Position in chronology
OIP 121, 012
Translation · reference
ExperimentalSource: CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P123743.
Why it matters
Transliteration
1(disz) amar gu4 a am ga 1(disz) udu niga saga us2 2(disz) gukkal 1(disz) asz2-gar3 2(disz) u8# 4(disz) sila4 3(disz) kir11 2(disz) sila4 ga# 1(disz) kir11 ga# ba-usz2 u4 1(u) la2 1(disz)-kam ki lu2-dingir-ra-ta ur-nigar szu ba-ti iti u5-bi2-gu7 mu gu-za en-lil2-la2 ba-dim2
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — OIP 121, 012. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Ur-Nammu y14 — The throne of Enlil was fashioned based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA (P123743) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from CDLI raw catalogue, no published translation. P-number P123743..
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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The earliest historical document in human history.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.