Lugal-dalu (; ) was a

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. ...

ian ruler of the

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 ...

n city of Adab in the mid-3rd millennium BC. His name does not appear in the

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient Composition (language), literary composition written in Sumerian language, Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims ...

, but he is known from one of a statue bearing his name. The statue is similar in style to those of other Sumerian kings such as Meannesi or Entemena, sons of En-anna-tum I. The statue, made of grey gypsum or limestone, was discovered by Abbas Balkis of Affej during the excavations overseen by Edgar James Banks, who described it in an article published in 1904 as "The Oldest Statue in the World" (a claim shared by other statues such as the

Urfa Man Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...

or the 'Ain Ghazal Statues). The inscription in archaic

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 ...

on the statue reads ''è-sar lugal-dalu lugal adab-(ki)'' "In the temple Esar, Lugaldalu king of Adab", referring to the Esarra Temple in Adab."For the E-sar. Lugaldalu, king of Adab" in File:Detail of the Sumerian statue of Lugaldalu.JPG, Detail of the inscription. File:Lugaldalu inscription.jpg, Lugaldalu inscription: ''è-sar lugal-dalu lugal adab-(ki)'' "In the temple Esar, Lugaldalu king of Adab" File:Lugaldalu name archaic and early cuneiform.jpg, The name "Lugal-dalu" () vertically in the inscription, with its rendering in standardized early Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform

References

{{Istanbul Archaeology Museums 26th-century BC Sumerian kings 25th-century BC Sumerian kings Kings of Adab 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths