Ur-Namma: ceremoniously carrying the first basket of earth for the building of a new temple.

     Ur-Namma ruled for eighteen years (circa 2112 - 2095 B.C.)  He was originally a military governor (or general) appointed by Utu-hengal, the Sumerian king who was starting to gain ascendency over the Gutians after the collapse of the Akkadian Empire.  After the death of Utu-Hengal, Ur-Namma unified the various Sumerian city-states and gained significant victories over the Gutians. He thus created an independent Sumerian state, after two centuries of foreign domination.

     Early historians suggested that Ur-Namma overthrew his “masters” at Uruk, the city of  Utu-hengal, and that he even killed Utu-hengal to become king. More recent studies, however, suggest that Ur-Namma was actually the younger brother of Utu-hengal, or they symbolically "became brothers", and that Utu-hengal died in a boating accident while fishing (modern reconstructions of Sumerian history are in constant flux). It was also thought that Ur-Namma did not so much “unify” the various Sumerian city-states as “conquer” them, because there is some evidence of a conflict between the city of Girsu and Ur-Namma’s city of Ur. Ur-Namma’s conquest of Sumer “need not have been particularly arduous”, and Magnus Wildell, of the University of Chicago, has presented evidence that the conflict has been overstated. What’s remarkable is the fact that Ur-Namma was able to forge the various Sumerian city-states into one single nation. These city-states had always prized their autonomy and independence, and had often been at war with each other. World history is filled with many examples of failed attempts to form regional kingdoms into a single unified nation. Only a leader who is truly great, who is both strong and diplomatic, like Ur-Namma, can build a nation without excessive bloodshed and civil war.

     Whether Ur-Namma was a governor named by royal appointment, or the younger brother of a ruling monarch, indicates that he wasn't necessarily "born to be a king". It is said he was chosen by extispicy, the reading of divine omens in the liver of a sacrificed animal, rather than by the standard rules of succession. (It's easy to suspect he made certain "arrangements" to guarantee that the omens were favorable, like a veiled threat or a well-placed bribe, and other behind-the-scene machinations.) This would indicate that Ur-Namma made himself into a king by his own talent and efforts. He thus became a living god, worshiped in his lifetime.

Ur-Namma commemorative tablet: dedicated to Inanna, the goddess of love and war.

      Ur-Namma was the king of Sumer and Akkad. For the previous 200 years, when Sumer was conquered by Sargon the Great, the Akkadians had been the masters, and the Sumerians were the vassals. It must have been problematic for Ur-Namma to rule both nations after this sudden role reversal, to say the least. He alone held the two nations together, with the sheer force of his will. After his death, the Akkadian nation would no longer be ruled by the Sumerians.

     He was a builder of roads, canals, and temples. He began construction on the famous ziggurat at Ur (pictured on these pages) which was completed by his son, Shulgi. Ur-Namma codified the laws of the land, 300 years before the famous (Babylonian) Code of Hammurabi. He ruled his kingdom with competence and justice.

The Code of Ur-Namma, the world's first known codified list of laws. See the laws of Ur-Namma.

     For his time and place, he was just as great as Caesar or Alexander; seventeen centuries before Alexander, twenty centuries before Caesar.

     Ur-Namma was killed in combat, abandoned by his fleeing army, in yet another battle with the Gutians (see "I am Ur-Namma" for his complete life story) but the dynasty he created would last for almost a hundred years. It witnessed the last flowering of Sumerian civilization, which was already ancient, before it was finally destroyed so long ago in the ancient past.

Ur-Namma stele.  (heavily damaged)

Above:  Ur-Namma stands before the god Enlil, watering the Tree of Life to overflowing. Enlil presents Ur-Namma with a measuring rod and rope, used for surveying, and an adze, used for building a new temple. It was originally thought that the surveying rope symbolized Enlil's dominion over all the Land, and he holds a battleaxe to symbolize his right to "strike and kill"   (i.e., to administer justice) like the fasces used by the Romans, and the asp on the front of a pharaoh's crown. I would suggest that the surveying rope is used to mark out the boundries of a new temple, and the "weapon" Enlil holds is actually an adze, which is used as a construction tool, rather than a battleaxe, which is used as a weapon of war. In other words, Enlil is giving Ur-Namma the tools for building a new temple. It's not known which temple is being built, but it's probably The E-Kur (The Mountain Temple) since this is the most important temple built by Ur-Namma and it was dedicated to Enlil, the supreme Sumerian god. 

Below:  Enlil leads Ur-Namma and a worker to begin work on the temple.  King Ur-Namma is shown wearing a shepherd's hat. He is also shown with hair and a full beard, which was his usual appearance.  The statue of him at the top of the page shows him as completely shaven, as part of the purification ritual for the dedication of a new temple. The fact that Ur-Namma keeps his hat on while in the presence of Enlil shows that King Ur-Namma is also a god.

See The Face of Ur-Namma.

Ur-Namma votive tablet:  These tablets were manufactured by temple scribes using a stamp-seal. The tablets were then sold to worshipers to raise revenue for the temple.

Line drawing of tablet.  The sign uri (Akkad) is missing from the end of third line, even though it can be faintly seen on the original tablet. Ur-Namma's name is on the first line.

     I was looking through the Library of Congress Cuneiform Collection when I saw this tablet.  It was labelled "Not yet translated". I looked back at the tablet and said, "That's Ur-Nammu!!"  (I know, I know, the current pronunciation is Ur-Namma, not Ur-Nammu, so there is no need to point that out to me.)  I recognized the name because it was one of the first signs I had difficulty understanding (it doesn't look how it is spelled).  For me, it was a great moment of discovery. It's as if I had recognized a friend, in a crowd, from a distance, when I wasn't expecting him to be there. It was like seeing Ur-Namma himself, across the distance of time. These moments of original discovery are what makes the study of Sumerian so interesting.

     The Library of Congress is currently in the process of revamping their cuneiform display.     I assume a translation of this tablet will be included.  But for those of you who "just can't wait", I have included my own translation of the tablet (it's a common inscription):

Transliteration:

   1.   ur- {d} namma

   2.   lugal urim5 ki-ma

   3.   lugal ki-en-gi ki-uri

   4.   lu2 e2  {d} en-lil2-la2

   5.   in-du3-a

Translation:

   1.   Ur-Namma

   2.   King of Ur

   3.   King of Sumer and Akkad

   4.   He who built

         the temple of Enlil

     Although a simple inscription, it is full of meaning.  In the first line, the "star" symbol in the middle of Ur-Namma's name means he was worshiped as a god within his lifetime (unlike Gudea, who was worshiped as a god only after his death). The title, "King of Sumer and Akkad", is also significant. After two centuries of Akkadian rule, Ur-Namma was the first Sumerian king who could claim this title. After the death of Ur-Namma, his son, Shulgi, briefly used the title, but soon changed it to "King of the Four Quarters [of the Universe]".  Although  it was a more grandiose title, it encompassed a lot less real estate, reflecting the fact that the Akkadian kingdom was no longer a part of Shulgi's domains. It would therefore be fair to say that Ur-Namma is the only one who could truly claim to be "The King of Sumer and Akkad".

The ziggurat at Ur:  in the moonlight. The temple was dedicated to Nanna, the moon god.