Uruk - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer

Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....

and later Babylonia

Babylonia

Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

.

Uruk gave its name to the Uruk period

Uruk period

The Uruk period existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, following the Ubaid period and succeeded by the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia. It was...

, the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...

spanning c. 4000 to 3100 BC, succeeded by the Jemdet Nasr period

Jemdet Nasr period

The Jemdet Nasr period is an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia that is generally dated to 3100–2900 BCE. It is named after the type-site Jemdet Nasr, where the assemblage typical for this period was first recognized. Its geographical distribution is limited to south–central Iraq...

of Sumer

Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....

proper.
Uruk played a leading role in the early urbanization of Sumer

Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....

in the mid 4th millennium BC.
At its height c 2900 BC, Uruk probably had 50,000–80,000 residents living in 6 km² of walled area; making it the largest city in the world at the time. The semi-mythical king Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...

, according to the chronology presented in the Sumerian king list

Sumerian king list

The Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of "official" kingship...

, ruled Uruk in the 27th century BC.
The city lost its prime importance around 2000 BC, in the context of the struggle of Babylonia

Babylonia

with Elam

Elam

Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...

, but it remained inhabited throughout the Seleucid and Parthian

Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...

periods until it was finally abandoned during the Sassanid period shortly before the Islamic conquest of Mesopotamia.

The site of Uruk was discovered in 1849 by William Kennett Loftus who led the first excavations from 1850 to 1854. The Arabic name of lower Mesopotamia, al-ʿIrāq, is thought to be derived from the name Uruk, possibly via Middle Persian

Middle Persian

Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...

transmission, and gave rise to the name of modern Iraq

Iraq

Prominence

In myth and literature, Uruk was famous as the capital city of Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

, hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Epic of Gilgamesh

Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...

. It is also believed Uruk is the biblical (Genesis 10:10) Erech

Erech

Erech according to the Book of Genesis, was an ancient city in the land of Shinar, the second city built by king Nimrod....

, the second city founded by Nimrod

Nimrod (king)

Nimrod is, according to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah and the king of Shinar. He is depicted in the Tanakh as a man of power in the earth, and a mighty hunter. Extra-Biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his...

in Shinar

Shinar

Shinar was a geographical locale of uncertain boundaries in Mesopotamia. The name may be a corruption of Shene nahar , Shene or , or Sumer .It has been suggested that Shinar must have been confined to the northern part of Mesopotamia Shinar (Hebrew Šin`ar, Septuagint Σεννααρ Sennaar) was a...

.

In addition to being one of the first cities, Uruk was the main force of urbanization

Urbanization

Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....

during the Uruk period

Uruk period

(4000–3200 BC). This period of 800 years saw a shift from small, agricultural villages to a larger urban center with a full-time bureaucracy, military, and stratified society. Although other settlements coexisted with Uruk, they were generally about 10 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s while Uruk was significantly larger and more complex. The Uruk period culture exported by Sumerian traders and colonists had an effect on all surrounding peoples, who gradually evolved their own comparable, competing economies and cultures. Ultimately, Uruk could not maintain long-distance control over colonies such as Tell Brak by military force.

Geographic factors underpin Uruk's unprecedented growth. The city was located in the in the southern part of Mesopotamia which is an ancient civilizatiion, on the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

rivers. Through the gradual and eventual domestication of native grains from the Zagros foothills and extensive irrigation techniques, the area supported a vast variety of edible vegetation. This domestication of grain and its proximity to rivers enabled Uruk's growth into the largest Sumerian settlement, in both population and area, with relative ease.

Uruk's agricultural surplus and large population base facilitated processes such as trade, specialization of crafts and the evolution of writing. Evidence from excavations such as extensive pottery and the earliest known tablets of writing support these events. Excavation of Uruk is highly complex because older buildings were recycled into newer ones, thus blurring the layers of different historic periods. The topmost layer most likely originated in the Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900 BC) and is built on structures from earlier periods dating back to the Ubaid period

Ubaid period

The Ubaid period is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The tell of al-`Ubaid west of nearby Ur in southern Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate has given its name to the prehistoric Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic culture, which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain of southern...

History

In myth, Uruk was founded by Enmerkar

Enmerkar

Enmerkar, according to the Sumerian king list, was the builder of Uruk in Sumer, and was said to have reigned for "420 years" ....

, who brought the official kingship with him, according to the Sumerian king list. He also, in the epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta is a legendary Sumerian account, of preserved, early post-Sumerian copies, composed in the Neo-Sumerian period ....

, constructs the Eanna (Sumerian: E₂-ana, 'House-of-Heavens') temple for the goddess Inanna

Inanna

Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....

in the Eanna District of Uruk. In the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...

, Gilgamesh builds the city wall around Uruk and is king of the city.

Uruk went through several phases of growth, from the Early Uruk period (4000–3500 BC) to the Late Uruk period (3500–3100 BC). The city was formed when two smaller Ubaid

Ubaid period

settlements merged. The temple complexes at their cores became the Eanna District and the Anu District dedicated to Inanna

Inanna

Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....

and Anu

Anu

In Sumerian mythology, Anu was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, Consort of Antu, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as...

, respectively. The Anu District was originally called 'Kullaba' (Kulab or Unug-Kulaba) prior to merging with the Eanna District. Kullaba dates to the Eridu period

Ubaid period

when it was one of the oldest and most important cities of Sumer. There are different interpretations about the purposes of the temples. However, it is generally believed they were a unifying feature of the city. It also seems clear that temples served both an important religious function and state function. The surviving temple archive of the Neo-Babylonian period

Neo-Babylonian Empire

The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. Throughout that time Babylonia...

documents the social function of the temple as a redistribution center.

The Eanna District was composed of several buildings with spaces for workshops, and it was walled off from the city. By contrast, the Anu District was built on a terrace with a temple at the top. It is clear Eanna was dedicated to Inanna

Inanna

Inanna, also spelled Inana is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare....

from the earliest Uruk period throughout the history of the city. The rest of the city was composed of typical courtyard houses, grouped by profession of the occupants, in districts around Eanna and Anu. Uruk was extremely well penetrated by a canal system that has been described as, "Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

in the desert." This canal system flowed throughout the city connecting it with the maritime trade on the ancient Euphrates River as well as the surrounding agricultural belt.

It should be noted the original city of Uruk was sited southwest of the ancient Euphrates River, now dry. Currently, the site of Warka is northeast of the modern Euphrates river. The change in position was caused by a shift in the Euphrates at some point in history, and may have contributed to the decline of Uruk.

Historic periods of Uruk

Archeologists have discovered multiple cities of Uruk built atop each other in chronological order.

Uruk XVIII Eridu period (c 5000 BC); the founding of Uruk
Uruk XVIII-XVI Late Ubaid period (4800–4200 BC)
Uruk XVI-X Early Uruk period (4000–3800 BC)
Uruk IX-VI Middle Uruk period (3800–3400 BC)
Uruk V-IV Late Uruk period (3400–3100 BC); The earliest monumental temples of Eanna District are built.
Uruk III Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900 BC); The 9 km city wall is built
Uruk II
Uruk I

Eanna district

The Eanna district is historically significant as both writing and monumental public architecture emerge here during Uruk periods VI-IV. The combination of these two developments places Eanna as the first true city and civilization in human history. Eanna during period IVa contains the earliest examples of cuneiform writing and therefore the earliest writing in history. Although these cuneiform tablets have been deciphered, difficulty with site excavations has obscured, the purpose and sometimes even the structure of many buildings.

The first building of Eanna, Stone-Cone Temple (Mosaic Temple), was built in period VI over a preexisting Ubaid temple and is enclosed by a limestone wall with an elaborate system of buttress

Buttress

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...

es. The Stone-Cone Temple, named for the mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

of colored stone cones driven into the adobe brick façade, may be the earliest water cult in Mesopotamia. It was ritually demolished in Uruk IVb period and its contents interred in the Riemchen Building.

In the following period, Uruk V, about 100 m east of the Stone-Cone Temple the Limestone Temple was built on a 2 m high rammed-earth podium

Podium

A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...

over a pre-existing Ubaid temple, which like the Stone-Cone Temple represents a continuation of Ubaid culture. However, the Limestone Temple was unprecedented for its size and use of stone, a clear departure from traditional Ubaid architecture. The stone was quarried from an outcrop at Umayyad about 60 km east of Uruk. It is unclear if the entire temple or just the foundation was built of this limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

. The Limestone temple is probably the first Inanna temple, but it is impossible to know with certainty. Like the Stone-Cone temple the Limestone temple was also covered in cone mosaics. Both of these temples were rectangles with their corners aligned to the cardinal directions, a central hall flanked along the long axis flanked by two smaller halls, and buttressed façades; the prototype of all future Mesopotamian temple architectural typology

Typology (urban planning and architecture)

Typology is the taxonomic classification of characteristics commonly found in buildings and urban places, according to their association with different categories, such as intensity of development , degrees of formality, and school of thought...

.

Between these two monumental structures a complex of buildings (called A-C, E-K, Riemchen, Cone-Mosaic), courts, and walls was built during Eanna IVb. These buildings were built during a time of great expansion in Uruk as the city grew to 250 hectares and established long distance trade, and are a continuation of architecture from the previous period. The Riemchen Building, named for the brick shape called Riemchen by the Germans, is a memorial with a ritual fire kept burning in the center for the Stone-Cone Temple after it was destroyed. For this reason, Uruk IV period represents a reorientation of belief and culture. The facade of this memorial may have been covered in geometric and figural murals. The Riemchen bricks first used in this temple were used to construct all buildings of Uruk IV period Eanna. The use of colored cones as a façade treatment was greatly developed as well, perhaps used to greatest effect in the Cone-Mosaic Temple. Composed of three parts: Temple N, the Round Pillar Hall, and the Cone-Mosaic Courtyard, this temple was the most monumental structure of Eanna at the time. They were all ritually destroyed and the entire Eanna district was rebuilt in period IVa at an even grander scale.

During Eanna IVa, the Limestone Temple was demolished and the Red Temple built on its foundations. The accumulated debris of the Uruk IVb buildings were formed into a terrace

Terrace

A terrace may refer to:*Terrace , a leveled surface*Terrace , a raised flat platform*Terrace , a step-like landform that borders a shoreline or river floodplain...

, the L-Shaped Terrace, on which Buildings C, D, M, Great Hall, and Pillar Hall were built. Building E was initially thought to be a palace, but later proven to be a communal building. Also in period IV, the Great Court, a sunken courtyard surrounded by two tiers of benches covered in cone mosaic, was built. A small aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

drains into the Great Courtyard, which may have irrigated a garden at one time. The impressive buildings of this period were built as Uruk reached its zenith and expanded to 600 hectares. All the buildings of Eanna IVa were destroyed sometime in Uruk III, for unclear reasons.

The architecture of Eanna in period III was very different than what had preceded it. The complex of monumental temples was replaced with baths around the Great Courtyard and the labyrinthine Rammed-Earth Building. This period corresponds to Early Dynastic Sumer

History of Sumer

The history of Sumer, taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BC, ending with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BC, followed by a transition period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BC. The first...

c 2900 BC, a time of great social upheaval when the dominance of Uruk was eclipsed by competing city-state

City-state

A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...

s. The fortress-like architecture of this time is a reflection of that turmoil. The temple of Inanna continued functioning during this time in a new form and under a new name, 'The House of Inanna in Uruk' (Sumerian: e₂-^dinanna ^unuki-ga). The location of this structure is currently unknown.

Anu district

The great Anu district is older than the Eanna district; however, few remains of writing have been found here. Unlike the Eanna district, the Anu district consists of a single massive terrace, the Anu Ziggurat

Ziggurat

Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...

, dedicated to the Sumerian sky god, An

Anu

. Sometime in the Uruk III period the massive White Temple, was built atop of the ziggurat, and under the northwest edge of the ziggurat an Uruk VI period structure, the Stone Temple, has been discovered.

The Stone Temple was built of limestone and bitumen on a podium of rammed earth

Rammed earth

Rammed earth, also known as taipa , tapial , and pisé , is a technique for building walls using the raw materials of earth, chalk, lime and gravel. It is an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainable building materials and natural building methods...

and plastered with lime mortar. The podium itself was built over a woven reed mat called giparu a word which originally referred a reed mat used ritually as a nuptial bed, but took on the meaning as the source of abundance which radiated upward into the structure. The structure of the Stone Temple further develops some mythological concepts from Enuma Elish
Enûma Elish
The is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...

, perhaps involving libation rites as indicated from the channels, tanks, and vessels found there. The structure was ritually destroyed, covered with alternating layers of clay and stone, then excavated filled with mortar sometime later.

The Anu Ziggurat began with a massive mound topped by a cella

Cella

A cella or naos , is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture...

during the Uruk period c 4000 BC and was expanded through 14 phases of construction, labeled L to A₃ (L is sometimes called X). Interestingly, the earliest phase, used typology similar to PPNA cultures in Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

; a single chamber cella with a terazzo floor beneath which, bucrania were found. In phase E, corresponding to Uruk III period c 3000 BC, the White Temple was built. The White Temple was clearly designed to be seen from a great distance across the plain of Sumer as it was elevated 21 m and covered in gypsum

Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...

plaster which reflected sunlight like a mirror. For this reason, it is believed the White Temple is a symbol of Uruk's political power at the time. In addition to this temple, the Anu Ziggurat also had a monumental limestone paved staircase used in religious processions. A trough running parallel to the staircase was used to drain the ziggurat.

Uruk into Late Antiquity

Although it had been a thriving city in Early Dynastic Sumer, especially Early Dynastic II, Uruk was ultimately annexed to the Akkadian Empire and went into decline. Later, in the Neo-Sumerian period, Uruk enjoyed revival as a major economic and cultural center under the sovereignty of Ur

Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

. The Eanna District was restored as part of an ambitious building program, which included a new temple for Inanna. This temple included a ziggurat

Ziggurat

, the 'House of the Universe' (Cuneiform: E₂

É (temple)

É is the Sumerian word or symbol for house or temple, written ideographically with the cuneiform sign .The Sumerian term É.GAL denoted a city's main building....

.SAR.A

E-sara

E-sara , was the temple dedicated to Inanna in Uruk by Ur-Nammu.In the Enuma Elish, E-sara was created by Marduk at the end of Tablet IV, as he divided Tiamat into two halves, and created a "House of Heaven", for Anu, Bel, and Ea.-External links:*...

) to the northeast of the Uruk period Eanna ruins. The ziggurat is also cited as Ur-Nammu Ziggurat for its builder Ur-Nammu

Ur-Nammu

Ur-Nammu founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule...

. Following the collapse of Ur (c 2000 BC), Uruk went into a steep decline until about 850 BC when the Neo-Assyrian Empire annexed it as a provincial capital. Under the Neo-Assyrians and Neo-Babylonians, Uruk regained much of its former glory. By 250 BC, a new temple complex the 'Head Temple' (Akkadian: Bīt Reš) was added to northeast of the Uruk period Anu district. The Bīt Reš along with the Esagila
Esagila
The Ésagila, a Sumerian name signifying "É whose top is lofty", was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of Babylon...

was one of the two main centers of Neo-Babylonian astronomy. All of the temples and canals were restored again under Nabopolassar

Nabopolassar

Nabopolassar was the king of the Babylonia and played a key role in the demise of the Assyrian Empire following the death of the last powerful Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal...

. During this era, Uruk was divided into five main districts: the Adad

Adad

Adad in Akkadian and Ishkur in Sumerian and Hadad in Aramaic are the names of the storm-god in the Babylonian-Assyrian pantheon. All three are usually written by the logogram dIM...

Temple, Royal Orchard, Ištar Gate, Lugalirra Temple, and Šamaš

Shamash

Shamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu...

Gate districts.

Uruk, now known as Orchoë to the Greeks, continued to thrive under the Seleucid Empire. During this period, Uruk was a city of 300 hectares. In 200 BC, the 'Big House' (Cuneiform: E₂.IRI₁₂.GAL, Sumerian: iri-gal, Akkadian: ešgal) of Ishtar

Ishtar

Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...

was added between the Anu and Eanna districts. When the Seleucid Empire was annexed by the Parthians in 141 BC, Uruk again entered a period of decline from which it never recovered. The decline of Uruk may have been in part caused by a shift in the Euphrates River. By 300 AD, Uruk was mostly abandoned, and by c 700 AD it was completely abandoned.

Political history

In Uruk, in southern Mesopotamia, Sumerian civilization seems to have reached its creative peak. This is pointed out repeatedly in the references to this city in religious and, especially, in literary texts, including those of mythological content; the historical tradition as preserved in the Sumerian king-list confirms it. From Uruk the center of political gravity seems to have moved to Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

.

—Oppenheim

Uruk played a very important part in the political history of Sumer. Starting from the Early Uruk period, exercising hegemony

Hegemony

Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...

over nearby settlements. At this time (c 3800 BC), there were two centers of 20 hectares, Uruk in the south and Nippur in the north surrounded by much smaller 10 hectare settlements. Later, in the Late Uruk period, its sphere of influence extended over all Sumer and beyond to external colonies in upper Mesopotamia and Syria. Uruk was prominent in the national struggles of the Sumerians against the Elam

Elam

ites up to 2004 BC, in which it suffered severely; recollections of some of these conflicts are embodied in the Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

epic, in the literary and courtly form that has come down to us.

The recorded chronology of rulers over Uruk includes both mythological and historic figures in five dynasties. As in the rest of Sumer, power moved progressively from the temple to the palace. Rulers from the Early Dynastic period exercised control over Uruk and at times over all Sumer. In myth, kingship was lowered from heaven to Eridu then passed successively through five cites until the deluge which ended the Uruk period. Afterwards, kingship passed to Kish

Kish (Sumer)

Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....

at the beginning of the Early Dynastic period, which corresponds to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Sumer. In the Early Dynastic I period (2900–2800 BC), Uruk was in theory under the control of Kish. This period is sometimes called the Golden Age. During the Early Dynastic II period (2800–2600 BC), Uruk was again the dominant city exercising control of Sumer. This period is the time of the First Dynasty of Uruk sometimes called the Heroic Age. However, by the Early Dynastic IIIa period (2600–2500 BC) Uruk had lost sovereignty, this time to Ur. This period, corresponding to the Early Bronze Age III, is the end of the First Dynasty of Uruk. In the Early Dynastic IIIb period (2500–2334 BC), also called the Pre-Sargonic period, Uruk continued to be ruled by Ur.

Early dynastic, Akkadian, and Neo-Sumerian rulers of Uruk

1st Dynasty of Uruk:

Mesh-ki-ang-gasher
Mesh-ki-ang-gasher
Mesh-ki-ang-gasher was a Sumerian ruler and the founder of the First Dynasty of Uruk and the father of Enmerkar, according to the Sumerian king list. If a historical ruler, he would have flourished in ca...

; son of the god Utu
Utu
Utu is the Sun god in Sumerian mythology, the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal. His brother and sisters are Ishkur and Inanna and Erishkigal....

and founder of Uruk who received kingship from the 1st Dynasty of Kish
Kish (Sumer)
Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....

.
Enmerkar
Enmerkar
Enmerkar, according to the Sumerian king list, was the builder of Uruk in Sumer, and was said to have reigned for "420 years" ....
Lugalbanda
Lugalbanda
Lugalbanda is a character found in Sumerian mythology and literature. His name is composed of two Sumerian words meaning "young king" . Lugalbanda is listed in the postdiluvian period of the Sumerian king list as the second king of Uruk, saying he ruled for 1,200 years, and providing him with the...
Dumuzid, the Fisherman
Dumuzid, the Fisherman
Dumuzid "the Fisherman", originally from Kuara in Sumer, was the 3rd king in the 1st Dynasty of Uruk, and Gilgamesh's predecessor, according to the Sumerian king list...
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
Ur-Nungal, Udul-kalama, La-ba'shum, En-nun-tarah-ana, Mesh-he, Melem-ana, Lugal-kitun; little is known of these rulers the final ruler was overthrown by Mesannepada
Mesannepada
Mesannepada was the first king listed for the first dynasty of Ur on the Sumerian king list...

of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

, thus ending the first dynasty.

2nd Dynasty of Uruk:

Enshakushanna
Enshakushanna
Enshakushanna was a king of Uruk in the later 3rd millennium BC who is named on the Sumerian king list, which states his reign to have been 60 years. He conquered Hamazi, Akkad, Kish, and Nippur, claiming hegemony over all of Sumer...

; re-established kingship over Sumer, however following his death kingship passed to Eannatum
Eannatum
Eannatum was a Sumerian king of Lagash who established one of the first verifiable empires in history. One inscription of his, found on a boulder, states that Eannatum was his Sumerian name, while his "Tidnu" name was Lumma.-Conquest of Sumer:...

of Lagash
Lagash
Lagash is located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah. Lagash was one of the oldest cities of the Ancient Near East...
Lugal-kinishe-dudu, Argandea, Lugal-ure; served as ensi of Uruk under the 1st Dynasty of Lagash

3rd Dynasty of Uruk:

Lugalzagesi (2296–2271 BC); originally of Umma
Umma
Umma was an ancient city in Sumer. Note that there is some scholarly debateabout the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site.-History:...

, he made Uruk his new capital after conquering all Sumer

4th Dynasty of Uruk:

Ur-ningin, Ur-gigir, Kuda, Puzur-ili; served as ensi of Uruk under the Akkadian Empire

5th Dynasty of Uruk

Utu-hengal
Utu-hengal
Utu-hengal was one of the first native kings of Sumer after centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule....

(2119–2112 BC); an ensi of Uruk who overthrew the Gutians and briefly ruled Sumer until he was defeated by Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule...

of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

thus ending the final dynasty of Uruk.

Uruk continued as principality of Ur, Babylon, and later Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Parthian Empires. The city was finally destroyed by the Arab invasion of Mesopotamia and abandoned c 700 AD.

Architecture

Uruk has the first monumental constructions in architectural history. Much of Near Eastern architecture can trace it roots to these prototypical buildings. The structures of Uruk are cited by two different naming conventions, one in German from the initial expedition, and the English translation of the same. The straitigraphy of the site is complex and as such much of the dating is disputed. In general, the structures follow the two main typologies of Sumerian architecture, Tripartite with 3 parallel halls and T-Shaped also with three halls, but the central one extends into two perpendicular bays at one end. The following table summarizes the significant architecture of the Eanna and Anu Districts. Temple N, Cone-Mosaic Courtyard, and Round Pillar Hall are often referred to as a single structure; the Cone-Mosaic Temple.

Eanna district: 4000–2000 BC
Structure name	German name	Period	Typology	Material	Area in m²
Stone-Cone Temple	Steinstifttempel	Uruk VI	T-shaped	Limestone and bitumen	x
Limestone Temple	Kalksteintempel	Uruk V	T-shaped	Limestone and bitumen	2373
Riemchen Building	Riemchengebäude	Uruk IVb	unique	Adobe brick	x
Cone-Mosaic Temple	Stiftmoasaikgebäude	Uruk IVb	unique	x	x
Temple A	Gebäude A	Uruk IVb	Tripartite	Adobe brick	738
Temple B	Gebäude B	Uruk IVb	Tripartite	Adobe brick	338
Temple C	Gebäude C	Uruk IVb	T-shaped	Adobe brick	1314
Temple/Palace E	Gebäude E	Uruk IVb	unique	Adobe brick	2905
Temple F	Gebäude F	Uruk IVb	T-shaped	Adobe brick	465
Temple G	Gebäude G	Uruk IVb	T-shaped	Adobe brick	734
Temple H	Gebäude H	Uruk IVb	T-shaped	Adobe brick	628
Temple D	Gebäude D	Uruk IVa	T-shaped	Adobe brick	2596
Room I	Gebäude I	Uruk V	x	x	x
Temple J	Gebäude J	Uruk IVb	x	Adobe brick	x
Temple K	Gebäude K	Uruk IVb	x	Adobe brick	x
Temple L	Gebäude L	Uruk V	x	x	x
Temple M	Gebäude M	Uruk IVa	x	Adobe brick	x
Temple N	Gebäude N	Uruk IVb	unique	Adobe brick	x
Temple O	Gebäude O	x	x	x	x
Hall Building/Great Hall	Hallenbau	Uruk IVa	unique	Adobe brick	821
Pillar Hall	Pfeilerhalle	Uruk IVa	unique	x	219
Bath Building	Bäder	Uruk III	unique	x	x
Red Temple	Roter Tempel	Uruk IVa	x	Adobe brick	x
Great Court	Großer Hof	Uruk IVa	unique	Burnt Brick	2873
Rammed-Earth Building	Stampflehm	Uruk III	unique	x	x
Round Pillar Hall	Rundpeifeilerhalle	Uruk IVb	unique	Adobe brick	x
Anu district: 4000–2000 BC
Stone Building	Steingebäude	Uruk VI	unique	Limestone and bitumen	x
White Temple	x	Uruk III	Tripartite	Adobe brick	382

It is clear Eanna was dedicated to Inanna symbolized by Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

from the Uruk period. At that time, she was worshipped in four aspects as Inanna of the netherworld (Sumerian: ^dinanna-kur), Inanna of the morning (Sumerian: ^dinanna-hud₂), Inanna of the evening (Sumerian: ^dinanna-sig), and Inanna (Sumerian: ^dinanna-NUN). The names of four temples in Uruk at this time are known, but it is impossible to match them with either a specific structure and in some cases a deity.

sanctuary of Inanna (Sumerian: eš-^dinanna)
sanctuary of Inanna of the evening (Sumerian: eš-^dinanna-sig)
temple of heaven (Sumerian: e₂-an)
temple of heaven and netherworld (Sumerian: e₂-an-ki)

Archaeology

The site, which lies about 50 miles northwest of ancient Ur

Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

, is one
of the largest in the region at around 5.5 square kilometers in area. The maximum extent is 3 kilometers north/south and 2.5 kilometers east/west.
There are three major tell

Tell

A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...

s within the site, the Eanna district,
Bit Resh (Kullaba), and Irigal.

The location of Uruk was first scouted by William Loftus

William Loftus

William Kennett Loftus was a British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1849.-Biography:...

in 1849. He excavated there in 1850 and 1854. By Loftus' own account, he admits that the first excavations were superficial at best, as his financiers forced him to deliver large museum artifacts at a minimal cost.
Warka was also scouted by archaeologist Walter Andrae

Walter Andrae

Walter Andrae was a German archaeologist and architect who was born near Leipzig.He initially studied architecture, and in 1898 participated in an archaeological dig at Babylon under the leadership of Robert Koldewey . From 1903 to 1914 he directed the excavation of the ancient Assyrian capital of...

in 1902.

From 1912–1913, Julius Jordan and his team from the German Oriental Society

Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft

The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft is a Eingetragener Verein - a registered voluntary association - based at Berlin in Germany....

discovered the temple of Ishtar

Ishtar

, one of four known temples located at the site. The temples at Uruk were quite remarkable as they were constructed with brick and adorned with colorful mosaic

Mosaic

s. Jordan also discovered part of the city wall. It was later discovered that this 40 to 50 feet (15.2 m) high brick wall, probably utilized as a defense mechanism, totally encompassed the city at a length of 9 km (5.6 mi). Utilizing sedimentary strata dating techniques, this wall is estimated to have been erected around 3000 BC.
The GOS returned to Uruk in 1928 and excavated until 1939, when World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

intervened. The team was led by Jordan until 1931, then by A. Nöldeke, Ernst Heinrich, and H. J. Lenzen.

The German excavations resumed after the war and were under the direction of Heinrich Lenzen from 1953 to 1967.
He was followed in 1968 by J. Schmidt, and in 1978 by R.M. Boehmer.
In total, the German archaeologists spent 39 seasons working at Uruk. The results are documented in two series of reports:

Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk (ADFU), 17 volumes, 1912–2001 (titles listed at the German Archaeological Institute http://www.dainst.org/index_38e378adbb1f14a174490017f0000011_en.html)
Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte (AUWE), 25 volumes, 1987–2007 (titles listed at the German Archaeological Institute http://www.dainst.org/index.php?id=108)

Most recently, from 2001 to 2002, German Archaeological Institute

German Archaeological Institute

The German Archaeological Institute is an institution of research within the field of archaeology , and a "scientific corporation", with parentage of the federal Foreign Office of Germany-Origin:...

team led by Margarite Van Ess, with Joerg Fassbinder and Helmut Becker, conducted a partial magnetometer survey in Uruk. In addition to the geophysical survey, core samples and aerial photographs were taken. This was followed up with high-resolution satellite imagery in 2005.

Clay tablets have been found at Uruk with Sumerian and pictorial inscriptions that are thought to be some of the earliest recorded writing

Writing

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

, dating to approximately 3300 BC.
These tablets were deciphered and include the famous Sumerian King List

Sumerian king list

, a record of kings of the Sumerian civilization. There was an even larger cache of legal and scholarly tablets of the Seleucid period, that have been published by Adam Falkenstein

Adam Falkenstein

Adam Falkenstein was a German Assyriologist.Born in Planegg, near Munich, Falkenstein taught as a professor at the Göttingen University , Heidelberg University...

and other German epigraphists.

Artifacts

The Mask of Warka, also known as the 'Lady of Uruk' and the 'Sumerian Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

', dating from 3100 BC, is one of the earliest representations of the human face. The carved marble female face is probably a depiction of Inanna. It is approximately 20 cm tall, and may have been incorporated into a larger cult image. The mask was looted from the National Museum of Iraq

National Museum of Iraq

The National Museum of Iraq is a museum located in Baghdad, Iraq. It contains precious relics from Mesopotamian civilization.-Foundation:...

during the fall of Baghdad in April 2003. It was recovered in September 2003 and returned to the museum.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Prominence

History

Historic periods of Uruk

Eanna district

Anu district

Uruk into Late Antiquity

Political history

Early dynastic, Akkadian, and Neo-Sumerian rulers of Uruk

Architecture

Archaeology

Artifacts

See also

External links