Lagash
𒉢𒁓𒆷𒆠 (LAGAŠKI) · Tell al-Hiba · Telloh · Shirpurla
Jemdet Nasr to Ur III / Old Babylonian·Sumerian·🇮🇶 Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
About
About Lagash
Sumerian city-state Lagash (Tell al-Hiba proper) and its religious capital Girsu (Tello, 25 km SE) — often conflated as Lagash-Girsu. Early Dynastic to Ur III powerhouse whose rulers (Ur-Nanshe, Eannatum, Gudea, Ur-Baba) built the Ibgal and Bagara temples. De Sarzec 1877 discovery of diorite Gudea statues opened Assyriology; 30,000 cuneiform tablets archive governance. Canal network Girsu-Lagash.
Why it mattersGudea archive; Lagaš reform (Uruinimgina); ED warfare record.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Lagash-Umma border conflict cycle
- 02Gudea's Apsu temple engineering
Theories
- 01Hydraulic despotism of Girsu canal
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2900–2112 BCE peak (ED III–Ur III)
- Period
- Jemdet Nasr to Ur III / Old Babylonian
- Culture
- Sumerian
- Builders
- Lagaš dynasty (Gudea c.2144 BCE)
- Purpose
- City-state with irrigation control and Ningirsu cult
- Abandoned
- c.2000 BCE (shifts to Larsa)
- Rediscovered
- 1877 de Sarzec at Tello (Girsu); 1968 Hansen at al-Hiba
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
1877
De Sarzec finds Gudea statues
c.2450 BCE
Stele of Vultures (Eannatum)
On the ground
Structures & features
31.4020° N · 46.4070° E · 8 m · 3 mapped features
Ibgal of Inanna (Tell al-Hiba temples)
templeOval Inanna temple precinct
31.4030° N · 46.4080° EBagara of Ningirsu (Girsu/Tello)
templeGudea's Eninnu temple
31.5680° N · 46.1650° EStele of Vultures findspot
monumentEannatum victory stele
31.5690° N · 46.1660° E