Eridu
Beginning:
The Mesopotamian civilization is forgotten in the pages of history for its antiquity. Mesopotamian civilization went through several phases during its existence. The very first of these is the Sumerian civilization that developed in the southern part of Mesopotamia. Hence, the ancient Sumerian civilization can be called the creator of the Mesopotamian civilization. The Sumerian civilization originated in the fertile region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq. However, the original location of the Sumerians was not Sumer. Since Mesopotamia's fertile land was suitable for agriculture, a group of Sumerians moved into Mesopotamia from the mountainous region of Elam in northeastern Mesopotamia. The ancient Sumerians built Eridu, the oldest city in the world. The ruins of the city of Eridu are among the oldest archaeological evidences found in the ruins of Mesopotamia. Experts believe that the city of Eridu arose around 5400 BC.
 |
| Image: Mesopotamian Civilization |
Structure
Eridu, located 12 kilometers southwest of Ur, was the southernmost ancient city of Mesopotamia, built around various religious temples. Its buildings were built by placing one mud brick on top of another. A fortified temple inside the surrounding villages. This was the basic structure of the city of Eridu. Archaeological evidence suggests that Eridu was surrounded by an area of 100 acres around the fourth millennium BC. Of this, 50 acres were residential land and 30 acres were allocated to the acropolis (city-centre highlands).
 |
| Image: Current status of Eridu city |
Due to the accumulation of sediments on the coast over thousands of years, the remains of the city of Eridu have now moved indirectly some distance from the Gulf of Abu Shahrain in Iraq. Excavations have shown that the city was founded on completely unused sand dunes, where no one had previously built a settlement. According to archaeologist Piotr Steinkeller, ancient Eridu was originally worshiped as the head of a deity called Ninhursag, who appeared to the inhabitants of the area as an earth goddess. Analyzing the Sumerian word 'Ninhursag', Nin = woman, Hur = mountain, Saga = holy. Later, when the male gods predominated in the patriarchal Eridu, the goddess Ninhursag was replaced by the god Enki.
 |
Image: Terracotta tablets found at Eridu |
According to Australian historian Gwendolyn Lake, Eridu was the meeting place of three distinct cultures and nations, just as the waters of many rivers flow together into the sea. People from the northern Samara culture were involved in agriculture. They were involved in irrigation as well as canal construction. Their houses were made of mud bricks. Again, the fishing communities of the Arabian coastal region developed settlements along the Arabian coast. Some of them are considered as early Sumerians. They lived in huts.
A third culture that contributed to the construction of the city of Eridu was the desert-dwelling Semitic-speaking nomads who subsisted on herding sheep and goats. People from all three cultures converged on the city during the city's rise, demonstrating a unique blend of Eridu's diverse cultures. Eridu is best known for its temple ziggurat. Ziggurat means temple foundation. By this one can reach the temple located at a higher place. The first ziggurat was built in Eridu during the Ubaid period, BC. By 5570 At the center of this ziggurat was a small room, which experts have named the 'cult below'. After a long gap, a bigger temple was built.
 |
| Image: Ziggurat |
At an archaeological site called Amar-Sin (2047 BC – 2039 BC), eighteen sub-temples were found beneath the unfinished ziggurat temple. The period of the ziggurat of Amr-Sin has been determined by studying an inscribed brick. The bricks were later reused in various constructions of the city of Nur Adad (1801 BC – 1756 BC). Fish carvings have also been found at the site, associated with the worship of Enki and Yar.
 |
| Image: Eridur bricks were reused in the city of Nur Adad |
Eridu in legend
The name of the city of Eridu is connected on the octagon with the cosmology described in Sumerian mythology. Eridu was called the home of the god Enki. Who is this Enki? To find out, we have to go back even further, to the cosmology of Sumerian mythology. In the beginning there was only a meandering stream called Nammu. There was no sky, air or heaven or hell in our familiar world at that time. Nammu gave birth to heaven and earth. The god Anu was chosen as the representative of heaven, and the goddess Ki took charge of the earth.
Anu and Ki's deep love gave birth to the wind god Enlil. Enlil created the moon-god Nanna. Utur, the sun god, came out of Nanna. After the air and earth became one, the god Enki came up. He was the god of the universe and water. At his command, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowed, the land became fertile. This Enki built a city for the gods on earth, known as Eridu.
 |
| Image: Eridu's decaying bricks bear witness to ancient history |
Then the gods thought - this kind of desolation should be filled with people's footsteps. As a result, the god Enki created Adapa as the first human in Eridu. His job was to bring fish from the river for the gods. While going fishing as usual, once a southerly wind interfered with his work. Adapa broke the wings of the wind in anger. As a result, the residents of Eridu are deprived of the cool southerly breeze. A story of Puradastu is described in ancient Mesopotamian cosmology. Enki was known as 'Ya' in Akkadian culture. Enki's temple at the center of the city was called 'I-Abzu', and it was in Abzu, the city of Eridu, that Ya/Enki lived.
 |
| Image: Adda seal From left Inanna, Utu, Enki, Isimud |
As described in the Sumerian King List, Eridu is one of the five cities that were imposed from heaven by the gods before the Great Flood. The remaining four cities are Bad-Tibira, Larak, Sippar and Suruppak. This list of kings mentions two emperors of Eridu. One is Alulim, who reigned for 28 thousand years, and the other is Alangar, who reigned for 36 thousand years. According to legend, civilization arose in the city of Adapa Eridu during the reign of Emperor Alulim. Not only that, the goddess Inanna of the city of Uruk came to Eridu to receive gifts from the civilization.
Archeological excavations at the Mesopotamian cities of Ur and Nippur yielded several clay block tablets, inscribed with the story of the creation of man in the Sumerian civilization. It is now known as 'Eridu Genesis'. According to the results obtained from the research - Eridu Genesis was written about 2,150 years ago. An Eridu Genesis of 600 BC, written in a combination of Sumerian and Akkadian, was found in Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh.
Importance of Eridu City
Eridu was of special importance in the ancient Sumerian civilization. Physicians from the Assyrian court came to Eridu to be trained so that they could diagnose the cause, cure, and prevention of disease by looking at the symptoms. They believed in medicine as well as magic for healing. In the beginning, the only means of livelihood of the inhabitants was fishing. Fishing nets, fishing nets etc. were found in the ruins. Also, the first large boat-building in Mesopotamia has been found at this Eridu. It is believed that this city was the center of pottery production.
 |
| Image: Ruins of Eridur |
Fall of Eridu
Eridu became well-developed during the Ubaid period (6500 BC – 3700 BC). Then its area was around 20-25 acres, population was around 4 thousand. After the Ubaid era, all practical activities in Eridu ceased. The city was revived during the Second Predynastic Period (2900 BC – 2350 BC). That dynasty also built a palace at Eridu. Historian Ruth Whitehouse has also called the city a 'major Early Dynastic city'. BC After 2050 the city was completely abandoned.
 |
| Image: Babylon |
Abandoned for a long time, it was completely destroyed in the sixth century BC. Along with encroaching the surrounding sand dunes, the water there became salty. Saline water was causing great disruption to their livelihood, agriculture. Faced with various problems, the inhabitants of Eridu moved elsewhere, and the city of Babylon was established. After the rise of the city of Babylon, the Sumerian civilization ended, the ancient world became acquainted with a relatively modern and storied civilization.