Position in chronology
Aegyptus 26, 157 04
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P100237.
Transliteration
3(gesz2) 1(u) 8(disz) [...] 3(u) 7(disz) udu bar-gal2 3(disz) masz2 ki ur-e11-e-ta ugu2 lu2-nam2!-an-ka ba-a-gar kiszib3 ur-szara2 mu en-unu6-gal inanna ba-hun ur-szara2 dub-sar dumu lugal-uszur4#
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — Aegyptus 26, 157 04. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Amar-Suen y4 — En-unugal of Inanna installed based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Museo di Antichità di Torino, Turin, Italy (P100237) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P100237..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.