Position in chronology
RIME 3/1.01.07.037, ex. add1245
About this tablet
This is a royal dedicatory inscription of Gudea, ruler of the city-state of Lagash in southern Mesopotamia (best known from the Neo-Sumerian period, though catalogued here under the broader 'Akkadian' era label). It commemorates his rebuilding of the Eninnu, the great temple of the warrior-god Ningirsu at Girsu, nicknamed the 'White Thunderbird' after the mythical Anzu bird. This short formula is one of many nearly identical exemplars found across Gudea's numerous statues, cylinders, and building inscriptions, all proclaiming his piety and his temple-building achievements.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Gudea, ruler of Lagash, declares that he honored the mighty warrior-god Ningirsu, son of Enlil, by making everything fitting and splendid for him. He built the god's temple, the Eninnu — known as the 'White Thunderbird' — and restored it to its proper place.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineFor Ningirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, Gudea, ruler of Lagash, made the fitting things resplendent for him. His Eninnu, the White Anzu (temple), he built for him, he restored it for him (to its place).
Our translation engine — Sonnet 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Transliteration
nin-gir2-su ur-sag kal-ga en-lil2-la2-ra gu3-de2-a ensi2 lagasz-ke4 nig2-du7-e pa mu-na-e3 e2-ninnu anzu2-babbar2-ra-ni mu-na-du3 ki-be2 mu-na-gi4
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Lagash II (ca. 2200-2100 BC)) — RIME 3/1.01.07.037, ex. add1245. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: BM 088308 (British Museum, London, UK) — from uncertain (mod. uncertain) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P234268). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
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.