Position in chronology
En-metena 17
Translation · reference
High confidence(shoulder i 1) En-metena, ruler of Lagaš, parceled out 25 bur of land, (a field called) En-ana-tum-sur-Nanše-etaed, 11 bur of land, (a field called) Nizuh-šub in the marshland of Niĝin, next to the holy canal, and 60 bur of land, (a field called) Enlil in the area of Gu-edena for Enlil of the E-adda. (statue i 1) For Enlil of the E-adda. (statue i 3) En-metena, ruler of Lagaš, chosen by Nanše in the heart, chief governor of Ninĝirsu, child of En-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, descendant of Ur-Nanše, king of Lagaš, built the sanctuary of Dugru for Ninĝirsu, built him the A-huš, the temple that is…
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001091/
Why it matters
Transliteration
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q001091.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001091/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.