Umma–Lagash war

Umma–Lagash war
	; The Stele of the Vultures, which documents key parts of the war.
Date	c. 2525 – c. 2342 BCE
Location	Sumeria
Result	Lagash victory
Belligerents
Umma	Lagash
Commanders and leaders
Il, king of Umma?	Entemena?; Eannatum?; Urlama?
Casualties and losses
Unknown (probably 100–200 in one battle around 2450 BC)	Unknown

The Umma–Lagash war (also referred to as wars (plural),^[1] a dispute,^[2] border conflict,^[3] border war,^[4] environmental dispute,^[5] hostilities,^[6] and squabble^[6]) took place in Sumer's Early Dynastic III period (2600–2350 BCE) in present-day southern Iraq. It was caused by the city of Umma infringing upon an old border treaty with neighbouring city-state Lagash regarding a fertile piece of land coveted by both. It has also been nicknamed the Sumerian "Hundred Years War".^[7]

Cause

Lagash and Umma were two Sumerian city-states located 18 miles (29 km) apart.^[8] Umma was the "neighbour and antagonist" of Lagash^[9] due to competing claims over water sources and the supply of water.^[10] The two cities had begun disputing over a fertile area called Gu-Edin or the 'Edge of the Plain', which led to a border treaty dating back to 2550–2600 BCE drawn up by King Mesilim of Kish ^[11]^[12] (though perhaps the agreement is as old as 3100 BCE).^[12] However, Umma began encroaching on Lagash's territory which reignited the dispute and led to a war.^[9] The war began around 2450 BCE.^[10] Aspects of the war were documented and preserved on historical objects like the Stele of the Vultures, as Sumerian scribes had begun writing with cuneiform and clay tablets 1000 years earlier.^[13]

Details

The king of Lagash told his City God Ningursu of the casus belli and asked him to strike the enemy down; according to inscriptions Ningursu came to the king in a dream and promised victory.^[14] The soldiers on both of the sides were equipped with bronze axes and long spears with sharp metal points.^[5] The King of Lagash diverted water from his region to canals and dried ditches to deprive Umma of water.^[15] One of the key events was the Sack of Lagash in which several "deeds of sacrilege" were committed.^[16]

"[King Il of Umma] diverted water from the boundary-channel of Ningirsu and the boundary-channel of Nanshe (...). When because of those channels, Enmetena, the governor of Lagash, sent envoys to Il, Il, the governor of Umma, who steals fields (and) speaks evil, declared: 'The boundary-channel of Ningirsu (and) the boundary-channel of Nanshe are mine! I will shift the boundary-levee from Antasura to Edimgalabzu!' But Enlil (and) Ninhursang did not give it to him."

Inscription FAOS 5/1 Ent. 28/29 = RIME 1.9.5.1 iii 38-iv 10, ^[17]

Resolution

In the battle that took place around 2450 BC, the losses for Umma were probably 100–200 (the majority of their army) while Lagash casualties were minimal.^[1]

Around 2400 BCE, Entemena^[8]^[18] or Eannatum^[19]^[20] (sources differ)^{[note 1]}, king of Lagash, had a marble pillar (the Stele of the Vultures) erected to establish a border between the warring city states of Lagash and Umma and stake his claim to the territory.^[21] He "set aside a fallow strip of land on the Umma side of the boundary ditch as a no-man's land".^[11] The king of Umma was required to swear an oath to multiple gods and the Lagash king, and to promise not to push into their lands.^[22] The Cone of Entenema offers additional records on this war.^[18]

Discovery

The marble pillar sat in the British Museum for 150 years until 2018 when Irving Finkel, a curator in the Middle East department, deciphered the Sumerian cuneiform to reveal details of the war.^[21]

The Eannatum Boulder – a contemporary Mesopotamian limestone sculpture that is currently at the Louvre – writes of the Lagash ruler: "Umma he defeated, and its 20 tumuli he heaped up".^[23] It also refers to Ningirsu (or Ninursa) a protector god who was called upon to aid Lagash in their battle against Umma.^[24]

Legacy

Professor of History Lorenzo Kamel deemed it the first recorded war in human history.^[10] Including the earliest battle currently known to history,^[25] it is perhaps the first authentically recorded military campaign in the history of the world.^[6] The Stele of the Vultures is one of the first visual representations pertaining to warfare that has been discovered.^[2] Irene J. Winter, a professor emeritus at Harvard University, said the pillar "stands at the beginning of a long line of historical narratives in the history of art."^[26] Rachel Campbell-Johnston at The Times reports it is likely the earliest written evidence of a border dispute and is also the first time the term "no man's land" is used.^[21] Marking the end to the Umma–Lagash war, the Stele of the Vultures is described as "the best record of the world's oldest boundary treaty".^[12] The monument also depicts the first recorded likenesses of ancient soldiers.^[27]

Territorial Leasing in Diplomacy and International Law notes the known inscriptions come from Lagash and therefore only represent its perspective.^[28] The Atlas of Military History argues that Lagash's victory over Umma is a more accurate historical record of early Mesopotamian combat than the Uruk or Kish, though it is less well-known.^[29] Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia asserted that King Mesilim's original treaty seems to favour Lagash over Umma.^[11]

The six-deep phalanx-like dense formation of the soldiers "astonished" modern scholars upon its reveal, as it was previously assumed that this army formation was a signature of the Ancient Greeks almost 2000 years later.^[30]

Notes

^ According to the paper Inscriptions from Umma and Lagash, "the names of the rulers of Lagash are confusing" and records refer to Enannatum, Eannatum, and Entemena.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b Grant, R. G. (2017-10-24). 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. Chartwell Books. ISBN 978-0-7858-3553-0.
^ ^a ^b "Umma-Lagash Dispute | Ancient Mesopotamian Warfare". sites.psu.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ "Lagash-Umma Border Conflict". database.ours.foundation. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ Foster, Benjamin R. (1984). "Review of Reconstructing History from Ancient Inscriptions: The Lagash-Umma Border Conflict". The Biblical Archaeologist. 47 (3): 189–192. doi:10.2307/3209923. ISSN 0006-0895. JSTOR 3209923.
^ ^a ^b Sand, Peter H. (2019). "Environmental Dispute Resolution 4,500 Years Ago: The Case of Lagash v Umma". Yearbook of International Environmental Law. pp. 137–142. doi:10.1093/yiel/yvaa074.
^ ^a ^b ^c McCaffrey, Stephen C. (2019-02-21). The Law of International Watercourses. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-105673-4.
^ "The Sumerian "Hundred Years War"". sumerianshakespeare.com. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Inscriptions from Umma and Lagash" (PDF).
^ ^a ^b "Introduction: Early Civilization and Political Organization in Babylonia" (PDF). 1983.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Anthropocene: History and Legacy of the Colonial Mindset". www.historians.org. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea (1998). Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-29497-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Freeman, Henry (2016-07-18). Sumerians: A History From Beginning to End. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5346-1134-4.
^ Mark, Joshua J. "Cuneiform". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ Kuhrt, Amélie (2020-11-25). The Ancient Near East: c.3000–330 BC (2 volumes). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-75555-2.
^ Deka, Mridul (2021-06-11). Water Sustainability: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Water Management Practices. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-63904-685-0.
^ Everest-phillips, Max (2018-06-28). Passionate Bureaucrat, The: Lessons For The 21st Century From 4,500 Years Of Public Service Reform. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-323-484-0.
^ Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean (PDF).
^ ^a ^b "Cone of Entemena". Obelisk Art History. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
^ Kramer, Samuel Noah (2010-09-17). The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-45232-6.
^ Stiebing, William H. Jr. (July 2016). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-51116-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Recently Deciphered 4,500-Year-Old Pillar Shows First Known Record of a Border Dispute".
^ Podany, Amanda H. (2022). Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-005904-0.
^ "The Eannatum Boulder". Obelisk Art History. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ Thomson, Oliver (2019-08-15). Gods at War: Understanding Three Millennia of Religious Conflict. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-9472-6.
^ Authors, Multiple (2014-01-23). Ancient Wars c.2500BCE–500CE. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78274-117-6.
^ "Warfare – Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ "First Blood – History's Earliest Recorded Military Conflicts". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 2022-08-17.^{[better source needed]}
^ Strauss, Michael J. (2015-05-27). Territorial Leasing in Diplomacy and International Law. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-29362-5.
^ Lomazoff, Amanda (2013-08-01). The Atlas of Military History. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-60710-985-3.
^ Gat, Azar (2008-03-26). War in Human Civilization. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-162281-6.