Position in chronology
Šulgi 2023 / CDLI Seals 006346 (CDLI Seals 006346 (physical))
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(1) To Nuska, the chancellor of Enlil, his master, Ur-Nanibgal, governor of Nibru, child of Lugal-engardug, governor of Nibru, dedicated this (seal) for the well-being of Šulgi, the powerful man, king of Urim, king of Sumer and Akkad.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
Why it matters
A seal dedication by Nibru's governor to Nuska, vizier of Enlil, attesting the Ur III practice of invoking divine chancellors as intermediaries for royal well-being prayers under Šulgi.
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q001751.
Attribution
Image: AO 22312 (Louvre Museum, Paris, France) — from Nippur (mod. Nuffar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P226975). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001751/.
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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.