Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic
Sumer. Each
city,
kingdom and trade
guild had its own standards until the formation of the
Akkadian Empire when
Sargon of Akkad issued a common standard. This standard was improved by
Naram-Sin, but fell into disuse after the Akkadian Empire dissolved. The standard of Naram-Sin was readopted in the
Ur III period by the
Nanše Hymn which reduced a plethora of multiple standards to a few agreed upon common groupings. Successors to Sumerian civilization including the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians continued to use these groupings. Akkado-Sumerian
metrology has been reconstructed by applying statistical methods to compare
Sumerian architecture,
architectural plans, and issued official standards such as
Statue B of Gudea and the bronze cubit of Nippur.