Entemena, also called Enmetena (, ; ), was a son of Enannatum I who re-established

Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Lagaš'') was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...

as a power in

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

. He defeated Il in a territorial conflict through an alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu of

Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...

, successor to Enshakushanna, who is in the king list. The

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

Shul-utula was his personal deity. His reign lasted at least 19 years.

Territory

Entemena of Lagash controlled the cities of southern Mesopotamia, from Badtibira to

Alliance treaty

Entemena Ensi Lagash-ki on the Treaty Cone of Entemena

A clay nail found in Girsu commemorates the alliance which he concluded with Lugal-kinishe-dudu of

, the oldest mention of a peace treaty between two kings that we know:
Deena Ragavan, Cuneiform Texts and Fragments in the Harvard Art Museum / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cuneiform Digital Library Journal, vol. 2010:1, ISSN 1540-8779 File:Foundation nail Entemena Louvre AO22934.jpg, Another example of the foundation nail dedicated by Entemena, king of Lagash, to god of Bad-Tibira, about the peace treaty between Lagash and Uruk.

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. File:Cuneiforms for Entemena.jpg, Cuneiforms for "Entemena" on the Harvard cone

Territorial conflict with King Il of Umma

Entemena entered in a territorial conflict with Il, king of Umma, as mentioned in the "war inscription" on his cone in the

: Il was defeated by Entemena, who had sought the aid of Lugal-kinishe-dudu of

, successor to Enshakushanna, who is in the king list.

War inscription by Entemena of Lagaš

Foundation cone of Entemena

A foundation

cone In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the '' apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines ...

of Entemena, in excellent condition relates the beginning of a war between the city-states of Lagaš and Umma during the Early Dynastic III period, one of the earliest border conflicts recorded. (RIME 1.09.05.01). This text was inscribed on a small clay cone c. 2400 BC (Louvre Museum, reference AO 3004). The first row of cuneiform characters reads:

Net cylinder of Entemena

The "Net cylinder" of Entemena is a cylinder of a peculiar design, with a net pattern on the bottom, which is the second known cylinder describing the border conflict between Lagash and Umma. The content is identical to the cone cylinder. It is located in the Yale Babylonian Collection. File:Entemena Net Cylinder Transcription.jpg, Full text of the War inscription by Entemena, in the Net Cylinder File:Mesilim Lugal Kish-ki on the Net Vase of Entemena.jpg, ''Mesilim Lugal Kish-ki'' (), " Mesilim, King of

Kish Kish may refer to: Businesses and organisations * KISH, a radio station in Guam * Kish Air, an Iranian airline * Korean International School in Hanoi, Vietnam People * Kish (surname), including a list of people with the name * Kish, a former ...

", on the "Net Cylinder" of Entemena

Statue of Entemena

Entemena has one of the earliest statues of a known king from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. It is made of

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...

, and is 76 centimeters tall. Entemena, although ruler of the city-state of Lagash, wears the typical dress of a devotee: a '' kaunakes'' fleeced skirt with a tassel in the back. He is clasping his hands at the chest, in a typical pose of perpetual attendance before the deity. The statue of Entemena reflects a style of which a few other examples are known from Mesopotamia, such as the statue of Ikun-Shamash from Mari, the statue of Enzi from Der, or the statue of Lugal-dalu, which still has its head intact. The statue of Entemena has a very long cuneiform inscription on the side (right arm) and on the back. It includes the names and titles of Entemena, and the mention "

Enlil Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...

(the supreme Sumerian god) loves Entemena". The statue was housed in the National Museum of Iraq. In May 2003 the statue was stolen during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was found in New York and returned in 2010. File:Detail, statue of Entemena, ruler of Lagash, c. 2400 BCE, from Ur, Iraq, at the Iraq Museum.jpg, Detail showing the cuneiform inscription on the right upper arm of the statue of Entemena File:Detail, statue of Entemena, ruler of Lagash, c. 2400 BCE, from Ur, Iraq. Iraq Museum.jpg, Detail showing the cuneiform inscription on the back of the upper torso of the statue of Entemena File:Entemena ensi of Lagash on the statue of Entemena (right shoulder).jpg, "Entemena '' ensi'' of Lagash" () on the right shoulder of the statue of Entemena

Silver vase of Entemena

A tripod of silver dedicated by Entemena to his god is now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. A frieze of lions devouring ibexes and deer, incised with great artistic skill, runs round the neck, while the eagle crest of Lagash adorns the globular part. The vase is a proof of the high degree of excellence to which the goldsmith's art had already attained. A vase of calcite, also dedicated by Entemena, has been found at Nippur. The inscription of the neck of the silver vase reads: File:Vase Entemena Louvre AO2674 (script) circa 2400 BCE.jpg,

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

dedication on the vase of Entemena. File:Entemena vase inscription.jpg, Entemena vase inscription. File:Entemena vase motif.jpg, Entemena vase motif, with the eagle of Lagash.

Foundation tablets

Several votive tablets in the name of Entemena are known. They usually records Entemena's name, title and filiation, and his accomplishment in establishing temples or devotional images. The tablets are often associated with a "foundation nail", called ''temen'' ("foundation") in Sumerian, which was inserted into the ground under the foundation of temples, together with the inscribed tablets and offerings such as jewelry or small statuettes of protective divinities. A proclamation on one of the foundation stones of Enmetena says that he "instituted liberty in Lagash. He restored the child to its mother, and the mother to her child; he cancelled interest." This is the first known mention of the word

ama-gi ''Ama-gi'' is a Sumerian language, Sumerian word written ''ama-gi4'' or ''wiktionary:𒂼𒅈𒄄#Sumerian, ama-ar-gi4''. Sumerians used it to refer to release from obligations, debt, slavery, taxation, or punishment. Ama-gi has been regarded ...

, translated here as ''liberty''. File:Tablet of Entemena.jpg, An inscription of Entemena to Ningirsu: "... Entemena, ensi of Lagash, son of Enannatum, ensi of Lagash, grandson of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash ...". File:Votive tablet of Entemena.jpg, Votive tablet of Entemena to Ningirsu: "... Entemena, ensi of Lagash, son of Enannatum, ensi of Lagash, grandson of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash ...". File:Inscribed stone tablet of Entemena, 2400 BCE. From Lagash, Iraq. Pergamon Museum.jpg, Inscribed stone tablet of Entemena. Pergamon Museum.

Perforated plate of Dudu

Another artifact related to Entemena is a votive plaque bearing the name of Dudu, priest of Lagash for Ningirsu in Entemena's time. Dudu is known as priest of Lagash under Entemena from the last line of the inscription on the silver vase of Entemena. The plate was made out of

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

, a rather distinctive feature, as most such plaques were made of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

or gypsum. The plaque depicts various scenes: a standing man in a kaunakes holding a walking stick, a resting cow, and the symbol of Lagash: an eagle ( Anzû) holding two lions, although the lions are uncharacteristically biting back at the wings of the eagle. A symbolic wave pattern at the bottom of the plate is thought to symbolize the flow of water. It is inscribed with the following text: "For Ningirsu of the Eninnu, Dudu, priest of Ningirsu ... brought his materialand fashioned it as a mace stand." The exact function of the plaque is unknown: it has been interpreted as a mace-holder, a plaque to be nailed into the wall of a temple, or a door panel. File:Eagle of Lagash.jpg, The eagle, symbol of Lagash, at the time of Entemena File:Dudu relief resting cow.jpg, The resting cow

Other artifacts

Door sockets in the name of Entemena, or the plaque of the priest Dudu, associated with Entemena in another inscription, are among the other famous artifacts related to Entemena. File:Detail, door-hinge, inscribed with the name of Entemena of Lagash, c. 2400 BCE, from Iraq. Pergamon Museum.jpg, Detail of a door-socket, inscribed with the name of Entemena. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Germany. File:Hinge bearing Entemena Louvre MNB1418.jpg, ''Tael'' (door socket) of Entemena, with cuneiform inscription. Louvre Museum File:Entemena Ensi Lagashki.jpg, ''Entemena Ensi Lagashki'', "Entemena, Ensi of Lagash" File:Sumerian goddess Nisaba, the name of Entemena is inscribed, c. 2430 BC, from Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq.jpg, Sumerian goddess Nisaba, the name of Entemena is inscribed, c. 2430 BC, from Iraq. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Germany File:An Inscribed stand's head mentioning the name of Entemena, ruler of Lagash, early dynastic period, c. 2400 BCE. Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, An Inscribed stand's head mentioning the name of Entemena, ruler of Lagash, c. 2400 BCE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq

References

{{Iraq Museum Kings of Lagash 25th-century BC Sumerian kings 24th-century BC Sumerian kings 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths