Uruk was a city that flourished south of the river valley, on the banks of the Euphrates, and its civilization expanded throughout Mesopotamia to become the world’s earliest and most significant metropolis. Cradle of mythical rulers such as Gilgamesh.

A God who was far far from what we recognise as “human” and more akin to a mystery creature. But, before we get to Gilgamesh, we must first discuss the beginnings of one of antiquity’s most mysterious civilizations.

Uruk’s origins and discovery

It was discovered in 1849 thanks to William Loftus, despite the fact that the most renowned archaeologists did not reach it until the following century; 1912-1913. Julius Jordan together with the East German Society discovered the Ishtar temple at that time, surprising it with its adobe mosaics and bricks.

In the 1950s, Heinrich Lenzen found some tablets written in the Sumerian dialect and dated from around 3,300 BC and that described Uruk as the first urban center that used writing as a common means of communication in everyday life.

All of these discoveries demonstrated, quite contrary to what everyone believed at the time, that Uruk became, not only the first urban human settlement, but also the nucleus of society, with a flourishing economic power superior to anyone. In addition, it stands out in the succession of temples crowned in ziggurats and palaces, at least 80,000 inhabitants, making it the first city on the planet.

Why did he stand out so much above the others?

Throughout its history, Uruk has also lived through different stages, its foundation being a Neolithic settlement around 5,000 BC, making it a powerful city, significantly advanced and considerably influential between 4,000 and 3,000 BC, until its fall after 700 AD Even so, Uruk’s influence was so powerful, that it takes a period of time to bear his name, making it the most influential metropolis of human societies.

Possibly this attracted more people (which would have caused a more than significant increase) who joined urban planning, creating business with different regions, making people not need to fight for their livelihood, giving them the opportunity to dedicate themselves other tasks, creating all kinds of activities, parties, art and more.

The incredible and inexplicable stories of the gods

The origin of this advanced city was Enmerkar, a being that has been in the eye of the storm for a long time for several reasons. Zecharias Sitchin, one of the greatest scholars of antiquity, even mentions the dispute between Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta.

The lord of Aratta, according to what is reported, declared the following: “Inanna, the queen of the lands, has not abandoned her home in Aratta; do not hand Aratta over to Erek. Inanna was a Goddess who moved in her “spaceship”, and can be seen in representations as if she were piloting some kind of ship.

The cuneiform tablets found in Nineveh tell stories of giants, strange monsters and, of course, mysterious flying ships. Of all these, the most striking is that of Gilgamesh, considered the oldest epic of mankind, even more than the Old Testament, which clearly copied its story about creation, changing the name of Gilgamesh to Noah.

A being 5,000 years ago who ruled Uruk despotically, and that certain historical texts show him as someone who really existed, but with a fantastic and unknown origin.

In addition, they mention that it had no defects; when the gods created it, two-thirds of God and one-third of humans did. Creating a perfect being. As we have seen, many passages from “our history”, told by archeology and orthodox and traditional history, hide many details about our origins. Uruk is a clear example of this, along with his stories about gods that make us wonder if there really was no “influence” beyond what we know.