Ur
Ur (/สษr/ oor; Sumerian: ๐ถ๐ , ๐๐๐ , or ๐๐๐ Urim; Akkadian: ๐๐๐ Uru; Arabic: ุฃูููุฑ, romanized: สพลซr; Hebrew: ืืึผืจโ, romanized: สพลซr) was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar (Arabic: ุชู ูฑููู ููููููุฑ) in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. 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. 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 King Tuttues.
Tell el-Muqayyar | |
Ur Shown within Iraq Ur Ur (Near East) Ur Ur (West and Central Asia) | |
| Location | Tell el-Muqayyar, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesopotamia, Middle East |
| Coordinates | 30ยฐ57โฒ42โณN 46ยฐ06โฒ18โณE |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 3800 BC |
| Abandoned | after 500 BC |
| Periods | Ubaid period to Iron Age |
| Cultures | Sumerian |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1853โ1854, 1922โ1934, 2015-present |
| Archaeologists | John George Taylor, Charles Leonard Woolley, Elizabeth C Stone, Paul Zimansky, Adelheid Otto |
| Official name | Ur Archaeological City |
| Part of | Ahwar of Southern Iraq |
| Criteria | Mixed: (iii)(v)(ix)(x) |
| Reference | 1481-006 |
| Inscription | 2016 (40th Session) |
| Area | 71 ha (0.27 sq mi) |
| Buffer zone | 317 ha (1.22 sq mi) |
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, UNUGKI, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna". 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 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.