Position in chronology
Sin-kašid 04
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(1) When Sin-kašid, the powerful man, king of Unug, king of Amnanum, provider of the E-ana, built the E-ana, then he (also) built his royal palace.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
Why it matters
Attests Sin-kašid's dual role as builder of Uruk's great Inana temple (the E-ana) and of his own palace, anchoring his reign within the tradition of legitimacy-through-temple-construction.
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q002241.
Attribution
Image: KM 85.10.24 (Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P235305). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q002241/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.