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CDLI Literary 000574, ex. 004 (P343784)
Literary letter and letter-prayer, Old Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000574, ex. 004 |
|---|---|
| ID | P343784 |
| Museum no. | Ist Ni 02758 |
| Collection | Arkeoloji Müzeleri, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary letter and letter-prayer |
| Find spot | Nippur (mod. Nuffar) |
| Coordinates | 32.1271, 45.2300 |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched)
Machine draft. The right-hand column is machine English from ixmon/atf-to-english (atf-en-t5base-F, 2026-10-17), generated line by line from the transliteration. It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| obverse | ||
| 1 | lugal zalag-a-ni iti-[gin7 kur-kur-ra] pa e3-a u3#-[na-du11] | his bright king, who like month after month appears in all the lands, he spoke to him. |
| 2 | lugal {d}utu-gin7 di si sa2 ku5#-[ku5-de3 esz-bar {d}isztaran-gin7] si sa2-[sa2-e-ra] | The king, like Utu, to decide a case, to make a decision, like Ištaran, to render a verdict |
| 3 | lugal# szud3-de3 gesz tuku-mu-ur2# | King who listens to prayer |
| 4 | [u3]-ne-de3-tah# | he shall remove. |
| 5 | [{disz}]lugal#-szu2 dumu nibru{ki} | Lugal-šu, citizen of Nippur |
| 6 | [ARAD2]-zu na-ab-be2-a | “Do not speak to your servant |
| 5 | [udu-gin7] ka# u2 gu7-um mu#-pa3 | Like a sheep, he chose the mouth of eating food |
| 8 | [naga] dub2#-ba i-ni-bad | he smeared with scented alkali |
| 6 | [gu4 {gesz}szudul4-a] nu-za la2-a-gin7 [eden-na] ba#-ab-gen-ne-en | Like an ox without a yoke, you went to the steppe |
| 7 | [...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | [du10-ge-esz ga-mu gu7-mu ka-mu-ta] ba-an-[kar] | I want to eat good food, but I have turned to my mouth. |
| 2 | a-a-mu sza3 ur2-bi-ta gur3-gur3-ru-a ki-ta ba-an-gar-re-en | My father, whose heart is trembling from its roots, has placed me on the ground. |
| 3 | nin arhusz-a-mu e2-bi ba-kal igi nu-mu-un-szi-bar-re | My mistress, my heart is devoted to you, she does not see you. |
| 4 | gesz hul gurun nu-il2-la-gin7 lu2 na-ma-szi-hul2-le | Like a destructive tree that cannot bear fruit, no one can rejoice over me. |
| 5 | {gesz}gibil-{gesz}gibil-me-en {gesz}isimu2{sar} nu-tuku-me-en ur5-re nam-ba-tum2 | I am a reed fence, I am one who does not have a date palm, I shall not carry it off. |
| 6 | lugal-mu en3-mu he2-tar-re ki-ur3-mu-sze3 he2-em-mi-ib-gi4-gi4 | May my king inquire after me, may he return to my place. |
Sources & licences
- Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched) · Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), https://cdli.earth/ ; cite CDLI and the P-number
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.