Gungunum

This is in contrast to the complete lack of year names from the preceding period, which makes his reign a watershed moment in terms of gaining an understanding of the history of Larsa and the surrounding region.

However, it did not take long for Gungunum to make his mark on the region's political landscape, as his year names record that he conducted two military campaigns directed against Elam early in his reign.

[9] As a result, there cannot be any doubt that Ur had been fully secured by the king of Larsa by this time, and that he was engaged in an effort to consolidate his power by developing his relationship to its main deities and their priests and high officials.

These include two literary letters purporting to be an exchange between Lipit-Ištar of Isin and his general, Nanna-kiag, in which the latter asks for reinforcements from the king to halt the advance of Gungunum and his forces, who have "taken the road house" and are threatening to take over several water ways.

[13] Provided that the content of these letters refers to actual events, they further demonstrate the high level of conflict between Gungunum and Lipit-Ištar at the time when both these kings ruled their respective cities.

This antagonistic relationship between the two cities remained in place following the death of Lipit-Ištar in 1924 BC and the ascendance of his successor Ur-Ninurta, although there seem to have been occasional moments of détente, such as in two known cases where Gungunum allowed his newly enthroned colleague in Isin to send his offerings to Ningal's temple in Ur.

The same year name provides further evidence of Larsa's expansion under Gungunum by way of its reference to An, Enlil and Nanna, which are the titulary deities of Uruk, Nippur, and Ur, respectively.

Such a scenario is furthermore supported by the discovery of bricks inscribed with Gungunum's name at a place called Umm al-Wawiya,[22] which is located in the immediate vicinity of Uruk and may possibly be identified with the ancient town of Durum.

The city of Nippur, meanwhile, is situated 30 km north of Isin and was distinguished by its status as the holiest place of Mesopotamia, where Enlil, the supreme deity of the Sumerian and Akkadian pantheon, had his temple.

[24][25] The ideological importance of Nippur would make it an attractive prize for Gungunum, and there is considerable evidence pointing towards his eventual success in wresting the holy city from Isin and incorporating it in his own domains.

Finally, archaeologists in Nippur have unearthed copies of a hymn composed by Gungunum describing how the standard of Nanna, the tutelary deity of Ur, leads a procession of votive gifts into Enlil's temple.

The presence of the manuscript of this hymn from Larsa within the sanctuary of Enlil suggests that the local priesthood had accepted it into its religious canon, which is most likely to have happened during a period when Gungunum held sway in the city.

However, as no complete chronological list of Ur-Ninurta's year names currently exists, it is not possible to determine whether Isin's reconquest of Nippur took place in Gungunum's lifetime, or if it happened after his death in 1906 BC.