Position in chronology
RINAP 4 Esarhaddon 001, ex. 013
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P425101.
Transliteration
[...] _zu2# am-si esi tug2_ [...] [...] mu-'u-de-e asz2-lu-la [...] [...] _gu4#-mesz_ s,e-e-ni u3 _ansze-nita2-mesz#_ [...] [...] a-na qe2-reb _kur_ asz-szur [...] [...] tam-tim ka-li-szu2-nu [...] [...] u2#-sze#-pisz#-[...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Neo-Assyrian (ca. 911-612 BC)) — RINAP 4 Esarhaddon 001, ex. 013. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: British Museum, London, UK (P425101) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P425101..
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Related sources
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.