- Larsa (Sumerian: ??????, romanized: UD.UNUGKI, read Larsamki), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. ?a?a????) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult of the sun god Utu with his temple E-babbar. It lies some 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Uruk in Iraq’s Dhi Qar Governorate, near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal at the site of the modern settlement Tell as-Senkereh or Sankarah.