A History of Sumer and Akkad: An account of the early races of Babylonia from prehistoric times to the foundation of the Babylonian monarchyKing, L. W. (Leonard William)
History
A History of Sumer and Akkad: An account of the early races of Babylonia from prehistoric times to the foundation of the Babylonian monarchy
King, L. W. (Leonard William)
Akkadians; Babylonia -- History; Sumerians
Of the last scene that is preserved upon the Stele of the Vultures very
little remains upon the fragments recovered, but this is sufficient
to indicate its character. Eannatum was here portrayed deciding the
fate of prisoners taken in battle. Of his figure only the left hand
is preserved; it is grasping a heavy spear or lance by the end of the
shaft as in the second register. The spear passes over the shaven heads
of a row of captives, and at the end of the row its point touches the
head of a prisoner of more exalted rank, who faces the king and raises
one hand in token of submission. A fragment of inscription behind the
head of this captive gives the name "Al-[...], King of Kish," and it
may be concluded with considerable probability that these words form
a label attached to the figure of the chief prisoner, like the labels
engraved near the head of Eannatum in the two upper registers, which
describe him as "Eannatum, champion of the god Ningirsu." There is
much more to be said for this explanation than for the possibility
that the words formed part of an account of a war waged by Eannatum
against Kish, which has been added to the record of his war with Umma.
According to such a view the stele must have been larger than we have
supposed, since it would have included additional registers at the
base of the reverse for recording the subsequent campaigns and their
illustration by means of reliefs. The monument would thus have been
erected to commemorate all the wars of Eannatum. But that against
Umma would be the most important, and its record, copied directly
from the text of the treaty, would still occupy three quarters of the
stone. Moreover, we should have to suppose that the scribe slavishly
copied the text of the stele of delimitation even down to its title,
and made no attempt to assimilate with it the later records, which
we must assume he added in the form of additional paragraphs. Such a
supposition is extremely unlikely, and it is preferable to regard the
words behind the prisoner's head as a label, and to conclude that the
connected text of the stele ended, as it appears to do, with the name
and description of the stone, which is engraved as a sort of colophon
upon the upper part of the field in the fourth register.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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