Shulgi

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Template:Multiple image Shulgi (Template:Cuneiform dšul-gi,(died c. 2046 BC) formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from Template:Circa (Middle Chronology).[1] His accomplishments include the completion of construction of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, begun by his father Ur-Nammu. On his inscriptions, he took the titles "King of Ur", "King of Sumer and Akkad", adding "King of the four corners of the universe" in the second half of his reign.[2] He used the symbol for divinity ([[Dingir|Template:Cuneiform]]) before his name, marking his apotheosis, from at least the 21st year of his reign and was worshipped in the Ekhursag palace he built.[3] Shulgi was the son of Ur-Nammu king of Ur and his queen consort Watartum.[4]

Life and reign

Shulgi apparently led a major modernization of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He improved communications, reorganized the army, reformed the writing system and weight and measures, unified the tax system, and created a strong bureaucracy.[5] He also wrote a law code, now known as the Code of Ur-Nammu because it was originally thought to have been authored by Ur-Nammu.[1] He also built or rebuilt numerous temples throughout the empire.[6]

Shulgi is best known for his extensive revision of the scribal school's curriculum. Although it is unclear how much he actually wrote, there are numerous praise poems written by and directed towards this ruler. He had proclaimed himself a god by his 21st regnal year (there are indications this occurred as early as S12), and was recognized as such by the whole of Sumer and Akkad.[1][7]

Some much later chronicles castigate Shulgi for his impiety: The Weidner Chronicle (ABC 19), a literary composition written in the 1st millennium BC, states that "he did not perform his rites to the letter, he defiled his purification rituals".[8] CM 48, written late in the 1st millennium BC, charges him with improper tampering with the rites, composing "untruthful stelae, insolent writings" on them.[8] The Chronicle of Early Kings (ABC 20), written in the mid-2nd millennium BC, accuses him of "criminal tendencies, and the property of Esagila and Babylon he took away as booty."[8]

The manner of death is unknown, only that it occurred in his 48th regnal year, in or before the 11th month. In the 3rd month of his successor, libations to the dead were first recorded for Shulgi and two wives Geme-Ninlila and Shulgi-simti. All three appear to have died in the year 48. Several researchers have suggest Shulgi was assassinated, partly based on omen texts, including one based on an eclipse.[9][10][11] He was succeeded by Amar-Sin. The name Amar-Sin was not recorded before his ascension and is a "throne name". His original name, and whether he was actually the son of Shugi, is unknown.[12]

Name

Early uncertainties about the reading of cuneiform led to the readings "Shulgi" and "Dungi" being common transliterations before the end of the 19th century. However, over the course of the 20th century, the scholarly consensus gravitated away from dun towards shul as the correct pronunciation of the Template:Cuneiform sign. The spelling of Shulgi's name by scribes with the diĝir determinative reflects his deification during his reign, a status and spelling previously claimed by his Akkadian Empire predecessor Naram-Sin.[13]

Marriages

Shulgi was a contemporary of the Shakkanakku rulers of Mari, particularly Apil-kin and Iddi-ilum.[14] An inscription mentions that Taram-Uram, the daughter of Apil-kin, became the "daughter-in-law" of Ur-Nammu, and therefore the Queen of king Shulgi.[15][16] In the inscription, she called herself "daughter-in-law of Ur-Nammu", and "daughter of Apil-kin, Lugal ("King") of Mari", suggesting for Apil-kin a position as a supreme ruler, and pointing to a marital alliance between Mari and Ur.[17][18]

Nin-kalla, Amat-Sin, and Ea-niša were queens of Shulgi. This had influence and performed official functions which continued even after the death of Shulgi.[19][20] Another queen, Shulgi-simti, who is known from a high number of texts presenting evidence for her economic power, had similar status. The archive shows she selected various large animals to use in rituals for deities including Belet-Šuḫnir and Belet-Terraban, Annunitum, Ulmašītum, Nanna, Ninlil and Enlil.[21] From thirty-second to forty-seventh year of Shulgi's reign she was in charge of the acceptance of ritual animals. On their death "libation places" for her and Shulgi were established.[4][22] Another important woman was Geme-Ninlilla who appears in texts at the end of the king's reign. Other, less well known royal women are Šuqurtum, Simat-Ea and Geme-Su'ena.[23]

Shulgi, with many wives and concubines, is known to have had at least sixteen sons including Etel-pū-Dagān, Amar-dDa-mu, Lu-dNanna, Lugal-a-zi-da, Ur-d,Suen, and possibly Amar-Sin (his throne name) as well as one daughter, Peš-tur-tur.[24][25][26] The name of another daughter, Šāt-Kukuti, is known from a cuneiform tablet.[27] A daughter, Taram-Šulgi was married to the ruler of Pašime, Šudda-bani.[15]

Royal hymns

File:Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D).jpg
Text of the "Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D)".

Shulgi also boasted about his ability to maintain high speeds while running long distances. He claimed in his 7th regnal year to have run from Nippur to Ur, a distance of not less than 100 miles.[28] Kramer refers to Shulgi as "The first long distance running champion."[29]

Shulgi wrote 26 royal hymns to glorify himself and his actions. In one Shulgi claimed that he spoke Elamite as well as he spoke Sumerian.[30][31] In another he refers to himself as "the king of the four-quarters, the pastor of the black-headed people".[32]

Armed conflicts

While Der had been one of the cities whose temple affairs Shulgi had directed in the first part of his reign, in his 20th year he claimed that the gods had decided that it now be destroyed, apparently as some punishment. The inscriptions state that he "put its field accounts in order" with the pick-axe. His 18th year-name was Year Liwir-mitashu, the king's daughter, was elevated to the ladyship in Marhashi, referring to a country near Anshan and her dynastic marriage to its king, Libanukshabash.[33] Following this, Shulgi engaged in a period of expansionism at the expense of highlanders such as the Lullubi, and destroyed Simurrum (another mountain tribe) and Lulubum nine times between the 26th and 45th years of his reign.[34] He is also known to have destroyed Karaḫar, Harši, Šašrum, and Urbilum.[35] In his 30th year, his daughter was married to the governor of Anshan; in his 34th year, he was already levying a punitive campaign against the place. He also destroyed Kimaš and Ḫurti (cities to the east of Ur, somewhere near Elam) in the 45th year of his reign.[36][37] An inscribed brick recorded:

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"Sulgi, god of his land the mighty, king of Ur, king of the four quarters, when he destroyed the land of Kimas and Hurtum, set out a moat and heaped up a pile of corpses."[6]

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". As with many Mesopotamian rulers he dealt with nomadic incursion in his 37th year, he was obliged to build a large wall in an attempt to keep out the Tidnumite nomads.[6]

Susa

Template:Multiple image

Shulgi is known to have made dedications at Susa, as foundation nails with his name, dedicated to god Inshushinak have been found there. One of the votive foundation nails reads: "The god 'Lord of Susa,' his king, Shulgi, the mighty male, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, the..., his beloved temple, built.".[38][13] An etched carnelian bead, now located in the Louvre Museum (Sb 6627) and inscribed with a dedication by Shulgi was also found in Susa, the inscription reading: "Ningal, his mother, Shulgi, god of his land, King of Ur, King of the four world quarters, for his life dedicated (this)".[13][39]

The Ur III dynasty had held control over Susa since the demise of Puzur-Inshushinak, and they built numerous buildings and temples there. This control was continued by Shulgi as shown by his numerous dedications in the city-state.[40] He also engaged in marital alliances, by marrying his daughters to rulers of eastern territories, such as Anšan, Marhashi and Bashime.[40]

Year names

File:Terracotta tablet listing the year formulae of king Shulgi. Ur III period. From Iraq. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg
One of the terracotta tablets listing the Year names of Shulgi, from year 6 (𒈬𒄊𒂗𒆤𒆠[𒋫...]: "The year the road from Nippur [was straightened]") to year 21a in this view, the other year names being inscribed on the back. A fragment is missing in this tablet (at the top), corresponding to the first five-year names and the last seven-year names of Shulgi.[42] This is an Old Babylonian copy (ca. 1900-1600 BC) of an Akkadian original.[42] Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul.

There are extensive remains for the year names of Shulgi, which have been largely reconstructed from year 1 to year 48 though some are fragmentary. There are no contemporary lists of year names, only partial texts from the Old Babylonian period so the order is not completely certain and a few years attribution is uncertain between Ur-Nammu and Shulgi. There are also multiple year names for some years which is not unprecedented.[6] For example year 20 is "Year: “Ninḫursaga of Nutur was brought into her temple”" and "Year: “The sons of Ur were conscripted as lancers”".[43] Some of the most important are:

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

1. Year : Šulgi is king
2. Year: The foundations of the temple of Ningubalag were laid
6. Year: The king straightened out the Nippur road
7. Year: The king made a round trip between Ur and Nippur (in one day)
10. Year: The royal mountain-house (the palace) was built
18. Year: Liwirmittašu, the daughter of the king, was elevated to the queenship of Marhashi
21c. Year: Der was destroyed
24. Year: Karahar was destroyed
25. Year: Simurrum was destroyed
27. Year after: "Šulgi the strong man, the king of the four corners of the universe, destroyed Simurrum for the second time"
27b. Year: "Harszi was destroyed"
30. Year: The governor of Anšan took the king's daughter into marriage
31. Year: Karhar was destroyed for the second time
32. Year: Simurrum was destroyed for the third time
34. Year: Anshan was destroyed
37. Year: The wall of the land was built
42. Year: The king destroyed Šašrum
44. Year: Simurrum and Lullubum were destroyed for the ninth time
45. Year: Šulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four-quarters, smashed the heads of Urbilum, Simurrum, Lullubum and Karhar in a single campaign
46. Year: Šulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four-quarters, destroyed Kimaš, Hurti and their territories in a single day

— Template:Comma separated entries

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Year name 39 of Shulgi was "The year Šulgi, king of Ur, king of the four quarters, built é-Puzriš-Dagan, a residence {palace? temple?} of Šulgi".[46]

Artifacts and inscriptions

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Aubaid, Nwr Saadwn, and Muhannad Ashwr Shnawah, "Some of the historical formulas with the military significant from the king shulgi", ISIN Journal 5, pp. 311-318, 2023
  • Carroué, F., "Šulgi et la Temple Bagara", ZA 90, pp. 161–93, 2000
  • de Maaijer, R., "Šulgi’s Jubilee: Where’s the Party?", in On the Third Dynasty of Ur: Studies in Honor of Marcel Sigrist, ed. P. Michalowski. JCS Suppl. 1. Boston: ASOR, pp. 45–52, 2008
  • Falkenstein, A., "Ein Lied Auf Šulgi", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 139–50, 1960
  • Fish, Thomas, "The cult of the King Dungi during the third dynasty of Ur", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 11.2, pp. 322-328, 1927
  • Kramer, S. N., "Inanna and Šulgi: A Sumerian Fertility Song", Iraq, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 18–23, 1969
  • Kraus, Fritz R., "Zur Chronologie der Könige Ur-Nammu und Šulgi von Ur", OrNS 20, pp. 385-398, 1951
  • Limet, Henri, "Au début du règne de Šulgi", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 15–21, 1971
  • Michalowski, P., "Death of Šulgi", OrNS 46, pp. 220–25, 1977
  • Sharlach, Tonia M., "Local and Imported Religion at Ur Late in the Reign of Shulgi", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelphia, July 11–15 2016, pp. 429-440, 2021
  • Sollberger, Edmond, "Šulgi, an 41?", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 44, no. 1/2, pp. 89–90, 1950
  • Vacín, Luděk, "Tradition and Innovation in Šulgi’s Concept of Divine Kingship", Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 57th Rencontre Assyriologique International at Rome, 4-8 July 2011, edited by Alfonso Archi, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 179-192, 2015
  • Van De Mieroop, Marc, "Gold Offerings of Šulgi", Orientalia, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 131–51, 1986
  • [1]Widell, Magnus, "The Calendar of Neo-Sumerian Ur and Its Political Significance", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2004 (2), 2004
  • Winters, Ryan, "The Royal Herdsmen of Ur: Compensation and Centralization in the Reign of Shulgi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies. JCS, vol. 72, pp. 47–64, 2020
  • [2]Zettler, Richard L., "Archaeology and the problem of textual evidence for the Third Dynasty of Ur", Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 38, pp. 49-62, 2003

External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project

Template:S-endTemplate:Kings of UrTemplate:Rulers of Sumer
Regnal titles
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check King of Ur, Sumer and Akkad
c. 2094 BC- c. 2046 BC Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
  1. ↑ a b c [3]Klein, Jacob, "Shulgi of Ur: king of a Neo-Sumerian empire", Civilizations of the ancient Near East 2, pp. 843-857, 1995
  2. ↑ [4]Suter, Claudia E., "A Shulgi statuette from Tello", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 43.1, pp. 63-70, 1991
  3. ↑ Raphael Kutscher, "An Offering to the Statue of Šulgi", Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, vol. 1, iss. 2, pp. 55-59, 1974
  4. ↑ a b Sharlach, Tonia M., "Shulgi-simti and the Representation of Women in Historical Sources", Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context. Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter by Her Students. Leiden & Boston, Brill, pp. 363-368, 2007
  5. ↑ [5]Piotr Michalowski, "The Mortal Kings of Ur: A Short Century of Divine Rule in Ancient Mesopotamia", in Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the Ancient World and Beyond Nicole Brisch, ed., Oriental Institute Seminars 4 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2008. Second printing with minor corrections, pp. 33-45, 2012 Template:ISBN
  6. ↑ a b c d Frayne, Douglas, "Šulgi", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 91-234, 1997
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b c Jean-Jacques Glassner, "Mesopotamian Chronicles", Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2004 Template:ISBN
  9. ↑ Michalowski, Piotr, "The Death of Šulgi", Orientalia, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 220–25, 1977
  10. ↑ E. Sollberger, "Sur la chronologie des rois d'Ur et quelques problèmes connexes", AfO 17, pp. 10-48, 1954/56
  11. ↑ Michalowski, Piotr, "Of Bears and Men: Thoughts on the End of Šulgi’s Reign and on the Ensuing Succession", Literature as Politics, Politics as Literature: Essays on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Peter Machinist, edited by David S. Vanderhooft and Abraham Winitzer, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 285-320, 2013
  12. ↑ Sharlach, Tonia, "Princely Employments in the Reign of Shulgi", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-68, 2022
  13. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b Sharlach, T. M., "The Shulgi-simti Archive: Historical Sources", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 189-210, 2017 Template:ISBN
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Sharlach, T. M., "The Lives of Shulgi’s Wives: Ea-niša, Geme-Ninlilla and More", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 139-174, 2017 Template:ISBN
  20. ↑ Michalowski, Piotr, "Royal Women of the Ur III Period, Part II: Geme-Ninlila", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 31.3, pp. 171-176, 1979
  21. ↑ Sharlach, T. M., "Sacrifice: An Overview of the Cultic Events to which the Shulgi-simti Foundation Contributed", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 239-260, 2017
  22. ↑ [6]Gomi, Tohru, "Shulgi-simti and her Libation Place (ki-a-nag)", Orient 12, pp. 1-14, 1976
  23. ↑ Michalowski, Piotr, "Royal Women of the Ur III Period Part I: The Wife of Šulgi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 169–72, 1976
  24. ↑ Notizia, Palmiro, "Prince Etel-pū-Dagān, Son of Šulgi", From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.: Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22–24 July 2010, edited by Steven J. Garfinkle and Manuel Molina, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 207-220, 2013
  25. ↑ Changyu Liu, "Prosopography of individuals delivering animals to Puzriš-Dagan in Ur III Mesopotamia", Akkadica 142/2, pp. 113-142, 2021
  26. ↑ [7]Changyu Liu, "Prosopographical Statistics Appendix of the article 'Prosopography of individuals delivering animals to Puzriš-Dagan in Ur III Mesopotamia'", Cuneiform Digital Library Preprints, 24.0, 1 April 2022
  27. ↑ Ali, Basil Bashar, and Khalid Salim Ismael, "Šāt-kukuti The Daughter of King Šulgi in a New Text from the Iraqi Museum", Athar Alrafedain 8.2, pp. 266-280, 2023
  28. ↑ Hamblin, William J. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. New York: Routledge, 2006.
  29. ↑ [8]Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Shulgi of Ur: The First Long-Distance Champion", in History begins at Sumer: Thirty-nine firsts in recorded history, University of Pennsylvania press, pp. 284-289, 1981
  30. ↑ Klein, Jacob, "The Royal Hymns of Shulgi King of Ur: man's quest for immortal fame", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 71.7, pp. 1-48, 1981
  31. ↑ Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Shulgi of Ur: A royal hymn and a divine blessing", The Jewish Quarterly Review 57, pp. 369-380, 1967
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ [9]Chen, Yanli, and Yuhong Wu, "The Names of the Leaders and Diplomats of Marḫaši and Related Men in the Ur III Dynasty", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2017 (1), 2017
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ [10]Lafont, Bertrand, "The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009 (5), 2009
  36. ↑ Ghobadizadeh, Hamzeh and Sallaberger, Walther, "Šulgi in the Kuhdasht Plain: Bricks from a Battle Monument at the Crossroads of Western Pish-e Kuh and the Localisation of Kimaš and Ḫurti", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 3-33, 2023
  37. ↑ Sebahi, Zahraa Abdel-Sada, and Jassim Abid Al-Ammer Jassim, "City ki-maški King Šulgi military campaigns on him the light of the published and unpublished cuneiform texts of the modern Sumerian period (2112-2004 BC)", ISIN Journal 4. pp. 121-146, 2022
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ a b Sigrist, M., "Les noms d’anée du règne du roi Šulgi", in Why Should Someone Who Knows Something Conceal It? Cuneiform Studies in Honor of David I. Owen on His 70th Birthday, ed. A. Kleinerman and J. M. Sasson. Bethesda: CDL, pp. 219–38, 2010
  44. ↑ [11]Richard Firth, "Notes on Year Names of the Early Ur III Period: Šulgi 20-30", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2013 (1), 2013
  45. ↑ Goetze, Albrecht, "The Chronology of Šulgi Again", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 151–56, 1960
  46. ↑ [12]Sharlach, Tonia, "Šulgi, Mighty Man, King of Ur", Fortune and Misfortune in the Ancient Near East, pp. 211-20, 2016
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ a b Simo Parpola, Asko Parpola and Robert H. Brunswig, Jr "The Meluḫḫa Village: Evidence of Acculturation of Harappan Traders in Late Third Millennium Mesopotamia?" in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol. 20, No. 2, 1977, p. 136-137
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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