Babylonian Slaves: 13 (2024-05-29)

Created by: Englund, Robert K.

Slave accounts of the Late Uruk period (ca. 3350-3000 BC)

Our second example of named indiviuals, also from Uruk (excavation number W 23999,1) may at first glance appear to be substantially more complex, but it is not. Eight individuals are recorded in the left-most column—and here qualified by the sign combination SAL KUR, natural enough given the fact the the right-hand column consists of two ‘lines,’ the first counting 5 SAL and the second 3 KUR. We note precisely the same format consisting of an initial sub-case with numerical notation and slave qualifier, this time gender, followed by subcases that again count individuals, but break SAL and KUR into apparent age categories, in the first line 4 women and 1 infant girl (‘ŠA3 TUR,’ possibly to be translated ‟new-born”), in the second 1 man and 2 infant boys (also ‘ŠA3 TUR’). And as in our previous text, these counts and qualifiers are followed by a number of sub-cases with only non-numerical signs, as many sub-cases as the preceding number, and each of these final sub-cases therefore contains the personal names of these individuals. The sign combinations thus isolated as personal names should assume a primary role in any attempt at identifying the linguistic affiliation of our earliest scribes (cf. R. K. Englund, CDLJ 2009/4). CDLI entry: P004735

credit: Englund, Robert K.