The World of Abraham Exhibit

Ur, Abraham's hometown, was a metropolis. It sat near the west bank of the Euphrates River in lower Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Abraham lived in Ur at the height of its splendor during the Third Dynasty (ca. 2070-1969 BC). He left the city ca. 2,000 BC near the apex of its prosperity and power. The first Ur-Ill period king, Ur-Nammu, had the title of "King of Sumer and Akkad." His splendid city temple tower, one of four that he commissioned, is the best-preserved ziggurat monument in Lower Mesopotamia.

The famous Monument of Ur-Nammu, a white limestone stela, contains a contemporary record of the ziggurat's construction. At the top of the monument, the king is standing in an attitude of prayer. The stela describes the monument's construction. Priests dedicated the entire sacred area to Nannar (also known as Sin), the moon god and patron deity of the city and Nin-Gal, his consort. The Babylonians referred to Nannar/ Sin as "the exalted lord" and "the beautiful lord who shines in the heavens." The immense temple tower stood like a mountain with various stages. It supported the holy chamber of Nannar/ Sin on its uppermost level. Here in this lofty Babylonian temple, priests conducted mystic rituals. In front of the immense ziggurat and on the lower level was an open court, a kind of holy market where the people brought their gifts and taxes for the king.

Accordingly, the city was a kind of theocracy centered in worship of the moon deity. This is the culture out of which God called Abraham.