ABSTRACT
The slow process leading to the development of agriculture, craftsmanship, long-distance trade, and cultic centres peaked in the mid-fourth millennium bc. Gordon Childe defined this period as the ‘Urban Revolution’. The centre of this revolution was Lower Mesopotamia, and specifically Uruk (Middle Uruk period, ca. 3800-3400 bc, and Late Uruk period, ca. 3400-3000 bc). The definition of this phase as the ‘Urban Revolution’ has been widely criticised, but remains a meaningful notion. The ‘Urban Revolution’ was part of a long process that partly relied on very ancient premises. Nonetheless, it was a revolutionary event both in terms of time and impact. Time-wise, it constitutes a quick acceleration, if not a proper ‘jump’, preceded and followed by slower stages of development with long-lasting implications. In terms of the impact of these changes, they pervaded every aspect of society – from demography to technology, socio-economic structures and ideologies. These changes affected society so radically that they changed its core structure. They developed a kind of organisation that would survive throughout the Bronze Age and beyond, and would provide the Ancient Near East with its characteristic traits.
