occupation urukagina
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore , and often referred to as the " Lion City " or the " Little Red Dot ", is a ___MASK40___ city - state in Southeast Asia , and the world ' s only island city - state . It lies one degree ( 137 km ) north of the equator , south of the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia , with Indonesia ' s Riau Islands to the south . Singapore ' s territory consists of a diamond - shaped main island along with 62 other islets . Since independence , extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23 % ( 130 km ), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora , parks and gardens . Lugalanda ( also Lugal - anda ) was a Sumerian ___MASK51___ of Lagash during the 24th century BC . A city - state is a ___MASK40___ state that consists of a city and its dependent territories . Historically , this included cities such as Rome , Athens , Carthage , and the Italian city - states during the Renaissance  but today only a handful of ___MASK40___ city - states exist , with some disagreement as to which are city - states . A great deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies to Singapore , Monaco , and Vatican City . Lagash is an ancient city located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk , about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah , Iraq . Lagash ( modern Al - Hiba ) was one of the oldest cities of the Ancient Near East . The ancient site of Nina ( modern Surghul ) is around away and marks the southern limit of the state . Nearby Girsu ( modern Telloh ), about northwest of Lagash , was the ___MASK75___ center of the Lagash state . Lagash ' s main temple was the E - Ninnu , dedicated to the god Ningirsu . Uruk ( Cuneiform : , UNUG '; Sumerian : Unug ; Akkadian : " Uruk "; Aramaic / Hebrew : ' "") was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia , situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river , on the dried - up , ancient channel of the Euphrates River , some 30 km east of modern As - Samawah , Al - Muthann , Iraq . Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian - speaking state and cultural area based in central - southern Mesopotamia ( present - day Iraq ). A small Amorite - ruled state emerged in 1894 BC , which contained at this time the minor city of Babylon . Babylon greatly expanded during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC , becoming a ___MASK11___ capital city . During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards , Babylonia was called " Mt Akkad " " the country of Akkad " in the Akkadian language . It was often involved in rivalry with its older fellow Akkadian - speaking state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia . Babylonia briefly became the ___MASK11___ power in the region after Hammurabi ( fl . c . 1792  1752 BC middle chronology , or c . 1696  1654 BC , short chronology ) created a short - lived empire , succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire , Third Dynasty of Ur , and Old Assyrian Empire ; however , the Babylonian empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi . Ur ( Sumerian : " Urim "; Sumerian Cuneiform : or ; Akkadian : " Uru ") was an important Sumerian city - state in ancient Mesopotamia , located at the site of modern Tell el - Muqayyar 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 , south of the Euphrates on its right ___MASK85___ , 16 kilometres ( 9 . 9 mi ) from Nasiriyah . Urukagina ( reigned ca . 24th century BC ? , short chronology ) , alternately rendered as Uruinimgina or Irikagina , was a ruler ( énsi ) of the city - state Lagash in Mesopotamia . He assumed the title of ___MASK51___ , claiming to have been divinely appointed , upon the downfall of his corrupt predecessor , Lugalanda . He is best known for his reforms to combat corruption , which are sometimes cited as the first example of a legal code in recorded history . Although the actual text has not been discovered , much of its content may be surmised from other references to it that have been found . In it , he exempted widows and orphans from taxes ; compelled the city to pay funeral expenses ( including the ritual food and drink libations for the journey of the dead into the lower world ) ; and decreed that the rich must use silver when purchasing from the poor , and if the poor does not wish to sell , the powerful man ( the rich man or the priest ) can not force him to do so . He also participated in several conflicts , notably a losing border conflict with Uruk . In the seventh year of his reign , Uruk fell under the leadership of Lugal - Zage - Si , énsi of Umma , who ultimately annexed most of the territory of Lagash and established the first reliably documented kingdom to encompass all of Sumer . The destruction of Lagash was described in a lament ( possibly the earliest recorded example of what would become a prolific Sumerian literary genre ) , which stressed that `` the men of Umma ... committed a sin against Ningirsu . ... Offence there was none in Urukagina , ___MASK51___ of Girsu , but as for Lugal - Zage - Si , governor of Umma , may his goddess Nisaba make him carry his sin upon his neck '' ( alternatively - `` may she carry his sin upon her neck '' ) . Lugal - Zage - Si himself was soon defeated and his kingdom was annexed by Sargon of Akkad . Iraq (, or ; '; '), officially known as the Republic of Iraq ('; ') is a country in Western Asia , bordered by Turkey to the north , Iran to the east , Kuwait to the southeast , Saudi Arabia to the south , Jordan to the southwest , and Syria to the west . The capital , and largest city , is Baghdad . The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds ; others include Assyrians , Turkmen , Shabakis , Yazidis , Armenians , Mandeans , Circassians , and Kawliya . Around 95 % of the country ' s 36 million citizens are Muslims , with Christianity , Yarsan , Yezidism , and Mandeanism also present . The ___MASK28___ languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish . The Tigris is the eastern ___MASK67___ of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia , the other being the Euphrates . The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq and empties itself into the Persian Gulf . Athens (" Athína " ) is the capital and largest city of Greece . Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world ' s oldest cities , with its recorded history spanning over 3 , 400 years , and its earliest human presence starting somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC . Classical Athens was a powerful city - state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus , which had been a distinct city ___MASK1___ to its 5th century BC incorporation with Athens . A centre for the arts , learning and philosophy , home of Plato ' s Academy and Aristotle ' s Lyceum , it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy , largely because of its cultural and political impact on the European continent , and in particular the Romans . In modern times , Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic , financial , industrial , maritime , political and cultural life in Greece . In 2015 , Athens was ranked the world ' s 29th richest city by purchasing power and the 67th most expensive in a UBS study . The Tigris and Euphrates , with their tributaries , form a ___MASK11___ river system in Western Asia . From sources in the Taurus mountains of eastern Turkey they flow by / through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf . The system is part of the Palearctic Tigris  Euphrates ecoregion , which includes Iraq and parts of Turkey , Syria , Iran , Saudi Arabia , Kuwait and Jordan . Vatican City , officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City , is a walled enclave within the city of Rome . With an area of approximately 44 hectares ( 110 acres ), and a population of 842 , it is the smallest State in the world by both area and population , but formally it is not ___MASK40___ , sovereignty being held by the Holy See , the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world . Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a ___MASK40___ city - state and microstate , located on the French Riviera in Western Europe . France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea . Monaco has an area of and a population of about 37 , 800 ; it is the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world . Monaco has a land border of , a coastline of , and a width that varies between . The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel , in the Les Révoires " Ward ", which is above sea level . Monaco ' s most populous " Quartier " is Monte Carlo and the most populous " Ward " is Larvotto / Bas Moulins . Through land reclamation , Monaco ' s land mass has expanded by twenty percent . Monaco is known as a playground for the rich and famous , due to its tax laws . In 2014 , it was noted about 30 % of the population was made up of millionaires , more than in Zürich or Geneva . Mesopotamia ("[ land ] between rivers "; from Ancient Armenian  ( Mijagetq ); " bild ar - rfidayn " " miyn rodn "; " Beth Nahrain " " land of rivers ") is a name for the area of the Tigris  Euphrates river system , in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq plus Kuwait , the eastern parts of Syria , Southeastern Turkey , and regions along the Turkish - Syrian and Iran  Iraq borders .