CDLI Literary 000567, ex. 001 (P346596)
Literary letter and letter-prayer, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000567, ex. 001 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346596 |
| 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 Ninisina, beloved child of supreme An, great lady |
| obverse 2 | Throne-bearer(?) of the place(?) where the sun rises, purifier of Arali(?) |
| obverse 3 | Beloved spouse of hero Pabilsag, supreme bride of the Ki'ur complex |
| obverse 4 | Supreme land recorder of An and Enlil, who holds her head high among the ladies |
| obverse 5 | Suited for the many(?) cosmic powers of the bond of the universe in Nibru |
| obverse 6 | (In) the supreme palace, the temple of your queenship, your greatness is manifest |
| obverse 7 | The temple of(?) larak(!?), the Enigar... temple, the Esabad temple and the Esa... temple ...(?) |
| obverse 8.a | ... physician, her incantation procedure is(?) life, (her) incantations/murmuring ... illness <to my lady, repeat(?)> |
| obverse 8.c | ... this is what Sîn-iddinam, the king of Larsa; your servant, says: |
| obverse 11 | Since the day I was born, after you have spoken to Utu (on my behalf), he gave me the shepherdship of his land |
| obverse 12 | ..., I do not sleep well(?) ... |
| obverse 13 | When I was to greatly(?) flatter/pray to the great gods |
| obverse 14 | My ..., ... apart from(?) the nindaba offering/nigba gift(?), I withheld(?) nothing |
| obverse 15 | Asalluhi, king of Babylon, son of Ilurugu ... |
| obverse 16 | Daily that city was plotting against my city |
| obverse 17 | Its king(?) was continually seeking after larsa malevolently(?) |
| obverse 18 | (As if?) I was not the shepherd of the land, the food offerings were not(?) ... |
| obverse 19 | The youth, who stood near to me at night (in) a dream |
| obverse 20.a | Stood at (my) head, I became aware of(?) its furious gaze |
| obverse 21 | ... the one who drove out my aura seized me with illness(?) |
| obverse 22 | My illness, which established a darkness (that cannot be) illuminated, no one could see it |
| obverse 23 | No doctor could see (diagnose) it, no bandage could not cool it |
| reverse 4' | Like a small bird fleeing from before a falcon, I fight for my life |
| reverse 5' | I, before the Namtar demon, ... |
| reverse 6' | I, within the power of the Namtar demon, lamenting ... |
| reverse 7' | Have mercy, like a merciful cow |
| reverse 8' | Have mercy, like ... |
| reverse 9' | My ..., have mercy(?) |
| reverse 11' | Damu(?) ... |
| reverse 14' | Asalluhi is the one who shall say “may he live” to me(!?) |
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 | [... {d}nin-i3-si]-in#{ki}-na dumu# ki# ag2# an#-[...] | |
| 2 | [...] x utu-e3-a na# de5# [...] | |
| 3 | [...]-x ki ag2# ur-sag x-x-[...] | |
| 4 | [...]-du5#? mah an {d}en-lil2#-[...] x [...] x [...] | |
| 5 | nibru#{ki}-a dur-an-ki-ka me szar2#? szu# du7#-[...] | |
| 6 | e2-gal-mah e2 nam-eresz-a-zu nam-mah-zu pa e3# [...] | |
| 7 | e2 <la>-ra-ak e2-nigar#?{gar#} TA e2-sa-ba-ad# e2-sa#?-x [...] | |
| 8.a | a#-zu# x tu6#-du11#-ga#-ni nam-ti-la mu7-mu7-a-ni tur5#-[...] | |
| 8.b | [ama kalam-ma arhusz szud3-de3 ki-ag2 a-ra-zu gesz-tuku] | |
| 8.c | [ama kalam-ma arhusz szud3-de3 ki-ag2 a-ra-zu gesz-tuku] | |
| 11 | [u4 tu-da-mu]-ta# {d}utu-ra ux(|IGI.LAGABxU|)?-na-a-du11 nam-sipa# [...] | |
| 12 | [...] x u3 du10? x x nam#?-x-ku-ku#-[...] | |
| 13 | [...]-ne#?-ra mah inim sa6#?-[...] | |
| 14 | [...]-gu10# NIG2-ba-ta ak nig2-nam# [...] | |
| 15 | [{d}asal-lu2-hi lugal] babila2{ki} dumu {d}i7-lu2-ru-gu2 IM# [...] | |
| 16 | [...]-gu10#-sze3 u4-szu2-usz-e sa2 si-ge# [...] | |
| 17 | [...] larsa{ki}-ma ki hul-sze3 kikken2# | |
| 18 | [...] nu-me-en-na nindaba-bi# la-ba-an-x | |
| 19 | [...] ge6# ma-mu2 mu-da-gub-ba | |
| 20.a | [...] im-mi-gub igi husz#-bi ga2-e im-mi-zu? | |
| 20.b | [{gesz}gisal i7-da tum3 tu6 hul-bi se3-ga] | |
| 20.c | [u4-bi-ta x-x-mu si nu-sa2 x-ni ba-ha-dab5-be2-en] | |
| 21 | [...] ni2#-gu10 ba-ra-an-e3-a tur5-ra ba-an-dab5-be2#-[...] | |
| 22 | [...]-zalag# gar-ra-am3 lu2 igi duh nu-mu-duh | |
| 23 | [... nu]-mu-un-duh {tug2}nig2-la2 nu-mu-sed4#-e | |
| reverse | ||
| 1' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 2' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 3' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 4' | buru5#?{muszen#} igi#? sur2#-du3#{muszen#}-[...]-ra#-gin7 zi#?-gu10#? [...] | |
| 5' | ga2-e igi# nam#-tar#-ka# [...] x da ba-x-x [...] | |
| 6' | ga2-e# szu# nam-tar-ka a-nir ga2-ga2 x x x [...] | |
| 7' | ab2 arhuszx(|E2xSAL|)-a-gin7 arhuszx(ExSAL)#? tuku-ma-ra#-ab# | |
| 8' | x x x x x-gin7#? arhuszx(|E2xSAL|)#? tuku#-ma#-[ra]-ab | |
| 9' | x x x-gu10# [...]-ab# | |
| 10' | x x ka-tab-ba gesz-tuku PA KA nu-sze-ga x | |
| 11' | {d#?}da#?-mu#? x x [...] x x [...] | |
| 12' | x x x x [...] x x [...] | |
| 13' | [...] x x x [...] x [...] | |
| 14' | [...] x x [...] ga2#-x hu-mu#-[...] | |
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.