THE CLOSE OF UR-NINÂ'S DYNASTY, THE REFORMS OF URUKAGINA, AND THE FALL
OF LAGASH
Eannatum was the most famous and powerful member of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty,
and it is probable that his reign marks the zenith of the power of
Lagash as a city-state. We do not know the cause which led to his
being succeeded upon the throne by his brother Enannatum I., instead
of by a son of his own. That the break in the succession was due to
no palace-revolution is certain from a reference Enannatum makes to
his brother in an inscription found by Koldewey at El-Hibba,[1] where,
after naming Akurgal as his father, he describes himself as "the
beloved brother of Eannatum, patesi of Lagash." It is possible that
Eannatum had no male issue, or, since his reign appears to have been
long, he may have survived his sons. We may indeed conjecture that his
victories were not won without considerable loss among his younger
warriors, and many cadets of the royal house, including the king's
own sons, may have given their lives in the service of their city and
its god. Such may well have been the cause of the succession passing
from the direct line of descent to a younger branch of the family.
That Enannatum followed, and did not precede his brother upon the
throne is proved by the reference to him in the El-Hibba text already
referred to; moreover, he himself was succeeded by his own immediate
descendants, and a reference to his reign upon the Cone of Entemena
follows in order of time the same ruler's record concerning Eannatum.
The few inscriptions of his reign, that have been recovered at Tello
and El-Hibba, are of a votive rather than of an historical character,
and, were it not for the historical summaries upon Entemena's Cone and
an inscribed plaque of Urukagina, we should be without data for tracing
the history of Sumer at this period. As it is, our information is in
the main confined to the continued rivalry between Lagash and her near
neighbour Umma, which now led to a renewal of active hostilities.
We have already seen that, in spite of the increase in the power of
Lagash during the reign of Eannatum, the city of Umma had not been
incorporated in its dominion, but had succeeded in maintaining an
attitude of semi-independence. This is apparent from the terms of the
treaty, by which the men of Umma undertook not to invade the territory
of Lagash; and, although they paid a heavy tribute in corn to Eannatum,
we may assume that they were ready to seize any opportunity that
might present itself of repudiating the suzerainty of Lagash. Such
an opportunity they may have seen in the death of their conqueror
Eannatum, for after the accession of his brother we find them repeating
the same tactics they had employed during the preceding reign under
the leadership of their patesi, Ush. Enakalli, with whom Eannatum had
drawn up his treaty, had been succeeded on the throne by Urlumma. In
his cone-inscription Entemena gives no indication as to whether there
was any interval between the reign of Enakalli and that of Urlumma.
But from a small tablet of lapis-lazuli in the "Collection de Clercq,"
we gather that the latter was Enakalli's son, and, therefore, probably
his direct successor upon the throne.[2] The little tablet was employed
as a foundation-memorial, and a short inscription upon it records the
building of a temple to the god Enkigal by Urlumma, who describes
himself as the son of Enakalli. Each ruler bears the title of "king" in
the inscription, and, although the reading of the sign following the
title is uncertain, there is little doubt that we should identify the
Urlumma and Enakalli of the tablet with the two patesis of Umma who are
known to have borne these names.
Urlumma did not maintain his father's policy, but, following Ush's
example, marshalled his army and made a sudden descent upon the
territory of Lagash. His raid appears to have been attended with even
greater violence than that of his predecessor. Ush had contented
himself with merely removing the stele of delimitation set up by
Mesilim, but Urlumma broke that of Eannatum in pieces by casting it
into the fire, and we may assume that he treated Mesilim's stele in the
same way.[3] The shrines, or chapels, which Eannatum had built upon the
frontier and had dedicated to the gods whom he had invoked to guard the
treaty, were now levelled to the ground. By such acts Urlumma sought
to blot out all trace of the humiliating conditions imposed in earlier
years upon his city, and, crossing the frontier-ditch of Ningirsu,
he raided and plundered the rich plains which it had always been the
ambition of Umma to possess.
It is probable that Urlumma's object in breaking the treaty was not
merely to collect spoil from the fields and villages he overran, but to
gain complete possession of the coveted plain. At least, both Entemena
and Urukagina record that the subsequent battle between the forces
of Umma and Lagash took place within the latter's territory, which
would seem to imply that Urlumma and his army did not retreat with
their plunder to their own city, but attempted to retain possession of
the land itself. Enannatum met the men of Umma in Ugigga, a district
within the temple-lands of Ningirsu, where a battle was fought, which,
in Urukagina's brief account, is recorded to have resulted in Umma's
defeat. Entemena, on the other hand, does not say whether Lagash was
victorious, and his silence is possibly significant, for, had his
father achieved a decided victory, he would doubtless have recorded
it. Moreover, Urlumma continued to give trouble, and it was only in
the reign of Entemena himself that he was finally defeated and slain.
We may, therefore, conclude that Enannatum did no more than check
Urlumma's encroachments, and it is not improbable that the latter
retained for the time a considerable portion of the territory which
Lagash had enjoyed for several generations.
Few other facts are known of the reign of Enannatum I. We gather that
he sent men to the mountains, probably of Elam, and caused them to fell
cedars there and bring the trunks to Lagash; and from the cedar-wood
thus obtained he constructed the roof of a temple, which appears to
have been dedicated to Ningirsu. The temple we may probably identify
with Ningirsu's famous temple E-ninnû, whence we have recovered a
mortar, which Enannatum prepared and presented that it might be used
for pounding onions in connection with the temple-ritual. Another
object dedicated to Ningirsu, which dates from this period, is
preserved in the British Museum, and furnishes us with the name of a
minister in the service of Enannatum. This is a limestone mace-head,[4]
carved with the emblem of Lagash, and bearing an inscription from which
we learn that it was deposited in the temple E-ninnû by Barkiba,[5]
the minister, to ensure the preservation of the life of Enannatum,
"his king." It would appear from this record that, although Enannatum
himself adopted the title of "patesi," which he ascribes also to his
father Akurgal, it was permissible for his subordinates to refer to
him under the title of "king." That "patesi" was, however, his usual
designation may be inferred not only from his own inscriptions, but
from the occurrence of the title after his name upon a deed of sale
drawn up on a tablet of black stone,[6] which probably dates from his
reign. From this document, as well as from a text inscribed upon clay
cones found by Koldewey at El-Hibba,[7] we also learn that Enannatum
had a son named Lummadur,[8] in addition to Entemena. It should be
noted that neither on the clay cones nor on the tablet of black stone
is the name of Enannatum's father recorded, so that the suggestion has
been made that they should be referred to Enannatum II., rather than to
Enannatum I. But the adornment of the temple E-anna, recorded on the
cones, is referred to in the clay-inscription of Enannatum I., which,
like the cones, was found at El-Hibba.[9] It is reasonable therefore to
assign the cone-inscription also to Enannatum I., and to conclude that
Lummadur was his son, rather than the son and possible successor of
Enannatum II. The cone-inscription records the installation of Lummadur
by his father as priest in E-anna, when that temple had been adorned
and embellished in honour of the goddess Ninni. Since Enannatum was
succeeded upon the throne of Lagash by Entemena, we may assume that
Lummadur was the latter's younger brother.
One of the first duties Entemena was called upon to perform, after
ascending the throne, was the defence of his territory against further
encroachments by Urlumma. It is evident that this ruler closely
watched the progress of events in Lagash, and such an occasion as the
death of the reigning patesi in that city might well have appeared
to him a suitable time for the renewal of hostilities. The death of
the great conqueror Eannatum had already encouraged him to raid and
occupy a portion of the territory held up to that time by Lagash,
and, although Eannatum had succeeded in holding him to some extent in
check, he only awaited a favourable opportunity to extend the area of
territory under his control. Such an opportunity he would naturally
see in the disappearance of his old rival, for there was always the
chance that the new ruler would prove a still less successful leader
than his father, or his accession might give rise to dissension among
the members of the royal house, which would materially weaken the
city's power of resistance. His attack appears to have been carefully
organized, for there is evidence that he strengthened his own resources
by seeking assistance from at least one other neighbouring state. His
anticipation of securing a decided victory by this means was, however,
far from being realized. Entemena lost no time in summoning his forces,
and, having led them out into the plain of Lagash, he met the army
of Urlumma at the frontier-ditch of Lummagirnunta, which his uncle
Eannatum had constructed for the defence and irrigation of Gu-edin,
the fertile territory of Ningirsu. Here he inflicted a signal defeat
upon the men of Umma, who, when routed and put to flight, left sixty
of their fellows lying dead upon the banks of the canal.[10] Urlumma
himself fled from the battle, and sought safety in his own city.
But Entemena did not rest content with the defeat he had inflicted
upon the enemy in the field. He pursued the men of Umma into their
own territory, and succeeded in capturing the city itself before its
demoralized inhabitants had had time to organize or strengthen its
defence. Urlumma he captured and slew, and he thus put an end to an
ambitious ruler, who for years had undoubtedly caused much trouble
and annoyance to Lagash. Entemena's victory was complete, but it was
not won without some loss among his own forces, for he heaped up
burial-mounds in five separate places, which no doubt covered the
bodies of his own slain. The bones of the enemy, he records, were left
to bleach in the open plain.
[Illustration: MARBLE GATE-SOCKET BEARING AN INSCRIPTION OF ENTEMENA,
PATESI OF SHIRPURLA.--_Brit. Mus., No._ 90932_; photo, by Messrs.
Mansell & Co._]
Entemena now proceeded to annex Umma, and he incorporated it within
the state of Lagash and reorganized its administration under officers
appointed by himself. As the new patesi of Umma he did not appoint
any native of that city, but transferred thither an official of his
own, who held a post of considerable importance in another town
under the suzerainty of Lagash. The name of the official was Ili,
and at the time of the annexation of Umma he was acting as sangu, or
priest, of the town, the name of which has been provisionally read as
Ninab or Ninni-esh. Though the reading of the name of the place is
still uncertain, it would appear to have been situated in Southern
Babylonia, and to have been a place of some importance. A small tablet
in the Louvre mentions together certain men of Erech, of Adab and of
Ninni-esh,[11] and, when Lugal-zaggisi enumerates the benefits he had
conferred on the cities of Southern Babylonia over which he ruled, he
mentions Umma and Ninni-esh together, after referring to Erech, Ur, and
Larsa.[12] We may, therefore, conclude with some probability that the
city in which Ili was at this time acting as priest was situated not
far from Umma. It was under the control of Lagash, and doubtless formed
part of the empire which Eannatum had bequeathed to his successors upon
the throne. Ili is described as the priest, not the patesi, of the
city, and it is possible that his office included the control of its
secular administration. But in view of the importance of the place, it
is unlikely that it was without a patesi.
The installation of Ili in the patesiate of Umma was accompanied by
some degree of ceremonial. It would appear that his appointment did not
take place immediately after the capture of the town, but that a short
interval elapsed between the close of the war and the inauguration
of the new government. Meanwhile, Entemena himself had returned to
Lagash, and it was to that city that he summoned Ili into his presence.
He then set out with Ili from Girsu, and, when Umma was reached, he
formally installed him at the head of the government, and conferred on
him the title of patesi. At the same time he dictated his own terms to
the people of Umma, and commissioned Ili to see that they were duly
carried out. In the first place he restored to Lagash the territory
to which she had always laid claim, and the ancient frontier-ditches,
which had been filled up or had fallen in, he caused to be repaired. In
addition to reasserting the traditional rights of Lagash, he annexed
new land in the district of Karkar, since its inhabitants had taken
part in the recent rebellion, and had probably furnished an important
contingent for the army of Urlumma. He gave directions to Ili to
extend the two principal frontier-ditches, dedicated to Ningirsu and
Ninâ respectively, within the territory of Karkar; and, with the
large supply of forced labour which he exacted from his newly annexed
subjects, he strengthened the defences of his own territory, and
restored and extended the system of canals between the Euphrates and
the Tigris. But Entemena did not content himself with exacting land
and labour only from the conquered city. He imposed a heavy tribute in
corn, and it was probably one of Ili's most important duties as patesi
to superintend its collection and ensure its punctual transfer into the
granaries of Lagash.
In order to commemorate the conquest and annexation of Umma, Entemena
caused a record of his victory to be drawn up, which he doubtless
had engraved upon a stone stele similar to those prepared in earlier
times by Mesilim and Eannatum. This stele, like the earlier ones,
was probably set up upon the frontier to serve as a memorial of his
achievements. Fortunately for us, he did not confine the records to
his own victories, but prefaced them with an epitomized account of
the relations which had existed between Lagash and Umma from the time
of Mesilim until his own day. Other copies of the inscription were
probably engraved upon stone and set up in the cities of Umma and
Lagash, and, in order to increase still further the chances in favour
of the preservation of his record, he had copies inscribed upon small
cones of clay. These last were of the nature of foundation-memorials,
and we may conclude that he had them buried beneath the buildings he
erected or repaired upon the frontier-canals, and also perhaps in the
foundations of temples within the city of Lagash itself. Entemena's
foresight in multiplying the number of his texts, and in burying them
in the structure of his buildings, was in accordance with the practice
of the period; and in his case the custom has been fully justified.
So far as we know, his great stone stelæ have perished; but one of
the small clay cones [13] has been recovered, and is among the most
valuable of the records we possess of the early history of Sumer.
It is possible that the concluding paragraphs of the text were given
in a fuller form upon the stone stelæ than we find them upon the cone;
but, so far as the historical portion of the record is concerned,
we have doubtless recovered the greater part, if not the whole, of
Entemena's record. The stelæ may have been engraved with elaborate
curses, intended to preserve the frontier-ditch from violation, and,
though these have been omitted in the shorter version of the text,
their place is taken by the brief invocation and prayer with which the
record concludes. Entemena here prays that if ever in time to come
the men of Umma should break across the boundary-ditch of Ningirsu or
the boundary-ditch of Ninâ, in order to lay violent hands upon the
territory of Lagash, whether they be men of the city of Umma itself or
people from the lands round about, then may Enlil destroy them, and may
Ningirsu cast over them his net, and set his hand and foot upon them.
And, should the warriors of his own city be called upon to defend it,
he prays that their hearts may be full of ardour and courage. It was
not many years before Lagash was in sore need of the help which is here
invoked for her by Entemena.
Apart from the cone recording the conquest of Umma, the inscriptions
of Entemena do not throw much light upon the military achievements
of his reign. Three fragments of a limestone vase have been found at
Nippur in the strata beneath the temple of Enlil on the south-east side
of the ziggurat, or temple-tower, bearing on their outer surface a
votive inscription of Entemena.[14] From these we gather that the vase
was dedicated to Enlil as a thank-offering after some victory. The
fragmentary character of the inscription prevents us from identifying
the enemy who was subdued on this occasion; but we shall probably be
right in taking the passage as referring, not to the conquest of Umma,
but to the subjugation of some other district. In fact, we may regard
the vase as evidence that Entemena attempted to retain his hold upon
the empire which Eannatum had founded, and did not shrink from the
necessity of undertaking military expeditions to attain this object. In
further support of this view we may perhaps cite a reference to one of
the cities conquered by Eannatum, which occurs upon a votive text drawn
up in Entemena's reign, though not by the patesi himself. The text in
question is stamped upon the perforated relief of Dudu, chief priest
of Ningirsu,[15] which at one time formed the support of a colossal
ceremonial mace-head dedicated in the temple of Ningirsu at Lagash.
The material of which the block is composed is dark in colour,
comparatively light in weight, and liable to crack; it consists of
a mixture of clay and bitumen, and may have been formed by nature
or produced artificially.[16] While this substance was still in a
pliant state the block was formed from it, and the designs with the
inscription were impressed by means of a stamp. According to the
inscription, this bituminous substance was brought by Dudu to Lagash
from one of the cities which had been conquered by Eannatum and
incorporated within his empire. The fact that Dudu should have caused
the substance to be procured from the city in question suggests that
friendly relations existed between it and Lagash at the time; it is
quite possible that it had not, meanwhile, secured its independence,
but still continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the latter city.
The only other references to a foreign city in the texts of Entemena
occur upon his two principal building inscriptions,[17] which include
among the list of his buildings the erection of a great laver for the
god Enki, described as "King of Eridu." We may perhaps see in this
record a further indication that at least the southern portion of
Eannatum's empire still remained in his nephew's possession.
[Illustration: Fig. 49.--Fig 50.--Fig 51.--Details from the engravings
upon Entemena's silver vase. The upper group represents the emblem of
Lagash; in the lower groups ibexes and stags are substituted for the
lions.--_Déc._, pl 43 _bis_; Cat. No. 218.]
The high-priest, Dudu, whose portrait is included in the designs upon
the plaque already referred to, appears to have been an important
personage during the reign of Entemena, and two inscriptions that have
been recovered are dated by reference to his period of office. One
of these occurs upon the famous silver vase of Entemena, the finest
example of Sumerian metal work that has yet been recovered. The vase,
engraved in outline with variant forms of the emblem of Lagash,[18]
bears an inscription around the neck, stating that Entemena, patesi
of Lagash, "the great patesi of Ningirsu," had fashioned it of
pure silver and had dedicated it to Ningirsu in E-ninnû to ensure
the preservation of his life. It was deposited as a votive object
in Ningirsu's temple, and a note is added to the dedication to the
effect that "at this time Dudu was priest of Ningirsu." A similar
reference to Dudu's priesthood occurs upon a foundation-inscription
of Entemena recording the construction of a reservoir for the supply
of the Lummadimdug Canal, its capacity being little more than half
that of the earlier reservoir constructed by Eannatum. Since the
canal was dedicated to Ningirsu, the reference to Dudu was also here
appropriate. But such a method of indicating the date of any object
or construction, even though closely connected with the worship or
property of the city-god, was somewhat unusual, and its occurrence
in these texts may perhaps be taken as an indication of the powerful
position which Dudu enjoyed.[19] Indeed, Enlitarzi, another priest of
Ningirsu during Entemena's reign, subsequently secured the throne of
Lagash. Entemena's building-inscriptions afford further evidence of
his devotion to Ningirsu, whose temple and storehouses he rebuilt and
added to. Next in order of importance were his constructions in honour
of the goddess Ninâ, while he also erected or repaired temples and
other buildings dedicated to Lugal-uru, and the goddesses Ninkharsag,
Gatumdug, and Ninmakh. Such records suggest that Entemena's reign, like
that of Eannatum, was a period of some prosperity for Lagash, although
it is probable that her influence was felt within a more restricted
area.[20] By his conquest and annexation of Umma, he more than made up
for any want of success on the part of his father, Enannatum I., and,
through this victory alone, he may well have freed Lagash from her most
persistent enemy throughout the reign of his immediate successors.
[Illustration: SILVER VASE DEDICATED TO THE GOD NINGIRSU BY ENTEMENA,
PATESI OF SHIRPURLA.--_In the Louvre; Déc. en Chald., pl._ 43 (_bis_).]
With Enannatum II., the son of Entemena, who succeeded his father upon
the throne, the dynasty founded by Ur-Ninâ, so far as we know, came
to an end.[21] The reign of Entemena's son is attested by a single
inscription engraved upon a door-socket from the great store-house of
Ningirsu at Lagash, his restoration of which is recorded in the text.
There then occurs a gap in our sequence of royal inscriptions found at
Tello, the next ruler who has left us any records of his own, being
Urukagina, the ill-fated reformer and king of Lagash, under whom the
city was destined to suffer what was undoubtedly the greatest reverse
she encountered in the long course of her history. Although we have
no royal texts relating to the period between the reigns of Enannatum
II. and Urukagina, we are fortunately not without means for estimating
approximately its length and recovering the names of some, if not all,
of the patesis who occupied the throne of Lagash in the interval. Our
information is derived from a number of clay tablets, the majority of
which were found in the course of native diggings at Tello after M.
de Sarzec's death.[22] They formed part of the private archive of the
patesis of Lagash at this time, and are concerned with the household
expenses of the court and particularly of the harîm. Frequently these
tablets of accounts make mention of the reigning patesi or his wife,
and from them we have recovered the names of three patesis--Enetarzi,
Enlitarzi, and Lugal-anda[23]--who are to be set in the interval
between Enannatum II. and Urukagina. Moreover, it has been pointed out
that the inscriptions upon most of the tablets end with a peculiar form
of figure, consisting of one or more diagonal strokes cutting a single
horizontal one; and a plausible explanation has been given of these
figures, to the effect that they were intended to indicate the date
of the tablet, the number of diagonal strokes showing at a glance the
year of the patesi's reign in which the text was written, and to which
the accounts refer. A considerable number of such tablets have been
examined, and by counting the strokes upon them it has been concluded
that Enetarzi reigned for at least four years, Enlitarzi for at least
five years, and Lugal-anda for at least seven years.[24]
The relative order of these three patesis may now be regarded as
definitely fixed, and, though it is possible that the names of others
are missing which should be set within the period, the tablets
themselves furnish indications that in any case the interval between
Enannatum II. and Urukagina was not a long one. It had for some
time been suspected that Enlitarzi and Lugal-anda lived at about
the same period, for a steward named Shakh was employed by the wife
of Enlitarzi as well as by Barnamtarra, the wife of Lugal-anda.[25]
This inference has now been confirmed by the discovery of a document
proving that Lugal-anda was Enlitarzi's son; for a clay cone has been
found, inscribed with a contract concerning the sale of a house, the
contracting parties being the family of Lugal-anda, described as
"the son of Enlitarzi, the priest," and the family of Barnamtarra,
Lugal-anda's future wife.[26] Moreover, we have grounds for believing
that Lugal-anda was not only the last of the three patesis whose names
have been recovered, but was Urukagina's immediate predecessor. An
indication that this was the case may be seen in the fact that the
steward Eniggal, who is frequently mentioned in tablets of his reign,
was also employed by Urukagina and his wife Shagshag. Confirmation
of this view has been found in the text upon a tablet, dated in the
first year of Urukagina's reign as king, in which mention is made of
Barnamtarra, Lugal-anda's wife.[27] This only leaves an interval before
the reign of Enlitarzi, in which Enetarzi, the remaining patesi, is to
be set.
That this was not a long period is clear from the fact that Enlitarzi
himself occupied the throne soon after Enannatum II., an inference
we may draw from a double date upon a sale-contract, dated in the
patesiate of Entemena, patesi of Lagash, and in the priesthood of
Enlitarzi, chief priest of Ningirsu.[28] There can be no doubt of the
identity of Enlitarzi, the priest here referred to, with Enlitarzi, the
patesi, for the wife of the priest, who is mentioned in the contract,
bears the same name as the wife of the patesi.[29] Since, therefore,
Enlitarzi already occupied the high position of chief priest of
Ningirsu during the reign of Entemena, it is reasonable to conclude
that his reign as patesi was not separated by any long interval
from that of Entemena's son and successor. The internal evidence
furnished by the texts thus supports the conclusion suggested by an
examination of the tablets themselves, all of which are distinguished
by a remarkable uniformity of type, consisting, as they do, of baked
clay tablets of a rounded form and written in a style which closely
resembles that of Urukagina's royal inscriptions. The interval between
the death of Entemena and Urukagina's accession was thus a short one,
and the fact that during it no less than four patesis followed one
another in quick succession suggests that the period was one of unrest
in Lagash.
Like Enlitarzi, Enetarzi also appears to have been chief priest of
Ningirsu before he secured the throne; at least we know that a priest
of that name held office at about this period. The inscription from
which this fact may be inferred is an extremely interesting one,[30]
for it consists of the earliest example of a letter or despatch that
has yet been found on any Babylonian site. It was discovered at Tello
during the recent excavations of Commandant Cros, and, alike in the
character of its writing and in its general appearance, it closely
resembles the tablets of accounts from the patesis' private archive, to
which reference has already been made. The despatch was written by a
certain Lu-enna, chief priest of the goddess Ninmar, and is addressed
to Enetarzi, chief priest of the god Ningirsu. At first sight its
contents are scarcely those which we should expect to find in a letter
addressed by one chief priest to another. For the writer informs his
correspondent that a band of Elamites had pillaged the territory of
Lagash, but that he had fought with the enemy, and had succeeded in
putting them to flight. He then refers to five hundred and forty of
them, whom he probably captured or slew. The reverse of the tablet
enumerates various amounts of silver and wool, and certain royal
garments, which may have formed part of the booty taken, or recaptured,
from the Elamites; and the text ends with what appears to be a
reference to the division of this spoil between the patesi of Lagash
and another high official, and with directions that certain offerings
should be deducted for presentation to the goddess Ninmar, in whose
temple the writer was chief priest.
That a chief priest of Ninmar should lead an army against the enemies
of Lagash and should send a report of his success to the chief priest
of Ningirsu, in which he refers to the share of the spoil to be
assigned to the patesi, may be regarded as an indication that the
central government of Lagash was not so stable as it once had been
under the more powerful members of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty. The reference
to Enetarzi suggests that the incursion of the Elamites took place
during the reign of Enannatum II. We may thus conclude that the last
member of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty did not possess his father's ability to
direct the affairs of Lagash and allowed the priests of the great
temples in the city to usurp many of the privileges which had hitherto
been held by the patesi. It is probably to this fact that the close
of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty may be traced. The subsequent struggle for the
patesiate appears to have taken place among the more important members
of the priesthood. Of those who secured the throne, Enlitarzi, at
any rate, was succeeded by his son, by whom, however, he may have
been deposed,[31] and no strong administration appears to have been
established, until Urukagina, abandoning the traditions of both the
priesthood and the patesiate, based his government on the support he
secured from the people themselves. Such appears to have been the
course of events at this time, although the paucity of our historical
materials renders it impossible to do more than hazard a conjecture.
[Illustration: Fig. 52. Fig 53.--Impression of a seal of Lugal-anda,
patesi of Lagash (Shirpurla), engraved with the emblem of Lagash, and
with figures of animals, heroes, and mythological creatures. Below is a
reconstruction of the cylinder-seal, indicating its size.--See Allotte
de la Fu e, _Rev. d'Assyr._, Vol. VI., No. 4, pl. i.]
In addition to the tablets of accounts concerning the household
expenditure of the patesis, and the letter to Enetarzi from Lu-enna,
the principal relics of this period that have come down to us are
numbers of clay sealings, some of which bear impressions of the
seals of the patesi Lugal-anda, his wife Barnamtarra, and his
steward Eniggal. They afford us no new historical information, but
are extremely valuable for the study of the artistic achievements
and religious beliefs of the Sumerians.[32] From the traces upon
their lower sides, it is clear that they were employed for sealing
reed-baskets or bundles tied up in sacking formed of palm-leaves and
secured with cords. In consequence of the rough character of the
lumps of clay, no single one presents a perfect impression, but, as
several examples of each have been found, it is possible in some cases
to reconstruct the complete design and to estimate the size of the
original seal. In the accompanying blocks reproductions are given of
the designs upon the cylinder-seals of Lugal-anda which can be most
completely restored. The principal group of figures in the larger of
the two consists of two rampant lions in conflict with a human-headed
bull and a mythical and composite being, half-bull and half-man, whose
form recalls the description of Ea-bani in the legend of Gilgamesh. To
the left of the inscription is the emblem of Lagash, and below is a row
of smaller figures consisting of two human-headed bulls, two heroes and
a stag. The figures on the smaller cylinder represent the same types,
but here the emblem of Lagash is reduced to the eagle without the
lions, which was peculiarly the emblem of Ningirsu. The mythological
being who resembles Ea-bani is repeated heraldically on each side of
the text in conflict with a lion.
The occurrence of this figure and those of the
[Illustration: Fig. 54. Fig. 55.--Impression of a seal of Lugal-anda,
patesi of Lagash (Shirpurla), engraved with figures of animals,
mythological beings, and a bearded hero. Below is a reconstruction of
the cylinder-seal, indicating its size.--See Allotte de la Fu e, _Rev.
d'Assyr._, Vol. VI., No. 4, pl. ii.]
other heroes upon the seals is important, as it points to a knowledge
on the part of the earlier Sumerians, of the principal legends that
were incorporated in the great national epic of Babylon.[33] The
sealings are no less important for the study of Sumerian art, and
they prove that seal-cutting must have already been practised by
the Sumerians for a considerable length of time. While the designs
are of a very decorative character, it is interesting to note how
the artist has attempted to fill up every portion of his field, an
archaic trait which is in striking contrast to the Semitic seals of
the Sargonic period. Another peculiarity which may here be referred
to is the employment, on the larger seal below the inscription, of a
sort of arabesque pattern, an ingenious and symmetrical combination
of straight lines and curves, the course of which may be followed
without once passing along the same line a second time. It has been
suggested that this pattern may have formed the engraver's monogram or
signature,[34] but it is more likely to have been a religious symbol,
or may perhaps be merely decorative, having been added to fill in a
blank space remaining in the field of the seal. The discovery of these
seal-impressions enables us to realize that, in spite of the period
of political unrest through which Lagash was now passing, her art did
not suffer, but continued to develop along its own lines. In fact, her
sculptors and engravers were always ready to serve the reigning patesi,
whoever he might be.
Although, as we have seen, the exact relation of the three patesis,
Enetarzi, Enlitarzi, and Lugal-anda, to the dynasty of Ur-Ninâ is still
a matter for conjecture, there is no doubt that with Urukagina, at any
rate, a complete break took place, not only in the succession, but
also in the traditions and principles which had guided for so long the
ruling family at Lagash. That Urukagina did not obtain the throne by
right of succession is clear from the total absence of any genealogies
in his inscriptions. He does not even name his father,[35] so that we
may trace his succession to his own initiative. He himself ascribes
to Ningirsu his elevation to the throne, and the phrase that follows
suggests that this was not accomplished without a struggle. When
describing in detail the drastic reforms which he had carried out in
the internal administration of the state, he prefaces his account by
stating that they took place when Ningirsu had given him the kingdom of
Lagash and had established his might. In view of these very reforms,
we may regard it as extremely probable that he headed a reaction
against certain abuses which had characterized the recent government of
the city, and that, in usurping the throne, he owed his success to a
wide-spread feeling of discontent among the great body of the people.
Further evidence of a complete break in the succession may be seen in
the change of the patron deity, whose protection the reigning house
enjoyed. Urukagina no longer invoked the god on whom the dynasty of
Ur-Ninâ had relied for intercession with Ningirsu,[36] and in his place
addressed himself to Ninshakh. The very title which Urukagina himself
adopted is probably significant of his antagonism to the family which
for so long had directed the destinies of the state. While even the
great conqueror Eannatum had proudly clung to the title of "patesi,"
and his successors on the throne had followed his example, in every one
of his own inscriptions that have been recovered Urukagina rejects it
in favour of that of "king."
It would appear that he did not inaugurate this change immediately
upon his accession, and that for at least a year he continued to use
the title employed by his predecessors. For some of the tablets of
accounts from the private archive of the patesis, to which reference
has already been made,[37] appear to be dated in the first year of
Urukagina's patesiate; while the other documents of this class, which
refer to him, are dated from the first to the sixth year of his reign
as king. So that, if there is no gap in the sequence, we may conclude
that he discarded the former title after having occupied the throne
for one year. His dropping of this time-honoured designation may well
have accompanied the abolition of privileges and abuses with which it
had become associated in the mind of the people. Indeed, the tone of
his inscriptions reflects no feeling of veneration for the title of
patesi, nor does he appear anxious to commemorate the names of those
who had borne it. Thus in one of his texts, when he has occasion to
give a brief historical summary of an earlier struggle between Lagash
and Umma, he names the ruler of the latter city, but he ascribes the
former's victory to Ningirsu, and does not seem to have referred to
Enannatum I. and Entemena, in whose reigns the events took place.[38]
But it is in the reforms themselves, which Urukagina introduced,
that we find the most striking evidence of the complete severance he
made from the cherished traditions of his predecessors. In a series
of very striking texts, of which we now possess three versions,[39]
he has left us a record of the changes he introduced in the internal
administration of the country. In the condition in which at least two
of these versions have come down to us a literary artifice is employed,
which enhances and emphasizes in a remarkable degree the drastic
character of his reforms. Before enumerating these, the writer provides
a striking contrast by describing the condition of the country which
preceded their introduction by the king. We are thus confronted with
two companion pictures, the main features of which correspond, while
their underlying characters are completely changed. In the two sections
of each text the general phraseology is much the same, the difference
consisting in the fact that, while the first describes the oppression
and injustice which had existed in the state of Lagash "since distant
days, from the beginning," the second section enumerates the reforms
by which Urukagina claimed that he had ameliorated the people's lot.
Though some of the references they contain are still obscure, the texts
afford us a welcome glimpse of the economic conditions that prevailed
in Sumer. In contrast to other royal inscriptions found at Tello, they
give us information concerning the daily life and occupations of the
people; and at the same time they reveal beneath the official decorum
of a Sumerian court an amount of oppression and misery, the existence
of which would not be suspected from the pious foundation-inscriptions
and votive texts of the period.
The conquests achieved by Lagash during the epoch of the great patesis
had undoubtedly added considerably to the wealth of the city, and had
given her, at least for a time, the hegemony in Southern Babylonia. But
with the growth of her power as a state, she lost many of the qualities
by virtue of which her earlier successes were achieved. The simplicity,
which characterized the patesi's household at a time when he was little
more than a chief among his fellows, was gradually exchanged for the
elaborate organization of a powerful court. When the army returned
laden with booty from distant regions, and the tribute of conquered
cities kept the granaries of Ningirsu filled, it was but natural that
the rulers of Lagash should surround themselves with greater luxury,
and should enrich their city by the erection of palaces for themselves
and sumptuous temples for the gods. The long lists of temples and other
buildings, which occupy the greater part of the inscriptions left us
by Ur-Ninâ and his descendants, testify to their activity in this
direction. It will be obvious that the beautification of the capital,
begun in an era of conquest, could not be continued in less fortunate
times without putting a considerable strain upon the resources of the
state. In such circumstances the agricultural section of the population
were forced to contribute the means for gratifying the ambition of
their rulers. New taxes were levied, and, to ensure their collection,
a host of inspectors and other officials were appointed whose numbers
would constantly tend to increase. "Within the limits of the territory
of Ningirsu," says Urukagina, "there were inspectors down to the
sea."[40]
The palace of the patesi thus began to usurp the place in the national
life which had formerly been held by the temple of the city-god, and,
while the people found that the tithes due to the latter were not
diminished, they were faced with additional taxation on all sides.
Tax-gatherers and inspectors were appointed in every district and
for every class of the population. The cultivators of the soil, the
owners of flocks and herds, the fishermen, and the boatmen plying on
the rivers and canals, were never free from the rapacity of these
officials, who, in addition to levying their dues, appear to have
billeted themselves on their unfortunate victims. That corruption
should have existed in the ranks of his officials was but natural, when
the patesi himself set them an example in the matter; for Urukagina
records that his predecessors on the throne had appropriated the
property of the temples for their own use. The oxen of the gods, he
tells us, were employed for the irrigation of the lands given to the
patesi; the good fields of the gods formed the patesi's holding and
his place of joy.[41] The priests themselves grew rich at the expense
of the temples, and plundered the people with impunity. The asses and
fine oxen which were temple-property they carried off, they exacted
additional tithes and offerings, and throughout the country they
entered the gardens of the poor and cut down the trees or carried
off the fruits. But while so doing they kept on good terms with the
palace officials; for Urukagina records that the priests divided the
temple-corn with the people of the patesi, and brought them tribute in
garments, cloth, thread, vessels and objects of copper, birds, kids,
and the like.
The misappropriation of temple-property, and particularly that of
the city-god, afforded Urukagina the pretext for inaugurating his
reforms. He stood forth as Ningirsu's champion, and by restoring the
sacred lands which had been seized by the palace, he proved his own
disinterestedness, and afforded his subjects an example which he
could insist upon their following. He states that in the house of the
patesi and in the field of the patesi he installed Ningirsu, their
master; that in the house of the harîm and in the field of the harîm
he installed the goddess Bau, their mistress; and that in the house of
the children and in the field of the children he installed Dunshagga,
their master.[42] In these three phrases Urukagina not only records the
restoration of all the property, which had formerly belonged to the
temples dedicated to Ningirsu and his family, but also reaffirms the
old relation of the patesi to the city-god. In the character of his
representative the patesi only received his throne as a trust to be
administered in the interest of the god; his fields, and goods, and all
that he possessed were not his own property but Ningirsu's.[43]
After carrying out these reforms, Urukagina proceeded to attack the
abuses which existed among the secular officials and the priests. He
cut down the numbers of the former, and abolished the unnecessary
posts and offices which pressed too hardly on the people. The
granary-inspectors, the fishery-inspectors, the boat-inspectors, the
inspectors of flocks and herds, and, in fact, the army of officials who
farmed the revenue and made a good profit out of it themselves, were
all deprived of office. Abuses which had sprung up and had obtained the
recognition accorded to long-established custom, were put down with a
strong hand. All those who had taken money in place of the appointed
tribute were removed from their posts, as were those officials of the
palace who had accepted bribes from the priests. The priests themselves
were deprived of many of their privileges, and their scale of fees was
revised. Burial fees in particular were singled out for revision, for
they had become extortionate; they were now cut down by more than half.
In the case of an ordinary burial, when a corpse was laid in the grave,
it had been the custom for the presiding priest to demand as a fee for
himself seven urns of wine or strong drink, four hundred and twenty
loaves of bread, one hundred and twenty measures of corn, a garment,
a kid, a bed, and a seat. This formidable list of perquisites was now
reduced to three urns of wine, eighty loaves of bread, a bed, and a
kid, while the fee of his assistant was cut down from sixty to thirty
measures of corn. Similar reductions were made in other fees demanded
by the priesthood, and allowances of wine, loaves, and grain, which
were paid to various privileged classes and officials in Lagash, were
revised and regulated.
As was but natural, oppression and robbery had not been confined to
the priestly and official classes, but were practised with impunity
by the more powerful and lawless sections of the population, with
the result that no man's property was safe. In the old days if a man
purchased a sheep and it was a good one, he ran the risk of having it
stolen or confiscated. If he built himself a fish-pond, his fish were
taken and he had no redress. If he sunk a well in high ground beyond
the area served by the irrigation-canals, he had no security that his
labour would be for his own benefit. This state of things Urukagina
changed, both by putting an end to the extortions of officials and by
imposing drastic penalties for theft. At the same time, he sought to
protect by law the humbler classes of his subjects from oppression by
their wealthier and more powerful neighbours. Thus he enacted that if a
good ass was foaled in the stable of any subject of the king, and his
superior should wish to buy it, he should only do so by paying a fair
price; and if the owner refused to part with it, his superior must not
molest him. Similarly, if the house of a great man lay beside that of
a humbler subject of the king and he wished to buy it, he must pay a
fair price; and if the owner was unwilling to sell it, he should have
perfect liberty to refuse without any risk to himself. The same desire
to lessen the hardships of the poorer classes is apparent in other
reforms of Urukagina, by which he modified the more barbarous customs
of earlier days. One instance of such a reform appears to apply to the
_corvée_, or some kindred institution; when engaged in a form of forced
labour, it had not been the custom to supply the workers with water for
drinking, nor even to allow them to fetch it for themselves--a practice
to which Urukagina put a stop.
The extent to which the common people had been mulcted of their
property by the officials of the palace is well illustrated by two of
Urukagina's reforms, from which it would appear that the patesi himself
and his chief minister, or grand vizir, had enriched themselves by
enforcing heavy and unjust fees. One instance concerns the practice of
divination by oil, which at this time seems to have been a not uncommon
method of foretelling the future. If we may judge from inscriptions
of a rather later period, the procedure consisted in pouring out oil
upon the surface of water, the different forms taken by the oil on
striking the water indicating the course which events would take.[44]
To interpret correctly the message of the oil a professional diviner
was required, and Urukagina relates that not only did the diviner
demand a fee of one shekel for his services, but a similar fee had to
be paid to the grand vizir, and no less than five shekels to the patesi
himself. That these fees should have been keenly resented is in itself
a proof of the extent to which this form of divination was practised.
Urukagina tells us that after his accession the patesi, the vizir, and
the diviner took money no more; and, since the latter's fee was also
abolished, we may probably infer that diviners were a recognized class
of the official priesthood, and were not allowed to accept payment
except in the form of offerings for the temple to which they were
attached.
The other matter in which it had been the custom of the patesi and his
vizir to accept fees was one in which the evil effects of the practice
are more obvious. Urukagina tells us that under the old regime, if
a man put away his wife, the patesi took for himself five shekels
of silver and the grand vizir one. It is possible that, upon their
first introduction, these fees were defended as being a deterrent to
divorce. But in practice they had the contrary effect. Divorce could be
obtained on no grounds whatever by the payment of what was practically
a bribe to the officials, with the result that the obligations of the
marriage tie were not respected. The wives of aforetime, according to
Urukagina, were possessed by two men with impunity. While abolishing
the official fees for divorce, it is probable that Urukagina drew up
regulations to ensure that it was not abused, and that compensation,
when merited, should be paid to the woman. On the other hand, we have
evidence that he inflicted severe punishment for infidelity on the
part of the wife, and we may assume that by this means he attempted to
stamp out practices which were already beginning to be a danger to the
existence of the community.
It is interesting to note that the laws referred to by Urukagina,
in giving an account of the changes he introduced, are precisely
similar in form to those we find upon the Code of Hammurabi.[45] This
fact furnishes definite proof, not only that Hammurabi codified the
legislation of earlier times, but also that this legislation itself
was of Sumerian origin.[46] It is probable that Urukagina himself,
in introducing his reforms, revived the laws of a still earlier age,
which had been allowed to fall into disuse. As Hammurabi ascribed the
origin of his laws to the Sun-god, whom he represents upon his stele
as reciting them to him, so Urukagina regards his reforms as due to
the direct intervention of Ningirsu, his king, whose word it was he
caused to dwell in the land;[47] and it was not with his people but
with Ningirsu that he drew up the agreement to observe them.[48] Like
Hammurabi, too, Urukagina boasts that he is the champion of the weak
against the strong; and he tells us that in place of the servitude,
which had existed in his kingdom, he established liberty.[49] He spoke,
and delivered the children of Lagash from want, from theft, from
murder and other ills. In his reign, he says, to the widow and the
orphan the strong man did no harm.[50]
Urukagina's championship of Ningirsu's rights is reflected, not only
in his reforms, but also in the buildings he erected during his reign.
Thus we find it recorded that, in addition to his great temple E-ninnû,
he built or restored two other temples in his honour, his palace of
Tirash, and his great storehouse. Other temples were erected in honour
of Bau, his wife, and of Dunshagga and Galalim, two of Ningirsu's
sons, the latter of whom is first mentioned in Urukagina's texts. To
Khegir, one of the seven virgin daughters of Ningirsu, he dedicated
a shrine, and he built another in honour of three of her sisters,
Zarzari, Impae, and Urnuntaea; a third was dedicated to Ninsar,
Ningirsu's sword-bearer. It may thus be inferred that Urukagina's
building operations were mainly devoted to temples and shrines of the
city-god Ningirsu, and to those dedicated to members of his family
and household. Like Eannatum and Entemena, he also improved the
water-supply of the city, and cut a canal, or more probably improved
an old one, for bringing water to the quarter of the city named Ninâ.
In connection with it he constructed a reservoir, with a capacity of
eighteen hundred and twenty _gur_, which he made, he tells us, "like
the midst of the sea."[51] The small canal of Girsu he also repaired,
and he revived its former name, "Ningirsu is prince in Nippur."[52]
This furnishes another instance of his policy of restoring to Ningirsu
honours and privileges of which he had been deprived. The reference to
Nippur is of interest, for it suggests that Urukagina maintained active
relations with the central cult of Sumer and the north, an inference
confirmed by his rebuilding of Enlil's temple in Lagash, which had been
previously built by Entemena.
Allusions to cities other than Lagash and its component parts in
Urukagina's inscriptions are few, and those that do occur fail
to throw much light upon the relations he maintained with other
city-states. A small object of clay in the form of an olive[53] has
been found, which bears the votive inscription: "Ningirsu speaks
good words with Bau concerning Urukagina in the temple of Erech,"--a
phrase that seems to imply a claim on the part of Lagash to suzerainty
over that city. Another votive object of the same class mentions the
fortification of the wall of E-babbar,[54] but the reference here is
probably not to the famous temple of the Sun-god at Larsa, but to his
smaller temple of this name, which stood in Lagash and was afterwards
desecrated by the men of Umma. The only other foreign city mentioned
in Urukagina's inscriptions is Umma itself, whose relations to Lagash
in the reigns of Enannatum I. and Entemena are briefly recorded.[55]
The text of the passage is broken, but we may surmise that the short
summary of events was intended to introduce an account of Urukagina's
own relations with that city. We may note the fact, which this
reference proves, that the subsequent descent of the men of Umma upon
Lagash and their capture and sack of the city were the result of
friction, and possibly of active hostility, during at least a portion
of Urukagina's reign.
From Urukagina's own texts we thus do not gather much information with
regard to the extent of the empire of Lagash under his rule. That
he did not neglect the actual defences of his city may be inferred
from his repair of the wall of Girsu; it is clear, however, that his
interest was not in foreign conquest, nor even in maintaining the
existing limits of his dominion, but in internal reform. He devoted
all his energies to purifying the administration of his own land,
and to stamping out the abuses under which for so long the people
had suffered. That he benefited the land as a whole, and earned the
gratitude of his poorer subjects, there can be no doubt; but it is
to his reforms themselves that we may trace the immediate cause of
the downfall of his kingdom. For his zeal had led him to destroy the
long-established methods of government, and, though he thereby put
an end to corruption, he failed to provide an adequate substitute to
take their place. The host of officials he abolished or dispossessed
of office had belonged to a military administration, which had made
the name of Lagash feared, and they had doubtless been organized with
a view to ensuring the stability and protection of the state. Their
disappearance mattered little in times of peace; though, even so,
Urukagina must have had trouble with the various powerful sections of
the population whom he had estranged. When war threatened he must have
found himself without an army and without the means of raising one. To
this cause we may probably trace the completeness of Umma's victory.
From what we know of the early history of Sumer, it would appear that
most of its city-states were subject to alternate periods of expansion
and decay; and we have already seen reason to believe that, before
the reign of Urukagina, the reaction had already set in, which must
inevitably have followed the conquests of the earlier patesis. The
struggle for the throne, which appears to have preceded Urukagina's
accession, must have weakened still further the military organization
of the state; and when Urukagina himself, actuated by the best of
motives, attempted to reform and remodel its entire constitution, he
rendered it still more defenceless before the attack of any resolute
foe. The city of Umma was not slow to take advantage of so favourable
an opportunity for striking at her ancient rival. Hitherto in their
wars with Lagash the men of Umma, so far as we know, had never
ventured, or been allowed, to attack the city. In earlier days Umma
had always been defeated, or at any rate her encroachments had been
checked. It is true that in the records that have come down to us
the men of Umma are represented as always taking the initiative, and
provoking hostilities by crossing the frontier-ditch which marked the
limit of their possessions. But they never aimed at more than the
seizure of territory, and the patesi of Lagash was always strong enough
to check their advance, and generally to expel them, before they
reached the city itself. Indeed, Entemena had done more than this,
and, by his capture and annexation of Umma, had crippled for a time
the resources of this ambitious little state. At what period exactly
Umma repudiated the suzerainty he had imposed is not known; but in
any case we may conclude that the effects of the chastisement she had
received at his hands were sufficient to prevent for a time any active
encroachments on her part.
The renewed activity of Umma during Urukagina's reign doubtless
followed the lines of her earlier attempts, and took the form of a raid
into the territory of Lagash. The comparative success, which we may
conjecture she achieved on this occasion, doubtless encouraged her to
further efforts, and emboldened her patesi to attack the city of Lagash
itself. The ruler of Umma, under whose leadership this final attack was
delivered, bore the name of Lugal-zaggisi. From an inscription of his
own, to which further reference will be made in the following chapter,
we learn that his father Ukush had been patesi of Umma before him. We
may thus assume that the city had for some time enjoyed a position of
independence, of which she had taken advantage to husband her resources
and place her army on a satisfactory footing. In any case it was strong
enough to overcome any opposition that Urukagina could offer, and the
city of Lagash, which had been beautified and enriched by the care of a
long line of successful rulers, was laid waste and spoiled.
The document from which we learn details of the sack of Lagash is a
strange one.[56] It closely resembles in shape and writing the tablets
of household accounts from the archive of the patesis, which date from
the reigns of Urukagina and his immediate predecessors;[57] but the
text inscribed upon it consists of an indictment of the men of Umma,
drawn up in a series of short sentences, which recapitulate the deeds
of sacrilege committed by them. It is not a royal nor an official
inscription, and, so far as one can judge from its position when
discovered by Commandant Cros, it does not seem to have been stored in
any regular archive or depository. For it was unearthed, at a depth of
about two metres below the surface of the soil, to the north of the
mound which covered the most ancient constructions at Tello,[58] and
no other tablets were found near it. Both from its form and contents
the document would appear to have been the work of some priest, or
scribe, who had formerly been in Urukagina's service; and we may
picture him, after the sack of the city, giving vent to his feelings
by enumerating the sacred buildings which had been profaned by the
men of Umma, and laying the weight of the great sin committed upon
the head of the goddess whom they and their patesi served. That the
composition was written shortly after the fall of Lagash may be held
to explain the absence of any historical setting or introduction; the
city's destruction and the profanation of her shrines have so recently
taken place that the writer has no need to explain the circumstances.
He plunges at once into his accusations against the men of Umma, and
the very abruptness of his style and the absence of literary ornament
render their delivery more striking. The repetition of phrases and the
recurrent use of the same formulæ serve only to heighten the cumulative
effect of the charges he brings against the destroyers of his city.
"The men of Umma," he exclaims, "have set fire to the Eki[kala]; they
have set fire to the Antasurra; they have carried away the silver and
the precious stones! They have shed blood in the palace of Tirash; they
have shed blood in the Abzu-banda; they have shed blood in the shrine
of Enlil and in the shrine of the Sun-god; they have shed blood in the
Akhush; they have carried away the silver and the precious stones!
They have shed blood in E-babbar; they have carried away the silver
and the precious stones! They have shed blood in the Gikana of the
goddess Ninmakh of the Sacred Grove; they have carried away the silver
and the precious stones! They have shed blood in the Baga; they have
carried away the silver and the precious stones! They have set fire to
the Dugru; they have carried away the silver and the precious stones!
They have shed blood in Abzu-ega; they have set fire to the temple of
Gatumdug; they have carried away the silver and the precious stones,
and have destroyed the statue! They have set fire to the ... of the
temple E-anna of the goddess Ninni; they have carried away the silver
and the precious stones, and have destroyed the statue! They have
shed blood in the Shagpada; they have carried away the silver and the
precious stones! In the Khenda ...; they have shed blood in Kiab, the
temple of Nindar; they have carried away the silver and the precious
stones! They have set fire to Kinunir, the temple of Dumuzi-abzu; they
have carried away the silver and the precious stones! They have set
fire to the temple of Lugal-uru; they have carried away the silver and
the precious stones! They have shed blood in the temple E-engur, of
the goddess Ninâ; they have carried away the silver and the precious
stones! They have shed blood in the Sag ..., the temple of Amageshtin;
the silver and precious stones of Amageshtin have they carried away!
They have removed the grain from Ginarbaniru, from the field of
Ningirsu, all of it that was under cultivation! The men of Umma, by the
despoiling of Lagash, have committed a sin against the god Ningirsu!
The power that is come unto them, from them shall be taken away! Of
sin on the part of Urukagina, king of Girsu, there is none. But as for
Lugal-zaggisi, patesi of Umma, may his goddess Nidaba bear this sin
upon her head!"
It will be noticed that, in addition to the temples in the list, the
writer mentions several buildings of a more secular character,[59]
but the majority of these were attached to the great temples and were
used in connection with the produce from the sacred lands. Thus the
Antasurra, the palace of Tirash, the Akhush, the Baga, and the Dugru
were all dedicated to the service of Ningirsu, the Abzu-banda and the
Shagpada to the goddess Ninâ, and the Abzu-ega to Gatumdug. The text
does not record the destruction of the king's palace, or of private
dwellings, but there can be little doubt that the whole city was
sacked, and the greater part of it destroyed by fire. The writer of
the tablet is mainly concerned with the sacrilege committed in the
temples of the gods, and with the magnitude of the offence against
Ningirsu. He can find no reason for the wrongs the city has suffered in
any transgression on the part of Urukagina, its king; for Ningirsu has
had no cause to be angry with his representative. All he can do is to
protest his belief that the city-god will one day be avenged upon the
men of Umma and their goddess Nidaba. Meanwhile Lagash lay desolate,
and Umma inherited the position she had held among the cities of
Southern Babylonia. We know that in course of time the city rose again
from her ruins, and that the temples, which had been laid waste and
desecrated, were rebuilt in even greater splendour. But, as a state,
Lagash appears never to have recovered from the blow dealt her by
Lugal-zaggisi. At any rate, she never again enjoyed the authority which
she wielded under the rule of her great patesis.
[1] See Messerschmidt, "Vorderasiatische Schriftdenkmäler," I., p. v..
pl. 3, No. 4.
[2] See "Collection de Clercq, Catalogue," Tome II., pl. x., No. 6,
p. 92 f.; Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," vol. iv., p. 40. The name
should possibly be read Ur-Khumma (cf. "Königsinschriften," p. 150, n.
h.).
[3] In a very fragmentary passage of the clay-inscription of
Enannatum from El-Hibba, Langdon would see a reference to the removal
of Mesilim's stele during this revolt; see "Zeits. der Deutschen
Morgenländ. Gesellschaft," Bd. LXII. (1908), p. 399 f.
[4] See "Cuneiform Texts," Pt. V., pl. 1, "Königsinschriften," p. 30
f.; for a drawing of the object, see Budge, "History of Egypt," vol.
i., p. 67.
[5] The reading of the last syllable of the name is not certain.
[6] Cf. "Déc. en Chaldée," p. xlix.
[7] Cf. "Vorderas. Schriftdenkmäler," I., p. v., pl. 4, No. 5 _a-d_.
[8] The name is also read as Khummatur.
[9] See above, p. 157, n. 1.
[10] So Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," p. 38 f., Cone, Col. III.,
ll. 19 ff. Genouillac would interpret the passage as meaning that the
men of Umma abandoned in their flight sixty of their chariots of war
(cf. "Tabl. sum. arch.," p. xii.). These, of course, were drawn by
asses, the earliest mention of a horse in Babylonia occurring on a
tablet of the period of Hammurabi or Samsu-iluna (cf. Ungnad, "Orient.
Lit.-Zeit.," 1907, col. 638 f.); the regular use of the horse was
introduced by the Kassites. [
F1] See Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," p. 40, n. 4; "Recueil de tabl.
chald.," p. 56, No. 120.
[12] See Hilprecht, "Old Bab. Inscr.," Pt. II., No. 87, pl. 40, Col.
II., ll. 26 ff.
[13] "Déc. en Chald.," p. xlvii.; Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," Vol.
IV., pp. 37 ff., "Königsinschriften," pp. 36 ff.
[14] Cf. Hilprecht, "Old Bab. Inscr." Pt. II., pl. 48 f., Nos. 115-117.
[15] See the plate opposite p. 110.
[16] Cf. Heuzey, "Déc. en Chald.," p. 204.
[17] The two principal building texts are engraved upon an alabaster
foundation-tablet ("Déc. en Chald.," p. xlvi.), and upon a fine
gate-socket of Entemena preserved in the British Museum ("Cun. Txts.,"
Pt. X., pl. 1). All were inscribed towards the end of Entemena's reign,
the gate-socket at a rather earlier date than the tablets.
[18] See the plate opposite p. 168, and see above, p. 78.
[19] That in virtue of his office the priest of Ningirsu at this period
occupied a position of considerable importance is also clear from the
double dates, by patesiate and priesthood; see below, p. 171.
[20] Entemena appears to have reigned at least twenty-nine years; see
Allotte de la Fu e, "Hilprecht Anniversary Volume," p. 123.
[21] That offerings continued to be made in connection with Ur-Ninâ's
statue during Lugal-anda's reign (as evinced by tablets of the period,
cf. Allotte de la Fuëe, "Rev. d'Assyr.," VI., p. 107, and Genouillac,
"Tabl. sum. arch.," p. lvii.) is no proof of the continuance of his
dynasty, though it is evidence of the honour in which its founder was
still held. Genouillac suggests that Enetarzi and Enlitarzi may have
been related, and possibly sons of Enannatum II. (_op. cit._, p. xii.),
but the suggestion is purely conjectural.
[22] See Thureau-Dangin, "Recueil de tablettes chaldéennes," pp.
ii. f., 9 ff., Allotte de la Fu e, "Documents présargoniques," and
Genouillac, "Tablettes sumériennes archaïques."
[23] The full form of the name appears to have been Lugal-andanushuga
(see Thureau-Dangin, _op. cit._, p. 17, No. 33, Rev., Col. II., l. 2,
and "Königsinschriften," p. 224); but it was generally abbreviated to
Lugal-anda.
[24] See Allotte de la Fu e, "Revue d'Assyr.," Vol. VI., No. 4, p. 107.
Similar figures have been found upon clay sealings, which were probably
attached to bundles of such tablets. It is possible that Enlitarzi
reigned for at least seven years and Lugal-anda for at least nine; see
Allotte de la Fu e, "Hilprecht Anniversary Volume," p. 123.
[25] Cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Rec. de tabl. chald.," p. ii. f.
[26] Cf. Genouillac, "Orient. Lit.-Zeit.," XI., col. 215, n. 6. The
wife of Enlitarzi was Lugunutur, and in addition to Lugal-anda he had a
son named Urtar, who was living in Lugal-anda's reign (cf. "Tabl. sum.
arch.," p. xii.).
[27] The "great patesi" and Barnamtarra are here mentioned in a list of
functionaries. With the former Genouillac would identify Lugal-anda,
who, he suggests, after being dethroned by Urukagina, was allowed to
retain the title of patesi with its purely religious functions. In
support of this view he cites another tablet dated in Urukagina's
second year, which enumerates presents made by "the patesi" to
Amat-Bau, daughter of Urukagina; it is significant that the beasts were
furnished by Lugal-anda's steward. Other tablets mention offerings made
by "the patesi" to Shakh-Bau and Aenragin, other children of Urukagina
(see Genouillac, "Tabl. sum. arch.," p. xiv. f.). Genouillac also
suggests that Enlitarzi may have survived through the patesiate of his
son, Lugal-anda, until the beginning of Urukagina's reign (_op. cit._,
p. xiii.).
[28] See Thureau-Dangin, "Rec. de tabl. chald.," No. 26, pp. ii., 9.
[29] Moreover, Enlitarzi is given the title of "priest" in the contract
inscribed on the clay cone referred to on p. 170.
[30] Cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," Vol. VI., pp. 137 ff.
[31] The fact that Enlitarzi may have survived during the patesiate of
his son scarcely justifies the view that the office of patesi was not
necessarily held for life.
[32] See Allotte de la Fu e, "Rev. d'Assyr.," Vol. VI., pp. 105 ff.;
"Doc. présargon.," pl. v. ff. Similar sealings in the Museum of the
Hermitage at St. Petersburg have been published by M. Likhatcheff (cf.
also Genouillac, "Tabl. sum. arch.," p. ix.).
[33] Allotte de la Fu e, "Rev. d'Assyr.,5' Vol. VI., p. 110 ff.
[34] See Allotte de la Fu e, _op. cit._, p. 118.
[35] The tablets of accounts, so far as they have been examined,
furnish no information on Urukagina's antecedents; but it may be noted
that they give details with regard to his children, cf. Genouillac,
"Orient. Lit.-Zeit.," XI., col. 216, n. 2, and "Tabl. sum. arch.," pp.
xv., xxiii. f. On the Obelisk of Manishtusu, king of Kish, mention
is made of a certain Urukagina, son of Engilsa, patesi of Lagash.
Since a tablet of the period of Urukagina enumerates offerings made
by Shagshag, Urukagina's wife, on behalf of a certain Engilsa and
herself, Genouillac accepts the identification of the two Urukaginas,
applying the title of patesi in Manishtusu's texts to Urukagina, not
Engilsa (cf. "Tabl. sum. arch.," p. xiv.). This synchronism between the
rulers of Lagash and Kish, if established, would be most valuable for
the early chronology; but it is not certain, and the recurrence of the
names may be merely a coincidence (see further, p. 209 f.).
[36] The reading of the name of this deity (Dun-...) is still
uncertain; it has been read variously as Dun-sir, Shul-gur, and
Dun-gur; see above, p. 109.
[37] See above, p. 169 f.
[38] Oval Plaque, Col. IV., ll. 5 ff. The passage does not refer to
Urukagina's own reign, as assumed by Meyer, "Geschichte," Bd. I., Hft.
II., p. 456.
[39] Cone A, Cones B and C, and the Oval Plaque; see "Découvertes en
Chaldée," pp. l.-lii., and Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," pp. 44
ff.
[40] Cones B and C, Col. VII., ll. 12 ff. For an interesting discussion
of many of the official titles occurring on the tablets of the period,
see Genouillac, "Tabl. sum. arch.," pp. xxiii. ff.
[41] Cones B and C, Col. IV., ll. 9 ff.
[42] Cones B and C, Col. IX., ll. 7 ff.
[43] Cf. Cone A, Col. V. (end).
[44] See "Cun. Texts in the Brit. Mus.," Pt. III., pl. 2 ff., Pt. V.,
pl. 4 ff., and cf. Hunger, "Becherwahrsagung bei den Babyloniern," in
"Leipzig. Semit. Stud.," I., 1.
[45] On this point cf. also Cuq, "Nouvelle revue historique," 1908, p.
485.
[46] The principal argument for its Semitic origin was based on a
misrendering of _galâbu_ (see Meyer, "Sum. und Sem.," p. 24, n. 3, and
cf. "Geschichte," I. 2, p. 512).
[47] Cones B and C, Col. VIII., ll. 10 ff.
[48] B and C, Col. XII., ll. 26 ff.
[49] Cf. Cone A, Col. VII., and Cones B and C, Col. XII., l. 21 f.
The phrase does not imply that slavery was abolished, but that abuses
were put down in the administration of the state. The employment of
slaves naturally continued to be a recognized institution as in earlier
and later periods. In fact, tablets of this epoch prove that not only
private persons, but also temples could possess slaves, and, like
domestic animals, they could be dedicated to a god for life. Thus eight
male and three female slaves are mentioned in a list of offerings made
by Amattar-sirsirra, a daughter of Urukagina, to the god Mesandu (cf.
Genouillac, "Orient. Lit.-Zeit.," 1909, col. 110 f.).
[50] Cones B and C, Col. XII., ll. 23 ff.
[51] Cf. Brick, Col. IV., Cone A, Col. III., l. 10, and Cones B and C,
Col. II., ll. 11 ff.
[52] Cones B and C, Col. XII., ll. 29 ff.
[53] Olive A; cf. "Découvertes," p. 1., and "Königsinschriften," p. 44
f.
[54] Olive C; "Königsinschriften," p. 44 f.
[55] Oval Plaque, Col. IV., the end of which is wanting; cf. p. 178, n.
1.
[56] See Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," Vol. VI., pp. 26 ff.,
"Königsinschriften," pp. 56 ff.
[57] See above, p. 169 f.
[58] Tell K; see above, pp. 19 f., 90 ff.
[59] Cf. Genouillac, "Tabl. sum. arch.," pp. xv., n. 12, xli.