Although the language of Sumer is not related to any other known language, it had some infl uence on Akkadian, the Semitic language that eventu-ally became the dominant language of the a
Trang 1law codes This revival did not last long, however After
about 100 years the Ur III dynasty fell in 2004 b.c.e.,
eventually to be replaced by the Babylonians
Sumer left a lasting impression on the cultures that
followed Some of the inventions the Sumerians
contrib-uted include writing, the city-state, the wheel, legal
doc-uments, and schools Although the language of Sumer is
not related to any other known language, it had some
infl uence on Akkadian, the Semitic language that
eventu-ally became the dominant language of the ancient Near
East The infl uence of Sumerian culture, however,
con-tinued through the later periods of the Babylonians and
the Assyrians in their mythology and historiography
See also Assyria; Babylon, early period; cuneiform;
Fertile Crescent; Greek city-states; scribes
Further reading: Snell, Daniel C Life in the Ancient Near
East, 3100–332 B.C.E New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 1997; Van De Mieroop, Marc A History of the Ancient
Near East ca 3000–323 BC Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004
Dewayne Bryant
Sunzi (Sun Tzu)
(6th century b.c.e.) Chinese general and author
Sunzi means “Master Sun” in Chinese He was also
known as Sun Bin (Pin) or Sun the Cripple because his feet
were amputated as punishment for some crime He was
the putative author of a book titled Sunzi Bingfa
(Sun-tzu ping-fa), or the Art of War of Sunzi, which analyzed
warfare and strategy He lived toward the end of the sixth
century b.c.e and led the army of one of China’s warring
states to victory In time Sun became almost a legend
Several new groups of men gained prominence
dur-ing the Warrdur-ing States period (487–221 b.c.e.), when
warfare among the Chinese states became intense and
large scale One group was the diplomats, who could
negotiate successfully Another group was the
profes-sional warriors, because valor in battle provided one
avenue of upward mobility for the offi cers and
exemp-tion from taxes and labor services and rewards for
common soldiers Strategists and tacticians were also in
demand; Sunzi belonged to this group
The Sunzi Bingfa opens thus: “The art of war is of
vital importance to the state It is a matter of life and
death, a road either to safety or to ruin Hence under
no circumstances can it be neglected.” The work
con-sists of 13 chapters: Laying Plans, On Waging War,
The Sheathed Sword, Tactics, Energy, Weak Points and
Strong, Variation of Tactic, The Army on the March, Terrain, The Nine Situations, Attack by Fire, and The Use of Spies Each chapter is short and succinct For example, chapter 3, “The Sheathed Sword,” opens this way: “To fi ght and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fi ghting In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy
it is not so good So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is
to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the fi eld; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.”
The Sunzi Bingfa has been an infl uential book for
Chinese generals since the fourth century b.c.e It was
fi rst translated into French in 1782 and was translated into English in 1905 It has been used as a textbook in all Western military academies since the early 20th cen-tury and, more recently, in business schools because the strategies it offers are applicable to many endeavors See also Hundred Schools of Philosophy; Zhou (Chou) dynasty
Further reading: Griffi th, Samuel G Sun Tzu: The Art of War
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963; Kierman, Frank A., Jr.,
and John K Fairbank, eds Chinese Ways in Wafare Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974; Sun Tzu The Art of War
Edited by James Clavell New York: Dell Publishing, 1983
Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur
Susa
See Persepolis, Susa, and Ecbatana
Syracuse
In 421 b.c.e., with the establishment of the Peace of Nikias, Athens and Sparta managed to set a provisory truce on the Peloponnesian War (431–404 b.c.e.) However, a period of mutual suspicions and instability
followed, which created new confl icts for both poleis
and their allies In the winter of 415 b.c.e the Sicil-ian city of Segesta decided to ask for AthenSicil-ian support against their neighbor Selinus, which was helped by
Syr-acusan forces According to Thucydides (in his History
of the Peloponnesian War), Athens agreed to organize
and send 60 ships to the island under the joint command
Syracuse 447