CDLI Literary 000581, ex. 004 (P346261)
Literary letter and letter-prayer, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000581, ex. 004 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346261 |
| Museum no. | BM — |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary letter and letter-prayer |
| 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 | After you speak to Enlilmassu, (the provider of) sweet words and good advice, the (possessor of) a “honey mouth, who is charming |
| obverse 3 | you repeat, |
| obverse 4 | My alad spirit, my lamma spirit, my valued (personal) god (Akkadian, the one of the side(?)), with good features and stature |
| obverse 5 | Embodiment of the scribal art |
| obverse 6 | Hero of the šatam officials, who restores commands to their place |
| obverse 7 | Who sweetens the heart of the king, after you (say) a third time to him |
| obverse 8 | Lugalnesage, the nu'eš priest of Enlil, the jester of his king |
| obverse 9 | Son of Zuzu, master (scribe) of Nibru, it is (him who) speaks (thusly) |
| obverse 10 | When I was abandoned, (I) was “cut down"(?) |
| obverse 11 | My heart fell, my (interest in) eating and drinking diminished |
| obverse 12 | Your destiny(?) consumed me, your lament silenced me(?) |
| obverse 13 | Your greatness (i.e., arrogance) has twisted(?) me |
| obverse 14 | Your fog(?) has killed me |
| obverse 15 | (For the time being) I have abandoned my attentiveness (to you) |
| obverse 16 | I was silent to(?) listening (to you) and pondering (you?) |
| obverse 17 | (I) have been distressed to inquire after (you) |
| obverse 18 | (In order) to be afraid(?), my heart has filled with blood and pus |
| reverse 1 | (But) because(?) it (this plight?) not yet gone into the “place of fate"(?) |
| reverse 2 | May the command of Enlil make me(?) see your face (again) |
| reverse 3 | "Long-tablet" of Nannameša |
| reverse 4 | Your annoyance has killed me |
| reverse 5 | The silence confines me in my place(!?) |
| reverse 6 | My ear is set (to hear) you |
| reverse 7 | And I am quiet |
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 | {disz}{d}en-lil2-mas-su inim du10 ad gi4 sa6 ka# lal3 inim gun3-gun3-ra u3-na-a-du11 | |
| 2 | dumu dingir-ra-ni-ir gub-ba ama a-a-ni ni2 te-ga2-e-de3 | |
| 3 | u3-ne-de3-tah | |
| 4 | {d}alad# {d}lamma dingir kal-la-gu10 uludin2 alan zil2-zil2 | |
| 5 | me-te nam-dub-sar-ra | |
| 6 | ur-sag sza3-tam-e-ne a2 ag2-ga2 ki-bi-sze3 gi4 | |
| 7 | sza3 lugal-la-na du10-du10-ge-ra u3-ne-de3-pesz | |
| 8 | {disz}lugal-nesag-e nu-esz3 {d}en-lil2-la2 lu2 zu2 bir9 lugal-a-na | |
| 9 | dumu zu-zu um-mi-a nibru{ki}-a ad-da-zu na-ab-be2-a | |
| 10 | u4 i3-tak4-na-gu10 ba-hu-hu-bu-usz-a | |
| 11 | sza3-gu10 mu-da-szub szagar immen2-gu10 ba-tur | |
| 12 | nam-zu ib2-gu7-en i-si-isz-zu ib2-si-ge-en | |
| 13 | mah-zu ib2-sur-re-en | |
| 14 | bar-szeg3-ge26-e-zu ib2-usz2-en | |
| 15 | lib bar ke-gu10-ta szu ba-e-dag#? | |
| 16 | gesztu2 sza3 tuku-tuku# lib be2-gar | |
| 17 | en3 tar-tar-re-de3 zi ba-ir | |
| 18 | ni2 te-te-ge26-de3 sza3-gu10 mud2 lugud ba-ab-si | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | ki nam tar-ra nu-ub-da-gen-na-asz | |
| 2 | du11-ga {d}en-lil2-le musz3-me-zu igi he2-bi2-duh | |
| 3 | im-gid2-da {d}nanna-me-sza4 | |
| 4 | na-zi-iq-ka usz-ta-mi-na-ni#? | |
| 5 | qu2-lum i-na x-ri-ia usz-te-si-ra-an-ni | |
| 6 | uz-na-ia#? i-ba-asz-sza#?-ku-um-ma | |
| 7 | aq-ta-na-al | |
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.