Position in chronology
TCNU 720
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P135568.
Why it matters
Transliteration
4(disz) [...] 4(disz) [...] gu4 x x x 4(disz) udu# bar-gal2 u2 7(disz) masz2-gal u2 x e2-muhaldim-sze3 1(u) udu# bar#-gal2 u2# gu4 ta-ab-sza-ak x mu# bala-a-sze3 ki in-ta-e3-a-ta ARAD2#-mu# ensi2 gir2-su i3-dab5 mu szu-suen lugal uri5-ma-ke4 [bad3 mar]-tu# mu-ri2-iq-[ti-id]-ni-im mu-du3
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — TCNU 720. 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: Museo di Antichità di Torino, Turin, Italy (P135568) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P135568..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.