Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2270 BCE · TMA 08.085 — Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
RA 079, 021 02
In plain English
Received: Ensi-gal brought one jar of fine flour. Lugal-zi, who may have been attached to the palace, brought thirty fresh fish of some kind (the description is partly lost) and a basket of agargara-fish. Ur-šu the fisherman brought one container of sumaš-fish and about fifteen fresh fish. All of this is entered as a delivery.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 1 gir-jar of fine flour: 2. Ensi-gal. 3. 30 [...] ... fresh fish, 4. 1 basket of agargara-fish(?) [...]: 5. Lugal-zi, [(...)] (of) the palace(?). 6. 1 PAP of sumaš-fish, 7. 15(?) fresh fish: 8. Ur-šu, the fisherman. 9. Delivery.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · TMA 08.087 — Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
RA 079, 021 03
In plain English
Gadad[...], whose name is partly broken, [...] brought the following men. They are Šeš-kalla, son of Ug-IL2, and Abubu, the lady's scribe. Next come Nanna-GIR2, the chief lamentation priest, followed by Nina, Barran and Nimnium. The scribe totals them as seven, apparently 'elders', although only six names are actually listed.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. Gadad[...] ... [...] 2. i-di-[...] 3. brought (them). 4. 1: Šeš-kalla, 5. son of Ug-IL2; 6. 1: Abubu, 7. scribe of the lady; Reverse 8. [1]: Nanna-GIR2@g, 9. chief lamentation priest; 10. 1: Nina; 11. 1: Barran; 12. 1: Nimnium. 13. Total: 7 elders(?).”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · TMA 08.088 — Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
RA 079, 022 04
In plain English
This is a list of barley fields and the people who work them. Ur-Utu, the overseer, has 1¾ iku at a rate of 4. Inima and Namti-Emaḫta share 8 iku at a rate of 4. Lugal-entarsu, gatekeeper of Inanna's temple, has ¾ iku at a rate of 4. Nisku is down for half an iku, and KA-ku has 2 iku at a rate of 4. Ur-nig and Ur-Ištaran have 2½ iku at a rate of 3. Lugal-nigzi(?) and Lugal-geš, the gatekeepers, have 2½ iku at a rate of 2. The tablet closes by labelling all of these as fields of the envoys on duty.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse(?) 1. 1¾ iku of field — barley, (rate) 4: 2. Ur-Utu, the overseer. 3. 8 iku (1 eše 2 iku) — barley, (rate) 4: Inima 4. and Namti-Emaḫta. 5. ¾ iku — barley, (rate) 4: 6. Lugal-entarsu, 7. the gatekeeper of Inanna. 8. ½ iku, uš(?): Nisku. 9. 2 iku — barley, (rate) 4: KA-ku. 10. 2½ iku — barley, (rate) 3: Ur-nig 11. and Ur-Ištaran. 12. 2½ iku — barley, (rate) 2: Lugal-nigzi(?) 13. and Lugal-geš, the gatekeeper(s). 14. Fields of the envoy(s), assigned (on duty).”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · MRAH O.0085 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
RIAA 042
In plain English
Grain paid out: an amount (the figure is lost) to the farmer, another lost amount to a man whose name ends in '-da-kaskal', and a further broken entry marked as issued. Then come named recipients. Lugal-nig receives 1 gur and 1 barig. Sipa-zi receives 3 barig. Nin-anne receives 1 gur and 2 barig. Lal-suba, Anuzu and Zamu receive 3, 3 and 2 barig. Munus-ama (the reading of this name is uncertain) receives 2 gur plus a smaller amount. Šeš-KU receives 2 units and 1 ban. The commodity itself is not named in the surviving lines.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. [x (x)] (for) the farmer; 2. [n] (for) ...-da-kaskal; 3. [x] issued (?); 4. 1 gur 1 barig: Lugal-nig; 5. 3 barig: Sipa-zi; 6. 1 gur 2 barig: Nin-anne; 7. 3 barig: Lal-suba; 8. 3 barig: Anuzu; 9. 2 barig: Zamu; 10. 2 gur, 2 (units), 1(?) barig: Munus-ama(?); 11. 2 (units) 1 ban: Šeš-KU.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · MRAH O.0095 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
RIAA 043
In plain English
Outstanding balance: 21 nanny goats, 172 female kids and 164 male kids, both entered as šà-du10, 16 jars of oil (the size of each jar is unreadable), about 4 gur and 45 liters of what appears to be cheese, and 12 talents 30 minas of goat hair. A line after this is lost. The reverse names Umma, though the rest of that line is broken. It then states that the account has been settled and closed for a period of two years and eight months.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. Deficit: 21 nanny goats; 2. 172 female kids, šà-du10; 3. 164 male kids, šà-du10; 4. 16 jars of oil, of x sila each; 5. 4 gur 4 ban 5 sila of cheese(?); 6. 12 talents 30 minas of goat hair. 7. [...] Reverse 1. Umma [...] 2. Its account was made; (blank space) 3. 2 years, 8 months.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · MRAH O.0087 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
RIAA 053
In plain English
Barley allocations: 10 gur of barley for a recipient whose name is lost, and 12 gur for what may be gazelles. The craftsmen's workshop gets 3 gur; Lugal-a the maltster gets an amount that is broken; KAK gets 3 gur and 3 smaller units; the great storehouse gets 2 gur; Lu-kisal gets 1 gur. One line is lost. Sag-dingir-tuku gets 1 barig and 1 ban, the potter 5 gur, then Geš-šaki-du, and the great storehouse another 15 gur. The temple administrator is named, and the account is dated to the 8th month of the 4th year.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Lines numbered consecutively from the supplied transliteration, which marks no obverse/reverse/edge divisions.) 1. 10 gur of barley, [...] ... [...]; 2. 12 gur of barley: (for) the gazelle(s)?; 3. 3 (gur): the workshop (of craftsmen); 4. [n (gur)]: Lugal-a, the maltster; 5. 3 (gur) 3 (...)?: KAK; 6. 2 (gur): the great storehouse; 7. 1 (gur): Lu-kisal; 8. [...] 9. 1 barig 1 ban: Sag-dingir-tuku; 10. 5 (gur): the potter; 11. Geš-šaki-du; 12. 15 (gur): the great storehouse; 13. the temple administrator (sanga). 14. Month 8, year 4.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · MRAH O.0093 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
RIAA 080
In plain English
Shortfall: 796 rams, 730 ewes, 597 female lambs and 596 male lambs, making 2,719 sheep in all, plus about 63 talents and 48 minas of wool. This shortfall is not to be repaid. The reverse is badly worn. A line mentions Umma and possibly a place called Du-sar, and several more lines are lost. The account closes with its time span: two years and eight months.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. Deficit: 796 rams, 2. 730 ewes, 3. 600 less 3 (= 597) female lambs, 4. 600 less 4 (= 596) male lambs; 5. 2,400 + 300 + 20 less 1 (= 2,719): sheep, (all) together. 6. 63(?) talents 50 less 2 (= 48) minas of wool. 7. The deficit is not to be made good. Reverse 8. [......] 9. Umma [......] 10. Du-sar(?) [......] 11. [......] 12. [......] 13. 2 years (and) 8 months.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · MRAH O.0515 — Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, Belgium
RIAA 129
In plain English
A field of four and a half iku yields (or is assessed at) 6 gur and 2 barig of barley, under someone named Amar-…-la. A four-iku field is entered for 12 gur of barley. A field of about three iku is entered for 6 gur of barley; the rest of that entry is lost. After that the text breaks off. Only scraps survive: a name ending in '…-kien' and the figure 1.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1. 4? (and) 1/2 iku of field: 2. 6 (gur) 2 barig [of barley?]; 3. Amar-x-la?. 4. 4 iku of field: 5. 12 (gur) of barley. 6. 3? iku of field: 7. 6 (gur) [... of barley]; 8. [...] x 9. [...] x 10. [...]-kien 11. [...] 1.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-09-20/v8-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry