Changes

__NOTOC__

[[File:Eriduiraq4000bc.jpeg|thumbnail|300px|left|A reconstruction of the river port of Eridu, Iraq]]

Trade was created based on a lack of resources, while location along canals and rivers facilitated the transport of goods. The fertile agricultural area was irrigated with canals, allowing a large population to develop. In essence, low-cost transport helped fuel trade growth. Once trade began to make this city wealthy, this then fueled growth further through positive feedback growth. In other words, growth in the city and its trade fueled more growth and trade as the city used resources to invest further and grow in other areas, expanding its reach.<ref>Lane, D., Pumain, D., Leeuw, S.v.d. 2009. Introduction, in D. Lane, D. Pumain, S.v.d. Leeuw, and G. West (Eds.): <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9048181798/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=9048181798&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=19197796d30f73ffb902faeec611ea05 Complexity Perspectives in Innovation and Social Change]</i>. Springer, Berlin, pp. 1-7.</ref> Additionally, other urban areas, as demonstrated through archaeological survey, seem to be growing in this period, suggesting the rise of urbanism began to spread in southern Mesopotamia.<ref> Bob Adams’ extensive surveys in southern Iraq had demonstrated how early urban centers developed. See: Adams, Robert McC. 1981. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226005445/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0226005445&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1a308caf084aa23b657bd6584ee2a5e6" Heartland of Cities: Surveys of Ancient Settlement and Land Use on the Central Floodplain of the Euphrates]''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.</ref> In fact, urbanism in the fourth millennium BC was not simply confined to southern Mesopotamia but also northerly regions.<ref>Oates, Joan, Augusta McMahon, Philip Karsgaard, Salam Al Quntar, and Jason Ur. 2007. ''Early Mesopotamian urbanism: A new view from the North''. Antiquity 81 (2007): 585–600.</ref>

Trade seems to have been so important for urban growth that by the late fourth millennium BC, we begin to see urban colonies' expansion to other regions. One example is Habuba Kabira, a modern-day name for an ancient city built in the late fourth millennium BC in northern Syria on the Euphrates River. Although writing was still scarce in this period, the city was clearly built by people from southern Mesopotamia. All of its cultural remains, such as architecture, pottery, and other objects, indicate the people who settled there did not have cultural markers from the native populations in Syria. Rather, Habuba Kabira represents a colony that was placed next to the Euphrates to control trade coming down to southern Mesopotamia.<ref>Habuba Kabira has been described as a near-exact footprint of southern Mesopotamian cities due to its material culture resembling that region's items. See Strommenger, Eva. 1980. "Habiba Kabira: Eine Stadt Vor 5000 Jahren: Ausgrabungen Der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft Am Euphrat in Habuba Kabira, Syrien." ''Sendschrift Der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 12''. Mainz am Rhein: von Zabern.</ref> Therefore, it was not simply passive trade that brought goods to southern Mesopotamia, but colonies were sometimes established to bring in raw materials.

Perhaps not as frequently discussed, but with the rise of cities, we also see the rise of social inequality.<ref>For a discussion on the Uruk period's material culture and how it could represent social complexity and inequality, see: Postgate, John Nicholas. 2004. ''Artefacts of Complexity: Tracking the Uruk in the Near East''. Reprinted. ''Iraq Archaeological Reports 5''. Cambridge: Univ. Press.</ref> In earlier periods, such as the Neolithic in the 6th millennium BC, we see much of the ancient Near East displaying small villages with houses relatively equal in size to each other. In the fourth millennium BC, as cities began to rise, we now see very different types of structures. Large complexes could be palaces or temples arouse in large urban areas, which are now far larger than typical houses. The art begins to depict what appears to be a strong man or leader figure that likely had different powers or what amounts to king-like aspects, such as leading war campaigns or having the authority to rule.

==Conclusion==

What we see from this brief overview is that a natural process did not drive urbanism. In fact, this process took several millennia after the invention of agriculture, making it possible to settle in one region. Urbanism became the predominant social form through a complex set of interactions that led to increased trade wealth concentrating into cities with access to key trade routes and motivation to expand trade networks as they often lacked raw resources. Warfare could have resulted from increased trade competition, forcing more people to seek protection in the cities. Social inequality was a byproduct and likely motivated the greater population to cities as wealth and power helped concentrate people.

<div class="portal" style="width:85%;">

==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==

*[[Why was Alexander the Great So Successful In His Conquests?]]

</div>

==References==