Lagash

Though some Uruk period pottery shards were found in a surface survey, significant occupation at the site of Lagash began early in the 3rd Millennium BC, in the Early Dynastic I period (c. 2900–2600 BC). Surface surveys and excavations show that the peak occupation, with an area of about 500 hectares occurred during the Early Dynastic III period (c. 2500–2334 BC). The later corresponds with what is now called the First Dynasty of Lagash. Lagash then came under the control of the Akkadian Empire for several centuries. With the fall of that empire, Lagash had a period of revival as an independent power during the 2nd Dynasty of Lagash before coming under the control of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur. After the fall of Ur, there was some modest occupation in the Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian periods. Lagash was then largely deserted until a Seleucid era fortress was built there in the 2nd century BC. (in green). The territory of Sumer appears in orange. Circa 2350 BC First dynasty of Lagash (c. 2520 – c. 2260 BC) of Ur-Nanshe. At the top he creates the foundation for a shrine, at the bottom he presides over the dedication (Louvre). 's inscribed silver vase, c. 2400 BC (Louvre) The dynasties of Lagash are not found on the Sumerian King List (SKL) despite being a power in the Early Dynastic period and a major city in the centuries that followed. One tablet, from the later Old Babylonian period and known as The Rulers of Lagash, was described by its translator as "rather fanciful" and is generally considered to be a satirical parody of the SKL. The thirty listed rulers, in the style of the SKL, having improbable reigns, include seven known rulers from the 1st Dynasty of Lagash, including Ur-Nanshe, "Ane-tum", En-entar-zid, Ur-Ningirsu, Ur-Bau, and Gudea. Little is known of the first two rulers of Lagash. En-hegal is believed to be the first ruler of Lagash. A tablet with his name describes a business transaction, in which a possible King En-hegal buys land. Both his status and date are disputed. He was followed by Lugalshaengur about whom also little is known. Mesilim, who called himself King of Kish though it is uncertain which city he was from, named Lugalshaengur as an "ensi" of Lagash on a mace head. Ur-Nanshe While many details like the length of reign are not known for the next ruler, Ur-Nanshe, a number of his inscriptions have been found, most at Lagash with one stele at Ur, which along with Umma, he claimed to have conquered in battle. Almost all deal with the construction of temples, one details how he "built the wester[n] channel at the side of Sa[la]/ channel at the side of S[al] (against) the Amorites". He is described as the "son of Gu-NI.DU" (occasionally as "son of Gur:SAR"), and his inscriptions list a number of sons and daughters. Several inscriptions say "He [had the ships of Dil]mun sub[mit] [timber] (to Lagaš) as tribute." His son Akurgal ruled briefly after him. Eannatum The next ruler, Eannatum (earlier referred to as "Eannadu"), son of Akurgal and grandson of Ur-Nanshe, turned Lagash into a major power extending throughout large areas of Mesopotamia and to the east as well. In an inscription found at ancient Adab: , King of Lagash, riding a war chariot (detail of the Stele of the Vultures). His name "Eannatum" (𒂍𒀭𒈾𒁺) is written vertically in two columns in front of his head. Louvre Museum. Another inscription detail his destruction of "Kiš, Akšak, and Mari at a place named Antasur". He also claimed to have taken the city of Akshak and killed its king, Zuzu. Eannatum took the city of Uru'az on the Persian Gulf, and exacted tribute as far as Mari; however, many of the realms he conquered were often in revolt. During his reign, temples and palaces were repaired or erected at Lagash and elsewhere and canals and reservoirs were excavated. During his reign, Dilmun was a major trading partner. A long running border dispute, dating back at least to the time of Lugalshaengur, existed between the city-states of Umma and Lagash. In the time of Umma ruler Enakalle a formal border was established, mediated by Mesilim, “king of Kish”. Eannatum restored the border, including the boundary markers of Mesilim. , king of Umma, and son of Ur-Lumma, giving the city of Umma's account of its long-running border dispute with Lagash. The vase redefines the frontier by recording the locations of stelae to the god Shara, as well as the distances between them. Circa 2350 BC. From Umma, Iraq. Ref. 140889, British Museum, London. In c. 2450 BC, Lagash and the neighboring city of Umma fell out with each other after a border dispute over the Guʾedena, a fertile area lying between them. As described in Stele of the Vultures, of which only a portion has been found (7 fragments), the current king of Lagash, Eannatum, inspired by the patron god of his city, Ningirsu, set out with his army to defeat the nearby city. According to the Stele's engravings, when the two sides met each other in the field, Eannatum dismounted from his chariot and proceeded to direct his men on foot. After lowering their spears, the Lagash army advanced upon the army from Umma in a dense phalanx. After a brief clash, Eannatum and his army had gained victory over the army of Umma. This battle is one of the earliest depicted organised battles known to scholars and historians. Eannatum was succeeded by his brother, En-anna-tum I. Given the many inscriptions his reign is assumed to be of some length. Most of them detailed the usual temple construction. On long tablet described the continued conflict with Umma: The conflict from the Umma side of things from its ruler Ur-Lumma: Entemena The next ruler, Entemena increased the power of Lagash during his rule. A number of inscriptions from his reign are known. He was a contemporary of Lugalkinishedudu of Uruk. Entemena was succeeded by his brother Enannatum II, with only one known inscription where he "restored for the god Ningirsu his brewery". He was defeated by Lugalzagesi, beginning when Lugalzagesi was ruler of Umma and culminating as ruler of Uruk, bringing an end to the First Dynasty of Lagash. About 1800 cuneiform tablets from the reigns of the last three rulers of Lagash, of an administrative nature, have been found, mostly. The tablets are mostly from the "woman’s quarter" also known as the temple of the goddess Babu. It was under the control of the Queen. File:The cuneiform text states that Enannatum I reminds the gods of his prolific temple achievements in Lagash. Circa 2400 BCE. From Girsu, Iraq. The British Museum, London.jpg|The cuneiform text states that Enannatum I reminds the gods of his prolific temple achievements in Lagash. Circa 2400 BC. From Girsu, Iraq. The British Museum, London File:Lagash in cuneiform.jpg|The name "Lagash" () in vertical cuneiform of the time of Ur-Nanshe. File:Eagle of Lagash.jpg|The Anzû, symbol of Lagash, in a Master of Animals motif, at the time of Entemena. File:Stele of the vultures (war).jpg|The armies of Lagash led by Eannatum in their conflict against Umma. File:Stele of the vultures (lancers).jpg|Lancers of the army of Lagash against Umma Under the Akkadian Empire In his conquest of Sumer circa 2300 BC, Sargon of Akkad, after conquering and destroying Uruk, then conquered Ur and E-Ninmar and "laid waste" the territory from Lagash to the sea, and from there went on to conquer and destroy Umma, and he collected tribute from Mari and Elam. He triumphed over 34 cities in total. Sargon's son and successor Rimush faced widespread revolts, and had to reconquer the cities of Ur, Umma, Adab, Lagash, Der, and Kazallu from rebellious ensis. Rimush introduced mass slaughter and large scale destruction of the Sumerian city-states, and maintained meticulous records of his destruction. A Victory Stele in several fragments (three in total, Louvre Museum AO 2678) has been attributed to Rimush on stylistic and epigraphical grounds. One of the fragments mentions Akkad and Lagash. It suggests the stele represents the defeat of Lagash by the troops of Akkad. File:Victory stele-AO 2678-IMG 9053-gradient.jpg|Possible victory stele of king Rimush (front). Generally attributed to Rimush on stylistic grounds. File:P1150890 Louvre stèle de victoire Akkad AO2678 rwk.jpg|Detail File:Man of Lagash, circa 2270 BCE (portrait).jpg|Man of Lagash, circa 2270 BC, from the Victory Stele. The same hairstyle can be seen in other statues from Lagash. Second dynasty of Lagash (c. 2260 – c. 2023 BC) of Lagash (ruled c. 2144–2124 BC). Diorite statue found at Girsu (Louvre Museum) During the reigns of the first two rulers of this dynasty Lugal-ushumgal (under Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri) and Puzur-Mama (under Shar-kali-shari), Lagash was still under the control of the Akkadian Empire. It has been suggested that another governor, Ur-e, fell between them. After the death of Shar-Kali-shari Puzur-Mama declared Lagash independent (known from an inscription that may also mention Elamite ruler Kutik-Inshushinak). This independence appears to have been tenuous as Akkadian Empire ruler Dudu reports taking booty from there. Almost nothing is known of his son and successor. The next three rulers, Lu-Baba, Lugula, and Kaku are known only from their first year names. The following ruler, Ur-Baba, is notable mainly because three of his daughters married later rulers of Lagash, Gudea, Nam-mahani, and Ur-gar. His inscriptions are all of a religious nature, including building or restoring the "Eninnu, the White Thunderbird". Five of his year names are known. At this point Lagash is still at best a small local power. In some case the absolute order of rulers is not known with complete certainty. Gudea While the Gutians had partially filled the power vacuum left by the fall of the Akkadian Empire, under Gudea Lagash entered a period of independence marked by riches and power. Thousands of inscriptions of various sorts have been found from his reign and an untold number of statues of Gudea. A number of cuneiform tablets of an administrative nature, from Gudea's rule were found at nearby Girsu. Also found at Girsu were the famous Gudea cylinders which contain the longest known text in the Sumerian language. He was prolific at temple building and restoring. He is known to have conducted some military operations to the east against Anshan and Elam. Twenty of Gudea's year names are known. All are of a religious nature except for one that marks the building of a canal and year six "Year in which the city of Anszan was smitten by weapons". While the conventional view has been that the reign of Gudea fell well before that of Ur-Nammu, ruler of Ur, and during a time of Gutian power, a number of researchers contend that Gudea's rule overlaps with that of Ur-Nammu and the Gutians had already been defeated. This view is strengthened by the fact that Ur-Baba appointed Enanepada as high priestess of Ur while Naram-Sin of Akkad had appointed her predecessor Enmenana and Ur-Namma of Ur appointed her successor Ennirgalana. Gudea was succeeded by his son Ur-Ningirsu, followed by Ur-gar. Little is known about either aside from an ascension year name each and a small handful of inscriptions. It has been suggested that two other brief rulers fit into the sequence here, Ur-ayabba and Ur-Mama but the evidence for that is thin. Two tablets dated to the reign of Ur-Nammu of Ur refer to Ur-ayabba as "ensi" of Lagash, meaning governor in Ur III terms and king in Lagash. A number of his inscriptions were defaced and the statues of Nam-mahani and his wife were beheaded (the head were not found with the statues by Ur-Nammu in what is usually called an act of Damnatio memoriae. The name of one governor of Lagash under Ur is known, Ir-Nanna. After the fifth year of the last Ur III ruler, Ibbi-Sin, his year name was no longer used at Lagash, indicating Ur no longer controlled that city. ==Archaeology==

, Lagash was located near the shoreline of the gulf. , Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin Lagash is one of the largest archaeological sites in the region, measuring roughly 3.5 kilometers north to south and 1.5 kilometers east to west though is relatively low being only 6 meters above the plain level at maximum. Much of the older area is under the current water table and not available for research. A drone survey posited that Lagash developed on four marsh islands some of which were gated, but the notion that the city was marsh-based is in contention. Estimates of its area range from . The site is divided by the bed of a canal/river, which runs diagonally through the mound. The site was first excavated, for six weeks, by Robert Koldewey in 1887. It was inspected during a survey of the area by Thorkild Jacobsen and Fuad Safar in 1953, finding the first evidence of its identification as Lagash. The major polity in the region of al-Hiba and Tello had formerly been identified as ŠIR.BUR.LA (Shirpurla). Tell Al-Hiba was again explored in five seasons of excavation between 1968 and 1976 by a team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. The team was led by Vaughn E. Crawford, and included Donald P. Hansen and Robert D. Biggs. Twelve archaeological layers were found with the bottom 9 being Early Dynastic and the lowest under the water table. The primary focus was the excavation of the temple Ibgal of Inanna and the temple Bagara of Ningirsu, as well as an associated administrative area. The team returned 12 years later, in 1990, for a sixth and final season of excavation led by D. P. Hansen. The work focused on “Area G” between the previously-excavated temple Ibgal of the goddess Inanna in the southwest edge of the city and the Bagara temple of Ningirsu, both of which were built by Early Dynastic III king Eannatum. Temples to the goddesses Gatumdag, Nanshe, and Bau are known to have existed but have not yet been found. A canal linked the E-ninnu temple of Ningirsu at Girsu, the E-sirara temple of Nanshe at Nigin, and the Bagara temple at Lagash, the three cities being part of one large state. In 1984 a surface survey found that most finds were from the Early Dynastic III period. Small amounts of Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, Isin-Larsa, Old Babylonian and Kassite shards were found in isolated areas. , in monumental linear script and cuneiform script on clay. In March–April 2019, field work resumed as the Lagash Archaeological Project under the directorship of Dr. Holly Pittman of the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Museum in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Sara Pizzimenti of the University of Pisa. A second season ran from October to November in 2021. A third season ran from March 6 to April 10, 2022. The work primarily involved the Early Dynastic Period Area G and Area H locations along with Geophysical Surveying and Geoarchaeology. The focus was on an industrial area and associated streets, residences, and kilns. Aerial mapping of Lagash, both using UAV drone mapping and satellite imagery was performed. In the fall of 2022 a 4th season of excavation resumed. Among the finds were a public eatery with ovens, a refrigeration system, benches, and large numbers of bowls and beakers. In 2023 and 2024 continued in Area H and in 2025 in Area G. ==Archaeological remains==

Area A (Ibgal of Inanna) Though commonly known as Area A or the Ibgal of Inanna, this temple complex was actually named Eanna during the Ur periods, while Inanna’s sanctuary within Eanna was known as Ibgal. Level I architecture Level I of Area A was occupied from Early Dynastic (ED I) to Ur III. Level I consists of an oval wall on the Northeast end, surrounding an extensive courtyard. The fragments, together comparison to another Sumerian temple at Khafajah, show that the wall should originally be approximately 130m long. For the temple-building, it is connected to the courtyard with steps. Twenty-five rooms have been excavated inside the building, in which the western ones would open up to the outside of the temple with corridors and form a tripartite entrance. Area B (3HB Building and 4HB Building at Bagara of Ningirsu) The 3HB Building Three building levels were discovered and 3HB III is the earliest and most well-preserved level. 3HB II and 3HB I shared the same layout with 3HB III. All three levels have a central niched-and-buttressed building which is surrounded by a low enclosure wall with unknown height. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the building was a shrine in the Bagara complex as it shared more similarities with other temples than kitchens in terms of layout, features and contents. Area G Area G is located at the midway of Area B in the North and Area A in the South. First excavated by Dr Donald P. Hansen in season 3H, Area G consists of a building complex and a curving wall which are separated by around 30-40m. In Levels IIB, III and IV, changes can be found in the building complex with reconstructions. In Level III, benches are built near the eastern and northern courtyards. Sealings made in the “piedmont” style which are found in the rooms share a resemblance with the Seal Impression Strata of Ur and sealings from Inanna Temple at Nippur, indicating the administrative nature of the buildings. Apart from institutional objects, fireplaces, bins and pottery were found in the rooms as well. Curving Wall (Eastern Zone) A 2-m wide wall that runs from the south to the north is found on the eastern part of Area G. The features of the curving wall and the rooms found near it are determined to be different from other oval temples built in the Early Dynastic in other major states. Intrusive vertical drains are found at the base of the plano-convex foundation. Archaeologists excavated further deeper to the water level during season 4H and found extensive Early Dynastic I deposits. ==List of rulers==

Although the first dynasty of Lagash has become well-known based on mentions in inscriptions contemporaneous with other dynasties from the Early Dynastic (ED) III period; it was not inscribed onto the Sumerian King List (SKL). The first dynasty of Lagash preceded the dynasty of Akkad in a time in which Lagash exercised considerable influence in the region. The following list should not be considered complete: ==See also==