UR-NAMMU

'Ur-Nammu' (or 'Ur-Namma', 'Ur-Engur', ca. 2112-2095 BC) founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule. He was succeeded by his son Shulgi, after an eighteen-year reign. His death on the battle-field against the Gutians (after he had been abandoned by his army) was commemorated in a long Sumerian poetic composition.^[1]
His main achievement was state-building, although Ur-Nammu is chiefly remembered today for his so-called legal code, the ''Code of Ur-Nammu'', which is arguably the oldest surviving example in the world. He was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of stepped temples, called ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur.

Among his military exploits are the conquest of Lagash and the defeat of his former masters at Uruk. He was eventually recognized as a significant regional ruler at a coronation in Nippur. He was known for restoring the roads and general order after the Gutian period.

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See also

See also

★ Sumerian king list

★ Hammurabi
1. Hamblin, William J. ''Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC''. New York: Routledge, 2006.