Umma

Coordinates: 31°38′N 45°52′E / 31.633°N 45.867°E / 31.633; 45.867

Umma at the time of Lugal-Zage-Si

Umma (modern Tell Jokha) was an ancient city in Sumer.

History

Best known for its long frontier conflict with Lagash. The city reached its zenith ca. 2350 BC, under the rule of Lugal-Zage-Si, who also controlled Ur and Uruk. The Umma calendar of Shulgi (ca. 21st century BC) is the immediate predecessor of the later Babylonian calendar, and indirectly of the post-exilic Hebrew calendar.

Threats to Archaeology

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after Coalition bombing began, looters descended upon the site which is now pockmarked with hundreds of ditches and pits. The archaeological site is now being destroyed and its artifacts stolen. The prospects for future official excavation and research are being destroyed in the process, preventing official researchers from learning more about the history and culture of this place.^[1] Looting trenches have been dug over an area the size of 3,000 soccer fields in various sites within Iraq, according to a 2007 report in The Independent.^[2]

Notes

References

• Tonia M. Sharlach, Provincial taxation and the Ur III State, Brill, 2003, ISBN 9004135812

See also

• Cities of the Ancient Near East
• Short chronology timeline

External links

• Photograph of site looting - Oriental Institute

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