Steve Watson

Notes on the Cult of the Isin-Larsa Period

Ur-Nammu appointed his son to be high priest of Inanna at Uruk, and his daughter to be high priestess of Nanna at Ur.[1] This custom was begun by the Akkadians and was doubtless intended to facilitate the control of the resources of the temple estates by the secular power, as well as to prevent religious disaffection from posing a threat. In the same vein, but rather more traditionally, after a conqueror had replaced the local ruler of a newly incorporated territory, he had to assume that ruler’s cultic responsibilities, just as he had to take precedence in the administrative roles. Thus the kings of Ur III were required to participate in all the festivals that were necessary to the state cults for all the subordinated realms. This was obviously impossible for any one person, so he compromised by using a representative in most cases, and restricted his own participation to the most important cult events in Ur, Nippur, and Uruk. In those places the king celebrated coronation, enthronement, and investiture (by taking a mace and sceptre.)[2] These, at least, would have been easily understood and traditional responses to the problems posed.

Divine Kingship

In a reprise of the Akkadian habit, however, the Ur III kings from Šulgi to Ibbi-Sin also all claimed divinity. They claimed, in fact, to be the children of the parents of Gilgameš. Their names were preceded by the divine determinative, and they were pictured wearing the horned helmets proper to the gods. Temples were occasionally dedicated to them; for example, the temple of Šu-Sin in Ešnunna. Šulgi had his own priesthood. Many names included the names of the kings of Ur as if they were theophoric names;[3] for example, Simat-Šulgi (‘Belonging to Šulgi.’)[4] But it is not certain exactly how this should be understood. It may be that, as has been suggested for the Akkadian practice, the claim of kingship is to be taken functionally, so as to provide a formal sponsor for a state where the particularism of the cities would not accept any of the city gods to play the role. It seems that some caution was still taken with the claim, since in the seal presentation scenes the king may sit in a god’s throne, but he does not have any other divine attributes.

In other respects, however, the kings were less reticent. Royal Hymns were a literary genre introduced by Ur-Nammu,[5] adapting a style of hymn created for Gudea. The hymns were intended for public performance (as was most literature) whether in a regular cultic setting or as part of some special celebration. They emphasise the superior qualities of the king in a pretty standardised way:[6] there are boasts of his divinity and legitimacy; his care for the gods and temples and his ability to placate the gods; his scribal, linguistic, musical, hunterly, oracular, soldierly qualities; his strength and beauty; his responsibility for the peace, justice, and prosperity in the Land. Their ideological function may have been to provide a text in celebrations by which all the city states could direct their attention towards a single name of a unifying god/king to counteract the particularist tendencies of the distinct cults of those cities.

The king’s new divinity may also help to understand the new class of women found in the palace at Ur in this period. At this time, the lukur (nad?tum) seem to be a type of secondary wife used somehow to retain property in a patrilineal line, and may also have had some diplomatic role. Some are called lukur kaskulu (‘of the road’), but the significance of this is not certain – perhaps they were his travelling companions. Although the evidence does not indicate a religious role for the office under Ur III, this may simply indicate a lacuna in the evidence. Not long afterward, in OB times, we do find them as a type of vestal virgin (nad?tum means ‘fallow’) in Sippar, Nippur, and Babylon, that we know of. Then they were considered to be the daughters-in-law of a god, and we have many texts dealing with the disposal of their dowries. In Babylon, however, they were also able to marry normally.[7] Notwithstanding this, if they did have a religious signification in Ur III, we have no idea what it might have been.

[1] H&S, p. 78.
[2] Postgate, p.150.
[3] Postgate, p. 266.
[4] Kuhrt, p. 66.
[5] H&S, p. 78.
[6] Hallo:RH
[7] Postgate, pp. 131, 149.