CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 (P346167)

Literary tablet excavated in Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

Museum Collection(s)

British Museum, London, UK

Museum Number

BM —

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary (ETCSL 2.04.02.02 Šulgi B (witness) Shulgi B)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
1. ama#-gi4 nu-me-en sza3 inim#-[...]
 en: (I) have known (how to impose) the meaning of the words “I am not freed”
2. inim-gu10# sag i3 li#-[...]
 en: My words are the finest of pressed/high quality oils
3. sza3 izi-gin7 bar7-ra-am3 [...]
 en: A heart that burns like fire--(I) have known its cooling
4. inim-ma lu2 inim-ma# diri-ga# [...]
 en: One will weigh (my) words against(?) a man excessive in words
5. nig2 kal-kal-la ga2-e lu2-[...]
 en: I am a man of the most precious things
6. sun5-na dugud-bi sag#-[...]
 en: The importance of being humbled is appreciated by me
7. nig2-na-me-<gu10>-u8 la-ba-an#-[...]
 en: One cannot slander/alter(?) anything of mine(?)
8. inim an-na inim {d}en-lil2-la2#-[...]
 en: By the word of An and Enlil
9. zi kalam-ma zi kur-kur-ra-ka giri17 szu x-x-gal2
 en: (I) shall cover (my) mouth (in submission) for the life of the homeland and the life of the foreign lands
10. ga2-la nu-dag#-ge musz3 nu-tum2-bi-me-en
 en: I am their unceasing one, their unfailing one
11. dingir-re-e-ne gub-ba in-ga-an-zu
 en: (I!) too have known how to serve the gods
12. {d}a-nun-na-ke4-e-ne ki#? sed4#!?-bi mu-zu
 en: (I) have known the cooling place(!?) of the Anuna
13. {d}szul-gi nam-nun-na gu2 gal pesz11#-a-me-en
 en: I am Shulgi, whose great neck grows thick in princeliness
14. nig2 gal-gal-la a-ba-da-ab-gal2-la-an#?
 en: When(?) I am able to have great things
15. sza3#?-gu10#? hul2-la ba-da-am3-gal2-la#
 en: Rejoicing is able to be (in) my heart
16. [...]-dag#-ge#? bar#?-x x-x-be2#-me#-en
 en: I am one who will not cast that which is being brought to an end aside
  rest broken
reverse
  beginning broken
1'. lugal# u4# [...]-a#-asz#? disz#?-[...]
 en: (Or) a single king from(?) ancient times
2'. sza3-gu10 nig2-a2-zi ba-ra-mu-un#-na#-ta#?-x-x
 en: Thus I am not plotting(?) violence against him
3'. nam-lu2-lu7 an-ta si-ga-a-ta
 en: (That which accrued) after mankind was placed from heaven (on the earth)(?)
4'. gesztu2 dab5-dab5-ba na-ga2#-ga2 nu-me-en
 en: I am not a barbarian(!) regarding (this) accumulated(?) knowledge
5'. en3-du u4-bi-a-ta# libir-ra u4 ul-a-asz
 en: From cultic songs of the (present?) time to ancient ones of distant days(?)
6'. tigi za-am-za-am szu IGI DU-gu10-ne
 en: Therefore when I ... the tigi and zamzam songs/instruments(?)
7'. u4 na-a-me# lul-sze3 ba-ra-bi2-pa3# ka-ge ba-ra-bi2-gi
 en: At no time have I chosen them/uttered(?) falsely or blocked them in the mouth
8'. nig2 libir-ra en3 he2-bi2-tar-tar szub-bu-de3 ba-ra-bi2-szum2
 en: Therefore I have inquired after these ancient things and not given them over to be abandoned
9'. szir3-gid2-da-ga2 e2 du10-ga-ga2 pa e3#? [...]
 en: Therefore I made my širgida songs manifest in my good palace/temple
10'. tigi za-am-za-am x-bi#? [...] gesztux(|GISZ.TUG2|)#-ga [...]
 en: Therefore the ... of the tigi and zamzam songs/instruments, everything, I embedded in (my) memory(?)
11'. nig2#? x-x [...] ba#-ra#-szub#?-[...]
 en: That which was thus not dropped from the hand

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 2.04.02.02 Šulgi B (witness) Shulgi B)
Language(s) Sumerian

Chronology

Period Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Accounting Period

Composites

This artifact is a witness to the following composite(s):

Composite Composite Number Score
CDLI Literary 000396 (Shulgi B) composite (P469698) Q000396 View the score

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346167

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number U 16847
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number BM —
Accession Number

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature transliterations (ETCSL transliterations) 2.4.2.2
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 2.4.2.2
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346167
Ur Online Project (UrOnline) 17737

References

  • history: Two Shulgi Hymns, p. 29

    [Castellino1972TwoShulgiHymns] Castellino, Giorgio R. 1972. Two Šulgi Hymns (BC). Vol. 42. Studi Semitici.

  • history: UET 6, 0082

    [Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril John, and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-07-23 at 18:27:06 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2023-06-28 at 23:15:35 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Hafford, William B.; Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2019-06-11 at 11:14:36 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:02:01 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI, CDLI Artifact metadata Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI, CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000396, Ex. 013 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 23, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346167.
CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry (No. P346167). (2024, July 23). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346167 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346167 (Accessed: October 5, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-05]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 23},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346167},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346167},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/23/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346167
LB  - CDLI:P346167
M1  - 2026/10/5/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346167
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000396, Ex. 013 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 23, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346167.
CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry (No. P346167). (2024, July 23). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346167 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346167 (Accessed: October 5, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-05]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 23},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346167},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346167},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/23/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346167
LB  - CDLI:P346167
M1  - 2026/10/5/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000396, ex. 013 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346167
ER  -
This website uses essential cookies that are necessary for it to work properly. These cookies are enabled by default.