Geographic overview of the major Mesopotamian cities and the

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Geographic overview of the major Mesopotamian cities and their temples from North to South.

To the North West there is Mari which brings trade goods from as far away as Qatna on the west fertile crescent. To the North East there is Eahnunna and Der that bring trade goods as far away as Susa in Elam.

Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah)
60 km north of Babylon
The patron deity was Sippar was Utu god of the sun and justice. His temple there was the E-nun-ana (House of the prince of heaven)

Kutha (Tell Ibrahim)
25 miles (40 km) northeast of Babylon.
The patron deities of Kutha were the underworld God Nergal and his wife Ereshkigal. Nergal's temple was the E-gishkeshda-kalama (House which is the bond of the Land)

Kish (Tell Uheimir & Ingharra)
12 km east of Babylon
The patron deity of Kish was Zababa. His temple was the E-dub (Storage house).

Nippur (Afak)
160 km southeast of Baghdad.  The patron deity the Nippur was Enlil the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon. His main temple was the E-kur (House which is a mountain).

Isin (Ishan al-Bahriyat)
32km (20mi) from Nippur
The patron deity of Isin was Gula the goddess of healing. Her temple was the Eurgira (Dog House)

Shurrupak (Tell Fara)
35 mi from Nippur
The patron deity of Shurrupak was the earth goddess Ki. (Temple name?)

Adab (Tell Bismaya)
The city lies about a day's journey to the south-east of Nippur.
The patron deity of Adab was the mother goddess Ninhursaga. Her temple was the E-mah (Exalted house) or the E-suga (Joyous (?) house)

Umma (Umm al-Aqarib)
Located 18 miles upriver from Lagash.
The patron deity of Umma was Shara. His temple was called the E-bur-sigsig (House with beautiful bowls) or the E-mah (Magnificent house).

Lagash (Tell al-Hiba)
The ancient site of Nina (modern Surghul) is around 10 km (6.2 mi) away and marks the southern limit of the state. Nearby Girsu (modern Telloh), about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lagash, was the religious center of the Lagash state. 
The patron deity of Lagash was Ninurta. His temple their was the E-ninnu (House of 50)

Bad-Tibira (Tell al-Madineh)
10km NE of Larsa on the Iturungal cannal
The patron deity of Bad-Tibira before the deification of Dumunzid the shepherd was Lulal. After Dumunzid married Inana he became the patron deity of Bad-Tibira. His temple there was known as the E-mush-kalam-ma (House, Foundation of the Land) - Dumunzid.

Uruk (Warka)
50 miles northwest of ancient Ur.
The patron deities of Uruk were the god of heaven An and the goddess of sex and war Inana. Their temple there was the E-an-ki (House of heaven)

Larsa (Tell as-Senkereh)
25 km southeast of Uruk
The patron deity of Larsa was the god of the sun and justice Utu. His temple there was the
E-babbar (Shining house).

Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar)
It is 260km from Ur to Babylon via West route. It is 284km via the East route.
The patron deity of It was the moon God Nanna. His temple there was the E-kish-nu-gal (House sending light to the earth)

Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain)
Located 12 km southwest of Ur.
The patron deity of Eridu was Enki. His temple there was E-engura (House of the subterranean waters)

To the south lies the Persian gulf which brings trade goods from as far away as Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha.

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Considering distances in Mesopotamia

I've been thinking about how long it would take to soldiers to march from city-to-city back in Ancient Mesopotamia.

I was recently watching the film Zulu (1964). In it an ally African man asks a British soldier how many miles he think his men could march before the fight a battle the British soldier answers 15 miles. The African man proudly said the Zulu men could run, not walk, run 40 miles and then still fight a battle after. I'm not sure how accurate the film's portrayal of the distances historical armies could march was however I found it to be an interesting topic. 

I've seen estimates saying that 10-15 miles (or 16-24 km) in a day was a normal march for Ancient armies when not in a particular hurry. 20-25 miles is pushing it, and marching 30 would exhaust an army which would leave it in no shape to fight a battle after.

In modern times a 15 mile march over rough terrain is considered a pretty tough day by most military men. In the U.S. military bootcamp a 12 mile loaded March with carrying 31.75 kilograms (70 lb) in gear is required to be completed under 3 hours. Special forces such as the rangers complete exercises involving distances as far as 26 miles over harsh terrain.

The Roman military had a similar right of passage requiring Roman soldiers to complete 20 Roman miles (29.62 km or 18.405 modern miles) with 20.5 kg in five summer hours.

Roman soldier could march 20-25 miles in a day on Roman roads. However this was accomplished using pack animals and a system of supply lines.

On parade (in peacetime and garrison, not battlefield) the Foreign Legion and US Marines march slowly (80-100 steps per minute), the Gurkhas march quickly (140), and just about everybody else marches about 120. The old US Army manual "Foot Marches" FM 21-18 has a lot of data, including historical anecdotes. 4 mils per hour (about 6 km) is fast and sustainable. Faster than than requires light loads and lots of training. An American unit in Sicily in WWII 3/30/30th Infantry Division) marched 54 miles in 33 hours across country.

In several instances soldiers in the American Civil war performed extraordinary marches before fighting battles. The 6th corps marched approximately 32 miles overnight to get to Gettysburg. In a correspondences between Meade and Halleck Meade mentions that in his pursuit of Lee after Gettysburg that they executed forced marches exceeding 30 miles on several occasions. General Jackson was also known for pushing his men frequently between 25-35 miles a day. The typical average moving such large armies and keeping them in tact would be in the 10-15 mile range.

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It is 280 kilometers (173.984 miles) up the Euphrates from Ur to Kish. This means it would take an army from Ur 11 1/2 days to march from Ur up to Kish at an average of 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) per day marching speed.

At an urgent 25 mile per day (40.23 kilometers) forced march an army could reach Kish from Ur in just over a week.

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The average human walking speed is about 3 miles per hour (mph) or about 4.828 kilometres per hour (km/h).

The average human jogging speed is about 4 miles per hour (mph) or about 6 kilometres per hour (km/h).

Eridu was 12 km from Ur. It would have taken a person approximately 2 and a half hours to walk from Ur to Eridu. The jog would have shaved about a half hour off of that taking the trek down to two hours.

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Uruk was approximately 50 miles (80.4672 kilometers) from Ur. An army from Ur marching an average 15 miles per day could have reached Uruk in 3 1/3 days. A forced march speed or an individual messenger traveling by foot at 25 mile per day (8 hours of just over 3mph) could have reached Uruk from Ur in two days.