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Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East or West Asia, 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 east of modern Samawah.
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, (2025). 9780300098839, Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780300098839 with 80,000–90,000 people living in its environs, (2025). 9781138238633, Routledge. ISBN 9781138238633 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 Empire (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. 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 (), the second city founded by Nimrod in Shinar.Warwick Ball, "Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire", Routledge, 2016
Uruk went through several phases of growth, from the Early Uruk period (4000–3500 BC) to the Late Uruk period (3500–3100 BC). The city was formed when two smaller Ubaid period 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.
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. 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".Fassbinder, J.W.E., and H. Becker, "Magnetometry at Uruk (Iraq): The city of King Gilgamesh", Archaeologia Polona, vol. 41, pp. 122–124, 2003 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.
In 2009, two different copies of an inscription were put forth as evidence of a 19th-century BC ruler of Uruk named Naram-sin.Eva von Dassow, "Narām-Sîn of Uruk: A New King in an Old Shoebox", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 61, pp. 63–91, 2009
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-am (Dingiram), ÌR3-ne-ne (Irdanene), who was defeated by Rim-Sin I of Larsa in his year 14 (c. 1740 BC), Rîm-Anum and Nabi-ilīšu.Rients de Boer, "Beginnings of Old Babylonian Babylon: Sumu-Abum and Sumu-La-El", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 70, pp. 53–86, 2018Seri, 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, 2013Witold 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
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 life".Frayne, Douglas, "Uruk", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 439–483, 1990
Following the collapse of Ur ( 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 , 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 Shamash Gate districts.H. D. Baker, "The Urban Landscape in First Millennium BC Babylonia", University of Vienna, 2002
Uruk, known as Orcha (Ὄρχα) 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.R. van der Spek "The Latest on Seleucid Empire Building in the East". Journal of the American Oriental Society 138.2 (2018): 385–394.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. 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. When the Seleucids lost Mesopotamia to the Parthian Empire in 141 BC, Uruk continued in use.C. A. Petrie, "Seleucid Uruk: An Analysis of Ceramic Distribution", Iraq, vol. 64, 2002, pp. 85–123, 2002 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 language , and by it was completely abandoned.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
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.
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The site, which lies about northwest of ancient Ur, is one of the largest in the region at around in area. The maximum extent is north/south, and 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
The location of Uruk was first noted by Fraser and Ross in 1835.Fraser, James Baillie, Travels in Koordistan, Mesopotamia, Etc: Including an Account of Parts of Those Countries Hitherto Unvisited by Europeans, R. Bentley, 1840 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.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 A large basalt stela found by Loftus was later lost.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 Warka was also scouted by archaeologist Walter Andrae in 1902.Walter Andrae, Die deutschen Ausgrabungen in Warka (Uruk), Berlin, 1935 In 1905 Warka was visited by archaeologist Edgar James Banks.
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 . Jordan also discovered part of the city wall. It was later discovered that this high brick wall, probably utilized as a defense mechanism, totally encompassed the city at a length of . 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.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 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.Julius Jordan, "Uruk-Warka nach dem ausgrabungen durch die Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft", Hinrichs, 1928 (German)[2] Ernst Heinrich, "Kleinfunde aus den archaischen Tempelschichten in Uruk", Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1936 (German) Among the finds was the Stell of the Lion Hunt, excavated in a Jemdat Nadr layer but sylistically dated to Uruk IV.
The German excavations resumed after the war and were under the direction of Heinrich Lenzen from 1954 to 1967.H. J. Lenzen, "The Ningiszida Temple Built by Marduk-Apla-Iddina II at Uruk (Warka)", Iraq, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 146–150, 1957H. J. Lenzen, "New discoveries at Warka in southern Iraq", Archaeology, vol. 17, pp. 122–131, 1964 He was followed in 1968 by J. Schmidt, and in 1978 by R.M. Boehmer.J. Schmidt, "Uruk-Warka, Susammenfassender Bericht uber die 27. Kampagne 1969", Baghdader, vol. 5, pp. 51–96, 1970Rainer Michael Boehmer, "Uruk 1980–1990: a progress report", Antiquity, vol. 65, pp. 465–478, 1991 In total, the German archaeologists spent 39 seasons working at Uruk. The results are documented in two series of reports:
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.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 Work resumed in 2016 and is currently concentrated on the city wall area and a survey of the surrounding landscape.Van Ess, Margarete, and J. Fassbinder, "Uruk-Warka. Archaeological Research 2016–2018, Preliminary Report", Sumer Journal of Archaeology of Iraq 65, pp. 47–85, 2019Margarete van Ess, "Uruk, Irak. Wissenschaftliche Forschungen 2019", e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, vol. 2, pp. 117–121, 2019van Ess, Margarete, et al., "Uruk, Irak. Wissenschaftliche Forschungen und Konservierungsarbeiten. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2020 bis 2022", e-Forschungsberichte, pp. 1–31, 2022 Part of the work has been to create a digital twin of the Uruk archaeological area. 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.
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.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, 1998Nissen, 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
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.
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 Giparu, 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.
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 . 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.
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.
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 and established long-distance trade, and are a continuation of architecture from the previous period. The Riemchen Building, named for the × 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.
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 2900 BC, a time of great social upheaval when the dominance of Uruk was eclipsed by competing . 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: ). The location of this structure is currently unknown.
| Early Dynastic I period () | ||||||
| 1st | Meshkiangasher 𒈩𒆠𒉘𒂵𒊺𒅕 | Son of Utu | (324 years) |
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| 2nd | Enmerkar 𒂗𒈨𒅕𒃸 | Son of Meshkiangasher | "the king of Uruk, who built Uruk" | (420 years) |
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| 3rd | Lugalbanda 𒈗𒌉𒁕 | "the shepherd" | (1,200 years) |
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| 4th | Dumuzid 𒌉𒍣𒋗𒄩 | "the fisherman whose city was Kuara" | (110 years) |
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| Early Dynastic II period () | ||||||
| 5th | Gilgamesh 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒈨𒌋𒌋𒌋 | Son of Lugalbanda (?) | "the lord of Kulaba" | (126 years) |
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| 6th | Ur-Nungal 𒌨𒀭𒉣𒃲 | Son of Gilgamesh | (30 years) |
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| 7th | Udul-kalama 𒌋𒊨𒌦𒈠 | Son of Ur-Nungal | (15 years) |
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| 8th | La-ba'shum 𒆷𒁀𒀪𒋳 | (9 years) |
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| 9th | En-nun-tarah-ana 𒂗𒉣𒁰𒀭𒈾 | (8 years) |
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| 10th | Mesh-he 𒈩𒃶 | "the smith" | (36 years) |
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| 11th | Melem-ana 𒈨𒉈𒀭𒈾 | (6 years) |
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| 12th | Lugal-kitun 𒈗𒆠𒂅 | (36 years) |
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| Early Dynastic IIIa period () | ||||||
| LummaSteinkeller, 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 𒈝𒈠 | Uncertain; these two rulers may have sometime during the Early Dynastic (ED) IIIa period |
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| Ursangpae |
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| Early Dynastic IIIb period () | ||||||
| Lugalnamniršumma 𒈗𒉆𒉪𒋧 | Uncertain; these two rulers may have sometime during the ED IIIb period |
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| Lugalsilâsi I 𒈗𒋻𒋛 |
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| Meskalamdug 𒈩𒌦𒄭 |
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| Mesannepada 𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕 | (80 years) |
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| Urzage 𒌨𒍠𒌓𒁺 | ||||||
| 2nd | Lugal-kinishe-dudu 𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌 | (120 years) |
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| Lugal-kisal-si 𒈗𒆦𒋛 | Son of Lugal-kinishe-dudu | Uncertain; these three rulers may have sometime during the EDIIIb period. |
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| Urni 𒌨𒉌𒉌𒋾 |
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| Lugalsilâsi II 𒈗𒋻𒋛 |
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| 3rd | Argandea 𒅈𒂵𒀭𒀀 | (7 years) |
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| Proto-Imperial period () | ||||||
| 1st | Enshakushanna 𒂗𒊮𒊨𒀭𒈾 | Son of Elulu (?) | (2 to 60 years) |
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| 1st | Lugalzagesi 𒈗𒍠𒄀𒋛 | Son of Ukush | (25 to 34 years) |
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| Girimesi 𒀀𒄩𒋻𒁺𒋛 | Uncertain; this ruler may have sometime during the Proto-Imperial period. | |||||
| Akkadian Period () | ||||||
| Amar-girid 𒀫𒀭𒄌𒆠 |
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| Gutian period () | ||||||
| 1st | Ur-nigin 𒌨𒌋𒌓𒆤 | (7 years) |
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| 2nd | Ur-gigir 𒌨𒄑𒇀 | Son of Ur-nigin | (6 years) |
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| 3rd | Kuda 𒋻𒁕 | (6 years) |
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| 4th | Puzur-ili 𒅤𒊭𒉌𒉌 | (5 years) |
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| 5th | Ur-Utu 𒌨𒀭𒌓 | Son of Ur-gigir | (6 years) |
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| Ur III period () | ||||||
| 1st | Utu-hengal 𒀭𒌓𒃶𒅅 | (7 to 26 years) |
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| Isin-Larsa period () | ||||||
| Sîn-kāšid 𒀭𒂗𒍪𒂵𒅆𒀉 |
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| Sin-eribam | Son of Sîn-kāšid |
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| Sîn-gāmil | Son of Sin-eribam |
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| An-am 𒀭𒀀𒀭 |
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| Irdanene | Son of Anam |
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| Rîm-Anum |
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| Nabi-ilishu |
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