WARS OF THE CITY-STATES; EANNATUM AND THE STELE OF THE VULTURES
When the patesiate of Lagash passed from Akurgal to his son Eannatum
we may picture the city-state as owing a general allegiance to Akkad
in the north. Nearer home, the relations of Lagash to Umma appear to
have been of an amicable character. Whatever minor conflicts may have
taken place between the two cities in the interval, the treaty of
Mesilim was still regarded as binding, and its terms were treated with
respect by both parties. The question whether Eannatum, like Akurgal,
had had some minor cause of disagreement with the men of Umma at the
beginning of his reign depends upon our interpretation of some broken
passages in the early part of the text engraved upon the Stele of the
Vultures.[1] The second column deals with the relations of Umma and
Lagash during the reign of Akurgal, and the fourth column concerns the
reign of Eannatum. The name of neither of these rulers is mentioned
in the intermediate portion of the text, which, however, refers to
Umma and Lagash in connection with a shrine or chapel dedicated to the
god Ningirsu. It is possible that we have here a continuation of the
narrative of the preceding column, and in that case we should assign
this portion of the text to the reign of Akurgal, rather than to the
early part of the reign of his successor. But it may equally well refer
to Eannatum's own reign, and may either record a minor cause of dispute
between the cities which was settled before the outbreak of the great
war, or may perhaps be taken in connection with the following columns
of the text.
These two columns definitely refer to Eannatum's reign and describe
certain acts of piety which he performed in the service of his gods.
They record work carried out in E-ninnû, by which the heart of
Ningirsu was rejoiced; the naming and dedication of some portion of
E-anna, the temple of the goddess Ninni; and certain additions made
to the sacred flocks of the goddess Ninkharsag. The repetition of the
phrase referring to Ninni's temple[2] suggests a disconnected list
of Eannatum's achievements in the service of his gods, rather than a
connected narrative. The text in the fifth column continues the record
of the benefits bestowed by him upon Ningirsu, and here we may perhaps
trace a possible cause of the renewal of the war with Umma. For the
text states that Eannatum bestowed certain territory upon Ningirsu and
rejoiced his heart; and, unless this refers to land occupied after
the defeat of Umma, its acquisition may have been resented by the
neighbouring city. Such an incident would have formed ample excuse for
the invasion of the territory of Lagash by the injured party, though,
according to the records of Eannatum himself and of Entemena, it would
appear that the raid of the men of Umma was unprovoked. But, whatever
may have been the immediate cause of the outbreak of hostilities, we
shall see reason for believing that the war was ultimately due to the
influence of Kish.
The outbreak of the war between Umma and Lagash is recorded concisely
in the sixth column of the inscription upon the Stele of the Vultures,
which states that the patesi of Umma, by the command of his god,
plundered[3] Gu-edin, the territory beloved of Ningirsu. In this
record, brief as it is, it is interesting to note that the patesi of
Umma is regarded as no more than the instrument of his city-god, or
the minister who carries out his commands. As the gods in a former
generation had drawn up the treaty between Lagash and Umma, which
Mesilim, their suzerain, had at the command of his own goddess engraved
upon the stele of delimitation, so now it was the god, and not the
patesi, of Umma, who repudiated the terms of that treaty by sending
his army across the border. Gu-edin, too, is described, not in its
relation to the patesi of Lagash, but as the special property of
Ningirsu, the opposing city-god. We shall see presently that Eannatum's
first act, on hearing news of the invasion, was quite in harmony with
the theocratic feeling of the time.
The patesi who led the forces of Umma is not named by Eannatum upon the
Stele of the Vultures, but from the Cone of Entemena[4] we learn that
his name was Ush. In the summary of events which is given upon that
document it is stated that Ush, patesi of Umma, acted with ambitious
designs, and that, having removed the stele of delimitation which had
been set up in an earlier age by Mesilim between the territories of the
respective states, he invaded the plain of Lagash. The pitched battle
between the forces of Umma and Lagash, which followed the raid into the
latter's territory, is recorded by Entemena in equally brief terms. The
battle is said to have taken place at the word of Ningirsu, the warrior
of Enlil, and the destruction of the men of Umma is ascribed not only
to the command, but also to the actual agency, of Enlil himself. Here,
again, we find Enlil, the god of the central cult of Nippur, recognized
as the supreme arbiter of human and divine affairs. The various
city-gods might make war on one another, but it was Enlil who decreed
to which side victory should incline.
In the record of the war which Eannatum himself has left us, we are
furnished with details of a more striking character than those given
in Entemena's brief summary. In the latter it is recorded that the
battle was waged at the word of Ningirsu, and the Stele of the Vultures
amplifies this bald statement by describing the circumstances which
attended the notification of the divine will. On learning of the
violation of his border by the men of Umma and the plundering of his
territory which had ensued, Eannatum did not at once summon his troops
and lead them in pursuit of the enemy. There was indeed little danger
in delay, and no advantage to be gained by immediate action. For Umma,
from its proximity to Lagash, afforded a haven for the plunderers
which they could reach in safety before the forces of Lagash could be
called to arms. Thus Eannatum had no object in hurrying out his army,
when there was little chance of overtaking the enemy weighed down with
spoil. Moreover, all the damage that could be done to Gu-edin had no
doubt been done thoroughly by the men of Umma. In addition to carrying
off Mesilim's stele, they had probably denuded the pastures of all
flocks and cattle, had trampled the crops, and had sacked and burnt
the villages and hamlets through which they had passed. When once
they and their plunder were safe within their own border, they were
not likely to repeat the raid at once. They might be expected to take
action to protect their own territory, but the next move obviously lay
with Lagash. In these circumstances Eannatum had no object in attacking
before his army was ready for the field, and his preparations for war
had been completed; and while the streets of Lagash were doubtless
re-echoing with the blows of the armourers and the tramp of armed men,
the city-gates must have been thronged with eager groups of citizens,
awaiting impatiently the return of scouts sent out after the retreating
foe. Meanwhile, we may picture Eannatum repairing to the temple of
Ningirsu, where, having laid his complaint before him, he awaited the
god's decision as to the course his patesi and his people should follow
under the provocation to which they had been subjected.
It is not directly stated in the text as preserved upon the stele
that it was within E-ninnû Eannatum sought Ningirsu's counsel and
instructions; but we may assume that such was the case, since the god
dwelt within his temple, and it was there the patesi would naturally
seek him out. The answer of the god to Eannatum's prayer was conveyed
to him in a vision; Ningirsu himself appeared to the patesi, as he
appeared in a later age to Gudea, when he gave the latter ruler
detailed instructions for the rebuilding of E-ninnû, and granted him
a sign by which he should know that he was chosen for the work. Like
Gudea, Eannatum made his supplication lying flat upon his face; and,
while he was stretched out upon the ground, he had a dream. In his
dream he beheld the god Ningirsu, who appeared to him in visible form
and came near him and stood by his head. And the god encouraged his
patesi and promised him victory over his enemies. He was to go forth to
battle and Babbar, the Sun-god who makes the city bright, would advance
at his right hand to assist him. Thus encouraged by Ningirsu, and with
the knowledge that he was carrying out the orders of his city-god,
Eannatum marshalled his army and set out from Lagash to attack the men
of Umma within their own territory.
The account of the battle is very broken upon the Stele of the
Vultures,[5] but sufficient details are preserved to enable us to
gather that it was a fierce one, and that victory was wholly upon the
side of Lagash. We may conjecture that the men of Umma did not await
Eannatum's attack behind their city-walls, but went out to meet him
with the object of preventing their own fields and pastures from being
laid waste. Every man capable of bearing arms, who was not required for
the defence of two cities, was probably engaged in the battle, and the
two opposing armies were doubtless led in person by Eannatum himself
and by Ush, the patesi of Umma, who had provoked the war. The army of
Lagash totally defeated the men of Umma and pursued them with great
slaughter. Eannatum puts the number of the slain at three thousand six
hundred men, or, according to a possible reading, thirty-six thousand
men. Even the smaller of these figures is probably exaggerated, but
there is no doubt that Umma suffered heavily. According to his own
account, Eannatum took an active part in the fight, and he states that
he raged in the battle. After defeating the army in the open plain,
the troops of Lagash pressed on to Umma itself. The fortifications had
probably been denuded of their full garrisons, and were doubtless held
by a mere handful of defenders. Flushed with victory the men of Lagash
swept on to the attack, and, carrying the walls by assault, had the
city itself at their mercy. Here another slaughter took place, and
Eannatum states that within the city he swept all before him "like an
evil storm."
[Illustration: PORTION OF THE "STELE OF VULTURES," SCULPTURED WITH
SCENES REPRESENTING EANNATUM, PATESI OF SHIRPURLA, LEADING HIS TROOPS
IN BATTLE AND ON THE MARCH.--_In the Louvre; Déc. en Chald., pl._ 3
(_bis_).]
The record of his victory which Eannatum has left us is couched in
metaphor, and is doubtless coloured by Oriental exaggeration; and the
scribes who drew it up would naturally be inclined to represent the
defeat of Umma as even more crushing than it was. Thus the number of
burial-mounds suggests that the forces of Lagash suffered heavily
themselves, and it is quite possible the remnant of Umma's army rallied
and made a good fight within the city. But we have the independent
testimony of Entemena's record, written not many years after the fight,
to show that there is considerable truth under Eannatum's phrases; and
a clear proof that Umma was rendered incapable of further resistance
for the time may be seen in the terms of peace which Lagash imposed.
Eannatum's first act, after he had received the submission of the city,
was to collect for burial the bodies of his own dead which strewed
the field of battle. Those of the enemy he would probably leave where
they fell, except such as blocked the streets of Umma, and these he
would remove and cast out in the plain beyond the city-walls. For we
may conclude that, like Entemena, Eannatum left the bones of his foes
to be picked clean by the birds and beasts of prey. The monument on
which we have his record of the fight is known as the Stele of the
Vultures from the vultures sculptured upon the upper portion of it.
These birds of prey are represented as swooping off with the heads and
limbs of the slain, which they hold firmly in their beaks and talons.
That the sculptor should have included this striking incident in his
portrayal of the battle is further testimony to the magnitude of the
slaughter which had taken place. That Eannatum duly buried his own dead
is certain, for both he and Entemena state that the burial-mounds which
he heaped up were twenty in number; and two other sculptured portions
of the Stele of the Vultures, to which we shall presently refer, give
vivid representations of the piling of the mounds above the dead.
The fate of Ush, the patesi of Umma, who had brought such misfortune
on his own city by the rash challenge he had given Lagash, is not
recorded; but it is clear he did not remain the ruler of Umma. He
may have been slain in the battle, but, even if he survived, he was
certainly deprived of his throne, possibly at the instance of Eannatum.
For Entemena records the fact that it was not with Ush, but with a
certain Enakalli, patesi of Umma, that Eannatum concluded a treaty of
peace.[6] The latter ruler may have been appointed patesi by Eannatum
himself, as, at a later day, Ili owed his nomination to Entemena on
the defeat of the patesi Urlumma. But, whether this was so or not,
Enakalli was certainly prepared to make great concessions, and was
ready to accept whatever terms Eannatum demanded, in order to secure
the removal of the troops of Lagash from his city, which they doubtless
continued to invest during the negotiations. As might be expected, the
various terms of the treaty are chiefly concerned with the fertile
plain of Gu-edin, which had been the original cause of the war. This
was unreservedly restored to Lagash, or, in the words of the treaty, to
Ningirsu, whose "beloved territory" it is stated to have been. In order
that there should be no cause for future dispute with regard to the
boundary-line separating the territory of Lagash and Umma, a deep ditch
was dug as a permanent line of demarcation. The ditch is described as
extending "from the great stream" up to Gu-edin, and with the great
stream we may probably identify an eastern branch of the Euphrates,
through which at this period it emptied a portion of its waters into
the Persian Gulf. The ditch, or canal, received its water from the
river, and, by surrounding the unprotected sides of Gu-edin, it formed
not only a line of demarcation but to some extent a barrier to any
hostile advance on the part of Umma.
On the bank of the frontier-ditch the stele of Mesilim, which had been
taken away, was erected once more, and another stele was prepared by
the orders of Eannatum, and was set up beside it. The second monument
was inscribed with the text of the treaty drawn up between Eannatum and
Enakalli, and its text was probably identical with the greater part of
that found upon the fragments of the Stele of the Vultures, which have
been recovered; for the contents of that text mark it out as admirably
suited to serve as a permanent memorial of the boundary. After the
historical narrative describing the events which led up to the new
treaty, the text of the Stele of the Vultures enumerates in detail the
divisions of the territory of which Gu-edin was composed. Thus the
stele which was set up on the frontier formed in itself an additional
security against the violation of the territory of Lagash. The course
of a boundary-ditch might possibly be altered, but while the stele
remained in place, it would serve as a final authority to which appeal
could be made in the case of any dispute arising. It is probably in
this way that we may explain the separate fields which are enumerated
by name upon the fragment of the Stele of the Vultures which is
preserved in the British Museum,[7] and upon a small foundation-stone
which also refers to the treaty.[8] The fields there enumerated either
made up the territory known by the general name of Gu-edin, or perhaps
formed an addition to that territory, the cession of which Eannatum may
have exacted from Umma as part of the terms of peace. While consenting
to the restoration of the disputed territory, and the rectification
of the frontier, Umma was also obliged to pay as tribute to Lagash a
considerable quantity of grain, and this Eannatum brought back with him
to his own city.
In connection with the formal ratification of the treaty it would
appear that certain shrines or chapels were erected in honour of
Enlil, Ninkharsag, Ningirsu and Babbar. We may conjecture that this
was done in order that the help of these deities might be secured for
the preservation of the treaty. According to Entemena's narrative,[9]
chapels or shrines were erected to these four deities only, but the
Stele of the Vultures contains a series of invocations addressed not
only to Enlil, Ninkharsag, and Babbar, but also to Enki, Enzu, and
Ninki,[10] and it is probable that shrines were also erected in their
honour. These were built upon the frontier beside the two stelæ of
delimitation, and it was doubtless at the altar of each one of them
in turn that Eannatum and Enakalli took a solemn oath to abide by the
terms of the treaty and to respect the frontier. The oaths by which
the treaty was thus ratified are referred to upon the Stele of the
Vultures[11] by Eannatum, who invokes each of the deities by whom he
and Enakalli swore, and in a series of striking formulæ calls down
destruction upon the men of Umma should they violate the terms of the
compact. "On the men of Umma," he exclaims, "have I, Eannatum, cast the
great net of Enlil! I have sworn the oath, and the men of Umma have
sworn the oath to Eannatum. In the name of Enlil, the king of heaven
and earth, in the field of Ningirsu there has been..., and a ditch has
been dug down to the water level.... Who from among the men of Umma
by his word or by his ... will go back upon the word (that has been
given), and will dispute it in days to come? If at some future time
they shall alter this word, may the great net of Enlil, by whom they
have sworn the oath, strike Umma down!"
Eannatum then turns to Ninkharsag, the goddess of the Sumerian city of
Kesh, and in similar phrases invokes her wrath upon the men of Umma
should they violate their oath. He states that in his wisdom he has
presented two doves as offerings before Ninkharsag, and has performed
other rites in her honour at Kesh, and turning again to the goddess, he
exclaims, "As concerns my mother, Ninkharsag, who from among the men
of Umma by his word or by his ... will go back upon the word (that has
been given), and will dispute it in days to come? If at some future
time they shall alter this word, may the great net of Ninkharsag, by
whom they have sworn the oath, strike Umma down!" Enki, the god of the
abyss of waters beneath the earth, is the next deity to be invoked,
and before him Eannatum records that he presented certain fish as
offerings; his net Eannatum has cast over the men of Umma, and should
they cross the ditch, he prays that destruction may come upon Umma by
its means. Enzu, the Moon-god of Ur, whom Eannatum describes as "the
strong bull-calf of Enlil," is then addressed; four doves were set as
offerings before him, and he is invoked to destroy Umma with his net,
should the men of that city ever cross Ningirsu's boundary, or alter
the course of the ditch, or carry away the stele of delimitation.
Before Babbar, the Sun-god, in his city of Larsa, Eannatum states that
he has offered bulls as offerings, and his great net, which he has cast
over the men of Umma, is invoked in similar terms. Finally, Eannatum
prays to Ninki, by whom the oath has also been taken, to punish any
violation of the treaty by wiping the might of Umma from off the face
of the earth.
The great stele of Eannatum, from the text upon which we have taken
much of the description of his war with Umma, is the most striking
example of early Sumerian art that has come down to us, and the
sculptures upon it throw considerable light upon the customs and
beliefs of this primitive race. The metaphor of the net, for example,
which is employed by Eannatum throughout the curses he calls down
upon Umma, in the event of any violation of the treaty, is strikingly
illustrated by a scene sculptured upon two of the fragments of the
stele which have been recovered. When complete, the stele consisted of
a large slab of stone, curved at the top, and it was sculptured and
inscribed upon both sides and also upon its edges. Up to the present
time seven fragments of it have been recovered during the course of
the excavations at Tello, of which six are in the Louvre and one is
in the British Museum; these are usually distinguished by the symbols
A to G.[12] Although the fragments thus recovered represent but a
small proportion of the original monument, it is possible from a
careful study of them to form a fairly complete idea of the scenes
that were sculptured upon it. As we have already noted, the monument
was a stele of victory set up by Eannatum, and the two faces of
the slab are sculptured in low relief with scenes illustrating the
victory, but differing considerably in character. On the face the
representations are mythological and religious, while on the back they
are historical. It might very naturally be supposed that the face of
the stele would have been occupied by representations of Eannatum
himself triumphing over his enemies, and, until the text upon the
stele was thoroughly deciphered and explained, this was indeed the
accepted opinion. But it is now clear that Eannatum devoted the front
of the stele to representations of his gods, while the reverse of the
monument was considered the appropriate place for the scenes depicting
the patesi and his army carrying out the divine will. The arrangement
of the reliefs upon the stone thus forcibly illustrates the belief of
this early period that the god of the city was its real ruler, whose
minister and servant the patesi was, not merely in metaphor, but in
actual fact.
Upon the largest portion of the stele that has been recovered,
formed of two fragments joined together,[13] we have the scene which
illustrates Eannatum's metaphor of the net. Almost the whole of this
portion of the monument is occupied with the figure of a god, which
appears of colossal size if it is compared with those of the patesi and
his soldiers upon the reverse of the stele. The god has flowing hair,
bound with a double fillet, and, while cheeks and lips are shaved,
a long beard falls in five undulating curls from the chin upon the
breast. He is nude to the waist, around which he wears a close-fitting
garment with two folds in front indicated by double lines. It was at
first suggested that we should see in this figure a representation
of some early hero, such as Gilgamesh, but there is no doubt that we
should identify him with Ningirsu, the city-god of Lagash. For in his
right hand the god holds the emblem of Lagash, the eagle with outspread
wings, clawing the heads of two lions; and the stele itself, while
indirectly perpetuating Eannatum's fame, was essentially intended to
commemorate victories achieved by Ningirsu over his city's enemies.
This fact will also explain the rest of the scene sculptured upon the
lower fragment. For the god grasps in his right hand a heavy mace,
which he lets fall upon a net in front of him containing captive
foes, whose bodies may be seen between its broad meshes struggling
and writhing within it. On the relief the cords of the net are
symmetrically arranged, and it apparently rises as a solid structure
to the level of the god's waist. It thus has the appearance of a cage
with cross-bars and supports of wood or metal. But the rounded corners
at the top indicate that we may regard it as a net formed of ropes and
cordage. That it should rise stiffly before the god may be partly due
to the imperfect knowledge of perspective characteristic of all early
art, partly perhaps to the desire of the sculptor to allow the emblem
of Lagash, grasped in the god's left hand, to rest upon it; unless
indeed the emblem itself is a part of the net, by means of which the
god is holding it up. In any case the proximity of the emblem to the
net is not fortuitous. Within the net are the foes of Lagash, and with
the mace in his right hand Ningirsu is represented as clubbing the head
of one of them which projects from between the meshes.
[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Part of the Stele of the Vultures, sculptured
with a scene representing Ningirsu clubbing the enemies of Lagash
(Shirpurla), whom he has caught in his net.--Fragments D and E,
Obverse; _Déc._, pl. 4 _bis_.]
The metaphor of the net, both of the fisherman and the fowler,
is familiar in the poetical literature of the Hebrews, and it is
interesting to note this very early example of its occurrence among the
primitive Sumerian inhabitants of Babylonia.[14] In the text engraved
upon the Stele of the Vultures Eannatum, as we have already seen, seeks
to guard the terms of his treaty by placing it under the protection of
the nets of Enlil and of other deities. He states that he has cast upon
the men of Umma the nets of the deities by whom he and they have sworn,
and, in the event of any violation of their oath, he prays that the
nets may destroy them and their city.[15] Thus the meshes of each net
may in a sense be regarded as the words of the oath, by the utterance
of which they have placed themselves within the power of the god whose
name they have invoked. But the scene on the front of the stele is not
to be regarded as directly referring to this portion of the text, nor
is the colossal figure that of Enlil, the chief god of Babylonia. For
his destruction of the men of Umma is merely invoked as a possible
occurrence in the future, while the god on the stele is already engaged
in clubbing captives he has caught; and, whether the net of Ningirsu
was referred to in a missing portion of the text or not, the fact that
the figure on the stele grasps the emblem of Lagash is sufficient
indication that Ningirsu and not Enlil, nor any other deity, is
intended. Thus the face of the stele illustrates the text of Eannatum
as a whole, not merely the imprecatory formulæ attached to the treaty
with Umma. It refers to the past victories of Ningirsu in his character
as the city-god of Lagash.
The representation of Ningirsu clubbing his enemies forms only a
portion of a larger scheme which occupied the whole of the upper part
of the Stele of the Vultures. Though his is the principal figure of
the composition, it is not set in the centre of the field but on the
extreme right, the right-hand edge of the fragments illustrated on
p. 131 representing the actual edge of the stele. On the left behind
the god and standing in attendance upon him was a goddess, parts of
whose head and headdress have been recovered upon a fragment from the
left edge of the stele.[16] She wears a horned crown, and behind her
is a standard surmounted by an emblem in the form of an eagle with
outspread wings. She is sculptured on a smaller scale than the figure
of Ningirsu, and thus serves to indicate his colossal proportions; and
she stood on a fillet or lintel, which cuts off the upper register
from a second scene which was sculptured below it. The fragment of the
stele in the British Museum[17] preserves one of Ningirsu's feet and a
corner of the net with the prisoners in it, and both are represented
as resting on the same fillet or lintel. This fragment is a piece of
some importance, for, by joining two other pieces of the stele in the
Louvre,[18] it enables us to form some idea of the scene in the lower
register. Here, too, we have representations of deities, but they are
arranged on a slightly different plan. We find upon the fragment from
the right of the stele (C) part of the head and headdress of a goddess
very like that in the register above. Here she faces to the left, and
on another fragment (F), which joins the British Museum fragment upon
the left, is a portion of a very complicated piece of sculpture. This
has given rise to many conjectures, but there appears to be little
doubt that it represents the forepart of a chariot. We have the same
curved front which is seen in the chariot of Eannatum upon the reverse
of the stele, and the same arrangement of the reins which pass through
a double ring fixed in the front of the chariot and are hitched over
a high support. Here the support and the front of the chariot are
decorated with a form of the emblem of Lagash, the spread eagle and
the lions, and we may therefore conclude that the chariot is that of
Ningirsu; indeed, on the left of the fragment a part of the god's plain
garment may be detected, similar to that which he wears in the upper
register. He is evidently standing in the chariot, and we may picture
him riding in triumph after the destruction of his foes.
A close analogy may thus be traced between the two scenes upon the
front of the stele and the two upper registers upon the back. In the
latter we have representations of Eannatum on foot leading his warriors
to battle, and also riding victoriously in a chariot at their head.
On the front of the stele are scenes of a similar character in the
religious sphere, representing Ningirsu slaying the enemies of Lagash,
and afterwards riding in his chariot in triumph. It may also be noted
that the composition of the scenes in the two registers upon the face
of the stone is admirably planned. In the upper register the colossal
figure of Ningirsu with his net, upon the right, is balanced below on
the left by his figure in the chariot; and, similarly, the smaller
figure or figures above were balanced by the ass that drew Ningirsu's
chariot, and the small figure of a goddess who faces him.
There are few indications to enable us to identify the goddesses who
accompany Ningirsu. If the figures in both registers represent the same
divine personage the names of several goddesses suggest themselves. We
might, perhaps, see in her Ningirsu's wife Bau, the daughter of Anu, or
his sister Ninâ, the goddess of the oracle, to whose service Eannatum
was specially devoted, or Gatumdug, the mother of Lagash. But the
military standard which accompanies the goddess in the upper scene, and
the ends of two darts or javelins which appear in the same fragment
to rise from, or be bound upon, her shoulders, seem to show that the
upper goddess, at any rate, is of a warlike character. Moreover, in
another inscription, Eannatum ascribes a success he has achieved in war
to the direct intervention of the goddess Ninni,[19] proving that she,
like the later Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar, was essentially
the goddess of battle. It is permissible, therefore, to see in the
upper goddess, sculptured upon the face of the Stele of the Vultures,
a representation of Ninni, the goddess of battle, who attends the
city-god Ningirsu while he is engaged in the slaughter of his foes. In
the lower register it is possible we have a second representation of
Ninni, where she appears to welcome Ningirsu after the slaughter is at
an end. But though the headdresses of the two goddesses are identical,
the accompanying emblems appear to differ, and we are thus justified in
suggesting for the lower figure some goddess other than Ninni, whose
work was finished when Ningirsu had secured the victory. The deity most
fitted to gladden Ningirsu's sight on his return would have been his
faithful wife Bau, who was wont to recline beside her lord upon his
couch within the temple E-ninnû. We may thus provisionally identify the
goddess of the lower register with Bau, who is there portrayed going
out to meet the chariot of her lord and master upon his return from
battle.
Perhaps the scenes which are sculptured upon the back of the Stele of
the Vultures are of even greater interest than those upon its face,
since they afford us a picture of these early Sumerian peoples as they
appeared when engaged in the continual wars which were waged between
the various city-states. Like the scenes upon the face of the stele,
those upon the back are arranged in separate registers, divided one
from the other by raised bands, or fillets, stretching across the face
of the monument and representing the soil on which the scenes portrayed
above them took place. The registers upon the back are smaller than
those on the face, being at least four in number, in place of the
two scenes which are devoted to Ningirsu and his attendant deities.
As might be expected, the scenes upon the back of the stele are on a
smaller scale than those upon the face, and the number and variety of
the figures composing them are far greater. Little space has been left
on the reverse of the stone for the inscription, the greater part of
which is engraved on the front of the monument, in the broad spaces
of the field between the divine figures. Of the highest of the four
registers upon the reverse four fragments have been recovered,[20] one
of which (A) proves that the curved head of the stele on this side
was filled with the representations of vultures, to which reference
has already been made.[21] The intention of the sculptor was clearly
to represent them as flying thick in the air overhead, bearing off
from the field of battle the severed heads and limbs of the slain.
The birds thus formed a very decorative and striking feature of the
monument, and the popular name of the stele, which is derived from
them, is fully justified. In the same register on the left is a scene
representing Eannatum leading his troops in battle.[22] and we there
see them advancing over the bodies of the slain; while from the extreme
right of the same register we have a fragment representing men engaged
in collecting the dead and piling them in heaps for burial.[23] We may
conjecture that the central portion of the register, which is missing,
portrayed the enemies of Eannatum falling before his lance. In the
register immediately below we find another representation of Eannatum
at the head of his troops. Here, however, they are not in battle array
but on the march, and Eannatum, instead of advancing on foot, is riding
before them in his chariot.[24]
The sculptured representations of Eannatum and his soldiers, which
are preserved upon these fragments, are of the greatest importance,
for they give a vivid picture of the Sumerian method of fighting,
and supply detailed information with regard to the arms and armour
in use at this early period. We note that the Sumerians advanced to
the attack in a solid phalanx, the leading rank being protected by
huge shields or bucklers that covered the whole body from the neck to
the feet, and were so broad that, when lined up in battle array, only
enough space was left for a lance to be levelled between each; the
lance-bearers carried as an additional weapon an axe, resembling an
adze with a flat head. From the second register, in which we see the
army on the march, it is clear that no shield was carried by the rank
and file for individual protection; the huge bucklers were only borne
by men in the front rank, and they thus served to protect the whole
front of an attacking force as it advanced in solid formation. In the
scene in the upper register two soldiers are sculptured behind each
shield, and in each gap between the shields six lances are levelled
which are grasped firmly in both hands by the soldiers wielding them.
The massing of the lances in this fashion is obviously a device of the
sculptor to suggest six rows of soldiers advancing one behind the other
to the attack. But the fact that each lance is represented as grasped
in both hands by its owner proves that the shields were not carried by
the lance-bearers themselves, but by soldiers stationed in the front,
armed only with an axe. The sole duty of a shield-bearer during an
attack in phalanx was clearly to keep his shield in position, which was
broad enough to protect his own body and that of the lance-bearer on
his right. Thus the representation of two soldiers behind each buckler
on the Stele of the Vultures is a perfectly accurate detail. As soon
as an attack had been successfully delivered, and the enemy was in
flight, the shield-bearers could discard the heavy shields they carried
and join in the pursuit. The light axe with which they were armed was
admirably suited for hand-to-hand conflicts, and it is probable that
the lance-bearers themselves abandoned their heavy weapons and had
recourse to the axe when they broke their close formation.
Both Eannatum and his soldiers wear a conical helmet, covering the
brow and carried down low at the back so as to protect the neck, the
royal helmet being distinguished by the addition at the sides of
moulded pieces to protect the ears. Both the shields and the helmets
were probably of leather, though the nine circular bosses on the face
of each of the former may possibly have been of metal. Their use was
clearly to strengthen the shields, and they were probably attached to
a wooden framework on the other side. They would also tend to protect
the surface of the shields by deflecting blows aimed at them. The royal
weapons consisted of a long lance or spear, wielded in the left hand,
and a curved mace or throwing-stick, formed of three strands bound
together at intervals with thongs of leather or bands of metal. When
in his chariot on the march, the king was furnished with additional
weapons, consisting of a flat-headed axe like those of his soldiers,
and a number of light darts, some fitted with double points. These last
he carried in a huge quiver attached to the fore part of his chariot,
and with them we may note a double-thonged whip, doubtless intended for
driving the ass or asses that drew the vehicle. It is probable that the
soldiers following Eannatum in both scenes were picked men, who formed
the royal body-guard, for those in the battle-scene are distinguished
by the long hair or, rather, wig, that falls upon their shoulders
from beneath their helmets,[25] and those on the march are seen to be
clothed from the waist downwards in the rough woollen garment similar
to that worn by the king. They may well have been recruited among
the members of the royal house and the chief families of Lagash. The
king's apparel is distinguished from theirs by the addition of a cloak,
possibly of skin,[26] worn over the left shoulder in such a way that it
leaves the right arm and shoulder entirely free.
Considerable light is thrown upon the burial customs of the Sumerians
by the scene sculptured in the third register, or section, on the
reverse of the stele of Eannatum. Portions of the scene are preserved
upon the fragments C and F, which we have already noted may be
connected with each other by means of the fragment G, preserved in
the British Museum. In this register we have a representation of the
scenes following the victory of Eannatum, when the king and his army
had time to collect their dead and bury them with solemn rites and
sacrifices beneath huge tells or burial-mounds. It will be remembered
that a fragment of the top register portrays the collection of the
dead upon the battlefield; here, on the left, we see the mounds in
course of construction, under which the dead were buried.[27] The dead
are quite nude, and are seen to be piled up in rows, head to head and
feet to feet alternately. The two corpses at the base are sculptured
lying flat upon the ground, and, as the tell rises, they appear to
be arranged like the sticks of a fan. This arrangement was doubtless
due to the sculptor's necessity of filling the semi-circular head of
the tell, and does not represent the manner in which the corpses were
actually arranged for burial. We may conclude that they were set out
symmetrically in double rows, and that the position of every one was
horizontal, additional rows being added until sufficient height had
been attained.
[Illustration: PORTION OF THE "STELE OF VULTURES," SCULPTURED WITH A
SCENE REPRESENTING THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD AFTER A BATTLE.--_In the
Louvre; photo, by Messrs. Mansell & Co._]
Two living figures are sculptured on the fragment, engaged in the work
of completing the burial. They are represented as climbing the pile
of corpses, and they seem to be helping themselves up by means of a
rope which they grasp in their right hands. On their heads they carry
baskets piled up with earth, which they are about to throw upon the top
of the mound. In the relief they appear to be climbing upon the limbs
of the dead, but it is probable that they began piling earth from below
and climbed the sides of the mound as it was raised. The sculptor has
not seen how to represent the sides of the tell without hiding his
corpses, so he has omitted the piled earth altogether, unless, indeed,
what appears to be a rope which the carriers hold is really intended
for the side of the mound in section. It has been suggested that the
carriers are bearing offerings for the dead, but the baskets appear to
be heaped with earth, not offerings, and the record in the text upon
the stele, that Eannatum piled up twenty burial-mounds after his battle
with the men of Umma, is sufficient justification for the view that the
scene represents one of these mounds in course of construction.
[Illustration: Part of the Stele of the Vultures, sculptured with a
sacrificial scene which took place at the burial of the dead after
battle. The fragments represents the head of a bull, which is staked
to the ground and prepared for sacrifice. The foot and robe probably
belonged to a figure of Eannatum, who presided at the funeral
rites.--Fragment F, Reverse; _Déc.,_ pl. 4 _ter_.]
The continuation of the scene upon the other two fragments,[28] proves
that the burial of the dead was attended with elaborate funeral rites,
and the offering of sacrifices. To the right of the workers engaged
in piling up the burial-mound may be seen a bull lying on his back
upon the ground, and bound securely with ropes to two stout stakes
driven into the soil close to its head and tail. He is evidently the
victim, duly prepared for sacrifice, that will be offered when the
burial-mound has been completed. In the field above the bull are
sculptured other victims and offerings, which were set out beside the
bull. We see a row of six lambs or kids, decapitated, and arranged
symmetrically, neck to tail, and tail to neck. Two large water-pots,
with wide mouths, and tapering towards the base, stand on the right
of the bull; palm-branches, placed in them, droop down over their
rims, and a youth, completely nude, is pouring water into one of them
from a smaller vessel. He is evidently pouring out a libation, as we
may infer from a similar scene on another early Sumerian relief that
has been recovered.[29] Beyond the large vessels there appear to be
bundles of faggots, and in the field above them are sculptured a row
of growing plants. These probably do not rise from the large vessels,
as they appear to do in the sculpture, but form a separate row beyond
the faggots and the vessels. At the head of the bull may be seen the
foot and part of the robe of a man who directs the sacrifice. As in all
the other registers upon the reverse of the stele Eannatum occupies a
prominent position, we may conclude that this is part of the figure of
Eannatum himself. He occupies the centre of the field in this register,
and presides at the funeral rites of the warriors who have fallen in
his service.
[Illustration: Fig. 48.--Part of the Stele of the Vultures, which was
sculptured with a scene representing Eannatum deciding the fate of
prisoners taken in battle. The point of the spear, which he grasped in
his left hand, touches the head of the captive king of Kish.--Fragments
C and F, Reverse; _Déc.,_ pl. 3 and 4 _ter_.]
Of the last scene that is preserved upon the Stele of the Vultures very
little remains upon the fragments recovered, but this is sufficient
to indicate its character. Eannatum was here portrayed deciding the
fate of prisoners taken in battle. Of his figure only the left hand
is preserved; it is grasping a heavy spear or lance by the end of the
shaft as in the second register. The spear passes over the shaven heads
of a row of captives, and at the end of the row its point touches the
head of a prisoner of more exalted rank, who faces the king and raises
one hand in token of submission. A fragment of inscription behind the
head of this captive gives the name "Al-[...], King of Kish," and it
may be concluded with considerable probability that these words form
a label attached to the figure of the chief prisoner, like the labels
engraved near the head of Eannatum in the two upper registers, which
describe him as "Eannatum, champion of the god Ningirsu." There is
much more to be said for this explanation than for the possibility
that the words formed part of an account of a war waged by Eannatum
against Kish, which has been added to the record of his war with Umma.
According to such a view the stele must have been larger than we have
supposed, since it would have included additional registers at the
base of the reverse for recording the subsequent campaigns and their
illustration by means of reliefs. The monument would thus have been
erected to commemorate all the wars of Eannatum. But that against
Umma would be the most important, and its record, copied directly
from the text of the treaty, would still occupy three quarters of the
stone. Moreover, we should have to suppose that the scribe slavishly
copied the text of the stele of delimitation even down to its title,
and made no attempt to assimilate with it the later records, which
we must assume he added in the form of additional paragraphs. Such a
supposition is extremely unlikely, and it is preferable to regard the
words behind the prisoner's head as a label, and to conclude that the
connected text of the stele ended, as it appears to do, with the name
and description of the stone, which is engraved as a sort of colophon
upon the upper part of the field in the fourth register.
According to this alternative we need assume the existence of no
registers other than those of which we already possess fragments, and
the conception and arrangement of the reliefs gains immensely in unity
and coherence. On the obverse we have only two registers, the upper one
rather larger than the one below, and both devoted, as we have seen, to
representations of Ningirsu and his attendant goddesses. The reverse
of the stone, divided into four registers, is assigned entirely to
Eannatum, who is seen leading his troops to the attack, returning in
his chariot from the field of battle, performing funeral rites for his
dead soldiers, and deciding the fate of captives he has taken. Thus the
reliefs admirably illustrate the description of the war with Umma, and
we may conclude that the Stele of the Vultures was either the actual
stele of delimitation set up by Eannatum upon the frontier, or, as is
more probable, an exact copy of its text, embellished with sculptures,
upon a stone which Eannatum caused to be carved and set up within
his own city as a memorial of his conquest. Indeed, we may perhaps
make the further assumption that the stele was erected within the
temple of Ningirsu, since it commemorates the recovery of Gu-edin, the
territory that was peculiarly his own. The Stele of the Vultures, with
its elaborate and delicate relief, would have been out of place upon
the frontier of Gu-edin, where, we may conjecture, the memorial stone
would have been made as strong and plain as possible, so as to offer
little scope for mutilation. But, if destined to be set up within the
shelter of Ningirsu's temple in Lagash, the sculptor would have had no
restriction placed upon his efforts; and the prominent place assigned
to Ningirsu in the reliefs, upon the face of the memorial, is fully in
keeping with the suggestion that the Stele of the Vultures at one time
stood within his shrine.
In favour of the view that the monument was not the actual stele of
delimitation we may note that towards the close of its text some
four columns were taken up with lists of other conquests achieved
by Eannatum. But in all "kudurru-inscriptions," or boundary-stones,
which were intended to safeguard the property or claims of private
individuals, the texts close with a series of imprecations calling
down the anger of the gods upon any one infringing the owner's rights
in any way. Now in general character the text upon the Stele of the
Vultures closely resembles the "kudurru-inscriptions," only differing
from them in that it sets out to delimit, not the fields and estates
of individuals, but the respective territories of two city-states.
We should therefore expect that, like them, it would close with
invocations to the gods. Moreover, the Cone of Entemena, the text of
which was undoubtedly copied from a similar stele of delimitation, ends
with curses, and not with a list of Entemena's own achievements. But if
the short list of Eannatum's titles and conquests be omitted, the text
upon the Stele of the Vultures would end with the series of invocations
to Enlil and other deities, to which reference has already been made.
We may therefore conclude that the original text, as engraved upon the
stele of delimitation, did end at this point, and that the list of
other conquests was only added upon the memorial erected in Ningirsu's
temple.
Apart from the interest attaching to the memorial itself, this point
has a bearing upon the date of the conquest of Umma in relation to the
other successful wars conducted by Eannatum in the course of his reign.
It might reasonably be urged that the subjugation of the neighbouring
city of Umma would have preceded the conquest of more distant lands and
cities, over which Eannatum succeeded in imposing his sway. In that
case we must assume that the list of conquests upon the Stele of the
Vultures was added at a later date. On the other hand, it is equally
possible that the war with Umma took place well on in Eannatum's
reign, and that, while the patesi and his army were away on distant
expeditions, their ancient rival Umma refrained from taking advantage
of their absence to gain control of the coveted territory of Gu-edin.
Both cities may for years have respected the terms of Mesilim's treaty,
and Lagash, while finding scope elsewhere for her ambition, may have
been content to acquiesce in the claims of independence put forward
by her nearest neighbour. Thus the list of Eannatum's conquests may
well have been engraved upon the Stele of the Vultures at the time
the treaty with Umma was drawn up. In accordance with this view we
shall see there are reasons for believing that several of Eannatum's
conquests did take place before his war with Umma, and it is quite
possible to assign to this earlier period the others that are mentioned
in the list.
The conquest of Kish stands in close relation to that of Umma, for,
apart from the portrayal of the king of Kish as a captive upon the
Stele of the Vultures, there is a passage in the main body of the
inscription which would seem to connect the outbreak of war between
Umma and Lagash with the influence of that city. In the broken passage
recording the encouragement given to Eannatum by Ningirsu after the
raid of Gu-edin, the names of Umma and Kish occur together, and the
context of the passage suggests that Ningirsu here promises his patesi
victory over both these cities.[30] We may, therefore, conjecture that
the ambitious designs described by Entemena as actuating Ush, the
patesi of Umma, in raiding the territory of Lagash, were fostered by
the city of Kish. It is probable that Eannatum had already given proof
of his qualities as a military leader, and had caused the king of Kish
to see in Lagash a possible rival for the hegemony which the North had
long enjoyed. To sow dissension between her and her neighbour Umma,
would have appeared a most effective method of crippling her growing
power, and it is possible that the king of Kish not only promised his
support, but furnished a contingent of his own soldiers to assist in
the attack. The representation of the captive king of Kish upon the
Stele of the Vultures may possibly be interpreted as proving that he
led his troops in person, and was captured during the battle. But the
relief is, perhaps, not to be taken too literally, and may merely
symbolize the defeat of his forces along with those of Umma, and his
failure to render them any effective aid. On the other hand, in a text
engraved upon one of his foundation-stones,[31] Eannatum boasts that
he added the kingdom of Kish to his dominions: "Eannatum, patesi of
Lagash, by the goddess Ninni who loves him, along with the patesiate of
Lagash was presented with the kingdom of Kish." It would seem that in
this passage Eannatum lays claim, not only to have defeated Kish, but
also to exercising suzeranity over the northern kingdom.
With Eannatum's victory over Kish we must probably connect the success
which he achieved over another northern city, Opis. For towards the
end of the text upon the foundation-stone referred to above, these
achievements appear to be described as a single event, or, at least,
as two events of which the second closely follows and supplements the
first. In the course of the formulæ celebrating the principal conquests
of his reign, Eannatum exclaims: "By Eannatum was Elam broken in the
head, Elam was driven back to his own land; Kish was broken in the
head, and the king of Opis was driven back to his own land."[32] When
referring to the victory over Opis in an earlier passage of the same
inscription, Eannatum names the king who attacked him, and, although he
does not give many details of the war, it may be inferred that Opis was
defeated only after a severe struggle. "When the king of Opis rose up,"
the text runs, "Eannatum, whose name was spoken by Ningirsu, pursued
Zuzu, king of Opis, from the Antasurra of Ningirsu up to the city of
Opis, and there he smote him and destroyed him."[33] We have already
seen reasons for believing that the king of Kish took an active part in
Umma's war with Lagash, and shared her defeat; and we may conjecture
that it was to help and avenge his ally that Zuzu, king of Opis,
marched south and attacked Eannatum. That he met with some success at
first is perhaps indicated by the point from which Eannatum records
that he drove him back to his own land. For the Antasurra was a shrine
or temple dedicated to Ningirsu, and stood within the territory of
Lagash, though possibly upon or near the frontier. Here Eannatum met
the invaders in force, and not only dislodged them, but followed up his
victory by pursuing them back to their own city, where he claims that
he administered a still more crushing defeat. It is possible that the
conquest of Ma'er, or Mari, took place at this time, and in connection
with the war with Opis and Kish, for in one passage Eannatum refers to
the defeat of these three states at the Antasurra of Ningirsu. Ma'er
may well have been allied with Kish and Opis, and may have contributed
a contingent to the army led by Zuzu in his attack on Lagash.
[Illustration: PORTION OF A BLACK BASALT MORTAR BEARING AN INSCRIPTION
OF EANNATUM, PATESI OF SHIRPURLA.--_Brit. Mus., No._ 90832_; photo, by
Messrs. Mansell & Co._]
It is interesting to note that Kish and the king of Kish represented
the most dreaded enemies of Lagash, at least during a portion of the
reign of Eannatum. For on a mortar of black basalt which is preserved
in the British Museum,[34] Eannatum, after recording that he has
dedicated it to Ninâ, "the Lady of the Holy Mountain," prays that
no man may damage it or carry it away; and he then adds the petition,
"May the King of Kish not seize it!" This ejaculation is eloquent of
the dread which the northern kingdom inspired in the cities of the
south, and we may see in it evidence of many a raid during which the
temples of Lagash had been despoiled of their treasures. We may well
ascribe the dedication of the altar and the cutting of the inscription
to the early part of Eannatum's reign; at any rate, to a period before
the power of Kish was broken in the south; and, if we are right in
this supposition, the mortar may perhaps serve to date another group
of Eannatum's campaigns. For in a passage on the second side of this
monument it appears to be recorded that he had conquered the cities
of Erech and Ur. The passage follows the invocations set forth by
Eannatum upon the other side, in the course of which he prays that no
one shall remove the mortar, or cast it into the fire, or damage it in
any way; and it might be argued that the lines were an addition made
to the original text of dedication at a considerably later period.
In that case the passage would afford no proof that the conquest of
Ur and Erech preceded that of Kish. But both sides of the monument
have the appearance of having been engraved by the same hand, and we
are probably justified in assuming that the whole of the inscription
was placed upon the vessel at the time it was made. We may thus
provisionally place the conquest of Ur and Erech before that of Kish.
Further, in his foundation-inscriptions, Eannatum groups his conquest
of Ur and Erech with that of Ki-babbar, "the place of the Sun-god," a
term which may with considerable probability be identified with Larsa,
the centre of the cult of the Sun-god in Southern Babylonia. It would
thus appear that Eannatum conquered these cities, all situated in the
extreme south of Babylonia at about the same period, and probably in
the early part of his reign.
An indication that we are right in placing the southern conquests
of Eannatum before the war with Umma may, perhaps, be seen in the
invocations to deities engraved upon the Stele of the Vultures with
which Eannatum sought to protect his treaty. In the course of the
invocations Eannatum states that he has made offerings to the goddess
Ninkharsag in the city of Kesh, to Enzu, the Moon-god, in Ur, and to
Babbar, the Sun-god, in Larsa. These passages we may assume refer to
offerings made by Eannatum in his character of suzerain, and, if this
view is correct, we must conclude that the conquest of these cities
had already taken place. The invocation to Enki perhaps presupposes
that Eridu also was in the hands of Eannatum at this time, a corollary
that would almost necessarily follow, if the three neighbouring cities
of Ur, Erech, and Larsa had fallen before his arms. Accordingly, the
list of gods by whom Eannatum and the men of Umma swore to preserve
the treaty becomes peculiarly significant. They were selected on
political as much as on purely religious grounds, and in their combined
jurisdiction represented the extent of Eannatum's dominion in Sumer
at the time. That a ruler should be in a position to exact an oath by
such powerful city-gods was obviously calculated to inspire respect
for his own authority, while the names of the gods themselves formed
a sufficient guarantee that divine punishment would surely follow any
violation of the treaty. The early successes gained by Eannatum, by
which he was enabled to exercise suzerainty over the principal cities
of Southern Babylonia, may well have been the cause of his arousing the
active hostility of Kish and Opis. When he had emerged victorious from
his subsequent struggle with the northern cities, we may assume that he
claimed the title of king, which he employs in place of his more usual
title of patesi in certain passages in the text of his treaty with Umma.
The other conquests recorded in the inscriptions of Eannatum fall into
two groups. In all the lists of his victories that have come down
to us--on the Stele of the Vultures, the foundation-stones, and the
brick-inscriptions--the defeat of Elam is given the first place. This
is probably not to be taken as implying that it was the first in order
of time. It is true that the order in which the conquered districts
and cities are arranged is generally the same in the different lists,
but this is not invariably the case. Apart from differences caused by
the omission or insertion of names, the order is sometimes altered;
thus the conquest of Arua is recorded before that of Ur on the Stele
of the Vultures, whereas on the foundation-stones this arrangement
is reversed. It would, therefore, be rash to assume that they were
enumerated in the order of their occurrence; it is more probable that
the conquered states and districts are grouped on a rough geographical
basis, and that these groups are arranged according to the importance
attaching to them. That Elam should always be mentioned first in the
lists is probably due to the fact that she was the hereditary enemy
of the cities of Sumer and Akkad, whose rulers could never be sure of
immunity from her attacks. The agricultural wealth of Babylonia offered
a tempting prey to the hardy tribes who dwelt among the hills upon the
western border of Elam, and the dread of the raider and mountaineer,
experienced by the dweller in the plain, is expressed by Eannatum in
his description of Elam as "the mountain that strikes terror."[35]
That in their conflict with Eannatum the Elamites were, as usual, the
aggressors, is clear from the words of the record upon his longer
foundation-inscription--"by Eannatum was Elam broken in the head, Elam
was driven back to his own land."[36] In other passages referring to
the discomfiture of the Elamites, Eannatum adds the formula that "he
heaped up burial-mounds," a phrase which would seem to imply that the
enemy were only defeated with considerable loss.[37] It is not unlikely
that we may fix the field of battle, upon which the forces of Elam were
defeated, on the banks of the Asukhur Canal, which had been cut two
generations before by Ur-Ninâ, Eannatum's grandfather; at least, the
canal gives its name to a battlefield which is mentioned immediately
before the name of Elam in one of the lists of conquests. It would thus
seem that the Elamites were engaged in raiding the territory of Lagash
when Eannatum fell upon them with his army and drove them northwards
and across the Tigris.
Closely associated with Eannatum's success against the Elamites were
his conquest of Shakh, of a city the reading of the name for which is
unknown, and probably also of a land or district which bore the name of
Sunanam. The conquest of this last place is only mentioned in a broken
passage upon the Stele of the Vultures,[38] between the names of Elam
and Shakh, and that of the unknown city, so that little can be inferred
with regard to it. Shakh, on the other hand, whenever it is referred
to in the inscriptions of Eannatum, follows immediately after the name
of Elam, and it was not improbably a district on the Elamite frontier
which Eannatum ravaged during his pursuit of the invaders. The city
with the unknown name[39] was evidently a place of some importance,
for not only was it governed by a patesi, but when its conquest is
mentioned in the lists details are usually given. The interpretation
of a phrase recording its patesi's action with regard to the emblem of
the city is not quite certain, but it would appear that on the approach
of Eannatum he planted it before the city-gate. The context would
seem to imply that this was intended as an act of defiance, not of
submission, for Eannatum states that he conquered the city and heaped
up burial-mounds. The site of the city, like its name, is unknown, but
since the records referring to it always follow those concerning Elam,
we may provisionally regard it as having lain in the direction of the
Elamite frontier.
The remaining group of Eannatum's conquests comprise the victories he
achieved over Az, Mishime, and Arua. The first of these places was
a city ruled by a patesi, whom Eannatum slew when he captured and
destroyed it. It was formerly regarded as situated in the neighbourhood
of the Persian Gulf, but the grounds on which this view was held have
proved inadequate.[40] Moreover, Eannatum's references to Mishime and
Arua do not assist us much in determining their positions, for he
merely states that he destroyed and annihilated them. In a passage
upon the Stele of the Vultures, however, a reference to the land of
Sumer follows closely upon a record of the conquest of Arua,[41]
which perhaps is an indication that all three places should be
sought in Southern Babylonia. We are thus without data for settling
definitely the region in which this group of cities lay, and we are
equally without information as to the period of his reign in which
Eannatum captured or destroyed them. The fact that they are mentioned
last in the lists is no proof that they were among his most recent
conquests; it may merely be due to their relatively small importance.
In support of this suggestion we may note that in the longest of his
foundation-inscriptions Eannatum refers to them once only, while his
successes against Elam and the northern cities are celebrated in two or
three separate passages.
From the preceding discussion of the campaigns of Eannatum it will have
been seen that during his reign a considerable expansion took place
in the power and influence of Lagash. From being a city-state with
her influence restricted to her own territory, she became head of a
confederation of the great Sumerian cities, she successfully disputed
with the northern cities the hegemony in Babylonia, and she put a check
upon the encroachments of Elam, the hereditary foe of Sumer and Akkad
alike. According to the view of Eannatum's conquests which has been
put forward, the first expansion of the city's influence took place
southwards. The cities of Ur, Erech, Larsa, Kesh, and probably Eridu,
had already become her vassal states, before Kish and Opis attempted to
curtail her growing power; and in the war which followed it is probable
that we may see a struggle between the combined forces of Sumer on the
one hand, and those of Akkad on the other. One of the most important
episodes in this conflict was the war with Umma, since the raid by the
men of that city into the territory of Lagash furnished the occasion
for the outbreak of hostilities. The issue of the conflict placed
Lagash in the position of the leading city in Babylonia. The fact that
from this time forward Eannatum did not permanently adopt the title of
"king" in his inscriptions, may perhaps be traced to his preference for
the religious title of "patesi," which emphasized his dependence upon
his own city-god Ningirsu.
The military character of Eannatum is reflected in his inscriptions,
which in this respect form a striking contrast to those of his
grandfather, Ur-Ninâ. While the earlier king's records are confined
entirely to lists of temples and other buildings, which he erected or
restored in Lagash and its neighbourhood, the texts of Eannatum are
devoted almost exclusively to his wars. From a few scattered passages,
however, we gather that he did not entirely neglect the task of adding
to and beautifying the temples in his capital. Thus he built a temple
for the goddess Gatumdug, and added to other buildings which were
already standing in Ur-Ninâ's time. But his energies in this direction
were mainly devoted to repairing the fortifications of Lagash, and to
putting the city in a complete state of defence. Thus he boasts that
he built the wall of Lagash and made it strong. Since Ur-Ninâ's time,
when the city-wall had been thoroughly repaired, it is probable that
the defences of the city had been weakened, for Eannatum also records
that he restored Girsu, one of the quarters of the city, which we
may suppose had suffered on the same occasion, and had been allowed
to remain since then in a partly ruined condition. In honour of the
goddess Ninâ he also records that he rebuilt, or perhaps largely
increased, the quarter of the city which was named after her, and he
constructed a wall for the special protection of Uru-azagga, another
quarter of Lagash. In fact, the political expansion, which took place
at this period in the power of Lagash, was accompanied by an equally
striking increase in the size and defences of the city itself.
During the reign of Eannatum it is clear that the people of Lagash
enjoyed a considerable measure of prosperity, for, although they were
obliged to furnish men for their patesi's army, the state acquired
considerable wealth from the sack of conquered cities, and from the
tribute of grain and other supplies which was levied upon them as a
mark of their permanent subjection. Moreover, the campaigns could not
have been of very long duration, and, after the return of the army
on the completion of a war, it is probable that the greater part of
it would be disbanded, and the men would go back to their ordinary
occupations. Thus the successful prosecution of his foreign policy by
Eannatum did not result in any impoverishment of the material resources
of his people, and the fertile plains around the city were not left
untilled for lack of labour. Indeed, it would appear that in the
latter part of his reign he largely increased the area of land under
cultivation. For in his longer foundation-inscriptions, after recording
his principal conquests, he states: "In that day Eannatum did (as
follows). Eannatum, ... when his might had borne fruit, dug a new canal
for Ningirsu, and he named it Lummadimdug." By the expression "when his
might had borne fruit," it is clear that Eannatum refers to the latter
part of his reign, when he was no longer obliged to place his army
incessantly in the field, and he and his people were enabled to devote
themselves to the peaceful task of developing the material resources of
their own district in Sumer.
Another canal, which we know was cut by Eannatum, was that
separating the plain of Gu-edin from the territory of Umma, but this
was undertaken, not for purposes of irrigation, but rather as a
frontier-ditch to mark the limits of the territory of Lagash in that
direction. There is little doubt, however, that at least a part of its
stream was used for supplying water to those portions of Gu-edin which
lay along its banks. Like the canal Lummadimdug, this frontier-ditch
was also dedicated to Ningirsu, and in the inscription upon a small
column which records this fact, the name of the canal is given as
Lummagirnuntashagazaggipadda. But this exceedingly long title was only
employed upon state occasions, such as the ceremony of dedication; in
common parlance the name was abbreviated to Lummagirnunta, as we learn
from the reference to it upon Entemena's Cone. It is of interest to
note that in the title of the stone of delimitation, which occurs upon
the Stele of the Vultures, reference is made to a canal named Ug-edin,
the title of the stone being given as "O Ningirsu, lord of the crown
..., give life unto the canal Ug-edin!" In the following lines the
monument itself is described as "the Stele of Gu-edin, the territory
beloved of Ningirsu, which I, Eannatum, have restored to Ningirsu"; so
that it is clear that the canal, whose name is incorporated in that
of the stele, must have had some connection with the frontier-ditch.
Perhaps the canal Ug-edin is to be identified with Lummagirnunta,
unless one of the two was a subsidiary canal.
For the supply of his principal irrigation-canal with water after the
period of the spring-floods, Eannatum did not depend solely upon such
water as might find its way in from the river, before the surface
of the latter sank below the level of the canal-bed; nor did he
confine himself to the laborious method of raising it from the river
to his canal by means of irrigation-machines. Both these methods of
obtaining water he doubtless employed, but he supplemented them by the
construction of a reservoir, which should retain at least a portion of
the surplus water during the early spring, and store it up for gradual
use in the fields after the water-level in the river and canals had
fallen. In the passage in his foundation-inscription, which records
this fact, he says: "For Ningirsu he founded the canal Lummadimdug
and dedicated it to him; Eannatum, endowed with strength by Ningirsu,
constructed the reservoir of Lummadimdug, with a capacity of three
thousand six hundred _gur_ of water."[42] It is true that his reservoir
was not of very imposing dimensions, but its construction proves that
Eannatum or his engineers had studied the problem of irrigation in a
scientific spirit, and had already evolved the method of obtaining
a constant water-supply which is still regarded as giving the best
results.
[Illustration: BRICK OF EANNATUM, PATESI OF SHIRPURLA, RECORDING HIS
GENEALOGY AND CONQUESTS, AND COMMEMORATING THE SINKING OF WELLS IN
SHIRPURLA.--_Brit. Mus., No._ 85977; _photo, by Messrs. Mansell & Co._]
Smaller canals were possibly dug during Eannatum's reign for supplying
water to those quarters of Lagash which he improved or added to; and
we also know that, where canalization was impracticable, he obtained
water by sinking wells. Within the enclosure of Ningirsu's temple, for
instance, he constructed a well for supplying the temple with water,
and some of the bricks have been recovered which lined the well on the
inside.[43] On these he inscribed his name beside those of the gods
by whom he had been favoured; and, after giving a list of his more
important conquests, he recorded that he had built the well in the
spacious forecourt of the temple, and had named it Sigbirra, and had
dedicated it to Ningirsu. From the reference to his conquests in the
inscription upon the bricks, it is clear that the sinking of the well,
like the cutting of the irrigation-canal Lummadimdug, took place in the
later years of Eannatum's reign.
The phrase with which the well-inscription of Eannatum ends may be
taken as indicating the measure of prosperity to which the state of
Lagash attained under his rule. "In those days," it says, "did Ningirsu
love Eannatum." But Eannatum's claim to remembrance rests, as we have
seen, in a greater degree upon his military successes, by means of
which he was enabled to extend the authority of Lagash over the whole
of Sumer and a great part of Akkad. He proved himself strong enough at
the same time to defend his empire from the attack of external foes,
and it is probable that, after his signal defeat of the Elamites, he
was not troubled by further raids from that quarter. Three times in
the course of his inscriptions he states that "by Eannatum, whose name
was uttered by Ningirsu, were the countries broken in the head," and
it would appear that his boast was justified. The metaphor he here
employs is taken from the heavy battle-mace, which formed an effective
weapon in the warfare of the period. It may be seen in use in the scene
sculptured upon the principal monument of Eannatum's reign, where
Ningirsu himself is portrayed as breaking the heads of his foes. This
representation of the city-god of Lagash, one of the finest examples of
early Sumerian sculpture, in itself admirably symbolizes the ambition
and achievements of the ruler in whose reign and by whose order it was
made.
[1] "Déc. en Chaldée," p. xl.; cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften,"
pp. 10 ff.
[2] With the lower part of Col. IV. (pl. xl.), ll. 5-8, cf. Col. V.,
ll. 23-29.
[3] Literally, "devoured.".
[4] Col. I., ll. 10 ff. ("Déc. en Chaldée," p. xlvii.).
[5] Obv., Col. VII. (lower part) and Col. VIII. ff.
[6] Cone-Inscription, Col. I., ll. 32 ff.
[7] "Cuneiform Texts in the British Museum," Pt. VII., pl. 1 f., No.
23580.
[8] "Déc. en Chaldée," p. xliv., Galet E.
[9] Cone-Inscription, Col. II., ll. 11-18.
[10] Cf. Obv., Col. XIX.-XXII., and Rev., Col. III.-V.
[11] Obv., Col. XVI.--Rev., Col. V.
[12] The fragments A-F have been published in "Déc. en Chaldée" on the
following plates: Plate 4, A, B, and C, Obverse (it should be noted
that on the plate the letters B and C should be interchanged); Plate 3,
A, B, and C, Reverse (the letters B and C are here placed correctly);
Plate 4 (bis), D and E, Obverse; Plate 3 (bis), D and E, Reverse; Plate
4 (ter), F, Obverse and Reverse. The fragment G, which connects C with
F, is published in "Cun. Texts in the Brit. Mus.," Pt. VII., pl. 1.
[13] These are known by the symbols D and E; see p. 131, Fig. 46. In
the course of its transport from Tello to Constantinople the upper part
of fragment D was unfortunately damaged, so that the god's brow, and
his eye, and the greater part of his nose are now wanting (see "Déc.
en Chaldée," pl. 4 bis). In the block the missing portions have been
restored from a squeeze of the fragment taken at Tello by M. de Sarzec
(cf. "Déc.," p. 194 f.).
[14] Cf. Heuzey, "Rev. d'Assyr.," III., p. 10. Its first adoption by
the Semites is seen on the recently discovered monument of Sharru-Gi,
an early king of Kish; see below, Chap. VIII., p. 220 f.
[15] See above, p. 128 f.
[16] The fragment is known as B; "Déc. en Chaldée," pl. 4 (see above,
p. 129, n. 1). For her headdress, see above, p. 51, Fig. 18.
[17] Fragment G; see above, p. 129, n 1.
[18] Fragments C and F; see above, p. 129, n. 1.
[19] "Déc. en Chaldée," p. xliii., Galet A, Col. V. f.
[20] These are numbered A, D (which is joined to E), and B; see above,
p 129, n. 1.
[21] See above, p. 125.
[22] See the plate facing p. 124.
[23] Fragment B, Reverse (see above, p. 129, n. 1).
[24] See the plate facing p. 124.
[25] See above, p. 43.
[26] See above, p. 42, n. 1.
[27] Fragment C, Reverse; see the plate facing p. 138.
[28] The remains of this scene upon fragment F are figured in the text;
for the fragment G, see "Cun. Texts in the Brit. Mus.," Pt. VII., pl. 1.
[29] See above, p. 68, Fig. 20.
[30] See Obv., Col. VI., ll. 25 ff., Col. VII., ll. 1 ff.
[31] Foundation-stone A, Col. V., l. 23--Col. VI., l. 5; "Déc.," p.
xliii.
[32] See Col, VI., ll. 6 ff.
[33] See Col. IV., ll. 25 ff.
[34] See the opposite plate.
[35] Foundation-stone A, Col. III., l. 13.
[36] Col. VI., ll. 6 ff.
[37] The phrase is not to be taken to mean that Eannatum buried the
bodies of the slain Elamites, though it may be a conventional formula
employed to describe any important battle. It may be noted that
Entemena definitely states that he left the bones of his enemies to
bleach in the open plain, and this was probably the practice of the
period. Each side would bury its own dead to ensure their entrance into
the Underworld.
[38] Rev., Col. VI., l. 10--Col. VII., l. 3.
[39] The name is expressed by the conflate sign, formed of the signs
URU and A, the phonetic reading of which is unknown.
[40] The name of the place was formerly read in a short inscription
engraved upon a mace-head of Gudea, and it was supposed to be described
in that passage as lying near the Persian Gulf; cf. Heuzey, "Rev.
Arch.," vol. xvii. (1891), p. 153; Radau, "Early Bab. Hist.," pp. 81,
191. But the syllable as occurs in that text without the determinative
for "place," and it is rather to be interpreted as part of the name of
the mountain from which Gudea obtained the breccia for his mace-head;
and the mountain itself is described as situated on "the Upper Sea,"
i.e. the Mediterranean, see below, p. 270 f.
[41] See "Rev.," Col. VIII.
[42] Foundation-stone A, Col. VII., ll. 3 ff.
[43] For one of the inscribed bricks from the well, see the plate
opposite p. 154.