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Sumerian Shakespeare

PDFs
Menu of available PDFs

At last count, SumerianShakespeare.com had 132 pages. There are 81 PDFs listed below. 

They are copies of the most important pages on the website. The PDFs are basically 

the archives for SumerianShakespeare. They contain all of my discoveries in Sumerian history 

that are not available anywhere else.

The PDFs can be printed or downloaded. They are freely available for personal, academic, nonprofit, and commercial use.

The selected file will display in the PDF viewer of your browser (Google, Firefox, etc.) The PDF will be identified in the browser window by its URL (e.g., https://fe5a14b3-d270-4b15-8728-df2a2ba4677d ... ) However, if you choose to download it, you will have the opportunity to save it under a more meaningful file name (for instance, “Great Fatted Bull Translation”).

 

PDFs:  

Introduction  where Tablet #36 is introduced as the world's first political satire, the world's first comedy, and the world's first murder mystery.

Tablet #36  shows photographs and line-drawings of the tablet; also includes a link to the CDLI's hi-res photo of the tablet.

Translation  translation of the tablet, with minimum explanatory comment.

Annotations  line-by-line translation with notes that give the historical context of the story and explains its wordplay and hidden meanings.

The end of the story?  for the Great Fatted Bull?

 

Fat Bull Misc Menu   Miscellaneous pages related to the Story of The Great Fatted Bull:

Transliteration  the Sumerian words and their English equivalents, with notes on the translation. It also includes notes on decoding mahX, and Appendix A, which summarizes the ways the 

meaning of the text is obscured. Dull reading for anyone but a Sumerologist.

Tablet #36 sign list  a list of all of the signs used on Tablet #36 and their definitions.

The Great Fatted Bull and the CDLI  the attempt by Robert Englund and the CDLI to discredit 

the translation of The Great Fatted Bull.

Robert Englund's Error List  the numerous errors in Robert Englund's transliteration of 

Tablet #36.

Sumerian Trick Signs  a description of the "trick signs" used on tablets to hide the secret 

meaning of the texts.

A Masterpiece?  a discussion of the literary merits of Tablet #36.

Adventures in Cuneiform  my adventure/ordeal translating Tablet #36.

Sumerian history  a brief introduction to Sumerian history.

What is the Standard of Ur?  the original purpose of the Standard of Ur.

Standard of Ur narratives  the complete narrative of events on the Standard of Ur:

Introduction to the Standard of Ur  the icon of Sumerian civilization, the royal standard 

of a great king.

Standard of Ur narrative: War  shows us exactly how the king won his greatest battle.

Standard of Ur narrative: Peace  shows us how the king ruled his subjects after the war 

was over.

Standard of Ur narrative: end panels  they are not just "fanciful scenes."

War chariots reconstructed The high-resolution photographic restoration of two war chariots depicted on the Standard of Ur. Also included is a section on chariot tactics.

War chariots deconstructed  What did a Sumerian war chariot really look like?

The face of Gudea  where I identify a statue as being a realistic portrait of Gudea.

The face of Ur-Ningirsu  the identification of an Ur-Ningirsu statue in the Louvre Museum.

The face of Lugal-agrig-zi  the royal scribe, son of Gudea.

The face of Ur-Namma  where I identify the "unknown Sumerian ruler", at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as Ur-Namma. I also identify another statue at the Met as being Ur-Namma, 

rather than Shulgi, as labeled. A statue in the Baghdad Museum is identified as Ur-Namma.

The face of Ur-Namma, part II  deals with the issues raised by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

on the identification of the unknown ruler as Ur-Namma.

The face of Shulgi  identification of a Shulgi foundation figure showing his true appearance.

Sargon's Victory Stele  where I identify the defeated enemy and the captive king on Sargon's victory stele.

Sargon's other stele  where I identify the defeated enemy on Sargon's other victory stele that is displayed in the Louvre.

Helmet: the King of Kish
  where I identify the kind of helmet with a knotted bun on the back as belonging exclusively to the King of Kish.

The Standard of Mari  the identification of many Mari artifacts as being Sumerian in origin

The Great Fatted Jackass  translation of the story of The Great Fatted Jackass, and a Transliteration 

of the tablet.

The Princess Wife  the world’s first political satire – as told from a woman’s point of view.

An Introduction  to The Princess Wife: you have never met anyone like her.

The Translation  without a lot of explanatory comment.

The Annotations  tell what's really going on in this story.

Transliteration  of Tablet 31,28. Not for the faint of heart.

Sign List  shows the signs and their definitions.

Nu-nus  the main "trick sign" on the tablet. Very clever.

The Princess Wife, part II  This is the sequel to the story of The Princess Wife.

Introduction  to the Princess Wife: It is the same woman in both stories, but the circumstances 

have changed.

Translation  of the Princess Wife sequel.

Notes on the Translation  explains why this tablet could not be deciphered for more than 

100 years.

Transliteration  of the sequel explains the "trick signs" that are used on the tablet.

Princess Wife the whole story, Translation  combined parts I and II of The Princess Wife.

Princess Wife the whole story, Annotations  the complete story of The Princess Wife.

Mesopotamian Prostitutes  the world's oldest profession.

Munus-kin  the sign of a Sumerian prostitute

​​

Six Known Sumerian Prostitutes  (plus footnotes)

The Babylonian Woman  a statue found in Diqdiqqeh

 

The Babylonian Wife  another statue of the Babylonian Woman

Babylonian Prostitutes in history, art, and literature

Babylonians in bed  What's really going on?

Temple Prostitutes  "Sacred Prostitution" in Babylon.

In Flagrante Delicto  a comic cylinder seal

Sumerian lukurs  is a lukur a priestess or a concubine?

Princess Ku-Baba  the first Cinderella and world's first reigning female monarch.

A Sumerian princess  identification of a statue portraying an unknown Sumerian princess.

Sumerian queens  the identification of Sumerian queens in the temples of Mari.

An Unknown Sumerian Queen  A female Sumerian ruler.

Another Unknown Sumerian Queen  Identification of a statue in the Louvre as a portrait of a 

Sumerian queen.

Pu-abi, the Queen?  Was Pu-abi  queen or just a noblewoman? Also includes Footnotes.

Who were the Sumerians?  an exploration for the origins of the Sumerian people.

Great Sumerian kings  brief biographies of kings not covered on other pages of the website.

Sumerian Shepherd Kings  The guardians and protectors of their flocks, the people. 

The Kings of Uruk  The original shepherd kings. They began Sumerian civilization.

War: Umma and Lagash  The Sumerian version of the "Hundred Years War."

Enmetena  An important but often overlooked Sumerian king.

Urukagina  The reformist king, a champion of the people.​

Enmetena, not Urukagina  An important Sumerian tablet belonging to Enmetena 

but mistakenly ascribed to Urukagina.

 

Lugalzagesi  A great king, much maligned.

The Man of Umma  Lugalzagesi's plundering of Lagash.

The divine right to rule  the date cluster as a symbol of royalty and the divine right to rule 

in ancient Mesopotamia

The battles of Ishqi-Mari  the battles fought by the Akkadian king of Mari as shown 

on his cylinder seals.

The Egyptians?!  why do the Sumerians show up on two ancient Egyptian artifacts at the dawn of history?

The Gebel el-Arak Knife  the symbology of the famous Egyptian knife.

Hierakonpolis Tomb 100 Painting  a narration the the events portrayed on the mural.

Idiot  A rebuttal of Andrea Sinclair's drunken tirade against Sumerian Shakespeare.

The invention of writing  the invention and evolution of Sumerian writing.

Scribal Social Rankings on their cylinder seals.

Is Tablet #36 Early Old Babylonian?

The Loring Tablet  the cuneiform tablet I wrote for Loring, who inspired SumerianShakespeare.

Mace or vase?  the mis-identification of an artifact in the British Museum.

Mesopotamian clothing  "cross dressing," as it relates to the Standard of Ur and the 

Standard of Mari.

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