Category Archives: Uruk

An Erechite’s (Uruk) Lament

(gods in blue)

Translated by Theo. G. Pinches

Translations of this text have been given by G. Smith, Lenormant, Halévy, Hommel, and Zimmern, and a drawing of the reverse of the fragment, accompanied with a transcription and translation, was given by me in the Babylonian and Oriental Record for December 1886.

In connection with the text referring to Ê-ana in Erech, the following, a kind of penitential psalm written in the Sumerian dialect, with a translation into Semitic-Babylonian, which I have entitled “The Erechite’s lament over the desolation of his fatherland,” may be here very appropriately appended. This interesting composition, if not actually written and sung after the carrying away of the statue of the goddess Nanā by the Elamites, might well have been chanted by the sorrowing Erechites on that occasion.

The fragment as published (Cun. Ins. of W. Asia, iv. 19, No. 3) begins with the reverse of the text, and breaks off when rather less than half-way through it. Of the obverse, which is as yet unpublished, the remains only of about sixteen lines at the bottom are left. What remains of the obverse refers to the devastation wrought by an enemy in the city of Erech, and the subject is continued on the reverse, which ends in a kind of litany. The following is a free rendering of the inscription on the reverse.

Translation of the Lament

How long, my Lady, shall the strong enemy hold thy sanctuary?

There is want in Erech (Uruk), thy principal city;

Blood is flowing like water in E-ulbar, the house of thy oracle;

He has kindled and poured out fire like hailstones on all thy lands.

My Lady, sorely am I fettered by misfortune;

My Lady, thou hast surrounded me, and brought me to grief.

The mighty enemy has smitten me down like a single reed.

Not wise myself, I cannot take counsel;

I mourn day and night like the fields.

I, thy servant, pray to thee.

Let thy heart take rest, let thy disposition be softened.

…… weeping, let thy heart take rest.

……… let thy heart take rest.

…………… save (?) thou.

_________

The Inscription of Sin-gashid (translation)

Translated by Theo. G. Pinches

This short inscription of twenty-seven lines is one of peculiar interest. It is a record, written in the Akkadian language, of an endowment, made by an early Mesopotamian king with a Semitic Babylonian name, to the great temple at Erech called Ê-ana; and it is not an original, but a copy in clay, written by a man named Nabû-baladhsu-igbî, of a stone tablet kept, in ancient times, in the great temple known as Ê-zida, now the ruin called the Birs-i-Nimroud—the supposed tower of Babel. Great care has been taken by the copyist in inscribing the tablet; and the forms of the characters, as he has given them, probably reproduce fairly well the archaic style of the original. The text itself covers the greater part of the two sides of the clay tablet, which is, like most of the documents of this kind found in Babylonia and Assyria, flat—or nearly so—on the obverse, and curved on the reverse. The last three lines, which are separate from the others, are written smaller, and are in the later Babylonian style of writing. Unlike the rest, also, they are written in the Semitic-Babylonian language. The size of the tablet is 4¼ inches by 2⅜ inches, the thickness in the thickest part being 1⅛ inch. The colour is a very light yellow ochre.

As the word-order in Akkadian differs considerably from English, no attempt is made to preserve the divisions of the lines of the original; by this arrangement translations from these ancient tongues are much more easily understood.

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

Sin-gashid, king of Erech (Uruk), king of Amnanum,

(E-ana in Uruk)

and patron of Ê-ana (Anu’s temple residence in Uruk),

(Ninsun, spouse to mixed-breed Lugal-banda)

to Lugal-banda (Ninsun‘s spouse) his god and Nin-gul (Ninsun) his goddess.

When he built Ê-ana he erected Ê-kankal the house which is the seat of the joy of his heart.

During his dominion he will endow it with 30 gur of wheat, 12 mana of wool, 10 mana of produce,

18 qa of oil according to the tariff, and 1 shekel of gold.

May his years be years of plenty.

COLOPHON IN SEMITIC-BABYLONIAN:

Copy of the tablet of ûsû-stone, the property of Ê-zida, which Nabû-baladhsu-igbî, son of Mitsirâa, has written.

_________

The text begins with an invocation to Lugalbanda and his consort Nin-gul (Ninsun), who seem to have been Sin-gashid’s patron god and goddess. He then speaks of Ê-ana, one of the great temples of Erech (which was, perhaps, Sin-gashid’s capital), and Ê-kankal, probably one of the shrines in Ê-ana. Judging from the wording, Sin-gashid seems to claim to be the founder of both those fanes, though it is probable that he only rebuilt them. Sin-gashid then gives a list of the amounts of produce, etc., with which he had endowed the shrine, and ends with a pious wish for his country. The date of the original of this inscription may be set down at about 2600 B.C. The copy which has come down to us, however, probably dates from the time of the antiquarian revival in Babylonia during the reign of Nabonidus, father of Belshazzar.

It is to be noted that the inscription is dedicated to a god and a goddess whose names I provisionally transcribe as Lugal-banda (“powerful king,” or “king of youthful strength”) and Nin-gul his consort (as we learn from the second volume of the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, pl. 59, ll. 24 and 25). This identification of Ningul as the consort of Lugal-banda is important, as it shows that Sin-gashid, who calls her his mother, and himself her son, did not mean to imply that she was his real earthly parent, but that he simply traced his descent from her, thus asserting his divine origin. The late George Smith’s double-queried “Belat-sunat” (as he transcribed the name Nin-gul), “the earliest known queen in the Euphrates valley,” must therefore be erased from the list of historical rulers in Erech.

The temple Ê-ana was probably the principal fane in the city of Erech, and Ê-kankal3 was probably one of the shrines within it. It is not improbable that the Ê-kankal mentioned here is the same as, or the fellow-shrine to, the Ê-ghili-ana mentioned by Assur-bani-pal as the sanctuary, apparently in or connected with Ê-ana, to which he restored the image of the goddess Nanâ (Inanna), which was carried off by the king of Elam, Kudur-nankhundi, about 2,280 years before Christ. As the date of Sin-gashid is doubtful, it is impossible to say with certainty whether the capture of the image of Nanâ by the Elamites took place before or after his reign, but it was probably after.

The inscription here translated and explained is a duplicate of one published in the fourth volume of the Cuneiform Ins. of W. Asia, pl. 35, No. 3, from two cones from Warka. Of this text, which is rather roughly written, and which gives a few interesting variants from the text translated above, a tentative translation was given by the late George Smith in his “Early History of Babylonia,” published in the Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archæology, vol. i., and in the first series of the Records of the Past, vol. iii.

Proverbs: from Unug (Uruk)

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

Segment A

4 lines fragmentary

Segment B

(Enlil, King Anu‘s son & heir, Anu‘s Earth Colony Commander)

1 line fragmentary

He holds up the sky, letting the earth dangle from his hands.

Enlil‘s greatest punishment is hunger.

He bears the responsibility for it.

When he …… the man’s assassin, he became his opponent.

As a provisioner, …… upon those who speak proudly (?).

The …… wind …… harmful (?).

The east wind is a rain-bearing wind; the west wind is greater than those who live there.

(Naram-Suen, giant semi-divine mixed-breed descendant-king of Akkad)

The east wind is a wind of prosperity, the friend of Naram-Suen.

1 line fragmentary

“…… poured it out for him …….

1 line fragmentary

…… gave birth …… like a nindijir priestess, the young girl …… coming out,

the young girl …… returned it …….

1 line fragmentary

A Praise Poem of Anam: translation

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

^1-11 Anam, lord, ……, ……, perfect in your broad wisdom, ……,

(ancient cities of the gods in Sumer)

who preserves Nibru (Nippur), who prevents the city from having ……!

Sweet breeze (?) of his city, father of the region of Unug (Uruk), judge who …… in his verdicts, reverent ……,

(King Anu Inanna atop her zodiac symbol of Leo the lion)

who fears (basic polivy of alien gods dominating earthlings) An (Anu) and Inana (Inanna)!

Who cherishes E-ana (Anu‘s temple residence in Uruk), who is happy there …… in friendly words!

(unidentified High-Priest & Inanna The Goddess of Love & of War)

Mighty ……, heart’s desire of Inana, who reveres the …… of the Land, …… with head high, en priest of Inana, ……, all-knowing!

12-25……, who batters the wrathful, ……, endowed with good looks,

…… who is fearsome; watching ……, richly endowed with charms, you are ……, foremost of the troops.

(Nanaya & mixed-breed king with his sick daughter)

Nanaya (Nabu‘s spouse), …… the mother of all, …… she who exists for luxury, …… a great destiny …….

……, the queen, ……, restoring the destroyed E-me-urur (Ninurta’s temple) and building the …… which were abandoned,

has created the …… which had not been built up since ancient days. ……, you fix the rules.

26-37……, excelling in the Land, you pray justly …… in its fine …….

Standing steadfastly in prayer ……, you determine food offerings.

And you, ……, lady, great goddess who goes by one’s side, have determined a great destiny until distant times for him

who has set up permanent statues in E-ana and E-me-urur (Ninurta’s temple residence in Nippur),

…… for the man whose destiny will not be spoiled,

1 line unclear

The lady, the nurse Nanaya (Nabu‘s spouse), who stands there like a great wall at the door of E-ana (Uruk‘s ziggurat home for gods),

has decreed throughout heaven and earth that …… and should spend long days in heartfelt joy;

and she has fixed life, progeny and luxury as your lot.

38-41You are grandly there for Enlil!

As befits your calling as lord, you have freed from Unug (Uruk) and its settlements,

(E-ana ziggurat residence of gods in Uruk / Unug / Erech) (Enlil’s Nippur residence ziggurat)

and released to Nibru (Nippur), the citizens of Nibru, slaves and slavegirls, who have much …….

Lament for Unug (Uruk)

Source: Black, J. A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E and Zólyomi, G.

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature,

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

SEGMENT A

(beginning of 1st kirugu)

^1-3 The …… which had developed — its wiping clean (?) was to be accomplished (?).

The …… of heaven and earth put their divine powers …… to sleep (?).

1 line fragmentary

(earthling workers provided to the giant alien gods)

^4-8…… mortal man multiplied to become as numerous as the gods.

When together …… had achieved a momentous decision, the …… of the gods …….

Enki and Ninki (Enki‘s spouse) determined the consensus — deemed worthless.

Enul (Enlil) and Ninul (Ninlil) assigned the fate, …….

(alien King An / Anu; his son & heir Enlil)

^9-14When together An and Enlil had created it, that one resembled …….

(Ninlil, spouse to Enlil, his equal in authority)

When Ninlil had given it features, that one was fit for …….

(Ninhursag / Aruru Nannar Enki)

When together Aruru (Ninhursag), Suen (Nannar) and Enki had fashioned its limbs,

that one turned pitch black, as at night, halfway through the watch, …….

All the great gods paled at its immensity and…… was brought about.

Like a great wild bull which bellows mightily, that one filled the world with its roar.

^15-20As its gigantic horns reached up to heaven, who trembled in his very core?

As it was piled up over the mountains like a battle-net, who turned away?

Who caused wailing and lamenting in those streets and ……?

(ruins of Uruk, one of the 1st cities on Earth, & house of Anu way above)

Unug (Uruk), like a loyal citizen in terror, set up an alarm (and exclaimed)

“Rise up!” Why did its hand seize Unug?

Why did the benevolent eye look away?

Who brought about such worry and lamenting and ……?

^21-27That one drew nearer.

That one settled upon the ground.

Why would he withdraw?

Who distorted Unug’s good sense and deranged its good counsel?

Who smashed its good udug deity?

Who struck its good lama deity too?

Who desecrated the fearsome radiance which crowned it?

Who brought about mob panic in Unug?

Who …… sickness too?

Along with the city, the foreign lands ……, who …… in the temple of Unug?

That one ……..

small no. of lines missing

SEGMENT B

(continuation of 1st kirugu)

^1-81 line fragmentary

Who made ……?

Why was …… expanded?

Who made the black-headed people (modern earthlings) become so numerous?

Who overthrew ……? …… was destroyed — who restored ……?

Who confronted ……?

That one crushed …….

That one …….

small no. of lines missing

SEGMENT C

(probable beginning of 2nd kirugu)

1-9 1 line fragmentary

(2 giant alien gods & king, Utu with the Wheel of Justice)

…… and Utu, who in human form renders judgment at the law court of heaven, set and did not rise again.

…… bore a heavy burden of sin.

…… the altered verdicts of the lord Nunamnir (Enlil).

…… who can smite ……? …… and they approach (?).

…… he brings …… forth.

…… of Enlil …….

He …… and puts an end to …….

small no. of lines missing

SEGMENT D

(continuation of 2nd kirugu)

1-9 1 line fragmentary

…… each and every one ……. …… its ways were ……. …… its destruction and demolition, …….

The …… of the gods …… attention.

……, who neglected ……, …… the city watched as the evil ghost approached.

……breathed painfully, he wept bitterly.

…… there was no nodding of the head.

^10-20He consoled himself with tears and laments — the city trembled.

A defiled hand smote him and flattened his skull — the city collapsed.

The fearsome radiance overwhelmed each and every observer (?).

The capital city, canal inspector for all the lands, became like one who spreads havoc.

(Nannar‘s cattle pens feeding the gods of Sumer, ivory carving)

The faithful cowherds themselves overturned every single cattlepen.

The chief shepherds themselves burned (?) every sheepfold.

They built them up like grain heaps, they spread them out like grain piles, they themselves flattened them.

…… they drenched the fields with water, they turned the city into a swamp.

They did all that.

Like reeds in a wasteland, life could not be revived.

They brought ruination.

Evil things menaced (?) the city.

A hush settled over the awed hearts of its people like a cloak.

^21-33Its good udug deities went away, its lama deities ran off.

(aliens on Earth & in the sky)

Its lama deity (said) “Hide in the open country” and they took foreign paths.

The city’s patron god turned against it and its shepherd abandoned it.

Its guardian spirit, though not an enemy, was exiled (?) to a foreign place.

(Hittite battle scene artifact, missiles launched by the alien gods)

Thus all its most important gods evacuated Unug, they kept away from it.

They hid out in the hills and wandered (?) about in the haunted plains.

In the city built upon peace, food and drink were overturned like a saman vessel.

In the pasture lands a tumultuous noise arose, the asses and sheep were driven away.

Elderly people and babies, taking their rest, …… in front …….

They saw …… and slaughtered (?) …….

3 lines fragmentary

small no. of lines missing

SEGMENT E

(continuation of 2nd kirugu)

^1-7He …… and opened his clenched fist.

He …… and reached out his hand.

(1st cities on Earth, established by alien gods)

The …… of Sumer, the city whose king crossed over to an enemy land,

to ……. — he smote it with the might of his weapon.

He …… and turned the place into dust.

He …… and piled the people up in heaps.

…… when will its charms be restored?

⁸2nd kirugu.

⁹The …… of heaven …… and the people …… to the limits of heaven.

¹⁰Its jicgijal.

^11-20He ……, stretched forth his hand and induced terror in the land.

Enlil struck out with great ferocity.

(Enlil, Earth Colony Commander, Anu‘s son & heir to Heaven / Nibiru & Earth Colony)

He announced: “A devastating deluge shall be invoked.

At its front war shall be a …… ax, at its rear it shall be a …….

Its scales shall be a harrow, its back shall be flames.

Its countenance shall be a malevolent storm that enshrouds heaven and earth.

(Anzu vrs. Ninurta, battle for Enlil‘s rightful control over Earth)

The glint of its eyes shall be lightning that flashes far like the Anzud bird.

Its mouth shall be grotesque — a blaze that extends as far as the nether world.

Its tongue shall be an inferno, raining embers, that sunders the Land.

(Anzud bird, Ninurta‘s storm bird named after Anzu)

Its arms shall be the majestic Anzud (Anzu) bird that nothing can escape when it spreads wide its talons.”

^21-31“Its ribs shall be crowbars that let light pass inside like the sun’s rays.

Knotted at both its hips shall be city-destroying slingstones (alien technologies).

Its great haunches shall be dripping knives, covered with gore, that make blood flow.

Its muscles shall be saws that slash, its feet those of an eagle.

It shall make the Tigris and Euphrates quaver, it shall make the mountains rumble.

At its reverberation the hills shall be uprooted, the people shall be pitched about like sheaves,

Sumer and Akkad shall shiver, they shall be flooded like a harvest crop.

The foolish shall rejoice, they shall exclaim:

“Let it come — we shall be seeing war and battle in the city, how the sacred precinct (?) is destroyed,

how the walls are battered down, how the city’s peace is disrupted,

how among the loyal families honest men are transformed into traitors.”

^32-40“But the sensible shall beat their breasts and droop (?) their heads.

At midnight they shall toss about tearfully and suffer insomnia.

In bed, under the covers, they shall be unable to sleep soundly, they shall wander about the city.”

They shall wring their hands, their courage shall run out:

“May our allies serving in times of war mobilize their forces for peace.

May the word of Enlil be sent back, may it turn tail.

May the venom of Nunamnir‘s (Enlil) anger become exhausted.

(E-kur, Enlil‘s mud-brick mountain home on Earth Colony in Nippur)

May those vicious men who have seized the E-kur (Enlil‘s temple residence) be punished.

May those who have set their sight upon Nibru (Nippur) be swept away.”

⁴¹3rd kirugu.

⁴²My heart is filled with sorrow, I am tear-stricken.

⁴³Its jicgijal.

^44-50Oh, Sumer! Alas — your spirit!

Alas — your structure!

Alas — your people!

(Enlil Ninhursag Anu Inanna)

The word of An (Anu), having been assigned its place, has destroyed the sacred precinct (?).

The pronouncement of Enlil, having been set in motion, …….

The devastating deluge …….

(warrior god Nergal, god of the Under World, with his high-tech alien weaponry)

The great and fierce ……, the lord Nergal …….

…… like Gibil, Nergal (Enki‘s sons)…….

1 line fragmentary

(wars between royal alien princes, caused their loyal earthlings to war against each other)

^51-65War …… enemy lands …… echoed.

Like arrows in a quiver …….

Evildoers in Sumer…….Gutium, the enemy, overturned ……. Sumer, caught in a trap, …….

Its people were thrown into turmoil …….

The mighty heroes of Sumer ……. …… the heart of a hurricane …….

They advanced like the front rank of troops, …….

Like …… they were crushed, every one of them …….

Their war veterans gave up, their brains were muddled.

The troop leaders, the most outstanding of the men, were viciously hewn down.

Gutium, the enemy, …… weapons …….

Not looking at each other ……

Like a swelling flood, like ……, Subir poured into Sumer.

^66-74They …… like stampeding goats, they tore apart the corpses of the population.

They mutilated Sumer and Akkad, they pulverized it as with a pestle.

They destroyed its settlements and habitations, they razed them to ruin mounds.

The best of Sumer they scattered like dust, they heaped up …….

They massacred its populace, they finished off young and old alike.

They destroyed the city of the Anuna (Anunnaki) gods, they set it aflame.

(Anu‘s ziggurat residence discovered 1st, then city of Uruk)

They put out both Unug’s (Uruk / Erech) eyes, they uprooted its young shoots.

They wandered all through the libation places of the Anuna gods.

And even Kulaba, which is the primeval city, they turned into a place of murder.

⁷⁵4th kirugu.

⁷⁶Alas — Sumer! Alas — its people!

⁷⁷Its jicgijal.

^78-88Unug! They seized your wharf and your borders and …….

(Utu, earthling under-foot, twin sister Inanna, & captured earthling with nose ring)

At Unug shouts rang out, screams reverberated, its captured men …….

The noise reached to the south.

The south was destroyed and …….

The impact forced its way to the uplands.

The uplands were struck and …….

To the right and left no people moved about, no habitations were built.

There was no …… and the mobilization of troops did not ……. …… rose up to heaven.

Heaven perished and its strength did not ……. …… upon the earth.

The earth was scattered, and it did not …….

All the settlements were dispersed — Unug stood all alone.

It was a bull, it was a champion, it was immense with pride, but it …… to the weapons.

All night and even until midday battle was waged, and afterwards it did not …….

^89-99Battering rams and shields were set up, they rent its walls.

They breached its buttresses, they hewed the city with axes.

They set fire to its stations, they …… the city’s dwellings.

They destroyed it, they demolished it.

(ruins of Uruk below Anu‘s mud-brick-built mountain / residence)

Unug, the good place, was …… with dust.

Like a great wild bull wounded with an arrow, …….

Like a wild cow pierced with a spear, …….

The mighty one rushed with his weapons and …… implements of war.

Subir, rising up like a swelling floodwave, …….

They trampled (?) through the streets and …….

They let the blood of the people flow like that of a sacrificial cow, they tore out everything that had been built.

^100-111The citizens of Unug …….

They…… and threw down …….

They …… and put an end to …….

They seized …….

They struck …….

They destroyed …….

They ……

They demolished …….

They set up …….

They heaped up …….

They put an end to …… and did not leave behind ……. …… Subir entered ……

¹¹²5th kirugu.

¹¹³…… cried out “…… has been created” and he smeared dust ……

¹¹⁴Its jicgijal.

¹¹⁵…… reached ……

19 fragmentary lines

unknown no. of lines missing

SEGMENT F

(probable beginning of another kirugu)

^1-5The enemy land ……. Zabalam …….

(E-kishnugal ziggurat)

(Ur, Nannar‘s patron city with his temple residence / man-made mountain home way above prodding earthlings)

In Urim (Ur), the E-kic-nu-jal …….

Cattlepen and sheepfold ……, evil …….

(Sippar ruins, Utu‘s patron city)

The land of Subir (Sippar) …….

200-300 lines missing

SEGMENT G

(part of 11th kirugu)

^1-5All the great gods …….

The Anuna gods…….

1 line fragmentary

Sovereigns …….

1 line fragmentary

unknown no. of lines missing

SEGMENT H

(beginning of 12th kirugu)

(Inanna hovering in her sky-disc above her appointed kings, giving protection & direction to many; & hovering Anu)

^1-8Lady Inanna whose greatness is vaster than the mountains, hovering like An, vested with grandeur like Enlil,

(Nannar, Moon Crescent God of Ur, Inanna‘s father, & her 8-Pointed Star symbol of Venus)

like her father (Nannar), perfect by night and in the heat of the day,

(Utu / Shamash / Allah, Nannar‘s son, & Inanna‘s twin brother, The Sun God)

like Utu (Nannar‘s son), surpassing in vigor, singularly exalted in all the four regions —

let Icme-Dagan take pleasure in relaxing in your temple, let him murmur to you in your temple,

let him raise his head to you in your E-ana (Anu‘s temple residence in Uruk).

^9-19Let (semi-divine mixed-breed king of Isin) Icme-Dagan serve you as your steward.

Let him prepare great bulls for you.

Let him dedicate great offerings to you.

Let him make the beer, fat and oil plentiful for you.

Let him make syrup and wine flow for you as from stone jars.

Let Icme-Dagan, (giant semi-divine butler & descendant) son of Enlil on the king’s pedestal, bow in homage to you.

May he make the ub and ala drums resound grandly for you.

May the tigi sound sweetly for you, and may the zamzam play for you.

May they play …… on the tigi for you, expressing your prayers and supplications before you.

^20-27In bringing forth ……, all that there are, at your E-jipar in Unug,

as a humble man who has grasped your feet, as a pious one who has experienced your exaltedness,

he has brought a lament as offering to you and will …….

As for everything that happened to Sumer and Akkad,

which he has witnessed in Unug, the aggrieved place, may the best singers perform songs there.

^28-38If the Anuna gods emerge tearfully, let them promise to us that as it was when heaven and earth came about,

nothing of that time shall be changed.

(An / Anu, father in Heaven / planet Nibiru in his winged sky-disc)

If An (Anu) looks kindly upon that man and at the well-built city, the place of determining fate, proclaim “Man and city!

Life and well-being!” for him. Let praises ring out.

Let him be made surpassing above all, to his right or left.

Tireless lama deity, take hold of his head, pronounce his fate in charitable words —

(Apkulla pilot, Enki, Anu in his winged sky-disc, Enlil, & winged eagle-headed Apkulla pilot)

by the command of An and Enlil it will remain unaltered for a long time.

⁹12th kirugu.

Inana’s (Houses in Uruk, Zabalam, & Ulmas) – Temple Hymns

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

O house with the great divine powers of Kulaba, ……, its platform has made the great shrine flourish.

Green fresh fruit, marvelous, filled with ripeness,

descending from the center of heaven, shrine built for the bull,

(Anu’s ziggurat temple residence in Uruk, used when he visited Earth Colony, otherwise, belonging to & used by Inanna)

E-ana (House of heaven), house with seven corners, (Enlil’s symbol) with seven fires lifted at night-time,

surveying seven pleasures (?), your princess is on the pure horizon.

(Ishtar / Inanna, similar to modern day goddess Columbia / Liberty)

Your lady Inana (Inanna) who ……, who adorns the woman and covers the man’s head with a cloth,

the one with a lustrous …… su crown, the dragon of Niĝin-ĝar, the queen of heaven and earth,

Inana, has erected a house in your precinct, O E-ana, and taken her seat upon your dais.

(city of Uruk with Inanna‘s ziggurat residence way above, controlling all below)

11 lines: the house of Inana in Unug (Uruk).

**Inanna’s (House in Zabalam) – Temple Hymn**

O E-šerzi-guru (House clad in splendor) dressed with ornaments of šuba stone,

(young Inanna, princess daughter to Nannar & Ningal, granddaughter to Earth Colony Commander Enlil)

great awesomeness, Niĝin-ĝar of holy Inana, adorned throughout with the divine powers which are true,

Zabalam, shrine of the shining mountain, shrine of …… dawn, which has resounded with pleasure (?),

(Inanna & her 1st spouse Dumuzi The Shepherd, Enki’s son who died young on Earth)

the Mistress has founded your good banqueting hall for you in pleasure (?).

Your lady Inana, the ……, the singular woman, the dragon who speaks hostile words to ……,

(Inanna with her royal crown of animal horns, princess descendant to giant alien Anunnaki King Anu)

who shines in brightness, who goes against the rebel land,

through whom the firmament is made beautiful in the evening,

(Nannar / Suen, Inanna‘s father, patron god of Ur, symbolized by the Moon Crescent, wearing a divine long beard)

the great daughter of Suen, holy Inana, has erected a house in your precinct,

O house Zabalam, and taken her seat upon your dais.

(mound remnants of Inanna’s ziggurat in Zabalam)

12 lines: the house of Inana in Zabalam.

2^nd Hymn

O Ulmaš, upper land, …… of the Land, terrifying lion battering a wild bull,

net spreading over an enemy, making silence fall upon a rebel land on which,

as long as it remains in submissive, spittle is poured!

(Inanna stele artifact, alien high-tech weaponry atop her Leo – zodiac symbol)

House of Inana of silver and lapis lazuli, a storehouse built of gold,

your princess is an arabu bird, the Mistress of the Niĝin-ĝar.

Arrayed in battle, jubilantly (?) beautiful, ready with the seven maces, washing her tools for battle,

opening the door of battle and ……, the extremely wise one of heaven,

(Inanna, Goddess of Love & War, standing as victorious warrior atop ziggurat temples in many cities; also depicted naked on hundreds of artifacts)

Inana, has erected a house in your precinct,

O house Ulmaš, and taken her seat upon your dais.

12 lines: the house of Inana (Inanna) in Ulmaš.

Ninshubur’s (House in Akkil) – Temple Hymn

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

O E-igizu-uru (House, your face is mighty), with plenty coming from within,

your well-stocked chamber is a mountain of abundance.

House, your fragrance is a mound of vines.

Your true minister is a leader in heaven.

House, your princess is prominent among the gods,

(E-ana, Anu’s temple residence in Uruk)

the true minister of E-ana who holds a holy scepter in her hand.

(Ninshubur, adorning assistant to Inanna the Goddess of Love & War)

Ninšubur, the true minister of E-ana, has erected a house in your precinct,

O E-akkil (House of lamentation), and taken her seat upon your dais.

8 lines: the house of Ninšubur in Akkil.

Uruk Quotes From Zecharia Sitchin’s Books

SEE SITCHIN’S EARTH CHRONICLES, ETC.:

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

As the Evil Wind began to “spread to the mountains as a net,” the gods of Sumer began to flee their beloved cities…

Inanna hurriedly departed from Uruk, sailing off toward Africa in a “submersible ship” and complaining that she had to leave behind her jewelry and other possessions...Inanna / Ishtar bewailed the desolation of her city and her temple by the Evil Wind

“which in an instant, in a blink of an eye

was created against the midst of the mountains,…”

and against which there was no defense…As the

“loyal citizens of Uruk were seized with terror…

‘Rise up! Hide in the steppe!’

the deities ran off…they took unfamiliar paths…”

“Thus all the gods evacuated Uruk;

They kept away from it;

They hid in the mountains,

They escaped to the distant plains…”

In Uruk…

“Mob panic was brought about in Uruk….

its good sense was distorted…”

…as the people asked questions:

“Why did the gods benevolent eye look away?

Who caused such worry and lamentation?…”

When the Evil Storm passed over,

“the people were piled up in heaps…

a hush settled over Uruk like a cloak…”

Meskiagkasher reigned for 324 years. Meskiagkasher journeyed upon the sea and came ashore in a mountainous land.

ENMERKAR, 2^ND king of Uruk, son to Meskiagasher under the protection of the goddess, and ruled by a king devoted to her as well. (Utu’s son)

Lugal–Banda– 3^rd king of Uruk, son to Enmerkar (& Inanna), spouse to Ninsun

Gilgamesh– 4^th ruler of Uruk, son to Lugal-Banda and Anunnaki goddess Ninsun

Uruk Quotes From Texts

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

(Ninhursag‘s creation = Enkidu, Enlil‘s creation = Hawawa)

(later Anu departed Earth, & left authority to the city of Uruk to Inanna)

E-ana (House of heaven) temple to Inanna in Uruk

E-kug-nuna temple to Inanna in Uruk

E-sara (Cuneiform: E₂SAR.A) “House of the Universe” dedicated to Inanna in Uruk by Ur-Nammu

E-zagin (Lapis lazuli house), temple to Nisaba in Uruk

E-ngipar temple in Uruk

“The great gods created the structure of Unug,

the handiwork of the gods, and of E-ana (Anu‘s temple residence in Uruk),

the house lowered down from heaven…”

“Where there was a marsh then in Unug (Uruk), it was full of water.

Where there was any dry land, Euphrates poplars grew there.

Where there were reed-thickets, old reeds and young reeds grew there.

Divine Enki who is king in Eridu tore up for me the old reeds, drained off the water completely. …”

“And told of those times before the Flood

In his city, Uruk, he made the walls, which formed a rampart stretching on

And the temple called Eanna, which was the house of An, the Sky God.

The great gods paled at its immensity, gigantic rays reach up to heaven (and) the earth tremble to its core…”

“Come to Uruk of the strong walls

To Inanna‘s Temple of Love,

And to the Eanna,

Where the Sky God An can be found…”

“Come to ramparted Uruk

There the holy temple of Eanna

Where the Great God An lives,

Come with me, Enkidu, to the holy dwelling

To the temple, Sky God’s house,…”

“He carved on a stone stela all of his toils, and built the wall of Uruk-Haven,

the wall of the sacred Eanna Temple (Anu‘s home in Uruk), the holy sanctuary.

Look at its wall which gleams like copper (?), inspect its inner wall, the likes of which no one can equal!

Take hold of the threshold stone–it dates from ancient times!

Go close to the Eanna Temple, the residence of Ishtar

(Anu’s temple residence was given to Inanna), such as no later king or man ever equaled!

Go up on the wall of Uruk and walk around, examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork thoroughly.

Is not (even the core of) the brick structure made of kiln-fired brick,

and did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plans?

One league city, one league palm gardens, one league lowlands, the open area (?) of the Ishtar Temple,

three leagues and the open area (?) of Uruk it (the wall) encloses.

Find the copper tablet box, open the … of its lock of bronze, undo the fastening of its secret opening.

Take and read out from the lapis lazuli tablet how Gilgamesh went through every hardship. …”

“And also of Inanna, Goddess of Love and Battle

Look at it even now: where cornice runs on outer wall shining brilliant copper -see,

There is no inner wall; it has no equal.

Touch the threshold – ancient.

Approach the palace called Eanna.

There lives Inanna, Goddess of Love and Battle…”

“go back to Erec (Uruk), the city of Nisaba,’…”

“He entered E-zagin, the residence of Nanibgal (Nisaba)

and prostrated himself before Nanibgal on her dais…”

Twenty-three kings resided in Kish before its power and influence were transferred to Uruk / Erech, by king, Meskiaggasher, who was loyal to the goddess, Inanna. King Meskiaggasher, (2815-2791 BC), was the son of Inanna’s twin brother, god Utu, and he was born of a human mother, besides being the nephew of goddess Inanna.

Meskiaggasher established a demigod family dynasty there in Uruk, and entrenched Inanna’s domain within Anu’s temple.

Inanna ruled as the mistress of Anu over the temple of Uruk. Kings served at her pleasure. Sometimes that could be taken in the literal sense.

“After kingship was brought to Eanna, Meskiaggasher, the son of the god, Utu (Shamash),

ruled as both lord and king for 324 years (alien bio-genetics)

during which time he entered the sea and climbed the mountains, and traversed the skies; (alien technologies)

Enmerkar, the son of Meskiaggasher, the king of Uruk who had founded Uruk, ruled for 420 years; (semi-divine)

Lugalbanda, the shepherd, ruled for 1,200 years; (demigod mixed-breeds)

Dumuzi, the fisherman who came from the city of Kuara, ruled 100 years;

Gilgamesh, whose father was a nomad (?), ruled 126 years; (mother is Ninsun)

Urnungal, son of Gilgamesh, ruled 30 years; (dilution of alien blood)

Udulkalamma, the son of Urnungal, ruled 15 years; (dilution, etc.)

Labasher ruled 9 years;

Ennundaranna ruled 8 years;

Meshede, the smith, ruled 36 years;

Melamanna ruled 6 years and

Lugalkidul ruled 36 years.

All told, twelve kings ruled a total of 2,310 years in Eanna

before Uruk was defeated in battle and its kingship carried off to Ur.

Kingship in Uruk (Includes Eanna Temple)

After kingship was brought to Uruk, Enshakanshanna ruled 60 years;

Lugalure ruled 120 years (alien mixed blood) and Argandea ruled 7 years.

All told, three kings ruled a total of 187 years before Uruk was defeated and its kingship carried off to Ur.

Kingship in Uruk (Second Dynasty)

After kingship was brought back to Uruk,

Lugalzaggesi ruled for 25 years before Uruk was defeated and its kingship carried off to Agade.

Kingship In Uruk (Third Dynasty)

After kingship was brought back to Uruk, Urnigin ruled 7 years;

Urgigir, son of Urnigin, ruled 6 years;

Kudda ruled 6 years;

Puzur-ili ruled 5 years and Ur-Utu ruled 6 years.

All told, five kings ruled a total of 30 years before Uruk was smitten

by the Gutium Hordes and its kingship carried off by them.

Kingship in Uruk (Fourth Dynasty)

After kingship was brought back to Uruk, Utuhegal ruled 7 years, 6 months and 15 days

before Uruk was defeated and its kingship carried off to Ur…

“Come, let me bring you into Uruk-Haven, to the Holy Temple, the residence of Anu and Ishtar,…”

“At the time when Enmerkar in Uruk ruled, Nungal, the lion-hearted, was the Pilot

who from the skies brought Ishtar (Inanna) down (alien tech) to the E-Anna.”

“With lapis-lazuli was adorned,

Decorated with the handiwork of Ninagal.

In the bright place… the residence of Inanna, the lyre of Anu they installed…”

Inanna Seizes the E-ana

Source: Black, J. A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. and Zólyomu, G. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature , Oxford University, 1998 – ©All rights reserved to authors. Text reproduced here for aid in research and study purposes

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

SEGMENT A

unknown no. of lines missing

1-7 1 line fragmentary

4 - Inanna. Utu, & Earthling underfoot

(Goddess of War Inanna & twin brother Utu with disloyal earthling underfoot; Inanna holds captive earthling by nose ring)

Holy Inanna…….

The hero, youthful Utu, …….

At dead of night ……. E-ana (Anu‘s mud-brick-built temple / residence in Uruk) ……. Inanna…….

The great (?) heavens …….

unknown no. of lines missing

SEGMENT B

1-6 1 line fragmentary

2b - Uruk's Excavation

(E-ana, Anu‘s temple / residence way above city of Uruk, safely away from prodding earthlings)

…… E-ana came forth from heaven,

…… the lady of heaven set her mind to capturing the great heavens,

…… Inanna set her mind to capturing the great heavens,

…… set her mind to capturing the great heavens from the …… of heaven,

…… youthful Utu, she set her mind to capturing the great heavens.

7-9 Holy Inanna spoke to her brother the hero, youthful Utu:

“My brother, I want to tell you something — pay attention to my speech.

……Utu, my twin, I want to tell you something — pay attention to my speech.”

(Utu; “modern earthling” serving Inanna)

10-15 Her brother the hero, youthful Utu, answered holy Inanna: “My sister, I swear an oath by the life of heaven,

I swear by the life of the rainbow (?) of heaven, my ……,

……, I swear by the life of my throne, by my majesty:

I will follow what my sister says to me, I will follow what holy Inanna says to me.”

16-23 The maiden Inanna answered her brother the hero, youthful Utu:

“……, my spouse (?), has made love to me, has kissed me.

I wanted …… for him but …… he did not give it to him.

(Anu, King & father of the Anunnaki gods stationed on Earth Colony)

I hastened (?) with him …… but majestic An (Anu) would not give him E-ana.

The heavens are ours, the earth is ours: E-ana should be captured from An.

After you have taken ……, listen to what I say to you.

Examine …… for me, you must observe these instructions: …… the evil wind, the south wind, against me.”

approx. 23 lines missing

SEGMENT C

1-4 1 line fragmentary

(Adagbir (barge captain) speaks:)

“…… great net.

…… the flood.

…… the fisherman.”

(Inanna, Utu‘s twin sister)

5-13 Holy Inanna embarked (?) on the …….

The barge …….

The rope …….

The south wind, that south wind, rose up.

The evil wind, that evil wind, rose up.

In the distant heavens …….Hienhi-sag (unidentified?).……

The fisherman …….

The reed thickets and the tall-growing reeds …….

14-18 Inanna spoke to Adagbir:

(Nannar with children Inanna & Utu; Utu, Inanna, Nannar, & damaged son Papsukal)

“Youthful Utu …….

The barge …….”

2 lines fragmentary

approx. 15 lines missing

SEGMENT D

(Inanna with advanced alien technologies, standing atop her zodiac symbol of Leo)

1-4 (Inanna speaks:) “I ……. …… the way …….”

2 lines fragmentary

5-12 Adagbir answered holy Inanna: “My lady, you cannot …….

Your divinity …….

The fisherman …… the south wind.

My lady, if you travel on the barge, and he raises the south wind, that south wind,

and he raises the evil wind, that evil wind, barges and small boats will sink in the marshes.”

13-15 Whenever (?) he approached the …… with his great net, as (?) it came out of the flood,

the swelling sea, it lashed the water and made an evil …….

(Inanna, giant alien Goddess of Love & War)

16-19 Holy Inanna answered the fisherman: “If you are to find …… E-ana ……

and I am to gaze in admiration …… at that place, you said …… the narrow passage.”

20-22 Adagbir answered holy Inanna: “…… through the reed thickets and the tall-growing reeds.

For you …… find E-ana, which came forth from heaven.”

(Enlil, son & heir to King Anu, tasked with colonizing Earth for the Anunnaki)

23-25 Adagbir, …… of Enlil, …… through the reed thickets and the tall-growing reeds.

She gazed in admiration at E-ana which had come forth from heaven.

26-28 Cul-a-zida (unidentified), An‘s herdsman, grasped the cosmic tethering rope in his hands.

After he had brought the …… forth from the sky, he overcame the protective deities.

He …… and kept it below the horizon.

29-32 Having drunk cleansing water from the Ulaya river,

(Inanna & the scorpion, ancient artifact reflecting our history of the gods on Earth)

Inanna stamped on the scorpion and cut off its tail.

Like a lion it bellowed in an angry roar but its cries died down.

…… she threw it …… and made it secure.

33-38 Having heard its …… cries, …… poured forth the ……, the clay of creation, …… and laid it …….

2 lines missing

(King Anu in his sky-disc, father in Heaven to royal offspring establishing Earth)

…… the great lady of heaven delivered those words to An.

39-45 Having heard those words, An slapped his thighs in ……, his voice filled with sighs of grief:

6c - Anu & Inanna (King Anu & great-granddaughter Inanna atop Leo / Lion)

“What has my child done?

She has become greater than me!

What has Inanna done?

She has become greater than me!

From now on, the normal length of daylight becomes shorter, and daylight converts to night-time.

From today, when the day’s watch is three units long, daylight is equal to night-time.”

And now, when day began, it was indeed so.

(King Anu meets 1st “modern earthlings” Adapa & Titi in Heaven / planet Nibiru, & the 12-pointed star symbol of Nibiru)

46-55 An, who created gods and humankind, gazed at holy Inanna

(1 ms. adds: and addressed the favorite wife who travels by his side), unable to describe this arrogance, this arrogance —

An was unable to describe (1 ms. adds: to Inanna) this arrogance, this arrogance:

“My child, …… you did not say …… — you were able to capture E-ana!

(city of Uruk / Biblical Erech; Anu‘s temple / residence, alien mud-brick-built mountain)

Inanna, …… you did not say …… — you were able to capture E-ana!

E-ana should be as firm as heaven, it should not be toppled (1 ms. has instead: its attractions should never be exhausted).

Its name should be “The Settlement of the Land”. (1 ms. adds: It should have no rival.)

Mankind, all of the people, should prostrate themselves at her (?) feet.”

And now, under that sun and on that day, it was indeed so.

(E-ana, Anu‘s, Inanna‘s, & others residence in Uruk)

56-60 She had captured E-ana (Inanna given control over temple, city, & kings of Uruk) from An (Anu)!

She secured it …….

Now Inanna speaks of the E-ana as the house that is the place of the lady.

The goddess who has attained her triumphant position,

Inanna who has attained her triumphant position, declares in the good place: “I have captured E-ana from An.”

61-62 Because you are unmatched among the Great Princes, maiden Inanna, praising you is magnificent!

Mesopotamian Gods & Kings

Mesopotamian Artifacts & Texts

Category Archives: Uruk

An Erechite’s (Uruk) Lament

Translated by Theo. G. Pinches

Translation of the Lament

The Inscription of Sin-gashid (translation)

Translated by Theo. G. Pinches

Proverbs: from Unug (Uruk)

A Praise Poem of Anam: translation

Lament for Unug (Uruk)

SEGMENT B

SEGMENT D

SEGMENT E

SEGMENT F

SEGMENT G

SEGMENT H

Inana’s (Houses in Uruk, Zabalam, & Ulmas) – Temple Hymns

**Inanna’s (House in Zabalam) – Temple Hymn**

Ninshubur’s (House in Akkil) – Temple Hymn

O E-igizu-uru (House, your face is mighty), with plenty coming from within,

Uruk Quotes From Zecharia Sitchin’s Books

Uruk Quotes From Texts

(later Anu departed Earth, & left authority to the city of Uruk to Inanna)

Inanna Seizes the E-ana