HIST 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Entemena, Ninurta, Enlil
1
Mesopotamia (2500-1100 B.C.) & Hebrews
In 50 years whom will you remember? Whom will you forget?
Mesopotamian city-states
• 500,000 ppl
• Size of CT
• +20 major city-states
I. Uruk (5000-3000 BC)
A. 1st city
1. 50,000 ppl; 1000 acres
II. Border conflicts (2500-2350 BC)
A. cause
1. Ļ rocks, stones, hard wood (used clay & mud) ĺ Ĺ trade routesĺ war
B. inconclusive wars
Inscription of Entemena (ruler of Lagash, ca. 2400 BC)
Urlumma, ruler of Umma drained the boundary canal of Ningirsu, the boundary canal of Nina;
those steles he threw into the fire, he broke [them] in pieces; he destroyed the sanctuaries, the
dwellings of the gods, the protecting shrines, the buildings that had been made. He was as puffed up
as the mountains; he crossed over the boundary canal of Ningirsu. Enannatum, ruler of Lagash,
went into battle in the field of Ugigga, the irrigated field of Ningirsu. Entemena, the beloved son of
Enannatum, completely overthrew him. Urlumma fled. In the midst of Umma he killed him. He left
behind 60 soldiers of his force [dead] on the bank of the canal "Meadow- recognized-as-holy-from-
the-great-dagger." He left these men-their bones on the plain. He heaped up mounds for them in 5
places. Then Ili Priest of Ininni of Esh in Girsu, he established as a vassal ruler over Umma.
QQ: Where located?
o Umma ĺ cow
o Lagash ĺ celebrate
o BP: purpose & strategy
C. Why no empire?
1. Lacked institutions & provisions to annex
2. Strip city of idols & kill men of a generation
D. Lugalzagessi (Umma, 2350 BC)
1. ended border conflicts. conquered Ur, Uruk, Lagash
2. says “brought peace & happiness to all”
a. No poll data to support that last claim
Akkadian Empire (ca 2330-2200)
I. Sargon of Akkad (r. 2334-2279 BC)
A. born commoner
1. mom = flute-player (aka prostitute/concubine)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
2. throne name: Sharru-kin = “King is legitimate”
3. cupbearer to king of Kish
4. dream: King drowns in river of blood
5. King tries repeatedly to kill Sargon
B. created 1st empire
1. put Lugalzagessi in wooden collar
C. Conquers many city-states
D. Moved capital to Akkad
1. Far north of Sumeria
2. Unknown location (maybe Baghdad)
3. Unknown if already city or built from scratch
Sargon of Akkad inscription (ca. 2300 BC)
Sargon, the king of Akkad, the bailiff of Ishtar, the king of the universe, the anointed one of An, the
king of the land, the governor of Enlil. He vanquished Uruk in battle and bitch slapped 50
governors and the city by the mace of the god Ilaba. And he destroyed its fortress and captured
Lugalzagesi, the king of Uruk in battle. He led him to the gate of Enlil in a neckstock.
Sargon, the king of Akkad, vanquished Ur in battle and smote the city and destroyed its fortress.
He smote Eninmar and destroyed its fortress. He smote its territory and Lagash as far as the sea.
He washed his weapons in the sea. He vanquished Umma in battle and smote the city and
destroyed its fortress…
Whoever should remove this inscription, may Enlil and Shamash uproot his foundation and
obliterate his progeny…
QQ: Did Sargon make a picture?
Yes ĺ big audience b/c illiteracy
No ĺ limited audience to literate
BP: audience reveal strategy
II. Naram-Sin (r. 2254-2218 BC)
A. Grandson of Sargon
B. Called himself “king of the 4 corners of the universe”
C. Declared himself a God
IV. Downfall according to written sources
A. City-state rebellions after king’s death
1. failed to integrate city-state leaders into empire’s stake
B. Elamites invaded
1. Carried off idols
C. Border control = difficult
1. Border ppl made mercenaries/militia
2. Border ppl tookover
D. Mesopotamian explanation Curse of Agade
1. Goddess Inanna & god Enlil helped Sargon rise to pwr
2. Naram-Sin plundered Enlil’s holy city
3. Enlil summoned Gutians to invade
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
3
a. Gutians = human instincts, monkey body, dog intelligence
V. Downfall according to archaeology
A. drought
1. Tell Leilan abandoned 2200 BC
a. north Akkad
b. refugees moved south, straining sociopolt sys also suffering drought
2. sediment cores from Gulf of Oman (1800 km away)
a. dryness ĺ dust ĺ NW wind (Shamal) ĺ dust into Tigris/Euphrates
a. 140yr drought, worst dry spell in 10,000 yrs,
3. chronological REOCCURENCES
a. Harappa, Old Kingdom Egypt, Minoans, collapse
b. Elk Lake, Minnesota. Dust peaked 2100 BC (3x Dust Bowl 1930s)
4. WEAKEN: irrigation
5. WEAKEN: Ur III flourished during end of 140 yr drought
Fragmentation (2200-2100)
A. independent city-states & Gutian invaders
Ur Dynasty III (ca 2100-2000 BC)
I. Ĺ administration
A. wrote everything down
B. state-run economy
II. Collapse
A. dependence on central planning = fragile
1. central control depended on smooth communications, steady supply taxes,
2. nomadic invasion upset delicate balance
Amorites invade ĺ cities declared independence ĺ labor teams scattered; some joined invaders ĺ
famine b/c state-run rations fell ĺ small independent kingdoms
B. Huge bureaucracy
1. Parasite
2. Could not be supported & fed by Ur’s local resources
Fragmentation (2000-1800)
I. Decentralization
A. City-state independence
II. Amurites migrate (Semitic)
A. Sumerian lang lost
B. Made tribal regiments in many cities
1. Seized pwr & establish independent kingdoms
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
