Gudea statues Essay

Gudea statues Essay

Discovery of Statues in Lagash

Lagash was one of the oldest cities in Sumer and

Babylonia. Today it is represented by a long line of ruin mounds, which are rather low, now known as Tello al–Hiba in Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and east of the ancient city of Uruk, it is positioned on the dry bed of an ancient canal, approximately 10 miles north of the modern town of Shatra.#

The ruins of Lagash were discovered in 1877 by Ernest de Sarzec, a Frenchman, who was allowed by the

Montefich chief, Nasir Pasha, to excavate the site at his pleasure in the territories under the governing of

Nasir Pasha. Ernest de Sarzec continued excavations at this site with various interludes, at first on his own ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...From the objects and inscriptions uncovered at Tello it seems that Lagash, the city ruled by Gudea, was one of great importance during the Sumerian period. During this time independent kings (Ur–Nina and his successors) ruled Sumer, but with the Semitic conquest its rulers became dependant, forced to listen to

Sargon of Akkad and his successors. However, the city remained Sumerian and continued to be of great importance because the city was the center of commerce and art.

Trade during this period developed far–reaching commercial communication with distant territories.

Gudea imported cedar from mountainous regions of

Syria, gold and copper from areas in Arabia and Sinai, and diorite from eastern Arabia. These new imports helped make this era one prominent for artistic development and it was in this era that art reached its peak stages. A lion–headed eagle with outspread wings grasping two more lions in its talons, a great vase with what is considered the coat of arms of

Lagash, and of course statues of Gudea made from diorite are some of the artifacts recovered from this period. However, after the reign of Gudea, Lagash loses its importance to the region as a center for art and economic trade, and is lost for centuries.#



Statues of Gudea

Most timetables agree that Gudea ruled Lagash sometime between the period of 2150–2100 B.C., bringing peace and prosperity to his people during that time, and inaugurating a Sumerian renaissance, marked by literary blossoming,

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