The Stele of Ushumgal is an early

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 stone tablet, dating to the Early Dynastic I-II (circa 2900-2700 BCE), and probably originating from

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 ...

. It is currently located in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The stele is 22 cm high. It is partially deciphered, refers to an early transfer of land ownership. A large man is inscribed with a label, which can be read “Ušumgal, the pab-šeš priest of (the deity) Šara”. On the other side stands a female with an unclear name, probably the daughter of Ushumgal. The stele has been described as a type of "ancient

Kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...

", a sort of stele known from the

Kassites The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

period in the 2nd millennium BCE.I. J. Gelb, P. Steinkeller, and R. M. Whiting Jr, "OIP 104. Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus", Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989, 1991 ISBN 978-0-91-898656-
TextPlates
/ref> The name "Akka" appears in the Stele of Ushumgal, as ''Ak gal-

ukkin Ukkin (UKKIN) is the Sumerian word or symbol for assembly, temple council or Divine council, written ideographically with the cuneiform sign 𒌺 (Borger 2003 nr. 73, encoded by Unicode at code point U+1233A). In Akkadian it is transliterated ...

'', "Ak gal-ukkin official". It has been suggested this could refer to

Aga of Kish Aga ( Sumerian:) commonly known as Aga of Kish, was the twenty-third and last king in the first dynasty of Kish during the Early Dynastic I period. He is listed in the ''Sumerian King List'' and many sources as the son of Enmebaragesi. The Kishi ...

himself. File:Stele of Ushumgal MET an58.29.AV3.jpg, The daughter of Ushumgal. File:Stele of Ushumgal MET an58.29.AV2.jpg, Three men, possibly from a local council File:Ak gal-ukkin.jpg, The name "Akka" appears in the Stele of Ushumgal, as ''Ak gal-

'', "Ak gal-ukkin official". It has been suggested this could refer to King

himself. File:Stele of Ushumgal MET an58.29.AV1.jpg, Another figure File:Line_art_of_Aga_of_Kish_from_the_Stele_of_Ushumgal,_transliteration_and_translation.png, Line art of Aga of Kish from the Stele of Ushumgal.

References

{{reflist

External links

Complete transliteration of the inscriptions
3rd-millennium BC steles Ancient Near East steles Archaeology of Iraq Stone sculptures Sculptures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) Umma

See also

References

External links