= Rise to Power = (8)

Learn about the Rise to Power in Age of Empires IV, focusing on Sumerian city-states from 5000 to 3000 B.C. along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

The agricultural communities of Sumer gradually coalesced into city-states along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers from 5000 to 3000 B.C. The peak of this city-state culture lasted from 2900 to 2400 B.C. They warred with one another from time to time and competed for land and trade, but never conglomerated or built an empire that expanded from their traditional homeland.

The city-states of the river valley were relatively rich from food production, manufacturing, and their position along important trade routes. This made them tempting targets when more powerful and warlike neighbors came into existence to the north and east.