Ensí (spelled
PA.
TE.SI, , in
Sumerian cuneiform, hence occasionally transliterated as
patesi; possibly derived from <
en si-k>, "lord of the plowland"; borrowed into
Akkadian as
iššakkum) is a
Sumerian 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 (King/Emperor).