ABSTRACT
W hat lies to the north of the Sumerian World? How and why did the north andSumer interact? Sumer’s northern neighbour in the third millennium BC remains enigmatic and
under-discussed; this chapter aims to shed light on this region and on the nature of the north-south relationship. Was northern Mesopotamia a periphery to Sumer’s core, merely replicating its cultural and economic developments? Was it a less-complex but resource-rich area targeted by more powerful and resource-hungry political units of the south? Or did its varied environment and mixed population generate strong and dynamic independent systems, processes and ideologies?
