Position in chronology
A shir-namgala to Nanna (Nanna L)
Written in modern English
The hymn addresses Nanna — also called Acimbabbar — as a princely, awe-inspiring figure whose head reaches the sky: he fixes the new moon and the months, shines out over the mountains, and covers the countless people with his light. He is the great light of holy An, skilled in numbers, and the one who makes the Land firm forever. Several phrases here are broken or unclear — a passage about kingship, shining horns, the sky, Sumer, and the E-kur survives only in fragments — but the closing lines return to Acimbabbar as a true, radiant light filling the wide sky.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLPrincely son, respected one in heaven spreading amply over the high mountains, inspiring awe as he casts a glowing radiance, majestic ......, his head reaching the sky, fixing the new moon and the months, shining forth, Nanna! Versed in numbers, may you look down graciously! Acimbabbar, great light of holy An, mighty one (?) spreading wide, you cover (?) the numerous people. Its jicgijal. ...... light, prince lifting his head with (?) the crown, not changing ......, making the Land firm forever, august ...... who ...... in abundance, ...... kingship ......, ...... with shining horns, in the sky ......, ...... the month ...... Sumer, on earth ......, ...... of (?) the E-kur, radiance ....... ...... on the other side, holy glow which he alone ......, true light, filling the wide sky, Acimbabbar ...... greatly.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.13.12 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.4.13.12: A shir-namgala to Nanna (Nanna L). 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.4.13.12.
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