That a chief priest of Ninmar should lead an army against the enemies of Lagash and should send a report of his success to the chief priest of Ningirsu, in which he refers to the share of the spoil to be assigned to the patesi, may be regarded as an indication that the central government of Lagash was not so stable as it once had been under the more powerful members of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty. The reference to Enetarzi suggests that the incursion of the Elamites took place during the reign of Enannatum II. We may thus conclude that the last member of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty did not possess his father's ability to direct the affairs of Lagash and allowed the priests of the great temples in the city to usurp many of the privileges which had hitherto been held by the patesi. It is probably to this fact that the close of Ur-Ninâ's dynasty may be traced. The subsequent struggle for the patesiate appears to have taken place among the more important members of the priesthood. Of those who secured the throne, Enlitarzi, at any rate, was succeeded by his son, by whom, however, he may have been deposed,[31] and no strong administration appears to have been established, until Urukagina, abandoning the traditions of both the priesthood and the patesiate, based his government on the support he secured from the people themselves. Such appears to have been the course of events at this time, although the paucity of our historical materials renders it impossible to do more than hazard a conjecture. [Illustration: Fig. 52. Fig 53.--Impression of a seal of Lugal-anda, patesi of Lagash (Shirpurla), engraved with the emblem of Lagash, and with figures of animals, heroes, and mythological creatures. Below is a reconstruction of the cylinder-seal, indicating its size.--See Allotte de la Fu e, _Rev. d'Assyr._, Vol. VI., No. 4, pl. i.]