When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. But evidence uncovered in the past few decades indicates that the Sumerians have a few contenders ...

Once the heart of Sumerian civilization, the Great Ziggurat of Ur rose above the Mesopotamian plains 4,000 years ago. Built to honor the moon god Nanna, this stepped temple stood as both a place of ...

Learn how the first civilization in Mesopotamia depended on tides and how it responded when faced with a major environmental challenge. Many millennia ago, the tides turned for ancient Sumerians who ...

The city of Ur, once the largest in the world and the crown jewel of one of humanity's first civilizations, sits in a wasteland at the edge of a war zone. In late spring, the temperature easily hits ...

The Great Ziggurat of Ur dedicated to the Moon god. Ziggurats were massive structure typical for Mesopotamia. Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats. Woods ...

New research shows that the rise of Sumer was deeply tied to the tidal and sedimentary dynamics of ancient Mesopotamia. Early communities harnessed predictable tides for irrigation, but when deltas ...

Egypt may have the Pyramids of Giza, but Iraq has the Ziggurat of Ur – an incredibly well-preserved engineering achievement that towers over the ruins of an important ancient city. (This year, we ...

Mesopotamia refers to a broad area that can include all of Iraq, eastern Syria, southeast Turkey, parts of western Iran and Kuwait. The word "Mesopotamia," is an ancient Greek name that is sometimes ...