SUMER

swamp scene at Sumer, courtesy, AsiaNews.it

Located in the ancient land of Sumer, often referred to as the Cradle of Civilization, are the marshlands of Hawizeh, Hammar, and Qurna, all with a distinct ecosystem. Today, this is part of Arab-occupied southern Iraq. In this area live the descendants of the ancient Sumerians, the so-called “Marsh Arabs” (even though most are not of Arab descent), but more properly known as Maadan. Comprising members of many different tribes and tribal confederations, such as the Āl Bū Muḥammad, Ferayghāt, Shaghanbah and Banī Lām, the Maadān had developed a unique culture centered on the marshes' natural resources. The majority of Maadan are Shiʿi Muslims, though in the marshes small communities of Mandaic-speaking Mandaeans (often working as boat builders and craftsmen) live alongside them. The Maadan’s long association with Persian tribes may have influenced the spread of Shī‘īsm among them. Few had ever made the haj to Mecca but many would travel to the holy city of Mashhad in Persia instead (thereby earning the title Zair).  

It is often said that the Garden of Eden was located in the land of Sumer. Before and during the 4th millennium BCE, what archaeologists call, the Ubaid and Uruk periods, the first literate societies had emerged. Due to the geographical location and ecological factors of the Fertile Crescent, the Sumerians were also able to develop agricultural and technological programs. Farming arose early in the Fertile Crescent because the area had a large quantity of wild wheat and pulse species that were nutritious and easy to domesticate. Soon, city-states rose to power and between that time and the 27^th century BCE, their written history began. Classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 23rd century and following the Gutian period, which ended c. 2055, there was a brief Sumerian Renaissance. But that was cut short in the 20th century by invasions by the Amorites. The Amorite "dynasty of Isin" persisted until c. 1700, when Mesopotamia was united under Babylonian rule. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into the Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) population. Since then, Sumer became a part of the empires of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Arameans, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

In the early Christian period CE (or AD), some Assyrians settled in or near the area of the marshlands and churches were built in Ur and Larsa, while the Sumerians/Maadan developed a culture where the water buffalo became an important part. In 636, the Muslim Arabs invaded from Arabia and the indigenous Sumerians/Maadan overwhelmingly adopted the religion of the conquerors. Sumer, along with the rest of Mesopotamia and the Middle East, became part of the Arab Empire. Almost immediately however, their acceptance of Islam notwithstanding, the Arabs began to colonize the area, stealing land from the inhabitants in the process. In addition, the Maadan would often suffer a cruel dhimmi-like status in their now-occupied homeland. This situation still exists to this day.

Shortly after the Arab invasion, the settler colony of Basra was established. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the marshes became the site of the short-lived Arab colonial state of Batihah founded by 'Imran ibn Shahin. Up until the end of the eighteenth century, pastoral nomads that formed tribal confederations often provided the framework for a ruling dynasty and state. 

In the early 17^th century, the Italian composer and musicologist Pietro Della Valle (1586–1652) who was also a world traveler, visited and studied the Maadan and brought them to the attention of the western world. In 1824, George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle (1799–1891) reported in detail on the marsh inhabitants. In the first half of the 20^th century, other high-status travelers visited the area and wrote of their experiences e.g. Gerturde Bell, TE Lawrence (of Arabia), and British colonial administrator Stuart Edwin Hedgecock and his wife. In the early 1930s, American anthropologist Henry Field visited the Maadan and made the acquaintance of their Sheikh Falih al S’aihud of the Al Bu Muhammad tribe. 

Beginning in the 1950s and continuing to the 70s, and without the consent of the Maadan, the Arab occupation authorities began a process of draining the swamps thus displacing, as well as destroying, the Maadan’s way of life. During the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), many were driven out of their homes, their few possessions were stolen, and their water buffalo were slaughtered for food by the armies. In the late 1980s and 90s, during the presidency of Saddam Hussein, the draining of the swamps was expanded and accelerated. Before 2003, the marshes were drained to 10% of their original size. The Qurna and Hammar Marshes were nearly dried up and only 35% of the Hawizeh Marshes remained. After the fall of the regime in 2003, the recovery of the marshes was excruciatingly slow. Drought along with dam construction in Turkey, Arab-occupied Syria, and Iran have hindered the process.