01
Ur
Capital of the Third Dynasty of Ur, with one of the best-preserved ziggurats in the world.
about 5000β300 BCEAtlas of Sumer
Twelve sites of Sumer on a real map: tap any site in the list, a card or a dot to zoom in and open its card.
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World Heritage Β· UNESCO 2016Amer worked hereLiving landscape
Sites
Twelve sites of Sumer
02
Uruk
One of history's first great cities, the city of Gilgamesh, where the earliest known writing appeared.
about 4000 BCE β 300 CE03
Eridu
According to the Sumerian King List, the first city to receive kingship.
about 5400β2000 BCE04
Girsu
Religious capital of the state of Lagash, home of the famous statues of Gudea.
about 2500β2100 BCE05
Lagash
One of the largest Sumerian cities, the political and economic centre of the state of Lagash.
about 2900β2000 BCENo openly licensed photo of this site yet
06
Nina
The third city of the state of Lagash, home of the goddess Nanshe at the edge of the marshes.
about 2900β2000 BCE07
Umma
The historic rival of Lagash, home of Lugal-zage-si, who united the cities of Sumer.
about 2900β2000 BCE08
Larsa
City of the sun god Utu, and capital of a strong kingdom until Hammurabi annexed it.
about 2000β1763 BCE09
Shuruppak
City of the Sumerian flood hero, and source of the world's oldest wisdom texts.
about 3000β2000 BCE12
The Ahwar (Mesopotamian Marshes)
Inscribed by UNESCO together with Ur, Uruk and Eridu; its people still live by reed and water.
from thousands of years ago to todayTimeline of the South
From the Ubaid to the Islamic era
Over seven thousand years on one land. Tap βShow on mapβ to see each period's sites.
Ubaid about 6500β3800 BCE
The first farming villages in the south, and the first temples at Eridu.
Uruk about 4000β3100 BCE
The birth of the great city, and the first writing on clay.
Jemdet Nasr about 3100β2900 BCE
Writing and art mature; the Mask of Warka belongs to this time.
Early Dynastic about 2900β2350 BCE
Sumerian city-states and their rivalries, and the Royal Cemetery at Ur.
Akkadian about 2350β2150 BCE
Sargon unites Sumer and Akkad in the first great state.
Gudea and Ur III about 2150β2004 BCE
A last Sumerian revival: the statues of Gudea and the Ziggurat of Ur.
Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian about 2000β1595 BCE
Rival kingdoms, until Hammurabi unites them.
Kassite to Neo-Babylonian about 1595β539 BCE
Old temples are restored, and Nabonidus renews the Ziggurat of Ur.
Achaemenid to Sasanian 539 BCE β 636 CE
Successive empires; Uruk and Nippur are still inhabited.
Islamic period from 636 CE
Basra is founded, and life in the marshes, among the reeds, goes on.
Dates are approximate.
Our heritage abroad
Objects from southern sites in world museums
A calm introduction to objects from Sumer now shown in museums worldwide, and others at home in the Iraq Museum.
Standard of Ur
A wooden box inlaid with shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, about 2600 BCE.
Ram in a Thicket
A small figure of a horned animal rearing against a tree, of gold, silver and lapis lazuli, found with its twin in Ur's "Great Death Pit".
Queen's Lyre
A bull-headed lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The wood is modern; the head and inlay are original.
Bull-headed Lyre
The front of a lyre with a bearded bull's head and a shell plaque, from a royal grave next to Puabi's at Ur.
Headdress of Queen Puabi
A headdress of gold leaves with lapis lazuli and carnelian beads, found with Queen Puabi in the Royal Cemetery at Ur.
Royal Game of Ur
An inlaid gaming board about 4,500 years old, with pieces and dice, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur.
Stele of the Vultures
The stele of Eannatum, king of Lagash, about 2450 BCE; its fragments were found at Tello (Girsu).
Gudea Cylinders A and B
Two clay cylinders describing Gudea's building of Ningirsu's temple, found at Tello in 1877.
Gudea, 'the architect with a plan' (Statue B)
A seated statue of Gudea holding a building plan on his lap, from Girsu.
Seated statue of Gudea
A diorite statue of about 2090 BCE; the museum says it probably comes from Girsu.
Plimpton 322
A Babylonian mathematical tablet listing number triples. It is thought to be from Larsa, but its findspot is uncertain.
Code of Ur-Nammu (Nippur copy)
An Old Babylonian copy of the oldest known law code, found at Nippur. Other fragments are in Baghdad and London.
Warka Vase
At home in IraqAn alabaster vase of about 3000 BCE showing offerings brought to Inanna. Stolen in 2003, later returned.
Mask of Warka
At home in IraqA marble woman's face of about 3100 BCE, one of the earliest depictions of a human face. Stolen in 2003 and found months later.
Gold Lyre of Ur
At home in IraqA lyre with a gold bull's head from Ur's Royal Cemetery. Its wooden body was damaged in 2003; the gold head survived.