Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE

Akkadian Empire

Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.

Illustration: A temple priestess and scribes working in an Akkadian-period courtyard
A temple courtyard at Ur, around 2300 BCE.

~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Gudea Statue X

“(1) For Mešlamta-ea, his master, Gudea, ruler ....”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001562/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Gudea Statue Y

“(i 1') For Ninĝirsu, the powerful warrior of Enlil, Gudea, ruler ....”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001563/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Gudea Statue Z

“(i 1') ... transported diorite from ..., fashioned his own statue from iṭ ....”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001564/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Lu-saga 1

“(1) For Nanna, his master, Lu-saga, ruler of Urim, declared his boundary, and erected an altar.”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000879/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Lu-Utu 03add

Attests Lu-Utu of Umma's temple construction for Ninhursaĝa, adding a data point to the cluster of late Akkadian-period governors who anchored political legitimacy in public religious building.

“(1) For Ninhursaĝa, the mother of the gods, Lu-Utu, governor of Umma, built a temple on her beloved square for his well-being.”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q005285/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Lu-Utu 1

“(1) For Ninhursaĝa, the mother of the gods, Lu-Utu, governor of Umma, built a temple on her beloved square for his well-being. He made its foundation unblemished. He drove in its foundation pegs, and within it he put its divine powers in good order.”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000872/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Lu-Utu 2

Records Lu-Utu of Umma dedicating a temple to Ereškigal at the sunrise horizon — one of the few Akkadian-period inscriptions linking the chthonic queen of the underworld to a solar cult site.

“(1) For Ereškigal, lady of the place where the sun sets, Lu-Utu, governor of Umma, child of Ninisina, built a temple at the place where Utu rises, the place where the fates are determined for his (own) well-being. He laid out a canal at its edge. He made its name resplendent.”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000873/

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~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Lugal-nizu 1

“(1) Lugal-niĝzu, governor of Nibru, temple administrator of Enlil.”

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000871/

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