‘I, the king, from the womb I am a hero, I, Shulgi, from my birth I am a mighty man, I am a fierce-faced lion, begotten by a dragon, I am the king of the four quarters, I am a shepherd, the pastor of the “black-headed people”, I am the noble one, the god of all the lands, I am the child born of Ninsun, I am the choice of holy An’s heart, I am the man whose fate was decreed by Enlil, I am Shulgi, the beloved of Ninlil, I am he who is cherished by Nintu, I am the one who was endowed with wisdom by Enki, I am the powerful king of Nanna, I am the growling lion of Utu, I am Shulgi, who has been voluptuously chosen by Inanna, I am a mule, most suitable for the road, I am a horse, having its tail on the highway, I am a stallion of Shakan, eager to race, I am a wise scribe of Nisaba.
Like my heroism, like my strength, my wisdom is perfected [as well], its true words I strive to attain.
Righteousness I cherish, falsehood I do not tolerate, words of fraud I hate!
I, Shulgi, the mighty king, superior to all, because I am a powerful man, who rejoices at the strength of his loins, I moved my legs, proceeded along the roads of the land, I determined the danna-s, built (lodging-) houses there, planted gardens by their side, established resting places, installed in those places experienced men; he who comes from above, he who comes from below, may refresh themselves in their cool shade; the way-farer who passes the night on the road may seek haven there, like in a well-built city.
That my name be established for distant days, that it never fall into oblivion, that my fame be praised in the land (of Sumer), that my glory be proclaimed in the foreign lands, I, the runner, arose in my strength, (and) in order to test (my speed) in running, from Nippur to the brick-work of Ur, my heart prompted me to traverse, as if it were (the distance) of one mile.
I, the lion, never failing in his vigour, standing firm in his strength, covered my hips with the lama hussu-garment, like a dove anxiously fleeing from a sibbu-snake, I swung my arms, like the Anzu-bird, when turning its eyes on the mountain, I “opened wide the knees”.
The (inhabitants of the) cities, which I had founded in the land, came to (meet) me, the black-headed people, as numerous as ewes, gazed at me with admiration.
Like a kid of the mountain, hurrying to its habitation, while Utu spreads broad daylight over the countryside, I entered the Ekishnugal.
The temple of Suen, the stall which yields plenty of fat, I filled with abundance, oxen I slaughtered there, sheep I lavishly offered there. I caused sim and ala-drums to resound there, I caused tigi drums to play there sweetly, I, Shulgi, the generous provider, presented meal-offerings there; on the “royal stand”, clad in terror like a lion, in the lofty-palace of Ninegal, I bowed down and bathed in ever-flowing water, I knelt down and feasted there.
(Then) I arose like a hawk, (like) a falcon (and) returned to Nippur in my vigour.’
Within this closed circle of scribes, functionaries and priests, certain characteristic aspects of NeoSumerian kingship left a significant mark. The central issue was the deification of the king and the reality of his human mortality. At the time of Naram-Sin, the problem was dealt with by emphasising the heroic nature of the king. In the Neo-Sumerian period, the answer was more cultic, thus including the divine sphere. Sacred marriages with deities, and burials portrayed as a return to the realm of the gods became focal points of the ideology of kingship. The burial of Ur-Nammu or Shulgi was a moment filled with important implications, as Ur-Nammu’s hymns clearly indicate. Gilgamesh was still a model of the mortal divine king, and Shulgi defined him as his own brother, both being sons of the same mother, Ninsun. Instead of mentioning heroic feats, the immortality of the king was portrayed as a descent to the underworld. This descent, then, was clearly visible when the king was ceremoniously buried.
Following the iconographic and literary debut of myths in the Akkadian period, mythological elaborations continued to be developed in response to current events. However, this process began to slow down in the Neo-Sumerian period. After this phase, mythical ancestral kings would cease to be the main models and were replaced by the kings of Akkad. On seals, presentation scenes with a textual description substituted mythological scenes. The standardised, hierarchic position of the characters depicted and the presence of the divine king clearly mirrors the political ideology of the scribal and priestly classes, the main owners of these seals.
Mythological texts also allude to fundamental themes of Neo-Sumerian politics. There were the relations with the people of the west (Martu), the conquest of the north (the Ebih mountain and beyond), the revival of long-distance trade, the re-organisation of agriculture in Mesopotamia and so on. These were not intentional allusions, since they were too indirect to be in any way effective, but were natural influences of that society in the formulation and written transmission of Sumerian mythology.
World History
