User:SomeGuyWhoRandomlyEdits/Government of Sumer

Local government
Each city was centered around a temple that was dedicated to a particular patron deity. A city was governed by both/either a "lugal" (king) and/or an "ensi" (priest). It was understood that rulers were determined by the deity of the city and rule could be transferred from one city to another. Hegemony from the Nippur priesthood moved between competing dynasties of the Sumerian cities. Traditionally, these included Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larsa, Sippar, Shuruppak, Kish, Uruk, Ur, Adab, and Akshak. Other relevant cities from outside the Tigris–Euphrates river system included Hamazi, Awan (in present-day Iran), and Mari (in present-day Syria but which is credited on the SKL as having "exercised kingship" during the ED II period).

Thorkild Jacobsen defined a "primitive democracy" with reference to Sumerian epics, myths, and historical records. He described a form of government determined by a majority of men who were free citizens. There was little specialisation and only a loose power structure. Kings such as Gilgamesh of the first dynasty of Uruk did not yet hold an autocracy. Rather, they governed together with councils of elders and councils of younger men, who were likely free men bearing arms. Kings would consult the councils on all major decisions, including whether to go to war. Jacobsen's definition of a democracy as a relationship between primitive monarchs and men of the noble classes has been questioned. Jacobsen conceded that the available evidence could not distinguish a "Mesopotamian democracy" from a "primitive oligarchy".

Kingdoms
"Lugal" is a Sumerian term for "king" or "ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, "lú" is "man" and "gal" is "great", or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state could bear, alongside "en" and "ensi". The exact difference between these titles is a subject of debate.

The sign "lugal" eventually became the predominant logograph for "king" in general. In the Sumerian language, "lugal" is used to mean an owner (e.g., of a boat or a field) or a head (of a unit such as a family). The cuneiform sign "lugal" serves as a determinative in cuneiform texts (Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hittite), indicating that the following word is the name of a king.

There are different theories regarding the meaning of the title "lugal" in third millennium BCE Sumer. Some scholars believe that a ruler of an individual city-state was usually called "ensi", and a ruler who headed a confederacy or larger dominion composed of several cities, perhaps even the whole of Sumer, was a "lugal". The functions of such a "lugal" would include certain ceremonial and cultic activities, arbitration in border disputes, military defense against external enemies, and once the "lugal" has died, the eldest son must take over.

Other scholars consider "ensi", "en", and "lugal" to have been merely three local designations for the sovereign, accepted respectively in the city-states of Lagash, Uruk, and Ur (as well as most of the rest of Sumer), although the various terms may have expressed different aspects of the Mesopotamian concept of kingship. A "lugal" at that time is assumed to have been "normally a young man of outstanding qualities from a rich landowning family".

Governorships
The term "ensi" was a Sumerian title that designated the ruler or prince of a city-state. Originally, it might have referred to an independent ruler, but in later periods, the title assumed subordination to a "lugal" The "ensi" was considered a representative of the city-state’s tutelary deity. In later periods, an "ensi" was typically seen as subordinate to a "lugal". However, even powerful rulers like Gudea of the second dynasty of Lagash were content with the title "ensi". During the Ur III period, "ensi". referred to the provincial governors of the kingdom.

Lordships
The term "en" is the Sumerian cuneiform for "lord" or "priest". It was originally used to designate a high priest or priestess of a Sumerian city-state’s patron deity, a position that also entailed political power. This term may have been the original title of the ruler of Uruk.

Central government
This early empire-building was encouraged as the most powerful monarchs were often rewarded with the most prestigious titles, such as the title of "lugal". Most of these early rulers had probably acquired these titles rather than inherited them. Eventually this quest to be more prestigious and powerful than the other city-states resulted in a general ambition for universal rule. Since Mesopotamia was equated to correspond to the entire world and Sumerian cities had been built far and wide (cities the like of Susa, Mari, and Assur were located near the perceived corners of the world) it seemed possible to reach the edges of the world (at this time thought to be the lower sea, the Persian gulf, and the upper sea, the Mediterranean). Rulers attempting to reach a position of universal rule became more common during the ED during which two prominent examples are attested.

The earliest days of Mesopotamian empire-building was most often a struggle between the kings of the most prominent cities. In these early days, the title of "king of Kish" was recognized as one of particular prestige, with the city of Kish being seen as having a sort of primacy over the other cities. By the Early Dynastic (ED) period (c. 2900), "king of Kish" meant a divinely authorized ruler with the right to rule over all of Sumer, and it might have somewhat referred to a universal ruler. Use of the title, which was not limited to kings actually in possession of the city itself, implied that the ruler was a builder of cities, victorious in war and a righteous judge. According to the Sumerian King List (SKL), the city of Kish was where the kingship was lowered to from heaven after the Flood, its rulers being the embodiment of human kingship.

During the ED period, the rulers of the various city-states (the most prominent being: Kish, Uruk, Ur, Lagash, and Umma) in the region would often launch invasions into regions and cities far from their own, at most times with negligible consequences for themselves, in order to establish temporary and small empires to either gain or keep a superior position relative to the other city-states.

The first, Lugalannemundu, king of Adab, is claimed by the SKL (though this is a much later inscription, making the extensive rule of Lugalennemundu somewhat doubtful) to have created a great empire covering the entirety of Mesopotamia, reaching from modern Syria to Iran, saying that he "subjugated the Four Corners". The second, Lugalzaggesi, king of Uruk, conquered the entirety of Lower Mesopotamia and claimed (despite this not being the case) that his domain extended from the upper to the lower sea. Lugalzaggesi was originally titled as simply "King of Uruk" and adopted the title "King of the Land" to lay claim to universal rule. This title had also been employed by some earlier Sumerian kings claiming control over all of Sumer, such as Enshakushanna of Uruk.