Position in chronology
OIP 092, 0047
About this tablet
An administrative wine receipt from the Persepolis Fortification archive, the working paperwork of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid kings (late 6th–early 5th century BCE). Written in Elamite by a local scribe, it records that a man named Dāukka drew a sizeable quantity of wine — 27 marriš, roughly 260 liters — from stocks controlled by a supply official named Muiška, with another official, Parnamatiš, serving in the specialized role of 'kuizza,' apparently a wine-handler. Tens of thousands of such tablets survive, and together they let us reconstruct the day-to-day economy of Persepolis, ration by ration.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Receipt: 27 marriš of wine (about 260 liters), issued from the stores managed by Muiška. The recipient was a man named Dāukka, apparently identified by his origin or affiliation (a 'Mardamarda' man, connected with the place Nariyapikna). Parnamatiš, the wine officer on duty, handled or countersigned the transaction. In modern terms: a signed-off warehouse withdrawal slip from the imperial supply system at Persepolis.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine27 marriš of wine, supplied by Muiška (kurmin of Muiškana): (a man) named Dāukka, a Mardamarda-ian(?) of Nariyapikna, received (it). Parnamatiš (was the) kuizza (wine official).
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
2(u) 7(disz) mar-ri-isz _gesztin@d-mesz_ kur-min2 mu-isz-ka4-na da-a-u2-uk-ka4 hi-sze mar-da-mar-da-um? na-ri-ia-pi-ik-na-na du-isz par2-na-ma-ti-isz ku-iz-za
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Achaemenid (547-331 BC)) — OIP 092, 0047. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: OIM L— (PFAP, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA) — from Pārśa (mod. Persepolis) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P382733). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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