Chapter 8

[3]See the plan of Tello onp. 19.

[4]For example, compare the orientation of Enlil's temple on p. 88.

[5]It has been compared to the granaries of Egypt as depicted in wall-paintings or represented by models placed in the tombs; cf. Heuzey, "Une Villa royale chaldéenne,"—p. 9 f.

[6]See H, H on plan.

[7]See above,p. 45 f.

[8]Cf. Heuzey, "Une Villa royale," p. 24.

[9]Cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Recueil de tablettes chaldéennes," p. i. f., Nos. 1 ff., 9 ff., and "Rev. d'Assyr.," VI., pp. 11 ff.

[10]See below, Chap. VII.,p. 206 f.

[11]Cf. Heuzey and Thureau-Dangin, "Comptes rendus de l'Acad. des Inscriptions," 1907, pp. 516 ff. The head of the figure had been found many years before by M. de Sarzec, and was published in "Déc. en Chald.," p. 6ter, Figs. 1aandb.

[12]Cf. Meyer, "Sum. und Sem.," p. 81, n. 2.

[13]Cf. Banks, "Scientific American," Aug. 19, 1905, p. 137, and "Amer. Journ. Semit. Lang.," XXI., p. 59.

[14]"Déc. en Chald.," pl. 5, No. 3.

[15]See the plate oppositep. 102. The king of Ma'er's figure is the one on the right.

[16]Cf. Hilprecht, "Old Bab. Inscr.," II., pl. 44, No. 96, and Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," p. 158 f.

[17]See Heuzey, "Revue d'Assyr.," IV., p. 109; cf. "Königsinschriften," p>. 160 f.

[18]See the blocks onp. 98. A variant form of the emblem occurs on the perforated block of Dudu (see the plate facing p. 110). There the lions turn to bite the spread wings of the eagle, indicating that the emblem is symbolical of strife ending in the victory of Lagash (cf. Heuzey, "Cat.," p. 121).

[19]See the Cone of Entemena, "Déc. en Chald.," p. xlvii.; and cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," IV., pp. 37 ff., and "Königsinschriften," pp. 36 ff. Entemena's sketch of the early relations of Lagash and Umma precedes his account of his own conquest of the latter city; see below, p. 164 f.

[20]See above,pp. 11,21 f.

[21]See Hilprecht, "Old Babylonian Inscriptions," Pt. II., p. 62, pl. 46, No. 108 f., and Pt. I., p. 47.

[22]See Hilprecht,op. cit., Pt. II., p. 51, pl. 43, No. 93; cf. Winckler, "Altorientalische Forschungen," I., p. 372 f., and Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," p. 160 f.

[23]See "Cuneiform Texts in the British Museum," Pt. III., pl. 1, and cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr.," IV., p. 74, and "Königsinschriften," p. 160 f. For a photographic reproduction of the tablet, see the plate facingp. 218.

[24]Since the central cult of Ninni and of Anu was at Erech, it is possible that Lugal-tarsi's dedication implies the subjection of Erech to Kish at this period.

[25]See above,pp. 91 ff.

[26]"Déc. en Chaldée," p. xl.; cf. Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," p. 10 f.

[27]See Thureau-Dangin, "Recueil de tablettes chaldéennes," p. 1, pl. 1, No. 1.

[28]It has been suggested that the title lugal, "king," did not acquire its later significance until the age of Sargon (Shar-Gani-sharri), but that it was used by earlier rulers as the equivalent of the Semitic belu, "lord" (cf. Ungnad, "Orient. Lit.-Zeit.," 1908, col. 64, n. 5). But, in view of the fact that Mesilim bore the title, it would seem that in his time it already conveyed a claim to greater authority than that inherent in the word patesi. The latter title was of a purely religious origin; when borne by a ruler it designated him as the representative of his city-god, but the title "king" was of a more secular character, and connoted a wider dominion. But it must be admitted that some inconsistencies in the use of the titles by members of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty seem to suggest that the distinction between them was not quite so marked as in the later periods.

[29]See Hilprecht, "Zeits. für Assyr.," XI., p. 330 f.; and Thureau-Dangin,op. cit., XV., p. 403.

[30]See Heuzey, "Rev. d'Assyr.," IV., p. 106. A fragment of a similar bowl, probably of the same early period, is definitely stated in the inscription upon it to have been set aside for Bau as a part of certain spoil.

[31]They are collected and translated by Thureau-Dangin, "Königsinschriften," pp. 2 ff.

[32]"Découvertes en Chaldée," p. xxxvii., No. 10.

[33]See above,p. 90 f. Other divisions of Lagash were Ninâ, Uru-azagga and Uru.

[34]See above,p. 107.

[35]The reading of the second half of the name is uncertain. The two signs which form the name were provisionally read by Amiaud as Dun-sir ("Records of the Past," N.S., I., p. 59), and by Jensen as Shul-gur (cf. Schrader's "Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek," Bd. III., Hft. 1, p. 18 f.); see also Thureau-Dangin, "Rev. d'Assyr." III., p. 119, n. 5, and Radau, "Early Bab. Hist.," p. 92, n. 18.

[36]See below,pp. 168 f.,177.

[37]For a description of his principal storehouse or magazine, the remains of which have been found at Tello, see above, pp. 91 ff.

[38]See below, p.169.

[39]See the opposite plate and the illustrations on p.113f.

[40]Cf. Meyer, "Sumerier und Semiten," p. 77.

[41]Dudu's block was probably let into solid masonry or brickwork, while the plaques of Ur-Ninâ would have rested on the surface of altars built of brick; cf. Heuzey, "Découvertes en Chaldée," p. 204.

[42]See the plate opposite p.110.

[43]See above, p.41f.

[44]See the plate opposite p.138.

[45]So, for instance, Radau, "Early Bab. History," p. 70.

[46]The figure, which is in the Louvre, was not found at Tello, but was purchased at Shatra, so that its provenance is not certain.

[47]See Radau,op. cit., p. 70, and cp. Genouillac, "Tablettes sumériennes archaïques," p. xi.

[48]See the similar figure on a fragment of shell, illustrated on p.41.

[49]Cf. Radau, "Early Bab. History," p. 71.

[50]Cf. Genouillac, "Tablettes sumériennes archaïques," pp. xxii. ff.

[51]See above, p.105.

[52]"Déc. en Chaldée," p. xl., Col. II.

[53]Op. cit., p. xlvii.

[54]Col. II., l. 9.

[55]"Déc. en Chaldée," p. xliii., Col. VIII.

[56]See above, p.106, n. 1.

When the patesiate of Lagash passed from Akurgal to his son Eannatum we may picture the city-state as owing a general allegiance to Akkad in the north. Nearer home, the relations of Lagash to Umma appear to have been of an amicable character. Whatever minor conflicts may have taken place between the two cities in the interval, the treaty of Mesilim was still regarded as binding, and its terms were treated with respect by both parties. The question whether Eannatum, like Akurgal, had had some minor cause of disagreement with the men of Umma at the beginning of his reign depends upon our interpretation of some broken passages in the early part of the text engraved upon the Stele of the Vultures.[1]The second column deals with the relations of Umma and Lagash during the reign of Akurgal, and the fourth column concerns the reign of Eannatum. The name of neither of these rulers is mentioned in the intermediate portion of the text, which, however, refers to Umma and Lagash in connection with a shrine or chapel dedicated to the god Ningirsu. It is possible that we have here a continuation of the narrative of the preceding column, and in that case we should assign this portion of the text to the reign of Akurgal, rather than to the early part of the reign of his successor. But it may equally well refer to Eannatum's own reign, and may either record a minor cause of dispute between the cities which was settled before the outbreak of the great war, or may perhaps be taken in connection with the following columns of the text.

These two columns definitely refer to Eannatum's reign and describe certain acts of piety which he performed in the service of his gods. They record work carried out in E-ninnû, by which the heart of Ningirsu was rejoiced; the naming and dedication of some portion of E-anna, the temple of the goddess Ninni; and certain additions made to the sacred flocks of the goddess Ninkharsag. The repetition of the phrase referring to Ninni's temple[2]suggests a disconnected list of Eannatum's achievements in the service of his gods, rather than a connected narrative. The text in the fifth column continues the record of the benefits bestowed by him upon Ningirsu, and here we may perhaps trace a possible cause of the renewal of the war with Umma. For the text states that Eannatum bestowed certain territory upon Ningirsu and rejoiced his heart; and, unless this refers to land occupied after the defeat of Umma, its acquisition may have been resented by the neighbouring city. Such an incident would have formed ample excuse for the invasion of the territory of Lagash by the injured party, though, according to the records of Eannatum himself and of Entemena, it would appear that the raid of the men of Umma was unprovoked. But, whatever may have been the immediate cause of the outbreak of hostilities, we shall see reason for believing that the war was ultimately due to the influence of Kish.

The outbreak of the war between Umma and Lagash is recorded concisely in the sixth column of the inscription upon the Stele of the Vultures, which states that the patesi of Umma, by the command of his god, plundered[3]Gu-edin, the territory beloved of Ningirsu. In this record, brief as it is, it is interesting to note that the patesi of Umma is regarded as no more than the instrument of his city-god, or the minister who carries out his commands. As the gods in a former generation had drawn up the treaty between Lagash and Umma, which Mesilim, their suzerain, had at the command of his own goddess engraved upon the stele of delimitation, so now it was the god, and not the patesi, of Umma,who repudiated the terms of that treaty by sending his army across the border. Gu-edin, too, is described, not in its relation to the patesi of Lagash, but as the special property of Ningirsu, the opposing city-god. We shall see presently that Eannatum's first act, on hearing news of the invasion, was quite in harmony with the theocratic feeling of the time.

The patesi who led the forces of Umma is not named by Eannatum upon the Stele of the Vultures, but from the Cone of Entemena[4]we learn that his name was Ush. In the summary of events which is given upon that document it is stated that Ush, patesi of Umma, acted with ambitious designs, and that, having removed the stele of delimitation which had been set up in an earlier age by Mesilim between the territories of the respective states, he invaded the plain of Lagash. The pitched battle between the forces of Umma and Lagash, which followed the raid into the latter's territory, is recorded by Entemena in equally brief terms. The battle is said to have taken place at the word of Ningirsu, the warrior of Enlil, and the destruction of the men of Umma is ascribed not only to the command, but also to the actual agency, of Enlil himself. Here, again, we find Enlil, the god of the central cult of Nippur, recognized as the supreme arbiter of human and divine affairs. The various city-gods might make war on one another, but it was Enlil who decreed to which side victory should incline.

In the record of the war which Eannatum himself has left us, we are furnished with details of a more striking character than those given in Entemena's brief summary. In the latter it is recorded that the battle was waged at the word of Ningirsu, and the Stele of the Vultures amplifies this bald statement by describing the circumstances which attended the notification of the divine will. On learning of the violation of his border by the men of Umma and the plundering of his territory which had ensued, Eannatum did not at once summon his troops and lead them in pursuit of the enemy. There was indeed little danger in delay, and no advantage to be gained by immediateaction. For Umma, from its proximity to Lagash, afforded a haven for the plunderers which they could reach in safety before the forces of Lagash could be called to arms. Thus Eannatum had no object in hurrying out his army, when there was little chance of overtaking the enemy weighed down with spoil. Moreover, all the damage that could be done to Gu-edin had no doubt been done thoroughly by the men of Umma. In addition to carrying off Mesilim's stele, they had probably denuded the pastures of all flocks and cattle, had trampled the crops, and had sacked and burnt the villages and hamlets through which they had passed. When once they and their plunder were safe within their own border, they were not likely to repeat the raid at once. They might be expected to take action to protect their own territory, but the next move obviously lay with Lagash. In these circumstances Eannatum had no object in attacking before his army was ready for the field, and his preparations for war had been completed; and while the streets of Lagash were doubtless re-echoing with the blows of the armourers and the tramp of armed men, the city-gates must have been thronged with eager groups of citizens, awaiting impatiently the return of scouts sent out after the retreating foe. Meanwhile, we may picture Eannatum repairing to the temple of Ningirsu, where, having laid his complaint before him, he awaited the god's decision as to the course his patesi and his people should follow under the provocation to which they had been subjected.

It is not directly stated in the text as preserved upon the stele that it was within E-ninnû Eannatum sought Ningirsu's counsel and instructions; but we may assume that such was the case, since the god dwelt within his temple, and it was there the patesi would naturally seek him out. The answer of the god to Eannatum's prayer was conveyed to him in a vision; Ningirsu himself appeared to the patesi, as he appeared in a later age to Gudea, when he gave the latter ruler detailed instructions for the rebuilding of E-ninnû, and granted him a sign by which he should know that he was chosen for the work. LikeGudea, Eannatum made his supplication lying flat upon his face; and, while he was stretched out upon the ground, he had a dream. In his dream he beheld the god Ningirsu, who appeared to him in visible form and came near him and stood by his head. And the god encouraged his patesi and promised him victory over his enemies. He was to go forth to battle and Babbar, the Sun-god who makes the city bright, would advance at his right hand to assist him. Thus encouraged by Ningirsu, and with the knowledge that he was carrying out the orders of his city-god, Eannatum marshalled his army and set out from Lagash to attack the men of Umma within their own territory.

PORTION OF THE "STELE OF VULTURES," SCULPTURED WITH SCENES REPRESENTING EANNATUM, PATESI OF SHIRPURLA, LEADING HIS TROOPS IN BATTLE AND ON THE MARCH.—In the Louvre; Déc. en Chald., pl.3 (bis).

The account of the battle is very broken upon the Stele of the Vultures,[5]but sufficient details are preserved to enable us to gather that it was a fierce one, and that victory was wholly upon the side of Lagash. We may conjecture that the men of Umma did not await Eannatum's attack behind their city-walls, but went out to meet him with the object of preventing their own fields and pastures from being laid waste. Every man capable of bearing arms, who was not required for the defence of two cities, was probably engaged in the battle, and the two opposing armies were doubtless led in person by Eannatum himself and by Ush, the patesi of Umma, who had provoked the war. The army of Lagash totally defeated the men of Umma and pursued them with great slaughter. Eannatum puts the number of the slain at three thousand six hundred men, or, according to a possible reading, thirty-six thousand men. Even the smaller of these figures is probably exaggerated, but there is no doubt that Umma suffered heavily. According to his own account, Eannatum took an active part in the fight, and he states that he raged in the battle. After defeating the army in the open plain, the troops of Lagash pressed on to Umma itself. The fortifications had probably been denuded of their full garrisons, and were doubtless held by a mere handful of defenders. Flushed with victory the men of Lagash swept on to the attack, and, carrying the walls by assault, had the cityitself at their mercy. Here another slaughter took place, and Eannatum states that within the city he swept all before him "like an evil storm."

The record of his victory which Eannatum has left us is couched in metaphor, and is doubtless coloured by Oriental exaggeration; and the scribes who drew it up would naturally be inclined to represent the defeat of Umma as even more crushing than it was. Thus the number of burial-mounds suggests that the forces of Lagash suffered heavily themselves, and it is quite possible the remnant of Umma's army rallied and made a good fight within the city. But we have the independent testimony of Entemena's record, written not many years after the fight, to show that there is considerable truth under Eannatum's phrases; and a clear proof that Umma was rendered incapable of further resistance for the time may be seen in the terms of peace which Lagash imposed. Eannatum's first act, after he had received the submission of the city, was to collect for burial the bodies of his own dead which strewed the field of battle. Those of the enemy he would probably leave where they fell, except such as blocked the streets of Umma, and these he would remove and cast out in the plain beyond the city-walls. For we may conclude that, like Entemena, Eannatum left the bones of his foes to be picked clean by the birds and beasts of prey. The monument on which we have his record of the fight is known as the Stele of the Vultures from the vultures sculptured upon the upper portion of it. These birds of prey are represented as swooping off with the heads and limbs of the slain, which they hold firmly in their beaks and talons. That the sculptor should have included this striking incident in his portrayal of the battle is further testimony to the magnitude of the slaughter which had taken place. That Eannatum duly buried his own dead is certain, for both he and Entemena state that the burial-mounds which he heaped up were twenty in number; and two other sculptured portions of the Stele of the Vultures, to which we shall presently refer, give vivid representations of the piling of the mounds above the dead.

The fate of Ush, the patesi of Umma, who had brought such misfortune on his own city by the rash challenge he had given Lagash, is not recorded; but it is clear he did not remain the ruler of Umma. He may have been slain in the battle, but, even if he survived, he was certainly deprived of his throne, possibly at the instance of Eannatum. For Entemena records the fact that it was not with Ush, but with a certain Enakalli, patesi of Umma, that Eannatum concluded a treaty of peace.[6]The latter ruler may have been appointed patesi by Eannatum himself, as, at a later day, Ili owed his nomination to Entemena on the defeat of the patesi Urlumma. But, whether this was so or not, Enakalli was certainly prepared to make great concessions, and was ready to accept whatever terms Eannatum demanded, in order to secure the removal of the troops of Lagash from his city, which they doubtless continued to invest during the negotiations. As might be expected, the various terms of the treaty are chiefly concerned with the fertile plain of Gu-edin, which had been the original cause of the war. This was unreservedly restored to Lagash, or, in the words of the treaty, to Ningirsu, whose "beloved territory" it is stated to have been. In order that there should be no cause for future dispute with regard to the boundary-line separating the territory of Lagash and Umma, a deep ditch was dug as a permanent line of demarcation. The ditch is described as extending "from the great stream" up to Gu-edin, and with the great stream we may probably identify an eastern branch of the Euphrates, through which at this period it emptied a portion of its waters into the Persian Gulf. The ditch, or canal, received its water from the river, and, by surrounding the unprotected sides of Gu-edin, it formed not only a line of demarcation but to some extent a barrier to any hostile advance on the part of Umma.

On the bank of the frontier-ditch the stele of Mesilim, which had been taken away, was erected once more, and another stele was prepared by the orders of Eannatum, and was set up beside it. Thesecond monument was inscribed with the text of the treaty drawn up between Eannatum and Enakalli, and its text was probably identical with the greater part of that found upon the fragments of the Stele of the Vultures, which have been recovered; for the contents of that text mark it out as admirably suited to serve as a permanent memorial of the boundary. After the historical narrative describing the events which led up to the new treaty, the text of the Stele of the Vultures enumerates in detail the divisions of the territory of which Gu-edin was composed. Thus the stele which was set up on the frontier formed in itself an additional security against the violation of the territory of Lagash. The course of a boundary-ditch might possibly be altered, but while the stele remained in place, it would serve as a final authority to which appeal could be made in the case of any dispute arising. It is probably in this way that we may explain the separate fields which are enumerated by name upon the fragment of the Stele of the Vultures which is preserved in the British Museum,[7]and upon a small foundation-stone which also refers to the treaty.[8]The fields there enumerated either made up the territory known by the general name of Gu-edin, or perhaps formed an addition to that territory, the cession of which Eannatum may have exacted from Umma as part of the terms of peace. While consenting to the restoration of the disputed territory, and the rectification of the frontier, Umma was also obliged to pay as tribute to Lagash a considerable quantity of grain, and this Eannatum brought back with him to his own city.

In connection with the formal ratification of the treaty it would appear that certain shrines or chapels were erected in honour of Enlil, Ninkharsag, Ningirsu and Babbar. We may conjecture that this was done in order that the help of these deities might be secured for the preservation of the treaty. According to Entemena's narrative,[9]chapels or shrines were erected to these four deities only, but the Stele of the Vulturescontains a series of invocations addressed not only to Enlil, Ninkharsag, and Babbar, but also to Enki, Enzu, and Ninki,[10]and it is probable that shrines were also erected in their honour. These were built upon the frontier beside the two stelæ of delimitation, and it was doubtless at the altar of each one of them in turn that Eannatum and Enakalli took a solemn oath to abide by the terms of the treaty and to respect the frontier. The oaths by which the treaty was thus ratified are referred to upon the Stele of the Vultures[11]by Eannatum, who invokes each of the deities by whom he and Enakalli swore, and in a series of striking formulæ calls down destruction upon the men of Umma should they violate the terms of the compact. "On the men of Umma," he exclaims, "have I, Eannatum, cast the great net of Enlil! I have sworn the oath, and the men of Umma have sworn the oath to Eannatum. In the name of Enlil, the king of heaven and earth, in the field of Ningirsu there has been..., and a ditch has been dug down to the water level.... Who from among the men of Umma by his word or by his ... will go back upon the word (that has been given), and will dispute it in days to come? If at some future time they shall alter this word, may the great net of Enlil, by whom they have sworn the oath, strike Umma down!"

Eannatum then turns to Ninkharsag, the goddess of the Sumerian city of Kesh, and in similar phrases invokes her wrath upon the men of Umma should they violate their oath. He states that in his wisdom he has presented two doves as offerings before Ninkharsag, and has performed other rites in her honour at Kesh, and turning again to the goddess, he exclaims, "As concerns my mother, Ninkharsag, who from among the men of Umma by his word or by his ... will go back upon the word (that has been given), and will dispute it in days to come? If at some future time they shall alter this word, may the great net of Ninkharsag, by whom they have sworn the oath, strike Umma down!" Enki, the god of the abyss of waters beneath the earth, is the next deity to be invoked, and before him Eannatumrecords that he presented certain fish as offerings; his net Eannatum has cast over the men of Umma, and should they cross the ditch, he prays that destruction may come upon Umma by its means. Enzu, the Moon-god of Ur, whom Eannatum describes as "the strong bull-calf of Enlil," is then addressed; four doves were set as offerings before him, and he is invoked to destroy Umma with his net, should the men of that city ever cross Ningirsu's boundary, or alter the course of the ditch, or carry away the stele of delimitation. Before Babbar, the Sun-god, in his city of Larsa, Eannatum states that he has offered bulls as offerings, and his great net, which he has cast over the men of Umma, is invoked in similar terms. Finally, Eannatum prays to Ninki, by whom the oath has also been taken, to punish any violation of the treaty by wiping the might of Umma from off the face of the earth.

The great stele of Eannatum, from the text upon which we have taken much of the description of his war with Umma, is the most striking example of early Sumerian art that has come down to us, and the sculptures upon it throw considerable light upon the customs and beliefs of this primitive race. The metaphor of the net, for example, which is employed by Eannatum throughout the curses he calls down upon Umma, in the event of any violation of the treaty, is strikingly illustrated by a scene sculptured upon two of the fragments of the stele which have been recovered. When complete, the stele consisted of a large slab of stone, curved at the top, and it was sculptured and inscribed upon both sides and also upon its edges. Up to the present time seven fragments of it have been recovered during the course of the excavations at Tello, of which six are in the Louvre and one is in the British Museum; these are usually distinguished by the symbols A to G.[12]Although the fragments thus recoveredrepresent but a small proportion of the original monument, it is possible from a careful study of them to form a fairly complete idea of the scenes that were sculptured upon it. As we have already noted, the monument was a stele of victory set up by Eannatum, and the two faces of the slab are sculptured in low relief with scenes illustrating the victory, but differing considerably in character. On the face the representations are mythological and religious, while on the back they are historical. It might very naturally be supposed that the face of the stele would have been occupied by representations of Eannatum himself triumphing over his enemies, and, until the text upon the stele was thoroughly deciphered and explained, this was indeed the accepted opinion. But it is now clear that Eannatum devoted the front of the stele to representations of his gods, while the reverse of the monument was considered the appropriate place for the scenes depicting the patesi and his army carrying out the divine will. The arrangement of the reliefs upon the stone thus forcibly illustrates the belief of this early period that the god of the city was its real ruler, whose minister and servant the patesi was, not merely in metaphor, but in actual fact.

Upon the largest portion of the stele that has been recovered, formed of two fragments joined together,[13]we have the scene which illustrates Eannatum's metaphor of the net. Almost the whole of this portion of the monument is occupied with the figure of a god, which appears of colossal size if it is compared with those of the patesi and his soldiers upon the reverse of the stele. The god has flowing hair, bound with a double fillet, and, while cheeks and lips are shaved, a long beard falls in five undulating curls from the chin upon the breast. He is nude to the waist, around which he wears a close-fitting garment with two folds in front indicated by double lines. It was at first suggested that weshould see in this figure a representation of some early hero, such as Gilgamesh, but there is no doubt that we should identify him with Ningirsu, the city-god of Lagash. For in his right hand the god holds the emblem of Lagash, the eagle with outspread wings, clawing the heads of two lions; and the stele itself, while indirectly perpetuating Eannatum's fame, was essentially intended to commemorate victories achieved by Ningirsu over his city's enemies. This fact will also explain the rest of the scene sculptured upon the lower fragment.

Fig. 46.—Part of the Stele of the Vultures, sculptured with a scene representing Ningirsu clubbing the enemies of Lagash (Shirpurla), whom he has caught in his net.—Fragments D and E, Obverse;Déc., pl. 4bis.

For the god grasps in his right hand a heavy mace, which he lets fall upon a net in front of him containing captive foes, whose bodies may be seen between its broad meshes struggling and writhing within it. On the relief the cords of the net are symmetrically arranged, and it apparently rises as a solid structure to the level of the god's waist. It thus has the appearance of a cage with cross-bars and supports of wood or metal. But the rounded corners at the top indicate that wemay regard it as a net formed of ropes and cordage. That it should rise stiffly before the god may be partly due to the imperfect knowledge of perspective characteristic of all early art, partly perhaps to the desire of the sculptor to allow the emblem of Lagash, grasped in the god's left hand, to rest upon it; unless indeed the emblem itself is a part of the net, by means of which the god is holding it up. In any case the proximity of the emblem to the net is not fortuitous. Within the net are the foes of Lagash, and with the mace in his right hand Ningirsu is represented as clubbing the head of one of them which projects from between the meshes.

The metaphor of the net, both of the fisherman and the fowler, is familiar in the poetical literature of the Hebrews, and it is interesting to note this very early example of its occurrence among the primitive Sumerian inhabitants of Babylonia.[14]In the text engraved upon the Stele of the Vultures Eannatum, as we have already seen, seeks to guard the terms of his treaty by placing it under the protection of the nets of Enlil and of other deities. He states that he has cast upon the men of Umma the nets of the deities by whom he and they have sworn, and, in the event of any violation of their oath, he prays that the nets may destroy them and their city.[15]Thus the meshes of each net may in a sense be regarded as the words of the oath, by the utterance of which they have placed themselves within the power of the god whose name they have invoked. But the scene on the front of the stele is not to be regarded as directly referring to this portion of the text, nor is the colossal figure that of Enlil, the chief god of Babylonia. For his destruction of the men of Umma is merely invoked as a possible occurrence in the future, while the god on the stele is already engaged in clubbing captives he has caught; and, whether the net of Ningirsu was referred to in a missing portion of the text or not, the fact that the figure on the stele grasps the emblem of Lagash issufficient indication that Ningirsu and not Enlil, nor any other deity, is intended. Thus the face of the stele illustrates the text of Eannatum as a whole, not merely the imprecatory formulæ attached to the treaty with Umma. It refers to the past victories of Ningirsu in his character as the city-god of Lagash.

The representation of Ningirsu clubbing his enemies forms only a portion of a larger scheme which occupied the whole of the upper part of the Stele of the Vultures. Though his is the principal figure of the composition, it is not set in the centre of the field but on the extreme right, the right-hand edge of the fragments illustrated on p. 131 representing the actual edge of the stele. On the left behind the god and standing in attendance upon him was a goddess, parts of whose head and headdress have been recovered upon a fragment from the left edge of the stele.[16]She wears a horned crown, and behind her is a standard surmounted by an emblem in the form of an eagle with outspread wings. She is sculptured on a smaller scale than the figure of Ningirsu, and thus serves to indicate his colossal proportions; and she stood on a fillet or lintel, which cuts off the upper register from a second scene which was sculptured below it. The fragment of the stele in the British Museum[17]preserves one of Ningirsu's feet and a corner of the net with the prisoners in it, and both are represented as resting on the same fillet or lintel. This fragment is a piece of some importance, for, by joining two other pieces of the stele in the Louvre,[18]it enables us to form some idea of the scene in the lower register. Here, too, we have representations of deities, but they are arranged on a slightly different plan. We find upon the fragment from the right of the stele (C) part of the head and headdress of a goddess very like that in the register above. Here she faces to the left, and on another fragment (F), which joins the British Museum fragment upon the left, is a portion of a very complicated piece of sculpture. This has given rise tomany conjectures, but there appears to be little doubt that it represents the forepart of a chariot. We have the same curved front which is seen in the chariot of Eannatum upon the reverse of the stele, and the same arrangement of the reins which pass through a double ring fixed in the front of the chariot and are hitched over a high support. Here the support and the front of the chariot are decorated with a form of the emblem of Lagash, the spread eagle and the lions, and we may therefore conclude that the chariot is that of Ningirsu; indeed, on the left of the fragment a part of the god's plain garment may be detected, similar to that which he wears in the upper register. He is evidently standing in the chariot, and we may picture him riding in triumph after the destruction of his foes.

A close analogy may thus be traced between the two scenes upon the front of the stele and the two upper registers upon the back. In the latter we have representations of Eannatum on foot leading his warriors to battle, and also riding victoriously in a chariot at their head. On the front of the stele are scenes of a similar character in the religious sphere, representing Ningirsu slaying the enemies of Lagash, and afterwards riding in his chariot in triumph. It may also be noted that the composition of the scenes in the two registers upon the face of the stone is admirably planned. In the upper register the colossal figure of Ningirsu with his net, upon the right, is balanced below on the left by his figure in the chariot; and, similarly, the smaller figure or figures above were balanced by the ass that drew Ningirsu's chariot, and the small figure of a goddess who faces him.

There are few indications to enable us to identify the goddesses who accompany Ningirsu. If the figures in both registers represent the same divine personage the names of several goddesses suggest themselves. We might, perhaps, see in her Ningirsu's wife Bau, the daughter of Anu, or his sister Ninâ, the goddess of the oracle, to whose service Eannatum was specially devoted, or Gatumdug, the mother of Lagash. But the military standard which accompanies the goddess in the upper scene, and the ends of two darts or javelinswhich appear in the same fragment to rise from, or be bound upon, her shoulders, seem to show that the upper goddess, at any rate, is of a warlike character. Moreover, in another inscription, Eannatum ascribes a success he has achieved in war to the direct intervention of the goddess Ninni,[19]proving that she, like the later Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar, was essentially the goddess of battle. It is permissible, therefore, to see in the upper goddess, sculptured upon the face of the Stele of the Vultures, a representation of Ninni, the goddess of battle, who attends the city-god Ningirsu while he is engaged in the slaughter of his foes. In the lower register it is possible we have a second representation of Ninni, where she appears to welcome Ningirsu after the slaughter is at an end. But though the headdresses of the two goddesses are identical, the accompanying emblems appear to differ, and we are thus justified in suggesting for the lower figure some goddess other than Ninni, whose work was finished when Ningirsu had secured the victory. The deity most fitted to gladden Ningirsu's sight on his return would have been his faithful wife Bau, who was wont to recline beside her lord upon his couch within the temple E-ninnû. We may thus provisionally identify the goddess of the lower register with Bau, who is there portrayed going out to meet the chariot of her lord and master upon his return from battle.

Perhaps the scenes which are sculptured upon the back of the Stele of the Vultures are of even greater interest than those upon its face, since they afford us a picture of these early Sumerian peoples as they appeared when engaged in the continual wars which were waged between the various city-states. Like the scenes upon the face of the stele, those upon the back are arranged in separate registers, divided one from the other by raised bands, or fillets, stretching across the face of the monument and representing the soil on which the scenes portrayed above them took place. The registers upon the back are smaller than those on the face, being at least four in number, in place of the two scenes which are devoted to Ningirsu and his attendantdeities. As might be expected, the scenes upon the back of the stele are on a smaller scale than those upon the face, and the number and variety of the figures composing them are far greater. Little space has been left on the reverse of the stone for the inscription, the greater part of which is engraved on the front of the monument, in the broad spaces of the field between the divine figures. Of the highest of the four registers upon the reverse four fragments have been recovered,[20]one of which (A) proves that the curved head of the stele on this side was filled with the representations of vultures, to which reference has already been made.[21]The intention of the sculptor was clearly to represent them as flying thick in the air overhead, bearing off from the field of battle the severed heads and limbs of the slain. The birds thus formed a very decorative and striking feature of the monument, and the popular name of the stele, which is derived from them, is fully justified. In the same register on the left is a scene representing Eannatum leading his troops in battle.[22]and we there see them advancing over the bodies of the slain; while from the extreme right of the same register we have a fragment representing men engaged in collecting the dead and piling them in heaps for burial.[23]We may conjecture that the central portion of the register, which is missing, portrayed the enemies of Eannatum falling before his lance. In the register immediately below we find another representation of Eannatum at the head of his troops. Here, however, they are not in battle array but on the march, and Eannatum, instead of advancing on foot, is riding before them in his chariot.[24]

The sculptured representations of Eannatum and his soldiers, which are preserved upon these fragments, are of the greatest importance, for they give a vivid picture of the Sumerian method of fighting, and supply detailed information with regard to the arms and armour in use at this early period. We note that theSumerians advanced to the attack in a solid phalanx, the leading rank being protected by huge shields or bucklers that covered the whole body from the neck to the feet, and were so broad that, when lined up in battle array, only enough space was left for a lance to be levelled between each; the lance-bearers carried as an additional weapon an axe, resembling an adze with a flat head. From the second register, in which we see the army on the march, it is clear that no shield was carried by the rank and file for individual protection; the huge bucklers were only borne by men in the front rank, and they thus served to protect the whole front of an attacking force as it advanced in solid formation. In the scene in the upper register two soldiers are sculptured behind each shield, and in each gap between the shields six lances are levelled which are grasped firmly in both hands by the soldiers wielding them. The massing of the lances in this fashion is obviously a device of the sculptor to suggest six rows of soldiers advancing one behind the other to the attack. But the fact that each lance is represented as grasped in both hands by its owner proves that the shields were not carried by the lance-bearers themselves, but by soldiers stationed in the front, armed only with an axe. The sole duty of a shield-bearer during an attack in phalanx was clearly to keep his shield in position, which was broad enough to protect his own body and that of the lance-bearer on his right. Thus the representation of two soldiers behind each buckler on the Stele of the Vultures is a perfectly accurate detail. As soon as an attack had been successfully delivered, and the enemy was in flight, the shield-bearers could discard the heavy shields they carried and join in the pursuit. The light axe with which they were armed was admirably suited for hand-to-hand conflicts, and it is probable that the lance-bearers themselves abandoned their heavy weapons and had recourse to the axe when they broke their close formation.

Both Eannatum and his soldiers wear a conical helmet, covering the brow and carried down low at the back so as to protect the neck, the royal helmet being distinguished by the addition at the sides of moulded pieces to protect the ears. Both the shields and thehelmets were probably of leather, though the nine circular bosses on the face of each of the former may possibly have been of metal. Their use was clearly to strengthen the shields, and they were probably attached to a wooden framework on the other side. They would also tend to protect the surface of the shields by deflecting blows aimed at them. The royal weapons consisted of a long lance or spear, wielded in the left hand, and a curved mace or throwing-stick, formed of three strands bound together at intervals with thongs of leather or bands of metal. When in his chariot on the march, the king was furnished with additional weapons, consisting of a flat-headed axe like those of his soldiers, and a number of light darts, some fitted with double points. These last he carried in a huge quiver attached to the fore part of his chariot, and with them we may note a double-thonged whip, doubtless intended for driving the ass or asses that drew the vehicle. It is probable that the soldiers following Eannatum in both scenes were picked men, who formed the royal body-guard, for those in the battle-scene are distinguished by the long hair or, rather, wig, that falls upon their shoulders from beneath their helmets,[25]and those on the march are seen to be clothed from the waist downwards in the rough woollen garment similar to that worn by the king. They may well have been recruited among the members of the royal house and the chief families of Lagash. The king's apparel is distinguished from theirs by the addition of a cloak, possibly of skin,[26]worn over the left shoulder in such a way that it leaves the right arm and shoulder entirely free.

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