The shepherd Ur-Namma raised the great Ekur of Dur-an-ki toward heaven. The multitude of people stood in wonder at it.

This is one of eight surviving literary compositions attributed to the reign of Ur-Namma, the founding king of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112–2095 BCE). He was the builder of the great ziggurat at Ur, the author of the oldest surviving law code, and the man who reunified Sumer after a generation of fragmentation. The tigi (literally "drum") was a formal genre of Sumerian liturgical composition performed to instrumental accompaniment — a hymn designed for ceremonial occasion, not private devotion. This one celebrates two things: the construction of the Ekur, Enlil's great temple at Nippur, and the military power Enlil conferred upon Ur-Namma as part of the transaction.

The text is organized in the classic tigi structure: a main narrative body (sa-gida) followed by a shorter, more lyrical section (sa-jara), both marked explicitly in the text. The sa-jara contains two near-identical blessing speeches — the liturgical repetition is intentional, a formal feature of the genre, like a refrain. The military section in the sa-jara is also doubled, each unit first attributed to "my king" and then to "the shepherd Ur-Namma" — a call-and-response pattern suited to choral or antiphonal performance.

The text survives in a single manuscript tradition. Translation from ETCSL c.2.4.1.2 (Sumerian transliteration). The reference translation t.2.4.1.2 was consulted for disambiguation of uncertain passages. Lacunae in the opening lines are genuine — the manuscript is damaged there.

I. The Choosing

Enlil the great — [...] his praise [...],
the lord whose noble greatness [...],
Nunamnir, king of heaven and earth [...]:

he looked out across the people
and found the good shepherd Ur-Namma.
The Great Mountain Enlil called him forth
from the multitude of his people.

"Let him be the shepherd of Nunamnir!"
And he placed fierce awe upon him.

II. The Charge

The foundation-brick of the Ekur absorbed the divine powers.
The Great Mountain Enlil's Ekur, his great shrine —
to blaze like the sun,
to be filled with true and holy counsel:
he charged the shepherd Ur-Namma
with raising its head to heaven.

III. Building and Abundance

The king greatly exalted the power of the land;
he raised the head among the people.

The good shepherd Ur-Namma [...],
trusted by Nunamnir for distant days,
the lord who knows judgment, wide of understanding —
he set things in order.

Enlil straightened the overturned and hostile land
for the shepherd Ur-Namma.
For Sumer he made days of abundance.
Joy rang out.

They plowed the fields sweetly;
they filled in the sacred foundation pegs.
Enkum and Ninkum raised their voices in divine praise.
With his skillful incantations, Enki adorned the house
in flourishing beauty.

IV. The Gates

The shepherd Ur-Namma raised the great Ekur of Dur-an-ki
toward heaven.
The multitude of people stood in wonder at it.

The Great Gate,
the Grand Gate,
the Gate of Wellbeing,
the Cunningly-Worked Mountain —
the Gate That Does Not Cut Off the Grain.

On the long-lasting, holy, divine-power-bright face,
he set the rosette decoration.

The Anzud bird opened its beak in beauty.
The eagle gripped the lone enemy in its talons.
Its door-leaves were magnificent, filled with joy.
A great house — awe-inspiring it stood.
It spread wide; its own greatness was magnificent.

The Cunningly-Worked Mountain —
the platform temple,
the holy dwelling for the Great Mountain.
Like a mighty storm, he founded it in its midst.

At the treasure hall of the great palace —
a place to render great judgments.

He brought joy to the great mother Ninlil.
Enlil and Ninlil were pleased with each other.

In their great dining hall,
the upright young man whom Nunamnir had chosen —
a great feast was set sweetly.
The Ekur rejoiced.

They looked upon the shepherd Ur-Namma with righteous eyes.
The Great Mountain decreed for the shepherd Ur-Namma
a great and long-lasting fate.
He greatly exalted the power of his black-headed people.

Sa-gida.

V. Enlil's Blessing (First Voice — Nunamnir)

I, Nunamnir, am the one who speaks true,
unchangeable oracles.
My great Ekur shone forth in brilliance.
May the blazing crown reach its neck to heaven.
May the upright young man of the land shine forth in glory.
May Ur-Namma, the great lord, have the neck of kingship raised high.
May your name be abundant
from the horizon of heaven to the base of the mountains.

VI. Enlil's Blessing (Second Voice — the Great Father)

I, the great father Enlil, am the one who speaks true,
unchangeable oracles.
My great Ekur shone forth in brilliance.
May the blazing crown reach its neck to heaven.
May the upright young man of the land shine forth in glory.
May Ur-Namma, the great lord, have the neck of kingship raised high.
May your name be abundant
from the horizon of heaven to the base of the mountains.

VII. The Destroyer

My king —
the great demon who casts the enemy's head into the dust,
who tramples the rebel land:
the shepherd Ur-Namma.

The lord Nunamnir gave this to him.
The land was crushed; his foot pressed upon it.

The shepherd Ur-Namma —
the great demon who casts the enemy's head into the dust,
who tramples the rebel land.
The lord Nunamnir gave this to him.
The land was crushed; his foot pressed upon it.

He destroys the wicked city.
The great yoke — the wind sweeps it away.

The shepherd Ur-Namma destroys the wicked city.
The great yoke — the wind sweeps it away.

His fierce glory burns in the rebel house.
His storm drives the enemy from it.

The shepherd Ur-Namma:
his fierce glory burns in the rebel house.
His storm drives the enemy from it.

VIII. The King Enthroned

He established the throne of kingship upon the earth.
He made it shine in Urim.

The shepherd Ur-Namma bore dignity, raised his head —
he is the king of the land.

May he be presented as a gift at the feet of his lord Enlil.
Fate was decreed; the righteous hand was placed upon him.
May Ur-Namma bring joy and abundance to Urim.

Sa-jara. A tigi of Enlil.

Colophon

Ur-Namma B (ETCSL c.2.4.1.2) is one of eight surviving literary compositions from the reign of Ur-Namma, founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112–2095 BCE). It is a tigi hymn — a ceremonial genre designed for musical performance — celebrating Ur-Namma's construction of the Ekur, Enlil's great temple at Nippur, and the military mandate that Enlil conferred on the king as part of the divine exchange. The tigi structure (sa-gida followed by sa-jara) and the liturgical doubling within the sa-jara section are formal features of the genre preserved here in translation.

Translated from the Sumerian by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026. Source text: ETCSL c.2.4.1.2 (composite text, Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, University of Oxford). Reference translation t.2.4.1.2 consulted for disambiguation of uncertain passages; the English derives independently from the Sumerian. Opening lacunae (lines 1–3) reflect genuine manuscript damage.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

Ur-Namma B — A Tigi to Enlil for Ur-Namma (ETCSL c.2.4.1.2)
Sumerian composite transliteration

1.  den-lil2 mah [...] ar2?[...]
2.  en nam-nun gal-[la-ni ...]
3.  dnu-nam-nir an ki lugal-[bi ...]
4.  uj3-ja2 igi mi-ni-in-il2 sipad zid ur-dnamma
5.  kur gal den-lil2-le uj3 car2-ra-ni-a im-ma-ni-in-pad3? [(X)]
6.  sipad he2-a dnu-nam-nir-ra-ka ni2 huc mu-un-da-ri
7.  sig4 e2-kur-ra-ke4 me am3-hur
8.  kur gal den-lil2-le e2-kur ec3 mah-a-na ud-gin7 kar2-kar2!-da
9.  cag4 inim-jal2 kug zid-de3 si-a-ni nam-de6
10. sipad dur-dnamma-da e2-kur-ra saj an-ce3 il2-i-de3 a2-bi mu-u8-da-aj2
11. lugal-e kalam-[ma a2] he2-ni-in-mah uj3-ja2 saj he2-ni-in-il2
12. sipad zid ur-[dnamma] [...] dnu-nam-nir-da ud su3-ra2-ce3 nir jal2-la
13. di zu en /jectug2\ [dajal]-la-kam jicu3-cub-ba si am3-mi-in-sa2
14. den-lil2-le /sipad\ /dur\-dnamma-ra ki bal gu2-erim2-jal2-la-ni si mu-na-an-sa2
15. ki-en-gi-re ud nam-he2-a ak
16. asilal gu2 mu-un-di-ni-ib-mar-re
17. uru4 mu-un-dug3-ec temen kug mi-ni-in-si-ec
18. enkum ninkum-e me-tec2 am3-i-i-ne
19. nam-cub galam-ma-na den-ki-ke4 e2-e ul ba-ni-in-sig7-ga
20. sipad dur-dnamma-ke4 e2-kur mah dur-an-ki-a-ka an-ce3 mi-ni-in-mu2
21. u6 di-bi-ce3 uj3 car2-ra-ba ci-im-ma-gub
22. ka2 mah ka2 gal ka2 silim-ma hur-saj-galam-ma ka2 ce nu-kud-da
23. su3-ra2-aj2 kug me-a sig7-igi-ba ce-er-ka-an mu-ni-in-dug4
24. anzud2mucen-de3 dug3 am3-ma-ni-in-bad
25. hu-ri2-in umbin-ba lu2-erim2 dili mu-un-dab5
26. jicig-bi mah-am3 ul-la mi-ni-in-si
27. e2 mah-am3 su-zi am3-da-jal2
28. dajal am3-tag ni2-bi gal ci-ri
29. hur-saj galam-ma gi-gun4-na ki-tuc kug kur gal-la-ra
30. u18-ru mah-gin7 /cag4\-bi-a ki am3-ma-ni-in-us2
31. ja2-jic-cu2-a /e2\-gal mah di gal ku5-ru-da-ni
32. /ama\ gal dnin-lil2-ra ul mu-na-ni-in-de6
33. den-lil2 dnin-lil2-bi dug3 mi-ni-in-jal2-le-ec
34. unu2-gal-ba cul zid mu pad3-da dnu-nam-nir-ra-ka
35. ninda mah am3-mi-ni-dug3 e2-kur hul2-la-am3
36. igi zid mu-un-ci-in-bar-re-ec sipad dur-dnamma-ra
37. kur gal-e sipad dur-dnamma-ra nam gal ud su3-ra2-ce3 mu-ni-in-tar
38. saj gig2-ga-na a2 mi-ni-in-mah
39. sa-gid2-da-am3
40. dnu-nam-nir dug4-ga ec-bar zid nij2 nu-kur2-ru je26-me-en
41. e2-kur mah-ju10 dalla mu-e-a-ed2
42. suh10 kar2-kar2-ka-da an-ce3 gu2 he2-ni-in-us2
43. cul zid kalam-ma dalla hu-mu-ni-in-ed2
44. dur-dnamma en uru16 nam-lugal-la gu2 an-ta-bi he2-em
45. mu-zu an-zag-ce3 kur-ur2-ce3 he2-jal2
46. kur gal a-a den-lil2 dug4-ga ec-bar zid nij2 nu-kur2-ru je26-me-en
47. e2-kur mah-ju10 dalla mu-e-a-ed2
48. suh10 kar2-kar2-ka-da an-ce3 gu2 he2-ni-in-us2
49. cul zid kalam-ma dalla hu-mu-ni-in-ed2
50. dur-dnamma en uru16 nam-lugal-la gu2 an-ta-bi he2-em
51. mu-zu an-zag-ce3 kur-ur2-ce3 he2-jal2
52. lugal-ju10 udug2 mah kur erim2-jal2-la saj sahar-re-ec dub-bu ki bal-a ca5-ca5
53. sipad dur-dnamma-ke4 udug2 mah erim2-jal2-la saj sahar-[re]-ec dub-bu ki bal-a ca5-ca5
54. e-ne-er mu-na-an-cum2 en dnu-nam-nir-re
55. kur am3-tu11-be2 jiri3 sag11 am3-me
56. sipad dur-dnamma-ke4 mu-na-an-cum2 en dnu-nam-nir-re
57. kur am3-tu11-be2 jiri3 sag11 am3-me
58. hul-jal2-la uru2 am3-mi-in-gul-gul
59. nam-gu2 mah-am3 lil2 am3-mi-ni-in-su-ub
60. sipad dur-dnamma-ke4 hul-jal2-la uru2 am3-mi-in-gul-gul
61. nam-gu2 mah-am3 lil2 am3-mi-ni-in-su-ub
62. ar2-a-ni huc-am3 e2 ki bal
63. u18-lu-ni lu2 erim2-jal2 mu-ni-ib2-DU
64. sipad dur-dnamma ar2-a-ni huc-am3 e2 ki bal
65. u18-lu-ni lu2 erim2-jal2 mu-ni-ib2-DU
66. barag nam-lugal-la-ke4 ki-a mu-ni-in-us2
67. urim2ki-ma pa ed2 hu-mu-ni-ib2-ak
68. sipad dur-dnamma-ke4 ni2 bi2-in-gur3-ru saj he2-ni-in-il2 lugal kalam-ma-[kam]
69. ki lugal-a-ni den-lil2-la2-ka saj-e-ec he2-[ni-rig7]
70. nam am3-tar-re cu zid am3-[mi-in-jar]
71. /giri17\-zal urim2ki-ma dur-d[namma] [nam-he2-a? ...]
72. [sa]-jar-ra-am3 tigi den-[lil2-la2-kam]

Source Colophon

Composite text from the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), University of Oxford. Text designation: c.2.4.1.2. Manuscript sources: Nippur. The text was prepared and made available online by the ETCSL project; consulted March 2026.

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