Position in chronology
OAIC 20
About this tablet
A small ration or allotment list from Ešnunna (modern Tell Asmar) in the Diyala region of Iraq, dating to the Old Akkadian period (c. 2300–2150 BCE). It records quantities of a commodity—almost certainly barley—measured in barig and ban, issued to eight named individuals, including at least one woman and a 'daughter-in-law'. Such tablets are the everyday bookkeeping of a household or estate, and the mixed Akkadian and Sumerian names give a glimpse of the people who lived and worked in a bilingual Mesopotamian town.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Here is who got what: Isu-gi received one barig (about 60 liters); Ama-gasur, four ban (about 40 liters); Šu-atum, one barig; and Dada, the woman, was also included. Ḫumaza got three ban (about 30 liters); Sunitum, one barig; Agigi, two ban (about 20 liters); and the daughter-in-law of the household, one barig. The commodity is not named but is almost certainly barley, handed out as rations.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1. 1 barig — Isu-gi 2. 4 ban — Ama-gasur 3. 1 barig — Šu-atum 4. and Dada, the woman 5. 3 ban — Ḫumaza 6. 1 barig — Sunitum 7. 2 ban — Agigi 8. 1 barig — the daughter-in-law (é-gi₄-a)
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
1(barig) i-su-gi 4(ban2) ama-ga-sur14 1(barig) szu-a-tum u3 da-da _munus_ 3(ban2) hu-ma-za# 1(barig) su-ni-tum 2(ban2) a-gi-gi 1(barig) _e2-gi-a_
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Akkadian (ca. 2340-2200 BC)) — OAIC 20. 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 (P215892) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved).
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