Sîn-lēqi-unninni
Sîn-lēqi-unninni was a mašmaššu who lived in Mesopotamia, probably in the period between 1300 BC and 1000 BC. He is traditionally thought to have compiled the best-preserved version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. His name is listed in the text itself, which was unorthodox for works written in cuneiform. His version is known by its incipit, or first line "ša nagba īmuru" ("He who saw the deep" or "The one who saw the Abyss").
Sîn-lēqi-unninni
editor Austen Henry Layard, drawing by L. Gruner · 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 5, London, J. Murray, 1853 · Public domain
- Born
- Sîn-lēqi-unninni was born, sources differ on the date (the 13th century BC and 1200).
- Died
- 1100
- Occupation
- writer · priest
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The extent to which his version is different from earlier texts is unknown; Andrew R. George argues that Sîn-lēqi-unninni "gave [The Epic of Gilgamesh] its final, fixed form". Tigay acknowledges that Sîn-lēqi-unninni shifted "Gilgamesh's greatness from deeds to the acquisition of knowledge". At time it was also known as "Gilgamesh series" (iškar Gilgāmeš). The prologue features the only instance of first person narration by Sîn-lēqi-unninni. His version includes Utnapishtim's story of the Flood in tablet XI and, in tablet XII, the Sumerian Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld. Name means 'Sîn (the Moon God) is one who accepts my prayer'. It is also sometimes transcribed, albeit less probably, as 'Sîn-liqe-unninni', meaning 'O Sîn! Accept my prayer'. Several Úruk families in the Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid and Seleucid periods claimed Sîn-lēqi-unninni as their ancestor, specifically those who acted as scribes and kalû, creating something of a "dynasty of intellectuals". Sîn-lēqi-unninni may have been a legendary figure, with a list from the first millennium B.C. describing him as "Gilgamesh's wise councilor".
Sîn-lēqi-unninni (1200–1100) was a writer and priest.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sîn-lēqi-unninni, revision 1319773922 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
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These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.ORACC – Sin-leqi-unninni.
- 2.Penguin Books. The Epic of Gilgamesh. ii, xxiv–v. 2003. 0-14-044919-1.
- 3.George, Andrew R. Shattered tablets and tangled threads: Editing Gilgamesh, then and now. Aramazd. Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 3. 1. 11. 2008.
- 4.George, A. R. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, critical edition and cuneiform, p. 27
- 5.FINK, Sebastian. The Genealogy of Gilgamesh. Classica et Christiana. 1. 87–88. 2013. 1842-3043.
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