page_title: Ur
section_title: Society and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Ur / Society and culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Sumer map
context_page_description: Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar 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 kilometres 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 Mesannepada.
  The city's patron deity was Nanna, 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 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, during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BC by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres northwest to southeast by 800 metres northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres above the present plain level.
context_section_description: Archaeological discoveries have shown unequivocally that Ur was a major Sumero-Akkadian urban center on the Mesopotamian plain. Especially the discovery of the Royal Tombs has confirmed its splendour. These tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (approximately in the 25th or 24th century BC), contained immense amounts of luxury items made out of precious metals, and semi-precious stones, all of which would have required importation from long distances (Ancient Iran, Afghanistan, India, Asia Minor, the Levant and the Persian Gulf). This wealth, unparalleled up to then, is a testimony of Ur's economic importance during the Early Bronze Age.
  Archaeological research of the region has also contributed greatly to our understanding of the landscape and long-distance interactions that took place during these ancient times.
  Ur was a major port on the Persian Gulf, which extended much further inland than it does today, and controlled much of the trade into Mesopotamia. Imports to Ur came from many parts of the world. The imported objects include precious metals such as gold and silver, and semi-precious stones, namely lapis lazuli and carnelian.
  It is thought that Ur had a stratified social system including slaves (captured foreigners), farmers, artisans, doctors, scribes, and priests. High-ranking priests apparently enjoyed great luxury and lived in mansions.
  Tens of thousands of cuneiform texts, including contracts, business records, and court documents, record the city's complex economic and legal systems. These texts have been recovered from temples, the palace, and individual houses.
caption: Map of Sumer, with Ur near the coastline in antiquity.
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