Position in chronology
Syracuse 240
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P130791.
Why it matters
Transliteration
2(esze3) 3(iku) GAN2 x masz2 gurx(|SZE.KIN|) sze ur5-ra a-sza3 szara2-gu2#?-gal u3 a-sza3 muru13 ki gu-du-du#-ta giri3 lu2-szara2 nu-banda3-gu4 mu szu-suen lugal-e ma-da za-ab-sza-li mu-hul ur-e2-mah dub-sar dumu da-da
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — Syracuse 240. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šu-Suen y6 — Land of Zabšali destroyed based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, New York, USA (P130791) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P130791..
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Related sources
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Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.