𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐮-𝐒𝐢𝐧, 𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐥 #𝟐𝟒𝟔𝟏

A poem called Istanbul #2461 holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest surviving love poem. The poem is written in a clay tablet and is from the times of the Sumerians who invented writing. The author of the poem is unknown however, it is believed that the poem was recited to Sumerian King Shu-Sin by one of his brides. Shu-Sin ruled between 2037 and 2029 BC.

“𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚, 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡,
𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦, ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡,
𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡,
𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦, ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡.
𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢.
𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟,
𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢.
𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟.
𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢,
𝑀𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦,
𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦-𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑,
𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦,
𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢,
𝑀𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦. ”

The above is an extract from the poem and it was translated by famous Sumerologist, Samuel Noah Kramer in his work, History Begins at Sumer. The tablet was found in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and is currently held in the Istanbul Museum of the Ancient Orient.

Image credits:
1. A Love Song of Shu-Sin (Shu-Suen B) – Istanbul

This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
2. An ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid. Wikepedia.

#MonthofLove l #ValentinesDay l #Love