Foundation nail dedicated by Entemena, king of Lagash, to the god of Bad-Tibira, about the peace treaty concluded between Lagash and Uruk. Extract from the inscription: "Those were the days when Entemena, ruler of Lagash, and Lugal-kinishe-dudu, ruler of Uruk, concluded a treaty of fraternity". This text is the oldest diplomatic document known. Found in Telloh, ancient Girsu, ca. 2400 BC. Louvre Museum.[1]
Reign
c. 2400 BCE
Predecessor
Urzage[2]
Successor
Lugal-kisal-si
Dynasty
Second Dynasty of Uruk
Uruk
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Location of Uruk, in the Near East, modern Iraq.
Vase inscription of Lugal-kigine-dudu (𒈗𒆠𒁺𒉌𒌌𒌌, lugal-ki-gin-ne2-du₇-du₇), reconstruction of the text, and some fragments.[3][4]
Lugal-kinishe-dudu (𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌, lugal-ki-ni-še₃-du₇-du₇)[5] also Lugal-kiginne-dudu (𒈗𒆠𒁺𒉌𒌌𒌌, lugal-ki-gin-ne2-du₇-du₇),[6] was a King and (ensi) of Uruk and Ur who lived towards the end of the 25th century BCE.[7] The Sumerian King List mentions Lugal-kinishe-dudu as the second king of the dynasty after En-shakansha-ana, attributing to him a fanciful reign of 120 years.[7][8]
The inscriptions of this sovereign which have been discovered show that he retained the power inherited from his predecessor, since he proclaimed himself king of Ur and Kish:[9]
"For An, king of all the lands, and for Inanna, mistress of Eanna. Lugalkiginnedudu, the king of Kish. When Inana gave to Lugalkiginnedudu en-ship in addition to kingship, she allowed him to exercise en-ship in Uruk, and she allowed him to exercise kingship in Ur."
The most remarkable document in which he is mentioned is a clay nail found in Girsu and commemorating the alliance which he concluded with Entemena of Lagash, the oldest known reference to a peace treaty between two kings:[7][13]
Cone of Entemena mentioning the alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu
1st line: "For Inanna / and Lugal-emuš / Enmetena / ruler / of Lagaš, / the E-muš, their beloved temple, / built / and ordered (these) clay nails for them. / Enmetena, / who built the E-muš," 2nd line: "his personal god / is Šul-utul. / At that time, Enmetena, / ruler / of Lagaš, / and Lugal-kineš-dudu, / ruler / of Uruk, / established brotherhood."
— Alliance treaty between Entemana and Lugal-kinishe-dudu.[13]
He was followed by his son, Lugalkisalsi, also read Lugaltarsi.[7]
^"Louvre Museum Official Website". cartelen.louvre.fr.
^Marchesi, Gianni (January 2015). "Toward a Chronology of Early Dynastic Rulers in Mesopotamia". In W. Sallaberger and I. Schrakamp (Eds.), History & Philology (ARCANE 3; Turnhout), Pp. 139-156.
^Clay, Albert Tobias; Hilprecht, H. V. (Hermann Vollrat); Myhrman, David Vilhelm; Poebel, Arno; Ranke, Hermann; Radau, Hugo; Langdon, Stephen (1892). The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. Series A: Cuneiform texts. Philadelphia : Dept. of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania. pp. Transcriptions 86–87.
^MAEDA, TOHRU. KING OF KISH" IN PRE-SAROGONIC SUMER. p. 4.
^ abcdHayes, William (1950). Chronology. Cambridge Ancient History. p. 51.
^"In Unug, En-shakansha-ana became king; he ruled for 60 years. Lugal-ure (ms. P3+BT14 has instead: Lugal-kinishe-dudu (?)) ruled for 120 years. Argandea ruled for 7 years. (ms. L1+N1 has:) 3 kings; they ruled for (ms. L1+N1 has:) 187 years. Then Unug was defeated (ms. TL has instead: destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Urim." in "The Sumerian king list: translation". etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk.
^Centre, Copenhagen Polis (2002). A Comparative Study of Six City-state Cultures: An Investigation. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. p. 34. ISBN 978-87-7876-316-7.
^MAEDA, TOHRU (1981). "KING OF KISH" IN PRE-SARGONIC SUMER. Orient: The Reports of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan, Volume 17. p. 7.
^ ab Deena Ragavan, Cuneiform Texts and Fragments in the Harvard Art Museum / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cuneiform Digital Library Journal, vol. 2010:1, ISSN 1540-8779
^Unger, Merrill F. (2014). Israel and the Aramaeans of Damascus: A Study in Archaeological Illumination of Bible History. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-62564-606-4.