Position in chronology
RIME 1.14.14.01, ex. 09
About this tablet
These are fragments of a stone votive vessel from the temple of Enlil at Nippur, inscribed for Lugal-kigine-dudu, an Early Dynastic ruler of Uruk (mid-third millennium BCE). The inscription is a standard dedication: it claims that Enlil, chief god of the Sumerian pantheon, personally chose this ruler and united in him the two great offices of 'en-ship' (priestly lordship) and kingship. It matters historically because Lugal-kigine-dudu is one of the earliest rulers we can see using divine election to justify holding power over more than one city, and he advertised it in Enlil's own sanctuary.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This vase was dedicated to Enlil, king of all the lands. It was given by Lugal-kigine-dudu, who records that when Enlil called him by name in truth, the god combined for him both the high priesthood and the kingship — the priestly office he held in Uruk. He deposited this vessel in Enlil's temple as an offering for his own life. The closing lines are restored from duplicate copies of the same inscription, since this exemplar survives only in fragments.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineFor Enlil, king of all the lands, Lugal-kigine-[dudu] — when Enlil spoke truly to him (i.e., truly summoned him), and joined for him the en-ship [together with] the kingship — in [Uruk] [the en-ship (he exercised)]; [for his life] [he] dedicated (this vessel) [to him].
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Transliteration
en-lil2# lugal kur-kur-ra-ke4# lugal#-ki-gen#-[ne2-du7-du7]-ra# u4 en-lil2-le# gu3-zi e-na-de2-a# nam-en# nam#-lugal#-[da] [e-na]-da#-[tab]-ba-a [unu]-ga# [nam-en] [nam-ti-la-ni-sze3] [a mu-na]-ru
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — RIME 1.14.14.01, ex. 09. 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: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P247697) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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