Cuneiform
Having survived until 4th century BC, cuneiform was used most notably by Sumerians; it was adapted for the writing of the Akkadian, Babylonian, Elamite, Assyrian, Hittite, Urartian languages, and was last used by Persians.
Constituting the third phase in the development of writing, cuneiform also emerged from Mesopotamia like its precedents, namely counting stones and pictographic writing. Due to the difficulty of drawing pictures on clay and the lack of an existing recording system for concepts in need of expression, scribes turned to writing pictorial narratives by using linear shapes. This process enabled the transition to the linear writing system. Written on clay tablets with a blunt reed that leaves a triangular, wedge-shaped mark at its inscription, this system of writing was called cuneaus meaning, “wedge” in Latin. Born at the end of the 4th millennium BC and used actively in writing in early 3rd millennium, while cuneiform was initially opted for economic documents, it also became a means through which historical and literary texts were written between 2600 and 2100 BC.
Known as DUB in Sumerian, Tuppa in Akkadian, and Tuppi in Hittite, the clay tablets are rectangular in shape with slightly convex recto and flat verso. Written from left to right, the cuneiform features lines and includes information such as the contents of the inscription or the name of it scribe at the end.
Statue of the King Gudea/ Lagaş
Place of Discovery: South Mesopotamia/ Lagash
Language: Sumerian
Date: 2144-2124 BC
Material: Diorit
Louvre Museum Collection
The inscriptions mention the temples that the ruler Gudea had built in Uruk, Ur, Nippur, Adab and Bad-Tibira.
The Oldest Marriage Certificate
Place of Discovery: Girsu (Tello)
Language: Sumerian
Date: 2024 BC
Material: Terracotta
İstanbul Archaeological Museums Archives of Cuneiform Documents Collection
“Puzurhaya took Ubartum/ As his wife / Urmeme’s son Urdamu / Urdumuzida, Bulani / Urdumuzida’s son Alduga / Took an oath as witnesses / In the name of the King”.
[Transl.: İ.A.M]
This certificate was written in two copies. One was given to the married couple, whereas the other was preserved in the state archives.
Brick with Inscription
Place of Discovery: Unknown
Language: Cuneiform
Date: Reign of Assyrian King Sanherib, 705-681 BC
Material: Terracotta
Rezan Has Museum Collection
“Belongs to the Palace of Sanherib. He (was) the king of the world, the king of the Land of Assyrians.”
Brick with Inscription
Place of Discovery: Unknown
Language: Cuneiform
Date: Reign of Assyrian King Sanherib, 705-681 BC
Material: Terracotta
Rezan Has Museum Collection
“Sanherib, the King of Assyrian lands (re)built the temple of E.GAL.LAM.MES for his Lord (god) Nergal (2) from its foundations to its towers within the city of Tarabishu (3).”
Inscription Tablet on Accounting Records of Reed Workers
Place of Discovery: South Mesopotamia Lagash (Tumulus?)
Language: Sumerian
Date: 2032 – 2030 BC
Material: Clay
Rezan Has Museum Collection
“ 20.5 mine……. (and) 8156 5/6 male workers , doing a day’s work of reed waving were left over from (the previous) account (and) remain (carried over) from the year after the fifth anniversary of Ur King Šu-Suen’s reign in which he built Murigtidnim (known as) the Wall of Martu. These items are debited. Of these, 30 kur (1 kur equals 300 liters) of barley/grain, has been debited in the account with the sealed inscription tablet of scribe Wasisis. A total of 30 kur of barley has been deducted from the account. Deficit: the daily (wager) of 1350 reed workers (deficit) is equivalent to half a mine (ca. 240 gr.) mentioned as 4 wheat kernels of silver. Surplus: 30 kur barley and this surplus compensates for the (said) deficit. Deficit: 20.5 mine ŠÀ.NÌ.NA4. The daily (wager) of 6836 5/6 reed workers is the cause of the BAR.UD deficit – Balance sheet of Kalala, the controller of handcraft workers house. (Written) in Ur King Šu-Suen’s 7th year of reign in which he ravaged the Land of Zabšali”.
[Transl.: V. Donbaz]
Inscription Tablet of Statistical Chart
Place of Discovery: Anatolia
Language: Babylonian
Date: Ancient Babylonian Era
Material: Clay
Rezan Has Museum Collection
Revealing a statistical chart, this inscription table includes grain ration amounts, the person delivering it, the remaining amount, and the name of the receiver. The tablet, which lists the grain accounts of 68 individuals, identifies each of these receivers by their professions (e.g. door opener, accounting chief, etc.).
The Oldest Love Poetry Tablet
Place of Discovery: Nippur (Iraq)
Language: Sumerian
Date: 18th Century BC
Material: Clay
Istanbul Archaeological Museums Archive of Cuneiform Documents, Inventory No: NI 2461
Described as the world’s oldest known love poem, this tablet is also known as the oldest love song that talks about beauty and love.According to the Sumerian belief, the goddess of love and fertility once a year in order to ensure the fertility of the soil and the fertile womb.
This poem, written for the Sumerian king Shusin, who was supposed to marry a nun instead of Inanna, was written by the cheerful bride chosen for the king, to be sung at the celebration of the New Year’s feast, where the marriage ceremonies took place.
The Law Code Tablet of King Hammurabi
Place of Discovery: Nippur (Iraq)
Language: Babylonian
Date: 1790 BC
Material: Terracotta
Istanbul Archaeological Museums Archive of Cuneiform Documents, Inventory No: 2358
Hammurabi is the sixth of the 11 kings of the ancient Babylonian dynasty. He ruled for 43 years between 1792 and 1750 BC. The name of the second year of his reign is the year in which the law of the country was put. The original of the law is inscribed on a diorite stele, showing King Hammurabi’s command (authority) to write the book of the law from Shamash, the god of sun who represents justice. The stele was found in Susa and was taken to the Louvre Museum, Paris. The 13th article of Hammurabi’s laws, which consists of 282 articles, was left blank because it was believed that the number 13 was unlucky.
The Treaty of Kadesh
Place of Discovery: Hatussas (Boğazköy, Çorum)
Language: Akkadian
Date: 1269 BC
Material: Terracotta
Istanbul Archaeological Museums Archive of Cuneiform Documents, Inventory No: Bo.10403+6549+6674
The Treaty of Kadesh, which is the first known international treaty in history, was signed on equal terms between the Hittite King III. Hattusili and the Egyptian Pharaoh II. Ramses in 1269 BC. According to the agreement; II. Ramses will evacuate the places he took before the war and The Kadesh City will be left to the Hittites.
