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Article: Fabulous Ur.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- October 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Five to six thousand years ago, in the part of Mesopotamia called Sumer, one of the world's earliest cities developed. Located on the Euphrates River in what is now southern Iraq, Ur is believed to represent a typical early Mesopotamian city.
Today, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow south into the Persian Gulf, but in ancient times, the gulf is believed to have been much farther north, and Ur was actually a seaport. The city's access to other areas via the rivers and gulf opened it up to outside influences and goods.
Because the Euphrates River brought plenty of water to the semiarid plain near Ur, the clever Sumerians grew grain using an elaborate ...