Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (2112-2095 BC)

Ur-Nammu, began his rise to power as governor of the city of Ur. He appears to have been appointed by Utuhegal, ruler of Uruk, who was attempting to establish domination of south Mesopotamia following the decline of the empire of Agade. Ur-Nammu became an independent king and founded a line of rulers known today as the Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III). All southern Mesopotamia was conquered by the new ruler, and a major building programme was initiated with religious buildings, including the first true ziggurat towers, constructed in Ur, Uruk, Eridu, and Nippur. The best preserved of these structures is at Ur.

Almost all administrative texts of the Dynasty were written in Sumerian, which was the language of education and bureaucracy. Among the few personal details known about the Ur III kings is that Ur-Nammu was killed in battle, 'abandoned on the battlefield like a crushed vessel'. The empire was consolidated by his son Shulgi.