Position in chronology
E-anatum 06
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(i 1) For Nanše, E-ana-tum built the city-wall of Lagaš and had it manned. (i 6) E-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, whose name was proclaimed by Enlil, given strength by Ninĝirsu, chosen by Nanše in the heart, nourished on rich milk by Ninhursaĝa, called by a propitious name by Inana, given wisdom by Enki, beloved of Dumuzid-Abzu, supported by Hendursaĝ, child of Aya-kurgal, ruler of Lagaš, restored Ĝirsu for Ninĝirsu. He built the city-wall of Irikug. He built Niĝin for Nanše. (iii 11) E-ana-tum defeated Elam, the marvelous mountain range and piled up a burial mound for it. (iii 16) He defeated…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
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 Q001058.
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/Q001058/.
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One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history.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.