Position in chronology
ARET 03, 087
About this tablet
An administrative fragment from the palace archives of Ebla in northern Syria, written around 2350 BCE. It records the distribution of luxury textiles — cloaks, tunics, and colored sashes, the standard 'garment set' of Eblaite diplomacy and payroll — to named individuals, including a man attached to the quay (trading post) and residents connected to the city of Kakmium. Tablets like this, thousands of which were found in the burned palace archive, document how the Ebla court used fine cloth as currency for officials, envoys, and foreign contacts.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This is a clothing-issue record. A set of garments — some double-weave cloaks, an aktum tunic, and a fine multicolored sash — goes to a man named Dubi-zikir. After a gap, more issues follow: something for the man stationed at the quay, and for Manuwad, a resident of Zušagabu. One fine garment goes to Išdala, along with one further item whose nature is unclear. Another entry concerns someone from the city of Kakmium, a resident named NI-tiba. A running tally notes 4 gudul-garments, 4 fine garments, and 6 of something now lost. The rest of the tablet is broken away.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine(obverse) [n] 'a3-da-um cloaks of double (quality), 1 aktum-tunic, 1 fine multicolored kilt: Dubi-zikir, [...] the man of the quay, (and) Manuwad, resident of Zušagabu. 1 fine garment: Išdala, one ... (gab). [...] (of) Kak[mi]um, resident: NI-tiba. (Subtotal:) 4 gudul-garments, 4 fine garments, 6 [...] (rest broken)
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
[n] 'a3-da-um 2(disz@t) 1(asz@c) _aktum_ 1(asz@c) _|IB2+3(DISZ@t)| dar sa6 tug2_ du-bi2-zi-kir [...] _lu2 kar_ ma-nu-wa-ad _al6-tusz_ zu2!-sza!-ga-bu3 1(asz@c) _SAL_ isz-da-la2 ASZ _gab_ [...] kak-[mi]-um _al6-tusz_ NI-ti-ba 4(asz@c) _gu-dul3_ 4(asz@c) _SAL_ 6(asz@c)# [...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ebla (ca. 2350-2250 BC)) — ARET 03, 087. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: National Museum of Syria, Idlib, Syria (P242272) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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A window into the world's first total state. The Ur III administration tracked every animal, every worker, every shekel — for a population in the millions. The level of paperwork was not exceeded until the modern era.