Position in chronology
TJA pl.50, IOS 10
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P134104.
Transliteration
2(u) ha-zi uruda ki-la2-bi 1(u) 8(disz) ma-na 1(u) gin2 a-pi4-sal4-sze3 ki lu2-i3-zu-sze3 lugal-nig2-lagar-e ugula usz-bar maszkim ki la-a-mu-ta zi-ga-am3 iti szu-numun-na mu a-ra2 3(disz)-kam si-mu-ru-um ba-hul
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — TJA pl.50, IOS 10. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Institute of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (P134104) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P134104..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.