1. Highlight important information (e.g., key dates, events, or concepts) in **bold*
Around 4500 BCE, in a region known as Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), a major turning point occurred in human history: the rise of urban civilization. This marked the beginning of Sumerian society, which would go on to produce some of the most impressive achievements in human culture.
**Uruk’s Rise and Fall**
In approximately 3200 BCE, the city of Uruk began to take shape. For nearly three millennia, it was a major center of commerce, politics, and culture. As the years passed, Uruk grew from a small settlement into a thriving metropolis. Its population swelled to around 90,000 inhabitants, covering an area of approximately two and a half square kilometers.
**The Epic of Gilgamesh**
One of humanity’s earliest surviving works of literature is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which begins in Uruk. The real King Gilgamesh probably ruled over the city in the early third millennium BCE and made enough of an impression that he went down in legend as a mythical hero.
**Warfare and City Walls**
As Sumerian society continued to evolve, evidence suggests that warfare began to increase. The Epic of Gilgamesh mentions the enemy besieging Uruk for three years, with the city’s gates being barred and bolts shot. This is reflected in the city walls, which were now a prominent feature.
**Religious Life**
At the heart of Uruk lay a temple dedicated to the goddess Ishtar and the White Temple, a four-story sanctuary honoring the sky god Anu. The Epic of Gilgamesh gives us a glimpse into the bustling religious life of these temples.
**Marketplaces and Daily Life**
If you walked the streets of Uruk during this time, you would see markets filled with produce, smell the smoke from kilns and bread ovens, and experience the vibrant daily life of an ancient city. You would have seen farmers carrying large sheaves of reeds and wheat on their backs, drovers bringing their long-haired sheep and oxen in from the fields, and women working as weavers, grinding flour, and wove baskets out of rushes.
**Ur’s Rise**
As Uruk began to decline, another Sumerian city-state was rising: Ur. This coastal city sat at the point where the Euphrates River met the sea, making it a thriving trade hub.
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Source: https://lithub.com/what-the-epic-of-gilgamesh-reveals-about-sumerian-society/