Hymn of the Righteous Sufferer

The Hymn of the Righteous Sufferer is an ancient work from Mesopotamia. As with most ancient works, little is known about its specific origins. We do not know who wrote it or when it was written. In fact, we do not even have the entire text. Some scholars place it in the second millennium BCE, but others place it in the middle of the first millennium BCE At best, we can place it in about 1770–600 BCE. These gaps in our knowledge notwithstanding, this text must have been very popular, because fragments of it have been found in both Assur, in what is now Iraq, and Sultantepe, in what is now the Urfa (or Sanhurfa) province of Turkey.

The Hymn of the Righteous Sufferer was written to celebrate the god Marduk, who was the primary Babylonian deity. Marduk held a central position in this polytheistic culture because he ruled over all other gods and is credited with creating humans. Although the Sumerians recognized Marduk as a lesser god, his popularity grew throughout the latter half of the second millennium until he became the patron god of Babylon. For this reason, sometimes the text is referred to as the Hymn to Marduk. Scholars refer to it as the Ludlul bel Nemeqi, after the initial words in the first line.

The most complete version of this poem was found in 1952 by the archaeologist Seton Lloyd at a site called Sultantepe. The treasure trove of six hundred unbaked tablets found by Lloyd included a nearly complete first tablet of the Hymn of the Righteous Sufferer, containing previously unknown text, as well a second tablet that confirmed material already known from other sources. (Legible unbaked tablets are exceedingly rare, as they tend to crumble upon exposure to the air.) Although the beginning and end of the first tablet are missing, the great bulk of the text is well preserved, as is the text of the second tablet. The third tablet is less intact, as large portions are obscured. Two fragments from Assur and a third found in Sultantepe make up what we know of the fourth tablet. These pieces make sense in terms of content, but their order and placement remain unclear. This text is important because it is a classic Babylonian tale describing the relationship between humans and the gods.