and an extensive religious precinct. It is the site of two of
the most impressive archaeological discoveries of antiquity:
the monumental ziggurat of King Ur-Nammu (partially re-
stored in the late 1970s) and the famous cemetery unearthed
by the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley and a joint ex-
pedition of the British Museum and the University Museum
of Philadelphia from 1920 to 1934. Th e interest in the site
had been intensifi ed by the discovery of ancient tablets that
identifi ed the city as Ur of the Chaldees, the biblical home of
Abraham. Th e most impressive fi nds of the expedition were
the 16 tombs identifi ed as elite or “Royal Graves” because of
the wealth and quality of the objects found in them and be-
cause of the unique arrangement of the main body alongside
those believed to have been servants, ritual attendants, and
possibly sacrifi cial victims.
Th e richness of the fi nds was unprecedented in Mesopota-
mian history: objects of gold, bronze, ivory, and semiprecious
stones, and a wide variety of tools, weapons, headdresses, and
hair ornaments. Th e most famous objects found were the re-
mains of a decorated harp or lyre with the head of a golden
bull wearing a beard of lapis lazuli and the Standard of Ur,
the sound box of a string instrument decorated with shell and
lapis lazuli inlays, showing scenes of war and peace on either
side. We cannot say for certain that the cauldrons and goblets
found in the tombs were used for the ritual mass poisoning,
an interpretation that has been much popularized. What is
clear from the remains is that there were more women than
men buried in the cemetery and that the feminine ornaments
and decorative objects found were used to defi ne an increas-
ing level of cultural and political status for many of the wom-
en found buried at Ur.
Th is apparent rise in the status of women offi cials at Ur
was accompanied by the emergence of an effi cient state ad-
ministration that enforced monopolies on the most impor-
tant commodities (linen and wool cloth), implemented a new
calendar and standardized measures with accounting based
on the use of silver rods, and regulated activities as diverse
as cattle raising, date-palm horticulture, and advanced ir-
rigation and large-scale architectural engineering. Th e two
best examples of engineering advancements are the city’s
massive walls and the monumental Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu
(ca. 2113–2096 b.c.e.), which was part of the temple precinct
dedicated to the moon god Nannar. Th e city walls were con-
structed w it h an innovative t y pe of standardized brick, ca lled
planoconvex because it was fl at on the bottom and rounded
on the top. Th e main advantage of this new form was that the
bricks could be laid more quickly, without mortar or a skilled
labor force. It also was more conducive to the construction of
rounded corners and curving walls.
Th e monumental dimensions of the main buildings at
Ur indicate the use of a highly organized and disciplined
but unskilled labor force, one of the main ingredients of an
imperial civilization. Th e religious precinct at Ur also dem-
onstrates this tendency toward greater monumentality. Th e
entire area stood on a huge platform reinforced by heavy
brick walls, 24 yards thick and 8.7 yards tall. Th e ziggurat
itself was a three-layered structure that stood within its own
enclosure, occupying only a part of the precinct. On the
southeast side was a large building called the Gipar, which
functioned as the main residence of the high priestess of the
city and of the goddess Ningal, the spouse of the moon god
Nannar. Th e Gipar off ers further testimony of the powerful
role played by female gods and priestesses in the history of
Mesopotamian cities. But ultimately Ur and its empire, like
Akkad, would fall into decline. Th is process was described in
a text entitled Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, which,
like the Curse of Agade upon which it was modeled, empha-
sized the power of the gods over humans and the endless
cycle of rebirth and destruction.ASHUR, NINEVEH, AND THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
Th e Akkadian imperial achievement set the stage for the
emergence of the Assyrians, a Semitic people who built
great palace-fortress complexes and a militaristic empire on
the limestone plateau of northern Mesopotamia, beginning
around 1365 b.c.e., under the leadership of King Ashur-ubal-
lit I. Th e ceremonial capital of the empire was Ashur, situated
on a cliff overlooking the Tigris, from which point it com-
manded a lucrative Anatolian trade in tin and Babylonian
textiles. Th e offi cial religious center of the Assyrians, the city
was dedicated to the god Ashur and became the sacred burial
place of Assyrian monarchs, especially aft er 879 b.c.e., when
King Ashurbanipal II moved his capital to Calah (Nimrud),
itself soon to be eclipsed by the emergence of Nineveh as the
administrative and residential capital of the empire.
Th e rise of Nineveh as the last offi cial capital of the As-
syrians began in 705 b.c.e. with King Sennacherib’s deci-
sion to move his administration and palace there from the
palace-fortress complex of Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad),
which had been established by Sargon II to escape associa-
tions with the old capital Nimrud. Achieving a population
of some 120,000 at its height, Nineveh would remain the
capital of Assyria until it was sacked in 612 b.c.e. Located
amidst the sprawl of modern-day Mosul, Iraq, the site of
Nineveh was a roughly rectangular enclosure with a mas-
sive wall about 7.5 miles in length.
Th e palace, conceived as both royal residence and gov-
ernment headquarters, was only part of the extensive urban-
istic undertaking sponsored by Sennacherib, the purpose of
which was to transform Nineveh into a world-class royal city.
Especially noteworthy was his pragmatic planning, involving
not only the widening of streets and squares but also the pro-
vision of parks, orchards, and advanced hydraulic engineer-
ing to guarantee a fresh water supply for the city. It has even
been suggested by some scholars that the famous Hanging
Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,
were more likely found in Nineveh than in Babylon. Th e sub-
sequent creation in Nineveh of the fi rst great cuneiform tablet
library of the ancient Near East, founded by Ashurbanipal (r.
668–627 b.c.e.), demonstrates clearly that Assyrian capitalscities: The Middle East 213