Ur was destroyed by the Elamites around 2004 BCE, helping to end the Ur III dynasty in ancient Mesopotamia. The event marked the collapse of one of the earliest strongly centralized states in southern Mesopotamia.
Ur III kings had governed through an extensive administrative system based at Ur, but pressure from several directions weakened the kingdom. Elamite forces from the east captured the city, and the last Ur III ruler, Ibbi-Sin, was taken prisoner according to later historical tradition.
The fall of Ur did not end Mesopotamian civilization or the city’s religious importance. Ur was rebuilt and occupied repeatedly in later periods, and its sanctuary of the moon god Nanna remained significant. The date is conventionally given as 2004 BCE, although absolute chronology for the early second millennium can vary among scholarly systems.