The Urra=hubullu (𒄯𒊏 𒄷𒇧𒈝 ur5-ra — ḫu-bul-lu4; or HAR-ra = ḫubullu,[1] or Gegenstandslisten ("lists of objects")[1]) is a major Babylonian glossary or "encyclopedia".[2] It consists of Sumerian and Akkadian lexical lists ordered by topic.[3][4] The canonical version extends to 24 tablets, and contains almost 10,000 words.[5] The conventional title is the first gloss, ur5-ra and ḫubullu meaning "interest-bearing debt" in Sumerian and Akkadian, respectively. One bilingual version from Ugarit [RS2.(23)+] is Sumerian/Hurrian rather than Sumerian/Akkadian.
A partial table of contents:
The tablets form a series that had been arranged by time of the Sumarian Dynasty of Isin, with a bilingual tradition existing by the time the Kassites.[1] The bulk of the collection was compiled in the Old Babylonian period (early 2nd millennium BC), with pre-canonical forerunner documents extending into the later 3rd millennium.[9]
Like other canonical glossaries, the Urra=hubullu was often used for scribal practice. Other Babylonian glossaries include:
Many copies of the series are known in collections such as the Louvre, British Museum and Ashmolean Museum. The original Akkadian texts were found during the Oxford-Field Museum Expedition to Kish, Iraq (1923-1933).[10] The texts are collated and summarised by Meer (1939).[1]