Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

Amar-Suena 16

~2050 BCE·Ur III · Neo-Sumerian·Q000989

Translation · reference

High confidence
(1) In Karzida, where since the beginning of time there never had been a ĝipar built and no en priestess had dwelt, Amar-Suena, whose name was proclaimed by Enlil in Nibru, the steadfast supporter of Enlil's temple, the just god, the Utu of his land, the powerful king, king of Urim, king of the four quarters, the beloved of Nanna, built his holy ĝipar for Nanna of Karzida, his beloved master, (and) made his beloved en priestess enter it. In so doing Amar-Suena will lengthen the days (of his life). He dedicated it for his well-being to him.

Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000989/

Why it matters

Records Amar-Suena's foundation of the first ĝipar (high-priestess residence) at Karzida, attesting the Ur III crown's active role in extending Nanna's cult into previously unserved cult centres.

Transliteration

Scholarly note

Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q000989.

Attribution

Image: BM 137386 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P226864). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000989/.

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