CDLI Literary 000555, ex. 001 (P346268)
Literary letter and letter-prayer, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000555, ex. 001 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346268 |
| 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 | When you speak to Šu-Sîn, my king |
| obverse 2 | Thus Šarrum-bani, the “wise one of the assembly” (prefect?), your servant, says: |
| obverse 3 | You despatched (me) as messenger in order to construct the great fortification Muriq-Tidnim |
| obverse 4 | You observed to me(?) “The Mardu nomads have “fallen upon”(?) the territory” |
| obverse 5 | So that a fortification was constructed, so that their paths were cut off |
| obverse 7 | You ordered me “The breach of the Tigris and Euphrates shall not overwhelm the fields(!?)” |
| obverse 8 | When I mustered/arose(?) |
| obverse 9 | From the bank of the Abgal canal to the land/province of Zimudar, the workforce was being mustered(?) |
| obverse 10 | The wall was 26 double hours, when I constructed (it) |
| obverse 11 | When I reached the corridor between the two mountain ranges |
| obverse 12 | The Mardu nomads who settled at the base of(?) the mountain range became aware of my construction |
| obverse 13 | Simurrum ... on account of its partnership |
| obverse 14 | In the corridor of the mountain range of Ebih, they advanced towards (me) in order to clash weapons |
| reverse 1' | If my king consents |
| reverse 2' | Then he will add workers to accomplish the task, they will achieve victory/succeed for me |
| reverse 3' | The cultivation/wishes(?) of the territory, which is not attained, ... |
| reverse 4' | I dispatched a messenger into the territory of Muru(?) |
| reverse 5' | (And ascertained that) the mood of the territory is changed |
| reverse 6' | (I) have not put off constructing a wall(?), (I) build and clash with arms |
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 | [...]-x [...] u3-na-a-du11# | |
| 2 | szar-ru-um-ba-ni gal-zu-ukken-na ARAD-zu na-ab-be2-a | |
| 3 | bad3 gal mu-ri-iq-tidnumx(|PIRIG.PIRIG|)-e dim2-me-de3 kin2-gi4-a-asz bi2-gi4 | |
| 4 | igi-zu ma-an-gar-ma mar-tu ma-da-asz x? mu-un-szub-szub-bu-usz | |
| 5 | bad3 du3-u3-de3 giri3-bi ku5-de3 | |
| 6 | {i7}idigna {i7}buranun-na-bi-da# | |
| 7 | gu2-giri3-bi a-sza3!(BA)-e nam-ba-na-szu2-szu2 a2-sze3 mu-e-da-na-ag2# | |
| 8 | zi-zi-da-gu10-ne#? | |
| 9 | gu2 {i7}abgal-ta en#-[...] zi-mu-dar-[...] | |
| 10 | bad3-bi 2(u) 6(disz) danna-am3# [...] | |
| 11 | dal-ba-na hur-sag min-a-bi-x [...] | |
| 12 | dim2-me-gu10-sze3 mar-tu ur2#? [...] i3-ib2-tusz gesztux(|GISZ.TUG2|)# x-[...] | |
| 13 | si-mu-ur4{ki} nam-tab-ba-ni#-[...] | |
| 14 | dal-ba#-na# hur-sag ebih#[{ki}-...] mu#?-na#?-ni-[...] | |
| 15 | [...] x [...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1' | tukumbi#? [...] | |
| 2' | erin2 kin2#? [...] | |
| 3' | uru4{+ru} ma#-da#? [...] | |
| 4' | ma-da murub6{ki#?} {lu2#?}kin2#?-[...] | |
| 5' | ma#-da dim2-ma-bi [...] | |
| 6' | x-[...] dim2#-me-de3 nu-szub#-[...]-e u3 [...] | |
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.