Gudea of lagash: Did you mean...?

The Legend of Sargon of Akkad (circa 2300 BCE) is an Akkadian work from Mesopotamia understood as the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, reign 2334-2279 BCE), founder of the Akkadian Empire. The earliest copy is dated to...

The Ludlul-Bel-Nemeqi (c. 1700 BCE) is a Sumerian and later Babylonian poem on the theme of unjust suffering, which is thought to have influenced the biblical Book of Job. Also known as The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer, the title translates...

For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed? For whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself, I have only profited the snake, the ground lion! The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI This is how the Epic of Gilgamesh...

The rise of Sumerian civilization in southern Mesopotamia (c. 6000–2300 BCE) represents one of the earliest transformations from agrarian village life to urban state formation. Located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, this alluvial...

Adult workers received standard rations of 30 to 40 pints of barley per month while children received 20; the barley was distributed as rations to about 200 workmen and their children. This scribe was clearly highly trained in this art. From...

Stele of the Vultures fragments, dated to the Early Dynastic III Period (2600-2334 BCE), commemorating the victory of the city of Lagash over Umma. Louvre, Paris.

The Battle Scene from the Stele of the Vultures, created to commemorate the victory of Lagash over Umma c. 2600 BCE. Louvre, Paris.

Terracotta seal lock from Lagash, southern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Neo-Sumerian period (Ur III), 2114-2004 BCE. (Istanbul Archeological Museums/Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul, Turkey).

"This is the boundary according to the monument of (the god) Shara". This is the historical cuneiform text on this vessel, which gives the city of Umma's account of its long-running border dispute with Lagash. Early Dynastic III period, circa...

The cuneiform inscription on this stand's head mentions the name of Entemena, ruler of Lagash. Early Dynastic Period, c. 2400 BCE. From Southern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. (The Sulaimaniya Museum, Iraq).