Position in chronology
NYPL 283
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P122821.
Why it matters
Transliteration
2(disz) gukkal niga ba-usz2 1(u) 4(disz) udu u2 1(disz) masz2-gal niga 6(disz) masz2 u2 ki szu-suen-ba-ni-ta iti ezem-szu-suen u4 1(u) 1(disz) ba-zal mu si-mu-ru-um ba-hul i-bi2-suen lugal kal-ga lugal uri5-ma lugal an-ub-da limmu2-ba-ke4 lugal-[...] szusz3# [lugal-ka] ARAD2-da-ni#-ir# in-na-ba#
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — NYPL 283. 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: New York Public Library, New York, New York, USA (P122821) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P122821..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.