Ur was the capital of the Neo-Sumerian Ur III dynasty in ancient Mesopotamia. The dynasty ruled much of southern Mesopotamia from about 2112 to 2004 BCE and made Ur a major political, religious, and administrative center.
Kings including Ur-Nammu and Shulgi organized a highly bureaucratic state from the city. Thousands of clay tablets from the period record deliveries of grain, livestock, textiles, labor assignments, and other transactions. These documents make the Ur III period one of the best-documented eras of early Mesopotamian history.
Ur was also associated with the moon god Nanna and contained a large temple complex with a monumental ziggurat. The city stood near the ancient course of the Euphrates, close to the head of the Persian Gulf in antiquity. It is not the same city as Uruk, although both were important Sumerian centers.