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CDLI Literary 000658, ex. 001 (P345460)
Literary, Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000658, ex. 001 |
|---|---|
| ID | P345460 |
| Museum no. | BM 023702 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | uncertain (mod. uncertain) |
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 | u4 he2-gal2-la na-nam gi6 nam-he2 na-nam | It is indeed a day of abundance, it is also a night of abundance. |
| 2 | iti giri17-zal na-nam mu asila na-nam | It is indeed a month of joy, it is a year of joy. |
| 3 | u4-ba {lu2}sipa-de3 sza3 hul2-la ak-de3 | At that time, in order to make the shepherd happy, |
| 4 | e2#-tur3-ra du-de3 ur5-bi zalag-ge-de3 | In order to build the cattle pen, in order to brighten its shine |
| 5 | amasz# ku3-ga u4-gin7 kar2-kar2-re-de3 | In order to make the pure sheepfold shine like daylight |
| 6 | su8#-ba {d}dumu-zi-de3 sza3 ku3-ga na-an-tum4 | The shepherd Dumuzid should not bring it into the holy heart |
| 7 | ga-sza-an an-na ga-sza-an an ki-a-ke4 | Lady of heaven, lady of heaven and earth, |
| 8 | gu3 mu-na-de2-e galga umusz-a-ke4 | he spoke to him, the wise one of wisdom, |
| 9 | {d}ama-uszumgal-an-na inim mu-un-na-ni-ib-be2 | Ama-ušumgal-ana spoke to him. |
| 10 | gidlam a zal ki a-ri-a-sze3 ga-de6 | I want to bring the spouse, flowing water, to the place of prayer. |
| 11 | e2-tur3 dagal-la-gu10 en3-bi ga-me-szi-tar | I want to inquire after my broad cattlepen. |
| 12 | amasz ku3-ga-gu10 a-ra2-bi ga-me-szi-szu | I want to utter an arazu prayer to him in my pure sheepfold |
| 13 | udu-gu10 ka u2-gu7 ga-me-szi-gar | I want to put my sheep in the mouth of eating. |
| 14 | a nag du10-ga LI-bi ga-me-szi-kig2 | I want to seek out the good water for drinking. |
| 15 | gidlam umusz-bi ba-an-na-du11 | She spoke to her about her spouse and children. |
| 16 | galga-a-ni e-ne-ra mu-un-na-an-szum2 | he gave her his vagina. |
| 17 | gidlam-ni tusz-bi-sze3 im-ma-an-gi4 | he returned his spouse to its dwelling. |
| 18 | ku3 ga-sza-an-an-na-ke4 e2-tur3 kalam-ma-ke4 | Holy Gašanana, in the cattlepen of the Land, |
| 19 | x mu-ni-in-ku4 nig2-me-gar# ba-an-dab5 | he brought in ..., and seized the property |
| 20 | mu-gi17-ib ga-sza-an-an-na a#-gi6#-gin7# ba-lu3 | The mugib priestess Gašanana was carried away like a flood |
| 21 | ki-ri-gu2 1(disz)-kam-ma | It is the first song. |
| 22 | u4-ba {lu2}sipa-de3 edin-sze3 ba-ra-e3 | At that time, the shepherd went out to the steppe |
| 23 | gurusz {d}dumu-zi-de3 e2-tur3-ra ga DU | Young man Dumuzi ... milk in the cattlepen |
| 24 | nin9-a-ni ga-sza-an dub-sar-ke4 | His sister, the lady, the scribe, |
| 25 | an-da ki-bi-da-sze3 ba-szi-re7 | to heaven and earth went, |
| 26 | amasz ku3-ga ki udu du-ru sza3-ba | In the pure sheepfold, the place where sheep lie down, |
| 27 | sipa-de3 nin9-a-ni ki-bi ba-an-su-ne2-esz2 | The shepherd and his sister abandoned him. |
| 28 | ti-le-da-an-ni sipa-de3 ti-le-da-an-ni | How long, shepherd, how long? |
| 29 | nin9-a-ni nar en3-du zu-a tusz-ba ti-le-da-an-ni | His sister, the singer who knows songs, sits down with me. |
| 30 | e2-tur3-ra he2-gal2 im-mi-in-si | He filled the cattlepen with abundance. |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | amasz-e nam-he2-a i3-zal-e | He passes the sheepfold in abundance. |
| 2 | i3-gu7-ne u2 sikil i3-gu7-ne | They eat, they eat pure food. |
| 3 | i3 sur-sur-ra lal3 i3-nun-na-ke4 | ... oil, honey and butter |
| 4 | i3-nag-ne {kasz}uluszin3 kurun | they drank beer and wine, |
| 5 | {d}dumu-zi nin9-a-ni sza3 hul2-la zal-e-de3 | Dumuzi, his sister, in order to make her heart rejoice |
| 6 | su8-[ba] {d}dumu-zi-de3 sza3 ku3-ga na-an-tum4 | The shepherd Dumuzid should not bring it into the holy heart |
| 7 | x x mu-un-szi-la2 x tur3-ra ba-szi-in-ku4 | ... sat down ... entered the cowshed. |
| 8 | x mu-un-na-ni#-in-de6 u8 sila4-bi-da | ... brought for her, with its ewes and lambs |
| 9 | sila4 ama-bi-sze3# u3-mu-un-na-an-ku5 | He cut the lamb for his mother |
| 10 | ba-szi-in-u5 x gisz mi-ni-in-du# | He sat down, he built the ... tree. |
| 11 | sipa-de3 nin9-a-ni# gu3 mu-un-na-de2-e | The shepherd calls out to his sister |
| 12 | nin9-gu10 igi bar-ra# sila4 ama-ni# x a#-nam mu-un-szi-kig2#-[kig2] | My sister, looking at the lamb, his mother, what is it that she is searching for? |
| 13 | nin9-a-ni mu-un-na#-[ni-ib-gi4-gi4] | His sister replied to him: |
| 14 | ama-a-ni murgu-na u3-mu-un-szi-[u5] i-lu mu-un-du-du | His mother, when she lies down on her back, she sings a lament. |
| 15 | tukum-bi murgu-na u3-mu-un#-[szi-u5] i-lu mu-un-du-du | If the lord sings a lament on his shoulder, |
| 16 | DU a-na-am3 gisz-a-ni mu-un-[du3 zal]-le#-esz a-ni mi-ni-in-si | What did he do? He built his house and filled it with splendor. |
| 17 | masz2 nin9-a-ni [u3]-mu#-un-szi-gud | the kid of his sister ... |
| 18 | ba-szi-in-u5 gisz# x x mi-ni-in-[du3] | He built ... and planted ... there. |
| 19 | sipa-de3 nin9-a-ni [gu3] mu-un-na-de2-e | The shepherd says to his sister: |
| 20 | x nin9-gu10 igi bar-ra masz2-e nin9-a#-ni# a-na-am3 mu-un-kig2-kig2 | My sister, before the goat, what has been done to her sister? |
| 21 | nin9-a-ni sza3 nu-dab5-ba-na [mu]-un-na-ni-ib-gi4-gi4# | When his sister does not seize him, he will return him. |
| 22 | nin9-a-ni murgu-na u3-mu#-[un-szi-u5] i-lu mu-un-du-du | His sister, when she sits on her lap, she sings a lament |
| 23 | tukum-bi murgu-na u3-mu-un-[szi-u5] i-lu mu-un-du-du | If he lies on his back, he sings a lament |
| 24 | te-am3 a ri-a-ni gal4-la# mi-ni-in-su-su | How did he drown his vagina? |
| 25 | gar-ra szesz-gu10 su-lum ma-ra e#-ne bad ba-u5 | My brother, for me, the šullum tree(?), how long will it be destroyed? |
| 26 | a-ba-a MI SZA AM mi-ni-in-tuku-e en-na a-ga-bi-sze3 | Who has a wife, a mother? As long as she lives |
| 27 | ki-ru-gu2 2(disz)-kam-ma | 2nd kirugu |
| 28 | sipa-de3 su nu-um-zi#? UR SU la-ba-an-SU | The shepherd does not raise a hand(?), he does not rise(?) |
| 29 | nin9-a#-ni# gu3 mu-un-na-de2-e | His sister spoke to him |
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
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
- electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich · MIT (eBL Zenodo dataset); platform terms unverified · electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich, https://www.ebl.lmu.de/ ; Zenodo dataset (MIT)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.