Position in chronology
MVN 18, 440
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P119801.
Why it matters
Transliteration
[x] tu-ra lu2-dingir#-ra# [iti sze-sag11]-ku5-ta [iti sze-kar]-ra#-gal2-la-sze3 [ugula] ur#-mes [kiszib3 lu2-szul]-gi-ra [mu] si#-mu-ru-um ba-hul# []szu-suen lugal kal-ga [lugal] uri5-ma lugal an ub-[da limmu2]-ba lu2-szul-gi-ra [dub-sar] [dumu da-da-ga] ARAD2#-[zu]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — MVN 18, 440. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šulgi y23 — Simurrum destroyed based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Montserrat Museum, Barcelona, Spain (P119801) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P119801..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.