Kingdoms of Sumeria

Numerous cultures throughout the world have an extensive history of creation myths. The Mesopotamian artefacts from the third millennium B.C. to the end of the first millennium B.C. indicate that while many of the gods were associated with natural forces, no myth particularly addressed the origins of the universe. Simply simply, it was thought that gods existed prior to the world's formation. Almost none of the Sumerian literature from the third millennium B.C. has survived. Several fragmentary tablets contain references to a time before the birth of the gods, when only the Earth (Sumerian: ki) and Heavens (Sumerian: an) existed. Even though there was no moonlight or sunlight, the land was still green and there was water beneath the surface, despite the absence of any vegetation. First-millennium B.C. Sumerian poetry gives further information.
Like their Sumerian contemporaries, Babylonian poets had no explanation for the origin of the world. Among the other types of texts were numerous creation-related tales. Enlil, the former leader of the pantheon, was replaced by Marduk in the Babylonian creation story Enuma Elish, which provides a theological rationale for Marduk's elevation to supreme god. The poem was presumably composed during or just during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, which spanned the late twelfth century B.C. Babylon attained political and cultural independence at this time, following several years of foreign Kassite dynasty dominance. The poem hails the achievement of the city and serves as a political tract describing how Babylon displaced Nippur as the venue of religious ceremonies.