User:A.X.Wiki.Editor/First dynasty of Ur
(26th-25th century BCE)
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/British_Museum_Middle_East_14022019_Gold_and_carnelian_beads_2600-2300_BC_Royal_cemetery_of_Ur_%28composite%29.jpg/220px-British_Museum_Middle_East_14022019_Gold_and_carnelian_beads_2600-2300_BC_Royal_cemetery_of_Ur_%28composite%29.jpg)
The First Dynasty of Ur was a 26th-25th century BCE dynasty of rulers of the city of Ur in ancient Sumer.[2] It is part of the Early Dynastic period III of the history of Mesopotamia.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Ur_Grave_gold_and_carnelian_beads_necklace.jpg/220px-Ur_Grave_gold_and_carnelian_beads_necklace.jpg)
Rule
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Standard_of_Ur_-_feast.jpg/220px-Standard_of_Ur_-_feast.jpg)
According to the Sumerian King List, the final ruler of the First Dynasty of Uruk Lugal-kitun was overthrown by Mesannepada of Ur. There were then four kings in the First Dynasty of Ur: Mesannepada, Mes-kiagnuna, Elulu, and Balulu.[4] Two other kings earlier than Mes-Anepada are known from other sources, namely Mes-kalam-du and A-Kalam-du.[4] It would seem that Mes-Anepada was the son of Mes-kalam-du, according to the inscription found on a bead in Mari, and Mes-kalam-du was the founder of the dynasty.[4] A probable Queen Puabi is also known from her lavish tomb at the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The First Dynasty of Ur had extensive influence over the area of Sumer, and apparently led a union of south Mesopotamian polities.[4][5]
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Royal_Tombs_of_Ur_Objects_from_tomb_PG_580.jpg/220px-Royal_Tombs_of_Ur_Objects_from_tomb_PG_580.jpg)
Ethnicity and language
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Like other Sumerians, the people of Ur were a non-Semitic people who may have come from the east circa 3800 BCE, and spoke a language isolate.[6][7] Sumer was conquered by the Semitic-speaking kings of the Akkadian Empire around 2270 BC (short chronology), but Sumerian continued as a sacred language. Native Sumerian rule re-emerged for about a century in the Third Dynasty of Ur at approximately 2100–2000 BC, but the Akkadian language also remained in use.[8]
International trade
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Funeral_procession_at_Ur%2C_circa_2600_BCE_%28reconstitution%29.jpg/220px-Funeral_procession_at_Ur%2C_circa_2600_BCE_%28reconstitution%29.jpg)
The artifacts found in the royal tombs of the dynasty show that foreign trade was particularly active during this period, with many materials coming from foreign lands, such as Carnelian likely coming from the Indus or Iran, Lapis Lazuli from the Badakhshan area of Afghanistan, silver from Turkey, copper from Oman, and gold from several locations such as Egypt, Nubia, Turkey or Iran.[3] Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Ur tombs dating to 2600-2450, in an example of Indus-Mesopotamia relations.[9] In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley, and made according to a technique developed by the Harappans.Cite error: A <ref>
tag is missing the closing </ref>
(see the help page). In comparison, the burials of the kings of Kish were much less lavish.[5] High-prowed Sumerian ships may have traveled as far as Meluhha, thought to be the Indus region, for trade.[5]
Demise
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/King_at_war_leading_soldiers_Standard_of_Ur.jpg/220px-King_at_war_leading_soldiers_Standard_of_Ur.jpg)
According to the Sumerian King List (SKL), the First Dynasty of Ur was finally defeated, and power went to the Elamite Awan dynasty.[10] The Sumerian king Eannatum (c.2500–2400 BCE) of Lagash, then came to dominate the whole region, and established one of the first verifiable empires in history.[11]
The power of Ur would only revive a few centuries later with the Third Dynasty of Ur.[11][12]
List of rulers
[edit]Portrait or inscription | Ruler | Approximated dates | Notes and references for mentions |
---|---|---|---|
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A-Imdugud | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2600 BC sometime during the Early Dynastic (ED) IIIa period. | Known from inscriptions in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. |
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Ur-Pabilsag | Uncertain; may have d. c. 2550 BC sometime during the ED IIIa period.[13] | |
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Puabi | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2550 BC sometime during the ED IIIa and/or IIIb period(s). | |
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Meskiagnun | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2485 BC sometime during the ED IIIa and/or IIIb period(s).[13] | Known from the Tummal Chronicle; furthermore, as the son of Mesannepada from SKL.[14] However: Meskiagnun may have preceded Mesannepada.[13] |
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Akalamdug | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2600, c. 2500 BC sometime during the ED IIIa and/or IIIb period(s).[13] | Known from dynastic beads and tomb inscriptions in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. |
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Meskalamdug | ||
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Mesannepada | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2500 BC sometime during the ED IIIa and/or IIIb period(s).[13] | Known from the SKL and Tummal Chronicle.[14] |
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A'annepada | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2500 – c. 2300 BC sometime during the ED IIIb and/or Proto-Imperial period(s).[13] | Known as the son of Mesannepada from dedication tablets with inscriptions. |
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Elulu | Uncertain; may have r. c. 2455, c. 2445, c. 2350 BC sometime during the ED IIIb and/or Proto-Imperial period(s).[13] | Known from the SKL.[14] |
Lunanna | Uncertain; these rulers may have r. c. 2350 – c. 2154 BC sometime during the Proto-Imperial and/or Akkadian period(s).[13] | Known from one of Sargon's inscriptions.[13] | |
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Balulu | Known from the SKL.[14] |
Sumerian King List
[edit]Only the final kings of the First Dynasty of Ur, from Mesannepada to Balulu and possibly 4 unnamed kings, are mentioned in the SKL:[14]
"... Uruk with weapons was struck down, the kingship to Ur was carried off. In Ur Mesannepada was king, 80 years he ruled; Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna, son of Mesannepada, was king, 36 years he ruled; Elulu, 25 years he ruled; Balulu, 36 years he ruled; 4 kings, the years: 171(?) they ruled. Ur with weapons was struck down; the kingship to Awan was carried off.
— Sumerian King List, 137-147.[14]
Artifacts
[edit]The Royal Cemetery of Ur held the tombs of several rulers of the First Dynasty of Ur.[4] The tombs are particularly lavish, and testify to the wealth of the First Dynasty of Ur.[5] One of the most famous tombs is that of Queen Puabi.[5]
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A gold dagger and a dagger with a gold-plated handle, Ur excavations (1900).
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Reconstructed Sumerian headgear necklaces found in the tomb of Puabi, housed at the British Museum
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Queen's Lyre, one of the Lyres of Ur, Ur Royal Cemetery.
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The Standard of Ur
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Lyre of a Bull's Head from Queen Puabi's tomb. (British Museum)
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Nacre plate with anthropomorphic animals, circa 2600 BCE
See also
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References
[edit]- ^ British Museum notice: "Gold and carnelians beads. The two beads etched with patterns in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley. They were made by a technique developed by the Harappan civilization"
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 228. ISBN 9780521070515.
- ^ a b c British Museum notice "Grave goods from Ur"
- ^ a b c d e Frayne, Douglas (2008). Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC). University of Toronto Press. pp. 901–902. ISBN 9781442690479.
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
IMD
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Sumerians, a non-Semitic people who perhaps came from the east" in Curtis, Adrian (2009). Oxford Bible Atlas. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780191623325.. Mention of Gen 11:2 "And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there." (English Standard Version)
- ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1979). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 392. ISBN 9780802837813.
- ^ Leick, Gwendolyn (2003), "Mesopotamia, the Invention of the City" (Penguin)
- ^ McIntosh, Jane (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. pp. 182–190. ISBN 9781576079072.
- ^ "Then Urim was defeated and the kingship was taken to Awan." in Kriwaczek, Paul (2014). Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization. Atlantic Books. p. 136. ISBN 9781782395676.
- ^ a b Incorporated, Facts On File (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Infobase Publishing. p. 664. ISBN 9781438126760.
- ^ Knapp, Arthur Bernard (1988). The history and culture of ancient Western Asia and Egypt. Wadsworth. p. 92. ISBN 9780534106454.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Marchesi, Gianni (January 2015). "Toward a Chronology of Early Dynastic Rulers in Mesopotamia". In W. Sallaberger and I. Schrakamp (Eds.), History & Philology (ARCANE 3; Turnhout), Pp. 139-156.
- ^ a b c d e f "CDLI-Found Texts". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ British Museum notice WA 121544
- ^ Crawford, Harriet (2013). The Sumerian World. Routledge. p. 622. ISBN 9781136219115.
- ^ Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and; Hansen, Donald P.; Pittman, Holly (1998). Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. UPenn Museum of Archaeology. p. 78. ISBN 9780924171550.
- ^ James, Sharon L.; Dillon, Sheila (2015). A Companion to Women in the Ancient World. John Wiley & Sons. p. 13. ISBN 9781119025542.