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The city of '''Ur''' is one of the oldest cities known to [[archaeology]], located between the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] Rivers near the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=ur>Stacey Pexa. [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/ur.html Ur], ''University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology'', mnsu.edu, 1999.</ref> Ur is a place that often bears the title "cradle of civilization," which the [[Greeks]] called "the Land Between the Rivers," or [[Mesopotamia]].<ref name=NatHist>Azzam Alwash. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_9_116/ai_n21092828/ Water at war: Iraq's marshlands, once decimated by Saddam Hussein's campaign against his own people, are reviving with global aid], ''Natural History''. FindArticles.com. 14 Nov, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.amazeingart.com/seven-wonders/ziggurat.html The Sumerian Ziggurat at Ur], ''Amazeing Art''.</ref> The first settlers of this land were known as Ubaidians, identified with the Ubaid period from 5200-4500 B.C., and was ruled under a king known as Mes-Anni-Padda, who was succeeded by his son, A-Anni-Padda.<ref name=ur/> But it wasn't until the Sumerians arrived when the land developed an established civilization, because they brought with them [[art]] and [[literature]], which far surpassed that of the Ubaidians.<ref>[http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerhistory.html Sumerian History]</ref>  

The city of '''Ur''' is one of the oldest cities known to [[archaeology]], located between the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] Rivers near the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=ur>Stacey Pexa. [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/ur.html Ur], ''University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology'', mnsu.edu, 1999.</ref> Ur is a place that often bears the title "cradle of civilization," which the [[Greeks]] called "the Land Between the Rivers," or [[Mesopotamia]].<ref name=NatHist>Azzam Alwash. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_9_116/ai_n21092828/ Water at war: Iraq's marshlands, once decimated by Saddam Hussein's campaign against his own people, are reviving with global aid], ''Natural History''. FindArticles.com. 14 Nov, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.amazeingart.com/seven-wonders/ziggurat.html The Sumerian Ziggurat at Ur], ''Amazeing Art''.</ref> The first settlers of this land were known as Ubaidians, identified with the Ubaid period from 5200-4500 B.C., and was ruled under a king known as Mes-Anni-Padda, who was succeeded by his son, A-Anni-Padda.<ref name=ur/> But it wasn't until the Sumerians arrived when the land developed an established civilization, because they brought with them [[art]] and [[literature]], which far surpassed that of the Ubaidians.<ref>[http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerhistory.html Sumerian History]</ref>  

Ur is one of the sites where the [[epic of Gilgamesh]] was found, written in [[cuneiform]] in an example of the world's oldest written language.<ref>Mike Francis. [http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2009/11/scenes_from_the_cradle_of_civi.html At the Cradle of Civilization: Ziggurat of Ur], ''The Oregonian'', November 07, 2009.</ref> During the era when the [[Sumerian]] civilization lived in the city, Ur is believed to be the site where [[farming]] and [[writing]] first developed, from which villages first grew into cities, cities into kingdoms, and kingdoms into empires. Most of what was built in the city has long since crumbled into ruin, with the notable exception of the Sumerian "[[Ziggurat]] at Ur."<ref>[http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/explore/exp_main.html The Ziggurat of Ur], ''The British Museum''.</ref> The temple-pyramid is part of the ruins of an ancient Sumerian city.<ref name=foxnews>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575147,00.html U.S. Soldiers Among First to Tour Ancient Iraqi Temple], ''Fox News'', November 14, 2009.</ref> Another site, near the Ziggurat of Ur, is considered even more historically significant. The city is known in the [[Bible]] as "Ur of the Chaldees."<ref name=ur/> This biblical name refers to the [[Chaldeans]], who settled the area about 900 B.C., and is believed to have been the home of [[Abraham]], a central figure in the [[Muslim]], [[Jewish]] and [[Christian]] religions.<ref name=foxnews/>  

Ur is one of the sites where the [[epic of Gilgamesh]] was found, written in [[cuneiform]] in an example of the world's oldest written language.<ref>Mike Francis. [http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2009/11/scenes_from_the_cradle_of_civi.html At the Cradle of Civilization: Ziggurat of Ur], ''The Oregonian'', November 07, 2009.</ref> During the era when the [[Sumerian]] civilization lived in the city, Ur is believed to be the site where [[farming]] and [[writing]] first developed, from which villages first grew into cities, cities into kingdoms, and kingdoms into empires. Most of what was built in the city has long since crumbled into ruin, with the notable exception of the Sumerian "[[Ziggurat]] at Ur."<ref>[http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/explore/exp_main.html The Ziggurat of Ur], ''The British Museum''.</ref> The temple-pyramid is part of the ruins of an ancient Sumerian city.<ref name=foxnews>[https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575147,00.html U.S. Soldiers Among First to Tour Ancient Iraqi Temple], ''Fox News'', November 14, 2009.</ref> Another site, near the Ziggurat of Ur, is considered even more historically significant. The city is known in the [[Bible]] as "Ur of the Chaldees."<ref name=ur/> This biblical name refers to the [[Chaldeans]], who settled the area about 900 B.C., and is believed to have been the home of [[Abraham]], a central figure in the [[Muslim]], [[Jewish]] and [[Christian]] religions.<ref name=foxnews/>  

==History==

==History==