Lugal-zaggisi, the conqueror of Lagash, is mentioned by name in the document from which our knowledge of the catastrophe is derived. The unknown writer of that composition, as we have already seen, assigns to him the title "patesi of Umma," and, had we no other information concerning him, we might perhaps have concluded that his success against the ancient rival of his own city was merely an isolated achievement. In the long-continued struggle between these neighbouring states Umma had finally proved victorious, and the results of this victory might have been regarded as of little more than local importance.[1] But, even before the discovery of the record, Lugal-zaggisi's name was known as that of a great conqueror, and it will be seen that his defeat of Urukagina was only one step in a career of conquest, in the course of which he subdued the whole of Sumer and consolidated a dominion as great as, if not greater than, any hitherto acquired by the ruler of a city-state. The inscription from which we obtain our knowledge of Lugal-zaggisi's career is engraved upon a number of fragments of vases, made of white calcite stalagmite, which were discovered at Nippur during the excavations carried out by the University of Pennsylvania. All the vases were broken into small pieces, but, as each had been engraved with the same inscription, it was found possible, by piecing the fragments together, to reconstruct a more or less complete copy of the text.[2] From this we learn that Lugal-zaggisi had dedicated the vases to Enlil, and had deposited them as votive offerings in the great temple of E-kur.