CDLI Literary 000579 (Letter from Ugubi to Mother) composite (P473738)
Literary letter and letter-prayer, Old Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000579 (Letter from Ugubi to Mother) composite |
|---|---|
| ID | P473738 |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary letter and letter-prayer |
| Find spot | Nippur (mod. Nuffar) |
| Coordinates | 32.1271, 45.2300 |
English translation
By check · Via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI (reuse with citation)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| surface a 1 | Messenger, messenger, to my mother |
| surface a 2 | say |
| surface a 3 | what monkey says: |
| surface a 4 | Ur is the city resplendent of Nanna. |
| surface a 5 | In Eridu, the city abundant of Enki, |
| surface a 6 | indeed I, behind the door of the house of the Chief Musician am sitting. |
| surface a 7 | Looks are feeding me. |
| surface a 8 | May I not die! |
| surface a 9 | There being no fresh bread, there being no fresh beer, |
| surface a 10 | have a courier send some to me! |
| surface a 11 | It’s a flood! |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| surface a | ||
| 1 | lu2 di lu2 di ama-gu10-ra | |
| 2 | u3-na-du11 | |
| 3 | ugu{gu5}-bi na-ab-be2-a | |
| 4 | uri2{ki} iri giri17-zal {d}nanna-kam | |
| 5 | eridu{ki} iri he2-gal2 {d}en-ki-ga-ka | |
| 6 | ge26-e egir {gesz}ig e2 nar-gal-ka al-tusz-en | |
| 7 | igi-tum3-la2 mu-gu7-en | |
| 8 | nam-ba-da-usz2-en | |
| 9 | ninda ba-ra-gibil-la2 kasz ba-ra-gibil-la2 | |
| 10 | lu2 kasx(DU){kas}-e szu tak4-ma-ab | |
| 11 | a-ma-ru-kam | |
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.