UrukaginaUru-ka-gina, Uru-inim-gina, or Iri-ka-gina ( ; 24th century BC, middle chronology) was King of the city-states of Lagash and Girsu in Mesopotamia, and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to have been divinely appointed, upon the downfall of his corrupt predecessor, Lugalanda. He is best known for his reforms to combat corruption, which are sometimes cited as the first example of a legal code in recorded history.
Ishtar GateThe Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part of a grand walled processional way leading into the city. The original structure was a double gate with a smaller frontal gate and a larger and more grandiose secondary posterior section. The walls were finished in glazed bricks mostly in blue, with animals and deities (also made up of colored bricks) in low relief at intervals.
Shara (god)Shara (Sumerian: šš, dÅ”ara2) was a Mesopotamian god associated with the city of Umma and other nearby settlements. He was chiefly regarded as the tutelary deity of this area, responsible for agriculture, animal husbandry and irrigation, but he could also be characterized as a divine warrior. In the third millennium BCE his wife was Ninura, associated with the same area, but later, in the Old Babylonian period, her cult faded into obscurity and Shara was instead associated with Usaįø«ara or Kumulmul.
History of SumerThe 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 of Ur around 2004 BCE. It was followed by a transitional period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BCE. The oldest known settlement in southern Mesopotamia is Tell el-'Oueili.
Sumerian religionSumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders. Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials. Later, this role was supplanted by kings, but priests continued to exert great influence on Sumerian society.
EnmebaragesiEnmebaragesi (Sumerian: En-me-barag-gi-se [EN-ME-BARA2-GI4-SE]) originally Mebarasi () was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the Sumerian King List. Like his son and successor Aga he reigned during a period when Kish had hegemony over Sumer. Enmebaragesi signals a momentous documentary leap from mytho-history to history, since he is the earliest ruler on the king list whose name is attested directly from archaeology.