Position in chronology
NATN 287 (cast)
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P120985.
Why it matters
Transliteration
[x] edin-u4-[x] [x] da-ne-[x] [x] szu-nin-szubur [x] lugal-ezem [x] lu2-dingir-ra [x] lugal-he2-gal2 lu2 sze szu nu-BAD iti bara2-za3-gar-ra u4 9(disz) ba-zal mu us2-sa si-mu-ru-um ba?-hul#?
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NATN 287 (cast). No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šulgi y24 — Year after: Simurrum destroyed based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P120985) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P120985..
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.