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Letter from Aba-indasa to Šulgi about his neglect (Q000561)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | Letter from Aba-indasa to Šulgi about his neglect |
|---|---|
| ID | Q000561 |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | Nippur |
| Coordinates | 32.1271, 45.2300 |
Transliteration (ATF)
From 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)
Machine draft. The right-hand column is machine English from ixmon/atf-to-english (atf-en-t5base-F, 2026-10-17), generated line by line from the transliteration. It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | lugal-ŋu₁₀-ra u₃-na-dug₄ | to Lugal-bum he gave it. |
| 2 | maš₂ hur-saŋ-ŋa₂ a₂ sag₉-sag₉-ŋu₁₀ | goat of the mountain range, with beautiful horns |
| 3 | anše-kur hur-saŋ-ŋa₂ umbin hu-ri₂-in{mušen}-na | The mountain donkeys of the mountain range, the hammers of the ḫurinmušena |
| 4 | {ŋiš}ŋišnimbar ki sikil-e mu₂-a zu₂-lum {na₄}za-gin₃ la₂-ŋu₁₀-ur₂ | The nimbar plant grows in a pure place, dates and lapis lazuli are cut off. |
| 5 | u₃-ne-de₃-tah | he will remove it. |
| {m}a-ba-in-da-sa₂ ugula erin₂ zu₂ keše₂ aga-us₂ | Aba-indasa, foreman of the labor-troops, knife cutter, soldier | |
| 7 | šuduₓ(|KA.ŠU|){ud} lugal-la-na-ta šag₄ lugal-la-na dug₃-dug₃-ge-ra | From the throne of his king to the šag-vessel of his royal lord |
| 8 | arad₂-zu na-ab-be₂-a | "Your servant, what should I say? |
| kalag-ga-me-en lugal-ŋu₁₀ ga-ab-us₂ aga-us₂-zu he₂-me-en | I am the mighty one, my king, you are your soldier. | |
| inim-ma-zu ra-gaba-zu he₂-me-en igi tuku igi-ni-še₃ ga-gub | May you be your messenger, I want to stand before him. | |
| 11 | {ŋiš}ma₂ gub-ba {ŋiš}ŋisal mu-un-sig₁₀-ge | The one who sat down on the boat, he beats the one who was sitting down. |
| a gub-ba a mu-un-da-ak-e a-a gub-ba | Woe, the one who stands by him, woe, he is standing by him. | |
| 12A | dumu gub-ba še mu-un-sig₁₀-ge | The one who stands with the child, he lights up the barley |
| 12B | x X X mu-un-zalag-ge | ... shines. |
| tum₉ gub-ba še mu-un-da-la₂-e IM mu-da-ak-e | (Sum) She stretches out her hand to the wind, she blows (Akk) She blows her hand with the wind and blows(?) | |
| 14 | dub-sar-me-en na-du₃-a ab-sar-re-en | I am a scribe, I will recite the inscription. |
| 14A | inim ugnim-ma mu-x | The words of the army ... |
| 15 | inim pu-uh₂-ru-um-ma šub-ba ed₃-de₃-bi mu-un-da-sig₁₀-ge | (Sum) The word of the šuḫurum-priestess, the steppe trembles with terror (Akk) It is the word of an enchanter, it beats the path with terror |
| 15A | inim sag₉-ge gaba-ri X x | a good word, a copy |
| 16 | ŋiš-gin₇ {ŋiš}tir-ŋa₂ mu-un-du₃-nam mu-dur₇-re im-gam-e | He built it like a mountain, he made it dwell there. |
| 17 | {ŋiš}gu-za-ŋa₂ lu₂ mu-un-da-la₂-a šu-ŋu₁₀ eš₂ im-ma-an-la₂ | The throne, which the man carried away, he carried away with his hand. |
| 18 | iri-ŋa₂ tug₂ dan₆-na-a mu-ni-mur₁₀-ra tug₂-mu-dur₇-ra ba-an-mur₁₀ | In the inner city he wore a clean garment, he was wearing a soiled garment. |
| 19 | lag-e a mi-ni-in-tu₅-a sahar igi-ŋa₂ ba-e-DU | After he had bathed in water, he ... the dust before him. |
| 20 | ur-e ad₆ ib₂-gu₇ gaba-bi ib₂-zi-zi | The dog eats the carcasses and raises its chest. |
| 21 | ušumgal-e saŋ ŋiš ib₂-ra-ra ka-ta ab-taka₄ i₃-ib₂-taka₄ | (Sum) The ušumgal priestess, the šaŋ drum(?) that was smashed, he screamed from the mouth (Akk) The weavers, the drums that were sung from the tongue |
| 22 | ŋiš-gi izi ib₂-gu₇ id₂ i₃-tuku-tuku | The reeds consumed by fire, the river irrigated. |
| 23 | {d}utu i₃ un-gu₇ ga un-gu₇ {ŋiš}banšur ukur₃-ra-še₃ šu-ni ib₂-ši-tum₃ | Utu ate oil, ate milk, and brought his hand to the table of the Ugarit. |
| 23A | zi-ŋu₁₀ ba-e-i šu-ŋu₁₀ ha-za-a-ab | “If he eats bread, if he drinks wine, he will be happy.’ |
| 23B | dumu nu-mu-un-su-me-en lu₂ en₃ tar-re la-ba-an-tuku | I am not a child, no one has inquired after me. |
| 24 | ŋa₂-a me-na-am₃ šag₄ {d}šul-gi lugal-ŋa₂ ki-bi ha-ma-gi₄-gi₄ | When will the land of Šulgi, my king, be restored to its place for me? |
| 24A | lugal-ŋu₁₀ en₃-ŋu₁₀ he₂-tar-re ki ama-ŋu₁₀-še₃ he₂-em-mi-ib-gi₄-gi₄ | May the king inquire after you, may he return to the place of his mother. |
Sources & licences
- 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 2026-10-18.