Šu-Sin
Mesopotamian · quartigod · ur iii · quartigod
Quartigod 5th king of the Ur III dynasty (~2037-2029 BCE). Son of Šulgi. Built the Muriq-Tidnim ("Repeller-of-the-Tidnim") defensive wall — a 280-km earthwork between the Tigris and the Euphrates north of Sippar to repel the Amorite incursions; the canonical-primary archaeological-attested precursor to the later defensive-wall tradition (Median Wall, Sasanian Gorgan Wall, Great Wall of China). The wall failed: Amorite migration through gaps continued and contributed to the Ur III collapse under Ibbi-Sin. Subject of the Šu-Sin Sacred-Marriage hymns (ETCSL 2.4.4) — "Bridegroom, dear to my heart" (Šu-Sin B) is often cited as the world's oldest love-poem.
Parentage
Children
Powers
- Worshipped as a living god, his name written with the divine determinative
- United with the goddess Inanna in the sacred-marriage rite as the bridegroom Dumuzi
Relations
- father: Šulgi
- sibling: Amar-Sin
- sibling: Enmaḫgalanna
- father of: Ibbi-Sin
Sources
- Sumerian King List (Ur III dynasty; ETCSL 2.1.1)
- Šu-Sin royal inscriptions (Frayne, RIME 3/2)
- Šu-Sin year-name lists
- Šu-Sin Sacred-Marriage hymns (ETCSL 2.4.4)
- Šu-Sin Letter Collection (ETCSL 3.1.07)
- Drehem administrative archives