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Records of the Past, 2nd series, Vol. I

By A. H. Sayce

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Inscriptions of Ur-Bau and his Reign

No. I.—On a Statue 1

COLUMN I

1. To the god Nin-girsu
2. the powerful warrior
3. of the god Ellilla,
4. Ur-Bau
5. the patesi
6. of Shirpurla-ki,
7. the offspring begotten
8. by the god Nin-âgal,
9. chosen by the immutable will of the goddess Niná,
10. endowed with power by the god Nin-girsu,
11. named with a favourable name by the goddess Bau,
12. endowed with intelligence by the god En-ki, 2

COLUMN II

1. covered with renown by the goddess Ninni,
2. the favourite servant of the god who is king of Gishgalla-ki,
3. the favourite of the goddess Duzi-abzu.
4. I am Ur-Bau;
5. the god Nin-girsu is my king.
6. The site of … 3 he has excavated.
7. The earth thence extracted, like precious stones, he has measured (?);
8. like a precious metal he has weighed (?) it.

COLUMN III

1. According to the plan adopted he has marked out a large space;
2. into the middle (of it) he has carried this earth,
3. and he has made its mundus. 1
4. Above, a substructure 6 cubits high, he has built.
5. Above this substructure
6. the temple E-ninnû, which illumines the darkness (?), 30 cubits in height,
7. he has built.
8. For the goddess Nin-gharsag, 2 the mother of the gods,

COLUMN IV

1. her temple of Girsu-ki
2. he has constructed.
3. For the goddess Bau,
4. the good lady,
5. the daughter of Anna,
6. her temple of Uru-azagga
7. he has constructed.
8. For the goddess Ninni, the lady august, the sovereign (?),
9. her temple of Gishgalla-ki
10. he has constructed.
11. For the god En-ki, the king of Eridu,
12. his temple of Girsu-ki

COLUMN V

1. he has constructed.
2. For the god Nin-dara, 3 the lord of destinies (?),
3. his temple he has constructed.
4. For the god Nin-âgal,

5. his god,
6. his temple
7. he has constructed.
8. For the goddess Nin-mar-ki 1
9. the good lady,
10. the eldest daughter of the goddess Niná,
11. the Esh-gu-tur (?), the temple of her constant choice,
12. he has constructed.

COLUMN VI

1. For the god …
2. the shepherd … [of] Gir-[su-ki],
3. his temple …
4. he has constructed.
5. For the goddess Kû-Anna, 2
6. the lady of the cloudy sky (?),
7. her temple of Girsu-ki
8. he has constructed.
9. For the goddess Duzi-abzu,
10. the lady of Kinunir-ki,
11. her temple of Girsu-ki
12. he has constructed.

The remaining inscriptions of Telloh will be translated in the next volume.

Footnotes
75:1 Découvertes, pll. 7 and 8. Translated by Dr. Oppert in a Communication to the Académie des Inscriptions, 31st March 1882.

75:2 [Also called Ea, the god of the deep.—Ed.]

75:3 Perhaps some edifice previously dedicated to the goddess Bau. The characters are destroyed.

76:1 This translation of these six lines is given under reserve. Should we compare the ceremonies at the foundation of cities in classical antiquity?

76:2 ["The lady of the mountain."—Ed.]

76:3 [Or Uras.—Ed.]

77:1 ["The lady of the city of Mar."—Ed.]

77:2 The consort of the god Martu [or Rimmon], according to a cylinder belonging to M. de Clercq (No. 114); cf. W.A.I., iii. 67, b. 35.