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Ur

Ur is an ancient Sumerian city-state in southern Mesopotamia, located near the Euphrates River at the site of present-day Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq. It rose to prominence in the Early Dynastic period and later became the capital of the Ur III dynasty (approximately 2112–2004 BCE) under rulers such as Ur-Nammu and Shulgi. As a major political, religious, and economic center, Ur housed extensive temple networks, administrative offices, and monumental architecture, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur and the temple complex dedicated to the moon god Nanna. The city’s influence waned in the late second millennium BCE due to invasions and shifting river patterns.

Archaeology and significance: Ur was excavated most famously in the 1920s and 1930s by Leonard Woolley on

Other uses: In linguistics and cultural terminology, the prefix Ur (from German) denotes original, primitive, or

behalf
of
the
British
Museum
and
the
University
of
Pennsylvania.
Excavations
revealed
a
rich
royal
cemetery
with
magnificent
burials,
such
as
that
of
Queen
Puabi,
and
a
trove
of
artifacts
including
the
Standard
of
Ur,
cylinder
seals,
jewelry,
musical
instruments,
and
elaborate
vessels.
The
finds
provided
crucial
insights
into
Sumerian
urban
planning,
social
hierarchy,
trade
networks,
and
daily
life.
The
site
comprises
temple
precincts,
domestic
quarters,
and
a
large
ziggurat
platform,
illustrating
the
organizational
complexity
of
ancient
Ur.
earliest
known
forms,
as
in
Urtext,
Urheimat,
or
Ur-language.
The
term
Ur
also
appears
in
various
place
names
and
modern
contexts,
sometimes
referencing
the
ancient
city
or
its
symbolic
connotations
of
antiquity.