Umma–Lagash war

The Lagash–Umma border conflict is the earliest well-documented case of a war between states. It took place in Sumer during the Early Dynastic III period (2600–2350 BCE), a period characterized by the division of the region in numerous polities traditionally labeled as city-states. It is documented mainly by inscriptions from the city state of Lagash, in which its rival Umma is portrayed as the infringer on an old border treaty regarding a fertile piece of land coveted by both. The intermittent conflict between the two polities lasted for generations. The reigns of Eannatum and Enmetena saw several victories of Lagash, while Umma prevailed over its neighbour during the reign of Lugalzagesi, initially a ruler of Umma and later a ruler of Uruk. His military offensives on the territory of Lagash led to the fall of the city, and the ruler of Lagash Urukagina was left in control of a reduced territory centered on Ĝirsu. Lugalzagesi claimed control over all of Sumer and adopted the title "king of the land". His victory happened in the context of the emergence of new traditions of kingship, which exhibited a tendency towards the political unification of the region. Lugalzagesi was himself defeated by Sargon of Akkad, who conquered all of Sumer and integrated it as part of his own kingdom centered on the city of Akkad.