A Sumerian Royal Inscription Describing the (Re)Building of a Chapel for Annunītum by King Enlil-Bāni of Isin

Abstract

This article presents a new Sumerian royal inscription in which King Enlil-bāni of Isin claims to have built a residence for the goddess Annunītum. It is argued here that this construction work could have simply involved the maintenance of a chapel for Annunītum within the temple of Inana at Isin. Whatever the case, the work might have been very significant to Enlil-bāni, since he could have carried it out when Isin had lost control of Nippur due to its conquest by the rival kingdom of Larsa. In this way, Enlilbāni’s maintenance of the chapel of Annunītum, a goddess associated with kingship, could have been intended to gain her favor and thus reaffirm his royal status after this great loss, even though he later reintegrated Nippur into the kingdom of Isin. The Sumerian inscription in question appears with a presentation of the two foundation nails currently preserving this text, a score edition, and a philological commentary, as well as a hand copy and photographs of the duplicate preserved in the Sephardic Museum (Toledo, Spain). Photos and further details of another object from this museum, a votive cone containing a duplicate of Gudea 37 (= RIME 3/1, 1.7.37), also appear in the present paper.