Urbanism in Mesopotamia
Also called: Urbanisation in Mesopotamia · Topic: Bronze Age Civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Writing and City Life"
Meaning
Urbanism here means the growth of the first cities in southern Mesopotamia, c. 3000 BCE. NCERT stresses that cities did not grow simply from fertile soil. They also needed temples that organised production, war leaders who became kings, compulsory labour, division of labour and written records. Cheap water transport on canals and rivers helped. So did trade: textiles and grain were exchanged for wood, metals and stone, which the south did not have.
Example
Around 3000 BCE, Uruk grew to 250 hectares while dozens of nearby villages were deserted. War captives and local people were made to work and were paid in rations. One temple took an estimated 1,500 men working 10 hours a day for 5 years.
Don't confuse with
- Harappan urbanism: planned cities with street drains. Ur had narrow winding streets and no town planning.