Position in chronology
A praise poem of Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan B)
Written in modern English
An has decreed a great fate for Iddin-Dagan in his exalted place, making the rightful crown shine, raising him to shepherd the Land, and laying the foreign lands at his feet. Enlil has looked upon him with favor and spoken truly to him, commanding him to hold the cosmic bond firm in Sumer, to keep the people on the right path, to let Sumer and Akkad rest under his broad protection, and to ensure the people eat well and drink fresh water. Enki, for his part, has given Iddin-Dagan deep understanding, knowledge of all things, wise command, and a life — the tablet's phrase here is uncertain — likened to something coming from a lion's mouth. The poem closes with a wish that all foreign lands praise him.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLIddin-Dagan, in his majestic location An has decided a great fate for you, has made the just crown shine for you, has raised you to shepherdship over the Land, has placed the foreign lands at your feet. Enlil has looked at you truly, Iddin-Dagan, he has spoken truly to you. Enlil has commanded you to keep firm the cosmic bond in Sumer, to keep the people on the track, to let Sumer and Akkad relax under your broad protection, to let the people eat noble food and drink fresh water. Iddin-Dagan, you are the shepherd in his heart, the one whom Enlil has spoken to truly. Enki has brought to you, Iddin-Dagan, broad understanding, knowledge of everything, wise command, a life (?) that comes from the mouth of a lion. May all the foreign lands praise you.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
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Scholarly note
Composition c.2.5.3.2 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.2.5.3.2: A praise poem of Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan B). 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.2.5.3.2.
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