Ukush

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Ukush
{{nobold|{{cuneiform|𒌑𒌑}}}}

| image = File:Lugalzagesi king of Uruk king of the Land son of Ukush.jpg

| caption = "Lugalzagesi, king of Uruk, king of the Land, (...) son of Ukush, ensi of Umma", ("son of Ukush": 𒌉 𒌑𒌑, dumu u₂-kuš₃) in the Nippur vase of Lugalzagesi

| succession = King of Umma

| reign = c. 2358 BC

| predecessor = Possibly Edin

| successor = Lugal-zage-si

| death_date = c. 2358 BC

| issue = Lugal-zage-si

}}

{{Location map

| Near East

| width = 260px

| float = right

| border =

| caption = Location of Umma

| alt =

| relief = yes

| AlternativeMap =

| overlay_image =

| label = Umma

| label_size =

| position =

| background =

| mark =

| marksize =

| link =

| lat_deg = 31.621369

| lon_deg = 45.933406

}}

Ukush, also sometimes Uu or Bubu (Sumerian: {{cuneiform|𒌑𒌑}}, which can be read u₂-kuš₃ or u₂-u₂; died {{Circa}} 2358 BC){{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P431232 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}{{cite book |last1=Pongratz-Leisten |first1=Beate |title=Religion and Ideology in Assyria |date=2015 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-1-61451-426-8 |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJqnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 |language=en}} was a Sumerian ruler (ensi) of the city-state of Umma. He was the father of Lugal-zage-si who took control over all of Sumer.{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=C. H. W. |title=Ancient Babylonia |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-60572-5 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PfuOOEZX1wC&pg=PA36 |language=en}}

Ukush is known from the Nippur vase inscription{{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P431232 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}Full text {{cite web |title=Lugalzagesi translation |url=http://sumerianshakespeare.com/70701/81701.html |website=sumerianshakespeare.com}} of Lugal-Zage-Si:

{{quote|"Lugal-zagesi-si, King of Uruk, King of the Land, priest of Ana, prophet of Nidaba; the son of Ukush, patesi of Umma, the prophet of Nidaba; he who was favourably regarded by Ana, the king of the lands; the great patesi of Enlil; endowed with understanding by Enki; whose name was spoken by Babbar (the Sun-god), the chief minister of Enzu (the Moon-god), the representative of Babbar, the patron of Ninni, the son of Nidaba, who was nourished with holy milk by Ninkharsag, the servant of the god Mes, who is the priest of Uruk, the pupil of Ninabukkhadu, the mistress of Uruk, the Great Minister of the gods".|Nippur vase inscription of Lugal-zagesi-si.RIME 1.14.20.01 Frayne, Douglas R. 2007 FAOS 05/2, Lugazagesi 1 {{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P431232 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}{{cite book |title=A History Of Sumer And Akkad |publisher=Chatto & Windus|date=1916 |page=194 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.41242/page/n255/mode/2up}}{{cite book |last1=Sallaberger |first1=Walther |last2=Schrakamp |first2=Ingo |title=History & Philology |date=2015 |publisher=Walther Sallaberger & Ingo Schrakamp (eds), Brepols |isbn=978-2-503-53494-7 |pages=80-81 |url=https://www.assyriologie.uni-muenchen.de/personen/professoren/sallaberger/publ_sallaberger/wasa_schrakamp_2015_arcane1.pdf}}{{cite book |last1=Zólyomi |first1=Gábor |title=The vase inscription of Lugal-zagesi and the history of his reign |url=https://www.academia.edu/13373680/The_vase_inscription_of_Lugal-zagesi_and_the_history_of_his_reign |language=en}}}}

Other inscriptions, such as an inscription on a brick with a central hole in the Bible Lands Museum, also mention Lugalzagesi as "son of Ukush" (𒌉 𒌑𒌑, dumu u₂-u₂).RIME 1.12.07.01, ex. 01 {{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P247678 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}} Another dedicatory inscription is also known.RIME 1.12.07.01 composite Frayne, Douglas R. 2007 {{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P431198 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}

It is thought that he played an important role in making Umma a strong city with a powerful army, which allowed his son to achieve the defeat of neighbouring and traditional rival Lagash and its king Urukagina, and then the conquest of all Sumer.{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Leonard W. |title=A history of Sumer and Akkad |date=1994 |publisher=Рипол Классик |isbn=978-5-87664-034-5 |page=188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_8NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA188 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=H. R. |title=The Ancient History of the Near East: From the Earliest Times to the Battle of Salamis |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-27164-2 |pages=245-246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NqBACwAAQBAJ&pg=PT245 |language=en}}

File:Nippur vase of Lugalzagesi.jpg|Nippur vase of Lugalzagesi, where Lugalzagesi describes himself as "son of Ukush" (𒌉 𒌑𒌑, dumu u₂-kuš₃, in the 9th column from top right)