Position in chronology
NRVN 1, 089
About this tablet
A silver loan contract from Nippur, dated to the sixth year of King Šu-Suen of the Third Dynasty of Ur (around 2031 BCE). Puzur-Enlil borrows six shekels of silver from Ur-Šulpa'e at the standard rate of one shekel of interest for every five borrowed — 20 percent, the customary silver rate of the period. Three named witnesses seal the deal. It is a piece of everyday private credit paperwork, showing that ordinary lending at fixed interest was routine business four thousand years ago.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Puzur-Enlil has received a loan of 6 shekels of silver from Ur-Šulpa'e. The interest is set at 1 shekel for every 5 shekels borrowed — that is, 20 percent. Three men stood as witnesses to the transaction: Enlil-massu, Ur-mes, and Lu-saga. The document is dated to the month of Ab-e, in the year King Šu-Suen erected the great stele — his sixth year on the throne.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine6 shekels of silver, its interest: 1 shekel per 5 shekels (per year), from Ur-Šulpa'e Puzur-Enlil received. Before Enlil-massu, 1 (i.e.) Ur-mes, 1 (i.e.) Lu-saga — they are its witnesses. Month: Ab-e (10th month of the Nippur calendar). Year: Šu-Suen the king erected the great stele (Šu-Suen year 6).
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
6(disz) gin2 ku3-babbar masz2 5(disz) gin2 1(disz) gin2-ta ki ur-szul-pa-e3-ta puzur4-en-lil2 szu ba-ti igi en-lil2-mas-su2 1(disz) ur-mes 1(disz) lu2-sa6-ga lu2-inim-ma-bi-me iti ab-e3 mu szu-suen lugal-e na-ru2-a-mah mu-du3
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NRVN 1, 089. This record has no stored scholarly English translation; the existence of published translations has not been checked; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šu-Suen y1 — Šu-Suen became king based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Ist Ni 00222 (cast: CBS 09706 ?) (Arkeoloji Müzeleri, Istanbul, Turkey) — from Nippur (mod. Nuffar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P122303). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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