A tigi to Enlil for Ur-Namma (Ur-Namma B): translation

^1-6Exalted Enlil, ...... fame ......, lord who ...... his great princedom, Nunamnir, king of heaven and earth ......, looked around among the people. The Great Mountain, Enlil, chose Ur-Namma the good shepherd from the multitude of people: "Let him be the shepherd of Nunamnir!" He made him emanate (?) fierce awesomeness.

^7-19 The divine plans of brick-built E-kur were drawn up. The Great Mountain, Enlil, made up his mind, filled with pure and useful thoughts, to make them shine like the sun in the E-kur, his august shrine. He instructed the shepherd Ur-Namma to make the E-kur rise high; the king made him the mightiest in the Land, he made him the first among the people. The good shepherd Ur-Namma, ...... whose trust in Nunamnir is enduring, the knowledgeable judge, the lord of great wisdom, prepared the brick mould. Enlil brought order in his rebellious and hostile lands for the shepherd Ur-Namma, and made Sumer flourish in joy, in days filled with prosperity. The foundations were laid down firmly and the holy foundation pegs were driven in. The enkum and ninkum priests praised it duly and Enki made the temple rejoice with his artful incantations.

^20-30The shepherd Ur-Namma made the lofty E-kur grow high in Dur-an-ki. He made it to be wondered by the multitude of people. He made glittering the eyebrow-shaped arches of the Lofty Gate, the Great Gate, the Gate of Peace, the Artfully Built Mountain and the Gate of Perpetual Grain Supplies, by covering them with refined silver. The Anzud bird runs there and an eagle seizes enemies in its claws (?). Its doors are lofty; he filled them with joy. The temple is lofty, it is surrounded with fearsome radiance. It is spread wide, it awakes great awesomeness. Within it, he made the Artfully Built Mountain, the raised temple (?), the holy dwelling stand fast for the Great Mountain like a lofty tower (?).

^31-38In the Gagiccua of the great palace, where she renders verdicts with grandeur, he made the great mother Ninlil glad. Enlil and Ninlil relished it there. In its great dining-hall, the trustworthy hero chosen by Nunamnir made them enjoy a magnificent meal: the E-kur was rejoicing. They looked with approval at the shepherd Ur-Namma, and the Great Mountain decreed a great destiny for Ur-Namma for all time, making him the mightiest among his black-headed people.

³⁹ The sagida.

^40-45"I am Nunamnir, whose firm commands and decisions are immutable! You have made my lofty E-kur shine gloriously, you have raised it high with a brilliant crenellation. Trustworthy hero, you have made it shine gloriously in the Land. Ur-Namma, mighty lord, may your (?) kingship be unparalleled, may your fame spread to heaven's borders, as far as the foot of the mountains!"

^46-51"I am the Great Mountain, father Enlil, whose firm commands and decisions are immutable! You have made my lofty E-kur shine gloriously, you have raised it high with a brilliant crenellation. Trustworthy hero, you have made it shine gloriously in the Land. Ur-Namma, mighty lord, may your (?) kingship be unparalleled, may your fame spread to heaven's borders, as far as the foot of the mountains!"

^52-57Lord Nunamnir gave to my king the lofty mace which heaps up human heads like piles of dust in the hostile foreign countries and smashes the rebellious lands; he gave to the shepherd Ur-Namma the lofty mace which heaps up human heads like piles of dust in the hostile foreign countries and smashes the rebellious lands, so now he beats down the foreign lands and tramples them underfoot. Lord Nunamnir gave it to the shepherd Ur-Namma, so now he beats down the foreign lands and tramples them underfoot.

^58-65He destroys the cities of the wicked, and with heavy oppression he turns (?) them into haunted places. The shepherd Ur-Namma destroys the cities of the wicked, and with heavy oppression he turns (?) them into haunted places. He has a terrible fame in the houses of the rebellious lands, his storming ...... the wicked. The shepherd Ur-Namma has a terrible fame in the houses of the rebellious lands, his storming ...... the wicked.

^66-71He has made the royal dais stand firmly, he has made Urim resplendent. The shepherd Ur-Namma has made it exude awesomeness, and he, as king of the Land, has lifted his head high there. All this was granted to him in the place of his king, Enlil: a fate was decreed and then it was duly fulfilled. There is now joy and abundance in Urim because (?) of Ur"Namma.

⁷²The sajara. A tigi of Enlil.

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Revision history

23.ix.1998-30.ix.1998 : GZ : adapting translation
28.xi.1998 : JAB : proofreading
12.ii.1999 : GZ : minor ../changes
12.ii.1999 : GZ : SGML tagging
19.iii.1999 : ER : proofreading SGML
19.iii.1999 : ER : converting to HTML 4.0
7.ix.2001 : ER : header and footer reformatted; substantive content of file not changed