Instructions of Shuruppak facts for kids

The Instructions of Shuruppak are one of the oldest pieces of writing we have from ancient Sumer. It's like a rulebook or a guide filled with wise advice. This advice was meant to teach people how to be good, how to act properly, and how to live well in their community. These instructions are part of what we call "wisdom literature," which was very popular in the ancient Near East.

The text starts by saying it's from "those far remote times," making it sound very old and important. The advice is given by a king named Šuruppak to his son, Ziusudra. Šuruppak was a king who lived before a great flood, according to ancient stories. His son, Ziusudra (also known as Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh), is famous for building a big boat to survive this flood.

The oldest copy of these instructions was found on a cuneiform tablet in a place called Abu Salabikh. This tablet is from around 2500 BCE, making the Instructions of Shuruppak one of the oldest surviving books in the world! Many copies of this text have been found, which shows how popular and important it was to people in ancient Sumer and Akkad.

Wise Words from Ancient Times

The advice in the Instructions of Shuruppak is short and to the point, often just one to three lines long. Some of the advice is very practical, like:

• You should not build a field on a road.
• You should not dig a well in your field, because people might damage it.

Other advice focuses on how to behave and be a good person. For example, it warns against gossiping or causing trouble:

• You should not play around with a married young woman: the gossip could be serious.

The text often talks about how important community opinion is. What people think of you, especially in the "courtyard" (meaning the community or important people), was very important. Even in the marketplace, "insults and stupid speaking" would get attention.

Connections to Other Ancient Texts

Some of the advice in the Instructions of Shuruppak is similar to ideas found in later famous texts. For example, some of its rules remind us of the Ten Commandments. Other sayings are similar to those found in the biblical Book of Proverbs, which also shares wise advice for living a good life. This shows how some ideas about wisdom and good behavior have been passed down through many cultures and thousands of years.

See also

• Sumerian literature