Position in chronology
Fs Kienast, no. 1
About this tablet
A short private letter from the Old Akkadian (Sargonic) period, roughly 2300–2150 BCE — one of the earliest eras of true letter-writing. A man named Ur-nigar dictates a message to be read aloud to his master, complaining about undelivered goods: fish promised to a woman, oil that never reached him, a house standing empty, and property damage he blames on a named individual. It is a rare, vivid window onto everyday grievance and household management, showing that within a few centuries of writing's invention people were already using it to complain to the boss.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Message from Ur-nigar — please read this to my master. About the fish that were promised to Al-il'aba's wife: the good oil was never handed over to me. There is absolutely nothing left in the house. Tell him to keep a firm grip on the wooden fittings. And as for the door-bolt of Ur-nim's place — a man from Durum has wrecked the house. In short: supplies are missing, the household is bare, and someone needs to be held responsible for the damage.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1. This is what Ur-nigar 2. says: 3. to my master 4. speak — 5. Concerning the fish that were promised (lit. 'spoken of') 6. to the wife of Al-il'aba: 7. the oil(?), the first-rate(?), 8. has not been given to me. 9. In the house 10. there is nothing whatsoever. 11. The [...] of wood (geš-ab-[...]) 12. — let him keep his hand upon it. 13. As for the door-bolt of Ur-nim(?), 14. one man of Durum(?) (Lu-durum) 15. has wrecked the house.
Our translation engine — Fable 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
ur-nigar-ke4 na-be2-a lugal-gu10 u3-na-du11 ku6 dam al-il3-a-ba4-ra mu-na-du11-ga i3#? igi-du-e na-ma-szum2 e2-a nig2 na-me# nu-gal2 gesz-ab-[(x)] szu he2-us2-e si-gar ur-nim-ka?-sze3?# 1(asz@c) lu2-durx(LAK545)-um-e e2 i3-hul
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Old Akkadian (ca. 2340-2200 BC)) — Fs Kienast, no. 1. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (P214929) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved).
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