WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:02.167 --> 00:00:03.967 [narrator] Ancient Iraq, 3 00:00:03.967 --> 00:00:07.267 a land of myth and legend, 4 00:00:07.267 --> 00:00:10.267 home to some of the greatest cities of the Bible. 5 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 6 00:00:11.267 --> 00:00:14.067 Well, it's the cradle of civilization. 7 00:00:14.067 --> 00:00:17.100 This is one of the most important areas in the world. 8 00:00:18.267 --> 00:00:20.900 [narrator] Now, after decades of war, 9 00:00:20.967 --> 00:00:24.167 pioneering archaeologists are returning to Iraq. 10 00:00:25.900 --> 00:00:28.867 Our cameras have unprecedented access 11 00:00:28.867 --> 00:00:30.000 as they unearth buried treasures 12 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.000 as they unearth buried treasures 13 00:00:31.367 --> 00:00:35.167 and discover the real world of the Old Testament. 14 00:00:35.167 --> 00:00:40.500 Western civilization only kept memories from the Bible. 15 00:00:40.567 --> 00:00:43.867 It's very difficult to pick apart the myths and the legends. 16 00:00:45.800 --> 00:00:51.367 [narrator] This time investigators uncover the lost cities of Genesis, 17 00:00:51.367 --> 00:00:56.267 Uruk and Ur, the legendary birthplace of Abraham. 18 00:00:56.267 --> 00:00:58.000 Ur was transcended. 19 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.000 It essentially ruled over many cities. 20 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.367 It essentially ruled over many cities. 21 00:01:00.367 --> 00:01:01.000 [narrator] Why did people here go from being simple farmers 22 00:01:03.467 --> 00:01:06.200 to big time city slickers? 23 00:01:06.267 --> 00:01:08.867 And did the collapse of this brave new world 24 00:01:08.867 --> 00:01:12.900 influence one of the greatest biblical stories ever told? 25 00:01:12.967 --> 00:01:15.400 Noah and the great flood. 26 00:01:22.867 --> 00:01:25.800 It's just before dawn in southern Iraq. 27 00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:30.000 A small convoy of vehicles heads out across the desert. 28 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:30.167 A small convoy of vehicles heads out across the desert. 29 00:01:32.067 --> 00:01:35.900 Joining the team is archaeologist Sebastien Rey. 30 00:01:37.600 --> 00:01:43.100 He and his colleagues are traveling 200 miles south of Iraq's capital Baghdad, 31 00:01:43.167 --> 00:01:45.367 heading for a set of ancient ruins, 32 00:01:45.367 --> 00:01:48.867 which could unlock the origins of civilization itself. 33 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.067 [Sebastien Rey] Archeology is truly amazing here. 34 00:01:54.067 --> 00:01:57.667 Every morning, I have this exciting of maybe this is the day 35 00:01:57.667 --> 00:02:00.000 where we will find something truly exceptional. 36 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:00.700 where we will find something truly exceptional. 37 00:02:03.100 --> 00:02:05.067 [narrator] The sands of southern Iraq 38 00:02:05.067 --> 00:02:07.100 hold a unique place in human history. 39 00:02:08.667 --> 00:02:12.300 6,000 years ago, a people called the Sumerians 40 00:02:12.367 --> 00:02:15.367 built the world's first cities here. 41 00:02:15.367 --> 00:02:16.567 They vanished, 42 00:02:16.567 --> 00:02:19.100 but for reasons that are still unclear. 43 00:02:19.167 --> 00:02:23.067 Their civilization influenced the stories of the Bible, 44 00:02:23.067 --> 00:02:27.767 written 1,000s of years later by a very different people. 45 00:02:27.767 --> 00:02:30.000 According to Genesis, this is where the world began. 46 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:31.000 According to Genesis, this is where the world began. 47 00:02:32.167 --> 00:02:36.100 The setting for the Garden of Eden, the great flood, 48 00:02:36.167 --> 00:02:40.767 and where the descendants of Noah built Erech, a mighty city. 49 00:02:44.767 --> 00:02:50.667 Today, biblical scholars identify Erech with Uruk in southern Iraq, 50 00:02:50.667 --> 00:02:54.867 a huge Sumerian metropolis older than the pyramids. 51 00:02:56.500 --> 00:03:00.000 Uruk had temples studded with intricate stone mosaics... 52 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:00.300 Uruk had temples studded with intricate stone mosaics... 53 00:03:01.867 --> 00:03:04.867 ...and developed a maze of streets, 54 00:03:04.867 --> 00:03:06.767 filled with mud brick houses... 55 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:11.467 ...wildly seen as the world's first true city. 56 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:18.100 6,000 years ago, this was a revolutionary way of living. 57 00:03:18.167 --> 00:03:22.767 Why were the Sumerians the first people to build cities? 58 00:03:22.767 --> 00:03:26.167 And what was the world of Genesis really like? 59 00:03:29.667 --> 00:03:30.000 The first Westerners to uncover Iraq's lost cities 60 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:31.000 The first Westerners to uncover Iraq's lost cities 61 00:03:32.867 --> 00:03:35.667 were inspired by the stories of the Bible. 62 00:03:35.667 --> 00:03:39.367 But archeologists have still barely scratched the surface 63 00:03:39.367 --> 00:03:41.200 of what lies buried here. 64 00:03:42.467 --> 00:03:49.600 These rare aerial images show the sheer scale of Uruk's sprawling ruins today. 65 00:03:49.667 --> 00:03:54.067 Sebastien Rey from the British Museum belongs to a new generation, 66 00:03:54.067 --> 00:03:58.467 working alongside Iraqi colleagues and driven by science. 67 00:03:59.567 --> 00:04:00.000 Our cameras have unique access 68 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Our cameras have unique access 69 00:04:01.667 --> 00:04:03.767 to follow their groundbreaking dig 70 00:04:03.767 --> 00:04:06.600 at a neighboring site called Girsu. 71 00:04:06.667 --> 00:04:10.867 It could shed new light on how the first cities like Uruk evolved. 72 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:17.167 [Rey] Girsu in the third millennium BC was a very, very big city. 73 00:04:17.167 --> 00:04:19.267 We call it a mega city. 74 00:04:19.267 --> 00:04:24.367 And it was home to more than 20,000 people. 75 00:04:24.367 --> 00:04:29.367 [narrator] The Sumerians, like the ancient Egyptians, built on a massive scale. 76 00:04:29.367 --> 00:04:30.000 The team is uncovering a very unusual structure. 77 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:31.000 The team is uncovering a very unusual structure. 78 00:04:32.667 --> 00:04:34.700 It's colossal 79 00:04:34.767 --> 00:04:38.467 and unlike anything every found in ancient Iraq. 80 00:04:38.467 --> 00:04:41.600 [Rey] This construction is a very unusual plan, 81 00:04:41.667 --> 00:04:43.867 almost in the shape of a big X. 82 00:04:48.900 --> 00:04:53.100 [narrator] Sebastien works with archaeologist Ebru Torun. 83 00:04:53.167 --> 00:04:56.167 She investigates the strange design. 84 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:00.000 [Ebru Torun] This is a very interesting structure 85 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.000 [Ebru Torun] This is a very interesting structure 86 00:05:01.367 --> 00:05:05.667 built actually like two symmetrically arranged convex walls. 87 00:05:07.067 --> 00:05:10.200 We have studied the structure almost brick by brick, 88 00:05:10.267 --> 00:05:13.267 uh, and we know that it was made of fire bricks. 89 00:05:14.767 --> 00:05:17.167 It must have been a very useful structure 90 00:05:17.167 --> 00:05:20.500 because it was kept maintained for many, many centuries. 91 00:05:22.067 --> 00:05:25.567 [narrator] Archeologists once thought this structure could be a tomb 92 00:05:25.567 --> 00:05:26.867 or even a temple. 93 00:05:28.367 --> 00:05:30.000 But it stands inside an ancient canal. 94 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:31.000 But it stands inside an ancient canal. 95 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:37.367 These are actually the foundations of a bridge... 96 00:05:37.367 --> 00:05:41.367 ...built from 1,000s of mud bricks with bitumen as mortar. 97 00:05:41.367 --> 00:05:44.267 This structure was once 26 feet high 98 00:05:44.267 --> 00:05:47.067 and up to 130 feet wide. 99 00:05:47.067 --> 00:05:50.067 It's a small bridge by modern standards, 100 00:05:50.067 --> 00:05:52.800 but when it was built 4,000 years ago, 101 00:05:52.867 --> 00:05:55.267 it was revolutionary. 102 00:05:55.267 --> 00:05:58.900 It's also an ancient water management system. 103 00:05:58.967 --> 00:06:00.000 By squeezing the current threw a narrow channel, 104 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:01.000 By squeezing the current threw a narrow channel, 105 00:06:01.967 --> 00:06:03.967 the water picked up speed 106 00:06:03.967 --> 00:06:07.467 without raising the level downstream, 107 00:06:07.467 --> 00:06:11.067 a testament to Sumerian ingenuity. 108 00:06:11.067 --> 00:06:15.267 The bridge is the oldest ever found in the world. 109 00:06:15.267 --> 00:06:19.200 Could it reveal why the Sumerians invented cities? 110 00:06:23.900 --> 00:06:28.800 [Torun] This structure is not only a very impressive archeological ruin, 111 00:06:28.867 --> 00:06:30.000 it also tells us a lot about how 112 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.000 it also tells us a lot about how 113 00:06:32.167 --> 00:06:38.367 people, Sumerians, actually found solutions to live in this climate. 114 00:06:38.367 --> 00:06:39.967 It's a unique structure. 115 00:06:39.967 --> 00:06:43.900 [narrator] The bridge is the first hint that this arid land 116 00:06:43.967 --> 00:06:46.367 looked very different in biblical times. 117 00:06:47.567 --> 00:06:51.567 Sebastien works with geoarchaeologist Jaafar Jotheri 118 00:06:51.567 --> 00:06:54.500 to reconstruct Girsu's original environment. 119 00:06:57.667 --> 00:07:00.000 [narrator] Together they fly a drone to look for more canals 120 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:00.900 [narrator] Together they fly a drone to look for more canals 121 00:07:00.967 --> 00:07:01.000 like the one with the bridge. 122 00:07:05.767 --> 00:07:08.600 Work that would take months on the ground 123 00:07:08.667 --> 00:07:10.267 takes minutes in the air. 124 00:07:12.167 --> 00:07:15.067 You would think the drone is really important. 125 00:07:15.067 --> 00:07:19.767 We used to use tradition way of survey and excavation. 126 00:07:19.767 --> 00:07:22.267 But now, we are allowed to discover lots of things. 127 00:07:22.267 --> 00:07:25.300 If you have high technology, and you can plan well 128 00:07:25.367 --> 00:07:28.067 where to excavate or where to dig. 129 00:07:31.900 --> 00:07:36.067 [narrator] From above, the desert looks flat and featureless, 130 00:07:36.067 --> 00:07:39.300 but it hides remarkable secrets. 131 00:07:39.367 --> 00:07:44.867 [Rey] So this image is made up of more than a 100 drone photos. 132 00:07:44.867 --> 00:07:50.067 The main large straight lines you can see are ancient canals. 133 00:07:50.067 --> 00:07:55.767 [narrator] The drone's survey reveals that water surrounded Girsu in ancient times. 134 00:07:55.767 --> 00:08:00.000 This desert city was the Venice of its day. 135 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:00.067 This desert city was the Venice of its day. 136 00:08:00.067 --> 00:08:01.000 [Rey] We always had this idea 137 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:06.267 that a Mesopotamian city, any city like Uruk, like Babylon, 138 00:08:06.267 --> 00:08:10.100 is strongly connected to one river course. 139 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.800 But here in the case of Girsu... 140 00:08:12.867 --> 00:08:16.967 ...there are numbers of canals that run across through the site. 141 00:08:18.867 --> 00:08:22.400 [narrator] Conventional wisdom says that the construction of these canals 142 00:08:22.467 --> 00:08:25.400 led directly to the birth of the first cities. 143 00:08:30.200 --> 00:08:31.000 An extraordinary vase discovered at Uruk... 144 00:08:35.067 --> 00:08:39.567 ...reveals how they allowed the Sumerians to turn the desert into fields. 145 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:45.367 The vase depicts farmers who carry baskets overflowing with crops. 146 00:08:47.267 --> 00:08:50.100 A herd of goats and sheep graze freely. 147 00:08:50.167 --> 00:08:54.500 It's a fertile landscape that some believe might even have inspired 148 00:08:54.567 --> 00:08:58.067 the story of the Garden of Eden in the Bible. 149 00:08:58.067 --> 00:09:00.000 Genesis describes how a stream running from Eden flowed 150 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.000 Genesis describes how a stream running from Eden flowed 151 00:09:01.567 --> 00:09:05.967 into Iraq's life-giving rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. 152 00:09:07.467 --> 00:09:10.300 Some scholars believe the name Eden itself 153 00:09:10.367 --> 00:09:14.700 may come from the Sumerian word for a plain or open country. 154 00:09:16.467 --> 00:09:18.800 But no one knows for sure if this theory 155 00:09:18.867 --> 00:09:21.800 about the rise of the first cities is correct 156 00:09:21.867 --> 00:09:24.867 because few have ever tried to date these canals... 157 00:09:26.267 --> 00:09:28.367 ...until now. 158 00:09:28.367 --> 00:09:30.000 [Rey] Our knowledge of ancient Mesopotamia 159 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:30.967 [Rey] Our knowledge of ancient Mesopotamia 160 00:09:30.967 --> 00:09:31.000 is very limited, and it dates back to 161 00:09:33.567 --> 00:09:35.100 50, 60, 70 years. 162 00:09:37.900 --> 00:09:41.200 [narrator] Sebastien's team uses an ingenious technique 163 00:09:41.267 --> 00:09:45.467 to find out exactly how old the canals are 164 00:09:45.467 --> 00:09:50.067 and if they were dug at the same time as the city was built. 165 00:09:50.067 --> 00:09:55.167 The one way of dating an ancient canal is to collect shells 166 00:09:55.167 --> 00:09:57.700 from the bottom of those canals. 167 00:09:57.767 --> 00:10:00.000 We can radiocarbon date the shells, 168 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:00.767 We can radiocarbon date the shells, 169 00:10:00.767 --> 00:10:01.000 and this would date the canal itself. 170 00:10:03.867 --> 00:10:07.367 [narrator] The team analyzes more than 20 shells. 171 00:10:07.367 --> 00:10:10.667 The results reveal a staggering surprise. 172 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:16.567 [Rey] These are, um, the first results we have from the lab. 173 00:10:16.567 --> 00:10:19.800 The range of dates for the earliest largescale canal... 174 00:10:20.900 --> 00:10:24.467 ...is roughly from 6,000 BCE 175 00:10:24.467 --> 00:10:27.967 to 4,500 BCE. 176 00:10:27.967 --> 00:10:30.000 [narrator] The canals appear to predate any Sumerian city 177 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.000 [narrator] The canals appear to predate any Sumerian city 178 00:10:31.867 --> 00:10:34.000 by at least 1,000 years. 179 00:10:36.767 --> 00:10:39.800 It means that settled farming cannot be the spark 180 00:10:39.867 --> 00:10:42.167 that led to places like Uruk. 181 00:10:42.167 --> 00:10:48.000 So if we assume that the model that everyone agrees on today 182 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.267 that Uruk, the famous city is the first city, 183 00:10:51.267 --> 00:10:57.000 these canals are 1,000 to 2,000 years earlier 184 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.067 than this very important date. 185 00:11:00.867 --> 00:11:01.000 This would significantly change almost everything we know 186 00:11:04.367 --> 00:11:07.800 about the rise of the city in Mesopotamia. 187 00:11:10.167 --> 00:11:11.867 [narrator] Everything that we thought we knew 188 00:11:11.867 --> 00:11:14.867 about the dawn of civilization could be wrong. 189 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:23.500 Something else must have motivated people here to build cities. 190 00:11:24.667 --> 00:11:27.867 Why did people leave this real life Garden of Eden 191 00:11:27.867 --> 00:11:30.000 for life in a big metropolis? 192 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:31.000 for life in a big metropolis? 193 00:11:31.067 --> 00:11:34.867 A clue could lie at the center of Uruk with a vast temple. 194 00:11:35.667 --> 00:11:37.767 The world's first pyramid. 195 00:11:44.967 --> 00:11:48.400 [narrator] The Bible says that after the Great Flood, 196 00:11:48.467 --> 00:11:51.467 the descendants of Noah spread out across the Earth. 197 00:11:53.800 --> 00:11:57.067 One man, a mighty hunter called Nimrod, 198 00:11:57.067 --> 00:12:02.867 supposedly founded the world's first cities in the land of Shinar. 199 00:12:02.867 --> 00:12:08.067 Archeology confirms that Iraq is indeed where cities began. 200 00:12:08.067 --> 00:12:11.701 But why did humans decide to build them here in the first place? 201 00:12:11.701 --> 00:12:11.767 But why did humans decide to build them here in the first place? 202 00:12:14.767 --> 00:12:17.067 A clue could lie at the center of Uruk. 203 00:12:18.467 --> 00:12:22.867 Here archaeologists have discovered the world's first pyramid. 204 00:12:22.867 --> 00:12:26.400 A raised platform called a ziggurat. 205 00:12:26.467 --> 00:12:30.200 On top is a temple dedicated to the Sumerian sky god. 206 00:12:32.067 --> 00:12:35.800 It's gleaming, whitewashed walls make it stand out from afar. 207 00:12:38.467 --> 00:12:41.701 Next to it lies a temple precinct, the Eanna. 208 00:12:41.701 --> 00:12:42.000 Next to it lies a temple precinct, the Eanna. 209 00:12:43.267 --> 00:12:47.367 Ancient builders studded its walls with thousands of stone cones 210 00:12:47.367 --> 00:12:50.467 creating a mosaic of intricate geometric patterns. 211 00:12:51.967 --> 00:12:57.067 5,000 years ago, there was no other place like this on Earth. 212 00:12:57.067 --> 00:13:00.767 So could religion explain the birth of the first cities? 213 00:13:07.467 --> 00:13:11.701 Sebastien Rey investigates a building buried at the nearby city of Girsu. 214 00:13:11.701 --> 00:13:12.000 Sebastien Rey investigates a building buried at the nearby city of Girsu. 215 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:19.100 Here Iraqi excavators unearth terracotta cones embedded in the walls 216 00:13:19.167 --> 00:13:21.567 similar to those at Uruk's temple. 217 00:13:25.067 --> 00:13:27.767 [Sebastien Rey] I'm holding in my hands one of the most iconic objects 218 00:13:27.767 --> 00:13:30.100 of the site of Girsu Tello. 219 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:32.067 This is a temple cone. 220 00:13:32.067 --> 00:13:34.167 But rather, we should really call it a temple nail. 221 00:13:34.800 --> 00:13:36.600 It was a symbolic object. 222 00:13:37.900 --> 00:13:41.567 There's an inscription incised on this object. 223 00:13:41.567 --> 00:13:41.701 The text always starts with the name of Ningirsu. 224 00:13:41.701 --> 00:13:42.000 The text always starts with the name of Ningirsu. 225 00:13:45.467 --> 00:13:48.667 [narrator] Each Sumerian city had its own deity. 226 00:13:49.867 --> 00:13:54.067 Girsu's patron god was the thunder god, Ningirsu. 227 00:13:55.300 --> 00:13:59.367 Hero of epic tales and slayer of the monster, Anzu. 228 00:13:59.367 --> 00:14:00.867 [bestial roar] 229 00:14:00.867 --> 00:14:05.400 The Sumerians believed that each city had its own deity. 230 00:14:05.467 --> 00:14:10.067 The cone reveals that this building is the temple of Ningirsu, 231 00:14:10.067 --> 00:14:11.701 one of the most sacred sites in ancient Iraq. 232 00:14:11.701 --> 00:14:12.000 one of the most sacred sites in ancient Iraq. 233 00:14:14.267 --> 00:14:17.067 [Rey] When we found the cones inserted in the walls, 234 00:14:17.067 --> 00:14:19.467 it was an exceptional moment. 235 00:14:19.467 --> 00:14:22.800 We knew for a fact that we had indeed discovered 236 00:14:22.867 --> 00:14:26.267 this long-forgotten temple of Ningirsu. 237 00:14:29.367 --> 00:14:32.467 [narrator] Legend says that Ningirsu himself ordered 238 00:14:32.467 --> 00:14:34.867 the construction of this building 239 00:14:34.867 --> 00:14:37.500 by appearing to the city's king in a dream. 240 00:14:41.167 --> 00:14:41.701 A headless statue discovered in the building depicts 241 00:14:41.701 --> 00:14:42.000 A headless statue discovered in the building depicts 242 00:14:44.167 --> 00:14:48.167 the king as an architect holding a floor plan. 243 00:14:48.167 --> 00:14:51.767 At first, its geometry baffled archaeologists. 244 00:14:51.767 --> 00:14:55.867 But Sebastien managed to decode the measurements inscribed on it. 245 00:14:55.867 --> 00:15:01.100 Incredibly, the dimensions matched the building in this trench perfectly. 246 00:15:03.267 --> 00:15:06.867 This floor plan is supposed to be a divine blueprint. 247 00:15:11.367 --> 00:15:11.701 Sebastien thinks that sacred shrines like this evolved into the first cities. 248 00:15:11.701 --> 00:15:12.000 Sebastien thinks that sacred shrines like this evolved into the first cities. 249 00:15:17.367 --> 00:15:21.367 Girsu's temple was built just as the city started to get going. 250 00:15:23.167 --> 00:15:26.100 [Rey] So a temple in ancient Mesopotamia was like a magnet. 251 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:30.100 It attracted people worshipping the gods. 252 00:15:30.167 --> 00:15:34.867 And the whole city gravitated around this important structure. 253 00:15:36.667 --> 00:15:38.367 [narrator] Religion helped to give rise 254 00:15:38.367 --> 00:15:41.667 to the civilization that would shape the Bible. 255 00:15:41.667 --> 00:15:41.701 Gods lay at the heart of the day-to-day Sumerian world. 256 00:15:41.701 --> 00:15:42.000 Gods lay at the heart of the day-to-day Sumerian world. 257 00:15:46.400 --> 00:15:49.967 But many early cultures had shrines. 258 00:15:49.967 --> 00:15:53.267 How did the Sumerians turn theirs into cities? 259 00:15:54.367 --> 00:15:57.267 A clue lies with a skill we take for granted. 260 00:15:59.767 --> 00:16:01.500 Writing. 261 00:16:02.767 --> 00:16:06.567 Phil Jones investigates how Sumerian priests were the first people 262 00:16:06.567 --> 00:16:10.067 to harness the true power of this radical new idea. 263 00:16:11.767 --> 00:16:12.000 Writing is probably one of the three or four most crucial inventions 264 00:16:16.467 --> 00:16:18.200 in the whole of human history. 265 00:16:19.267 --> 00:16:22.300 It is a complete game changer. 266 00:16:22.367 --> 00:16:26.667 [narrator] The Sumerians developed a system of writing called cuneiform. 267 00:16:26.667 --> 00:16:30.100 A series of wedge-shaped symbols made on wet clay. 268 00:16:31.667 --> 00:16:34.067 Some archaeologists think writing was invented 269 00:16:34.067 --> 00:16:36.700 in the temple as a method of book keeping. 270 00:16:36.767 --> 00:16:41.400 This is a cuneiform tablet just over 4,000 years old. 271 00:16:41.467 --> 00:16:41.701 So this is basically a receipt 272 00:16:41.701 --> 00:16:42.000 So this is basically a receipt 273 00:16:43.467 --> 00:16:47.100 for various uh, officials receiving grain. 274 00:16:47.167 --> 00:16:50.100 First line ends with the name of a person. 275 00:16:50.167 --> 00:16:53.400 When its finished giving the list of people receiving the grain, 276 00:16:53.467 --> 00:16:57.400 we have a total of how much grain has been involved. 277 00:16:57.467 --> 00:16:59.600 [narrator] This carving from Uruk reveals 278 00:16:59.667 --> 00:17:03.267 how temples had to administer an extraordinary amount of produce. 279 00:17:05.767 --> 00:17:10.467 Citizens carry jars of fruit, grain and fish to the temple. 280 00:17:10.467 --> 00:17:11.701 All offerings for the goddess Inanna. 281 00:17:11.701 --> 00:17:12.000 All offerings for the goddess Inanna. 282 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.467 But priests would also redistribute some of this food 283 00:17:17.467 --> 00:17:20.167 back among the people living in the city. 284 00:17:20.167 --> 00:17:23.200 The Sumerians were the world's first bureaucrats. 285 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.867 [Phil Jones] Writing allows you to keep track of the raw materials 286 00:17:28.867 --> 00:17:30.500 moving through the system. 287 00:17:30.567 --> 00:17:33.867 The temple itself is partly a religious institution, 288 00:17:33.867 --> 00:17:37.067 but it's also essentially a real estate corporation. 289 00:17:38.667 --> 00:17:41.701 [narrator] Sebastien believes that the temple ran these fledgling cities. 290 00:17:41.701 --> 00:17:42.000 [narrator] Sebastien believes that the temple ran these fledgling cities. 291 00:17:43.267 --> 00:17:46.767 It was the engine which powered the growth of civic life. 292 00:17:48.167 --> 00:17:50.567 [Rey] Everything is linked to the temple. 293 00:17:50.567 --> 00:17:54.867 So in Uruk for example, most of the very first tablets that we have 294 00:17:54.867 --> 00:17:57.767 are linked to the temple of Inanna. 295 00:17:57.767 --> 00:18:00.767 So there can be no doubt that in Mesopotamia 296 00:18:00.767 --> 00:18:04.267 the birth of the city and the invention of writing 297 00:18:04.267 --> 00:18:06.800 is linked to development of the temple. 298 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:11.701 [narrator] Sumer was a land of incredible innovations. 299 00:18:11.701 --> 00:18:12.000 [narrator] Sumer was a land of incredible innovations. 300 00:18:12.367 --> 00:18:16.667 Is this why the later Biblical writers believe the world began here? 301 00:18:18.267 --> 00:18:22.867 Writing also allowed humans to record stories for the very first time. 302 00:18:24.100 --> 00:18:28.700 But the Sumerians were devoted to one story in particular. 303 00:18:28.767 --> 00:18:31.067 The myth of a Great Flood. 304 00:18:31.967 --> 00:18:33.567 Where does it come from? 305 00:18:33.567 --> 00:18:37.967 And why is it so similar to the tale of Noah's Ark in the Bible? 306 00:18:42.767 --> 00:18:44.300 [narrator] Thousands of years ago, 307 00:18:44.367 --> 00:18:49.067 the Sumerians believed a great flood destroyed the world. 308 00:18:49.067 --> 00:18:54.300 Legend says the gods grew angry with humanity for being too noisy. 309 00:18:54.367 --> 00:18:57.667 So they sent a great deluge to wipe them out. 310 00:18:58.567 --> 00:19:00.867 But they spared one man 311 00:19:00.867 --> 00:19:05.067 who they told to build a boat and rescue all life. 312 00:19:05.067 --> 00:19:09.467 Why is this Sumerian tale so similar to the story of Noah's Ark? 313 00:19:10.567 --> 00:19:11.487 Could a real event connect them both? 314 00:19:11.487 --> 00:19:12.000 Could a real event connect them both? 315 00:19:13.767 --> 00:19:18.767 Archaeologists have found many versions of this story. 316 00:19:18.767 --> 00:19:25.067 The most famous is found in the tale of a king of Uruk called Gilgamesh. 317 00:19:25.067 --> 00:19:29.867 The discovery of his story in the 19th century astounded a Western world 318 00:19:29.867 --> 00:19:31.600 brought up on the tale of Noah. 319 00:19:35.267 --> 00:19:39.667 It appeared to confirm that the Bible conveyed historical truth. 320 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:42.000 Gilgamesh was an epic hero, but he may be based 321 00:19:45.367 --> 00:19:50.100 on a real king who lived nearly 5,000 years ago. 322 00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:53.500 So if he did exist, what was the world he came from, 323 00:19:53.567 --> 00:19:56.367 the world of the flood? 324 00:19:57.767 --> 00:20:01.000 The rise of these early rulers is shrouded in mystery. 325 00:20:02.467 --> 00:20:05.000 Barbara Helwing looks for clues here 326 00:20:05.067 --> 00:20:07.567 at the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin. 327 00:20:07.567 --> 00:20:10.000 The big change of the fourth millennium 328 00:20:10.067 --> 00:20:11.487 is that we see a new type of leadership emerging. 329 00:20:11.487 --> 00:20:12.000 is that we see a new type of leadership emerging. 330 00:20:13.867 --> 00:20:18.000 There is a figure responsible for forming the interface 331 00:20:18.067 --> 00:20:20.900 between the humans and the deities. 332 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:27.900 [narrator] This small clay impression depicts one of these new rulers. 333 00:20:27.967 --> 00:20:30.700 He stands on a boat next to a model of Uruk's temple... 334 00:20:32.367 --> 00:20:35.700 ...a sign of his sacred responsibilities. 335 00:20:35.767 --> 00:20:40.467 But as cities grew bigger, they needed leaders who could combine many roles. 336 00:20:41.867 --> 00:20:42.000 [Barbara Helwing] We also see him in scenes of violence. 337 00:20:45.167 --> 00:20:49.367 This personality takes charge of organizing these things. 338 00:20:49.367 --> 00:20:53.800 [narrator] This was the world that Gilgamesh would have come from if he existed... 339 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.000 ...one with a dark side. 340 00:20:59.067 --> 00:21:04.100 [Helwing] Constructing such a public building requires a huge work force, 341 00:21:04.167 --> 00:21:05.567 and we know from the early texts 342 00:21:05.567 --> 00:21:09.100 that there are people who are treated as slaves, 343 00:21:09.100 --> 00:21:11.487 and people who are treated as laborers. 344 00:21:11.487 --> 00:21:11.600 and people who are treated as laborers. 345 00:21:11.667 --> 00:21:12.000 We haven't seen an institutionalized inequality in the same way, 346 00:21:17.100 --> 00:21:20.567 and it fascinates me. 347 00:21:20.567 --> 00:21:23.900 I would like to understand how people ever agreed to do this. 348 00:21:26.100 --> 00:21:30.300 [narrator] A curious ancient text called the Sumerian King List 349 00:21:30.367 --> 00:21:33.300 claims that Gilgamesh was one of these early rulers. 350 00:21:35.867 --> 00:21:41.487 He appears as one of the kings who reigned after an event known as the Flood. 351 00:21:41.487 --> 00:21:41.767 He appears as one of the kings who reigned after an event known as the Flood. 352 00:21:41.767 --> 00:21:42.000 At first, it appears to confirm the Sumerian myth... 353 00:21:45.967 --> 00:21:47.100 ...but there's a problem. 354 00:21:48.267 --> 00:21:50.667 Historians think that originally, 355 00:21:50.667 --> 00:21:53.867 the stories of Gilgamesh and the Flood were separate. 356 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.867 They were only combined much later. 357 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:03.867 But Assyriologist, Stephanie Dalley 358 00:22:03.867 --> 00:22:06.867 thinks that the idea of a global deluge 359 00:22:06.867 --> 00:22:10.667 could have its origins in southern Iraq's unique geography. 360 00:22:12.067 --> 00:22:15.367 You need a flood to give people the idea of it, 361 00:22:15.367 --> 00:22:18.067 and that's what you do get in Mesopotamia. 362 00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:22.667 [narrator] In ancient times, the Sumerian cities 363 00:22:22.667 --> 00:22:25.267 lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers 364 00:22:25.267 --> 00:22:27.300 and were much closer to the sea. 365 00:22:29.667 --> 00:22:32.967 Under certain conditions, a flood could submerge 366 00:22:32.967 --> 00:22:35.200 everything as far as the eye could see. 367 00:22:37.100 --> 00:22:39.267 You wouldn't get that in Palestine, 368 00:22:39.267 --> 00:22:41.487 you wouldn't get that in most of Syria, 369 00:22:41.487 --> 00:22:42.000 you wouldn't get that in most of Syria, 370 00:22:42.067 --> 00:22:44.467 but you do get it in Mesopotamia 371 00:22:44.467 --> 00:22:48.200 because of the two great rivers flooding over, 372 00:22:48.267 --> 00:22:51.667 one into the other, and covering the whole of the land. 373 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.967 [narrator] Intriguingly, archeologists have found 374 00:22:55.967 --> 00:22:59.100 evidence of flooding at several Sumerian cities. 375 00:23:00.767 --> 00:23:02.967 They all date from different times. 376 00:23:03.867 --> 00:23:06.467 Flooding was an ever-present hazard. 377 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:11.487 But the story of the Flood also reflects an attempt by the Sumerians 378 00:23:11.487 --> 00:23:12.000 But the story of the Flood also reflects an attempt by the Sumerians 379 00:23:12.567 --> 00:23:15.067 to reconstruct their distant past... 380 00:23:16.267 --> 00:23:19.067 ...just like the Book of Genesis. 381 00:23:19.067 --> 00:23:22.767 The Flood was the equivalent of a Sumerian year zero. 382 00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:26.800 [Stephanie Dalley] When you look at the Sumerian King List, 383 00:23:26.867 --> 00:23:32.067 you do see that it's an absolute defining point in history. 384 00:23:32.067 --> 00:23:35.967 Before which, people had legendarily long lives, 385 00:23:35.967 --> 00:23:38.100 or they had perhaps 386 00:23:38.100 --> 00:23:41.487 the names of animals or constellations. 387 00:23:41.487 --> 00:23:42.000 the names of animals or constellations. 388 00:23:47.667 --> 00:23:51.400 [narrator] It's impossible to say if a shared memory of a flood 389 00:23:51.467 --> 00:23:55.400 filtered down to the early Israelites as well, 390 00:23:55.467 --> 00:23:58.767 but many historians believe that the Biblical authors 391 00:23:58.767 --> 00:24:04.567 must have borrowed key details from the Sumerian tales for their story of Noah's Ark. 392 00:24:07.467 --> 00:24:09.900 But how did this happen? 393 00:24:09.967 --> 00:24:11.487 The Flood story is far from the only chapter in Genesis 394 00:24:11.487 --> 00:24:12.000 The Flood story is far from the only chapter in Genesis 395 00:24:13.467 --> 00:24:15.900 with a mysterious Sumerian connection. 396 00:24:17.367 --> 00:24:19.667 Why did the Biblical writers also believe 397 00:24:19.667 --> 00:24:23.467 that their ancestor, Abraham, came from this place, 398 00:24:24.167 --> 00:24:26.767 the legendary city of Ur? 399 00:24:30.767 --> 00:24:36.367 [narrator] 4,300 years ago, disaster struck the Biblical city of Uruk. 400 00:24:37.867 --> 00:24:42.867 A new city in the north, Akkad, conquered all of the Sumerian people 401 00:24:42.867 --> 00:24:46.067 and created the world's first empire. 402 00:24:46.067 --> 00:24:50.467 The city of Akkad itself has never been identified, 403 00:24:50.467 --> 00:24:54.100 but the Bible alludes to its world-shattering power. 404 00:24:54.100 --> 00:24:58.133 According to Genesis, Nimrod, the founder of Uruk, also established Akkad. 405 00:24:58.133 --> 00:24:59.000 According to Genesis, Nimrod, the founder of Uruk, also established Akkad. 406 00:25:01.567 --> 00:25:04.167 Some believe his name might refer to an Akkadian king... 407 00:25:05.567 --> 00:25:06.867 ...called Naram-Sin. 408 00:25:09.867 --> 00:25:12.567 Eventually, the Sumerians fought back 409 00:25:12.567 --> 00:25:14.767 under the leadership of another city, 410 00:25:14.767 --> 00:25:17.100 one of the most famous in the Bible... 411 00:25:18.367 --> 00:25:21.667 ...Ur, the legendary birthplace of Abraham. 412 00:25:24.267 --> 00:25:28.133 Excavations reveal that 4,100 years ago, Ur was a mighty metropolis. 413 00:25:28.133 --> 00:25:29.000 Excavations reveal that 4,100 years ago, Ur was a mighty metropolis. 414 00:25:34.600 --> 00:25:39.567 At its center rose a towering ziggurat, dedicated to the moon god, Nanna... 415 00:25:41.267 --> 00:25:44.067 ...surrounded by a sprawling religious district. 416 00:25:45.667 --> 00:25:48.100 Beyond it lay a maze of streets, 417 00:25:48.100 --> 00:25:51.900 home to as many as 65,000 people, 418 00:25:51.967 --> 00:25:55.567 all surrounded by fertile farmland. 419 00:25:55.567 --> 00:25:58.133 So who lived here, and why does the Bible say that Abraham was among them? 420 00:25:58.133 --> 00:25:59.000 So who lived here, and why does the Bible say that Abraham was among them? 421 00:26:05.267 --> 00:26:09.800 Archaeologist, William B. Hafford from Penn Museum 422 00:26:09.867 --> 00:26:12.867 investigates Ur during its golden age. 423 00:26:12.867 --> 00:26:16.467 During the Ur Three dynasty, Ur was transcendent. 424 00:26:16.467 --> 00:26:18.267 It essentially ruled over many cities. 425 00:26:18.267 --> 00:26:22.867 [narrator] The city's most famous ruler was a king called Ur-Nammu. 426 00:26:22.867 --> 00:26:27.067 He instigated a massive building program. 427 00:26:27.067 --> 00:26:28.133 Many of the structures we see today date from his reign. 428 00:26:28.133 --> 00:26:29.000 Many of the structures we see today date from his reign. 429 00:26:32.167 --> 00:26:34.467 [William Hafford] These are mud bricks, the fundamental building block 430 00:26:34.467 --> 00:26:36.567 of all southern Mesopotamian cities. 431 00:26:36.567 --> 00:26:43.567 The stamp here tells us that this brick was made for Ur-Nammu, the king, 432 00:26:43.567 --> 00:26:48.267 and he was building the temple of Nanna, the moon god, 433 00:26:48.267 --> 00:26:51.667 and it also mentions that he built the city wall of Ur. 434 00:26:54.600 --> 00:26:58.133 [narrator] Ur's colossal buildings reveal the power of Ur-Nammu... 435 00:26:58.133 --> 00:26:58.500 [narrator] Ur's colossal buildings reveal the power of Ur-Nammu... 436 00:27:01.100 --> 00:27:03.567 ...but they also required vast resources. 437 00:27:04.567 --> 00:27:07.467 As the cities of Sumer grew larger, 438 00:27:07.467 --> 00:27:13.067 competition between them became more intense, leading to war. 439 00:27:15.767 --> 00:27:19.367 An ancient work of art discovered at Ur 440 00:27:19.367 --> 00:27:22.467 shows the Sumerian war machine at work. 441 00:27:24.600 --> 00:27:28.133 Chariots ride into battle and crush foes in their path. 442 00:27:28.133 --> 00:27:29.000 Chariots ride into battle and crush foes in their path. 443 00:27:29.867 --> 00:27:34.100 There's infantry carrying spears, rushing into the fray, 444 00:27:34.167 --> 00:27:37.300 smiting enemies and taking prisoners. 445 00:27:37.367 --> 00:27:40.567 Above all stands the king of Ur, 446 00:27:40.567 --> 00:27:43.100 shown taller than everyone else, 447 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:45.967 being presented with injured prisoners. 448 00:27:49.667 --> 00:27:54.400 But William believes that Ur owed its success to more than just military power. 449 00:27:56.167 --> 00:27:58.133 A clue lies in the hundreds of intriguing objects discovered in the city. 450 00:27:58.133 --> 00:27:59.000 A clue lies in the hundreds of intriguing objects discovered in the city. 451 00:28:02.867 --> 00:28:06.600 Ur had few raw materials... 452 00:28:06.667 --> 00:28:11.367 ...but its rich farmland meant it had plenty of grain and wool for sale. 453 00:28:13.667 --> 00:28:15.367 [Hafford] These are spindle whorls. 454 00:28:16.600 --> 00:28:21.600 Well, spindle whorls are used to make thread and/or yarn. 455 00:28:21.667 --> 00:28:24.800 A major export from Mesopotamia was cloth. 456 00:28:24.867 --> 00:28:28.133 They had a lot of sheep, they could spin a lot of wool, and they could make textiles. 457 00:28:28.133 --> 00:28:28.600 They had a lot of sheep, they could spin a lot of wool, and they could make textiles. 458 00:28:30.567 --> 00:28:36.067 [narrator] This astonishing copper bowl reveals the quality of Ur's textiles. 459 00:28:36.067 --> 00:28:40.200 Corrosion has preserved details of the cloth it was wrapped in. 460 00:28:40.267 --> 00:28:44.700 [Hafford] And it preserved the pattern of how tight that weave is, 461 00:28:44.767 --> 00:28:46.567 and we can see a number of these different things 462 00:28:46.567 --> 00:28:50.067 to get the range of cloth types that they were making. 463 00:28:50.067 --> 00:28:54.600 [narrator] The artifacts also hint at what the city was getting in return, 464 00:28:54.667 --> 00:28:57.100 precious metals from distant lands. 465 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:02.867 [Hafford] We've got carnelian coming in from the Indus valley, 466 00:29:02.867 --> 00:29:06.300 we've got copper and diorite coming in from Oman, 467 00:29:06.367 --> 00:29:10.100 and we've got lapis lazuli and gold coming from Iran and Afghanistan. 468 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:14.667 So long distance trade networks are very important 469 00:29:14.667 --> 00:29:19.967 because this is the way you legitimize your kingship, and you show your power. 470 00:29:30.767 --> 00:29:33.200 [narrator] So why did the Biblical writers believe 471 00:29:33.267 --> 00:29:36.667 that their ancestor, Abraham, was born here? 472 00:29:37.867 --> 00:29:41.067 A clue could lie with how they describe this city. 473 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:46.667 The book of Genesis mentions Ur three times... 474 00:29:47.767 --> 00:29:50.667 ...on each occasion as Ur of the Chaldees, 475 00:29:50.667 --> 00:29:55.467 a people who ruled southern Iraq more than 1,000 years later... 476 00:29:57.067 --> 00:29:58.133 ...when most scholars believe the Bible was written down. 477 00:29:58.133 --> 00:29:59.000 ...when most scholars believe the Bible was written down. 478 00:30:02.767 --> 00:30:08.567 Ur still existed at this time and was already more than 2,000 years old. 479 00:30:09.667 --> 00:30:12.167 One explanation is that the Biblical authors 480 00:30:12.167 --> 00:30:15.100 were trying to reconstruct their distant past. 481 00:30:18.067 --> 00:30:22.700 But people of faith believe that Abraham really did live here, 482 00:30:22.767 --> 00:30:25.900 just hundreds of years after Ur's golden age. 483 00:30:27.267 --> 00:30:28.133 This was a time of turmoil... 484 00:30:28.133 --> 00:30:29.000 This was a time of turmoil... 485 00:30:30.267 --> 00:30:33.567 ...when invaders devastated the city. 486 00:30:33.567 --> 00:30:38.567 It's also when the first written copies of the Flood myth appear. 487 00:30:38.567 --> 00:30:43.767 So could the collapse of the Sumerian world help explain both stories? 488 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:47.000 [narrator] 4,000 years ago, 489 00:30:49.667 --> 00:30:53.100 foreign enemies attacked the great city of Ur, 490 00:30:53.167 --> 00:30:55.467 bringing its golden age to a sudden end. 491 00:30:58.100 --> 00:31:01.367 Some believe one of the most important events in the Bible 492 00:31:01.367 --> 00:31:05.600 took place during the chaotic era that followed. 493 00:31:05.667 --> 00:31:10.900 Abraham, the ancestor of the Israelites, left Ur for the Promised Land. 494 00:31:12.567 --> 00:31:15.067 This is also the time when the earliest written 495 00:31:15.067 --> 00:31:16.211 versions of the Flood myth start to appear. 496 00:31:16.211 --> 00:31:17.000 versions of the Flood myth start to appear. 497 00:31:18.767 --> 00:31:20.700 So did the fallout from the collapse 498 00:31:20.767 --> 00:31:24.700 of this great city influence the Old Testament stories? 499 00:31:26.767 --> 00:31:32.600 Today, tradition says that this building in Ur is the house of Abraham. 500 00:31:32.667 --> 00:31:37.067 Archaeologists uncovered it in the early 20th century. 501 00:31:37.067 --> 00:31:42.267 Well, the earliest archaeologists in the near and Middle East 502 00:31:42.267 --> 00:31:44.667 were often driven by Biblical stories, 503 00:31:44.667 --> 00:31:46.211 certainly Sir Leonard Woolley thought that this was the city 504 00:31:46.211 --> 00:31:47.000 certainly Sir Leonard Woolley thought that this was the city 505 00:31:48.167 --> 00:31:50.167 that Abraham may have come from. 506 00:31:50.167 --> 00:31:53.400 However, he was gonna be very careful to try and find evidence. 507 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:57.900 So, in a way, they were trying to see 508 00:31:57.967 --> 00:32:00.400 what was this city like through so many periods of time? 509 00:32:00.467 --> 00:32:02.567 It was occupied for 5,000 years. 510 00:32:04.667 --> 00:32:08.267 [narrator] The early excavators claimed that these were the very streets 511 00:32:08.267 --> 00:32:11.200 that Abraham would have wandered through as a boy, 512 00:32:11.267 --> 00:32:15.900 a claim that was perhaps driven by the need to raise funding for their dig 513 00:32:15.967 --> 00:32:16.211 from a public hungry for historical truth in the stories of Genesis. 514 00:32:16.211 --> 00:32:17.000 from a public hungry for historical truth in the stories of Genesis. 515 00:32:21.467 --> 00:32:23.500 [Hafford] Sir Leonard Woolley, in his academic work, 516 00:32:23.567 --> 00:32:25.500 he almost never mentions the Bible. 517 00:32:25.567 --> 00:32:27.167 In his public works and his lectures, 518 00:32:27.167 --> 00:32:31.100 he would often do it to bring in the crowds. 519 00:32:31.167 --> 00:32:36.767 [narrator] There's no physical proof that this house belonged to Abraham himself. 520 00:32:36.767 --> 00:32:41.700 What we see today was restored during the 20th century. 521 00:32:41.767 --> 00:32:45.667 But it does date to the centuries after the fall of Ur, 522 00:32:45.667 --> 00:32:46.211 which is when Biblical tradition suggests that Abraham might have lived. 523 00:32:46.211 --> 00:32:47.000 which is when Biblical tradition suggests that Abraham might have lived. 524 00:32:51.567 --> 00:32:54.567 The violent end of Ur's golden age is seared 525 00:32:54.567 --> 00:32:57.667 into the fabric of this ancient metropolis. 526 00:32:57.667 --> 00:33:02.867 Archaeologists here have found evidence of burning and destruction. 527 00:33:02.867 --> 00:33:06.067 But new discoveries reveal how the people of Ur 528 00:33:06.067 --> 00:33:09.567 managed to rebuild their shattered homes. 529 00:33:09.567 --> 00:33:12.800 The city's population continued to grow. 530 00:33:14.267 --> 00:33:16.211 [Hafford] We think that at its most dense, 531 00:33:16.211 --> 00:33:17.000 [Hafford] We think that at its most dense, 532 00:33:17.100 --> 00:33:20.667 it might have reached 25,000 people within the city walls. 533 00:33:20.667 --> 00:33:22.667 If we expand into the hinterland, 534 00:33:22.667 --> 00:33:24.500 it might have supported up to 60,000. 535 00:33:26.300 --> 00:33:29.267 [narrator] The citizens of Ur blamed a nomadic people 536 00:33:29.267 --> 00:33:32.100 of Aramaean descent for their city's woes. 537 00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:37.167 Some argue that Abraham was related to them. 538 00:33:37.167 --> 00:33:39.867 This era did see many people on the move. 539 00:33:42.067 --> 00:33:44.900 But others claim that the Biblical writers were referring 540 00:33:44.967 --> 00:33:46.211 to a different city with a similar name 541 00:33:46.211 --> 00:33:47.000 to a different city with a similar name 542 00:33:47.867 --> 00:33:50.900 in what is now southern Turkey. 543 00:33:50.967 --> 00:33:53.767 It's impossible to prove if the founding father 544 00:33:53.767 --> 00:33:57.467 of the Israelites left Ur at this time. 545 00:33:57.467 --> 00:34:00.567 For millions of people, it is a matter of faith. 546 00:34:04.267 --> 00:34:09.067 But the fall of Ur may have had an unexpected impact on another story. 547 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:12.567 The Sumerian tale of the Flood, 548 00:34:12.567 --> 00:34:16.211 which bears many similarities to the story of Noah's Ark in Genesis. 549 00:34:16.211 --> 00:34:17.000 which bears many similarities to the story of Noah's Ark in Genesis. 550 00:34:18.467 --> 00:34:21.667 Cuneiform specialist, Samuel Chen thinks 551 00:34:21.667 --> 00:34:24.300 this attempt to rebuild the Sumerian world 552 00:34:24.367 --> 00:34:27.067 could also explain why the Flood story 553 00:34:27.067 --> 00:34:30.267 suddenly became hugely popular at this time 554 00:34:30.267 --> 00:34:31.900 The fall of the Ur Three dynasty 555 00:34:31.967 --> 00:34:35.267 was a traumatic experience for Sumer. 556 00:34:35.267 --> 00:34:38.700 Basically it was the collapse of not only urban structure, 557 00:34:38.767 --> 00:34:42.567 but also all of the supporting networks. 558 00:34:42.567 --> 00:34:46.211 [narrator] Samuel finds key similarities between the Flood story 559 00:34:46.211 --> 00:34:46.467 [narrator] Samuel finds key similarities between the Flood story 560 00:34:46.467 --> 00:34:47.000 and poems lamenting the fall of Ur. 561 00:34:50.600 --> 00:34:53.067 In them, people started to question 562 00:34:53.067 --> 00:34:56.967 why the gods had allowed their own temples to be destroyed. 563 00:34:58.567 --> 00:35:03.267 The destruction of the city also brings a lot of suffering to the deities. 564 00:35:03.267 --> 00:35:06.300 They were thinking about the irrational aspect 565 00:35:06.367 --> 00:35:10.900 of a divine decision to destroy urban civilizations. 566 00:35:10.967 --> 00:35:14.767 This is something lost stories began to question 567 00:35:14.767 --> 00:35:16.211 and even make into a satire. 568 00:35:16.211 --> 00:35:17.000 and even make into a satire. 569 00:35:18.467 --> 00:35:23.267 [narrator] But the moral of the Flood story was how humans could start again. 570 00:35:24.267 --> 00:35:26.467 It was a reassuring tale. 571 00:35:27.700 --> 00:35:30.367 And as it was told again and again 572 00:35:30.367 --> 00:35:33.067 it became blockbuster entertainment. 573 00:35:35.967 --> 00:35:38.167 There was a lot of borrowing as well. 574 00:35:38.167 --> 00:35:40.100 There was a lot of cross fertilization. 575 00:35:41.367 --> 00:35:43.267 So you have these different heroes 576 00:35:43.267 --> 00:35:46.211 who were originally independent of each other. 577 00:35:46.211 --> 00:35:46.500 who were originally independent of each other. 578 00:35:46.567 --> 00:35:47.000 They were brought together to meet with each other, to make it more exciting, 579 00:35:50.267 --> 00:35:53.200 very much similar to the Marvel films. 580 00:35:54.667 --> 00:35:57.867 [narrator] The Sumerian myths became hugely popular. 581 00:35:59.700 --> 00:36:05.267 But how did tales from cities like Ur and Uruk reach the authors of the Bible 582 00:36:05.267 --> 00:36:08.400 on the other side of the Middle East? 583 00:36:08.467 --> 00:36:11.667 The answer lies with a new power: 584 00:36:11.667 --> 00:36:15.167 Babylon, the infamous city of Babel. 585 00:36:21.367 --> 00:36:25.500 [narrator] The Sumerians appeared more than 4,000 years ago. 586 00:36:25.567 --> 00:36:29.467 But the tales of their cities live on in the Bible. 587 00:36:29.467 --> 00:36:34.200 How did two civilizations separated by thousands of years 588 00:36:34.267 --> 00:36:38.367 end up sharing so many of the same stories? 589 00:36:38.367 --> 00:36:42.467 The answer could lie with a city that connects them both 590 00:36:42.467 --> 00:36:45.767 and casts a long shadow over the Old Testament. 591 00:36:46.967 --> 00:36:48.267 Babylon. 592 00:36:50.100 --> 00:36:53.767 Today these are the remains of this legendary city. 593 00:36:53.767 --> 00:36:57.167 A vast and sprawling site by the river Euphrates. 594 00:36:59.167 --> 00:37:02.200 Osama Hisham from the World Monuments Fund 595 00:37:02.267 --> 00:37:05.067 works to rebuild this magnificent site. 596 00:37:06.167 --> 00:37:08.767 He and his team are removing modern materials 597 00:37:08.767 --> 00:37:11.167 from Babylon's restored buildings 598 00:37:11.167 --> 00:37:13.767 and replacing them with traditional ones. 599 00:37:25.500 --> 00:37:29.100 [narrator] Babylon is no stranger to repairs. 600 00:37:29.167 --> 00:37:31.967 Maintenance happened in all ancient cities. 601 00:37:33.967 --> 00:37:38.067 But what makes Babylon exceptional is its longevity. 602 00:37:39.267 --> 00:37:42.467 Its buildings were rebuilt again and again. 603 00:38:02.167 --> 00:38:06.300 [narrator] The city burst onto the world stage 3,800 years ago, 604 00:38:07.767 --> 00:38:12.500 ruthlessly taking advantage of the declining Sumerian cities. 605 00:38:12.567 --> 00:38:16.867 It became the biggest, most famous metropolis in ancient Iraq, 606 00:38:16.867 --> 00:38:19.277 a title it held for the next thousand years. 607 00:38:19.277 --> 00:38:20.000 a title it held for the next thousand years. 608 00:38:21.100 --> 00:38:27.067 But the Babylonians were aware that they controlled cities far older than their own. 609 00:38:27.067 --> 00:38:31.767 Assyriologist Stephanie Dalley investigates how Babylon 610 00:38:31.767 --> 00:38:36.067 played a critical role in keeping Sumerian culture alive. 611 00:38:36.067 --> 00:38:41.400 The Babylonians inherited writing from the Sumerians and much more. 612 00:38:41.467 --> 00:38:45.367 Babylon comes late into the history of Mesopotamia. 613 00:38:45.367 --> 00:38:49.277 There was a tremendous amount of copying Sumerian literature. 614 00:38:49.277 --> 00:38:50.000 There was a tremendous amount of copying Sumerian literature. 615 00:38:50.267 --> 00:38:53.500 And Sumerian poetry is very different from Babylonian. 616 00:38:53.567 --> 00:38:55.800 It's very imaginative. 617 00:38:55.867 --> 00:38:58.467 It was a major point for them 618 00:38:58.467 --> 00:39:02.067 to copy the poetry of the Sumerians. 619 00:39:04.100 --> 00:39:08.467 [narrator] The Babylonians set up writing schools to teach cuneiform. 620 00:39:08.467 --> 00:39:14.067 Students learned by copying from famous Sumerian stories like the Flood myth. 621 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:19.277 Well the scribes had to master the art of writing cuneiform for a start. 622 00:39:19.277 --> 00:39:20.000 Well the scribes had to master the art of writing cuneiform for a start. 623 00:39:21.167 --> 00:39:23.567 So they practiced signs and we've got lots 624 00:39:23.567 --> 00:39:27.467 of terribly, badly written signs from their exercises. 625 00:39:27.467 --> 00:39:30.067 But then, they would take a Sumerian poem 626 00:39:30.067 --> 00:39:34.167 or they would take a short story about Gilgamesh. 627 00:39:34.167 --> 00:39:38.367 They would get to know it like we would learn a piece of Shakespeare. 628 00:39:39.500 --> 00:39:42.167 [narrator] The scale of the copying was immense. 629 00:39:43.167 --> 00:39:47.100 But only selected stories survive. 630 00:39:47.100 --> 00:39:49.277 Some people think that all the literature we've got is on school exercises, 631 00:39:49.277 --> 00:39:50.000 Some people think that all the literature we've got is on school exercises, 632 00:39:52.367 --> 00:39:55.567 and we certainly find a lot of them that are not very well written 633 00:39:55.567 --> 00:39:58.467 and got quite a lot of mistakes in them. 634 00:39:58.467 --> 00:40:04.800 One of the things about he Flood story is that we have got more extracts 635 00:40:04.867 --> 00:40:09.600 of Tablet XI than we have of any other bits of the Gilgamesh epic 636 00:40:09.667 --> 00:40:12.267 which is marvelous, but infuriating 637 00:40:12.267 --> 00:40:15.067 because we still got gaps where we haven't got anything. 638 00:40:17.267 --> 00:40:19.277 [narrator] Babylon owed a rich debt to Sumerian culture. 639 00:40:19.277 --> 00:40:20.000 [narrator] Babylon owed a rich debt to Sumerian culture. 640 00:40:21.567 --> 00:40:26.367 And in turn, it brought their tales to a new audience. 641 00:40:26.367 --> 00:40:33.167 In 589 BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem 642 00:40:33.167 --> 00:40:36.267 and deported many of its citizens. 643 00:40:36.267 --> 00:40:40.000 Many scholars think the Book of Genesis was written in Babylon 644 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:41.667 by Jewish exiles. 645 00:40:43.267 --> 00:40:46.500 Here they came into contact with Sumerian stories 646 00:40:46.567 --> 00:40:48.667 that were thousands of years old. 647 00:40:50.700 --> 00:40:52.667 But for the Biblical authors, 648 00:40:52.667 --> 00:40:58.067 these stories of gods and monsters took on a new dimension. 649 00:40:58.067 --> 00:41:02.067 They revealed the truth about human existence as they saw it. 650 00:41:03.067 --> 00:41:07.367 As the divine plan of a single God. 651 00:41:07.367 --> 00:41:11.067 The Jewish scribes were trying to reconstruct their history 652 00:41:11.067 --> 00:41:15.800 much like Sumerians had done thousands of years earlier with the Flood. 653 00:41:18.300 --> 00:41:19.277 The Sumerians are our common ancestor. 654 00:41:19.277 --> 00:41:20.000 The Sumerians are our common ancestor. 655 00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:25.100 We owe them so much. 656 00:41:25.167 --> 00:41:28.200 [narrator] The tales of the Old Testament remember the legacy 657 00:41:28.267 --> 00:41:33.067 of an ancient and remarkable people: the Sumerians. 658 00:41:33.067 --> 00:41:35.467 They constructed extraordinary wonders 659 00:41:35.567 --> 00:41:37.867 that have survived the test of time, 660 00:41:38.667 --> 00:41:41.767 invented writing and literature 661 00:41:41.767 --> 00:41:45.467 and pioneered a new urban life. 662 00:41:45.467 --> 00:41:49.277 In many ways, the story of Iraq's lost cities is Genesis. 663 00:41:49.277 --> 00:41:50.000 In many ways, the story of Iraq's lost cities is Genesis. 664 00:41:51.467 --> 00:41:53.967 The history of our beginnings. 665 00:41:53.967 --> 00:41:56.667 The creation of the modern world.