![Northeastern facade (the ascents partly restored) of the ziggurat at Ur, southern Iraq. [Credit: Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/4864.gif)
Northeastern facade (the ascents partly restored) of the ziggurat at Ur, southern Iraq. [Credit: Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen]Ancient city and district,
Sumer, southern
Mesopotamia. It was situated on a former channel of the
Euphrates River in what is now southern
Iraq. One of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, it was settled sometime in the 4th millennium &BC;.
In the 25th century &BC; it was the capital of southern Mesopotamia under its first dynasty. Though it later declined, it again became important around the 22nd century &BC;. It is mentioned in the Bible (as Ur of the Chaldees) as the early home of Hebrew patriarch Abraham (&circa; 2000 &BC;). In subsequent centuries it was captured and destroyed by many groups, including the Elamites and Babylonians. Nebuchadrezzar II restored it in the 6th century &BC;. Excavations, especially in the 1920s and '30s, uncovered remains of great archaeological value.
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