DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18234356
title: Allotments according to Age-Bracket Notations for Conscripted Male Citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III Umma Texts

description: Allotments according to Age-Bracket Notations for Conscripted Male Citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III Umma Texts

Author: Andrew PottorfDate of Release: January 23, 2026License: CC BY 4.0

 

Recommended Citation

APA Format:

Pottorf, A. (2026). Allotments according to Age-Bracket Notations for Conscripted Male Citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III Umma Texts [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18234356

Chicago Format:

Pottorf, Andrew. “Allotments according to Age-Bracket Notations for Conscripted Male Citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III Umma Texts.” Zenodo, January 23, 2026. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18234356.

If you use or refer to this dataset, please cite it as above and, when appropriate, also cite Pottorf 2022, 351–66.

 

Abstract / Description

This dataset compiles quantitative and contextual data on conscripted male citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III administrative texts. The data were assembled from all relevant Umma texts accessible in BDTNS up to 2023. Each entry includes references to text editions, transliterations, and citations following BDTNS conventions, with occasional simplification for clarity. Entries record the allotments of conscripted male citizens and UN-il2. These data permit the reconstruction of incomes for these conscripted individuals during the Third Dynasty of Ur.

 

 Scope and Methodology

●      Corpus Coverage: All known Ur III Umma texts with clearly identifiable male citizens and UN-il2 receiving allotments for conscription searchable in BDTNS up to 2023.

●      Transliteration Standards: BDTNS, except where otherwise indicated. All Sumerian words are underlined.

●      Assumptions: Male citizens can be identified by juxtaposition to male UN-il2, and individuals with land allotments could share their allotments with relatives.

●      Limitations: Some family structures are difficult to identify due to imprecise formatting. 

●      Uncertainties: Entries marked (?) when interpretation or restoration is uncertain; see dataset comments.

Future versions will include more proveniences.

 

Data Format

●      File Type: CSV (UTF-8, tabular)

●      Primary Fields: Text, BDTNS, CDLI, Line, Order, Notation(s), Allotment(s), Comment(s).

●      Source Metadata: CDLI and BDTNS identifiers provided where available.

 

Acknowledgements

I thank Adam Anderson for guidance on FAIR-compliant data publication and repository best practices. I am grateful to the British Museum for permission to study and collate the texts cited below.

 

 Introduction

This table includes data regarding the allotments of conscripted male citizens and UN-il2 in Ur III Umma texts searched up to 2023. All citations, proveniences, and transliterations follow BDTNS (citations are sometimes simplified), unless otherwise stated, and all Sumerian is underlined. Abbreviations follow CDLI. Male individuals considered here are identified by their social statuses, also called orders, including citizens and UN-il2 (Pottorf 2025b). Allotments consisted of monthly barley or annual subsistence land as well as of annual garments or wool, which depended on an individual’s order and age bracket, among other factors (for an introduction, see Pottorf 2022, 179–86, but note that some updates are offered in Pottorf forthcoming). Comments or questions can be sent to apottorf21@gmail.com.

The following combinations of age-bracket notations and allotments are possible:

šu gan2 – an elderly adult with subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

šu 0.0.5 tug2 – an elderly adult with 50 sila3 (1 sila3 ≈ 1 L) of barley and a garment.

šu 0.0.4 tug2 – an elderly adult with 40 sila3 of barley and a garment.

šu 0.0.4 3 – an elderly adult with 40 sila3 of barley and 3 ma-na (1 ma-na ≈ 0.5 kg) of wool.

šu (gan2) – an elderly adult sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

šu (barley allotment) – an elderly adult sharing a relative’s barley allotment (no garment or wool specified).

šu – an elderly adult with no specified allotments.

AŠc gan2 – a full-time adult with subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠc 0.1.4 – a full-time adult with 100 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠc 0.1.1 5 4 – a full-time adult with 75 sila3 of barley and 4 ma-na of wool.

AŠc 0.1.1 5 – a full-time adult with 75 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠc 0.1.0 tug2 – a full-time adult with 60 sila3 of barley and a garment.

AŠc 0.1.0 4 – a full-time adult with 60 sila3 of barley and 4 ma-na of wool.

AŠc 0.1.0 – a full-time adult with 60 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠc 0.0.5 tug2 – a full-time adult with 50 sila3 of barley and a garment.

AŠc 0.0.5 4 – a full-time adult with 50 sila3 of barley and 4 ma-na of wool.

AŠc (gan2) – a full-time adult sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠc – a full-time adult with no specified allotments.

½c gan2 – a half-time adult with subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

½c 0.1.1 5 – a half-time adult with 75 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

½c – a half-time adult with no specified allotments.

AŠ, aga3-us2 gan2 – a (young) adult conscripted as a guard with subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ, šeš-tab-ba gan2 – a (young) adult conscripted as an assistant with subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ, ab (gan2) – an older child or (young) adult exempted from conscription to take care of his father (Pottorf forthcoming) sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ, ama (gan2) – an older child or (young) adult exempted from conscription to take care of his mother sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ 0.0.4 tug2 (gan2) – an older child or young adult with 40 sila3 of barley and a garment sharing a relative’s subsistence land.

AŠ 0.0.4 tug2 – an older child or young adult with 40 sila3 of barley and a garment.

AŠ 0.0.4 3 – an older child or young adult with 40 sila3 of barley and 3 ma-na of wool.

AŠ 0.0.4 – an older child or young adult with 40 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ 0.0.3 tug2 (gan2) – an older child or young adult with 30 sila3 of barley and a garment sharing a relative’s subsistence land.

AŠ 0.0.3 tug2 – an older child or young adult with 30 sila3 of barley and a garment.

AŠ 0.0.3 – an older child or young adult with 30 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ 0.0.2 tug2 – an older child or possibly young adult with 20 sila3 of barley and a garment.

AŠ 0.0.2 2 – an older child or possibly young adult with 20 sila3 of barley and 2 ma-na of wool.

AŠ 0.0.2 – an older child or possibly young adult with 20 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ (gan2) – an older child or young adult sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

AŠ – an older child or young adult with no specified allotments.

dumu AŠ 0.0.2 2 (gan2) – an older child with 20 sila3 of barley and 2 ma-na of wool sharing a relative’s subsistence land.

dumu AŠ 0.0.2 2 – an older child with 20 sila3 of barley and 2 ma-na of wool.

dumu AŠ (gan2) – an older child sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ 0.0.2 2 (gan2) – a young child with 20 sila3 of barley and 2 ma-na of wool sharing a relative’s subsistence land.

DIŠ 0.0.2 2 – a young child with 20 sila3 of barley and 2 ma-na of wool.

DIŠ 0.0.2 – a young child with 20 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ 0.0.1 5 1 ½ (gan2) – a young child with 15 sila3 of barley and 1.5 ma-na of wool sharing a relative’s subsistence land.

DIŠ 0.0.1 5 1 ½ – a young child with 15 sila3 of barley and 1.5 ma-na of wool.

DIŠ 0.0.1 5 – a young child with 15 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ 0.0.1 1 – a young child with 10 sila3 of barley and 1 ma-na of wool.

DIŠ 0.0.1 – a young child with 10 sila3 of barley (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ (gan2) – a young child sharing a relative’s subsistence land (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ (barley allotment) – a young child sharing a relative’s barley allotment (no garment or wool specified).

DIŠ – a young child with no specified allotments.

In some instances, it can be inferred that an individual was allotted land (Pottorf 2022, 219–20, 352 n. 492). Some texts that are omitted include AnOr 7 301; ASJ 11, 182; BCT 2 288 rev. iv 23; BM 106132 obv. ii 8 (collated in Pottorf 2025a); BPOA 7 2457 rev. 13–17 (unclear if land allotments could be inferred); CDLI P235312; P429776; CUSAS 39 127; 128 obv. i 9 (edited as: --- {written over x gan2} Lugal-ku3-ga-ni dumu / Inim-dŠara2), 31 (order is unclear), rev. i 27; 129 obv. vii 15'–17', 26', viii 4, 29', rev. iii 40'–41', iv 12–13 (the father’s notation and possible allotment are unclear), v 37 (edited as: --- Šeš-kal-la dumu / Inim-dŠara2); 133; 135 obv. ii 47–48 (difficult to read), iii 34, v 9, 12–13 (obv. v 9 and 13 are difficult to read), vii 10, rev. ii 9', 21', 34', iv 8–9, 19, v 12–13, 16; 136 obv. 2 (the father in obv. 1 is indented, so the child’s allotment does not appear to be specified); LAOS 1 2 obv. i 15 (Neumann 2011, 10), 16, rev. i 2, 26; Nisaba 6 17; 11 15; 27; 23 2 obv. iv 10–rev. ii 1 (counted in rev. ii 5'–12'), 8'; 9; 47; 86; 24 5; 28; 26 17 rev. 11 (difficult to reconcile this individual with the totals section); 33 435; 34 1197 obv. i 4, iii 8, 12, 23, rev. i 2, 4, ii 3–4, 10; Organisation administrative, Diss., T. 6, Talon-Vanderroost 1, 202-210 obv. iii 5', iv 5', v 37, ix, 37, rev. iv 45'–48', v 4–7, 12, 21, viii 5–7, 11, 37, 39, 43–44, ix 31 (AŠ 0.0.2 2 is otherwise dumu AŠ 0.0.2 2 in this text, so could be DIŠ 0.0.2 2), 32–34; OrSP 47-49 324; 483 rev. 1–2, 4 (unclear if land allotments could be inferred); 501; Princeton 1 367; 556; 2 492; Santag 6 384 obv. iv 21'–24', 25'–29', rev. iii 26', v 10'–11'; 7 32; SAT 2 77; 1000; SNAT 332; StOr 9-1 31 pl. 12; TCL 5 6038 obv. iv 34; Torino 2 703; 705; YOS 4 211; 15 115; 175; and 178. Note that the transliteration CDLI P406944 is intended for the publication of my dissertation as a book. Based on a visit to the British Museum, Nisaba 6 10 rev. i 9, which is a new line, is collated as: ugula i3-dab5. As such rev. i 9–20 according to BDNTS are renumbered as i 10–21. Nisaba 23 2 rev. iii 10–27 according to BDTNS are renumbered as iii 10'–27'.

 

Bibliography

Koslova, Natalia V. 2004. “Fluktuation der Arbeitskräfte im Umma der Ur Ill-Zeit: SANTAG 6:384.” Babel & Bibel 1:23–81.

Neumann, Hans. 2011. “Ur III-Texte” Pages 9–34 in Die Keilschrifttexte des Altorientalischen Institutes der Universität Leipzig. Edited by Michael P. Streck. LAOS 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Pottorf, Andrew Richard. 2022. “Social Stratification in Southern Mesopotamia during the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100–2000 BCE).” PhD diss., Harvard University.

———. 2025a. “Number of Children per Conscripted or Enslaved Adult in Ur III Umma Inspections and Similar Texts.” Zenodo, December 29. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18064759.

———. 2025b. “UN-il2 (‘Menials’) as a Serflike Social Stratum during the Ur III Period.” Pages 83–113 in Beyond Slavery and Freedom in Ancient Mesopotamia. Edited by Vitali Bartash and Andrew Pottorf. JANEH 12.1.

———. Forthcoming. “Caring for the Elderly in Third-Millennium Mesopotamia: Temporary Conscription Exemption during the Ur III Period.” In Aging, Old Age, and Constructions of Old Age in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Alison Acker Gruseke and Carol Meyers. Kasion. Münster: Zaphon.

Sigrist, Marcel. 1979–1980. “Erín - un-íl.” RA 73.2:101–120; 74.1:11–28.

Studevent-Hickman, Benjamin. 2006. “The Organization of Manual Labor in Ur III Babylonia.” 2 vols. PhD diss., Harvard University.

Vanderroost, Nicolas. 2013. “Organisation administrative du bureau de l’agriculture d’Umma à l’époque de la Troisième Dynastie d’Ur.” 2 vols. PhD diss., Free University of Brussels.

 

Versioning and Future Updates

●      Version 1 (January 23, 2026): Initial public release.

●      Planned Version 2 will include more proveniences.

●      The most current version will always be available via the Zenodo DOI landing page.

 

Keywords

Mesopotamia • Ur III period • Sumerian • cuneiform • BDTNS • CDLI • conscription allotments and notations

 

Contact

Andrew Pottorf 📧 apottorf21@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0002-7842-5979