Position in chronology
CUSAS 39, 056
Not yet translated
This tablet is catalogued with its transliteration and photographed, but no published translation exists yet. Our translation engine works through the untranslated corpus every night, oldest first — this page will update the day its turn comes. If you are a specialist and can read it, we would love your help.
The world it comes from
A bureaucratic golden age, the Code of Ur-Nammu.
Transliteration
4(disz) ma2 4(u) gur 1(ban2) 1(disz) sila3-ta ma2 u2-bil2-la# 2(disz) ma2 4(u) gur 6(disz) 2/3(disz) sila3-ta ma2 ninda en-na tusz-e-da unu 1(disz) ma2 1(gesz2) gur 1(ban2) 5(disz) sila3-ta ma2 x-zi3-zu-a-ma2-sze3 u4 1(u)-sze3 sze-bi 2(asz) 1(barig) 4(ban2) gur ki lu2-szul-gi-ta lugal-e-ba-an-sa6 szu ba-ti iti dumu-zi mu hu-uh2-nu-ri ba-hul
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — CUSAS 39, 056. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway (P250752) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P250752..
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A window into the world's first total state. The Ur III administration tracked every animal, every worker, every shekel — for a population in the millions. The level of paperwork was not exceeded until the modern era.