Lugal-Anne-Mundu

Lugal-Anne-Mundu 𒈗𒀭𒉌𒈬𒌦𒆕
King of Adab King of the Four Corners of the World
Battle between the Sumerians (left) and the Semites, armed with bows and arrows. 20th century reconstitution.
Reign	24th century BCE
Dynasty	Dynasty of Adab
Religion	Sumerian religion

Adab

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Lugal-Anne-Mundu was ruler of Adab, circa 2400 BCE.

Lugal-Anne-Mundu (Sumerian: 𒈗𒀭𒉌𒈬𒌦𒆕, lugal-an-ne₂-mu-un-du₃, c. 24th century BC) was the most important king of the city-state of Adab in Sumer. The Sumerian king list claims he reigned for 90 years, following the defeat of Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II, son of Nanni, of Ur.^[1] There are few authentic contemporary inscriptions for Lugal-Anne-Mundu's reign; he is known mainly from a much later text, purporting to be copied from one of his inscriptions.

His empire, perhaps the first in recorded history, collapsed upon his death. Following this, the king list indicates that the "kingship" (i.e. the Nippur-based hegemony) fell to a dynasty from Mari, beginning with Anbu; however, it has been suggested that more likely, only the last of these Mari kings, Sharrumiter, held the hegemony after Lugal-Anne-Mundu.^[2] With the break-up of the Adab kingdom, other prominent cities appear to have concurrently regained their independence, including Lagash (Lugalanda), Akshak (which not long afterward won the kingship from Mari, perhaps under Puzur-Nirah), and Umma (whose king Lugal-zage-si eventually went on to seize his own empire throughout the Fertile Crescent).