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En (Borger 2003 nr. 164 ; U+ 12097 𒂗, see also Ensí) is the Sumerian cuneiform for ' lord /lady' or ' priest [ess]'. Originally, it seems to have been used to designate a high priest or priestess of a Sumerian city-state 's patron-deity [2] – a position that entailed political power as well.
Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system [6] [7] and was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq ). Over the course of its history, cuneiform was adapted to write a number of languages in addition to Sumerian.
Nov 17, 2022 · Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia c. 3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians and the greatest among those of the Sumerian city of Uruk, which advanced the writing of cuneiform c. 3200 BCE and allowed for the creation of literature.
- Joshua J. Mark
- Is cuneiform the first written language?Yes. Cuneiform predates any other written language including Egyptian hieroglyphics or Chinese script. It is possible that the script of the Indus...
- What does cuneiform mean?The word cuneiform comes from the Latin "cuneus", meaning "wedge", and was coined in reference to the wedge-like shapes of the characters of the wr...
- When was cuneiform first deciphered?Cuneiform was first deciphered c. 1823.
- Why is cuneiform important?Cuneiform is important because it opened up ancient Mesopotamian history for the modern age in the same way the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyph...
cuneiform, system of writing used in the ancient Middle East. The name, a coinage from Latin and Middle French roots meaning “wedge-shaped,” has been the modern designation from the early 18th century onward. Cuneiform was the most widespread and historically significant writing system in the ancient Middle East.
- Jaan Puhvel
Cuneiform was a writing system used between roughly 5,300 and 1,950 years ago, so for more than 3,300 years. That makes it the longest-lasting writing system in known history-longer than the Chinese writing system, which has existed for about 3,200 years. Cuneiform was invented by the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern, relatively ...
Modern (nineteenth-century) scholars called this type of writing cuneiform after the Latin term for wedge, cuneus. Today, about 6,000 proto-cuneiform tablets, with more than 38,000 lines of text, are now known from areas associated with the Uruk culture, while only a few earlier examples are extant.
Cuneiform writing was used to record a variety of information such as temple activities, business, and trade. Cuneiform was also used to write stories, myths, and personal letters. The latest known example of cuneiform is an astronomical text from 75 C.E.
