Early State Formation in the Sumerian Region

This information can be extrapolated and applied to the world today, helping countries and states to thrive and not collapse. In addition, it helps enrich the history of the world. One of the regions that cannot be overlooked when studying the development of early state societies is the Sumerian region. This region was large, having a number of well-defined and developed states. It is among the regions whose history has been well developed overtime. The fertile lands as well as numerous water supplies in the region favored all sorts of agricultural activities. At the time, there were farmers, who owned vast acres of land, and used it to grow various crops. There were also long distance traders, who in most cases purchased agricultural produce from one region and sold it to other regions.

Lastly, there were also a lot of nomadic pastoralists in the Sumerian region (Charvát, 51). Naturally, the nomadic pastoralists and long distance traders did not own any lands. It is therefore a reasonable assumption that states developed to suppress conflicts between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. These states were probably composed of the influential people in the societies as the leaders. Such influential people could regulate the prices of goods, and prevent the rich from taking advantage of those in middle and low classes. The second case of development of early state societies due to conflicts is as a result of ‘bullying’. This is thought to result when social relations become more impersonal, leading to the eruption of bullies. Given that the Sumerian region was a throbbing agricultural region, it can be concluded that this theory accurately depicts how the states were developed and ruled.

Integration Modeling This model explains that early state societies developed as a result of states getting into complex situations and therefore states evolve through complex integrative mechanisms. In addition, the theory supposes that the best and brightest naturally elevate themselves to the top and assume leadership positions. This theory can be applied to explain the development of state societies in the Sumerian region. To begin with, the advancement of agriculture, and trade in the region made that there were new possibilities in the region on a daily basis. Such people usually end up winning leadership positions when they vie for political positions. The same must have been the case in the earlier days in the Sumerian region. However, this model has a few flaws.

To begin with, integration theorists have trouble explaining the absence of conflict in the formation of the state societies. This is a highly unlikely situation. Some of them are internal conflicts while some are external conflicts. It can therefore be assumed that conflicts existed even in that period. Furthermore, the theory accurately explains how conflicts can lead to the development of state societies. This gives it an edge over the other theories that have been postulated to explain how early state societies developed. In addition, there is historical evidence to support the theory.  25, no.  1, 2016, pp. Charvát, Petr. "Of Sheep, Sumerians and the Early State. " Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Blahoslav Hruška(2011): 49-60. Lee, Wayne E.  Waging War: Conflict, Culture, and Innovation in World History.