Position in chronology
A praise poem of Shulgi (Shulgi P)
Written in modern English
The opening line is too damaged to read clearly. Lugalbanda then spoke tenderly to Ninsun: their son would fulfill the destiny laid out for him, and holy An would make him flourish like a cedar planted among hacur trees. Ninsun took An's word to heart, reached a fateful decision together with her husband Lugalbanda, and heeded his prayer. She went straight to An in the Ubšu-ukkinna and addressed him directly: 'Father, you are king of the gods. I have looked across the entire land and all its people — as countless as ewes — and I have raised Shulgi above them all. Let him be their trustworthy shepherd.'
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL1 line fragmentary ...... shining ....... He (probably Lugalbanda) spoke to her (probably Ninsun) tenderly ......: "He will accomplish precisely the fate determined for him. Your father holy An will make his branches spread as if he were a sappy cedar planted among hacur trees." Then my lady stepped up (?) to the word of An, Ninsun made a fateful decision with her spouse, holy Lugalbanda; she attended to his supplication. She went straight to holy An in the Ubcu-unkena: "My father, An, you are the king among the gods! I have looked through the land in all its extent and among its black-headed people who are as numerous as ewes, and I have elevated Culgi for me high above their head. May he be their trustworthy shepherd!
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.4.2.16 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.2.4.2.16: A praise poem of Shulgi (Shulgi P). 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.2.4.2.16.
Related tablets
Related sources
A window into the world's first total state. The Ur III administration tracked every animal, every worker, every shekel — for a population in the millions. The level of paperwork was not exceeded until the modern era.
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.