all texts

*This translation is coming soon.* A public domain English translation of the Etana myth exists and is being prepared for this library. Subscribe to our email list at anunnaki.ai for updates when new texts are added.

*This translation is not currently available.* Erra and Ishum is an Akkadian poem in which the plague god Erra is persuaded to unleash devastation on Babylon before being calmed by his counsellor Ishum. The first adequate English edition, by Luigi Cagni, was published in 1969 and remains under cop…

## The Adventures of Sanehat The hereditary prince, royal seal-bearer, confidential friend, judge, keeper of the gate of the foreigners, true and beloved royal acquaintance, the royal follower Sanehat says:-- I attended my lord as a follower of the king, of the house of the hereditary princess, t…

## The First Tablet When in the height heaven was not named, And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name, And the primeval Apsu, who begat them, And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both Their waters were mingled together, And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen; When of the gods…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Sumerian King List records royal dynasties of extraordinary length stretching back before the flood, blending myth and historical record. The standard scholarly edition with English translation, by Thorkild Jacobsen, appeared in 1939. Earlier part…

*This translation is not currently available.* This extended Sumerian lament mourns the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur to the Elamites around 2004 BCE, portraying the city's abandonment as a divine decree. The first complete English translation was made by Jacobsen and Kramer in 1953. We are act…

## Prologue The Instruction of the Governor of his City, the Vizier, Ptah-hotep, in the Reign of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Izezi, living for ever, to the end of Time. A. The Governor of his City, the Vizier, Ptah-hotep, he said : 'Prince, my Lord, the end of life is at hand ; old age des…

## Prologue When the lofty Anu, king of the Anunnaki, and Bel, lord of heaven and earth, he who determines the destiny of the land, committed the rule of all mankind to Marduk, the chief son of Ea; when they made him great among the Igigi; when they pronounced the lofty name of Babylon; when they…

To the land of no return, the land of darkness, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin directed her thought, Directed her thought, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin, To the house of shadows, the dwelling of Irkalla, To the house without exit for him who enters therein, To the road, whence there is no turning, To th…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Eridu Genesis is a Sumerian account of creation, early cities, and a great flood that predates the Gilgamesh version. The text was gradually assembled from tablet fragments held at multiple institutions and was not available in complete English be…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Atrahasis Epic is an Akkadian myth of creation, overpopulation, and flood that predates and directly influenced the Gilgamesh flood narrative. The first complete English edition was published by Lambert and Millard in 1969. We are actively explor…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Descent of Inanna survives on Sumerian clay tablets excavated from Nippur and Ur across multiple seasons of fieldwork. The text was assembled gradually from scattered fragments held in different museum collections; the first complete English trans…

*This translation is not currently available.* The tablets of the Baal Cycle were discovered at Ras Shamra on the Syrian coast in 1929 — the same year the Ugaritic script was first identified. All translations necessarily postdate that discovery. We are actively exploring ways to include this tex…

## A. Hymn to Aten by the King [He saith]:— Thou risest gloriously, O thou Living Aten, Lord of Eternity! Thou art sparkling (or coruscating), beautiful, [and] mighty. Thy love is mighty and great... thy light, of diverse colours, leadeth captive (or, bewitcheth) all faces. Thy skin shineth brigh…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Great Hymn to Enlil survives in fragmentary form across tablets from Nippur. The only pre-1929 treatment by Stephen Langdon (1919) is an interlinear scholarly edition rather than a readable continuous English text. We are actively exploring ways…

*This translation is not currently available.* The Instructions of Shuruppak are among the oldest literary compositions in the world, presenting a father's advice to his son before the great flood. No complete English translation was published before 1929. We are actively exploring ways to includ…

*This translation is not currently available.* This cycle of hymns is attributed to Enheduanna — Akkadian high priestess of Ur under her father Sargon of Akkad (c. 2285–2250 BCE) — making her one of the earliest named authors in recorded history. The texts were first edited and translated in full…

## Tablet I — Of the Tyranny of Gilgamish, and the Creation of Enkidu Column I. (The Argument). He who (the heart of) all matters hath proven let him ‘teach’ the nation, "He who all" knowledge possesseth, therein shall he "school" all the people, "He shall his wisdom impart (?)' and (so) shall…