Abu Salabikh is an ancient site in Iraq, it was Sumerian city dating back to the mid third millennium BC, with cultural connections to the cities of Kish, Mari and Ebla. The Euphrates was the city's highway and lifeline; when it shifted its old bed, in the middle third millennium BC, the city dwindled away. Only eroded traces remain on the site's surface of habitation after the Early Dynastic Period of Sumer.