Editing Uruk (section)

===Uruk into Late Antiquity===
[[File:British Museum Foundation Tablet.jpg|thumb|Foundation tablet from the Temple of Inanna at Uruk (Eanna), dating to the reign of Ur-Nammu.]]
Although it hadbeen a thriving city in Early Dynastic Sumer, especially Early Dynastic II, Uruk was ultimately annexed by the [[Akkadian Empire]] and went into decline. Later, in the Neo-Sumerian period, Uruk enjoyed revival as a major economic and cultural center under the sovereignty of [[Ur]]. The Eanna District was restored as part of an ambitious building program, which included a new temple for Inanna. This temple included a [[ziggurat]], the 'House of the Universe' (Cuneiform: [[É (temple)|E₂]].[[E-sara|SAR.A]]) ({{cuneiform|𒂍𒊬𒀀}}) to the northeast of the Uruk period Eanna ruins.

Following the collapse of Ur ({{circa}} 2000&nbsp;BCE), Uruk went into a steep decline until about 850&nbsp;BCE when the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] annexed it as a provincial capital. Under the Neo-Assyrians and [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, Uruk regained much of its former glory. By 250&nbsp;BCE, a new temple complex the 'Head Temple' (Akkadian: ''Bīt Reš'') was added to northeast of the Uruk period Anu district. The ''Bīt Reš'' along with the ''[[Esagila]]'' was one of the two main centers of [[Babylonian astronomy|Neo-Babylonian astronomy]]. All of the temples and canals were restored again under [[Nabopolassar]]. During this era, Uruk was divided into five main districts: the [[Adad]] Temple, Royal Orchard, Ištar Gate, Lugalirra Temple, and [[Shamash|Šamaš]] Gate districts.<ref name="Baker2002" >H. D. Baker, "The Urban Landscape in First Millennium BC Babylonia", University of Vienna, 2002</ref>

Uruk, known as Orcha ({{lang|grc|Ὄρχα}}) to the Greeks, continued to thrive under the [[Seleucid Empire]]. During this period, Uruk was a city of 300&nbsp;hectares and perhaps 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Baker2002" /><ref>R. van der Spek  "The Latest on Seleucid Empire Building in the East". ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 138.2 (2018): 385–394.</ref><ref name="RvdS">R. van der Spek. "Feeding Hellenistic Seleucia on the Tigris". In R. Alston & O. van Nijf, eds. ''Feeding the Ancient Greek City'' 36. Leuven ; Dudley, Massachusetts: Peeters Publishers, 2008.</ref> In 200&nbsp;BCE, the 'Great Sanctuary' (Cuneiform: E₂.IRI₁₂.GAL, Sumerian: eš-gal) of [[Ishtar]] was added between the Anu and Eanna districts. The ziggurat of the temple of Anu, which was rebuilt in this period, was the largest ever built in Mesopotamia.<ref name="RvdS"/> When the Seleucids lost Mesopotamia to the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] in 141 BCE, Uruk continued in use.<ref>C. A. Petrie, "Seleucid Uruk: An Analysis of Ceramic Distribution", ''Iraq'', vol. 64, 2002, pp. 85–123, 2002</ref> The decline of Uruk after the Parthians may have been in part caused by a shift in the Euphrates River. By 300&nbsp;CE, Uruk was mostly abandoned, but a group of [[Mandaeans]] settled there, based on some finds of [[Mandaic language|Mandaic]] [[incantation bowl]]s, and by {{circa|700 AD}} it was completely abandoned.<ref>[[Rudolf Macuch]], "Gefäßinschriften", in Eva Strommenger (ed.), Gefässe aus Uruk von der Neubabylonischen Zeit bis zu den Sasaniden (= Ausgrabungen der deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 7), pp. 55–57, pl. 57.1–3, Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1967</ref>