Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2130 BCE · WCMA 20.1.01 — Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
RIME 3/1.01.07.041, ex. add368
In plain English
This inscription honors Ninĝirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior and Gudea's divine lord. It records that Gudea, ruler of Lagash, carried out everything owed to the god properly and, in his honor, built (and restored) the temple called Eninnu — 'the White Thunderbird' — as a dedicated act of religious duty and kingship.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“For Ninĝirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, his master: Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, made (what is) fitting resplendent for him (i.e., properly carried out the due ordinances). His Eninnu, the White Thunderbird (temple), he built for him, (and) restored it for him.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · WCMA 20.1.02 — Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
RIME 3/1.01.07.041, ex. add369
In plain English
This inscription is dedicated to the god Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior and Gudea's divine lord. Gudea, ruler of Lagash, did what was proper and fitting in the god's honor, making it shine. He rebuilt Ningirsu's temple, the Eninnu, known by its epithet 'of the White Anzu-bird,' restoring it on its original site.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“For Ningirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, his master, Gudea, ruler of Lagash, made the fitting thing resplendent for him. His Eninnu of the White Anzu(-bird) he built for him, (and) restored it for him.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · Pounder 001 — private: Pounder, Colin, Derbyshire, UK
RIME 3/1.01.07.042, ex. add16
In plain English
Gudea, ruler of Lagash, dedicates this inscription to the god Ningirsu — Enlil's mighty champion and his own divine lord. Gudea declares that he built the Eninnu, Ningirsu's temple named for the great White Anzu-bird, in the god's honor.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“For Ningirsu, the mighty warrior of Enlil, his master: Gudea, ruler of Lagash, built for him his Eninnu, (the temple) of the White Anzu-bird.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · WCMA 20.1.03 — Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
RIME 3/1.01.07.048, ex. add092
In plain English
This inscription honors Ningirsu, the mighty champion of the god Enlil and Gudea's own divine lord. It records that Gudea, ruler of Lagash — the same king who built Ningirsu's great temple, the Eninnu — also built for him a smaller shrine called the E-PA, described as 'his house of seven corners.' The text is a standard temple-building dedication, naming the king, the god he served, and the specific structure he raised in the god's honor.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[For Ningirsu], [the mighty warrior] of En[lil], his master (lord): Gudea, ruler of Lagash, the one who built the E-ninnu of Ningirsu — [the E-PA, his house of seven corners (niches),] he built for him.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · KCA 01 — Tsurumi University Library, Yokohama, Japan
RIME 3/1.01.07.048, ex. add106
In plain English
This inscription honors Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior and Gudea's divine lord. It identifies Gudea, ruler of Lagash — the same king who built the great Eninnu temple for Ningirsu — and records that he also built a second structure for the god: a building called the Epa, described as having seven corners or niches. In short: 'Gudea, who built the Eninnu, also built the Epa, his seven-niched house, for Ningirsu.'
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“For Ningirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, his master: Gudea, ruler of Lagash, the one who built the Eninnu of Ningirsu — he built for him the Epa, his house of seven corners (niches).”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Ur-Bau 01
Dedicatory inscription of Ur-Bau of Lagash recording the construction of a temple to Bau in Iri-kug: direct epigraphic evidence for royal temple-building patronage in the late Akkadian period.
“(1) For Bau, the kind woman, the child of An, Ur-Bau, the child born to Ninagala, built her temple in Iri-kug.”
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000882/
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Ur-Bau 02
“(1) For Enki, his master, Ur-Bau, ruler of Lagaš, the child born to Ninagala, built her temple.”
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001465/
Read the full tablet entry~2130 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Ur-Bau 03
“(1) For Ninĝirsu, the powerful warrior of Enlil, Ur-Bau, ruler of Lagaš, built his temple.”
Source: Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000883/
Read the full tablet entry