UR

UR, Ur, or ur can refer to several things: *Informal Internet Slang contraction of ''your'', ''yours'', or ''you're'', also used in Short message service text messages *The City of Ur *Ur (continent), the first known continent *Royal Game of Ur *Ur is the name of a minor Gnostic deity. *Universidad Regiomontana (Mexico) *University of Richmond (USA) *University of Rochester (USA) *Ur- is a German language prefix. *Canton of Uri, Switzerland *Urdu language (ISO 639 alpha-2, ur) *Ur (rune) ᚢ of the runic alphabets *Ur language *Ur (Basque), the Basque spirit of water. Lists of two-letter combinations

Ur

Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, originally located near the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. Because of marine regression, the remains are now well inland in present-day Iraq, south of the Euphrates on its right bank at , and named Tell el-Mukayyar [1], near the city of Nasiriyah south of Baghdad. The site is marked by the ruins of the ziggurat (''left''), still largely intact, and by the settlement mound. The ziggurat is a temple of Nanna (Sumerian deity), a deity in Sumerian mythology, and has two stages constructed from brick: in the lower stage the bricks are joined together with bitumen, in the upper stage they are joined with Mortar (masonry). == History == Ur was inhabited in the earliest stage of village settlement in southern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period. However it later appears to have been abandoned for a time. Scholars believe that, as the climate changed from relatively moist to drought in the early 3rd millennium BC, the small farming villages of the Ubaid culture consolidated into larger settlements out of the need for large-scale, centralized irrigation works to survive the dry spell. Ur became such a center, and by around 2600 BC, in the Sumerian Sumerian king list, the city was again thriving. Ur by this time was considered sacred to Nanna, the moon god in Sumerian mythology. The location of Ur was favourable for trade by sea and also by land routes into Arabia. Many elaborate tombs including that of Queen Puabi [2] were constructed. Eventually the kings of Ur became the effective rulers of Sumer, in the first dynasty of Ur, which was established by the king Mesannepada (or Mesanepada, Mes-Anni-Padda). The first dynasty was ended by an attack by Sargon of Akkad around 24th century BC. Not much is known about the following second dynasty, during which the city was in eclipse. The 3rd dynasty of Ur was established when the king Ur-Nammu (or Urnammu) came to power, ruling between 22nd century BC and 21st century BC. During his rule, temples, including the ziggurat, were built and agriculture was improved through irrigation. His code of laws (a fragment was identified in Istanbul in 1952) is one of the oldest such documents known, preceding the code of Hammurabi. After his death he became a hero-figure: one of the surviving works of Sumerian literature describes the death of Ur-Nammu and his journey to the underworld. The third dynasty fell around 1950 BC to the Elamites; the Lament for Ur commemorates this event. Later Babylon captured the city. Nanna was known to the Babylonians as ''Sin''. The Babylonian city of Harran was also sacred to the god ''Sin''. In the 6th century BC there was new building in Ur under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus of Babylonia improved the ziggurat. However the city started to decline from around 550 BC and was no longer inhabited after about 500 BC, perhaps due to drought caused by changing river patterns and/or the silting of the outlet to the Persian Gulf. ==Biblical Ur== Ur is mentioned four times in the Tanakh or Old Testament, as with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin", which is traditionally rendered in English "Ur of the Chaldees", referring to the Chaldeans, who settled there around 900 BC. The Kasidim could also refer to the Kassites who were present during the time during which the Exodus occurred. In ''Genesis'' the name is found in 11:28, 11:31 and 15:7. In ''Nehemiah'' 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of ''Genesis.'' The ''Book of Jubilees'' states that Ur was founded in 1687 ''Anno Mundi'' (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year, wars began on Earth. :"And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. (ie, ''Ur Kesdim'')" (''Jubilees'' 11:3) ==Archaeology== In the mid-17th century, the site was visited by Pietro della Valle, who recorded the presence of ancient bricks stamped with strange symbols, cemented together with bitumen, as well as inscribed pieces of black marble that appeared to be seal (device). The first excavation was made by United Kingdom Consulate general J.E. Taylor, who partly uncovered the ziggurat. Clay cylinders found in the four corners of the top stage of the ziggurat bore an inscription of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon (530s BC), closing with a prayer for his son Belshar-uzur (Bel-sarra-Uzur), the Belshazzar of the book of Daniel. Evidence was found of restoration by the ziggurat by Ishme-Dagan of Isin and Gimil-Sin of Ur, and of Kuri-galzu, a Kassite king of Babylon, of the 14th century BC. Nebuchadnezzar also claims to have rebuilt the temple. Taylor further excavated an interesting Babylonian building, not far from the temple, and part of an ancient Babylonian necropolis. All about the city he found abundant remains of burials of later periods. Apparently, in the later times, owing to its sanctity, Ur became a favourite place of sepulture, so that after it had ceased to be inhabited it still continued to be used as a necropolis. After Taylor's time the site was visited by numerous travellers, almost all of whom have found ancient Babylonian remains, inscribed stones and the like, lying upon the surface. The site was considered rich in remains, and relatively easy to explore. Excavations from 1922 to 1934 were funded by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania and led by the archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley. A total of about 1850 burials were uncovered, including 16 that were described as "royal tombs" containing many valuable artifacts. Most of the royal tombs were dated to about 2600 BC. The finds included the unlooted tomb of Queen Puabi [2] – her name is known from a cylinder seal (device) found in the tomb. Many other people had been buried with her, in a form of human sacrifice. Near the ziggurat were uncovered the temple E-nun-mah and buildings E-dub-lal-mah (built for a king), E-gi-par (residence of the high priestess) and E-hur-sag (a temple building). Outside the temple area many houses used in everyday life were found. Excavations were also made below the royal tombs layer: a 3.5m thick layer of alluvial clay covered the remains of earlier habitation, including pottery from the Ubaid period, the first stage of settlement in southern Mesopotamia. Woolley later wrote many articles and books about the discoveries. Most of the treasures excavated at Ur are in the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Archaelogical names of periods of habitation include: *Ubaid period *Sumerian Early Dynastic period III *Ur III, c. 2100 BC–2000 BC ==January 2004== Some of the areas that were cleared during excavations are sanded over again. The site is set up for tourism, however not on the scale as example some sites in Egypt. Electricity is at the site and several lines of poles go though the site area. There are a few about 25 meter high steel poles near the Great Ziggurat that seem to be intended for lighting of the site, however there are no actual lamps on them. Tourist information signs are also found at the site in Arabic language. There are a few resting shaded places available for tourists located close to the entry of the site. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, western tourists have been coming here again, in the form of Coalition of the willing. The road up to the site is covered with little shops, selling everything from Saddam Hussein money bills to genuine rugs. There is only one shop on the actual site. One can visit the whole site, view any grave or climb any peak without restrictions. The huge United States / Coalition forces Tallil Air Base, located nearby, is rumoured to watch the site. There are regular flights of helicopters over the site from the air base, however if these flights are actually linked to this rumour must remain unsaid. The Great Ziggurat of Ur is fully cleared and stands as the best-preserved and only major structure on the site. One can walk around it, and will observe very little damage. Only the top is covered with debris and is at times a confusing mix of loose stones, broken pottery and partial reconstruction. The famous Royal tombs, also called the Neo-Sumerian Mausolea, located about 250m south-east of the Great Ziggurat, in the corner of the wall that surrounds the city � a wall one can scarcely imagine today unless one knows it is there, is nearly totally cleared. Some parts of tomb area, gives the impression of in need of some sort of consolidations. One can on many walls see Cuneiform script, which looks like its stamped into the mud-bricks. Sometimes it's hard to see, but it's actually all over the place. Whole walls are covered with cuneiform. Modern graffiti has also found its way to the graves, usually in form of names made with colour pens (sometimes they are carrved). The Great Ziggurat itself has far more graffiti, mostly lightly carved into the bricks. The graves are completely empty. Nothing is left in them, but one can climb into all of them. The whole site is covered non-stop with broken pottery. One can practically not set a foot anywhere without stepping on broken pottery. It even surpasses Saqqara in Egypt in that matter and is easily on the level of Dendera (which is a much smaller area). They are mostly small pieces, but once in a while there are also large pieces. Some have colours and paintings on them. One can see that some of the 'mountains' of broken pottery are of newer creation, and are debris removed from excavations. Similar 'mountains' can be seen at Egyptian sites, like Great Pyramid of Giza, Saqqara and Dendera. Pottery debris is inside many of the walls of the royal tombs area. It can currently only be speculated if this is of ancient making or modern (restoration), but it is a fact that they are, literally, filled up with pottery debris. ==Notes== #Tell el-Mukayyar – in Arabic language ''Tell'' means "mound" and ''Mukayyar'' means "built of bitumen". Mukayyar is variously transcribed as Mugheir, Mughair, Moghair, Muqayyar etc. #Queen Puabi is also written Pu-Abi and formerly transcribed as Shub-ab. ==Sources== * *Materials from the British Museum * Travel info from Dancon/Irak ==Related Internal links of interest== Biblical archaeology ==External links== * [http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur-flood.htm Woolley and the Great Flood] * [http://www.oi.uchicago.edu/OI/UR/Ur_home.html Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur] * [http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Ur_Muqayyar.html The History of the Ancient Near East] *[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=40&letter=U ''Jewish Encyclopedia'':] Ur Sumer

Ur

=="Kasidim" equals Kassites?== ''"The Kasidim could also refer to the Kassites who were present during the time during which the Exodus occured."'' Has any historian or archaeologist made this connection? Or is it 19th-century Bible-talk? A source or reference for this would make it more encyclopediable, though a religious website would not be very helpful. Anything? --User:Wetman 13:26, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==January 2004 entry== I think its great someone cared to edit this entry. I specified tried to write it in 3rd person so others could modify it (especially for grammar). I also largely avoided to make personal opinions, but tried to only report what I saw. I think the latest edit of it, is great, but I also think it has lost some references and some of it is actually not true anymore. * The tourist part now is a blunt statement. Anyone, say western reading this, with no personal knowledge of this, will think �ahhh that must be like visiting the British museum�. When the fact is, it is pretty far from it. That is why a specified made a reference to Egypt. A place with similarly culture (at least compared to western), and chances is many more people have visited. If somebody reference to Egypt�s tourism as industrial and have visited a western major tourist place, they are more likely to understand the huge different between UR tourism and visiting the British museum. I think the current wording is misleading. * The graffiti part is now not true. It should be reversed, as it is mostly with pens and occasionally carved. (Except the Ziggurat) * It is a fact that nobody knows how the top of the Ziggurat is supposed to look. * The part of the helicopters comes over incorrect to me. I�m not sure what is wrong with the wording?? * Consolidations of the grave, is an opinion maybe. But anyone seeing it in the real will arrive at the same thought, in seconds. And if the graves some day collapses, this is exactly the kind of information people will be looking for �at what time was the graves in what shape� * That part of the walls of the graves being filled with pottery debris is also fact. It can un-doubtful be worded better (I�m not an English speaker), but it is 100% facts and I can prove it (Photos). I don�t see why the whole section had to be chopped? I'm not sure if I should just edit, since I am the original writer of it and it may get the impression that i'm bias and just want my version. User:Twthmoses 00:11, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) :The editing of your on-site report seemed a little harsh, but you get the idea:slightly more formal in approach and less personal. Do correct the text so it's accurate. --User:Wetman 03:56, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Correction == Corrected mistake showing Nabonidus as the last king of Babylon in 639 BC. Changed it to 539 BC. -- Mkofron 09:05 UTC 4/28/05 ==Falsified Genesis quote== I hope that everyone can detect the rhetorical sleight-of-hand in which a quote from ''Genesis'' is made to look more historical in the following: :''In ''Genesis'' xi. 28 and 31 and xv. 7, Ur is described as the birthplace of Abraham, the largest city of Shinar or northern Chaldea, and the principal commercial centre of the country as well as the centre of political power.'' This is ''not'' in fact how Ur is described in the ''Genesis'' quotes, which are alluded to but not actually exhibited. This is a very familiar technique, which everyone should be aware of. I've left it untouched in the text as a characteristic example. Anyone may edit it out if they like, of course --User:Wetman 04:30, 3 May 2005 (UTC) : I do not understand what �rhetorical sleight-of-hand� means, but you are indeed correct this is not what the OT says about UR. In fact is does not even specified say that Abraham is born in UR. Neither does it mention anything about largest city, Shinar (in connection with UR), principal commercial centre or centre of political power. User:Twthmoses 15:03, 3 May 2005 (UTC) == Is Great Ziggurat reconstructed? == Great Soviet Encyclopedia has a label 'reconstruction' under the drawing of this ziggurat. It should be cleared out whether it is ancient building or modern reconstruction User:Ilya K 18:54, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) :If the illustration is a drawing that shows a crisp, clean ziggurat, perhaps with people walking about, then it is the illustration that is the reconstruction, a commonplace when explaining constructions that are in ruinous condition. If it's a photo, then we have a question still. --User:Wetman 20:28, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC) :The basic structure you see today is largely of ancient making. I have a lot of photos from the 20�s and 30�s while those show a lot more sand and more damage to the outer walls and especially the top looks more in disorder, it is basically the same as today. There has been some repairing done that is for certain, but while I was there I did not notice any stones of newer making use to do that. I think they simply put some of the stone that had fallen down in their place again. Asphalt and tar is all over the place and only a few place can you see modern mortar (reparing), but you actually have to look for it to see it. :I think it�s not unlike the sites in Egypt. If you see photos from the 70�s and compare them with today you can clearly see repairing and consolidation have been done, but they are still ancient temples. :I would like to show it by uploading some examples, but I don�t know where I got the photos so I can't tag them proper, other then they are from the British excavation in the 20�s and 30�s (had them for years) and I got a few from the 50's and 60�s I think and compare them to 2004 pictures.User:Twthmoses 00:10, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

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