 City State of Adab
The
Sumerian city of Adab (modern Bismaya) was
located between Telloh and
Nippur, and had as
its principal deity the goddess Ninhursag. Before the archaeological
discovery of its remains it was only known from a brief mention in the
introduction to the Hammurabi Code (written in circa 1760 BC in
Babylon). The city was
divided in two by a canal, with an island on which stood the temple of
E-mach, with a ziggurat. Few of the texts discovered at Adab have been
published, so little is known about it, but it dates to the prehistoric
period and was abandoned relatively early, by no later than 2000 BC. For the
rest of its existence it was ruled by whichever city state held pre-eminence
in Sumer.
According to the Sumerian king list, Adab was host to a single dynasty consisting of one ruler who reigned for
ninety years, taking the kingship from the Second Dynasty of
Ur. This is the ninth entry on the list comprising king
59. Here, List 1 is primarily used, backed up by List 2
(see Sumer for
details). |
|
According to the king list, Lugalannemundu receives the kingship following
the fall of the Second Dynasty at
Ur. He is
credited with extending Sumer's control to include territory from the Persian Gulf right up
to the Mediterranean, bordering the Taurus mountains in the north, and the
Zagros mountains in the east, subjecting the
Gutians. Going even
further, he confronts the king of the
Marhashi, and leaves an inscription to
record the event.
The empire dissolves upon Lugalannemundu's death and the kingship is taken to Mari.
 |
The head of a ruler or governor of Adab (modern Bismaya) from
the period 2050-2000 BC
|
|
|