Ur, the city from which Abraham was called, has a unique and interesting history. Surprisingly, Ur was a city of significant prosperity and wealth, yet steeped in the worship of idols. Before God could use Abraham, He had to remove Abraham from his homeland.
The ancient city of Ur was located in Mesopotamia, in a region called Sumer, which is in modern day southern Iraq. Today the site of Ur is known as Tall al Muqayyar (Arabic for “mound of pitch”) and is approximately 160 miles from the head of the Persian Gulf. During Abraham’s day, Ur was located very close to the Persian Gulf at a strategic point where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers merged into the gulf. However, over the past several hundred years, large amounts of sediment carried …show more content…
This era, called the Akkadian period, marked a blending of the Sumerian and Semitic cultures. This period of Ur’s history had four kings but not much is recorded about their dynasty.
Ur grew to be the largest city in Mesopotamia during the reign of the first king of the 3rd Dynasty, Ur-Namma who reigned from 2113-2095 BC. Ur-Namma was very intelligent and wrote the first law in history which contained 31 legal paragraphs. He was very devoted to cultural progress which gave birth to the Sumerian Renaissance. He governed the people like a patriarch and father who desired to guide his children to health and prosperity and encouraged them to follow him in the pursuit of excellence.
Ur-Namma’s son, Shulgi, succeeded the throne after his father and continued his economic policies. He reigned from 2095-2047 BC and built many temples including the great 70-foot ziggurat, which was devoted to their chief moon-god Nanna. Shulgi also constructed a wall 30 feet high around the city of Ur and a 155-mile wall around the border of the region of Sumer to keep out their enemy, the Amorites.
The descendants of Ur-Namma maintained the wall until 1750 BC when the wall was breached and the neighboring kingdom of Elam ransacked Ur and took the reigning king …show more content…
Archeologists estimate that there were approximately 24,000 people living in the city of Ur during the time of Abraham. The city was divided into two areas: the Common District and the Sacred Place. The common district would contain homes, schools, libraries, and marketplaces. The homes had many conveniences and were adorned with lush gardens. Since the people of Ur worshipped the moon-god, Nanna, the religious center was protected by strong walls within the city. The ziggurat built by King Shulgi and other temples of stone were located here. Inside this religious center was another sacred center where people would pay their taxes and bring gifts to Nanna because they believed the moon-god was their
The ancient city of Ur was located in Mesopotamia, in a region called Sumer, which is in modern day southern Iraq. Today the site of Ur is known as Tall al Muqayyar (Arabic for “mound of pitch”) and is approximately 160 miles from the head of the Persian Gulf. During Abraham’s day, Ur was located very close to the Persian Gulf at a strategic point where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers merged into the gulf. However, over the past several hundred years, large amounts of sediment carried …show more content…
This era, called the Akkadian period, marked a blending of the Sumerian and Semitic cultures. This period of Ur’s history had four kings but not much is recorded about their dynasty.
Ur grew to be the largest city in Mesopotamia during the reign of the first king of the 3rd Dynasty, Ur-Namma who reigned from 2113-2095 BC. Ur-Namma was very intelligent and wrote the first law in history which contained 31 legal paragraphs. He was very devoted to cultural progress which gave birth to the Sumerian Renaissance. He governed the people like a patriarch and father who desired to guide his children to health and prosperity and encouraged them to follow him in the pursuit of excellence.
Ur-Namma’s son, Shulgi, succeeded the throne after his father and continued his economic policies. He reigned from 2095-2047 BC and built many temples including the great 70-foot ziggurat, which was devoted to their chief moon-god Nanna. Shulgi also constructed a wall 30 feet high around the city of Ur and a 155-mile wall around the border of the region of Sumer to keep out their enemy, the Amorites.
The descendants of Ur-Namma maintained the wall until 1750 BC when the wall was breached and the neighboring kingdom of Elam ransacked Ur and took the reigning king …show more content…
Archeologists estimate that there were approximately 24,000 people living in the city of Ur during the time of Abraham. The city was divided into two areas: the Common District and the Sacred Place. The common district would contain homes, schools, libraries, and marketplaces. The homes had many conveniences and were adorned with lush gardens. Since the people of Ur worshipped the moon-god, Nanna, the religious center was protected by strong walls within the city. The ziggurat built by King Shulgi and other temples of stone were located here. Inside this religious center was another sacred center where people would pay their taxes and bring gifts to Nanna because they believed the moon-god was their