Chapter 03 · 2334 – 2154 BCE
Akkadian Empire
Sargon brings rival city-states under imperial rule.
~2270 BCE · CL 221 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 188
In plain English
This is a wool ledger. It lists, name by name, how much wool (measured in minas, a unit of weight) went to a series of women: Mamummi gets just under a round number of minas; Geme-Enlil receives 15 minas plus a small silver payment of a shekel and a half; Aštar gets 30; Taniya 15 and a half; and so on down the list — Nin-adgal, Nigbanda, Me-nigin-ta, Nin-nigzu, Sebetum — though a couple of entries near the bottom are too damaged to read. At the end the scribe totals everything up: some number of talents and 11 minas altogether, and notes that the scribe(?) handed the account over.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[n] minus 1 mana(s) of wool — Mamummi. 15 (mana) — Geme-Enlil; 1 1/2 shekels of silver. 30 (mana) — Aštar. 15 1/2 (mana) — Taniya. [n] 20 (mana) — Nin-adgal. 32(?) (mana) — Nigbanda. [n] 3 (mana) — Me-nigin-ta. [n (mana)] — Nin-nigzu. [n (mana)] — Sebetum. ... ...-na. [Total:] [n] talent(s) 11 mana(s) — its amount. The scribe(?) gave (it) to him.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 090 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 191
In plain English
Fifteen 'nig-la2' garments and fourteen 'šagadu' garments were handed over — the batch coming from Me-nigin, and given to the (unnamed) recipient. Separately, twenty-one 'nig-la2' garments and twenty-one 'šagadu' garments are recorded as being in the account of, or held by, a person named Ki-mura. In short: two garment shipments, two garment types, two different people responsible for them — a routine entry in a textile ledger.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“15 nig-la2 textiles, 14 šagadu garments, from Me-nigin — he gave (them) to him. 21 nig-la2 textiles, 21 šagadu garments, it is (at the disposal of / with) Ki-mura.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 040 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 196
In plain English
Twenty-nine sashes were taken out of the total stock and issued. Of that same total stock, some were handed over to a named individual. Fifteen more sashes and two cloaks belonging to the weaver were returned and checked back into inventory. This whole transaction falls under the wool account.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“29 bar-si sashes (headbands), from the total — released (issued). From the total — given to him. 15 bar-si sashes, 2 bar-dul5 cloaks, (of) the weaver — returned/accounted for (in hand). It is from the wool (account).”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 171 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 197
In plain English
This record tracks wool garments produced by weavers. One garment weighing 3 mana (about 1.5 kg) is charged to Mama-ummi; another of the same weight to Aštar; two garments weighing a combined [amount, now broken] to Nin-adgal; and one more weighing 2 1/3 mana, with the rest of that line lost, to Nin-nig. A final note confirms the goods were 'returned by hand' — handed back and checked in by the responsible party, closing out this batch of the account.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1 bardul-garment, (of the) weaver — its weight: 3 mana — (for) Mama-ummi. 1 bardul-garment, (of the) weaver — its weight: 3 mana — (for) Aštar. 2 bardul-garments, (of the) weaver — their weight: 2 [n mana] — (for) Nin-adgal. 1 bardul-garment, (of the) weaver — its weight: 2 1/3 [mana ...] — (for) Nin-nig. Returned by hand.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 017 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 201
In plain English
This record tallies cloth production for the accounts. Two fine garments came in from the weaver, and one cloak from the household steward, together weighing nine minas (roughly 4.5 kg). The next line names someone called Sebetum, but the sign after her name is broken and its meaning is lost. Then three more fine garments from the weaver weighed another nine minas, and a further cloak from the weaver weighed seven minas. The scribe totals the batch and dates the record to two months — Shubanun and Abusa'a — suggesting either a combined tally covering both months or a correction spanning the turn of the month.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“2 nig-lam garments (fine-quality cloth) — of the weaver; 1 bar-dul cloak — of the household manager (šabra); its weight: 9 minas. Sebetum(?) ... [sign broken] 3 nig-lam garments — of the weaver; its weight: 9 minas. 1 bar-dul cloak — of the weaver; its weight: 7 minas. Grand total. Month: Shubanun. Month: Abusa'a.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 277 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 204
In plain English
This month's cloth tally: 19 fine garments and 20 plain (šagadu and šagedab) garments came in as second-quality stock. Separately, the weaving teams turned in 57 fine garments, an unknown further batch of šagadu-cloth, 11 garments of another type, and some quantity of naspāru-cloth. Another 57 šagadu-garments were set aside as private or personal stock. All told, 439 garments were recorded between the two main categories this month, credited to the weavers for the third month of the year.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“19 fine-grade (nig₂-lam₂) garments, second quality (uš₂); 10 šagadu-garments, second quality; 10 šagedab-garments, second quality; 57 fine-grade (nig₂-lam₂) garments, [from] the weavers; [n] šagadu-garments, [from the] weav[ers]; 11 [...]-garments; [n] na[spāru?]-garments; 57 šagadu-garments, personal allotment/private stock (nig₂-su-a); Total: 439 garments, of both (kinds). Weavers — 3rd month.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 319 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 205
In plain English
This is a stock list for textiles. Seventeen 'nig-la2' wraps are recorded as top quality, and another sixteen of the same type are noted as delivered or processed. Two more nig-la2 cloths are logged as a donkey-load (a bundle for transport). The next line, mentioning a storehouse, is too damaged to read fully. Then the tally turns to 'shagadu' cloths: an unknown number are top quality (the number is broken away), and fourteen more are marked delivered. The tablet ends with a line meaning 'from the total' — signaling that these figures were drawn from, and checked against, a larger master account.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“17 nig-la2 garments, fine quality. 16 nig-la2 garments, delivered (accounted for). 2 nig-la2 garments, a donkey-load (bale). [...] the storehouse/house [...] [n shagadu] garments, fine quality. 14 shagadu garments, delivered (accounted for). From the total.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2270 BCE · CL 023 — Carl L. Lippmann Collection, Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain
Lippmann Coll 206
In plain English
This tablet is a wool ledger. It lists a series of weight amounts — twelve minas here, fifteen there, down to fractions of a mina — each tied to a woman's name: Mamummi, Ninnig, Aštar, Taniya, Nin-adgal, Nigbanda, Nin-nigzu, Meniginta. These were evidently workers responsible for spinning or processing wool, and the tablet is tallying how much wool passed through each of their hands. At the end, the scribe notes that the wool has been 'returned' or settled, and that the whole account concerns the wool-workers, dated to the month called Nig-kiriš (the 'garden' month). A couple of signs near the middle are too damaged to read clearly.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“12 minas less 15 shekels of wool — ...(ri?): Mamummi. 7 minas, Nin-nig; 4 minas, 15 minas, Aštar; 4 1/2 minas, 12 minas, Taniya, 12 1/3 minas, Nin-adgal, 1x+4 minas, ...(damaged)..., Nigbanda, 11 1/2 minas, Nin-nigzu; 5 minas, 14 2/3 minas, Meniginta. Returned (brought back into hand) — it is from the wool-workers. Month: Nig-kiriš.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry