SUMERI

ANWORSHI PERS:
02| SUBSTI
TUTESOFPEOPLEBEFORE
THEFACEOFDEITI
ES

07|
CYCLADI
KEROSI
CFIGURI
NES:
DOLHEAD

10|
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

16|
HOW TOREADTHEEPI
OFGI
C
LGAMESHCORRECTL
Y

20|
TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN

25|
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTIU:
THEPROBLEM OFCRETAN-
EGYPTI
ANRELATI
ONS

32|
HUNDREDYEARS'
CONFRONTATI
WAR:
ONBETWEENLAGASHANDUMMA

PROJ
ECTBYHI
STORI
AMAXI
MUM ©2021
AGEOFBRONZE|
VOLUME1|
WINTER2021

SUMERI
ANWORSHI
PERS
SUBSTI
TUTESOFPEOPLEBEFORETHEFACEOFDEI
TIES

NEAREAST
,MESOPOTAMI
A,SUMER,EARL
YDYNASTI
CPERI
OD

-
2900 -
2300 0 2000

Bef
orer eadi
ngthistext
,youlookedint
otheeyesofamanwhol ivedfouranda
hal
fthousandyearsagoinSyri
a.HisnamewasEbi h-
Ilandhewasanof fi
cialinthe
Sumeriancit
yofMari.Yousaythatt
hisi
snonsenseanditi
sjustananci
entfiguri
ne.
Youareabsolut
elyri
ghtandwrong.Buthowisthi
spossibl
e?

Likeyouandme,t heSumer i
anstried The fir
sts ucht echnol
ogywasmagi c.
tomakeli
feeasierf
orthemsel
vesinall We ar et al
king aboutordinary magic,
matter
s.Even such i
mport
antmatters whenpeopl et r
iedtoinf
luencetheworld
ascommunicat
ionwit
hthegodsthr
ough around them wi ththe help ofspeci
al
prayer
. spell
sandr it
uals.Forexample,torevi
ve
an inanimate objectorendow i twith
Agoodr elat
ionshipwit
hthegodswas spir
it
ualpower s.
thekeyt oheal t
handsuccess,which
meanti ttookal ongt
imetopray
.The The second t
echnol
ogywasart.Yes,
blessi
ngoft hegodshadt obeearned. yes,itwasat i
mewhent her
ewasno
Cont i
nuouspr ayerwoul
dbeideal
. ti
mef oranyusel
essbeaut
y(butt
hisis
notcert
ain)
.
Butwhati
fyouneedtoworkdur
ingthe
dayandrestatni
ghtand/orcont
inue Anci
ent hunters of the Stone Age
humani
ty? pai
nted scenesofsuccessfulhunting
onthewal lsofcaves,carvedf i
gures
To solve thi
s complex i
ssue, t
he ofpeopl
eandani mal sfrom boneand
Sumer i
ans used t wo time-t
est
ed woodinor derto"program"thefuture
technol
ogi
esatonce. andensurethei
rsuccess.

02
SUMERI
ANWORSHI
PERS

TheBl ack -HeadedPeopl e( saĝ-gí

g,l i
t.
'
head' +' black'ors aĝ-gíg-
ga,lit
.'
head' +
'
black'+' c arr
y'),astheSumer ianscal l
ed
t
hems elves ,t reated their gods wi t
h
t
repidat i
onandr espect,butinf actdid
notc ons iderthem v erys martorideal .
Perhapst heyt houghts oofthems el
v es-
well
,whodoesnott hinkso.

Therefor
e,theywer econvincedthatt
he
godscoul dbeout witt
edwi ththehelp Groupoff
igur
inesfrom Eshnunna
ofmagi candar t
.Ifeverythingismore Thehoardwasdi scovereddeepwit
hin
orlessclearwiththemagi calpowerof t
heAbuTempl eatEshnunna.
ri
tual
s,then the magicalpowerofar t
requi
resadditi
onalclar
ifi
cati
on. The stat
ues were stacked i
n several
l
ayerswithi
na33x20i n(85x50cm)
The Sumer i
ans were suret hatthei
r pit
,locat
edabout18i n(45cm)bel ow
godsphysi call
y(asfaraspossi bl
efor thefl
ooroftheEarl
yDynast ic(3000to
the gods)live i
n specialhousesbuilt 2350BC)ver si
onoftheSquar eTemple
fort
hem bypeopl e.Now wecal lt
hese
housestempl es.I
nthet empl
e,thedeit
y
coul
dl i
stentotheper sonandhelphim.

To const antl
y be i nt ouch wi tht heir Sincet heSumer ianshadmanygods,
super natural patron, the Sumer i
ans the represent ati
ve f i
guri
ne had to be
began t o make t heirsubstit
utes,t heir placedinal lthet empl es.Butherenew
continuallyprayingcopiesofwood,cl ay problems ar ose. Ther e were many
orst one.Suchcopi eswer est at
uet t
es people,and t here was notenough
thatdepi cted the petit
ionerand wer e spacei nthet empl e.How t omakeGod
placedi nthetempl e.Scienti
stscallsuch l
istentome,andnotmynei ghborwith
fi
guresasador ants( f
rom theLat i
nwor d his(undoubt edly)st upidrequest
s?The
"admi ri
ng,praying"). answeri sobvi ous.I tismyf i
guri
nethat
needst ostandout .
Witht he hel p ofspeci alcer emonies,
thef i
gur i
neswer e"r
evi ved"inorderto Mor e i nf
luent
ial member s of t he
serveasr epresentat
ivesoft heint
erests communi t
ycouldaffordtoputal arger
ofman bef ore God.Fora successf ul representati
ve in t he temple than
prayer,apor tr
aitr
esembl ancebetween ordinary peopl
e.The compet i
ti
on i n
the believerand hi sr eplacementwas fi
gur esi
zewasl imi
tedbyt hesmallsize
notr equired.The f unct i
on ofbi ndi
ng ofthet emplesandt hef i
guri
nesnever
an obj ectt o a specific person was exceededhumanhei ght.Theaverage
performedbymagi c. heightis40cm or16i n.

03
SUMERI
ANWORSHI
PERS

St
anding femal
e wor
shiperfr
om Ni
ppur
,Ear
lyDynast
icI
II
a,ca.2600–2500 BC,
Metr
opoli
tanMuseum ofArt
,NewYork

When iti
simpossibletoi ncr
ease t
he From thi
s we c an conc l
ude thatthe
quant
it
ati
ve char
acteri
sti
cs,then you ears
,mout h and ey es wer ethe most
have t
o work wi
tht he quali
ty oft
he i
mpor t
antpartsofthemagi cfi
guri
ne.The
obj
ect. Sumerianmas ter
sdeliberatel
yincr
eased
t
hes i
zeoft hesepar t
st oemphas i
zethe
Prayeradmi r
ati
onisthemai npurposeof ri
ght
eousnes softhepr ayer
.
t
hes tatuet
te.Ifyous how thedeit
yt hat
yours ubst
it
utelist
enst otheadv iceof Somet imesi twentt oof arandtheeyes
wisepr i
est
sorgods ,thenthedeitywi l
l tookt hef orm ofaci r
cle.Atthesame
chooseonlyy oufrom allt
hosepraying. ti
me,ant hropomor phism was lost,so
thatusuallytheanci entarti
sanst
riednot
Ifyoushow t hedeitythatyourmagi c to go beyond t he reasonablelimit
sof
copyi sexper
ienci
nghumbl ehappiness arti
sti
cexagger ati
on.Att hesamet ime,
from communi cat
ing wit
h his master, amyst eri
oussof thal f
-smilebecamea
thent hedeit
ywi l
lchooseonl yyou.I f desirableattr
ibute.
youshow t hatyouar eopent osecr et
knowledgeoradi vi
nemessage,t hen Equall
y i mport
ant was t he ador ant
thefiguri
nesofallotherloser
scanbe postur
e.They s t
and ors i
tmot ionl
ess.
thrownoutofthetempleasusel ess. Theirarmsar emos toft
encrossedov er
t
heirchestsinaprayergest
ureorholdi
ng
You need earstolist
en.To show j
oy, av esselforsacr
if
ic
es .Thi
siswhatt he
youcansmi le.Thesymbolofattent
ion peoplelookedorshouldhavelookedlike
amongt heSumer i
answasanopenand whenhec ametothet empl
e.
focusedgaze.

04
SUMERI
ANWORSHI
PERS

Maleheadormask.Mar
i(Tal
lHar
ir
i)
.Earl
yDy nast
icPer
iod,mi
d-3rdmi
l
lenni
um BCE.
Li
mestone,bi
t
umen,bl
ackandwhit
es t
ones.MuséeBarbier
-Muel
ler

Ofcourse,atsomepoi nt,al
lt
hefigurines Av i
vidandex pr
ess
ivelookwaspr ovi
ded
becamev erysimil
artoeac hot her.No by the pupilofblue lapislazuliand
onewant edhisdeput yfordivi
neaf fai
rs t
he whi t
es ofthe eyef r
om whi t
es ea
t
ol ookbad i nt he eyesoft he owner shel
ls.The blackbit
umen ey ec ont
our
ofthe temple.Fort he manufac t
ure of accentuatedthemos timport
antpartof
f
iguri
nes,t hey began to use beaut i
ful t
hef i
gurine.
expensive mat eri
als f r
om di stant
countr
ies. Tracesofpolychr
omyonot herfi
gures
ofwor shi
per
ssuggestthatfi
gur
eslike
Instead ofcl
ay and plaster
,we see thesewerealmostcer
tainl
ycomplet
ely
ancientworksofart(f
rom ourpointof color
ed.
view)made ofdi or
it
e,l i
mestone and
alabaster
.

05
SUMERI
ANWORSHI
PERS

St
atuedepict
ingSali
m StatueofEbi h-
Il
Sumeri
anc i
vi
lizat
i
on,Mar
i,Syr
ia, Sumer iancivi
li
zat
ion,Mar
i,Syr
ia,
3r
dMi l
leni
um BC, 25th-centur
yBC,
Nat
ionalMuseum ofDamascus Mus éeduLouv r
e,Pari
s

As a rul
e,we f ind f i
gurines ofmen. Theanc ientSumer iansfearedthei
rgods
Thisisdue t othe f actthatt he ol
der andtheirwr ath.Theanc i
entSumer i
ans
manwasr esponsi bletosoci et
yandt he wanted di vi
ne hel p dur ing diff
i
c ul
t
godsforhisenti
ref ami l
y.Except i
onsto t
imes.Butt heyalsot ri
edtomani pulate
thegeneralrul
ear erelatedt othehigh supernatural forces. Theref
ore,
stat
usofwomenwhol ef
tt hei
radorant t
hey made f i
guri
nes wi t
h whi chthey
i
nasacr edplace. est
ablishedamagi cal c
onnec t
ion.

Finall
y, most import
antl
y, wor shipers Andwhoknowsi ft
hisanci
entmagicand
represent successf
ul and i nfluenti
al a piece ofsoulremained i
nthe huge
people.Thi
smeanst hatordinarypeopl e bl
ueeyesoft healabaster"double"of
couldnotuset his"t
echnology"ort hey anof f
ici
alfr
om thecityofMar inamed
weremadeoff r
agil
emat eri
als. Ebih-I
l.

To protectt hei
rmagi calcount erparts
fr
om anyt r
ouble,t
heSumer ianssought
tohidet hef i
guri
nesi nsidethet empl e.
Todot hi s,theywalledupador antsi n
benchesorundert hef l
oor
.Nowadays,
when excavat ing anci ent t empl es,
archaeologistsfi
ndthesehi dingplaces.

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GURI
NES-KEROSI
DOLHEAD

3900BC 3400BC 2900BC 2400BC 1900BC

A
MESOPOTAMI

I
RRI
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ON BURNTBRI
CK CODEOFURUKAGI
NA I
SIN-LARSAPERI
OD
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GI
LGAMESH GUTI
ANS
CI
TY-
STATES CUNEI
FORM FLOOD ROYALTOMBSOFUR URI I
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MATHEMATICS
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VILDI
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GOLDJEWELRY HANDI
CRAFT MUMMI
FICATI
ON EARL
YKI
NGDOM MEDI
CINE MI
DDLEKI
NGDOM
EGYPT

I
RRI
GATI
ON BRONZE HI
EROGL
YPHS ARTI
STI
CCANON OLDKI
NGDOM GREATSPHI
NX 1stI
NTERMEDI
ATEPERI
OD

OBSI
DIANTRADE ART METAL
WORKI
NG HANDI
CRAFT POTTER'
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AEGEAN

STONEWORK
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NG AGRI
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TURE FUNERALRI
TUAL VASI
LIKECERAMI
CS-EM I
I DHASKALI
O COMPLEX CYCLADI
CCI
TIES

07
CYCLADI
CFI
GURI
NES-KEROSI
DOLHEAD

ORI
GINALARTI
FACT MODERNREPLI
CA MODERNREPLICA
TRACESOFANCIENTPAI
NTI
NG PAI
NTEDASONTHEORI
GINAL RESTOREDORI
GINALAPPEARANCE

HEADOFANI
DOLFROM KEROS
KEROS-
SYROSCUL
TURE|
SPEDOSTYPE|
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YCYCLADI
CII
,2700-2400BCE|
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NT|
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AGEOFBRONZE|
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HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT
NORTHAFRI
CA,
ANCI
ENTEGYPT
,EARL
YDYNASTI
CPERI
OD,DYNASTYI

-
3100 -
2900 0 2000

I
nAnc ientEgypt,byaboutt
het hi
rdmi l
l
ennium BC,t herewereideasaboutt heaf t
erl
if
e,
whichwasac opyoftheworldofthel i
ving.Byt hi
st i
me,theSout hernandNor thern
ki
ngdomsar eunitedunderther ul
eofoner uler-t
hepharaoh.Fort heirpos thumous
exi
stence,thephar aohser
ectmas tabatombs .Her e,i
nextensivevaults,t
hepr operty
neededbyt hek i
ngintheotherwor l
dwass tored.Andaroundt het omb,t herewer e
buri
alsofservantswhoweres acri
fi
ceds othattheywoul dcont
i
nuet os er
v ethemas t
er
af
terdeath.

LI
STENASAYOUTUBEPODCAST

Oneoft hefir
stki
ngsofuni t
edEgypt ,the
pharaohoft heFi r
stdynastyDjerl ived
atthebegi nningoft he3rdmi l
lennium
BC (Ear l
y Dynastic peri
od).Hist omb
i
n Abydos, t aking i nt
o account t he
above-groundbui l
dings,hadanar eaof
morethanf ourhundr edsquaremet ers.

Here,inex t
ensivev ault
s,thepr oper t
y
necessaryfor the k i
ng int he ot her
worldwass t
ored.Andar oundthet omb,
archaeol
ogist
sf ound 338 bur ial
s of
servant
swhower es upposedtopr ovide
t
hephar aohwithac omfort
ableli
fe.They
were mos t
lyfree women,nots l
aves.
They were awar ded separate burials,
manygr aveshads tones t
eleswiththeir
namesont hem.

ThetombofDj erwasl ootedinancient Ceremoni alTempleKni f

e
ti
mes,andr epeatedl
y.Sot hekinglost Fli
nt,pressurefl
aked,withgoldhandl
e
hisaft
erl
if
e propert
y,butt he ser
vants c.3100- 2890BC,Ear lyDynasti
cPeri
od
who accompanied himr emained with ReignofHor usDj er,Dynast
yI
himfor
ever. Royal Ontari
oMus eum,Toront
o

10
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

ForQueen Mer neith,who r uled Egy pt

af
terDj er
,ac ryptwithei ghtex tens i
ve
st
orerooms was bui l
ti n Aby dos . 41
peopl
ear eburi
edar oundthet omb. They
had separat
e gravesand s t
one s tel
es
wit
hnames .I
naddi ti
on,ar chaeol ogists
f
oundawhol e" quarter
"near by ,wher e
77mor epeoplewer es acri
fi
cedf ort he
queen.

Accordingtosomes cienti
stsinSak kara,
t
hequeenar r
angedaf t
erli
fe"wor k
s hops " TheRoy alFuneraryStel
ae
wit
haf ul
lstaf
fof" empl oyees "
.Her e Egypt,necropoli
sUmm el -
Qa’ab
weref ound a mas t
ers hi
pbuilderwi t
h Ear
lyDy nas t
icPeri
od,DynastyI
models ofboat s,an ar t
istwith whom Merneit
h(left
),Semerkhet,Qa’a
vesselsf i
l
led wit
h paintwer el aid,a Egypti
anMus eum,Cairo
masterformak i
ngs t
onev aseswi thtool s
ands amplesofhiswor k,apot t
er,etc . Mer
nei
thr
eign(
wit
hDen)ca.2950BC

Anevenl argerr et
inuewast akenwith
himt ot
heafterl
i
febyar epresentat
iveof
thesameFi rstDynast ynamedDj et.In
Abydos,histombi ssur roundedby174
gravesofser vantssacr if
iced.Another
161 peopl
e ar e buried in a separate
block.

Thenextki ngDenr uledforalongti

me.
Hest rengthenedtheborder sofEgypt , LabelofKi
ngDj et
ensured the securit
y oftrade r
out es, Abydos,Umm el-Qaab,TombZ
wasengagedi nconstr
uct
ion,conducted ca.2980BC,Ear l
yDy nast
i
cPeri
od
a popul at
ion census;arts and crafts ReignofHorusDjet,Dynast
yI
fl
ouri
shedunderhi m. Egypti
anMus eum,Cairo

King Den cel ebrated the thirt

ieth
anniver
sary ofhi sr ei
gn with pomp.
During the pre-dynasti
c peri
od, this
holi
day(accordi
ngt osomeresearchers)
wasaccompani edbyt herit
ualmur der
oftheking.

1
1
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

TheEgy pti
ansbeli
evedt hatthemagi cal
poweroft he rul
erev entuall
yr unsout
andthatnoonei sall
owedt or ei
gnfor
morethanthir
tyyears
.Af t
erthisperi
od,a
sol
emnc er
emonyof" transferofpower "
wasar r
anged.Thenew r ulerkill
edthe
ol
doneandt ookhispl
ac e.

However ,bythet i
meofDen,t her ul
er s
ofEgypthad st opped rushing tot he
afterwor l
d.Instead oft he king,t hey
begant obur yhisstatue.Insteadofa FaceFr om aStatueofk ingDen
new ki ng,anol doner emai nedont he Fi
nds pot:Egypt
,Pr obablyAbydos
throne,whoseyout handsacr edpower 2970BC,Ear l
yDy nasti
cPer i
od,
wasr enewedwi ththehel pofspeci al ReignofHor usDen,Dy nast
yI
rit
uals.The Phar aoh wasin no hur r y Wood,16. 3x9. 7cm
with hisf uner
al,buthe had pr epared Mus eum ofFineArts,Bos t
on
a differentfatef orhis servants.136
peopl ewer ebur i
edaroundhi st ombi n
Abydos.

Den'sheirnamedAnedj
ibrul
edforqui
te
alongti
me,buthistombisquitesmall
.
Thenumberofser vant
sburiednextto
t
hephar aohisal
sosmall-64people.

Bei
ngsmal l
,thetombhadar emar kable
f
eatur
e.Ithadacel l,thewallsofwhi ch
were completel
y panel ed wit
h wood.
Quali
tyconstructi
on timberi n ancient
Egyptwasal uxury,andwoodeni tems
wereasignofpr est
ige.

OfAnedji
b’sbui
ldi
ngsworksiti
sknown
hebuil
tanewf ort
ress“
Horusgoldenof
body”
. Fragmentofas t
atueofKingAnedji
b
Sakkara,Dj
oser'spyr
ami d
Duringt herei
gnofthi
spharaoh,Lower 2930BC,Ear lyDynasti
cPeriod,
Egyptwasengul f
edinrevol
t.Whil
ewe ReignofHorusAnedjib,DynastyI
know t hattheroyalarmypacif
iedthe Darkgreenslate
rebels,iti
spossibl
ethatHorusAnedji
b Egypti
anMus eum,Cai r
o
diedavi ol
entdeath.

12
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

Hiss uccessorbythenameofSemer khet I

tshouldbenot edt hatther emai nsof
ruled i n troubl
ed t i
mes . Therefore, manypeopl ewhos ervedt hephar aohs
t
he s er
vants who wer eto accompany oft
heEar l
yDy nast
icper i
ods how s i
gns
t
hei rmas t
eri ntheaf t
erl
if
ewer ebur i
ed offr
ac t
ures.Now i tis diffi
cultt
os ay
i
ns ide the mas taba. Separate bur i
al whether the s er
vants wer e c ri
ppled
chamber swer ear r
angedf orthem.The bef
oredeat horimmedi at
elyafteri
t.This
king'smas t
abaor i
ginal
lycoveredthe67 wasprobablydones othattheyc ouldnot
subs i
diarytombs .This woulds ugges t esc
apef rom t
heirmas teri
nt heafterl
i
fe.
t
hatt hepeopl eburi
edt her
ewer ebur i
ed
att he same t i
me ast he ki
ng.Among Never thel
ess,t hel ordsshowedsome
t
hes acri
fi
ci
algraveswer etwogr avesof concer nforthepost humousfateofthe
dwar fs. sacrif
icedpeopl e.Theywereswaddl ed
i
nl i
nencl othandpl acedinawooden
Thi s pharaoh began t he shamef ul coff
in,usual lyinabentf orm,ont hei
r
tradit
ionofstealingthetr
easur esofhi s si
de,wi t
ht heirheadst othenorth.The
predecessors.Itisknownthatheer ased coff
inwaspl acedi nanoblongpitwitha
the name ofki ngAnedjibf r
om st one woodencei l
i
ng.Vessel swithfoodand
vessel sandreplacedthem wit
hhi sown. dri
nkwer epl acednear by
.
Al soinhisgravewer emanyi temsf r
om
thet ombsofqueenMer neit
handki ng Personalbelongingsoft he deceased
Den.Ther ewer esuggest i
onst hatthe werenotsupposedt obe,butthet ools
ruleoft hi
srulerwasi l
l
egal. theyneededf orwor kwer eputi nt he
grave.A l
ow structur
ewi thar ounded
Atthet
imeofSemer khet
,Egyptalr
eady topwasbuiltoverthegrave,somet i
mes
t
radedwit
htheLevantinlux
urygoods.It astonestel
ewi thanamewaspl aced.
i
salsoknownthatt
hek i
ngbuil
thimsel
fa
newpal
ac eandthehouseofroyalwiv
es Itis di ff
icultt o say whet her their
(har
em). numer ous ser vants went wi th t he
pharaohs t ot he af ter
li
fe voluntaril
y
oragai nstt heirwi ll
.The f actist hat
almostunt i
ltheendoft heer aoft he
AncientKi ngdom,t heEgypt i
answer e
notall
owedt obui l
dtheirtombs.Those
whodi dnotr eceivet herighttobuilda
well
-mai ntained" houseofet erni
ty"had
tobecont entwi thasi mplegr aveanda
ter
ri
bleaf t
er li
fe.

Stel
eofthedwarfNefer Onlytowards the end oft heAncient
Umm el-Qaab,TombofSemerkhet Ki
ngdom,af t
ertheweakeni ngofpower,
ca.2920BC,Ear l
yDynast
icPer
iod di
dt he nobl
es begint o er ectt
ombs
Bri
ti
shMus eum,London wi
thoutt
hehi ghestper
mi ssion.

13
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

Bur
ialVessel
s;Af
ri
ca,Egypt
;Ear
lyDynast
i
cPer
iod,Dynast
yI;Br
it
ishMuseum,London

ButintheeraoftheMiddleKingdom, Human s acrif

ices ac compani ed the
the phar
aohs agai
n appropri
ated a f
uner al
soft he rulersofEgy ptonlyi n
monopolyinthi
si mpor
tantissue f
or ancientt i
mes .Semer khetwaspr obably
thei
rsubj
ect
s.Andonlybyt heendof t
hel astk ingofEgy ptunderwhom t hey
theMiddl
eKingdom di
dtheEgypt i
ans practi
ced.The t omb ofhi ss uccessor
havetheopport
unit
ytoindependentl
y and the l astr ul
eroft he FirstDy nasty
managethei
raft
erl
if
eexi
stence. king Qa’ a and member s ofhi sfamily
ares ur
r oundedbyt hetombsofc ourt
iers
As l ong as t he monopoly on the (26bur i
als )
,butar chaeologist
sdoubtf or
construct
ion of t ombs bel onged severalr easonst hatthes epeopl ewer e
to the phar aohs, gett
ing i
nto the sacri
ficed.
aft
erli
feent ouragewasoneoft hefew
oppor t
unit
iesforanEgypt iant
oensure
his soul'
si mmor tal
i
ty and well
-bei
ng
beyondt hegr ave.

Atleastunt i
lthemi ddleoft heper i
odof
theAnci entKingdom,godsanddemons
didnoti nter
fereinthef unerallif
eoft he
Egypt i
ans.A per son who managed t o
getintot he af
terl
if
er emai ned forever
toleadacomf ortableexi st
encet here.
Therefor e,itcannotbe excl uded that
the servantsvol untari
lyf ol
lowed their
mast ers,prefer
ringeternitybeyondt he Label
wit
hthenameofKi ngQa'
a
gravetoashor t
-li
vedear thlyli
fe,evenif Egypt
,Abydos,TombofQa'a(
TombQ)
theyhadt ogot odeathf orthis. PennMuseum,Philadel
phi
a

14
HUMANSACRI
FICEI
NANCI
ENTEGYPT

Perhapstheywer eburi
ednexttotheir Asf ors acr
ifi
cesonot heroc casions,in
l
atemasterslat
er.I
nanycase,f
rom that hist
oricalt
imest heEgy pti
ansdi dnotus e
ti
meon,thecust om ofhumansacr
ifice peopleasv icti
ms.Egy ptianar thasl ef
t
goesoutoffashi
on. manyi magesi nwhichk i
ngsk i
llcaptured
enemi es.Att hes amet i
me,t herei sno
Later
,everyone,eventhepharaohs,was reasont othinkthatthesemur der swer e
sat
isf
iedwithpaint
edorscul
ptedportrai
t
s as acredac t.Alt
houghgodsar eus uall
y
ofservant
s.Forthis,t
heEgypti
anpr i
est
s presentins uchs c
enes ,theyarepr esent
usedtheconc eptofmagi
calcounter
part
s i
nmanyi magesoft hek ing,conf i
rming
ands ubst
i
tutes. withtheirauthori
tyanyofhi sac ti
ons .

BACKTOCONTENTS
AGEOFBRONZE|
VOLUME1|
WINTER2021

HOW TOREADTHEEPI
COFGI
LGAMESH
The Epi
cofGi lgamesh isconsider
ed
theworl
d'sol
destlit
erarywork,cr
eat
ed
i
n the 22nd cent ury BCE by t he
anci
entSumerians,thefoundersoft
he
Mesopotamiacivi
l
izati
on.

I
tisdif
fi
c ul
ttojudgewhet hert hisisreall
y
so,si
nc ethelistwegotf rom thef amous
cunei
forml ibrar
y ofAs hur banipal,k i
ng
ofAssyria,ref
ersonl ytothe7t hcentury
BCE,and i ts earli
ercopi es (some of
whichdat ebac kt o1800BCE,t hati s,
al
mos tthetimeoft herei
gnoft hefamous
l
egisl
ator and c onqueror Hammur abi
)
cont
ainonl yfr
agment soft het ext
.

The epi c does cont ai

nr efer
ences t o
the pr edecessor s of the Assyr ians
andevent opr e-Babyl
oniantimes,but
since itwascl earl
ysubjected to very
strong processi ng by Ashurbanapal '
s
cont emporaries,i tis di
ffi
cul
tt o say
whi ch episodes wer e presentint he
originalepic,andwhi chones-i nserted
byt heAssyr ians.

Theepi ct ell
saboutt headvent uresof
thelegendar yf ounderoft heci t
yofUr ,
thedemi godGi lgameshandhi sf ri
end
Enkidu, their campai gn agai nst t he
rul
eroft hemount ainsofLebanon,t he
monst erHumbaba,t hedeat hofEnki du,
whowashat edbyt hegoddessr eject ed Colossalst
atueofahero,Gi
lgamesh
byGi lgamesh I shtar,and t he journey Assyri
a,Khorsabad,l
ate8t
hc .BCE
ofGilgameshhi msel ftothel andoft he Replica,St
aatl
i
cheMus eenzuBerl
in
deadt othemi stressoft hegodsSi duri photo:OlafM.Teßmer
andt hef orefatherUt napishti
mf ort he
fl
owerofi mmor tali
ty.

16
HOW TOREADTHEEPI
COFGI
LGAMESH

However,whatdoweknow aboutt he atr

ipt
otheendsofthewor
ldfort
heherb
prot
otype oft
he l
egendar
yhero? Did ofi
mmortal
i
ty(whi
chendedinfai
lur
e).
suchapersonexi
stinreal
i
ty?
Bas edont heseplots,ar oundt het urn
Weknow i nthe27thcentur
yBCE t he oftheI II-
IImill
ennium BCE f or
medan
cit
ywasruledbyaSumer iankingfr
om epi
caboutGi l
games hinAk kadian.The
the 1st dynast
y named Bi l
gamesh. poem bec ame one oft he mai n wor ks
Hewast hesonoft helegendaryhero ofMes opotamian lit
erature oft he II-I
Lugal
bandaandt hesuccessortoKing mil
lenniaBCE.Att hes amet ime,s ome
DumuzidtheFisher
man. ofthepl ot'
smot i
veswer er eplacedwi t
h
mor eunder st
andableandmoder nones .
According t o Sumer i
an text
s, he The " Countryoft he Cedar "i ni twas
successfull
y complet
ed the str
uggle t
rans fer
red tothe Wes tand i dentif
ied
againstthehegemonyoft hepowerf
ul wit
ht hec edarmount ainsofLebanon.
ci
tyofKi sh.Thiswarwasst art
ed by Als
oi ncl
udedi ntheepi cisthemy t
hof
KingDumuzi d,whofoughtagai
nstt
he t
hef lood.
KishkingEnmebar agesi
.
In any case,we aretalking abouta
Bil
gamesh def eat
ed Enmebar agesi l
it
erary workthatwas " polished"by
andl at
erhissonAgga.Thenourher o generati
onsofancientauthor s.I
nt he
establi
shed a hegemonyovera l arge fi
nalver si
on,t
he epicinfluenced the
partofSumer,whi chwasr etainedunder ancientGreek"
Homer s"
,andhencet he
hissuccessors(atleastthisiswhatt he Greco-RomanandWest er nli
terat
ure.
"Li
stofSumer ian Kings"f rom Nippur
says).

Bil
games h wass ucceeded byhi sson
Ur-Nungal.Af t
erhi s death,Bi l
games h
was deif
ied.I n Sumer ian legends,he
wasal soc redit
edwi ththec onst
ruct
i
on
ofnewwal lsofUr ukandamar cheastto
t
hemount ai
nous" Countryoft heCedar"
(t
heZagr osmount ai
ns-bet weenSumer
and Elam, appr oximately wher ethe
easter
n"Subi r"oftheinscri
ptionsofKi
ng
Eannatum wasl ocat
ed).

Fi
cti
onali
zati
on l
ed tot he emer gence Tabl
et6ofTheEpi cofGi lgamesh
ofSumer i
ans t
ori
esaboutBi lgames h'
s Neo-Assyr
ian,7thcent.BCE,
murderofthedemonHuv ava,abouthis Li
braryofkingAshurbanipal
f
ri
endshipwit
hEnk i
du,enmi t
ywithsome ©TheTr usteesoft
heBr iti
shMuseum
gods,t
hemur derofaheav enl
ybul l
,and

17
HOW TOREADTHEEPI
COFGI
LGAMESH

On t he Inter
net,you can easilyfi
nd Butthat'
snotall.Theidealwayt oget
af ree tr
anslati
on ofthe ancienttext acquaint
ed wi t
h the Mesopot amian
i
nto Engl ish and read the "Epic of masterpi
ecewast odoitastheancients
Gilgamesh" . However,therei s one did. And the anci ent Sumer ians,
problem.Fr om theearl
iestversi
onon, Babyloni
ans and Assyr i
ans li
stened
agr eatli
terar
ywor kwascr eat
edt obe tothesingers.Thesepeopleplayeda
read aloud.For t
unatel
y,we can hear musicali
nstr
umentandsangever yli
ne
what the anci ent t
ext sounded like oftheepicast hegreatPet erPringl
e
thankstomoder nschol
ars. doesnow.

Enj
oymyf
ri
ends,enj
oyastheEpi
cofGil
gameshmus tbeli
stenedt
o!
Cli
ckontheli
nksbel
owtoli
stenonYouTube!

PETERPRI
NGLE-THEEPI
COFGI
LGAMESHI
NSUMERI
AN

PETERPRI
NGLE-GI
LGAMESHLAMENTFORENKI
DU

PETERPRI
NGLE-THEEPI
COFGI
LGAMESH(
TABLETONE)

BACKTOCONTENTS
AGEOFBRONZE|
VOLUME1|
WINTER2021

TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN
EUROPEANDASI
A,KUBAN,NORTHCAUCASUS,MAI
KOPCUL
TURE

-
3700 -
3000 0 2000

Maikopcul
tureist
hearchaeol
ogic
alcult
ureoft heKubanoftheBr onz
eAge.Named
af
tertheMaikopmound.Thebas i
softheec onomyiscatt
lebreedi
ngandagri
cul
t
ur e.
Theymadet ool
sandweaponsfr
om st
oneandbr onz
e,andjewelr
yfr
om gol
dandsi
lver.
Wheeledcartswer
eusedtomov e.Redpotterymadewi t
hapot t
er'
swheel
.

Peopleoft heMaikopculturemostof t
enset t
ledi
nmount aingorges.Theychose
placesthatwere di
ff
icul
tt oreach and conveni
entfordefense f
ortheirvi
ll
ages.
Theirsett
lement
sweref encedoffwithpower f
ulst
onewall
s.Ther uler
sandpr i
ests
wer ebur
iedunderlar
gemounds.I nadditi
ontoalargenumberofpr eci
ousjewelr
y,
weapons,potter
y,t
hebodi esofotherpeoplewereplacedi
nt hegravetoget
herwith
thedeceased,whower especial
lykil
l
edf orthi
s.

MAI KOP KURGAN.An ar chaeol

ogical
monumentoft heearl
yBr onzeAge.The
moundwasl ocat
edintheeast er
npar t
ofthecit
yofMaykopont hebanksofthe
BelayaRi ver
,atri
butar
yoft heKuban
River.

HISTORY OF STUDY.Loc alsc al

led
t
hismoundOs had,af tert heher oofone
oftheAdy ghe legends ,who,as t hey
beli
ev edint heoldday s,wasbur i
edi n
i
t.I
n1897,t hemoundwasex c avatedby
t
heex pedi
tionofPr ofes sorVes elovs ky
andbec amewi delyk nownast heGr eat
May kopMound.I n191 1,t her es earcher
Tal
gren plac ed ittoget herwi th other
si
milarmonument soft heNor th-Wes t
ern
Cauc asus inas pec i
algr oup of" big
Kuban mounds "
.I nt he f utur e, this Reconst
ruct
ionoftheburi
al
conceptwas geogr aphi c ally ex panded moundandbur i
alchamber
andthet er
m Mai kopc ultur eoft heear l
y.

20
TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN

Bronze Age oft

he North Caucasus,
aft
erthenameofthemoundi t
self
,was
recogni
zedasmoresuccessf
ul.

TheMai kopmoundisoneofther
ichest
amongt heexcavat
edburi
alcomplexes
oftheEar l
yBronzeAgeinEurope.All
thefi
ndsarekepti
ntheSt
ateHermitage
Museum.

DESCRI PTION. Themoundwasahuge

rounded ear t
hen mound wi th a height
of10.65m (35f t
).I
naddi t
iontothemai n
buri
al,atadept hof3.20m (10.5f
t)from
thetop,abur ialwasfound,inti
mecl ose
totheconst ructi
onoft hemoundi tsel
f.
Theposi t
ionoft heskelet
on,appar entl
y,
wascr ouched,wi thaspeart i
pmadeof
copperorbr onze,asilverspi
ralpendant
andpiecesofr edochre.

Themai ngr aveundert heembankment

i
n t he cent er of t he mound was
surr
oundedbyacr oml echi nthef orm
of a r i
ng of l i
mest one sl abs. This
huger ectangul arpi thadt hef oll
owing
dimensions:5. 33m ( 17.5ft
) x 3.73m
(12f
t)x1. 42m ( 4.6ft)
.The gr ave was
ori
ented int he di rection ofnor t
heast
-southwest .The wal lsoft he pithad
woodenf or t
if
icati
ons,andt hef l
oorwas
l
ined with pebbl es.Shal l
ow pi t
sf rom
thepil
larsaref ixedi nthecor ners.

Thepitwasdiv i
dedbywoodenpar t
it
ions
i
ntot hree chamber s,eac h ofwhi ch
contai
nedabur i
al.Thetrans verseone
divi
dedt hegraveintothes outhernand
nort
hern halves,and the nort
her n one
wasdi vi
dedintotwoequalpar ts.I
nt he
l
argestc hamber,t
herewast hebur i
alof
amal eelderoftheclanort heleaderof

21
TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN

thetr
ibe.Intheothertwo,nor
th-western Solaroras t
ralsignsareengr avedont he
andnor th-east
ern,presumablyfemal e f
oreheadsoft hebulls,noneofwhi c
hi s
buri
als-wi vesorconcubines.Allthree repeated.Ther odswer ei nterpr
etedas
werebur iedinacr ouchedposi t
ionon symbol sofpower-wandsors cept
er s
,
thei
rsidesandcover edwithredochr e. asa s upportforthe canopyov ert he
buriedorasabundl eofr it
ualrodsor
FINDSFROM BURI ALS. Themai nmal e arrows oft he "pri
est-
king".Two s il
ver
bur i
alwasdi st
inguishedbyt her i
c hness andt hreegoldhemi sphericalcapswer e
of t he ac company ing i nventory .The alsofoundnex ttothem.
whol es keletonwasdot tedwi thal otof
stampedgol dplates,aswel lasv ari
ous Closer to the eas t
ern wall of the
beadsmade ofgol d,s i
lver,car neli
an, chamber,17v essel
slayinarowparallel
t
ur quoise,l apislazuli.37 pl ates ofa t
ot herods:2gold,14sil
verand1s t
one.
l
ar gers i
zeand31s malleronesdepi cted Eightalmostidenti
calclaystuccopot s
l
ions ,19 s imil
armi niature plateswer e st
oodagai nstthewester
nwal l
.
madei nt hef orm ofbul l
s ,38s tamped
l
ar ger i
ngsand10doubl ef i
ve-pet all
ed
roset t
eswer eal sofound.Pr es umabl y,
t
hes e ornament sc ould be s ewn on
clothes,abeds preadorac anopy .

Nextt othe skul lwere gol

d ear r
ings,
andunderi tlaytwonarrowgol dri
bbons
with smallpai r
ed dri
ll
ed hol es.They
arereconst ruct
ed astiarasdecor at
ed
witht he aforementi
oned five-pet
all
ed
roset
tes.

Thi
nstr
ipsofsil
verl
ayall
overt
hebott
om
ofthe gr
ave,s ome ofthem st
il
lhad
si
lv
ercarnat
ions.Mostli
kel
y,t
heycould
ser
veastheuphol s
ter
yofsomewooden
obj
ect
.

Alongthebac kbone,from theskull

tothe
t
ibia,si
xs i
lverrods-tubes1. 03m (4.
6ft
)
i
nl engt
hlaypar al
l
elt oeac hother:two
si
lverwit
hgol dends ,onwhi chonegol d
bullfi
guri
ne wasi mpal ed;t wo enti
rel
y Di
agram oft
heposi
ti
onoft
hear
ti
fac
ts
si
lverwit
hthes ames i
lverbull
sandt wo i
ntheburial
chamber
si
lverwit
hgol dends ,butwi t
houtfi
gures.

22
TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN

Ofgr eatestinterestar et wo mi ni
ature Atthe hands l
ay gold and car
neli
an
si
lverves sel
sdec oratedwi thembos s ed beads,simi
lartot hose f
ound inthe
i
mages .A mount ainl ands cape was souther
n buri
al. Copper vessel
s of
stampedont het hroatofoneoft hem. vari
ousshapesstoodalongtheeast
ern
Thereisanas s umptionthat thedepi cted walloft
hechamber .
l
ineofmount ainpeak sc orrespondst o
t
heout li
nesoft heCauc asianr idge,as Int he nor
thwestchamber ,neart he
i
ti sv i
si
blef rom May kop,whi c h may backbone,there wer
et he same gold
i
ndicatet he loc alpr oduc ti
on of t he andcar nel
i
anbeads.I nthenor t
hwest
vessel. cornert
herewasal ar
gecl ayvessel
.

However ,thi
sisunprovabl
e.Thethroat Intotal
,about6, 000 gold,mor ethan
oft he second vesselis smooth,an 1,000silver,morethan1, 200carneli
an
ornament alst
ri
peisengravedbetween and60t urquoi
sebeadswer efoundin
the thr
oatand the body.The st
yle of themound.Thet otalweightofallgol
d
these images is associ
ated wi
tht he productsis3kg( 6.6lbs)
,andsil
ver-5.3
NearEastandEgypt . kg(11.7lbs).

Toolsandweaponswer ealsoincluded
i
nt hefunerali
nvent
or y.Neartheknee
bones,neara bundl e ofsilverr ods,
several fli
nt bil
aterall
y pr ocessed
diamond-shaped arrowheads and a
numberoff li
ntmicrolit
ictools were
found.

I
nthesout
heas tcor
neroft
hebur i
alt
here
wasasetoftenobj ec
tsmadeofbr onze
‒afl
atdagger,twowedge-shapedax es
,
abat
tl
eaxe,af latk
nif
e,anawl.

Notool
sandweaponswerefoundinthe
t
wonorther
nbur
ial
s,t
hei
rbur
iali
nventor
y
t
urnedoutt
obemuc hmoremodes t
.

However
,ther
ewer et
hesamestr
ipsof
si
l
verasinthesout
her
npar
toft
heburi
al
.

Massive gol
d rings wit
h car nel
ian
beadswerefound inthe bone i
nt he Di
agr
am ofthepos
it
ionoft
hear
ti
fac
tsi
n
nort
heast
ernchamberi
ntheskull ar
ea. t
heburi
alc
hamber

23
TREASURESOFTHEMAYKOPKURGAN

I
NTERPRETATI
ON,CONNECTI
ONWI
THOTHERCUL
TURES

Themat erial
softhekurganindicatethepr esenceofpropert
yandsoci alstr
atif
icati
on
i
nt heMaikopsociety.Thismonumenti salsobeingconsider
edinconnect i
onwi ththe
questionoftheinfl
uenceoft heNear -Asianculturalcomponentint hedevel opment
oftheMai kopcult
ure.Thearti
sti
cst yl
e,thetradit
ionofceramicpr
oduct i
on,anumber
ofjewelry-allthi
st est
if
iestotheexi stenceofcl oseti
esbetweent het r
ibesoft he
Nor t
hCaucasusandt hecult
uralcentersoftheNearEast .However,thei ssueofl ocal
producti
onort heimportednatureofsomepr oduct sr
emainsasubj ectofdi scussion.

BACKTOCONTENTS
AGEOFBRONZE|
VOLUME1|
WINTER2021

MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U
THEPROBLEM OFCRETAN-
EGYPTI
ANRELATI
ONS

NORTHAFRI
CA,
ANCI
ENTEGYPT
,NEW KI
NGDOM,DYNASTYXVI
II

-
1550 -
1290 0 2000

Ont hewal lsofancientEgypt iantombsbui ltduri

ngt her ei
gnoft he18t hdynasty
,
sci
entist
snot i
cedi magesofpeopl ewhom t heEgyptianscal l
edKef t
iu.Thesepeople
werever ysimilartohowt heinhabitantsofCreteportr
ayedt hemsel vesont hewall
s
oftheso- call
ed" new palaces".Atthesamet ime,int heBibleweknow aboutt he
exi
stenceofapeopl ecalled" Caphtorim"andt hei
rcount r
ycal l
ed" Caphtor".Buti
s
ourknowl edgeenought osayt hatthemyst eri
ousKef tiuarerepresentat
ivesofthe
ancientMinoanci vi
li
zati
onf r
om thei sl
andofCr et
e?

LI
STENASAYOUTUBEPODCAST

Thet
erm Capht
ori
m,Kapt
arandKef
ti
u I
nthetopographi
cli
s tofAmenhotepI
IIof
Kom el
-Hetan,t
hes ecti
onent
it
led"Keft
i
u
Todayi nhi stori
calscienceac onsens us andt
heDanuna"c ontai
nsthetoponyms
hasbeenr eac hedont heint
erpret
ati
onof ofCr
eteandt hePeloponnese.
t
het erm" Capht ori
m".Mos tresearchers
i
dentifyt he bi bli
calt erm "Caphtori
m"
wit
h " Kaptar"f r
om t he arc
hives of
t
he Sy ri
an k i
ngdom ofMar iand t he
Egypt i
an "Kef ti
u".
The mos tconvinci
ng
i
nterpretat
ioni sthatthister
m penetrat
ed
i
ntot heEgy pti
anl anguageintheer aof
t
heMi ddleKi ngdom.

Thefactt
hattheKeft
iupeopl
eli
vedin
Cret
eissupport
edbytwoargument
s:

TheEgy pti
anterm"Kefti
u"inthetombs
ofthe18thdynast
yaccompaniesimages TheAegean Listascont ai
ned on t
he
offorei
gners,whobyt heirappearance st
atue base f ound at Amenhotep’
s
arereli
ablyident
i
fi
ed bypeopl e ofthe mortuaryt
empleatKom el-Het
an
Minoanc ul
tur
e. 1386-1349or1388-1351BC

25
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U

Basi
cfact
saboutKef
ti
u/Kapt
ar

The Mi noansar e descended f rom t he

ear l
iest Neolithi
c popul ati
on of t he
i
sl andofCr ete,whi chf i
rstappear edon
apr evi
ousl
yuni nhabitedi sl
andar ound
7000BC.Per hapst hefir
stsettl
erscame
from Anatolia or,accor ding t
o anot her
theor y,fr
om mai nland Gr eece. The
l
anguage oft he pr e-
Gr eek popul ati
on
ofCr et
e,appar ently,didnotbel ongt o
eithert he Afrasian orI ndo-European
fami l
yoflanguages.

Theterm" Kaptar"and" Kef t

i
u"wasus ed
i
nEgy pt i
anandMes opot amians our
ces
f
rom the 18t ht ot he 13t hc entur yBC.
Lat
erc as esofus ear ebas edonl yonthe
est
abli
s hed traditi
on ofus i
ng thisterm
i
near l
yt exts
.Af t
ert heXI I
Ic enturyBC,
nei
thert hec ountrynort hepeopl ewere
rec
orded,whi chwoul dbec alledbyt hi
s
name.At tempt stous ethisout datedterm
i
nnewl yc ompi l
edt ex t
si ndicatethatit
s
meaning was i ncompr ehens iblet othe
aut
horsoft he1s tmillennium BC.

Cretan-Egyptian t i
es r eached t heir TheMi noanbull
-l
eapingfr
esco
highest intensi
ty af t
er the volcani c Egypt,Tel
lel-
Dab
erupti
onont heislandofSant or
ini
.Thi s DynastyXVIII
,1479–1425BC
waswhen t heAchaeansf r
om Gr eece rei
gn:Hatshepsut/ThutmoseII
I
tookoverthedomi nantposit
ioni
nCr ete. M.Bietakreconst
ruct
ion
InEgyptiansour cesofXV- XIVcenturi
es
BCt heyar eknownas" Danuna".

Thepr esenc
eofCretanarti
sansinEgypt
i
sev idenced bythe Minoan muralsin
Tel
lel-Daba.The idea ofthe Egypt
ian
ori
gi
noft heDanaanswasr efl
ect
edi n
t
heanc i
entGreekmy t
haboutt hef l
i
ght
ofDanaeandhi sdaught
ersfrom t
heNi l
e
Delt
a.

26
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U

Theemer
genceoft
het
erm

Noment i
onoft heanc ientEgypti
ant erm
"Kefti
u"hascomedownt ousinthetex t
s
recorded earl
ierint he New Ki ngdom
period.An exc ept
ion ist he t
it
le ofthe
pri
es tofHorusKef tiont hes t
eledur i
ng
t
he r ei
gn ofPhar aoh Senus retI.The
poss i
blecul
toft hegodHor usofCr ete
i
nEgy ptcanbec ompar edwiththec ult
ofthe"Ladyfrom By blos"ofthegoddes s
Hathor.

Thereareot herreasonst obelievet hat

t
het er
m" Kefti
u"arosealreadyint heera
oftheMiddleKingdom.Thi si
si ndic
ated
bythement i
onoft heKefti
upeopl einthe
Admoniti
onsofI puwer.Thisli
t
er arywor k
was recorded on papy r
us oft he 19th
dynasty
,butprobablyaros eattheendof
t
heMi ddleKingdom inearly17thc entury
BC.

Some r esear cher

s attr
ibutet he or i
gin
oft he "
Book ofDays"t ot he Mi ddle
Kingdom,t heol destrecordofwhi chi s
i
nt hetombofRamsesVI .Thement i
on
oft he Kefti
u peopl ei nt he Book of
Daysi nthesamepl aceasSyr iashoul d
notbe consi dered asevi dence oft he
l
ocat i
on oft he Kefti
u count r
yi nAsi a.
Thecont extonl ypointstot henorther n
posi ti
onoft heKef ti
uf rom thepoi ntof
viewoft heEgypt i
ans,whosai l
edal ong
theMedi t
erraneanSeaal ongi t
sshor es.
Cr etewast henor thernmostpoi ntofthe
wor ldtheyknew. Sacredtext"BookoftheDay"(
fr
agment
)
tombofRams esVI,Dynast
yXX,
Thewaytherelaypasttheci
tyofByblos 12thcenturyBC
andSyri
a.Keftiui
sal somentionedas TombKV9i nEgypt'
sVall
eyoft
heKings
themostdist
antcount r
yintheI puwer
Papyr
us.

27
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U

"BeansofKeftiu"arementionedinthe
Ebers Papyr
us ,which dat
es fr
om the
beginni
ng oft he 18th Dynasty.The
London MedicalPapyrusc ont
ainstwo
i
ncantati
onsi
nt hel
anguageof t
heKefti
u
people.

In general
, most of the Egypt ian
documents menti
oning "Keft
iu" date
fr
om therei
gnofHat
shepsuttothereign
ofpharaohAmenhotepII
I.

Incunei
form sources,thist
erm appears
i
nt he18thcent uryBC i nthear chi
ves
ofthecit
yofMar i
.Butt heexistenceof
theter
mi ntheso- call
edgeogr aphyof
mesopotamianki ngSar gontheAncient
makessome r esearchersbelieve t
hat
i
texist
edal r
eadyi nt he3rdmi l
lenni
um
BC.

The appear ance oft he t

erm "Kef t
i
u"
and" Kaptar"inEgyptianandcuneiform
sources att he beginni
ng ofthe 2nd
mil
lennium BC c oinci
des with t he
beginningoftheperi
odoftheoldpalaces
i
nCr ete,when,judgi
ngbyar c
haeological
data,as tat
eappear edontheisl
andf or
t
hef ir
stti
me.
Egypti
anmedicalpapyrusofherbal
knowledgedat
ingtocirca1550BC,
BoththeEgypti
ansandt herul
er sofMar i
l
ibr
aryoftheUniver
sit
yofLeipzi
g
associ
atedac ert
aintypeofs hipswi t
h
t
hename" Kef
ti
u"and"Kaptar".InEgy pt,
t
hes hipsofthec ount
ryofKef t
iuwer e
f
irs
tment i
onedintheannalsofphar aoh
ThutmoseI I
Iinthe des cr
ipt
i
on oft he
campaignofthe34thyearofhi sr ei
gn.

The ar chives of Mar i menti

on t he
constr
uction of a Cr etan-
type ship.
Probably,t hey mean the mult
i-oared
shipsasint hefrescoesfr
om Akroti
ri
.

28
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U

Di
sappear
anceoft
het
erm The i ntensive t rade r elati
ons
between Cr ete and Egypt dur i
ng
The l at
est mention of " Kaptar"i n the 18t
h Dynast yar e confi
rmed by
cuneiform text
si s a doc umentf rom archaeologicalfinds i
nt he Mi noan
t
he 13t hcent
uryBC f r
om Ugar i
t.This portofKommos.Egypt iantranspor t
documentment ionsas hipreturni
ngfrom amphor ae aref ound i
nl ayersf rom
Crete.Onl yt
hedes cri
pti
onoft heempi re thelateMi noanper iodIt ot helate
ofSar gonofAk kadian,preservedint he Minoanper iodIIIA1.
recordofthe8thc enturyBC,dat esbac k
t
oal atert
ime. Duringt he18t hDynasty,thet ombs
of the Egypt i
an supreme nobl es
In Egyptdur i
ng the 19t h dynasty,the wereof t
endepi ct
edwi t
hscenesof
term" Kef t
iu"continuest obeusedonl y the bringing ofgif
ts by f
oreigner s.
i
n st ereotyped lists ofcount ries t
hat Cretansof t
enappearamongt hem.
reproducedol dsampl es.Aft
erthe19t h Theear l
iestsuchimagecomesf rom
Dynast y,t he term “ Kefti
u”was used the tomb ofSenenmuti nr eign of
onlyint heBookoft heDayi nt hetomb Hatshepsut ,atthelat
estbelongst o
ofRamsesVIandi nsever altextsfr
om theer aofAmenhot epII.
the Ptolemai c era.I nt he Decr ee of
Canopusoft hePt ol
emai cper i
od,ina Duri
ngt her
eignofAmenhotepII
I,t
he
textwr i
tteni nhieroglyphs,thecount ry countr
yofKef t
iuisli
stedamongthe
ofKef t
iucor respondst oSyriainat ext conqueredcountr
ies.
writ
teni ndemot i
cscr i
pt.
Minoan wal lpaintings have been
Thedisappearanceoftheterm" Keft
iu" foundintwoEgypt ianpal acesatTell
and "Kapt
ar"int he 13t
hc entury BC el-Daba.Theydat ef rom theer aof
coi
nci
deswi t
ht hedecl
ineofthepalac e Thutmose III
.Per hapsTel lel-Daba
cul
tur
eoftheBr onzeAgeinCreteinthe shouldbeidenti
fi
edwi t
htheEgypt i
an
l
ateMinoanperiodII
IBandthebeginni
ng portofthe18thdynast yofHerunefer.
oft
heer aoft
he" SeaPeoples"
. The document ofThut mose I II-
Amenhot epIIment ionsKef ti
uships
Cr
etansandEgypt i
nt heportofHerunef er.

Thedi stancef rom Cr et

et oEgypti na
strai
ghtlineis350mi l
es.Therear etwo
possiblesear outesfrom CretetoEgypt:
alongt heshor esoft heMedi t
erranean
Sea,bypassi ngAnat oli
aandt heLevant,
toPel usium,oral ongt heopenseat o
futur
e Cyr ene and f ur
theral ong the
southern coastoft he Medi t
erranean
Sea.

29
MYSTERI
OUSKEFTI
U

Fr
agment
arySceneofFor
eigner
s,TombofSenenmut(
TT71)
,ca.1479–1458BCE

PeopleofKeft
iuandPeopleoft
3-n3-
jj
-w Thisinterpretati
on isc onf
i
rmed byt he
I
nt wo Egyptian document
s,t
he term f
indinKom el -Hitt
anofanot herf
ragment
"Keft
iu" i
s associat
ed wit
hthe term ofthe topogr aphicalli
stofAmenhot ep
"t
3-n3-j
j-
w". I
II.Thi
sl i
stalsoment i
onsanotherGreek
t
ribe,t
heI onians.Pr evi
ousl
y,theIoni
ans
The Annals ofThut mos eI I
Iment ions werek nownonl yfr
om s our
c esofalat
er
t
hebr i
ngingtot hec ountr
yoft hes il
ver t
ime.
j
ug" Keft
i
u"byt heleaderoft he3- n3-j
j.
I
nt hetopographicli
s tofAmenhot epI II Based on the for
egoi
ng,we c an st
ate
ofKom el -
Hettanther earet wofigures t
hefactthattodayalmostal
lres
earchers
ofcapti
veswi t
ht henames" Keft
iu"and shar
etheloc al
iz
ati
onoftheKeft
iupeople
"t
3-n3-
jj
-w",and on t he l
eftisa listof asCret
ans .
t
opony m ofCr
ms eteandt hePeloponnes e.
However ,thi
si snott he onl
ypointof
These two test
imonies give r
eason view.Ther e are scholar
swho bel i
eve
t
o i dent
if
y the t3-n3-j
j
-w wi t
h the thatt
hepeopl eofKef ti
ulivedoni
sl
ands
MycenaeanGreeks,whocamet opower i
nt heNileDel t
aori ntheLevantamong
i
nCr etei
nthe15thcenturyBC. thecit
y-stat
esofAnci entCanaan.

BACKTOCONTENTS
 AGEOFBRONZE|
VOLUME1|
WINTER2021

HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE
BLOODYCONFRONTATI
ONBETWEENLAGASHANDUMMA

3900BC 3400BC 2900BC 2400BC 1900BC

A
MESOPOTAMI

I
RRI
GATI
ON BURNTBRI
CK CODEOFURUKAGI
NA I
SIN-LARSAPERI
OD
WHEEL PLANNEDCITY
GI
LGAMESH GUTI
ANS
CI
TY-
STATES CUNEI
FORM FLOOD ROYALTOMBSOFUR URI I
IEMPIRE
MATHEMATICS
SARGONOFAGADE
BRONZE HEGEMONYOFKISH

FUNERALCUL
T SLAVERY NARMERPALETTE PYRAMI
DS CI
VILDI
SORDER

GOLDJEWELRY HANDI
CRAFT MUMMI
FICATI
ON EARL
YKI
NGDOM MEDI
CINE MI
DDLEKI
NGDOM
EGYPT

I
RRI
GATI
ON BRONZE HI
EROGL
YPHS ARTI
STI
CCANON OLDKI
NGDOM GREATSPHI
NX 1stI
NTERMEDI
ATEPERI
OD

OBSI
DIANTRADE ART METAL
WORKI
NG HANDI
CRAFT POTTER'
SWHEEL HI
EROGL
YPHS-MM I
A
HOUSEOFTHETI
LES-EHII
SEATRADEROUTES MI
NOANDEBLA-EM I PHYLAKOPII
I
AEGEAN

STONEWORK
MARI
NEFI
SHI
NG AGRI
CUL
TURE FUNERALRI
TUAL VASI
LIKECERAMI
CS-EM I
I DHASKALI
O COMPLEX CYCLADI
CCI
TIES

32
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Inthemi ddl
eoft hethir
dmi l
lennium BC,ami l
i
taryconfl
ictoccurredonthel andof
ancientSumer ,whichwasnoti nferi
orinit
ssever i
tytot hemoder none.Thewar
betweent heciti
esofLagashandUmmaovert hefert
il
ebor derregi
onofGuedena
l
astedf orsever algener
ati
ons.Thej oyofvict
orywasr eplacedbyt hebi
tternessof
defeat,thebriefpeace-bloodybat tl
es.I
tseemedt hatnothingcoul
dstopthiseter
nal
seri
esofbat t
les.

LI
STENASAYOUTUBEPODCAST

Att he dawn ofSumer ian ci

vil
i
zation, The way outoft he di ffi
cul
tec onomic
smal l vi
l
lages wer e sur
rounded by si
tuationwast heseizur efrom nei
ghbors
uninhabit
ed swamps and dr y plains of theirf i
el
ds or pl ots, wheret hey
between t he Tigri
s and Euphr ates controll
edthev i
t
ali
rrigationsystem.With
ri
vers.Theindust
riousSumer i
anpeopl e controloverthewat er,youc oulddict
ate
mast er
edmor eandmor enewt er
ri
tories yourwi l
ltoyourneighbor s.
i
nt hesouthernpartofMesopotamia.
Usually
, under t he leadership of a
New vill
ages wer e f ounded here, t
alented mili
tar
yl eader,the Sumer i
an
i
rri
gat
ion canals were buil
t,and t
he ci
ty defeated it
sc l
osestr ival
s,took
popul
ati
on grew.Appr oxi
matel
yinthe disput
edterri
tor
iesandf or
c edthelos
ers
XXVII
IcenturyBC t herewerenof r
ee t
opayt ri
bute.Themi l
it
aryleaderwas
l
andslef
t. call
edlugal,whichmeansabi gman.

The Sumer i
ans li
ved i n separ
ate, Succes sfulgeneralsbegant opas son
i
ndependentcommunit
ies.Ther
eli
gious t
heirti
tleandpowerbyi nheri
tance.Ov er
andeconomiccent
eroft hecommunity t
ime,t he bi g people became t he de
wasthetempleoft
hepat r
ongod. f
actor ulersoftheSumer i
anc i
ty-st
ates.
We k now ofdy nasti
es t
hatr uled for
The f
ir
stc i
ty-s
tates int he hi
stor
y of f
ive ormor e generati
ons.Nowaday s,
manki
nd began t of orm around such f
orc onv enience,suchr ul
ersarec all
ed
t
emples.Thus,thetemplesalsobecame ki
ngs .
pol
i
ti
calcent
ers.Histori
ansident
if
yabout
t
wentysuchpoliti
calcentersi
nSumer . Whenal esscapablecommanderwasi n
poweri
nt hevict
ori
ousc i
t
y,theenemies
Despit
et he absence ofmet als,wood agai
nros etofight
.Conf l
i
ctsoverland
andbuildi
ngstonei nMesopot amia,the andwaterhavec onti
nuedforcent
uri
es.
main probl
em ofAnci entSumerwas
thel
ackoffood.Pr oducti
on,primari
lyof Someti
mesonec it
ymanagedtodefeat
grai
n,laggedbehi ndthegr owthint he mostoftheot
herci
ti
es.Thewi
nnertook
numberofnomer esidents. par
tofthehar
vestf
rom t
hedef
eatedand

33
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

demanded t o parti
ci
pate in his Agri
cult
urer eli
ed on the Tigri
s River,
constr
uct
ionproj
ect
s.Atthesameti
me, f
lowing through the " possessi
on" of
theformereli
teret
ainedpowerinthe t
hegodNi ngirsuf
or65k il
ometers,and
defeat
edcit
ies. sevenlargec anal
swi t
hat otall
engthof
about100k il
ometers.Thetotali
rr
igati
on
The fi
rstknown hegemon ofal lof syst
em was about200 k il
ometers,or
Sumerwast hecityofKish.Themili
tary 125miles.
dominati
on ofKish l
eftsuch a st
rong
markont hehi
storyoft heSumer i
ans Thefr
eepopulat
i
onoftheent i
rer
egi
on
thatal
lsubsequenthegemondecl ar ed wasappr
oxi
matel
y150thous
andpeople,
themsel
vesKingsofKi shregardl
essof ofwhi
ch36thousandar
eadultmen.
thei
rori
gin.
Locatedontheoutski
rt
softheSumerian
Morethanonce,gr eatwar ri
orsf orced l
ands ,Lagashs t
ood outinas pecial
mostcommunitiestopayt r
ibut
eanddo area,whichwasoppos edtotherestof
workforthei
rciti
es,butnoneoft hem Sumer .Therul
ersofLagas hwerenot
wasabletocreateauni fi
edst ate.The i
nc l
udedinthegeneralSumeri
anlist
s.
eraofwarsbet
weent heSumer ianci ti
es
andthedynast
iesoftheirki
ngsi scal l
ed Thec it
y-stat
ec alledUmmawasl ocated
theearl
ydynasti
cperiod. i
n t he s outheas tern par t of Sumer
betweent heTigrisandEuphr atesrivers.
Atypi
calexampl
eofaconf
li
ctbet
ween Hist
orianshav eonl yaf ew f r
agment ary
t
wocity-st
atesi
sthewarbet
weenthe sourcesaboutt heUmma.Theys ugges t
UmmaandLagash. t
hati ni t
s dev elopment ,t his poli
tical
centerfoll
owedapat hsimil
artot hemor e
f
amousSumer i
anc it
ies.Thenot i
onsof
Opposi
ngsi
des:LagashandUmma societ
yands tatehoodi ntheUmmadi d
notdif
fer.All
thel andandev ery
thingthat
The name oft he ci t
y ofLagash i n wasoni twasc ons ideredthepr opertyof
transl ati
on f r
om Sumer ian means t
hegodofwarnamedShar a.
"stor ehouse" . The pat r
on dei t
y of
thispl ace wast he god ofagr i
cult
ure,
Ni ngirsu. The name of t his dei t
y
transl atesast her ul
erofapl acecalled
Gi rsu. Gi rsu was t he second most
popul ousci t
y,butthecenterofr eli
gious
l
ife.I n additi
on,si xsmallt ownswer e
sur rounded by def ensi
ve wal ls.The
total landar eaoftheLagashcommuni t
y
i
s est i
mated atappr oxi
mat ely 1,
000
squar e kil
omet ers or 38, 000 squar e Gir
suExcavationModelbyPhi
l
ippe
mi les. Fuzeau,Louvr
eMuseum

34
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Thebegi
nni
ngofabor
derdi
sput
e

Thel andsoft heUmmabegan15- 20km

north ofLagash.The cont actli
ne ran
sever alkil
omet ersfrom westt o east
.
The bor derar ea call
ed Guedena was
veryf ert
il
eandt hereforeofgreatval
ue.
Botht heresidentsoftheUmmaandt he
resi
dent sofLagashwant edtogett hi
s
terr
it
or yanddi sputedit
sowner shi
p.

Theex actti
meoft hebegi nningoft he
disput
eisunk nown,butwhen ar ound
2500 BC. Umma and Lagas h wer e
dependentont hek i
ngfrom t
henor t
h,he
alr
eadyex i
sted.Thepower f
ulr ul
erwas
call
edMes il
im.Hees tabl
ishedhi srule
overas i
gnif
icantpartofSumer ,dictat
ed
hiswil
ltothedef eat
edandt ookt hetit
l
e
ofKingofKish.

Want ing to solve Guedena's probl

em
forever,he di vided itup among t he
disputants.Calli
ngt heoracl
eofthegod
Cone ofEnmet ena,Mesopotami
a,
ofjusticeIštarant ohelp,KingMesilim
Anci
entSumer ,Early Dynast
icII
I
mar kedt henewbor derwit
hamoatand
per
iod,2420–2400BCE,Louvre
erectedast elewi t
hthecor r
esponding
i
nscr i
ption.
me-s
il
im l ugal k i
ški
-ke4 ini
m
di
št
aran-na-
taeš2gana2be2-r
aki
-ba
Ananci entSumer i
ansour cedescr i
bes
nabi
2-ru2
these event s:" Enli
l
,t he king ofal l
l
ands,t hefatherofallgods,determined
Mesil
im ki
m, ngofKi
š,att
hecommand
the borderf ort he god Ningirsu and
ofI
štaran,measur
edthefi
eldandset
the god Shar a with hisindestruct
ibl
e
upast el
ether
e
word.Mesi l
im,theKi ngofKi sh,divi
ded
everything atthe wor d ofI
štaran and
erectedast elethere."

Lagash was qui

te pl
eased wi
tht he
sect
ion.The Umma were di
ssat
isf
ied
wit
ht hi
sdeci
si
on,butt
her
ewasnoway
toarguewit
hMesil
im.

35
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Roundtwo:Eanat
um f
rom Lagashvs. Asf ortherulerofLagash,her estored
Ushfr
om Umma the bor der i
n accordance wi tht he
decisi
onofMesi l
i
m andputsever alof
Thenextr
ulerofLagashwast
hesonof hisownbor derstel
es.Oneoft hem is
t
hedeceasedAkurgalnamedEanat
um. the worldfamous" Stele ofVultures"
,
whichhassur vi
vedtot hi
sday,onwhi ch
Duri
ng the firstyearsi n power,he ther
ei sthefoll
owinginscri
pti
on:
wasengagedi nt herest
orati
onoft he
economy,whi chhadsuf f
eredfrom the "I,Eanatum,rus hedt otheUmmal i
kean
war.Having learned t
he bit
terlesson ev i
lwind,l
ikeaf lood.
ofmi l
i
tary defeat,the i
nhabitant
s of Thepeopl eoft heUmmawer edefeated
Lagashfocusedt hei
reff
ort
sonbui l
ding bymyweapon,
apower f
ularmy . Imademount ai
nsf rom thei
rcorpses.
Eanat um struck,3600 war r
ior
s wer e
Aftera whil
e,Eanat um found himself slain.
strongenought otaker evengeonhi s He def eated t he Umma and made
father'
smurderer
.Inthedecisivebattl
e, twentymoundsofcor pses.
theUmmaar mywasalmostcompl etely Eanat um weptsweett earsofjoybefore
destroyed.
Af t
ert
hecat ast
rophicdefeat thegods.
i
nt heUmma,anupr i
singbrokeout ,the Eanat um r eturned t o Ningir
su hi s
victi
m ofwhichwasUsh. belovedf i
eldGuedena. "

Stel
eoftheVul
t
ures(
fr
agment)
,Mes
opotami
a,Anc
ientSumer
,Ear
lyDy
nas
ti
cII
I
peri
od,c
irc
a2450BCE,Louvr
eMuseum

37
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

To summon t he Sumer ian gods to Having tempor

ari
l
y s t
opped mi l
i
tar
y
wit
nessthejusti
ceofhisdeedsandt he campaigns,hedeci
dedtot ak
eupt he
i
nviol
abi
li
tyoftheborder,Eanatum bui
l
t economyandbegantobuil
dagr andi
ose
sever
alnewsanct uar
iesinGuedena. i
rri
gati
oncanal
.

The def
eated people ofthe Umma ButEanat um f
ailedtorestonhislaurels
.
elect
edanewrulernamedEnakale.He Ther ecentl
ydef eatedElamit
eswentt o
vowednevert
ofightLagash: waragai nstthe Lagas h Empire.Wi th
greatdif
fi
cult
y,thes ol
dier
sfrom Lagas h
"Nev erfor
everandev erwillIvi
olatethe managedt odri
vet heenemyoutoft hei
r
bordersofNi ngi
rsu,Iwi l
lneveri nvade t
erri
tory.While Eanatum'sar myf ought
i
tsdamsandc anals,Iwillnevers pl
ita againstElam,thear miesofAk s
hakand
singlestel
e.IfIbreakt heborders,then Kishinvadedthel andsofLagash.Agai n
l
ett henetfort
hecaptivesofthegodEnl i
l t
hei nhabi
tantsofLagas hdefeat
edt hem.
f
al lontheUmmaf r om heaven."
Tak
ingadv antageoft hedepartureofthe
Oddlyenough,butEanat um want edt o r
oyalarmy,t heEl amitesagainattacked
reachacompr omisewi t
hhi snei ghbor s f
rom the eas t
.Eanat um had t of i
ght
and fi
nall
yr esolve t
he bor derconf l
ict
. t
hem.Atthes amet i
me, AkshakandKi sh
Heal l
ocatedast ri
pofneut r
alt er
ritory madeanal li
anc ewiththepower f
ulci
tyof
between t he two st ates, and al so Mari
.Iti
sdi f
ficultt
oimaginewhatef fort
s
gave the defeated enemi est he fields i
ttook Eanat um to defeatthe allies
.
i
n Guedena and even ot herl ands of However,hedi dit
.
Lagash.Fort hi
s,peoplefrom theUmma
hadtot r
ansfertoEanatum andhi shei rs Soonaf t
eranothert r
iumph,thegreat
a partoft he harvestgrown on t hese commanderdi sappearsfrom hi
stor
ical
l
ands. sources, and hi
s br ot
her comes in
his pl
ace.I ti
s veryl i
kelythatluck
Hav i
ng dealtwi tht he ol d enemy ,t he sti
l
lturnedawayf rom therulerofthe
rul
erofLagas hc onti
nuedt of ight.Firs t
, LagashEmpi reandhedi edinoneof
t
he s outhern Sumer i
an c i
ties wer e thesubsequentbatt
les.
defeat
ed,andt henav ic
tor i
ousc ampai gn
t
ot heeas tagainstthec ountryofEl am
f
ollowed. Then Eanat um pr ocl
aimed
himselftheKingofKi sh.T oc onfir
mt hi s
t
itl
e,he needed t o def eatt he nor thern
unionoft hec i
tiesofAk s hakandKi s h.
Thear myoft henor therner sinv adedt he
l
andsofLagas h,butwasdef eatedand
ret
reated.Alt
hought hec onques tofallof
Sumerwass t
il
lal ongwayof f,Eanat um
hadbigpl ansforthef ut
ur e.

38
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Roundt
hree:Enanat
um ofLagashvs. LagashlostGuedena.Enemi
esbur i
ed
Ur-
LummaofUmma di
tches,smashed borderst
eles and
destr
oyedthesanct
uari
esoft
hegods.
When Eanat um's br ot
herwithav er y
si
mi l
arname,Enanat um,inher
it
edpower Ananci
entsour
cefrom Lagas
hcont
ains
overLagashandt henomess ubordinate t
hefol
l
owingli
nes:
t
ohi m,hewasal readyanol dman.At
t
he s ame ti
me,t he r ulerofAnak ale, "Ur-
Lumma,t he ruler oft he Umma,
whowasel ec t
edruleraf t
erdef
eat ,died drai
ned t he Ningir
su borderditch and
i
nt heUmma.Hi ss onandhei rnamed Ningirsu borderditc
h,dug and bur ned
Ur- mm c
Lumma ons i
dered thathisf ather's t
hes telesoftheborderdi t
ch,dest
roy ed
oathdidnotapplytohi m,andrefusedt o t
hes anc t
uar
iesofthegodsi nthebor der
paytri
butet
oLagas h. sett
lement ,receiv
ed helpf rom foreign
countriesandf i
nal
lycros
s edtheNingirsu
Totheaidoft
hepeopl
ef r
om theUmma borderdi t
ch.
"
came unknown "
for
eigners
"f r
om the
nor
th,andt
hearmyoftheall
i
esdefeat
ed
Enanatum.

Li
on-headed Eagle ofLagash,Mace
head,dedi
catedtot heli
feofEnanatum,
Mesopotamia,Anci ent Sumer
, Early
Dynasti
cII
Iperiod,2600–2350BC,
©TheTr ust
eesoft heBr i
ti
shMus eum

39
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Round f
our
:Ent
emena ofLagash vs. Lagashf ail
edtoful
lyenjoyt hefrui
tsof
Ur-
LummaofUmma t
hev ict
ory.Athi
rdpart
yintervenedinthe
confl
ict
.T othenort
hoft heUmmawas
Asment ioned,Enanat um wasanel derly
t
heSumer iancit
yofZabalam.Hi sarmy,
man.He notonl ycoul
d notk eep the
l
edbyamannamedI l(
asi ni
ll)
,ravaged
conquer edc it
iesofhi sbrother
,butal s o
t
henor t
hernlandsofLagas h,andt hen
protec tthe bor ders oft he anc est
ral
ret
reated.
l
andsofLagas h.Doc umentsav ailabl
et o
uss how t hatafterthemi l
i
tarys etbacks,
The defeated s i
de needed a s trong
Enanat um disappear sfr
om t her ecords.
l
eader,andI l
ewasper fectf
ort
his.Inthe
Thef ate ofthisr ul
erisnotk nownf or
Umma,hewasel ectedasthenewhi gh
certain-mos tl i
k el
y,hedi edanat ural
pri
estandr uler
.Tos how hi
sstrengthto
deat h.Thisv ersionissuppor t
edbyt he
hi
ss ubj
ec t
s,Ilbegant oprovokeLagas h
f
ac tthatLagas hwasheadedbyt hes on
i
ntoanewc onfl
i
ct.Fort hi
shepai donly
ofEnanat um namedEnt emena.
ati
nypar tofthetribute.

Thefir
stactofthenew ki
ngwast he
Entemenadi dnotdaret ostar
tanewwar
bat
tl
ewi t
htheUmma.Thebat t
letook
wit
ht heUmmaandt r
iedt oresolvethe
pl
acenearacit
ycall
edGhana-
Ugiga:
di
sputedi plomati
cally
.J ustatt histi
me,
"Enanat um,r ulerofLagas h, awar lor
dr eappearsi nSumer ,whohas
ont hefieldofUgi gaandont hefi
eldof wont hetitl
eofKi ngofKi sh.Thi sman,
Ningirsupr eviousl
yf oughtwithenemi es, whos enamewedonotk now,forcedthe
but Ent emena, t he beloved son of part
iestor ecogni
zet he firs
tboundar y
Enannat um,def eatedthem. setbyKingMes il
im atthev er
ybegi nni
ng
Ur-Lummaf l
edt ot hecit
yofUmmaand oft he conf l
i
ct.As c ompens ation,the
waski ll
ed. Ummanol ongerhadt opayt ri
buteto
Hisdonk eys,s i
xt
yc hari
ots,remainedon Lagash.
t
hebankoft hec anal,
andt hebonesoft heirwarriorsremained
onthepl ain.
Moundsf r
om t heirbodiesr emainedi n
fi
vepl aces."

Appar ent
ly,the people oft he Umma
weredef eated,andt hearmyofLagash
reachedt hewal lsoft heUmmai tsel
f.
Accordingt otradi
tion,theloserinthe
war,therulerofUr-Lummawaski l
ledby
hispeopl eduringt heuprisi
ngagai nst
him.

40
HUNDREDYEARS'
WAROFTHEBRONZEAGE

Fi
vegener
ati
onsofwar

Therulerofthecit
yofLagashnamedEnt emenaandt herul
erofthecit
yofUmma
namedI ll
i
vedt ool
dageanddi edofnat
uralcauses.Duri
ngthei
rli
fet
ime,ri
valci
ti
es
nolongerdisput
edtheownershipoft
heGuedenaar ea.

Entemena'sson,Enanat
um II
,begant orul
einLagash.Hedi dnothi
ngofnoteandlos
t
poweraf ewyearsaf
tert
hes t
artofhi
sr ei
gn.Wi
thhisdepartur
e,thedynast
yofLagash
rul
ers,f
oundedbyKingUr -
Nans hefi
vegenerat
i
onsear l
i
er,ended.

From 2450to2334BCE,c onf

li
ctbet
weenneighbori
ngSumer i
anci
ty-st
atesl
ast
edov er
t
heferti
lefi
eldsofGuedena.OtherSumeri
anc i
ti
esandt hei
rpowerfulki
ngsweredrawn
i
ntothisconfli
ct.Af
teronehundredandsi
xteenyearsofbl oodybatt
l
esandper i
odsof
f
ragi
lepeac e,thesit
uati
onhasretur
nedt
oitsori
ginalposit
i
on.

Fol
lowsNext>>
Whendist
urbedt
heDivi
neLaw:Sumer
ianci
ty-
stat
esofLagashandUmmaaf
tert
he
Hundr
edYearsWar.