Position in chronology
Ur-Ninmarki 2 (FAOS 09/2, Ninmarki 2)
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) To Šul-šagana, the beloved child of Ninĝirsu, his master, Ur-Ninmarki, governor of Lagaš, dedicated this (mace) for her well-being.
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q004879/
Why it matters
Votive dedication of a mace by the governor of Lagaš to Šul-šagana, child of the city-god Ninĝirsu — attesting the personal piety and divine patronage networks through which Ur III provincial rulers legitimised their authority.
Transliteration
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q004879.
Attribution
Image: DUROM N 2264 (Oriental Museum, University of Durham, Durham, UK) — from Girsu (mod. Tello) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P254349). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q004879/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history.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.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.