The invention of writing in approximately 3300 B.C. was one of many developments in administrative technology–including the use of geometric tokens for counting and cylinder seals to guarantee transactions–that accompanied the growth of the first cities and states in southern Mesopotamia. Proto-cuneiform is the name given to the earliest form of writing–pictograms that were drawn on clay tablets. Gradually, the pictograms became abstracted into cuneiform (Latin, “wedge-shaped”) signs that were impressed rather than drawn. At its greatest extent, cuneiform writing was used from the Mediterranean coast to southern Mesopotamia. It was adapted to write at least fifteen different languages. The last dated cuneiform text has a date corresponding to AD 75, although the script probably continued in use over the next two centuries for scholarly and religious texts.
Gudea was a governor (ensi) in the southern city-state of Lagash, part of the powerful empire of Akkad, which collapsed around 2200 BC as a result of the attacks by the Guti. Before then, Lagash had enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity. The majority of Gudea’s rule was dedicated to an extensive program of temple construction. Gudea’s strong position is demonstrated by the many statues representing him that were erected in those temples.