Editing Lagash (section)

===Second dynasty of Lagash (c. 2260 – c. 2023 BC)===
[[File:Gudea of Lagash Girsu.jpg|thumb|[[Gudea]] of Lagash (ruled c. 2144–2124 BC). Diorite statue found at [[Girsu]] ([[Louvre Museum]])]]
During the reigns of the first two rulers of this dynasty Lugal-ushumgal (under [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] and [[Shar-Kali-Sharri]]) and Puzur-Mama (under Shar-kali-shari), Lagash was still under the control of the [[Akkadian Empire]]. It has been suggested that another governor, Ur-e, fell between them.<ref>Volk, K., "Puzur-Mama und die Reise des Königs", Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete, vol. 82 (ZA. 82),  Berlin, 1992</ref> After the death of Shar-Kali-shari Puzur-Mama declared Lagash independent (known from an inscription that may also mention Elamite ruler [[Kutik-Inshushinak]]). This independence appears to have been tenuous as Akkadian Empire ruler [[Dudu of Akkad|Dudu]] reports taking booty from there.<ref name="Frayne" />

With the fall of Akkad, Lagash achieved full independence under Ur-Ningirsu I (not to be confused with the later Lagash ruler named Ur-Ningirsu, the son of [[Gudea]]). Unlike the 1st Dynasty of Lagash, this series of rulers used year names. Two of Ur-Ningirsu are known including "year: Ur-Ningirsu  (became) ruler". His few inscriptions are religious in nature.<ref>Edzard, Sibylle, "Ur-Ningirsu I", Gudea and his Dynasty, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 7-11, 1997</ref> Almost nothing is known of his son and successor.<ref>Edzard, Sibylle, "Pirig-me", Gudea and his Dynasty, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 12-13, 1997</ref> The next three rulers, Lu-Baba, Lugula, and Kaku are known only from their first year names. The following ruler, Ur-Baba, is notable mainly because three of his daughters married later rulers of Lagash, Gudea, Nam-mahani, and Ur-gar.<ref>Suter, Claudia E, "Who are the Women in Mesopotamian Art from ca. 2334-1763 BCE?", Who are the Women in Mesopotamian Art from ca. 2334-1763 BCE?", Kaskal, vol. 5, 1000-1055, 2008</ref> His inscriptions are all of a religious nature, including building or restoring the "Eninnu, the  White Thunderbird".<ref>Heimpel, Wolfgang, "The Gates of the Eninnu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 48, pp. 17–29, 1996</ref> Five of his year names are known. At this point Lagash is still at best a small local power. In some case the absolute order of rulers is not known with complete certainty.<ref>Edzard, Sibylle, "Ur-Baba", Gudea and his Dynasty, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 15-25, 1997</ref>
====Gudea====
While the [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Gutians]] had partially filled the power vacuum left by the fall of the Akkadian Empire, under Gudea Lagash entered a period of independence marked by riches and power.<ref>Zarins, Juris, "Lagash and the Gutians: a study of late 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamian archaeology, texts and politics", In Context: the Reade Festschrift, pp. 11-42, 2020</ref> Thousands of inscriptions of various sorts have been found from his reign and an untold number of [[statues of Gudea]].<ref name="Steible" >H. Steible, "Neusumerische Bau- und Weihinschriften, Teil 1: Inschriften der II. Dynastie von Lagas", FAOS9/1, Stuttgart 1991</ref> A number of cuneiform tablets of an administrative nature, from Gudea's rule were found at nearby [[Girsu]].<ref>Molina Martos, Manuel, and Massimo Maiocchi, "[https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/245574/1/pre_ur_administrative_british_museum.pdf Pre-Ur III administrative cuneiform tablets in the British Museum. I. Texts from the archives of Gudea's Dynasty]", Kaskal, vol. 15, pp. 1-46, 2018</ref> Also found at Girsu were the famous [[Gudea cylinders]] which contain the longest known text in the [[Sumerian language]].<ref>Ira M. Price, "The great cylinder inscriptions A & B of Gudea: copied from the original clay cylinders of the Telloh Collection preserved in the Louvre. Transliteration, translation, notes, full vocabulary and sign-lifts", [https://archive.org/download/greatcylinderins01pricuoft/greatcylinderins01pricuoft.pdf Volume 1] [https://archive.org/download/greatcylinderins02pricuoft/greatcylinderins02pricuoft.pdf Volume 2], Hinrichs, 1899</ref><ref>Suter, Claudia E., "A New Edition of the Lagaš II Royal Inscriptions Including Gudea’s Cylinders", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 50,  pp. 67–75, 1998</ref> He was prolific at temple building and restoring.<ref>Suter, Claudia E. Gudea's temple building: A comparison of written and pictorial accounts", Brill, 2000 {{ISBN|978-90-56-93035-6}}</ref> He is known to have conducted some military operations to the east against [[Anshan (Persia)|Anshan]] and Elam.<ref>Bartash, Vitali, "Gudea's Iranian Slaves: An Anatomy of Transregional Forced Mobility", Iraq 84, pp. 25-42, 2022</ref><ref>Hansen, Donald P, "A sculpture of Gudea, governor of Lagash", Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 64.1, pp. 4-19, 1988</ref> Twenty of Gudea's year names are known. All are of a religious nature except for one that marks the building of a canal and year six "Year in which the city of Anszan was smitten by weapons".<ref>[https://cdli-gh.github.io/year-names/HTML/T4K2.htm Year Names of Gudea at CDLI]</ref> While the conventional view has been that the reign of Gudea fell well before that of [[Ur-Nammu]], ruler of Ur, and during a time of Gutian power, a number of researchers contend that Gudea's rule overlaps with that of Ur-Nammu and the Gutians had already been defeated.<ref>Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Date of Gudea and His Dynasty", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 47–53, 1988</ref> This view is strengthened by the fact that Ur-Baba appointed Enanepada as high preiestess of Ur while Naram-Sin of Akkad had appointed her predecessor Enmenana and Ur-Namma of Ur appointed her successor Ennirgalana.<ref name="Michalowski" >Michalowski, Piotr, "Networks of Authority and Power in Ur III Times", in From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.: Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22–24 July 2010, edited by Steven J. Garfinkle and Manuel Molina, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 169-206, 2013</ref>

Gudea was succeeded by his son Ur-Ningirsu, followed by Ur-gar. Little is known about either aside from an ascension year name each and a small handful of inscriptions. It has been suggested that two other brief rulers fit into the sequence here, Ur-ayabba and Ur-Mama but the evidence for that is thin.<ref>Maeda, Tohru, "Two Rulers by the Name of Ur-Ningirsu in Pre-Ur III Lagash", acta sumerologica Japan 10, pp. 19–35, 1988</ref> Two tablets dated to the reign of Ur-Nammu of Ur refer to Ur-ayabba as "ensi" of Lagash, meaning governor in Ur III terms and king in Lagash.<ref name="Michalowski" />
====Nam-mahani====
Little is known of the next ruler aside from his ascension year name and a handful of religious inscriptions. Nam-mahani is primarily known for being defeated by Ur-Nammu, first ruler of the Ur III empire and being considered the last ruler of the second dynasty of Lagash (often called the Gudean Dynasty). In the prologue of the [[Code of Ur-Nammu]] it states "He slew Nam-ha-ni the ensi of Lagash".<ref>Finkelstein, J. J., "The Laws of Ur-Nammu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 22, no. 3/4, pp. 66–82, 1968</ref> A number of his inscriptions were defaced and the statues of Nam-mahani and his wife were beheaded (the head were not found with the statues by Ur-Nammu in what is usually called an act of [[Damnatio memoriae]].<ref name="Steible" />