Editing Ur (section)

== Identification with the Biblical Ur ==
{{further|Ur of the Chaldees}}
[[File:20160105-Abraham house in Ur Iraq.jpg|thumb|"Abraham's House" in Ur, photographed in 2016]]

Ur is possibly the city of [[Ur of the Chaldees|Ur Kasdim]] mentioned in the [[Book of Genesis]] as the birthplace of the [[Jewish]] and [[Muslim]] patriarch [[Abraham]] (Avraham in Hebrew, [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]] in Arabic), traditionally believed to have lived some time in the 2nd millennium BC.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sinan |last=Salaheddin |date=April 4, 2013 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0404/Home-of-Abraham-Ur-unearthed-by-archaeologists-in-Iraq |title=Home of Abraham, Ur, unearthed by archaeologists in Iraq |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/abraham-text/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318094722/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/abraham-text/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 18, 2008 |title=Journey of Faith |journal=[[National Geographic Magazine]] |date=May 15, 2012 |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> There are, however, conflicting traditions and scholarly opinions identifying Ur Kasdim with the sites of [[Urfa|Şanlıurfa]], [[Urkesh]], [[Urartu]], or [[Kutha]].

The biblical Ur is mentioned four times in the [[Torah]] or [[Hebrew Bible]] (Tanakh in Hebrew), with the distinction "of the Kasdim"—traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees". The [[Chaldea]]ns had settled in the vicinity by around 850&nbsp;BC, but were not extant anywhere in Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC period when Abraham is traditionally held to have lived. The Chaldean dynasty did not rule Babylonia (and thus become the rulers of Ur) until the late 7th century BC, and held power only until the mid 6th century BC. The name is found in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Genesis#11:28|Genesis 11:28]], [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Genesis#11:31|Genesis 11:31]], and [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Genesis#15:7|Genesis 15:7]]. In [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Nehemiah#9:7|Nehemiah 9:7]], a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of ''Genesis.''{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Pope [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] wanted to visit the city according to the biblical tradition as part of his trip to [[Israel]], [[Jordan]] and the [[Palestinian territories]] but the visit was cancelled due to a dispute between the Government of [[Saddam Hussein]] and representatives of the [[Holy See]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Pullella |first=Philip |date=2020-12-07 |title=Pope Francis to make risky trip to Iraq in early March |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pope-iraq-int-idUSKBN28H17P |access-date=2021-03-14}}</ref>

In March 2021, [[Pope Francis]] visited Ur during his [[2021 visit by Pope Francis to Iraq|journey through Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lowen|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Lowen|date=2021-03-05|title=Pope Francis on Iraq visit calls for end to violence and extremism|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56282598|access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref>