Shulgi and Ninlil's Barge: A Poem Celebrating a Divine Event
Shulgi and Ninlil's Barge is a Sumerian poem dated to the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2094 - circa 2046 BCE) celebrating the caulking of the barge of the goddess Ninlil, consort of the sky god Enlil, and the banquet held in the couple's honor by Shulgi, who is then blessed by Ninlil with the promise of a prosperous reign.
The title is a modern designation, as is the case with many works of Mesopotamian literature, and the original, if a title was given, has been lost. The poem commemorates the historical event, in the eighth year of Shulgi's reign, given in his inscriptions as the "Year in which Ninlil's barge was caulked" and describes the barge, the river journey to the sacred site of Tummal, just below the city of Nippur (also known as Nibru), the nighttime banquet, and return to Nippur the next morning.
Nippur was a sacred city, chiefly associated with the cult of Enlil and, by association, Ninlil. By the time of Shulgi's reign, the city had become an important pilgrimage site, as had nearby Tummal. The kings of the Ur III Period (circa 2112 - circa 2004 BCE), including Shulgi, claimed their authority derived from Enlil and Ninlil, and so observances honoring the divine couple were of special importance. Shulgi's father, Ur-Nammu (reign circa 2112-2094 BCE), understood the political significance of honoring the gods to win the goodwill of the people, and Shulgi continued his policies, as would his successors, especially concerning religious festivals.
The poem (also known as Shulgi R) was discovered in the ruins of Nippur in the mid-19th century and was most likely among the many used in the scribal schools of the city. The work only exists in a damaged form, the cuneiform tablet is fractured in places, but still conveys the importance of the event while vividly depicting travel by boat on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient Mesopotamia. The work is frequently anthologized in the present day and remains a favorite among Mesopotamian literary works.
Shulgi of Ur
Shulgi of Ur was the second king of the Ur III Dynasty founded by Ur-Nammu, and the Ur III Period is often referenced as the Sumerian Renaissance, as some scholars claim it saw the rebirth of Sumerian art and culture following the Gutian Period (circa 2141 - circa 2050 BCE) when the region was occupied by foreign invaders.
The Gutians, according to later Sumerian scribes, toppled the Akkadian Empire (2350/2334 - 2154 BCE), which had conquered the Sumerian city-states, and the Ur III kings then revived the pre-Akkadian Sumerian culture (though this interpretation has been challenged by some scholars). Shulgi of Ur, according to his inscriptions, was mainly responsible for this revival.
Ur-Nammu died in battle with the Gutians in 2094 BCE, and, afterwards, Shulgi took up the cause, driving the invaders from Sumer and avenging his father's death. He then initiated policies to improve the infrastructure, boost trade and the economy, and encourage literacy through the establishment of more scribal schools throughout his kingdom.
He either maintained or issued the famous Code of Ur-Nammu, his father's law code, and is thought to be the first to establish roadside inns with landscaped gardens while also standardizing weights and measures, time, and the calendar to unify the cities throughout his territory.
An important aspect of this unity, he seems to have realized, was portraying himself to the people as Ur-Nammu had done: as a father figure who would serve as a role model in every respect and, notably, in regard to religious piety. Shulgi is best known for his famous run from Nippur to Ur (a distance of 100 miles/160.9 km) to officiate at Ur's religious festival, and then running back from Ur to Nippur to perform the same function there, covering a distance of 200 miles (321.8 km) on foot in a single day, an event commemorated in A Praise Poem of Shulgi.
As his authority as king was claimed to derive from Enlil and Ninlil, he paid special attention to their city of Nippur, and, in the eighth year of his reign, had the barge of Ninlil outfitted and caulked for river travel and honored her and Enlil with a trip downriver, a banquet, and a return to their home in the temple at Nippur. Scholar Jeremy Black comments:
Just as the gods lived in houses (temples) and were fed and provided with furniture and clothes, so some of them also had ceremonial barges on which their statues were transported for festivals. In this case, Shulgi has a barge built for the goddess Ninlil, and has her and other deities transported on an overnight trip to a location near Nippur where a banquet is held. Such splendid ceremonial progresses were a feature of the cultic life of the Third Dynasty of Ur and, to a lesser extent, of its successor dynasties. (113)
Shulgi's show of respect for the gods was continued by his younger son (or, according to some scholars, grandson), Shu-Sin (reign circa 2037 - circa 2028 BCE), who also had a barge constructed in honor of Ninlil and performed the same ritual in the eighth year of his reign. These ritual acts were observed, not only to pay homage to the gods but also as a means of uniting the people in religious belief – as all Mesopotamian religious festivals were designed to do – as the monarch was clearly sending the message that if he, with all his responsibilities, could take the time to properly honor the gods, his subjects could certainly do the same.
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