Position in chronology
BE 01/1, 039
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P264831.
Why it matters
Transliteration
en#-lil2# lugal# kur-kur-ra# lugal#-a-ni-ir ku#-ri-gal-zu dumu bur-na-bu-ri-ia-asz nam#-ti-la#-ni-sze3# in-na-an-ba
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)) — BE 01/1, 039. 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 (P264831) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P264831..
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Related sources
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.