Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2270 BCE · N 0573 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 180
In plain English
This is a garlic ledger. The opening entry gives a large quantity — 3 gur, 1 barig, 3 ban and 5 sila, measured by the lidga standard — set against the name Lugal-itida. Next comes an entry, its figure now lost, for Ur-ki, the surveyor who measures fields. Ur-kidma gets 2 barig and 3 ban; Ku, the man from Zaqtum, gets 1 gur and 2 ban; a man whose name ends in -da gets about 1 barig; Lugal-kar gets 1 barig and 3 ban; and Lugal-gišu, who herds the maš-bar-du goats, gets 4 ban and 5 sila. In short, a list of who received how much garlic.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 3 gur 1 barig 3 ban 5 sila of garlic, (measured by the) lidga — 2. Lugal-itida; 3. [...] Ur-ki, the field-surveyor; 4. 2 barig 3 ban: Ur-kidma; 5. 1 gur 2 ban: Ku, 6. the man of Zaqtum; 7. 1 barig(?): [x]-da; 8. 1 barig 3 ban: Lugal-kar; 9. 4 ban 5 sila: Lugal-gi(?)-šu(?), 10. shepherd of the maš-bar-du goats.”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 06243 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 181
In plain English
The tablet lists allotments of onions. The first entry, now restored, is 1 lidga and 2 barig charged to Aga-kiag, to be sent to Agade. Then: 1 lidga for Dada; 2 barig for Ur-tir, son of E-ku; 2 barig for a man called E-geš-something; 1 barig for Ur-tir; and 1 barig for another man whose name begins Ur-. The last line and the rest of the tablet are too broken to read.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. [1 lidga 2 barig of onions (lidga measure)] 2. Aga-kiag 3. to Agad[e]. 4. 1 lidga: 5. Dada. 6. 2 barig: Ur-tir, 7. son of E-ku. 8. 2 barig: E-geš[...]. 9. 1 barig: Ur-tir. 10. 1 barig: Ur-[...]. 11. ... [...] (rest broken)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · N 0447 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OSP 2, 186
In plain English
The tablet opens with a sum of silver, so many minas, but the next line is too damaged to read. A third of a unit of silver is credited to Ḫesa, who together with E-zu-ga-kul-la bought oil at the workshop. Then, for the twelfth instalment, Ur-Enlila weighed out silver to Ḫesa — a house-born slave — and his partner, in the house of some institution whose name is partly broken. The record closes with the name of Ur-Enkika, the sukkal (envoy), presumably present as witness.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. [n] mina(s) [of silver] 2. [......] ... ... ... 3. 1/3 (shekel/mina) — Ḫesa 4. (and/of) E-zu-ga-kul-la 5. oil of the workshop 6. he bought there for him. 7. For the 12th (instalment/time), 8. Ḫesa, the house-born (slave), 9. together with him, 10. Ur-Enlila 11. in the house of ... 12. weighed out to them. 13. [Ur]-Enkika, the envoy (sukkal).”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 06192 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
PBS 09, 035
In plain English
What can still be read is a short account. It opens with a name, Geme-ḪAR, followed by two entries ticked off with a check mark: Bubu and A-Enlil. Then come two lines counting people from Subartu — five in the first entry and one in the second, with whatever followed each now lost. Next, one barig of some commodity (about 60 litres) is booked against a person whose name begins En-lil... The final surviving word is 'tablet', probably the start of a closing note about the document itself. The rest of the tablet is broken away.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. Geme-ḪAR [...] 2. PAP: Bubu [...] 3. PAP: A-Enlil [...] 4. 5 Subarian(s) [...] 5. 1 Subarian [...] 6. 1 barig (of ...): En[lil-...] 7. Tablet (of) [...] (rest lost)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5-1 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-fable-5-1 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 06217 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
PBS 09, 059
In plain English
Barley rations: Enlil-anzu gets 1 barig and 4 ban, and so do KU-ta, Ene and Igi-urmu, each receiving the same amount. All four work as plowmen with the oxen. On the back, the scribe notes that their foreman is Ur-šunirda.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 1 barig 4 ban of barley: 2. Enlil-anzu; 3. 1 barig 4 ban: KU-ta; 4. 1 barig 4 ban: Ene; 5. 1 barig 4 ban: Igi-urmu; 6. they are ox-plowmen. Reverse 7. Ur-šunirda 8. (is) their foreman.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 06220 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
PBS 09, 062
In plain English
This is a list of people, each counted as one. The first name is mostly broken and ends in '-ne'. Next come Ur-[...], whose name breaks off, then Sag-nin, Nin-mašʾe and KA-ku. They are followed by a man whose name begins 'Lu-' and a woman whose name begins 'Geme-'; the rest of both names is too worn to read. The last entry is also damaged, and only a sign that may be 'sag' survives. The tablet does not say what the list was for.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 1 (person): [...]-ne(?) 2. 1 (person): Ur-[...] 3. 1 (person): Sag-nin 4. 1 (person): Nin-mašʾe 5. 1 (person): KA-ku3 6. 1 (person): Lu2-[...]-[...] 7. 1 (person): Geme2-[...]-[...] 8. 1 (person): [...]-sag(?) [...]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CBS 06263 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
PBS 09, 109
In plain English
This is a list of people and their food allowances. The first lines are broken, but they mention someone's son and a group of female workers. Namtare receives one full measure of grain. Ninzage, Heli and a few others are listed next, but their amounts are lost. A woman, or women, who tend the pigs come next. Nin-something gets three ban and a person named Umma-something is listed. Tar-something gets two ban. The list ends with a group of children, who may have been orphans. The rest of the entry is broken off.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse (as supplied; no section labels in the source) 1. [...] son of E[...]da 2. [...] female workers [...] (they) are 3. 1 (gur) (barley): Namtare 4. [...] Ninzage 5. [...] Heli 6. [...]-urni, [...]-pu 7. ... [...] ... [...] 8. female worker(s) (for the) pigs [...] 9. 3 ban: Nin-x[...] 10. Umma[...] 11. 2 ban: Tar-x[...] 12. children, or[phans?]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · N 0407 — University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
RA 055, 094
In plain English
Seed stock: 2 ban of leek seed, 3 ban of lu seed, an unstated amount of radish seed, 5 sila of nin-nagar seed, 2 ban of cress seed, 2 ban of ḪI seed, and 1 ban of seed of the plant called 'donkey's ear'. At least one entry is lost to damage. The list ends on the back with 1 sila of zimetum seed.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 2 ban of leek seed (ga-rasz) 2. 3 ban of lu seed 3. [n?] seed of radish (puglu) 4. 5 sila of nin-nagar seed 5. 2 ban of cress seed (zaḫīlī) 6. 2 ban of ḪI seed 7. 1 ban of seed of the 'donkey-ear' plant (u-geštu-anše) [...] (Reverse) 1 sila of zimetum seed.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry