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Ur
Ur , ancient city of Sumer, S Mesopotamia. The city is also known as Ur of the Chaldees. It was an important center of Sumerian culture (see Sumer ) and is identified in the Bible as the home of Abraham. The site was discovered in the 19th cent., but it was not until the excavations of C. Leonard Woolley in the 1920s and 30s that a partial account of its history could be constructed. Remains found at the site seem to indicate that Ur existed as far back as the late Al Ubaid period (see Mesopotamia ) and that the city was an important commercial center even before the first dynasty was established (c.2500 BC). Among the most important remains of the first dynasty, which has revealed a luxurious material culture, are the royal cemetery, where the standard of Ur was found, and the Temple of Ninhursag at Ubaid, bearing the inscriptions of the kings of the first dynasty. Ur was captured c.2340 by Sargon, and this era, called the Akkadian period, marks an important step in the blending of Sumerian and Semitic cultures. After this dynasty came a long period of which practically nothing is known except that a second dynasty rose and fell. The third dynasty was established c.2060 BC under King Ur-Nammu , who built the great ziggurat that has stood, although crumbled and covered with sand, throughout the centuries. An inscription in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul was identified (1952) as a fragment of the code of Ur-Nammu. It predates the code of Hammurabi by 300 years and is the oldest known law code yet discovered. The third dynasty of Ur fell (c.1950 BC) to the Elamites and later to Babylon. The city was destroyed and rebuilt throughout the years by various kings and conquerors, including Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus in the 6th cent. About the middle of the 6th cent., Ur went into a decline from which it never recovered. A record dated 324 BC mentions it as being inhabited by Arabs, but by that time its existence as a great city was forgotten. The change in the course of the Euphrates, which had been the source of the city's wealth, probably contributed to the final decline of Ur. Ur is mentioned often in the Bible (Gen. 11.28,31; 15.7; Neh. 9.7) and was at one period known to the Arabs as Tall al-Muqayyar [mound of pitch].
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"Ur." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ur." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ur.html "Ur." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur. Ancient city of the Middle East. The city of Ur is referred to in the Hebrew scriptures as the place of origin of the patriarchs (Genesis 11. 28, 31), although originally it was not realized that Ur was a place. Since the letters form the Hebrew word for ‘fire’, it was believed that Abram/Abraham came from the fire of the Chaldaeans. This was taken to be the fire of persecution, hence the elaboration of many stories concerning Abram's refusal of idolatry. Although resting on a mistake, these stories persist into Islam.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Ur." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Ur." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Ur.html JOHN BOWKER. "Ur." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur A city situated in antiquity on the River Euphrates; it had a sophisticated culture and a history of prosperity. It has been thoroughly excavated, and the evidence is that the name ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ (Gen. 11: 28) is an anachronism imported by the Priestly editor during the era of Babylonian (Chaldean) imperialism around the 7th cent. BCE. It was the home of Abraham before his migration to Canaan. He left the amenities of the city for the precarious and harsher life of a nomad. There are plenty of modern parallels.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ur." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ur." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Ur.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ur." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur (Ur of the Chaldees) Ancient city of Sumeria, s Mesopotamia. Ur flourished in the 3rd millennium bc, but Sargon I conquered it in c.2340 bc. The Akkadian period witnessed the integration of Semitic and Sumerian cultures. In c.2060 bc, the great ziggurat was built by King Ur-Nammu. In c.2000 bc, the invading Elamites destroyed much of the city. In the 6th century bc, Nebuchadnezzar briefly restored Ur as a centre of Mesopotamian civilization, but by the 5th century bc it was in terminal decline.
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"Ur." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ur." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Ur.html "Ur." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur A city of the SUMERIANS. It was occupied from the 5th millennium BC, and was at one point damaged by a severe flood. By 3000 BC it was one of a number of sizeable Sumerian cities. It was subject to the rule of AKKAD, but emerged c.2150 as the capital of a new Sumerian empire, under the third dynasty established by Ur-Nammu. The city was captured by the Elamites c.2000, but thrived under the Chaldean kings of Babylon. It was finally abandoned in the 4th century BC.
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"Ur." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ur." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Ur.html "Ur." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur an ancient Sumerian city formerly on the Euphrates, in southern Iraq. It was one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia, dating from the 4th millennium bc, and reached its zenith in the late 3rd millennium bc.
Ur of the Chaldees in the Bible, named as the original home of Abraham (the connection with the Chaldeans may be of later date). Ur of the Chaldees is sometimes referred to as the type of a place from the infinitely distant past. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ur." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ur." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ur.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ur." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur, Iraq The modern name is Tell al‐Muqayyar ‘Hill covered in Tar’ from the Arabic tell ‘hill’ and muqayyar ‘tar’ or ‘pitch’, although why this should be so is not clear. Ur was a Sumerian city founded during the 4th millenium bc. The Sumerian characters give the Hebrew word for ‘fire’, although this is not necessarily the meaning of the ancient name.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Ur." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Ur." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Ur.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Ur." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Ur.html |
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Ur
Ur
•à deux, agent provocateur, astir, auteur, aver, bestir, blur, bon viveur, burr, Chandigarh, coiffeur, concur, confer, connoisseur, cordon-bleu, cri de cœur, cur, danseur, Darfur, defer, demur, de rigueur, deter, entrepreneur, er, err, farceur, faute de mieux, fir, flâneur, Fleur, force majeure, fur, hauteur, her, infer, inter, jongleur, Kerr, littérateur, longueur, masseur, Monseigneur, monsieur, Montesquieu, Montreux, murre, myrrh, occur, pas de deux, Pasteur, per, pisteur, poseur, pot-au-feu, prefer, prie-dieu, pudeur, purr, raconteur, rapporteur, refer, répétiteur, restaurateur, saboteur, sabreur, seigneur, Sher, shirr, sir, skirr, slur, souteneur, spur, stir, tant mieux, transfer, Ur, vieux jeu, voyageur, voyeur, were, whirr
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"Ur." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ur." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Ur.html "Ur." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Ur.html |
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