Mesopotamian Cities

Uruk

Uruk was a city that was in ancient Sumer, and then in 2004BCE, then transferred to ancient Babylonia. The legendary king, Gilgamesh was king of Uruk in 2700BCE. Uruk is considered the birthplace of writing. Uruk is said to have made the name of the country it was in, which was Iraq. Uruk had a leading role in urbanizing Sumer. In around 3100BCE, Uruk’s population was about 40,000 people. Uruk was one of the most important cities in Mesopotamia. It was founded by King Enmerkar in 4500BCE. Uruk could also be credited because they were the first people to recognize community.

Ur

Ur is one of the first cities. Ur is near the Euphrates River. The river provided water, lapis lazuli, carnelian, agate, gold, silver and copper plus much more.

An archaeologist named Sir Leonard Woolley found The Ancient Tombs of Ur. He found it in 1922 they also discovered that when they died their bodies were brought to The Ancient Tombs of Ur by people. Most of the tombs had beautiful treasures but some had been robbed, but even the robbed ones usually still contained extraordinary and dazzling treasures, like the ‘Standard of Ur’; made up of mosaic panels of lapis lazuli and other minerals. It has scenes of war on one side and peace on another. The Standard shows daily life like defending the minerals that they have.

Even though it looked like Ur is rich with materials. Ur was holding on barely while people were raiding it, they were losing the water supply and much more. Eventually they couldn't hold on much longer so they abandoned it. (LZ)

Babylon

Babylon was a complex city in Mesopotamia, and most likely the biggest. Babylon worshiped many gods. But the leader and most important god to them was Marduk the best god of all in their minds. In Babylon one of the most impressive places was the hanging gardens of Babylon. To people who arrived at one of the eight gates in Babylon the hanging gardens would appear to be floating. The hanging gardens were made by a king to please his wife who had fallen homesick and wanted to see the jungle again. The Ishtar gates are a giant gate that is bright blue and is now in museum's. Babylon was known for its big houses. Even the pour had two story house's. They even threw their trash into the streets of Babylon. (CB)

Nineveh

In modern day people call the place Nineveh is Mosul. Nineveh was originally called Ninua, A trade center. “The area was settled as early as 6000 BCE and, by 3000 BCE, had become an important religious centre for worship of the goddess Ishtar. The Akkadians first king Sargon the Great who conquered the southern part of Mesopotamia and also conquered parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam. An earthquake in 2260 BCE destroyed the first temple of Ishtar. Ishtar is the goddess of destruction and love. That is some stuff about Nineveh. (RR)

Nimrud

The site of Nimrud, near Mosul in what is today northern Iraq, has a long history—the earliest known settlement there dates to the sixth millenth B.C.—but it is most famous as the ninth- and eighth-century B.C. capital of the Assyrian empire. In this period, Nimrud was home to multiple Assyrian palaces and temples, all of which have yielded important discoveries, but the site is best known for sculptures excavated from its Northwest Palace. The reliefs and gateway statues found here constitute some of the first modern discoveries of ancient Mesopotamian art and architecture: previously Assyria had been remembered only through biblical and classical texts. (AB)

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