Ensí

Ensi (spelled pa.te.si, in cuneiform script, hence occasionally transliterated "patesi"; possibly derived from en si-k, "lord of the plowland"; borrowed into Akkadian as iššakkum) is a Sumerian language title designating the ruler or prince of a city-state. Originally it may have designated an independent ruler, but in later periods the title presupposed subordinance to a lugal.

For the Early Dynastic Period (about 2800–2350 BCE), the meaning of the titles en, ensí and lugal cannot be differentiated clearly: see lugal, ensi and en for details. Ensí may have originally been a designation of the ruler restricted to Lagash and Umma. The énsi was considered a representative of the city-state's patron deity. In later periods, an ensí was normally seen as subordinate to a lugal. Nevertheless, even the powerful rulers of the Second Dynasty of Lagash (c. 2100 BCE) such as Gudea were satisfied with the title ensí.

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