The earliest identifiable inhabitants of the Iraq region were known as the Sumerians. The lives of the Ancient Sumerians were haunted with fear and superstition.  As primitive people began forming civilizations, they had limited knowledge and were plagued by the things they could not explain. Their understanding of the universe was that nothing outside their range of view existed. Gastron Maspero stated, "As in Egypt, the world was a kind of enclosed chamber balanced on the bosom of the eternal waters.  The earth, which forms the lower part of it, or floor, is something like an overturned boat in appearance, and hollow underneath, not like one of the narrow skiffs in used among other races, but a kufa, or kind of semicircular boat such as the tribes of the Lower Euphrates have made use of from earliest antiquity down to our own times.  The earth rises gradually from the extremities to the centre, like a great mountain, of which the snow-region, where the Euphrates finds its source, approximately marks the summit.  It was at first supposed to be divided into seven zones, placed one on the top of the other along its sides, like the stories of a temple; later on it was divided into four 'houses,' each of which, like the 'houses' of Egypt, corresponded with one of the four cardinal points, and was under the rule of particular gods.  Near the foot of the mountain, the edges of the so-called boat curved abruptly outwards, and surround the earth with a continuous wall of uniform height having no opening.  The waters accumulated in the hallow thus formed, as in a ditch; it was a narrow and mysterious sea, an ocean, which no living man might cross save with permission from on high, and whose waves rigorously separated the domain of men from the regions reserved to the gods.  The heavens rose above the 'mountain of the world' like a boldly formed dome the circumference of which rested on the top of the wall in the same way as the upper structures of a house resting on its foundations."(1)

From this statement we can begin to appreciate the primitive mind set of the ancient people.

The earliest known form of alphabet comes to us from the ancient Sumerians; scholars who have dated it claim it to have originated about 3000 BCE.  The alphabet, known as "cuniform," consisted of wedge shaped patterns arranged in various directions to indicate phonetic tones and sounds.

THE GODS:

The forces in nature that the ancient Mesopotamians couldn't explain were revered as gods; for instance, the sky was believed to be ruled by the god An (also known as Anu) whose main temple of worship was at the city of Uruk. An was the god believed to have created all the other gods. At some unknown point the god Enlil became the chief of all gods and he in turn was replaced by Marduk in the latter part of the Babylonian civilization. It was believed that universe emerged from the ocean and Enlil separated the sky from the earth. Enlil then used the earth to create all living things.(2)

Anuna was the term used to represent the council of gods.  Asag was an evil demon believed to have the power to cause fish to boil alive in the rivers. Isimud was a minor god, he acted as a messenger to the other gods. Ereskigal was the goddess of the underworld; her son Ninazu was worshipped in the city of Esunna. Ningirsu was the warrior god of whom the king Gudea had a dream in which Ningirsu appeared before him. These are just a few of the many forces of which the ancient Sumerians feared.(3)

Sumerian religion consisted of four 'creating gods': An the god of heaven, Enlil the god of the atmosphere, Enki the god of water, and Ninhursag the mother goddess.(4)

An, the god of heaven, is known from the oldest Sumerian period and is regarded in theory as the highest god, but he does not play a correspondingly important role in myths, hymns, and the cult. His principle seat of worship was Uruk.

Enlil is the god of the atmosphere, and especially of the wind. He was considered "the father of all gods', 'the king of heaven and earth', and 'the king of all the lands'. Ancient peoples wanted their divinity to be recognized as supreme over other known divinities, thus, the expression 'king of  kings' was used in early times to express the superiority of a divinity whose people dominated a known region of a particular time. This early expression of a god being dominant was used by the Apostle John in reference to Jesus: "King of Kinds" (Revelation 19:16).

Enlil was believed to have separated the heaven and earth. He also had a terrifying side-he was the devastating god of storm and tempest.

Enki was the god of the ocean and of sweet water beneath the earth; he was also the god of wisdom and of the art of sorcery. He was believed to have brought in skill and handicraft to the earth.

Ninhursag (also called Ninmah or Nintu) was the mother of all living things.

After these four 'creating' deities come three astral divinities: the moon-god Nanna, the sun-god Utu, and the goddess Inanna.

Nanna, the moon god, possessed all conceivable divine properties and plays many roles in the myths and hymns.

Utu, the god of the sun, is described as a judge and is praised in a hymn as the god of justice, who regulates and supervises the world.

Inanna (later Ishtar), the mistress of heaven, is probably the most important of the goddesses and is associated with the planet Venus, the morning and the evening star. She is popular for her role as the goddess of love and fertility; she was the goddess of romance and sexual relations; her lover was Damuzi, the shepherd god.

The cult of Dammuzi came to rise somewhat later than Inanna's. He was originally the god of the shepherds who protected the herds, but in later times he became connected with corn and vegetation.

A lesser god, Ninurta, was regarded as the son of Enlil, and they were worshipped together at the city of Nippur.

The Sumerian pantheon also has a large number of other deities. Ishkur is the god of storm and thunder, who is worshipped primarily in his destructive aspect as the lord of hail and flood. Nerigal was the god of the underworld, but is also connected with the burning heat of the sun, with reed fires, and with fevers. His consort was Ershkigal. Gibil was the god of fire in a double aspect, as bringer of light, and was the originator of conflagrations and of reed fires. His father is Nusku, who was also a god of fire and light. Ninazu was a god of the underworld who was also worshipped as a god of healing. Other deities with similar functions are the goddesses Gula and Nininsina. Sisaba was the goddess of corn and the art of writing. Nanshe (Nazi) was a goddess who is mentioned in a hymn as guardian of writing. Besides these the Mesopotamians had many personal gods.

THE KING:

In the Sumerian cultures the local deity was believed to own all the land and crops. The king was the mediator between the deity and the population; it was his responsibility to allot food rations to the people. This concept is also found in Egypt were the Pharaoh was believed to be the embodiment of the deity. In Genesis we have the story of Joseph and how he predicted the coming famine. Joseph, acting in agreement with the Pharaoh, distributed grain to those in need of food (Genesis 42:6). Rather than the king control all the grain, the Jews gave a tenth of their crops to the temple as a tithe, this was considered to be more humane.

THE AKITU:

In the ancient Sumerian belief system a festival called 'akitu' was held at the turn of the year. This eleven day festival began on the first day of Nisan (March-April) and commemorated the revival of vegetation. A sacred marriage was performed between the lugal (king), who represented the local deity in human form and a chosen temple priestess. The first eight days were the bereavement of Marduk, who was believed to be held captive in the mountain of the Netherworld. On the fourth day of the festival the 'Enuna elish' (a rather lengthy poem) was recited. The fifth day was devoted to purification, a process involving the sprinkling of lustural water on the temple, the beating of a kettle drum, the sacrificial decapitation of a ram whose blood was believed to take away the sins of the year. The blood of the ram was smeared on the walls of the temple and its body was thrown into the river.(5) At the conclusion of the ceremony the king and priestess retired to the temple to consummate their marriage.
THE TEMPLE:

The Sumerian temple known as the ziggurat was built in three stages. The largest of these was the ground floor which represented the underworld. The second stage sat on top of this one and represented the world in which we live. The top stage was the smallest and contained a chamber in which the local deity was believed to dwell in.(6)  The excavation of these ziggurats led many modern scholars to believe that these temples is what the story of the tower of Babel was referring to in the book of Genesis.

ISHTAR:

One of the more famous myths of the Sumerians tells the story of Istar descending through seven gates to the underworld to overthrow her sister Ershkigal. Upon arriving each gate she is required to remove some of her clothing in order to pass until at the last gate she becomes entirely naked. Ershkigal overpowers Ishtar and she is imprisoned in the underworld. Ishtar represented the fertility of spring and summer. While in captivity the earth becomes barren. The council of gods order Ershkigal to release Ishtar, but Ershkigal demands a replacement. Ishtar returns to the earth and sees her lover Tammuz (Damuzi) being unfaithful to her so she designates him as her replacement. A compromise was worked out were Ishtar would spend six months of the year in the underworld and Tammuz would spend six months of the year in the underworld. The myth reflects the passing of the seasons; the winter months when the vegetation is dormant was when Ishtar was in the underworld and Tammuz is free. Ishtar becomes free as the seasons change to spring and the vegetation revives. As Ishtar ascends to the earth her clothing is restored which represents the blooming of blossoms and revived vegetation.(7)

ADAPA:

Another famous myth is the story of Adapa. Adapa was a priest of Eridu who went fishing on the sea; his boat capsizes from the gale of the South Wind. In his anger, Adapa curses the South Wind (a big demon bird) so that the wings of the South Wind were broken off. Anu, the great god, hears of what Adapa did and sent for him to punish him. After repentance, the god Ea comes to Adapa's aid. Adapa is then treated as a guest in Anu's presence but Ea warns Adapa not to eat "the bread of death" or drink "the water of death". Adapa disobeys this advise which costs him the opportunity of inheriting eternal life. This story is to relate the fall of man similar to the fall in Genesis three where Adam and Eve eat the apple.(8)

THE GILAMESH EPIC:

The Gilgamesh epic consists of ten tablets which relate the creation of the earth and other stories. In one version of the epic we find Gilgamesh consulting Utnapishtim in an effort to discover the secret of eternal life. Utnapishtim survived a great flood for his morality and advises Gilgamesh to obtain a plant that would grant him immortality. Gilgmesh acquires this plant, but on his return he stops to bathe in a pool of water; while bathing, a serpent comes along and carries off the plant and Gilgamesh is robbed of eternal life.(9)

CONCLUSION:

Abraham came out of the city of Ur which was situated on the Euphrates river in lower Babylonia. The city of Ur has been excavated and found beneath several layers of silt. In the ancient world people could only comprehend what they could see; anything beyond the horizon was beyond their comprehension and the horizon was the limit of their universe. For this reason, when Moses, who lived at least four hundred years after Abraham, described the great flood (see The Deluge), he related the history of the flood as he had been taught. The Euphrates river flooded the city of Ur as far as the horizon; in historical times prior to the life of Abraham that would have been considered the whole earth. A 1926 edition of the Encylopeadia Britanica states, "There are flood stories which, at first sight, may plausibly be held to be only exaggerated accounts of some ancient historical occurrences."(10)  Likewise the creation story in the Bible can be compared to these Babylonian stories. This does not discredit the moral principles of the stories, for primitive men were trying to explain what their consciences were telling them, consciences guided by the Holy Ghost. 

I have compiled these tid bits to illustrate the superstitious nature of the ancient Sumerians and how many Christian concepts have evolved from some of these early ideas.