During this period we may suppose that the city of Ur enjoyed a similar measure of independence, which increased in proportion to the decline of Semitic authority in the north. Gudea's campaign against Anshan affords some indication of the capability of independent action, to which the southern cities gradually attained. It is not likely that such initiative on the part of Lagash was unaccompanied by a like activity within the neighbouring, and more powerful, state of Ur. In an earlier age the twin kingdoms of Ur and Erech had dominated southern Babylonia, and their rulers had established the kingdom of Sumer, which took an active part in opposing the advance of Semitic influence southwards. The subjection of Sumer by the Dynasty of Akkad put an end for a time to all thoughts of independence on the part of separate cities, although the expedition against Erech and Naksu, which occurred in the patesiate of Lugal-ushumgal, supports the tradition of a revolt of all the lands in the latter part of Sargon's reign. Ur would doubtless have been ready to lend assistance to such a movement, and we may imagine that she was not slow to take advantage of the gradual weakening of Akkad under her later rulers. At a time when Gudea was marching across the Elamite border, or sending unchecked for his supplies to the Mediterranean coast or the islands of the Persian Gulf, Ur was doubtless organizing her own forces, and may possibly have already made tentative efforts at forming a coalition of neighbouring states. She only needed an energetic leader, and this she found in Ur-Engur, who succeeded in uniting the scattered energies of Sumer and so paved the way for the more important victories of his son.
That Ur-Engur was the founder of his dynasty we know definitely from the dynastic chronicle, which was recovered during the American excavations at Nippur.[1] In this document he is given as the first king of the Dynasty of Ur, the text merely stating that he became king and ruled for eighteen years. Unfortunately the preceding columns of the text are wanting, and we do not know what dynasty was set down in the list as preceding that of Ur, nor is any indication afforded of the circumstances which led to Ur-Engur's accession. From his building-inscriptions that have been recovered on different sites in Southern Babylonia[2] it is possible, however, to gather some idea of his achievements and the extent of his authority. After securing the throne he appears to have directed his attention to putting the affairs of Ur in order. In two of his brick-inscriptions from Mukayyar, Ur-Engur bears the single title "king of Ur," and these may therefore be assigned to the beginning of his reign, when his kingdom did not extend beyond the limits of his native city. These texts record the rebuilding of the temple of Nannar, the Moon-god, and the repair and extension of the city-wall of Ur.[3] His work on the temple of the city-god no doubt won for him the support of the priesthood, and so strengthened his hold upon the throne; while, by rebuilding and adding to the fortifications of Ur, he secured his city against attack before he embarked upon a policy of expansion.
We may assume with some confidence that the first city over which he extended his authority was Erech. It would necessarily have been his first objective, for by its position it would have blocked any northward advance. The importance attached by Ur-Engur to the occupation of this city is reflected in the title "Lord of Erech," which precedes his usual titles upon bricks from the temple of the Moon-god at Ur, dating from a later period of his reign; his assumption of the title indicates that Erech was closely associated with Ur, though not on a footing of equality. That he should have rebuilt E-anna, the great temple of Ninni in Erech, as we learn from bricks found at Warka, was a natural consequence of its acquisition, for by so doing he exercised his privilege as suzerain. But he honoured the city above others which he acquired, by installing his own son there as high priest of the goddess Ninni, an event which gave its official title to one of the years of his reign. We have definite evidence that he also held the neighbouring city of Larsa, for bricks have been found at Senkera, which record his rebuilding of the temple of Babbar, the Sun-god. With the acquisition of Lagash, he was doubtless strong enough to obtain the recognition of his authority throughout the whole of Sumer.
BRICK OF UR-ENGUR, KING OF UR, RECORDING THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE OF THE GODDESS NINNI IN THE CITY OF ERECH.—Front Warka; Brit. Mus., No. 90015; photo, by Messrs. Mansell & Co.
The only other city, in which direct evidence has been found of Ur-Engur's building activity, is Nippur. From the American excavations on that site we learn that he rebuilt E-kur, Enlil's great temple, and also that of Ninlil, his spouse. It was doubtless on the strength of his holding Nippur that he assumed the title of King of Sumer and Akkad. How far his authority was recognized in Akkad it is impossible to say, but the necessity for the conquest of Babylon in Dungi's reign would seem to imply that Ur-Engur's suzerainty over at least a part of the country was more or less nominal. Khashkhamer, patesi of Ishkun-Sin, whose seal is now preserved in the British Museum,[4] was his subject, and the Semitic character of the name of his city suggests that it lay in Northern Babylonia. Moreover, certain tablets drawn up in his reign are dated in "the year in which King Ur-Engur took his way from the lower to the upper country," a phrase that may possibly imply a military expedition in the north. Thus some portions of Akkad may have been effectively held by Ur-Engur, but it is certain that the complete subjugation of the country was only effected during Dungi's reign.
In Sumer, on the other hand, Ur-Engur's sway was unquestioned. His appointment of Ur-abba as patesi of Lagash was probably characteristic of his treatment of the southern cities: by the substitution of his own adherents in place of the reigning patesis, he would have secured loyal support in the administration of his dependent states. We have evidence of one of his administrative acts, so far as Lagash is concerned. On a clay cone from Tello he records that, after he had built the temple of Enlil, he dug a canal in honour of the Moon-god, Nannar, which he named Nannar-gugal. He describes the canal as a boundary-ditch, and we may conjecture that it marked a revision of the frontier between the territories of two cities, possibly that between Lagash and lands belonging to the city of Ur. In the same inscription he tells us that, in accordance with the laws of the Sun-god, he caused justice to prevail, a claim that affords some indication of the spirit in which he governed the cities he had incorporated in his kingdom.