''Il'' ( sux, , ) was king (, ''

Lugal Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state coul ...

'') of the Sumerian city-state of

Umma Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell J ...

, circa 2400 BCE. His father was Eandamu, and his grandfather was King Enakalle, who had been vanquished by

Eannatum Eannatum ( sux, ) was a Sumerian '' Ensi'' (ruler or king) of Lagash circa 2500–2400 BCE. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history: he subdued Elam and destroyed the city of Susa as well as several other Iranian cities, ...

Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...

. Il was successor to

Ur-Lumma ''Ur-Lumma'' ( sux, , ) was a ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Umma, circa 2400 BCE. His father was King Enakalle, who had been vanquished by Eannatum of Lagash. Ur-Lumma claimed the title of "King" (''Lugal''). His reign lasted at least 12 ...

. According to an inscription, before becoming king, he had been temple administrator in

Zabalam Zabala, also Zabalam ( ''zabalamki'', modern Tell Ibzeikh (also Tell el-Buzekh), Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq) was a city of ancient Sumer in what is now the Dhi Qar governorate in Iraq. In early archaeology this location was also called Tel el-Buz ...

: "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." He ruled for at least 14 years. He entered in a territorial conflict with

Enmetena Entemena, also called Enmetena ( sux, , ), lived circa 2400 BC, was a son of En-anna-tum I, and he reestablished Lagash as a power in Sumer. He defeated Il, king of Umma, in a territorial conflict, through an alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu o ...

, ruler of Lagash, as mentioned in an inscription: Il was defeated by

, who had sought the aid of

Lugal-kinishe-dudu Lugal-kinishe-dudu (, ''lugal-ki-ni-še₃-du₇-du₇'') also Lugal-kiginne-dudu (, ''lugal-ki-gin-ne2-du₇-du₇''), was a King and ( ensi) of Uruk and Ur who lived towards the end of the 25th century BCE. The Sumerian King List mentions ...

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...

, successor to

Enshakushanna Enshakushanna ( sux, , ), or Enshagsagana, En-shag-kush-ana, Enukduanna, En-Shakansha-Ana, En-šakušuana was a king of Uruk around the mid-3rd millennium BC who is named on the '' Sumerian King List'', which states his reign to have been 60 year ...

, who is in the

king list A regnal list or king list is, at its simplest, a list of successive monarchs. Some regnal lists may give the relationship between successive monarchs (e.g., son, brother), the length of reign of each monarch or annotations on important reigns. T ...

. Il later fought against

Enannatum II Enannatum II ( sux, , ), son of Entemena, was '' Ensi'' (governor) of Lagash. Only a few inscriptions of Enannatum II are known, suggesting a short reign. One of these inscriptions, of which four nearly identical instances are known, appears o ...

, king of

and successor to Enmetena, and vanquished him, ending the Lagash dynasty founded by

Ur-Nanshe Ur-Nanshe ( sux, , ) also Ur-Nina, was the first king of the First Dynasty of Lagash (approx. 2500 BCE) in the Sumerian Early Dynastic Period III. He is known through inscriptions to have commissioned many buildings projects, including canals and ...

. He was succeeded by his son,

Gishakidu Gishakidu ( ''giš-ša3-ki-du10'') was king of the Sumerian city-state of Umma and husband of queen Bara-irnun, circa 2400 BCE. He was the son of Il, king of Umma, and his reign lasted at least 4 years. He is particularly known from a gold votive ...

. File:Il of Umma (name).jpg, Name of "King Il" on his tablet (

𒈗 Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state cou ...

being the character for

, "King"), and corresponding standard Sumero-Akkadian

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

Votive plaque of a beard-IMG 6857.JPG, Votive plate of Queen

Bara-irnum Bara-irnun ( ''bara-ir-nun'') was queen of the Sumerian city-state of Umma and wife of king Gishakidu, circa 2400 BCE. She is particularly known from a gold votive plate, in which she describes her genealogy in great detail. The inscription on th ...

of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of

, 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. File:Il Lugal (name).jpg, "King Il" (, ''Il

lugal Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state coul ...

'') on the votive plate of Queen Bara-irnun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Il, king of Umma Kings of Umma 24th-century BC Sumerian kings