Uruk
In the mid-4th millennium BC, a small Ubaid settlement named Unug merged with its neighbor Kullaba to form Uruk. This new city grew from scattered agricultural villages into a massive urban center covering 600 hectares by the Late Uruk period. The population reached approximately 40,000 residents within the walls and another 80,000 in the surrounding environs around 3100 BC. It became the largest urban area on Earth at that time. A full-time bureaucracy emerged alongside a standing military force. Social stratification divided the population into distinct classes based on profession and status. Small settlements nearby remained under 10 hectares while Uruk expanded rapidly. Traders and colonists exported this culture to distant regions including upper Mesopotamia and Syria. Military force could not maintain long-distance control over colonies like Tell Brak despite the city's power.
The Eanna District housed workshops and was walled off from the rest of the city. Temple N, the Cone-Mosaic Courtyard, and the Round Pillar Hall formed a single structure known as the Cone-Mosaic Temple. This building featured a mosaic of colored stone cones driven into adobe brick facades. The Stone-Cone Temple stood on a podium of rammed earth and plastered with lime mortar. It may represent the earliest water cult in Mesopotamia. The Limestone Temple rose 2 meters high on a rammed-earth podium over an existing Ubaid temple. Stone for this structure came from an outcrop at Umayyad located 60 kilometers east of Uruk. The Riemchen Building served as a memorial with a ritual fire kept burning in its center. A Great Court sunken courtyard surrounded by two tiers of benches covered in cone mosaics appeared during period IVa. An aqueduct drained into this courtyard which may have once irrigated a garden. The fortress-like architecture of period III reflected social upheaval when Uruk lost dominance to competing city-states.
Around 190 clay tablets dated to the Uruk V period c. 3500 BC contained numerical or impressed symbols. Another 1776 tablets emerged from the Uruk IV period c. 3300 BC while 3,094 tablets belonged to the Uruk III period c. 3200, 2900 BC. These records included accounting and administrative data rather than narrative literature. One tablet mentioned Kushim who recorded transactions involving 29,086 measures of barley over 37 months. This name appears to be the oldest known writing featuring a person's identity. Beveled rim bowls distributed rations of food or drink to dependent laborers across the city. The fast wheel for throwing pottery simplified mass production during the later part of the Uruk period. Later cuneiform tablets included legal and scholarly documents from the Neo-Babylonian and Seleucid periods. The last dated cuneiform tablet W22340a was an astronomical almanac from 79 or 80 AD. Many tablets now reside in museums including the British Museum and Yale Babylonian Collection.
The Sumerian King List records 22 rulers across five dynasties of Uruk. Gilgamesh ruled Uruk in the 27th century BC according to this chronology. He built the walls of Uruk and is described as victorious over Aga. Meshkiangasher held titles of both Lord and King of Eanna while claiming kingship over all of Sumer. Enmerkar supposedly reigned for at least 50 years and invented writing in legend. Lugalbanda served as a soldier in Enmerkar's army before becoming king himself. Dumuzid defeated invading forces headed by Gudam. Early Dynastic II saw rulers like Ur-Nungal and Udul-kalama holding similar claims over all of Sumer. Lugal-kinishe-dudu became king of Uruk and Ur around 2400 BC. Lugal-zage-si led a southern coalition against Naram-Suen during the Akkadian period. Utu-hengal overthrew the Gutians and briefly ruled Sumer until succeeded by Ur-Nammu. The list includes legendary figures with uncertain historicity alongside historically attested names. Power shifted progressively from temple to palace throughout these centuries.
William Loftus visited the site of Uruk in 1849 identifying it as Erech known as the second city of Nimrod. He led excavations from 1850 to 1854 after a scouting mission. His first excavations were superficial due to financial pressure to deliver large museum artifacts quickly. A large basalt stela found by Loftus was later lost. Walter Andrae scouted Warka in 1902 while Edgar James Banks visited in 1905. Julius Jordan and his German Oriental Society team discovered the Temple of Ishtar between 1912 and 1913. They also uncovered part of the city wall which stood 10 meters high and encompassed the entire city at a length of 9 kilometers. This wall likely served as a defense mechanism erected around 3000 BC. The German team returned in 1928 and excavated until World War II intervened in 1939. Heinrich Lenzen directed operations from 1954 to 1967 followed by J. Schmidt and R.M. Boehmer. In total archaeologists spent 39 seasons working at Uruk. Recent work from 2001 to 2002 included magnetometer surveys conducted by Margarete van Ess with Joerg Fassbinder and Helmut Becker.
The Mask of Warka dates from 3100 BC and is one of the earliest representations of the human face. This carved marble female face stands approximately 20 centimeters tall and may depict the goddess Inanna. It was looted from the Iraq Museum during the invasion of Iraq in April 2003 before being recovered in September 2003. Cylinder seals from the Uruk period c. 3100 BC show monstrous lions and lion-headed eagles. These artifacts reveal religious and social practices within the ancient city. A foundation peg of Lugal-kisalsi king of Uruk reads For goddess Namma wife of An Lugalkisalsi King of Uruk erected this temple of Namma. Clay cone inscriptions mention temples built for gods like Iškur Hadad under rulers such as Ilum-gāmil. The Great Sanctuary of Ishtar added between the Anu and Eanna districts in 200 BC became a major center of Neo-Babylonian astronomy alongside the Esagila. Mandaic incantation bowls found at the site indicate Mandaeans settled there by 300 AD before complete abandonment.
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Common questions
When was the ancient city of Uruk founded and how large did it become?
The small Ubaid settlement named Unug merged with its neighbor Kullaba to form Uruk in the mid-4th millennium BC. This new city grew from scattered agricultural villages into a massive urban center covering 600 hectares by the Late Uruk period.
What specific artifacts were found at Uruk that demonstrate early writing systems?
Around 190 clay tablets dated to the Uruk V period c. 3500 BC contained numerical or impressed symbols while another 1776 tablets emerged from the Uruk IV period c. 3300 BC. One tablet mentioned Kushim who recorded transactions involving 29,086 measures of barley over 37 months which appears to be the oldest known writing featuring a person's identity.
Who ruled Uruk according to the Sumerian King List and what were their achievements?
Gilgamesh ruled Uruk in the 27th century BC according to this chronology and built the walls of Uruk while being described as victorious over Aga. Meshkiangasher held titles of both Lord and King of Eanna while claiming kingship over all of Sumer and Enmerkar supposedly reigned for at least 50 years and invented writing in legend.
When did archaeologists begin excavating the site of Uruk and how long did they work there?
William Loftus visited the site of Uruk in 1849 identifying it as Erech known as the second city of Nimrod and led excavations from 1850 to 1854 after a scouting mission. In total archaeologists spent 39 seasons working at Uruk with recent work from 2001 to 2002 including magnetometer surveys conducted by Margarete van Ess with Joerg Fassbinder and Helmut Becker.
What is the significance of the Mask of Warka found at Uruk and when was it created?
The Mask of Warka dates from 3100 BC and is one of the earliest representations of the human face which stands approximately 20 centimeters tall and may depict the goddess Inanna. It was looted from the Iraq Museum during the invasion of Iraq in April 2003 before being recovered in September 2003.
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30 references cited across the entry
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