Eannatum ( ; ) was a Ensi (ruler or king) of Lagash. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history, subduing Elam and destroying the city of Susa, and extending his domain over the rest of Sumer and Akkad.
Conquest of Sumer
Eannatum, grandson of
Ur-Nanshe and son of
Akurgal, was a king of Lagash who conquered all of Sumer, including Ur,
Nippur,
Akshak (controlled by Zuzu),
Larsa, and
Uruk (controlled by
Enshakushanna, who is on the King List).
He entered into conflict with Umma, waging a war over the fertile plain of Gu-Edin.
Eannatum made Umma a tributary, where every person had to pay a certain amount of grain into the treasury of the goddess Nina and the god Ingurisa.
Conquest outside Sumer
Eannatum expanded his influence beyond the boundaries of Sumer. He conquered parts of
Elam, including the city Az off the coast of the modern
Persian Gulf, allegedly smote
Subartu, and, having repulsed
Akshak, he claimed the title of "King of Kish" (which regained its independence after his death) and demanded tribute as far as Mari:
Eannatum recorded his victories on a stone inscription:
However, revolts often arose in parts of his empire. During Eannatum’s reign, many temples and palaces were built, especially in Lagash.
Stele of the Vultures
The so-called Stele of the Vultures, now in the Louvre, is a fragmented limestone
stele found in
Girsu, (ancient Girsu)
Iraq, in 1881. The stele is reconstructed as having been high and wide and was set up c. 2450 BCE.
It was erected as a monument of the victory of Eannatum of Lagash over Ush, king of Umma, leading to a boundary treaty with his successor
Enakalle of
Umma.
On it, various incidents in the war are represented. In one register, the king (his name appears inscribed around his head) stands in front of his phalanx of heavily armoured soldiers, with a curved weapon in his right hand, formed of three bars of metal bound together by rings. In another register a figure, the king, his name again inscribed around his head, rides on his chariot in the thick of the battle, while his kilted followers, with helmets on their heads and lances in their hands, march behind him.
On the other side of the stele is an image of Ninurta, a god of war, holding the captive Ummaites in a large net. This implies that Eannatum attributed his victory to Ninurta, and thus that he was in the god's protection (though some accounts say that he attributed his victory to Enlil, the patron deity of Lagash).
The victory of Eannatum is mentioned in a fragmentary inscription on the stele, suggesting that after the loss of 3,600 soldiers on the field, Ush, king of Umma, was killed in a rebellion in his capital city of Umma: “… (Eannatum) defeated him. Its (Umma’s) 3,600 corpses reached the base of heaven ... raised (their) hands against him and killed him in Umma.”.
File:Stele of the vultures (war).jpg|Eannatum leading his troops in battle. Top: Eannatum leading a phalanx on foot. Bottom: Eannatum leading troops in a war chariot. Fragment of the Stele of the Vultures
File:Stèle des Vautours - musée du Louvre, AO 16109 - Q1088425.jpg|Stele of the Vultures.
File:Stele_of_Vultures_detail_01_reverse.jpg|Upper register of the "mythological" side
File:Stele of Vultures detail 01b.jpg|Detail of the "battle" fragment
Other inscriptions
File:Inscribed brick of Eannatum.jpg|Inscribed brick of Eannatum, recording the sinking of a well in the forecourt of the Temple of Ningirsu in Lagash.[Transliteration and photograph: ]
File:Name of Enneatum on an inscription.jpg|Name of Eannatum on his Ningirsu inscription (top right corner).
File:Eannatum inscription (British Museum).jpg|Eannatum inscription (British Museum)
File:2015-12 Galet A de fondation d'Eanatum AO 2677 (2).jpg|A foundation stone of Eannatum, dedicated to Ningirsu, tutelary god of Lagash. It enumerates the victories of Eannatum from Elam to Akshak. Louvre Museum.
External links
