Mesilim ( sux, ), also spelled Mesalim (c. 2600 BC), was ''
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 could ...
'' (king) of the
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian city-state of
Kish
Kish may refer to:
Geography
* Gishi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, a village also called Kish
* Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality also spelled Kish
* Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf
* Kish, Iran, ...
.
Though his name is missing from the ''
Sumerian king list
The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...
'', Mesilim is among the earliest historical figures recorded in archaeological documents. He reigned some time in the "Early Dynastic III" period (c. 2600–2350 BC). Inscriptions from his reign state that he sponsored temple constructions in both
Adab and
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 ...
, where he apparently enjoyed some
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
. He is also known from a number of fragments.
Frontier mediator
Mesilim is best known for having acted as mediator in a conflict between
Lugal-sha-engur
Lugalshaengur ( sux, , ''Lugal-sha-engur''), (c. 2600 BCE), was '' ensi'' (governor) of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.
The First dynasty of Lagash is dated to the 25th century BCE. Lugalshaengur wastributary to Mesilim. Following the hegemo ...
, his ''
ensi'' in Lagash, and the neighboring rival
city state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
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 ...
, regarding the rights to use an
irrigation canal
An acequia () or séquia () is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particularly n ...
through the plain of
Gu-Edin
Gu-Edin (also transcribed "Gu'edena" or "Guedena") was a fertile plain in Sumer, in modern-day Iraq. It lay between Umma and Lagash, and claims made on it by each side were a cause of the Umma-Lagash war. Argument over the territory continued for ...
on the border between the two. After asking the opinion of the god
Ištaran
Ištaran (Ishtaran, sux, ) was a Mesopotamian god who was the tutelary deity of the city of Der, a Sumerian city state positioned east of the Tigris on the border between Sumer and Elam. It is known that he was a judge deity, and his positi ...
, Mesilim established a new border between Lagash and Umma, and erected a pillar to mark it, on which he wrote his final decision.
This solution was not to be permanent; a later king of Umma, Ush, destroyed the pillar in an act of defiance. These events are mentioned in one of the inscriptions of the ruler of Lagash
Entemena
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 of U ...
, as an ancient foundational event which settled the frontier between the two Sumerian cities.
Identification
In the 1950s, Sumerologist Edmund Gordon reviewed the literary evidence and suggested a tentative theory that Mesilim and King
Mesannepada
Mesannepada ( sux, , ), Mesh-Ane-pada or Mes-Anne-pada ("Youngling chosen by An") was the first king listed for the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 26th century BC) on the Sumerian king list. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown ...
of
Ur, who later in his reign also assumed the title "King of Kish", were in fact one and the same.
Both names are known elsewhere from a unique Mesopotamian proverb about the king whose temple was torn down. In Sumerian version, the proverb reads "The E-babbar which Mesilim had built, Annane, the man whose seed was cut off, tore down." E-babbar was the temple in Lagash, and Gordon took ''Annane'' to be a corruption of the name A-anne-pada, i.e. Mes-anne-pada's own son. The much later Akkadian proverb reads "The temple which
Mesannepadda
Mesannepada ( sux, , ), Mesh-Ane-pada or Mes-Anne-pada ("Youngling chosen by An") was the first king listed for the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 26th century BC) on the Sumerian king list. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown ...
had built, Nanna, whose seed was picked off, tore down". However,
Thorkild Jacobsen
Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a renowned Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the ancient Near East.
Biography
Thorkild Peter Rudolph Ja ...
disputed this theory and reached the opposite conclusion, that Mesilim and Mesannepada were probably distinct, arguing that the Akkadian scribe did not recognise the name of Mesilim that was not on the kinglist, and simply substituted that of a name he knew from the list.
Per his own inscription on the head of a mace, Mesilin was contemporary with an otherwise unknown king of
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 ...
named
Lugalshaengur
Lugalshaengur ( sux, , ''Lugal-sha-engur''), (c. 2600 BCE), was '' ensi'' (governor) of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.
The First dynasty of Lagash is dated to the 25th century BCE. Lugalshaengur wastributary to Mesilim. Following the hegemo ...
.
This suggests that Mesilin ruled before the Lagash dynasty of
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 ...
.
Mesilim is also known from other fragmentary inscriptions. In particular, there are two dynastic administrative tablets in which he is named as contemporary (and probably suzerain) of
Lugalshaengur
Lugalshaengur ( sux, , ''Lugal-sha-engur''), (c. 2600 BCE), was '' ensi'' (governor) of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.
The First dynasty of Lagash is dated to the 25th century BCE. Lugalshaengur wastributary to Mesilim. Following the hegemo ...
, Governor of
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 ...
, and
Nin-Kisalsi, Governor of
Adab.
One inscription on a bowl reads:
}
File:Mesilim macehead.jpg, Mesilim macehead at time of discovery
File:Mesilim macehead MesilimLugal Kish.jpg, Mesilim macehead with inscription ''Mesilim Lugal Kish'' (), "Mesilim, King of Kish
Kish may refer to:
Geography
* Gishi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, a village also called Kish
* Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality also spelled Kish
* Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf
* Kish, Iran, ...
".
File:Mesilim Lugal Kish-ki on the Net Vase of Entemena.jpg, ''Mesilim Lugal Kish-ki'' (), "Mesilim, King of Kish
Kish may refer to:
Geography
* Gishi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, a village also called Kish
* Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality also spelled Kish
* Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf
* Kish, Iran, ...
", on the "Net Cylinder" of Entemena
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 of U ...
See also
*
History of Sumer
The history of Sumer spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty o ...
External links
Inscriptions of Mesilim
References
Bibliography
* Vojtech Zamarovský, ''Na počiatku bol Sumer'', Mladé letá, 1968 Bratislava
* Plamen Rusev, ''Mesalim, Lugal Na Kish: Politicheska Istoriia Na Ranen Shumer (XXVIII-XXVI V. Pr. N. E.), Faber, 2001'' (LanguageBulgarian)
Mesalim, Lugal of Kish. Political History of Early Sumer (XXVIII–XXVI century BC.)
{{Rulers of Sumer
Sumerian rulers
25th-century BC rulers