After the Battle Is Over: the Stele of the Vultures and the Beginning Of

Home , Eannatum, Girsu, Stele, Stele of the Vultures

To raise the ofthe natureof narrative is to invite After the Battle Is Over: The Stele question reflectionon the verynature of culture. . . . Hayden White, "The Value of Narrativity . . . ," 1981 of the Vultures and the Beginning of Historical Narrative in the Art Definitions of narrative, generallyfalling within the purviewof literarycriticism, are nonethelessimportant to of the Ancient Near East arthistorians. From the simpleststarting point, "for writing to be narrative,no moreand no less thana tellerand a tale are required.'1 Narrativeis, in otherwords, a solutionto " 2 the problemof "how to translateknowing into telling. In general,narrative may be said to make use ofthird-person cases and of past tenses, such that the teller of the story standssomehow outside and separatefrom the action.3But IRENE J. WINTER what is importantis thatnarrative cannot be equated with thestory alone; it is content(story) structured by the telling, University of Pennsylvania forthe organization of the story is whatturns it into narrative.4 Such a definitionwould seem to providefertile ground forart-historical inquiry; for what, after all, is a paintingor relief,if not contentordered by the telling(composition)? Yet, not all figuraiworks "tell" a story.Sometimes they "refer"to a story;and sometimesthey embody an abstract concept withoutthe necessaryaction and settingof a tale at all. For an investigationof visual representation, it seems importantto distinguishbetween instancesin which the narrativeis vested in a verbal text- the images servingas but illustrationsof the text,not necessarily"narrative" in themselves,but ratherreferences to the narrative- and instancesin whichthe narrativeis located in the representations,the storyreadable throughthe images. In the specificcase of the ancientNear East, instances in whichnarrative is carriedthrough the imageryitself are rare,reflecting a situationfundamentally different from that foundsubsequently in the West, and oftenfrom that found in the furtherEast as well. We do not have a cultural situationin whichmonolithic religious/mythological/heroic textsstand behind the veryfabric of society- as the Bible does for the Judeo-ChristianWest, the Odyssey and the Iliad forthe classicalworld, or the Ramayanaand the Bha- gavad Gita forthe Indian subcontinent.Nor do we have a traditionof inscriptionsdirectly associated with and there- foreidentifying mythological/religious images. Through jux- tapositionwith text,as in illustratedbooks or throughla- beling, as on Greek vases, for example, images in later Western art at least are far more likelyto be accurately identified;and theseidentifiable images then provide a basic corpusfrom which to argue forthe unknown.5 The problemis furtherexacerbated by the tendencyin theart of the ancient Near East, as discussedby Ann Perkins in the 1955 Chicago symposiumon narrativein ancientart, to be "allusive"rather than explicit, with the "culminating

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions scene" of a given storystanding for the whole.6We often is notto say thatsuch worksare neverlinked to texts,since findthe storybehind the image, therefore,demanding the manyof the monumentsare eitheraccompanied by inscrip- viewers priorknowledge and correctidentification of the tionscarved directly upon the stone,or else can be related scene- a processof "matching" rather than "reading" of the to parallel texts,through which our understandingof the imageryitself qua narrative. narrativeis clarified.Yet theyare notdependent upon the However, there is one class of work in the corpus of textsfor their reading. In the verydepiction of historical ancientNear Eastern art- the battle scene, executed pri- events,as opposed to ritualor mythologicalevents, we are - marilyin sculpturalrelief thatdoes fallinto our definition presentedwith a complexinternal sequence and develop- ofpictorial narrative. In content,these workstend to refer ment,through time and across space, whichpermits us to to specificevents in time and place; to contain"action" as "read" the monumentitself. it has been distinguishedfrom "description"; and to be The battle narrativesof the Neo-Assyrian period, from "told," as ifin the thirdperson and in the past tense.7The the ninthto the seventhcenturies B.c., are perhaps the subjectmatter of these monumentsis neitherreligious nor best known,and have been the subjectof an earlierstudy, mythological,but rather historical. Whether conveyed the resultsof which linked the exploitationof this particular throughthe juxtapositionof successive episodes,8or in a genre directlyto the contemporarypolitical situation, as singleimage that nonetheless through its action enables one Assyriankings used representationsof conquest to validate to "read" the event, these reliefscan by our definitionbe the territorialexpansion of the empire.9Comparison with called "pictorialnarrative," as we are not required merely contemporaryannalistic texts describing actual battleses- to associatethrough them to an underlyingtext or tale. This tablishedan exactcorrespondence between battles reported

Fig. 1. Obverse,Stele of the Vultures of Eannatum,ensi of Fig. 2. Reverse,Stele of the Vultures. Photo courtesy Musée du Lagash,c. 2460b.c. Whitelimestone; ht. 1.80m; found at Tello, Louvre ancientGirsu; Musée du Louvre(AO 50 + 2436-8+ 16109).Photo courtesyMusée du Louvre

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions and battlesdepicted. In thisisomorphism between the ver- verse actuallywrap around the two shallowsides as well. bal and the visual, we are presentedwith a highlysophis- The negativespace is filledwith an inscriptionthat is incised ticated and integratedsystem, in which both means are continuouslyfrom obverse to reverse. Much of the visual expertlymanipulated toward the same rhetoricaland po- contentsof the stele can be reconstructed,though there liticalends. are a few significantlosses. The inscription,however, has It is thereforeof interest to lookback to the very beginning majorgaps. We knowfrom the extantportion that the stele ofthe sequence, to the late EarlyDynastic period (e.d. Ill) was executedby one Eannatum,ensi (city ruler or governor) c. 2500 B.C., in whichconditions surrounding the consol- of Lagash in c. 2460 B.C. Eannatumpresents the historical idationof the city-state had givenrise to thefirst monument background,events, and consequences of his bordercon- thatcould be identifiedas public, historical,and narrative: flictswith an unnamed rulerof Umma, the state immedi- the large, freestandingrelief known as the "Stele of the to thenorthwest of in a overthe " ately Girsu, dispute Gu'eden, Vultures, commemoratinga victoryof the city-stateof La- the fertiletract of irrigatedland between the two states.15 10 gash over the neighboringstate of Umma (figs.1, 2). Thus, fromthe text,as well as fromother contemporary My aim is fourfold:to see whetherthis monument truly referencesto thesame conflict,we have thehistorical details fitsthe definitionof "narrative"presented above; to bring to help anchorthe visual representations on the monument. forththe particularhistorical and culturalconditions that We are thereforein a positionto approachthe problemof producedit and the issues embodiedtherein; to determine pictorialnarrative both froma readingof the imageryitself whetherthe same degree of integrationbetween textand and froma comparisonof textand image: thatis, we can imageprevailed as did inthe Neo-Assyrian period and whether determinenot only what tale is being told, but also how the same degree of politicalends were being served; and the tale is told. finally,to see if it is possible to linkthis early example to The obverseof the stele is dividedinto two registers, the laterworks in the historyof art by elucidatingthe uses (and upper portionalmost twice the heightof the lower(figs. 1, 16 abuses) of public monumentson whichhistorical narrative 3). A large male figure,centrally placed, holds a mace in appears. For it should be clear fromthe outset that the "historicity"of these monumentswas a highlymanipulated one. In the Assyriancase, forexample, only the enemies die; Assyriansnever lose, neverperish. The purportedreal- ity is thus carefullyorganized to "bring out the central mythos"of the state;11and even whereevents depicted are in fact true, the very factof theirhaving been recorded selects the event, its antecedents,and its consequencesas meaningful.

The Stele of the Vultures,currently in the Louvre, is ratherpoorly preserved. Originally it was a large, rectan- gularslab ofwhite limestone with a roundedtop. The mod- ern restorationof the whole is based upon onlyseven fragments. Six were excavatedduring the 1880s at the site of modernTello, ancient Girsu, a satellitetown withinthe city-stateof Lagash in the Early Dynasticperiod and seat ofthe deityNingirsu.12 The seventhfragment, undoubtedly plunderedfrom the site, was acquired by the BritishMu- seum in 1900 and later given to the Louvre forthe restoration.13As restored,the monumentmeasures 1.80 meters in height, 1.30 meters in width, and is .11 meters in thickness.14 The stele is covered on both majorfaces with carving in Fig. 3. Reconstructiondrawing, obverse, Stele of the relativelyhigh, well modeled relief;the scenes of the re- Vultures(drawing by ElizabethSimpson)

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in whose name the victoryover Umma was won; or whether it should representEannatum, favored by Ningirsu,who inscribedthe stele and literallyeffected the victory.20The anzu emblemappears on several"royal" monuments found at Girsu,however those that are inscribedare all dedicated to Ningirsu(for example, the silver vase of Enmetena, nephew of Eannatumand one ofhis successors,fig. 5, or the votive plaque ofDudu, chiefpriest of Ningirsu under Enmetena).21 No royalfigure ever actuallywields the emblem. This would suggestthat the mainfigure on the obverse is in factthe city god. The questioncan be settled,I believe, throughidentification of the second figurein the scene, smallerin scale and standingas ifbehind or to the rightof the centralmale. This smallerfigure is female,as can be surmisedfrom what is visibleof her hair.She wearsa head- dress of splayed(cow?) horns,between which are feathers or frondsflanking a centralleonine head similarto thatof the anzu emblem held by the male figure.Behind and to the leftof thiswoman the emblem is repeated,raised like a standardon a pole. Three maces protrudefrom each of her shoulders, the traditionalMesopotamian manner of showingdivine attributes.22Parallels in headgearand at- tributesbetween thisand otherfigures - as forexample on a basalt vase fragmentwhere the figureis identifiedby

Fig. 4. Detail,obverse: The god Ningirsuwith battle net and emblem.Photo courtesy Hirmer, Munich his righthand, the mace-headtouching the bald head of a small man who protrudesfrom a large net furtherto the leftof the centralfigure. The victimis nude, and the up- permostof what would have been at least a dozen other captives, densely packed and tumbled about withinthe net.17With his lefthand posed just above the top of the net, the centralfigure grasps the tail feathersof a frontal lion-headedeagle withoutstretched wings, its talons visible below and restingupon the backsof two addorsed lions (fig. 18 4). This emblem, knownfrom mythological texts, represents the anzu, or Zu-bird- associatedwith the thunder- storm- who was identifiedwith the god Ningirsuin the early periods. Later textsrecord that the anzu absconded withthe "Tablet of Fate" untilEnlil, chiefgod of the Me- sopotamianpantheon, ordered the hero Ninurta,a later formof Ningirsu, to retrievethem.19 Like the Gorgonhead forPerseus, thisemblem then became associatedwith, and was adopted as an attributeof, the vanquisher. 5. Silvervase of Enmetenaof La- It has been a pointof debate whetherthe standingmale Fig. c. 2420B.c., Tello;Musée du Lou- on the obverse of the stele should therefore the gash, represent vre(AO 2674).Photo courtesy Musée du deityNingirsu himself, to whomthe stele is dedicatedand Louvre

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions inscription23and on a limestonevotive plaque (fig.6) where the mountainscales upon whichthe femalefigure sits are a clue to her Sumerianname - allowus to identifythis figure as a divine personage,specifically the goddess Ninhursag, Lady of the Mountain.She is, further,the motherof Nin- girsu,and playeda principalrole in the mythof the capture of the anzu, by givingher son essentialstrategic advice.24 Because of this role, the anzu emblem is associated also withthe goddess, appearingon a largecopper panel found 25 in her temple at the site of al-'Ubaid (fig.7). This would explainthe presence not onlyof the emblem in her head- dress, but also of the standardat her side. It seems clear, therefore,that the figurein the upper registeron the frontof the stele representsthe citygod, Ningirsu,with his emblem, triumphant over the vanquished enemyof Lagash and accompaniedby his mother,a primary figurein his mythicalhistory and a deityvenerated in her 26 own rightboth in Lagash and in Girsu. Althoughvery poorly preserved, the lower register seems to corroboratethis interpretation. It is evidentthat a chariot was depicted, movingtoward our right;facing the chariot is a repetitionof the goddessin the upperregister. Further, 6. Votive showingpriest before the Ninhur- Fig. plaque goddess a sag,Early Dynastic III period,c. 2500-2350B.c. Limestone;found it is possible to determinefrom bit of visible skirtthat at Tello; Musée du Louvre(AO 276). Photocourtesy Hirmer, the god himselfwas standingin the chariot.The wingtipof Munich the anzu emblem is also visible; it was eitherheld in the god s hand, or attachedto the protectivechest board of the chariot. Althoughthe draftanimals forthe chariotare not preserved, we have accepted Barreleťs argumentthat they were more likelyto have been mythologicalanimals than Below: 7. fromtemple of Ninhursagat al- Fig. Copperpanel standard ofthe for on Ubaid,Early Dynastic III period,c. 2500-2350B.c.; BritishMu- equids period (as depicted, example, seum(114308). Photo courtesy Trustees of the British Museum the reverse side of our stele, see below and fig. 11; or on

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions required,to whichthe representationstood in a referential status. In the upper register,the god is shown with the vanquished enemy alreadyin hand. It is not the actionitself, but the consequence of actionthat is depicted. The forces of Girsu have won. And we have here the symbolicstatement:"after the battleis over." In thisrespect, the obverseof the stele does notconform to our definitionof pictorialnarrative. At best, it can be called a "culminatingscene," because the action is com- pleted. In fact,however, it is reallya summary,a symbolic referent,couched in mythicalterms, of divine intervention, and therebyverging on the "iconic"- intendedto convey a total,abstract concept of divinepatronage and favor.Be- hind the imagerylie the mythologicalhistory and associa- tionsof the deity,which are alluded to, but in no wayacted out. Hence, thisface of the stele at leastis without"action"; without"telling." It is the icon of the cityand its victory, not its narrative. *

The reverseface of the stele is dividedinto four registers (figs.2, 8). The vulturesthat give the modernname to the monumentare seen at the upper right,holding in their beaks the severed heads of the Ummaiteenemy of Lagash (see detail, fig.9). Its fragmentarycondition notwithstand- Fig. 8. Reconstructiondrawing, reverse, Stele of theVultures ing, the image is a powerfulone: ultimatedefeat of the Elizabeth (drawingby Simpson) vanquished,the absolute success forthe victors.The birds ofprey fly above horizontalbands ofinscription, so thatthe upper partof the stele seems separatefrom and subsequent the "Standardof Ur," fig. 13). The argumentis plausible, to the rest of the action in the upper register.The main first,for reasons of available space in relationto the yoke action seems to be thatof the battle itself.From the left pole; and second,because itwould fit better with the myth- edge to virtuallythe center,a phalanxof twelve shielded ical characterof this side ofthe stele, particularly as Ningirsu soldiers(nine on the reverseface, three wrapped around was said to have harnessedthe winds to hischariot in pursuit the side) pointtheir spears in attackposition as theytrample 28 of the anzu. In this way, the draftanimals would have the bodies of theirfallen enemies (fig. 10). The soldiers contributedto the impressionthat the power invokedwas are aligned as if marchingbehind the figureof the king, supernatural.27 who also facesright, wrapped in a flouncedgarment prob- Thus, the whole face of the obverse seems to center ablymade ofsheepskin. The particularaction in which these around the personageof Ningirsu,patron deity of the city figuresare engaged has been lost in the break;but we may of Girsu, to whomthe stele was dedicated. The lowerreg- assume it was a directmilitary encounter, since at the far ister seems to be less devoted to showingthe action de- right-handedge ofthe registerthe bodies of some thirteen scribed in the inscriptionon the stele than to settingthe fallenenemies are piled in a heap. stagefor that action by providing attributes and antecedents In the second register,a groupof soldiersagain appears of the citygod. It is importantto note thatno mentionof at the farleft (fig. 11). This time, however,there are no the Zu-birdor ofthe chariotof Ningirsu is made in the text raised shields. Each soldier holds a long-shaftedspear in on thestele. All thesereferences come fromtexts and stories his righthand and a battle-axin his left;but bothweapons externalto the monument,which were nonethelesslikely are raised in marchrather than in attackposition. Here, to have been well knownto the residentsof Girsu. Thus, the soldiersfollow behind the royalwar chariot.The king priorknowledge on the partof the viewerwould have been holds the shaftof a spear in his lefthand. Unfortunately,

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Fig.9. Detail,reverse: Vultures and enemy heads, upper register. Photocourtesy Hirmer, Munich

Top right:Fig. 10. Detail, reverse:Phalanx of soldiers,upper register.Photo courtesy Hirmer, Munich

boththe tip of the spear and theobject of the king's attention are missing.What is visible of the chariotitself indicates thatit is significantlydifferent from the one on theobverse.29 This would suggest that a carefuldistinction was indeed made between the two, and therebyprovides further sup- portfor the argumentthat it is indeed the god's vehicleon the front.30 In the thirdregister, the action seems directedfrom right to left(figs. 8, 12). The centralfigure faces left; only his feet Fij*.11. Detail,reverse: Eannatum in chariot,soldiers behind, and a of his flouncedskirt are the feetrest portion visible; sečondregister. Photo courtesy Hirmer, Munich on a platformor low socle. In an unpublishedpaper, Mich- elle Marcus has argued that the figurewas seated;31this reconstructionwould conformwith seated figuresknown fromother contemporary reliefs and sculpture.32In frontof the seated figure,a bull, presumablytethered for sacrifice, lies on its back. In the field above the bull are a stackof bodies ofsmaller animals, perhaps goats, and twolarge vases containing"sacred" plants with vertical leaves and drooping date clusters.The bases of these vases are obscuredby the body of the bull, suggestingspatial depth. A naked priest, facingright, stands upon the stackof animals; he holds the bottomof a spouted vessel well knownfrom other libation scenes (figs.6, 16), as the streamof his poured liquid falls upon the pottedplants.33 Finally, at the farleft of the register,naked bodies are stackedin a large mound,outlined by a double line as if it were a ladder seen in profileor some sort of coveringshown in section. Skirtedworkers 12. reverse:Ritual third and withfilled baskets on theirheads hold onto thisband and Fig. Detail, scene, register; spear directedat enemyhead, fourth register. Photo courtesy Hirmer, climb up the moundof bodies. Such climbingfigures with Munich

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Fig. 13. "Standardof Ur, battleside, c. 2500B.c. Shell,carnelian, and lapis inlay; found in RoyalCemetery at Ur;British Museum (121201).Photo courtesy Trustees of the British Museum earth-filledbaskets are the traditionalmeans in Mesopo- groupof threeadditional bald heads beforehim, all facing tamia of representingconstruction workers, especially in in the oppositedirection. The relationshipof this cluster of temple-buildingscenes.34 Here, they are clearly making figuresto the menaced figureand the actionis not clear. burial moundsof earthpoured over the stackedbodies. On the basis of analogies with registersone and two, the The burial-mound,sacrificial animals, and rituallibation figurewielding the spear is presumablyroyal. As there is all raise the question of the identityof the seated figure no roomfor a chariotat the farleft, Marcus has suggested who presides over this activity.Frankfort has called him thatthis ought to be a standingking. Whetherthe three the god Ningirsu;Moortgat would see him ratheras Ean- bald figuresmerely flee fromthe king,or deliberatelysur- natum attendinga ritualceremony.35 I would agree with roundhis markedenemy, cannot be determined;whether the latterinterpretation, and have so restoredthe figurein the interactionconstitutes real battle or just a threat is the drawing(fig. 8). First,the flouncedskirt is the same as equally unclear. thatworn by Eannatum,who is clearlylabeled, on the rest Despite the poor stateof preservation, we can attempta of this side of the stele and differentfrom the skirtof the readingof the reverse.Each ofthe fourregisters - whether god on the obverse; second, other rulersof Lagash wear showingbattle or ritual engagement- depicts some con- this same skirt(for example, the standingstatues of Ean- tained action and can be individuallyread as a narrative, natumI and Enmetena,brother and nephewof Eannatum, givenour requisiteof event told, not just referenced.More respectively,and his successors;and the reliefplaque of intriguingis the questionwhether, and thenhow, the reg- Ur-nanshe,grandfather of Eannatum and founderof the istersmay be read successively,in a coherentsequence. 36 dynasty,fig. 15). Closest of all is the figureon the Ur- The reverseside ofthe stele has generallybeen described nansheplaque, whereboth the flounced skirt and theseated procedingfrom top to bottom,on the assumptionthat it postureare identicalto those of the primaryfigure. More- was meantto be read thatway: the storyproceeding from over, I shall argue below thatthe designationof Eannatum a battleand heap of enemybodies (register1), to a contin- in thisposition fits far better with the suggestedreading of uationor second battle(register 2), to a victorycelebration 37 the narrativeon the reverse. and sacrifice(register 3). A majorproblem is then posed Only a small portionof the fourthregister is preserved, by the fourthregister, in which the battle seems to be the upper part, in which one sees a hand at the far left resumedafter the celebration/ritual. Discussion has focused graspingthe buttof a long spear shaft,the tip touchingthe upon an earlyidentification of the enemyfacing the spear foreheadof a bald enemynear the centerof the band. The thrustas the "King of Kish," based upon the proximityof enemyfaces the oncomingspear; his head emergesfrom a his head to the mentionof a kingof thatstate in the in-

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Fig. 14. "Standardof Ur," banquet side. Photocourtesy Trustees of the British Museum

scription.This problem requires a lengthydiscussion not thelower register to theprocession of food animals and men germaneto the presentstudy, but I would argue thatthe bearing fish in the middle to the banquet in the upper associationis fortuitous,our vision skewed by the unfor- registerthat again is dominatedby a slightlylarger figure tunatebreakage of the end ofthe text.38 Nevertheless, whether in a flouncedskirt, probably the ruler. In fact,the dominant, or not this is thé king of Kish, a question remains:why, primaryposition of the ruler at the center of the upper aftersacrifice and celebration,would Eannatum resume registeron the battleside, the culminationof the narrative battlewith anyone, iriuch less withan enemynot recorded sequence, is comparableto the positionof Eannatum in the as such on the stele, when the textdescribes the conflict upper registerof the Stele of the Vultures. withUmma, whose dead are alreadyheaped up above? In thesecond instance, although it will be pursuedfurther Since this problem cannot be resolved with a vertical below, we maynow considerthe textinscribed on the stele readingfrom top to bottom,I would proposean alternative and surroundingmost of the pictorialaction. If only the readingof the reverseof the stele,from bottom to top. This imageryis read, it is difficultto see the ritualburial and proposalis based firston the evidencefrom more complete libationas anythingother than a postbattlecelebration of Sumerianmonuments where the preferredorder of reading victory.40However, when the imagery is read in conjunction is indeed frombottom to top; and second, on the narrative with the text,we see thatbefore Eannatum actually goes sequence in the accompanyingtext of the stele. offto battle with Umma, he entersthe temple to receive In the firstinstance, I have argued elsewhere that the a dreamoracle from Ningirsu, in keepingwith the common majorrelief monument of the precedingUruk period, the practicein Mesopotamiafor those seekingdivine instruc- cult vessel knownas the "WarkaVase," is best understood tion.41In the dream, it is foretoldthat a mound of enemy when read fromthe lower registers(cultivated plants and corpses would reach up to the verybase of heaven (text, domesticatedanimals) toward the top (cultscene beforethe col. 7:21-22).This predictionis followedby a breakof some goddess Inanna).39 Certainly the nearly contemporary seven to eight lines, afterwhich we find Eannatum has "Standardof Ur" fromthe RoyalCemetery (figs. 13, 14) is alreadytaken up arms againstUmma (col. 8). to be read this way. On one side of the standard,three It is possible, therefore,to see the scene in the third horizontalregisters progress from battle chariots at the bot- registeras preceding ratherthan succeeding the battle. tomto the gatheringof prisoners in the middleto the pres- AlthoughEannatum is describedin thetext as "thereclining entationof the prisonersbefore a largercentral figure, pre- one," and in the thirdregister he is seated, this in itself sumablya ruler,at the top. On the otherside, the scenes poses no problem. There is no traditionfor representing proceed fromthe amassingof pack animals and goods in recliningfigures in Mesopotamianart, while Eannatum would

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions certainlyhave had to presideseated overcult performances readabilityrather than mere reference. in the templeon the same occasion. A paralleldepiction of If, then,we conclude thatthe reverseof the Stele ofthe a seated figurereferring to a dreamsequence occurson one Vulturesis "narrative,"and "historicalnarrative" at that, of the well-knownstatues of Gudea of Lagash in the later, while the obverse is not, we must articulatethe ways in Neo-Sumerianperiod. The statueshows Gudea holdingthe which the two faces workwith one anotherin the single plan ofa templeon his lap, havingreceived instructions to monument. build a new templeby a dreamoracle, while he slept in an Virtuallyeveryone who has writtenon the stele has com- older sanctuary.42 mented on the oppositionbetween the mythologicaland Everythingrepresented in registerthree may thus be thehistorical aspects of the respectivesides.44 Perhaps most seen as anteriorto the battle(s),which itselfcan be best penetratingis Moortgaťsobservation that the stele reflects read in sequence fromregister two, withsoldiers in battle the dualisminherent in the "Sumerianage" in divine acts march,to registerone, withsoldiers in attackposition be- and eventsof the mortalworld.45 Groenewegen-Frankfort, hindtheir ruler, and, renderedat thefar right, the resultant in turn,noted the separationof the "actuality"of the de- moundof corpses predicted in the templeoracle. The vul- picted battleon the one side fromits "transcendentsignif- turescarrying off their prey at the top would thenrepresent icance" on the other.46 the veryend of the narrative.Their actionis the narrative All commentatorshave concentratedon the contentof counterpartto the symbolicstatement of the obverse: the the reliefs,however. When we come to describehow that historical"after the battle is over." contentis presented,it becomes evidentthat different pic- The problem of the bottomregister remains - two ap- torialmodes have been selectedto representthe two realms: parent battle sequences are still divided by a registerof whatwe have called the "iconic,"on the one hand, and the ritualactivity. In myproposed reading, this apparent anom- "narrative,"on the other. aly can be explained in eitherof two ways: first,as corre- In thisrespect, we may note thatthe obverseis divided spondingto the preambleof the text(cols. 1-3),which lays intoonly two registers, one largerthan the other,while the out the previoushistory of the conflictbetween Lagash and reverseis divided into fourmore or less equal bands. The Umma under earlierrulers; or second, as correspondingto resultingeffect is that the god on the obverse occupies a portionof the dream itself,where the promisedcorpses considerablymore space than any otherfigure. He is also are afterall the resultsof a projected battle. The former bulkierin proportionand morenearly frontal in pose. Fol- seems more consistentwith the progressionthrough the lowingSchapiro's analysis of the importanceof "format" in action,and parallelsthe developmentof the text;but either establishingthe expressiveparameters of an image,and his way,register four reads best ifit is seen as settingthe scene correlationbetween rank and size, whichassumes an equa- forthe subsequent action.43 tionbetween a scale ofqualities and a scale ofmagnitudes,47 This developmentworks better in termsof composition the message is clear. Whateverhuman agents have partic- as well. Ifone reads the stele frombottom to top, the figure ipatedin theevent(s), the end has been achievedonly through ofthe kingseems to move fromthe left-handmargin of the the god's patronageand guidance. However,the god is not lower registerto a point almostexactly one-quarter of the shownengaged in action,but ratherin a symbolicgesture way across the space of registertwo, to dead center in of dominance;the actual events are over. If anything,the registerone. If, by contrast,one reads fromtop to bottom, reliefpresents what SvetlanaAlpers has called a deliberate the king seems to be backing up. It would be far more de-emphasisor suspensionof narrative,achieved through "48 logicalto see the kingprogressing steadily toward the cul- a "fixityof pose. Justas the god holds his emblem, the minationin the upper register,where he occupies the same anzu, he is himselfan emblemof the state and ofits victory. centralposition as the "ruler"on the Ur "Standard." The time representedon the obverse, therefore,follows Thus, the actionon the reverseof the stele can be read thatof the reverse. But simultaneouslyit is the summary both as a linearprogression across each register(synchron- statementof the whole. For this reason, the inscription ically)and as a progressionup the registers(diachronically). begins on the god s side, and ends on the reversemaking If we followthe storyparallel to the inscription,as sug- clearthe weighting of the two faces. We are givenimportant gested, the movementof the rulers figureis both spatial visual clues via composition,pose, and attributesto serve and temporal.In contrastto the obverse of the stele, the as aids in decipheringthe obverse.But because it requires reverseconforms to the definitionof "narrative"as estab- priorknowledge to identifythe god throughhis emblems lishedat the beginningof this paper: organizedaction, pro- and his associationwith the accompanying female deity, and gressionthrough time, referenceto a specificevent, and a backgroundin mythologyto fullyunderstand the visual

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions references,the viewermust control more of the "code" for contextof the beginningsof pictorialnarrative on the his- the obverse to be understood. toricalmonuments of the ancientNear East. First,how did The reverse,by contrast,can be read moreeasily through the text inscribed on the stele relate to the imagery(a thedepicted events. Each registerseems to have contained necessaryquestion in the evaluationof the overallimpact a coherentand complete action, achievingclosure of the of the monument)?Second, what is the natureof the stele part beforeit was to be integratedas a segmentinto the itselfas a public monument?Third, what was the relation- whole and read in sequence. The technique of superim- ship between the historicalevent commemoratedon the posed registrationis notuncommon in laterart. As Brilliant stele and the general historyof the city-stateof Lagash has pointedout, it is one means of transcendingthe limits duringthe Early Dynasticperiod? For these three issues of the registersystem, through stacking in a loaded se- are crucialto our understandingof the essentialquestions: quence, where the whole equals more thanthe sum of its Whynarrative? Why historical narrative? Why at thattime? parts.49On the Stele ofthe Vulturesas well as on the "Stan- It is only throughconsideration of these questionsthat we dard of Ur," we are very close to the beginningsof this can reconstructthe impact of the visual message we are system.In the particularstacking of the fourregisters on calling pictorialnarrative on this particularstele in this the reverseof the Stele of the Vultures,we can followthe period. sequence ofthe conflictbetween Umma and Lagash to the ultimatevictory proclaimed by Lagash. The storyunfolds directlyas narrativewithin the pictorialframe, as a pro- The Text gressionof individualactions and their sum total, which equals success. On the obverse,by contrast,the storylies In the incorporationof a lengthytext along with figured behind the pictorial- the "referential"as opposed to the relief,the Stele ofthe Vultures marks a significantdeparture "told." fromsuch earlier monumentsas the plaque of Ur-nanshe Yet this oppositioncannot be dismissedas a simple di- on whichthe textconsists simply of crudelyincised labels visionbetween obverse and reverse;for on each side, the and epithets(fig. 15). Eannatumis identifiedby label twice dominantmode ofrepresentation also containswithin it an on the stele, in the fieldadjacènt to his own head, much echo of its opposite. On the obverse,for example, though the same as Ur-nansheis on his plaque. The rest of the the god is the "icon," thereis an obvious referenceto the inscription,however, consists of a continuoustext that be- "historicalnarrative" and the politicalconsequences of the gins in the upper field of the obverse and continuesin battle won in the net he holds. On the reverse, as one parallelbands down the entireface. It thenpicks up at the proceeds frombottom to top throughthe "historicalnar- top ofthe reverseand continuesdown that face, even across rative"of the conflict, the figure of the ruler as well becomes an effective"icon," whichthrough repetition establishes a rhythmicpattern as he ultimatelyachieves centerstage at the top. Thus, the ambiguitiesposed by the oppositionare re- solvedin the interplayof main and subsidiarythemes. The stele is clearlyan attemptto integratemyth with history;50 one in which differentmodes of representationare used, while neithermode is totallyseparate fromthe other. In this bifacialunion of mythand historydisplayed through thepictorial modes of icon and narrative,a complexdynamic has been establishedbetween the tellingand the already told. The power of the stele lies in thatunion, and clearly, bothcomponents are requiredfor the monumentto achieve its power.

15. Votive of of c. 2500b.c. A fewissues remainwhich must be consideredin order Fig. plaque Ur-nanshe,king Lagash, Limestone;found at Tello; Musée du Louvre(AO 2344). Photo forus to properlyplace the Stele of the Vulturesinto the courtesyMusée du Louvre

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions the raised bands that separate registers(figs. 1, 2, 9, 10, thereverse. It is likelythat standard curses aimed at anyone 11). As on the plaque of Ur-nanshe,the figurescarved in who would removeor destroythe stele would have com- raised reliefwere executed first.The incised columnsand prisedthe veryend ofthe text,but are not preserved,due subdividing"cases" with theirenclosed signs were added to the breaksin the lowestregister (see n. 38). later,over virtuallyall the available backgroundspace. The textthus may be dividedinto six principalsections: The textwas firstread by FrançoisThureau-Dangin not background,introduction and preparationof Eannatum, ac- long afterits discovery.51A new edition of the textis in- tion, immediateconsequences of action, aftermath,and cluded in the collectionof Old Sumerianinscriptions pub- summaryplus commemoration.These six sectionsconform lished by Steible and Behrens,and an English translation closelyto the requirementsof the "Display Text," deline- and discussionforms part of Coopers studyof textsper- ated as a separatecategory of narrativeby Pratt:54 tainingto the Lagash-Ummaborder conflict, both containing fullbibliographies of interveningstudies.52 1. Abstract = Background In short, the text begins with what must have been, (summaryof despitemajor breaks, a historicalaccount of the background viewpoint) to the dispute,citing events in reignsprior to thatof Ean- 2. Orientation = Preparationand namingof natum.It thengoes on to introduceEannatum, and describe (identification) Eannatum his generationby the god Ningirsu,his sucklingon the lap 3. Action = Battle of the goddess Ninhursag,53his heroic qualities, and the 4. Evaluation/ = Restorationof fields bestowal of his name by the goddess Inanna. This early consequence historywas apparentlynecessary as justificationfor Ean- 5. Resolution = Oaths towardstability natum'sengaging the rulerof Umma,whose arrogancehad 6. Coda = Recapitulationof titles,ded- led him to encroachinto the arable lands of the Gu'eden, icationof stele and curses the "beloved fields of Ningirsu,"without recompense to Lagash. But beforethe actual encounter,there occurs the The textthus constitutes a coherentnarrative in itself;it dream sequence described above, in which Eannatumre- lays out the positionof Lagash withrespect to the border ceives an oracle foretellingthe encounter. Aftera short conflictwith Umma, and the actionstaken by Eannatum. break, the text resumes in the midst of the action. Ean- It is immediatelyapparent (as notedalso by Donald Hansen natum,apparently wounded, carrieson untilUmma is de- ina lectureentitled "Early Dynastic Demons and Monsters" feated.Twenty burial mounds of the enemyare heaped up, at the Pierpont Morgan Libraryin April 1983) that the as Eannatumsucceeds in restoringto Ningirsuthe fieldsof correspondencebetween text and imageryis notexact. Sig- the Gu'eden, each one carefullylisted in detail. nificantelements withinthe verbal narrativeare not de- This sectionof the textends along the registerdivision picted on the stele, while certainof the detailsso carefully separatingthe upper and lower portionsof the obverse. depicted in reliefare not fullydescribed in the text.Read Beginningin the firstcolumn of the lower registeris an in conjunctionwith the imagery,the textdoes help to iden- account of the aftermathof the battle, in which the van- tifythe specificconflict and interpretcertain details of the quished ruler of Umma swears on the "great battle-nets" pictorialnarrative. But thevisual imagery has itsown agenda, of six major deities thathe will respect the now properly not identicalto thatof the text. reconstitutedborder. The major pictorialnarrative on the reverseis devoted By moderndramatic standards, the long descriptionof to a detailed representationof the preamble and actual each oathand the attendantrituals to secure each one seem conflictwith Umma, a sequence passed over veryquickly to be merelythe workingout ofterms and hence secondary in the text. By contrast,those portionsgiven the longest to the battle itself.Yet it is actuallythe longestsequence descriptionin the text- thedelineation of all ofthe restored in the text,continuing from the obversethrough the entire fieldsand the oathssworn by Umma- are entirelyomitted upper registerof the reverseand endingalong the register fromthe visual narrative. line. Towardthe end ofthe same registerline we enterinto In effect,then, the role ofthe visualportion of the mon- the finalsection of the text,in which the titles,epithets, umentis to conveyon the reversethe immediateanteced- and deeds of Eannatumare recounted.The litanyincludes entsof the events and the action-through-narrativein which thelands he has conquered,how he has restoredthe Gu'eden Eannatum played a primaryrole and on the obverse, a to Ningirsu,and finally,how he has erectedthis very stele summaryof that action through the icon ofthe stategod as forthe god. This last portionfalls in the bottomregister of hero and victor.The verbal portionof the monumentex-

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Vultures,the literaryand visual trajectoriesmeet, but are not yet either trulyparallel or identicalin structureand content.The visual narrativeon the Stele of the Vultures correspondsneither to Weitzmann's"simultaneous" method, in which several actionstake place withina single scene, nor to his "monoscenic"method, in whicha single action is selected froma part of the storyto standfor the whole. Nor does it correspondto his "cyclic"method, in whicha coherentseries of images representsstages within a single text.58It is, instead,an "autonomousnarrative" method, if we may call it that,in whichthe figurairepresentation on the stele has its own logic of organizationand emphasis quite distinctfrom that of the text. In fact,text and imagerydiffer not only in contentbut also in intent:the textserving the legal case ofthe legitimacy ofLagash's claims over Ummaand the Gu'eden at thehigh- est (literate)levels, its audience bothinternal and external; Fig. 16. Votiveplaque fromUr, showingpriest and femaleat- tendantsbefore temple facade and deity, Early Dynastic III period, the visual portionaddressed more to an internal(not nec- c. 2500-2350b.c.; BritishMuseum (118561). Photo courtesy the essarilyliterate) audience, its message relatedto the hier- Trusteesof the British Museum archyand power of the state itself. tends furtherin time, both backwardand forward- from thehistorical background of the conflictthrough to the con- The Stele sequent bindingof Umma by oath, restorationof the disputed fields,and erectionof the stele as witnessto both The precedingdiscussion of the textgives rise to the second eventand agreement.In otherwords, the reliefsdetail the contextualpoint, the natureof the stele as monument;that immediateaction(s), while the textemphasizes the longer- is, as the vehicle by whichthis particular text and imagery rangeantecedents and consequences.55 were carried. In fact,the textand the imageryof the Stele of the Vul- The Sumerianword translatedhere as "stele"- NA-RÚ- tures come fromtwo very differenttraditions. The text A- is oftenpreceded by thedeterminative, which identifies " derives froma combinationof knowncelebratory procla- the noun in the class of "stone. RU is the readingfor the mationsand legalisticdocuments that include background, verb root DU, "to erect." Thus NA-RÚ-Awas understood currentintervention, resolution, and proscriptions.The lit- in antiquityas a freestandingstone monumentor marker, erarytradition is apparentin the use of certaincuneiform the size of which could varyconsiderably. The termalso signs,which are otherwiserestricted to poeticusage, while occurs in Akkadian(narû) as a Sumerianloan word desig- the legalistictradition is reflectedin the wordingof oaths natinga stone monumentinscribed with laws and regula- and sanctions.56However the imageryis relativelynew, if tions,a stonemonument used as a boundarymarker in situ, we mayjudge fromextant artifacts. It has developed out of or a memorialmonument set up by a king.59 a visual traditionof representingsequences surrounding, At least one earlierstele is referredto by Eannatum,and or culminatingin, a singleevent. However,the stackingof againby his nephewEnmetena, and thatis theoriginal stele registersthat can be read bothhorizontally, as narrativeof erected by Mesalim, king of Kish, some time withinthe a single episode, and vertically,as a sequence of several Early Dynastic II period, c. 2700 B.c., when the proper events,makes the stele a more complexand sophisticated boundary between Umma and Lagash was firstadjudi- phenomenonthan either iconic votive plaques such as that cated.60This stele would thereforehave belonged to the of Ur-nanshe(fig. 15) or the single-eventstrip narrative of second categoryof boundarymarkers in situ. the "Standardof Ur" (figs.13 and 14) thatpreceded it by The question of where the Stele of the Vultureswas onlysome fortyyears. originallyintended to have been erectedarises from several We have beforeus, then,a situationvery different from ambiguitiesin the text of the stele itselfand fromother thatdescribed by KurtWeitzmann, in whichimagery may textualreferences. Although the excavatedfragments were be used to "renderliterary content."57 On the Stele of the foundat the site ofancient Girsu, they were dispersedover

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions If Cooper s collationis correct,the name of the boundary stele set up by Eannatum has been preservedand is un- relatedto the name given on the Stele of the Vultures.64 Argumentsfor the second possibilitycome froma broken referencein the textof the Stele of the Vultures,in which we are told thatEannatum set up somethingin the E.mah, the templeof Nanshe.65 Although the word "stele" has been restoredhere by Steible, in factit is not to be foundin the text,so thatthe missingnoun could be almostanything.66 Nor does the templeof Nanshe make any contextualsense forthe Stele ofthe Vultures,dominated as it is by thefigure of Ningirsuand containingno significantreference to the goddess Nanshe. In favorof the thirdpossibility, that the stele was orig- inallyset up in the temple precinctof Ningirsu,are the following:first, the distributionof five of the six excavated fragmentson or around Tell "K" at Girsu, a low mound withinthe cityon whichthe main templeto Ningirsuwas situated;second, the example of later rulers setting up stelae 17. Boundary/land-grantstele, Fig. in (as withthe stele ofUr-nammu at Ur in the Neo- EarlyDynastic I period,c. 3000 B.c. temples Limestone;said to be fromthe area of Sumerianperiod, c. 2150 B.C.); and third,the dedicatory Umma;The MetropolitanMuseum of referenceswithin the text,not only to Ningirsu,but also Art(58:29). Photo courtesy The Met- to the erectionof the stele. ropolitanMuseum of Art The mostcomplete referenceoccurs at the veryend, a band offourteen separate cases set apart,almost as a label summarizingthe whole object. It is worthquoting in its a ratherwide area; it could be argued, therefore,that this entirety,as it gives a veryreal sense ofhow the Sumerians was the secondary,and not the primary,location. At least conceivedof the monument: threepossibilities must be considered:an originallocation The stele, at the border, the stele of a alongside original Mesalim; its name locationin the E.mah, a temple at Girsu dedicated to the is not a man's name; it [its name] is: goddess Nanshe; and a locationwithin the templeprecinct "Ningirsu, of Ningirsu. Lord, Crown of Lumma, Argumentsfor the firstpossibility are based on mention is the lifeof the Pirig-edenCanal." in the textof the stele and on two identical virtually clay The stele cones ofEnmetena that Eannatum, after his res- temporary of the Gu'eden- olutionof the conflict,not reestablishedthe border only beloved field and restoredthe originalstele of Mesalim,but also erected of Ningirsu his own stele at the site.61In fact,Perkins goes so faras to [which]Eannatum assume that the Stele of the Vulturesis that very stele, forNingirsu withoutreference at all to the inconsistencyof its findspot.62 returnedto his [the god's] hand- Arguingagainst this, however, are the size ofand complex he [Eannatum]erected it.67 decorationlavished upon the stele,which are morein keep- ing with stelae of later periods set up in urban temple Thus, the stele is dedicated to Ningirsu,is named for compoundsthan with the smallerand moreschematic land- Ningirsu,makes referenceto the maincanal wateringthe 63 grantboundary stelae, as forexample, fig. 17. An addi- disputedGu'eden, and is erectedfor the god. In addition, tionalproblem exists: why and when the monumentwould I wouldargue that the obverseis carvedwith a monumental have been moved to Girsu,where it was discovered.Fur- figureof Ningirsuas the icon of victoryover Umma. All therevidence may be added fromCooper's restorationof this, plus the findspotsof the majorfragments, strongly an Eannatum textfrom two previouslyknown fragments. suggeststhat the stele originallystood as both testimony

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions and votivein the god s sanctuary. The HistoricalContext The situationof the Stele of the Vultureswould seem to correspondclosely to the role ofthe royalstele as described As BarbaraHerrnstein-Smith has noted,"the fact that some- in a later(Assyrian) version of the Cuthaean legend of Naram- thingis true is never a sufficientreason forsaying (or de- Sin, king of the Akkadiandynasty, c. 2290 B.c., in which picting)it."72 Rather, every narrativeis produced and ex- the kingspeaks the followingwords: periencedunder certain social conditions; and everynarrator must I have . . . inscribeda stele forthee [a futureking] and or author(in thiscase, Eannatum) have some interest in Cutha, in the E. meslam [a temple], in the shrineof in relating(or displaying)it. It has been suggestedabove Nergal [a god not unlike Ningirsuin attributes],I have thatthe verynature of the stele as a monumentwould have deposited it forthee. Read this documentand listento helped direct its audience to the intendedresponse. But the words thereof.68 that response can only be reconstructedin the contextof the historical of and the other The same textlater resumes:"Let wise scribesread aloud larger picture Lagash city- statesof southernMesopotamia in the late Early Dynastic thystele"; while an earlier ruler is described as one who period. "did not writeon a stele and leave it (forposterity)."69 The marksthe fullconsolidation From these briefreferences, much can be understood Early Dynasticperiod ofthe processof urbanization begun in the precedingUruk about the functionof the Akkadiannarû. I wouldargue that period (c. 3500 B.C.). By the Early DynasticIII (c. 2500- thisis relevantfor the Early Dynasticstele as well. It was 2350), southernMesopotamia was divided into a series of notmerely intended as a commemorativemonument; it was polities,each consistingof at least one majorurban center rathermeant to be a livingtestimonial witness to the his- thatexercised control over surrounding tracts of agricultural toricityof the events and the legitimacyof the legal terms and rangelands as well as watersources.73 Of thesepolities, (restorationof fieldsand reconstitutionof the border)that Lagash was one of the most important.Thanks to the ex- it recorded.This would fitclosely with Pratt s definitionof tensivearchive excavated at its majorsatellite city of Girsu, the "displaytext" with which we matchedthe Stele of the it is also the onlystate from which sufficient documentation Vulturesabove: thatis, a textintended not only as a record has been preservedto permitreconstruction of a historyof ofevents, but also as a (verbal)performance, designed with the period and a profileof the workingsof a city-state.74 audience in mind,in whichsupport is elicitedfor the par- The state consistedof Lagash (modernal-Hiba) and two ticularview held, and the event(s)described is intendedto satellites,Girsu (Tello) and Nina (Surgul).75The totalarea be morallyand/or contractually kept alive.70 The stele func- controlledby Lagash in the Early DynastyIII period is tioned, then, not only as a witnessto eventsbut also as a estimatedat 1,160 square miles,76sustaining a population witness to the concluding agreement and to the conse- of some 50,000 free men. At least twentytemples are at- quences thatwould resultwere Umma to break its oaths. testedwithin the state,of which one ofthe mostprominent It would have been seen as an activeagent in ensuringand Was the temple of Ningirsuat Girsu.77There is evidence enforcing,by virtueof its very existence,the conditions that these were landownerswith vast described on it, at the same time that it celebrated the temples principal holdings,so that when Eannatum calls the Gu'eden the powerof those who were successfulin bringingthe present "belovedfield of Ningirsu," this may well have been literally situation about: the ensi, Eannatum, and the city god, true. Ningirsu. Falkensteinhas argued that all the major city-statesof To borrowEco s term,which Richard Brilliant has equally the period were more or less equal in size and similarly applied to the Column ofTrajan, the stele is itselfan "icon- organized.78Each was politicallyautonomous and was ruled ogram."71A portionof its message is conveyedsimply by by an individualdesignated either by the titlelugal (king; belongingto a particulartypological class: the NA-RÚ-A. literally,great man) or ensi (city ruler, governor).79It is We must thereforetake into account not only the literal clear fromtextual references that at the beginningof the and rhetoricalcontent of the textand imagery,but also the Early Dynasticperiod, rulerswere consideredappointees rhetoricalvalue of the stele as a public monument- espe- of the local deity. By the end of the period, however,the ciallyif it was meantto be preservedand read by successive rulershad begun increasinglyto usurp lands and preroga- generations. tivesformerly held by the temple estates.80 The end of the period was also markedby the expansion ofcentralized urban polities. Buffer zones ofpotentially rich but undeveloped land thathad separatedthe ringsof irri-

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions gated, agriculturalfields surrounding the citiesfrom those groundanimates our view ofEannatum and the Stele ofthe of neighboringstates had been reduced to nothing.This Vultures.We now see Eannatumas the rulerof one of the shrinkageaccounts forthe strugglesbetween Umma and predominantstates of Mesopotamiain the Early Dynastic Lagash, which were largelydue to competitionover the period. The conflictwith Umma, as recordedon the stele, Gu'eden, the tractof fieldsand grazinglands along their is notmerely one eventamong many but ratherthe primary twenty-eight-milecommon border.81 The conflictpersisted externalconcern of the state at the time. The issues in- foralmost two centuries,through the reignsof the six suc- volved- controlover land and water- were essentialto the cessive kingsof the hereditarydynasty of Lagash duringthe continuedprosperity and well-being,if not autonomy,of Early Dynastic III period (includingthose of its founder, the state. Ur-nanshe,his grandsonEannatum, and Eannatums suc- The Early Dynastic period was also the time in which - cessors his brother,Eannatum I, and his nephew, En- the institutionof kingship became fullyestablished; by the metena);it then continuedinto the seventhand last reign end of the period in particular,the rulers had amassed ofthe period, thatof the probableusurper, Uruinimgina.82 considerablepower and privileges.As Hallo has pointed The basis ofthis conflict was proprietary:who was entitled out, textualreferences to the ruler- sired by a chiefgod, to exploitand derive wealth fromthe yield of this land? suckledby a goddess,named and grantedattributes by other Thus, in the Stele of the Vulturestext (cols. 10:14-11:30), deities- constitutean elaboratemeans of stressingthe le- 90 Eannatumdoes not claim all of the land that,he declares, gitimacyof royalpower. These are the veryclaims made actuallybelonged to Ningirsu;he leaves a portionon the by Eannatumin the textof the Stele of the Vulturesand, side of Umma. But Umma is expectedto pay a percentage togetherwith Eannatum s centralrole in thenarrative, they of the yield as rent. It is Umma's failureto acknowledge signalthe expandedrole ofthe king.I would argue thatthe the debt and pay rent that bringsabout the subsequent same message is conveyedvisually by the prominentpo- conflictunder EannatumI and Enmetena.83 sition given to the king in the pictorialnarrative of the Underlyingthe issue of land tenure is the even more reverse.As we read frombottom to top,there would appear fundamentalissue of water rights,without which the land to have been a slightbut ever-increasingchange in scale, is useless. The stateof Lagash layto the southeastof Umma, so that the upper figureis larger than the figurerecon- with Girsu approximatelyhalfway between the two on a structedat the bottom;at the same time, the ruler pro- directline; and the contestedlands northwest of Girsu were gressesfrom the marginto theexact center. I would suggest wateredby the same Euphratescanal thatpassed through thatthis movement is notmerely an artifactof compositional Umma.84As wateris a crucialresource, the upstreamuser and narrativedemands, but is rathera significantstatement in controllingthe supplyof downstream water would clearly of the structuraldevelopment of kingshipas an institution have great power- power that quicklybecame a political in the late Early Dynasticperiod. weapon.85Thus, muchof the disputerecorded on the Stele In the lightof thispolitical development, the visual and of the Vultureshas to do not onlywith the fields,but also narrativetension between the obverse and the reverseof withthe irrigationcanals withinthe Gu'eden.86 the Stele of the Vulturestakes on fargreater significance. AlthoughLagash may have been dominantin the early We are notyet at a pointwhere the king has assumedpower stagesof this dispute, archaeological survey data would sug- over a nationalpolity, nor has he actuallydeclared himself gest that there was a rapid growthin the densityof sites a god, as in the Akkadianperiod.91 But the seeds of that and in the politicalimportance of Umma in the late Early subsequent developmentare present,represented on the Dynasticperiod.87 At the very end of the period, Uruin- stele as theywere clearlyin the politicalinstitutions of the imginaof Lagash was defeatedby Lugalzagesi of Umma; age. Yes, Ningirsuis given fullhonors on the obverse, as the capital citywas plundered,and in factnever fullyre- the "icon" of the city.But at the same time,a challengeis covered. Girsu tookover as the principalcity of the state, put forthby the ruler: in the repetitionof his figureand but absolutepower had alreadyshifted elsewhere.88 Mean- his shiftingposition, he, too, becomes an "iconic"figure of while, Lugalzagesi went on to conquer the powerfulcity- heroismand victory. stateof Uruk,which had formerlybeen allied withLagash, In short,just as the issues ofland and watercontrol raised and tookupon himselfthe title,"King of Sumer."89By the on the stele are fundamentalfor the Early Dynasticperiod end of the period events pointedfirmly toward the estab- as a whole, so also is the developmentof the role of the lishmentof the hegemonicnation-state achieved in the suc- rulerin the city-statesof the period intertwinedwith the ceeding Akkadianperiod. representationof Eannatumon his victorymonument. It remainsto be demonstratedhow thishistorical back- *****

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions We are finallyin a positionto assess the impactof the The visualpower of the stele lies preciselyin the tension use of historicalnarrative on thiswork in thisperiod, and between the two heros (god and king)and theirtwo realms to analyze the general implicationsof the use of historical (mythologicaland historical).Yet, as we have observed,that narrativewithin the historyof art. tension- reflectingthe old, "theocratic"state and the new, We have triedto demonstratethat the Stele of the Vul- "dynastic"state - avoids open schismby cross-references. tures played an active role in the ideology of the early Ningirsuintervenes in battle; Eannatum'spower is attrib- Mesopotamianstate; that it represented"not merely [a] uted to the divine sphere. passive reflectionof the political system,"92but rathera It is particularlystriking that distinct pictorial modes have model forthat system, by presentingas ifgiven an under- been selected to representthe differentconceptual realms: lyingstructure that itself had a powerfulpolitical agenda. the iconicfor the mythologicalworld, and the narrativefor We have suggestedfurther that while the icon of the god the historical.It is as if the mythologicalwere best repre- was the traditionalmode of Mesopotamianrepresentation, sented by symboland allusion,while the historicalshould thehistorical visual narrative introduced by Eannatumserved be groundedin actionand events. The historicalnarrative new purposes. The latternot only told the storyliterally, of the reverseof the stele providesa visual accountof real it also served figurativelyto establishthe ruleras the le- events; but, as narrativediscourse, it also lends weightto gitimateforce in the sequence ofevents. We have therefore thatreality, by providingit with the organizational structure imputedpolitical ends to the introductionof narrative. These thatgives coherence, fullness, and closure.95Nevertheless, ends may not have been consciouslymanipulated (we will to get the completemessage of the stele,one mustcombine never fullyrecover intentionality),but the devices em- the narrativewith the icon, so thatthe antecedentsto and ployed certainlywere not unaffectedby theirtimes. the consequences of the specificevents are alluded to and The principlesunderlying such a view were best artic- the whole intentionmade clear. Historicalnarrative in this ulated by Herrnstein-Smithwhen she wrote,"no narrative period may thusbe said to serve an end, ratherthan to be can be independentof a particularteller and occasion of an end in itself;and the end it serves is the establishment telling,and . . . thereforeevery narrativehas been con- of the logical basis forthe resolutionand the premisesof structedin accordwith some set of . . . interests";93and by the actions it records. In this respect, narrativebecomes Hayden White's quote fromHegel: "it is the state which simplyone code among othersfor a cultureto exploitin firstpresents subject-matter that is not onlyadapted to the the transmissionof messages.96 prose of history,but underliesthe productionof history in Located in the temple, the stele would transmitin no "94 the veryprocess of its own being. uncertainterms the mythichistory of the city'sgod, as well Thus,the primary, official state message presented through as the contemporaryvalidation of thatgod, of the current the innovativeuse ofhistorical narrative on the Stele ofthe ruler,and ofthe stateas a whole. At thesame time,it would Vulturesis thatof the legitimateclaim of Lagash over the have proclaimed the immediatelegitimacy of the state's Gu'eden; and here we must emphasize thatthere are no ; positionvis-a-vis Umma. And, carriedin the historicalnar- comparablemonuments from Umma of thisperiod to give rative,would be the covertmessage ofthe monument:the us the otherside of the conflict.Despite the assertedob- increasein powerand authorityof the EarlyDynastic ruler. jectivityof the verbal and visual texts,it is importantto rememberthat the textsconstitute instructed rhetoric, intended to providewitness to a veryselected "truth." The secondarymessage presented through historical nar- In the course of this examinationof how pictorialnar- rativeis that of the centralityof the ruler in maintaining rative- and in particular,historical narrative - was incor- the state. It is our assessmentthat the stele would have porated into one early monument,a numberof methodo- been set up in the majortemple to Ningirsuas a votiveto logical and theoreticalpoints have arisen, which it seems thepatron deity, who was giventitular credit for the victory appropriateto summarizehere. at the very time his authoritywas being eroded and his First,with respect to the relationshipbetween narrative territorialprerogatives encroached upon by the secularcity and iconography:it would seem thatthe latter,as a central ruler.The god is given pride of place on the obverse; the pursuitof the disciplineof art history,constitutes a prior king is on the reverse. But the challenge to the older, and necessarystep in the readingof narrative, but thatthe nominallytheocratic base of the city-stateis there. The two shouldbe kept separate.The one representsa process hierarchyof the religioussystem is no longeridentical with of identification,basically descriptive(Panofsky's icono- the administrativehierarchy of the state. graphicalanalysis proper97), the othera process of organi-

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions zationalanalysis, of "how" as opposed to "what." I would perhapssubstitute the word "temporal"or "im- Second, thisanalytic process makesclear thatthere is a mediate"for "ephemeral"; but what Groenewegen-Frank- very close relationshipbetween narrativeand structure, forthas capturedso well is the separationof the two do- hence narrativeanalysis and structuralanalysis, to the de- mains, the need to combine them, and the tension that gree thatboth attempt to layout organizingprinciples. Yet, remains.All thiswe have triedto describefor the Stele of if both seek to answer the question "how"- in our case, the Vultures,in the use of god and king,obverse and re- how the imageryis organized so that it may be read- I verse,myth and history,icon and narrativeon a majorpublic would suggestthat here, narrativeanalysis is a preliminary monument. step forstructural analysis, which then moves on to seek But whatwe have also stressedare the affective, as op- meaningin the patternsmanifest in orgainizingprinciples posed to the merely reflective, properties of the monu- and to answerthe question "why." ment- the factthat monuments constitute the objectsthey Third,it seems evidentthat narrative is but one repre- representas muchas theymirror them, and are thusactive 100 sentationalcode among several. Nothingdemands that a agentsin projectingparticular responses in reception. historicalbattle be representedas narratedaction. In an- Public monuments,such as the Stele of the Vultures, cient Egypt,for example, the motifof a smitingking was were not neutralimages. The power and awe-inspiringas- used as an icon forall militaryvictories. Pictorial narrative pects of these monumentscan be partiallyreconstructed is thereforeselected as a mode of representationbecause fromthe enormousenergy it tookfor the biblicalworld to it meets the requirementsof the particularindividual, pe- shiftaway from visual foci in divineimages and idols,a move 101 riod,or culture.Nevertheless, it maybe said thatnarrative thatNorthrop Frye has called trulyrevolutionary. requiresless priorknowledge than other sorts of codes; and Throughthe innovativeuse of pictorialnarrative, the thatit is a particularlyeffective means of transmittingan Stele ofthe Vulturesengages both history and itsaudience. ideologicalmessage, simplybecause it is so seductive in The monumentstands at the beginningof a long line of coercingthe viewer to read along withwhat is given and historicalnarratives in the historyof art. There are many so be brought to a desired and seemingly inexorable gaps between the Stele of the Vultures(c. 2460 B.c.) and conclusion. thefully formed historical narratives of Assyrian reliefs (c. 875 Fourth, visual narrativehas propertiesvery similarto B.c.); but the linkagesexist. And furtherlinkages can be thoseof verbal narrative. However, ifas Bressonhas dem- demonstratedto the classical and Renaissanceworlds, as onstratedexperimentally, following Piaget, competencein the visual artsstrove to achieve firstcompetence and then readingvisual imageryis a skillthat has its own develop- perfectionin the representationof narrative.102 But at these mentallocus, separatefrom that of language, and ifone can initialstages, narrative is stillbalanced againstthe icon, as thinkthrough representations, not just throughlanguage,98 thehistorical is balancedagainst the mythological, and even, thenone can "make think"via representations- thatis, use in manyways, as the image is balanced againstthe accom- pictorialnarrative with ideological, rhetorical aims. panyingtext. In the end, the Stele ofthe Vulturesemerges Fifthand finally,in the standardcommunications theory as a monumentwith a complexmessage, and pictorialnar- diagramof sender-message-receiver,one must divide the rative but one of several codes activatedto convey that messageinto at leasttwo components: the actual information message. conveyed,and theextralinguistic or extravisualreferent that is partof the subtext.The ideologicalmessage is oftenbuilt into the structureof how the message is conveyed,rather thanwhat the message contains.

Writingin 1951 about the sculptureof the ancientNear East, HenriettaGroene wegen- Frankfort stated: The functionof a monumentis to penetratethe imper- manent,to stressthe transcendedsignifcance of human action. It requires both symbolicstatement and factual representation- the tensionbetween the ephemeraland the everlasting."

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Acknowledgments NOTES

1. RobertScholes and Robert TheNature Narrative This studycould neverhave been writtenwithout the help Kellog, of (London, 1966),4. of a numberof individuals.Two studentsin art graduate 2. HaydenWhite, "The Value of Narrativity inthe Representation of historyat the Universityof Pennsylvania- BenjaminKess- Reality,"inOn Narrative , ed. W.J.T. Mitchell(Chicago, 1981), 1. ler and particularlyMichelle Marcus- laid the groundwork 3. GérardGenette, "Boundaries ofNarrative," New Literary History 8 8. in theirinitial of this monumentin seminars (1976), explorations 4. IreneJ. Winter, "Royal Rhetoric and the Development ofHistorical on the art of ancient Mesopotamia.Jerry Cooper's recent Narrativein Neo-AssyrianReliefs," Studies in VisualCommunication 7 2. studyof the Lagash-Ummaborder conflictwas essential; (1981), 5. How we for that tellsus his and I have fromhis commentson of ideas. lucky are, example, Euphronios dying profited many my warrioris Sarpedon on theMetropolitan Museum krater, so we do not Hermann Behrens patientlytook me throughthe initial haveto waste scholarly energy arguing whether orwhy it is notthe dead Achillesor the suicidal Ajax instead. steps of the studyof Sumerianin 1983-1984and read with 6. AnnPerkins, "Narration in Babylonian Art," American Journal of me the difficulttext of the Stele of the Vultures.Without 61 55. Archaeology(1957), " thatbackground, and thetimely publication of his joint effort 7. White,"The Value of Narrativity, 3; Genette, "Boundaries ofNar- 8. with Horst Steible, I could not have dealt withany of the rative," 8. Perkins,"Narration," 55. questions of textand image exploredhere. Renata Holod 9. Winter,"Royal Rhetoric," 31. has been the source of several importantbibliographical 10. E. de Sarzec,Découvertes en ChaldéeII: Epigrapheet planches referencesand stimulatingdiscussion on questionsof visual (Paris,1884-1912), pls. 3, 3 bis,4, 4 bis,4 ter. narrative;Robert C. Hunt has providedvaluable perspec- 11. NorthropFrye, "History and Myth in the Bible," in The Literature ofFact," ed. A. Fletcher(New York, 1976), 1-19 and especially 7-11. tiveon ofirrigation and the between questions relationship 12. LeonHeuzey, "La Stèle des Vautours, Gazette archéologique (1884), land and politics.I am gratefulalso forthe thoughtfulcom- 164-180and 193-203; Andre Parrot, Tello , Vingtcampagnes defouilles mentsof Hans Piotr and TsviAbusch (Paris,1948) 95; Louvre, AO 50 + 2436-2438.That Tello, often identified Güterbock, Steinkeller, is - as Lagashin the early literature, actually ancient Girsu has been dem- upon a readingof the manuscript manyof whichI have onstratedin morerecent excavations: cf.Donald P. Hansen,"Al-Hiba, incorporatedinto the finalversion. 1968-9:A preliminaryreport," Artibus Asiae 32 (1970),244. The reconstruction are also the resultof 13. Parrot,Tello, 95; piece was British Museum 23580, nöw Louvre AO drawings many 16109. individuals'efforts. The figureson the obverse owe most 14. See LeonHeuzey and François Thureau- Dangin, Restitution ma- to the workof Marie-TherèseBarrelet; modifications in the tériellede la Stèledes Vautours (Paris, 1909), especially pls. I, II. Arecent Marie-Therèse "Peut-onremettre en la res- bothfront and to the comments studyby Barrelet, question chariots, back, subsequent titutionmatérielle de la Stèledes Vautours?" Journal of Near Eastern of Mary A. Littauerand J. Crouwel. On the reverse,the Studies29 (1970),233-258, has argued that the lowest register on each restored s in the lowest and the seated sidemight be compresseda bit, but not more than 10-15 cm in all. On king figure register thebasis of our restoration drawing, presented here, this would seem to figurein the second registerfrom bottom are the products behighly desirable from the point of view of scale and proportion inrelation forthe reverse. ofan unpublishedseminar paper by Michelle Marcus,used tothe upper registers, especially ' 15. Thetext was readand Thureau-Dan see with her Some such as the originally publishedby gin, generous permission. details, Heuzeyand Thureau- Dan gin, Restitution matérielle, 42-63, and until re- verificationof a lion's head on the several eagle bodies of centlyhad not been fully restudied. Thorkild Jacobsen published a new the and the second behind the in his reading,heavily restored for the missing portions, ofthe first ten columns obverse, figure king in 1976:"Translation ofthe Stele of the Vultures, Cols. I-X," in Samuel charioton the reverse,were determinedin directexami- NoahKramer Anniversary Volume (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 25), nationof the stele in the of who ed. BarryN. Eichler(Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1976),247-259. See now,how- company Agnès Spycket, ever,full edition in Horst Steible and Hermann Behrens, Die altsumer- kindlymade theclosed Near Easterngalleries in theLouvre ischenRau- und Weihinschriften, TeilI: Inschriftenaus 'Lagas'(Wies- accessible to me and was enormouslyhelpful in the pro- baden,1982), 120-145; and, based upon that, an Englishtranslation by JerroldS. Cooper,in Reconstructing History from Ancient Inscriptions: curementof photographsfor publication. Elizabeth Simp- TheLagash-Umma Rorder Conflict (Sources from the Ancient Near East, son did a mostremarkable job on the reconstructiondraw- vol.2, fascicle1) (Malibu,1983), 45-47. 16. As to Henri TheArt and Architecture the Refinementssuch as the mostlogical ofarms, opposed Frankfort, of ings. position AncientOrient, 4th ed. rev.(New York, 1977), 71; Henrietta Groenew- proportionsof whole figures, and dispositionof draft animals egen-Frankfort,Arrest and Movement: An Essay on Spaceand Time in are frequentlythe result of her keen eye and mind, and theRepresentational Artof the Ancient Near East (London, 1951), 158; andPerkins, "Narration," 58- all ofwhom call it thereverse. But that occasionallyof our fruitful collaboration. I have been in close cannotbe, as theinscription begins on this side, and the text breaks at touchwith all ofthe above individuals,and am mostgrateful thebottom, tocontinue on the other side. Further arguments instructure willbe belowto corroborate this fortheir contributions. presented visually. 17. Thenet is a well-knownliterary topos, clearly reflecting actual battle practices,as Mardukin a lateversion of the Creation epic catches his adversaryTiamat in a net(see James S. Pritchard,Ancient Near Eastern TextsRelating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Princeton,1969), 67. Fur- thermore,in the second half of the inscription on the stele itself, the

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions vanquishedruler of Umma is made to swear by the "battlenets" ofvarious 30. Notealso that what seems to be an armholding a goad is visible godsthat he will not transgress thereestablished border (compare below). behindthe king in the chariot box. This would signify a second passenger 18. In thepresent state of preservation ofthe stele and in recent pho- in thevehicle, not unlike the additional figures shown on therunning tographs,this head is broken, and it has been questioned whether ornot boardsof chariots on the Standard ofUr, fig. 13. it wasoriginally a lion's head or simplya normal eagle's head. I have 31. Writtenatthe University ofPennsylvania, January 1982. checkedthe stele, and can clearly see at both top and bottom the double- 32. SeeMoortgat, Ancient Mesopotamia, figs. 114, 116: stele with libation curvedline that would have been the outline of a leoninemuzzle. In toseated goddess Ninhursag, from Tello, and plaque with libation poured addition,Agnès Spycket of the Département des antiquitésorientales, toseated male god (Nanna?), from the giparu at Ur. Muséedu Louvre,who kindly made the stele accessible to me, pointed outthat the stele had suffered sinceits excavation. 33. Comparewith this, Moortgat, Ancient Mesopotamia, figs. 114, 116, unfortunately damage citedabove, n. 32. Whenfirst brought tothe Louvre, more of the main figure's eye and brow, aswell as more of the head of this emblem, were preserved than at present. 34. Forexample, on the plaque of Ur-nanshe, our fig. 15, and on the Ona postcardofc. 1910shown me by Mile. Spycket, the lion head of the Steleof Ur-nammu inthe Ur III period,c. 2100B.c. (Moortgat, Ancient birdheld in hand is clearly visible; hence our reconstruction inthe present Mesopotamia,fig.194). drawing,fig. 3. I believethat the same outline of a lion'shead is apparent 35. Frankfort,Artand Architecture, 71;Moortgat, Ancient Mesopotamia, uponexamination ofthe emblem atop a standardat thefar left of this 43. register;however, here it is possiblethat reference is to the sir-bur bird 36. See Moortgat,Ancient Mesopotamia, figs. 85, 87, 88, 109, 111, 112. (raven?)sometimes associated with the goddess Ninhursag. See alsothe seated statue of Dudu, priest of Ningirsu under Enmetena, 19. JeanNougayrol, "Ningirsu, vainquer de Zu,"Revue assyriologique whose body, flounced skirt, and seated posture are the model for our 46(1952),87-97. See also, Ilse Führ-Jaeppelt, Materialen zur Ikonographie reconstructionfigure: Eva Strommenger,500Years of the Art of Meso- desLöwenadlers Imdugud-Anzu (Munich, 1972); B. Husk,Der Mythen- potamia(New York, 1964), fig. 86. adlerAnzu in Literatur und desalten Vorstellung Mesopotamien(Buda- 37. Perkins,"Narration," 58;Frankfort, Artand Architecture, 71;"Donald pest,1975). P. Hansen,"Frühsumerische undfrühdynastische Flachbildkunst, inPro- 20. See,for example, Perkins, who calls him Eannutum ("Narration," pyläen Kunstgeschichte, vol.14, ed. W. Orthmann(Berlin, 1979), 189. 58),vs. Frankfort, who calls him Ningirsu (Art and Architecture , 158), as 38. In brief,I wouldargue on typologicalgrounds that this is nota doesAnton Moortgat, The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia (London and New cartoucheidentifying theadjacent figure (as is the case with labels for the York,1969), 63. figureof Eannatum on thereverse, registers one and two, see fig.11); 21. Frankfort,Artand Architecture , fig. 70; Moortgat,Ancient Meso- rather,itis partof the main body of the text itself (see fig. 12). Mention potamia,figs. 113, 117. ofthe king of Kish in this place may be understoodinthe light of another 22. See,for example, Henri Frankfort, Cylinder Seals (London, 1939), text,an inscription ona stonemortar dedicated by Eannatum (Steible and pls.XVIII, XX, XXV; and Barrelet, "Peut-on remettre . . .?" 244. Behrens,Bau- und Weihinschriften, 174-175), where the reference ispart ofa stringof protective curses that traditionally endtexts on important 23. SeeMoortgat, Ancient Mesopotamia , figs. 114, 115: votive tablet and monuments.It is that ofthe Stele of the Vultures that has vessel alsofrom Tello, the latter inscribed Enmetena, precisely part fragment, by nephew beenlost, but we mayhypothesize that the text would most likely have ofEannatum and a laterruler of Lagash (compare Steible and Behrens, endedwith suchcurses thedestruction ofthe and Bau-und 249for text). just against monument, Weihinschriften, thena finalcitation of Eannatum, his titles, and his special relationship 24. Nougayrol,"Ningirsu," lines 73 ff. with/dedicationtothe god Ningirsu. 25. Frankfort,Artand Architecture, fig.63. 39. IreneJ. Winter, "The Warka Vase: Structure ofArt and Structure 26. AdamFalkenstein, Inschriften Gudeas von Lagash I: Einleitung[An- ofSociety in Early Urban Mesopotamia," paper presented tothe American alectaOrientalia 30] (Rome, 1966), 104-105. OrientalSociety, Baltimore, 1983. For the image, see Moortgat,Ancient 27. See on thisthe excellent arguments for restoration on which our Mesopotamia,figs. 19-21. drawingisbased, in Barrelet, "Peut-on remettre . . . ?" 245-249, 249-254 40. It haseven been suggested that this represents Lagash burying its andfigs. 10a, 10b. For the draft animals, we have followed the subsequent owndead (Frankfort, Artand Architecture, 71),though this seems to me suggestionofMary A. Littauerand Jost Crouwel, "The Vulture Stela and a mostunwarranted supposition not at all consistent with Mesopotamian anEarly Type of Two- wheeled Vehicle, "Journal of Near Eastern Studies traditions,inwhich only the enemy are ever shown dead. 32 (1973),324-329, that they must be harnessedinpairs. While this re- 41. See Leo Oppenheim,The Interpretation ofDreams in the Ancient constructionremains problematic, itis notinconsistent with the attested NearEast (Philadelphia, 1956), particularly pages 185-189 dealing with characterofthe god. In a later,Neo- Assyrian version of the myth of the "messagedreams." when ofthe Sumerians has been assimilated with Ninurta Anzu, Ningirsu 42. Dreams,211, 245. ofthe Assyrians, weare also told that the god's chariot was decorated with Oppenheim,Interpretation of emblemsof his victories (compare Erica Reiner, "Le charde Ninurtaet 43. Evenif I amwrong about the identification ofthe enemy in the lower le prologuedu mythede Zu,"Revue assyriologique 51 (1957), 109, and registerand it is theking of Kish (see above, n. 38),it should be noted JerroldS. Cooper,The Return of Ninurta to Nippur:An- gim dím-ma thatin the dream/oracle ofour text (Steible and Behrens, Bau- und Weih- [AnalectaOrientalia 52] (Rome, 1978), 141-154 and especially chart, 143), inschriften,125:col. 7, lines1-3) there is anenigmatic reference: "As is whichwould be quiteconsistent with having the anzu emblem and the Umma,so is Kish,running about. ..." lionrepresented here upon the chariot box and yoke pole. 44. Fromde Sarzec,Découvertes, " 357-358, to Hansen,"Frühsumer- 28. On boththe first and second registers, the soldiers visible on the ische.. . . Flachbildkunst,181. reverseare a continuationinan unbroken line of figures beginning onthe 45. Moortgat,Ancient Mesopotamia, 43. shallowleft side (11 cm thick). Allowing for missing figures, with those on 46. Groenewegen-Frankfort,Arrestand Movement, 158. in theside we canaccount for twelve figures eachregister behind the 47. MeyerSchapiro, "On Some Problems inthe Semiotics ofVisual Art: king;thus, an equal number ineach register, despite the apparent inequity Fieldand Vehicle in Semiotica1 234-236. ofwhat is visibleon the reverse face alone. Image-Signs," (1969), 48. Svetlana "Describeor Narrate? A Problem in Realistic andthe chariot box have been restored on the basis of Alpers, Rep- 29. Theequids resentation,"New Literary History 8 (1976), 16. otherEarly Dynastic period representations ofchariots and draft animals - for onthe Standard of 13 noteson this in Littauer 49. RichardBrilliant, Visual Narratives: Storytelling in Etruscan and example, Ur,fig. (see RomanArt and 23-26. andCrouwel, "The Vulture Stela," 325-328). The ridge pole is less curved (Ithaca London,1984), thanthat on the chariot ofthe obverse, as ifattached totaller animals and 50. A notunusual phenomenon: seeScholes and Kellog, Nature of Nar- aimeddirectly at theirnecks. This would further fitthe restoration of rative,135. In this,as wellas in therole of repetition in creating the equidshere (ass or onager), and possibly also support the argument for "icon"of the king, I amindebted to Richard Brilliant's discussion ofthe different(mythological?) animals on the obverse. repetitionofthe figure of Trajan on his column (Visual Narratives, 115-

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 116),and to Wesley Trimpi's discussion ofAristotle's comments on the 64. Cooper,Reconstructing History, 27. He hasjoined two texts, one repetitionofpersonal names in public oratory so thatpeople will think ofEannatum and one formerly believed to date to Enmetena, and sug- theindividual more significant ("The Meaning of Horace's Ut Pietura gestedboth belong to the reign of Eannatum. With that join, the name Poesis,"Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 36 [1973], 4). ofthe boundary stele can be reconstructed as"Ningirsu isthe lord eternally 51. FrançoisThureau-Dangin, Die sumerischen und akkadischen Kön- exaltedin the Abzu." Cooper has noted (27, n. 13)that this would then igsinschriften(Leipzig, 1907), and again in Heuzey and Thureau-Dangin, havenothing to do withthe name of the Stele of the Vultures, which is Restitutionmatérielle. preservedon the stele itself as, "Ningirsu, lord, crown of Lumma, is the 52. Steibleand Bau-und and lifeof the Pirig-eden canal" (see completeportion of the Stele of the Behrens, Weihinschriften, 120-145, Cooper, Vultures ReconstructingHistory , 45-48. text,below). 53. Note if thismakes all the more clear the identification 65. Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften, 128:cols. 12:21- that, anything, 13:2. ofthese two figures on the obverse of the stele, as arguedabove. 66. Theword "stele" has been restored here Steible,but in fact it is 54. MaryLouise Pratt, Toward a SpeechAct Theory of Literary Dis- by as citedin R. To- notto be foundin the inscription. The sign used for the verb, "to erect" course(Bloomington, 1977), 44-45, Marilyn Waldman, is thesame as thatused in othercontexts for the "to warda Theoryof Historical Narrative: A Case Study in Perso-I slamicate (RÚ), sign verb, 18-20.Pratt has based her work build"(DÙ); so that its translation isdependant upon the noun, which in Historiography(Columbus, 1980), upon this wedo not know. Thus the nouncould be that thatof William Labov, Language in the Inner City (Philadelphia, 1976), case, missing anything andLabov and "Narrative OralVersions ofPersonal Eannatumeither erected or built within the temple compound ofNanshe, J.Waletsky, Analysis: andthere is noreason to associate this reference with our stele. Experience,"inEssays on the Verbal and Visual Arts [Proceedings ofthe 1966Annual Spring Meeting of the American Ethnological Society] (Se- 67. Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften, 144-145 (Eannatum attle,1967). text1, reversecol. 10,unterschcrift: 23-37). This band of inscription is the - separatedfrom the end of column 10 properby a markedspace; the 55. Onlyby allusion may obversewith its representation ofNin- "cases"for are narrowerthan those for the rest of girsu- be saidto evoke visually missing portions ofthe written text: by enclosing signs slightly wasthe thetext. It therefore was clearly meant to stand apart, almost as a colophon referencetothe god who progenitorofEannatum, and by reference the ratherthan as a ofthe narrative text. to hisbattle net, which recalls those of the high gods upon which the labeling object, part " vanquishedruler of Umma takes his oaths after losing the battle to Lagash. 68. OliverR. Gurney, "The Sultantepe Tablets (cont'd), Anatolian Stud- Fora completediscussion ofthese oaths, and the tradition surrounding ies5 (1955),106: lines 149-153. them,see Dietz Otto Edzard, "Die Eide in der 'Geierstele' des Eannatum 69. Gurney,"Sultantepe Tablets," 108, line 173, 98, line 1. vonLagash," Assyriological Studies 20 (1975),64-68. 70. Pratt,Toward a SpeechAct Theory, 136, 138-139. 56. Personalcommunication onthe use of signs from Hermann Behrens, 71. UmbertoEco, Theory of Semiotics, ascited by Brilliant, Visual Nar- BabylonianSection, The University Museum, Philadelphia; onthe legal ratives,96. traditionfrom Piotr Steinkeller, Harvard University. 72. "AfterthoughtsonNarrative, II: Narrative Versions, Narrative The- 57. KurtWeitzmann, Illustration in Roll and Codex: A Studyof the ories,"in On Narrative, ed. W.J.T. Mitchell(Chicago, 1981), 229, n. 24. 1. Originand Method of Text Illustration (Princeton, 1970), 73. See RobertMcC. Adams, Heartland of Cities: Surveys of Ancient 58. Weitzmann,Roll and Codex, 13-14, 14-17, 17-33, respectively. Settlementand LandUse in theCentral Floodplain of the Euphrates 59. See"narû," in the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary "N" (Chicago, 1980), (Chicagoand London, 1981), 137, showing a chart indicating a large rise 364-367. inthe number and size of sites in the Early Dynastic III period- 78% of 60. Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften , 158(Eannatum text whichwere large urban centers of more than 40 hectares. See also, Adams 6, col.1:6-7); 177 (Eannatum text 63, col. 2:6-7); 230 (Enmetena texts 28, andHans J. Nissen, The Uruk Countryside: TheNatural Setting ofUrban col. See also 49-50. Societies(Chicago and London, 1972), 17, which also gives a chart marking 29, 1:8-12). Cooper,Reconstructing History, Cooper of sitesand a decreaseof smaller ones in willpublish a moredetailed analysis of these texts in theforthcoming a substantialrise larger theEarly Sumerianand Akkadian Royal Inscriptions, Volume I: Pre-SargonicIn- DynasticII/III periods. scriptions[American Oriental Society Translation Series], the manuscript 74. DietzOtto Edzard, "The Early Dynastic Period," in The Near East: ofwhich he haskindly made available to me. There he pointsout (MS, TheEarly Civilizations [Delacorte World History, vol. II], eds. Jean Bot- 48)that there may have been at least three additional stelae set up at the tero,Elena Cassin and Jean Vercoutter (New York, 1967), 52-90. border,or at a newborder more favorable toUmma, by the ruler of Umma 75. Lagash/al-Hibahasbeen excavated by Donald P. Hansen(see n. 2); afterthe destruction ofMesalim's stele (based upon Eannatum text 6, cols. Nina/Surgulhasnot to date been excavated. 3:9-18and 4:1, Steible and Behrens, in thework cited, 159-160). The 76. See discussionsby Adam Falkenstein, The Sumerian Temple City originalstele of Mesalim must have contained a lengthy inscription re- [Sourcesand Monographs inHistory: Ancient Near East 1/1], trans. Maria countingthe terms ofthe establishment ofthe original border, enumerating dej. Ellis(Malibu, 1974), 6; andIgor M. Diakonoff,Structure ofSociety thefields and canals on either side (as the Stele of the Vultures includes - andState in Early Dynastic Sumer [Sources and Monographs inHistory: a longlist of the fields "returned toNingirsu" byEannatum Steible and AncientNear East 1/3] (Malibu, 1974), 6-7. Behrens,inthe work cited, 128-129 [Eannatum text 1, cols. 14, 15-16:11]). themonument ofMesalim theruler of Umma as he 77. Edzard,"The Early Dynastic Period," 76; Diakonoif,Structure of Thesmashing of by 6. crossedover the border atthe time of Ur-nanshe, grandfather ofEannatum, Society, musthave been an act of political defiance of the terms set forth on the 78. Falkenstein,Sumerian Temple City , 16. stele.Similarly, when Urlumma ofUmma moved across the border against 79. Edzard,"The Early Dynastic Period," 70-75. EnannatumI, brother and successor ofEannatum, heset fire to the stelae 80. WilliamW. TheAncient Near East: A - Hallo, History(New York, markingthe boundary presumably that of Eannatum and the earlier, 1971),49; Edzard, "The Early Dynastic Period," 82, 88; and see especially restoredone of Mesalim (Steible and Behrens, inthe work cited, 236-237 theprimary text, known as the"Reforms ofUruinimgina," lastking of [Enmetenatext 28, col. 3:36-38]). Lagashin the Early Dynastic Period, in which direct reference is made 61. Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften, 126-127 (Eannatum toearlier practice: Steible and Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften, 313- text1, cols. 10:14-11:4) and 234 (Enmetena text 28, col. 2:4-8). The Stele 324(Uruinimgina text6), and Cooper, Reconstructing History, 51. ofthe Vultures is very explicit: Eannatum defeated Umma, and set the 81. Adams,Heartland, 134; and Giovanni Pettinato, "Il conflittotras newborder. A certainamount of the disputed territory heleft on the side Lagashed Ummaper la 'frontieradivina' e la suasoluzione durante la ofUmma, and at thatplace he setup a stele(emphasis ours). terzadinastia di Ur,"Mesopotamia 5-6 (1970-1971), 281-320. 62. Perkins,"Narration," 57. 82. Thishas been the subject of a numberof studies; see Cooper, Re- 63. Forexample, the Stele of Ur-nammu, setup in the temple precinct constructingHistory, for the present view and full bibliography; seealso ofthe moon god, Nanna at Ur(see Moortgat, Ancient Mesopotamia, fig. Edzard,"The Early Dynastic Period," 80-84, for summary. 194).

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This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Thu, 17 Dec 2015 20:19:24 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 83. See Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften , 198-202, 230- sites,which is particularlyunfortunate with regard to the present issue. 245. Asurvey ofthe entire Lagash region isneeded, as isexcavation ofUmma. 84. See map,in Adams, Heartland, 157, fig. 28. 88. Steibleand Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschariften, 334-337, and Cooper, 85. RobertMcC. Adams, "Die Rolledes Bewässerungsbodenbausbei ReconstructingHistory, 52. One wonders whether this invasion ofLagash derEntwicklung von Institutionen in der altmesopotamischen Gesells- byLugalzagesi would have not been a likelytime for the destruction and chaft,"in Produktivkräfte undGesellschaftsformationen invorkapitalis- dispersal ofthe Stele of the Vultures, as it would have been a monument tischerZeit, ed. J. Herrmannand I. Sellnow(Berlin, 1982), 119-140; particularlyoffensive tothe Ummaites. Etiennede Vaumas, "L'ecoulement deseaux en Mesopotamie etla prove- 89. Edzard,"The Early Dynastic Period," 83, and Cooper, Reconstruct- nancedes eaux de Tello,"Iraq 27 (1965),81-99. ingHistory, 10. 86. SeeSteible and Behrens, Bau- und Weihinschriften, 130(col. 16:25- 90. Hallo,The Ancient Near East, 49. 31),Cooper, Reconstructing History, 9,and important discussion byHans 91. This,too, is reflectedin thepublic monuments ofthe period, as J.Nissen, "Geographie," inSumerological Studies in Honor of Thorkild Sargonof Akkad is shownholding the battle net himself on one stele, as Jacobsen(Assyriological Studies 20), ed. StephenJ. Lieberman (Chicago, thegoddess Ishtar looks on (Moortgat,Ancient Mesopotamia, figs. 126- 1975),9-40. This is a portionofthe present study that could be considerably 127); while on the stele of his grandson, Naram-Sin, theking occupies the expanded.As Huntand Hunt have shown in casestudies elsewhere, summitofthe only face of the relief, wearing the crown and bearing the conflictbetween polities over irrigation water has high violence-potential, determinant ofa god (in the same work, fig. 155). especiallywhen both polities are not subservient toa larger,single au- 92. Robert The Art 85. andwhen a downstream is in or Layton, Anthropologyof (NewYork, 1981), thority; communitysuperior political 93. on 215. militarymight (as was the case with Lagash before the end of the Early Herrnstein-Smith,"Afterthoughts Narrative," DynasticPeriod), unless both reach some mutual agreement, there is likely 94. White,"The Value of Narrativity," 11. tobe recurringconflict (Robert C. Huntand Eva Hunt, "Canal Irrigation 95. White,"The Value of Narrativity," 23. andLocal Social Organization," Current Anthropology 17(1976), 395, and 96. White,"The Value of 2. RobertC. Conflictand Narrativity," EvaHunt and Hunt,"Irrigation, Politics:AMexican 97. Erwin Studiesin Case,"in Irrigations Impact on Society, eds. T. Downingand McGuire Panofsky, Iconology(New York, 1939, 11-12). Gibson[Anthropological Papers of the University ofArizona, 25] Tucson, 98. FrançoisBresson, "Compétence iconique et compétencelinguis- 1974,151). Thus, one of the aggressive acts of Umma that led to resumed tique,"Communications 33(1981), 185-196, especially 194, on the absence hostilitiesunder Eannatum I and Enmetena was the diverting ofwateí¿ in ofvalidity for the received wisdom that the image is morespontaneously theboundary channels between the two states. It wasapparently inan andmore easily received than text ("a picture isNOT worth 1000 words"). attemptto putan endto thisdependency upon upstream water that Thetwo are, Bresson would claim, separate systems ofcognition, equally Enmetenalater undertook construction ofa very long, new channel from butdifferently complex; and he calls for the development ofnew methods theTigris, despite the fact that Euphrates water flowed at a moreregular toanalyze perception offigurai imagery. andmanageable rate (see Steibleand Behrens, in thework cited, 235- 99. Groenewegen-Frankfort,Arrestand Movement, 21-22. 237,243; and Adams, Heartland, 134). 100.On this,see HaydenWhite, "The Fictions of Factual Representa- 87. Theincrease ofsites within Umma is recorded inAdams, Heartland, tion,"in The Literature ofFact, ed. A. Fletcher(New York, 1976), 28- 160.Hallo (The Ancient Near East , 52)has suggested itwas the repeated 29,with regard to the shared attributes offact and fiction. conflictwith Lagash that provided the stimulus for the development of 101.Frye, "History and Myth in the Bible," 4. Ummatoward the end of the period. However this may be, it is indeed 102.The other side of this isdiscussed "Describe thatthe of was outsidethe development byAlpers, unfortunate kingdomLagash entirely intensivelyor Narrate?" 15-41. In that article, she describes the development ofvisual surveyedarea covered by Adams (in the work cited, 134), and has been narrativeas ofa inthe then tobrief in as Thorkild part processculminating Renaissance, begin- subjectonly scrutiny1953, reportedby Jacobsen, ninga reverse movement: freezing orde-emphasizing narrative and turning "A Surveyof the Girsu (Tello) Region, Sumer 25 (1969),103-109. There more tothe aswe move from the ofthe a as Adamshas called betweenthe frequently descriptive, beginning is,then, "tantalizingmis-match," it, seventeenthcentury into the nineteenth. textualmaterials and the archaeological survey data available from the two

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