C U N E I "O R M I N S C R I PT I O N S

C H A LD E A N , B A B Y LON IA N and A SS Y R IA N

C OLLEC TIONS CONTAINED IN T HE

LIB R A R Y O" J. PIE R PON T MORGAN

C AT ALOGUED BY

O HNS
"

T H E R EV . C H
. . W .
J , M A. .

Lectur er on in Queens
“
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Co ege. Ca mbndgc
’

OR K
N EW Y

R O BE RT G R IE R C OO K E INC , .

1 9 08
"O R E W O R D

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J
J , u
Q . O J O Q

3 I " J
,
 "O R E W O R D
T is quite t ue that Am e i an enterp rise has been notable in the
r r c

fields o f mate rial p rogress and our distinction and often our
, ,

p rimacy has been acknowledged in other lands But it has been

, .

o ften asserted that in the fields of sch olarsh ip we have f llen far a

behind ; that we have not only been compelled to go to the Universi

ties o f Eu rope for the h igher education of our youth but that our ,

older scholars have failed to reach the di tinction of tho e of other

s s

lands This is too largely t rue yet not wholly so Certainly it

.
, .

has been t rue in th os e li n es o f stu dy which require mate ri al for te

search not to be had in this country The editing of c as ical manu
. l s

sc ripts mu t be do n e in lands wh ere they are to be found in lib raries

s

o r monaste ries U n til very lately the study of the rich treasures
.

excavated in the vall eys of the Euph rates and Tig ris which h ave ,

g iven an entirel y n ew view of p r imitive h istory and m yt h ology has re ,

qui re d residence near the muse ums wh ere these treas u res are gathered ,

and it has been onl y brief and tant liz ing vacations wh ich American
a

scholars could give to thei r inspection The same is true of the

.

stu dy o f the monuments o f Egypt .

B ut we now h ave a body of younger sch olars who are eager

to pursue the study o f Assy riology and have made th eir first ess ay
,

a t o rigin al resea rc h in th e B riti h Museum or the Lo uvre

s Only .

within a f ew years have they found any material w hatever for study
in this country I think the first small collection of tablets and
.

seal cyli n ders was brough t by me from Babylonia when in charge

of the Wolfe Expedition in 1 88 5 ; and not long a ft e r t h ey became

l
th e nuc eus for a desi red collection in the Met ropolitan Museum
l
l
.

That expedition wh ich was solely for explo ration and not at a for
, ,

excavati on was followed so me yea s later by th e expe di ti on of the

, r

5
University of Pen nsylvania co n d ucted by D r J P Peter and afte r
l
, . . . s

ward by Dr J H Haynes and D r H V Hi p e ht at the ite

. . . . . . r c , s

of the ancient ci ty o f Nippu r o n e of the th ree ites recommend ed

, s

by me on my retu rn from the charge of the Wolfe Expedition for

, ,

excavation by Ame rican scholars The fine enterprise of the f riends .

o f the Unive rsity o f Pennsylvan ia p rovided the means for the very
successful expedition at Nippur ; nd the Sultan very graciously a

allowed a large part of th e tablet and other thi n gs collected the re s

to be b rought to this country F rom this mate rial it has bee n pos
l
.

sible for P rofe so r Hi p echt and his pupils amon g whom M r A T

s r , . . .

Clay deserves special men tion to do scholarly wo rk which has added

,

much to ou r knowledge o f Babylonian hi tory and the language and s

l iterature of that ancient people and to th e honor of the University

,

o f Pennsylvania and of Ame rican enterp rise and scholarship in a

new and di fficult field O f the fruits of the later expedition o f
.

the University of Chicago at the ancient city o f Adab the thi rd

, ,

site recomm ended by me in 1 8 8 5 it is as yet too ea rly to speak At , .

the thi rd of the th ree huge mou n ds recommen ded by the Wol fe
Expedition for excavation the capital o f th e famous Elder Sa rgon
, ,

Anbar long lost to maps and a famous cente r of the Jewish dis
, ,

p e
rs io n not a spade has yet been struck by European or Ame rican
,

explo re s r .

It is the ch ief object as I underst nd it of M r Morgan in

, a , .

b ringi ng to th i country the w ritten and fi gu red monument o f the

s s

early East such as tablets seal cylinde s bas reliefs or statues to

, , r ,
-
,

put within th e reach of American scholars th e mate rial necessary

for adding to the knowledge of the wo rld Whatever is th e fruit .

of excavation by acc edited expeditions whether Eu ropean o r Ame r

r ,

ican must go to t he Ottoman Museum at Constantinopl e except

, ,

as th e Tu r ki sh Govern m en t graciousl y presents it to those wh o

have done the work .

B ut a very large po rtion of such obj ects is dug up by th e n atives

of the coun try who pu rsue th is b usin ess ass i duom and man age
,
somehow to sen d them to the Eu ropean capital s It is d esirable .

th at such objects be not scatte red an d lost to scholar hip but that s ,

they be gathe re d i n to responsible an d accessible collectio ns .

A portion of the large coll e tion made by M r Mo rgan is in

c .

cluded in the desc ription s nd t ranslatio ns given in this vol ume by

a

Mr Johns He has t ranslated man y text publi hed i n his As

. . s, s
“

syrian Doomsday Book B abylon ian and Assy rian Laws Cont ract
" “
, s

nd Le tte s and the three vol umes of his As syrian Dee ds nd Docu
”
a r a

me n ts Reco rding the Tran fe r of P roperty The p resen t volume

s .
”

adds to t h e d e bt w hic h the enla rging ci rcl e of Orie n tal schola r s

owe to one o f thei r most competent membe s It is particularly

r .

happy that so valuable a collection has come u n der h is study o ne

l
,

in which the disti nguished F rench scholar S hei has l ready fou n d
c a

very choice material Now that this fin e collection is b rought to

.

this cou n t ry to be followe d doubtless by othe r sim ilar t reasu res we

, ,

may expect that our eage r American scholars will fin d much mo re

to reward thei r search i n Mr Mo rgan s lib rary
.
’
.

WILLIAM H AY ES WARD .
I NT RO D U C T I O N
 "R A G M E N T O" T H E D ELU G E LE G E N D

I NT RO D U CT I O N
HE people o f M esopotamia who occupied the basi n o f the two
,

great rivers Euph rates and Ti gris very early att i ned a civiliza
, a

tion which ha had a wid er i n fl uence on man kind than anythin g

, s

p revious to the in ven tion o f pri n ti ng an d th e revival of Greek lea rn ing

.

II
Echoes of its f a distant renown we e h eard in the classics and both
r r

Assyria and Babylon loom large on the political ho rizon of Israel and
Judah in the Bibl e These ancient empi res had passed away an d so
.
,

long ago that the visitor to the ruins of Babylon o r Nineveh was con
tent to muse over past greatness and reco nst ruct f rom scattered and
myth ical traditions a dim picture of th ei r glory Had some spi rit .

whispered that thei r history an d even eve ry day doin gs would o ne day
l
l
-

be known again a mode rn scholar would have smile d in u nbelie f A .

written memori als i f i n deed uch ancient and barbarous peoples could
, s

write must long have pe rished Papyrus o r parch men t fray out o r
, . s

decays pape r w not invente d and here i a wid ely di ff erent climate
, as

l
from the dust dry soil or rain ess sky o f E gypt Yet it has been even
-
, s

so not only have wall sculptu res been uncovered in the places of an
,

cient kings depicti ng their battles hu ntin g and even domestic scenes
, , , ,

but more wonderful still the mo t intimate details of private li fe the

, , , l
laws lite ratu re history re i gion science and a rts are a fully de
sc ribed in innumerable documents often li ttle the worse fo r having
s

, , l ,

been thousands o f years bu ried beneath the soil .

Babylon ia p roduced but few trees o r stones o f any size but the ,

mighty torrents o f its river when th e snows melted in Armenia and

s,

the Caucasus poured down an nual floods that deposited sand and
,

clay o f th e finest quality eve ywhere that man did not interfere with
,
r

his canals and dams to check and con t rol the d el uge H ence brick .

became the staple bui lding mate ri al and day the depository alike of
the thoughts of early sages and the wants o r wishes of the workaday
. l
folk The c ay was so tough that merely dried in the sun adobes o r
unbum t bricks m d e excellen t walls that resist the pick and shove l
-
r
a

to day with ma velou stren gth and wh en these w ls fell down the
s ,

changes o f th e seaso n s reduced them to e art h a gain so coveri n g a

,

a l l
l
l
that ay beneath them with an imp ervious mantle of clay Th e
written records inscribed on tou gh clay or baked to a fine ter ra cotta
,

sufi e ed little in such a packing and a re often as sharp and clear to

r ,

read as on the day they were written A glance at many of the .

tablets in these collections will convince any one that the tablet is just
as it left t h e h an ds of the writer Only such documents as were .

deemed worthy o f being p rese ved were burnt th e every day matters
r ,
-

were written down on a l um p of tough clay and dried in the sun .

The great danger to these is the tool of the di gger But where due .

their long buri a l

care has been taken even unbaked tablets are none th e worse for
.

12
 It is startl ing to reali ze that six thousan d years ago most men and
many women could write and read i n that far off l and at the mouths
o f the Tigris and Euph rates Lette rs passed not on ly between mon .
,

arch gove no and p ri ests but between husband and wife brother
s, r rs , ,

and sister lovers or busi n ess partn e rs merchants an d th ei r agents

, , .

The cook sent th e errand boy to the hopkeeper with an o rder fo r s

goods an d the d ebtor p id his creditor with a request on clay to the

a

ban ker ; while th e credito r d epo ite d the same like a check to stand to s , ,

his credit till wanted .

The system o f writing was once pictorial then the picture signs ,

became conventional rep resentations of the objects i ntended executed ,

with a few bold st rokes withou t much artistic attempt to copy ,

n ature Not that the a rti tic faculty was lackin g for contempo rary
. s ,

en gravi ngs on precious ton es se ls and am ulets show a power tos , a ,

depict men an d anim l with a li felike energy never surpassed in

a s

antiqui ty Th e necessity o f writin g m uch and fast overrod e the desi re

.

for accurate po rt rayal and use superseded th e n ee d fo r it A in . s

E gypt the exqu i ite little pictures which served as hi ero glyphs though
s ,

long p rese rved for lite ra y wo rks gave place in eve ry day li fe to a
r ,
-

demotic sc ript Wh eth e r becau e the picture writing and its demotic
. s
stage are i ncomparably mo re ancien t o r wh eth er the use of clay as the ,

w riting materi l h tene d th e evol ution we have scarcely any t race

a as ,

of either i n the writi ngs hith e rto foun d Two tablets discovered by
l
P ro fe so r S hei and th e Monum ent Blau are almost the o n y relics
s c
.

l
we have o f thi tage Th e history o f the sc ript be gins when con en
l s s .

tiona pict ures are co n t ru ct e d sol e ly o f t raight li n es the a rc of th e

s

cu rve replaci ng th e li ne and it is with th e great est difficul ty that we

s ,
v

can conj ecture from th em what th e ori gi n al picture d enote d .

Th e p rocess was h stened by a n atu ral law of w riting i n gen er l

The sign that once tood fo r a cow l
a a .

ithe was used to d enot e the

syllabl e l it; bu t wh e n th e sc rib e w ish e d to writ e l
s , ,

it he no lon ger
thought o f a cow as th e si gn h e hould use As lon g as the si gn
could be reco gn ized to be l
s .

it th ere was no need o to form i t as to , s

suggest a cow So complicate d i gns te diou to draw were simpli

. s , s ,

fied by contin u al om i io n of st rok es till liken ess to e a rli e r forms wa

ss s

gon e Signs too that once were distinct became confused and re
placed by one i gn Th us "read m h and denoting a half m s hl
.
, , ,

s .
,
u as , , a ,

was comb i ne d wi th L read b and replaced by one si gn read ar, ,

eithe r mask o r b ar .

13
 The scri be care f ully selected his clay and fo rme d it i nto an oblong
cake which he h eld i n his left hand If he meant to w rite on both
, .

sides when h e turned o er th e pressure would obliterate his writi n g

, v .

So he u ually made the obve rse quite flat and then the p ressu re bein g
s

a l
l
the same o er th e surface very littl e damage was done In o rder
v

to free th e clay from grit an d pebbl es th e c ribe o ften roll ed out the
,
,

s
,

clay i n to a thin heet then doubl ed it up o r mad e a roll o f it H e

s , , .

did n ot alway get all the ai r squeezed out and when h e baked hi
s , s

tablet pieces flew ff o r in a fter yea s when a small fracture w a

o , r ,
s

made the outer heet flake d ff car ryi ng the writi ng with it B ut
, s o , .

the best speci men s were so care fully made that th ey have escaped
al
l inj u ry and even a fall on a tone floo r does not chip them s .

Th e scribe wrote o n the so ft clay with a reed o f t rian gula ectio n r s

or a m etal stylu o f peculiar shape His wo rk can be very well imi

s .

t ted o n a l um p o f clay p u tty o r do ugh w ith a square sectio ne d

a , ,

luci fer match taki ng care to keep o ne ed ge n ea rly flat on the lump
,
.

Th e en d of th e tick will make a n ail haped i mp re sion a wed ge i n

s -
s s ,

fact wh en ce the name cunei fo rm from Latin n n a wed ge

,
“
,
”
ca o s,
“
.
”

A ca re ful inve ti gation o f the p robl ems invol e d in this y tem o f

s v s s

writi ng will be foun d i n th e fourteen th volume o f Se ri es A o f th e

B byl
a ni n E xpediti n f the Uni e ity f Penn yl
o a o ni by P ro f
o v rs o s va a, .

A T Clay ( Philadelphia
. .
,

Ou r fath e rs would remember th e wo rld wide en ation made -

s s

by the di co e y o f the palaces o f A y rian ki n g at Kho bad by

s v r ss s rsa

Botta and at Ni neveh by Layard lyi ng ba re the sculpture and in , s

scr iption of Sargo n S enn ach erib Esa rhaddon and Sa rd anapal u
s , ,
s,

known to us from th e Bibl e an d cla ical write rs but by a dim ss ,

allu ion that carcely removed them from l egen dary h eroes o f th e
s s

past The e di co eries re e led th ei r actual hi tory an d th e e ery

. s s v v a s v

day li fe o f the peopl e ; whil e the d eciph ermen t o f th e i n criptions by s

G tef end a n d R awli n on j ust a cen tu ry go ga e us a n ew wo rld

ro s , a , v

o f an cient histo ry an d literatu e that ha p ro foun dly a ff ected our r s

v iews o f antiqu ity and th e o ri gin o f many thi ng i n Israel an d in s

Greece .

The su rp ri e ha wo rn off but really m o re sensation al di coveries

s s , s

h ave b een made si n ce almo t an nually i n that home o f mystery , s , ,

cradle of scien ce and tuto r o f the wo rld th e famed Chald ea Some , .

indi cation o f its im po rtan ce was given to the public by P ro fessor

l
De itzsch s lectures be fore the Ge rman Empe ro r on B be nd B ibe
’
a l a l ,

14
 De Sa ec at the close o f his campaign o f 1 8 9 4 laid b a e a
rz , , r

collection o f some thirty thousand t ablets forming the archives of ,

an an ci en t temple at Telloh arran ged on their shelves al ong th e ,

wall s of galleries just as they were l e ft five thousand years ago wh en

l
the roo f fe l in and bu ried th e m H ad it been poss ible to keep th em
together as they dated f rom every year almost eve ry day of a very
.
,

, , ,

long period and conce ned the most mi n ute afiairs of the temple
l ,

ofi cia s and m any of the principal inhabitants o f th e city it mi ght

have been poss ible to reconst ruct th e municipal annals of Telloh fo
r

the thi rd millen n ium B C with a completeness far greater than that . .

o f a Eu ropean i ty in the Middle Ages It was too late i n the year

c .

to remove such an imm ense accumulat ion and b efo re De S arze , c

could resum e operation s the natives had ca rrie d 0 3 the bulk o f the
tablets These archives were thus scattered and almost eve y museum
.
, r

in Europe and America posse s es Telloh tablets of th is collection s .

From thei r num bers and divorced as they were from thei r true,

con n ection seemi n gly dry and u n interesting they became a d rug in
, ,

the market and not readily finding buye rs quantities have been de
stroyed l
l ,

They a date from the dynasty of U r and interest in them

.

has late y revived l A very inst ructive account is given by Dr J

,

Lau in h is O d B byll nia n T em pl

. . .

e Re a d ( The Macmillan Co m
o cor s

pany New York 1 90 6 ) wh ere references will be found to the chie f

, ,

publications of the tablets When Te loh tablets a e spoken o f th is .

“
l ”
r

set is usual ly meant The p resent collection con tains but f ew of

them only twenty seven in a
,
-
.

l
l .

De S ec however also fou n d other archives and the tablets

l
arz , , ,

hailing from Telloh have been co nven ient y cl assed as of six epochs "
( 1 ) those b efore the patesi U Nina ; ( 2 ) from his time to the r
-

dynas ty of S argon I ; ( 3) the period o f S argon I and his son Naram

. .

Sin kings of Akkad ; ( 4 ) the dynas ty o f Ur ( called the Fi rst

,

Dynasty ) ; ( 5 ) the reign of Dungi ; ( 6) the reigns of Bur Sin

l
-
,

Gimi Sin and Ibi S in his successo rs

- -
, .

O f the secon d epoch these collections em b race about forty te ,

markable fo r th ei r exquisitely fin e writi ng being standard speci mens

l
of the ca l igraphy of the period and especially valuable for th e ligh t
they th row upon archaic sc ript They also date from the t ime o f
,

ll
Luga anda king of S hi pur a and the p tesis En ita i U ruk agina
, r l
,
.

a l rz ,

and Enigga

pu t a t 40 0 0 B
U ruk agina was also king later T h is period Radau
C an d i t is
.

cert
.a inl y bef.o r,e S argon I T he tab e ts
.

. l
16
are e ply in teresting al so fo r a tu dy of early personal names and
de s ,

th row m uch li ght on thi n gs that wer e obscured in later reco rds The .

l
l
natives o f B abylonia have also discove red many tablets rangin g over
a periods Doubtless many of these belon ged to p rivate archi es
.

th e deed che ts of great families or busi ness fi rms It is therefore

s .
v ,

, ,

often im possible to say whether such tablets come from native dis
cove ie o r were abst ract ed by the workm e n f om De S ec s fi n d
’
r s r ar z s.

These collections are especi ally rich in tablets of the th i rd epoch ,

that o f Sargon of Akkad and h is son Naram Sin The former has
l
-
.

usual y been dated as by Radau on the authori ty of Nabonidus l ast

8 L
,

l
nati ve king o f Baby on and a great antiquary in his day at B C
,

ter di coveries have cau ed this date to be doubt ed but have

,

,
,

. .

3 0 0 a
. s s ,

not succee ded in substitu ting any reasonable alte n ative The tab let r . s

are assigned to this date chiefl y by th e ir style of writing of whi ch ,

they a e exqu isite little specimens From their small i ze they could
r . s

easily be stolen by wo rkmen and this is the most probabl e expl ana
,

tion of their findin g thei r way in to the market and not to the Con
s l
tantinop e o r P aris Museums There a e about sixty of them
. r .

The tabl ets of the fifth and sixth epochs a e usually dated r .

The Babylon ians as i gned to each year a eparate n ame ; e g th e

l
l
“
s s . .
,

ye a r in which Bur Sin b e in g-

king ,
d e vastat e d the city U rbi u m , .
”

Lists were d rawn up o f th ese year n am es arran ge d i n p roper ch ro no -

lo gical ord er an d in a mo re or le s compl ete condition several o f

, , s ,

these lists have been p rese rve d to us and p ubli hed by va riou s s

scholars H ence it is o ften pos ible to state i n which year of a king

. s
’
s

reign a tablet was written Th us the above quoted year name is

.
-

given by th e date li ts a th e secon d yea r o f B ur Sin We now know

s s -
.

how lon g each ki n g o f th e dynasty reign ed and by checking the date ,

lists with th e dates actually u e d on th e tablets we may hope to com

l
p ete th e ch ronolo gy fo r the whole p e riod
s

l
l
.

A very large n umber of a the collections of tablets from Telloh

come from templ e archives The purpose o f these tablets was to
.

reco rd ome payment o r donation made f rom the temple sto res o r
s

received from worshipers ten ants etc as ofie ings rents o r dues
, , .
, r , .

There was a large numbe r o f person s who regularly received certain

allow ances i n food d ri nk o r other goods By what title they e
, , . r

cei ed such t h in gs we a re ra rely if ever told

v I t is certain how
, , .
,

ever that pa rticu la r fam ili e d e cen d ed possibly from the original
, s,

group who formed th e first sett e rs in the city or deri i n g from l

s

, v

1 7
them by conquest pu rchase o r adoption had the ri ght to o many
, , s

days at a particul ar altar temple gate or other site about th e place

l
.
,

That seems to imply that what we may ca l the templ e sha e of

l
“ ”
r

a sac rifices o ff e ri n gs etc

, and the templ e re venu e, from land and
.
, s
investments were share d by this group of peopl e They were by
l
ll ,

no means a pri e ts or templ e oflicia i n deed some were debarred by

s

sex or re igio us d isqualifica tion f rom actu al ly o ffici ati n g This right
l s,
.

could be pledged mo rtgaged let out by its owner but only during
, , ,

his l ifeti m e ; at his d e ath it reve rt e d to his family S uch llowances . a

may b e call e d rations .

A templ e was i n many respects very like a medieval monastery

l
l
.

I t had lands and en dowm ent Possibly a the land o f the ity s. c
h d once belon ge d to t he god that is the t emple an d the o riginal
a , , ,

group o f settlers o r their descendants h eirs and as signs P rivate

, , .

p rope ty in land had however already arrived The temple re

r , , .

cei ed m u ch revenu e f rom its l ands a n d ten an ts o f house s b u ildings

v

or othe r p rope ty I t a so l ent out f rom its enormous stores o f

r . l , ,

goods paid in kind crops herds flocks etc Especially frequen t are
, , , , .

adv ances o f co n oil wi n e wool even sil er

r , , S uch loans u u ally , , v . s

name a fixed period fo r repaym ent and often stipulate for interest
to be p aid on overdue accounts Th ere was ve ry litt e lending fo r .
,

l
the sake of the i n te rest Most loans were punctu lly repaid It is
. a .

probab le that the borrowers i f not all citi zens had a customary , ,

right to bo rrow of the temple in tim e of need It was a form o f .

collective ch arity Wh en i n terest was charged the loan wa usu lly

. s a

cove red by a pled ge the use of which was a se t off against the
,

interest
l
l
.

Th e steward of the temple had o f course to account fo r a

l
that he al owed out and these tablets may be regarded as his vouchers
,

fo r exp enditu re and also as receipts on the part of the recei ers The
, ,

tablet it elf however rare y en ightens us beyond the mere state

s
“
, ,

ment that A has received som eth ing from B Wh ether we a e to

ll .
”
v .

suppose A b d a right to receive it or had to retu rn it we do not

a , ,

know Th e wo rd hub ti means he has taken an d it is not un

. s a
“
,
”

common to speak of these tablets as s hub ti tablets It is convenient a .

to do so because they do not tell us wh ether these advances were

,

really loans o r payments of dues I t wa sufli cient for the steward s . s

’

p u rpose to show that A had his goods and the temple auditor woul d ,

know if the paym en t was in order I t m ay be that a donor to the .

18
templ e would expect a receipt for his gi ft but we shoul d not expect ,

to find such re eipts in th e templ e arch ives but rather in the donor s
c ,
’

deed ch est The re may be a few such A gift was often accom
. .

p a nied by a note t o say wh o sent it ev e n w h en p resen t ed i n p e rson , ,

with o r without some prayer or pious wi h that the god woul d regard s

with favor the don or or some one d ea r to him M any such notes . ,

sometim es also th e gi f ts in p recious stones o r oth er imperishable oh

,

j ect h a e b een p res e rved and the notes king f or l ife or p rosperity
s, v as
for the dono r o r h is l ord an d master S uch a e called votive o ff er . r

in gs or tablets .

Th e steward d rew up mo t elabo rate an d exhaustive acco unts s .

Besides lists o f ration s in food d ri n k o r cloth ing h e kept wool a , , c

counts ski n and cloth account These reco rd quantities ser e d out
, s. v

to weave rs l eather cutte rs o r tailors to be wo rked up and retu n e d

, ,
r

as m an u f act ure d articl es Sometime the receive r gave a receipt fo r

. s

such goods explicitly p romisin g to return specified garments or other

,

a rticles Th e wo rk was sometimes paid fo r by the temple sometim es

.
,

the wo rk was ser ice due The stewa rd l ists usually were less
l
’
v . s

explici t me re y stating wh o h ad th e good an d how much

, s .

T he tem pl e possesse d l arge numbers of oxen sh eep and goats , ,

of all ages sexes and conditions B ei n g an em inently pasto ral folk

, . ,

the Babylonians h ad l ike the Arabs a bewild ering va riety of names

, ,

for wh t we ha e to ren der simply by ox sheep or goat The herds

a v , .

were an nually en tru ted to h erd men th e flocks to shepherd who

s , s,

took them out to pasture beyond th e town fields These men we re .

responsibl e fo r the safe custody of the an imals fo r p roper breedin g ,

and c re of t he i n c re ase and thu s bo re to t he tem ple stewar d t he

a ,

same relation as Jacob did to Laban in the Bible story To secure .

h im elf the stewa rd d rew up l i ts of th e cattle confided to each

s , s

sheph erd and sometimes exacted of th e sh epherd a sealed and signed

,

ag reement to re turn th e m settin g forth l l

particula s There mi ght
, a r .

be loss es by accid ent lions or wol es o r the act of God Also

, v ,
.
”

the sh epherd could deduct som e fo r h is hi re thus l ike Jacob acqui ri ng ,

a flock of h is own The royal tax coll ector mi gh t make ab t raction s

l
-
.

of some cattle for regular dues or ext rao rdi n a ry deman ds u u al y on , s

a p t system
r o ra a As a rule h owe er tem pl e pro perty was exemp t
.
, v ,

from royal exactions All gains and losses the temple steward en
.

te ed i n h is accoun ts
r .

The temple existed for public benefit a we l as for its own s l

I9
aggrandizement I t had to redeem a citizen from the h and of the
. s

enemy ; it had to entertain strangers e peci lly worsh ipe rs from , s a

a far the royal messengers from oth er cities or fo reign ru lers who
, ,

vi ited th e city We have m an y of the stewa rd s lists o f these ex

s .
’

t o dinary exp en ditures which see m to ha e bee n o f con id erable

ra r , v s

exten t Expenditure fo r wages to workm en on repai r enlarge

. s,

ments or imp ro ements was duly entered Accounts were kept

v , .

written up and dated as o ften as once a month

l
.

Wh at the temple stewar d did on a large sca e eve ry head of a

family did on a smaller E p ecially b u i nes firms kept a so rts
o f accou nts They kept all the i r accounts bon ds memoranda letters
. s s s l
l
—in fact it seems every sc rap o f writi ng—in great urns o r pots sunk
.
, , ,

i n the groun d Native di ggers especially fin d these p ri ate o e

.

tions usually on ly just below the su rface

,

.
, v c l
l c

Considerabl e interest attach es to th e many labels or tickets

which h ave been called b l le from thei r resemblance to th e b l
“

atta hed to l egal documents i n the Middl e Ages ; wh ence the title
c
a a ,
”
a l
a
,

o f Papal B ull given to uch docume n t up to the p re ent The

“
s
”
s s s .

name serve as a distinctio n fo r the sort o f object but i en ti rely

s , s

m isleadin g i n its su ggestions Lumps of clay were imp re ed on the . ss

knot of a co rd tyin g up a sack o r bale of goods or on th e ack o , s r

wrapping itsel f The name o f the send er add res ee sometimes a

.
, s ,

tatement o f th e contents e en a date mi ght be in cribed An ani

s

m a l v s
,

might ha e a i milar label tied round it neck by a st ring when

v ,

s
s .

ent rusted to some shephe rd Slaves wore im ila r ticket with their . s s

n ame and that o f their own er This wa easily mad e away with . s ,

but a slave who thus rebell e d was branded o r tattooed with an

i rradicable m ark It is di ff icult to be sure in m any case of th e real
. s

purpose of these object which are often o rubbe d as to b e illegible

s, s ,

and not much i nfo rmation is to be obtain ed from th em They are .

littl e mo re u e to u than would be a coll ection of labels o r tickets

s s

from goods now The e collectio ns have some interestin g exampl e

. s s,

eith er for ea rly date or fine p rese rvation .

The fi r t dyn asty o f Babylo n has attai ned celebrity in modern

s

tim es chiefly by the interest attaching to the ixth king Hammu rabi s , ,

from h is widely accepted iden tification with Am raphel o f Genesis

xi v He d e erves even mo re renown for his cel ebrated Cod e of
. s

Laws the ea rli est of wh ich we have any full information and its
, ,

d erived interest f rom compa rison with the Mo aic Code T his was s .

20
the crowni n g glo y of De Morgan s explorations at Su a the Shushan
r
’
s ,

of the book of E the r Th e tablet of thi p eriod nearly all come

.
, s
s

from S ipp a u ually iden tified with th e Biblica Sepha vaim P ro f

l ar
.

V Schei excavated th ere fo r the Tu rki h Govern ment i n 1 8 9 3 9 4 but

s

s
s

l r .

-
.

the nati es have from time to time unearth ed thousan d of table ts

v s

at its mod ern site Abu Habba In fact in this period S ippa a seem
, .
, , r s

to have been th e p redom i n an t city o f Babylon ia and Babylon merely

the seat o f governmen t Mo t of these tablet appear to be of private . s s

i n te rest an d can hardly ha e form ed part of a public archive u n l e v , ss

it wa th e custom for p ri ate p ersons to depo it a copy o f their deeds

s v s

i n the temple Many relate to templ e officials and ve ry many to

.
,

those vestal virgi n s as we may call th em who were vowed to vi r

, ,

y e t could m a r y u ually liv e d in t he g re at con ent

g i ni ty , an d
of these S h nash otaries at S ippa
sa
ar
G
v
agi r

of tran ctions co eri n g every kind o f t rans fer of prop e ty They

v
,

The tablets relate to a sorts

s

ra .
a,

r .
l
l v

are deeply i n tere ti ng for the ligh t they throw on customs at this
s

period Th e ruling dynasty were o f fo reign ext raction perhap be t

.
,
s s

called Am o rites w ithout necessarily i mplyin g affinity with the Bib

llica Amo rite o f Palesti ne s
,

There are many Am o rite names on the

tablets i mplyin g racial affin ities with the old South Arabi ans Th e
.

date li ts fo r thi period a re in an ad anced state of perfection an d

s s v ,

the year of t he ki n g s rei gn can usually be given but there a e many

’

, r

new yea r n ames e ery one o f which i a gain to knowled ge On th e

l
-
, v s .

whol e period the w riter may be allowe d to refer to h is B by ni n a o a

( Sc rib ner s Sons N ew

’
a nd A y i n L wss r a C ont t and Lette a s, rac s rs ,

York ,

The religious texts a e of the d eepest interest an d will be noted

r

in detail late r The h isto rical texts d e e rve separate notice The e
. s . r

a re many others o f various epochs which are better treated i n di

v . l
l
idually A in all it is difficult to imagin e a collect ion of the same
size with more va ri e d and inte resting contents
,
,

MYTH O LO GICAL TEXTS

D EL U GE STORY

p
When Geo rge Smith i n 1 8 72 n n ou nced in the D il
o f August t h at h e had di co ere d a m o ng t h e tabl e
y
ts in
l
th
,

e
, a a Teej
g h
ra 3d s v

British Mu eum b rough t by Sir H Layard from Nin eveh some

s ,
.
,
fragments o f the Babylon ian accoun t of th e D elu ge enthusiasm
knew n o boun d an d the D il y T el
,

eg p h placed on e thousand
s, a ra

gui neas at his di posal to p roceed to Ni neveh and procure mo re

s .

He publi hed in hi Chaldean Gen esis ( Lon don a remark

s s

ably success ful ccount f a th e fragm ents th en recognize d and i n

1 8 8 4 Pro f P
a

Haupt p roduce d his edition of the Nimrod Epos in

ol
l ,

which were collected l l

-
. .
,

the fragmen ts known Nothing ha been a . s

added since to what may be called the Ni ne ite ve sion Its liken es v r . s

and contrast t the Biblical versions have been discussed ever since
o

in num be rle s publications It was kn own that B erosus th e G eek

s .
, r

w riting pri est o f Babylon about B C 2 80 had p re erved a somewh at , . .

, s

difi e ent v ersio n G reat wa th e surpri e an d deli ght wh en P ro fess or

c
r

l .

S hei publish e d a fra gme n t o f a v er io n dati ng f rom th e e l eventh

s s

year of Am m i dug las t kin g but one o f the first dynasty of Baby
za a,

lon fu lly a thousand years earli er than any of th e hithe rto known
,

texts It p re en t what has been called the S ipp version and was
publi hed by S hei i n R e ueil
.

now marked M 1 35
s de T
s

ux co

.
s

l
xx p 5 5 E It is
.
c r ava , v l
.
ara

.
, .
,

ETANA MY TH
The legend o f Etana who was carried u p to h eaven on the b ack ,

of an eagle is o f great i n tere t apart from the su ggestion that he is

, s ,

th e Ethan o f I Kings iv 31 whose wisdom was excell ed by that

. .
, ,

o f Solomon and th e likeness of th e sto ry to that o f Elijah For it is

,
.

clo ely connected with the story o f the snake and the eagl e and
s
“ ”

that o f th e storm bi rd Zu The fragmen ts from Nineveh we re

l l
“ "
.
,

publish ed by Dr E T H arpe r i n the B eit iige n A y i gi e ( o

Pro fes o r S hei publi hed in R e ueil l
. . . r z r ss r o o v .

ii p 439
.
, . sde T ux c s c r av a

( vol xxiii
. p 1 8 fi )
. a, f r gm e
. nt p r o b ab l y f ro m
. S enk e eh e a rliera r ,

than th e fi rst dynasty o f Babylon Both f rom its extreme a ge and .

from th e i n terest o f its subject this unique tablet is o f priceless worth ,

.

I t is now M 1 30 The subject i rep resented on several fine cylinder

. . s

seals in th e B riti h M u seum th e Lou v re and elsewhere

s , .

I n the l egen d of the descen t of Ishtar to Had es a h ero called

Uddu hunam i r is mentio ne d Pro fessor S hei published in the l
l
s . c

R e uei de T
c ux ( vol xx p 8 3) a f ragmen t o f a mythological
r av a . .
, .

tabl et from S ipp r which men tion ed a pate i calle d Uddu hunami
among o th er p t e is ca ll e d U d dua r uk
a a,

a
a i Z
s a k i B e id ina and l ,
s

ra , ll s r,

22
 I NCANTATION '

O f the greatest inte rest is M 66 an i n c ntation text o f ve ry .

, a ,

early d te possibly used as an mulet to ward ff demons It is

a , a o .

u npublishe d but a most interestin g variety It is i n scribed on stone

, .
,

not clay .

OM E N S
A text connected with omens is N 2 1 5 unpublished and un .
,

fortunately only a fragment but ea rlier than those al ready known ,

by many centu ries .

N IS A B A

An i n vocation to the goddess N i ab goddess o f agricultu re s a, ,

M 67 was insc ribed on th e ed ge o f a bowl The piece has b roken

.
, .

nd fo rt u natel y gives a p ractically com pl e te t ext which w as pub

llished by P ro fessor S hei in th e O ient l
off a

c l
i ti ehe Litte t eit ng r a s s
,

ra a r z a

(
v o vii p 2 5 4
. .
, N i ba is he re invoke d as the goddess of
. sa

l
fertility with seven womb seven b reas ts and as godd ess of literature
( ) w ith ei g ht ee n e a r S h e i al so call e d th es.sc
s,

r ibe
sister o f Ellil It is curious to find the association o f agriculture
.
o f Ann ands
,

with l ette s in th e person of a moth er goddess

r .

Another fra gment o f some as yet un recognized l egen d exists as

M 1 31 nd awaits publication
.
, a .

These l egends form pa rt o f a literatu re which as is now grad

l
l
ua y b e in g re co gn ize d was known an d read from Elam to Cilicia
,
,

from Syria to Egypt an d its influence is to be t raced in the Bible

,

and p robably also in ea rly G ree k mytholo gy Every fragment e . r

cove red is there fore a u n ique treasure It m ay explain so much now .

obscu re to us .

GEOGR AP HY
The tabl ets which come from Telloh contin ually name cities
and places in th e n e i ghbo rh od some o f which were in exist e nce cen
o ,

tu ies late r
r It is of th e highest importance to collect these geo
.

graphical re ferences from which in time we may map out lower

l l
,

*
It was pub i sh ed by V . Brum m er i n Rea m "de Tra f va ax ( vo . xxvii i .
, p .
Babylonia for the thi rd mi lennium B C In M 68 we have a list
, l . . .

of more than fifty towns with amounts o f money a shekel or so set , , ,

down fo r each The amount seems small but pe rhaps it me rely

l ,
.

marked re ative liability to tax o r rate for some purpose The text
l
.

seems to be o f the first dyn asty o f B abylon but came f rom Te loh
and was p u blish ed by P ro fe so r S hei in the R e ueilde T aux ( vols c l ,

c r av
,

xx p 68
l
. .
,

One of these ancient cities was fixed by Professo r Schei as

having been on the site whe e now stands the village Jocha to th e
l l
r ,

west of Was it Hai in the E Bataj eh in I rak The ancient city was
c -
,
-
.

called Uch and its n ame use d to be read Gi hb n while its site was
, s a ,

sought as fa r away as Ha ra n The means o f this fortunate discovery

l
.

were th e tablets M 70 and M 71 found at Jocha by Schei in April

They were published in the R e ueil
. .
, , ,

ux ( vol xix
l
1 894 . de T c rav a . .
,

p 62 it ) give the name o f the patesi o f Uch as U bi k u and a e

.
, r , r

p robably of th e fi fth o r sixth Telloh epoch .

AR C H AIC TAB LETS

Th e ection N 69 1 1 0 emb races tablets o f th e very early
fine coll
l
-
.

P re Sargon ic pe riod o f Lug nd and Uruk gin rul e rs of Telloh

-
a a a a a, .

Of the natu re of temple reco rds th ey give the n mes of sco res of , a

people important in thei r day as rulers patesi etc Of gre t inte rest
, , s, . a

is th e frequent men tion of the w ives o f these ulers whose names form r ,

a welcome addition to our knowledge o f the lot o f women then The .

tablets are beauti ful specim en s of exqui itely fine w riti n g

l
s .

The ce eb rated patesi Gudea whose diorite statues adorn the , ,

Louv re and whose power was little sho rt of that of the mi ghtiest
ki ngs a great builde r and ado rner o f Telloh but a loyal subject of
, ,

Dungi king o f U r is known chi e fly by the palaces an d temples which

, ,

beautified his city of Telloh He has l eft almost endless inscripti ons
publish ed in D é e te en Ch l
. ,

de e an d most rece n tl y t ranslated

coa v r s a ,

by P ro f T hu e u Dangin in Le I n e ipti n de S um e et d Ak h d
. r a s s r o s r
’
a

( Leroux Paris It is interesti ng th erefo re to fin d him inci

, , , ,

den tally men tioned in M 1 2 1 probably a a dono r of o ff e rin gs of

food and drink on the festiva o f Dungi the fi fteenth day of the
,

month cal led the Feast o f Dungi Telloh tabl ets we re date d bo th
.

l
,

.
,
s

25
by the yea s of Gudea s reign nd by those of his sovereign Dungi
r
’
a ,

M 88 uses both system s The ye r of Dun gi is p robably the forty

. . a

sixth but those of Gudea a e not yet fixed in o rder This will fo rm
, r .

a val uabl e help to the syn h ni n of th e reigns c ro sr .

Th e dyn asty of Ur with wh ich Gudea s reign was contempo rary

,
’
,

began with the g reat king U Engu and lasted one hund ed and r
-
r r

seventeen years The ki n gs are he re given in o rder with the lengths

.

of their reigns The period is that of the fourth fifth and sixth
.
,

periods of Telloh .

Ur Engur-
reigned 1 8 years .

Dungi his son reigned 5 8 yea s

, , r .

Bur Sin h is son eigned 9 years

-
, , r .

Gimil Sin his son reigned 7 yea s

-
, , r .

I b i Sin his son reigned 2 5 yea s

-
, ,
r .

Th is dynas ty is rep resented by twen ty seven tablets of wh ich -

,

thirteen are to be assi gned to the reign of Dun gi eight to Bu r Sin and ,
-

six to Gimil S in One othe r tablet certainly of this period dated

-
.
, ,

in the year the temple of Engu was built is not yet to be assigned r ,
”

its place in the above dynasty N 46 , . .

Th e patesi E nnatum reigned at a very early date but he is

a ,

mentioned in the twenty first year of Amm iditana on N 2 1 8 -

. .

NEW AND RAR E KINGS

In th e R e ueil de T ux ( vol xxiv

c p 2 5 fl ) Professor r av a . .
, . .

Seheil published the names of several new rul ers or kings whose ,

place in the dyn asti es has not been determined .

The king whose name is written A N A AN and read variously - -

, ,

pe rhaps best as H um a was identified with a somewhat similarly

-

others I t is possible that he was a contempo rary of Sum u ai u

.
l
,

named king of the so ca led second dynasty of Babylon and a so with , ll

l ,

se cond king of t he fi rs t dyn asty o f Bab ylon and th at h e rul ed over

the Leal and See P ro fessor H i p echt s Int roduction to th e twen l ,

ti eth volume of Series A o f the B byl

“ ” ’
. r

onia n Exp editi on of the Uni

e sity of P enn yl
a

v r nia ( p 5 6 This king is only known wi th

s va .

26
certainty from a tabl et in the Louvre till unpublished from M 8 9
and M
R e ueil
c
1 26
de T
They were published by P rofessor Schei in the
.

ux ( vol xxiv p
.

r av a . . .
s ,

l .

The kin g whose name has been read GIR N E N E Aradshag hag - -
, s ,

etc is only known from an unedited tablet in the Louv re and M 1 2 7

.
, . .

I t i as yet impossibl e to place him Publi hed as above

s . s .

The kin g S ini ibam is known only from M 1 2 5 published by

P rofessor S hei as above and again in O ient l
z eitung ( vol iii p 350
c l r

i ti he Litte tu
It is a yet impo sible to place him
. v .
,

s
r a
.

s
s sc
,

ra r

.
, .

Th e kin g Am m ikinabi is only known from N 49 wh ich is still .

,

unpubli hed It is impo ibl e to place him

s . ss .

The king Rim Anum was fi rst made known by Profe so r Sayce
in the P o eeding f the S iety f B ibl i l A he l
-
s

ogy 1 8 9 7 p 73
r c s o

Then Profe so r Schei foun d seve ral tablets dated i n his rei gn in the l oc o ca rc o , , . .

Museum at Co nstantinople and publi hed M 1 2 4 in th e R e ueil

s

T ux ( vol xx
r av a p H e c aims here as in the fourth vol
.

ume of R awlinso n s I n ip tion f We te n A ia pl 35 No 8 to be

.
,
de
.
,

l s .

,
c

l l
’
s cr s o s r s , .
, .
,

ki ng of a wide empi re nami ng Em utb I i n Suri D up iash A hurn , a , s , , , s

as subject l and Th is is importan t fo r h i tory i f co rrectly read

s. s , .

Th e kin gs of U r re igned over Susa a is shown by the votive , s

table ts of D ungi fou n d there and duri ng th is pe riod S usa was ruled , ,

like Telloh by p te i I n tercour e between the cities was f requ ent

, a s s. s ,

an d we read o f hips of corn goi ng from Telloh to Susa or i e e

s

In M 1 0 3 we read of the patesi B e i u uga of S usa who came to

. l l a r
, v c v rsa .

Telloh Six hips lad en with corn from S u a are men tioned in M 78
l
. s s . .

R im Si n son of Ku du r M abug ru l er of Em utba Elamite kin g

-
,
-
, ,

o f Larsa usually id entifie d with Arisch of Ella ar in Genesis xiv is

,
s .
,

rep resente d by ne tablet p robably dated in h is reign N 2 32

o , , . .

One table t N 1 63 is dated by a year name not yet to be found

, .
,
-

i n th e yea r li ts o r chron icle if the writer is not m istaken ; it ep e

s r r

sents some new dyn as ty but wh ere it was located is not cl ea r ,

.

The S ipp a tabl ets are nearly all from th e pe riod of th e first
ar
d yn asty of Babylon when th e city wa eviden tly at th e zenith of its ,
s

powe r and p rospe rity A l ist of the kings of th is dynasty with th e . ,

l engths of thei r reigns may be of i nterest to th e reade r ,

S um uabu, 1 4 years
l
l
.

S um u ai u, 36 years .

Zahum , h is son, 1 4 years .

 Apil Si n h is son 1 8 years
l
l
-
, , .

S inm ub it h is son 20 ye a rs
a , , .

H ammurabi his so n 43 yea s

l
S m sui una his son 38 yea r
a ,
,

,
, r

s.
.

Abeshu his son 2 8 years, , .

Am m iditana his so n 37 ye a rs , , .

Am m i aduga his son 22 yea rs

z , , .

S m uditan h is son 31 years

a s a, , .

While S umuabu foun ded th e dyn a ty he eems not to ha e s , s v

been su ccee d e d by a on Th e ch ro n icl e of th e dyna ty see especially

s . s ,

M r L W Ki ng s Lette nd I n ip tion f H m m u bi ( 3 vols

. . .
’
rs a s cr s o a ra .
,

Luzac C Lon don ) vol iii pp 2 1 2 2 5 3 is complete for his

c., , . .
, .
-
,

rei gn bu t with one exception no tablet dated i n his reign is known

l
, ,

Tablets datin g from the rei gn of S um u i u and al ready pub

i hed numb er fi fteen b u t o n ly o ne gi es th e yea r of th e re i gn
,

l
l
a
.

s , Col v .

lectio n N add th ree tablet dated i n the sixth nineteenth an d twen ty

s s
—
.
,

thi rd yea r th ree times as m any as known be fo re

s .

The thi rd ki ng Zahum is rep resented by th i rty table ts already

, ,

p ubli hed Collectio n N inclu des two mo re of the seventh and

s . .

ei ghth years .

Apil Si n is rep resented by twenty e ight tablets published only

- -
,

five of which are dated by years of his reign N has one mo re

S inm ub l l
. . .

it is be tt er k n ow n fif ty two tablets bei ng p ublishe d

a ,
-
.

H ere are th ree mo re dated in hi secon d sixth and fou rteen th years s , .

Tabl ets from th e re i gn of Hammurabi are always ea gerly sought

a fter an d qu ite o ne hun d red an d forty are al ready publish ed nearly
, ,

all dated by the yea r of his rei gn N 2 2 5 is one mo re of the four s . .

teenth yea r .

l
S m sui un i known f rom abou t as many publi h ed tablets
a

N 1 8 7 is dated i n his seventh yea r

.
a s

.
s .

Abeshu is hithe rto rep re en ted by only thi rty fi e tablets and th e s -
v ,

chron icle is d efecti e that it has hitherto been impos ible to place
so v s

the dates in o rd er He re a e seven mo re tablet one dated in th e l ast

. r s,

year of his rei gn .

Am m iditana is known f rom some one h u nd red and thi r ty pub

lished tablets H ere a re fo rty s ev en mo re a qua rte r of all known
.

dated in th e seventh ei ghth ni n th eleven th twelfth th irteenth six

-
, ,

, , , , , ,

teenth eighteenth nineteenth twentieth twe n ty first twenty fourth

, , , ,
-
,
-
,

28
 twen ty fif th twenty seventh twenty e i gh th twenty ninth th irty fi t
-
,
-
,
-
,
-
,
-
rs ,

thi rty second thi rty th i rd thi rty fou rth thirty fif th th irty sixth and
-
,
-
,
-
,
-
,
-

thi rty seventh years

-
.

Am m i dug is represe n ted by one hund red and twenty pub

l
za a

si hed tabl e ts b ut here are forty two mo re adding anot her qu arte r
,
-
, .

Th e ch ron icle h as lately been extend ed to his seventeenth year and ,

here are tablets dated in every known year but the tenth .

The la t ki n g Sam uditan is al eady known from twenty fou r

s , s a, r -

published tablets This collection adds nine mo re another quarter

.
, .

A the ch ronicl e is de fective for th is re ign we can not pl ace them in

s ,

proper o rder but they make importan t contributions to fixing it

In al l
.
,

the re e on e hund red and sixteen dated tablets of this

ar

period sixty of them be i n g f resh cont ributions to our knowledge of the

,

history There are ex mples of eve ry reign except the fi st

. a r .

The conten ts of th e tablets a re fo r the most part the same as , ,

those al ready published with of cou rse di ff e rent parties and many
, , ,

i n teresti ng variation s in detail They are all as yet unp ublished . .

S ome ope n u p f resh subje ts e g th e very inte resti ng agreements c , . .

,

on the part of sh epherds o r he rdsmen entrusted with flocks o r he rds .

The Code of H ammurabi d ealt with the subj ect Section s 2 62 267 but ,
-
,

l ittle illu t ation has yet been available from the practice of the
s r

pe riod These se rve to explain and confi rm the Code

. .

H ere we fin d what seems to be th e ea rliest reference to the

ho rse in the tablets N 2 5 2 2 5 3 where the n am e S h i i occurs
, .
, , as s .

We m ay ren d er it if ri ghtly read ho sey like th e G reek P h ilippus

, ,
“
r ,
”
.

It is pos ible howe er that it is not a prope r n ame but on ly an

s , v , ,

en t y in a list of p roper names of so much corn fo r th e horses

r ,
“
.
”

Either way the men tion o f the ho se is car ried back centu ri es by this
, r

reference .

Other p roper names of great i n te re t occur such as compounds o f s ,

Lagama r so famous in the discu sion s o f the Elam ite name Kudu r
, s

Lagamar the Biblical Che do rlaomer and compounds of I n which

, , a ,

were so much discussed in the cont roversy raised by Profe so r

D el lectu res on B belnd B ibelThe so called Amorite
s
’
it sch
z s a a .
-

names occur in plen ty In fact sca rcely on e o f th ese S ippa a tablets

. r

is without some point o f i n tere t fo r the student s .

29
 CA SE TAB LETS
It was u ual to i nclose th e more impo rtan t documents in an
s

envelop e This was mad e of a th in heet o f clay which w wrapped

. s , as

round the tabl et and pi n che d to geth er at the co rners Good ex .

am ples o f su ch en velop es a re N 44 w hich i th e e nvelop e o f N 47 .

, s .
,

an d N 2 5 wh ich is part of the en elope of N 1 0

.
,
v . .

In case of any dispute the tablet had to be p roduced i n the court

of law I f it was broken o r had been tampe e d with the j u d ge
. , r ,

mi ght ru le it was defecti e evidence an d th e additional expense of v

summ o n i ng an d examining witnesses would have to be bo rn e To .

re duce th e ri k th e substance of th e i nn e r documen t was indicated

s

on the en elope often a complete du plicate of it was writt en out

v , .

N 44 howeve r merely reads the bond ( sealed tablet ) fo r one

.
, , ,
“

cow one yea r old which belongs to Ahun i n of Awil N bium the
, , , so -
a

cowherd N 4 7 which was once enclosed i n it is th e deed of

l
. .
, ,

sa e of one cow o ne yea r old by Ahuni n of Awil N bium to

l ,
so -
a ,

Li i Babili son of A i Ishtar for one an d on e h alf she ke l of

cv r -
, cv -
,
-

sil er with o ne twelfth o f a sh ekel as ea rnest money I t is witnessed

v ,
-
.

by three wit nesses an d date d the twen ty ei ghth o f the eventh month -
s

of the seco n d year of Amm i aduga z .

If the inner tablet had been left exposed althou gh it wa baked

a dishonest man might alter it But on ce enc osed in i ts envelop e
he could not do so without signs of having done it To avoid h is
.
,

l s ,

, .

putti n g on another en elope the parties not only imp ressed their v ,

seals but often ran th e seal ove r eve ry part of it while the clay was
, ,

soft Though the forge r migh t make a new envelope after falsi
.
,

f ying th e conte n ts he coul d not well forge th e seals wh ich were

, ,

often those of thi rd parties witn esses j u dges sc ribes or othe rs not , , ,

likely to con nive .

Tablet in thei r cases are not rare Th e native finder is of

s .

opi n ion that these thin gs con tain gold or p recious th i n gs and if he , ,

hears the inside rattl e h e breaks the en elope Hen ce few envelopes ,
v .

fin d the i r way to Europe Occasion ally the envelope sticks fast to the .

contents and there is no temptation to b reak it Unfortunately that .

m ay be a great injury to the i n ner tabl et it may be impossi bl e to ,

remove t he adhe ring part of th e case and so m any inner tabl ets can , , ,

not be enti rely read .

30
as o t
in m st of the private let ers, t ha we can no understand t em until t t h
ft b
we know mo re o he usiness relations of the parties concerned I t
is on ly by b t
the pu lica ion of a such documents available t a we l
l ht
.

can make out much mor e .

M 1 33 is very interesting fo r its beautiful seal rep resenting

.
,

two priests o r worsh ip e s raisin g the i r hands in the Babylonian atti

r
tud e o f p raye r o r adoration toward a symbol of I hta r the mother s ,

odd She is h e re which is th e re r kab le thing rep r es e nt e d

g ess
l m a
.
, a ,
s

a cow suck ing he r cal f an d tu rni n g back he r head to ca ress it

, The .

representation was exqu isit ely eng rave d on the seal nd thou gh the , a
im press ion was hurri edly mad e the little scen e is ve ry clear B en e th
l
is the usual conventiona rep resentation of the goddess n aked and
holding he r hands to he r bre sts As Queen o f Ni neveh Ishtar is
a
,
. a

.
,

add ressed by A hu rb anip al as the mo the r who has suckl e d him in

s

his i nfancy The tablet contains a list o f names o f pe rson s who had
.

received d ues from the temple came from S ipp and is o f the , ara
pe riod o f the fi st dyna ty o f Babylon It was p ublished by Pro
f e so Seheil i n the R e ueil
s r
r

de T
s

ux (
c lxx p The
rav a
.

vo . .
, .

same ymbolism is foun d on the G reek coi ns o f Corcyr and its

s a
colonies and on other Babylonian seals .

The use o f the seal was not without its disadvantage for scholars
in readi ng the tablets now When the seal was run up and down
.

ove r the tablet while yet so ft the cha cters fo rmed by dep ressions in ra
the clay became cl osed up and lost the i r cha racteristic featu res It is .

usual to say that at no p e riod were tablets so badly w ritten o r signs

so c relessly fo rmed It is very comm only the ca e at this pe riod that
a . s

a seal bo re only the name o f its owner stati n g whose n he was and
wh ich god he worshiped A seals p robably also served as a nu et
. s

this would identi f y the owner as un der that god s p rotection but it
,

’
‘
so

r l s

may ha e had the mo re mundane pu rpo e o f ma rking him as a member

v s
o f a particula r con gre gation The exact relation of groups worship
i ng di ff e ren t gods has not yet been fu lly wo rked out Such a seal
.

is o ften o f great ass istance in reading the blur ed names in the r

text i tself .

A more elabo rate sort of seal depicted som e scene from myth
ology o r a wo rsh ipe r int rod uced into the presence of some god
, ,

or ome ornamental design This might have the owne r s nam e as

s .
’

be fo re o r not The seals were cylinde r haped with a hole d rill ed

. s

down the cente r and ran in a setting which made them not unlike
,
a garden roller O n some tablets th e marks of this metal moun ting
.

can plainl y be see n as in N 2 9 M 3 has an interesting seal repre

, . . .

sen ting a single standin g figure wearing a peculiar c p N 20 is a a . .

seal im p ss si n nd noth in g else Why it was done and what pur

r o a .

pose it serve d it is impossible to say but it is a very fine specim en , .

Perhaps th e lump of cl ay was a label on a bal e of goods or th e like .

Th e seal imp ression on M 9 6 is worth remarking . .

The so called bullae N 20 6 2 1 0 have a very fine seal N 2 1 1

l
- -
. . .

is al o a seal ed bu la N 2 1 2 is a me re cake o f bitumen used to stop

s . .

a bottl e o r ja r and bea rs a se al imp ression w h ich is p rob ab l y l at e .

Seve ral other table ts have seal impressions now much defaced .

HISTOR ICAL INSC R IPTI O NS FRO M ASSY R IA ETC , .

The German explo rations conducted at the old capit l of a

A sy ria the la t four yea s have mad e known the n ames of many
s , s r ,

early ul ers o f A syria ki ngs o r p tesis of A shu r One o f the earli est
l
r s , a s .

of these U pi w first mad e known by P rofe so r S hei in the

R e ueil
, s a, as s c

c de T ux ( vol xxii p 1 55
r av a who there published a . .
, .

f ragment o f an i n sc ription f rom Kalat She rgat the modern site o f ,

It also n ames E i hum noth er ea rly ruler an d is now r s , a ,

l
13
M 1 39 is part of the annals o f A ik deni i a very early kin g r

l
.
,

of A syria which w as publishe d by Pro fesso r S chei i n the O ient

l
s , r a

i ti he Litte tu eitung ( vol vii p 2 1 6 f ) I t is o f considerable

s sc ra rz . .
, . .

histo ric value but very f ra gmentary

, .

M 1 40 1 42 1 43 are f ragments o f inscription s of As syrian

.
, ,

kings as yet u npublish ed but too littl e is p reserved to identi f y them

, ,

w ith certai n ty
.
.

M 1 34 is part o f a S emitic i nsc ription mentioning Samsui una

so n and uccesso r of the great H amm u rabi but in too f ragmentary a
s
l ,

fashion fo r much to be m ad e out o f it Subsequent discoveries will .

p robably clea r it up It has not yet been p ublished

.
.

M 1 37 con tains a votive insc ription o f Ku ig u king of Ur

p robably from a doo r s cket o r bowl It w s p ublis h ed by Pro fesso r
r
.

a z l , ,

l
S hei i n th e R e ueil
o . a

c de T ux ( vol xxi ii
c p and thou gh ra v a . .
, .

so short is o f hi toric value as showi ng the extent o f the K site rule

s

When Ashurbanipa succeeded Esa rhaddon on the th rone o f

Assyria his b rother S ham ash hum akin the S aosduchi nos o f the
l s
as .

, ,

33
 l
Greeks was insta led as subj ect king of B abylon Th e exact exten t
,

o f his kingdom has been disputed but M 1 46 a bond for twelve .

.

, ,

sh ekels o f silve r dated in the fi fteenth year of h is reign at Nagiti

,

near the mouth of the Euph rates shows that he h e d part o f Southern
Babylon ia I t was published by Professor S hei in the R e uei de
.
,

c
l
l
,

c l
,

T aux ( vo l
r ov xxiv p It is remarkable for its beau ti ful
. .
, .

wnt1ng .

Very little was known of S insha iskkun the S a acus of th e r

Greeks save that he was the last king of Nineveh wh o perishehin

, r

, ,

the f all of his ci ty about B C 60 6 It was with feelings of great

h ift f
s

A y i l
,

vol xi p
,

sati faction the refo re that Professor S hei published in the Zeit
the fragment M 1 49 of a
,
. . .

c l
i e ( 47
l
sc r ar
g ss r o o . .
, . .

charte r of th is k i n g in wh ich he calls himself son of Ashurbanipa

,

an d g randson o f Sen n ache rib He th e re fore succeeded h is b rother

s r l
A hu eti itani on the th rone O nly sufli cient is le ft o f the tabl et to
discern its general p u rpose .
.
.
, ,

C ONT R ACTS "R M A O SSYRIA

The vast majority o f the Assyrian tabl ets come from Nineveh
and a re in the B r itish Mus e um The deeds and documents relating .

to the transfe r o f p roperty commonly but loosely called contrac ts ,

“
,

for the ei ghth and seventh cen turies B C we re p ublishe d by the . .

,

w i te r in 1 8 9 8 but the natives still occa ionally find one o r two

r

c
,

They a re ex ss si e y rare O ne M 1 48 reco rds the loan o f five

v

homers o f barley by the lady Amat Ishtar in B C 68 1 It is also

l .
,
.
s

,
.

l
-
. .
,

i n teresti n g by its deviations from the stereotyped f ormu a o f the

tablets concerned with the bus iness o f the Roya H ousehold in
Nineveh It is dated in the l
. imm n o f N abuachee esh r
l .

The As y rians had modified the ancient Babylonian custom of

s

giving each year a name a fte r some great event but they continued to
give each year a name the name o f some great ofli cia Thus in turn
the king the Tartan or R abshakeh commanders in chi e f o f the army
,
,

l .
, ,

, , ,

the chie f jus ti ce the hief over the levy or militia the chief secre
, c ,

tary o f state the chie f steward and cupbearer an d the governors

, ,

o f Ass hur Arbel a Nineveh and other great cities in a fixed order
, , , ,

o f p reced ence even the gove rn ors of distan t p rovinces Carchemish

, , ,

D amascus o r Cilicia were chosen to the ofli e of Eponym for th e

year The year was called the l
, c

. i mm u of whoever was th us Eponym .

34
 Lists of these Eponym in stri ct ch ronological o rde r were drawn s, ,

up and are known as th e Eponym Canons Several copies are .

known and published gi in g an exact chron ology from B C 8 9 3 to v . .

B C 668 A g reat man y n ames of Epo nyms a e to be found on

. . . r

dated documen ts which are not in the lists p rese rved but the write r ,

has succeeded in fixin g th e o rd e r o f t h e Post Canon Eponyms down

to B C 640 The German explorations at Assh ur have recovered
. . .

many of the ea rly Eponyms whom it is not possible to place in orde r ,

yet The discove ry of each new Eponym is an event in Assy riology

published M 1 47 in the R e ueil l ,
.

and whe n P rofessor S hei de c . c

T x ( vol xxiv
r ava a p the discove ry was hailed with deli ght
. .
, . .

The tablet reco rds the al e o f a fem ale slave and is dated in the
Eponymy of N abut pput Ita ak the Rabshakeh It is after B C
640 an d of course befo re the f ll o f Nin eve h abou t B C 60 6
a
s
-
l ,

a
,

. . .
. .

, , ,

S yllabary M 1 45 is of great interest as a specimen of the

, .
,

vocabularies d rawn up by the Babylonian scribes to aid in the in

terp et tion of archaic wo rds an d ways of writi ng
r a The language .

of the P re S emitic inhab itants long co n tinue d to be used fo r the

-

religiou s and scien tific wo rks much as Lati n was the language of
theolo gy and science i n th e Middle Ages These syllabaries a re of .

many ki n ds Some in four columns give the sign to be explained the

.
,

name of it th e p ronu nciation in the old language Sumerian or other

, , , ,

and t h e meaning of it in Babylonian O the r syllabaries explain .

Sumerian words and ph asss in Babylonian o f whi h this is an r , c

example notabl e for its beauti ful writi ng but un fortu n ately only a
fra gmen t It was published in the R e ueil
, ,

. de T nx ( vol xxvii c r av a . .
,

p . 1 25 ) .

N Z AN ITE TE"T A

The Medes and Per ians with the h elp o r connivance o f the s ,

Babylo n ians des t royed Ni n eveh abou t B C 60 6 and made an

,
. .

end of th e empi re of Assy ria Cyrus the Great was a Pe rsian .

of the Achaemenid family but at fi rst onl y king of Anzan a dis , ,

trict on the Babylo n ian b o rders of Elam an d subject to Media .

Nabonidus th e la t ki n g of Babylo n ia of n ative race called Cyrus

,
s ,
“
a petty vassal of As tyages ki n g of the Medes Cyrus howeve r
”
, .
, ,

by an uninterrupted career of conquest rose to be master of the

whole of Western Asia .

The language of An zan o r Anshan as it is call ed by Cyrus is , ,

of great inte rest though not yet completel y understood Professor

,
.

3S
Sehe il has publi h ed many o f the monumen ts from S usa i n thi
s s

language The people u e d the cunei fo rm c ript but i n a modifie d

. s s ,

fo rm clo ely related to that o f the i n cription of Darius Art xerxes

, s s s , a ,

Ae xes Ca nby e e tc at P e epolis w hich were first d eciph ere d

r , r s s, .
, rs ,

by G otef end an d Rawli nson I n th e publications o f the Fren ch

D el
r .

eg ti n en P e e w ill be fo un d a lon g se ries o f uch ins riptio n s

a o rs s c ,

of the d eepes t i nterest fo r the an cien t histo ry o f Elam .

It was known that the last kin gs o f Assyri a frequen tly co rre
sponded w it h these ki ngs o f Elam and in the Ninevite a rchives were ,

foun d a n umber o f tabl ets i n Anz nite which have been publi h ed
by D r J H W ei hbach in the B eit iige n A y i l
a , s

. . .
g ise ( vol iv r z r ss r o o . . ,

pp 1 68 20 2 ) but ve ry little p rogre s has been made i n readi ng them

.
-
s .

M 1 50 is another such text bu t it is hazardous to attempt to state

.
,

its contents o r pu rpose

The mo t recen t texts in the collection are Ne baby onian They
belong to th e empi re foun ded by N bopo a
s
.

on the fall o f the a l ssar ,

o l .

Assyrian empi re o f which th e mo t distingu ished mem be r w N ebu

,
s as

chadne a II known to u s fro m the Bibl e

zz r . Very many tablets o f
, .

this p eriod were found at S ipp B ippa and Babylon N 15 ara, ors . .

bears no date nor does N they are exqui ite specimens o f

, . s

writi n g .

The little statuettes o f I hta r an d the head of Nabu N 1 9 8 s , .

,

1 9 9 a re ve ry int eresti ng fo r a study o f th e plastic art in Babyloni a

, .

The littl e alabaste r foot of an image is rare and curious N 2 0 0 , . .

STY LE O F WR ITING
Th e studen t may remark some ery fine specimen s o f calli v

graphy im portant fo r the study o f the signs at these periods

,
.

On M 37 at the lower end of the reve se are th ree lines o f

.
,
r ,

writi ng sc atche d o n the tabl et when nea rly d ry and not in c ribed
r s .

They are i n ve ry archaic characte s such as were use d befo re the r ,

we d ges became p ronounced They contai n the name o f N mm hni . a a ,

father o f the last mentioned per o n Amel Ni n a who recei ed a ration s ,

-
, v

o r loan S uch a docket as is usually called may well have been

.
“
, ,

w ritten by N mm ahni h imself who use d an anci ent method o f

a ,

w ritin g .

M 1 5 is a beautiful specimen ; M 62 is anothe r ; M 1 9 anoth er

l
l
—a o f early date while othe rs have al ready been noticed
. . .

.
,
 FUN ERARY CO NE
N 1 9 7 is a good example o f an object of wh ich the re are sev
.

eral exampl es in European museums all bearing p reci ely the sam e , s

i nsc riptio n I t appea rs to ha e been placed on a stick to mark the

.

ux ( vol xxii
.

p 1 54
v

place o f a grave P ro fesso r S hei gave a partial accou nt o f it in

R e ueil
c
Professor T hureau
l
D ngin published i t in fu l in the O ient l
a
c

vol iv
de T

p P rofesso
ra va

r D el itzs h
l .

i ti he Litte t
quoted from it in
.

his
,

eit ng
.

r a s sc ra a r z

l
a

tures on B bel nd B ibel

( . .
5 , . ec c

a It i d eeply interesting for the light i t

a . s

on Babylon ian ideas o f th e futu re wo rld .

At any time ,

in the glidin g of days ,

in the days to come ,

in the days herea fter ,

this tomb
let one look upon and
remo e it not ;
v

to it place let him resto re it

s .

Such a one
who sees th is an d
does not disdain it ,

saith thu s

This tomb
“

to its place I will resto re it

come to its h elp .

Let h im pour a libation on it

In the wo rld above may h is name be b essed
.

ll
In the wo rld below
may his spi rit d ri n k
the p ure waters "
As in the Gil gami h Epic the Babylonian thou gh t of the lot of
s

t h e blessed as lyi ng on a couch drink ing the wate rs of l ife .

37
 C U N E I "O R M I N S C R I PT I O N S
C H A LD EAN AN D A SS Y R IAN
l
A col ection of Chal dean and Assyrian cl ay tablets with cunei
fo rm inscriptions formerly the p rope rty of the Re Father V Schei
, v. . l
,

S J professor of A syriology at th e Ecole p ratique des Hautes

. .
, s

Etudes at the Sorbonne Paris

, , .

ABB R EVIATI O NS USED

—
O L Z Orientalistisch e
. . . Litteraturzeitung, Ed F E Peiser pub
. . .
, .

W Peiser B erlin S B d b
l l
n en u t e
—
.
,11 , 4 2 ,
r a . r gs r ass .

R T Recue il de T ravaux relatifs 1 la Philologie et a A chéo ogie

’
. . r

Egyptiennes et Assyrie nn es Ed G M a pe ro pub E , . . s , . .

Bouillo n Paris 67 Rue d e R ichelieu , , .

Z A Zeitschrift f ii Assyriologi e Ed C Bezold St rassbu rg Ve r

. .
-
r , . .
, ,

lag K J T rii bne , . . r.

—
N B This collection exhibits abou t 1 90 0 li n es o f text
. .
“ .

About 60 of the texts mostly sho rt ones date from the time o f , ,

Sargon I and Na ram Sin ci rca B C 380 0

.
-
, . . .

Abou t 40 belong to the dyn a ty of U r ci rca B C 2 50 0 s , . . .

N early 1 20 are temple accoun ts from Lagash o r Telloh .

The tabl ets f rom Jokha are un ique so fa r , .

Ten tablets are Assyrian an d of im po rtan ce fo r the history sev ,

e ral being unique .

Th e five tablets with legends of Adapa Deluge Etana Kutba , , ,

a re p riceless an d unique .

A new king S ini ib m and several other littl e known rulers a re

, r a , ,

rep resented .

An ext rao rdi na rily large p roportion o f the tablets a e p erfect r .

The An zanite text is ve ry rem rkable ; as yet it can hardly be a

said to be translatable but eve ry n ew text advances knowledge and

,

elim in ates errors .

e l e dy been publ
l
f th e m t i m p t nt te t h
T wenty tw - oo os i h ed or a x s av a r a s
b y Prof es s or S c h ei .
 Note of 5 shekels o f silve r and 5 home rs o f
corn se rved out to each o f six person s
, .

Note of small cattle counted out and assigned

l
to severa persons pe rhaps shepherds
,

R eceipt for loan of 1 0 shekels of silver ,

witn es sed and sealed

Note as to 4 gazelles .

Note of 20 sheep sent fo r food

Note of small cattle counted out
Note of small cattle counted out
Note o f small cattle counted out
l
l
Note of sma cattle counted out and assigned
Note of sm ll c ttle counted
Note o f sm l la a
cattle counte d over
a and

Note of sheep and b i rds ( l

entrusted to shepherds
) count e d
Note o f kids ent rusted to va rious persons .

Note o f rations served out .

Note of ration s served out i n month Isin Dungi -

Note of kids entrusted to U Ishtar r -

Note of sk i ns given out

Note of rations in mea l
Note o f rations se rved out
F agm ent of list of rations
r

Note o f rations se rved out

Note of ations se r ved ou t in month GU D DU
r -

N B S AR S AR
- -

Note o f ration s served out in meal

Note of rations se rved out
F agment of list of ations
r r

Note of ations serve d out

r

ote o f ra tio n s se rve d o u t

fiote of rations served out in meal sacks , l

( )
29 Note concerning 62 1 fish .

4a
Note of rations served out to Dada
Note of rations served out
Note of rations se rved out .

Note of rations se rve d out .

Note of rations served out

Note of 50 doves counted by Amel Udda -
.

Note of rations served out

Note of silve r delive red to di ff eren t pe rsons .

Note of delive y of articles to Ati son o f

r

R eceipt for spices served out in month of Isin

Note as to musical instrum ents served out .

Note of rations se r ed out

v

Order for thousands of b ricks .

Note of rations served out

Note of rations served out
Fra gment of list of ration s
Note of rations se ved out
r

Note of rations served out .

Note of rations se ved out

r

Receipt for loan o f co rn in m on th ASH A

D ungi 46
R atio n s se rved ou t .

Note o f rations served out

Note of rations se rved out
Note of fishes receive d and serve d out
Note of ration s se rved out
Note of rations served out in mon th SH E IL LA
- -

Note o f rations se ved out

r

Note of quantities of food an d drink ( ta

tions
N ote of rations served out
Fragmen t of accounts
Fragmen t of accoun ts
List of quantities o f p rovender for asses .

43
B ulla for one pe rso n
Pass fo r 3 women
Note of rations se ved out r

Incantation text very early example R T

, , . .

XXVIII p 2 1 6 . .

D edication of vase to goddess N isaba ; O L Z . . .

VII 2 8 4
.

List of places in neighborhood of Telloh with

amoun ts of taxes due ; R T XX 69 . . . .

Note of rations served out ; Bu r Sin 1 -

D eed of sale from Jokha ancient GISH U H ;

l
-
,

R T XIX 63 U bi k u Patesi
. . .
, r , .

D eed of sale of a house from Jokha ; R T

XIX 63 Du n gi 37 U bi k u Patesi
.
,

List of slaves and own ers from Jokh a

,
,

r l , .
. .

Legal d ecision by Patesi ; D un gi 45

R ece ipt fo r 20 ewes in mon th Isin N inasu ; -

Gimil Sin 3 -

Note of rations e rved out in month Isin s

D ungi ; Gimil Sin 3 -

R et urn of corn f rom two fields in month Isi n

Bau ; Dungi 4 7a
Cargo account in mon th Ama a i ; Bu r Sin 8 r s -

Cargo accoun t of ship from Susa to Telloh

w ith sesame crew o f 36 ; Bu r Sin 6 R T
,
-
, . .

XXII 1 5 3 .

Note of allowances to messenge rs from S a

bum etc
, .

Note of rations se rved out

Note of rations se ved out r

Note of rations se ved out i n month Isin r

Dungi
Note of co rn d elivered by order of two official s

R ece ipt for meal i n m o n th S H E IL LA - -

R ece ipt for loan o f 756 sh ekels of silve r i n t er ,

est 5 shekels month S H U K U L A ; Bur Si n 8

,
- - -

R eceip t for loan of co rn and silver ; Dungi 31

44
R eceipt for loan of corn i n mon th Isin Dungi -

Bur Sin 1 1
-

Loan o f corn to Gudea ; Dungi 46

List of names time of AN A AN the ki n g ;
,
- -

R T XXIV 2 5
. . .

List o f advances to several pe rso n

l
s

Bulla for one mm to Rib m i ti sh epherd a , .

B ulla fo r one mm to same

Bulla for one mm to same
B ulla for one ram to same
Bulla for one am to Ha i um r l
a

Bulla for two kids good seal imp ressions

l
.
,

Re eipt for two b rick mou lds ( ) Gi mil

gn
1 1
Note of rations se ved out in mon th CAN M ASH r -

Note of rations served out .

B ulla for one big ox to Apia

O rder for co rn f rom two officials
Note of ations served out in mon th Isin
r

Note o f rations served out to B e iauruga l l ,

patesi of S us in month C AN M ASH ; R T

a, -
. .

XXII p 1 5 3 . .
9 I % 1 %
Note of 2 9 5 cattl e confided to Nam hani shep ,

h erd of Ur N insu -

Note of rations se rved out

Re ce ipt fo r 6 women h ired for 1 day by U r

Abba ; Bur Sin 8 -

8 1 96 ‘
11 s
Calculation o f hire o f 1 2 3 wo rkmen ; R T . .

XXII 1 5 1 B ur Sin 2
.
,
-
.

Loan o f four wood en impl ements ; R T

XVII 38 Gi m i Sin 6 a
.
, l -
. .

R eceipt for qu antities of wool ; Gimil Sin 1 -

,

B u r Sin 1 1
-

Account o f revenues furnished by 3 ci ti es ;

Gimil Sin 8 -

4S
 h
t s
d e
a h
e c
r
B I
n

l
l
III Note o f rations se ve d ou t to messenger from r

I I2 R ations for people from Huhunuri an d Sa

bum IS

1 13 Note of ration s served out in month Z IB K U -

12

Note o f rations served out in month SH B l

1 14 L LA
l 10
- -

1 15 Note o f ations se rved ou t to fli ia from

r o c s

II

Note of rations se r e d out to Gudea in month v

SH B l L LA - -
14
Note o f rations served out 15

Note of rations se rved ou t ; B ur Sin -

14

Note of ration s se rved ou t in month GA N

M A SH
Note of rations served out
Note o f rations se ved out to Gu dea i n mo n thr

Isin D ungi-
IO

List o f name s

Note of rations served out

List o f forei gne rs with amoun t ( o f taxes s

tim e of Rim An um ; R T XX 64 -
. . .

List of cont ributions i n acces ion year o f Sin s

i ib m ; O L Z VIII 350
r a . . . .
33
Seed o f vegetables given out to fi e ba rbers
s v ,

King AN A AN ; R T XXIV 2 5- -
. . . . 18
List of corn loans mon th ASH A Ki n g Ardi ,
-
,

N E N E ; O L Z VIII 35 1
-
. . . .

Fragm ent of the Legend o f Kutba ; R T . .

XX 65 .
73
Mythological fragment namin g U ddushu
namir and other patesi ; R T XX 63 s . . . . I3

Fragmen t of the Legend o f Etana R T , . .

‘

XXIII 1 8 . 55
Fragment o f a new mythological legen d I3

R eceipt for corn ; Amm iditana 1 5 9

46
C U N E I "O R M I N S C R I PT ION S
BA BY LO NIAN AN D A SS Y R IAN
 C U N E I "O R M I N S OR I PT ION S
BA BY LO N IA N AND A SS Y R IAN

A collection o f Babylon ian and A syrian clay tabl ets with cune i s

form i n scription fo rmerly th e p roperty of the Sheik of Abu Habba

s, .

ABB R EVIATI O NS
A den otes tabl et from Abu Habba .

B denotes tablet from Babylon .

T den otes tablet from Telloh .

Th e collection exhibits about 5 40 0 lines o f text .

At l east 90 tablets are pe r fect and 30 othe rs nearly so a very ,

un usual p ropo rtion .

Forty tablets date from th e times o f th e very ea rly kings an d

p atessi o f La g ash B C 40 0
, 0 . .

Over 1 50 tablets date from th e fi r t dyn a ty o f Babylon an d s s ,

were foun d at Abu Habba .

At least one new king is rep resented by No 49 some 20 new .

,

dates not bei ng yet fixed in thei r correct ch ronological sequence .

Two tablets come from B i m ya and are as yet exces ively rare
s a s

in Europe .

The collection is exceptionally val uable for the chronology o f

the Fi r t Dyn asty
s .

A la rge n umber of texts a re rema rkable fo r beau ty o f sc ript .

All these tabl et a re un publi hed except No 1 9 7 a d uplicate o f

s s .
,

O L Z IV 5
. . . . .

Legal decision ; S inm uba it 1 4 perfect Al l

Sal e of a buildin g ; S inm ub it 1 4 perfect A a , ,
.

Loan o f silver ; S inm ub it 6 perfect A

l
ll
a

S al e o f a field ; S um u ai u 1 9 perfect A
,

,
,

,
.

.
, ,

Money loan ; Amm idit n 1 1 perfect A a a , , .

Loan o f oil ; Amm i duga 1 6 perfect A

za , , .

Money accounts ; Am m i adug 1 6 perfect A z a , ,

S I
Loan of silver by the god Sh amash ; Ammi
z adug 8 nearly pe rfect A
a , , .

Trust d eed for small cattle new kind of docu ,

ment Am m i dug 1 5 p erfect A

l za

Sale of bu ba estate ; Z bium 8 p erfect A

r

Money account ; Am m i duga 5 perfect A

a

za
a
,

,
,

, .

.
, ,

Corn account ; no date perfect A , ,

Money account ; Am m i duga 1 6 perfect A za , , .

Money accoun t ; Am m i aduga 1 3 perfect A

Corn accoun t ; no date N eobaby onian end
broken off B
z

, l
,

,
,

Corn account ; Am m i aduga 1 3 imperfect A z , , .

Corn account ; no date perfect A , ,

Co rn account ; Am m idit n 1 3 perfect A a a , ,

.

Letter ; n o date pe rfect A , ,

S eal impres ion label or pass ; no date nearly

s , ,

p erfect A ,

Corn account ; 2 4th of Elul nearly perfect A , ,

Co rn account ; Am m i aduga E perfect A z , , .

Money accou nt ( wages bill i ) 1 4th of Tam ’

muz perfect A
o f No 1 0
,

.
r l ,

S al e o f bu ba es tate fragment o f the envelope

,

B read o r m e l accoun t ; Am m i duga E per

, a za ,

fe t A
c ,

Letter ; p robably to th e king ; no date perfec t , ,

A
Sale o f 2 2 pal m t rees ; Am m i duga 1 3 per za ,

fe t A
c ,

Sal e of bu ba estate ; Apil Sin C

r l per -

S al e of 3 year old cow ; S am udit n I pe r

- -
s a a .
,

f ect A
Meal account ; 1 6th of Ab perfect A
,

, ,

Wages bill ; sth of El ul perfect A , ,

Co rn account ; no date perfect A , ,

Wages b ill 1 t Sivan perfect A s , ,

52
Dedication of maid to a god o r man umission ,

S amsud tan A pe rfect A

1 a , ,

M emo randum ; no date n ea rly perfect A , , .

S ale o f 2 yea r old cow ; Am m iditana 2 5 n early

- -
,

p erfect A ,

Co rn ccou n t ; Amm i aduga E p erfect A

R
i
a
l a

call of militia ; Amm i aduga 1 3 perfect

z

z
,

,
.

S al e o f 3
-
year old cow ;
-
Am m iditana 2 4, per
f ect, A
R atio n s serve d o u t o r co rn acco un t ; th e yea r
S im urum w s dest roye d nea rly perf ect T
a , , .

R ati ons served out o r co rn acco un t ; th e ye r a

S im u um was dest roye d n ea rly p erfect T

r , ,

R atio n s served out o r co rn accou n t ; the yea r

S im u um was de st roye d nea rly pe rfect T
r , ,

Ratio n s serve d out o r co rn acco un t ; the yea r

S im u um was dest royed nea rly pe rfect T
r , ,

Sale o f one yea r old cow perfect case o f No

- -
, .

47 ; A m m i adu g a 2 A z ,

R atio n s se rved o ut same dat e as No 40 e .

, t

ve se weathere d T
r ,

Ratio n s se rve d o u t yea r th e te mple o f Gu r ,

nearly pe rfect T
l
S a e o f on e year old cow ; Am m i adug 2 pe
- -
,

z a , r

f ect A,

Rations se rve d out ; same date as No 40 .

,

nearly perfect T ,

Loan o f sil er ; Am m ik inabi perfect A

v , , .

Meal accou n t ; 1 8 th day perfect A , ,

Lette r ; no date pe rfect A , ,

Temple accou n ts fi h etc 7 columns ; Uru , s , .

,

kagina ki n g of Lagash p erfect T

Temple accounts skins etc 7 columns ; Luga , ,
,

.
,
,

l
anda patesi o f Lagash pe rfect T
l ,

S a e o f a field ; Sum u ai u 6 pe rfect A l

l ,

,
,

,
.

53
 l
S a e o f 3 year old cow ; Am m iditana 20 dam
- -
,

aged A
,

S ale o f ad ul t bull po rtions broken out ; Am

,

m iditan 7 dama ged A

a , , .

Roll cal l ; no date pe rfect A , ,

Loan o f money and co rn ; Am m i aduga 1 4 z ,

pe rfect A
,

S ale o f bull for cha riot ; Am m iditana 34 dam ,

aged A
,

Co rn accoun t fo r each d y o f a mon th N eo a ,

babylonian ; no date perfect B , ,

Co rn accou n t ; Am m i duga 1 3 A za ,

Lette r to a brother ; no date perfect A , ,

Co rn account ; 2 6th o f T e h i perfect A s r , , .

S al e o f femal e sla e ; Am m iditan 1 3 dam

v a ,

aged A
,

Temple accou n ts ; sam e date as No 4 dam .

,

aged T
,

Legal decision ; Abe hu U damaged A

Co rn account N eob byl
s , ,

onian 4 th o f Si an
, a , v ,

nea rly perfect B ,

Loan o f co n ; Am m iditan 8 dam aged A

r a , , . .

Temple accounts ; no date damaged T , ,

Bitumen seal o f ja r with seal ; no date nearly

, ,

perfect T
,

Temple accoun ts ; 2 1 cols U uk agina king .

, r

o f Laga h much damaged T

s , ,

Temple accounts ; 1 9 cols date l ost much .

, ,

d am aged T ,

Tem ple accou n ts ; 1 7 cols d te lost m uch .

,
a ,

dam aged T ,

Templ e account ; 1 3 cols U ruk agina patesi

s .
,

o f Lagash much damaged T

, ,

Tem ple accounts ; 1 7 col U ruk gina king s. , a

o f Lagash much damaged T

, ,
 Temple accounts ; 7 cols
o f Lagash f ragment T
Luga anda l p tesi a

Temple accounts ; 4 cols

pe rfect T
, ,

.
, Luga anda l p tesi a ,

Temple accounts ; 3 cols .

, Luga anda l p tesi a ,

11
Temple accoun ts ; 2 cols no date perfect T
.
, , , S 2 %
100 Temple accounts , 5 cols no date nea rly pe r
.
,

f ect T
[0 1
,

Temple accoun ts , 4 cols . Luga anda l 1

patesi
'

20
Temple accounts ; 4 cols U ruk agina dam .
, ,

aged T ,

Temple accounts ; 3 cols U ruk gin king of .

, a a
Lagash pe rfect T,

Temple accounts ; 3 col En ita i patesi o f

,

s .
, l rz

Lagash damaged T , , .

Temple accoun ts ; 2 col no date damaged T s. , , , .

Temple account ; 2 cols no date perfect T

s .
, , , .

Temple accounts ; 4 cols date lo t dam aged .

, s , ,

Temple accounts ; 4 cols U ruk gina king .

, a ,

damaged T ,

Temple accounts ; 2 cols no date pe rfect T .

, , , .

Temple accounts ; 2 cols no date illegible T , , .

Loan o f sil e r ; Am m iditan 2 7 fragment A

v a , , .

Marriage con t ract ; Am m idit na 3 pieces a ,

gone A ,

S al e of fem al e sla e ; Abe hu S lower edge v s ,

gone A ,

Lo n o f co rn ; Amm iditana 34 weathered A

a , , .

Tru t dee d for cattle ; Amm i aduga 1 per

s z ,

feet A , .

Loan of money ; Am m idit na 31 pe rfect A a , , .

Account ren de red ; Amm iditana 2 4 nea rly per ,

Account rende red ; Am m idit ana 2 4 , pe rfect A , .

56
Loan of corn ; Amm idit na 1 8 perfect A a , , .

Loan of corn ; Amm iditana 37 dam aged A , , .

Accoun ts Amm i aduga H pe rfect A

l
, z , ,

Hi re of ox by severa partners ; Abes hu frag ,

ment A
l , .

S a e of female slave ; Amm idit na 2 1 weath

ered A
a ,

, .

Ass ignment of p roperty fo r deb t ; Am m iditana

2 9 damaged A
, , .

Share o f family estate ; date lost damaged A , , .

Memo randum ; Ammi aduga 5 perfect A z , , .

M emo randum ; Amm i aduga 3 perfect A z , , .

Deposit ; Amm iditana 2 8 damaged A , ,

D epos it ; date lost A ,

Loan o f silver ; Amm iditan 31 pe r fect A a , , .

Loan of silver Am m iditana 1 9 damaged A

, , , .

Loan of sil e r ; Amm i aduga 1 damaged A

v z , , .

Loan o f sil e r ; Ammidit na 9 perfect A

v a , ,

M “ of sil er ; Amm i adug 2 badly b roken

A
v z a , ,

Loan o f silve r ; date gone mere fragment A , , .

Loan o f sil er ; Amm iditan 1 9 weathered A

v a , ,

Loan o f silve r ; Ammiditana 32 damaged A , , .

Loan of silver ; Amm idit n 1 3 damaged A

Lo an of silve r ; Am m iditana ( ) damaged A
Deposit of silver ; Amm iditana 33 damaged A
a a

l , ,

,
.

, ,

Loan of silve r ; Amm iditana 2 9 perfect A , , .

Loan of silve r ; Am m iditana 1 1 damaged A , , .

Deed of exchange ; Abeshu damaged A , ,

Loan of oil ; Amm iditana 36 pe rfect A , , .

Lease of fiel ds ; d ate lost onl y lowe r part A , , .

Case o f tablet ; no date perfect A , ,

Co rn account ; no date pe rfect A , ,

S ale of a house; reign of Abeshu no d ate

l
‘

, ,

lower ha f only A ,

Loan of sil er ; Am m iditana 2 9 pieces gone A

v , ,

Lo an o f co rn ; Am m iditana 32 damaged A , , .

S7
15 1 Loan of co rn ; Amm iditana 1 6 weathered A , , . 13
152 Trust deed for sheep ; Ammiditana 2 5 edge ,

Corn account names C rown Princess I tani

,

Ammiditana 1 3 pe rfect A
l
, ,

Orde r o r report ; no date perfect A

,

Co rn account nam es Princess I tani ; no date

pe rfect A
,
,

l ,

l
Lease of fields ; date lost a fragmen t A
Lega decision on lease of estate ; date lost
fragment A
, , .

, .

List o f h ired wo rkm en ; n o date fragm ent A , , .

Loan of silve r ; date lost fragment A

Loan of co rn ( rations po sibly ) I tani ; no
date perfect A
,

s ,
,

l
, ,

Lea e of field ; date lost pieces lost A

s , ,

Lo n of money fo r reapers Amm iditana 1 2

a ,

Corn rations ; new date perfect from Bis , ,

maya
Loan of money to buy corn ; Abeshu 1 5 from , ,

B ism aya
Loan of corn ; no date f agment A , r ,

Co rn account ; no date fragment A , ,

Co rn list of rations ( i ) no date f ragment A, , , .

Money loan ; Amm i aduga zfragment A , .

Corn l ist ; Samsuditana L perfect A , ,

Co rn l ist ; no date pe rfect A

, , .

Corn loan ; Ammizaduga 0 fragment A , , .

Acco un t rende red ; Amm i aduga T fragment z , ,

I 73 Corn l ist ; no date f ragment A

, ,

1 74 List of houses with thei r rents ; no date frag ,

I7 2 %
I 7S Corn l ist ; no date pe rfect A, , 9 94
1 W4
1 76 List of gifts ; no date perfect A , , 9 W6
58
 Loan o f o il ; Ammizaduga 1 1, nearly perf ect ,

Loan of corn ; Ammizaduga 8 fragment A , , .

Co rn l ist ; no date weathered A , , .

Lease of a field ; date lost fragm ent A , , .

List of money spent ; S amsudi tana S nearly ,

perfect A ,

Lette r ; no date l ower piece A, ,

U S o f initum ; S amsuditana S pieces gone

A
, ,

List of initum ; S amsuditana S pieces gone

l
, ,

1 85 Loan o f silve r ; date ost d efaced A , ,

1 86 Lo e e dge of a large tabl e t ; S am udit na B

x
r s a ,

l
)
0
1 87 R eligious text ; S amsui una 7 pieces gone B , , .
31 0
0
1 88 Re ligious text in two cols no date fragment .
, , ,

Accou n t ; no date A
s ,

Poss ibly hi to rical text ; no date cal cined

s , ,

B ( i)
Lo n o f co rn fo r reapers ; Am m idit na 2 5 t0 p
a a ,

edge gon e A ,

Lo n co rn ; Am m i aduga T obverse lost

f
i (h
z , ,

Corn loan ; no date pe rfect A , ,

Loan o f money ; Amm i aduga U fragment A z , ,

Loan o f co rn ; Am m i dug 1 6 nearly per za a ,

f ect A
,

Cont ract N eobaby onian; no date co rne rs l ,

g one B,

Funerary co ne ; no date damaged B , ,

Statuette o f Ishtar ; no date feet gone A , , .

Statu ette of Nabu head Ishtar bo dy ; no date

, , ,

A
Alabaste r foot of sm all image ; no date A , .
 h
h s t s
t
s
g e d e
e nhc a h
n e
e c
i
L L n i
r
B a

Ra tions served out ; no date perfect B , ,

Fragmen t o f tablet ; no date A ,

Fragment of tablet ; no d te A
ll
Leas e of fa low and ; date lost damaged A
a ,

, , .

Bulla or label sent with goods ; Ammiditana

( )i, h ea rt s h aped A ,

Bul la or label sent with goods ; no date fine ,

seal s A,

Bulla or label sent with goods ; dup icate of

last A
l
,

Bul la o r label sent with goods ; duplicate of

last A
,

Bulla or label sent with goods ; duplicate of

210 Bull a or label sen t with goods ; duplicate o f
last A
,

21 1 B ulla or label sent with goods ; diff eren t seals ,

Jar stopper with sea A l

,

Statemen t o f area o f field nd corn rent A a .

,

Lease of estate ; S m udit n C nearly per

a s a a ,

feet A
,

Magical text ; no date f ragment A , , .

Loan of silve r ; Amm i aduga 8 pieces broken

z ,

14 1 56 1 %
Tem ple accoun t list o f cloth es etc ; no date
s , .
,

damaged T ,

Money l ent with weigh ts of silver ; Amm idi

,

tana 2 1 pe rfect A
, ,

Money account ; Amm i adug 5 lower h f z a , l

a

gone A
Lease o f field ; Abeshu 2 8 pe rfect A , ,

Lo n of si l ver ; Amm iditana 2 8 co rner gone

z
, ,

Loan of silver ; date lost top edge gone A, , .

Lease of fiel ds ; S amsuditana D perfect A , , .

Hire of house; Amm i aduga 1 3 damaged A

z , , .

60
2 25 l
S a e o f field ; Hammurabi 1 4 half reve rse
gone A
,

22 6
,

l
Bulla o r abel sent with goods ; no date per ,

l
B u la o r label sent with goods ; no date pe
f ect A
, r

Religious text ; no date weathe re d A , ,

B ulla o r label ; no date perfect A

, , , .

Bul la o r label ; no daté pe rfect A

, , ,

Loan o f silver ; Am m i duga 1 3 corner gone za , ,

2 32 Loan o f silver ; date unce rtain nea rly per ,

f ect A , .

2 33 Loan o f sil e r ; Am m i adug 9 n ea rly pe r

v z a ,

Loan o f silver ; Am m iditana weathe red A

M emo ran dum N eob by onian; no date edge
gone B
, a l , ,

,
.

Lo n o f sil er ; Am m iditana 1 6 edge gone A

a v

Rations e rved out N eobaby onian; no date

reve se hal f gone B
r
s ,
l , ,

Loan o f silve r ; Am m iditana 2 5 edge gone A , ,

List o f names with contributions or rations

lot o f l i n es appa re ntly efi ced
Loan o f sil er ; Am m iditan 1 2 p e rfect A
a
,

Corn accoun t mention of horses ( ) 24th o f

Nisan pe rfect A
,
a ,

l , .

, ,

Roll call with ch eck m a rk to each name ; pe r s

fe t A
c ,

Corn list ( ration s perfect A ,

61
Of thi edition of the catalogue o f
l
s
“
Cun ei fo m I n scriptions ; Ch a dean
r ,

Babylonian and As yrian there have

s ,
”

been pri n ted two h un d red and fifty

copies d u ing th e month of April
r

MCMVIII .