Guti

   A tribal, pastoral people who originally inhabited the northeastern reaches of the Zagros Mountains, a region called Gutium in ancient times. For an undetermined period, the Guti (or Gutians) existed on the periphery of Mesopotamian culture and the Sumerians dismissed them as uncouth mountain men and savages. In about 2230 b.c., however, the Guti began raiding the cities of northern Mesopotamia and eventually managed to capture Akkad and put an end to the Akkadian dynasty, which had earlier produced the successful conqueror Sargon. The invaders continued to attack nearby cities. Yet they seem never to have formed a centralized Gutian nation; instead, they formed shifting, temporary alliances with various Sumerian city-states, including Lagash, while trying to adopt Mesopotamian culture and manners. Finally, in about 2120 b.c., a coalition of local rulers led by the strong king of the city of Uruk, Utuhegal, decisively defeated the Guti, putting an end to the period of disorder and decline they had created. The Guti were long remembered in the region, as they became archetypical villains in literature.

   See also: Gudea; Lagash; Utuhegal