Shul-utul ( sux, , ) or Shul-utula was the personal god the rulers of the Mesopotamian

Ur-Nanshe Ur-Nanshe ( sux, , ) also Ur-Nina, was the first king of the First Dynasty of Lagash (approx. 2500 BCE) in the Sumerian Early Dynastic Period III. He is known through inscriptions to have commissioned many buildings projects, including canals and ...

dynasty of

Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...

. His name means "youngling shepherd" in Sumerian. Despite his role as the personal deity of kings, Shul-utul was not regarded as a deity associated with ruling, and it possible his role was instead connected to personal luck. It is also possible that, similar to

Ninshubur Ninshubur (; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess whose primary role was that of the ''sukkal'' (divine vizier) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context N ...

, he was envisioned as capable of mediating with higher ranked gods on behalf of humans under his protection. One document states that he helped kings with building temples in

Girsu Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. History Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but sig ...

. He is mentioned in inscriptions in association with rulers such as

Entemena Entemena, also called Enmetena ( sux, , ), lived circa 2400 BC, was a son of En-anna-tum I, and he reestablished Lagash as a power in Sumer. He defeated Il, king of Umma, in a territorial conflict, through an alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu of U ...

and

Eannatum Eannatum ( sux, ) was a Sumerian '' Ensi'' (ruler or king) of Lagash circa 2500–2400 BCE. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history: he subdued Elam and destroyed the city of Susa as well as several other Iranian cities, ...

. Shut-utul is mostly attested in association with temples of other deities. Seven foundation figurines from the Ibgal temple, which dedicated to Inanna, are assumed to be depictions of Shul-utul. He was also worshiped in Emah (Sumerian: "exalted house"), a shrine of Nanshe located in Girsu. The only certain attestation of Shul-utul from the

Ur III period The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians consider t ...

is the personal name Ur-Shul-utul. None are known from later periods.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shul-Utula Mesopotamian gods Tutelary deities