''Il'' (, ) was king (, '' Lugal''; ) of the

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

ian city-state of

Umma Umma () in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, 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 Jokha. More recently it has been sugges ...

. His father might have been Eandamu, and his grandfather was King Enakalle, who had been vanquished by

Eannatum Eannatum ( ; ) was a Sumerian ''Ensi (Sumerian), Ensi'' (ruler or king) of Lagash. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history, subduing Elam and destroying the city of Susa, and extending his domain over the rest of Sumer and Akk ...

Lagash Lagash (; cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian language, 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 Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash ( ...

. Il was the successor to Ur-Lumma. According to an inscription, before becoming king, he had been temple administrator in Zabalam: "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 Entemena, ruler of Lagash, as mentioned in an inscription: Il was defeated by Entemena, who had sought the aid of Lugal-kinishe-dudu of

Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...

, successor to Enshakushanna, who is in the king list. Il later fought against Enannatum II, king of

and successor to Enmetena, and defeated him, ending the Lagash dynasty founded by Ur-Nanshe. He was succeeded by his son, Gishakidu. File:Il of Umma (name).jpg, Name of "King Il" on his tablet ( 𒈗 being the character for Lugal, "King"), and corresponding standard Sumero-Akkadian

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

Votive plaque of a beard-IMG 6857.JPG, Votive plate of Queen Bara-irnum of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, 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'') on the votive plate of Queen Bara-irnun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Il, king of Umma Kings of Umma 25th-century BC Sumerian kings 3rd-millennium BC births 25th-century BC deaths