Shulgi ( Dingir šul-gi,(died c. 2046 BC) formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from (Middle Chronology).[[1]Suter, Claudia E., "A Shulgi statuette from Tello", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 43.1, pp. 63-70, 1991] He used the symbol for divinity (Dingir) before his name, marking his apotheosis, from at least the 21st year of his reign and was worshipped in the Ekhursag palace he built.[Raphael Kutscher, "An Offering to the Statue of Šulgi", Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, vol. 1, iss. 2, pp. 55-59, 1974] Shulgi was the son of Ur-Nammu king of Ur and his queen consort Watartum.
Life and reign
Shulgi apparently led a major modernization of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He improved communications, reorganized the army, reformed the writing system and weight and measures, unified the tax system, and created a strong
bureaucracy.
[[2]Piotr Michalowski, "The Mortal Kings of Ur: A Short Century of Divine Rule in Ancient Mesopotamia", in Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the Ancient World and Beyond Nicole Brisch, ed., Oriental Institute Seminars 4 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2008. Second printing with minor corrections, pp. 33-45, 2012 ] He also wrote a law code, now known as the Code of Ur-Nammu because it was originally thought to have been authored by Ur-Nammu.
[[3]Klein, Jacob, "Shulgi of Ur: king of a Neo-Sumerian empire", Civilizations of the ancient Near East 2, pp. 843-857, 1995] He also built or rebuilt numerous temples throughout the empire.
Shulgi is best known for his extensive revision of the scribal school's curriculum. Although it is unclear how much he actually wrote, there are numerous praise poems written by and directed towards this ruler. He had proclaimed himself a god by his 21st regnal year (there are indications this occurred as early as S12), and was recognized as such by the whole of Sumer and Akkad.
Some much later chronicles castigate Shulgi for his impiety: The Weidner Chronicle (ABC 19), a literary composition written in the 1st millennium BC, states that "he did not perform his rites to the letter, he defiled his purification rituals".[Jean-Jacques Glassner, "Mesopotamian Chronicles", Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2004 ] CM 48, written late in the 1st millennium BC, charges him with improper tampering with the rites, composing "untruthful stelae, insolent writings" on them.
The manner of death is unknown, only that it occurred in his 48th regnal year, in or before the 11th month. In the 3rd month of his successor, libations to the dead were first recorded for Shulgi and two wives Geme-Ninlila and Shulgi-simti. All three appear to have died in the year 48. Several researchers have suggest Shulgi was assassinated, partly based on omen texts, including one based on an eclipse.[Michalowski, Piotr, "The Death of Šulgi", Orientalia, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 220–25, 1977][E. Sollberger, "Sur la chronologie des rois d'Ur et quelques problèmes connexes", AfO 17, pp. 10-48, 1954/56][Michalowski, Piotr, "Of Bears and Men: Thoughts on the End of Šulgi’s Reign and on the Ensuing Succession", Literature as Politics, Politics as Literature: Essays on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Peter Machinist, edited by David S. Vanderhooft and Abraham Winitzer, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 285-320, 2013] He was succeeded by Amar-Sin. The name Amar-Sin was not recorded before his ascension and is a "Regnal name". His original name, and whether he was actually the son of Shugi, is unknown.[Sharlach, Tonia, "Princely Employments in the Reign of Shulgi", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-68, 2022]
Name
Early uncertainties about the reading of cuneiform led to the readings "Shulgi" and "Dungi" being common transliterations before the end of the 19th century. However, over the course of the 20th century, the scholarly consensus gravitated away from
dun towards
shul as the correct pronunciation of the sign. The spelling of Shulgi's name by scribes with the
dingir determinative reflects his
deification during his reign, a status and spelling previously claimed by his
Akkadian Empire predecessor Naram-Sin.
File:Portraits of Shulgi.jpg|Portraits of Shulgi from his Nuska seal. Louvre Museum
File:Portrait of Shulgi as a builder, on a foundation nail.jpg|Portrait of Shulgi as a builder, on a foundation nail. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Marriages
Shulgi was a contemporary of the
Shakkanakku rulers of Mari, particularly
Apil-kin and
Iddi-ilum.
An inscription mentions that
Taram-Uram, the daughter of Apil-kin, became the "daughter-in-law" of
Ur-Nammu, and therefore the Queen of king Shulgi.
[Sharlach, T. M., "The Shulgi-simti Archive: Historical Sources", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 189-210, 2017 ] In the inscription, she called herself "daughter-in-law of
Ur-Nammu", and "daughter of Apil-kin,
Lugal ("King") of Mari", suggesting for Apil-kin a position as a supreme ruler, and pointing to a marital alliance between Mari and Ur.
Nin-kalla, Amat-Sin, and Ea-niša were queens of Shulgi. This had influence and performed official functions which continued even after the death of Shulgi.[Sharlach, T. M., "The Lives of Shulgi’s Wives: Ea-niša, Geme-Ninlilla and More", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 139-174, 2017 ][Michalowski, Piotr, "Royal Women of the Ur III Period, Part II: Geme-Ninlila", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 31.3, pp. 171-176, 1979] Another queen, Shulgi-simti, who is known from a high number of texts presenting evidence for her economic power, had similar status. The archive shows she selected various large animals to use in rituals for deities including Belet-Šuḫnir and Belet-Terraban, Annunitum, Ulmašītum, Nanna, Ninlil and Enlil.[Sharlach, T. M., "Sacrifice: An Overview of the Cultic Events to which the Shulgi-simti Foundation Contributed", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 239-260, 2017] From thirty-second to forty-seventh year of Shulgi's reign she was in charge of the acceptance of ritual animals. On their death "libation places" for her and Shulgi were established.[Sharlach, Tonia M., "Shulgi-simti and the Representation of Women in Historical Sources", Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context. Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter by Her Students. Leiden & Boston, Brill, pp. 363-368, 2007][[4]Gomi, Tohru, "Shulgi-simti and her Libation Place (ki-a-nag)", Orient 12, pp. 1-14, 1976] Another important woman was Geme-Ninlilla who appears in texts at the end of the king's reign. Other, less well known royal women are Šuqurtum, Simat-Ea and Geme-Su'ena.[Michalowski, Piotr, "Royal Women of the Ur III Period Part I: The Wife of Šulgi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 169–72, 1976]
Shulgi, with many wives and concubines, is known to have had at least sixteen sons including Etel-pū-Dagān, Amar- DingirDa-mu, Lu- DingirNanna, Lugal-a-zi-da, Ur- Dingir,Suen, and possibly Amar-Sin (his throne name) as well as one daughter, Peš-tur-tur.[Notizia, Palmiro, "Prince Etel-pū-Dagān, Son of Šulgi", From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.: Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22–24 July 2010, edited by Steven J. Garfinkle and Manuel Molina, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 207-220, 2013][Changyu Liu, "Prosopography of individuals delivering animals to Puzriš-Dagan in Ur III Mesopotamia", Akkadica 142/2, pp. 113-142, 2021][[5]Changyu Liu, "Prosopographical Statistics Appendix of the article 'Prosopography of individuals delivering
animals to Puzriš-Dagan in Ur III Mesopotamia'", Cuneiform Digital Library Preprints, 24.0, 1 April 2022] The name of another daughter, Šāt-Kukuti, is known from a cuneiform tablet.[Ali, Basil Bashar, and Khalid Salim Ismael, "Šāt-kukuti The Daughter of King Šulgi in a New Text from the Iraqi Museum", Athar Alrafedain 8.2, pp. 266-280, 2023] A daughter, Taram-Šulgi was married to the ruler of Pashime, Šudda-bani.
Royal hymns
Shulgi also boasted about his ability to maintain high speeds while running long distances. He claimed in his 7th regnal year to have run from
Nippur to Ur, a distance of over 150 kilometers (100 miles).
[Hamblin, William J. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. New York: Routledge, 2006.] Kramer refers to Shulgi as "The first long distance running champion."
[[6]Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Shulgi of Ur: The First Long-Distance Champion", in History begins at Sumer: Thirty-nine firsts in recorded history, University of Pennsylvania press, pp. 284-289, 1981]
Shulgi wrote 26 royal hymns to glorify himself and his actions. In one Shulgi claimed that he spoke Elamite language as well as he spoke Sumerian.[Klein, Jacob, "The Royal Hymns of Shulgi King of Ur: man's quest for immortal fame", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 71.7, pp. 1-48, 1981][Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Shulgi of Ur: A royal hymn and a divine blessing", The Jewish Quarterly Review 57, pp. 369-380, 1967] In another he refers to himself as "the king of the four-quarters, the pastor of the Sumer".
Armed conflicts
While Der had been one of the cities whose temple affairs Shulgi had directed in the first part of his reign, in his 20th year he claimed that the gods had decided that it now be destroyed, apparently as some punishment. The inscriptions state that he "put its field accounts in order" with the pick-axe. His 18th year-name was
Year Liwir-mitashu, the king's daughter, was elevated to the ladyship in Marhashi, referring to a country near Anshan and her dynastic marriage to its king, Libanukshabash.
[[7]Chen, Yanli, and Yuhong Wu, "The Names of the Leaders and Diplomats of Marḫaši and Related Men in the Ur III Dynasty", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2017 (1), 2017] Following this, Shulgi engaged in a period of expansionism at the expense of highlanders such as the
Lullubi, and destroyed
Simurrum (another
mountain tribe) and
Lullubi nine times between the 26th and 45th years of his reign.
He is also known to have destroyed Karaḫar, Harši, Šašrum, and Urbilum.
[[8]Lafont, Bertrand, "The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009 (5), 2009]
In his 30th year, his daughter was married to the governor of Anshan; in his 34th year, he was already levying a punitive campaign against the place. He also destroyed Kimaš and Ḫurti (cities to the east of Ur, somewhere near
Elam) in the 45th year of his reign.
[Ghobadizadeh, Hamzeh and Sallaberger, Walther, "Šulgi in the Kuhdasht Plain: Bricks from a Battle Monument at the Crossroads of Western Pish-e Kuh and the Localisation of Kimaš and Ḫurti", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 3-33, 2023][Sebahi, Zahraa Abdel-Sada, and Jassim Abid Al-Ammer Jassim, "City ki-maški King Šulgi military campaigns on him the light of the published and unpublished cuneiform texts of the modern Sumerian period (2112-2004 BC)", ISIN Journal 4. pp. 121-146, 2022] An inscribed brick recorded:
As with many Mesopotamian rulers he dealt with nomadic incursion in his 37th year, he was obliged to build a large wall in an attempt to keep out the Tidnumite nomads.
Susa
Shulgi is known to have made dedications at
Susa, as foundation nails with his name, dedicated to god
Inshushinak have been found there. One of the votive foundation nails reads:
"The god 'Lord of Susa,' his king, Shulgi, the mighty male, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, the..., his beloved temple, built.".
An etched carnelian bead, now located in the Louvre Museum (Sb 6627) and inscribed with a dedication by Shulgi was also found in Susa, the inscription reading:
"Ningal, his mother, Shulgi, god of his land, King of Ur, King of the four world quarters, for his life dedicated (this)".
The Ur III dynasty had held control over Susa since the demise of Puzur-Inshushinak, and they built numerous buildings and temples there. This control was continued by Shulgi as shown by his numerous dedications in the city-state.
File:Votive tablet of Shulgi, excavated in Susa, SB 2880.jpg|Votive tablet of Shulgi, excavated in Susa: "For the goddess Ninhursag of Susa, his Lady, Shulgi, the great man, King of Ur, King of Sumer and Akkad, built her temple ". Louvre Museum, Sb 2884.
Year names
There are extensive remains for the year names of Shulgi, which have been largely reconstructed from year 1 to year 48 though some are fragmentary. There are no contemporary lists of year names, only partial texts from the Old Babylonian period so the order is not completely certain and a few years attribution is uncertain between Ur-Nammu and Shulgi. There are also multiple year names for some years which is not unprecedented.
[Frayne, Douglas, "Šulgi", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 91-234, 1997] For example year 20 is "Year: “Ninḫursaga of Nutur was brought into her temple”" and "Year: “The sons of Ur were conscripted as lancers”".
Some of the most important are:
Year name 39 of Shulgi was "The year Šulgi, king of Ur, king of the four quarters, built é-Puzriš-Dagan, a residence {palace? temple?} of Šulgi".[[9]Sharlach, Tonia, "Šulgi, Mighty Man, King of Ur", Fortune and Misfortune in the Ancient Near East, pp. 211-20, 2016]
Artifacts and inscriptions
File:Lugal Urimkima Lugal Kiengi Kiuri, King of Ur, King of Sumer and Akkad, on a seal of Shulgi (transcription).jpg| Lugal Urimkima/ Lugal Kiengi Kiuri , "King of Ur, King of Sumer and Akkad, on a votive tablet of Shulgi. The final ke4 is the composite of -k (genitive case) and -e (ergative case).[Simo Parpola, Asko Parpola and Robert H. Brunswig, Jr "The Meluḫḫa Village: Evidence of Acculturation of Harappan Traders in Late Third Millennium Mesopotamia?" in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol. 20, No. 2, 1977, p. 136-137] "Meluhha" () actually appears on the beginning of the other side (column II, 1) in the sentence "The granary of the village of Meluhha".
See also
-
Correspondence of the Kings of Ur
-
History of Sumer
-
List of Mesopotamian dynasties
-
Sumerian king list
-
Self-praise of Shulgi
Further reading
-
Aubaid, Nwr Saadwn, and Muhannad Ashwr Shnawah, "Some of the historical formulas with the military significant from the king shulgi", ISIN Journal 5, pp. 311-318, 2023
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Carroué, F., "Šulgi et la Temple Bagara", ZA 90, pp. 161–93, 2000
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de Maaijer, R., "Šulgi’s Jubilee: Where’s the Party?", in On the Third Dynasty of Ur: Studies in Honor of Marcel Sigrist, ed. P. Michalowski. JCS Suppl. 1. Boston: ASOR, pp. 45–52, 2008
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Falkenstein, A., "Ein Lied Auf Šulgi", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 139–50, 1960
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Fish, Thomas, "The cult of the King Dungi during the third dynasty of Ur", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 11.2, pp. 322-328, 1927
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Kramer, S. N., "Inanna and Šulgi: A Sumerian Fertility Song", Iraq, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 18–23, 1969
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Kraus, Fritz R., "Zur Chronologie der Könige Ur-Nammu und Šulgi von Ur", OrNS 20, pp. 385-398, 1951
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Limet, Henri, "Au début du règne de Šulgi", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 15–21, 1971
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Michalowski, P., "Death of Šulgi", OrNS 46, pp. 220–25, 1977
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Sharlach, Tonia M., "Local and Imported Religion at Ur Late in the Reign of Shulgi", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelphia, July 11–15 2016, pp. 429-440, 2021
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Sollberger, Edmond, "Šulgi, an 41?", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 44, no. 1/2, pp. 89–90, 1950
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Vacín, Luděk, "Tradition and Innovation in Šulgi’s Concept of Divine Kingship", Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 57th Rencontre Assyriologique International at Rome, 4-8 July 2011, edited by Alfonso Archi, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 179-192, 2015
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Van De Mieroop, Marc, "Gold Offerings of Šulgi", Orientalia, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 131–51, 1986
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[11]Widell, Magnus, "The Calendar of Neo-Sumerian Ur and Its Political Significance", Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2004 (2), 2004
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Winters, Ryan, "The Royal Herdsmen of Ur: Compensation and Centralization in the Reign of Shulgi", Journal of Cuneiform Studies. JCS, vol. 72, pp. 47–64, 2020
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[12]Zettler, Richard L., "Archaeology and the problem of textual evidence for the Third Dynasty of Ur", Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 38, pp. 49-62, 2003
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