Position in chronology
RTC 025
About this tablet
A trade record from the city of Girsu in the Sumerian state of Lagash, around 2350 BCE, from the household archive of Baranamtara — the queen, wife of the ruler Lugalanda, and a formidable economic manager in her own right. She issues six minas (about three kilograms) of copper from the palace to a merchant named Dadulul, who carries it to the neighboring city of Umma to exchange it for silver. It is a rare, vivid glimpse of intercity commerce — and of a woman running long-distance trade at the highest level of the state — between two cities that were otherwise bitter rivals.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
The palace has released six minas of refined copper to the merchant Dadulul, who has taken it to Umma to buy silver with it. The copper was weighed out to him personally, from palace stores, by Baranamtara, wife of Lugalanda, the ruler of Lagash. Recorded in year six.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine6 minas of refined copper (arudu-copper), in order to purchase silver, Dadulul, the merchant, to Umma took. Baranamtara, the wife of Lugalanda, the ruler (ensi) of Lagash, from the palace weighed it out to him. (Year) 6.
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
6(asz@c) ma-na a-ru12-da uruda ku3-ga sa10-sa10-de3 da-du-lul dam-gar3 umma-sze3 ba-de6 bara2-nam-tar-ra dam lugal-an-da ensi2 lagasz-ka-ke4 e2-gal-ta e-na-la2 6(|ASZxDISZ@t|)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (ED IIIb (ca. 2500-2340 BC)) — RTC 025. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P221422) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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