Uruk

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Redirect Template:Infobox ancient site Template:Contain special characters Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilometers (58 miles) northwest of ancient Ur, 108 kilometers (67 miles) southeast of ancient Nippur, and 24 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of ancient Larsa. It is Template:Convert east of modern Samawah.<ref name="Harmansah2007" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Uruk is the type site for the Uruk period. Uruk played a leading role in the early urbanization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. By the final phase of the Uruk period around 3100 BC, the city may have had 40,000 residents,<ref name="Nissen2003" >Template:Cite book</ref> with 80,000–90,000 people living in its environs,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> making it the largest urban area in the world at the time. Gilgamesh, according to the chronology presented in the Sumerian King List (SKL), ruled Uruk in the 27th century BC. After the end of the Early Dynastic period, with the rise of the Akkadian Empire, the city lost its prime importance. It had periods of florescence during the Isin-Larsa period, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods and throughout the Achaemenid (550–330 BC), Seleucid (312–63 BC) and Parthian (227 BC to AD 224) periods, until it was finally abandoned shortly before or after the Islamic conquest of 633–638.

William Kennett Loftus visited the site of Uruk in 1849, identifying it as "Erech", known as "the second city of Nimrod", and led the first excavations from 1850 to 1854.<ref name="Loftus1857" /> In myth and literature, Uruk was famous as the capital city of Gilgamesh, hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Biblical scholars identify Uruk as the biblical Erech (Template:Bibleverse), the second city founded by Nimrod in Shinar.<ref>Warwick Ball, "Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire", Routledge, 2016</ref>

Toponymy

Uruk (Template:IPAc-en) has several spellings in cuneiform; in Sumerian it is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Transliteration;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Akkadian, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Transliteration (^URUUNUG). Its names in other languages include: Template:Langx or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration; Template:Langx, Template:Translit; Template:Langx Template:Transliteration; Template:Langx, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Transliteration, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Transliteration.

History

File:Warka vase (background retouched).jpg

Devotional scene to Inanna, Warka Vase, c. 3200–3000 BC, Uruk. This is one of the earliest surviving works of narrative relief sculpture.

According to the SKL, Uruk was founded by the king Enmerkar. Though the king-list mentions a father before him, the epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta relates that Enmerkar constructed the House of Heaven (Sumerian: e₂-anna; cuneiform: Template:Cuneiform E₂.AN) for the goddess Inanna in the Eanna District of Uruk. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, 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).<ref name="Harmansah2007" /> The city was formed when two smaller Ubaid settlements developed into the cities of Unug and Kullaba and later merged to become Uruk. The temple complexes at their cores became the Eanna District (Unug) dedicated to Inanna and the "Anu" District of Kullaba.<ref name="Harmansah2007" />

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 from the earliest Uruk period throughout the history of the city.<ref name="Beaulieu2003" >Template:Cite book</ref> 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 in the desert".<ref>Fassbinder, J.W.E., and H. Becker, "Magnetometry at Uruk (Iraq): The city of King Gilgamesh", Archaeologia Polona, vol. 41, pp. 122–124, 2003</ref> 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.

The original city of Uruk was situated 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, which, together with salination due to irrigation, may have contributed to the decline of Uruk.

Uruk period

File:Uruk expansion.svg

Uruk expansion and colonial outposts, Template:Circa–3200 BC

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In addition to being one of the first cities, Uruk was the main force of urbanization and state formation during the Uruk period, or 'Uruk expansion' (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 hectares 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.

Early Dynastic, Akkadian, Ur III, and Old Babylonian period

File:Uruk3000BCE.jpg

Clay impression of a cylinder seal with monstrous lions and lion-headed eagles, Mesopotamia, Uruk Period (4100–3000 BC). Louvre Museum

File:Limestone foundation peg of Lugal-kisal-si, from Uruk, Iraq. C. 2380 BCE. Pergamon Museum.jpg

Foundation peg of Lugal-kisal-si, king of Uruk, Ur and Kish, circa 2380 BC. The inscription reads "For (goddess) Namma, wife of (the god) An, Lugalkisalsi, King of Uruk, King of Ur, erected this temple of Namma". Pergamon Museum VA 4855<ref name="Nissen2003" />

File:Tablet of Sin-Gamil of Uruk.jpg

Dedication tablet of Sîn-gāmil, ruler of Uruk, 18th century BC.

Dynastic categorizations are described solely from the Sumerian King List, which is of problematic historical accuracy;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Marchesi, Gianni, "The Sumerian King List and the early history of Mesopotamia", Vicino Oriente Quaderno, pp. 231–248, 2010</ref> the organization might be analogous to Manetho's.

In 2009, two different copies of an inscription were put forth as evidence of a 19th-century BC ruler of Uruk named Naram-sin.<ref name="Dassow2009" >Eva von Dassow, "Narām-Sîn of Uruk: A New King in an Old Shoebox", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 61, pp. 63–91, 2009</ref>

Uruk continued as principality of Ur, Babylon, and later Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Parthian Empires. It enjoyed brief periods of independence during the Isin-Larsa period, under kings such as (possibly Ikūn-pî-Ištar, Sumu-binasa, Alila-hadum, and Naram-Sin), Sîn-kāšid, his son Sîn-irībam, his son Sîn-gāmil, Ilum-gāmil, brother of Sîn-gāmil, Etēia, AN-am₃ (Dingiram), ÌR₃-ne-ne (Irdanene), who was defeated by Rīm-Sîn I of Larsa in his year 14 (c. 1740 BC), Rîm-Anum and Nabi-ilīšu.<ref name="Frayne1990" /><ref name="Dassow2009" /><ref>Rients de Boer, "Beginnings of Old Babylonian Babylon: Sumu-Abum and Sumu-La-El", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 70, pp. 53–86, 2018</ref><ref>Seri, Andrea, "The archive of the house of prisoners and political history", The House of Prisoners: Slavery and State in Uruk during the Revolt against Samsu-iluna, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 20–54, 2013</ref><ref name="Tyborowski2012" >Witold Tyborowski, "New Tablets from Kisurra and the Chronology of Central Babylonia in the Early Old Babylonian Period", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 102, iss. 2, pp. 245–269, 2012, ISSN 0084-5299</ref>

It is known that during the time of Ilum-gāmil a temple was built for the god Iškur (Hadad) based on a clay cone inscription reading "For the god Iškur, lord, fearsome splendour of heaven and earth, his lord, for the life of Ilum-gāmil, king of Uruk, son of Sîn-irībam, Ubar-Adad, his servant, son of Apil-Kubi, built the Esaggianidu, ('House — whose closing is good'), the residence of his office of en, and thereby made it truly befitting his own li[fe]".<ref name="Frayne1990" >Frayne, Douglas, "Uruk", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 439–483, 1990</ref>

Uruk into Late Antiquity

File:British Museum Foundation Tablet.jpg

Foundation tablet from the Temple of Inanna at Uruk (Eanna), dating to the reign of Ur-Nammu.

Although it had been a thriving city in Early Dynastic Sumer, especially Early Dynastic II, Uruk was ultimately annexed by 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. The Eanna District was restored as part of an ambitious building program, which included a new temple for Inanna. This temple included a ziggurat, the 'House of the Universe' (Cuneiform: E₂.SAR.A) (Template:Cuneiform) to the northeast of the Uruk period Eanna ruins.

Following the collapse of Ur (Template:Circa 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 was one of the two main centers of Neo-Babylonian astronomy. All of the temples and canals were restored again under Nabopolassar. During this era, Uruk was divided into five main districts: the Adad Temple, Royal Orchard, Ištar Gate, Lugalirra Temple, and Šamaš Gate districts.<ref name="Baker2002" >H. D. Baker, "The Urban Landscape in First Millennium BC Babylonia", University of Vienna, 2002</ref>

Uruk, known as Orcha ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) to the Greeks, continued to thrive under the Seleucid Empire. During this period, Uruk was a city of 300 hectares and perhaps 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Baker2002" /><ref>R. van der Spek "The Latest on Seleucid Empire Building in the East". Journal of the American Oriental Society 138.2 (2018): 385–394.</ref><ref name="RvdS">R. van der Spek. "Feeding Hellenistic Seleucia on the Tigris". In R. Alston & O. van Nijf, eds. Feeding the Ancient Greek City 36. Leuven ; Dudley, Massachusetts: Peeters Publishers, 2008.</ref> In 200 BC, the 'Great Sanctuary' (Cuneiform: E₂.IRI₁₂.GAL, Sumerian: eš-gal) of Ishtar was added between the Anu and Eanna districts. The ziggurat of the temple of Anu, which was rebuilt in this period, was the largest ever built in Mesopotamia.<ref name="RvdS"/> When the Seleucids lost Mesopotamia to the Parthians in 141 BC, Uruk continued in use.<ref>C. A. Petrie, "Seleucid Uruk: An Analysis of Ceramic Distribution", Iraq, vol. 64, 2002, pp. 85–123, 2002</ref> The decline of Uruk after the Parthians may have been in part caused by a shift in the Euphrates River. By 300 AD, Uruk was mostly abandoned, but a group of Mandaeans settled there, based on some finds of Mandaic incantation bowls, and by Template:Circa it was completely abandoned.<ref>Rudolf Macuch, "Gefäßinschriften", in Eva Strommenger (ed.), Gefässe aus Uruk von der Neubabylonischen Zeit bis zu den Sasaniden (= Ausgrabungen der deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 7), pp. 55–57, pl. 57.1–3, Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1967</ref>

Political history

File:Gebel el-Arak Knife ivory handle (front top part detail).jpg

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Uruk played a very important part in the political history of Sumer. Starting from the Early Uruk period, the city exercised hegemony over nearby settlements. At this time (Template:Circa), there were two centers of Template:Convert, Uruk in the south and Nippur in the north surrounded by much smaller Template:Convert settlements.<ref>Crawford, Harriet E.W., "Sumer and the Sumerians", Cambridge University Press, 2004. Template:ISBN</ref> Later, in the Late Uruk period, its sphere of influence extended over all Sumer and beyond to external colonies in upper Mesopotamia and Syria.

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.{{#if:Oppenheim<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>|{{#if:|}}

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File:Uruk King-Priest 3300 BCE portrait detail.jpg

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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 of Sumer. In myth, kingship was lowered from heaven to Eridu then passed successively through five cities until the deluge which ended the Uruk period. Afterwards, kingship passed to Kish 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 (before the rise of the Akkadian Empire under Sargon of Akkad), Uruk continued to be ruled by Ur.

Architecture

File:Part of front of Inanna temple of Kara Indasch from Uruk Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.jpg

Relief on the front of the Inanna temple of Karaindash from Uruk. Mid 15th century BC. Pergamon Museum, Berlin

File:Uruk Temple of Charyos (2).jpg

The Parthian Temple of Charyios at Uruk

Uruk has some of the first monumental constructions in architectural history, and certainly the largest of its era. Much of Near Eastern architecture can trace its 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 stratigraphy 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.<ref name="Charvát2002" /> 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	Stiftmosaikgebäude	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 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).<ref name="Beaulieu2003" /> 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.<ref name="Beaulieu2003" />

• 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)

• Architecture of Uruk
• Eanna5.svg

  Plan of Eanna VI–V

• Eanna4b.svg

  Plan of Eanna IVb

• Eanna4a.svg

  Plan of Eanna IVa

• Eanna3.svg

  Plan of Eanna III

• Eanna neosumerian.svg

  Plan of Neo-Sumerian Eanna

• Anu district.svg

  Plan of Anu District Phase E

• Pergamonmuseum Inanna 01.jpg

  Reconstruction of a mosaic from the Eanna temple.

• Pergamonmuseum Inanna 02.jpg

  Detail of Reconstruction of a mosaic from the Eanna temple.

Archaeology

File:Meso2mil-English.JPG

Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BC. From north to south: Nineveh, Qattara (or Karana), Dūr-Katlimmu, Assur, Arrapha, Terqa, Nuzi, Mari, Eshnunna, Dur-Kurigalzu, Der, Sippar, Babylon, Kish, Susa, Borsippa, Nippur, Isin, Uruk, Larsa and Ur

By the end of the Uruk period c. 3100 BC) Uruk had reached a size of Template:Convert. During the following Jemdet Nasr period it grew to a size of Template:Convert by c. 2800 BC with the main temple area of Eanna being completely rebuilt after leveling the foundations of the Uruk period construction.<ref>Nissen, H. J., "Uruk: Key Site of the Period and Key Site of the Problem", in Artefacts of Complexity: Tracking the Uruk in the Near East, edited by J. N. Postgate, Warminster: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, pp. 1–16, 2002</ref> A new city wall was constructed in this period.<ref name="Nissen1972" />

The site, which lies about Template:Convert northwest of ancient Ur, is one of the largest in the region at around Template:Convert in area. The maximum extent is Template:Convert north/south, and Template:Convert east/west. There are three major tells within the site: The Eanna district, Bit Resh (Kullaba), and Irigal. Archaeologically, the site is divided into six parts

1. the É-Anna ziggurat ' Egipar-imin,
2. the É-Anna enclosure (Zingel),
3. the Anu-Antum temple complex, BitRes and Anu-ziggurat,
4. Irigal, the South Building,
5. Parthian structures including the Gareus-temple, and the Multiple Apse building,
6. the "Gilgameš" city-wall with associated Sinkâsid Palace and the Seleucid Bit Akîtu.<ref>North, Robert, "Status of the Warka Excavation", Orientalia, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 185–256, 1957</ref>

File:Uruk (latine).webm

Reconstruction video of Uruk (English subtitles)

The location of Uruk was first noted by Fraser and Ross in 1835.<ref>Fraser, James Baillie, Travels in Koordistan, Mesopotamia, Etc: Including an Account of Parts of Those Countries Hitherto Unvisited by Europeans, R. Bentley, 1840</ref> William Loftus excavated there in 1850 and 1854 after a scouting mission in 1849. 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.<ref name="Loftus1857">William K. Loftus, Travels and Researches in Chaldaea and Susiana, Travels and Researches in Chaldaea and Susiana: With an Account of Excavations at Warka, the "Erech" of Nimrod, and Shush, "Shushan the Palace" of Esther, in 1849–52, Robert Carter & Brothers, 1857</ref> A large basalt stela found by Loftus was later lost.<ref>Reade, Julian, "Early monuments in Gulf stone at the British Museum, with observations on some Gudea statues and the location of Agade", vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 258-295, 2002</ref> Warka was also scouted by archaeologist Walter Andrae in 1902.<ref>Walter Andrae, Die deutschen Ausgrabungen in Warka (Uruk), Berlin, 1935</ref> In 1905 Warka was visited by archaeologist Edgar James Banks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Male deity pouring a life-giving water from a vessel. Facade of Inanna Temple at Uruk, Iraq. 15th century BC. The Pergamon Museum.jpg

Male deity pouring a life-giving water from a vessel. Facade of Inanna Temple at Uruk, Iraq. 15th century BC. The Pergamon Museum

From 1912 to 1913, Julius Jordan and his team from the German Oriental Society discovered the temple of 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 mosaics. Jordan also discovered part of the city wall. It was later discovered that this Template:Convert high brick wall, probably utilized as a defense mechanism, totally encompassed the city at a length of Template:Convert. Utilizing sedimentary strata dating techniques, this wall is estimated to have been erected around 3000 BC. Jordan produced a contour map of the entire site.<ref name="Nissen1972">Nissen, H. J., "The City Wall of Uruk", in Ucko, P. J., R. Tringham and G. W. Dimbleby (eds.), Man, Settlement and Urbanism. London: Duckworth, pp. 793–98, 1972</ref> The GOS returned to Uruk in 1928 and excavated until 1939, when World War II intervened. The team was led by Jordan until 1931 when Jordan became Director of Antiquities in Baghdad, then by A. Nöldeke, Ernst Heinrich, and H. J. Lenzen.<ref>Julius Jordan, "Uruk-Warka nach dem ausgrabungen durch die Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft", Hinrichs, 1928 (German)</ref><ref>[1] Ernst Heinrich, "Kleinfunde aus den archaischen Tempelschichten in Uruk", Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1936 (German)</ref> Among the finds was the Stell of the Lion Hunt, excavated in a Jemdat Nadr layer but sylistically dated to Uruk IV.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The German excavations resumed after the war and were under the direction of Heinrich Lenzen from 1954 to 1967.<ref>H. J. Lenzen, "The Ningiszida Temple Built by Marduk-Apla-Iddina II at Uruk (Warka)", Iraq, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 146–150, 1957</ref><ref name="Lenzen1960">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>H. J. Lenzen, "New discoveries at Warka in southern Iraq", Archaeology, vol. 17, pp. 122–131, 1964</ref> He was followed in 1968 by J. Schmidt, and in 1978 by R.M. Boehmer.<ref>J. Schmidt, "Uruk-Warka, Susammenfassender Bericht uber die 27. Kampagne 1969", Baghdader, vol. 5, pp. 51–96, 1970</ref><ref>Rainer Michael Boehmer, "Uruk 1980–1990: a progress report", Antiquity, vol. 65, pp. 465–478, 1991</ref> In total, the German archaeologists spent 39 seasons working at Uruk. The results are documented in two series of reports:

• {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (ADFU), 17 volumes, 1912–2001
• {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (AUWE), 25 volumes, 1987–2007

File:معبد كاريوس ...اوروك .... مدينة الوركاء ... المثنى.jpg

Ruins of the Temple of Gareus at Uruk, c. 100 CE

Most recently, from 2001 to 2002, the German Archaeological Institute team led by Margarete 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.<ref>M. van Ess and J. Fassbinder, "Magnetic prospection of Uruk (Warka) Iraq", in: La Prospection Géophysique, Dossiers d'Archeologie Nr. 308, pp. 20–25, Nov. 2005</ref> Work resumed in 2016 and is currently concentrated on the city wall area and a survey of the surrounding landscape.<ref>Van Ess, Margarete, and J. Fassbinder, "Uruk-Warka. Archaeological Research 2016–2018, Preliminary Report", Sumer Journal of Archaeology of Iraq 65, pp. 47–85, 2019</ref><ref>Margarete van Ess, "Uruk, Irak. Wissenschaftliche Forschungen 2019", e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, vol. 2, pp. 117–121, 2019</ref><ref>van Ess, Margarete, et al., "Uruk, Irak. Wissenschaftliche Forschungen und Konservierungsarbeiten. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2020 bis 2022", e-Forschungsberichte, pp. 1–31, 2022</ref> Part of the work has been to create a digital twin of the Uruk archaeological area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The current effort also involves geophysical surveying. The soil characteristics of the site make ground penetrating radar unsuitable so caesium magnetometers, combined with resistivity probes, are being used.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cuneiform tablets

File:Uruk Ziggurat (30744982822).jpg

A massive ziggurat dating from the 4th millennium BC stands at the entrance to Uruk (Warka), 39 km east of Samawah, Iraq

A number of Proto-cuneiform clay tablets were found at Uruk. About 190 were Uruk V period (c. 3500 BC) "numerical tablets" or "impressed tablets", 1776 were from the Uruk IV period (c. 3300 BC), 3094 from the Uruk III period (c. 3200–2900 BC) which is also called the Jemdet Nasr period.<ref>Hans J. Nissen, "The Archaic Texts from Uruk", World Archaeology, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 317–334, 1986</ref><ref>M. W. Green, "Archaic Uruk Cuneiform", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 90, no. 4, pp. 464–466, 1986</ref> Later cuneiform tablets were deciphered and include the famous SKL, a record of kings of the Sumerian civilization. There was an even larger cache of legal and scholarly tablets of the Neo-Babylonian, Late Babylonian, and Seleucid period, that have been published by Adam Falkenstein and other Assyriological members of the German Archaeological Institute in Baghdad as Jan J. A. Djik,<ref>Jan J. A. Djik, "Texte aus dem Rēš-Heiligtum in Uruk-Warka", (= Baghdader Mitteilungen. Beiheft 2), Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1980 Template:ISBN</ref> Hermann Hunger, Antoine Cavigneaux, Template:Interlanguage link,<ref>Egbert von Weiher, "Spätbabylonischen Texte aus Uruk, Teil II". (= Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 10), Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1983 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Egbert von Weiher, "Spätbabylonischen Texte aus Uruk, Teil III", (= Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 12), Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1988 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Egbert von Weiher, "Uruk. Spätbabylonischen Texte aus aus dem Planquadrat U 18, Teil IV", (= Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka. Endberichte 12), Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1993 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Egbert von Weiher, Uruk. Spätbabylonischen Texte aus aus dem Planquadrat U 18, Teil V (= Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka. Endberichte 13), Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1998 Template:ISBN</ref> and Template:Ill, or others as Erlend Gehlken.<ref>Erlend Gehlken, "Uruk. Spätbabylonischen Wirtschaftstext aus dem Eanna-Archiv, Teil 1", (= Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka. Endberichte 5), Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1990 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Erlend Gehlken, "Uruk. Spätbabylonischen Wirtschaftstext aus dem Eanna-Archiv, Teil 2", (= Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka. Endberichte 11), Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1996 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Corò, Paola, "The Missing Link – Connections between Administrative and Legal Documents in Hellenistic Uruk", Archiv für Orientforschung, vol. 53, pp. 86–92, 2015</ref> Many of the cuneiform tablets form acquisitions by museums and collections as the British Museum, Yale Babylonian Collection, and the Louvre. The latter holds a unique cuneiform tablet in Aramaic known as the Aramaic Uruk incantation. The last dated cuneiform tablet from Uruk was W22340a, an astronomical almanac, which is dated to 79/80 AD.<ref>Hunger, Hermann and de Jong, Teije, "Almanac W22340a From Uruk: The Latest Datable Cuneiform Tablet", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 104, no. 2, pp. 182–194, 2014</ref>

The oldest known writing to feature a person's name was found in Uruk, in the form of several tablets that mention Kushim, who (assuming they are an individual person) served as an accountant recording transactions made in trading barley – 29,086 measures barley 37 months Kushim.<ref>Mattessich, Richard, "Recent Insights into Mesopotamian Accounting of the 3rd Millennium B.C — Successor to Token Accounting", The Accounting Historians Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1–27, 1998</ref><ref>Nissen, HansJörg; Damerow, Peter; Englund, Robert K., Archaic Bookkeeping: Early Writing and Techniques of Economic Administration in the Ancient Near East, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993</ref>

File:Glockentopf.jpg

Late Uruk Period beveled rim bowls used for ration distribution

Beveled rim bowls were the most common type of container used during the Uruk period. They are believed to be vessels for serving rations of food or drink to dependent laborers. The introduction of the fast wheel for throwing pottery was developed during the later part of the Uruk period, and made the mass production of pottery simpler and more standardized.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Artifacts

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Mask of Warka, also known as the 'Lady of Uruk' and the 'Sumerian Mona Lisa', 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 Template:Convert tall, and may have been incorporated into a larger cult image. The mask was looted from the Iraq Museum during the invasion of Iraq in April 2003. It was recovered in September 2003 and returned to the museum.

• Male bust Louvre AO10921.jpg

  Lugal-kisalsi, king of Uruk

• Warka mask (cropped).jpg

  Mask of Warka

• Bull Warka Louvre AO8218.jpg

  Bull sculpture, Jemdet Nasr period, c. 3000 BC

• Stele of lion hunt, from Uruk, Iraq, 3000-2900 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg

  Stele of the Lion Hunt – Uruk period

Archaeological levels of Uruk

Archeologists have discovered multiple cities of Uruk built atop each other in chronological order.<ref name="Charvát2002" >Template:Cite book</ref>

• Uruk XVIII Eridu period (Template:Circa 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

Anu District

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Multiple image The area traditionally called the Anu district consists of a single massive terrace, the Anu ziggurat, originally proposed to have been dedicated to the Sumerian sky god Anu.

The Stone Temple was built of limestone and bitumen on a podium of rammed earth and plastered with lime mortar. The podium itself was built over a woven reed mat called ĝipar, which was ritually used as a nuptial bed. The ĝipar was a source of generative power which then radiated upward into the structure. The structure of the Stone Temple further develops some mythological concepts from Enuma Elish, 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 and filled with mortar sometime later.

Eanna District

File:Eanna4composite.svg

Eanna IVa (light brown) and IVb (dark brown)

The Eanna district is historically significant as both writing and monumental public architecture emerged here during Uruk periods VI–IV. The combination of these two developments places Eanna as arguably the first true city and civilization in human history. Eanna during period IVa contains the earliest examples of writing.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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 buttresses. The Stone-Cone Temple, named for the mosaic of colored stone cones driven into the adobe brick façade, may be the earliest water cult in Mesopotamia. It was "destroyed by force" in Uruk IVb period and its contents interred in the Riemchen Building.<ref name="Lenzen1960" />

File:Cylinder seal king Louvre AO6620.jpg

An Uruk period cylinder-seal and its impression, c. 3100 BC. Louvre

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 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. 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 by two smaller halls, and buttressed façades; the prototype of all future Mesopotamian temple architectural typology.

File:Pictographs Recording the Allocation of Beer (London, England).jpg

CitationClass=web }}</ref> British Museum

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 Template:Convert and established long-distance trade, and are a continuation of architecture from the previous period. The Riemchen Building, named for the Template:Convert×Template:Convert 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, 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 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.Template:Citation needed

The architecture of Eanna in period III was very different from 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 Template:Circa 2900 BC, a time of great social upheaval when the dominance of Uruk was eclipsed by competing city-states. 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: Template:Transliteration). The location of this structure is currently unknown.<ref name="Beaulieu2003" />

List of rulers

Template:One source The Sumerian King List (SKL) lists only 22 rulers among five dynasties of Uruk. The sixth dynasty was an Amorite dynasty not mentioned on the SKL. The following list should not be considered complete:

#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Early Dynastic I period (Template:Circa)
Template:Visible anchor / Uruk I dynasty (Template:Circa)
"Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Eanna (Uruk)."{{#if:Sumerian King List (SKL)|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
1st	File:Lista Reale Sumerica.jpg	Meshkiangasher 𒈩𒆠𒉘𒂵𒊺𒅕	Son of Utu		Template:Reign (324 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the titles of both "Lord" and "King" of Eanna (Uruk); furthermore, held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer He has been compared with Biblical Cush<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His reign has long been suspected to be a fabrication from the Ur III period<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
"Meshkiangasher entered the sea and disappeared."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
2nd	File:Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta Ashmolean.jpg	Enmerkar 𒂗𒈨𒅕𒃸	Son of Meshkiangasher	"the king of Uruk, who built Uruk"	Template:Reign (420 years)	Said to have reigned for at least fifty years in the tale of Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird Said to have invented writing and to have besieged Aratta for up to a year in the legend of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer
3rd	File:Obverse. The story of Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave, Old-Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg	Lugalbanda 𒈗𒌉𒁕		"the shepherd"	Template:Reign (1,200 years)	Said to have been a soldier in the army of Enmerkar in the tale of Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave Described as "the shepherd" for his epiphet on the SKL and to have held the title of "king" of not just Uruk; but, all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
4th	File:Inanna prefers the farmer. Enkimdu and Damuzi were mentioned. Terracotta tablet from Nippur, Iraq. 1st half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg	Dumuzid 𒌉𒍣𒋗𒄩		"the fisherman whose city was Kuara"	Template:Reign (110 years)	Defeated invading forces headed by Gudam temp. of Enmebaragesi Historicity uncertain
Early Dynastic II period (Template:Circa)
5th	File:Obverse. Gilgamesh and Aga. Old Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg	Gilgamesh 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒈨𒌋𒌋𒌋	Son of Lugalbanda (?)	"the lord of Kulaba"	Template:Reign (126 years)	Built the walls of Uruk temp. of and victorious over Aga Historicity certain
6th	File:Transcription of the Weld-Blundell Prism. Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937) Published in 1923.jpg	Ur-Nungal 𒌨𒀭𒉣𒃲	Son of Gilgamesh		Template:Reign (30 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the Tummal Chronicle Historicity uncertain
7th	File:Translation of the Weld-Blundell Prism. Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937) Published in 1923.jpg	Udul-kalama 𒌋𒊨𒌦𒈠	Son of Ur-Nungal		Template:Reign (15 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
8th	File:Weld-Blundell Prism with transcription by Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937).jpg	La-ba'shum 𒆷𒁀𒀪𒋳			Template:Reign (9 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
9th	File:Weld-Blundell Prism with transcription and translation by Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937).jpg	En-nun-tarah-ana 𒂗𒉣𒁰𒀭𒈾			Template:Reign (8 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
10th		Mesh-he 𒈩𒃶		"the smith"	Template:Reign (36 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
11th		Melem-ana 𒈨𒉈𒀭𒈾			Template:Reign (6 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
12th		Lugal-kitun 𒈗𒆠𒂅			Template:Reign (36 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
"12 kings; they ruled for 2,310 years. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Ur."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
Early Dynastic IIIa period (Template:Circa)
		Lumma<ref>Steinkeller, Piotr, "A Campaign of Southern City-States against Kiš as Documented in the ED IIIa Sources from Šuruppak (Fara)", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 76.1, pp. 3-26, 2024</ref> 𒈝𒈠			Uncertain; these two rulers may have Template:Fl. sometime during the Early Dynastic (ED) IIIa period	Historicity certain temp. of Menunsi<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>
		Ursangpae				Historicity certain temp. of Ur-Pabilsag<ref name=":0"/>
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Early Dynastic IIIb period (Template:Circa)
		Lugalnamniršumma 𒈗𒉆𒉪𒋧			Uncertain; these two rulers may have Template:Fl. sometime during the ED IIIb period	Historicity certain temp. of Akurgal<ref name=":0"/> "King of Kish"
	File:BM 91013 Tablet dedicated by Lugal-tarsi.jpg	Lugalsilâsi I 𒈗𒋻𒋛				temp. of Ush<ref name=":0"/> Assaulted Girsu on ten separate occasions<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> "King of Kish"
	File:Golden helmet of Meskalamdug in the British Museum.jpg	MeskalamdugTemplate:Citation needed 𒈩𒌦𒄭			Template:Reign	"King of Kish" temp. of Enakalle<ref name=":0"/>
	File:Seal impression of Mesanepada, king of Kish.jpg	MesannepadaTemplate:Citation needed 𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕			Template:Reign (80 years)<ref name=":0"/>	Historicity certain "King of Kish" temp. of Ur-Lumma<ref name=":0"/>
		Urzage 𒌨𒍠𒌓𒁺			Template:Reign	Historicity certain "King of Kish" temp. of Il<ref name=":0"/>
Second dynasty of Uruk / Uruk II dynasty (Template:Circa)
"Then Hamazi was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
2nd	File:Foundation nail Entemena Louvre AO22934.jpg	Lugal-kinishe-dudu 𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌			Template:Reign (120 years)<ref name=":0"/>	Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> Held the title of, "King of Uruk and Ur".<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Enentarzi<ref name=":0"/>
	File:Limestone foundation peg of Lugal-kisal-si, from Uruk, Iraq. C. 2380 BCE. Pergamon Museum.jpg	Lugal-kisal-si 𒈗𒆦𒋛	Son of Lugal-kinishe-dudu		Uncertain; these three rulers may have Template:Fl. sometime during the EDIIIb period.<ref name=":0"/>	Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> Held the title of, "King of Uruk and Ur".<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Lugalanda<ref name=":0"/>
		Urni 𒌨𒉌𒉌𒋾				Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Elulu<ref name=":0"/>
		Lugalsilâsi II 𒈗𒋻𒋛				Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Urukagina<ref name=":0"/>
3rd		Argandea 𒅈𒂵𒀭𒀀			Template:Reign (7 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
Proto-Imperial period (Template:Circa)
1st	File:Fragments in the name of Enshakushanna.jpg	Enshakushanna 𒂗𒊮𒊨𒀭𒈾	Son of Elulu (?)		Template:Reign (2 to 60 years)	Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> Held the title of "lord of Sumer and king of all the land".<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Ur-Zababa<ref name=":0"/>
"3 kings; they ruled for 187 years. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Ur."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Third dynasty of Uruk / Uruk III dynasty (Template:Circa)
"Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
1st	File:Lugalzagesi king of Uruk king of the Land son of Ukush.jpg	Lugalzagesi 𒈗𒍠𒄀𒋛	Son of Ukush		Template:Reign (25 to 34 years)	Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/> Held the title of "king of the land".<ref name=":0"/> temp. of Sargom<ref>, Jerold S. Cooper, Sumerian and Akkadian Royal Inscriptions: Presargonic Inscriptions, Eisenbrauns, 1986, Template:ISBN</ref>
"1 king; he ruled for 25 years. Then the reign of Uruk was abolished and the kingship was taken to Akkad."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
		Girimesi 𒀀𒄩𒋻𒁺𒋛			Uncertain; this ruler may have Template:Fl. sometime during the Proto-Imperial period.<ref name=":0"/>	Historicity certain. temp. of Ikun-Ishar<ref name=":0"/>
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Akkadian period (Template:Circa)
Fourth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk IV dynasty (Template:Circa)
		Amar-girid 𒀫𒀭𒄌𒆠			Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Naram-Suen A ruler of Uruk who led a southern coalition of eight city-states during the Great Revolt against Naram-Suen
Gutian period (Template:Circa)
"Then Akkad was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
1st	File:The Sumerian King List, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.jpg	Ur-nigin 𒌨𒌋𒌓𒆤			Template:Reign (7 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer May have served as a "governor" of Uruk under the Akkadian empire Historicity uncertain
2nd	File:Sumerische Königsliste.JPG	Ur-gigir 𒌨𒄑𒇀	Son of Ur-nigin		Template:Reign (6 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
3rd	File:Sumeriankinglist.jpg	Kuda 𒋻𒁕			Template:Reign (6 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
4th		Puzur-ili 𒅤𒊭𒉌𒉌			Template:Reign (5 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
5th		Ur-Utu 𒌨𒀭𒌓	Son of Ur-gigir		Template:Reign (6 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
"5 kings; they ruled for 30 years. Then the reign of Uruk was abolished and the kingship was taken to the land of Gutium."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Ur III period (Template:Circa)
Fifth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk V dynasty (Template:Circa)
"Then the army of Gutium was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
1st	File:Utu-Hengal in cuneiform.jpg	Utu-hengal 𒀭𒌓𒃶𒅅			Template:Reign (7 to 26 years)	A "governor" of Uruk who overthrew the Gutians and briefly ruled Sumer until he was succeeded by Ur-Nammu, who he had appointed governor of Ur, thus ending the final Sumerian dynasty of Uruk.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Uruk; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity certain
"1 king; he ruled for 7 years, 6 months, and 15 days. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Ur."{{#if:SKL|{{#if:|}} — {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries }} {{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Template:Abbr dates	Notes
Isin-Larsa period (Template:Circa)
Sixth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk VI dynasty (Template:Circa)
	File:Mesopotamian - Sin Kashid Cone - Walters 481804 - View A.jpg	Sîn-kāšid 𒀭𒂗𒍪𒂵𒅆𒀉			Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Sin-Iddinam
		Sin-eribam	Son of Sîn-kāšidTemplate:Citation needed		Template:Reign	Son of Sîn-kāšid Historicity certain temp. of Sin-Eribam
	File:Tablet of Sin-Gamil of Uruk.jpg	Sîn-gāmil	Son of Sin-eribam		Template:Reign	Son of Sin-eribam Historicity certain temp. of Sin-Iqisham
		An-am 𒀭𒀀𒀭			Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Silli-Adad
		Irdanene	Son of Anam		Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Warad-Sin
		Rîm-Anum			Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Rim-Sîn I
		Nabi-ilishu			Template:Reign	Historicity certain temp. of Damiq-ilishu

See also

• Ancient City Seals
• Blau Monuments
• Chronology of the ancient Near East
• Geography of Mesopotamia
• Historical urban community sizes
• Kullaba
• List of cities of the ancient Near East
• Warka Vase

Further reading

• [2] R. McC. Adams and H. Nissen, "The Uruk Countryside: The Natural Setting of Urban Societies", Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972 Template:ISBN
• [3] Banks, Edgar James, "A Vase Inscription from Warka", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 62–63, 1904
• [4] Brandes, Mark A., "Untersuchungen zur Komposition der Stiftmosaiken an der Pfeilerhalle der Schicht IVa in Uruk-Warka", Berlin : Gebr. Mann, 1968.
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book
• [5] Seton Lloyd, "Foundations in the Dust", Oxford University Press, 1947
• [6] Nies, James B., "A Pre-Sargonic Inscription on Limestone from Warka", Journal of the American Oriental Society 38, pp. 188–196, 1918
• [7] Nissen, Hans J., "Uruk and I", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2024 (1), 2024
• [8] Ann Louise Perkins, "The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia", Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 25, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949
• Template:Cite book
• Rositani, Annunziata, "The Status of War Prisoners at Uruk in the Old Babylonian Period", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, 2024
• Rositani, Annunziata, "King Rīm-Anum of Uruk: A Reconstruction of an Old Babylonian Rebel Kingdom", DOCUMENTA ASIANA 14, pp. 109–123, 2024
• Template:Cite book
• Sandowicz, Małgorzata, Cornelia Wunsch, and Stefan Zawadzki, "On Shifting Social and Urban Landscapes in Uruk under Nabû-kudurrī-uṣur II: A View from One Neighborhood", Altorientalische Forschungen 50.2, pp. 206–236, 2023
• Stevens, Kathryn, "Secrets in the Library: Protected Knowledge and Professional Identity in Late Babylonian Uruk", Iraq, vol. 75, pp. 211–53, 2013
• Eva Strommenger, The Chronological Division of the Archaic Levels of Uruk-Eanna VI to III/II: Past and Present, American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 479–487, Oct. 1980
• Szarzyńska, Krystyna, "Offerings for the Goddess Inana in Archaic Uruk", Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie Orientale, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 7–28, 1993
• Krystyna Szarzyńska, Observations on the Temple Precinct EŠ3 in Archaic Uruk, Journal of Cuneiform Sudies, vol. 63, pp. 1–4, 2011

External links

• Archaeologists unearth ancient Sumerian riverboat in Iraq – Ars Technica – 4/8/2022
• News from Old Uruk – Margarete van Ess 2021 Oriental Institute lecture on recent work
• Earliest evidence for large scale organized warfare in the Mesopotamian world (Hamoukar vs. Uruk?)
• Uruk at CDLI wiki
• Lament for Unug Template:In lang
• Archaeological Expedition Mapping Ancient City Of Uruk in 2002
• Digital images of tablets from Uruk – CDLI