Near East Kingdoms

Ur / Urim (City State) (Sumer)

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The city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation emerged a little way ahead of that of Africa's ancient Egypt, and up to a millennium before that of the Indus Valley culture. It developed out of the end of the Pottery Neolithic across the Fertile Crescent, a period which had seen Neolithic Farmer practices spread far and wide across the Near East and beyond.

As irrigation improved so the more southerly reaches of the Euphrates could at last be occupied by humans and their animals. Southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and the western edge of Iran) was subjected to permanent settlement, initially in the form of pastoralists but soon as farmers too. Cultures around the edges of this progression included the Hassuna and Samarra which began this settlement process, and perhaps elements of the Hissar culture in the Iranian highlands were also involved.

By the late fourth millennium BC, Sumer was divided into approximately a dozen city states which were independent of one another and which used local canals and boundary stones to mark their borders. Many early historical events in the region are found only in the Sumerian king list, which notates the rulers of the city states (and see feature link), but archaeology has also uncovered a wealth of detail.

The city of Ur or Urim (modern Tell el-Mukayyar) was located close to Eridu, near the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris, close to the Persian Gulf (which is now several kilometres further to the south due to silting). While it appears to have been inhabited in the earliest stages of village life in southern Mesopotamia - around 5000 BC during the Ubaid period, and up to 3900 BC which led directly to the Uruk-centric Uruk IV period - it seems to have been abandoned for a time.

However, by the 'Early Dynastic III' period (beginning circa 2600 BC) the small farming villages had consolidated into a thriving centre of industry. Ur was by this time considered sacred to the god Nanna or Nannar (or 'Sîn' in Akkadian), and was ruled by at least two pre-dynastic kings. Their names have been discovered on artefacts near their tombs but they are not present on the Sumerian king list.

Increasing sophistication meant the rise of individual patriarchal households, the accumulation of capital in the form of productive land and specialised craft production, and the increasing secularisation of political power in Sumer. This gradually led to the rise of individual city leaders. Such leaders arrived on the scene in the 'Early Dynastic' period, when cities were becoming much more competitive in terms of resources.

The position of lugal was one of several offices of varying names which gained control of their respective cities. It is believed that the office of lugal arose in Ur, but later became increasingly common in other cities. It also quickly became a dynastic (inherited) office, in contrast to the position of en which had temple connections and which required temple recognition and selection.

According to the Sumerian king list, a total of twelve kings ruled in Ur for 396 years, three times (dynasties). Here, List 1 is primarily used, backed up by List 2 and List 3 (see the main Sumer page for details). The 'Third Dynasty' of Ur would lead a revival period at the end of the third millennium BC before a drying climate and shifting rivers would largely consign Sumer to history and sand.

The king list presents kingship as a divine gift which had been bestowed upon mankind in primordial times. It was passed down from king to king and from city to city through the will of the gods and could only be held by one person at a time. This now appears to be more of a high kingship, with each city recognising the most powerful king of the period while ruling their own territory. Only later did the concept of empire emerge to remove or minimise local rule under a more powerful empire-builder.

The ruins of Ur sit about twenty-four kilometres to the south-west of Nasiriyah, and half-way between Baghdad and the modern Persian Gulf coast (which is farther south than it used to be due to silting). The main ruins mound today is known as Tell al-Muqayyar (the 'mound of the pitch'). It has been surrounded by sandy desert since the main course of the Euphrates shifted away from it. It once sat along a tributary arm of the river which led into a lagoon and then into the gulf.

The main mound was first examined in 1854 by J H Taylor, British consul at Basra. It was quickly found to be the Old Testament's 'Ur of the Chaldees', meaning the Chaldaeans who controlled southernmost Mesopotamia in the eighth century BC. H R H Hall carried out more detailed explorations in 1918-1919, before Leonard Woolley took over in 1920-1934. In the late 1970s Saddam Hussein's Iraq carried out a partial and impressive restoration of the ziggurat of Ur-Nammu.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City, Gwendolyn Leick (Penguin Books, 2001), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character, Samuel Noah Kramer ('List 1' of Sumerian rulers, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1963), from Political Change and Cultural Continuity in Eshnunna from the Ur III to the Old Babylonian Period, Clemens Reichel (List of Eshnunna's rulers, providing some names which are not on the Bruce R Gordon list as part of a dissertation proposal for the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, 11 June 1996), from First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies, Peter Bellwood (Second Ed, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from The Archaeology of Mesopotamia, S Lloyd (Revised Ed, London, 1984), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), from The First Empires, J N Postgate (Oxford 1977), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Ancient History: A Theory About Ancient Times, L C Gerts (List 4 of Sumerian rulers, Chapter 12: The Sumerian king list, 2002), from Mesopotamia, Chris Scarre (Ed, Past Worlds - The Times Atlas of Archaeology, Guild Publishing, London 1989), from The Age of the God-Kings, Kit van Tulleken (Ed, Time Life Books, Amsterdam 1987), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and The Sumerian Kings List, J A Black, G Cunningham, E Fluckiger-Hawker, E Robson, & G Zólyomi ('List 2' of Sumerian rulers, available via the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford, 1998), and Ancient History, Anthony Michael Love ('List 3' of Sumerian rulers at Sarissa.org), and Images from History (University of Alabama), and Evolution of Sumerian kingship (Ancient World Magazine).)

c.3900 BC

As early as 8000 BC, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, small clay tokens of various distinctive shapes are evidently being used by Near Eastern farmers to keep an inventory of their commodities. A cone-shaped token, for instance, may indicate that a farmer has a certain amount of barley in his granary.

This already-ancient system is greatly expanded during the Uruk IV period which begins around 3900 BC (or 3800 BC according to some). By this time the Sumerian city of Ur has been occupied and improved for over a millennium, since about 5000 BC.

The Uruk IV period which lasts between about 3900-3100 BC sees this city flourish as a centre of pottery production, with archaeologists finding a vast deposit of broken pottery which they label the 'Great Sherd Dump'. This lasts until the apparent social upheaval (see Uruk) which heralds the start of the Jemdet Nasr period from about 3100 BC.

c.3100 - 2900 BC

The Uruk IV influence suddenly fades around 3100 BC (or 3200 BC in some modern sources) for reasons unknown. Local traditions re-emerge in places which had previously taken on board Uruk influences. Elam's advanced city of Susa experiences an influx of immigrants who introduce great changes there.

The Uruk III or Jemdet Nasr period in Sumer is one of comparative isolation (with the city of Jemdet Nasr supplying the type site). A new social structure is built which will become a fundamental part of the successive 'Early Dynastic' period. A host of early cities are mentioned at this time, on seals which are discovered at Jemdet Nasr itself. These cities include Kesh, Larsa, Nippur, Ur, Uruk, and Zabalam.

c.3000 BC

Ur's most important sanctuary is built in the form of the temple of the moon good Nanna. A ziggurat is constructed for this purpose, with a huge temple enclosure wall of planoconvex bricks which even today is nine metres thick.

c.2900 BC

The Jemdet Nasr period fades in favour of a new, outward-looking 'Early Dynastic' period. True writing now blossoms as it moves closer to spoken Sumerian, archives explode with mercantile records and administrative acts, and the first kings begin to appear as leading city figures take on more duties and increasing power, ostensibly as deputies of the gods themselves.

Nippur becomes the focus of Sumer's unified cult practices, in favour of Ur. Positioned centrally in Sumer, perhaps this location is more satisfactory for the region's cities. All of them seem to be joined together when it comes to paying homage to the Sumerian pantheon of gods, headed by Enlil who is Nippur's patron (another good reason for making this city the religious centre).

This unique status lasts until the eighteenth century BC which witnesses the rise of Babylon. Seals mention it frequently, even when they are found in small or obscure Sumerian cities such as Abu Salabikh, Arina, Kesh, Urum, and Zabalam.

fl c.2620s? BC

Not on the king list. Here, or in Uruk circa 2455 BC?

fl c.2610s? BC

Not on the king list

fl c.2600 BC

Son. 'Hero of the good land'. Not on the king list. m Ninbanda.

c.2550 BC

The city of Adab is a subject state under the control of Ur. Because Mesilim of Kish is active in Adab at this time, perhaps Ur may also be a subject of Kish.

A lead tumbler from Ur of the Early Dynastic I period, 2900-2800 BC - using lead for drinking vessels was largely restricted to this period

fl c. 2550 BC

Nin, or priestess-queen.

Pu-abi is a Semitic Akkadian (her Sumerian name is Shubad), showing just how culturally intermixed the Semitic Akkadians have become with Sumerians. Her tomb later reveals her to be a priestess or queen (or both - not unusual at this time).

If she is the wife of a king of Ur, then which one is not known. The tomb is in the Royal Cemetery, which serves to show later archaeological discovers Sumerian culture at its height. It also serves as a model for similar tombs in cities in northern Mesopotamia and Syria such as at Tuttul.

Not on the king list.

c.2500 BC

The line of kings in Ur in the twenty-sixth century BC seems to be too brief for the time period involved. No relationships are known for the few names present, making the heritage of Mesannepadda uncertain. The king list states that he gains the kingship from Uruk, heralding the start of Ur's 'First Dynasty'.

First Dynasty (Ur) (Sumer)
c.2500 - 2445 BC

Ur gained supremacy over the First Dynasty of Uruk. The first king of this dynasty, Mesannepadda, is identified by some as being the same person as Mesilim of Kish, who is strangely absent from the king list. despite clearly having been a figure of authority in the region. However, this raises the question of why the two cities were subsequently ruled separately.

This is the third set of entries on the Sumerian list comprising kings 36-39. Four kings ruled for 177 / 171 years (Lists 1 & 2).

c.2500 BC

Ruled for 80 years. Also known as A-ane-pada?

Possibly the son (or descendant) of Meskalamdug (according to one artefact found at Ur - see feature link), or simply a shortening of Mesannepada's own name, A-ane-pada lays the foundations for the temple of Ninhursag.

It is also this dynasty of kings which coincides with the laying of the 'Royal Graves' of Ur, although none of the archaeological remains can be linked to any specific ruler. Mesannepadda himself is known to bear the additional title of 'king of Kish'.

The temple of Ninhursag, built by Mesannepadda (A-ane-pada) around 2500 BC

c.2500 BC

By this time the scribes of Abu Salabikh bear Semitic names. Sumer is now a multi-lingual region, with at least two major languages being spoken in the form of Sumerian and Semitic (sometimes labelled proto-Akkadian, with that later being a dominant form of non-Sumerian).

Semitic predominates in northern Sumer and in northern Mesopotamia beyond that - such as at Ashur and Nineveh - as this is the route of entry into Sumer itself. Its use is most notable in early Akkadians, while Sumerian still dominates in the south.

fl c.2500 BC

Likely son (or the same person).

Son (or grandson). Ruled for 36/30 years.

c.2460s BC

The Semitic influence in Sumer is clearly increasing. The next two rulers in Ur bear Akkadian names, showing that not only is Sumer now multi-lingual but that the influence has become woven into society to the extent that even ruling figures can have at least partial Semitic links.

The 'Awan King List' is a compilation of the rulers of the Elamite city and kingdom of Awan, one which possibly was compiled as early as 2100 BC, although extant manuscripts are between two and four centuries younger (External Link: Creative Commons Licence 4.0)

Bearing an Akkadian name. Ruled for 25 years.

fl c.2455 BC

Bearing an Akkadian name. Ruled for 36 years.

The city of Akshak may be a vassal state around this time. Its king of the later mid-twenty-fifth century BC, one Unzi, is thought to be dominated at the start of his reign by Ur.

c.2440s BC

Eannatum of Lagash annexes virtually all of 'Post-Diluvian' Sumer, including Kish, Nippur, Uruk (briefly), Ur, and Larsa, and reduces his arch-rivals at Umma, twenty-nine kilometres away, to a tributary state with the defeat of Enakalle.

In addition, he extends his realm to parts of Elam and along the Persian Gulf, apparently using terror as a matter of policy. The stele of the vultures describes the violent treatment which is meted out to his enemies.

Urur of Akshak leads a northern coalition against him but that is destroyed, with Akshak recognising Lagash's supremacy along with Mari. Lagash is later eclipsed by Umma under Lugalzaggesi.

Second Dynasty (Ur) (Sumer)
c.2340 - 2340 BC

The city of Ur regained the kingship from the 'Second Dynasty' at Uruk. However, the city was largely eclipsed at this time by Akkad and very little is known of this dynasty of kings. They were probably tributary to Akkad, at least during the reign of Sargon and probably immediately afterwards, too. The centre of power was shifting northwards, to Kish, Akkad, and other cities.

Extremely lacking in detail, this is the eighth set of entries on the Sumerian list comprising kings 55-58. Unfortunately most names on the king list are too damaged to be legible. Four kings ruled for (probably) 116 years (List 1), or three kings ruled for 582 / 578 years, or two kings ruled for 120 + X years (List 2), or four kings ruled for 108 years (List 3).

fl c.2350? BC

Ruled for ?/120+x/54+x years.

c.2350 BC

Lugalzaggesi of Umma is the last ethnically-Sumerian ruler of Uruk. His reign coincides with the burning of Shuruppak, although there is no suggestion that he is the cause (the hostile city of Ur is much more likely). The fire seals in copious numbers of clay seals, records which provide a boon to later archaeologists.

Lugalzaggesi's reign also coincides with that of Alusarsid of Agade, who seemingly begins to build an empire around his city state. Around 2330 BC, Lugalzaggesi is defeated and captured by Alusarsid's successor, Sargon of the now-expansive Akkadian empire. Sargon claims his territory and the kingship.

Son. Ruled for ?/48 years.

Ruled for ?/2/414 years.

fl c.2340? BC

Ruled for ? years (not on all lists).

Third Dynasty (Ur) (Sumer)
c.2112 - 2004 BC

The 'Third Dynasty' was established by the former general, Ur-Nammu, succeeding Uruk's final dynasty as the leading Sumerian power. Largely an 'empire' of administration, it rose to control all of the Near East's Mesopotamia, including the Assyrian city states to the north. Viewed as the 'last great Sumerian renaissance', the region was already becoming heavily settled by Amorites who would found the city state of Isin in circa 2017 and who would later found Babylon.

Although Ur re-established Sumerian as the primary language, it was already on the way to becoming a purely literary and liturgical language (just as Latin would later be in early modern Europe). Ur also traded with the Indus Valley peoples of India and Pakistan and controlled the borders of Elam, the early Assyrian city of Nineveh, and many peripheral regions.

Some sources name an Ur-gur (or Ur-Engur) and Dungi, who both rebuilt Naram-Sin's temple work at Nippur, as kings of Ur around 3000 BC, while also placing them as successors of Sargon and Naram-Sin of Agade. The latter claim places them at no earlier than circa 2200 BC and ties them in with the resurgence of Ur at this time. The probability is that they were in fact Ur-Nammu and Shulgi.

This is the nineteenth set of entries on the Sumerian list comprising kings 120-124. Five kings ruled for 108 years (List 1), or four kings ruled for 108 years, or five kings ruled for 117 / 120 + X / 123 years (List 2). Ur's timeline is relatively easy to establish as its year names provide a basic sequence for the larger events.

c.2112 - 2095 BC

Ruled for 18 years. Founded the dynasty.

c.2113 BC

Ur-Nammu subjugates the kings of Kisurra, although vassal kings are allowed to remain there. Ebla also falls under Ur's control, while the small city of Urusagrig eventually contains three temples to deified Ur III rulers, and is visited frequently. It is Ur-Nammu who begins construction of the great ziggurat of Ur, to be completed by his son.

It stands within its own enclosure, orientated to the points of the compass. Built in three stages, the core is mudbrick, probably encompassing the ruins of an earlier structure, and faced with a thick skin (2.4 metres thick) of baked brick set in bitumen to protect it from erosion.

Today only a few metres is preserved of the second of the ziggurat's three stages, but it remains the best-preserved example of its kind in the entire region.

This artistic reconstruction shows Ur-Nammu's ziggurrat in the city of Ur around the end of the twenty-second century BC, from C L Woolley, 1936

c.2094 - 2047 BC

Son. Ruled for 48/46/48/58 years.

Shulgi extends his father's empire to include all of the Assyrian city states and their at-present non-Assyrian neighbours such as the Lullubi. He also re-conquers Susa from Elam and its Simashki rulers, and may be responsible for finishing off rebuilding work at Nippur. The vassal kings of Kisurra are removed entirely, while Ur's governors are in place at Eresh, Urum, and Urusagrig.

In his twenty-sixth year, around 2068 BC, Shulgi attempts to forge an alliance between himself and the king of Marhashi. Perhaps this is to renew forty year-old ties of peace, but perhaps it is also to ward off a decline in relations. He gives his daughter, Nialimmidashu, in marriage to the king.

c.2090s? BC

The Old Testament provides a list of descendants from Noah to Abraham, along with the ages of each descendant at the time his own son is born. While many of those ages seem plausible, the earliest do not. A rough calculation of about twenty to thirty years for each generation supplies an approximate date of 2090 BC for Noah.

His Israelite descendants supposedly emigrate from Ur around 1750 BC, but while there is no confirmation either way that they have previously been long term residents of the city or its immediate environs, much of their story probably comes from this region (including the Biblical flood, which can be equated with the Sumerian 'Great Flood' story).

c.2046 - 2038 BC

Son. Ruled for 9/25 years.

A great renovator of Sumer's ancient sites, Amar-Sin apparently works on the ziggurat at Eridu, although the city has to be abandoned during his reign. The main temple at Ashur is restored following its recent destruction, and a potential temple at Adab is also restored.

The city state of Hamazi also becomes part of Ur's empire at this time, while Amar-Sin has to campaign against Arwilukpi, the present king of Marhashi. The outcome is unknown but Marhashi becomes much less of a threat.

c.2037 - 2029 BC

Son. Ruled for 9/7/20+x/16 years.

Shu-Sin gives a daughter in marriage to the Elamite prince of Anshan, but the majority of his reign oversees continued regional decline. Amorites continue to migrate into the east and north of Ur's territory, essentially removing them from Ur's bureaucratic oversight without even fighting a pitched battle.

In increasing desperation at the unmanaged immigration and potential spread of revolt, Shu-Sin orders a wall to be built which stretches two hundred and seventy-four kilometres. It is frequently attacked.

c.2028 - 2004 BC

Son. Ruled for 24/25/15/23? years. Captured by the Elamites.

c.2026 - 2025 BC

Eshnunna breaks away from Ur's control in the second year of Ibbi-Sin's reign, while it seems that Larsa follows suit in the following year, becoming at least semi-independent and forming its own line of kings. In Anatolia, it is likely that a trading colony is established at Kanesh.

c.2017 BC

As with much of southern Mesopotamia, Ur is rapidly fading in power and influence as harvests fail and the population declines. Grain prices in Ur seem to increase fifteen times over, but the city's massive bureaucracy hinders it from making rapid decisions to ameliorate the situation.

The over-production of cereal has led to an increased strain being placed on the soil and a fall in productivity. The tax system has placed an increasing burden on an increasingly larger share of the population. One of Ibbi-Sin's officials, Ishbi-Erra, is implored by the king to acquire grain in the north at whatever price is necessary.

On top of all of this, new waves of immigration into the region by Amorites add an extra layer of confusion and conflict. Ishbi-Erra now takes the opportunity to move to the subject city of Isin and create his own city state there. Elsewhere Urusagrig has already been lost, to conquest by Malgium.

The ruins of the once-vast city of Ur were excavated in 1922 by Sir Leonard Woolley, which is when the 'Royal Tombs' were discovered

c.2016 BC

The province of Hamazi is occupied and plundered by Isin as the empire collapses.

c.2013 - 2010 BC

The final king of Kisurra is removed. Kazallu is conquered by Isin around 2013 BC, while Ur also loses Hamazi to Isin around 2010 BC.

c.2004 BC

The waning Sumerian civilisation which has at its centre the city of Ur now collapses entirely when the Simashki ruler of Elam, Kindattu, together with the people of Susa, sacks the city and captures Ibbi-Sin.

The great brick mausoleums and temples of the third dynasty kings are destroyed and the king is carried off into captivity. Documentation from Umma now ceases. Isin now enjoys a period of dominance in Sumer while a now-Amorite-dominated Ur re-emerges in a reduced state.

Ur (Amorite City State) (Southern Mesopotamia)

The fall of the Sumerian city of Ur and its 'Third Dynasty' around 2004 BC ended the final stages of Sumerian civilisation. Long migrating into the region and part of the problem which caused Ur's decline, Amorites began to fill the void left by the collapse by assuming control of former Sumerian cities such as Mari, and by establishing powerful centralised kingdoms such as Babylonia. The Assyrians also achieved temporary independence in Ashur at the same time.

Six years after Ur's conquest by Elam, that city was seized by the successor Amorite city state of Isin, which restored the temples. Ur was no longer a capital city but it continued to thrive for many more centuries. It remained a centre of learning throughout the 'Old Babylonian' period, and retained this prestigious role for far longer than it retained any political fame. The small city state of Kazallu in Akkad shared in the spoils of the victory of about 2004 BC, temporarily rising to become a small regional power.

This is also the period in which the early Semitic-speaking Israelites supposedly became émigrés from southern Mesopotamia, after leaving the city of Ur during the reign of Hammurabi. If not so at the beginning, they soon led a confederation of tribes which initially settled on the coast of the Dead Sea to form one or more small kingdoms in Canaan.

c.1998 - 1920 BC

Ur is controlled by Isin, until the governor of Lagash (and Larsa) forms his own independent state around 1920 BC, although the date is only a rough estimate. Larsa also seizes Ur and controls it directly.

c.1920? - 1906 BC

Governor of Lagash & Larsa. Seized Ur for Larsa.

c.1920 - 1763 BC

Ur remains controlled by Larsa, until, circa 1763 the latter city is attacked and defeated by Hammurabi's Babylonian empire, handing all of its subject cities to the Babylonians.

Perhaps not coincidentally, this is the same period in which Terah leads his people out of Ur to settle in Harran, a city far up and to the east of the Euphrates, near the Hatti, where he dies. His son, Abraham, inherits the leadership, and continues the migration of his group into Canaan, where they settle as the early Israelites.

Animal figurines from Ur, possibly bulls, decorated with paint alongside a model probably resembling a gabled hut (right) from Tell al-'Ubaid

c.1741 - 1736 BC

Many city states have been revolting against Babylonian rule since the death of Hammurabi, and many free themselves from the empire, despite hard fighting by Hammurabi's son, Samsu-Illuna. Terqa is attacked, and Apum is sacked (1726 BC), but Rim-Sin II of Larsa now revolts against Babylon's rule, aided by Anni of Eshnunna.

The loss of Babylonian controls is not only political. Previously-flourishing cities such as Nippur and Ur are now mainly abandoned. The priesthood at Uruk migrates to northern Babylonian cities which continues to thrive.

The reasons are obscure, possibly with Babylon's response to revolts being severe enough to destroy the local infrastructure. An alternative is that Hammurabi's system of economically-interdependent districts has collapsed, crashing the economy of the entire region.

c.587 - 500 BC

New construction work is carried out at Ur under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian empire. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus, also improves the ziggurat.

However the city begins a decline from around 550 BC, possibly as a result of the Euphrates changing its course. It is abandoned after circa 500 BC, by which time the Achaemenid Persians are in control of Mesopotamia and the city's ceremonial function no longer suits the changed political situation.

It continues in use for some time as a necropolis. A record dated to 324 BC mentions it as being inhabited by Arabs, but by that time its existence as a great city had been forgotten.

The site remains largely intact, in archaeological terms, being marked even today by the ruins of a ziggurat - a temple of Nanna, the moon deity in Sumerian mythology - and by a settlement mound.