Mi (cuneiform)

The cuneiform mi, (also mé) sign is a distinctive sign in the wedge-stroke group, and is used as a syllabic for mi, me, and an alphabetic for m, i, or e; it is also a Sumerogram (capital letter (majuscule)) for MI, used for Akkadian language, "mūšu",[2] night. MI, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is used in (Chapters) Tablets I, II, III, and XII as either MI, or MI.MEŠ, a total of six times; other spellings of mūšu in other sections are alphabetic/syllabic, four times.[3]

Amarna letter EA 364-(Obverse), Ayyab to Pharaoh, "Justified War".[1]
Sign mi, 4th sign, line 10.
(high resolution, expandible photo)


The sign can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the mid-14th century BC Amarna letters. The signs usage in the Epic is as follows: mé-(1 time), mi-(126), MI-(9).[4]

Partial list of signs beginning with wedge (u)

Partial list of signs beginning with (wedge)-u, from the Epic of Gilgamesh (Parpola, 1971), and the Amarna letters:

  • Cuneiform-u--Sign No. 1----(conjunction use, and "10"; occasionally for u)
  • Cuneiform-AMAR, ṣur, zur--Sign No. 2---; Sumerogram: See!-(AMAR) (Akkadian, "amāru")-(Note: minus the vertical stroke)
  • Cuneiform-di--Sign No. 3---
  • Cuneiform-ki--Sign No. 4---
  • Cuneiform-mi--Sign No. 5---
  • Cuneiform-ši, lim, or IGI ("in 'face' of", "before" Sumerogram)--Sign No. 6-----(Abdi-Ashirta), Abdi-A-Ši-iR-Ta, (wedge-sign, 4th sign)
  • Cuneiform-u--Sign No. u-1---
  • Cuneiform-ú--Sign No. u-2----(approximate: only 3 verticals for ú, (the common alphabetic u))
  • Cuneiform-Ù-(u-3)--Sign No. 7---
    • (With an added horizontal, , after the left vertical)

Also:

References
  1. Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. EA 365, Justified War, p. 362.
  2. Parpola, 197l. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, mūšu, p. 133.
  3. Parpola, 197l. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, mūšu, p. 133.
  4. Parpola, 197l. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 427, p. 163.
  • Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ISBN 0-8018-6715-0)
  • Parpola, 197l. 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.
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