The direct impact of water on the wars of ancient Iraq
The direct impact of water on the wars of ancient Iraq
In this paragraph, we will discuss the direct impact of water on the outbreak of wars in ancient Iraq, whether they were internal or external wars, through the following paragraphs :
Conflict over sources of irrigation
Given that the Iraqi civilization was and still is, in its southern and central part, a river irrigation civilization, as it relied on river water and canals to irrigate crops, and because of the importance of agriculture in providing the necessary needs of the population of food and other materials, the sources of irrigation represented important and strategic sites for the ruling authorities at that time, and as a result of the crowding Expansion showed an urgent need to control it, so it was a direct cause of a large part of the wars in ancient Iraq .
One of the earliest indications that we have received about the conflict over irrigation sources in Iraq is the bitter conflict between the dynasties of Lagash and Umma, as the city of Umma was located at the top of the water sources of both countries (1) and on the feast of Akurkal (1490-1475 BC) (the fifth ruler of the first dynasty of Lagash - He was unable to put an end to the attacks of the King of Umma (Osh ) on the Kwaidna plain (2) as Umma continued throughout the period of this king’s rule to exploit the aforementioned plain for her benefit (3) and this was detailed in the following text:
But ouch ( forget) oma ( violate ).
The inviolability of both ( the decision of the gods and the covenant) with which you repeat it as man to man ( and he uprooted its obelisk (i.e. the obelisk of the borders) and entered the plain (Lagash) (4).
The conflict between them ended temporarily as a result of arbitration carried out by the King of Kish (Maysallam ) in his capacity as an international ruler or in his capacity as the supreme king to whom the ruler of these two states was subordinate. He appointed monuments and obelisks to determine the border line between the two conflicting states (5). This was stated in the text below :
The god Enlil
Lord of all countries,
Father of all gods,
Based on his immutable word (Enlil rose )
(For the sake of God Nenkirsu,
And for the sake of God Chara
draw boundaries,
Peace be upon you,
King of Kish,
He rose according to the command of the god Ishtran
Clears the fields
And he established in the place (which he anointed) an obelisk (6).
During the reign of its sixth ruler (i.e. Natem) (2457-2445 BC), after a fierce battle, he expelled the inhabitants of the city of Uma from the Kawaidna Plain, and dug a trench along the border with it (7).
This was stated in the following text :
Ianatum put a network ..... (Ashushkal )
Belonging to the god Enlil over the leg of Umma .
And (the man of Uma ) swore to him (i.e. Ianatum) (8).
As a result of this victory, a condition was imposed on the ruler of Uma to dig a new canal that takes its water from the Euphrates River, called the Loma Canal (9).
There was a historical reference in the writings of (Ayanatem ) to dig this canal, as mentioned in the following text :
He strengthened both sides of the canal ( Lumajimdug ) for Ningersu and presented it as a gift to him (then Ayanatm , to whom Ningersu gave strength , established a reservoir for the canal of Lomajimdug ... (10).
Despite the assurances that Uma made to herself, as stated in the following text :
I will never violate the sanctity of Ningersu's borders .
Never, just as I never trespass on its dams and canals (which constitute the borders ).
Nor will I uproot his obelisks, except that ( if I assault) the borders (
Then perhaps Uma will cast a net on me from heaven
Shushkal ( returning) to Ninkhersaj (11).
The residents of Uma dried up the border channels that separated the two countries, in addition to breaking the treaty regulating the source of their shared irrigation (12). The King of Uma ( Ur - Loma ) mentions how he broke this treaty, according to the following text :
And loma unsi oma –
Ningersu Boundary Canal Campus
And the Nansheh border channel is made of water
The obelisks of the border channel were uprooted from the water
And burn them, and demolish the shrines of the consecrated gods
(Finally) via the Ningersu border channel (13).
Therefore, the eighth king of the Lagash dynasty, Entemena (2425-2395 BC), launched a fierce war against Umma during the time of its king (Ur-Luma), and was able to defeat him and kill many of his army (14). After Entemena provided the necessary water for his dynasty, he was able to dispense with part of his agricultural lands. As a result, the people of the city of Uma were exempted from paying tribute to the rulers of the first Lagash dynasty in exchange for their cultivation of a section of the Kawaidna plain (15) , and here we notice the importance of water sources in the outbreak of wars in that era, as they were a major cause of the fierce wars between the Lagash and Uma dynasties, but when they were available Water These wars ended, and there was a state of rapprochement between the two countries through the abolition of the tribute from the Uma dynasty.
Among other wars in which water had direct causes was the war that took place between the city of Khalab (16) and the first dynasty of Lagash. The summary of this is that (El), the head of the temple of the city of Halab, was waiting for the outcome of the war between Enemena and Ur Loma, and after the defeat of the latter, he attacked the Lagash dynasty and rushed deep into Its lands. He also controlled the city of Uma and began harassing the Lagash dynasty regarding irrigation sources. He deprived the border channels of water that was necessary for irrigating crops, and did not respond to Etimena’s demands to eliminate such transgressions, when this is mentioned in the following text:
At that time, El, the head of the Temple of Zabulbum (17 )
By destroying (?) (the country) from (Girsu) to (Uma), and (Il) took control of the city of (Uma) and cut off the water from the (Ningersu) border canal.
And the Nanshe border canal. (18)
He (Allah) said about that what we stipulate:
“Our entire district is my province and belongs to me.” There was no clear information on how to resolve it
This dispute may have been resolved as a result of third party mediation (19) .
Among the actions taken by Antimina as a result of Uma's seizure of the irrigation sources are:
Creating a stream that takes water from the Tigris River is a solution to the suffering of the residents of Lagash in obtaining
Water: Antimena created this stream, built it with bricks and bitumen, and delivered its waters to Lagash, then
Over time, this stream began to decline towards the lowlands of Lagash until it became
A branch of the Tigris River, which is currently known as (Gharraf River), and thus Lagash became dependent on
It is irrigated by the Tigris River (20). This project was called the Entemina Canal (21), and it is considered one of the
Major projects established in the ancient Sumerian era, and this was mentioned in the following text:
Antimena Ansi Lagash, whose name was announced by Ningersu,
Digging this canal (which defines the border) from the Tigris River to
(Adnon) according to Enlil's express command, and in accordance with the command
(Nengrsu) the frank one, and according to the frank word of (Nansheh),
He returned it to his beloved queen (Nanshe) (22).
It is certain that what happened to the Lagash dynasty was a tragic end at the hands of the Uma dynasty led by its ruler Lukal Zakizi (2400-2371 BC) during the reign of the last ruler of the Lagash state in its first dynasty, Orwanmkina, as it was subjected to a sudden attack by Lukal Zakizi, the ruler of Uma. (23), where he burned and destroyed the holy places in Lagash (24) and this war is nothing but an extension of the fierce wars between the two dynasties over water sources for the agricultural lands belonging to them.
Orunmekena mentioned this defeat in a way that indicates that he was resigned to it, assigning punishment to Lucal Zakizi for violating the sanctity of the temples in Lagash against the gods, where he says:
Because the Omanite destroyed the reward (?) (of Lagash), he committed a sin
Against the god (Ningrsu), and Ningrsu will cut off the hands that raise against him
This is not the fault of Urcagina, king of Girsu, perhaps Nidaba.
Goddess (Lugal-a-Zigzi) (character) Ruler (Uma) to bear him i.e
Lugal Zagizi (Results) of all (these) (sins) (25)
The constant wars and conflicts between the two dynasties had a devastating impact on the economy of Lagash
The economic texts written during the time of Governor Entemena indicated that the amount of wheat
The cultivated crops have decreased to one-sixth of the grain crop, due to the significantly high salinity rate
Rapid growth, which affected the cultivation of wheat, and the reason for this increase in salinity dates back to the time of Entemena
These are the ongoing conflicts between the states of Lagash and Uma, and Uma controls the water course branching from
Euphrates River (26).
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(1) Tu Baqir, Introduction to the History of Ancient Civilizations, House of General Cultural Affairs, Baghdad, vol. 1, p. 317.
(2) Ku Edina: It is a province between Lagash and Uma, and each of them was trying to seize it, which combined to be a source of problems between the two cities. See: Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, translated by Faisal Al-Waeli, Publications Agency, Kuwait, p. 443.
(3) Fawzi Rashid, Urukagina, Baghdad, Freedom House 1997, p. 18.
(4) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 450
(5) The same source, p. 318
(6) Fawzi Rashid, Translations of Mekki-Sumerian Texts, Baghdad, 1988, p. 23. See also: Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 447
(7) Fawzi Rashid, Translations of Royal Texts, p. 18
(8) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, 44
(9) Loma: A canal dug by Ayanatem on the border of Lagash (Liningersu), and he called it (Lumajimdug), meaning good. See: Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 73
(10) Same source, p. 444
(11) Amer Suleiman, Foreign Political Relations, Iraq’s Civilization, Baghdad, Al-Hurriya Printing House, 1985, vol. 2, p. 116.
(12) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 74
(13) Same source, p. 450
(14) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 75
(15) Fawzi Rashid, Orcagina, p. 27
(16) Aleppo: A city located north of the city of Uma. It was mentioned by this name by Fawzi Rashid in his book Urukagina, p. 27
(17) Zabulbam: It is currently known as Abzikh and is located a few kilometers northeast of Uma. See: Fawzi Rashid, Old Iraqi Laws, 3rd edition, Baghdad, 1987, p. 226.
(18) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 451
(19) 76 The same source, pp. 75-76
(20) Ahmed Sousa, The History of the Mesopotamian Civilization in Light of Agricultural Irrigation Projects, Archaeological Discoveries, and Historical Sources, Baghdad, 1983, vol. 1, p. 391.
(21) Jaafar Al-Sakini, A New Window on the History of the Euphrates in Light of Geological Evidence and Archaeological Discoveries, Baghdad, General Cultural Affairs House, 1993, p. 43.
(22) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 451
(23) Fadel Abdel Wahed, Sumer Myth and Epic, Baghdad, 2000, p. 66.
(24) Tiumenev, People Working on the Ba'u Temple Farm in Lagash During My Era -
Localanda and Urukagenia, Old Iraq, translated by Salim Taha Al-Tikriti, 2nd edition, Baghdad, 1986, footnote page 170.
(25) Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, p. 77
(26) Fawzi Rashid, King Hammurabi, the Renewer of the Country’s Unity, Baghdad, Dar Al-Hurriya for Printing and Publishing, 1991, p. 22.