The ancient city of Uruk was located in the central-western lands of the Sumerians in the north-west of Larsa along the then current of the Euphrates. Over the course of several thousand years, the river changed its course and at present the ruins of the city lie in the desert at a distance of about 35 kilometers from it. The Old Testament mentions a city called Erech, the original Sumerian name is Unug, and its modern name is Varka.
Archaeological research
On the territory of the city of Uruk, about 18 archaic layers have been dug out for all the time. The first explorer in the period 1850-1854 was the English archaeologist William Kenneth Loftus. During his research, he removed several small things from the ground, including clay tablets, and made a rough map. The next archaeologists in the first years of the 20th century were Robert Koldewey, W alter Andre, and in 1912 I. Jordan. Then the research was continued in the period 1931-1939 by A. Noldke, E. Heinrich and G. Lenzen. Further excavations were carried out by K. Lenzen in 1953-1967. His successors were in 1977 G. Schmidt and other German scientists. In 1989, a total of 39 German campaigns were organized to explore the Sumerian city of Uruk. The last excavations were carried out in 2001 by Margaret van Ess, whose team began to scan the area of the city using a magnetometer.
Architecture characteristic of the entire era was discovered on the territory of research, hence this entire historical period got its name from the city.
All Sumerian settlements of that time were built in the same way. Everywhere in the central point there was a temple of the patron god on a high artificial hill. Throughout the territory, the same method of creating walls, niches, a free-standing cult table, etc. was noted. In the ancient city of Uruk, there was the oldest stone structure in Mesopotamia - a cobbled street and the oldest screes on which the White Temple was erected.
Excavations have shown that the inhabitants of this city were probably the first to build a defensive wall. Dried brick served as a building material - the wall was 9 km long and tightly surrounded the city. Although the shaft was excavated badly damaged, its early date of construction is based on information from the imprint of the cylinder head stamp depicted on it.
History of the city
Uruk became the most important city-state, commercial, cultural and administrativecenter throughout southern Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC. e. He was also central to the economic and political life of the ancient region, whose influence reached northern Syria in the west and Iran in the east. Here the world's first known writing system was invented - pictographic writing, which was used in the city of Uruk at the end of the 4th millennium BC. BC, then gradually it spread throughout Mesopotamia.
Development Features
In the period around 2900-2350 BC. e. Uruk maintained its dominant position as the capital. The first phase of this period, however, was marked by several radical changes. The city developed rapidly and the number of its inhabitants increased. At this time, a new city adobe wall was built. Many buildings were also erected, mostly residential buildings. A lot of information about those times can be gleaned from the Epic of Gilgamesh. In particular, it says that during the reign of Gilgamesh in the city of Uruk, 1/3 of it was temples, 1/3 urban development and 1/3 gardens.
Slow decline
In the subsequent period, the number of inhabitants decreased and only the western part of the city was populated. At the end of the early dynastic period (c. 2350 BC), the ruler Lugalzagesi conquered all of southern Mesopotamia, and made the city of Uruk the capital of his state.
During the reign of Lugalzagesi, a large building program began - the so-called Stampflehmgebäude and a large terrace in the northern partcities. It seems that both projects were never completed, most likely because this ruler was defeated by Sargon the Great, the founder of the dynasty of Akkad. After the victory, Sargon ordered the destruction of the walls of Uruk. In his new capital Akkad, he built a temple to the goddess Ishtar (Inanny), as a result of which her cult in the former capital of the Sumerians lost its significance. The few finds in Uruk from this period show that there was a marked decline in the number of residents who seem to have inhabited only the northern part of the city.
