Ur
Where is Ur today? Tell el-Muqayyar near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, Ur of the Chaldeans, where Abraham's journey began, with its chapters.
- Today
- Tell el-Muqayyar, near Nasiriyah (Dhi Qar)
- Country
- Iraq
- Status
- Archaeological site: the Ziggurat of Ur; on the UNESCO World Heritage List
- Identification
- Probable
Ur is the city Abraham (then still called Abram) left with his family; the Bible calls it Ur of the Chaldeans. His father Terah set out from here with Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai and his grandson Lot, heading for Canaan, but settled in Harran on the way. God later reminds Abram that it was he who brought him out of Ur, and both the Levites' prayer in Nehemiah and Stephen's speech recall that departure. Most scholars identify Ur with Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Iraq, though some, noting how close Harran is, look for it further north near Urfa.
Read the chapters
Related topics
Related people
- Paul
- Peter
- Abraham
- Joseph
- Noah
- Adam
- Eve
- Isaac
- Nehemiah
- Sarah
- Jacob
- Barnabas
- Stephen
- Lydia
- Matthew
- Timothy
- Methuselah
- Seth
- Abel
- Cain
- Ishmael
- Hagar
- Lot
- Rachel
- John the Apostle
- Philip the Apostle
- Judas Iscariot
- Mark
Related verse collections
- Bible Verses About Creation
- Bible Verses About Salvation
- Bible Verses About Repentance
- Bible Verses About Family
- Bible Verses About Marriage
- Bible Verses About Generosity
- Bible Verses About Witness
- Bible Verses About Trials and Testing
- Bible Verses About Joy
- Bible Verses About God's Promises
- Bible Verses About Work and Labor
Reading plans
- The Bible for Beginners — 10 Days
- Advent — 24 Days to Christmas
- The Early Church Through Acts — 28 Days
- The Bible in a Year — 365 Days from Cover to Cover
- 30 Days with the Gospel — An Introduction to the New Testament
Books
Places in the Bible
Where is the city of Ur today, and in which country?
Ur today is in Iraq: the archaeological site of Tell el-Muqayyar near Nasiriyah, capital of Dhi Qar province. According to the Bible, Abraham's family set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to travel to Canaan (Genesis 11:31). Visitors today see the great ziggurat and the remains of royal tombs and houses uncovered by excavation. Most scholars identify the biblical Ur with this site, while a long-standing tradition in Türkiye places Abraham's birth in Şanlıurfa.
Are Ur and Urfa the same place?
Not with certainty. Most scholars identify Ur of the Chaldeans with Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Iraq, a major Sumerian city made famous by excavations in the 1920s and 1930s. A long-standing tradition in Türkiye, however, holds that Abraham was born in Şanlıurfa, where the Mevlid-i Halil cave and the Balıklıgöl pools are associated with him. The Bible itself only says the family left Ur and settled in Harran (Genesis 11:31).
Where is the Ziggurat of Ur?
The Ziggurat of Ur stands at Tell el-Muqayyar, southwest of Nasiriyah in Iraq's Dhi Qar province. Built around the 21st century BC under King Ur-Nammu for the moon god Nanna, the lower stages of this stepped temple tower still stand today, partly restored.