what’s a “lugal”?

LUGAL is the Sumerian word for “king.” Literally, the word means “big man,” and in its earlier, pictographic form, is depicted as a man wearing a crown. In the drawing below, a reconstructed roll-out of the cylinder seal of king Mesanepada of Ur, LUGAL is highlighted in red.

Aside from the utter pretentiousness of my choosing “lugal” for my online handle, I also use it to consolidate my various email addresses under one easy-to-remember domain name (lugal.com).