Kur (cuneiform)

The cuneiform kur sign, (in cuneiform: 𒆳; as Sumerogram, KUR), has many uses in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is routinely and commonly used to spell the Akkadian language word "mātu", for "land", "country"; also possibly "region".^[1] In EA 288, a letter from the Abdi-Heba, the Governor of Jerusalem, the kur sign is used eight times.

Cuneiform sign for kur.

Amarna letter EA 288-(reverse), Abdi-Heba to Pharaoh, "Benign Neglect".
Usage in Lines 35, 36, 50, 53,and 55; text reads left-to-right.
(very high resolution, expandible photo)

The alphabetic/syllabic uses and Sumerograms of the 'kur' sign from the Epic of Gilgamesh:^[2]

gìn

kur

lat

laț

mad

mat

šad

šat

GÌN (Sumerogram)s

KUR

MAD

Its usage numbers from the Epic of Gilgamesh are as follows:^[3] gìn-(1), kur-(5), lat-(18), laț-(1), mad-(2), mat-(52), šad-(6), šat-(13),PA-(11), pa-(209), GÌN-(10), KUR-(72), MAD-(5). In the Amarna letters, an example usage is from EA 288 (Reverse), l. 35, defeated LAND-(kur) Nahrima.

References

1. Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, mātu, p. 132.
2. Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 366, p. 161.
3. Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 295, p. 159.

• Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ISBN 0-8018-6715-0)
• Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Parpola, Simo, Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages.