Proto-cuneiform tablets from the Early Dynastic period, c. There are various main sources informing scholars about the importance of Ur during the Early Bronze Age. It is now understood that the South Mesopotamian plain was exposed to regular floods from the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, with heavy erosion from water and wind, which may have given rise to the Mesopotamian and derivative Biblical Great Flood stories. These early levels were sealed off with a sterile deposit of soil that was interpreted by excavators of the 1920s as evidence for the Great Flood of the Book of Genesis and Epic of Gilgamesh. Īrchaeologists have discovered the evidence of an early occupation at Ur during the Ubaid period (c. Fish, birds, tubers, and reeds might have supported Ur economically without the need for an agricultural revolution sometimes hypothesized as a prerequisite to urbanization. Ur is therefore thought to have had marshy surroundings irrigation would have been unnecessary, and the city's evident canal system was likely used for transportation. When Ur was founded, the Persian Gulf's water level was two-and-a-half metres higher than today. The 'war' side shows the king, his armies, and chariots trampling on enemies. The 'peace' side shows comfort, music, and prosperity. The Standard of Ur mosaic, from the royal tombs of Ur, is made of red limestone, bitumen, lapis lazuli, and shell. Imports to Ur came from many parts of the world: precious metals such as gold and silver, and semi-precious stones, namely lapis lazuli and carnelian. Ur was a major port on the Persian Gulf, which extended much farther inland than today, and the city controlled much of the trade into Mesopotamia. Īrchaeological study of the region has contributed greatly to our understanding of the landscape and long-distance interactions during these ancient times. This wealth, unparalleled up to then, is a testimony of Ur's economic importance during the Early Bronze Age. These tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (approximately in the 25th or 24th century BC), contained an immense treasure of luxury items made of precious metals and semi-precious stones imported from long distances ( Ancient Iran, Afghanistan, India, Asia Minor, the Levant and the Persian Gulf). Especially the discovery of the Royal Tombs has confirmed its splendour. Society and culture Īrchaeological discoveries have shown unequivocally that Ur was a major Sumerian urban center on the Mesopotamian plain. The Euphrates River complemented these fortifications on the city's western side. Elsewhere, buildings were integrated into the ramparts. Ur was surrounded by sloping ramparts 8 metres (26 feet) high and about 25 metres (82 feet) wide, bordered in some places by a brick wall. The name 𒋀𒀊𒆠 URIM 5 KI for 'Country of Ur' on a seal of King Ur-Nammu Ur was located close to the coastline near the mouth of the Euphrates. The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) northwest to southeast by 800 metres (2,600 ft) northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres (66 ft) above the present plain level. The temple was built in the 21st century BC ( short chronology), during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BC by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. The site is marked by the partially restored ruins of the Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s. The city's patron deity was Nanna (in Akkadian, Sin), the Sumerian and Akkadian moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name, UNUG KI, literally 'the abode (UNUG) of Nanna'. The city dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BC, and is recorded in written history as a city-state from the 26th century BC, its first recorded king being Mesannepada. Although Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the coastline has shifted and the city is now well inland, on the south bank of the Euphrates, 16 km (10 mi) from Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq. Ur ( / ʊər/ Sumerian: 𒌶𒆠, 𒋀𒀕𒆠, or 𒋀𒀊𒆠 Urim Akkadian: 𒋀𒀕𒆠 Uru Arabic: أُوْر, romanized: ʾūr Hebrew: אוּר, romanized: ʾūr) was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar ( Arabic: تل ٱلْمُقَيَّر) in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate in Mesopotamia.

Babylon ziggurat