Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City [Paperback]

Eridu seems to be almost unique in that even in the reign of Amar-Sin (c.2046-2038) there is no evidence to suggest that Eridu was anything other than a religious sanctuary - the gods were actually thought to dwell there and it clearly retained its symbolic connection with cosmological creation. Leick makes some fascinating comments about the meaning of 'a', the importance of water in divination and its connection with wisdom, the paradu fish and the nature of 'me'. Eridu clearly represents the creative potential of Enki, whilst later cities (usually strongly tied to Inanna / Ishtar) represent the realisation of that potential. But to me, Enki's presence in the Absu suggests some sort of yearning for the 'lost' Ubaid period.

Excavations at Uruk are currently suspended due to UN sanctions but a wealth of excavation must lie ahead. Virtually no Akkadian period excavation has taken place at Uruk even though the city was important right through until the rise of Islam. Uruk culture (3800-3200) seems to have occupied a geographical area well beyond the Mesopotamian core and cylinder seals appear to have been invented during Uruk VII (c.3600). There is computerised processing underway in Berlin to unlock the encoded messages on Uruk tablets. Using symbols may have been more flexible in a multi-ethnic society.

Idiosyncrasies in the architecture of Uruk's 2 centres (Eanna & Kullub) may point to ideological - or perhaps even theological differences. Leick doesn't take the next step of positing ethnic differences. For me, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Uruk civilisation is its most negative aspect. It seems to verge on the first dystopian society with non-conformity crushed as heavily as in Zamyatin's 'We' and, in an interesting parallel, shares the sexual attitudes of Huxley's 'Brave NewWorld'. Leick's perspective here breaks beyond the Judeo-Christian constraints in which most Near Eastern archaeological commentary has taken place.

Shuruppak, although little known, holds answers to the linguistically critical Fara period. A number of fundamental changes seem to have taken place including a sudden lack of cultural diversity and a strong differentiation of gender roles. Given Leick's theory about the strength of symbol over word in the ethnically-diverse Ubaid, the implications are clear. What is far less clear is whether we are talking about a clean break.

Akkad was the centre of the first supra-regional political entity in the Near East and yet we have yet to identify it! There is a secularisation of power beginning with Lugalzagesi who brought the Sumerian independent city states to an end. Sargon seems to be under constant reassessment to filter history from legend and even his name now seems a bone of contention. But, for me, it is his use of public art which puts him in the league of great empire-builders and dictators. The gradual collapse of the Akkadian Dynasty is well charted from the rebellions in the reigns of Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri to the total loss of co-ordination that followed. There is also considerable discussion of the poetic record, 'The Curse of Akkad'.

Ur is, of course, famous for Woolley's 'Royal Graves', Pu-abi & Meskalamdug, the 'standard of Ur' (in reality the soundbox of an instrument) and the 'ram' in a thicket. (The section in the British Museum re-opened this year). Charvat suggests that other bodies may have been 'saved up' for the main burial and Leick reveals that recent evidence suggests the possibility of excarnation. Ur III was a centralised state brought about by the final defeat of the Gutian ruler, Tirigan by Utu-hegel and the latter's death. It was held together by an army of bureaucrats. So far, some 25,000 Ur III tablets have been translated with the largest volume, not from Ur itself, but from smaller administrative satellites such as Telloh and Puzrish-Dagan. Shulgi's reforms turned most sanctuaries into centres of economic production under central state control.

But to what extent was the collapse of Ur III associated with either the over-bureaucratic fiscal system or the arrival of immigrant Amorites ('Martu')? Leick seems to overlook Snell's (1997) comment that the Amorites were already there in the Akkad period. We know that the last Ur III king, Ibbi-Sin, was held to ransom by Ishbi-Erra of the northern city of Mari during an acute shortage of grain. Ur was destroyed by Elam, which had been annexed by Ur. Even "the dogs of Ur" would "no longer sniff at the base of the city wall".

Ashur dates back to the 'archaic Ishtar temple' from Early Dynastic 3 but more than 1,000 years' later it became the capital of the Assyrian Empire following the collapse of the Mitanni state. Knowledge of the city's eponymous deity is scant. It is not even clear whether he originated as a Semitic or Hurrian deity and a personality only emerged under Sennacherib's anti-Babylonian policy in order to fill the gap left by Marduk. The final chapters deal with Nineveh, which fell to bits after Ashurbanipal's death, and Babylon, which in fact only emerged as a city after the collapse of Ur III.

There are many interesting and contentious ideas in the book but its attempt to cover everything from Ubaid and Uruk to the Assyrian era weakens it. Nevertheless, it is an excellent update on the latest findings and conjectures. For me many of the remaining questions focus around the degree of continuity between eras and the state of economic and theological relations between north and south.