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Ur-Namma 20 (= Laws of Ur-Namma) (Q000947)
Royal Inscription, Ur III, Nippur · c. 2100 BCE–2000 BCE
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| Designation | Ur-Namma 20 (= Laws of Ur-Namma) |
|---|---|
| ID | Q000947 |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Ur III · c. 2100 BCE–2000 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Prolog | ||
| 6 | [...] x | |
| 7 | [...]-⸢gin₇⸣ | ... like |
| 8 | [...]-bi | ... its |
| 9 | [...]-⸢am₃⸣ | ... is the ... of |
| 10 | [...] AN X | ... ... |
| 11 | [...] ⸢kalam-ma⸣ | ... the Ekalama temple |
| 12 | [...] ⸢uri₂⸣{ki} | ... Ur |
| 13 | [...] ⸢ki⸣-en-[gi ...] | ... E-en-gi |
| 14 | [...] AN [x] | ... ... |
| 15 | [...] ⸢NI bi⸣ | ... he will go out. |
| 16 | [...] | |
| 17 | [...] x x | |
| 18 | [...] ⸢x⸣ šu [x] | ... hand |
| 19 | [...] x x [...] | |
| 20 | [...] | |
| 21 | [...] | |
| 22 | [...]-⸢ba-ni⸣ | ...-ebani |
| 23 | [...] ⸢šu-na⸣ | ... the šuna |
| 24 | {[d}ur]-{d}namma-⸢ra⸣ | Ur-Namma-erae |
| 25 | [...] x itu-da | ... month |
| 26 | 1(geš₂) 3(u) še gur | 90 gur barley |
| 27 | 3(u) udu | 30 sheep |
| 28 | 3(u) sila₃ i₃-nun | 30 sila3 butter oil, |
| 29 | sa₂-du₁₁-še₃ | regular offerings |
| 30 | ⸢mu-na⸣-ni-gar | he had established for him. |
| 31 | u₄ an-ne₂ | when An |
| 32 | {d}en-lil₂-le | by Enlil |
| 33 | {d}nanna-ar | To Nanna |
| 34 | ⸢nam-lugal⸣ uri₂{ki}ma | the kingship of Ur |
| 35 | [mu-na]-⸢šum₂⸣-mu-uš-a-ba | when he had brought it to him |
| 36 | ⸢u₄-ba {d⸣}ur-{d}namma-ke₄ | At that time, when Ur-Namma |
| 37 | ⸢dumu⸣ tu-da | son born |
| 38 | {d}nin-sun₂-ka | of Ninsun |
| 39 | ⸢ama⸣-a-tu | |
| 40 | ⸢ki ag₂⸣-ga₂-ni-ir | his beloved E-ki, |
| 41 | ⸢nig₂⸣-si-sa₂-⸢ni⸣-še₃ | to the niĝsisa temple |
| 42 | ⸢nig₂-gi-ni⸣-še₃ | to his niggin temple |
| 43 | ⸢x⸣ [x x] x (x) ka | ... ... |
| 44 | [...] ⸢bi⸣ | ... its temple |
| 45 | ⸢ka⸣ [...] x | In(?) your temple ... |
| 46 | mu-[...] | he ... |
| 47 | ⸢si⸣-x [...] | ... esi-e-x |
| 48 | ⸢ba⸣-[...] | “(If) he ... a temple |
| 49 | ⸢zah₂⸣ [...] | The ešaḫ-bird |
| 50 | a ⸢NI⸣ [...] | “Alas, the ... of the ešītu-temple, |
| 51 | ⸢nam⸣ [...] | Ename’e |
| 71 | [...] ⸢AN⸣ [...] | ... the Eanna temple |
| 72 | ⸢maš-gan₂{ki⸣} | of Emašgan |
| 73 | ⸢KA⸣ x 7(diš)-bi | Its seven gates |
| 74 | ⸢hu⸣-mu-un-da-an-⸢ba⸣ | “If he slips through the thresholds, |
| 75 | nam-ha-ni | Namḫani |
| 76 | ensi₂ | governor |
| 77 | lagaš{ki}ke₄ | of Lagash |
| 78 | he₂-⸢mi-ug₅⸣ | may he die! |
| 79 | ki-ur₂-ra | the Kiʾur |
| 80 | ma₂ ma₂-gan{⸢ki⸣}na | barge of Magan |
| 81 | {d}nanna | For Nanna |
| 82 | a₂ {d}nanna | labor of Nanna |
| 83 | lugal-⸢ga₂⸣-ta | from Lugal-egae |
| 84 | he₂-mi-gi₄ | may he return. |
| 85 | uri₂{ki}ma | of Ur, |
| 86 | ha-ba-zalag | may he be bright! |
| 87 | u₄-ba | At that time |
| 88 | a-ša₃ ni-is-kum | field Niskum |
| 89 | i₃-ŋal₂-la-am₃ | he will pay back. |
| 90 | nam-ga-eš₈ | to establish, establish |
| 91 | ma₂-lah₅-⸢gal⸣ | the chief boatman |
| 92 | i₃-ŋal₂-la-⸢am₃⸣ | he will pay back. |
| 93 | ⸢utul₃⸣-e | (a kind of container) |
| 94 | [gu₄-dab₅] ⸢udu⸣-dab₅ | captive oxen and captive sheep |
| 95 | ⸢anše⸣-dab₅ | ešedab-plant |
| 96 | [i₃-ŋal₂-la]-⸢am₃⸣ | he shall pay. |
| 97 | [...]-⸢ta⸣ | ...-etae |
| 103 | [...] x | |
| 104 | [u₄-ba ur-{d]}namma | At that time, Ur-Namma |
| 105 | [nita kala]-⸢ga⸣ | strong man |
| 106 | [lugal uri₂]{⸢ki⸣}ma | king of Ur |
| 107 | [lugal ki-en-gi] ⸢ki⸣-uri | king of Sumer and Akkad |
| 108 | [a₂ {d]}nanna | labor of Nanna |
| 109 | [lugal] ⸢uru⸣-ta | from the king of the Inner City |
| 110 | [inim] ⸢gi⸣-na | the word of the queen |
| 111 | {[d}utu]-ta | from Utu |
| 112 | [nig₂]-⸢si⸣-sa₂ | the niĝsi’esa |
| 113 | [kalam-ma] ⸢hu⸣-mu-ni-NI-[...] x [...] | In the land, the eḫūmuni-plant |
| 114 | [...] | |
| 115 | [...] | |
| 116 | ⸢x⸣ he₂-⸢mi⸣-gi₄ | may he return. |
| 117 | nam-ga-eš₈ | to establish, establish |
| 118 | ma₂-lah₅-gal | the chief boatman |
| 119 | utul₃-e | the cook |
| 120 | gu₄-dab₅ udu-dab₅ | oxen seized, sheep seized |
| 121 | anše-⸢dab₅⸣ | donkey stallions |
| 122 | uri lu₂-⸢KAS₄⸣ | Ur, Lu-egaš-e23 |
| 123 | ki-en-⸢gi⸣ [ki-uri] | Sumer and Akkad |
| 124 | šu ba-⸢ni⸣-[bar] | Hand of Bani-ebar |
| 125 | u₄-ba | At that time |
| 126 | umma{ki} | of Umma |
| 127 | mara₂-⸢da⸣{ki} šubur{ki} | Mara’eda, Subur |
| 128 | ka-zal-lu{ki} u₃ maš-gan₂-bi | Kazallu and its land |
| 129 | u₂-za-ru-um{ki} | of Uzarrum |
| 130 | nig₂ an-⸢ša₄⸣-an{ki}a nam-arad he₂-ib₂-ak-e | that of An-eša-ean may he act as a slave. |
| 131 | a₂ {d}nanna | labor of Nanna |
| 132 | lugal-ga₂-ta | from my king |
| 133 | ama-ar-gi₄-bi | its Amáargi |
| 134 | hu-mu-gar | he set up. |
| 135 | {urud}ba-ri₂-ga hu-mu-dim₂(DU) | I fashioned a barriŋa axe. |
| 136 | 1(geš₂) sila₃-am₃ he₂-ge-en | 60 sila3 you shall measure out. |
| 137 | {urud}ba-an hu-mu-dim₂ | I fashioned a potter’s knife. |
| 138 | 1(u) sila₃-am₃ | 10 sila3 |
| 139 | he₂-ni-ge-en | may he establish. |
| 140 | {urud}ba-an si-sa₂ | a proper ban-bowl |
| 141 | lugal-la | of the king |
| 141a | hu-mu-dim₂ | I fashioned. |
| 142 | 5(diš) ⸢sila₃⸣-am₃ he₂-ni-ge-en | 5 e22-sila3-e23-plants I planted. |
| 143 | na₄ 1(diš) gin₂ ku₃ za₃ 1(diš) ma-na-⸢e⸣ | stone, 1 shekel silver, lapis lazuli, 1 mina |
| 144 | he₂-ni-ge-en | may he establish. |
| 145 | zabar 1(diš) sila₃ hu-mu-dim₂ | bronze, 1 sila3: Humu-dim; |
| 148 | 1(diš) ma-na-am₃ | 1 mina |
| 149 | he₂-ni-ge-en | may he establish. |
| 150 | u₄-ba | At that time |
| 151 | gu₂ i₇-⸢idigna⸣ | bank of the Tigris River |
| 152 | gu₂ i₇-bar₆-ul₃-nun{ki} | on the bank of the Ibarulnun canal |
| 153 | gu₂ i₇ du₃-a-bi | the bank of the canal that was built |
| 154 | ⸢nindaba⸣ [si he₂-im-mi-sa₂-sa₂] | may the nindaba plant be placed there |
| 155 | nisag ša₃-⸢ge gur₇⸣ | the first-fruit offerings of the ša’ege offering presented |
| 156 | giš ⸢he₂⸣-im-mi-in-[tag] | he has smashed the tree |
| 157 | {⸢giš⸣}kiri₆ ⸢he₂-ib₂⸣-[gub] | planted orchards |
| 158 | santana lugal-e [he₂-ib₂-tuku] | may the king have a santana offering |
| 160 | {⸢giš⸣}kiri₆ ⸢he₂⸣-[ib₂-gub] | may the orchard stand there |
| 161 | santana ⸢lugal⸣-e [he₂-ib₂-tuku] | may the santana priest of the king have |
| 162 | nu-siki ⸢lu₂⸣-nig₂-[tuku]-ra | for the nusiki priest of the enigtuku priestess |
| 163 | ba-ra-an-gar | he did not place. |
| 164 | nu-mu-⸢su⸣ [lu₂ a₂-tuku]-ra | to the one who has power |
| 165 | ba-ra-[na]-⸢an-gar⸣ | he did not establish for him. |
| 166 | lu₂ 1(diš) gin₂⸣-e | a man of 1 shekel |
| 167 | lu₂ 1(diš) ma⸣-na-ra | for one man |
| 168 | ba-ra-⸢na⸣-an-⸢gar⸣ | he did not establish for you |
| 168a | lu₂ 1(diš) udu-ra | for one sheep |
| 168b | lu₂ 1(diš) gu₄-e | 1 ox |
| 168š | ba-ra-na-an-⸢gar⸣ | did not establish for him |
| 169 | šagina-šagina-mu-ne | their generals |
| 170 | ama-⸢mu nin₉⸣ šeš-šeš-⸢mu⸣ | My mother, my sister, may it be well |
| 171 | su-a [kal]-⸢la-ne⸣-ne | the mighty ones |
| 172 | ki ha-⸢ba⸣-[ni-gar]-re-eš | from Ḫa’eba-eni-garreš |
| 173 | a₂ [...]-⸢ne⸣-ne-a | the arms of ... |
| 174 | ba-ra-⸢ba-gub⸣-be₂-en | I will not stand for you. |
| 175 | kin ba-ra-⸢ba⸣-ni-gar | he did not place work for you |
| 176 | nig₂-erim₂ | evil |
| 177 | nig₂-a₂-zi | |
| 178 | i-{d}utu ug-gu he₂-ni-de₂ | may Ištar smite him. |
| 179 | nig₂-si-sa₂ | justice |
| 180 | kalam-ma hu-mu-ni-gar | I established in the land. |
| §1 | ||
| 1 | u₄-ba tukum-bi lu₂-⸢u₃⸣ | At that time, if Lu-eu-e23 |
| 2 | sag giš bi₂-in-ra | he smote the head with a stick |
| 3 | lu₂-bi i₃-gaz-e-dam | that man will be killed. |
| §2 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi lu₂-u₃ | If a man |
| 2 | sa-gaz-še₃ i₃-ni-ak i₃-gaz-e | He made a sag attack, he killed it. |
| §3 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi lu₂-u₃ | If a man |
| 2 | |LU₂×KAR₂|⸢še₃⸣ in-ak | the temple-enterer did |
| 3 | lu₂-bi en-nu-ga₂ i₃-ti-⸢le⸣ | This man has left my watch. |
| 4 | 1(u) 5(diš) gin₂ ku₃-babbar | 15 shekels of silver |
| 5 | i₃-la₂-e | he shall pay. |
| §4 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi arad-de₃ | If a slave |
| 2 | geme₂ a₂-aš₂-a-ni in-tuku-⸢a⸣-X | A female slave with her arm ... |
| 3 | arad-bi ama-ar-gi₄-ni i₃-⸢ga₂-ga₂⸣ | Its servant Ama-ar-gini will set it up. |
| 4 | e₂-ta nu-ub-ta-e₃ | did not leave the house. |
| §5 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi arad-de₃ | If a slave |
| 2 | dumu-gi₇ in-tuku | he has a citizen. |
| 3 | ibila 1(diš)-am₃ lugal-a-ni-ir | the first heir of his master |
| 4 | in-na-an-gub-bu | he will serve. |
| 5 | dumu lugal-a-ni-ir | son of his master, |
| 6 | in-na-ab-gub-bu-⸢da⸣ | he will stand with him. |
| 7 | nig₂-gur₁₀ e₂-ad-⸢da⸣-[na ...] | Property of the Eda’edena temple |
| 8 | maš-bi e₂-gar₈ e₂-⸢ad⸣-[da-na] | its interest in the estate of his father's house |
| 9 | dumu dumu-gi₇ lugal-da nu-[me-a] | without a son or a grandchild |
| 10 | nam-arad-⸢da⸣-[še₃] | for the office of servant |
| 11 | la-ba-an-[ku₄-re] | did not enter |
| §6 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi | If |
| 2 | dam guruš-a a nu-gi₄-a | The spouse of the young man, who does not return (to work) |
| 3 | nig₂-a₂-gar-še₃ lu₂ in-ak-ma | a person has committed a crime |
| 4 | a bi₂-in-gi₄ | he returned. |
| 5 | nita-bi i₃-gaz-e | that man will be killed. |
| §7 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi dam guruš-a | If the wife of a young man |
| 2 | ni₂-te-a-ni-ta | by himself |
| 3 | lu₂ ba-an-us₂-ma | a man has sat down, and |
| 4 | ⸢ur₂⸣-ra-na ba-an-na₂ | he sat down in his cella. |
| 5 | munus-bi | its woman |
| 6 | ⸢i₃-gaz⸣-e | shall kill, |
| 7 | nita-bi ama-ar-gi₄-ni | This man, his mother-in-law |
| 8 | i₃-ga₂-ga₂ | he shall establish. |
| §8 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi | If |
| 2 | geme₂ lu₂-u₃ | female slaves of a man |
| 3 | a nu-gi₄-a | water that cannot be returned |
| 4 | nig₂-a₂-gar-še₃ | for the nig-agar-šu |
| 5 | lu₂ in-ak-ma | the man has done, and |
| 6 | a bi₂-in-gi₄ | he returned. |
| 7 | lu₂-bi | that man |
| 8 | 5(diš) gin₂ ku₃-babbar | 5 shekels of silver |
| 9 | i₃-la₂-e | he shall pay. |
| §9 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi lu-u₃ | If either |
| 2 | dam nitadam-a-ni | his wife, his wife |
| 3 | in-tag₄-tag₄ | he has smashed. |
| 4 | 1(diš) ma-na ku₃-babbar | 1 mina of silver |
| 5 | i₃-la₂-e | he shall pay. |
| §10 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi | If |
| 2 | nu-mu-su | did not have |
| 3 | lu₂ in-tuku | a man has |
| 4 | 1/2(diš) ma-na ⸢ku₃-babbar⸣ | 1/2 mina of e-silver |
| 5 | i₃-⸢la₂⸣-e | he shall pay. |
| §11 | ||
| 1 | tukum-bi | If |
| 2 | [nu-mu]-⸢un-su⸣ | he did not release him |
| 3 | dub zu₂ keš₂ | a sealed tablet |
| 4 | nu-me-a | was not |
| 5 | lu₂ ur₂-ra-na | the man in his lap |
| 6 | ba-an-na₂ | he set up. |
| 7 | ku₃ nu-la₂-e | does not pay the silver. |
| Epilog | ||
| 1 | [lu₂ mu]-⸢sar-ra⸣-ba bi₂-ib₂-ur₃-ru-a mu-ni bi₂-⸢ib₂⸣-sar-re-a | Whoever erases this inscription and writes his own name there, |
| 2 | [aš₂ bal]-⸢ba⸣-ke₄-eš lu₂-kur₂ šu ba-an-zi-⸢zi-a⸣ | As for Bal-eba’eš, the enemy raised his hand |
| 3 | [lu₂ mu]-⸢sar-ra-ba⸣ šu bi₂-ib₂-ur₃-ru-a mu-ni x x in-na-ab-x | Whoever erases this inscription, his name ... |
| 4 | [lu₂]-bi lugal he₂-a en he₂-a ensi₂ he₂-⸢am₃⸣ | That man, whether king or lord, may be a ruler. |
| 5 | [...] ZA DU x x ra he₂-eb-⸢ta-an⸣-gi | ... may he return |
| 6 | [uru]-⸢ni⸣ {gi}suhurₓ(KA)ta he₂-eb-ta-DAG-DAG-ge | “Uru’e-ni-e-e3 shall be smashed with a reed mat! |
| 7 | [uru]-ni uru {d}en-lil₂ nu-še-ga he₂-a | May his city be a city without Enlil |
| 8 | [abul] uru-na-ke₄ ⸢ŋal₂⸣ [he₂]-|TAK₄.TAK₄| | May the gate of her city be swept away. |
| 9 | [...] x guruš uru-na igi-nu-du₈ he₂-me-eš | ... the young man of his city may they be seen as guards |
| 10 | [...] ki-sikil uru-na u₃ nu-ku₄-⸢ku₄-e-eš⸣ | ... the young woman of her city does not enter and enter |
| 11 | [...] uru-na-ke₄ {d}en-ki {d}⸢iškur⸣ {d}⸢ezina₃⸣ | ... of his city, Enki, Ea, Ezina |
| 12 | [inim] mah {d}en-lil₂-la₂-⸢ka⸣ [x] x x he₂-[...] | May the exalted word of Enlil |
| 13 | [...] uš bar si ⸢ra ba⸣-x-an-ne₂ ⸢he₂⸣-[...] | (Sum) ... he ... (Akk) The ... of the netherworld ... |
| 14 | [...] x x x [x x] x x x [...] | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢ri⸣ [...] | ... the city |
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.