Uruk was a major city in Mesopotamia. It existed around the fifth millennium BC, and was probably the largest city in the world at that time. It was a city famous for its huge monuments that included temples and palaces. Excavations have shown that it was an urban settlement with temples, platforms, ziggurats, and cemeteries, enclosed in a fortification ramp almost ten kilometres in circumference. Uruk was an important centre for religion and science as well, which is confirmed by the thousands of clay tablets that have been dug up at the site.
The city of Ur was an important Sumerian city state between 2025-1738 BC. It had four main residential areas in the city, and included homes, with baked mud brick foundations arranged along long, narrow winding streets and alleyways. Ur is famous for its burial tombs, which were magnificently furnished. Burials at Ur give us insights into people’s social standing. Kings and queens were buried with treasure. Wealthy people were buried with less.
Lagash was one of the most important capital cities in ancient Sumer, located midway between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Southeastern Iraq. The inhabitants of Lagash believed in many gods and goddesses. Temples were built and dedicated to a god or goddess. Each deity served a different purpose. Lagash’s kings and their wives reigned over an economy that was ruled by a temple economy.