Position in chronology
Syracuse 005
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P130556.
Transliteration
2(disz) gurusz u4 1(gesz2) 5(u) 6(disz)-sze3 e2-szitim gub-ba ga-esz gub-ba ugula lu2-da-mu kiszib3 ab-ba-gi-na mu a-ra2 2(disz)-kam sza-asz-szu2-ru-um ba-hul ab-ba-gi-na dub-sar dumu lugal-ma2-gur8-re
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — Syracuse 005. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, New York, USA (P130556) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P130556..
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One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.