The Sumerian cuneiform script was the first writing system invented by humankind. Therefore, all educated individuals should learn this 5,000-year-old script. In this tutorial, we will learn how to read and reproduce the writing on the Ur-Nammu 9 Brick.
Below, you can see my first attempt at writing the contents of the Ur-Nammu No. 9 brick. You will undoubtedly notice that my script is quite different from the original. This ancient brick was inscribed before the Sumerian cuneiform script became more stylized, so I converted it to the stylized script.
There are two ways of typesetting Sumerian. The first uses Unicode and a scriptable text editor like Emacs to perform the typesetting. The other one is to write your fonts using Bezier curves and an image manipulation program, such as GIMP. In this tutorial, you will learn to typeset Sumerian in Emacs, but I provide a Gimp directory where you can learn how to design your Sumerian fonts.
There are few grammar books for Sumerian. Unfortunately, Marie-Louise Thomsen's "The Sumerian Language" does not use cuneiform, so I cannot recommend it. This leaves us with John Hayes' Manual of Sumerian and Joshua Bowen's Learn to Read Ancient Sumerian. Therefore, I advise you to buy "A Manual of Sumerian: Grammar and Texts" by Hayes to learn this ancient language in depth. It is also a good idea to acquire "Learn to Read Ancient Sumerian" by Joshua Bowen and Megan Lewis.
The owner of this portal is not a scholar in Sumerian studies, nor are his collaborators. Therefore, individuals associated with this tutorial may not be able to assist serious students of cuneiform to solve pendencies.
This site's primary purpose is to help tourists read royal inscriptions they may encounter in museums and universities. It may also be useful to amateur historians seeking to understand the meanings of ancient documents.
For scholars and graduate students who are writing their thesis, the webmaster of this site recommend John Hayes' Manual of Sumerian and Joshua Bowen's Learn to Read Ancient Sumerian. Hayes' manual strong points are inscriptions and dedicatories, while Bowen and Lewis prefer literary texts. The University of Pennsylvania has also excellent material for consultation that can be used by graduate students.
- The present README contains the first lesson: the document
Ur-Nammu 9and an overview of Sumerian grammar. - The second lesson in the
lesson-02-Emacsdirectory provides a practical introduction to the Emacs editor and annotates the documentUr-Nammu 7. It also covers essential topics such as possessive pronouns, independent pronouns, interrogative pronouns, intransitive verbs, and conjugations. - Directory
lesson-03-Ur-Nammu-31contains the third lesson. The third lesson analyses the Ur-Nammu-31 document and contains a short tutorial about the imperative and conjunctions. - The fourth lesson is in the directory
lesson-04-Ur-Nammu-23and contains, besides the Ur-Nammu-23 document, an introduction to Sumerian numerals.. - The fifth lesson is in the directory
lesson-05-Ur-Nammu-5.
To discuss grammar, scholars use a transliteration of Sumerian cuneiforms to the Latin alphabet. Below, you will find the transliteration of the Ur-Nammu-9 document that we will study in this lesson.
1- [NANNA
2- LUGAL.ANI].{(R)} #dat -- For his king
3- [UR-NAMMU -- Ur-Nammu,
4- LUGAL.URIM5.{AK}].{E} #gen/erg -- the king of UR,
5- [E2.ANI].{Ø} #object -- his temple
6- MU.NA.DU3 #verb -- he built
7- [BAD3.URIM5.{A(K)}].{Ø} #gen/obj -- the city wall of Ur
8- MU.NA.DU3 #verb -- he built
In the transliteration, grammar functions are represented by indicators between braces. In the example, the grammar functions are:
1,2- The benefactive has an unwritten R, which is represented by {(R)}
3,4- The genitive ends in {AK} after consonant; the ergative ends in {E}
5- The object of the action has no ending, which is represented by {∅}
7- The genitive has an unwritten K, which is represented by {A(K)}
Square brackets delimit a noun chain, i.e., a noun followed by a sequence of limiting qualifiers that may contain adjectives, apositives and a genitive. Example: [UR-NAMMU LUGAL.URIM5.{AK}].{E} means [Ur-Nammu, Ur's king].{task-doer}. After the close square bracket, a braced symbol suffix indicates the function of the noun chain. For instance, .{E} shows that [UR.NAMMU...].{E} is the doer of the sentence's task. The {(R)} symbol shows that [NANNA...].{(R)} receives the benefits of the task: [God Nanna].{benefactive}.
The noun chain may contain a genitive, as was stated in the previous paragraph. If you don't know the role of a genitive, it is a grammar function that shows possession. In English, the Saxon genitive marks the possessor with apostrophe-s and comes before the noun: Ur's king. In Sumerian, the possessor follows the noun and is marked with AK after consonant and K after vowel: [LUGAL URIM5 MA].{K} is equivalent to Ur's king.
Braces represent the grammatical function endings. For instance, the ergative function-ending represents the doer of the action and is written as {E} #erg, where #erg is a comment that will be omitted in more advanced lessons. The person who receives the benefit of the action is called dative and is represented as {RA} #dat, where the #dat comment is usually omitted. The empty ending of the object is commented as {∅} #obj or simply as {} #obj. In the example, the objects are the constructions of king Ur-Nammu:
[E2 A NI].{∅} -- his temple
[[BAD3.URIM5].{A(K)}].{∅} -- the city wall of Ur
Unwritten endings are placed between parentheses, such as {(R)}.
The Ur-Nammu 9 document is divided into eight rectangles. In the first rectangle, the text 𒀭𒋀𒆠 is written, which is the Sumerogram for the name of Nanna, the god of the Moon. The 𒀭 symbol is read as AN (or DIGIR) and is determinative for deity. We will learn in the next paragraph that this word is in the dative case; therefore, the translation of the rectangle is "For Nanna."
| an | nanna |
|
=============================================== (cn an nanna) [Nanna |
|
| For nanna, | |
The second rectangle contains three Sumerograms: 𒈗 (LUGAL), 𒀀 (syllable A), and 𒉌 (syllable NI). LUGAL (𒈗) means "King" or "Lord." ANI (𒀀𒉌) can be translated as "his." Then LUGAL ANI (𒈗𒀀𒉌) means "his Lord." The Sumerogram 𒈗 (LUGAL) is formed from 𒇽 (lu₂, "person") and 𒃲 (gal, "big").
In Sumerian, like in Latin and German, a nominal phrase has a case marker that indicates various grammatical functions. On the first and second rectangles, the case marker is the dative, which suggests the beneficiary of the action (cui bono). The dative marker is an "{R}," rarely expressed in writing. Therefore, the whole nominal phrase can be transliterated as [NANNA LUGAL.ANI].{(R)}, where the {(R)} is not expressed.
| lugal | a-ni |
|
=============================================== (cn lugal a ni) lugal.ani].(r) |
|
| for his master, | |
The third rectangle contains the name of Ur-Nammu (𒌨𒀭𒇉), the king who rebuilt the temple of Nanna and is the document's author. The king's name is formed by 𒌨 (UR), which means man or dog, and 𒀭𒇉 (NAMMU), the Mother Earth of the Sumerians. Therefore, the king's name, 𒌨𒀭𒇉, means "The Man of Nammu." Note that the determinative of deity (𒀭) precedes the goddess's name.
| ur-nammu |
|
=============================================== (cn ur-nammu) [Ur.Nammu |
| Ur-Nammu, |
The fourth rectangle contains 𒈗𒋀𒀕𒆠𒈠𒆤 (LUGAL URIM2 MA KE4), where 𒋀𒀕𒆠 (URIM2) represents the city that was the cult center of Nanna. It is formed by the Sumerograms ŠEŠ (𒋀) and UNUG (𒀕). The Sumerogram 𒆠 is determinative for geographic names. Determinatives, such as 𒀭 ("digir" - deity) and 𒆠 ("ki" - place), are not pronounced. Their role is to make the meaning of the word clearer.
The genitive case denotes possession. Unlike the dative, English has a genitive case, formed by an apostrophe followed by "s." In English, one would say, "Urim's King." In Sumerian, the genitive follows the possessor and is marked with "AK" after consonants and "K" after vowels. In this nominal chain, the "A" of "AK" was assimilated with the previous consonant, becoming 𒈠 (MA). The Sumerogram 𒆤 (KE4) represents the "{K}" of the genitive and the "{E}" of the ergative.
Sumerian is an ergative language, meaning the agent of transitive actions is marked. In Sumerian, the ergative marker is "{E}." However, the subject of an intransitive verb, like "to go" or "to sleep," does not receive the "{E}" that marks the agent, whom linguists call ergative. Unmarked functions, such as the Sumerian subject of an intransitive verb and direct object of a transitive verb, are called absolutive and said to be marked with the null symbol "{Ø}." In short, for the Sumerians and modern Basques, if the subject of a sentence does not perform a task, it cannot be called ergative.
| lugal | urim5 | ma | ke4 |
|
=============================================== (tr lugal urim ma ke4) lugal.urim5.ak].e |
|||
| the king of Ur, | |||
The fifth rectangle introduces the temple (E2 - 𒂍) that Ur-Nammu built. The expression 𒂍𒀀𒉌 (E2 ANI) means "his temple." It is in the absolutive case and, therefore, receives the null symbol mark "{}," a technical way of saying it does not bear a mark. The noun chain 𒂍𒀀𒉌 (E2 ANI) undergoes the consequences of the task performed. Thus, it is often called patient, accusative or target.
| e2 | a | ni |
|
=============================================== (tr e2 a ni) e2.ani |
||
| his temple | ||
A verbal stem prefixed by a sequence of particles and possibly followed by a suffix is called a verbal chain. The verbal chain 𒈬𒈾𒆕 (MU-NA-DU3) can be translated as "built." This verbal chain has two prefixes and a stem:
- 𒈬 — Ventive Conjugation Prefix (CP). The Ventive CP indicates that the action occurs here, close to the speaker.
- 𒈾 — Dimensional Prefix (DP) cross-referencing the dative. Sumerian has a DP for each sentence component, except the ergative and the absolutive cases.
- 𒆕 — verbal stem
| mu | na | du3 |
|
=============================================== (tr mu na du3) mu.na.du3 |
||
| he built for him | ||
The noun phrase 𒂦𒋀𒀕𒆠𒈠 (BAD3.URIM2.MA) means "wall of URIM." The sumerogram 𒂦 (BAD3) means "city wall." The {(K)} of the genitive is omitted, meaning it is not expressed because it was not pronounced at the end of a nominal phrase.
| bad3 | urim5 | ma |
|
=============================================== (tr bad3 urim ma) bad3.urim5.a |
||
| The city wall of Ur, | ||
The last rectangle repeats the 𒈬𒈾𒆕 (MUNADU3) verbal chain.
| mu | na | du3 |
|
=============================================== (tr mu na du3) mu.na.du3 |
||
| he built for him | ||
|
Below, there is a complete list of Dimensional Prefixes (DP). The concept of DP does not exist in English. Each of these Dimensional Prefixes has two kinds of markers, one to be used as a suffix with a noun chain and the other to be used in the verbal chain. |
||
I will use the method I employed in this first document to introduce a few other documents. In other words, each document's directory will contain a README.md with precise details: grammar, vocabulary, syllables, and essential Sumerograms for reading the document. This methodology ensures you can handle a manageable amount of information initially.
If you want to create your fonts,
in the Gimp directory,
you'll find a README.md with instructions
for installing Gimp to facilitate Sumerogram typesetting.
The same directory will include a few wedges, syllables,
and necessary dictionary entries for the Sumerian typesetting
of the Ur-Nammu-9 document. The GIMP directory stores
wedges of average size, while the short subdirectory
contains shorter wedges and long holds longer ones.
There are also directories
for shallow, repeated, and Winkelhaken wedges.
Let's read the whole brick inscription:
- ᵈNANNA (𒀭𒋀𒆠) -- For the god Nanna...
- LUGAL ANI (𒈗𒀀𒉌) -- his master. The word 'LUGAL' means king or master. It is formed from 'lu,' which means 'man,' and 'gal,' which can be translated as 'great.' The expression 'a-ni' is equivalent to the possessive pronoun 'his.'
- UR-NAMMU (𒌨𒀭𒇉) -- Ur-Nammu,
- LUGAL-URIM2ki-MA-KE4 (𒈗 𒋀𒀕𒆠 𒈠 𒆤) -- King of Ur,
- E2-ANI (𒂍𒀀𒉌) -- his temple. Remember that you already learned the meaning of 'ANI.'
- MU-NA-DU3 (𒈬𒈾𒆕) -- built.
- BAD3.URIM2.MA (𒂦𒋀𒀕𒆠𒈠) -- The wall of Ur,
- MU-NA-DU3 (𒈬𒈾𒆕) -- he built for NANNA.
The meaning of the whole document is something like this: "For the god Nanna, his Master, Ur-Nammu, the King of Ur, built his temple. The king also built the city walls of Ur."
| ===================================================== |
|---|
Congratulations. You have finished the first lesson. This appendix gives further details about the case elements, the noun chain and the verbal chain. If you don't feel like it, you don't need to read it now. You can return to this lesson after completing a few Sumerian documents.
The subject of a sentence is the topic of the conversation. Besides the subject, the sentence may have other marked components called case elements. Case elements may have references in the verbal chain. The leading case elements with their marks and references are:
lugal.e bad3 urim ma mu-na-du3The king built the city wall of Ur. nin a ni ra • lugal.e • bad3 urim ma • mu-na-du3
For his lady, the king built the wall of Urim. lugal.e • uru.a • e2 • mu-ni-du3
The king built a house in a city. ĝe26 • uru.ĝu10-my.še • ga.ši.ĝen
I will go there to my city. uru.ta • ba.ta.ĝen
He went out from the city. lugal.e • dumu a ni da • e2 • mu.un.da.du3
The king built the house with his son. a ba shesh ĝu10-my gin-equitative
Who is like my brother? nin a ni ra • lugal e • bad3.{Ø} • mu na du3
For his lady the king built the city wall.
When used as a prefix to a verb, the dative takes different forms depending on the person and number it is referring to.
g̃e26.ra lugal.e e2 mu.ma.du3For me, the king built a house. ze2.ra lugal.e e2 mu.ra.du3
The king built a house for you. nin.ra lugal.e e2 mu-na-du3
For the lady, the king built a house. lugal.e e2 mu.me.du3
The king built a house for us. lugal.e e2 mu.ne.du3
The king built a house for them.
A transitive verb describes an action that transitions from a subject to a direct object. In a transitive verb, the subject is the doer of the action and is called ergative, which is the Greek term for the person who performs a task. In Sumerian, the ergative is marked with 𒂊 {e}.
The absolutive case is the entity that undergoes the consequences of a task. The absolutive case can be the person accused of a deed. In this case, it is called accusative. The absolutive case can also be a target of a shooting. Or it can be the object of health care, in which case it is called patient by the doctors. Some linguists call patient all kinds of absolutive cases of a transitive verb, while others prefer the term accusative. In Sumerian, the absolutive case receives no mark, but the linguists say it is marked by the null symbol {Ø}.
The transitive verb itself comes last in a Sumerian sentence, and is described by a chain of affixes surrounding the stem. This verbal chain may contain a Modal Prefix (MP, such as 𒉡 • nu • not), a Conjugation Prefix (CP, such as 𒈬 • mu • ventive, here), initial pronominal prefix (IPP, such as N in 𒈬𒌦𒆪𒂊 • mu-n.dab.e • he seizes her) and suffix pronouns (𒂗𒉈𒂗 • en-de3-en • us, 𒌦𒍢𒂗 • un-ze2-en • you people). Below, there are examples of all initial pronominal prefixes.
I have for you a complete example of a transitive sentence below. I provided you with a pronunciation key and vocabulary, so I hope you can scan the sentence.
| The man gave the woman barley in the city. | ||||
An intransitive verb does not have a direct object. In Sumerian, the subject of an intransitive verb goes to the absolutive case and, therefore, is not marked.
| The king came to my city. | ||||
The modal prefixes express modality, i.e., relationships to reality or truth. You can only learn the indicative and negation modal prefixes for now. You may learn the other prefixes when you encounter them in Sumerian documents.
In Sumerian, the indicative is unmarked. The empty prefix /Ø-/represents this fact in transliteration. (tr nu un gu7)He didn't eat it. (tr hhe2 ib gu7 e)
Let him eat it. (tr hha an gu7)
He ate it, indeed. (tr ga ni ib2 ĝar re en de3 en)
Let us put it there. (tr na ab gu7 e)
He must not eat it.
The main Conjugation Prefixes (CP) are /mu-/ to indicate that the action occurs here, /bi2-/ in front of open vowels such as /i/, /ba/ to form middle/passive voice, /i3/ to create a finite verbal tense, and /ma/ in combination with /ra/ of benefit. Below, you will find a fairly complete list of Conjugation Prefixes, but you need to learn only /mu-/ and /i3/ for this first lesson.
(tr mu un re6)He brought it here. (tr bi2 in re6)
He made the team bring it. (tr ma ra an re6)
He brought it here to you. (tr i3 im ĝen)
He came here.
Obs. The middle voice with /ba/ indicates an action that affects the doer. (tr ba an re6)
He took it for himself.
(tr ba re6)
It was brought.
In Sumerian, adjectives are formed from verbs by adding the suffix 𒀀 (A). For example, the verb below means to be strong.
To form an adjective from kalag, one adds an A. The expression below means mighty king. In Sumerian, different from English, the adjectives follow the noun.
In English, the Saxon genitive is marked with S and precedes the verb. Therefore, one writes "Elil's Warrior." In Sumerian, the genitive is marked with {K} after a vowel and {AK} after a consonant. Like the adjective, the genitive follows the noun. The {K} of the genitive was rarely written except when combined with the ergative. In this case, it was written as 𒆤 (ke4).
e2 lugal-laThe king's house
(ama a ni ra) for his mother,
(dumu lugal la ke4) by the king's son
(e2) a house
(mu-na-du3) was built for her
