Tummal

Though it is known to have existed in the Akkadian Empire period though most of the records mentioning Tummal come from the Ur III period when it was site of the sacred marriage between Enlil and Ninlil.[https://archive.org/details/ebin.pub_a-handbook-of-gods-and-goddesses-of-the-ancient-near-east-three-thousan/mode/2up]Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "E", A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 80-106, 2021 During the reign of Ur III ruler Shulgi, especially in years 35-37, large amount of construction occurred at Tummal, including of a royal palace and administrative buildings. The palace included funerary chapels for Ur-Nammu (e Tum-ma-al Ur-^dNamma) and his wife. Building materials came from as far away as Babylon, Kutha, and Adab.Steinkeller, Piotr, "Corvée Labor in Ur III Times", 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. 347-424, 2013 The ki-a-nag, or funerary offerings for Ur III ruler Ur-Nammu were carried out at Tummal. As his grave was not found in Ur this has sparked speculation he was buried in Tummal.Sharlach, T. M., "The Death of Shulgi and his Wives", An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 175-186, 2017 In one Ur III text it was reported that workers from Umma performed "24,500 man-days, 67 full time years" of labor at Tummal.Sharlach, Tonia M., "Provincial taxation and the Ur III state", Leiden & Boston: Brill Styx, 2004 During the time of Amar-Sin and Shu-Sin a royal daughter, Seleppütum (A daughter of Amar-Sin or perhaps Shulgi) resided at Tummal.Klein, Jacob, "Šeleppūtum a Hitherto Unknown Ur III Princess", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 80, no. 1-2, pp. 20-39, 1990

In the early days of archaeology it was believed that Tummal was merely the name of a sacred quarter in Nippur dedicated to Ninlil, it later became clear that Tummal was a city in its own right, though nothing prevents there from being such a named area in Nippur.King, L. W. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 190–190, 1915[https://archive.org/download/sumerianrecords00nesbgoog/sumerianrecords00nesbgoog.pdf] Nesbit, William Marsiglia, "Sumerian records from Drehem", No. 8, Columbia University Press, 1914 Current thinking, yet unconfirmed, places it at the site of Dlehim.Yoshikawa, M., "Looking for Tummal, ASJ 11, pp. 285–291, 1989Steinkeller, P, "New light on the hydrology and topography of southern Babylonia in the third millennium", ZA 91, pp. 22–84, 2001

In Mesopotamia it was typical for gods (their cult statues) to go on "divine journeys" visiting their cult sites and being "greeted" by other gods along the way. It is known from itineraries of the divine journeys of the god Nanna-Suen that Tummal lay between Nippur and Shuruppak, 55 kilometers to the south, both cities on the Euphrates River.Ferrara, A. J., "The Itinerary of Nanna-Suen’s Journey to Nippur", Orientalia, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 1–4, 1972

The Tummal Inscription, also known as the "History of the Tummal of Ninlil

at Nippur", is sometimes considered one of the Babylonian Chronicles. There are sixteen slightly differing copies have been found, 12 at Nippur, 3 at Ur, and 1 of unknown provenance.Poebel, Arno, "Historical Texts", PBS 4/1., Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1914Kramer, Samuel Noah, "Gilgamesh: Some New Sumerian Data", in Gilgame“ et sa légende. Études recueillies par Paul Garelli á l’occasion de la VII e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale Paris 1958. Cahiers du Groupe Francois-Thureau-Dangin, vol. 1, pp. 59–68, 1960 It was written in the time of the Ishbi-Erra (c. 2017—1986 BC), initial ruler of the Dynasty of Isin.{{cite book |author= D. Katz |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bCn5-COYETwC&pg=PA13 |title= Gilgamesh and Akka |page=13 |publisher=Brill Publishers |year= 1993 |isbn= 90-72371-67-4 | access-date= 2011-10-15}} The writing lists the names of the rulers that built the temples dedicated to Enlil within Nippur{{cite book |last= Sears |first= Edward Seldon |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC&pg=PA15 |page= 15 |title= Running Through The Ages |publisher= McFarland |year= 2001 |isbn= 0-7864-0971-1 |access-date= 2011-12-29}} and temples of Ninlil in Tummal,Edmond Sollberger, "The Tummal Inscription", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 16 (1962), pp. 40-47 [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1359332 JSTOR] (Retrieved 2011-10-15). See {{cite book |first= Mark William |last= Chavalas |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4tUCnNLGw4UC&pg=PA87 |page= 87 |title= The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation - Blackwell Sourcebooks in Ancient History |publisher= John Wiley & Sons |year= 2006 |isbn= 0-631-23580-9}} amongst whom were the king of Kish, Enmebaragesi and his heir Aga of Kish.{{cite book |authorlink= W. W. Hallo |last1= Hallo |first1= W. W. |first2= J. C. |last2= Moyer |first3= L. G. |last3= Perdue |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=09_GggZLt8MC&pg=PA57 |page= 57 |title= Scripture in context II: more essays on the comparative method |volume= 2 |publisher= Eisenbrauns |year= 1983 |isbn= 0-931464-14-5 |access-date= 2011-10-15}}

{{blockquote|"En-me-barage-si,
The king in this very city (that is Nippur),
built the House of Enlil,
Agga the son of En-me-barage-si,
made the Tummal pre-eminent.
Then the Tummal fell into ruins for the first time.
Meš-ane-pada built the Bur-šušua in Enlil's temple.
Meš-ki-aĝ-Nuna, son of Meš-ane-pada,
made the Tummal flourish,
and brought Ninlil into the Tummal.
Then the Tummal fell into ruins for a second time.
Bilgames built the Numunbura in Enlil's shrine.
Ur-lugal, son of Bilgames,
made the Tummal flourish,
and brought Ninlil into the Tummal.
Then the Tummal fell into ruins for a third time.
Nanni built the Lofty Garden in Enlil's temple.
Meš-ki-aĝ-Nanna, son of Nanni,
made the Tummal flourish,
and brought Ninlil into the Tummal.
Then the Tummal fell into ruins for a fourth time.
Ur-Namma, built the E-kur.
Šulgi, son of Ur-Namma,
made the Tummal flourish,
and brought Ninlil into the Tummal.
Then the Tummal fell into ruins for a fourth time.
From the years of Amar-Suena
of Shu-Suena,
until King Ibbi-Suen
chose En-am-gal-ana by extispicy as the high priest of inanna of Uruk,
Ninlil came regularly to the Tummal.
Written according to the words of Lu-inanna, the chief leatherworker of Enlil.
Išbi-Erra, who looks after the E-kur,
built the storehouse of Enlil."

| Old Babylonian tablet Tummal Inscription (1900-1600 BCE){{cite book|authorlink= Samuel Noah Kramer|first=S.N.|last=Kramer | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=iY9xp4pLp88C&pg=PA46|page=46| title = The Sumerians: their history, culture, and character| publisher = University of Chicago Press|year= 1963 |isbn=9780226452326| accessdate = 2011-12-29}}{{cite web |title=CDLI-Found Texts |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/search_results.php?SearchMode=Text&ObjectID=P469677 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}}}

The chronicle was written by two persons from Nippur and, most likely, Ur.{{cite book|authorlink=I. E. S. Edwards|first=I. E. S.|last=Edwards|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbPz-5RCx_YC&pg=PA201|title=The Cambridge Ancient History|page=201|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1970|isbn=0-521-07051-1|accessdate=2011-12-29}}{{cite book|first=David Gilman|last=Romano|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0gyy5JOZzIC&pg=PA9|page=9|title=Athletics and Mathematics in Archaic Corinth: The Origins of the Greek Stadion|publisher= American Philosophical Society|year= 1993|isbn=0871692066|accessdate=2011-12-29}}{{cite book|authorlink=Andrew R. George|first=A. R.|last=George|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Zw0TQ1MrhOkC&pg=PA445|page=445|title=Babylonian Topographical Texts|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1992|isbn= 9068314106|accessdate=2011-12-28}} A number of religious analyses of the inscriptions find evidence within the text for a claim of divine intervention.{{cite book|authorlink=H. W. F. Saggs|first=H. W. F.|last=Saggs|editor-first=F. E.|editor-last=Greenspahn|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N9GvkwopnA8C&pg=PA30|page=30|title=The Divine in History:Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East|publisher=NYU Press|year=1991|isbn=0-8147-3038-8|accessdate=2011-12-28}}; see also Auguste Comte

The inscription was useful in the understanding of the archaeology and history of Gilgamesh.

It has been proposed that this text was "not a historical document, but quite simply a school concoction based primarily on the SKL and on the Nippur version of the lexical list Proto-Kagal".Michalowski, P., "The Strange History of Tumal", in Approaches to Sumerian Literature, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2006

• Cities of the ancient Near East
• Chronology of the ancient Near East

{{Reflist}}

• Michalowski, Piotr, "The Strange History of Tummal", In Approaches to Sumerian Literature: Studies in Honor of Stip (H. L. J. Vanstiphout), edited by Piotr Michalowski and Niek Veldhuis, pp. 145–65. Leiden: Brill, 2006
• Oelsner, Joachim, "Aus den sumerischen literarischen Texten der Hilprecht-Sammlung Jena: Der Text der Tummal-Chronik", in Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien. Festschrift für Claus Wilcke. Ed. W. Sallaberger, K. Volk and A. Zgoll, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 209–224, 2003
• Oh’e, Setsuko, "An Agricultural Festival in Tummal in the Ur III Period", ASJ 8, pp. 121–132, 1986

• [https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/search?layout=full&id=P469677 History of the Tummal transliteration and translation at CDLI]
• [https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlb/2020-2 Howard, J. Caleb, "Cuneiform Tablets in Collections at the University of Kansas", Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2020 (2), 2020]

Category:2nd-millennium BC literature

Category:Sumerian art and architecture

Category:Gilgamesh