Position in chronology
A hymn to Nergal for Shulgi (Shulgi U)
Written in modern English
Nergal fills heaven and earth with his terrifying radiance, though several lines describing his power are too damaged to read. He is called a wild bull with thick horns whose very name unleashes dread — he falls on enemy lands like the south wind and stands as a bolt barring the breadth of the mountains. When he takes his seat in the temple E-meslam, his desires are fulfilled and the people gather at his feet. Under his title Meslamta-eda, he has encircled the rebel lands; his supremacy over them is proclaimed twice in refrain.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLNergal who ......, ...... great awe, who ...... the underworld -- its awesome radiance ...... the battle-net, its awesomeness has filled heaven and earth. 2nd cagbatuku. Hero, wild bull with thick horns, ...... like a cow, your terrifying name lets loose awe and fear. You fall on the rebel lands like the south wind. You are a bolt on the broad extent of the mountains. When you sit in E-meclam, your desires are joyously fulfilled (?). The people assemble at your feet. 2nd barsud. Meclamta-eda, your supremacy in the rebel lands! You have encircled the rebel lands, O youth. Nergal, your supremacy in the rebel lands!
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.4.2.21 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.2.4.2.21: A hymn to Nergal for Shulgi (Shulgi U). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.4.2.21.
Related tablets
Related sources
The single most important literary discovery of the 19th century. It rewired the understanding of the Bible's literary context and proved that the Mesopotamian flood tradition is older. It is the oldest surviving epic poetry in human history.
The literary tradition is no longer anonymous from this point. Authorship — the idea that a specific human voice composes a specific work — enters the historical record with her.
The single most influential Mesopotamian king list — the model for every later attempt to chronicle the deep history of the region. It transmits the political theology of divinely granted kingship, an idea that would echo through Babylon, Assyria, and into the Hebrew Bible. The Weld-Blundell prism (WB 444) at the Ashmolean is the most complete surviving copy.