Praise for King Shulgi

Sumerian King Shulgi of the Ur III dynasty ruled for 48 years (2029 BCE–1982 BCE), completed the Great Ziggurat, waged wars, repaired roads, built the first hotel / rest area, standardized weights and measures, and was a long distance runner in his spare time.

Reconstructed ziggurat

But Shulgi never summited.  His name has survived largely through copies of compositions and hymns made by schoolboys studying to be scribes. From "A History of the Ancient Near East" (Mieroop): "Remarkable is the lack of interest in this period by later Mesopotamians when compared to how the Akkadian kings were remembered." (Think Sargon.) Like Horatius at the Bridge and the Light Brigade, Shulgi's fame is as a school exercise.

I asked noted American historian and friend of the blog, Dr. Dave Nichols, for an analogy. He writes:

“James Garfield was not only a Civil War hero, but could supposedly write Latin with one hand while writing Greek with the other (according to Joe Queenan, who may have been exaggerating). And yet he is primarily known as the president who served for just a few months before being shot by a frustrated office-seeker (and then dying a few months later because doctors couldn't find the bullet). Or he is confused with a cartoon cat. Sounds like your Shulgi analogue to me.”


May my Hymn to King Shulgi be pleasing!

Inventor of rest stops, impeccable scribe¹,

Like a mes² tree in bloom, you're hard to describe.

Swift as a cheetah³, you built ziggurats,

Defending your land so that Ur bigger-got.

Most notable king, of legend Nestorian⁴,

Gush-liking ruler, the summus Sumerians.

1. From Self-Praise of Shulgi: "…the fair goddess Nanibgal, the goddess Nisaba, provided me amply with knowledge and comprehension. I am an experienced scribe who does not neglect a thing."
2. "You are a sweet sight, like a fertile mes tree laden with colorful fruit."
3. "When I sprang up, muscular as a cheetah, galloping like a thoroughbred ass at full gallop..."
4. King Nestor was a prolix giver of advice in the Odyssey and most ashur-edly a bore.
"Gush-liking" I leave to you, dear readers, to solve.