Position in chronology
E-anatum 08
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(i 1) E-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, whose name was proclaimed by Enlil, given strenght by Ninĝirsu, chosen by Nanše in the heart, nourished on rich milk by Ninhursaĝa, called by a propitious name by Inana, child of Akurgal, ruler of Lagaš, built Ĝirsu for Ninĝirsu, and built Niĝin for Nanše. (iii 5) E-ana-tum defeated Elam, the marvelous mountain range, and piled up a burial mound for it. (iii 10) He defeated Arawa, whose ruler marched with its standard in the vanguard, and piled up a burial mound for it. (iv 6) He defeated Umma, and piled up 20 burial mounds for it. He restored the field of…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
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 Q001062.
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/Q001062/.
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.