Urua (URUxA^ki) was an ancient Near East city in the border area between ancient Mesoptamia and ancient

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

. It is known in the 3rd millennium BC. Its location is currently unknown but is thought to be in modern

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...

, Iran. The god Dumuzi-Urua is attested in

Umma Umma () in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been sugges ...

in the Ur III period. It is not to be confused with the Uruaz (uru-az^ki) which was in the same region.

History

Urua was one of the lands conquered by King

Eannatum Eannatum ( ; ) was a Sumerian ''Ensi (Sumerian), Ensi'' (ruler or king) of Lagash. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history, subduing Elam and destroying the city of Susa, and extending his domain over the rest of Sumer and Akk ...

Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

, circa 2500 BC reporting in one of his inscriptions "He defeated the ruler of Urua, who stood with the (city’s) emblem in the vanguard". He also reported defeating the land of Uruaz saying "He sacked Uruaz and killed its ruler". Capitves from Uruaz were blinded. There is a record of Dudu, a high official of Eannatum, buying stone in Urua to make a votive wall plaque. In the

Akkadian Empire The Akkadian Empire () was the first known empire, succeeding the long-lived city-states of Sumer. Centered on the city of Akkad (city), Akkad ( or ) and its surrounding region, the empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and Sumerian languag ...

period, one of the year names of its first ruler

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; ; died 2279 BC), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highly unc ...

(c. 2334–2279 BC) was "Year in which Uru'a was destroyed". In the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur or Ur III was a Sumerian dynasty based in the city of Ur in the 22nd and 21st centuries BC (middle chronology). For a short period they were the preeminent power in Mesopotamia and their realm is sometimes referred to by ...

, late in the 3rd millennium BC, Urua was a tax paying province of the empire of Ur with an appointed governor.Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Question of Marḫaši: A Contribution to the Historical Geography of Iran in the Third Millennium B.C." Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 237-265, 1982 Nin-kalla, wife of the second ruler of Ur III,

Shulgi Shulgi ( dšul-gi,(died c. 2046 BC) formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from (Middle Chronology). His accomplishments include the completion of construction of the Great ...

(c. 2094–2046 BC), held large estates at Urua. Prince Etel-pū-Dagān, son of Shulgi, is known to have been sent to Urua to supervise sheering of sheep. Urua is known to have been a producer of wool at that time. In the 7th regnal year of ruler

Shu-Sin Shu-Sin, also Šu-Suen (: '' DŠu D Sîn'', after the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" being a silent honorific for "Divine", formerly read Gimil-Sin) (died c. 2028 BC) was king of Sumer and Akkad, and was the fourth king of the Ur III dynasty. He su ...

(c. 2037–2028 BC) a text mentions "tribute of Urua delivered by Sulgi-adamu, ensi of Urua".

Location

One proposal is unexcavated Tepe Musiyan, on the Deh Luran Plain in

, Iran.

Girsu Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of what is now Tell Telloh in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. As the religious center of the kingdom of Lagash, it contained significant temple ...

and

were cities that Urua had close economic ties with. Based on Ur III administrative documents from there an areal location of northeast of Puzriš-Dagān and a short distance from

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

has been proposed, specifically in northwestern Khuzestan. Notizia, Palmiro, "Prince Etel-pū-Dagān, Son of Šulgi", From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.: Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22–24 July 2010, edited by Steven J. Garfinkle and Manuel Molina, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 207-220, 2013

References

{{coord missing, Iran Elamite cities Former populated places in Iran

History

Location

See also

References