Sumerian greenstone cylinder seal of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100 BC).Ur-Nammu (r. 2047 - 2030 BC) was the firs

Sumerian greenstone cylinder seal of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100 BC).Ur-Nammu (r. 2047 - 2030 BC) was the first king of the Sumerian Renaissance (Ur III Period), and was succeeded by his son Shulgi (r. 2029 - 1982).  These two kings made cultural advancement the goal of their administrations.  They maintained peace, which allowed art and technology to flourish.Innovations made during the Sumerian Renaissance included the first schools, the first written love songs and funeral chants, the first aquarium, the earliest versions of the Great Flood myth, and the earliest-known legal precedents in court cases.  The Sumerians had a sexigesimal system of counting (based on 60), and this led to the 60 seconds/60 minutes system of measuring time.Night and day were each divided into 12 hours.  A “work day” was established, with limits on when it began and ended.  The concept of “days off” for holidays was also established.Ur-Nammu wrote the first Sumerian legal code.  This was the precedent for the more well-known Code of Hammurabi. -- source link

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