ired
all structures which were not of his own erection: in Uru itself
the sanctuary of the moon-god owes its foundation to him, and the
fortifications of the city were his work. Dungi, his son, was an
indefatigable bricklayer, like his father: he completed the sanctuary
of the moon-god, and constructed buildings in Uruk, Lagash, and Kutha.
There is no indication in the inscriptions of his having been engaged
in any civil struggle or in war with a foreign nation; we should make a
serious mistake, however, if we concluded from this silence that peace
was not disturbed in his time. The tie which bound together the petty
states of which Uru was composed was of the slightest. The sovereign
could barely claim as his own more than the capital and the district
surrounding it; the other cities recognized his authority, paid him
tribute, did homage to him in religious matters, and doubtless rendered
him military service also, but each one of them nevertheless maintained
its particular constitution and obeyed its hereditary lords. These
lords, it is true, lost their title of king, which now belonged
exclusively to their suzerain, and each one had to be content in his
district with the simple designation of "vicegerent;" but having once
fulfilled their feudal obligations, they had absolute power over
their ancient domains, and were able to transmit to their progeny the
inheritance they had received from their fathers. Gudea probably, and
most certainly his successors, ruled in this way over Lagash, as a fief
depending on the crown of Uru. After the manner of the Egyptian barons,
the vassals of the kings of Chaldaea submitted to the control of their
suzerain without resenting his authority as long as they felt the
curbing influence of a strong hand: but on the least sign of feebleness
in their master they reasserted themselves, and endeavoured to recover
their independence. A reign of any length was sure to be disturbed by
rebellions sometimes difficult to repress: if we are ignorant of any
such, it is owing to the fact that inscriptions hitherto discovered are
found upon objects upon which an account of a battle would hardly find
a fitting place, such as bricks from a temple, votive cones or cylinders
of terra-cotta, amulets or private seals. We are still in ignorance as
to Dungi's successors, and the number of years during which this first
dynasty was able to prolong its existence. We can but guess that its
empire broke up by disin