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Home , Alabaster, Eanna, Eshnunna, Kubaba, Meskalamdug

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28 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES

enjoyed more starus, privileges, and possesions than orhers. Evenrually hierarchy would prevail- CHAPTER 2 Managemenr of food sources seems ro have been responsible for rhis, with excess production, which en be stored and sold or traded, providing accumulared wealch and power for some. Religion may have offered an ideological justification For such inequaliry. These periods were Early Sumerian cities marked in addi¡ion by innovations in technology (wheelmade , sheer meral), rrans- ponarion (boats wirh sails), and agriculture (tree crops). Trade neworks conrinued, as rhe broad distribution of Hdaf and Ubaid pottery indicates, from Medirerrmean Turkey to Inn. Litrle by linle rhe rechnologiel, commerciel, and social wo¡ld of rhe Ancienr Near Easr wæ preparing irself for rhe rise of full-fledged ciries. The Sumerians (firsr period of dominarion):

Ubaid period: a. 5000-3500 Bc

Proroliterare () period: ca.3500-2900 ¡c

Early Dynasric period: ca. 2900-2350r;c

The Êrs¡ ciries in the Near Easr-Mediletranean basin appeared in souchern Mesoponmia, or , rhe crearion of a people we call rhe Sumerians (Figure 2.1). \Ve have seen that environrnental changes in south-west fuia during rhe previous 5,000 years led to human control over food production; with this masrery came major social changes, including Êxed setdemen¡s. The socio-economic developmenr of these towns and villages is marked by the gradual appearance ofthe ten criteria proposed by Childe as a mark of rhe rrue ciry. AII ten factors finally emerge in Sumer during the later fourth millennium Bc. This chapter will explore early Sumerian ciries. We will wanr ro ask why true cities originated in southern , a small region that did not figure in the Fertile Crescent and the Anatolian-Zagros highlands, areas so important for the domes¡ication of planrc and animals. lVhar factors led rhe Sumerians ro develop writing, che rool rhat propelled their settlemenrs inro thc rank of "ciry"? \ühar characrerized the Sumerian ciry, and how did it compare and conrras¡ wirh rhe Neolithic towns presented in Chapter 1? As examples, we shall inspect in parricular che city of IJruk and irs nonhern colony ar Habzba Kabira. Aspeccs of rwo additional cities will also be examined: rhe Temph Oual, an important religious complex ar KhaFajeh; and the Royal Tombs of , a specracular group of burials from the Early Dynasric III period, found in¡act. But Êrsr, before we turn ¡o Uruk, some background information about the Sumerians is needed.

THE SUMERIANS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT

The Sumerians, the inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia from rhe founh into the early second *Shumer-" millennium sc, are so called after the ancient Akkadian name for rhis region, Thanks ro their wriring, invented during rhe fourth millennium BC, fa¡ more is known about the Sumerians rhan abour rheir anonymous predecessors of the Neoli¡hic age. The survival oF the clay rablers on which rhey wrote, together with the remains of their cicies, allow us to rrace with grearer conñdence rhe increasing complexiry ofsociery in rhe ancienr Near East. The Sumerians scand alone in human history. Their language has no known relatives, and their architecture and artiFacrs do nor indicare erhnic ties wirh cultures ofother regions. The conrinuiry of rhe material remains at their ciries suggests, however, char rhe Sume¡ians had 30 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGÊAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 31

rerritorial disputes Rivalries be¡ween ciria grw inrense in rhe Early Dynastic period, rhanks to IURKEY e from rhe countryside in rhis region where agricul the upper hand' inro ,h..i,io, towwell pro fned cerrain balance P e ciry-state as rhe bæic In.,."d, "

SYRIA

flourished.

\ t\.\-\ resulr thar those people working in one sector would seek exchanges o€products with the ochers. Another lactor in rhe rise ofthe Sumerian ciry-states was the need ro organize an effective JORDAN J wstem of irrigation- Blisteringly hot in the summer, pleasandy cool in the winter, central and .._.' SAUDI ARAB¡A sourhern Mesoporamia has a dry climare. Irrigarion is required for successful agriculture- AJrhough rhe Euphrares and Tigris swell in the lace spring with rhe water meked F¡om the snow- covered mounains oFTurkey and northern lraq, an annual overflow ofrhe silt-bearing rivers olo2& was not critic¿I for farming - in contrast with . hre spring, the period of flooding, does nor coordinate well wirh the rwo growing seæons of winter and summer crops. Consequenrly, a sophisricaced system ofcenals was developed to bring water to the Êdds ar rhe appropriàre Figure 2 1 Mesopotam¡a: early Sumerian citìes rimes, and ro protect newly sown crops from being washed away. The land drains poorly, however. ti(/hereas the annual flooding ofthe Nile flushed away rhe already serrled in sourhern in rhe later Neolithic period, at the end ofthe sixth millennium noxious salts in Eryprian Êelds, in Mesopotamia the irrigarion channels brought salts bur did eC, well before rhey developed rhe arr of writing. This era of the srliesr known settlements in nor remove them. Salr-¡ole¡ating barley became the chief grain. But these sala accumulated the region is called the , named a.fter a sire that has felded a good sample of rhese in the Êelds and gradually ruined the greac Fertiliry ofthe land. Even barley couldn't survive- The early remains. Subsequent periods re the Protoliterate or (when rhe city of Uruk problem of salinizrion preoccupied rhe mcients, as documenr as far back as the end of the rhird was dominant); rhen rhe Early Dynasdc period, divided inro ¡hree parts (abbreviated as ED I, millennium Bc resriry. They had no remedy For it, and evenrually it defeared them. II, md III), during which the Sumerian city-states became increasingly prosperous. Today this flat, often marshy area is remore, worked only by herders and modesr farmers. Only Cities are a distinctive feature of the Sumerians. Indeed, the independent, self-governing the many tells dotting the landscape remind us rhat rhis region was once home to a flourishing city was their basic political unit. In this respecr Sumer resembles ancient Greece, as we shall urban civilizarion. see. Geography seems not ro be the determining facror in this political development, For the landscape of Sumer is flat, its rerrain marked only by rivers and c¿nals, whereas Greece is divided by mountains and valleys. Instead, religious reasons seem responsible. Each Sumerian ciry- URUK srate nomindly belonged to a god or goddess. The temple wæ thus the focus of both ritual and economic activiry- ft also became the regional adminisrrarive cenrer. Each town rhat grew around l'he dominanr ciry of early Sumer was lJruk (tVarÞa, in Arabic). F¡om its long and often such a temple wæ entrusted, on behalFof rhe presiding deiry, ro rhe ca¡e ofa m ortallctng (, distinguished hisrory, we shall focus here on Uruk in rhe Protoliterare period (kvek IV and III), in Sumerian) or viceroy (mr)- K.ingship firsr began in rhe cicy of Eridu, according to Sumerian rhe importanr formarive era of Sumerian urbanism. m¡h- The institution was later copied and spread ro o¡her towns- The ciry-state, then, originated Archaeologicd suruey conducred norably by Robert Adams and Hans Nissen in rhe 1960s in remoce, heroic times, the work of rhe gods; rhe divinely sanctioned ciry-srare would be for rhe and 1970s has revealed ¡har Uruk was far and away rhe largesr serrlement ofthe region in the Sumerians rhe basic unir of polirical organiztion. Prorolirerate period. The cicy was indeed immense. Although walls of irs earliest ser¡lemenrc

L 32 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 33

ofrhe Ubaid and Protoliterare periods have nor been discovered, rhe mud brick forrilìcarion of mighr come as something of a surprise, considering the important role rhe temple played in rhe the ED I period measured nearly I Okm in length and enclosed a vasr area o F 435ha (Figure 2.2). economic liFe of rhe city as rhe central clearing house for agricultural and orher products- A The site oF the ancienr ciry has been jusr \ùØar exrensively explored since before the Firsr V'o¡ld Sumerian ciry would be [urrher divided in¡o differenr neighborhoods, residenrial, adminisrrarive by teams from the German oriental Sociery. Excavations have focused on rhe temples, rhe maror (including palaces, ifpresenr), industrial (including crafr workshops), and a cemetery. Differenr public buildings of rhe ciry. social clâsses mixed rogether; they were nor segregated in rheir separare neighborhoods. Similarly, The prominence of monumenral religious buildings in Sumerian ciries is striking and marks overlapping of tasks occurred. Craft workshops, for example, we¡e scarrered throughour rhe an important difference from earlier Neoli¡hic towns. In larer periods, palaces, rhe dwellings of residenrial disrric¡s, and bu¡ials mighr rake place benearh houses. There was ¡herefore no standard kings, occupl'this cen¡ral position, but in Sumer, from very early rimes, remples dominated. placemenr oFrhese funcrions in rhe overall ciry plan- After all, as noced above, rhe god or goddess worshipped in a ciry's main cemple was considered Neighborhoods were divided by such leatures as srreers, walls, and warer channels- Indeed, the rrue ruler of the ciry, rhe ruler of all. Orher diviniries would be celebrared in smaller temples rhese last gave Sumerian cities a disdncriye characrer. These canals were parr olrhe larger regiona.l scartered throughout the ciry- Not only ar Uruk, bur also at such rowns as Eridu, considered by sysrem of wetercourses. That rhey rourinely flowed rhrough cities as well as alongside rhem the Sumerians as the oldes¡ in ¡he world, and Nippur, rhe preeminenr holy ciry, remples were demonstrares rheir supreme importance in Sumerian geography. The canals, being navigable, consrrucred, remodeled, and reconsrrucred, ¡he mound on which they were erecred growing gave rise to separate markets, commercial cenrers, and harbors, all reachable by boar- higher and highe¡ from rhe debris of their ruins. ln the fla¡ landscape ofsourhern Mesoporamia, rhese towering plarforms musr have seemed like mountains. Eventua.lly the "mounrain" became The White Temple and the Eanna Precinct indispensable so that, if rhe ciry could afford it, any new remple would be provided wirh irs own imicarion sacred mounrain. These specially buik srepped platforms, alled zigurats, are one of Uruk contained rwo main remple areas, one dedicated - at lesr in larer rimes - ro rhe worship the key forms of Mesopotamian archi¡ecture (see Chapter 3 For rhe besr-known example, the ofthe sky god, Anu (the lYhite Templc), rhe othe¡ ro , rhe goddess o[fertiliry, love, and ziggurar of Ur-Nammu at Ur). war (rhe Eanna Precinct). The Vhite Tenple of ca. 3000 ec is a Êne example of a Sumerian The remple quarrer generally lay not in rhe cenrer of a Sumerian town, bur eirher off-center "High Temple" (Figures 2.3 and2.4). ft sirs alone on a rerrece l3m high, rhe læt rebuilding of or at the edge The sacred was thus careFully ser apaft from rhe secular. This peripheral locarion a remple rhar goes back ar least to rhe early/mid founh millennium BC. Since worship of rhe god A¡u characterized this secto¡ of the ciry in historic¿l times, ir is assumed rhar Anu was already \oft c¡rc being venerared in the prehistoric V/hire Temple. The mud brick walls were covered on rhe ourside wirh whire ; hence the modern name of the building. In addition, the exterior walls are buttressed. Such burtresses created a pattern of indentions thar became a characterisdc Mesoporamian way of incorporating a rhree-dimensional decoration into brick architecrure- Three long rectangles form rhe "tripartite"

(Pdo ilcdlcthrcúgh Påñhian tuddsl

G Figure 2.2 Overall site plan Uruk Figure 2 3 Plan, Wh¡1e Temple, Uruk

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34 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 35

F¡gure 2.4 White Temple {reconstruct¡on), Uruk

ground plm of the temple. The ænrer ponion, one large room, conrained a srepped altar at one F¡gure 2 5 Plan, Eanna Precincl, Uruk end and a central rable for burn¡ offerings. The two flanking sections consisted oFsmall rooms. Srairs led up to a flar roof. The ciry o[ Uruk suryived unril the third cenrury ,,ro rhanks ro rhe presrige of irs ancienr burn¡ rimbers indiare that the central rooms were roofed, not open-air- There were no altars rVhite shrines- It seems unlikely, however, rhat the Temple was used unril then. In conrasr, in inside, bur heanhs sunk into the floors. The architec¡ural prominence ofone particular end of rhe second and 6rst millennia BC, worship conrinued in the many shrines oFrhe orher principal rhe temple suggess the cult statue was placed rhere. smcruary oFrhe city, rhe Eanna Precincr, "the house ofhaven" (Figure 2.5). The goddess Inanna reigned in rhis area. Outliving rhe Sumerians, rhis imponanr deiry was adopted under the name Religious imagery at Uruk of Asane or Ishtar by Akkadians and Babylonims md shares features with the A¡arolian () and the Greek goddess A¡remis. The crearion of Êgural aft was one oFChildet crireria For rhe ciry. Pictorial an indeed becomes Excavarions have revealed rhe long history of rlre Ee¡na Precinct in the Pro¡olicerate period, an imporanr aspect of ciry life in the Near Eas¡ and Mediterranean basin, a reflection oFthe when an extensive series of temples and relared religious buildings occupied this area. These changing ideologies ofthe peoples ofthe region. Throughouc this book we shall be exploring srrucrures are badly ruined, rheir plans nor dways sure. Figure 2.5 shows some of the buildings pictorial imagery, keeping in mind how it enhanced rhe world of the ancient ciry dweller, from of two imponant Prorolirerare levels, IVb (the earlier) and IVa (the larer). The Mosaic Courr, a the Ancienr Near East through rhe . large coun and ponico, serued as a grand approach ro the precincr in lævel IVb. The a¡chirecrural Religious imagery early rakes on an imponanr role in the pictorial art of Sumerian cities, wirh decoration here is remarkable: large cones ofbaked clay, their broad ends painred with shiny Protolirerete-period Uruk yielding key exmples. The religious practices of rhe Sumerians, their black, red, or white glaze, were ser like Fat nails in¡o rhe surfaces ofbodr columns and walls, gods and goddesses, myrhology, and sacred architecrure are ofparticular inrerest because they- creating a v¿st mosaic of geomerric patterns in bright colors. Such cone-mosaics beame a favorire gready influenced the characrer ofreligion and rirual in rhe ancient Near E¿st until Christianiry decorative device for the builders of Protolitera¡e Sumer- became the official fairh of the Roman Empire in the fourrh century AD. For knowledge of In contrasr co Anu's aÍea, none olrhe temples of¡he Eanna precincr srood high on ani6cial in rhe Protolirerate period, before wrirren documents yield fuller informarion, platforms. All are'ground-level" remples, although buih, rebuilt, and replaced many rimes. we depend on depicrions in such works of arc as the (Jruþ Vue and a sculpred head, both from Vhile individual remples show symmerry in rheir layour, rhere is no such symmetry beween Uruk, and cylinder seals wirh carved decorarion. componenr buildings ofan architecural complex. Floor plans include nor only the standard The Uruk Vase is a tall (1.05m including rhe modern base), slende¡ alabasrer vessel lùü'hire triparrire plan used in the Temple, but also a T-shaped variant. In rhe level [Va Temples wirh sculprured scenes of riual activiry, homage to rhe goddess Inanna (Figures 2.6 nd2.7). C a¡d D, good examples of chis T-shaped plan, the cenrral secrion flares into rwo rransepts in Found in the Eanna Precincr, rhe vase was made ca. 3000 ¡c. Similar rirual vessels are illustrared, en unqmny bur enrirely coincidenral foreshadowing of rhe Early Chrisrian basilica- Finds of a.lways in pairs, in culr scenes on cylinder seals. The mosr imponanr acrion takes place in rhe rop

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36 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 37

regisrer, where e priesress or perhaps Inanna he¡sel¡ A second ob.jecr from Protoliterace Uruk receives gifrs broughr by , naked, in conformanc¡ rhat ranks among rhe most striking Ênds with early Sumerian precrice, as rhey approached the from ancient Mesopotamia is a diviniry. Behind rhem srands en inrriguing figure, mask of a , 20cm high (Figure 2.8). largely damaged, who presents a tasselled belt to the This roo was found in rhe Emna precinct. goddess. Anended by a clorhed seflanr, rhis prominent Is rhis the face of a goddess or a priestess? person mur be rhe ruler. The rwo srandards behind Alrhough che mæk seems maruelous æ Inanna, rall stafFs of reeds wirh looped tops and is, we have to realize rhat ir was carefully streamers down rhe back side, represenr the gareposrs oF prepared ¡o be adorned wirh inlays and her temple, a shorthand way of suggesting rhe enrire ertachmenrs. The broad grooves on the 'head building. Throughou¡ Sumerim hisrory rhese srandards top of rhe woman's were surfaces accompany Inanna, idenrifring her for rhe viewer. rhar supported realistic hair or a headdress. In archaeology and an history such idenriSing features Colored pasres or stones would have filled are alled attibutes. rhe eyes and eyebrows. In rhe smaller middle zone of rhe væe, nude priests The mask was only one portion of a process with offerings offood and drink. Tbe bottom 6gure we an no longer reconstruct. Four regisrer, divided into wo smaller zones, shows rhe holes in the flat back side of the mæk wo realms which provide rhis weakh for the goddess: permitted arrachment to a ûat surface- No the wo¡ld of animals (upper) and of plants (lower). traces suryive of the accompanying body. tù7e limestone wæ Jusr below the plants an undularing band represents need not assume drat rhe ultimare source of rhe feniliry of Uruk's lands: rhe used for the body; clay or wood, when wirh pre- fuver. Figure 2.8 Head of a woman, limestone, from the Paint Even if irs narracive scenes of processions and offe¡- Eanna Precinct. Uruk lraq Museum, crous Perfectly ings 6nd counrless echoes throughour rhe a¡r of Near well. variety of were Figure 2 6 Uru< Vase, alabaster, from Eas¡ern and Medirerræan mriquiry, rhis vase.is unique- mererials are described in laçer rexr from Mesoporamia; indeed, muld-media Êgures the Eannâ Predncl, Uruk lraq Museum, Someone in ancienr Uruk rhoughr so, roo, and wenr to produced by all subsequenr culrures ofMedirerranean and Near Eestern antiquicy- In today's Baghdad rhe rrouble ofrepairing with copper rivers rhe secrion world they recall rhe construction ofdolls more rhan anlthing else, or religious stacuary that bears ofrim just above the head o[rhe goddess. clorhes. The Uruk Vase signals two important convenrions of Ancienr Near Easrern and Medirerranean arc. Firsr, rhe caruings on rhe vase would have been painted, a habir perperuared by Greek and Roman sculprors and archirects. Second, the figures were shown in proÊle, the srandard pose in and painting in rhe , Eg¡,pt, md early Greece. Only in the larer sixth cenrury nc did Greek anisrs break Êom this tradition wirh rheìr depicrions of rhe human body in a great vriery of movemenrs. and documents on clay rablets were among rhe items marked wirh these distinctive pictures- The owner would roll our rhe seel, pushing rhe design onro wet cla)4 since rhe rylinders were usually pierced longirudinally for a string, the seal could rhen be attached to one's clorhes or body (Figure 2.9). Fonunately for us, geometric designs did not satisÇ the ancient Mesopotamians. They wanred to see gods, humans, and a¡imals in action. As a result, rhese miniarure scenes, enormously varied because of¡he need to individualize rhe designs, provide fascinaring informa- rion abour Ancient Near Eætern religious beliefs- Secular subjecrs, such as hunting or FÌgure not nearly so popular. Figure 2 7 Uppermost register, Uruk Vase 2 I Rolling out a cylinder seaì warfare, were Y

38 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN- AND AEGEAN CITIÉS EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 39

Sumerian invention of wriring. Nor only che rylinder seals rhemselves bur dso the impressions leFt in clay have suruived well of rhe procedure ro record numbers lay at the heart of the however. Some scholars believe rhat the proro- in rhe archaeological record. Since the sryle ofcarving and the subjecr marrer change markedly Schmandt-Besseret's theory is controversial, wæ developed through rime, seals are helpful indicators for daring. In addirion, rracking dreir dis¡riburion has cuneiform scripr did not derive directly from earlier tokens and bullae, but insread yielded valuable information about Mesopotamian economies, about rhe increasing circularion seoararely and rapidly as anorher tool useful for bureaucratic recording. ofgoods berween villages and citia, and rhe incre¿sed control ofelice groups over rhese resources. To say anyrhing more complicated than "nine sheep" or "l5 bækets ofbarley" necessitated the original logographic charac- It is interesring to note thet the use ofcylinder seals corresponds closely with the lifespan modific¿cions. Unlike the Chinese, who rerained and expanded (one Some pictures of the distinctive Mesoporamian wriring sysrem, the cuneiForm scripr. Vhen cuneiform w25 rer of rheir script sign per word), rhe Sumerians moved toward a syllabary. replaced by alphabers in ¡he first millennium nc, cylinder seals faded, replaced once more by conrinued ro stand for entire wo¡ds, but orhers began to rePresenr sounds. More and more was sramp seds. Before we conrinue our look ar earþ Sumerim ciries, ler 6 pause to examine rhis abstracred, the picrures ñnally beeme simply clusters of wedges- This transFormation wriring rystem, for it is one oF ¡he grear achievemenrs of A¡cient Near E¿stern civilizrion. Like completed in the Early Dynastic period, an age when rhe uses of writing spread dramaticaìly. the representational arr just discussed, rhe development ofwriring is associared parricularly wirh Furrirer adaprarions occur¡ed when Sumerian cuneiform was utilized to rransc¡ibe ¡he Alkadian rhe ciry oFUruk. language. Akkadian was deciphered by rhe middle of rhe nine¡eench century, bur documenrs in (ancienr Sumerian were srill rare and poorly understood. Only with French excavacions at Telloh THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING Gireu), begûn in 1877, and Amerien excavarions ât NiPPur, from 1889, did Sumerian ¡able¡s emerge in quantity. The language could rhen be studied in detail- The cuneiform scripr developed by the Sumerims in the late founh to early third millennia nc as a rool for bureaucratic recording would become the principal writing sysrem for rhe cultures ofthe Nea¡ F^.t for some 3,000 years. It was adapted for use by languages from differenr Families, HABUBA KABIRA Semitic (Akkadian and Ugaitic) and Indo-European (Elamire/Old Persian, Hittite, and Urartim). During rhe ñrst millennium nc, this sysrem gave way ro rhe simpler Phoenician l)iscoveries since rhe 1960s have confirmed rhat the Sumerians oF the Protolirerate period alphaber and its de¡ivarives (which include rhe larin alphabet used for English). The lasr da¡able exrended rheir influence to the nor¡h, wirh setdements in norrhern Mesoporamia and the rablers using cuneiform come from rhe 6rst century eD- Only in rhe ninereenth cenrury would adjacent mountainous areas ofTurkey and , far beyond rhe Sumerian herrland in southern knowledge of this script be ¡ecovered. Iraq- The likely reason For this expansion wes to secure access to rew mâterials lacking in Sumer The name "cuneiform" ("wedge-shaped") refers ro a narrow V-shaped wedge rhat was úre basic i¡self. One of these towns, Habuba Kabira-/ Qannas qn the EuPhrates River in north-west element of signs used to represenr single sounds, syllables, and entire words. In ancienr , shares so much material cuhure in cornmon wirh the ciries of Sumer - ceramics, seals, and Mesopoamia scribes wrote on clay rablets, the favored wridng marerial, by pressing a reed srylus house rypes - rhar some scholrs consider ir an acrual colony with residen¡ Sumerians rarher than with a wedge-shaped point inro the moist surface. The nblers would be left to dry. On rare e seftlement of loel people. ks town p[an, more complere rhan any as yet known from Uruk or occasions they would be baked hard, eirher deliberarely in a kiln or accidentally in a ñre. Baked ics neighbors in sou¡hern Mesopotamia, gives Habuba Kabira a special place in the early history tablets have survived extremely well; rhe naturally dried rablets are prone ro damage. Excavarions ofancienr Nea¡ Eastern cities- in Iraq and neighboring counrries have yielded thousands of rhese tablets, although it should be Habuba Kabira and Tell Qmnas are modern A¡abic names that designate rwo sectors of a said rhat rchaeologists may dig for years before recovering ablets, and mmy sices have none ar single sire, exavared separarely by Germm and Belgian rchaeologists during the consrruction all. The rablecs contain an enormous amoun¡ of inFormarion on economy, sociery, md hisrory, ofa hydroelectric dam ar Tabqa on rhe Euphrates (Figure 2.10). The cicy's ancienr name is and form rhe backbone of our knowledge of the Ancienr Near Easr. Those who scudy rhese unknown. Tell Qannas, the higher ara, contained the major remples oFthe city, in the manner tablers (or indeed any inscription) call rhemselves epigraphers and add a further label rha¡ already seen ar Uruk. Habuba Kabira, *rending to rhe norrh, represenrs the residential quarrer. designares rlre cuneiform language in which they specialize, soch as sumerologistr hittitolngists; or Only l5 percenr ofHabuba Kabira could be uncovered before rhe sire w¿s flooded beneath the øEriologists (îor rhe Akkadim language), after the people whose ruined Age cides were rhe lake thar formed behind the dam. firsr Mesopotamian sires explored by Europems in rhe nineteenth century. the city lasred only some 150 yeers et the end of rhe fourrh millennium nc. Spared the Cuneiform writing developed From a picrographic or "protocuneiForm" sysrem first used destrucrive remodeling of larer builders, rhe ground plan of the town wâs well preserued only during the larer Protoliterare period in order For temples to keep tmck of their accounrs. Uruk 30cm below the modern surface. The rown extended over lkm along the Euphrares. An seems key in the early development ofwriring, for the grearesr number ofsuch prorocuneiForm imposing wall some 3m rhick wirh frequenr squared, protruding rowers and a smaller wall in tablers have come from this ciry, from Ieel IV in rhe Eanna precincr. Mosr of these rablets are fronr prorecred ir on rhe land side, enclosing an area esdmated at lTha-t8ha. Two gares gave inventories, showing the picture of an animal, for example, accompanied by a number, wirh acces rhrough rhe wesr wall, bur rhe probable gare on the sourh had disappeared. circles for tens and lines for ones. These ¡able¡s wich lisrs seem to correlare with rokens used for The town was buil¡ as a complere enriry in a shorr rime, another factor indicating ir was a counring discovered ar many Mesopotamian sires. According to Denise Schmandt-Besserar, rhe colony rarher rhan a gradually expanding senlemenr. l¿id our in a rough grid plan, the town had clay rokens (spheres and cones) and che bullae (hollow balls) wirh numeral markings on rheir some paved srreets, although most were unpaved, strewn wirh reFuse and porsherds. k also had exteriors were reduced to the more manageable sysrem ofsigns on a clay rablet. This srreamlining an impressive swerage and wacer conduir sysrem, usually with srone slabs lining the drains. Tiles

¡*. 40 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 41

and rerrecorrâ pipes linked the drainage oF Dominan¡ among Sumerian cities through ED I, Uruk losr irs preeminenr position in ED II ¡his period of increæing prosperiry, many ciries had now joined Uruk rhe town with the land ourside rhe walls. A and especially ED III. In and economic authoriry. But period was hardly peaceFul: warer channel in an unbuilt area sourh ofTell in ñrmly establishing their political ¡he Qannas suggests rhe presence ofa garden. warfare beveen ciry-srareS was unremitting. Never very disrant one from another, ¡he cities Houses were large. From a courcyard that freouently quarreled over rerritory, with all-imponant water supplies often a bone ofcontenrion. conrained irregularly shaped workrooms and Since so many rexts come from Iagæh, we hear much abour che struggles berween char ciry-srate ¡he kirchen, one entered the house proper. and irs arch-rival, - A depiction of this rivalry has suruived in the fragmentary Steb of the Plans could be eirher (l) rriparrire. recalling Vulnres, discovered by the French ar Telloh (ancienr Girsu, a town in the state of [:gæh) and rhe ground plan of the Vhire Temple ar now on display in the L¡uvre Museum (Figures 2.1la and b). The reliefs celebrate the victory Uruk, with a large, high-ceilinged cenrral of Eannarum, ensi (ruler) oF hgash, ove¡ IJmma. Eanna¡um, one of ¡he powerful rulers of lare al room and rwo sets ofsmaller, lower-ceilinged ED Sumer, leads a group of helmeted, sword-wielding infantrymen, depicred tighrly together e side rooms, or (2) two-pan, with small rooms as if in a box- Elsewhere he presides f¡om his chariot over a mass of marching soldiers, arry- I off one side only of rhe main room. The ing spears. On the reverse, the warrior-god Ningirsu, rhe patron deiry ofEannarum, has trapped ì main room often contained rwo hearrhs on rheir enemies in a net. Anzu, the lion-headed eagle, warches over the capture. This collaborative the cen¡ral axis, one at each end. Entrance rriumph of king and god togerher becomes a staple oFpictorial imagery in rhe official, rolal art into such houses was on rhe long side, thar of rhe Ancient Near East, Egypt, and, later, the Roman empire. I is, inco one of the small side rooms- The ED period and the Êrst era of Sumerian supremacy c:rme to m end with the victory of ll Ir is cu¡ious thar in a ¡own with a certain Sargon the Great, the Semitic ruler ofAklad, over Lugdzagesi, the powerful ensi ofUruk, and i4 number oF amenides no particularly large Sargon's subsequent conquest ofrhe endre region (see Chapcer 3). houses have been idenri6ed which might To illusrrate selected aspecrs of ED ciry life, we shall examine rhe Temple Oval at Khafajeh ì have belonged ro wealthy or powerful people ¿nd evidence for remple decoration and religious pracrice from Ubaid and Tell Asmar, and an or served administretive purposes. Also absenr imporranr cemetery at Ur, the so-c¿lled "Royal Tombs." ere open marker areas- But Habuba Kabira is not unusual in this respect. One srructure in rhe Eanna precinct at Uruk seryed as an EARLY DYNASTIC RELIGIOUS LIFE: THE TEMPLE OVAL assembly hall, it has been suggesred, but AT KHAFAJEH palaces, æ far as is known, began only in rhe Early Dynastic period. In all periods, gove.n- Sumerian cities of ¡he ED period were locared on e wetercourse and prorected by fortificarion ment ofñces and shops probably occupied walls. fu before, temples to the patron deiry, his or her spouse, and their children occupied not separare buildings, but the rooms which a prominent position in the rown. Smaller shrines, popular as well as official, were sca¡tered lined temple complexes. Additional shops throughour rhe city, in residential quaners marked by cramped and winding streers. would be scartered rhroughout the roûn. Consrruction of huge palaces began in the ED III period, reflecting the increasing power of rhe ruler. These palaces, ofwhich good examples c¿n be seen a¡ Eridu, Ubaid, , and, ro the norrh-west, Mari, served borh as residence of rhe king and as the administrative and bureaucratic Figure 2.10 C¡ly plan, Habuba Kabìra cenrer. But ir is the religious buildings that condnue to be so distincdve oFSumerian ciries- 'fhe co-existence of a "high remple" with "groundJevel temples," which we have seen at Protoli¡erare Uruk, is e pattern ¡ha¡ is maintained in rhe layout of a Sumerian ciry's religious THE EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD: HISTORICAL SUMMARY buildings. One of rhe most striking of all ED "high temples" wæ the TemPle Oval, uncovered- ar Khafajeh (ancienr Tutub), norch-east of Baghdad in the Dþla River basin (Figure 2.ì2). Since the worshipped here is unknown, the modern name of ¡he complex The Early Dynasric period (abbreviated as ED, lurther divided into ED I, II, and III) which idenriry of rhe god ¡eflecrs irs most disrincrive rrair, the unusual ovd conrour oFits oure¡ walls. In addirion to rhis succeeds rhe Pro¡oliterate marls r-he Êrsr historical era in Mesopotamia. However, the u'rirten "high temple," rhe ciry Khalajeh also contained a huge complex of "ground-level" temples, evidence abour the hisrory ofED ciry-stares is very sketchy ¿ntll c2.2500-2400 eC, when king of rhe main was dedicated rhe moon-god, Sin. lisrs become credible (see rhe Introduction) and objects inscribed wirh kings' names become one of which to Alrhough the Temple Oval was poorly presen'ed, with only a few brick courses of the ground prevalent. As a result, a our plan suruiving, three stages of consr¡uction and remodeling during ED II and III could be of rhis period. The rela hed documenred- Before the consrruction of the walls, the entire sacred area, approximarely l00m easr Sumer, in the area ofr across, was cleared to a deprh oF4.6m and 6lled with clean sand. The exevator, Pinhas Delougaz its temples, is Khafajeh, presented below. I

42 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 43

Figure2lla Obverse,SteleoftheVultures,EDlllfromTelloh(Girsu) LouvreMuseum, Fgure 2 1 tb Beverse,

of rhe Orienral lnstirure ar r]re Universiry of Chicago, esrimared the quantiry of sand at faceted concept of the temple as an economic a¡d administ¡arive as well as spiritual center. At 64,000m3. After this ritual prepararion, rhe area wæ bounded by an oval wall. Plano-convex the rear of this courr rhe temple proper srood on a plarform. Only the oudine of rhe plarform bricks were used, bricks with a flar bortom and a curved top, a shape rhar enjoyed great populariry and a rrace oFthe stairway leading up ro ir have survived. The temple plan is uncerrain. It would not, in ED Mesoporamia. however, have repeated rhe familiar rriparrire plan with exrerior indentarions; rhat rype had A¡ inner oval enclosed a recrangular cour¡ lined with roo¡ns used for workshops and for dtsappeared in early ED l. The reconsrrucrion drawing presenrs a simple remple based on stonge. Such non-religious conce¡ns in rhe heart of the remple complex remind us of the mulri- evidence from a nearby ciry, Tell Asmar.

!- 44 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 45

lar relief ause the

examPle (apital in a group found at the Square Temple at Tell fumar of the ancient state of Eshnunna (Figure to rhe of *hi.h KhaFaje h was a part) 2.14). They dare to ED II, a. 2700 ec. According inscriprions on similar examples oflarer (ED Ill) date, these starues ere uotiues, rhar is, gifrs off.reà by worshippers ro che deiries. The rallesr of the srarues are o.75m, half life+ize. They

on rhe bor¡om. Priesrs can be recognized by their clean-shaven heads and tãces. Lay people also have dis¡incrive hairsryles: women feacure a braid encircling rhe head wirh a knot in the rear, while men wear rheir hair long and have squared beards. These squared beards which fall in riers wilI remain a favorite fashion throughour Mesopocamian civilizarion (see the Neo-Assyrian reliefs of rhe Êrsr millennium BC). One wonders ifrhe wave parrerns of the beards ¡esulted from special r¡earment, such as curling wirh hot or wuing.

Figure 2 l2 The Temple Oval (reconstruction), Khafajeh

The decoration of rhe Temple oval has entirely disappeared, but some idea oF rhe elaborare is sup iscover iI (ca. t-07m core, of rhe Anzu fanked by rwo srags with spiky anrlers (Figure 2.r3). such monsrers had a magical protecrive role in Mesopotmim anriquiry. This linrel, ir is conjecrured, graced rhe rop oÈrh.

Figure 2 14 Worshippers, stone figurtnes, from Tell Asmar lraq Museum, Baghdad; and Orienlal Figure 2 13 Bronze lintel with Anzu and stags, from Ubaid , instrtule, University of Chicago

¡-:. ¿T6 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPT¡AN. AND AEGEAN C¡TIES EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 47

in the funerary procession lay neatly arranged on the ramp, rhe UR: THE ROYAL TOMBS sreep ramp. The participants .emrins ofthe draft animals in front ofthe wheeled vehicles they pulled and rhe skeletons of arrendants. Alrhough rheir clorhes had disintegmred, adornmenrs Ur is rhe most exrensively explored oF the grear Sumerian cities, revealed norably by the soldiers and Female ofprecious rVoolley 1237, whose occuPant remains excavarions conducted in 1922-34 by the Brirish archaeologist Sir l¡onard on behalf meral suruived. Tomb no. monymous, contained the largesr oFthe Universiry Museum oFrhe Universiry of Pennsylvania md the Brirish Museum. Modern n.mber of bodies: seventy-Four, including sixry-eight women srill waring their finesr gold attendanc meer dea¡h willingly, resigned aæeptance? Whar inreresr in this ancienr city has been sparked not only by \íoolley's discoveries but also by the ieu,elry. Did rhese with purpose did were serving? Such practices have attested sire's identific¿don with Ur of rhe Chaldees, rhe home of rhe Biblical patriarch . ihey believe rhey been ar no other ciry. Textual Like so many cities of southern Mesopocamia, Ur was inhabited for several thousand years, evidence offe¡s no exPlanacion. from rhe tfth well inro rhe first millennium ec. Here we shell examine che most famous part of Tombs. In the next chaprer our arten¡ion will focus on asPecr oF Ur in the ED ciry, úre Roþ Grave goods: a 's headed lyre and the Royal Standard a later period, during rhe reign of the cicy's grearesr ruler, Ur-Nammu: the ciry walls, the ciry thieves had cleared some the graves, firnerary remained cencer wirh its ziggurat, and rhe private houses (Figure 2- I 5). Alchough Sumerian ou¡ of many giRs iz jewelry, vessels The sixreen Rolel Tombs of the ED III period were among the earliest burials in a centrally ¡itu, stch as oFgold and silver, musical insrruments, weapons, game boards. located cemetery containing some 2,000 inrermenrs mnging in dare from ED III to Neo- Shown here are two of the finds, a lyre decorared with a bull's head and inlay on rhe sound box Sumerim. The names of some oFthe persons buried here are known, wrirren on ob.iects found and ¡he so-øJled Royal Standard of Ur. in the tombs: a queen or priesress Pu-abi (called Shubad by Voolley), and nvo kings of Ur, This lyre, rhe finesr of several examples Akalamdug aad . The unknown may well include high-ranking administrators or from rhe rombs, was discovered in rhe ¡omb religious figures. of King Meskalamdug (Figure 2.16). The Royal Tombs, unique ro Ur, are srriking not only for rhe splendor of the grave offerings Although the wooden pans had rotred away, and for rhe romb construcrion but also for the t¡aces of rhe elaborare monuary ritual that the shape of rhe lyre was preserued in the ground. By pouring liquid plasrer inro rhe included human sacrifice. In each tomb, rhe important Person, on occasion wirh companions, and a magnificenr array of objeccs were plaæd in one or more burial chmbers at the foo¡ of a caviry, rhe excâvators could accurarely reassemble the Form and the non-perishable decorations. Measuring 1.22mín height, rhe instrume¡t consisrs of a wooden sounding box on the bortom and an uprighr secrion on olm2hÉ eirher end, all inlaid wirh colored materials. A horizontal bar across the rop would have held rhe strings running up From rhe sounding box, md tuning pegs. The golden head ofa bearded bull decorated the front, perhaps an aporropaic image (to ward off evil). Such lyres were not just for show, for on one side of rhe Royal Srandard of Ur a an be seen plucking happily on a virtually identical insrrumenr. Fìgure 2 16 Lyre (reconstructedl, from Ur The Royal Srandard may itselfhave been University l\¡luseurn, Univers¡ty of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia an elaborare sounding box for a harp or lyre, or, as originally thoughr, a srandard placed on a pole and carried before rhe king in ceremonial processions (Figure 2. I 7). The wooden core

scenes, expressions of royal imagery- Each side has rhree registers; rhe scenes are read as a con¡inuous srory from rhe lowest regisrer to rhe uppermost- The obverse, somerimes called -l'eace," Figure 2 l5 City plan, Ur shows banqueting, and rhe rransporr ofanimals and agricultural products, whereas rhe EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 49 ¿I8 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES

counterPressure' structure to provide the necessary

Brilish Museum' Fìgure 2l7"Peace," the obverse of lhe "Royal Standard," inlaid panel' from Ur London

,.\lar," trampled. The reverse, depicts che king, his infantry, and his chariots, wirh enemies horse ungainly four-whol.d .h"riot. are pulled by onagers (wild_asses), it is worth noting. The Bc, an *Jrld .o, be incroduced inro Mesopotmia until rhe middle of the second millennium impon from Central Asia.

Roofing techniques: arches and vaults roofs oF The roofing of rhe romb chambers is of parricular interest, beause evidence for the a sealing of would Sumerian bîildings is rare- Srout timbers, reed or palm frond maÉing, and cþ person. The same have created a str".dy ,oof fo, a house, strong enough to hold the weight ofa the span ofa room system could have been used fo, la¡ger buildings, ifinterior columns divided dimensions- In ånait ..,"' to" elaborare roo6ng of mud bricks was into m"nag.tble " d In the Royal Tombs of U¡, the chambers were vaulre ",,.-p,.d. (seebelow)' and (d) corbelled arch or limestone rubble, using rhe rechnique ofcoráelling (b) barrel vauìt' (c) grorn vault: F¡gure 2 18 (a) true arch; rechniques hæ come from excavations conducted in ¡he t 960s at vaults, some in the of Tell aI Rimah, in norrh-west lraq; well-preserued mud brick arches and rechnique, ....ttìd comPonents of a large temple of rhe early second pitched.-bricÞ ".. millennium sC. the importanr The progression ro the rrue arch and domical vault (= rhe dome) is one of be examined d.evelopments in rhe ancient Medirerranean and Nea¡ E¿sr and will "r.hi,..ìrr.i merir later in this book. ihe early rechniques ¡usr mentioned, corbelling and pitched-brick, be appreciared: an explanation. Bur ñrsr, ,he distir.tio^ b..*..n zn arch a¡d. a u¿t¿lt needs to vault is three- i, two-dimensional span, covering a doorway or ' whereas a rhe above rwo methods "råh " .oo-. The princip-íes of arch construction can often be applied ro vaults. re berween dimensiona-I, .or..i.g theY flat " projects further inmrd un¡il *tàgt nor are Placed In a corbelbd arch, o. of .h. .*o sides each successive block 'h"Pt" "".h corbelled arch will nnally rhe vo sides ¡ouch at rhe rop (Figure 2.18d). I[lefr by itself, the

¡--- EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES 51 50 NEAR EASTERN, EGYPTIAN, AND AEGEAN CITIES ciry' wen if loca¡ed on the -^- TL- '.-nlp nFrh" rurelarv deiry dominated rhe

n-

b

Figure 2 19 The pitched-brick vault: (a) v¡ew from below: and (b) ¡n cross-sect¡on one on top of rhe other. Insread, each successive brick is rilted slighdy in order ro form a curved line. The exrra space ar the rop is filled wirh fragmena. Afthough much more fregile rhan a lrue dome, such a strucrure c:rn srand on its own.

SUMMARY

By 2350 Bc, the ciry was dready Êrmly esrablished in sourhern Mesoporamia as rhe cen¡er of social, economic, and polirical life. Owned by rhe gods, adminisrered for ¡hem by kings. Sumerian ciries conrrolled ùeir regional agriculture and water supplies, promored indusrries, and pa¡ticipated in rhe long-disrance rrade thar ensured provisions of raw materials unavailable locally. The cides rhemselves were fonified nuclei located on agriculturd lmd and their life-