agreed that claiming descent from Ninsun was viewed as a way to legitimize their rule, but it is unknown whether it should be understood as a sign that the dynasty originated in Uruk, or if the only reason was the fact that Gilgamesh was recognized as a model of kingship. In addition to the kings, there is also evidence for worship of Ninsun by their families. A concubine of Shulgi, Šuqurtum, referred to Ninsun as "my goddess" in a curse formula on an inscribed vase. A prince (dumu lugal) bearing the theophoric name Puzur-Ninsun is also known, but no detailed information about his life is presently known, and the Puzrish-Dagan tablet attesting his existence is undated. Ninsun continued to be worshiped in later periods. Sporadic references to her are present in Old Babylonian personal letters. In cylinder seal inscriptions from Sippar, Ninsun and Lugalbanda occur less commonly than the most popular divine couples, such as Shamash and Aya and Adad and Shala, but with comparable frequency as Enlil and Ninlil or Nanna and Ningal. Ninsun continues to appear in seal inscriptions from Kassite period as well. In Seleucid Uruk, Ninsun was celebrated during the New Year festival of Ishtar. Most of the deities involved in it were well known as members of the pantheon of Uruk, in contrast with a different group which was celebrated during an analogous festival of Antu. Mythology An Early Dynastic myth from Abu Salabikh describes the first meeting and marriage of Ninsun and Lugalbanda. The text is regarded as particularly difficult to translate and study, as only one most likely incomplete copy survives. In the surviving fragments Ninsun offers beer bread to Lugalbanda, and later spends a night with him in Iri'aza, a mountainous location in Elam. After waking up she receives an enclosed clay tablet, and after reading it most likely urges Lugalbanda to go with her to Uruk to visit the En (ruler) of the city. Once they arrive there, the goddess Inanna appears to instruct Lugalbanda how to approach Ninsun's nameless father to be allowed to marry her. The restoration of the ending is uncertain, but Jan Lisman proposes that the final known section involves Lugalbanda inviting both his own relatives and members of Ninsun's family to their wedding. It has been argued that this myth culminated in the birth of Gilgamesh, but this proposal is unproven and controversial. Ninsun appears in