Ur came to be as a result of Trade & Taint, an earlier unfinished Illwinter project. I made the first Enkidus and Sobeks for that game. Shame, bone readers and reavers were some of the possible career paths for the Enkidu race. In Dominions 5 the Enkidus were given a nation influenced by Mesopotamian history. They had it in Trade & Taint as well, but in Dominions 4 it became more pronounced. After Dominions 4 was released we took up work on Trade & Taint again and ideas on the enkidus were developed. Last summer I found myself reading more on Sumerian cities and culture. The transfer of religious and temporal importance from Eridu to other cities during Sumerian times is an interesting process. Thus Uruk became the first new nation added in Dominions 5.

Hinnom is to some extent Sumerian, but I wanted the backstory of Ur to have a more Sumerian feel. I like the concept of a single center of civilization surrounded by lands inhabited by wild men roaming around tending goats and hunting game. This led to the development of the mechanic where some of a nation's units are recruitable, not in their home or fortresses, but in their surrounding lands. It gave the nation a troop rooster that accentuated the backstory of the nation. And of course, they had to have sirrushes, the wingless dragons of the Ishtar Gate.

The nations' shamans and bone readers are also influenced by some shamanistic concepts, Caananite ideas on veneration of the dead and probably a dose of some old RPGs. Ur develops into Uruk in the middle age and get access to armaments of iron. The Ensi priest king of Eridu will see his power diminished as civilization spreads and Ensis of other cities claim temporal and religious authority. In this new era the Entu of the Moon, inspired by En Hedu'anna, the daughter of Sargon the Great, becomes the unifying power of the kingdom and Uruk turns into a theocracy. - Illwinter

Uruk is a warm plain inhabited by Enkidus, large, hairy wild men with horns and unkempt hair. Since the founding of Eridu, the First City, civilization has spread and the kingdom expanded. Other cities were founded in the image of Eridu, each with its own character. Administrators from the City of Scribes aided local rulers, while traders and merchants from the City of Trade improved the economic infrastructure of the kingdom. But the Ensi of Eridu lost power and petty kings of the new cities rose to power and claimed the Ensi title. Strife and turmoil tore the kingdom apart. One of the new cities, the City of Gods was blessed by the Awakening God and saw the first Entu of the Moon erect a great temple in the city. It soon replaced the First City as religious center and the Entu priestesses of the First City moved to the City of Gods, no longer bound in marriage to the ruling Ensi. With the coming of the Awakening God, the city states have set their differences aside and joined a common cause. In the plains of Uruk the First City still stands as a symbol of civilization, although its temporal and religious power has diminished. Now each city has its own Ensi ruler. The wild men are no longer wild, and the shamans and Bone Readers of old have been replaced by the priests and mages of the cities.

The origin of the Moon Cult seems based on the story of Ennigaldi-Nanna, Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, with parallels to Sargon of Akkad's daughter EnHedu'anna.

Uruk is Ur's transition to the MA, shoring up many of the troop weaknesses of the past. They trade their raw paths to be a communion nation of half-giants which is actually a boon for combat magic. They also fixed their arrow problem by making helmets to accommodate for their horns.

Although mages, troops, and infrastructure demanded a large increase in cost, they are powerful in numbers when back by Communions.

Uruk's god does not lose or gain magic paths when recalled from the dead (Does not work for disciples), and dominion score also cannot decrease. This is the same ability as Ur's, but is not (as of 5.51b) listed in their national summary.

Uruk can rebuild its sister underwater kingdom of Kulullus. Mechanically, you can build forts and recruit national troops and mages in underwater provinces. Uruk needs research to get underwater, and Kulullu are neither amphibious nor particularly strong units. But they are stronger than most underwater independents, and give Uruk a clear advantage in holding underwater territory in comparison to most other land nations.

Special Race Attributes	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
Prefer +1 Enkidu Size 3 Natural Protection 2 +14 HP vs. Humans +5 STR vs. Humans +1 MR vs. Humans -1 DEF vs. Humans Kulullu Aquatic Enkidu Natural Protection 4 +4 HP vs. Enkidu +1 MR vs. Enkidu	Half-giant Medium Infantry Mushussu chariot Underwater half giant Kulullu	3 (Uncommon 4) 2 (Uncommon 3) 2 1 (Rare 2) 1 (Uncommon, Rare 2) Heroes: 3 (one) 432 (one) With 5 & 60: 33242	Strong (3) All have Magic Cheap Recallers	Fortified Cities Temples cost 600 Can build Underwater Forts

Uncommon is 1-in-4 for 4 & 3, but 1-in-2 for 1. Rare is 1-in-160.

• Your Pretender doesn't lose any Magic or Dominion when Recalled, even when Soul-Slayed.
• Your Water access is at its best Underwater; on land, 2 is not guaranteed and 3 is rare.

Uruk likely have more mages than any other nation, which can be a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, they have many traits in common. All of them are half giants with high strength, map movement, and hp (generally 24 hp for male Enkidu, 19 hp for female), average stats, and generally low but wide magic paths. Aside from the foreign recruit only Enkidu Shaman and the underwater Kulullu Sage, Uruk's mages are all sacreds with priests levels. A key weakness is that Uruk's mage-priests all have terrible morale (9 or even 8 on the Gala), with the exception of the Ensi and underwater Kulullu King, who are also the nation's only good commanders.

The fact that Uruk's city mages are all priests means they all benefit from a bless and have low sacred upkeep, making it a nation whose mage corps scales well as the game progresses. However, Uruk can't recruit any of its national mages in a land fort without an expensive (600 gold) temple. As a result, you need 1850 gold of infrastructure to start recruiting 70 gold Naditu. The foreign recruit Enkidu Shaman provide a critical way to recruit mages without making that investment.

Image	Unit Name	Abilities	Comments
	Enkidu Scout 30 7 1 + Foreign Rec	Stealthy (40) Mountain Survival Forest Survival	The Enkidu Scout guarantees Uruk scout recruitment outside of forts, but is more expensive and less stealthy than the generic Scout; these two issues result in Enkidu Scouts being less economical when gathering intelligence on other nations, making them squarely a backup option. 24 upkeep (2 gold per turn).
	Enkidu Commander 45 23 1		The generic Indie Commander in an Enkidu's body. Like with the Enkidu Scout, the Enkidu Commander is more expensive than its alternative, but his meatier body gives him far more reliability (though it also makes him more of a target for ranged combat). 36 upkeep (3 gold per turn).
	Gala 75 1 2	11 7 Sacred Elegist (2) Spell Singer Supply Bonus (10) Female	The Gala are lamenters, and priests of Inanna in real life. They even sing their spells, giving a 50% delay to their non-Divine spellcasting but also 50% less fatigue. For example, they can cast Swarm without passing out. They do have the lowest Morale in Uruk, though, so they're liable to routing early or getting stolen by Troubadours. Outside of battle, Gala are easily the most-efficient option for recalling your Pretender, with those matching their talent costing more than three times their price. 30 upkeep (2.5 gold per turn).
	Naditu 70 1 2	11 7 Sacred Female	The Naditu were Temple slaves in Sumer, and are (relatively) cheap Communion Slaves in Dominions. Ignoring infrastructure costs, they are also Uruk's cheapest source of Research Points. They notably lack any leadership, however, and cannot have bodyguards or ferry troops. 28 upkeep (2.33 gold per turn).
	Nin 75 1 2	11100% 7 sacred Female	The Nin ("Ladies" in Akkadian) are a varied lot: → 25% are Gala who don't sing or lament, → 25% are Naditu (with lower MR) who can ferry troops, → 25% are weaker Earth-Gudus who can still "fluff" and summon Bull-Men, → and 25% are less-powerful Ishibs who can still do basic Water things. 30 upkeep (2.5 gold per turn).
	Gudu 80 2 2	11100% 7 sacred	The Gudus, "god-servers", are a bit weaker than they used to be. On the other hand, they still serve their Ur-given role as your most-reliable Air access, and/or as cheap Earth; which role they serve depends on a coin flip. Do you like your light thugs flying, or iron-clad? 32 upkeep (2.67 gold per turn).
	Ashipu 130 1 2	111 9 sacred Disease Healer(1) Supply Bonus(10)	The Ashipu, exorcist-doctors (since the roles were the same in Mesopotamia), are good general-use Mages if your budget allows them. They cure diseases, spam Healing Light in battle (if allowed), and serve as good Communion Slaves for the Mashmashu; having more than 20 HP makes Personal Regeneration heal 3 HP per turn (compared to the Naditu's 2), so they can handle quite a bit of use if given a little prep. 52 upkeep (4.33 gold per turn).
	Ishib 155 2 2	121100% 9 sacred	The Ishibs, like the Gudus, have suffered a bit from the turning of the Ages. That being said, they're your most-reliable option for getting underwater; whether that's through crafting a Ring of Water Breathing for your Pretender, or through gearing a 2 Ishib to do it himself. 62 upkeep (5.17 gold per turn).
	Ereshdingir 190 1 2	122 11 sacred Fortune Teller (5%) female	The Ereshdingir, "queens of a god" (essentially meaning "priestesses") in Akkadian, are among the best Mages your off-capital forts can provide. They have one of the few crosspaths that doesn't offer some sort of combat magic, but the paths on their own have uses; 2 in particular provides Mind Burn and Paralyze, while 1 eventually provides Frozen Heart. 76 upkeep (6.33 gold per turn).
	Ensi 215 19 2	1121100% 11 sacred Supply Bonus(10)	The Ensi, King of his city and not much else, is Uruk's best commander of troops. 80 leadership, take it or leave it. He can also cast Mossbody, and his Water/Earth/Astral/Nature random might let him cast something equally snazzy for thugging, such as Personal Regeneration. If your main concern with him is spellcasting, then consider replacing his Scale Mail with something lighter. 86 upkeep (7.17 gold per turn).
	Entu 275 1 4 Capital Only	1231100% 10% 13 sacred inspirational (2) Fortune Teller (10%) Old Age(51/50) Female	The Entu are the Highest Priestesses of Uruk, as in Mesopotamia. Having 3 makes them able to bless entire armies, allowing other Priest-mages to get straight to the arcane magic (though you might need to script them for that). On the other hand, troops under an Entu's 40 Leadership fight as if she had 120 Leadership, making her serviceable for smaller bands of sacred troops. Magically speaking, Ereshdingir mesh best with Entu for Communions; piling up Entu can be difficult, given their high recruitment-point cost and their Old Age. Using Entu just for their magic is a bit debatable, since Mashmashu exist and have their own fitting Communion Slaves as well (the Ashipu), but sometimes you just need sky-high Water or Holy levels. For example, a 2 Entu needs only four Slaves to cast Living Water or the thug-ruining Liquify, while a 1 Mashmashu needs eight. 110 upkeep (9.17 gold per turn).
	Mashmashu 280 1 4 Capital Only	311100% 10% 15 sacred Supply Bonus(10) Fortune Teller (15%)	The Mashmashu are the in-house experts for the Moon Cult, though they sell directions to the Ashipu too. Having 3 right out of the box, all Mashmashu can Teleport wherever they need to go, and can then cast decently-big spells such as Soul Slay and Battle Fortune with minimal preparation. The 4's get to do the same (since Gateway isn't conducive to surprise attacks), but with Enslave Mind and Doom. With Communions, the list of possibilities only gets longer. 4 Mashmashu can also run the full gauntlet of boosters, up to 8 without Empowerment. 112 upkeep (9.33 gold per turn).
	Enkidu Shaman 125 2 2 +Rec Foreign Only	12 7 Beastmaster(2) Supply Bonus(10)	The Enkidu Shaman is a very important Mage, requiring 1350 less Gold in infrastructure to procure than everyone else. Deciding when to switch from these rustic Communion-less fellows to the urban power-pyramids is crucial; while you never want to run short on steam/cash for expanding, you certainly won't want to be out-numbered or out-Mage'd. The Shamans (or Shamen) themselves have better physical stats, MR, and Morale than most urban Enkidu, and great Magic paths for thugging; without Empowerment or Ring-buying, these can be boosted to 34 in battle. 100 upkeep (8.33 gold per turn).
	Kulullu Commander 45 10 1 +Rec Underwater Only	Aquatic	Basic underwater Commander.
	Kulullu King 145 10 2 +Rec Underwater Only	12 7 sacred Aquatic	Your best underwater leader and priest.
	Kulullu Sage 190 1 2 +Rec Underwater Only	21100% 15 Aquatic	An expensive mage with reliable 2 access. Gives you reliable access to Summon Water Elemental for gem-powered underwater warfare.
	Kuliltu Queen 195 1 2 +Rec Underwater Only	1121100% 11 sacred Aquatic Female	Expensive low level mage with similar paths to the Ensi except with Air instead of Earth on the random. All are useful as Mossbody point buffers, and the 21 ones can cast Foul Vapors, while 111 can be light thugs with armor that boosts her morale.

Uruks strongest and most plentiful path is Astral, able to Go up to 5 with boosters or 6 if you reach Conj 8. Enkidu Shamans give 2 and with available boosters can be a resting 4. Uruk may not have immediate access to high-level rituals but Uruks main combat power during wars is powering up with communions

Water, Air, and Earth are low level but have a place in spamming magic to stop rushes or being ramped up by communions.

If you can get a 3 you can then create more 3 Ugallus.

Boosting Water needs particular randoms on some above land commanders. Some may get 2 which is the first step towards for Sea King and Naiads. Can later turn into Water Queens if you can secure a lake.

Earth is at 1 unless you luck into a rare double Earth random so he can make Earth Boots to make himself 3, then climbed with Troll Kings for a boosted 4.

Troll Shamans can give you Death, and some with Skull Staffs are 3.

• Herd of Buffaloes: 2 Conj 3 for 10 (summon 5+ Buffaloes). Animal tramplers, not the best thing to spend your nature gems on, but sometimes you need more bodies when being rushed. Also evocation magnets

• Summon Kusarikkus: 1 Conj 4 for 6 (summon 2 Kusarikkus). Powerful Sacreds summon, High HP, and two Attack with one being an anti-demon weapon, They become one of your strongest units when they have a Giants bless and the fact you have many of the buffing spells using communions.

• Summon Ugallu: 3 Conj 5 for 24 (summon Ugallu). Need a God or spend a lot of air gems for empowerment to get. Gives you A flying 3, for all that important Air utility, will also get Geared to be a Storm caster for that 5 combat magic.

• Call Anzu: 4 Conj 7 for 4 (summon Anzu). Needs to climb higher into Air for a Great Eagle with two breath attacks. Comes too late in research but can be used in Flying Raider forces.

• Call Apkallu: 5 Conj 8 for 60 (summon Umu-apkallu). With 332422, this guy is a quick researcher. Also a good commander of 120, so can bring a big force with Astral Travel

Can cast Stellar Focus

Have the paths to make thug items for your mages with Half-giant bodies. Kithaironic Lion Pelt is an efficient thug armor. give a Crystal Matrix to an indie mage you find so they can Communion.

It's Expensive but can make a Ring of Sorcery to make a Ring of Wizardry. Lots of boosting and likely only going to make the two.

Headdress of the Bull 5 1. Grant the user +2 strength and a retinue of a Buffalo. Great on a mage thug as it's a cheap item that boosts their damage, and gives them a trampling animal to buy him time for buffing. Also, Buffalos are able to run over any would-be assassin.

Uruk's troops are relatively cheap in recruitment points, so resources will determine how much you can recruit in the early game. Uruk archers are too resource-intensive to be useful for expansion. Uruk better infantry have high HP, decent protection, and shields, and thus are not threatened by independent archer fire (though note that the cheaper Enkidu spearman and Enkidu warrior don't have helmets and thus are vulnerable to archers!). Their weaknesses are low attack/defense stats and attack density; as a result, your easiest provinces in expansion will be those with a lot of archers and you will have trouble expanding into 50 mixed indie infantry and of course barbarians.

That said, Uruk infantry are tough enough that in decent numbers (~15; you can split into too squads or have an Ensi leader for line formation) they can expand with essentially no losses. Smaller groups tend to get surrounded and die.

Mushussu Chariot can be used to expand against many independent types when supported by 5-10 infantry. This requires some practice, but can be quite reliable and can be your best option if not taking scales. A few details are worth understanding about monster chariot expansion:

• Putting the Mushussu Chariot in its own squad seems like a good idea since it can help them hit the enemy at the same time as your infantry, but it's not: The chariot will rout whenever the rider survives losing most of her 19 hp.

• A single chariot in the same squad as 5-10 infantry, placed in the back on Hold and Attack Closest can kill most independent types. Like with War elephant expansion, the Mushussu Chariot can be in an archer squad on Hold and Fire instead

• It's important that the Mushussu chariot be supported by infantry; it's fairly common for the rider to die, and the riderless Mushussu cannot survive while surrounded for long (this seems surprising given the Mushussu has 3.5x the hit points, but tramplers stay alive by constantly moving as they squish things, which prevents a lot of attacks). Fortunately, if your entire squad is engaged, the Fear aura generally leads to a quick rout.

• Even with poor scales ( 3, neutral ), one can field two expansion parties on turn 3 by recruiting a chariot and 2 Enkidu Spearman on turns 1 and 2, and leaving behind 4 Enkidu Soldier when your starting army moves out on turn 2. If you're doing this, avoid heavy cavalry, barbarians, and independent groups without archers. If you're doing this, don't recruit only Naditu mages; they can't lead troops.

• When using larger squads with ~20 Enkidu infantry, be careful to avoid the chariot getting stuck behind a wall of troops. Since the chariot does all the killing, his being stuck can result in a lot more casualties for your Enkidu.

• This is not a cheap way to expand, since each chariot costs 200 gold, and the chariot will likely get unlucky and die eventually. A subtle but common mechanism is that the chariot rider gets a Crippled affliction. If it doesn't die during movement between provinces, it's useless in combat unless you can somehow get the rider killed and replaced (without losing the Mushussu itself) while it has a combat speed of 2. For this reason, it's better for the rider to die and be replaced in battles, since that always results in an unafflicted chariot for the next fight.

• Since every province can foreign recruit Enkidu Warrior, you can strengthen expansion parties whenever you move through a province a second time.

Infrastructure. Uruk has some interesting options for how to do early game infrastructure. Its forts take 750 gold and 5 turns, but come with 30 admin (same as a Fortress!) and 2 commander points. They have two downsides: only 100 siege defense, and you can't recruit national mages without also buying a 600 gold temple (Enkidu Shaman don't like cities). You can upgrade Uruk forts twice, at an expensive 450 gold for 100 siege defense and 10 administrative each time.

Because Enkidu Shaman are an affordable battle mage who just require a lab to recruit, it's an option to just build labs in year 1 and start scaling mage recruitment without building new forts. The investment is just 500 gold, vs. 750+600+500 (and 5 turns of delay) to make battle mages. So there's a valid strategy of taking scales (which often gets you some free labs), building 2-3 early labs, and doing a mage recruitment rush. If you're going with this strategy, you may want your first research target to be Evocation 3 so your shamans can cast Sleep Cloud, possibly even before Alteration 3.

The main downside of not building forts is that it's hard to mass an army capable of conquering land and forts in an early war. Options for Uruk include foreign recruiting Enkidu Warrior and building forts whose job is to just make troops for their first several turns (and build your labs elsewhere).

what is the first big research rush, what is the first big powerspike, where do you shift recruitment to? what are the big magic diversity issues, are there particular globals you should gun for

How do you close out the game if you are in it, is the high-level research stuff you can do uniquely well, does your nation fall off, aka do you have to force things to conclude swiftly

Link here to guides for the nation, on and off(?) the wiki. This should likely include things like suggested pretender designs as well as strategy guides.

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia