Vzpomínky na Šulgiho: obraz proslulého panovníka v mezopotámském písemnictví po pádu III. dynastie urské

Abstract

The present paper examines the image of the most illustrious ruler of the Ur III Dynasty (2012 – 2004 B.C.), Šulgi, in later periods of Mesopotamian history. It deals with all attested ways in which the memory of some of Šulgi's ideological and military achievements was preserved. Further, it scrutinizes the contexts in which his name was recalled and attempts to uncover the purposes to which such an undertaking may have served in later Mesopotamia. The paper does not examine the numerous royal hymns of Šulgi, although these are preserved not in Ur III but in Old Babylonian manuscripts, because the present author understands these texts as a product of the former era, the lack of contemporary copies notwithstanding. Thus, the article rather focuses on later copies of Šulgi's original royal inscriptions and letters but above all on his image in post-Ur III literary works such as omens, chronicles, and a ‘prophecy’, as well as on interesting mentions of Šulgi in the inscriptions of kings Nebuchadnezzar II and Nabonidus.