Ancient World

Istanbul 2461

Istanbul #2461 (also Ni 2461, L.2461) is an ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablet. Some have labelled it the world's oldest love poem. It is on display at the Istanbul Museum of the Ancient Orient (Mesopotamia Hall). It is an erotic poem addressed to king Shu-Sin (reigned 20th or 21st century BC) by an unnamed female speaker. It is thought that the poem may be connected to a "sacred marriage" between the king and a priestess of Inanna.

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See also

• ▸Cyrene, Libya
• ▸Battle of the Eureka Stockade
• ▸House of the Vestals Hoards

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.