Chapter IX: The Later Rulers of Lagash

Sumerian reaction tempered by Semitic influence--Length
of the intervening period between the Sargonic era
and that of Ur--Evidence from Lagash of a sequence of
rulers in that city who bridge the gap--Archaeological
and epigraphic data--Political condition of Sumer
and the semi-independent position enjoyed by
Lagash--Ur-Bau representative of the earlier patesis
of this epoch--Increase in the authority of Lagash
under Gudea--His conquest of Anshan--His relations
with Syria, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf--His
influence of a commercial rather than of a political
character--Development in the art of building which
marked the later Sumerian period--Evolution of the
Babylonian brick and evidence of new architectural
ideas--The rebuilding of E-ninnû and the elaborate
character of Sumerian ritual--The art of Gudea's
period--His reign the golden age of Lagash--Gudea's
posthumous deification and his cult--The relations of
his son, Ur-Ningirsu, to the Dynasty of Ur