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[[File:Anu_district.svg.png|thumbnail|300px|Plan of the Anu District in Uruk, which was initially established in the fourth millennium BC]]

Trade seems to have been so important for urban growth that by the late fourth millennium BC we begin to see the expansion of urban colonies to other regions. One example is the site of Habuba Kabira, a modern day name for an ancient city that was build 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, as 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, the site of 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 items from that region. See: Strommenger, Eva. 1980. "Habuba 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.

Trade could have been crucial not just in attracting wealth to the urban areas such as Uruk but also motivating warfare through competition among early cities and areas where early cities tried to expand for trade or wealth access.<ref>Hamblin, William James. 2006. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OT7W4E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000OT7W4E&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6c31d09452318b117ef698781be3982c Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History: Warfare and History]''. London ; New York: Routledge.</ref> We begin to see art showing scenes of war and war leaders that may reflect a new type of competition emerging among early urban centers.<ref>See Baizerman, Michael. 2015. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1504936116/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1504936116&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2cc2715915a145719ef73e6632ce13dd Dawn and Sunset: A Tale of the Oldest Cities in the Near East]''.</ref> This likely also reflects the rise of kings and early rulers who began to lead the new cities, while war may have led to people fleeing to cities in greater numbers for protection.