Position in chronology
NATN 441
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P121139.
Why it matters
Transliteration
1(disz) udu ka2 inanna 1(disz) masz2 na-na-a sza3 unu-ga 1(disz) udu isz#?-me-er3-ra 1(disz) sila4 ba-usz2 [ki?] lugal#-ur2#?-ra-ni-ta ba-zi# iti NE-NE-[gar] mu i-bi2#-[suen] lugal
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NATN 441. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Ibbi-Suen y1 — Ibbi-Suen became king based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P121139) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P121139..
Related tablets
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.