Position in chronology
NATN 184
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P120882.
Transliteration
[...] ma#-na 6(disz) gin2# [...] 1/3(disz) <ma>-na 6(disz) gin2 ku3-babbar ur5-sze3 ki ad-da-ta ur-da-mu szu ba-ti iti kin-inanna u4 1(disz) zal-la mu# e2 puzur4-isz-[]da-gan ba-du3-a mu ib2-us2-sa-bi ur-da-mu dub-sar# dumu giri3#-ni#
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NATN 184. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P120882) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P120882..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.