Position in chronology
Syracuse 486
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P131037.
Why it matters
Transliteration
1(u) gin2 SZIM! HI ku3-bi 2(u) sze u2-gu-usz za3-bar-sze3 ki ur-dumu-zi-da-ta kiszib3 lu2-kal-la mu sza-asz-ru ba-hul lu2-kal-la dub-sar dumu ur-e11-e szusz3
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — Syracuse 486. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Amar-Suen y6 — Šašru destroyed based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, New York, USA (P131037) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P131037..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.