Position in chronology
NATN p. 58 catalogue
Translation — curated editorial
EditorialEditorial entry — translation cited from: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P275981.
Transliteration
1(u) 6(asz) sze gur ur5-sze3 [masz2]-bi#-sze3 3(disz) udu-nita [n] sila4# 1(disz) masz2 mu-kux(DU) [...] e2# szu-zi-an-ta lugal#-ezem szu# ba-ti sze-bi iti szu-numun gi4-gi4-da mu# lugal#-bi# in#-[pa3] dumu [...] nu-[...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NATN p. 58 catalogue. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (P275981) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P275981..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.