Position in chronology
En-metena 18
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) For Enlil of the E-adda, En-metena, ruler of Lagaš, given strength by Enlil, nourished on rich milk by Ninhursaĝa, .... (i 1') (When ...) took him by the hand from among the multitude of people, and Enlil granted to En-metena the lofty scepter of destiny from Nibru, .... (ii 1') ..., he transported (this) lofty vase from the mountains for his father, Enlil. (ii 5') Šul-MUŠxPA, the personal god of En-metena, .... (ii 1'') ... by Enlil, fashioned it and dešorated it with purified silver for him. (ii 4'') ... this (vessel) for his own well-being, for the well-being of Lagaš, and for the well-being of ....
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001105/
Why it matters
Dedicatory inscription of En-metena of Lagaš (~2450 BCE) attesting the ritual gifting of a silver vessel to Enlil, documenting how Early Dynastic rulers performed piety through precious-metal votive offerings.
Transliteration
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q001105.
Attribution
Image: CBS 14568 = CBS 09328 + CBS 09463 + CBS 09669 + CBS 09672 + CBS 09690 + CBS 09919 + CBS 09920 + CBS 09992 + CBS 10122 (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) — from Girsu (mod. Tello) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P222537). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001105/.
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