2013/01/01 by Andrew George · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Ancient Near East History #Ancient Egypt and Archaeology #Poetry #Literature #Art #History
paper · doi:10.5040/9780755607969.ch-002
openalex publication_date 2013/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/07
The history of war begins in ancient Iraq. The earliest reported conflict in human history was fought by neighbouring city-states, Lagash and Umma, in the mid-third millennium bc. The early course of the war is reported by Enmetena, ruler of Lagash, in a Sumerian cuneiform inscription preserved on clay objects (a cone, a cylinder, two votive jars) that commemorate his restoration of a religious building that had been damaged in the war (Cooper 1986: 54–57 La 5.1; Frayne 2008: 194–99). The text records a succession of aggressive acts and retaliations. The prose is bald and matter-of-fact. The following passage is typical. It recounts the invasion of Lagash’s territory by Ur-Lumma of Umma and his allies during the time of Enmetena’s father, Enannatum, and their repulse by forces commanded by his son: