The Maritime History Programme - Episode 2: Power-hungry Lugals

Each week Brandon Huebner presents a new chapter in his chronological history of humanity’s relationship with the sea. The Maritime History Programme is a narrative look at the development of boat and sail technology, trade, exploration, economics, and the links between the ocean and the development of society and culture throughout history. In this second episode, we meet the successors of the Ubaid people, the Sumerians. After the Sumerians came on the scene, their civilization experienced what can legitimately be called an urban revolution, and we'll see the driving factors behind the rise of cities and the emergence of more defined social structures. With social structure came a ruling class, and we'll also see how these rulers contributed to the rise of trade in the Persian Gulf. As we round out the episode, we'll consider the archaeological evidence from the early dynastic period and see what it can tell us about boating and the extent of trade in pre-Akkadian Sumer.