NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Urukagina

Urukagina was a ruler (énsi) of Lagash in Mesopotamia about the 24th century BC. His wife was probably Queen Shagshag. He is best-known for his reforms to combat corruption, which are sometimes cited as the first example of a judicial code. Although the actual text has not survived, its content may be surmised from other references to it that have been found. In it, he exempted widows and orphans from taxes; compelled the city to pay funeral expenses (including the ritual food and drink libations for the journey of the dead into the lower world); and decreed that the rich must use silver when purchasing from the poor, and if the poor does not wish to sell, the powerful man (the rich man or the priest) cannot force him to do so. His code is notable because it gave greater support to women than did the later Codes of Hammurabi, Lipit Ishtar, or the later Assyrian or Babylonian Codes. Lagash or Sirpurla was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... (25th century BC - 24th century BC - 23rd century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) // Events 2900â€“2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period. ... Offerings given to the gods in Ancient Greece. ... This diorite head is believed to represent Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian from Amorite Ë¤AmmurÄpi, the kinsman is a healer, from Ë¤Ammu, paternal kinsman, and RÄpi, healer; 1810 BC?â€“1750 BC) also rarely transliterated Ammurapi, Hammurapi, or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. ... Lipit-Ishtar, belonging to a family of shepherds and farmers from Nippur, currently in Iraq, became ruler of Isin, and ruled from around 1868 BC to 1857 BC. He made several legal pronouncements, amongst the earliest ones in the recorded human history, and preceded only by the Code of Hammurabi... Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of Lebanese cedar (8th century BC) In the earliest historical times, the term Assyria (Syriac:ÜÜ¬Ü˜Ü–Ìˆ) referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur. ... Babylonia was an ancient state in Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ...

Urukagina's Code is perhaps the first known example of government self-reform. Like the Magna Carta and the United States Constitution that followed (and like the Codes of Hammurabi, et. al. to some degree), Urukagina's code limited the power of politicians. He governed government. The text describing Urukagina's reforms is also the first known use of the word freedom, in this case the Sumerian ama-gi. Magna Carta Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. ... The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... Proponents of anarcho-capitalism use a number of special terms and symbols to discuss and represent their ideas. ...

Urukagina freed the inhabitants of Lagash from usury, burdensome controls, hunger, theft, murder, and seizure (of their property and persons). He established freedom. The widow and the orphan were no longer at the mercy of the powerful man.

He also participated in several conflicts, notably a losing border conflict with Uruk. During his reign, Uruk fell under the leadership of Lugal-Zage-Si, patesi of Umma, who ultimately overthrew Urukagina, annexed Lagash, and established a Mesopotamian Empire. Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek OrchoÃ« and Arabic ÙˆØ±ÙƒØ§Ø¡ Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Umma was an ancient city in Sumer. ...

Categories: Articles lacking sources from November 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Sumerian rulers | 3rd millennium BC births | 3rd millennium BC deaths (The Sumerian king list contains a traditional list of the early dynasties; however much of it is probably mythical, and only a few of the names have been authenticated through archaeology. ... The Sumerian king list is an ancient text in the Sumerian language listing kings of Sumer from Sumerian and foreign dynasties. ... Sumer (or Å umer, Sumerian ki-en-gir[1], Egyptian Sanhar[2]) was one of the early civilizations of the Ancient Near East, located in the southern part of Mesopotamia (southeastern Iraq) from the time of the earliest records in the mid 4th millennium BC until the rise of Babylonia in... Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... Adapa was an Ancient Sumerian king. ... Tammuz or Tamuz Arabic ØªÙ…Ù‘ÙˆØ² TammÅ«z; Hebrew ×ªÖ¼Ö·×žÖ¼×•Ö¼×–, Standard Hebrew Tammuz, Tiberian Hebrew TammÃ»z; Akkadian DuÊ¾zu, DÅ«zu; Sumerian Dumuzi was the name of a Babylonian deity. ... Utnapishtim, whose name means he found life or he who saw life, is also known as Atrahasis, meaning the exceptional wise one. In the Akkadian sources, a wise citizen of Shurrupak on the banks of the Euphrates, or Ziusudra in the Sumerian poems. ... Kish [kish] (Tall al-Uhaymir) was an ancient city of Sumer, now in central Iraq. ... Ancient Sumerian king. ... Enmebaragesi (Me-Baragesi, En-Men-Barage-Si, Enmebaragisi), according to the Sumerian king list, was a king of Kish who subdued Elam and reigned 900 years, but was captured single handedly by Dumuzid the fisherman of Uruk, predecessor of Gilgamesh. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek OrchoÃ« and Arabic ÙˆØ±ÙƒØ§Ø¡ Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ... Enmerkar, according to the Sumerian king list, was the builder of Uruk, and was said to have reigned for 420 years. It adds that he brought the official kingship with him from the city of Eana, after his father Mesh-ki-ag-gasher, son of Utu, had entered the sea... Lugalbanda was a legendary king of Sumeria in the first dynasty of Uruk, best known as the father of Gilgamesh. ... Gilgamesh, according to the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2650 BC. Legend has it that his mother was Ninsun, a goddess. ... UR, Ur, or ur can refer to several things: The City of Ur Ãšr (letter) of the Ogham alphabet Ur (rune) áš¢ of the runic alphabets Royal Game of Ur Ur, the first known continent Ur- is a German prefix. ... Meskalamdug (hero of the good land) was an early king of Ur who is not named on the Sumerian king list. ... Mesannepada (or Mesanepada, Mes-Anni-Padda) was the first king in the first dynasty of Ur, in ca. ... Pu-Abi (Akkadian Word of my Father) was an important personage in the Sumerian city of Ur who lived about 2600-2500 BCE, during the First Dynasty of Ur. ... The city of Adab (modern site Bismaya), between Telloh and Nippur (modern-day Iraq), was important in the Ur III period but declined afterwards. ... The most important king of city-state Adab in Sumeria. ... Kish [kish] (Tall al-Uhaymir) was an ancient city of Sumer, now in central Iraq. ... See Kug-Baba for the sumerian queen. ... Lagash or Sirpurla was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia. ... Fragmentary stele bearing the inscription Ur-Nanshe, son of Gunidu, to Ningirsu, Louvre Ur-Nanshe (or Ur-Nina) was the first king of the dynasty of Lagash, probably in the first half of the 24th century BC. He ascended after Lugal-Sha-Gen-Sur (Lugal-Suggur), who was the patesi... Eannatum was a Sumerian king of Lagash who established one of the first verifiable empires in history. ... En-anna-tum I succeeded his brother Eannatum as king of Lagash. ... Entemena, son of En-anna-tum I, reestablished Lagash as a power in Sumer. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek OrchoÃ« and Arabic ÙˆØ±ÙƒØ§Ø¡ Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Akkadian Empire usually refers to the Semitic speaking state that grew up around the city of Akkad north of Sumer, and reached its greatest extent under Sargon of Akkad. ... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Mesopotamia, situated on the left bank of the Euphrates, between Sippar and Kish (located in present-day Iraq, ca. ... Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon the Great (Akkadian Sharru-kin, the true king, reigned 2334 BC - 2279 BC, short chronology), founder of the Dynasty of Akkad. ... Enheduanna (c. ... Manishtushu, king of the Akkadian Empire. ... ... Shar-Kali-Sharri was a king of the Akkadian Empire. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Shu-turul (Shu-durul) was a king of Akkad from 2233 to 2218 BCE. Categories: People stubs ... Lagash or Sirpurla was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia. ... Statue of Gudea, British Museum London Gudea was a ruler (ensi) of the city of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia who ruled ca. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek OrchoÃ« and Arabic ÙˆØ±ÙƒØ§Ø¡ Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ... Utu-hegal was one of the first King of Sumer after centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule. ... The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC (short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire. ... UR, Ur, or ur can refer to several things: The City of Ur Ãšr (letter) of the Ogham alphabet Ur (rune) áš¢ of the runic alphabets Royal Game of Ur Ur, the first known continent Ur- is a German prefix. ... Ur-Nammu (or Urnamma) was an ancient Sumerian king of Ur, fl. ... Shulgi of Urim is the second king of the Sumerian Renaissance. He reigned for 48 years, dated to 2047 BC–1999 BC short chronology (also tentatively dated to 2161 BC–2113 BC on the basis of a solar eclipse). ... Amar-Sin (2046-2037 BCE High chronology) was the third ruler of the Ur III Dynasty, son of Shulgi (2094-2047 BCE). ... Shu-sin succeded his brother Amar-Sin as the King of Ur, and he came into conflict with the Amorites. ... Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 2028 BC-2004 BC. During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites. ...