Partly reconstructed Ziggurat of Ur

Computer model of the Ziggurat

Ur was the one of the world's first cities, in Mesopotamia. It was a Sumerian city-state, founded around 3,800 BC. There are written records dating from the 26th century. Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the River Euphrates on the Persian Gulf. It is now well inland, south of the Euphrates on its right bank, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Nasiriyah, Iraq.