the shrine of the Sun-god, they have shed blood in Akhush, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have shed blood in the Gikana of the sacred grove of the goddess Ninmakh, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have shed blood in Baga, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have shed blood in Abzu-ega, they have set fire to the temple of Gatumdug, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom, and have destroyed her statue!  They have set fire to the.... of the temple E-anna of the goddess Ninni, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom, and have destroyed her statue!  They have shed blood in Shapada, and they have carried away the silver and precious stones therefrom!  They have.... in Khenda, they have shed blood in the temple of Nindar in the town of Kiab, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have set fire to the temple of Dumuzi-abzu in the town of Kinunir, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have set fire to the temple of Lugaluru, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have shed blood in E-engura, the temple of the goddess Nina, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom!  They have shed blood in Sag..., the temple of Amageshtin, and the silver and the precious stones of Amageshtin have they carried away!  They have removed the grain from Ginarbaniru, the field of the god Ningirsu, so much of it as was under cultivation!  The men of Gishkhu, by the despoiling of Shirpurla, have committed a transgression against the god Ningirsu!  The power that is come unto them, from them shall be taken away!  Of transgression on the part of Urukagina, King of Girsu, there is none.  As for Lugalzaggisi, patesi of Gishkhu, may his goddess Ni-daba bear on her head (the weight of) this transgression!”

Such is the account, which has come down to us from the rough tablet of some unknown scribe, of the greatest misfortune experienced by Shirpurla during the long course of her history.  Many of the great temples mentioned in the text as among those which were burnt down and despoiled of their treasures are referred to more than once in the votive and historical inscriptions of earlier rulers of Shirpurla, who occupied the throne before the ill-fated Urukagina.  The names of some of them, too, are to be found in the texts of the later pate-sis of that city, so that it may be concluded that in course of time they were rebuilt and restored to their former splendour.  But there is no doubt that the despoiling and partial destruction of Shirpurla in the reign of Urukagina had a lasting effect upon the fortunes of that city, and effectively curtailed her influence among the greater cities of Southern Babylonia.