<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . </Td> </Tr> <P> Ur (Sumerian: Urim; Sumerian Cuneiform: 𒋀𒀕𒆠 URIM or 𒋀𒀊𒆠 URIM; Akkadian: Uru; Arabic: أور ‎ ‎) was an important Sumerian city - state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el - Muqayyar (Arabic: تل المقير ‎ ‎) in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate . Although Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the coastline has shifted and the city is now well inland, on the south bank of the Euphrates, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Nasiriyah in modern - day Iraq . </P> <P> The city dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BC, and is recorded in written history as a city - state from the 26th century BC, its first recorded king being Mesannepada . The city's patron deity was Nanna (in Akkadian, Sin), the Sumerian and Akkadian (Assyrian - Babylonian) moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name, URIM being the classical Sumerian spelling of LAK - 32. UNUG, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna (LAK - 32)". </P>

What was the ancient name for modern-day iraq