| Stele of the Vultures | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The stele in the Louvre Museum (front and back) | |
| Material | Limestone |
| Size | Height: 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) Width: 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) Thickness: 11 centimetres (4.3 in) |
| Writing | Sumeriancuneiform |
| Created | c. 2475 BC |
| Discovered | c. 1883 Tello, Dhi Qar, Iraq |
| Discovered by | Ernest Sarzec |
| Present location | Musée du Louvre, Paris |
| Identification | AO 16 IO9, AO 50, AO 2246, AO 2348 |
| Registration | CDLI P222399 |
TheStele of the Vultures is a monument from theEarly Dynastic IIIb period (2600–2350 BC) inMesopotamia celebrating a victory of the city-state ofLagash over its neighbourUmma. It shows various battle and religious scenes and is named after thevultures that can be seen in one of these scenes. Thestele was originally carved out of a single slab oflimestone, but only seven fragments are known to have survived up to the present day. The fragments were found atTello (ancient Girsu) in southernIraq in the 1880s and are now on display in theLouvre. The stele was erected as a monument to the victory of kingEannatum of Lagash overUsh, king of Umma.[1][2] It is the earliest known war monument.[3]
The stele is not complete; only seven fragments are known today. The first three fragments were found during excavations in the early 1880s by the French archaeologistErnest de Sarzec at the archaeological site ofTello, ancient Girsu, in what is today southernIraq. Another three fragments came to light during the excavations of 1888–1889. A seventh fragment, which was later determined to be part of the Stele of the Vultures and thought to have come from Tello, was acquired on the antiquities market by theBritish Museum in 1898. While two initial requests to hand this fragment over to theLouvre were denied by the British Museum, it was eventually given to them in 1932 so that it could be incorporated in the reconstructed stele together with the other fragments.[4] It was first translated by F. Thureau-Dangin in 1907.[5]
The complete monument, as reconstructed and now in display in the Louvre, would have been 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) high, 1.30 metres (4 ft 3 in) wide and 11 centimetres (4.3 in) thick and had a rounded top. It was made out of a single slab oflimestone with carved reliefs on both sides.[6] The stele can be placed in a tradition of mid- to late-third millennium BC southernMesopotamia in which military victories are celebrated on stone monuments. A similar monument is theVictory Stele of Naram-Sin, created during theAkkadian period that followed on the Early Dynastic III period.[7]
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The two sides of the stele show distinctly different scenes and have therefore been interpreted as a mythological side and a historical side. The mythological side is divided into two registers. The upper, larger register shows a large male figure holding a mace in his right hand and ananzu or lion-headed eagle in his left hand. Theanzu identifies the figure as the godNingirsu. Below theanzu is a large net filled with the bodies of naked men. Behind Ningirsu stands a smaller female figure wearing a horned headband and with maces protruding from her shoulders. These characteristics allow the figure to be identified as the goddessNinhursag. The lower, smaller register is very badly preserved but, based on comparisons with contemporary depictions, it has been suggested that it depicted the god Ningirsu standing on a chariot drawn by mythological animals.[6] A more recent analysis suggests that the chariot is approaching Ninhursag standing outside a sacred building.[8]
The historical side is divided into four horizontal registers. The upper register showsEannatum, theensi or ruler ofLagash (his name appears inscribed around his head), leading aphalanx of soldiers into battle, with their defeated enemies trampled below their feet. Flying above them are thevultures after which the stele is named, with the severed heads of the enemies of Lagash in their beaks. The second register shows soldiers marching with shouldered spears behind the king, who is riding a chariot and holding a spear. In the third register, a small part of a possibly seated figure can be seen. In front of him, a cow is tethered to a pole while a naked priest standing on a pile of dead animal bodies performs alibation ritual on two plants spouting from vases. Left of these scenes is a pile of naked bodies surrounded by skirted workers with baskets on their head. Only a small part of the fourth register has been preserved, showing a hand holding a spear that touches the head of an enemy.[6] Some Sumerologists have proposed reconstructing a caption near the enemy as "Kalbum, King of Kish".[9]
The inscriptions on the stele are badly preserved. They fill the negative spaces in the scenes and run continuously from one side to the other. Of the original roughly 840 lines 350 are complete and 130 are partially preserved.[10] The text is written inSumeriancuneiform script. From these inscriptions, it is known that the stele was commissioned by Eannatum, anensi or ruler of Lagash around 2460 BC. On it, he describes a conflict withUmma overGu-Edin, a tract of agricultural land located between the two city-states.[6] The conflict ends in a battle in which Eannatum, described as the beloved of the god Ningirsu, triumphs over Umma. After the battle, the leader of Umma swears that he will not transgress into the territory of Lagash again upon penalty of divine punishment.[11]
![Inscription "Akurgal king of Lagash, son of Ur-Nanshe" (𒀀𒆳𒃲 𒈗 𒉢𒁓𒆷𒆠 𒌉 𒌨𒀭𒀏).[12][13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAkurgal_king_of_Lagash_son_of_Ur-Nanshe_on_the_Stele_of_the_Vultures.jpg)
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