Urukagina

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Urukagina (reading of the name controversial, also Irikagina or Uruinimgina ) from Lagasch was a Sumerian ruler of the third millennium BC. He was the last king from the 1st Dynasty or Urnanshe Dynasty, which lasted until around 2550 BC. Can be traced back. According to the middle chronology, he ruled around 2350 BC. Chr.

The rivalry with Lugal-Zagesi (Lugalzagisi) of Umma was characteristic of his reign, which lasted for about seven years . The reform laws of Urukagina were historically significant: at the “behest of Ningirsu ” (city god of Lagasch), old customs were discarded and a new order was introduced. First prerogatives (privileges of the ruler) over the temples were reversed; the residents were freed from a number of debt bondages and the abusive exploitation of the economically weak by those of higher rank was prohibited.

The abolition of biandry (marriage of a woman with two men), a clear reference to the polyandry once practiced in Sumerian society , which was already considered offensive by contemporaries, is noteworthy in social history .

In a self-predication, he describes himself as the protector of widows and orphans.

The main focus of the decrees, however, is tax relief and debt repayment.

The end of Urukagina's rule came when Lugalzagisi of Umma destroyed the city of Lagash and devastated the temples . Urukagina deplored this cult crime in an inscription with the words:

“ These offenses committed by Lugalzagisi, the Ensi of Umma, may his goddess Nisaba wear on her neck. "

Lagasch, however, should experience a new bloom after the end of the Akkader rule with the II dynasty (with Gudea von Lagasch, approx. 2144–2124 BC).

literature

  • Michael Aulfinger: Urukagina, the just king . Edition Nove, Neckenmarkt 2007, ISBN 978-3-85251-246-4 .
  • Su-Kyung Huh: Studies on the Lagaš Region. From the Ubaid to ancient Babylonian times . Ugarit-Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-86835-003-6 .
  • Paul Toscanne: Les cônes d'Urukagina . Leroux, Paris 1903.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dietz-Otto Edzard : History of Mesopotamia: From the Sumerians to Alexander the Great. CH Beck, 2004, ISBN 3-406-51664-5 , p. 52
predecessor Office successor
Lugal-anda King of Lagaš
around 2350 to 2340 BC Chr. 		Lugal-Zagesi
personal data
SURNAME Urukagina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Irikagina; Uru-inim-gina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sumerian ruler of the third millennium BC
DATE OF BIRTH 25th century BC BC or 24th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 24th century BC Chr.