Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D)

~1800 BCE·Old Babylonian

Translation · reference

High confidence
O my king, great bull with splendid limbs, dragon with a lion's eyes! Shepherd Culgi, great bull with splendid limbs, dragon with a lion's eyes! Bull-calf born in the cattle-pen of abundance, thriving there! Mighty one fit for heroism, the ornament of his Land! Righteous man, invested with justice by Utu! Fierce leopard who feeds on rich milk, rampant bull who was born to be a great beast! A lapis-lazuli beard, a holy breast -- marvellous to behold! O king, joy of the royal tiara! Culgi, ornament of the legitimate crown, wearing the pectoral of godhead, named by An with a good name! Good shepherd, endowed with strength by Enlil, Culgi, the beloved of Ninlil's heart!

Source: ETCSL c.2.4.2.04: Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D). 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.2.4.2.04

Why it matters

Transliteration

Scholarly note

Composition c.2.4.2.04 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.2.4.2.04: Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D). 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.2.4.2.04.

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