CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 (P346514)

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 1.06.02 Ninurta’s Exploits (witness) Lugale)

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

Text

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
1'. [...]-bu#?
 en: Hero standing “on his ribs"(?) for battle
2'. [...] gal2#?
 en: Lord whose powerful/right hand opens on behalf of/is set upon(?) the mitum weapon
3'. [...]-bu#?
 en: Who gleans the necks of the disobedient like barley
4'. [...]-le
 en: Ninurta, king, son whose father rejoices at his might
5'. [...]-u3
 en: Hero covering the mountain like a southern storm
6'. [...]-du7
 en: Ninurta, your(?) crown/(whose) true crown is a rainbow(?), (your) face thrashing(?) lightning
7'. [...]-x
 en: ... ruler(?) engendered by a shining seed(?), ušum serpent that turns upon itself(?)
8'. [...]-NI#-SI#-sze3 si-il#?-le#?
 en: (Possessing) the strength/shoulder of a lion sticking out its tongue in the manner of a snake, hissing(?) in the manner of ...
9'. [...] diri#-ga#
 en: Ninurta, king who Enlil made superior (to) himself
10'. [...] szu2-a#
 en: Hero, šušgal net that overwhelms the enemy
11'. [...]-a#
 en: Ninurta, your aura and shade are stretched over the land
12'. [...] du6#-ul-du6-ul#
 en: Bringing anger to the rebel land, gathering up the assembly
13'. [...]-u4-bi giri17 szu gal2
 en: Ninurta, the king, the son who profoundly humbles himself to his father
14'. [...] gal# gur3-ru-na
 en: When he occupied the throne (upon) the supreme dais, when he bore a great aura
15'. [...] dagal#!?-bi tusz-a-ni
 en: When he initiated a festival, when he rejoiced, when he sat “broadly”
16'. [...] kurun# du10-ge-da-a#-ni#
 en: When he was rivaling An and Enlil, when he was to be sweetened by liquor
17'. {d}[...]-la#-ka u3#-gul ga2-ga2#-da#-ni
 en: When Bau was to plead with arazu prayers of the king
18'. {d}[... {d}]en#-lil2-la2-ke4 nam tar-re-da-a-ni
 en: When Ninurta, the son of Enlil, was to determine fate
19'. u4-ba# en#-e# {gesz}tukul-a-ni kur-ra igi# [...]-in#-gal2
 en: At that time the weapon of the lord looked at the mountain
20'. szar2-ur3-re an-ta lugal-bi-ir gu3# [mu]-na-de2#-e#
 en: Šarur “above” (on the one hand) was speaking to the king
21'. en {gesz}gal an-na gu2-en bara2-ge si-a
 en: Lord of heavenly station(?), who occupies the dais (in) the assembly/throne room(?)
22'. {d}nin-urta du11-ga-zu nu-kur2-ru nam tar-ra-zu szu#!? zi#-de3#-esz gar
 en: Ninurta, you utterance never wavers, your decreed fate is put faithfully in effect
reverse
1. [...]-gu10 an#-ne2# ki sig7#-ga gesz3#? im-ma-ab-du11
 en: My king, heaven mated with the verdant earth
2. [...]-urta#? ur#?-sag#? ni2#? nu#-[zu ...] mu-szi-ib-tu-u4
 en: Ninurta, it gave birth to a warrior that knows no fear, the Asag
3. [...] eme2#-ga-la2# [...] x ni2 ga gu7?-a#
 en: One that did not sit(?) (as a child) with a wetnurse, who suckled milk by itself/suckled fear (as) milk(!?)
4. [...]-gu10 bulug3# a-a nu#?-[...] gab2#-gaz kur-ra-ka
 en: My king, one that did not know the rearing of a father, the slaughterer of the mountain
5. [...] ir#-ta e3-a igi tesz2# [nu]-gal2#-la
 en: A youth that has left (his) scent/sweat (i.e., has no odor?), (possessor) of a face that has no shame
6. [{d}]nin#-urta ni2 il2-il2-i# [...]-la#?
 en: Ninurta, one that lifts itself and rejoices with (its) form
7. ur#-sag-gu10 gu4-am3# [...]-us2#?
 en: My hero, who is a bull I shall lean upon
8. lugal#-gu10 lu2 iri#!?-[...]-x
 en: My king, it is one who turns to his city, acting as a mother
9. [...]-ra sza3 i3-ib2#-[...]-x
 en: It procreated in the mountains, it spread out its seed
10. tesz2#-ba mu he2#-[...]
 en: Together they shall name it, the plants, as their king
11. murub4#?-ba am gal-gin7 [...]
 en: In their midst like a great bull it raises its horn
12. {na4#}szu-u {na4}sag#-[...]-gin6-na
 en: The šu'u, sagkal, diorite, usium, and kagina stones
13. [ur]-sag {na4}gesz-nu11# [...]-x
 en: Hero, (along with) alabaster, as warriors(?) they plundered the city
14. [...]-ra# zu2 kuszu2#-[...]
 en: It grew the tooth of the kušu creature in the mountain, ... were shaking/dragging the trees there
15. [...]-bi iri!?-bi dingir#-[...]
 en: Its power makes(?) the city (and) its gods bow to the ground
16. lugal#-gu10 ur5-re# [...]
 en: My king, this one has cast down a dais, its slacked arm does not relent
17. [{d}]nin#-urta en# [...]
 en: Ninurta, lord, it has decided its cases just like you
18. [...]-sag3-ga me#-lam2#-[...]
 en: Against the Asag, against its aura, who penetrates with their hand?
19. [...]-ki#-ba gal#-[...]
 en: Who could set out against its great temples?
20. [...]
 en: The flesh shakes, fear has lodged in the flesh
21. [...]
 en: Its gaze has been set towards that place
22. [...]-dab#?
 en: My lord, the mountain has conveyed its nindaba offerings to that place
23. [...]-tar
 en: Hero, it has inquired about you because of your father (your lineage)
24. [...]-ib2#-kin2
 en: Son of Enlil, lord, it has sought after your location because of your supreme power
25. [...]-ib2#-gi4#
 en: My king, it has advised you because of your might
26. [...] ba#-ab-du11
 en: It said “Ninurta, you shoulder, singular warrior, never idle(?)”
27. [...]-x-ag2
 en: It has ordered you because of/as ...
28. [...]-re# mu-un-gal2
 en: Hero, (the intent) to carry away your kingship is present in these queries(!?)

Text content

Genre(s) Literary (ETCSL 1.06.02 Ninurta’s Exploits (witness) Lugale)
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 000351 (Ninurta's Exploits [Lugale]) composite (P469530) Q000351 View the score

Record

Nicole Brisch: UET 6/3 has the wrong order of obverse and reverse

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346514

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number U —
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) 1.6.2
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature translations (ETCSL translations) 1.6.2
Ancient Records of Middle Eastern Polities (ARMEP) P346514

References

  • primary: UET 6, 0476

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

    Obverse and reverse are in the wrong order. (from Nicole Brisch)

  • history: Lugale, 2 (1983) 017 B3 (cited as 260)

    [vanDijk1983Lugale] Dijk, Johannes J. A. van. 1983. Lugal Ud Me-Lám-Bi Nir-G̃ál : Le Récit Épique et Didactique Des Travaux de Ninurta, de Déluge et de La Nouvelle Création. Leiden : E. J. Brill.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-07-12 at 15:29:36 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2023-09-19 at 11:35:22 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Brisch, Nicole Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2023-09-19 at 11:33:37 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Brisch, Nicole Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-06-08 at 18:50:01 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Pagé-Perron, Émilie Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:59 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 000351, Ex. 152 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 12, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346514.
CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry (No. P346514). (2024, July 12). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346514 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346514 (Accessed: October 30, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-30]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 12},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346514},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346514},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/12/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346514
LB  - CDLI:P346514
M1  - 2026/10/30/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346514
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000351, Ex. 152 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 12, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346514.
CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry (No. P346514). (2024, July 12). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346514 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346514 (Accessed: October 30, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-30]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 12},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346514},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346514},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/12/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346514
LB  - CDLI:P346514
M1  - 2026/10/30/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000351, ex. 152 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346514
ER  -
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