In the top register, Ur-Nanshe is shown building the temple of Ningirsu while his wife and sons look on. In the lower register, Ur-Nanshe is seated on a throne holding a pointed goblet.
Ur-Nanshe is the first king of Lagash for whom we have more than just a name. He is also the first king of Mesopotamia for whom we have some detailed information. He is probably a near contemporary of Mesannepada. Ur-Nanshe transformed Lagash from vassal to a powerful and independent city-state that would, over the course of the next century or so, combine with Girsu and Nina to form an agricultural “super city-state,” encompassing approximately 1000 square miles of irrigated land.1Rey 2016, 3 He and his successors left behind many lengthy inscriptions commemorating their building activities and conquests. They are the first royal inscriptions known to history and a rich source of information about Sumer during the Early Dynastic III period.
Left: The king is seated on his throne, wearing a fleecy kanakes, holding a conical cup of a type held also by the banqueters on the Standard of Ur. Right: The king is shown as a labourer in the construction of a new temple.
Dilmun
The hole through the middle of the relief fitted a clay “nail” that was used to attach it to the wall of the temple. The same concept lies behind the burial of copper foundation pegs in the ground. By nailing the temple to the ground and the plaque to the wall, the king sought to immortalize his accomplishments.
And what were Ur-Nanshe’s accomplishments? Now, for the first time in history, we can read about them in the king’s own words,
“Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, son of Gunidu, son of Gurmu, built the temple of Ningirsu, built Apsubanda, built the temple of Nanshe.”
It is, I think, profoundly interesting that the king wished to be remembered most of all as a temple builder. The oldest known structures are temples, and the most magnificent. And the oldest known royal inscription names three temples, dedicated to the storm (Ningirsu), the earth (Nanshe), and rivers and springs (Apsu). In Biblical terms, the temple is the garden where God is; its construction is a concrete manifestation of man’s desire “to get back to the garden.” Ancient temples were gardens made of stone and wood; and mountains made mudbrick. Of the latter, Ur-Nanshe had plenty, but stone and wood were rare in Mesopotamia. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the next line of his inscriptions states that “ships of Dilmun” carried wood for his construction projects.
“The ships of Dilmun, from the foreign lands, brought him wood as a tribute”
We will take a closer look at the mysterious land of Dilmun and its merchants in another chapter.
Kramer, S. N.
The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Link
Rey, S.
For the Gods of Girsu: City-state formation in Ancient Sumer.
: Archaeopress, 2016.