# Ships of Dilmun reach Lagash (c. 2500 BCE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/saudi/timeline/-2500-ships-of-dilmun-reach-lagash
Themes: Key Events

An inscription of Ur-Nanshe, ruler of the Sumerian city of Lagash around 2500 BCE, states that ships of Dilmun brought him timber from foreign lands. It is one of the earliest datable written references to Dilmun. Dilmun acted as a middleman between Mesopotamia, the copper land of Magan in Oman and the Indus Valley, handling copper, timber, pearls and luxury goods along the eastern Arabian shore.

## Why it matters
The texts bring eastern Arabia into recorded history for the first time.

Ruler at the Time: [Dilmun and Early Arabian Chiefdoms](https://allhistories.com/saudi/rulers/dilmun-and-early-arabian-chiefdoms)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Dilmun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilmun)
- [Wikipedia — Ur-Nanshe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Nanshe)
- [Wikipedia — Magan (civilization)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magan_(civilization))
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Ships of Dilmun reach Lagash](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ships+of+Dilmun+reach+Lagash)
- [Wikipedia — History of Saudi Arabia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saudi_Arabia)