Chapter 11

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 Fuÿe,Rev. d'Assyr., Vol. VI., No. 4, pl. ii.

The occurrence of this figure and those of the 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 successionto 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 havingoccupied 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 theeconomic 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 thefield 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 threeurns 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 thecorvée, 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 twentygur, 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, andthose 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 todestroy 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 theyreached 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 positionwhen 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 tothe 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 littledoubt 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. 5a-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.

[11]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 Fuÿe, "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 Fuÿe, "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 Fuÿe, "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.).

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