Chapter 04 · 2112 – 2004 BCE
Ur III · Neo-Sumerian
A bureaucratic golden age, the Code of Ur-Nammu.
~2060 BCE · Bod S 188 — Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
AAICAB 1/3, pl. 224, Bod S 188
In plain English
Šeš-kalla received 5 gur of barley (by the royal measure) from Adda. The transaction is dated to the month called 'Barley at the Harbor,' in the year that Anšan was destroyed. The document bears the seal of Lugal-si-NE, an official in the service of the god Šara and son of a man named Sagmu — likely the witnessing or authorizing official for this delivery.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“5 gur barley, royal measure, from Adda, Šeš-kalla received. Month: "Barley at the harbor" (iti-še-KAR-ra-gal2-la), year: "Anšan was destroyed." (Seal legend:) Lugal-si-NE, servant of Šara, son of Sagmu.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2060 BCE · LB 0237 — de Liagre Böhl Collection, Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden, Holland
LB 0237
De Liagre Böhl Collection, NINO, Leiden / CDLI — LB 0237 (P388771), photographic montage of the clay envelope; converted to WebP without cropping
In plain English
Receipt: Ur-sag-[...] has received [something] belonging to the goddess Baba, along with a partly illegible item, from Inim-Baba-idab. Dated the month of Mu-šu-du, in the year Anšan was destroyed. The seal reads: 'Geme-lamma, high priestess of Baba: Ur-sag-ub, the donkey herder, is your servant.'
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. Ur-sag-[...] 2. received. 3. [...] Baba 4. ... [...] GA-UR(?) Reverse 5. from Inim-Baba-idab. 6. Month: Mu-šu-du. 7. Year: Anšan was destroyed. Seal 8. Geme-lamma, 9. ereš-dingir priestess of Baba: 10. Ur-sag-[ub], 11. donkey herder, (is) [your] servant.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5-5 (2026-11-01/v9-evolved) · claude-opus-5-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2059 BCE · Bod S 180 — Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
AAICAB 1/3, pl. 222, Bod S 180
In plain English
This tablet records a loan of 5 gur, 3 ban2, and 6 sila3 of barley (the royal standard measure), intended for making flour. The loan carried interest, and that interest has already been settled in full. The barley came from a man named Adda and was received by Lugal-ištaran, son of Lugal-lu-[x]. The transaction is dated to the year following the one called 'Anšan was destroyed' — a standard Ur III dating formula referencing a royal military campaign.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“5 gur 3 ban2 6 sila3 barley, royal (gur)-measure — barley for flour, as an interest-bearing loan; the interest has been added (satisfied). From Adda, Lugal-ištaran received (it). Year following: "Anšan was destroyed." Lugal-ištaran, son of Lugal-lu-[x].”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · high confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2059 BCE · SM 1911.10.411 — Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
HSS 68, 454
In plain English
This receipt logs the delivery of seven donkeys — one jenny and six others, of a type called 'šu-gi4' — sent from Lu-banda the governor to Lugal-ura-ni, an official in charge of dogs (and evidently livestock), who took formal custody of the animals. The transaction is dated to the year after Anšan was destroyed, one of King Šulgi's military conquests used here as a calendar marker. The tablet also carries the seal of Lugal-ura-ni, which names King Šulgi as 'mighty man, king of Ur' and identifies Lugal-ura-ni as his servant — a routine but revealing snapshot of how animals moved through the crown's administrative network at Puzriš-Dagan.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1 female donkey, šu-gi4 (type); 6 donkeys, šu-gi4 (type) — from Lu-banda, the governor (ensi2); Lugal-ura-ni, the dog-herder, received (them). Year after: "Anšan was destroyed" (i.e., the year following Šulgi's destruction of Anšan). (Seal legend:) Šulgi, mighty man, king of Ur: Lugal-ura-[ni], the dog-herder, is your servant.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2058 BCE · Bod A 004 — Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
AAICAB 1/3, pl. 180, Bod A 04
In plain English
This tablet records that 16 gur and 4 barig of dabin-flour (using the royal measuring standard) arrived by boat from someone whose name ends in '-silim'; the transaction was certified with the seal of an official named Nig-baba. It is dated to the month called 'muš-šu-du7' in the year when the Amorite wall was built (Shu-Sin's fourth year). The document then names Nig-baba again, identifying him as the accountant, son of Namhani, and closes with a final line naming a recipient — apparently someone associated with the name Baba — but the very end of that line is broken and cannot be fully read.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“16 gur, 4 barig of dabin-flour, royal measure (gur lugal) — from the boat of [...]-silim; sealed tablet of Nig-baba. Month: "muš-šu-du7"; Year: "the wall of the Amorites was built." Nig-baba, the accountant (dub-sar nig₂-si-sa₂), son of Namhani — for Baba-...-še(?) [broken].”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2057 BCE · Anonymous 472742 — private: anonymous, unlocated
Anonymous 472742
In plain English
This tablet logs a shipment of 1,020 bundles of reed, tied up in bundles of 13, with each laborer handling 3 bundles at a time. The reed went into a storehouse, and the whole operation was overseen by the foreman Ur-gigir, the household steward. The transaction was certified with the seal of Ur-Šara. It's dated to the year King Šu-Sin destroyed the city of Šašrum, and the document was written up by Ur-Šara the scribe, son of Šeš-kalla.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“1(geš'u) 7(geš2) [= 1,020] bundles of reed; rope-bundles (kilib-ba), 13 each; per workman, 3 rope-bundles each; (into) the storehouse of Ḫi-abara; foreman: Ur-gigir, the household administrator (šabra); under seal of Ur-Šara. Year: "Šašrum was destroyed." Ur-Šara, scribe, son of Šeš-kalla.”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2057 BCE · Anonymous 114233 — private: anonymous, unlocated
MVN 05, 013
In plain English
This record logs a shipment of woven cloth: 943 standard textiles and 27 smaller ones, with a note that 60 units relate to the weavers involved. The whole lot weighed 58 talents, 32 and two-thirds mina, and 2 shekels — likely reflecting the raw wool used to make it. The cloth is described as 'gu2-na' garments belonging to the city. The transaction was handled through an official named Lu-kalla and certified with the seal of I-kalla. It's dated to the year Šašru was destroyed, a year-name from the reign of King Šu-Suen.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“943 (i.e., 600+300+43) woven textiles (tug2 uš-bar); 27 small woven textiles; 60 (units), the total of the weavers; Their weight: 58 talents (gu2), 32 2/3 mina, 2 shekels; Textiles — gu2-na-type — of the city; From Lu-kalla; Under seal of I-kalla; Year: "Šašru was destroyed" (Šu-Suen year 7).”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~2057 BCE · Anonymous 114272 — private: anonymous, unlocated
MVN 05, 052
In plain English
Five animals — three ewes and two rams — are recorded as losses, that is, they died or were otherwise removed from the herd account. The entry is credited from a person named Šu-Eštar (the reading of this name is not fully certain), and the transaction is sealed by the official Lu-kalla. It is dated to the month called 'for Dumuzi' in the year that Šašru was destroyed (Šu-Sin's seventh regnal year). Lu-kalla, a scribe and the son of the cattle-manager Ur-e'e, is named as the responsible party.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“3 ewes, 2 rams, (counted as) losses (perished animals), from Šu-Eštar(?) — sealed by Lu-kalla. Month: "for Dumuzi" (month name), year: "Šašru was destroyed" (Šu-Sin year 7). Lu-kalla, scribe, son of Ur-e'e, the cattle-manager (šusz3).”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-sonnet-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry