View source for Uruk

{{short description|Ancient city of Sumer and Babylonia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Erech|the fictional location in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien|Erech (Middle-earth)|the fictional monsters in the same works|Uruk-hai}}
{{cleanup lang|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Uruk
 |native_name = {{cuneiform|4|𒀕𒆠}}, {{Transliteration|sux|Unugᵏⁱ}} ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]])<br />{{cuneiform|4|𒌷𒀕}} or {{cuneiform|4|𒌷𒀔}}, {{Transliteration|akk|Uruk}} ([[Akkadian language|Akkadian]])
 |alternate_name =
 |image = {{none}}
 |image_size=
 |alt =
 |caption = 
 |map_type = Iraq
 |relief =yes
 |map_alt =
 |map_size =
 |coordinates = {{coord|31|19|27|N|45|38|14|E|display=inline,title}}
 |location = [[Muthanna Governorate]], Iraq
 |region = [[Mesopotamia]]
 |type = Settlement
 |part_of =
 |length =
 |width =
 |area = {{convert|6|km2|abbr=on}}
 |height =
 |builder =
 |material =
 |built ={{circa|5000 BC}}
 |abandoned ={{circa|700 AD}}
 |epochs = [[Uruk period]] to [[Early Middle Ages]]
 |cultures =
 |dependency_of =
 |occupants =
 |event =
 |excavations = 1850, 1854, 1902, 1912–1913, 1928–1939, 1953–1978, 2001–2002, 2016–present
 |archaeologists = [[William Loftus (archaeologist)|William Loftus]], [[Walter Andrae]], [[Julius Jordan]], Heinrich Lenzen, Margarete van Ess
 |condition =
 |ownership =
 |management =
 |public_access =
 |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
 |notes =
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child         = yes
| Official_name = Uruk Archaeological City
| Part_of       = [[Ahwar of Southern Iraq]]
| Type          = Mixed
| Criteria      = (iii)(v)(ix)(x)
| ID            = 1481-005
| Year          = 2016
| Area          = {{convert|541|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Buffer_zone   = {{convert|292|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
}}
}}
{{contain special characters | cuneiform|compact=yes}}
'''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 {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} east of modern [[Samawah]].<ref name="Harmansah2007" >{{Cite web | last = Harmansah | first = Ömür | title = The Archaeology of Mesopotamia: Ceremonial centers, urbanization and state formation in Southern Mesopotamia | date = 2007-12-03 | url = https://proteus.brown.edu/mesopotamianarchaeology/699 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120712123530/http://proteus.brown.edu/mesopotamianarchaeology/699 | archive-date = 2012-07-12 | access-date = 2011-08-28}}</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" >{{cite book |last1=Nissen |first1=Hans J |editor1-last=Aruz |editor1-first=J |title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |date=2003 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |isbn=978-0-300-09883-9 |pages=11–20 |chapter=Uruk and the formation of the city}}</ref> with 80,000–90,000 people living in its environs,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Algaze |first1=Guillermo |editor1-last=Crawford |editor1-first=Harriet |editor-link=Harriet Crawford |title=The Sumerian World |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-138-23863-3 |pages=68–95 |chapter=The end of prehistory and the Uruk period}}</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 Empire|Parthian]] (227 BC to AD 224) periods, until it was finally abandoned shortly before or after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Islamic conquest]] of 633–638.

[[William Loftus (archaeologist)|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 ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|10:10|KJV}}), the second city founded by [[Nimrod (king)|Nimrod]] in [[Shinar]].<ref>[[Warwick Ball]], "Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire", Routledge, 2016</ref>

== Toponymy ==
Uruk ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʊ|r|ʊ|k}}) has several spellings in [[cuneiform]]; in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] it is {{lang|sux|{{cuneiform|4|𒀕𒆠}}}} {{Transliteration|sux|unugᵏⁱ}};<ref>{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, ePSD2 |url=https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/sux?zoom=U&page=1 |website=University of Pennsylvania}}</ref> in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], {{lang|sux|{{cuneiform|4|𒌷𒀕}}}} or {{lang|sux|{{cuneiform|4|𒌷𒀔}}}} {{Transliteration|sux|Uruk}} (<sup>[[URU (Sumerogram)|URU]]</sup>UNUG). Its names in other languages include: {{langx|ar|وركاء}} or {{lang|ar|أوروك}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Warkāʾ}} or {{Transliteration|ar|Auruk}}; {{langx|syc|ܐܘܿܪܘܿܟ}}, {{translit|syc|ʾÚrūk}}; {{langx|hbo|{{script|Hebr|אֶרֶךְ}}}} {{Transliteration|hbo|ʾÉreḵ}}; {{langx|grc|Ὀρχόη|Orkhóē}}, {{lang|grc|Ὀρέχ}} {{Transliteration|grc|Orékh}}, {{lang|grc|Ὠρύγεια}} {{Transliteration|grc|Ōrúgeia}}.

==History==
[[File:Warka vase (background retouched).jpg|thumb|left|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 ''[[Eanna|House of Heaven]]'' (Sumerian: ''e₂-anna''; cuneiform: {{cuneiform|4|𒂍𒀭}} 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&nbsp;BC) to the Late Uruk period (3500–3100&nbsp;BC).<ref name="Harmansah2007" /> The city was formed when two smaller [[Ubaid period|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" >{{Cite book | last = Beaulieu | first = Paul-Alain | author-link = Paul-Alain Beaulieu | title = The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period | publisher = BRILL | year = 2003 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=v-WRJhvfudIC | isbn = 90-04-13024-1}}</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|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Uruk expansion and colonial outposts, {{Circa|3600}}–3200 BC]]

{{main|Uruk period}}
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&nbsp;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 [[hectare]]s 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|thumb|right|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|thumb|left|Foundation peg of [[Lugal-kisal-si]], king of Uruk, Ur and Kish, circa 2380 BC. The inscription reads "For (goddess) [[Nammu|Namma]], wife of (the god) [[Anu|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|thumb|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>{{Cite journal|last=Kesecker|first=Nshan|title=Lugalzagesi: The First Emperor of Mesopotamia?|url=https://www.academia.edu/38693392|journal=ARAMAZD Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies|date=January 2018|volume=12 |pages=76–96 |doi=10.32028/ajnes.v12i1.893 |s2cid=257461809}}</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|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-am|AN-am<sub>3</sub>]] (Dingiram), ÌR<sub>3</sub>-ne-ne ([[Irdanene]]), who was defeated by [[Rim-Sin I|Rīm-Sîn I]] of Larsa in his year 14 (c. 1740&nbsp;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|thumb|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: [[É (temple)|E₂]].[[E-sara|SAR.A]]) ({{cuneiform|𒂍𒊬𒀀}}) to the northeast of the Uruk period Eanna ruins.

Following the collapse of Ur ({{circa}} 2000&nbsp;BC), Uruk went into a steep decline until about 850&nbsp;BC when the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] annexed it as a provincial capital. Under the Neo-Assyrians and [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, Uruk regained much of its former glory. By 250&nbsp;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 [[Babylonian astronomy|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|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 ({{lang|grc|Ὄρχα}}) to the Greeks, continued to thrive under the [[Seleucid Empire]]. During this period, Uruk was a city of 300&nbsp;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&nbsp;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 [[Parthian Empire|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&nbsp;AD, Uruk was mostly abandoned, but a group of [[Mandaeans]] settled there, based on some finds of [[Mandaic language|Mandaic]] [[incantation bowl]]s, and by {{circa|700 AD}} 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|thumb|150px|Mesopotamian king as [[Master of Animals]] on the [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]] (c. 3300–3200 BC, [[Abydos, Egypt]]), a work indicating [[Egypt-Mesopotamia relations]] and showing the early influence of Mesopotamia on [[Egypt]] and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography in the Uruk period. [[Louvre Museum|Louvre]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Couteau du Gebel el-Arak at the Louvre Museum |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=668 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Jerrol S. |pages=10–14|title=The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-first Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference |date=1996 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-0-931464-96-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hc1Yp0VcjoC&pg=PA10 |language=en}}</ref>]]

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 ({{circa|3800&nbsp;BC}}), there were two centers of {{Convert|20|ha|abbr=on}}, Uruk in the south and [[Nippur]] in the north surrounded by much smaller {{Convert|10|ha|abbr=on}} settlements.<ref>[[Harriet Crawford|Crawford, Harriet E.W.]], "Sumer and the Sumerians", Cambridge University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-521-53338-4}}</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.
{{blockquote|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]].|Oppenheim<ref>{{Cite book | last = Oppenheim | first = A. Leo |author2=Erica Reiner  | title = Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 1977 | location = Chicago | pages = [https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00aleo/page/445 445] | url = https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00aleo | url-access = registration | isbn = 0-226-63187-7| author2-link = Erica Reiner
}}</ref>}}

[[File:Uruk King-Priest 3300 BCE portrait detail.jpg|thumb|left|Probable Uruk King-Priest with a beard and hat (c. 3300 BC, Uruk). [[Louvre Museum|Louvre]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=11232 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>]]
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 (Sumer)|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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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|thumb|right|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|thumb|right|The [[Parthian Empire|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.
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="7"| Eanna district: 4000–3000&nbsp;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
|-
!colspan="7"| Anu district: 4000–3000&nbsp;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)
<gallery caption="Architecture of Uruk" widths="100px" heights="100px" perrow="8">
File:Eanna5.svg|Plan of Eanna VI–V
File:Eanna4b.svg|Plan of Eanna IVb
File:Eanna4a.svg|Plan of Eanna IVa
File:Eanna3.svg|Plan of Eanna III
File:Eanna_neosumerian.svg|Plan of Neo-Sumerian Eanna
File:Anu_district.svg|Plan of Anu District Phase E
File:Pergamonmuseum Inanna 01.jpg|Reconstruction of a mosaic from the Eanna temple.
File:Pergamonmuseum Inanna 02.jpg|Detail of Reconstruction of a mosaic from the Eanna temple.
</gallery>

==Archaeology==
[[File:Meso2mil-English.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Mesopotamia]] in the [[2nd millennium BC]]. From north to south: [[Nineveh]], [[Tell al-Rimah|Qattara (or Karana)]], [[Dūr-Katlimmu]], [[Assur]], [[Arrapha]], [[Terqa]], [[Nuzi]], [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], [[Eshnunna]], [[Dur-Kurigalzu]], [[Der (Sumer)|Der]], [[Sippar]], [[Babylon]], [[Kish (Sumer)|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 {{Convert|250|ha|abbr=on}}. During the following [[Jemdet Nasr period]] it grew to a size of {{Convert|600|ha|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|50|mile|km|abbr=on}} northwest of ancient [[Ur]], is one of the largest in the region at around {{convert|5.5|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in area. The maximum extent is {{convert|3|km|mile|abbr=on}} north/south, and {{convert|2.5|km|mile|abbr=on}} east/west. There are three major [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]s within the site: The Eanna district, Bit Resh (Kullaba), and Irigal. Archaeologically, the site is divided into six parts
#the É-Anna ziggurat ' Egipar-imin,
#the É-Anna enclosure (Zingel),
#the Anu-Antum temple complex, BitRes and Anu-ziggurat,
#Irigal, the South Building,
#Parthian structures including the Gareus-temple, and the Multiple Apse building,
#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|thumb|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 (archaeologist)|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, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4ZiBAAAAIAAJ ''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>{{cite web|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/473565|last= Banks|first= Edgar James|title=Warka, the Ruins of Erech (Gen. 10: 10) {{!}} The Biblical World 25.4, pp. 302–305, 1905|doi= 10.1086/473565}}</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|thumb|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 [[Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft|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 [[mosaic]]s. Jordan also discovered part of the [[city wall]]. It was later discovered that this {{convert|40|to|50|ft|m|adj=on}} high brick wall, probably utilized as a defense mechanism, totally encompassed the city at a length of {{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}}. 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>[https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1307&context=amar] 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>{{cite book|url=https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763212&increment=87|author= Faraj Basmachi|title=The Lion-Hunt Stela from Warka {{!}} Sumer  |volume=5, iss. 1|pages=87–90|year= 1949}}</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">{{ cite book|url=https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763248&increment=8|author= H. J. Lenzen|title= The E-anna district after excavations in the winter of 1958–59 {{!}} Sumer|volume= 16 |pages= 3–11|year= 1960}}</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:
* {{lang|de|Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk}} (ADFU), 17 volumes, 1912–2001 
* {{lang|de|Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte}} (AUWE), 25 volumes, 1987–2007

[[File:معبد كاريوس ...اوروك .... مدينة الوركاء ... المثنى.jpg|thumb|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, [https://publications.dainst.org/journals/efb/article/download/2252/6690 "Uruk, Irak. Wissenschaftliche Forschungen 2019"], ''e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts'', vol. 2, pp. 117–121, 2019</ref><ref>van Ess, Margarete, et al., [https://publications.dainst.org/journals/efb/article/download/3980/7665 "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>{{cite journal|last= Haibt|first= Max|title=End-to-end digital twin creation of the archaeological landscape in Uruk-Warka (Iraq)|journal= International Journal of Digital Earth |year= 2024|volume= 17|issue= 1|article-number= 2324964|doi= 10.1080/17538947.2024.2324964|doi-access= free|bibcode= 2024IJDE...1724964H}}</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>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/63556215/Fassbinder-June-2020-ANEToday20200607-46484-tqqr9l.pdf|last=Fassbinder|first=Jörg W. E|title=Beneath the Euphrates Sediments: Magnetic Traces of the Mesopotamian Megacity Uruk-Warka {{!}} Ancient Near East Today 8, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Cuneiform tablets===
[[File:Uruk Ziggurat (30744982822).jpg|thumb|right|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 [[Assyrology|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 {{ISBN|3-7861-1282-7}}</ref> [[Hermann Hunger]], Antoine Cavigneaux, {{interlanguage link|Egbert von Weiher|de}},<ref>Egbert von Weiher, "Spätbabylonischen Texte aus Uruk, Teil II". (= Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 10), Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1983 {{ISBN|3-7861-1336-X}}</ref><ref>Egbert von Weiher, "Spätbabylonischen Texte aus Uruk, Teil III", (= Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 12), Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1988 {{ISBN|3-7861-1508-7}}</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 {{ISBN|3-8053-1504-X}}</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 {{ISBN|3-8053-1850-2}}</ref> and {{ill|Karlheinz Kessler|de}}, 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 {{ISBN|3-8053-1217-2}}</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 {{ISBN|3-8053-1545-7}}</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 (Uruk period)|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|thumb|left|Late Uruk Period [[beveled rim bowl]]s used for ration distribution]]
[[Beveled rim bowl]]s 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 [[Potter's wheel|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>{{Cite book|title=The Interplay of People and Technologies Archaeological Case Studies on Innovations|last=Burmeister|first=Stefan |others=Bernbeck, Reinhard|year=2017|isbn=978-3-9816751-8-4|edition=1st|location=Berlin|oclc=987573072}}</ref>

===Artifacts===
{{main|Art of Uruk}}
The [[The Mask of Warka|Mask of Warka]], also known as the 'Lady of Uruk' and the 'Sumerian [[Mona Lisa]]', dating from 3100&nbsp;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 {{Convert|20|cm|abbr=on}} tall, and may have been incorporated into a larger cult image. The mask was looted from the [[Iraq Museum]] during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]] in April 2003. It was recovered in September 2003 and returned to the museum.
<gallery>
File:Male bust Louvre AO10921.jpg|[[Lugal-kisalsi]], king of Uruk
File:Warka mask (cropped).jpg|Mask of Warka
File:Bull Warka Louvre AO8218.jpg|Bull sculpture, [[Jemdet Nasr period]], c. 3000&nbsp;BC
File:Stele of lion hunt, from Uruk, Iraq, 3000-2900 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg| Stele of the Lion Hunt – Uruk period
</gallery>

===Archaeological levels of Uruk===
Archeologists have discovered multiple cities of Uruk built atop each other in chronological order.<ref name="Charvát2002" >{{Cite book | last = Charvát | first = Petr | author2 = Zainab Bahrani | author2-link = Zainab Bahrani | author3 = Marc Van de Mieroop | title = Mesopotamia Before History | publisher = Routledge | year = 2002 | location = London | url = https://archive.org/details/MesopotamiaBeforeHistory/mode/2up | isbn = 0-415-25104-4}}</ref>
* Uruk XVIII Eridu period ({{circa}} 5000&nbsp;BC): the founding of Uruk
* Uruk XVIII–XVI Late Ubaid period (4800–4200&nbsp;BC)
* Uruk XVI–X Early Uruk period (4000–3800&nbsp;BC)
* Uruk IX–VI Middle Uruk period (3800–3400&nbsp;BC)
* Uruk V–IV Late Uruk period (3400–3100&nbsp;BC): the earliest monumental temples of Eanna District are built
* Uruk III Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900&nbsp;BC): the 9&nbsp;km city wall is built
* Uruk II
* Uruk I

===Anu District===
{{Main|Anu ziggurat}}
{{multiple image
| perrow = 2
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| caption_align = center
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = Anu/ White Temple ziggurat
| image1 =  White Temple 'E at Uruk, 3500-3000 BCE.jpg
| image2 = White Temple ziggurat in Uruk.jpg
}}
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 ''[[Giparu|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|right|thumb|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>{{cite book|last=Nissen|first=Hans J.|chapter=Urbanization and the techniques of communication: the Mesopotamian city of Uruk during the fourth millennium BCE|series=[[The Cambridge World History]]|volume=3|title=Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, 4000 BCE–1200 CE|editor-last=Yoffee|editor-first=Norman|editor-link=Norman Yoffee|year=2015|isbn=978-0-521-19008-4|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=113}}</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 [[buttress]]es. 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|thumb|left|An Uruk period cylinder-seal and its impression, c. 3100 BC. [[Louvre Museum|Louvre]]]]
In the following period, Uruk V, about 100&nbsp;m east of the Stone-Cone Temple the Limestone Temple was built on a 2&nbsp;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&nbsp;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 (urban planning and architecture)|typology]].

[[File:Pictographs Recording the Allocation of Beer (London, England).jpg|thumb|right|Tablet from Uruk III (c. 3200–3000 BC) recording beer distributions from the storerooms of an institution,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/cdlisearch/search/index.php?SearchMode=Browse&ResultCount=1&txtID_Txt=P005323|title=Tablet MSVO 3,12 /BM 140855: description on CDLI.}}</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 {{Convert|250|ha|abbr=on}} and established long-distance trade, and are a continuation of architecture from the previous period. The Riemchen Building, named for the {{Convert|16|cm|abbr=on}}×{{Convert|16|cm|abbr=on}} 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 (building)|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 (watercourse)|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&nbsp;hectares. All the buildings of Eanna IVa were destroyed sometime in Uruk III, for unclear reasons.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

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 [[History of Sumer|Early Dynastic Sumer]] {{circa}} 2900&nbsp;BC, a time of great social upheaval when the dominance of Uruk was eclipsed by competing [[city-state]]s. 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: {{Transliteration|sux|e₂-ᵈinanna unuᵏⁱ-ga}}). The location of this structure is currently unknown.<ref name="Beaulieu2003" />

==List of rulers==
{{One source|section|date=August 2024}}
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:
{|class="wikitable"border="1"style="width:100%;text-align:center"
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|[[Akkadian royal titulary#Epithets|Epithet]]
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Early Dynastic I|Early Dynastic I period]] ({{circa|2900|2700 BC}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|{{visible anchor|First dynasty of Uruk|text=First dynasty of Uruk}} / Uruk I dynasty ({{circa|2900|2700 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Then [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]] was defeated and the [[Throne|kingship]] was taken to [[Eanna]] (Uruk)."''|''[[Sumerian King List]] (SKL)''}}
|-
|1st
|[[File:Lista Reale Sumerica.jpg|120px]]
|[[Meshkiangasher]]<br />𒈩𒆠𒉘𒂵𒊺𒅕
|Son of [[Utu]]
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2775 BC|show=lword}}<br />(324 years)
|
*Said on the ''SKL'' to have held the titles of both ''"[[EN (cuneiform)|Lord]]"'' and ''"[[lugal|King]]"'' of Eanna (Uruk); furthermore, held the ''"[[Hegemony|Kingship]]"'' over ''all'' of Sumer
*He has been compared with [[Biblical Cush]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Rohl|first=David|author-link=David Rohl|date=1998|title=Legend: Genesis of Civilisation|location=London|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=978-0-7126-7747-9}}</ref>
*His reign has long been suspected to be a fabrication from the [[Ur III period]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Mittermayer|first=C.|date=2009|title=Enmerkara und der Herr von Arata: Ein ungleicher Wettstreit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcsLEcCMAR8C|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|language=de|isbn=978-3-525-54359-7}}</ref>
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Meshkiangasher entered the sea and disappeared."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|2nd
|[[File:Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta Ashmolean.jpg|120px]]
|[[Enmerkar]]<br />𒂗𒈨𒅕𒃸
|Son of Meshkiangasher
|''"the king of Uruk, who built Uruk"''
|{{reign|single=c. 2750, c. 2730|era=BC}}<br />(420 years)
|
*Said to have reigned for at least fifty years in the [[Narrative#In mythology|tale]] of ''[[Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird]]''
*Said to have [[invention of writing|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|120px]]
|[[Lugalbanda]]<br />𒈗𒌉𒁕
|
|''"the [[Shepherd#Religion|shepherd]]"''
|{{reign|single=c. 2700|era=BC}}<br />(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 ''"[[Shepherd#Religion|the shepherd]]"'' for his [[Akkadian royal titulary#Epithets|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|120px]]
|[[Dumuzid, the Fisherman|Dumuzid]]<br />𒌉𒍣𒋗𒄩
|
|''"the fisherman whose city was [[Tell al-Lahm#Kuara (Ku'ara)|Kuara]]"''
|{{reign|single=c. 2700|era=BC}}<br />(110 years)
|
*Defeated invading forces headed by Gudam
*''[[Tempore|temp.]]'' of [[Enmebaragesi]]
*Historicity uncertain
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''Early Dynastic II period ({{circa|2700|2600 BC}})'''
|-
|5th
|[[File:Obverse. Gilgamesh and Aga. Old Babylonian period, from southern Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg|120px]]
|[[Gilgamesh]]<br />𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒈨𒌋𒌋𒌋
|Son of Lugalbanda (?)
|''"the lord of Kulaba"''
|{{reign|single=c. 2700, c. 2670, c. 2650|era=BC}}<br />(126 years)
|
*Built the walls of Uruk
*''temp.'' of and victorious over [[Aga of Kish|Aga]]
*Historicity certain
|-
|6th
|[[File:Transcription of the Weld-Blundell Prism. Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937) Published in 1923.jpg|120px]]
|[[Ur-Nungal]]<br />𒌨𒀭𒉣𒃲
|Son of Gilgamesh
|
|{{reign|c. 2650|c. 2620|era=BC}}<br />(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|120px]]
|[[Udul-kalama]]<br />𒌋𒊨𒌦𒈠
|Son of Ur-Nungal
|
|{{reign|c. 2620|c. 2605|era=BC}}<br />(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|120px]]
|[[La-ba'shum]]<br />𒆷𒁀𒀪𒋳
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2605|c. 2596|era=BC}}<br />(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
|rowspan="4"|[[File:Weld-Blundell Prism with transcription and translation by Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937).jpg|120px]]
|[[En-nun-tarah-ana]]<br />𒂗𒉣𒁰𒀭𒈾
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2596|c. 2588|era=BC}}<br />(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]]<br />𒈩𒃶
|
|''"the smith"''
|{{reign|c. 2588|c. 2552|era=BC}}<br />(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]]<br />𒈨𒉈𒀭𒈾
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2552|c. 2546|era=BC}}<br />(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]]<br />𒈗𒆠𒂅
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2546|c. 2510|era=BC}}<br />(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
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"12 kings; they ruled for 2,310 years. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to [[First dynasty of Ur#List of rulers|Ur]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''Early Dynastic IIIa period ({{circa|2550|2500 BC}})'''
|-
|
|
|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><br />𒈝𒈠
|
|
|rowspan="2"|''Uncertain''; these two rulers may have {{fl.|{{c.|2600|2500 BC}}}} sometime during the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] (ED) IIIa period
|
*Historicity certain, attested from tablet from shurrupak now in the istanbul museum.<ref>Jestin, Raymond R. 1937. Tablettes Sumériennes de S̈uruppak Conservées Au Musée de Stamboul. Mémoires de L’institut Français d’Archéologie de Stamboul 3. Paris : E. de Boccard.</ref>
*''temp.'' of Menunsi<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Marchesi|first=Gianni|title=Toward a Chronology of Early Dynastic Rulers in Mesopotamia|url=https://www.academia.edu/10655886|editor-first1=W. |editor-last1=Sallaberger |editor-first2=I. |editor-last2=Schrakamp |journal=History & Philology (ARCANE 3; Turnhout) |pages=139–156|date=January 2015}}</ref>
|-
|
|
|Ursangpae
|
|
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Ur-Pabilsag]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''Early Dynastic IIIb period ({{circa|2500|2350 BC}})'''
|-
|
|
|[[Lugalnamniršumma]]<br />𒈗𒉆𒉪𒋧
|
|
|rowspan="2"|''Uncertain''; these two rulers may have {{fl.|{{c.|2500|2400 BC}}}} sometime during the ED IIIb period
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Akurgal]]<ref name=":0"/>
*''"[[King of the Universe#Sargon of Akkad and his successors (2334–2154 BC)|King of Kish]]"''
|-
|
|[[File:BM 91013 Tablet dedicated by Lugal-tarsi.jpg|120px]]
|[[Lugalsilâsi I]]<br />𒈗𒋻𒋛
|
|
|
*''temp.'' of [[Ush, king of Umma|Ush]]<ref name=":0"/>
*Assaulted [[Girsu]] on ten separate occasions<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kesecker|first=Nshan|date=January 2018|title=Lugalzagesi: The First Emperor of Mesopotamia?|url=https://www.academia.edu/38693392|journal=ARAMAZD Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=12|pages=76–96|doi=10.32028/ajnes.v12i1.893 |s2cid=257461809 |via=}}</ref>
*''"King of Kish"''
|-
|
|[[File:Golden_helmet_of_Meskalamdug_in_the_British_Museum.jpg|120px]]
|[[Meskalamdug]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2024|reason=Actually a king of Ur so failing some new source ...}}<br />𒈩𒌦𒄭
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2600, c. 2500|era=BC}}
|
*''"King of Kish"''
*''temp.'' of [[Enakalle]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
|
|[[File:Seal impression of Mesanepada, king of Kish.jpg|120px]]
|[[Mesannepada]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2024|reason=Actually a king of Ur so failing some new source ...}}<br />𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2500|era=BC}}<br />(80 years)<ref name=":0"/>
|
*Historicity certain
*''"King of Kish"''
*''temp.'' of [[Ur-Lumma]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
|
|
|[[Urzage]]<br />𒌨𒍠𒌓𒁺
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2400|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''"King of Kish"''
*''temp.'' of [[Il, king of Umma|Il]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
!colspan="7"|[[History of Sumer#First Dynasty of Uruk|Second dynasty of Uruk / Uruk II dynasty]] ({{circa|2500|2340 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Then [[Hamazi]] was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|2nd
|[[File:Foundation nail Entemena Louvre AO22934.jpg|120px]]
|[[Lugal-kinishe-dudu]]<br />𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2430, c. 2400|era=BC}}<br />(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|120px]]
|[[Lugal-kisal-si]]<br />𒈗𒆦𒋛
|Son of Lugal-kinishe-dudu
|
|rowspan="3"|''Uncertain''; these three rulers may have {{fl.|{{c.|2400|2350 BC}}}} 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<br />𒌨𒉌𒉌𒋾
|
|
|
*Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/>
*''temp.'' of [[Elulu]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
|
|
|Lugalsilâsi II<br />𒈗𒋻𒋛
|
|
|
*Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/>
*''temp.'' of [[Urukagina]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
|3rd
|
|Argandea<br />𒅈𒂵𒀭𒀀
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2350|era=BC}}<br />(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
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''Proto-Imperial period ({{circa|2350|2254 BC}})'''
|-
|1st
|[[File:Fragments in the name of Enshakushanna.jpg|120px]]
|[[Enshakushanna]]<br />𒂗𒊮𒊨𒀭𒈾
|Son of [[Elulu]] (?)
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2430, c. 2350|era=BC}}<br />(2 to 60 years)
|
*Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/>
*Held the title of ''"[[King of Sumer and Akkad|lord of Sumer and king of all the land]]"''.<ref name=":0"/>
*''temp.'' of [[Ur-Zababa]]<ref name=":0"/>
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"3 kings; they ruled for 187 years. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to [[Ur#List of rulers|Ur]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
!colspan="7"|[[History of Sumer#Empire of Lugal-zage-si of Uruk|Third dynasty of Uruk / Uruk III dynasty]] ({{circa|2340|2254 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|1st
|[[File:Lugalzagesi king of Uruk king of the Land son of Ukush.jpg|120px]]
|[[Lugalzagesi]]<br />𒈗𒍠𒄀𒋛
|Son of [[Ukush]]
|
|{{reign|c. 2340|c. 2316|era=BC}}<br />(25 to 34 years)
|
*Historicity certain.<ref name=":0"/>
*Held the title of ''"[[King of the Four Corners#Background (2900–2334 BC)|king of the land]]"''.<ref name=":0"/>
*''temp.'' of [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargom]]<ref>, Jerold S. Cooper, ''Sumerian and Akkadian Royal Inscriptions: Presargonic Inscriptions'', Eisenbrauns, 1986, {{ISBN|0-940490-82-X}}</ref>
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"1 king; he ruled for 25 years. Then the reign of Uruk was abolished and the kingship was taken to [[List of kings of Akkad#List of rulers|Akkad]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|
|
|Girimesi<br />𒀀𒄩𒋻𒁺𒋛
|
|
|''Uncertain''; this ruler may have {{fl.|{{c.|2350|2254 BC}}}} sometime during the Proto-Imperial period.<ref name=":0"/>
|
*Historicity certain.
*''temp.'' of Ikun-Ishar<ref name=":0"/>
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Akkadian Period|Akkadian period]] ({{circa|2254|2154 BC}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|Fourth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk IV dynasty ({{circa|2254|2124 BC}})
|-
|
|
|Amar-girid<br />𒀫𒀭𒄌𒆠
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 2254|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Naram-Suen of Akkad|Naram-Suen]]
*A ruler of Uruk who led a southern coalition of eight city-states during the [[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia#Great Revolt against Naram-Sin|Great Revolt]] against Naram-Suen
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Gutian period]] ({{circa|2154|2119 BC}})'''
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Then [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|1st
|[[File:The Sumerian King List, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.jpg|120px]]
|[[Ur-nigin]]<br />𒌨𒌋𒌓𒆤
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2154|c. 2147|era=BC}}<br />(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 ''"[[Ensi (Sumerian)|governor]]"'' of Uruk under the Akkadian empire
*Historicity uncertain
|-
|2nd
|[[File:Sumerische Königsliste.JPG|120px]]
|[[Ur-gigir]]<br />𒌨𒄑𒇀
|Son of Ur-nigin
|
|{{reign|c. 2147|c. 2141|era=BC}}<br />(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
|rowspan="3"|[[file:Sumeriankinglist.jpg|120px]]
|Kuda<br />𒋻𒁕
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2141|c. 2135|era=BC}}<br />(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<br />𒅤𒊭𒉌𒉌
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2135|c. 2130|era=BC}}<br />(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<br />𒌨𒀭𒌓
|Son of Ur-gigir
|
|{{reign|c. 2130|c. 2124|era=BC}}<br />(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
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"5 kings; they ruled for 30 years. Then the reign of Uruk was abolished and the kingship was taken to the land of [[Gutian dynasty#List of rulers|Gutium]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Ur III period]] ({{circa|2119|2004 BC}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|[[History of Sumer#Fifth Dynasty of Uruk|Fifth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk V dynasty]] ({{circa|2124|1872 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"Then the army of [[Gutium]] was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|1st
|[[File:Utu-Hengal in cuneiform.jpg|120px]]
|[[Utu-hengal]]<br />𒀭𒌓𒃶𒅅
|
|
|{{reign|c. 2124|c. 2113|era=BC}}<br />(7 to 26 years)
|
*A ''"governor"'' of Uruk who overthrew the [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|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>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ASumerianReading-book|author= C.J Gadd|title=A Sumerian reading-book|publisher= Clarendon Press|year= 1924}}</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
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"1 king; he ruled for 7 years, 6 months, and 15 days. Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to [[Third dynasty of Ur#List of rulers|Ur]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|Epithet
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Isin-Larsa period]] ({{circa|2025|1763 BC}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|Sixth dynasty of Uruk / Uruk VI dynasty ({{circa|1872|1802 BC}})
|-
|
|[[File:Mesopotamian - Sin Kashid Cone - Walters 481804 - View A.jpg|120px]]
|[[Sîn-kāšid]]<br />𒀭𒂗𒍪𒂵𒅆𒀉
|
|
|{{reign|c. 1865|c. 1833|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Sin-Iddinam]]
|-
|
|
|Sin-eribam
|Son of Sîn-kāšid{{Citation needed|date=December 2024|reason=not aware of a src for this fact}}
|
|{{reign|c. 1833|c. 1827|era=BC}}
|
*Son of Sîn-kāšid
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Sin-Eribam]]
|-
|
|[[File:Tablet of Sin-Gamil of Uruk.jpg|120px]]
|[[Sîn-gāmil]]
|Son of Sin-eribam
|
|{{reign|c. 1827|c. 1824|era=BC}}
|
*Son of Sin-eribam
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Sin-Iqisham]]
|-
|
|
|[[An-am]]<br />𒀭𒀀𒀭
|
|
|{{reign|c. 1824|c. 1816|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Silli-Adad]]
|-
|
|
|[[Irdanene]]
|Son of Anam
|
|{{reign|c. 1816|c. 1810|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Warad-Sin]]
|-
|
|
|[[Rîm-Anum]]
|
|
|{{reign|c. 1810|c. 1802|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Rim-Sîn I]]
|-
|
|
|Nabi-ilishu
|
|
|{{reign|single=c. 1802|era=BC}}
|
*Historicity certain
*''temp.'' of [[Damiq-ilishu]]
|}

==See also==
{{Div col}}
*[[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]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|50em}}

==Further reading==
*[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/uruk_countryside.pdf] R. McC. Adams and H. Nissen, "The Uruk Countryside: The Natural Setting of Urban Societies", Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972 {{ISBN|0-226-00500-3}}
*[https://archive.org/details/jstor-527596] Banks, Edgar James, "A Vase Inscription from Warka", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 21, no. 1, pp.&nbsp;62–63, 1904
*[https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1251&context=amar] Brandes, Mark A., "Untersuchungen zur Komposition der Stiftmosaiken an der Pfeilerhalle der Schicht IVa in Uruk-Warka", Berlin : Gebr. Mann, 1968.
* {{Cite journal |last = Green |first = MW |year = 1984 |title = The Uruk Lament |journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume = 104 |issue = 2 |pages = 253–279 |jstor = 602171 |doi = 10.2307/602171 }}
*{{Cite book | last = Liverani | first = Mario |author2=Zainab Bahrani |author3=Marc Van de Mieroop  | title = Uruk: The First City | publisher = Equinox Publishing | year = 2006 | location = London | url =  | isbn = 1-84553-191-4}}
*[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.33683] Seton Lloyd, "Foundations in the Dust", Oxford University Press, 1947
*[https://archive.org/details/jstor-592603] Nies, James B., "A Pre-Sargonic Inscription on Limestone from Warka", Journal of the American Oriental Society 38, pp.&nbsp;188–196, 1918
*[https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlj/2024-1] Nissen, Hans J., "Uruk and I", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2024 (1), 2024
*[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc25.pdf] Ann Louise Perkins, "The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia", Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 25, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949
*{{Cite book | last = Postgate | first = J.N. | title = Early Mesopotamia, Society and Economy at the Dawn of History | publisher = Routledge Publishing | year = 1994 | location = New York, New York | page = 367 | url =  | isbn = 0-415-00843-3}}
*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.&nbsp;109–123, 2024
*{{Cite book | last = Rothman | first = Mitchell S. | title = Uruk, Mesopotamia & Its Neighbors | publisher = School of American Research Press | year = 2001 | location = Santa Fe | page = 556 | url =  | isbn = 1-930618-03-4}}
*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.&nbsp;206–236, 2023
*Stevens, Kathryn, "Secrets in the Library: Protected Knowledge and Professional Identity in Late Babylonian Uruk", Iraq, vol. 75, pp.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;7–28, 1993
* Krystyna Szarzyńska, Observations on the Temple Precinct EŠ3 in Archaic Uruk, Journal of Cuneiform Sudies, vol. 63, pp.&nbsp;1–4, 2011

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons}}
* [https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-sumerian-riverboat-in-iraq/ Archaeologists unearth ancient Sumerian riverboat in Iraq – Ars Technica – 4/8/2022]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQKBTfDgZJc&list=PLmXaxHgt2ww8u6j2uOlnGRQTWLrk8FPkt&index=10 News from Old Uruk – Margarete van Ess 2021] Oriental Institute lecture on recent work
* [http://www.scienceblog.com/9508 Earliest evidence for large scale organized warfare in the Mesopotamian world (Hamoukar vs. Uruk?)]
* [http://cdli.ox.ac.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=uruk_mod._warka Uruk at CDLI wiki]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120221225023/http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/c225.htm Lament for Unug] {{in lang|sux}}
* [http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1099592.html Archaeological Expedition Mapping Ancient City Of Uruk in 2002]
* [http://cdli.ucla.edu/search/search_results.php?SearchMode=Text&PrimaryPublication=&MuseumNumber=&Provenience=uruk&Period=&TextSearch=&ObjectID=&requestFrom=Submit Digital images of tablets from Uruk – CDLI]
{{Epic of Gilgamesh}}
{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Uruk|*]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 7th century]]
[[Category:History of Muthanna Governorate]]
[[Category:Epic of Gilgamesh]]
[[Category:Ancient Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Iraq]]
[[Category:Ubaid period]]
[[Category:Nimrod]]
[[Category:Cuneiform]]
[[Category:Assyriology]]
[[Category:Jemdet Nasr period]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]