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The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC (short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire. The Third Dynasty of Ur is commonly abbreviated as Ur III by historians of the period. The dynasty is also known as the Sumerian Renaissance or the Ur III Empire. The Third Dynasty of Ur came to preeminent power in Mesopotamia after several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian kings. It controlled the cities of Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna and extended as far north as the Jezira. The Third Dynasty of Ur arose soon after the fall of the Akkad Dynasty. The period between the last king of the Akkad Dynasty, Shar-kali-sharri, and the first king of Ur III, Ur-Nammu, is not well documented, but most Assyriologists posit that there was a power struggle among the most powerful city-states. Even the precise events surrounding the rise of Ur III are unclear. There are several theories. One theory is that Ur-Nammu (originally a general) founded the dynasty. In this line of thinking, he had supplanted the king of Uruk, Utu-hengal, who himself had unseated the Gutian king Tirigan. The Sumerian king list tells us that Utu-hengal reigned for seven years, although the list itself is not to be taken literally as a historical source. This has been the most traditional way of thinking about the rise of Ur III, but other archaeological and documentary evidence has been found that sheds some new light on the situation.
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