Position in chronology
Hermitage 3, 557
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P212324.
Transliteration
3(ban2) 8(disz) sila3 zi3-gum sza3 du sa2-du11 ku5-ra2 bala lugal-ezem mu szu-szu-mu-dar kiszib3 tu-ra-am-i3-li2 iti ses-da-gu7 mu szu-suen lugal uri5-ma-ke4 e2 szara2 umma-ka mu-du3 tu-ra-am-i3-li2 ARAD2 nu-musz-da
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — Hermitage 3, 557. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šu-Suen y1 — Šu-Suen became king based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (P212324) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P212324..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.