Lugal-dalu ( sux, ) was a

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 ...

ian ruler of the

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

n city of Adab in the mid-3rd millennium BCE, probably circa 2500 BCE. His name does not appear in 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 ...

, but he is known from one of a statue bearing his name. The statue is similar in style to those of other Sumerian kings such as Meannesi or

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 ...

, sons of

En-anna-tum I Enannatum I ( sux, , ), son of Akurgal, succeeded his brother E-anna-tum as '' Ensi'' (ruler, king) of Lagash. During his rule, Umma once more asserted independence under its ensi Ur-Lumma, who attacked Lagash unsuccessfully. After several ba ...

. The statue, made of grey gipsum or limestone, was discovered by Edgar James Banks, who described it in an article published in 1904 as "The Oldest Statue in the World" (a claim shared by other statues such as the

Urfa Man The Urfa man, also known as the Balıklıgöl statue, is an ancient human shaped statue found during excavations in Balıklıgöl near Urfa, in the geographical area of Upper Mesopotamia, in the southeast of modern Turkey. It is dated to the per ...

or the

'Ain Ghazal Statues El Ain ( ar, العين), Al Ain, or Ain is a village at an elevation of on a foothill of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains in the Baalbek District of the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. It is famous for agriculture and trade, located on the highwa ...

). The inscription in archaic

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- ...

on the statue reads ''è-sar lugal-dalu lugal adab-(ki)'' "In the temple Esar, Lugaldalu king of Adab", referring to the Esarra Temple in Adab."For the E-sar. Lugaldalu, king of Adab" in File:Detail of the Sumerian statue of Lugaldalu.JPG, Detail of the inscription. File:Lugaldalu inscription.jpg, Lugaldalu inscription: ''è-sar lugal-dalu

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 ...

adab-(ki)'' "In the temple Esar, Lugaldalu king of Adab" File:Lugaldalu name archaic and early cuneiform.jpg, The name "Lugal-dalu" () vertically in the inscription, with its rendering in standardized early Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform

References

{{Istanbul Archaeology Museums Sumerian rulers 26th-century BC rulers Kings of Adab