The First Dynasty of Ur (abbreviated Ur I) was a dynasty of rulers from the city of Ur in ancient Sumer who . Ur I is part of the Early Dynastic III period of ancient Mesopotamia. It was preceded by the earlier First Dynasty of Kish and the First Dynasty of Uruk.

Rule

thumb|left|upright=1.2|Golden helmet of [[Meskalamdug, possible founder of the First Dynasty of Ur.]]

thumb|right|upright=1.2|Gold objects from tomb PG 580, [[Royal Cemetery at Ur.]]

thumb|left|King at peace, with attendants, from the [[Standard of Ur.]]

thumb|right|King at war, with soldiers, from the [[Standard of Ur.]]

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. Two other kings earlier than Mes-Anepada are known from other sources, namely Mes-kalam-du and A-Kalam-du.

International trade

thumb|left|The [[etched carnelian beads in this necklace from the Royal Cemetery dating to the First Dynasty of Ur were probably imported from the Indus Valley. British Museum.]]

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. Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Ur tombs dating to 2600-2450, in an example of Indus-Mesopotamia relations. 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. In comparison, the burials of the kings of Kish were much less lavish. 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.

The power of Ur would only revive a few centuries later with the Third Dynasty of Ur.

List of rulers

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!width="16.5%"|Depiction

!width="16.5%"|Ruler

!width="16.5%"|Succession

!width="16.5%"|Epithet

!width="16.5%"| dates

!width="16.5%"|Notes

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|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|Early Dynastic IIIa period ()

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!colspan="7"|Predynastic Ur ()

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|120px

|A-Imdugud<br>π’€€π’€­π’…Žπ’‚‚

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  • Historicity certain
  • His name does not appear on the SKL
  • Known from an inscribed cylinder seal bearing the title of, "Governor of Ur" (found in tomb PG 1236 located in the Royal Cemetery at Ur)

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|120px

|Ur-Pabilsag<br>π’Œ¨π’€­π’‰Ίπ’‰‹π’Š•

|Son of A-Imdugud (?)

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  • temp. of Ursangpae
  • Known from an inscription fragment bearing the title of, "King of Ur" (found in tomb PG 779 located in the Royal Cemetery at Ur)

|-

!width="1%"|#

!width="16.5%"|Depiction

!width="16.5%"|Ruler

!width="16.5%"|Succession

!width="16.5%"|Epithet

!width="16.5%"| dates

!width="16.5%"|Notes

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|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|Early Dynastic IIIb period ()

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|120px

|Akalamdug<br>π’€€π’Œ¦π’„­

|Son of Meskalamdug (?)

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  • Son of Meskalamdug (?)
  • temp. of Akurgal

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|colspan="7"align="left"|

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|1st

|120px

|Mesannepada<br>π’ˆ©π’€­π’‰Œπ’…†π’Š’π’•

|Son of Meskalamdug (?)

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|<br><small>(80 years)</small>

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  • Son of Meskalamdug (?)
  • temp. of Ur-Lumma

Artifacts

The Royal Cemetery of Ur held the tombs of several rulers of the First Dynasty of Ur. The last word "π’Š©π’Œ†" can either be pronounced Nin β€œlady”, or Eresh β€œqueen”.

File:Standard of Ur - War.jpg|The Standard of Ur

File:Raminathicket2.jpg|Ram in a Thicket

File:Bull's head of the Queen's lyre from Pu-abi's grave PG 800, the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London..JPG|Lyre of a Bull's Head from Queen Puabi's tomb. (British Museum)

File:Lyre detail (Royal Cemetery of Ur).jpg|Nacre plate with anthropomorphic animals, circa 2600 BCE

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See also

  • Sumerian King List
  • History of Sumer
  • Third Dynasty of Ur

References