Ur-Nammu was the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur in Summer who initiated the so-called Ur-III Period also known as the Sumerian Renaissance. He is best known as the king who composed the earliest documented Law Code in the visible world.
Although Ur-Nammu is frequently credited with overthrowing the rule of the Gutians, he just followed the lead of the king of Uruk, Utu-Hegel (his father-in-law), and only took a commanding role once his father-in-law was killed. The Gutians invaded Mesopotamia and toppled the weakening Akkadian Empire, which had ruled the region since the rise of Sargon of Akkad. Unlike the Akkadians, the Gutians did not recognize the gods of Sumer or the other regions and were uninterested in taking care of the land they conquered. Under the Gutians, grass grew high on the highways of the land. They were unhappy people unaware of how to revere things or forces of nature, and ignorant of any sort of religious practices. They were instead powerful warriors who loved to invade other people lands and put the city states throughout Mesopotamia under their control until Utu-Hegel of Uruk found the situation intolerable enough to do something about it.
He requested and was granted divine help to drive the Gutians away from the land and he adhered to the strictly mandate to refuse to negotiate with the Gutians in any form. The ancient chronicle states that, "Utu-Hegel, the fisherman, carried out criminal acts against Marduk's city, so the River carried off his corpse" which means that Utu-Hegel in some way dishonored the city of Babylon and so was removed by the forces of heaven by drowning him. The word fisherman in the line refers to a legend in which Utu-Hegel disputes with the Gutians over a fish, which could mean fishing rights or water rights in this case. The line also claims that Utu- Hegel drowned while supervising a construction of a dam. At this point, Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Ur. It seems that Ur-Nammu took the opportunity of the unexpected power vacuum to fight, defeat, and annex Uruk.
Although Ur-Nammu is frequently credited with overthrowing the rule of the Gutians, he just followed the lead of the king of Uruk, Utu-Hegel (his father-in-law), and only took a commanding role once his father-in-law was killed. The Gutians invaded Mesopotamia and toppled the weakening Akkadian Empire, which had ruled the region since the rise of Sargon of Akkad. Unlike the Akkadians, the Gutians did not recognize the gods of Sumer or the other regions and were uninterested in taking care of the land they conquered. Under the Gutians, grass grew high on the highways of the land. They were unhappy people unaware of how to revere things or forces of nature, and ignorant of any sort of religious practices. They were instead powerful warriors who loved to invade other people lands and put the city states throughout Mesopotamia under their control until Utu-Hegel of Uruk found the situation intolerable enough to do something about it.
He requested and was granted divine help to drive the Gutians away from the land and he adhered to the strictly mandate to refuse to negotiate with the Gutians in any form. The ancient chronicle states that, "Utu-Hegel, the fisherman, carried out criminal acts against Marduk's city, so the River carried off his corpse" which means that Utu-Hegel in some way dishonored the city of Babylon and so was removed by the forces of heaven by drowning him. The word fisherman in the line refers to a legend in which Utu-Hegel disputes with the Gutians over a fish, which could mean fishing rights or water rights in this case. The line also claims that Utu- Hegel drowned while supervising a construction of a dam. At this point, Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Ur. It seems that Ur-Nammu took the opportunity of the unexpected power vacuum to fight, defeat, and annex Uruk.
The kings of the Akkadian Empire had by this time, after over 100 years of Gutian occupation, passed into legend. Stories of the exploits of Sargon the Great and his equally famous grandson Naram-Sin were regularly recited in performance, even at family gatherings for entertainment. Recognizing the value of aligning himself with these earlier rulers, Ur-Nammu purposefully presented himself as the inheritor of the glory of Akkad as part of the Akkadian lineage. He instituted a Patrimonial State in which his subjects were encouraged to see him as a father-figure who cared for his children and wanted only the best of them. For his effort of returning Sumer to its former glory (providing an apparent social and economic stability which allowed the culture to flourish) he was lauded in a Sumerian hymn that also extols his dedication to the god En'Lil of Nippur.
The Code of Ur-Nammu assumed an universal understanding on the part of the people that Law descended from the gods and the king was simply the administrator of those laws. Harsh penalties were considered unnecessary for the majority of crimes as, since people were assumed to know how they should behave toward each other, a monetary fine as a reminder of how to behave was sufficient.
Gutians rose again against the cities of Sumer and Ur-Nammu was killed in battle. The king descended to the Underworld and his army was scattered and his body laid aside like a broken urn. His son Shulgi avenged his death by decimating the Gutians and driving the survivors completely from the region of Sumer.
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