Position in chronology
RIME 1.14.20.01, ex. 43
About this tablet
A fragment of a stone vase dedicated at Nippur by Lugalzagesi, king of Uruk and Umma (about 2350 BCE), the last great Sumerian ruler before Sargon of Akkad. Dozens of shattered vases carrying copies of this same long inscription were found in Enlil's temple; this piece preserves part of the king's grand titulary — favored by An, chief ruler for Enlil, given wisdom by Enki — and his boast that his reign brought joy to the cities of Sumer, including Larsa, beloved city of the sun-god Utu. It is one of the earliest surviving claims to rule over 'all the lands', a rhetoric of universal kingship that Sargon would soon make real.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
What survives is part of a king's résumé and his boast. The opening is lost, but the readable lines say that this ruler was looked upon with true favor by An, king of all the lands; that he served as Enlil's chief governor; and that the god Enki granted him wisdom. After a gap, the text resumes mid-boast: he raised up (the head of Ur to heaven, as the full inscription elsewhere says), and he caused Larsa, the city the sun-god Utu loves, to rise up rejoicing. The final line breaks off just as it begins.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine(Break) [... looked] upon [truly] by [An], king of all the lands; chief ruler for [the god] Enlil; given wisdom by [the god] En[ki]; (Break) he raised [the head of Ur heavenward] (lit. "he raised up"); Larsa, the beloved city of Utu, he made rise in jubilation — he [...] (text breaks off)
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
[...] [...] bar#-ra [x] lugal# kur-kur-ka ensi2# gal# []en#-lil2 gesztu2# szum2-ma []en#-[x] [...] mu#-dab6#-il2# larsa iri ki-ag2# utu#-ke4# a-ne hul2#-[x] mu#-[...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — RIME 1.14.20.01, ex. 43. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P264974) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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