Position in chronology
HSS 68, 039
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P406805.
Transliteration
6(disz) ud5 szimaszgi u2 2(u) asz2-gar3 szimaszgi gaba iti ezem-nin-a-zu 2(u) 7(disz) ud5 szimaszgi u2 iti ezem-me-ki-gal2# [ki] x-ga x-ta szul-gi-i3-[li2] i3-[dab5] mu szu-suen lugal uri5-ma-ke4 ma-da za-ab-sza-li mu-hul 5(u) 3(disz) udu
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — HSS 68, 039. 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: Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (P406805) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P406805..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.