Editing Sumer (section)

===Early Dynastic Period===
{{Main|Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|First Dynasty of Ur}}
[[File:Meskalamdug helmet British Museum electrotype copy original is in the Iraq Museum, Bagdad.jpg|thumb|Golden helmet of [[Meskalamdug]], possible founder of the [[First Dynasty of Ur]], 26th century BC]]
The dynastic period begins c. 2900 BC and was associated with a shift from the temple establishment headed by council of elders led by a priestly "En" (a male figure when it was a temple for a goddess, or a female figure when headed by a male god)<ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild (1976), "The Harps that Once...; Sumerian Poetry in Translation" and "Treasures of Darkness: a history of Mesopotamian Religion".</ref> towards a more secular Lugal (Lu = man, Gal = great) and includes such legendary patriarchal figures as [[Dumuzid]], [[Lugalbanda]] and [[Gilgamesh]]—who reigned shortly before the historic record opens c. 2900 BC, when the now deciphered syllabic writing started to develop from the early pictograms. The center of Sumerian culture remained in southern Mesopotamia, even though rulers soon began expanding into neighboring areas, and neighboring Semitic groups adopted much of Sumerian culture for their own.

The earliest dynastic king on the Sumerian king list whose name is known from any other legendary source is [[Etana]], 13th king of the first dynasty of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]]. The earliest king authenticated through archaeological evidence is [[Enmebaragesi]] of Kish (Early Dynastic I), whose name is mentioned in the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''—leading to the suggestion that Gilgamesh himself might have been a historical king of Uruk. As the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' shows, this period was associated with increased war. Cities became walled, and increased in size as undefended villages in southern Mesopotamia disappeared. Both Gilgamesh and one of his predecessors Enmerkar are credited with having built the walls of Uruk.<ref>George, Andrew (Translator) (2003), "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (Penguin Classics).</ref>

====1st Dynasty of Lagash====
[[File:Stele of Vultures detail 02.jpg|thumb|A fragment of [[Eannatum]]'s [[Stele of the Vultures]]]]
{{Main|Lagash}}
The dynasty of Lagash (c. 2500–2270 BC), though omitted from the king list, is well attested through several important monuments and many archaeological finds.

Although short-lived, one of the first empires known to history was that of [[Eannatum]] of Lagash, who annexed practically all of Sumer, including Kish, Uruk, [[Ur]], and [[Larsa]], and reduced to tribute the city-state of [[Umma]], arch-rival of Lagash. In addition, his realm extended to parts of [[Elam]] and along the [[Persian Gulf]]. He seems to have used terror as a matter of policy.<ref name=roux1993>{{cite book |last=Roux |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Roux (assyriologist) |year=1993 |title=Ancient Iraq |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-012523-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientiraq00roux }}</ref> Eannatum's [[Stele of the Vultures]] depicts vultures pecking at the severed heads and other body parts of his enemies. His empire collapsed shortly after his death.

Later, [[Lugal-zage-si]], the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered Uruk, making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. He was the last ethnically Sumerian king before [[Sargon of Akkad]].<ref name="Leick, Gwendolyn 2003"/>