Post by inimgina on Mar 13, 2017 23:55:40 GMT -5
Uruk was an ancient Mesopotamian city-state. Uruk was the Akkadian name for the city. The Sumerians called the city Unug. The old testament of the bible refers to the city by its Aramaic/Herbrew name Erech. The modern Arabic name for the site is Warka which is located in the Al-Khidhr, Muthanna Province of Iraq. Uruk was located 15 miles (25km) to the Northwest of the city Larsa and 50 miles (80km) to the Northwest of the city Ur.
The settlement was first established during the Ubaid period (5th millennium BCE). The site is the type site for what is called the Uruk period (4000-3000 BCE) of ancient Mesopotamia. In the Uruk period the site was the largest in Mesopotamia at 100 hectares. Estimations of the population of the city fall in the range of 50,000 to 80,000 people which would have made Uruk the most populated city in the world during it's height. By the Early Dynastic period (2900-2350 BC) Uruk had reached a size of about 400 hectares. The area of the site at it's height measures at approximately 600 hectares (2.32 sq mi or 6 sq km). Uruk declined after the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE) however the site was revived several times before becoming uninhabited over two thousand years later during the Sassanian period (224-633 CE).
Uruk had two patron deities. Both An the god of heaven and Inanna the goddess of sex and war were the patron deity of the city. The main temple at Uruk was called the Éanki ("House of Heaven"). The city was divided into two sections, the older Anu District which is walled apart from the Eanna district. Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer suggested that An was the primary deity of the city in the early days of the Anu district and that Inanna was elevated in status in the local cult as the Eanna district grew. This transition would have been furthered when Enmebaragesi King of Kish make Nippur the religious center of Mesopotamia thus elevating An's son Enlil to the head of the pantheon over him. Another major cult at Uruk was dedicated to Nisaba the goddess of writing who temple their was called the Émulmul (House of Stars) or the Ézagin (House of Lapis lazuli).
The settlement was first established during the Ubaid period (5th millennium BCE). The site is the type site for what is called the Uruk period (4000-3000 BCE) of ancient Mesopotamia. In the Uruk period the site was the largest in Mesopotamia at 100 hectares. Estimations of the population of the city fall in the range of 50,000 to 80,000 people which would have made Uruk the most populated city in the world during it's height. By the Early Dynastic period (2900-2350 BC) Uruk had reached a size of about 400 hectares. The area of the site at it's height measures at approximately 600 hectares (2.32 sq mi or 6 sq km). Uruk declined after the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE) however the site was revived several times before becoming uninhabited over two thousand years later during the Sassanian period (224-633 CE).
Uruk had two patron deities. Both An the god of heaven and Inanna the goddess of sex and war were the patron deity of the city. The main temple at Uruk was called the Éanki ("House of Heaven"). The city was divided into two sections, the older Anu District which is walled apart from the Eanna district. Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer suggested that An was the primary deity of the city in the early days of the Anu district and that Inanna was elevated in status in the local cult as the Eanna district grew. This transition would have been furthered when Enmebaragesi King of Kish make Nippur the religious center of Mesopotamia thus elevating An's son Enlil to the head of the pantheon over him. Another major cult at Uruk was dedicated to Nisaba the goddess of writing who temple their was called the Émulmul (House of Stars) or the Ézagin (House of Lapis lazuli).
