Position in chronology
A love song of Shu-Suen (Shu-Suen A)
Written in modern English
Abi-simti, mother of Shu-Suen, is praised as the one who gave birth to the holy king — she is the speaker's cloth beam, her pleasure and her anchor. The speaker also addresses Kubatum, Shu-Suen's concubine, as the warp beam set for weaving, and hails Shu-Suen himself — son of Shulgi, magnificent to look upon — in words that are partly lost. Because the speaker cried out in joy, the lord rewarded her: he gave her a golden pin, a lapis-lazuli seal, a golden ring, and a silver ring.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLIt was she who gave birth to the holy one, gave birth to the holy one; the queen gave birth to the holy one, Abi-simti (i.e. Cu-Suen's mother) gave birth to the holy one, the queen gave birth to the holy one -- my cloth beam of the cloth of pleasure, my Abi-simti! My warp beam placed for weaving, my queen Kubatum (i.e. Cu-Suen's concubine)! My one suited to a mane of hair, a wonder to behold, my lord Cu-Suen, my one ...... in words, my son of Culgi -- because I uttered, because I uttered, the lord gave me a gift, because I uttered an exclamation of joy, the lord gave me a gift. The lord gave me as a gift a golden pin, a lapis-lazuli seal. The lord gave me as a gift a golden ring, a silver ring.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.4.4.1 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.2.4.4.1: A love song of Shu-Suen (Shu-Suen A). 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.2.4.4.1.
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.