Position in chronology
CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 088
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P346403.
Transliteration
szum2-mu-na-ab na-<mu>-na-ab-szum2-mu# szu-ni na-an-tag garzaga-bi# lu giri3 ba-da-kur2# x-szu me-bi pa-ar-s,u-szu ba-da-ha-lam di-ir-ga-a ri-ik-su-szu ki ba-e-gul garza-bi giri3 na-ab-ta#-kur2-ru-de3-en-ze2#-[en] me-bi# la na-ab-ta#?-[...]-ha-lam-e di-ir-ga-a ri-ik-si2-szu ki# [...]-gul-en#-[...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)) — CDLI Literary 000796, ex. 088. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: British Museum, London, UK (P346403) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P346403..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.