The rulers of the Sumerian city of the state of Lagash are. Ancient world

Eredu (Priest City)
In translation, it may mean “ kind city”. The place from which both the material and sacred history of Mesopotamia began. It was located in the extreme south, at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates into the Persian Gulf. Back in the middle of the 4th millennium BC. here the first large sanctuary appeared, from which only the foundation has come down to us. After 500 years, the sanctuary became the temple of the god Enki. It was believed that all the secrets of the world and the sources of life originate from Eredu, since this place is the entrance to the mysterious water abyss - Abzu. That is why the temple of Enki was called "House of Abzu". The life of the city of Eredu was short-lived. Already at the beginning of the 3rd millennium, the citizens left it and moved to the more northern Ur and Uruk. Eredu became a ghost town and a symbolic city. All the priests of the Enki cult, who lived in various cities, called themselves "priests of Eredu." Why the city was empty is unclear. Either the soils became saline, or after the retreat of the bay, a drought began. The Sumerians themselves explained the resettlement of the inhabitants from Eredu to Uruk by the fact that Inanna stole ME from her father and transported them to her city on a boat. Not a single inscription from Eredu has reached us.

Uruk (Warrior City)
They pronounced “unug” in Sumerian, but it is not known what people called the city that way and what it means. In ancient times, Uruk was said to be the first fenced-in settlement in the world, and therefore the first city. Nobody can either confirm or deny this legend. However, we know for certain that writing appeared precisely in Uruk and that it was Uruk that was the first center of the military-political union of the Sumerian cities. The heroes of Uruk are the powerful kings-priests of the Sumerian epic Enmerkar, Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh, who fought with the tribes of the Iranian highlands. Under Gilgamesh, Uruk became the main city of Sumer. The Uruk masters are the heavenly gods An and Inanna (Venus), and the founder of the royal dynasty of Uruk was the sun god Utu. The first House of the People's Assembly, known to archaeologists, appears in Uruk, which speaks of the beginnings of communal democracy. The ruler at that time was not called by the word lugal “king”, but bore the title en “owner, lord”. This was the title of the priest-consort of Inanna in the sacred marriage. Uruk is not only the first capital of the Sumerians and a symbol of their military superiority, but also a long-lived city, in which religious and written traditions were not interrupted until the era of Rome.

Ur (Merchant City)
In Sumerian "Urim", translation unknown. A city that was twice the capital of a powerful kingdom. At the beginning of Sumerian history, there was an established economy and a clerical school that trained cadres of bureaucrats-clerks. The lord of Ur, the moon god Nanna, patronized the reckoning of time and accurate knowledge. Sea transit trade has become the reason for the accumulation of untold treasures - gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, silver, of which the best masters made decorations for the royal family, musical instruments and weapons. All these masterpieces were discovered in the burial of Queen Puabi, who was accompanied to the next world by numerous servants. The royal power of Ur has always been strong and rich. In addition, Ur was an obvious favorite of the gods: after many centuries he was given unlimited power over all the cities and peoples of Mesopotamia. The era of the III dynasty of Ur was the heyday of the Sumerian-Akkadian culture as much as it can be considered the era of the crisis of the Sumerian civilization. After the collapse of the last Sumerian state, Ur again lived well at the expense of the sea and strong merchant traditions. You can call it a city of educated businessmen.

Shuruppak (City of the Immortal)
We know about this city either from economic texts, or from myths and later legends. It is known that in the earliest antiquity its rulers were elected people and ruled in turn (the order passed from quarter to quarter). The texts of the local scribal school have reached: proverbs, fragments of myths and lists of gods. But the most famous story connected with Shuruppak - of course, the story of the flood and the miraculous salvation of the righteous, which the gods made immortal. The righteous man's name was Ziusudra (“Life (for) long days”) and he was the ruler of Shuruppak. This city was not noticed in political activity, and what its mistress the Court was doing - judging by the lack of information, even the Sumerians themselves did not know about this.

Nippur (City of Justice)
Nippur was the geographically central city of Sumer, therefore it became cosmogonically central, uniting all other cities under its sacred power (like Athens in Greece). The lord of Nippur is the powerful Enlil, the god of air, nature and world order. An assembly of the gods met in Nippur, choosing a king for the Country. Major legislative decisions were made in Nippur. Political activity is uncharacteristic for Nippur; there have never been kings in it. But here was the largest library and the most famous scribal school. We owe all our knowledge of the Sumerian religion to the Nippur school teachers who worked part-time as government or temple scribes. It was they who brought to us all the myths and epic texts of the Sumerians, proverbs, spells and fragments of rituals.

Lagash (City-builder and chronicler)
Translated means "pantry". Lagash is the only significant Sumerian city located on a channel from the Tigris and not from the Euphrates. Therefore, he was always in some isolation from his neighbors, which, however, only added to his ambitions. The owner of the city is the patron saint of creation (mainly construction and agriculture) Ningirsu, also known as the patron saint of defensive warfare. Lagash is a city through whose history we have to perceive the entire early Sumerian history. This is due to the fact that chronicles were invented in Lagash and, moreover, they carefully wrote out all grammatical forms (which eliminated ambiguity in reading, although it did not help to eliminate ambiguity in interpretation). In Sumer, they always built a lot, but only in Lagash so much was written about what they were building. They started with a simple listing of objects, then added to this list a list of their military and political prowess, then began to write in detail about the laws. This is how the historical texts began. Gudea added to the construction-political part a description of his sacred dreams and travels in which he met the gods. The result is a hymn that glorifies both the gods and the ruler at the same time. Then from this arose already full-fledged royal hymns, praising the deified rulers of Sumer. In the early Sumerian era, the city lived excellently, many of its rulers were kings of all of Sumer. Under the Sargonids, Lagash did not lose its influence on political life country. During the reign of the Kutians, Lagash lived very richly and prospered, but after the defeat of the invaders, he was accused of treason and excluded from the general Sumerian list of royal dynasties. Since then, Lagash has never managed to regain his political and ideological power.

Ummah (Usurper City)
This strange city, a neighbor and enemy of Lagash, went down in history with only two unseemly actions. At first, its rulers illegally seized the territory that belonged to Lagash by agreement. This sparked a major war in which the Ummah invariably lost. And then, when Lagash was at the peak of his political power, the king of Umma Lugalzaggesi declared himself the king of all Sumer and attacked the neighbors. Lagash then suffered greatly, but ultimately was avenged: the Akkadian ruler Sargon knocked down arrogance from the Ummian usurper, first defeating him in a fair fight, and then ritually depriving him of his power. However, the Ummah was well known after the Sargonids, and even in the era of the III dynasty of Ur. It was a medium-sized city with well-developed manufacturing facilities. Its owner was considered the god Shara, somewhat reminiscent of Ningirsu.

Kish (city-politician)
The northernmost city of Southern Mesopotamia. Here they spoke both Sumerian and Semitic, and possibly Elamite. He entered the history of the country as a city-politician. It was here that the first royal inscription was compiled, very short. But this was the very first historical document that read: "Enmebaragesi, King of Kish." And the royal title (lugal) also appears for the first time in this city. At first, being a king meant "bearing the title of the rulers of Kish." The old squad song about Gilgamesh suggests that Kish was once the main city of Sumer. The king of Kish ruled over the citizens of all other cities, who were considered the younger brothers of Kish. But the ruler of Uruk Gilgamesh did not like this fate, he declared war on Kish and won it. Since then, Uruk has become the main city, but Kish was held in high esteem for a long time. In Assyro-Babylonian times, as a result of a language game, the title "king of Kish" (lugal-Kisha) was translated as "king of the universe" (shar kishshati). So the provincial Kish acquired cosmic significance.

Babylon (City of Peace)
The eternal city, replaced at its post by Rome. Babylon has been known since Sumerian times. It was then called in Semitic Babbilum "carrying (gravity)" (probably because of its mighty and rich port). From the name it follows that it was founded either by the Akkadians or by the Western Semites (Amorites). However, the Sumerians also considered it their own, so they called it ka2-dingir-ra, which in Semitic should sound like bab ilani "the gate of the gods" (such a folk etymology). In the Book of Genesis, as you know, the name Babylon is derived from the root "mix", since it was in this place that the Lord mixed the languages of the builders of the great tower. But this is already very far from the truth. Babylon is a city of powerful royal power, great laws, world-famous literary works and scientific works. It flourished during the era of two reigns. Under Hammurabi (18th century), Babylon was considered the center of the universe, and its god Marduk was the king of the gods and the wisest of the gods. Under Nebuchadnezzar the Second (6th century) Babylon was the cultural capital of the world and a city of great military glory. Babylon experienced its last rise during the reign of Alexander the Great, when at the end of the 4th century. BC. became the capital of his empire and the deathbed of the great commander. Babylon is the Laws of Hammurabi, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the biblical deep reflections of the Innocent Sufferer about the place of man in the world.

Nineveh
The city was the capital of three kings, of which the first - Sinacherib - slaughtered and destroyed Babylon, the second - Esarhaddon - conquered Egypt, and the third - Ashurbanipal - destroyed Elam. The best masters of relief came to the capital of the empire, temples and scribal schools trained no worse personnel. Therefore, it was in Nineveh that the arts and sciences flourished extraordinarily. The military power of Assyria and the valor of its kings were glorified, the literary texts of antiquity were copied and updated. It was the Nineveh library of Ashurbanipal that was the largest and most diverse book collection of the ancient world (which was later surpassed only by the Library of Alexandria). Nineveh did not live even a century, falling in 612 under the blows of the Medes and Babylonians. The terrible capital was cursed by all the Jewish prophets and was so firmly forgotten that it was dug up only in early XIX century AD.

Lagash

In the middle of the third millennium BC. e. (2540-2370 BC) at the head of Lagash were strong rulers who managed to unite a number of neighboring regions under their rule. The struggle of Lagash with neighboring cities had as its goal the maximum unification of regions around one center. The foundations of the economic and political power of Lagash were laid during the reign of Ur-nansh, who can be considered the founder of the first historical dynasty of Lagash. The outward expression of the prosperity of Lagash was the extensive construction activity begun by Ur-nanshe. One relief, preserved from this time, depicts the tsar himself, who with his participation, as it were, sanctifies the work on the solemn foundation of the temple. The king himself carries a basket of bricks on his head. In the solemn ceremony, he is followed by his children, officials and servants. In his inscriptions, Ur-nanshe describes the construction of the temple, the construction of canals and the gifts to the sanctuaries.

Lagash reached the highest power under King Eannatum, who waged stubborn wars with neighboring cities and subjugated vast territories to his power. Eannatum not only frees Lagash from the domination of Kish, but even annexes this Akkadian state to it. He then subdues Ur, thus putting an end to the independent rule of the kings of the 1st dynasty of Ur. Finally, he subdues Lagash Uruk, Larsa and Erida, thus conquering the entire southern part of Mesopotamia. Eannatum fought especially stubbornly with the neighboring city of Ummah. Ush, the ruler of the Ummah, attacked Lagash, relying on the support of the kings Opis and Kish. However, the war ended unsuccessfully for the Ummah. Eannatum defeated the troops of Usha and his allies and invaded the borders of the Ummah. He captured his victory over the Ummah on a monument that has survived in the rubble to this day and was named “Steles of Kites”.

The ancient artist depicted on this victorious monument a battlefield strewn with the corpses of slain enemies, over which kites are circling. There are also scenes of the burial of the dead, the sacrifice of prisoners, and finally, the winner himself - Eannatum, riding in a chariot at the head of a detachment of heavily armed soldiers. The inscription on the monument describes the victory of the Lagash army and indicates the real results of this war. The inhabitants of the Ummah, utterly defeated, took an oath not to invade the borders of Lagash and pay tribute to the gods of Lagash in grain. Other inscriptions from this time confirm the significant scope of the aggressive policy of Eannatum, who won a victory over the kings of the Akkadian cities of Kish and Opis, as well as over the Elamite princes. Eannatum proudly narrates that he “conquered Elam; Elam was driven back to his country ”.

Thus, in this era, the Sumerian influence penetrates into the region of Central Mesopotamia and even into the inaccessible mountain Elam.

The military policy of Eannatum was continued by Entemena, who managed to strengthen the rule of Lagash over the Ummah, Ur, Eridu and Nippur, as well as repel the invasion of the Elamites. Among the historical documents of this time, the inscription of Entemena is of particular interest, the oldest diplomatic document, which figuratively describes the previous diplomatic relations and wars between Lagash and Ummah. The document fixes the conditions of peace and territorial boundaries established after the victory of Entemena over the Ummah. Etemena threatens the defeated in the event of a breach of the treaty with cruel punishment.

The settlement of Lagash appeared, apparently, at the turn of 5-4 millennia BC. e.

For a long time it was believed that the ancient city of Lagash corresponded to the settlement of Tello (ancient Girsu), but now scientists localize it in Tel El-Hibba, a grandiose settlement of 480 hectares, 20 km southeast of Tello and 15 km east of the modern city of Shatra ...

The Sumerian kings of the country Lagash (SHIR.BUR.LA ki) ruled in the territory of approx. 3000 km2, south of the Sumer country proper.

Little is known about the ancient history of Lagash. In the Early Dynastic period, the capital of the nome was moved from the city of Lagash (lit. "Place of the crows", modern El-Hibba) in Girsu (modern Tello), where the temple of the supreme deity of this nome Nin-Ngirsu was built. In addition to the cities of Girsu and Lagash proper (or Urukug letters. "Sacred city"- the epithet of Lagash), this nome also included a number of more or less large settlements, apparently surrounded by walls: Nina (or Siraran), Kinunir, Uru, Kiesh, E-Ninmar, Guaba, etc. Political and economic life was concentrated in temples dedicated to Nin-Ngirsu, his divine wife Baba (Bau), the goddess of legislation Nanshe, the goddess Geshtinanna, who acted "Scribe of a country without age", and Gatumdug - the mother goddess Lagash.

Lagash rulers bore the title Ensi and received the title of Lugal (king) from the council or the popular assembly only temporarily, along with special powers, during an important military campaign or any other important events.

1st dynasty of Lagash

Ur-Nanshe is considered the first king of Lagash known in history. He was also the ancestor of the 1st dynasty of Lagash. Ur-Nanshe laid the foundations for the future power of Lagash, as he contributed to the strengthening of agriculture, the construction of defensive walls around the ancient Lagash, and the construction of new temples.

In the 25th - 24th centuries. BC e. there is a strengthening of the Lagash nome. At that time, the first dynasty of rulers of Lagash ruled there. In terms of wealth, the Lagash state was second only to the southern Sumerian state of Uru-Uruk. Lagash port of Guaba (lit. "Sea shore") competed with Ur in sea trade with neighboring Elam and India. Lagash rulers dreamed of hegemony in Lower Mesopotamia no less than others, but the neighboring city of Umma blocked their way to the center of the country. To the same with the Ummah, for many generations there were bloody disputes over the fertile region of Guedenu bordering between these two nomes.

Under the king of Lagash, Eanatum, who ruled around 2400 BC. e. Lagash was able to win this fight and conquer the Ummah. The Lagashians were able to subdue the neighboring cities of Ur, Adab, Akshak and also make campaigns to Elam.

Eanatum

The next great king of Lagash can be considered Eanatum. With him, Lagash began to grow stronger. During his reign, the longtime enemy of Lagash, the city of Umma, separated from him and began a war with the Lagash. Two ensi (ruler) of the Ummah, Ur-Luma and Enkale, made military campaigns against Lagash, but both ended in failure. Eanatum conquered the Ummians and again forced them to pay tribute to Lagash.

Eanatum also made several military campaigns in Mesopotamia, conquering the cities of Uruk and Ur. He soon faced a dangerous coalition of northern Sumerian cities and Elamites. The cities, Akshak, and the Elamites joined forces and attacked Lagash. Eanatum was able to defeat enemies and drive out the Elamites, and led the Sumerian cities to submission. When he died, Lagash stood at the pinnacle of power in Mesopotamia.

After the death of Eanatum, his brother Enannatum I, then his son Enmetena, assumed power in the country. Around 2350 BC e. he had to wage repeated wars with the Ummah, as the Ummians continued to feud with Lagash over the Gueden strip. Enmetena was able to defeat the Ummah and put his ruler there. But the Ummians, apparently, managed to maintain their independence and continued to be at enmity with Lagash.

Priests of the god Nin-Ngirsu

At that time, the second most powerful persons in Lagash were the high priests of the god Nin-Ngirsu. After the suppression of the clan of the king Ur-Nanshe, the supreme power in Lagash (about 2340 BC) was taken into his own hands by a certain Dudu, who was a priest of the god Nin-Ngirsu. His successors Enentarzi and Lugaland were very unpopular rulers, and a very bad memory of their reign in Lagash remained. Both Enentarzi and Lugaland were more concerned about increasing their wealth. At least 2/3 of the temple households passed into the possession of the ruler - ensi, his wife and children. Lagash residents were subject to heavy taxes and taxes, which ruined the population. The dominion of the priests lasted until 2318 BC. BC, when Lugalanda was deposed by the new king of Lagash - the reformer Uruinimgina.

Rule of Uruinimgina

The coming of power of Uruinimgin (who ruled 2318 BC - 2311 BC) was, although bloodless, rather violent. The previous Ensi of Lugalanda, whom he had ravaged the country with extortions, was deposed by him. The common population of Lagash apparently welcomed this change of government. Uruinimgina was indeed a fairly popular ruler. He lowered many taxes and did not allow officials to rob the people. He also returned many of the lands seized by private individuals to the temples, which, apparently, could contribute to the pacification of the priestly class of Lagash. Under Uruinimgin, the Lagash again waged heavy wars with their old rivals - the Ummians, from whom Lagash suffered several humiliating defeats. Although these wars ended in nothing, Lagash was rather weakened. When in 2311 BC. e. the troops of the great king Sharrumken (Sargon the Great), the founder of the Akkadian state, invaded Lagash, Lagash did not have the strength to successfully resist the invasion. Ngirsa - the capital of Lagash was captured, and Uruinimgina himself went missing. Lagash fell under the rule of Akkad for more than a century. The 1st Dynasty of Lagash thus ceased to exist.

Submission to Akkad

The rule of the Akkadian kings was rather brutal; they controlled almost the entire region of Mesopotamia. Many Sumerian cities also fell under the rule of Akkad. However, the Sumerians conquered by them continued to resist. Frequent uprisings arose against the Akkadians, to which Lagash also joined. However, these uprisings were largely unsuccessful. The Sumerians were constantly defeated, and the Akkadian kings did not hesitate to punish the rebels. Rimush is considered the most cruel; under him Lagash was greatly devastated and lost many people. However, the Akkadians held power in Lagash for a little over a century. After the death of their last king Sharkalisharri, and the collapse of the Akkadian state under the onslaught of the Kuti tribes, Lagash was able to regain its independence again.

2nd Dynasty of Lagash

The first post-Akkadian rulers of Lagash were rather insignificant figures, and little information about them has survived. The heyday of Lagash begins with the king of Ur-Baba, whom Ur and Uruk were able to conquer. The last ensi of Lagash, Nammahani, was an ally of the king of the Kutians, Tirikan, in his historic battle with the king of Uruk, Utuhengal. This battle took place around 2109 BC. e. The Kutii suffered a crushing defeat from the Uruk and lost their influence in Mesopotamia. The power of Lagash was also undermined, but the Lagash people managed to maintain their independence. However, a few years after the defeat, Lagash was still conquered by the king of Ur - Ur-Nammu. Lagash fell under the authority of the Urts and was not revived as an independent state.

Literature

Sauvage, Martin, Lagaš (ville) // Dictionnaire de la Civilization Mésopotamienne. Sous la direction de Francis Joannès. Paris, 2001. P. 453.
Lafont, Bertrand, Lagaš (rois) // Dictionnaire de la Civilization Mésopotamienne. Sous la direction de Francis Joannès. Paris, 2001. P. 453-456.

Lower Mesopotamia is the land of the Sumerians. The territory where this most ancient civilization in the world was born is limited by the fertile valley of two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. To the west of it stretched a waterless and rocky desert, from the east approached the mountains, inhabited by semi-savage warlike tribes.

The land of the Sumerian country is of recent origin. Earlier, the Persian Gulf went deep into the mainland here, reaching modern Baghdad, and only in a relatively late period did water give way to dry land. This happened not as a result of some sudden cataclysm, but as a result of river sediment deposits that gradually filled a huge depression between the desert and the mountains. Here, to these lands, from the southeast of modern Iran, agricultural tribes came, giving rise to the Ubeid culture, which then spread to all of Mesopotamia.

At the turn of the IV and III millennia BC. e. in the southern part of the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates, the first state formations appeared. By the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. there were several city-states - Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Larsa, Nippur. Each of them was home to approximately 40-50 thousand people. The rulers of these cities bore the title lugal ("big man") or ensi ("priest-lord").

In the second half of the III millennium BC. e. Lagash became the leader among the cities of Sumer. In the middle of the XXV century BC. e. his army in a fierce battle defeated its eternal enemy - the city of Umma. During the reign of Uruinimgina, Ensi Lagash (2318–2312 BC), important social reforms were carried out, which are the oldest known legal acts in the field of socio-economic relations. Uruinimgina proclaimed the slogan: "Let the strong not offend widows and orphans!" On behalf of the supreme god of Lagash, he guaranteed the rights of the citizens of the city, freed the priests and temple property from taxes, abolished some taxes on artisans, reduced the amount of labor service for the construction of irrigation facilities, eliminated polyandry (polyandry) - a remnant of matriarchy.

However, the heyday of Lagash did not last long. The ruler of the Ummah Lugalzagesi, having concluded an alliance with Uruk, attacked Lagash and defeated it. Subsequently, Lugalzagesi extended his rule to almost all of Sumer. Uruk became the capital of his state. And Lagash was slowly fading away, although its name is still rarely found in documents up to the time of the reign of the Babylonian king Hammurabi and his successor Samsuiluna. But gradually clay and sands engulfed the city.

In 1877, Vice-Consul of France Ernest de Sarsec arrived in the Iraqi city of Basra. Like many other diplomats of that time working in the Middle East, he was passionately interested in antiquities and devoted all his free time to exploring the near and distant environs of Basra. Sarzek was not afraid of either the heat, reaching forty degrees, or the unhealthy, rotten climate. His persistence was crowned with success. One of the peasants told him about bricks with strange signs that are often found in the Tello tract, located north of Basra, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Arriving at the site, Sarzek immediately began excavating.

They lasted for several years and were crowned with rare success. In the deserted Tello tract, under a whole complex of swollen clay hills, Sarzek discovered the ruins of Lagash, and in them - a huge, well-organized archive, consisting of more than 20 thousand cuneiform tablets and lying in the ground for almost four millennia. It was one of the largest libraries of antiquity.

Lagash was in many ways atypical for the cities of Sumer: it was a cluster of settlements that surrounded the main core of the city that had formed earlier. A whole gallery of sculptures of the city's rulers has been discovered in Lagash, including the now famous group of sculptural portraits of the ruler of Gudea. From the inscriptions carved on them and from the texts of clay tablets, scientists learned the names of dozens of kings and other prominent people of that time who lived in the III millennium BC. e. From the text of the "Stele of Korshuns" (2450-2425 BC), the content of the agreement concluded by the ruler of Lagash Eannatum with the ruler of the defeated Ummah became known, and the reliefs carved on the stele told about how the battle took place between the armies of both cities -states. Here is the ruler of Lagash leading lightly armed soldiers into battle; then - he also throws a heavily armed phalanx to the breakthrough, which decides the outcome of the battle. Kites circle over the empty battlefield, taking away the corpses of their enemies.

Other bas-reliefs show bulls with human heads. In some bulls, the entire upper body is human. These are echoes of the ancient agricultural cult of the bull; here we see the transformation of a bull-god into a human-god.

On a silver vase from Lagash - one of the masterpieces of Sumerian art from the middle of the third millennium BC. e. - depicts four eagles with lion heads. On the other vase there are two serpents with wings crowned with crowns. Another vase depicts snakes coiled around a wand.

Sarzek's discovery threw off the veil of mystery that enveloped the Sumerian civilization. Until recently, there were fierce disputes about the Sumerians in the scientific world, some scientists rejected the very fact of the existence of this people. And here not only a Sumerian city was found, but also a huge number of cuneiform texts in the Sumerian language!

The sensational discovery of Lagash prompted scientists from other countries to go in search of other Sumerian cities. So Eridu, Ur, Uruk were discovered. In 1903, the French archaeologist Gaston Croet continued the excavation of Lagash. In 1929-1931, Henri de Genillac worked here, and then for two more years - André Parrot. These studies have enriched science with numerous new findings.

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From the book Russian book the author Dubavets Sergey

From the author's book

CITY This city has at least three names: Vilnia, Vilna and Vilnius. The first is feminine - Belarusian. Second - middle - Polish. The third is masculine - Lithuanian. In Russian, depending on the authorities in the city, the Polish was used (which, by the way, is typical

Lagash is a rich city

Let's leave for a while the beautiful, rich and populous city of Ur. It is now a small railway station about 150 km north-west of Basra and 15 km from the current bed of the Euphrates. Four and a half millennia ago, Ur looked completely different from what it is today. It was located near the sea and was connected with it by the river, along which the loaded barges sailed. Where the desert now stretches, fields of wheat and barley gilded, groves of palms and fig trees were green. In temples, priests offered prayers and performed rituals, monitored the work of craft workshops and order in overcrowded barns. And below, at the foot of the platforms, from where the temples rushed into the sky, hardworking people were busy, thanks to whose efforts this city became powerful and rich, to the surprise and envy of its neighbors. Let's leave Ur in the period of its heyday, when the rulers of the first dynasty reigned there, and go to the northeast, where the city of Girsu stretches 75 km from Ur, which until recently was identified with Lagash. Now scientists believe that Girsu was the capital of the city-state of Lagash.

French archaeologists - from de Sarsec and de Genuyac to André Parrot - carefully examined Tello (as this is now called locality). Since 1877, archaeological work has been systematically carried out in Tello, thanks to which the history of this city is known in every detail. At the same time, excavations began in El-Khibba, later identified with Lagash. There is not a word about Lagash in the Tsar's Lists. This can only be surprising. After all, we are talking about a city-state and a dynasty, which undoubtedly played a significant role in the history of Sumer. True, in those years when this city had not yet achieved fame, it stood somewhat apart from historical events. Lagash was an important transit point on the waterway connecting the Tigris with the Euphrates. Through it, ships arrived from the sea went to the east or unloaded here. The tablets discovered during the excavations testify to the brisk trade carried on by the inhabitants of the city. As in other cities, he ruled here in the name of the ruler of the city, the god of war, Ningirsu, Ensi. Political and economic life was concentrated in temples dedicated to Ningirsu, his divine wife Baba (Bau), the goddess of legislation Nanshe, the goddess Geshtinanna, who acted as a "scribe of the country without return", and Gatumdug - the mother goddess of the city. The settlement arose here in the era of El-Obeid. In subsequent years, the city was rebuilt, the network of irrigation and navigation canals expanded, and its economic power grew. Researchers believe that Lagash has competed with the neighboring city of Ummah from time immemorial, and wars between these two states have been fought since the dawn of history.

In the middle of the III millennium BC. e. the period of rapid prosperity of Lagash begins. The city at this time is ruled by Ensi Urnanche. Urnanche is depicted on a forty-centimeter bas-relief that adorned the temple; this bas-relief was presented to the temple as a votive (initiatory) gift. The ruler, dressed in a traditional Sumerian skirt, carries a basket of mortar on his shaved head for building a temple. Urnanshe, who, like Aanepad from Ur, took the title of Lugal ("big man" = king), takes part in the solemn ceremony with his family. He is accompanied by his daughter and four sons, whose names are indicated on the bas-relief, among them - Akurgal, heir to the throne and father of the famous Eanatum. The figure of the daughter, whose name is Lydda, in a robe with a cape thrown over her left shoulder, is much larger than the figures of the royal sons. Lydda follows her father directly, which may be evidence of the relatively high position of the Sumerian woman in public life (remember the queen Ku-Baba) and economy (see below for more on this). In the lower part of the bas-relief Urnanche is depicted seated on a throne (?) With a goblet in his hands. Behind him stands the cup-bearer with a jug, in front of him is the first minister making a message, and three dignitaries named after them.

Urnanche's inscriptions emphasize the special merits of this ruler in the construction of temples and canals. The same is reported in the later inscriptions of his successors. However, Urnanche did not limit his activities to the construction of temples, granaries and the expansion of the network of waterways. As the founder of the dynasty, he had to take care of the safety of the city. The rival, the Ummah, was very close, at any moment an attack by the Elamites could occur because of the Tiger. Temples, however, did not always agree to allocate funds necessary for the implementation of the king's plans. Thus, the interests of the king and the temples did not always coincide. The Ensies needed their own funds to consolidate their political power. We have already encountered the first manifestations of the independence of the princely power and its separation from the power of the priests (the construction of a royal palace independent from the temple). The king inevitably had to begin to appropriate part of the property and income, according to tradition, inseparably belonged to God, which were disposed of by the temples. In Lagash, this process was most likely initiated by Urnanshe.

There is no doubt that it was Urnanshe, who built on a large scale and imported timber from the Mash Mountains and building stone for the needs of construction, it was he, in front of whose statue in the Ningirsu temple sacrifices were made after death, laid the foundations of the political and economic power of his dynasty. This made it possible for its third representative, the grandson of Urnansha Eanatum (about 2400 BC), to make an attempt to extend its power to the states neighboring Lagash. After Eanatum, there was a white stone stele excavated by de Sarsec. This heavily destroyed slab, more than one and a half meters high, is covered with reliefs and inscriptions. One of its fragments depicts a flock of kites, tearing at the bodies of fallen soldiers. Hence the name: "Stele of Kites". The letters say that the stele was erected by Eanatum in honor of the victory over the city of Ummah. They tell about the favor of the gods to Eanatum, about how he defeated the ruler of the Ummah, restored the borders between the Ummah and Lagash, defined by King Mesilim of Kish, and how, having made peace with the Ummah, he conquered other cities. Based on the text carved on the "Stele of Kites", as well as the inscription left by his nephew Entemena, we can conclude that Eanatum suppressed the encroachments of the Elamites on the eastern border of Sumer, subordinated Kish and Akshak to his power, and maybe even reached Mari. It is difficult to find a man more worthy of the title of king than Eanatum!

A powerful figure of a man with a large net entangling his enemies is carved on the stele. (Scientists argue about whether this is the image of the god of war Ningirsu or the victorious king.) Then we see a scene where this man (or god) on a war chariot rushes into the maelstrom of battle, dragging the closely closed ranks of warriors with him. This column of fighters, armed with long spears and huge shields that cover their torso, forming an almost solid wall, makes a strong impression. Another scene depicts a king rewarding his loyal warriors.

Further events played out already during the reign of the next ruler of Lagash - Entemena, whose chroniclers compiled the most complete historical "review" - a document rare for that distant era.

Before starting a story about the war waged by Entemena, and about the events that preceded it, let's get acquainted with the text of the inscription immortalized on two clay cylinders.

Enlil [the main deity of the Sumerian pantheon], the king of all lands, the father of all gods, determined the border for Ningirsu [the patron god of Lagash] and for Shara [the patron god of the Ummah] with his indestructible word, and Mesilim, the king of Kish, measured it according to the word of Sataran [ and] erected a stele there. [However] Ush, the ishakku of the Ummah, violated the decision [of the gods], and the word [agreement between people], tore out the [border] stele and entered the plain of Lagash.

[Then] Ningirsu, the best warrior of Enlil, fought with the people of the Ummah, obeying his [Enlil's] faithful word. At the word of Enlil, he threw a large net over them and piled their skeletons here and there (?) Across the plain. [As a result] Eanatum, the ishakku of Lagash, Entemena's uncle, the ishakku of Lagash, defined the border together with Anakalli, the ishakku of Umma; drew a [border] ditch from [channel] Idnun to Guedinna; inscribed steles along the ditch; put the stele of Mesilim in its [former] place, [but] did not enter the plain of the Ummah. He [then] built there Imdubba for Ningirsu in Namnundakigarr, [and] a sanctuary for Enlil, a sanctuary for Ninhursag [the Sumerian "mother" goddess], a sanctuary for Nipgirsu [and] an altar for Utu [the sun god].

This is followed by a short passage, interpreted in different ways by various researchers: according to some, it speaks of the tribute that Eanatum imposed on the vanquished; others believe that it is a rent for the cultivation of fields owned by Lagash.

Ur-Lumma, the ishakku of Umma, deprived the border ditch of Ningirsu [and] the border ditch Nanshe of water, dug steles [of the border ditch] [and] put them on fire, destroyed the consecrated [?] Sanctuaries of the gods erected in Namnunda-kigarra, received [help] from foreign countries and [finally] crossed the Ningirsu border ditch; Eanatum fought with him at Gana-ugigga, [where] the fields and farms of Ningirsu are, [and] Entemena, the beloved son of Eanatum, defeated him. [Then] Ur-Lumma fled, [and] he [Entemena] exterminated [the troops of the Ummah] up to [the] Ummah. [Besides], he [Ur-Lumma's] elite detachment of 60 warriors he exterminated [?] On the bank of the Lumma-girnunt channel. [And] the bodies of his [Ur-Lumma] people he [Entemena] threw on the plain [to be devoured by animals and birds] and [then] heaped up their skeletons [?] In five [different places].

After that, there is a description of the second phase of the war, when the priest Il appears as the enemy of Entemena - in all likelihood, the usurper who seized power in the Ummah.

Entemena, the ishakku of Lagash, whose name was spoken by Ningirsu, drew this [border] ditch from the Tigris to the [channel] Idnun according to the indestructible word of Enlil, according to the indestructible word of Ningirsu [and] according to the indestructible word of Nanshe [and] restored it for his beloved king Ningirsu and his beloved queen Nanshe, having built a brick foundation for Namnund Kigarra. Let Shulutula, the [personal] god of Entemena, the ishakku of Lagash, to whom Enlil gave the scepter, to whom Enki [the Sumerian god of wisdom] gave wisdom, which Nanshe keeps in [his] heart, the great ishakku Ningirsu, who received the word of the gods, be the intercessor [praying] for Entemena's life before Ningirsu and Nanshe until the most distant times!

A man from the Ummah who [ever] crosses the border ditch Ningirsu [and] the border ditch of Nanshe in order to seize by force the fields and farms - whether [indeed] a citizen of the Ummah or a foreigner - may Enlil strike him, and throw a large Ningirsu on him the net and put his mighty hand [and] his mighty foot on him, may the people of his city rise up against him, and may they put him down in the middle of his city!

And now let's try this confusing text, in which the deeds of the gods and the deeds of people are so closely intertwined that the picture of historical events turned out to be rather obscured, put it in language historical science, in accordance with the interpretation of modern scientists.

In a long-standing dispute between the cities of Lagash and Ummah, King Kish Mesilim once acted as an arbiter.

Lagash historians thus confirm the fact that Mesilim had power over all of Sumer in his hands.) Mesilim, as a sovereign, defined the border between Lagash and Ummah and, as a sign of its inviolability, put his memorial stele with an inscription there. This was to put an end to the strife between the rival cities. Some time later, after the death of Mesilim and, apparently, shortly before the coming to power of Urnanshe, Ensi Ush, who ruled in the Ummah, invaded the territory of Lagash and captured Guedinna. It is possible that the area with this name before the intervention of Mesilim belonged to the Ummah. During the reign of Urnanshe, the power of Lagash increased, and it became possible to take revenge on the neighboring city-state. Urnanshe's grandson Eanatum decided to expel the conquerors from his land. He defeated the Ensi of Ummah Anakali and restored the former borders. (The ditches separating these two small states also served to irrigate the fields.)

Apparently, at the same time, Eanatum decided to extend his power to other cities. For this purpose, he had to first ensure the safety of his city. Wanting to placate the inhabitants of the Ummah, he allowed them to cultivate the land on the territory of Lagash. However, they had to give part of the harvest to the ruler of Lagash for the use of the land. Evidently, Eanatum's hegemony did not have a sufficiently solid foundation, because at the end of his life, the population of the Ummah apparently rebelled. Their Ensi Urluma refused to pay the tribute imposed on the Ummah and invaded the territory of Lagash. He destroyed the boundary pillars, set on fire the steles of Mesilim and Eanatum, glorifying the victors of his ancestors, destroyed the buildings and altars built by Eanatum. In addition, he called on foreigners to help him. Who exactly, we do not know, but it is not so difficult to guess: along the borders of Sumer there were enough states whose rulers looked with satisfaction at the internal strife of the Sumerians and were ready to invade their country at any moment. It could be both the Elamites and the inhabitants of Hamazi. And in the north at this time the future powerful state of Akkadians was already taking shape.

However, Urluma was not lucky. Entemena, still a very young military leader, won a brilliant victory: he utterly defeated the enemy, destroying most of his army, and put the rest to flight. (The number of participants in the battle can be judged by the figure given in the chronicle - 60 soldiers killed over the canal.) Entemena most likely did not enter the Ummah, but limited himself to restoring the old border. Meanwhile, the situation in the Ummah - either as a result of the death of a defeated ruler, or as a result of some kind of rebellion - has changed. Power passed to the former high priest of the city of Zabalam named Il. (According to some historians, Zabalam was located on the territory of the Ummah. On the other hand, it is possible that we are talking about a city located not far from Uruk. If we accept the latter, then the Ummah already at that time was a powerful state that owned a vast territory.)

Silver vase of Entemena

Like Urluma, Il did not attach too much importance to border agreements. He refused to fulfill the obligations, and when Entemena, through the ambassadors, demanded an explanation from him and called for obedience, he declared claims regarding the territory of Guedinna. No matter how confusing the text compiled by the chroniclers of Entemena is (we have omitted the fragment on the disputes between Entemena and Ile), one can guess that the matter did not come to war, but the truce was concluded on the basis of a decision imposed by some third party - apparently, the same foreign ally of the Ummah. The old border was restored, but the citizens of the Ummah were not punished: not only did they not have to pay debts or tribute, they did not even have to worry about supplying water to the war-torn agricultural regions.

The events described refer to one of the wars waged by Entemena. And there were many of them: the ruler of Lagash wanted to preserve the inheritance he had received. To keep the dependent city-states in check, he also had to play a diplomatic game. Entemena, like Eanatum, was a skilled politician. They erected numerous temples not only out of love for the gods. It was politics: with their help it was easier to win the sympathy of citizens who deeply revered their gods. Entemena's inscriptions tell about the construction of temples for such gods as Nanna (the moon god), Enki, Enlil. From this list, we can conclude that the power of Untemena extended to Uruk, Ereda, Nippur and other cities. The following facts also speak about the influence of Entemena on a number of the city-states of Sumer: in Nippur a seventy-six centimeter miniature diorite statue of this ruler was found, in Uruk - an inscription about the conclusion of a fraternal alliance between Entemena and the ruler of Uruk Lugal-Kingeneshdudu and about the undertaken construction of the temple of Intemenna. There is a lot of evidence that Entemena was actively involved in the construction of the canals, not only in his native Lagash, but also beyond.

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