Shulgi ( dšul-gi, (died 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). His accomplishments include the completion of construction of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, begun by his father Ur-Nammu. On his inscriptions, he took the titles "King of Ur", "King of Sumer and Akkad", adding "King of the four corners of the universe" in the second half of his reign. Suter, Claudia E., "A Shulgi statuette from Tello", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 43.1, pp. 6370, 1991 He used the symbol for divinity () 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. In royal hymns of the Ur III period, Ur-Nammu of Ur and his son Shulgi describe Lugalbanda and Ninsun as their holy parents, and in the same context call themselves the brother of Gilgamesh.Reallexikon der Assyriologie 7, p. 131. See also Ur-Namma hymns and Shulgi hymns
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. 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. 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 kingdom.
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 Chronicle of Early Kings (ABC 20), written in the mid-2nd millennium BC, accuses him of "criminal tendencies, and the property of Esagila and Babylon he took away as booty."
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, 1977E. Sollberger, "Sur la chronologie des rois d'Ur et quelques problèmes connexes", AfO 17, pp. 10–48, 1954/56Michalowski, 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 "throne 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
Shulgi of Ur, who ruled – BCE during the Third Dynasty of Ur, was a generous patron of the arts, especially music. In self-laudatory texts, he professed to be an expert musician, claiming that the zeal with which he studied it prevented it from being too difficult. He listed numerous instruments he claimed to have mastered: the , the , the , the , the , the "Great Lion," the , and the ; he also claimed to have mastered the art of composition of genres such as the and the . Shulgi seemed to enjoy playing all instruments except the reed pipe, which he believed brought sadness to the spirit, whereas music should bring joy and cheer. Shulgi generously funded Sumer's two major edubbas, those of Ur and Nippur; in return, Sumerian poets composed hymns of glorification in his honor.
Kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur also described Ninsun as their divine mother. For example, in Death of Ur-Nammu, Ninsun is described as the mother of the eponymous ruler and mourns the passing. By extension, the rulers also treated Gilgamesh as their divine brother, and Ur-Nammu's successor Shulgi called Lugalbanda his divine father. It is possible that one of this king's daughters served as the en priestess of Ninsun. It is agreed that claiming descent from Ninsun was viewed as a way to legitimize their rule, but it is unknown whether it should be understood as a sign that the dynasty originated in Uruk, or if the only reason was that Gilgamesh was recognized as a model of kingship. In addition to the kings, there is also evidence for worship of Ninsun by their families. A concubine of Shulgi, Šuqurtum, referred to Ninsun as "my goddess" in a curse formula on an inscribed vase. A prince (dumu lugal) bearing the theophoric name Puzur-Ninsun is also known, but no detailed information about his life is presently known, and the Puzrish-Dagan tablet attesting his existence is undated.
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 diĝir determinative reflects his deification during his reign, a status and spelling previously claimed by his Akkadian Empire predecessor Naram-Sin.
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. They 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 32nd to 47th 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 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 16 sons including Etel-pū-Dagān, Amar-dDa-mu, Lu-dNanna, Lugal-a-zi-da, Ur-d,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, 2013Changyu Liu, "Prosopography of individuals delivering animals to Puzriš-Dagan in Ur III Mesopotamia", Akkadica 142/2, pp. 113–142, 2021 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 Another daughter, Taram-Šulgi was married to the ruler of Pašime, 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." 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 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, 1981Kramer, 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 black-headed people".
Armed conflicts