CDLI Literary 000379, ex. 023 (P346223)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000379, ex. 023 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346223 |
| 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 | At that time(!) the storm was placed together with the city, the city was ruin heaps |
| obverse 2 | Father Nanna, the city has been placed into ruins, and the people wailed |
| obverse 3 | The storm deprived the land of ..., and the people wailed |
| obverse 4 | The land was devastated (until) there was not even a broken sherd (left), and the people wailed |
| obverse 5 | A breach was made in the wall, and the people wailed |
| obverse 6 | At the great gate where there was a path, it was piling up corpses |
| obverse 7 | In the broad lane prepared as if for a festival, head(s) were placed as seeds |
| obverse 8 | In the streets, where there were paths, it was piling up corpses |
| obverse 9 | In the playground, where there was a festival, it spread out people (as) sheaves |
| obverse 10 | Ditches/burial pits were put down (for) the blood of land like (it would be done for?) the drainpipe of heaven(?) |
| obverse 11 | (That of) the corpses, (like) sheep fat in sunlight, dissolved by themselves |
| obverse 12 | Like a man ended by a hazin axe, one was not (bothering to) “clothe his head"/wearing a turban (as a bandage?) |
| obverse 13 | Like a goat buck caught by a snare, (one) lodged his mouth in the dirt |
| obverse 14 | And therefore(?) like a man ended by the mitum weapon, one did not (bother to) wear bandages |
| obverse 15 | As if lying in the birthing place of their mother, one laid in his(!) blood |
| obverse 16 | Those who had not drunk wine nonetheless hung their necks down (lit. on the shoulder) (as if drunk) |
| obverse 17 | Those who served with weaponry(?) were slaughtered by weaponry |
| obverse 18 | The storm took away(?) fugitive men and gazelles (alike?), and the people wailed |
| obverse 19 | In Urim the weak and strong alike came to an end out of hunger |
| obverse 20 | The elder women and men who did not leave the house were set on fire |
| obverse 21 | Water brought away(?) the tiny ones ... the lap of the mother like(!) fish |
| obverse 22 | The strong grasp of the wetnurse, (this) grasp was loosened |
| obverse 23 | The allegiance/sense of the land was forgotten, and the people wailed |
| obverse 24 | The treasury of the land was forgotten, and the people wailed |
| obverse 25 | The mother left her city(!?) for (to the detriment of?) her son, and the people wailed |
| obverse 26 | The father turned away from his son, and the people wailed |
| obverse 27 | In the city the spouse was abandoned, the child was abandoned, possessions were scattered |
| obverse 28 | The blackheaded people went into ...'s solemn place |
| obverse 29 | The lady left her city like a frightened bird |
| obverse 30 | Ningal left her city like a frightened bird |
| obverse 31 | And therefore(?) the possessions ... amassed(?) (there) were annihilated |
| obverse 32 | In the treasury(?) (which) had possessed ... plundered itself(?) |
| obverse 33 | (Even) in the ponds, Gibil, the purifier, was performing(?) work |
| obverse 34 | The high mountain range which no hand approaches, oh lord(?) of the Ekišnugal temple |
| obverse 35 | The true temple, the great hazin axes were consuming as if in a pack |
| obverse 36 | (The troops of) Šimašgi and Elam, the destructive ones, were treating it as if it was worth thirty shekels(!?) |
| obverse 37 | When(?) the pickaxes struck the true temple and city, the people wailed |
| obverse 38 | They were making the city into ruin heaps, and the people wailed |
| reverse 1 | Its lady was crying “Alas, my city,” she was crying “Alas, my temple” |
| reverse 2 | Ningal was crying “Alas, my city,” she was crying “Alas, my temple” |
| reverse 3 | The woman, the storm destroyed (her) city, the storm destroyed her temple |
| reverse 4 | Nanna(?), shrine Urim is destroyed, and the people are scattering |
| reverse 5 | It is the 6th kirugu |
| reverse 6 | In her cattlepen, in her sheepfold, the woman shouts bitterly, the storm is destoying the city |
| reverse 7 | It is its gešgigal “response” |
| reverse 8 | Mother Ningal stands apart from her city like an enemy |
| reverse 9 | The woman cries bitterly about the fate of her destroyed city |
| reverse 10 | Ningal cries bitterly about the fate of her destroyed temple |
| reverse 11 | An must curse (my) city, my city must be destroyed |
| reverse 12 | Enlil must curse my temple, the pickaxe must strike(!) |
| reverse 13 | He (must) cast fire upon my ... coming from the lowland, my city must be destroyed |
| reverse 14 | Enlil must touch down lightning flame upon his(!?) highland |
| reverse 15 | At the outskirts of the city, the outer city must be destroyed, and I shall say “Alas, my city” |
| reverse 16 | In the middle of the city, the inner city must be destroyed, and I shall say “Alas, my city” |
| reverse 17 | My temple (in) the outskirts of the city is being destroyed, and I shall say “Alas, my city” |
| reverse 18 | My temple (in) the middle of the city is being destroyed, and I shall say “Alas, my city” |
| reverse 19 | Therefore, the city is not pastured for me like a fertile ewe, its true shepherd is not present |
| reverse 20 | Therefore, Urim is not pastured for me like a fertile she-goat, its herder is not present |
| reverse 21 | My ox does not stand in the cattlepen, its herder is not present |
| reverse 22 | My sheep do not dwell in their sheepfold, their herder is not present |
| reverse 23 | The canal of the city thickens with silt and produces(?) fox dens(?) |
| reverse 24 | In its course it does not bring flowing water, its canal inspector is not present |
| reverse 25 | In the fields of my city, grain is not present, its farmer is not present |
| reverse 26 | (In?) my field, like a field that the pickax has struck (to destroy it and render it unusable!?), (only) the “star of the field(?)” plant grows |
| reverse 27 | In the irrigated orchards that heap up(?) syrup and wine, the thornbush of the mountain grows grows |
| reverse 28 | In the steppe whose “joy” was surpassing/filled it(?), (it was) emitting (a baking scent?) like an oven(?) |
| reverse 29 | My possessions are taken away flying like a flock of crows taking flight, I must cry “My possessions!” |
| reverse 30 | My possessions coming from the lowland are brought back to the lowland, I must cry “My possessions!” |
| reverse 31 | My possessions coming from the highland are brought back to the highland, I must cry “My possessions!” |
| reverse 32 | (The storm?) scatters me away from(?) my precious metal and lapis, I must cry “My possessions!” |
| reverse 33 | My treasure is annihilated, I must cry “My possessions!” |
| reverse 34 | People who know nothing(?) of precious metal fill the hand with my precious metal and consume it |
| reverse 35 | People who know nothing(?) of lapis load their necks with my lapis |
| reverse 36 | It is the month of Gur-Inanna, the 14th day |
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 | u4-ba u4 uru17 ba-da-an-gar iri-bi du6-du6-da | |
| 2 | a-a {d}nanna uru17#-bi du6-du6-da ba-da-an-gar ug3 sze am3-sza4 | |
| 3 | u4# ka-na-ag2 ba-da-an-kar ug3 sze am3-sza4 | |
| 4 | ka-na-ag2-e szika ku5-da nu-me-a sug!-ge4 bi2-in-gu7 ug3 sze am3-sza4 | |
| 5 | badx(EZEN)-bi gu2-giri16 im-mi-in-gar ug3 sze am3-sza4 | |
| 6 | abul mah-ba giri3 gal2-la-ba adda im-mi-in-gar-gar-re | |
| 7 | sila dagal ezem-gin7 du3-a-ba sag numun-e-esz ba-ab-gar | |
| 8 | e-sir2-e-sir2-ra giri3 gal2-la-ba adda im-mi-in-gar-gar-re | |
| 9 | eszemen ezem gal2 ug3 zarx(SUG)?-re-esz mu-un-sal | |
| 10 | u3-mun kalam-ma alal an-na-ke4 sur-sur ba-gar-gar | |
| 11 | adda-ba i3-udu u4-de3# gal2-la-ba ni2-bi mu-un-zal-le-esz | |
| 12 | lu2 {uruda}ha-zi-in-e i-im-til-la-gin7 sag TUG2 la-ba-an-ak#-[...] | |
| 13 | masz-nita gesz-bur2 dab5-ba-gin7 ka# sahar-ra bi2-in-us2# | |
| 14 | lu2 {gesz}mitum-e i-im-til-la-gin7# {tug2#}nig2-la2# [...]-bi2#-in-la2 | |
| 15 | e-gi4-in-zu! ki ha-ri-isz-tum ama#-ba#? [...] mud2#-ba mu-un-sze21-sze21 | |
| 16 | lu2 gesztin nag nu-me-esz gu2 za3-ga bi2-ib2-lax(ME)-esz | |
| 17 | {gesz}tukul-e gub-ba {gesz}tukul-e bi2-in-gaz2# | |
| 18 | lu2-kar-ra-bi u4 im-ma-an-de6 ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 19 | uri2{ki}-ma si-ga kal-ga-bi sza3-gar-re ba-til | |
| 20 | um-ma ab#-ba e2-ta nu-e3 izi mu-ni-in-si-ge5-esz | |
| 21 | di4-di4#-la2# ur2 ama-bi ne-a ku6-sze6 a ba-ab-de6 | |
| 22 | emeda{+da#} lirum kal-ga# lirum-ba ba-an-du8-du8 | |
| 23 | dim2-ma kalam-ma u2-gu ba-an-de2 ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 24 | erim3-ma kalam-ma u2-gu ba-an-de2 ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 25 | ama dumu-ni-ir irix(ERIM3)?-ni ba-ra#-e3 ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 26 | ad-da dumu-ni?-ta!? ba!-da-an-gur? ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 27 | iri{ki}-a dam ba-szub dumu ba-szub nig2-gur11! ba-birx(HAR)-birx(HAR)-re | |
| 28 | sag-gig2-ga ki-sag-gal2-la-na im-me-de3-re7{+re}-esz | |
| 29 | nin-bi muszen ni2 te-a-gin7 uru17{ki}-ni ba-ra-e3 | |
| 30 | {d}nin-gal muszen# ni2# te#-a#-gin7 uru17{ki}-ni ba-ra-e3 | |
| 31 | nig2-gur11 x-[... ma]-al#-ma-al-la sug!-ge4 hu-mu-da-ab-gux(KA) | |
| 32 | erimx(URU2)-ma [...] x-ab-du12-du12 ni2 im-ma-lah5 | |
| 33 | a2-nigin2-na {d#?}gibil6# lu2 sikil-ke4 kin2-ga2 al-du3-du3 | |
| 34 | hur-sag sukud#?-[...] szu#? nu-te-ge26-e en e2-kisz-nu-gal2-la-ke4 | |
| 35 | e2 zi-de3 {uruda}ha-zi-in gal-gal-e tesz2-bi i3-gu7-e | |
| 36 | szimaszgi{ki} elam{ki} lu2 ha-lam-ma uszu3 kin2 ba-da-ak-ak | |
| 37 | e2 zi-de3 uru17 {gesz}al-e ba-ab-ra-a-gin7 ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| 38 | uru17# du6-du6-da mu-un-ga2-ga2-e-ne ug3-e sze am3-sza4 | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | nin-bi a uru17-gu10 im-me a e2-gu10 im-me | |
| 2 | {d}nin-gal a uru2-gu10 im-me a e2-gu10# im#-me!? | |
| 3 | {lu2}nu-nuz-e u4 uru17 ba-da-gul u4 e2 ba-da-gul | |
| 4 | {d#}[...] esz3# uri2{ki}-ma ba-da-gul-la ug3 ba-da-bir-birx(HAR)-re | |
| 5 | ki-ru-gu2 6(disz)-kam-ma | |
| 6 | tur3-a-na amasz-a-na nu-nuz-e gu3 gig-ga mu-ni-ib2-be2 iri u4-de3 am3-gul-e | |
| 7 | gesz-gi4-gal2-bi-im | |
| 8 | ama {d}nin-gal uru17{ki}-ni lu2-erim2-gin7 bar-ta ba-ra-gub | |
| 9 | {lu2}nu-nuz-e na-ag2 uru17 hul-a-na gig-ga-bi im-me | |
| 10 | {d}nin-gal-e na-ag2 e2 hul-a-na gig-ga-bi im-me | |
| 11 | an-ne2 uru17 na-ag2 ha-ba-de3-ku5 uru17{ki}-gu10 hu-mu-da-gul | |
| 12 | {d}en-lil2-le e2-gu10 asz2!(TUG2) he2-bi2-ib-bala-e {gesz}al ha-ba-ISZ-ra | |
| 13 | sig-ta du-ga2 izi ba-ni-szub uru17{ki}-gu10 hu-mu-da-gul | |
| 14 | {d}en-lil2-le igi-nim-ma-ni u3-bu-bu-ul ha-ba-ni-tag!? | |
| 15 | [...] bar-ra uru17 bar hu-mu-da-gul a uru17-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 16 | uru2#? sza3-ba uru2 sza3-ab hu-mu-da-gul a uru2-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 17 | e2# uru2#? bar-ra-gu10 ba-gulx(GIR4)-gul-e a uru2-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 18 | [...] uru17? sza3-ba-gu10 ba-gul-gulx(GIR4)-e a uru2-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 19 | x-gu10 u8 zi-gin7 ba-ra-ma-lug sipa zi-bi ba-ra-gub | |
| 20 | uri2{ki} ud5 zi-gin7 ba-ra-ma-lug gab2-bar-bi ba-ra-gub | |
| 21 | gu4-gu10 tur3-bi-a ba-ra-an-gub mu-nu10#-bi ba-ra-gub | |
| 22 | e-ze2-gu10 amasz#-bi#-a# ba#-ra#-an#-dur2-ru-un# [...]-bi ba-ra-gub | |
| 23 | i7 uru2{ki}-ke4 sahar ha-ba-ab-gur4-gur4 e2# [...] x ha#?-ba-ab-tum3 | |
| 24 | sza3-ba a zal-le ba-ra-mu-un-de6 mu#-[...] ba#-ra-gub | |
| 25 | GAN2 uru2-ga2-ke4 sze ba-ra-mu-un-gal2 mu-gar3-bi ba-ra-gub | |
| 26 | GAN2-gu10 GAN2 {gesz}al ri-a-gin7 mul-GAN2-mul{sar} ha-ba-mu2 | |
| 27 | pu2 {gesz}kiri6 lal3 gesztin du8-a-ba {gesz}AD2 kur-ra ha-ba-mu2 | |
| 28 | edin giri17-zal-bi SI-A-ba gir4-gin7 ba-ur5-ur5 | |
| 29 | mu-un-gur11-gu10 buru4{muszen} dugud zi-ga-gin7 dal-dal-bi ha-ba-ab-[...] mu-un-gur11-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 30 | mu-un-gur11-gu10 sig-ta di-ga2 sig-sze3 ha-ba-ab-de6 mu-un-gur11-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 31 | mu-un-gur11-gu10 igi-nim-ta di-ga2 igi-nim-sze3 ha-ba-ab#-de6 mu-un-gur11-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 32 | ku3 {na4}za-gin3-gu10-ta ba-e-bir-bir-re mu-un#-gur11-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 33 | gil-sa-gu10 sug-ge4 hu-mu-un-da-gu7 mu-un-gur11-gu10 ga-am3-du11 | |
| 34 | ku3-gu10 lu2 ku3 nu-zu-ne szu-bi ba-ni-in-si mu-un-gu7 | |
| 35 | {na4}za-gin3-gu10 lu2 {na4}za-gin3 nu-zu-ne gu2-bi ha-ma-da-ab-si | |
| 36 | {iti}gur10-{d}inanna u4 1(u) 4(disz)-kam | |
| left | ||
| 1 | mu-x-x-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
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.