The

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

pa sign, (as

Sumerogram A Sumerogram is the use of a Sumerian cuneiform character or group of characters as an ideogram or logogram rather than a syllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such as Akkadian, Eblaite, or Hittite. Th ...

, PA), has many uses in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

''. It is routinely and commonly used to spell the

Akkadian language Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...

word "pānu", ''face, presence'', and with a preposition (ex. a na pā nu), ''before''. In the photo of the obverse of EA 364, it is used to spell Akkadian "eperu", 'dust', (EA 364, lines 7,8: "...and ( ù dust (IŠ (Sumerogram)=dust)) and ( u)\ dust "-( a-pa- ru). (The two ''"and"''-s are u-(no. 3), then u-(no. 1)-( u (cuneiform))(the bottom half).) The alphabetic/syllabic uses and Sumerograms of the 'pa' sign from the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'': :hat :pa :PA (Sumerogram)s :SÀG Its usage numbers from the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' are as follows: ''hat''-(21), ''pa''-(209), ''PA''-(11), ''SÀG''-(1). In the Amarna letters the start of "messenger Xxxxx" is often spelled in cuneiform characters: "LÚ.PA.X.y.z" (etc.), (LÚ the beginning

determinative A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they ...

for ''Man'').

References

* Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ) * Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian

'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages. ---- File:B157ellst.png, Sign kat, kad, gad, gat, ' Gad (cuneiform), based on Pa (cuneiform). (For k/g/q–''qat/qad'', for "hand", and Akkadian qātu, cuneiform sign

Šu (cuneiform) The cuneiform šu sign is a common, multi-use syllabic and alphabetic sign for ''šu'', ''š'', and ''u''; it has a subsidiary usage for syllabic ''qat''; it also has a majuscule-(capital letter) Sumerogram usage for ŠU, for Akkadian language ...

is used. (ŠU (hand Sumerogram)=qātu)).
For a listing of trade objects for procuring an entourage of women to Egypt, "...silver, gold, linen garments". (GADA, GAD for Akkadian "tunic", GAD (tunic Sumerogram), Amarna letter EA 369, to

Milkilu Milki-ilu of Gezer (Milkilu, Milk-ilu, Ili-Milku), was the mayor/ruler of the Land of ''Gazru'' (Gezer) around 1350 BC. He is known as the son-in-law of Tagi of Ginti-Kirmil and cooperating with Labaya of Shechem, during a period of turmoil among ...

of Gazru, titled: ''"From the Pharaoh to a Vassal"''. File:Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal with Human Headed Winged Bull and Inscription - Walters 42808 - Side G.jpg, Mesopotamian

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

-(view Side G) with

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

(Lion (with lion tail) and wings (on Side E)).
The columns of inscription contain, at right:

an (cuneiform) The cuneiform an sign (or sumerogram AN, in Akkadian consisting of ASH 𒀸 and MAŠ 𒈦), is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for ''an'', and an alphabetic sign used for ''a'', or ''n''; it is common in both the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' over ...

-(for DINGIR, god?), and pa (cuneiform). Cuneiform signs