The city of Ur reached its apogee in the late third and early second millennia BC, first as the seat of the kingdom of Ur-Nammu and his successors. After the demise of the Ur III kingdom, following an invasion of Elamites, the city rebounded during the succeeding Isin-Larsa period, enjoying economic prosperity and continuing as a prestigious religious center. In Chapter 2, we looked at the Royal Tombs from ED III. More extensive information about the appearance of the city comes from the later Ur III, Isin-Larsa, and Neo-Babylonian periods and will be examined here: the fortification walls, the religious center, and the residential neighborhoods (for the city plan, see Figure 2.15).
At its greatest extent during the Isin-Larsa period, the city measured ca. 60ha, with additional settlement outside its walls. Population of the city proper may have been approximately 12,000, using one standard benchmark of 200 persons per hectare, calculated according to an estimated number of houses per hectare, and of persons per house. But it should be kept in mind that ancient populations are extremely difficult to determine, and the figures proposed by modern specialists can vary significantly.
The extant city walls were built in the sixth century BC by Neo-Babylonian monarchs. The dating of the walls and indeed other construction is much helped by the ancient use of bricks stamped with the insignia of rulers. Because he did not find in the walls any bricks stamped with the name of Ur-Nammu, Woolley assumed that the Ur III fortifications were deliberately dismantled by the Elamite conquerors. However, the impressive Neo-Babylonian walls may well have resembled the Ur III fortifications in both location and appearance. Situated on a promontory between an arm of the Euphrates and a navigable canal, the city could be approached by land only from the south. Despite the protection of water on three sides, an imposing wall 27m thick was built all around. The lower part consisted of a steeply sloping mud brick rampart, or glacis. This section enclosed and capped the edge of the already existing mound. On this stood the upper section of baked brick, the wall proper. Defended by water and such massive walls, the city must have seemed impregnable. But as history has witnessed time and time again, fortifications and the weapons of war are only as strong as the men and women who use them.
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