Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Lugalzagesi: The last Sumerian King

Lugalzagesi ruled many Sumerian city-states, and he took the royal title "king of the land (lugal kalam-ma)."

Lugalzagesi, prince of Umma who became king of Uruk, was the last independent Sumerian ruler before Sargon of Akkad conquered Sumer around the turn of the twenty‐fourth century BCE. Lugalzagesi was the first king to describe the territory or region, as opposed to separate cities, over which he could claim sovereignty in his royal inscription.

Lugalzagesi went on to conquer and become king of Uruk and claim all of Sumer under the god Enlil from the lower sea (Persian Gulf) including the Tigris and Euphrates all the way to the upper sea (Mediterranean).

He was defeated by Sargon of Agade. Sargon was praised by ancient scribes as one of the great kings and an epoch-maker in Mesopotamian history, namely, "the first king of World Empire"
Lugalzagesi: The last Sumerian King

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