Position in chronology
SA 004
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P128642.
Why it matters
Transliteration
[1(disz)] gu4 niga 8(disz) udu u2 1(disz) masz2-gal u2 1(disz) sila4 za-li-a nu-banda3 lu2 |BAD3.AN| ugula nir-i3-da-gal2 gu2 ma-da u4 1(u) 3(disz)-kam mu-kux(DU) in-ta-e3-a i3-dab5 giri3 nu-ur2-suen dub-sar iti ezem-me-ki-gal2# mu szu-suen lugal si-ma-num2 mu-hul 1(disz) gu4 1(u) udu
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — SA 004. 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: Special Collections and Archives, John T. Richardson Library, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, USA (P128642) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P128642..
Related tablets
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.