Unveiling Sumer: The Rise of Ancient Civilization The Sumerians flourished in Mesopotamia, which is modern-day Iraq, between circa 4100 and 1750 BCE, in the region of Sumer, which wasn't a country but a region made up of a number of walled city-states, each with its own king. The name Sumer means the land of the black-headed people, but they were also known as the land of the civilized kings by the Akkadians who occupied the northern region of Mesopotamia while Sumer occupied the south. By 2900