FROM URUK TO BABYLON: CULTURAL TRANSITION IN THE CITIES OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

Abstract

Along with achievements in state organization and writing, the birth of urban areas is an important sign marking people's entry into the age of civilization. Throughout history, the separation of urban areas from rural areas has not only been economic, but it has also attracted talent and wealth, thus giving cities a distinctly multicultural character. The southern Mesopotamia region was the place that witnessed the emergence of the earliest cities in human history. Although the region went through many political upheavals during the ancient period, it is surprising that the different people of Mesopotamia preserved, passed on, and created a culture in cities, creating the characteristics of Mesopotamian urban culture, both synthetic and unique. This article focuses on examining cultural transition in the cities of Uruk and Babylon in terms of structure, belief, architecture, and law.