Position in chronology
E-anatum 04
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) For Ninĝirsu, Enlil’s warrior, E-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, chosen in her holy heart by Nanše, the mighty lady, who makes the foreign lands submit to Ninĝirsu, child of Aya-kurgal, ruler of Lagaš, .... (i 19) (When) he annihilated ... of Umma, who took away the Gu-edena, he returned (Ninĝirsu's) beloved field, the Gu-edena, under Ninĝirsu's control. He named the border territory of Ĝirsu's region that he returned under Ninĝirsu's control as 'Luma is chosen from Ĝirnun in the holy heart'. .... (ii 14) ..., he dedicated this (pillar) to him.
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001064/
Why it matters
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 Q001064.
Attribution
Image: .
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/Q001064/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.