Gu-Edin
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Gu-Edin (also transcribed "Gu'edena" or "Guedena") was a fertile
plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
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. ...
, in modern-day
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. It lay between
Umma Umma () in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been sugges ...
and
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 ( ...
, and claims made on it by each side were a cause of the Umma-Lagash war. Argument over the territory continued for around 150 years.


Early history

According to a peace between Umma and Lagash mediated by
Mesilim Mesilim (), also spelled Mesalim (), was '' lugal'' (king) of the Sumerian city-state of Kish. Though his name is missing from the ''Sumerian king list'', Mesilim is among the earliest historical figures recorded in archaeological documents. He re ...
, 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 ...
had determined where the boundary lay and the terms of use of a canal used to irrigate the land. The terms of that agreement were recorded on a stone monument called a stele, but Umma continued to feel that Lagash were unfairly advantaged by it.


Reign of Eannatum

It is recorded on the
Stele of the Vultures The Stele of the Vultures is a monument from the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia), Early Dynastic IIIb period (2600–2350 BC) in Mesopotamia celebrating a victory of the city-state of Lagash over its neighbour Umma. It shows various battle and ...
that Gu-Edin was pillaged by a later ( énsi) of Umma, who ruled that city on behalf of its god Shara, and whose name, according to the Cone of
Enmetena Entemena, also called Enmetena (, ; ), was a son of Enannatum I who re-established Lagash as a power in Sumer. He defeated Il, king of Umma, Il in a territorial conflict through an alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk, successor to Enshakushan ...
, was Ush. Gu-Edin had been claimed by the énsi of Lagash,
Eannatum Eannatum ( ; ) was a Sumerian ''Ensi (Sumerian), 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 Akk ...
– author of the Stele of Vultures – as the property of Lagash's god,
Ninĝirsu Ninĝirsu was a Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian god regarded as the tutelary deity of the city of Girsu, Ĝirsu, and as the chief god of the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He shares many aspects with the god Ninurta. Ninĝirsu was identified as ...
, and the pillaging precipitated a war between the two cities. Eannatum attacked back and Umma was heavily defeated. By the time peace was re-established, Ush was either dead or deposed.


Treaty

A peace treaty was agreed between his successor, Enakalli, and Eannatum which established Gu-Edin as the property of Ninĝirsu. A deep canal was dug to mark the freshly agreed border and two stone monuments were put in place: the Stele of Mesilim, which had been there before, and a newly carved one.
Leonard William King Leonard William King, FSA (8 December 1869 – 20 August 1919) was an English archaeologist and Assyriologist educated at Rugby School and King's College, Cambridge. He collected stone inscriptions widely in the Near East, taught Assyrian and Bab ...
, writing in 1910, suggested that the second stele may have had much the same text as the Stele of the Vultures, but that the latter would not have been on the boundary itself. The treaty, which was sealed with oaths and the erection of temples, also included the establishment of an 'ownerless' tract of land intended as a buffer, and treated any barley Umma grew in that area of Gu-Edin to which it had access as a
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
from Lagash, with resulting
interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct f ...
. That area of land, then, could be used by Umma but only by paying rent. However, Umma did not reliably pay up.


Later events

Gu-Edin was invaded by Umma at least twice during the reign of Eannatum's son, Entemena: once by
Ur-Lumma ''Ur-Lumma'' (, ; ) was a ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Umma. His father was King Enakalle, who had been vanquished by Eannatum of Lagash. Ur-Lumma claimed the title of "King" ('' Lugal''). His reign lasted at least 12 years. Ur-Lumma ag ...
and once by his successor Illi. The first attack was defeated soundly, according to Entemena's account, and the second was not lastingly successful. Lagash finally fell to
Lugalzagesi #REDIRECT Lugal-zage-si {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
, king of
Umma Umma () in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been sugges ...
, circa 2350 BCE, ending the First Dynasty of Lagash. Tablets of lamentation have been found, recording the fall of Lagash to Lugalzagesi, during the rule of
Urukagina Uru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina ( ; died 2370 BC) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to have been divinely appointe ...
. Lugalzagesi went on to conquer the whole of Sumer, until he was himself vanquished by
Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; ; died 2279 BC), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highly unc ...
.


See also

*
History of Iraq Iraq, a country located in West Asia, largely coincides with the ancient region of Mesopotamia, often referred to as the cradle of civilization. The history of Mesopotamia extends back to the Lower Paleolithic period, with significant developme ...


Notes


References


Sources

* * * *


External links


Cone of Enmetena
at
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 War for Water—The Tale of Two City-States
at ClassicalWisdom.com {{coord missing, Iraq Sumer Plains of Iraq Umma Lagash