Gudea of Lagash
c. 2144 BCE · Girsu
Gudea governed the state of Lagash as its ensi (city-ruler) c. 2144–2124 BCE (Middle Chronology), in the period between the fall of Akkad and the rise of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and presided over a cultural golden age. He is famous above all for rebuilding the temple Eninnu of the god Ningirsu at his capital Girsu, an undertaking narrated at length on two large clay cylinders — the longest known Sumerian literary text — and commemorated in a remarkable series of diorite statues that survive today.
Did you know?
One ruler, two dozen statues — in stone hauled by sea from Oman
Gudea, who ruled the city-state of Lagash around 2144 BCE, is one of the best-represented figures of the ancient world: roughly two dozen or more of his statues survive today, most carved from hard diorite that inscriptions say was brought by sea from Magan, in the region of modern Oman. They have lasted more than 4,000 years.
How we know
Gudea of Lagash, reign c. 2144–2124 BCE (Middle Chronology); ~27 surviving statues (sources: "more than twenty" to "twenty-seven"), most in hard diorite; statue inscriptions record the diorite as brought from Magan (modern Oman). 2144 + 2026 = 4,170 years ago (> 4,000). Wikipedia "Statues of Gudea"; Wikipedia "Gudea".
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Girsu
We know they were here, but the specifics of what they did at this stop aren’t recorded yet in our corpus.
About Girsu
The religious capital of the Lagash state (modern Tello/Telloh), seat of the god Ningirsu and source of the Gudea inscriptions. Kept distinct from the city of Lagash itself. The pin marks the tablet's findspot.
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.