Lagash

For the Argentine comic books character, see Nippur de Lagash. For the fictional planet in the Asimov story also known as Kalgash, see Lagash (Nightfall).

Lagash
𒉢𒁓𒆷𒆠
Al-Hiba
Lagash Location within Iraq
31°24′41″N 46°24′26″E
Type	Settlement
Periods	Early Dynastic, Sargonic, Ur III
Location	Al-Shatrah, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
History
Built	3rd millennium BC
Site notes
Area	400 to 600 ha
Excavation dates	1887, 1968–1976, 1990, 2019–present
Archaeologists	Robert Koldewey, Vaughn E. Crawford, Donald P. Hansen

Lagash (/ˈleɪ.ɡæʃ/; cuneiform: 𒉢𒁓𒆷𒆠 LAGAŠ^KI; Sumerian: Lagaš) was an ancient city-state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) east of the modern town of Al-Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba in Dhi Qar Governorate) was one of the oldest cities of the Ancient Near East, and the Lagash state incorporated the cities of Lagash, Girsu, and Nina. Girsu (modern Telloh), about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lagash, was the religious center of the Lagash state, with its main temple, the E-ninnu, dedicated to the god Ningirsu. The ancient site of Nina (Tell Zurghul), around 10 km (6.2 mi) away, marks the southern limit of the state.