Cuneiform inscription

In the text on this alabaster tablet, Warad-Sin, protector of Ur, king of Larsa, and king of Sumer and Akkad, states that he has restored the derelict temple dedicated to Nininsina in Larsa. He goes on to address the goddess, supplicating her for the bestowal of favours: ‘Should you, my Mistress, be pleased with my deeds . . . [grant] that I may receive a long reign and a steadfast throne in return’. Around 3400 BC, the earliest form of writing was invented, in the south of Mesopotamia. Initially it was mainly used for public administration purposes. Not until around 2500 BC did people start writing letters and recording events in writing. King Warad-Sin belonged to the dynasty of the Elamites, who ruled over Sumer and Akkad from the city of Larsa.