Position in chronology
OAIC 05
About this tablet
A small silver receipt from Ešnunna (modern Tell Asmar in the Diyala region of Iraq), written in the Old Akkadian period, roughly 2300–2200 BCE. A man named Mazarsu acknowledges receiving a little over four shekels of silver, and seven men are listed as witnesses to the transaction; a damaged line mentions a house, and a final note records a further two shekels of silver destined for a man called Igini. It is a glimpse of ordinary silver payments and the witnessing practices that gave such transfers legal weight in the Akkadian empire's provinces.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Mazarsu received 4 1/3 shekels of silver. The witnesses were Dingir-kal, Ikūnum, Ilī-saliq, Ursuda, UD-kum, Ibbi-bi and Adamu. A damaged line then refers to a house and to someone whose name ends in -sudum; the beginning is lost. Finally, 2 shekels of silver are earmarked for Igini.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1. 4 1/3 shekels of silver 2. Mazarsu(?) 3. received. 4. Dingir-kal (Ilum-dān), 5. Ikūnum, 6. Ilī-saliq, 7. Ursuda, 8. UD-kum, 9. Ibbi-bi, 10. Adamu — 11. (these are) the witnesses. 12. [...] house 13. ...-su-du-um. 14. 2 shekels of silver 15. to/for Igini.
Our translation engine — Fable 5.1. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
4(asz@c) _gin2 1/3(disz) ku3-babbar_ ma-za-ar?-su im-hur dingir-kal i-ku8-num2 i3-li2-sa-liq ur-su-da UD-kum i-bi2-bi2 a-dam-u _abba2-abba2_ [...] _e2_ x-su-du-um 2(asz@c) _gin2 ku3:babbar_ a-na i-gi-ni
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Akkadian (ca. 2340-2200 BC)) — OAIC 05. This record has no stored scholarly English translation; the existence of published translations has not been checked; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA (P215877) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved).
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