Fig 40.—Statue of Essar, King of Adab, preserved in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople; from Bismâya.
In order to assign a date to such figures as that of Lupad, it is necessary, in the absence of other evidence, to be guided entirely by the style of the sculpture and the character of the writing. Several such figures of archaic Sumerian type have been recovered, and three of them represent kings who ruled in different cities at this early period. The finest of these is a standing figure of Esar, King of Adab, which was found in the course of the American excavations at Bismâya, and is now preserved in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople. Its discoverers claimed that it was the earliest example of Sumerian sculpture known,[13] but it may be roughly placed at about the time of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty. A second king is represented by two fragments of a statuette from Tello, inscribed in archaic characters with a dedicatory text of E-abzu, King of Umma,[14] while the third is a seated figure of a king of the northern city or district of Ma'er, or Mari, and is preserved in the British Museum.[15] The same uncertainty applies to the date of Ur-Enlil, a patesi of Nippur, whose name is mentioned on one of the fragments of votive vases from that city which were found together on the south-east side of the temple-tower.[16] As in the case of Esar, King of Adab, we can only assign these rulers approximately to the period of the earlier rulers of Lagash.
It is in the city of Lagash that our knowledge of Sumerian history may be said to begin. The excavation of the site has yielded an abundance of material from which it is possible to arrange her rulers for long periods in chronological order, and to reconstruct the part they played in conflicts between the early city-states. It is true that some of her earlier kings and patesis remain little more than names to us, but with the accession of Ur-Ninâ we enter a period in which our knowledge of events is continuous, so far at least as the fortunes of the city were concerned. With the growth of her power it is also possible to trace in some detail the relations she maintained with other great cities in the land.
Emblems of the city of Lagash (Shirpurla) and of the god Ningirsu. The upper drawing represents a perforated plaque dedicated to Ningirsu by Ur-Ninâ. Below is a brick stamped with the figure of Imgig, the lion-headed eagle of Ningirsu.—In the Louvre; Cat. No. 7 and Déc., pl. 31 bis, No. 1.
At the earliest period of which we have any historical records it would appear that the city of Kish exercised a suzerainty over Sumer. Here there ruled at this time a king named Mesilim, to whom Lagash, and probably other great cities in the south, owed allegiance. During his reign a certain Lugal-shag-engur was patesi of Lagash, and we have definite record that he acknowledged Mesilim's supremacy. For a votive mace-head of colossal size has been found at Tello, which bears an inscription stating that it was dedicated to Ningirsu by Mesilim, who had restored his great temple at Lagash during the time that Lugal-shag-engur was patesi of that city.[17] The text, the brevity of which is characteristic of these early votive inscriptions, consists of but a few words, and reads: "Mesilim, King of Kish, the builder of the temple of Ningirsu, deposited this mace-head (for) Ningirsu (at the time when) Lugal-shag-engur (was) patesi of Lagash." In spite of its brevity the importance of the inscription is considerable, since it furnishes a synchronism between two early rulers of Sumer and the North.