The Lagash ruler who commissioned the Stele of the Vultures after defeating Umma was Eannatum.
Eannatum ruled the Sumerian city-state of Lagash in the 25th century BCE. The monument commemorates Lagash’s victory over the neighboring city-state of Umma in a long-running dispute over territory and irrigation boundaries. Its surviving fragments combine carved scenes with cuneiform inscriptions.
One side shows soldiers advancing in ordered ranks behind Eannatum, while another depicts the god Ningirsu holding enemies in a net. Vultures carrying severed heads gave the monument its modern name, although the relief is fragmentary and the full original composition is lost.
The stele is not a neutral historical report. It presents the conflict through Lagash’s political and religious viewpoint, declaring divine support for Eannatum and his city. Urukagina is sometimes confused with Eannatum because both were rulers of Lagash, but the Stele of the Vultures belongs to Eannatum’s reign.