Tradition and the poetics of innovation: Sumerian court literature of the Larsa dynasty (2003--1763 BCE).

Abstract

Studies of Sumerian royal literature have primarily focused on the poems written for the rulers of the Ur III(2112--2004 BCE) and Isin (2017--1793) dynasties, which form a relatively homogeneous corpus. It is the objective of this dissertation to show how the Larsa royal literature is different from its literary predecessors. I consider the historical, literary, and linguistic contexts to evaluate and interpret this very unusual and innovative corpus of literature, which consists of hymns and literary letters of petition. The first literary compositions that leave the traditional paths of royal celebratory rhetoric are the texts attested for Sin-iddinam (1849--1843 BCE), which use traditional motifs of legitimization, but find new literary and linguistic ways of expressing them. It appears that Sin-iddinam was later defamed as an unlucky ruler, which becomes visible in the literary letters composed in his name. The poems for Rim-Sin (1822--1763 BCE), the longest-ruling king in Mesopotamian history, built on some of the innovations that appeared in Sin-iddinam's royal literature, and represent the most unusual and enigmatic corpus of Sumerian royal literature. This study appreciates the creative spirit of ancient scribes, who composed the Larsa poems, as well as the historical and linguistic contexts, in which they lived and wrote.