Description: The Ur III period (2112-2004 BCE) was one of the more significant periods in the history of ancient Mesopotamia. The centralized patrimonial bureaucracy of the time is documented by almost a hundred thousand known documents, and this was when much of what we know as classical Sumerian literature was first initiated.
Brief description: Piotr Michalowski is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Michigan. Michaelowski's main fields of study include Sumerian and Akkadian languages, literatures and history, literary theory, and Polish culture; he has written dozens of articles on various subjects within these areas. Michalowski also serves as the president of the International Association of Assyriologists.