Uruk: Origins and Legends of History's Earliest City

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remember when Gilgamesh and Enkidu went to the cedar forest and slayed Humbaba? now those were the days.

"1st to introduce humanity to the joys of bureaucracy" that explains why it has been buried for millennia.

Uruk was literally founded at the end of the Ice Age. It’s so fascinating that we can trace human history and development back to that time.

The first time I heard about Gilgamesh I was learning the story of Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

Big mistake at the three minute mark. You're giving climatological information based upon today. When Uruk was founded the planet was still exiting the Ice Age with the glaciers still retreating. The area was a savannah, a lot less hot than today. Fun fact: When Uruk was formed Woolly Mammoths were still around.

"Horrid mongrels tresspassing upon my city." - Gilgamesh Probly

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a pretty fun read, but you just have to keep in mind that a lot of it is missing. There are some gaps in the story and sources come from differing languages and timeframes, but it’s still pretty impressive how much we have recovered.

I was there at Uruk last week! Unfortunately, the site was quite dilapidated due to past rainstorms. Some remnants of a temple next to the tall mound, which...in a land so flat as Iraq...is clearly a ziggurat. Really amazing to see original brickwork, however.

The name Iraq is derived from URUK. Greetings to everyone watching, from Mesopotamia Iraq 🇮🇶

Thank you for this beautiful work I'm an Iraqi and I feel very sad for the neglection of the birthplace of human civilization and the whole awesome ancient history of Iraq, unfortunately Mesopotamia (Iraq) has been suffering for a long time now from conflicts and wars and is still unstable to this day while a whole lot of precious archeological treasures and secrets are buried in its grounds waiting to be discovered and introduced to the world

Çatalhöyük and Jericho also deserves a mention, the reason neither of them are usually seen as the worlds oldest city is the fact that neither of them had a central administration (which is pretty hard since neither of them had writing). They did however have a rather large population thousands of years before Uruk. Heck, there is a 9000 year old tower in Jericho, if that doesn't impress you I don't know what does. But Uruk is really where literature and history began. There are places in Balkan and Turkey that might had writing earlier (archaeologists are still scratching their heads there so it isn't proven) but even if they did, they used it only sparely and to write down one or a few words. Uruk first used it to manage their economy and then started things like writing down stories and historical events, finally pulling humanity out of pre-history. If Herodotus was the father of history, then Uruk certainly was it's mother.

Can you imagine what it was like to live in Uruk. You are literally living on an island of settled civilization in a sea of hunter/gatherers, isolated farmers, and tiny villages.

She stole the sacred Meh and to this day it still circulates the internet

1:05 - Chapter 1 - A city of firsts 2:30 - Chapter 2 - Origins story 7:10 - Chapter 3 - Consummate cuneiform 9:25 - Mid roll ads 10:20 - Chapter 4 - Epic heroes & international trade 14:30 - Chapter 5 - Fierce goddess of love 17:50 - Chapter 6 - The long sunset 20:40 - Chapter 7 - Rediscovery

I was stationed near the ancient city of Ur many moons ago. Being a fan of history since I was knee high, it was quite thrilling to actually be at the Fertile Crescent, the place just felt old...in a good way.

Uruk may also have been abandoned due to salt buildup in the soil. Irrigation water often contains salts, which when the water evaporates, is left in the soil. Rain and flooding can flush the salts away, but there wasn't much rain, and as the Euphrates River moved away from the city, there was less and less flooding of the nearby fields. The result was that the soil became less able to support crops. There are areas today between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers which, when they tried to irrigate and grow crops in the 20th century, were unable to do so.

Love the recent focus on ancient Mesopotamia on your channels. Sargon and now Uruk, and you guys even give Enheduanna the clout she deserves. Loving it.

Thanks for mentioning Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, they rarely get attention. Although Lugalbanda was not Enmerkar's son, but one of his warriors who helped to defeat Arrata besieged by Enmerkar's troops. Uruk is one of the most fascinating places on Earth and I'm glad it's getting attention.

As a beer enthusiasts. This is where it all starts!