Sulgi

Clay tablet glorifying Sulgi and his victory over the Lulubeans. 2111-2004 BCE

Šulgi (also Schulgi , ??? Sumerian ^d Sul-ge (-r) = Sumerian youth) from Ur was the second king of the " Sumerian Renaissance" ( 3rd Dynasty of Ur ) in Mesopotamia . He succeeded his father Ur-Nammu to the throne and ruled for 48 years, probably from 2092 BC. Until 2045 BC According to Middle Chronology . However, there are still certain problems with the exact dating (see Sumerian King List ). He described himself as "Lord of the four regions of the world". During his long reign he was able to enlarge his empire (including through diplomacy and campaigns) and subjugate many cities and states in the north and east of Sumer or make them subject to tribute. Domestically, he reformed the administration and ensured that the deification of the king was reintroduced. In his 23rd year of reign he had himself named god. He likely died between the ages of 65 and 70.

family

Šulgi's mother was SI.A-tum and his father was Ur-Nammu . He was married to several women. On the one hand with Geme-Suena and the Queen Ŝulgi-simtī from Ešnunna .

Another wife is said to have been Tarām-Uram from Mari . This marriage was arranged by Šulgi's father, but cannot be proven beyond doubt. In addition, there are numerous lovers, u. a. Geme-Ninlila .

31 children can be proven to him, including 17 sons and 14 daughters. His children were given important positions in the state. The sons worked primarily in the military sector, while the daughters worked as high priestesses or were married.

Government years

The years of reign of Ŝulgi can be easily understood on the basis of numerous recorded events from documents and inscriptions. In the first 20 years he continued his father's work and devoted himself to building projects, which can be proven beyond doubt by building inscriptions, and to securing the empire. In the next 10 years he implemented important domestic political changes. The last decades have been marked by strong foreign policy work and the strengthening of the borders of the empire.

Act

According to Samuel Noah Kramer, Schulgi was an excellent military strategist and meticulous administrator. He vigorously pushed forward numerous buildings and worked as a promoter of Sumerian culture, literature, poetry and music. Under his rule, the Sumerian Empire expanded from the Zagros Mountains in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the calendar was reorganized and weights and measures were standardized.

His construction projects included u. a. the completion of the ziggurat of the moon god Nanna , the construction of which was started by Ŝulgi's father Ur-Nammu , the Inanna temple in Nippur , extensions to the Ur-Nammus canals and their road construction, the Eḫursaĝ palace in Ur and the royal “cold store”.

Foreign policy

From about the middle of his reign, Ŝulgi was particularly involved in the foreign policy of his empire. He married his daughter Liwwir-miṭṭašu to Marhaši in order to win the Ǧīroft area as an alliance partner.

At the same time, the campaign activities of Šulgi increased. This was particularly reflected in the year names .

Šulgi's reigning year	Campaign against (city)
21st	Of the
24	Karaḫar
26th	Simurum
27	Ḫarši
31	Karaḫar
32	Simurum
34	Anšan
40	Martu
42	Šašrum
44	Simurum
45	Urbilum
46	Kimaš
48	Ḫarši, Kimaš and Ḫu'urti

From other texts, information about prey (nam-ra-ak) is linked with information about the year. Further campaigns were carried out against Anšan in the 33rd year - which is perhaps to be associated with the year name of the following year - against the land of the Martu in the 40th, 44th and 46th - 48th. Against the Lulubians in the 44th year, against Šurudḫum in the 44th year, against Urbilum in the 48th year and against Šimaški (LU ₂ .SU.A) in the 47th and 48th years. With this, Šulgi is the king of Ur, from whom most of the information about booty / tribute has been handed down. Little is known about the army that was needed for these ventures; the size of the various contingents seems to have been around 10,000 men. In addition to the city of Ur, the city of Lagaš / Girsu was also of great military importance. This could be due to the military tradition of the city since the rule of Gudea , who had already carried out extensive recruiting in parts of his empire.

literature

Eva A. Holzinger: The image of rulers in Mesopotamia and Elam. Late 4th to early 2nd millennium BC Chr. (AOAT 342), 2007.
Samuel Noah Kramer: Shulgi of Ur. A Royal Hymn and a Divine Blessing . In: The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Volume of the Jewish Quarterly Review (1967) pp. 369-380.
Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, pp. 1–25, ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB).
W. Sallaberger: Sulgi . In: Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Volume 13, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1934 ff., Pp. 270-280.

Web links

Commons : Šulgi - collection of images, videos and audio files

Year names of Šulgi . Cuneiform Digital Library Archive; accessed on October 11, 2015.

Remarks

^ Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 1, ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB)
↑ Year names of Šulgi . Cuneiform Digital Library Archive, accessed October 11, 2015.
^ Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 1, ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB); with further literature)
^ Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 5 f. ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB) with MVN 5, 115 (approx. 9000 men?) And RCU 1 (2 × 5000 men).
↑ See the 20th year name: year in which the residents of Urs were committed to serve as spearmen ( year names of the Šulgi . Cuneiform Digital Library Archive, accessed on October 11, 2015.)
^ Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 6 ff., ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB).

predecessor	Office	successor
Ur-Nammu	King of Ur 2094 BC Chr. - 2047 BC Chr	Amar-Sin

personal data
SURNAME	Sulgi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Schulgi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	King of the Sumerian Renaissance
DATE OF BIRTH	before 2094 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	after 2047 BC Chr.

[1] Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 1, ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB)

[2] Year names of Šulgi . Cuneiform Digital Library Archive, accessed October 11, 2015.

[3] Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 1, ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB); with further literature)

[4] Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 5 f. ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB) with MVN 5, 115 (approx. 9000 men?) And RCU 1 (2 × 5000 men).

[5] See the 20th year name: year in which the residents of Urs were committed to serve as spearmen ( year names of the Šulgi . Cuneiform Digital Library Archive, accessed on October 11, 2015.)

[6] Bertrand Lafont: The Army of the Kings of Ur: The Textual Evidence . In: Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009/5, p. 6 ff., ISSN 1540-8779 , cdli.ucla.edu (PDF; 0.5 MB).