mythology and linguistics. The floods are believed to have occurred just before the early appearance of the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia and after they appeared in the region of Eastern Europe6.

BibliographiesGabriel, Richard A. 2012. Man and wound in the ancient world: a history of military medicine from Sumer to the fall of Constantinople. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books.Thornton, Brian. 2011. The book of ancient bastards 101 of the worst miscreants and misdeedsfrom ancient Sumer to the Enlightenment. Avon, Mass: Adams Media. Kuiper, Kathleen. 2011. Mesopotamia: the worlds earliest civilization. New York, NY: Britannica Educational Pub. In association with Rosen Educational Services.