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Animals like sheep were raised, from which wool was used for the production of clothing. Everything (plants and animals) needed water. One of the royal duties was maintaining good conditions and repairing the city's irrigation network of canals, ditches, flood dams, and irrigation furrows. Image credit: Steve Harris - CC BY-SA 2.0 The construction of an irrigation system was necessary under these conditions, and strong leadership and administration could only carry out such a task. Still, it required irrigation for almost eight months a year, there was no rain, and the heavy spring rains came too late to influence the harvest in April.ĭrought in the summer and the flooding of the river were also problems. Mesopotamia, located between the Euphrates and the Tigris, was very fertile. Among many valuable artifacts, Wooley unearthed an approximately 4,500 years old artifact dubbed the Standard of Ur, and the gold helmet of King Meskalamdug (Mes-Kalam-Dug), an early Sumerian king of the First Dynasty of Ur in the 26th century BC. In 1922-1934, a British archaeologist, Sir Leonard Woolley (1880 – 1960), unearthed huge areas of Ur, including the royal tombs with treasures untouched, never seen by looters since ancient times. Even after the Amorite conquest, Ur was continuously a prominent place until abandoned at about 500 BC.Īn Italian traveler, Pietro Della Valle, was the first European to reach Ur in 1625 who recorded ancient bricks stamped with strange symbols and inscribed pieces of black marble that appeared to look like seals. When it flourished, Ur had a population of approximately 65,000 people. The patron deity of Ur was the moon god Nanna, who had his temple within the Ziggurat of Ur. image credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) - CC BY-SA 4.0ĭuring this time, the famous Ziggurat of Ur was built, the most distinguishing landmark of the city. Wall plaque from Ur, 2500 BCE the British Museum.
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This flourishing period in Ur's history was considered the last great Sumerian Renaissance (2100 BC-2000 BC), attested by several construction and restoration projects, the development of literature, and the famous Code of Ur-Nammu. It was possible thanks to skilled rulers who had a well-maintained army and well-organized bureaucracy, and Ur's diplomats and religious ideas influenced the areas that were not under its direct control. These two kings of the famed Third Dynasty of Ur and the prosperous Ur III Period helped the city again take control over most of Sumer and even Mesopotamia.