Position in chronology
Gudea 037
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) For Ninĝirsu, the powerful warrior of Enlil, Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, brought about perfection: he built and restored his E-ninnu-anzud-babbar.
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000908/
Why it matters
Gudea's dedication of the E-ninnu temple to the warrior-god Ninĝirsu at Lagaš, attesting the Sumerian practice of framing royal construction as an act of cosmic completion rather than mere civic building.
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 Q000908.
Attribution
Image: MMUM — (Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK) — from Girsu (mod. Tello) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P128040). 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/Q000908/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.