Ur

This article is about the ancient city-state in Mesopotamia. For other uses, see Ur (disambiguation).

Ur
Sumerian: 𒋀𒀕𒆠
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Ur Location within Iraq Ur Location within Near East
30°57′42″N 46°06′18″E
Type	Settlement
Periods	Ubaid period to Iron Age
Cultures	Sumerian
Location	Tell el-Muqayyar, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia, Middle East
History
Built	c. 3800 BC
Abandoned	After 500 BC
Site notes
Excavation dates	1853–1854, 1922–1934, 2015-present
Archaeologists	John George Taylor, Charles Leonard Woolley, Elizabeth C Stone, Paul Zimansky, Adelheid Otto
UNESCO World Heritage Site
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)

Ur (/ʊr/ or /ɜːr/) was a major Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar (Arabic: تَلّ ٱلْمُقَيَّر, lit. 'mound of bitumen') in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Although Ur was a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the coastline has shifted and the site is now well inland, on the south bank of the Euphrates, 16 km (10 mi) southwest of the city of Nasiriyah. The city dates from the Ubaid period c. 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 the moon god Nanna (Sin in Akkadian), and the name of the city is derived from UNUG^KI, 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. In recent years, Ur Tourist City, a modern heritage and tourism district, has been developed adjacent to the site to accommodate tourists and pilgrims.

The name 𒋀𒀊𒆠 URIM₅^KI for "Country of Ur" on a seal of King Ur-Nammu