Lugal-Zage-Si

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Lugal-Zage-Si's domains (red), c. 2350 BC
Lugal-Zage-Si's domains (red), c. 2350 BC

Lugal-Zage-Si (lugal-zag-ge4-si = LUGAL.ZAG.GI4.SI 𒈗𒍠𒄄𒋛; frequently spelled Lugalzagesi) of Umma (reigned ca. 2296 - 2271 BC short chronology) was the last Sumerian king before the conquest of Sumer by Sargon of Akkad and the rise of the Akkadian Empire, and was considered as the only king of the third dynasty of Uruk. He was arguably the first king to unite Sumer as a single kingdom.[1]

Lugal-Zage-Si pursued an expansive policy. He began his career as ensi of Umma, from where he conquered several of the Sumerian city-states — including Kish, where he overthrew Ur-Zababa; Lagash, where he overthrew Urukagina; Ur, Nippur, and Larsa; as well as Uruk, where he established his new capital. He ruled for 25 (or 34) years according to the Sumerian king list.[2]

Lugal-Zage-Si claimed in his inscription that Enlil gave to him "all the lands between the upper and the lower seas", that is, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.[3] Although his incursion to the Mediterranean was likely not much more than "a successful raiding party", the inscription "marks the first time that a Sumerian prince claimed to have reached what was, for them, the western edge of the world".[3]

According to later Babylonian versions of Sargon's inscriptions, Sargon of Akkad captured Lugal-Zage-Si after destroying the walls of Uruk, and led him in a neck-stock to Enlil's temple in Nippur.

[edit] See also


[edit] References

  1. ^ Middle East & Africa to 1875. Sanderson Beck (1998-2004). Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
  2. ^ 259ff. (The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature).
  3. ^ a b Crawford, Harriet E.W. Sumer and the Sumerians. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0521533384. Page 33.


Preceded by
Nanniya of Kish
King of Sumer
ca. 2296 - 2271 BC (short)
Succeeded by
Sargon of Akkad
Preceded by
(unknown)
Ensi of Uruk
ca. 2296 - 2271 BC (short)
Succeeded by
(unknown)