Il, king of Umma

Il
𒅍
King of Umma
Stone tablet for the dedication of a temple, inscribed by Il, king of Umma, c. 2400 BCE, and mentioning his father Eandamu (𒂍𒀭𒁕𒊬), and his grandfather King Enakalle (𒂗𒀉𒆗𒇷). Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago
Reignc. 2500  BCE – 2400  BCE
PredecessorUr-Lumma
SuccessorGishakidu
Dynasty1st Dynasty of Umma
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Il was king of Umma, circa 2400 BCE.

Il (Sumerian: 𒅍, IL) was king (𒈗, Lugal) of the Sumerian city-state of Umma, circa 2400 BCE.[1] His father was Eandamu, and his grandfather was King Enakalle, who had been vanquished by Eannatum of Lagash.[1] Il was successor to Ur-Lumma. According to an inscription, before becoming king, he had been temple administrator in Zabalam: "At this time, Il, who was the temple administrator of Zabalam, marched in retreat from Girsu to Umma and took the governorship of Umma for himself."[2] He ruled for at least 14 years.[3]

He entered in a territorial conflict with Enmetena, ruler of Lagash, as mentioned in an inscription:[3]

"He (Il) diverted water from the boundary-channel of Ningirsu and the boundary-channel of Nanshe (...). When because of those channels, Enmetena, the governor of Lagash, sent envoys to Il, Il, the governor of Umma, who steals fields (and) speaks evil, declared: ‘The boundary-channel of Ningirsu (and) the boundary-channel of Nanshe are mine! I will shift the boundary-levee from Antasura to Edimgalabzu!’ But Enlil (and) Ninhursang did not give it to him."[3]

Il was defeated by Enmetena, who had sought the aid of Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk, successor to Enshakushanna, who is in the king list.[4]

Il later fought against Enannatum II, king of Lagash and successor to Enmetena, and defeated him, ending the Lagash dynasty founded by Ur-Nanshe.[1][5]

He was succeeded by his son, Gishakidu.[6]

  • Name of "King Il" on his tablet (𒈗 being the character for Lugal, "King"), and corresponding standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
    Name of "King Il" on his tablet (𒈗 being the character for Lugal, "King"), and corresponding standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
  • Votive plate of Queen Bara-irnum of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma", to God Shara, in gratitude for sparing her life.[7][8]
    Votive plate of Queen Bara-irnum of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma", to God Shara, in gratitude for sparing her life.[7][8]
  • "King Il" (𒅍𒈗, Il lugal) on the votive plate of Queen Bara-irnun
    "King Il" (𒅍𒈗, Il lugal) on the votive plate of Queen Bara-irnun
  1. ^ a b c Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East: Ca. 3000-323 BC. Wiley. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9780631225522.
  2. ^ Sallaberger, Walther; Schrakamp, Ingo (2015). History & Philology (PDF). Walther Sallaberger & Ingo Schrakamp (eds), Brepols. p. 76. ISBN 978-2-503-53494-7.
  3. ^ a b c Sallaberger, Walther; Schrakamp, Ingo (2015). History & Philology (PDF). Walther Sallaberger & Ingo Schrakamp (eds), Brepols. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-2-503-53494-7.
  4. ^ Jordan, Michael (1993). Encyclopedia of gods : over 2,500 deities of the world. Internet Archive. New York : Facts on File. pp. 245.
  5. ^ Williams, Henry Smith. The Historians' History of the World Vol.1 (of 25) (Illustrations): Prolegomena; Egypt, Mesopotamia. The Trow Press. p. 171.
  6. ^ Sallaberger, Walther; Schrakamp, Ingo (2015). History & Philology (PDF). Walther Sallaberger & Ingo Schrakamp (eds), Brepols. p. 78. ISBN 978-2-503-53494-7.
  7. ^ Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2003. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
  8. ^ Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.