In some militaria forums on the internet there is often a discussion about who invented the concentration camps. It is a tricky issue, since it implies a great ideological and political weight. Nobody likes to admit that his grandfather was a beast. Therefore, supporters of Nazism try to shift the blame for the invention to the English, during the Boer War. And naturally, the British allege that we Spaniards had already created “concentration camps ” in the Cuban War of 1898. In this way, throwing the ball to each other, we go back little by little in antiquity, discovering that the idea of genocide has always been in the mind of the human being, regardless of ethnic groups. , religions, economy or political ideologies.
Sargon of Akhad
About 4,300 years ago, the first empire we know of was created in Mesopotamia, the Akkadian . Though forged in fire and blood, Sargon of Akhad , its founder, will be remembered centuries later as a just ruler. At all times he tried to seek reconciliation with the subjugated Sumerians, respecting and assimilating their culture, their religion, their language and trying not to impose unwanted rulers. But his son and his successor, Rimush , was made of another paste. It is thought that Rimush tried to place a whole clique of Akkadians as governors, which angered the Sumerian people who ended up rebelling against the monarch. Led by Sumerian rulers, the cities of Zabala , Adab , umma , Kidingira , Ur and Lagash they took up arms. Among these, an old enemy of his father stood out: Meskigala of Adab , whose life Sargon had spared and kept in office. The result of the war was adverse for the Sumerians, who were subjected again. And the data offered by Rimush's self-promoting texts are impressive:Adab and Zabala, 15,718 dead, 14,576 prisoners and deportees; Umma and Kidingira, 8,900 dead, 3,450 prisoners and 3,600 deportees; Lagash and Ur, 8,040 dead, 5,460 prisoners and 5,985 deported. In another additional text, three battles are mentioned in which the Sumerian coalition suffers 11,322 dead, 10,680 prisoners and 14,100 deportees (at that time, a city like Ur could have a population of 50,000 inhabitants on average).
It is believed that around 50,000 people died in battle. And in those moments, to have his hands free, Rimush created the first concentration camp that we know of, where there were more than 35,000 human beings interned . It is not known very well if it was a forced labor camp or a simple extermination camp. “A-na ga-ra-si-im ish-kun ” are the words with which the Rimush text defines the field, but Sumerologists still discuss the meaning of the translation. In any case, thousands of human beings died in that place. After nine years of reign, Rimush died in a coup by being hit on the head with a stone seal. We haven't changed much in 4,000 years.
Contributed by Joshua BedwyR author of In a Dark Blue World