The ruins of Uruk (Sumer).Uruk was one of the most important Sumerian cities, and during theUruk Per

The ruins of Uruk (Sumer).Uruk was one of the most important Sumerian cities, and during theUruk Period it was the most important of all.  The Sumerian King Listsays that Uruk was founded c. 4500 BC by Enmerkar, a legendary kingof the First Dynasty of Uruk.  It was located in southern Sumer.Uruk is considered to be the first true city in the world, where many“firsts” in the development of civilization happened.  This waswhere the art of writing first originated.  Uruk was the first cityto develop the cylinder seal, used to designate personal property andsign documents.  Here, also, are the first examples of stonearchitecture.Uruk was inhabited continuously from its founding until c. 300 AD,when people began to leave the region.  It was abandoned and thenburied until William Loftus excavated it for the British Museum in1853 AD.During the Uruk Period (c. 4000 – 2900 BC), cities began to developacross Mesopotamia, with Uruk becoming the most influential.  It wasthe largest urban centre, and the hub of trade and administration.We don’t fully know just how Uruk ruled the region, in what manner itexercised its authority, whether it relied upon the use of force, orto what extent Uruk had political control over the region.  Nor do weknow how and why it became the first city in the world, or whichinstitutions were in charge.The city of Ur actually had a better location for trade, furthersouth towards the Persian Gulf.  But when the process of urbanizationbegan, it was concentrated at Uruk.During the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900 – 2334 BC), Uruk wasstill the seat of power in the region, though in a much diminishedstate.  The great wall of Uruk, said to have been built by Gilgamesh,was still standing in c. 2500 BC when Eannatum created his empirearound the city of Lagash.Lugal-zage-si (r. 2358 – 2335 BC) was actually from Umma, but headmired Uruk so much that he chose it as his capital and his seat ofpower.  The Third Dynasty of Uruk (of which he was the only king) wasalso named for this city.In 2334 BC, Sumer came under the control of the Akkadians.  Sargon ofAkkad seized the throne, and he continued to pay special reverence toUruk.  The sacred Anu and Eanna districts were still used, and theywere even renovated and improved upon.During the Ur III Period (c. 2112 – 2004 BC), which followed theAkkadian and Gutian conquests, Uruk still had an important position. The Third Dynasty of Ur created a Sumerian renaissance, and Urukbenefitted from this as much as the rest of the region.  But when Urfell to the Elamites in 2004 BC, Uruk went into decline with the restof Sumer.Uruk continued to play a significant role during the Seleucid andParthian periods of Sumer’s later history, unlike many other Sumeriancities that fared far worse.  The sacred districts were stillmaintained (although to lesser degrees) into the 600s AD, long pastthe time when other Sumerian cities had been abandoned.The city of Uruk had a lifespan of about 5000 years.  It was finallyabandoned fully when the early Muslims conquered Mesopotamia in 630AD. -- source link

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