Gishakidu was king of the Sumerian city-state of Umma and husband of queen Bara-irnun, circa 2400 BCE. He was the son of Il, king of Umma, and his reign lasted at least 4 years. He is particularly known from a gold votive plate by his queen, in which she describes her genealogy in great detail. The inscription on the plate reads:For Shara, lord of the E-mah: when Bara-irnun - wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma - had made Shara resplendent and had built him a holy throne, for her life, to Shara, in the E-Mah, she offered ."
Votive plate of Queen Bara-irnun of Umma, "wife of Gishakidu, king of Umma, daughter of Ur-Lumma, king of Umma, grand-daughter of Enakalle, king of Umma, daughter-in-law of Il, king of Umma", to God Shara, in gratitude for sparing her life. Louvre Museum.
Name of Gishakidu on the plaque (second column), and standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform (𒄑𒊮𒆠𒄠giš-ša10-ki-du10)
The Gishakidu macehead, British Museum
Umma (Sumerian: 𒄑𒆵𒆠ummaKI; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been suggested that it was located at Umm al-Aqarib, less than 7 km to its northwest or was even the name of both cities. One or both were the leading city of the Early Dynastic kingdom of Gišša, with the most recent excavators putting forth that Umm al-Aqarib was prominent in EDIII but Jokha rose to preeminence later. The town of KI.AN was also nearby. KI.AN, which was destroyed by Rimush, a ruler of the Akkadian Empire. There are known to have been six gods of KI.AN including Gula KI.AN and Sara KI.AN.
Imprisoned man of Umma on the Stele of the Vultures
An Early Dynastic inscription of Lugalannatum from Umma (Collection of the Louvre Museum)
Clay tablet. Delivery certificate. Reign of Shu-Sin of Ur, 21st century BCE. From Umma, Iraq. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin
Aerial view of Umma