User:TheElamiteBroski/sandbox/Lagash-Umma military conflict
| Lagash-Umma military conflict | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The battle as portrayed in the Stele of the Vultures, with the oldest known depiction of the Phalanx military formation | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Lagash | Umma | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Eannatum Enannatum I Entemena Enannatum II Urukagina |
Ush Ur-Lumma Illi Lugalzagesi | ||||||
The Sumerian city-states of Lagash and Umma thrived between 2500 and 2300 BC. As they grew in power, they came to rival each other politically and militarily. This rivalry culminated in a series of military conflicts between the two states.
Prelude
[edit]Around 2600 BC, minor skirmishes took place between the two cities. Mesilim, the king of Kish, was called to resolve the conflict. Mesilim and Lugalshaengur, governor of Lagash, agreed upon a new border between Lagash and Umma, and a boundary stone was commissioned. Lagash and Umma remained at peace for a short while afterward.
First stage: Ush v. Eannatum
[edit]The peace between Lagash and Umma did not last for very long. According to the foundation cone of Entemena, the king of Lagash was named Eannatum, and the king of Umma was named Ush. This Ush apparently removed the boundary stone between Umma and Lagash, and attacked Lagashite lands.
๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ ๐ค ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ป ๐ ๐ข๐๐ท๐ ๐ ๐๐บ
"Ush, governor of Umma, acted inconceivably: he tore out the stele and marched into the land of Lagash."
Eannatum pursued Ush, and engaged him in battle. According to the Stele of the Vultures, 3,600 soldiers of Umma were killed in this battle. Ush fled to the capital of Umma, where he was killed in a rebellion. His successor, Enakalle, quickly sued for peace with Eannatum, and Umma became a tributary of Eannatum's empire, which also included Kish, Akshak, and Mari.
Second stage: Ur-Lumma and Enannatum I
[edit]When Eannatum's son Enannatum I was the king of Lagash, Ur-Lumma stopped paying his Lagashite overlords tribute and destroyed the boundary stones set up by Enakalle.
"Ur-Lumma, governor of Umma, emptied the canals of Ningirsu and Nina (deities associated with Lagash); he smashed the stelae."