Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

Amar-Suena 10

~2050 BCE·Ur III · Neo-Sumerian·Q000985

Translation · reference

High confidence
(i 1) I am Amar-Suena, whose name was proclaimed by Enlil in Nibru, the steadfast supporter of Enlil's temple, the powerful king, king of Urim, king of the four quarters. (i 10) The name of this statue is "Amar-Suena is the beloved of Urim". (i 13) Whoever removes this statue from the place it was set up, tears out its socle, may Nanna, king of Urim, (and) Ningal, the mother of Urim, curse him! May they put an end to his lineage!

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000985/

Why it matters

Dedicatory curse clause invokes Nanna and Ningal against anyone who displaces the statue, preserving the standard Ur III formula for protecting royal monuments through divine sanction rather than human enforcement.

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 Q000985.

Attribution

Image: BM 090353 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P226684). 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/Q000985/.

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