As one of the first urban civilizations in the world, the Sumerians established the world’s first and oldest government. By the 4th millennium BCE, Sumer was divided into many city-states which were ruled by a priestly governor or king. The Sumerians are also responsible for the oldest known law code found today, the Code of Ur-Nammu.
The Sumerian government ran several public programs including the use of an agricultural specialized labor force and a massive irrigation and canal system. All Sumerians, excluding the rich, were required by the government to work on the canals in a corvee (intermittent, unpaid labor). Although the Sumerian civilization no longer exists, their descendants are the modern-day people of Iraq.