and more importantly, did Jewish monotheism emerge at the high point of Sumerian civilization. I have a history packet that I'm working on and I can't find the answer in my packet. In the text, it says: "The Jews, a Semitic people influenced by Babylonian civilization, settled near the Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E." now, this tells me a lot, but I still can't determine whether or not Jewish monotheism popped up around the same time as the high point of Sumerian civilization.