Shemshara 1, 001 (P513886)

Letter tablet excavated in Susarra (mod. Tell Shemshara), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

Cite

Lineart

Museum Collection(s)

National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

Museum Number

IM 062089

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Susarra (mod. Tell Shemshara)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Letter

Language(s)

Akkadian

Measurements

153.0 mm × 58.0 mm × 34.0 mm

Text

tablet
obverse
1. a-na ku-wa-ri
2. qi2-bi2-ma
3. um-ma {d}utu-szi-{d}iszkur-ma
4. we-di ni-ku-ur2-ti ia-szu-ub-{d}iszkur
5. _lu2_ ah-za-a-WA{ki} te-esz-me
6. pa-na-nu-um wa-ar-ki _lu2_ szi-mu-ur-ri-i{ki}
7. il-li-ik _lu2_ szi-mu-ur-ri-i{ki}
8. i-zi-ib-ma _lu2_ ti-ru-ki-i{ki}
9. il-li-ik _lu2_ ti-ru-ki-i{ki}
10. i-zi-ib-ma wa-ar-ki wi-i-la-nim
11. il-li-ik wi-i-la-nim i-zi-ib-ma
12. wa-ar-ki-ia il-li-ik i-ia-ti
13. i-zi-ba-an-ni-ma wa-ar-ki _lu2_ ka-ak#-mi{ki}
14. it-ta-la-ak u3 a-na ka-al _lugal-mesz_
15. an-nu-tim ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ iz-za-ka-ar
16. isz-tu it-ti-_lugal-mesz_ an-nu-tim is3-li-mu
17. u2 ik-ki-ru _mu 3(disz)-kam-ma_ i-ma-s,i2
18. i-nu-ma it-ti-ia is3-li-mu
19. i-na _e2 {d}iszkur_ ar-ra-ap-hi-im{ki}
20. ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ iz3-ku-ra-am
21. i-tu-ur2-ma i-na a-ah za-i-bi-im
22. i-na a-i-ni-im ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ iz3-ku-ra-am#
23. u3 a-na-ku ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ az2-ku-ur-szum
24. 2(disz)-szu ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ iz2-ku-ra-am
25. isz-tu u4-mi-im sza qa-ra-an s,u2-ba-ti-ia
26. is,-ba-tu ma-ti-ma i-na ma-ti-szu
27. _ku3-babbar gu4-hi-a udu-hi-a u3 sze_-im
28. mi-im-ma u2-ul al-qu2-ut
29. a-lam{ki} isz-te-en i-na ma-ti-szu
30. u2-ul as,-ba-[at]
31. i-na-an-na it-ti-ia ik?-ki#?-[ir]
32. u3 wa-ar-ki _lu2_ ka-ak-ma{[ki]}
33. it-ta-la-[ak]
34. it-ti-_lugal_ i-sa-al-im-[ma]
reverse
1. u3 ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ i-za-ka-ar
2. it-ti _lugal_ i-sa-li-im-ma
3. u3 ni-isz _dingir-mesz_ i-za-ka-ar
4. u3 it-ti _lugal_ ma-ah-ri#-im-ma
5. sza i-sa#-li-mu [i]-na#-ki-ir
6. u3 it#-ti _lugal_ i#-sa#-li#-mu
7. sa-la-am-szu u3 na-ka-[ar]-szu#
8. i-na bi-ri-it _iti 2(disz)_ [...]
9. it#-ti-ia _iti_ 1(disz)#? [...]
10. i-tu-ur2-ma i#-ta#?-ki-[ir]
11. i-na-an-na _iti# [n]-kam_ an-nu-tim ka-asz#-[du]
12. u3 qa-ti u2-ul ti-ba-at#
13. isz-tu u4-mi i-te-bu-ma li-x [x?]-LUH-ti-szu#
14. e-pe2-szu te-le#-[i]
15. {disz}ku-szi-ia asz-ra-nu-um am#-mi-nim# [wa]-szi-ib#
16. wu-e-ra-asz-szu-um-ma a-di#? _u4# [n?]-kam_
17. _iti_ an-ni-im a-na s,e#-ri-ia t,u2-ur-da-szum
18. la-ma _kur#-hi-a u3 kaskal-hi-a_ szu-ri-pa-am#
19. i-s,a-ba-tu a-na s,e-ri-ia
20. t,u2-ur-da-szum isz-tu za-as-li{ki}
21. a-na sze-gi-ib-bu{ki} isz-tu sze-gi-ib-bu{ki}
22. a-na zi-kum{ki} isz-tu zi-kum{ki}
23. a-na u2-ra-u2{ki} isz-tu u2-ra-u2{ki}
24. a-na lu-ut-pi-isz{ki} isz-tu lu-ut-pi2-isz{ki}
25. a-na ma-a-at ha-bu-ra-tim{ki}
26. szum-ma la ki-am-ma _kur-hi-a kaskal-hi-a_ szu-ri-pa-am
27. s,a-ab-tu a-la-kam u2-ul i-le-i
28. ma-ah-ri-ka-ma li-szi-ib
29. lu-u2 tal-tu-ka-ma i-na _ninda u3 kasz_
30. pa-ni-szu u3 pa-an pi#?-qi2#?-ti#?-szu
31. x x x x AB ZU? szu
32. [a]-na#? mi-nim tup-pi2-ia an-ni-[im?]
33. [x] szi szu PI ni? sze? ni [...]

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Consult word list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Letter
Language(s)	Akkadian

Chronology

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

Record

CDLI number	P513886
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P513886

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions	153.0 mm × 58.0 mm × 34.0 mm
Weight
Material(s)
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Susarra (mod. Tell Shemshara)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number	SH 809
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
Museum Number	IM 062089
Accession Number

References

primary: Shemshara 1, 1

[Eidem2001Shemshara1] Eidem, Jesper, and Jørgen Læssøe. 2001. The Shemshara Archives 1. The Letters. Historisk-Filosofiske Skrifter 23. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. http://publ.royalacademy.dk/backend/web/uploads/2019-07-23/AFL%202/SH_23_00_00_2001_1791/SH_23_00_00_2001_1791.pdf.
history: Rattenborg Diss, p. 430-431

[Rattenborg2016Scale] Rattenborg, Rune. 2016. “The Scale and Extent of Political Economies of the Middle Bronze Age Jazīrah and the Bilād Al-Šām (c. 1800-1600 BCE).” Phdthesis, University of Durham. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11932/1/Rattenborg_Scale%26Extent_2016DEC24.pdf.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Project	Reviewer	Status
2025-03-18 at 08:33:14	Rattenborg, Rune	Artifact metadata	Johansson, Carolin; Melin-Kronsell, Nils; Nett, Seraina; Rattenborg, Rune; Smidt, Gustav Ryberg	Geomapping Landscapes of Writing	Rattenborg, Rune	Approved
2024-08-22 at 12:55:24	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2021-03-07 at 12:20:07	Foxvog, Daniel A.	Transliteration	Foxvog, Daniel A.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2019-08-05 at 00:00:00	CDLI, CDLI	Artifact metadata	CDLI, CDLI		CDLI, CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“Shemshara 1, 001 Artifact Entry.” (2019) 2025. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). March 18, 2025. https://cdli.earth/P513886.

Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry (No. P513886). (2025, March 18). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P513886 (Original work published 2019)

Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry (2025) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P513886 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).

@misc{2025Shemshara,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2025},
	month = {mar 18},
	title = {Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P513886},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P513886},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2025/3/18/
PY  - 2025
ID  - P513886
LB  - CDLI:P513886
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P513886
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“Shemshara 1, 001 Artifact Entry.” (2019) 2025. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). March 18, 2025. https://cdli.earth/P513886.

Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry (No. P513886). (2025, March 18). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P513886 (Original work published 2019)

Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry (2025) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P513886 (Accessed: October 23, 2026).

@misc{2025Shemshara,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-23]},
	year = {2025},
	month = {mar 18},
	title = {Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P513886},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P513886},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2025/3/18/
PY  - 2025
ID  - P513886
LB  - CDLI:P513886
M1  - 2026/10/23/
TI  - Shemshara 1, 001 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P513886
ER  -