diff --git a/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_oracle.py b/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_oracle.py
index c9d904688..f79fa317c 100644
--- a/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_oracle.py
+++ b/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_oracle.py
@@ -256,13 +256,21 @@ async def enqueue_graph_maintenance(
         # Oracle doesn't support ON CONFLICT; rely on the PK and the
         # IGNORE_ROW_ON_DUPKEY_INDEX hint to skip duplicates server-side.
         # The hint name must match the PK constraint exactly.
+        #
+        # Sort to enforce a global lock-acquisition order on the
+        # (bank_id, unit_id) PK. Without this, two concurrent
+        # transactions inserting overlapping unit_id sets in different
+        # orders can deadlock on the unique-check row locks. Sorting
+        # gives every concurrent caller the same lock order, so
+        # conflicting inserts queue cleanly instead of cycling.
+        sorted_unit_ids = sorted(unit_ids)
         await conn.executemany(
             f"""
             INSERT /*+ IGNORE_ROW_ON_DUPKEY_INDEX({table}, pk_graph_maintenance_queue) */
             INTO {table} (bank_id, unit_id)
             VALUES ($1, $2)
             """,
-            [(bank_id, uid) for uid in unit_ids],
+            [(bank_id, uid) for uid in sorted_unit_ids],
         )
 
     async def claim_graph_maintenance_batch(
diff --git a/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_postgresql.py b/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_postgresql.py
index ca5e913ec..04bcb947a 100644
--- a/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_postgresql.py
+++ b/hindsight-api-slim/hindsight_api/engine/db/ops_postgresql.py
@@ -348,6 +348,15 @@ async def enqueue_graph_maintenance(
     ) -> None:
         if not unit_ids:
             return
+        # Sort to enforce a global lock-acquisition order on the
+        # (bank_id, unit_id) unique-key. Without this, two concurrent
+        # transactions inserting overlapping unit_id sets in different
+        # orders can deadlock on the ON CONFLICT row locks — Postgres
+        # acquires a short-lived lock per row being checked, and cycle
+        # detection then aborts one transaction. Sorting gives every
+        # concurrent caller the same lock order, so conflicting inserts
+        # queue cleanly instead of cycling.
+        sorted_unit_ids = sorted(unit_ids)
         await conn.execute(
             f"""
             INSERT INTO {table} (bank_id, unit_id)
@@ -355,7 +364,7 @@ async def enqueue_graph_maintenance(
             ON CONFLICT (bank_id, unit_id) DO NOTHING
             """,
             bank_id,
-            unit_ids,
+            sorted_unit_ids,
         )
 
     async def claim_graph_maintenance_batch(
diff --git a/hindsight-api-slim/tests/test_enqueue_graph_maintenance_ordered.py b/hindsight-api-slim/tests/test_enqueue_graph_maintenance_ordered.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ae555df3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hindsight-api-slim/tests/test_enqueue_graph_maintenance_ordered.py
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+"""Regression test: `enqueue_graph_maintenance` must insert unit_ids in a
+deterministic sorted order so concurrent transactions can't deadlock on the
+graph_maintenance_queue unique-key check.
+
+Symptom (production): under load, concurrent `PATCH /memories/{id}` requests
+on the same bank generate overlapping `victim_ids` sets (the surviving units
+whose outgoing links pointed at the updated unit). Each transaction inserts
+those victims into `graph_maintenance_queue` with
+`ON CONFLICT (bank_id, unit_id) DO NOTHING`. The conflict check takes a
+short-lived row-level lock per (bank_id, unit_id) being inserted, and when
+two transactions insert overlapping sets in different orders Postgres
+detects a deadlock and aborts one of them — surfacing as
+`asyncpg.exceptions.DeadlockDetectedError` from the API, which becomes a 500.
+
+The fix sorts the input list inside both `ops_postgresql` and `ops_oracle`
+before passing it to the INSERT, so every transaction acquires the per-row
+locks in the same global (sorted-UUID) order. With a total order over the
+lock set, deadlock is mathematically impossible — Postgres still serializes
+the conflicting inserts but they queue cleanly instead of cycling.
+
+This test pins that post-condition by capturing the array passed to the
+underlying `conn.execute` (PG path) / `conn.executemany` (Oracle path) and
+asserting it's sorted.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import uuid
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from hindsight_api.engine.db.ops_oracle import OracleOps
+from hindsight_api.engine.db.ops_postgresql import PostgreSQLOps
+
+
+def _shuffled_uuids(n: int) -> list[uuid.UUID]:
+    """Generate n UUIDs in a deliberately non-monotonic order. Hex literals
+    avoid `uuid.uuid4()` because uuid4 is random and we want determinism."""
+    raw = [
+        "ffffffff-ffff-4fff-8fff-ffffffffffff",
+        "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001",
+        "88888888-8888-4888-8888-888888888888",
+        "11111111-1111-4111-8111-111111111111",
+        "ccccccccc-cccc-4ccc-8ccc-cccccccccccc"[:36],
+        "44444444-4444-4444-8444-444444444444",
+    ]
+    return [uuid.UUID(s) for s in raw[:n]]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_pg_enqueue_graph_maintenance_inserts_in_sorted_order():
+    """The PostgreSQL ops impl must pass the unit_ids to the INSERT in
+    sorted order, regardless of how the caller ordered them."""
+    ops = PostgreSQLOps()
+    conn = AsyncMock()
+
+    unit_ids = _shuffled_uuids(6)
+    assert unit_ids != sorted(unit_ids), "test inputs must be unsorted"
+
+    await ops.enqueue_graph_maintenance(
+        conn=conn,
+        table="graph_maintenance_queue",
+        bank_id="test-bank",
+        unit_ids=unit_ids,
+    )
+
+    assert conn.execute.await_count == 1
+    _sql, bank_id_arg, ids_arg = conn.execute.await_args.args
+    assert bank_id_arg == "test-bank"
+    assert ids_arg == sorted(unit_ids), f"expected sorted unit_ids for deadlock-free concurrent inserts, got {ids_arg}"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_oracle_enqueue_graph_maintenance_inserts_in_sorted_order():
+    """The Oracle ops impl applies the same sort. `executemany` receives a
+    list of (bank_id, unit_id) tuples; the unit_id projection must be
+    sorted."""
+    ops = OracleOps()
+    conn = AsyncMock()
+
+    unit_ids = _shuffled_uuids(6)
+    assert unit_ids != sorted(unit_ids), "test inputs must be unsorted"
+
+    await ops.enqueue_graph_maintenance(
+        conn=conn,
+        table="graph_maintenance_queue",
+        bank_id="test-bank",
+        unit_ids=unit_ids,
+    )
+
+    assert conn.executemany.await_count == 1
+    _sql, rows = conn.executemany.await_args.args
+    assert [r[0] for r in rows] == ["test-bank"] * len(unit_ids)
+    assert [r[1] for r in rows] == sorted(unit_ids), (
+        f"expected sorted unit_ids for deadlock-free concurrent inserts, got {[r[1] for r in rows]}"
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_pg_empty_unit_ids_short_circuits():
+    """Empty input must remain a no-op — the early return predates this fix
+    and must continue to skip the INSERT entirely."""
+    ops = PostgreSQLOps()
+    conn = AsyncMock()
+    await ops.enqueue_graph_maintenance(conn, "graph_maintenance_queue", "b", [])
+    conn.execute.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_oracle_empty_unit_ids_short_circuits():
+    ops = OracleOps()
+    conn = AsyncMock()
+    await ops.enqueue_graph_maintenance(conn, "graph_maintenance_queue", "b", [])
+    conn.executemany.assert_not_awaited()