Uruk

Attribution:

As-Samawah, Al-Muthanna

Iraq

Key Dates

The city is believed to have been created when two Ubaid settlements (Kullaba and Eanna) coalesced around 5000 BCE during the Eridu peiod to form a town covering 80 hacares. It was continually inhabited up to the 5th century AD and archaeologists have found that there were many phases of growth between the Early and Late Uruk periods (4000-2500 BCE and 3500 - 3100 BCE). The city started to decline after the Arab invasion of Mesopotamia and by c.700 CE Uruk was completely abandoned.

Uruk's location was discovered by William Loftus in 1849 and between 1912 and 1913 Julieus Jordan and the German Oriental Society uncovered the temple of Ishtar and part of the city wall. Jordan returned in the late 1920's to continue reconstructing the city's layout. 1954 saw Heinrich Lensen's descovery of clay tablets with Sumerian and pictorial inscriptions that are thoughtto be some of the earliest recorded writing, dating to about 3300 BC. These findings included the Sumerian King List.

Key People

Legend has it that the city was founded by Enmerkar, who is said to have reigned for 420 years.

The city's first dynastic king, Gilgamesh built the walls of the city and the Eanna temple complex.

Discoveries and excavations have been carried out by archaeologists including William Loftus, Julius Jordan and Heinrich Lenzen.

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Uruk was the ancient city of Sumer (later Babylonia). It was built by the order of Gilgamesh and at its height in 2900 BCE it is likely to have had 50,000 - 80,000 residents living within its walls, making it the largest city in the world at that time. The site is situated 30km east of As-Samawah,Al-Muthanna (about 140 miles SSE of Baghdad).

The area was dominated by colossal mud-brick structures, decorated with painted clay mosaics, which contained astonishing art work, large scale sculpture and extensive relief carvings. There are two sizeable temple complexes on the site. One dedicated to Anu-the god of the sky and thought to have originated from Kullaba and the second in honour of Ishtar, merged with the city from Eanna.

The city played a key role in the political history of the country, religion and in science. This has been confirmed by the finding and deciphering of thousands of clay tablets.

The modern name Iraq is thought to have been derived from the name Uruk.

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