Position in chronology
NYPL 165
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P122703.
Why it matters
Transliteration
1(u) 2(disz) kusz udu sa-bi 1/3(disz) ma-na 4(disz) gin2 ad6-bi ur-gi7-re ba-ab-gu7 ugula i3-lal3-lum ki lu2-dingir-ra dumu inim-szara2-ta mu-kux(DU) nu-ur2-suen szu ba-ti iti szu-esz5-sza mu gu-za en-lil2-la2 ba-dim2
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NYPL 165. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Ur-Nammu y14 — The throne of Enlil was fashioned based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: New York Public Library, New York, New York, USA (P122703) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P122703..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.