Origin/Historian/Author: Sumerian, The Royal Inscriptions of Lagash (2100 BCE)
Source: The Sacred Books and Literature of the East, By Prof. Charles F. Horne, Ph.D.
The Sacred Books and Literature of the East Translations conducted by:
Morris Jastrow, Jr., LL.D., Rev. A.H. Sayce, LL.D., Robert W. Rogers, LL.D., George A. Barton, LL.D., Leonard W. King, F.S.A., Stephen Langdon, PH.D., Arno Poebel, PH.D., and other scholars.
Full Text Below
No. 1
ON A STATUE
COLUMN I
To the god Ningirsu
the powerful warrior
of the god Enlil,
Ur-Bau
5 the patesi (9)
of Lagash,
the offspring begotten
by the god Nin-agal,
chosen by the immutable will of the goddess Nina,
10 endowed with power by the god Ningirsu,
named with a favorable name by the goddess Bau,
endowed with intelligence by the god En-ki, (10)
COLUMN II
covered with renown by the goddess Ninni,
the favorite servant of the god who is King of Gish-
galla-ki,
the favorite of the goddess Duzi-abzu.
I am Ur-Bau;
5 the god Ningirsu is my King.
The site of . . . (11) he has excavated.
The earth thence extracted, like precious stones, he has
measured;
like a precious metal he has weighed it.
COLUMN III
According to the plan adopted he has marked out a large
space;
into the middle of it he has carried this earth,
and he has made its mundus.
Above, a substructure 6 cubits high he has built.
5 Above this substructure
the temple E-Ninnu, which illumines the darkness, 30
cubits in height,
he has built.
For the goddess Nin-gharsag, (12)
the mother of the gods,
COLUMN IV
her temple of Girsu-ki
he has constructed.
For the goddess Bau,
the good lady,
5 the daughter of Anna,
her temple of Uru-azagga
he has constructed.
For the goddess Ninni, the lady august, the sovereign,
her temple of Gishgalla-ki
10 he has constructed.
For the god En-ki, the King of Eridu, his temple of Girsu-ki
COLUMN V
he has constructed.
For the god Nin-dara, (13) the lord of destinies,
his temple he has constructed.
For the god Nin-agal,
5 his god, his temple
he has constructed.
For the goddess Nin-mar-ki (14)
the good lady,
10 the eldest daughter of the goddess Nina,
the Esh-gu-tur, the temple of her constant choice,
he has constructed.
COLUMN VI
For the god . . .
the shepherd … of Girsu-ki,
his temple . . .
he has constructed.
5 For the goddess Ku-Anna, (15)
the lady of the cloudy sky,
her temple of Girsu-ki
he has constructed.
For the goddess Duzi-abzu,
10 the lady of Kinunir-ki,
her temple of Girsu-ki
he has constructed.
(9) Patesi means a ” priest-king,” usually the viceroy of some more warlike king.
(10) Also called Ea, the god of the deep.
(11) Perhaps some edifice previously dedicated to the goddess Bau. The characters are destroyed.
(12) ” The lady of the mountain.”
(13) Or Uras.
(14) “The lady of the city of Mar.”
(15) The consort of the god Martu, or Rimmon.