Uruk

Uruk designates a major urban center in southern Mesopotamia that flourished from the fourth millennium BCE onward. Uruk played a central role in the emergence of cities, complex social organization, and large-scale religious institutions. It is especially significant for the earliest known writing systems, used for economic records and administration. Uruk also appears prominently in later literary traditions, including royal narratives and epic literature, where it functions as a symbol of kingship, urban power, and cultural achievement.