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A curated narrative reconstruction of humanity's first great civilization, sourced from the tablets themselves. Open scholarship, beautifully accessible.

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Religion & Myth Law Economy Astronomy & Mathematics Daily Life Writing & Literature

Period

Ubaid Uruk Period Early Dynastic Akkadian Empire Ur III · Neo-Sumerian Old Babylonian Old Assyrian Middle Babylonian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Neo-Babylonian Achaemenid Persian

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Editorial Sumerian literature Sumerian royal Assyrian royal Assyrian archives

21,426 of 102,257 tablets · 3 filters activeClear filters

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Page 1 / 429

~3500 BCE·Uruk Period

Editorial

Kish Tablet

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.

Writing & Literature

~3200 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Proto-Cuneiform Account Tablet

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.

Writing & Literature·Economy

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 183

[1] , [...]\n1 , [...] KAB[?]\n1 , NAM2 DI\n1 , NAM2 NAM2\n1 , [...]\n1 , NAM2 PA RAD\n1 , AB ME\n1 , GAL |N58.BAD|\n1 , EN [...]\n1 , [...]\n1 , [...]\n1 , [...]\n41 , X [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 184

[1] , [...] SUKKAL 1 , chief dairy-official [1] , [...] 1 , chief first-fruits official 1 , chief herdsman [1] , [chief] lord/master 1 , chief [...] 1 , clay/wind [...] [...] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 188

1(N01) , NAM-ESZDA 1(N01) , NAM2 KAB[?] 1(N01) , NAM2 DI 1(N01) , NAM2 NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 URU[?] 1(N01) , PA~a ŠE~a NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 RAD~a 1(N01) , AB~a ME~a[?] 1(N01) , GAL~a X 1(N01)[?] , EN[?] [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] [N] 1(N14) , EN~a 2(N57) [E2 ...]

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 194

1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] DI [variant] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] NAM2 [variant?] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] URU [city-sign variant] [1(N01)] , [...] NAM2 [variant] 1(N01) , barley(-sign) NAM2 [variant] 1(N01) , NAM2 [variant] RAD [variant] PA [overseer-sign] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , KINGAL 1(N01) , GAL [great/large] TE 1(N01) , SUKKAL [...] 41(N01) [N] , X [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000022, ex. 032

[1(N01)] , GISZ HI GISZ TUN3~a [1(N01)] , [GISZ] AD~a [1(N01)] , [...] 1(N01) , SI TAG~b GISZ [1(N01)] , [...] [N] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 098

[1] vessel, [...] [1] vessel — [DUG~b jar with unidentified sign] (uncertain) [1] vessel — [DUG~b jar with natron/soapwort sign] (very uncertain) 1 vessel — [DUG~b jar with unidentified sign] (uncertain) 1 (uncertain), [...] 1, GAN~c (?) [...] 1, GAN~c (?) [...] [N], [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000026, ex. 055

1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , URI[?] 1(N01) , MUD3~a[?] 1(N01) , MUD3@g 1(N01) , MIR~b 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N34) 2(N14) [...] , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000026, ex. 056

1(N01) , [X — damaged/unclear sign] 1(N01) , SZAKIR~b 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , [...] 1(N01) , SZU2 GU 1(N01) , SZU2 GU [...] 1(N01) , GAL~a TUN3~a 1(N01) , 2(N57) SZU TUN3~a 1(N01) , 1(N57) SZU TUN3~a 1(N01) , AL [...]? 1(N01) , [...] 1(N34) 4(N01) , [...]

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 176

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 176. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 182

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 182. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 185

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 185. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 186

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 186. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000022, ex. 031

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000022, ex. 031. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 097

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 097. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical Archaic Unidentified, ex. 127

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical Archaic Unidentified, ex. 127. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical Archaic Unidentified, ex. 128

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical Archaic Unidentified, ex. 128. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MS 2900/04

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — MS 2900/04. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

Trudy Otdela Vostoka 3 p. 27ff.:2

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — Trudy Otdela Vostoka 3 p. 27ff.:2. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Religion & Myth·Daily Life

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 177

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 177. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 178

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 178. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 179

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 179. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 180

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 180. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 181

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 181. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 187

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 187. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 189

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 189. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 190

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 190. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 192

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 192. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 001

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 001. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 095

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 095. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 096

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000023, ex. 096. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000265, ex. 011

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000265, ex. 011. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~3100 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial

MSVO 1, 243

Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — MSVO 1, 243. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 191

[...] |1(N58).BAD~a| EN, IB [...] Linen-cloth(?) SUKKAL (vizier) Great one, GARA2 Garment, GARA2 [...] Great one of the throne-base Great one of |ZATU737xDI| SANGA-priest of |ZATU737xX| SANGA-priest of |ZATU737xX| [ZATU725(?)] [DAM(?)] (spouse/wife?)

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

CDLI Lexical 000003, ex. 034

1 unit — NAM2[...] 1 unit — GAL~a (great/large) SZAH2~a 1 unit — NAM2 APIN~a (plow [official]) 1 unit — GAL~a [...] 1 unit — GAL~a SZAB~a 1 unit — PA~a NAM2 [...] 1 unit — AB~a [...] 1 unit — GAL~a [...]

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

MS 1952/37

1. [fish (KU6~a)] TU~b 2. NAM2 NAM2 3. NAM2(?) GIR2~b 4. DU AN A 5. SZUDUN(?) RI 6. SZUDUN(?) GIR2~b 7. [X] A NI~b 8. NE~a U4 RA 9. NI~b RA 10. SZE3 BU~a 11. U4 SZIDIM GIR3@g~b[?] 12. IL GUB3~c [X] 13. [X] ZATU726~a(?) UR~a(?) NI~b DUR2(?) 14. HI A[?]

Religion & Myth·Daily Life

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000013, ex. 023

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000013, ex. 023. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

Fs Krecher 330-332 01

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC) ?) — Fs Krecher 330-332 01. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~2800 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

Fs Krecher 342-343 11

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED I-II (ca. 2900-2700 BC) ?) — Fs Krecher 342-343 11. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

CDLI Literary 006205, ex. 010

[...] she-goat(?) [LAK20] — [...] place(?) — not having [...] ... place GU [...] LUM — not having [...] servant/Subarian [...] MAR — not having [... ...] ... not(?) — [dairy/ghee?] [complex sign cluster] — not eggs/roe — fish — not LI TAR [...] ... [...] KU [... ...]

Religion & Myth·Daily Life

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

CUSAS 32, 002

Enuru, [... serpent(?),] dark — of the Abzu [...]; its tail rising, its nature — the mouth opened and opened. Its mouth-enclosure — matched, declared. The serpent bites; the great dragon bites. The spotted field — [pure-water ...] [laden-water ...] [...] ... The serpent — its mouth laden. Its tongue, the voice — very small, very small — filled. The serpent — mouth burdened — [the sun's mouth?] — may it not [harm ...] [harm ...]. The sanga-administrator Ur-Gibil, the scribe, [wrote it].

Religion & Myth

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

SF 002

šud₃ of the mountain-land, surpassing [all others] e-lum that covers [the sky?] [...] [...] toward/of [barley?] [...] [...] (broken) e-lum of the righteous/true crown The house (temple) whose interior canopies the sky — (sweet as) honey e-lum with [prayer?] beside it Mistress of [the sea / cattle-stall], of Anzû

Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticOur engine

SF 025

[...] (illegible) Ur-Inanna Ku-lili Si-du [A?]-|SAGxHA|-NE Mes-abzu Ur-Nisaba Mes-pa Zu-[la?]-lum Woman-[...] Nu-[...] ([...]) [illegible]

Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000003, ex. 052

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000003, ex. 052. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

CDLI Lexical 000031, ex. 007

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000031, ex. 007. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

CUSAS 17, 001

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC) ?) — CUSAS 17, 001. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Religion & Myth·Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

CUSAS 17, 009

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC)) — CUSAS 17, 009. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

RIME 1.15.add006.01, ex. 01

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC)) — RIME 1.15.add006.01, ex. 01. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~2550 BCE·Early DynasticEditorial

SF 014

Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIa (ca. 2600-2500 BC)) — SF 014. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).

Writing & Literature·Daily Life

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