kids encyclopedia robot

Ur-Nammu facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Ur-Nammu
π’Œ¨π’€­π’‡‰
King Ur-Nammu.jpg
Enthroned King Ur-Nammu, founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur, on a cylinder seal. Inscription of the upper segment: "Ur-Nammu, the Great man, King of Ur". The name of King Ur-Nammu (π’Œ¨π’€­π’‡‰) appears vertically in the upper right corner.
King of the Neo-Sumerian Empire
Reign c. 2112 Β BC – 2094 Β BC

(Middle Chronology)

c.2048 Β BC – 2030 Β BC

(Short Chronology)
Predecessor Utu-hengal
Successor Shulgi
Consort Daughter of Utu-hengal
Issue Shulgi
Dynasty 3rd Dynasty of Ur
Religion Sumerian religion
Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005
Ur-Nammu built the great Ziggurat of Ur.
Ur-Nammu dedication tablet for the Temple of Inanna in Uruk (horizontal)
Ur-Nammu dedication tablet for the Temple of Inanna in Uruk. Inscription "For his lady Inanna, Ur-Nammu the mighty man, King of Ur and King of Sumer and Akkad":

π’€­π’ˆΉ Dinanna.... "For Inanna-"
π’Žπ’‚π’€­π’ˆΎ Nin-e-an-na.... "Ninanna,"
π’Žπ’€€π’‰Œ NIN-a-ni.... "his Lady"
π’Œ¨π’€­π’‡‰ UR-NAMMU.... "Ur-Nammu"
𒍑𒆗𒂡 NITAH KALAG ga.... "the mighty man"
π’ˆ—π’‹€π’€Šπ’† π’ˆ  LUGAL URIM KI ma.... "King of Ur"
π’ˆ—π’† π’‚—π’„€π’† π’Œ΅π’†€ LUGAL ki en gi ki URI ke.... "King of Sumer and Akkad"

Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian: π’Œ¨π’€­π’‡‰, ruled c. 2112 BC – 2094 BC middle chronology, or possibly c. 2048–2030 BC short chronology) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule. His main achievement was state-building, and Ur-Nammu is chiefly remembered today for his legal code, the Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest known surviving example in the world. He held the titles of "King of Ur, and King of Sumer and Akkad".

Reign

According to the Sumerian King List, Ur-Nammu reigned for 18 years. Year-names are known for 17 of these years, but their order is uncertain. One year-name of his reign records the devastation of Gutium , while two years seem to commemorate his legal reforms ("Year in which Ur-Nammu the king put in order the ways (of the people in the country) from below to above", "Year Ur-Nammu made justice in the land").

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. It is now known that the reign of Puzur-Inshushinak in Elam overlapped with that of Ur-Nammu. Ur-Nammu, who styled himself "King of Sumer and Akkad" is probably the one who, early in his reign, reconquered the territories of central and northern Mesopotamia that had been occupied by Puzur-Inshushinak, possibly at the expense of the Gutians, before going on to conquer Susa.

Ur-Nammu was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur.

He was killed in a battle against the Gutians after he had been abandoned by his army. He was deified, and succeeded by his son Shulgi. His death in battle was commemorated in a long Sumerian elegiac composition, "The Death of Ur-Nammu".

Year names of Ur-Nammu

Several of the year names of Ur-Nammu are known, documenting the major events of his reign. The main year names are:

Year: "Ur-Namma (is) King"
Year: "Ur-Namma declared an amnesty (misharum) in the land"
Year: "The wall of Ur was built"
Year: "The king received kingship from Nippur"
Year: "The temple of Nanna was built"
Year: "The 'A-Nintu' canal was dug"
Year: "The land of Guti was destroyed"
Year: "The god Lugal-bagara was brought into his temple"

β€”Main year names of the reign of Ur-Nammu.

Artifacts

  • Ur Nammu code Istanbul

    Code of Ur-Nammu.

  • Fired mudbrick, stamped. The cuneiform inscription mentions the name of Ur-Nammu, 2 accidentally impressed dog's paw-marks near one edge. From the Ziggurat of Ur, Ur, Iraq. Ur III period, 21st century BCE. British Museum

    Fired mudbrick, stamped. The cuneiform inscription mentions the name of Ur-Nammu, and there are two presumably accidentally impressed dog's paw-marks near one edge. From the Ziggurat of Ur, Ur, Iraq. Ur III period, 21st century BCE. British Museum

  • Sumerian Cylinder Seal of King Ur-Nammu

    Cylinder seal of Ur-Nammu. British Museum.

  • Ur-Nammu (name)

    Name of Ur-Nammu on a seal, and standard cuneiform

  • Ur-Nammu Lugal Urimki ma Lugal Kiengir Kiuri

    "Ur-Nammu, King of Ur, and King of Sumer and Akkad" (π’Œ¨π’€­π’‡‰: Ur-Nammu π’ˆ—π’‹€π’€Šπ’† : Lugal Urimki π’ˆ : ma π’ˆ—π’† π’‚—π’„€: Lugal Kiengir π’† π’Œ΅: Kiuri)

  • Foundation figure of Ur-Namma holding a basket MET DP375097

    Foundation figure in the form of a peg surmounted by the bust of King Ur-Nammu.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ur-Nammu para niΓ±os

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Ur-Nammu Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.