Ur-Nammu

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Ur-Nammu (seated) bestows governorship on Ḫašḫamer, patesi (high priest) of Iškun-Sin (cylinder seal impression, ca. 2100 BC).
Ur-Nammu (seated) bestows governorship on Ḫašḫamer, patesi (high priest) of Iškun-Sin (cylinder seal impression, ca. 2100 BC).

Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, ca. 2112-2095 BC middle chronology) founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule. He was succeeded by his son Shulgi, after an eighteen-year reign. His death on the battle-field against the Gutians (after he had been abandoned by his army) was commemorated in a long Sumerian poetic composition.[1]

His main achievement was state-building, and Ur-Nammu is chiefly remembered today for his legal code, the Code of Ur-Nammu, arguably the oldest surviving example in the world. He was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of stepped temples, called ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur. [1] Among his military exploits were the conquest of Lagash and the defeat of his former masters at Uruk. He was eventually recognized as a significant regional ruler (of Ur, Eridu, and Uruk ) at a coronation in Nippur, and is believed to have constructed buildings at Nippur, Larsa, Kish, Adab and Umma. He was known for restoring the roads and general order after the Gutian period.[1]

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  1. ^ a b Hamblin, William J. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. New York: Routledge, 2006.

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