CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 002 (P346161)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000389, ex. 002 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346161 |
| Museum no. | BM — |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar) |
| Coordinates | 30.9607, 46.1063 |
English translation
By Peterson, Jeremiah · Via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI (reuse with citation)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| obverse 1' | Who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 2' | The canal whose (outlying) ditches are clean, who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 3' | The canal in which the oar is set (to start a journey?), who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 4' | Who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 5' | Ur-Namma, the one who has silver, will dig here |
| obverse 6' | Who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 7' | Shulgi, the one who has possessions, will dig here |
| obverse 8' | Who will dig the canal here? |
| obverse 9' | The king whose fate was decided in the fertile womb, who raises his head in authority |
| obverse 10' | Ur-Namma, the youth who is watched by the Great Mountain, the storm of (i.e. that is?) Enlil |
| obverse 11' | Where in Sumer and Akkad will Nunamnir chose? |
| obverse 12' | In Nippur, at the “mountain range of life,” he decreed my(!?) fate |
| obverse 13' | At Ur, it being in the Emudkura shrine |
| obverse 14' | He secured the foundations of his throne |
| obverse 15' | The crown and the (accompanying) aura, (eliciting) the “praise” of kingship, he(!?) put on my(?) head |
| obverse 16' | He made the pure scepter that puts the many people in order the equal of my hand(?) |
| obverse 17' | He gave to my hand the enkara weapon, the staff(?) and the nose-rope that convey the people |
| reverse 1 | ... possessing a head and tail (i.e., the beginning and end of a canal?)/present at the head and tail(?) |
| reverse 2 | ... bearing ..., a dwelling that makes the heart rejoice |
| reverse 3 | ... made its foundation firm |
| reverse 5 | The gizi reed growth, “standing in silver"(?), flourishes |
| reverse 6 | My canal(?) (that furnishes?) a day of abundance, a reign(?) of ..., the “pure ...” canal is named |
| reverse 7 | Named an everlasting name that is suitable for the mouth, the canal whose (outlying) ditches are clean canal is named |
| reverse 8 | (As for?) me, the way of (the canal of?) my city is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds |
| reverse 9 | The “pure ...” canal, it flow(!?) is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds |
| reverse 10 | The canal whose (outlying) ditches are clean, its flow is fish(?), its float/excess(?) is birds |
| reverse 11 | Abundantly it brought fish to the Ekišnugal temple |
| reverse 12 | On its banks are munzer plants which one eats (like?) the “honey plant” |
| reverse 13 | Making mottled barley/crops grow in its meadows (so that it) sways like a forest/for it to be denuded (at harvest time) like a forest(?) |
| reverse 14 | The king of the four regions, obedient one of Enlil |
| reverse 15 | Ur-Namma, the shepherd and provider in Sumer and Akkad, loved by Enlil |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| obverse | ||
| 1' | [...] mu-un-ba-[al-e] | |
| 2' | i7# [pa4-bi]-luh-ha a-ba mu#-un#-[ba-al-e] | |
| 3' | i7# {gesz}gisal-a-gar-ra# a#-ba# mu#-[un-ba-al-e] | |
| 4' | i7 a-ba mu-un-ba#-al#-[e] | |
| 5' | ur-{d}namma ku3-tuku mu-un-ba-[al-e] | |
| 6' | i7 a-ba mu-un-ba-al#-[e] | |
| 7' | {d}szul-gi nig2-tuku mu-un-ba#-[al-e] | |
| 8' | i7 a-ba mu-un-ba-al-e | |
| 9' | lugal sza3 zi-da nam tar-ra nam-nir-ra sag il2 | |
| 10' | ur-{d}namma sul igi il2-la kur-gal u4 {d}en-lil2-la2-ke4 | |
| 11' | {d}nun-nam-nir ki-en-gi uri-e me-am3 mu-un-suh-e | |
| 12' | nibru{ki}-e hur-sag nam-ti-la-ka nam-mi im-mi-in-tar | |
| 13' | uri2{ki}-e e2-mud-kur-ra-kam | |
| 14' | {gesz}gu-za-a-ni suhuszx(DU@s)-bi im-mi-in-gin6 | |
| 15' | aga me-lam2 me-tesz2 nam-lugal-la sag-ga2 im-mi-gal2 | |
| 16' | {gesz}gidri ku3 ug3 1(szar2) si-si-e sa2 szu-ga2 im-mi-in-sa2 | |
| 17' | enkar szibir#? esz#-giri17# zi#-gal2#? DU#-DU-e [...] | |
| 18' | [...] | |
| 19' | [...]-NE | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | [...] x gal2 sag kun gal2-la#-[...] | |
| 2 | [...] gur3#-ru ki#-tusz sza3 hul2-la# | |
| 3 | [...] x-da ur2-bi im-mi-in-gin6 | |
| 4 | [...]-na-kam gu2-da am bi-szu2 | |
| 5 | [...]-zi ku3-babbar-ra gub-ba-am3 [...] im-mi-ir-mi-re | |
| 6 | [...] u4 he2-gal2-la bala ub-ba {i7}EZEN-ku3 mu sze | |
| 7 | [...] da#-ri ka-ke du-a-ba i7 pa4-bi-luh mu sze | |
| 8 | ga2 iri{ki}-ga2 a-ra2-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi mu-sze-na | |
| 9 | {i7}EZEN-ku3 iri{ki}-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi mu-sze-na | |
| 10 | i7 pa4-bi-luh a-ra2-bi ku6-ab te-li-bi mu-sze-na | |
| 11 | he2-gal2-bi ku6 hu-ma-ra-ab-de6 e2-kisz-nu-gal2-sze3 | |
| 12 | gu2-gu2-bi {u2}munzer lu2-e u2-lal3 gu7-e | |
| 13 | a-gar3 gal-bi# sze gu-nu mu2-mu2 {gesz#}tir#-gin7#? su-su-[...] | |
| 14 | lugal an-ub#-[...]-bi sze-ga {d#?}[...] | |
| 15 | ur#?-{d#?}[namma ... ki]-en#-gi uri#-[...] | |
| 16 | [...] x [...] | |
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)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.