BCHP 15: Gold theft chronicle (British Museum)

The Chronicle Concering the Theft of Gold from the Day One Temple, or Gold Theft Chronicle (BCHP 15), is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylonia. The tablet can be dated to SE 150/151 (=162/1 BCE) ands belongs therefore to the brief reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus V Eupator (164-162).

A new reading is proposed by Bert van der Spek of the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the British Museum.* Please notice that this is a preliminary version of what will be the chronicle’s very first edition.

BCHP 15: Gold theft chronicle (British Museum).**

Description of the tablet

Again a small one-column tablet, more or less square, dealing with a brief period, one year at most.

The preserved length of the tablet is 4.0 – 4.9 cm, the width is 4.5 cm, the thickness 1.7 cm. The upper edge is crumbled off, but signs of line 1 are preserved. The left edge is preserved, but uninscribed; the right edge is also preserved.  Eight lines continue on the right edge. The lower edge is mutilated and was possibly inscribed. The lower end of the reverse was left blank with room for 1.5 or 2 lines.

TEXT: OBVERSE	TRANSLATION
1 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] /x x\[.. .. | ..] /x x x\	[“.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x x [.. ..]
2 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ina qí-b]i šá 1+en lúSIG šá |lúGAL ERÍN KUR URI.KI	[.. .. .. .. .. .. .. at the comma]nd of a certain dignitary of the satrap of Akkad
3 [KÙ.GI ana .. .. .. .. .. ..lúUK]KIN?šá É.SAG.GÍL na-din	[gold? to? .. .. .. .. .. .. the assem]bly? of Esagila was given.
4 UD BI ina É UD.1.KAM ul-te-ri-bu-ú GAR.MEŠ|–šú	That day into the Day-One-temple they made it enter (and) they put it there.
5 ni-gu-tú ina KUR GAR-nu UD 13.KAM mBa-ra-bu-|ut–dEN SIMUG	A festival they held. Day 13th, Barabut-Bel, the smith,
6šá TA lúšá-kin7šá LUGAL šá TA MURUB4 MU KUR	who had been pursued? by the governor of the king since the middle of the year,
7 ana UGU KÙ.GI MU-a-tim @a-bit ITI BI	was imprisoned on account of the gold aforementioned. That month,
8 UD 21.KAM ina qí-bi šá 1+en lúSIG šá lúGAL ERÍN | KUR URI.KI	day 21th, at the command of a certain dignitary of the strategos of Akkad,
9lúEN pi-qitlúza-zak-ku ulúE.KI.MEŠ lú|UKKIN šáÉ.SA[G.GÍL]	the trustee (bêl piqitti) (of), the financial official (zazakku) and the Babylonians of the Council (kiništu) of Esa[gila],
10 KÙ.GI MU-a-tim TA É UD.1.KAM ul-te–|@u-šú	one had brought outside the gold in question from the Day-One-Temple.
11ina KI.LÁ.MEŠ šá É lúKÙ.DIM šá ina IGI-ma ina lìb-bi-|šú-nu LÁ	When it was weighed[12] with the weight stones of the house of the goldsmiths, with which it had been weighed in the past,
12ki-i LÁ-šú2/3 6½ KÙ.GI in-da-&u	it was diminished by 2/3 mina and 6 ½ shekels [26.5 shekels].
13 ITI BI UD 12!.KAM lúšar-ra-q[í ] /MU-a\-tim	That month, day 22!? the thie[ves ] afore[mentioned]
14 ana tar-@a lúSIG MU-a-tim u lú/GAL.ERÍN.MEŠ\	in the presence of the dignitary in question and the x x x
15 u lú? x x x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]	and the.. .. x x x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]
edge mutilated, possibly inscribed	edge mutilated, possibly inscribed

TEXT: REVERSE	TRANSLATION
1 u lú ŠÀ?.T[AM .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .]	and the šat[ammu of Esagila]
2 u lúE.KI.MEŠ l[ú? .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]	and the Babylonians (of) the [Council of Esagila?, the judge]
3šá LUGAL inagišI.LU m[a]-á[š-a-a-al-tú]	of the king on a rack of inter[rogation]
4 iš-šá-al-šú-nu-tú uk?–t[in-nu-šú-nu-tú]	interrogatedsg them and con[victed them.]
5 lúšal-lat-su-nu ina KI.TA E.K[I .. .. .. ..]	Their prisoners [were taken to GN] below Babyl[on and]
6 ina IZI BIL.MEŠ ITI BI [UD.. .. ..]	were burned with fire. That month [day .. .. ..]
7lúpu-li-&e-e GIŠ GI x[.. MEŠ]	the politai wooden?? [.. ..]
8 šá MÁ.MEŠ AN.TA E.KI ana tar-@[a x (x)]	of the ships? above Babylon in fro[nt (of x (x))]
9 É.GAL /LUGAL\ ig-da-áš-ru-ú	of the palace of the king they repaired?
10 [.. ..] x x [.. ..] al-te-me	[Month MN. /That month\ I heard
11 [um-ma-a mA]n-ti-‘-uk-su	[as follows: A]ntiochus,
12 [LUGAL GAZ??] (vacat)	[the king, was killed”??] (vacat)

Gold theft chronicle (BCHP 15)

Antiochus V Eupator

The Chronicle Concering the Theft of Gold from the Day One Temple, or Gold Theft Chronicle (BCHP 15), is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylonia. The tablet can be dated to SE 150/151 (=162/1 BCE) ands belongs therefore to the brief reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus V Eupator (164-162). For a very brief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here.

The cuneiform tablet (BM 32510 = 76-11-17,2251) is in the British Museum. On this website, a new reading is proposed by Bert van der Spek of the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the British Museum. Please notice that this is a preliminary version of what will be the chronicle’s very first edition. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestions for better readings, comments and interpretations (go here to contact Van der Spek).

Commentary

General commentary

The chronicle is to be dated to Antiochus IV or later, but probably to Antiochus V. An Antiochus is mentioned in Rev. 11. The mentioning of politai makes Antiochus IV the first candidate and the content of the tablet reminds us of the temple robbery mentioned in the Astronomical Diary II, 476/7, No. -168 A 12′-20′ relating events of the month Arahsamna (VIII) of SE 143 = 15 November-13 December 169 BCE. In that diary the appointment of a zazakku (financial official, prostates) is reported, which seems to be a new function. In our chronicle the zazakku is in function, so that this chronicle postdates this diary.

This diary also concerns temple robbery but our chronicle obviously refers another incident. Theft of temple property is recorded fairly regularly (cf. Joannès 2000). The fact that the chronicle mentions a “governor of the king” (šakin ša šarri), points to the reign of Antiochus V. That office is only recorded during his reign and may regard the guardian of the minor king, appointed by Antiochus IV on his deathbed, Philip or Lysias (1 Maccabees,6.14-15; 2 Maccabees, 9.29).

Since it is likely that the death of an Antiochus is mentioned, the death of Antiochus V will be at issue. If so, the chronicle should be dated to a month between 1 VIII 150 and 22 VI 151 SE = 29 October 162-9 September 161 BCE (cf. Van der Spek 1997/98: 167-8). The death of Antiochus V was violent. His reign had been contested from the start by Demetrius I Soter, son of Seleucus IV, who was kept in Rome as hostage. He escaped, landed in Tripolis, acquired a lot of support and Antiochus, who just had conquered Antioch from Philippus, was handed over to Demetrius and upon his orders executed (1 Maccabees,7:1ff; 2 Maccabees 14:1ff; Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 12.389; Livy, Periochae, 46; Eusebius, Chron. 1 253).

Obverse

4, 10.
É UD.1.KAM, “Day-one-temple”, or “First-Day-temple”, is likely to be an alternative name of the New Year Temple (Bît Akiti), though there are some doubts. The name only occurs in late texts. The first attestation is AD II, p. 202, no. -204 C rev. 17. This astronomical diary reports that king Antiochus III the Great on 8 Nisannu (I) of year SE 107 (7 March 205 BCE) left the royal palace of Babylon, made offerings to Marduk in Esagila and subsequently entered the “Day-One-Temple”. From this passage it is fairly clear that this temple must be the New-Year’s Festival temple. The 8th of Nisan is a day of importance for the king in the New Year ritual (cf. above Seleucus III Chronicle, BCHP 12 = ABC 13b : 3′ with commentary).

Nevertheless, some doubts are in order. In one text the Day-One-Temple is mentioned alongside the Akitu-temple in an administrative document from the Rahimesu Archive (93 BCE), AB 244: 8 and 14 (McEwan 1981b: 133 (copy), 132 (transcription), 134 (translation) = Van der Spek 1998a, p. 234, no. 23). Otherwise the Akitu-temple is not mentioned anymore. In view of the above mentioned diary concerning Antiochus III it is likely, however, that both names refer to the same building.

Note, that the traditional translation of É UD.1.KAM, “Day-One-Temple”, is not unequivocal either. UD.1.KAM is also the ideographical rendering of ûmakkal, “during one whole day” (AHw III, 1412: “ein Tag, einen Tag lang,” Borger, ABZ, p. 153, no. 381, and Borger MZ (2003), nr. 596) p. 380 and 382, “ganztägig, alltäglich”. UD-1-KAM may also be the rendering of ûmu, “day” (Borger, ibidem and BiOr 30, 182a). Hence, a translation “All-Day-Temple” should also be considered.

Secondly, the phrase “Day-One-Temple” might also refer to the first day of each month, hence be a “New Moon Temple”. However it may be, services were not only held on 1 Nisannu or the first day of another month, but during the entire year, as is clear from the Rahimesu document mentioned above, where money is spent for offerings in the Day-One-Temple from 15 Addaru (XII) to 15 Intercalary Addaru (XII2) 218 SE.

In view of the uncertainties it is advisable to translate É UD.1.KAM as “Day-One-Temple”, rather than as Akitu temple or New Year Temple.

6
For the translation of TA as “by”, see comment at the Ptolemy III chronicle (BCHP 11: obv. 11′, rev. 8′, 10′, 14′.) and Demetrius and Arabia fragment rev.1′).

KUR = kašâdu = “to reach, to arrive; to conquer; to capture (an enemy), to arrest (a criminal)”; kuššudu, “to chase away; to pursue; to approach; to make prisoner” (CAD K 271). The difficulty of this line is that a man seems to be arrested (@a-bit), who was caught (KUR) a half year before. Perhaps the meaning is that since a half year he was on the run from the governor and was now captured.

9
zazakku: see above, General Commentary.

^lúEN pi-qit^lúza-zak-ku, “the trustee of the zazakku“. ^lúEN pi-qit is a construct case in which case the meaning is “representative, trustee”, “Beauftragter” (cf. AHw I: 120) of someone else (i.c. the zazakku). The title also occurs in plural and as an overseer or clerk of certain profession groups, as in BRM I 88. See Boiy 2004: 211, who translates “clerk” and Bongenaar 1997: 151, n. 170. The bêl piqittu Eanna in Uruk, however, was an important royal overseer of the temple entrusted with the leasing of temple land. See e.g. YBT VI 40 and 41 (Cocquerillat 1968: 108-9; 39 sqq.; cf. Van der Spek 1987: 72) A bêl piqitti Esagila with the same kind of function is attested as well: CT 56, 463, cf. Bongenaar 1997: 62).

^lúEN pi-qit may also be an error for ^lúEN pi-qit-ti (as the final vowel probably was not pronounced), so that we can translate: “the trustee (supervisor), the zazakku, etc.” It seems to be a list of high functionaries, in which a “clerk” is not fitting.

11
The scribe wrote “12”, but the context requires “22”.

šá ina IGI-ma ina lìb-bi-šú-nu LÁ, “with which it had been weighed in the past”. For the use of ša … ina libbišunu, “with which^pl”, with an instrumental meaning: see the astronomical text AO 6478 (Thureau-Dangin, RA 10, 1913, 215-225; translation: Schaumberger ZA 50, 1952, 214-229) (suggestion M. Ossendrijver).

12
kî, “when, as soon as, after” (cf. CAD K p. 316). In Middle and Late Babylonian texts the conjunction kî, “when”, used as introduction to temporal subordinate clauses, is not constructed at the beginning of the sentence, but immediately before the verb. Cf. W. Von Soden, Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik. Analecta Orientalia 33. (Rome 1969), p. 276, § 172 e. (suggestion M. Ossendrijver).

Reverse

3
^gišI.LU = ^gišKUN₄ = simmiltu = ladder, rack (Borger, 2003 [MZ], p. 203, no. 252). The rack of interrogation is also mentioned in a diary referring to similar (or the same?) events: AD II, p. 476, no. -168A rev. 18′. See also the commentary on the Chronicle of the Diadochi (BCHP 3) 30=11′ with other references.

8
MÁ.MEŠ. The signs look like RI.MEŠ, but this conveys no meaning. In astronomical diary AD III, no. -132A r. 19-20 the scribe wrote the sign MÁ = (eleppu, “ship”) in a way that it can hardly be distinguished from RI. Cf. Labat 1963 no. 122 (má) and no. 86 (ri).

 Babylon

7-9
The exact meaning of the phrase escapes us. It may refer to repair of ships in harbour upstream of Babylon just outside the palace, which was situated on the river on the north wall of Babylon (see map).

9
ig-da-áš-ru-ú: perf, of kašâru A, “to repair (ruined or damaged walls, buildings, etc.)” or kašâru C, “to replace” (CAD K 284-5)?

10-12
The phrase “I heard” suggests that something happened to Antiochus far away from Babylon. Antiochus V was murdered in Antioch by Demetrius I. See general commentary.

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/rp/rp201/rp20138.htm

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

1. Barachiel is a slave of ransom 1 belonging to Gagâ the daughter of

  (giant semi-divine king Nebuchadnesser II, 605-562 B.C.)

2 …… whom in the 35th year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 2

3. [from Akhi-]nuri, the son of Nabu-nadin-akh, for the third of a mina and 8 shekels

4. she had bought. Recently 3 he has instituted an action, saying thus: I am the son of a (noble) ancestor, of the family 4 of Bel-rimanni,

5. who have joined the hands (in matrimony) of Samas-mudammiq the son of Nabu-nadin-akh

6. and the woman Qusadu the daughter of Akhi-nuri, even I. In the presence of

  (Nabonidus & his inscriptions on 2 ancient stelai)

7. the high-priest, 5 the nobles and the judges of Nabonidus king of Babylon

8. they pleaded the case and listened to their arguments in regard to the obligation of servitude

9. of Barachiel. From the 35th year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

(Nabonidus & symbols of gods, ruled Babylon 556-539 B.C.)

10. to the 7th year of Nabonidus king of Babylon, 6 he had been sold for money, had been put

11. in pledge, (and) as the dowry of Nubtâ the daughter

12. of Gagâ had been given. Afterwards Nubtâ had alienated him by a sealed contract; 7

13. in exchange for a house and slaves to Zamama-nadin

14. her son and Idinâ her husband had given him. They read (the evidence) and

15. said thus to Barachiel: Thou hast brought an action and said: The son of a (noble) ancestor

16. am I. Prove to us thy (noble) ancestry. Barachiel his former statement

17. retracted, saying: Twice have I run away from the house of my master, but many people (were present),

18. and 1 I was seen. I was afraid and said (accordingly) that I am the son of a (noble) ancestor.

19. My citizenship exists not; I am the slave of ransom of Gaga.

20. Nubtâ her daughter received me as (her) dowry; Nubtâ

21. alienated me by a sealed contract, and to Zamama-nadin her son and Idinâ 2 her husband

22. gave me in exchange; and after the death of Gagâ (and) Nubtâ,

23. to Itti-Marduk-baladh the son of Nabu-akhe-iddin of the family of Egibi, for silver

24. I [was sold]. I am a slave. Go now, [pronounce sentence] about me.

25. [The high-priest], the nobles and the judges heard the evidence

26. [and] restored [Barachiel] to his condition as slave of ransom, notwithstanding the absence of Samas-mudammiq

27. [the son of Nabu-nadin-akh] and Qudasu the daughter of Akhi-nuri, the seller 3

28. [of the slave]. For the registration of this [decision] Musezib the [priest]

29. [and] Nergal-akhe-iddin the judges

30 of the family of Epis-el, in the city of the palace of the king of Babylon, the 17th day of

31. the month Marchesvan 1 [the 7th? year] of Nabonidus king of Babylon.

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Footnotes

156:1 The father of Akhi-nuri was Nabu-nadin-akh (“Nebo (Nabu) gives a brother”), and the father of the son-in-law bears the same name. But it is by no means certain that the uncle married his niece, since the two persons may have been different.

156:2 It would be a useful work to collect the names of all the banû or ancestors, men of noble birth, like Egibi, Nur-Sin, and others.

160:1 For the meaning of this expression see above, p. 158.

160:2 B.C. 590.

160:3 Ana eninni, not a proper name as Dr. Revillout supposes!

160:4 Read lu zir. Several distinguished persons were called Bel-rimanni, among others a priest of the Sun-god.

160:5 Sangu.

160:6 B.C. 549.

160:7 The text does not seem to me to have been correctly copied here.

161:1 Not ka.

161:2 Such names are all, I think, emphatic imperatives: Idinâ, “give!” Basâ, “exist!” Iribâ, “multiply!” Considering the Aramaic transcription of the last name, we ought perhaps to pronounce Idinai, Basai.

161:3 Nadinan, a singular noun with the same termination as makhiranu, “the buyer;” masikhanu, “the measurer;” paqiranu, “the plaintiff;” napalkattanu, “the defendant.”

162:1 October.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/rp/rp201/rp20137.htm

Besides the story of the Creation in a series of successive acts, Mr. George Smith brought to light the fragments of two tablets containing another legend of the Creation which varied very considerably from it. The tablets belonged to the library of Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh, but the colophon informs us that they had been copied from older documents which came from the library of Cutha, now Tel Ibrahim, in Babylonia. The text has never been published, but a translation was given of it by Mr. Smith in his Chaldean Genesis, and a revised version by myself in the Records of the Past, vol. xi. As much progress has been made in cuneiform studies during the ten years which have elapsed since the latter was published, I now give another translation of the inscription, embodying the improvements which our increased knowledge of the Assyrian language has enabled me to make.

The Cuthæan legend, it will be observed, knows nothing of a creation in successive acts. Chaos is a period when as yet writing was unknown. But the earth already existed, and was inhabited by the chaotic brood of Tiamat, imperfect first attempts, as it were, of nature, who lived in a city underground. They were destroyed, not by Merodach (Marduk), the god of Babylon, but by Nergal, the patron-deity of Cutha, who is identified with Nerra, the god of pestilence, and Ner, the mythical monarch of Babylonia who reigned before the Deluge. The words of the poem are put into the mouth of Nergal, and the poem itself was written for his great temple at Cutha.

The legend of Cutha agrees better with that reported by Bêrôssos than does the legend of the Epic. In both alike we have a first creation of living beings, and these beings are of a composite nature, the offspring of Tiamat or Chaos. In both alike the whole brood is exterminated by the gods of light.

The date to which the legend in its present form may be assigned is difficult to determine. The inscription is written in Semitic only, like the other creation-tablets, and consequently cannot belong to the pre-Semitic age. It belongs, moreover, to an epoch when the unification of the deities of Babylonia had already taken place, and the circle of the great gods was complete. Ea (Enki), Istar (Inanna), Zamama (unidentidied?), Anunit (unidentified?), even Nebo (Nabu) and Samas (Utu / Shamash), are all referred to in it. Possibly it may be dated in the age of Khammuragas (cir. B.C. 2350).

The Cuthaean Legend of the Creation

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue….mixed-breed kings in teal)

COLUMN I

Many lines are lost at the commencement.

2. His word (is) the command of the gods …
3. His glancing-white instrument (is) the glancing-white instrument (of the gods).
4. (He is) lord of that which is above and that which is below, the lord of the spirits of earth,
5. who drinks turbid waters and drinks not clear waters;
6. in whose field that warrior’s weapon all that rests there (?)
7. has captured (and) destroyed.
8. On a tablet he wrote not, he opened not (the mouth), and bodies and produce
9. he caused not to come forth in the land, and I approached him not.
10. Warriors with the body of a bird of the valley, men
11. with the faces of ravens,
12. did the great gods create.
13. In the ground the gods created his city.
14. Tiamat gave them suck.
15. Their progeny 1 the mistress of the gods created.
16. In the midst of the mountains they grew up and became heroes and
17. increased in number.
18. Seven kings, brethren, appeared as begetters;
19. six thousand (in number were) their armies.
20. The god Ba-nini their father (was) king; their mother
21. the queen (was) Melili;

22. their eldest brother who went before them, Me-mangab 1 (was) his name;
23. (their) second brother, Me-dudu 2 (was) his name;
24. (their) third brother, [Me-man]pakh (was) his name;
25. (their) fourth brother, [Me-da]da (was) his name;
26. (their) fifth brother, [Me-man]takh (was) his name;
27. (their) sixth brother, [Me-ru]ru 3 (was) his name;
28. (their seventh brother, Me-rara was) his name.

………

         COLUMN II

Many lines are destroyed.

1. … the evil curse …
2. He turned his word …
3. On a … I arranged …
4. On a tablet the evil curse he wrote (?) …
5. In … I urged the augurs on.
6. Seven against seven in breadth I arranged (them).
7. I set up the holy reeds (?).
8. I prayed to (?) the great gods,

  (Utu & twin sister Inanna)
9. Istar (Inanna), …, Zamama, Anunit (unidentified gods?),
10. Nebo (Nabu), …, (and) Samas (Shamash / Utu) the warrior,

  (Nebo / Nabu; Nannar, Moon Crescent God of Ur)
11. the son (of the Moon-god (Nannar), the …) of the gods my couriers.
12. …… he did not give, and
13. thus I spake to my heart
14. saying: Verily it is I, and
15. never may I go … beneath the dust!
16. never may I go … the prayer.
17. May I go when the son … my heart;
18. and may I renew the iron, may I assume the black garment. 4

19. The first year as it passed
20. one hundred and twenty thousand warriors I caused to go forth, and among them
2I. not one returned alive.
22. The second year as it passed I caused 90,000 soldiers to go forth and none returned alive.
23. The third year as it passed I caused 60,700 to go forth, and none returned.
24. They were carried away, they were smitten with sickness. I ate,
25. I lamented, 1 I rested.
26. Thus did I speak to my heart saying, “Verily it is I, and
27. (yet) what have I left to reign over?
28. I am a king who makes not his country whole,

COLUMN III

1. and a shepherd who makes not his people whole,
2. Since I have produced corpses and have left a desert.” 2
3. With terror of men, 3 night, death (and) plague have I cursed it.
4. With fear, violence, destruction (and) famine
5. (I have effected) the overthrow of all that exist.
6. …… there descended.
7. …… (I) caused a deluge.
8. ……… that deluge.
9. ………… all
10. the foundations (of the earth were shaken?)
11. The gods ……
12. Thou didst command me, and …
13. and they are created (?) …
14. Thou protectest …
15. A memorial of drinking and …

  (Ea / Enki, King Anu‘s eldest & wisest son, God of Waters)
16. in supplication to Ea …
17. holy memorial sacrifices …

18. holy laws …
19. I called the sons of the augurs …
20. seven against seven in breadth I arranged (them).
21. I placed the holy reeds (?) …
22. I implored (?) the (great) gods,
23. Ishtar (Inanna), …, Zamama, Anunit (unidentified gods),
24. Nebo (Nabu), … (and Samas (Shamash / Utu) the warrior)
25. the son (of the Moon-god (Nannar), the … of the gods my couriers)

………

COLUMN IV

Many lines are lost.

1. With …
2. the men …
3. the city Nak 1 …
4. a city which …
5. to….
6. powerful king …
7. the gods …
8. my hand …
9. Thou, O king, high priest, 2 shepherd, or any one else,
10. whom the god shall call (to) rule the kingdom,
11. this tablet I have made for thee, (this) stêlê I have inscribed for thee
12. in the city of Cutha in the temple of Sulim; 3

  (giant alien god Nergal, Lord of the Under World)
I3. in the ark 4 of Nergal I have left it for thee.
14. Hearken to the voice 5 of this stêlê, and
15. remove it not, forget 6 it not;
16. fear not, tremble not!
17. May he establish thy seat!
18. Mayest thou achieve success 7 in thy works!

19. Build up 1 thy fortresses!
20. Fill 2 thy canals with water!
21. May thy papyri, 3 thy corn, thy silver,
22. thy goods, thy property,
23. (and) thy furniture, (all) of them
24. (be multiplied)! strengthen the … for (thy) hands!
25 … make perfect the stores of thine increase!
26. (As for the evil one) thou shalt cause him to go forth.
27. (As for the harmful one) thou shalt enchain him.”

---

Footnotes

149:1 Sasur.

150:1 “The voice” or “thunder strikes.” The Accadian proper names found in the legend indicate that although in its present form it is of Semitic origin it must be based on older pre-Semitic materials. Moreover, the expression “his name” is written in Accadian (mu-ni) which shows that it has been quoted from an Accadian text.

150:2 “The voice goes up and down.”

150:3 “The voice creates.”

150:4 Ati lutsbat.

151:1 Asus.

151:2 Buti.

151:3 Salummat nisi. This passage shows that salummat cannot signify “brilliance,” as Jensen supposes.

152:1 Perhaps nak(ru) “foreign.”

152:2 Pate’si.

152:3 The name of the great temple of Nergal in Cutha. For the reading see my Lectures on the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians.

152:4 Papakh, “the ark “in which the image of the god was carried, and which stood in the inner shrine or “holy of holies” (parakku).

152:5 Literally “mouth.”

152:6 Tensi for temsi.

152:7 Sipar.

153:1 Urrim, whence arammu, “a wall.”

153:2 Nabli; comp. nubalu, W.A.I., i. 15, vii. 57.

153:3 Pi’sannati.

The Walker Chronicle was published by C.B.F. Walker in G. van Driel e.a. (eds.): Zikir Šumim: Assyriological Studies Presented to F.R. Kraus on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday (1982). More information can be found in Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004)

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue …mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

The Walker Chronicle, which is sometimes called Chronicle 25, is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylonia. It deals with events during the reign of the kings of the Kassite Dynasty and the Second Dynasty of Isin, and contains several duplicate lines with the Eclectic Chronicle.

Translation

(Adad, Ashur, mixed-breed demigod Tukulti-Ninurta, & Ninurta, gods appointing their king) 1 Tukulti-Ninurta, king of Assyria,[1] took Babylon and Sippar and controlled Karduniaš.

(Adad-shuma-ussur driven from Egypt by father to Ramses III) 2 Adad-šuma-usur [2; …] restored […] and rebuilt the wall of Nippur.

3 […] he firmly established. Enlil-kudurri-usur, king of Assyria,[3]

4 […] Adad-šuma-usur mustered his troops, attacked, and defeated him.

5 The officers of Assyria seized Enlil-kudurri-usur, their lord, and gave him to Adad-šuma-usur,

6 […] the people of Karduniaš who had fled to Assyria

7 surrendered to Adad-šuma-usur. Adad-šuma-usur, to conquer Babylon,

8 marched […] Somebody, the son of a nobody, whose name is not mentioned, [4] [ascended to the throne].

9 Hearing this unexpected news, Adad-šuma-usur raised a revolt, and, enjoying eternal divine protection, he entered Babylon and

10 he became ruler of the land and established himself on his royal throne.

——————————————

11 […] they killed him.

——————————————

12 […] he attacked and removed the king of Mari in a rebellion.

13 […] he controlled Mari.

——————————————

14 […] fear of Elam fell on him and

15 […] on the bank of the Euphrates he built a city and

16 […] of Sumer and Akkad he brought within it,

17 […] was cut off and the people became poor in deficiency and famine.

18 […] they killed him in a rebellion.

——————————————

19 Enlil-nadin-apli,[5] son of Nebuchadnezzar, marched on Aššur to conquer it.

(Marduk-nadin-ahhe, King of Babylonia, 1,140-1,086 B.C.) 20 Marduk-nadin-ahhe,[6] brother of Nebuchadnezzar, and the nobles rebelled against him and

21 Enlil-nadin-apli returned to his land his city. They killed him with the sword.

——————————————

22 Marduk-nadin-apli and the nobles rebelled against Enlil-nadin-apli

23 he returned

24 […] and defeated him.

25 He attacked and he had him killed with the sword.

26 Tiglath-pileser, [7] king of Assyria attacked and […]

——————————————

27 Marduk-šapik-zeri,[8] son of Marduk-nadin-ahhe, rebuilt the wall of Babylon.

28 […] kings of the lands he defeated. During his reign, the people of the land enjoyed abundance and prosperity.

——————————————

29 Adad-apla-iddina,[9] descendant of Itti-Marduk-balatu, the Arameans and an usurper king rebelled against him and

30 desecrated all the sanctuaries of the land. Akkad, Der, Dur-Anki (Nippur),

31 Sippar and Parsa (Dur-Kurigalzu) they demolished.

32 The Suteans attacked and took home the booty of Sumer and Akkad.

33 He repeatedly visited the shrines of Marduk and appeased the heart of Bêl (Marduk) and the son of Bêl (Nabu).

34 [….] he fully restored their cults.

Note 1:
King of Assyria between 1233 and 1197.

Note 2:
A successful Babylonian king (1206-1177) who defeated Tukulti-Ninurta of Assyria.

Note 3:
King from 1186 to 1182.

Note 4:
A rebellion during the reign of Adad-šuma-usur. A ‘son of a nobody’ was a ruler without notable ancestors. The addition in italics is hypothetical.

Note 5:
Enlil-nadin-apli was king of Babylonia from 1103 to 1100. His father had ruled the country from 1125 to 1104.

Note 6:
King from 1099 to 1082.

Note 7:
Tiglath-pileser I was king from 1114 to 1076.

Note 8:
King of Babylonia from 1081 to 1069.

Note 9:
Adad-apla-iddina was king of Babylonia from 1068 to 1047; Itti-Marduk-balatu from 1139 to 1132. The section is identical to several lines from the Eclectic Chronicle.

The translation on this web page was adapted from A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975) and Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004).

 

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

 

The Eclectic Chronicle (ABC 24) is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylonia. It deals with events between 1080 and 822 that were important from a Babylonian point of view, but the exact purpose of this text is unclear. Some lines are duplicates of the Walker Chronicle.

The text of this chronicle is inscribed on a tablet, BM 27859 (98-7-11, 124), the top of which is missing. There is also a large piece missing from the lower left-hand corner. The preserved portion, about two thirds of the text, measures 45 mm wide and 60 mm long.

Translation of obverse

Lacuna

1′ […]

2′ […]

3′ he carried off a great booty.

——————————————

4′ Marduk-šapik-zeri [1], the son of Marduk-nadin-ahhe, rebuilt the wall of Babylon. He conquered the

5′ kings of the lands. During his reign, the people of the land enjoyed prosperity.

6′ He made an entente cordiale with Aššur-bêl-kala, king of Assyria.[2]

7′ At that time, the king went from Assyria to Sippar.

——————————————

8′ Adad-apla-iddina,[3] descendant of Itti-Marduk-balatu, the Arameans and an usurper king rebelled against him

9′ and desecrated all the sanctuaries centers of the land. Der, Dur-Anki (Nippur).

10′ Sippar, Parsa (Dur-Kurigalzu) they demolished. The Suteans attacked and the booty of Sumer and Akkad

11′ they took home. He made frequent visits to the shrines of Marduk and appeased his heart. He totally restored his cult

——————————————

12′ Simbar-šihu, son of Eriba-Sin, knight of the Sealand,

13′ made the throne of Enlil at Ekur-igigal.

——————————————

14′ In the month of Nisannu of the fifth year of Eulmaš-šakin-šumi, the king.[4]

——————————————

15′ The fourteenth year [5]

——————————————

16′ The fourth year of Mar-biti-apla-usur [6]

——————————————

17′ The first year of Nabû-mukin-apli, the king [7]

——————————————

18′ The Nth year

Edge

Lacuna

Translation of reverse

1′ The Nth year of Mar-biti-ahhe-iddina [8]

——————————————

2′ Adad-nirari was the king of Assyria at the time of Šamaš-mudammiq.[9]

——————————————

3′ At the time of Nabû-šuma-ukin, Tukulti-Ninurta was the king of Assyria.[10]

——————————————

4′ At the time of Nabû-apla-iddina, son of Nabû-šuma-ukin, Aššur-nasir-apli was the king of Assyria.[11]

——————————————

5′ At the time of Marduk-zakir-šumi, son of Nabû-apla-iddina, and

6′ Marduk-bêl-usate, Šalmaneser was the king of Assyria.[12]

——————————————

7′ At the time of Marduk-balassu-iqbi and Marduk-zakir-šumi

——————————————

8′ For N years there was no king in the land.[13]

——————————————

9′ Eriba-Marduk, descendant of Marduk-šakin-šumi,

10′ took the hand of Bêl (Marduk) and the son of Bêl (Nabû) in his second year.

11′ The Aramaeans who had taken by murder and insurrection the fields of the inhabitants of Babylon and Borsippa,

12′ Eriba-Marduk slew by the sword, and he brought about their defeat.

13′ He took the fields and orchards away from the and gave them to the [Arameans?] and Borsippeans.

14′ In that same year, he set of the throne of Bêl in Esagila (Marduk’s temple – residence in Babylon) and Ezida (Nabu’s temple – residence in Borsippa) […]

15′ […] Eriba-Marduk […] to Babylon.

——————————————

16′ […] Eriba-Marduk went out from […]

——————————————

17′ […] Nabû-Nasir.[14]

——————————————

18′ […]

——————————————

19′ […] Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, ascended the throne.[15]

——————————————

20′ Šalmaneser, king of Assyria, ascended the throne.”[16]

——————————————

Lacuna

Note 1:
King of Babylonia between 1081 and 1069.

Note 2:
Ruled 1073-1056.

Note 3:
Adad-apla-iddina was king of Babylonia from 1068 to 1047; Itti-Marduk-balatu from 1139 to 1132. The section is identical to several lines from the Walker Chronicle.

Note 4:
This king ruled from 1004 to 988; his fifth year is 1000 BCE.

Note 5:
In this period, only Eulmaš-šakin-šumi had more than thirteen regnal years, so his fourteenth year, 991 BCE) can be meant.

Note 6:
Mar-biti-apla-usur was king of Babylonia from 984 to 979; his fourth year is 981.

Note 7:
This king ruled from 978 to 943.

Note 8:
Became king of Babylonia in 942.

Note 9:
Adad-nirari II ruled from 911 to 891.

Note 10:
Tukulti-Ninurta II was king of Assyria in 890-884.

Note 11:
Aššur-nasir-apli II of Assyria reigned from 883 to 859.

Note 12:
Šalmaneser III of Assyria was king from 858 to 824. His contemporaries can not be dated more accurately.

Note 13:
In fact, an Assyrian king must have ruled over the country The events mentioned in the next section can not be dated exactly.

Note 14:
King of Babylonia, 747-734.

Note 15:
The first full regnal year of Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria is 744; he must have ascended in 745.

Note 16:
The first full regnal year of Šalmaneser V of Assyria is 726; he must have ascended in 727.

The translation on this webpage was adapted from A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975) and Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004)

 

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(mixed-breed demigods in teal…)

 

The Chronicle of the Market Prices (ABC 23) is a historiographical text from ancient Babylonia. It deals with the prices of commodities and reminds one of similar information in theAstronomical Diaries. The tablet was written in the Seleucid age.

This text is preserved on a broken tablet, BM 48498 (81-11-3, 1209), which measures 30 mm wide and 65 mm long. It is the left-hand side of a medium size tablet. Both surfaces and particularly the reverse are badly marred. A small portion is missing from the bottom of the tablet.

One kor is 180 liter.
A mina is 500 gr.
A qû is 0.84 or 0.97 liter.
A shekel is 8.33 gr silver.
A sûtu is 6 liter.

Translation Obverse

Obverse

1 In the time of […]

2 N kor of […], wool […]

3 the market prince of his land to […]

——————————————

4 In the time of […]

5 used to be purchased […]

6 10 minas of copper, the market price of his land […]

——————————————

7 In the time of Hammurabi […] [1]

——————————————

8 In the time of Kurigalzu […] [2]

9 3 PI of sesame, 3 minas of wool […]

——————————————

10 The twenty-first year of Merodach-Baladan: […] [3]

11 1 kor of barley, 1 kor of dates […]

——————————————

12 The thirteenth year of […]

——————————————

13 The ninth year of Nebuchadnezzar: […] [4]

——————————————

14 The second[?] year of Marduk-[…] [5]

15 1 sûtu, 3 qû […]

Lacuna

Translation Reverse

Lacuna?

1′ […]

2′ 1 sûtu, N qû […]

——————————————

3′ Year ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen [of …]

4′ one kor of barley […]

5′ for four shekels […]

——————————————

6′ Year five, year six, [of Nabû-šuma-iškun?] [6]

7′ 1 sûtu, 4 qû, […”]

——————————————

Note 1:
Hammurabi was king of Babylonia from 1792 to 1750 according to the Middle chronology.

Note 2:
Kurigalzu I was king in c.1400, Kurigalzu II in 1332-1308.

Note 3:
Merodach-Baladan (Marduk-apla-iddina) was king from 1171 to 1159.

Note 4:
Nebuchadnezzar I was king from 1125 to 1104.

Note 5:
Several kings are possible: Marduk-nadin-ahhe (1099-1082), Mardik-šapik-zeri (1081-1069), Marduk-ahhe-eriba (1046), and Marduk-zer-xxx (1045-1034).

Note 6:
Nabû-šuma-iškun died in 748 after a reign of at least thirteen years.

Source: Foster, Benjamin R. (1995) Before the Muses: myths, tales and poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia, CDL Press, Bethesda, Maryland.

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

       (Marduk & son Nabu battle cousin alien gods for dominance over gods & earthlings)

   TABLET 1

1.         I will praise the lord of Wisdom, solicitous god,

2.         Furious in the night, calming in the daylight;

3.         Marduk! lord of wisdom, solicitous god,

4.         Furious in the night, claiming in the daylight;

5.         Whose anger engulfs like a tempest,

6.         Whose breeze is sweet as the breath of morn

7.         In his fury not to be withstood, his rage the deluge,

8.         Merciful in his feelings, his emotions relenting.

9.         The skies cannot sustain the weight of his hand,

10.         His gentle palm rescues the moribund.

           

                   (Marduk, patron god of Babylon, demanded he become the supreme god over gods & all)

1.         Marduk! The skies cannot sustain the weight of his hand,

2.         His gentle palm rescues the moribund.

3.         When he is angry, graves are dug,

4.         His mercy raised the fallen from disaster.

5.         When he glowers, protective spirits take flight,

6.         He has regard for and turns to the one whose god has forsaken him.

7.         Harsh is his punishments, he…. in battles (?)

8.         When moved to mercy, he quickly feels pain like a mother in labor.

9.         He is bull-headed in love of mercy

10.         Like a cow with a calf, he keeps turning around watchfully.

11.         His scourge is barbed and punctures the body,

12.         His bandages are soothing, they heal the doomed.

13.         He speaks and makes one incur many sins,

14.         On the day of his justice sin and guilt are dispelled.

15.         He is the one who makes shivering and trembling,

16.         Through his sacral spell chills and shivering are relieved.

            (warriors Adad & Nergal with alien weaponry)

1.         Who raises the flood of Adad, the blow of Erra (Nergal),

2.         Who reconciles the warthful god and goddess

3.         The Lord divines the gods´ inmost thoughts

4.         But no god understand his behavior,

5.         Marduk divines the gods´s inmost thoughts

6.         But no god understand his behavior!

7.         As heavy his hand, so compassionate his heart

8.         As brutal his weapons, no life-sustaining his feelings,

9.         Without his consent, who could cure his blow?

10.         Against his will, who could sin and escape?

11.         I will proclaim his anger, which runs deep, like a fish,

12.         He punished me abruptly, then granted life

13.         To be mindful of him is propitious for ……

14.         After the Lord changed day into night

            (Marduk, god causing many wars against Enlil‘s descendants & followers)

1.         And the warrior Marduk became furious with me,

2.         My own god threw me over and disappeared,

3.         My goddess broke rank and vanished

4.         He cut off the benevolent angel who walked beside me

5.         My protecting spirit was frightened off, to seek out someone else

6.         My vigor was taken away, my manly appearance became gloomy,

7.         My dignity flew off, my cover leaped away.

8.         Terrifying signs beset me

9.         I was forced out of my house, I wandered outside,

10.         My omens were confused, they were abnormal every day,

11.         The prognostication of diviner and dream interpreter could not explain what I was undergoing.

12.         What was said in the street portended ill for me,

13.         When I lay down at nights, my dream was terrifying

14.         The king, incarnation of the gods, sun of his people

15.         His heart was enraged with me and appeasing him was impossible

16.         Courtiers were plotting hostile against me,

17.         They gathered themselves to instigate base deeds:

18.         Says the second “I ousted him from his command”

19.         So likewise the third “I will get my hands on his post!”

20.         “I will force his house!” vows the fourth

21.         As the fifth pants to speak

22.         Sixth and seventh follow in his train!” (literally in his protective spirit)

23.         The clique of seven have massed their forces,

24.         Merciless as fiends, equal to demons.

25.         So one is their body, united in purpose,

26.         Their hearts fulminate against me, ablaze like fire.

27.         Slander and lies they try to lend credence against me

28.         My mouth once proud was muzzled like a ….

29.         My lips, which used to discourse, became those of a dead man.

30.         My resounding call struck dumb,

31.         My proud head bent earthward,

32.         My stout heart turned feeble for terror,

33.         My broad breast brushed aside by a novice,

34.         My far-reaching arms pinned down by flimsy matting,

35.         I, who walked proudly, learned slinking,

36.         I, so grand, became servile,

37.         To my vast family, I became a loner,

38.         As I went through the streets, ears were pricked up at me,

39.         I would enter the palace, eyes would squint at me,

40.         My city was glowering at me like an enemy,

41.         Belligerent and hostile would seem my land!

42.         My brother became my foe,

43.         My friend became a malignant demon,

44.         My comrade would denounce me savagely,

45.         My colleague was constantly keeping the taint to this weapons,

46.         My best friend would pinch off my life.

47.         My slave cursed me openly in the assembly of gentlefolk

48.         My slavegirl defamed me before the rabble.

49.         An acquaintance would see me and make himself scarce,

50.         My family disowned me,

51.         A pit awaited anyone speaking well of me,

52.         While he who was uttering defamation of me forged ahead.

53.         One who relayed base things about me had a god for his help

54.         For the one who said “What a pity about him!” death came early,

55.         The one of no help, his life became charmed,

56.         I had no one to go at my side, nor saw I a champion.

57.         They parceled my possessions among the riffraff,

58.         The sources of my watercourses they blocked with muck,

59.         They chased the harvest song from my fields,

60.         They left my community deathly still, like that of a ravaged foe.

61.         They let another assume my duties,

62.         They appointed an outsider to my prerogatives.

63.         By day sighing, by night lamentation,

64.         Monthly, trepidation, despair the year,

65.         I moaned like a dove all my days,

66.         I let out groans as my song,

67.         My eyes are forced to look through constant crying,

68.         My eyelids are smarting through of tears.

69.         My face is darkened from the apprehensions of my heart,

70.         Terror and pain have jaundiced my face.

71.         The…. of my heart is quaking in ceaseless apprehension.

72.         ….. like a burning fire,

73.         Like the bursting of a flame falsehood beset me,

74.         …. lamentation, my imploring!

75.         The speech of lips was senseless, like a moron´s,

76.         When I tried to talk, my conversation was gibberish.

77.         I watch, that in daylight good will come upon me!

78.         The moon will change, the sun will shine!

  TABLET II

1.         One whole year to the next! The normal time passed.

2.         As I turned around, it was more and more terrible,

3.         My ill luck was on the increase, I could find no good fortune.

4.         I called to my god, he did not show his face,

5.         I prayed to my goddess, she did not raise her head.

6.         The diviner with his inspection did not get the bottom of it,

7.         Nor did the dream interpreter with his incense clear up my case

8.         I beseeched a dream spirit, but it did not enlighten me,

9.         The exorcist with his ritual did not appease divine wrath.

10.         What bizarre actions everywhere!

11.         I looked behind: persecution, harassment!

12.         Like one who had not made libations to his god,

13.         Nor invoked his goddess with a food offering,

14.         Who was not wont to prostrate, nor seen to bow down,

15.         From whose mouth supplication and prayer were wanting,

16.         Who skipped holy days, despised festivals,

17.         Who was neglectful, omitted the gods´ rites,

18.         Who had not taught his people reverence and worship,

19.         Who did not invoke his god, but ate his food offering,

20.         Who snubbed his goddess, brought her no flour offering,

21.         Like one possessed, who forgot his lord,

22.         Who casually swore a solemn oath by his god; I indeed seemed such a one!

23.         I, for my part, was mindful of supplication and prayer,

24.         Prayer to me was the natural recourse, sacrifice my rule.

25.         The day for reverencing the gods was a source of satisfaction to me,

26.         The goddess´s procession day was my profit and return.

27.         Praying for the king, that was my joy,

28.         His sennet was if for my own good omen.

29.         I instructed my land to observe the god´s rites,

30.         The goddess´s name did I drill my people to esteem

31.         I made my praises of the king like a god´s,

32.         And taught the populace reverence for the palace.

33.         I wish I knew that these things were pleasing to a god!

34.         What seems good to one´s self could be an offense to a god,

35.         What in one´s own heart seems abominable, could be good to one´s god!

36.         Who could learn the reasoning of the gods in heaven?

37.         Who could grasp the intentions of the gods of the depths?

38.         Where might human beings have learned the ways of a god?

39.         He who lived by his brawn died in confinement.

40.         Suddenly one is downcast, in a trice full of cheer,

41.         One moment he sings in exaltation,

42.         In a trice he groans like a professional mourner.

43.         People´s motivations change in a twinkling!

44.         Starving, they become like corpses,

45.         Full, they would rival their gods.

46.         In good times, they speak of scaling heaven,

47.         When it goes badly, they complain of going down to hell.

48.         I have pondered these things; I have made no sense of them.

49.         But as for me, in despair a whirlwind is driving me!

50.         Debilitating disease is let loose upon me:]

51.         An evil vapor has blown against me from the ends of the earth,

52.         Head pain has surged upon me from the breast of hell,

53.         A malignant specter has come froth from its hidden depth,

54.         A relentless ghost came out of its dwelling place.

55.         A she-demon came down from the mountain,

56.         Ague set forth with the flood and sea,

57.         Debility broke through the ground with the plants.

58.         They assembled their host, together they came upon me:

59.         My features were gloomy, my eyes ran a flood,

60.         They wrenched my muscles, made my neck limp,

61.         They thwacked my chest, pounded my breast,

62.         They affected my flesh, threw me into convulsion,

63.         They kindled a fire in my epigastrium,

64.         They churned up my bowels, they twisted my entrails

65.         Coughing and hacking infected my lungs,

66.         They infected my limbs, made my flesh pasty,

67.          My lofty stature they toppled like a wall,

68.         My robust figure they flattened like a bulrush,

69.         I was dropped like a dried fig, I was tossed on my face.

70.         A demon has clothed himself in my body for a garment,

71.         Drowsiness smothers me like a net,

72.         My eyes stare, they cannot see,

73.         My ears prick up, they cannot hear.

74.         Numbness has spread over my whole body,

75.         Paralysis has fallen upon my flesh.

76.         Stiffness has seized my arms,

77.         Debility has fallen upon my loins,

78.         My feet forgot how to move.

79.         A stroke has overcome me, I choke like one fallen

80.         Signs of death have shrouded my face!

81.         If someone thinks of me, I can´t respond to the enquirer,

82.         “Alas” they weep, I have lost consciousness,

83.         A snare is laid on my mouth,

84.         And a bolt bars my lips,

85.         My way in is barred, my point of slaking blocked,

86.         My hunger is chronic, my gullet constricted.

87.         If it be of grain, I choke it down like stinkweed,

88.         Beer, the sustenance of mankind , is sickening to me.

89.         Indeed, the malady drags on!

90.         For lack of food my features are unrecognizable,

91.         My flesh is waste, my blood has run dry,

92.         My bones are loose, covered only with skin,

93.         My tissues are inflamed, afflicted with grangrene.

94.         I took to bed, confined, going out was exhaustion,

95.         My house turned into my prison.

96.         My flesh was a shackle, my arms being useless,

97.         My person was a fetter, my feet having given way.

98.         My afflictions were grievous, the blow was severe!

99.         A scourge full of barbs thrashed me,

100.         A crop lacerated me, cruel with thorns,

101.         All day long tormentor would torment me,

102.         Nor a night would he let me breathe freely a moment

103.         My limbs were splayed and thrust apart.

104.         I spent the night in my dung like an ox,

105.         I wallowed in my excrement like a sheep.

106.         The exorcist recoiled from my symptoms,

107.         While my omens have perplexed the diviner.

108.         The exorcist did not clarify the nature of my complaint,

109.         While the diviner put no time limit on my illness.

110.         No god came to the rescue, nor lent me a hand,

111.         No goddess took pity on me, nor went at my side.

112.         My grave was open, my funerary gods ready,

113.         Before I had died, lamentation for me was done.

114.         All my country said, “How wretched he was!”

115.         When my ill-wisher heard, his face lit up,

116.         When the tidings reached her, my ill-wisher, her mood became radiant,

117.         The day grew dim for my whole family

118.         For those who knew me, their sun grew dark.

TABLET III

1.         Heavy was his hand upon me, I could not hear ti!

2.         Dread of him was oppressive, it …. me.

3.         His fierce punishment…. the deluge,

4.         His stride was…., it….

5.         Harsh, severe illness does not…. my person,

6.         I lost sight of alertness, ….. make my mind stray,

7.         I groan day and night alike,

8.         Dreaming and waking I am equally wretched.

9.         A remarkable young man of extraordinary physique,

10.         Magnificent in body, clothed in new garments,

11.         Because I was only half awake, his features lacked form.

12.         He was clad in splendor, robed in dread –

13.         He came in upon me, he stood over me,

14.         When I saw him my flesh grew numb.

15.         [ ] “The Lady has sent me,

16.         ” [ ]”.

17.         [ ] I tried to tell my people (Lishtar´s Note: he probably tried to tell his family)

18.         “[ ] sent [ ] for me”.

19.         They were silent and did not speak,

20.         They heard me in silence and did not answer.

21.         A second time I saw a dream

22.         In the dream I saw at night

23.         A remarkable purifier [ ]

24.         Holding in his hand a tamarisk rod of purification.

25.         “Laluralimma (Lishtar´s Note: an accademic Sumerian name, meaning probably a sage), resident of Nippur,

26.         Has sent me to cleanse you”.

27.         He was carrying water, he poured it over me,

28.         He pronounced the resuscitating incantation, he massaged my body.

29.         A third time I saw a dream,

30.         In my dream I saw at night:

31.         A remarkable young woman in shining countenance,

32.         Clothed like a person, being like a god,

33.         A queen among peoples []

34.         She entered upon me and sat down….

35.         She ordered my deliverance [ ]

36.         “Fear not” She said, “I will……….,

37.         “Whatever one sees of a dream……….”.

38.         She ordered my deliverance, “Most wretched indeed is he,

39.         “Whoever he might be,….. the one who saw the vision at night”

40.         In the dream was Ur-Nintinugga, a Babylonian…

41.         A bearded young man wearing a tiara,

42.         He was an exorcist, carrying a tablet,

            (Marduk, eldest son to Enki, with winged sky-discs above)

1.         “Marduk has sent me!

2.         “To Shubshi-meshre-Sakkan [the sufferer] I have brought swathe,

3.         “From his pure hands I have brought a swathe”.

4.         He has entrusted me into the hands of my ministrant.

5.         In waking hours he sent a message,

6.         He revealed his favorable sign to my people.

7.         I was awake in my sickness, a healing serpent slithered by [the symbol of the healing goddess]

8.         My illness was quickly over, my fetters were broken

9.         After my lord´s heart had quieted,

10.         And the feelings of merciful Marduk were appeased,

11.         And he had accepted my prayers,

12.         His sweet relenting ……

13.         He ordered my deliverance:” He is greatly tried”

14.         …. to extol…

15.         …. to worship and …..

16.         …. my guilt…..

17.         …. my iniquity….

18.         …. my transgression….

19.         He made the wind hear away my offenses

(The exact placement of the following lines is unknown)

1.         He applied to me his spell which binds debilitating disease

2.         He drove back the evil vapor to the ends of the earth,

3.         He bore off the head pain to the breast of hell,

4.         He sent down the malignant specter to its hidden depth,

5.         The relentless ghost he returned to its dwelling

6.         He overthrew the she-demon, sending her off to a mountain,

7.         He replaced the ague in flood and sea.

8.         He eradicated debility like a plant,

9.         Uneasy sleep, excessive drowsiness,

10.         He dissipated like smoke filling the sky.

11.         The turning towards people with “Woe!” and “Alas!” he drove away like a cloud, earth….

12.         The tenacious disease in the head, which was heavy as a millstone,

13.         He raised like dew of night, he removed it from me.

14.         My beclouded eyes, which were wrapped in the shroud of death,

15.         He drove the cloud a thousand leagues away, he brightened my vision.

16.         My ears, which were stopped and clogged like a deaf man´s,

17.         He removed their blockage, he opened my hearing.

18.         My nose, whose breathing was choked by symptoms of fever,

19.         He soothed its affliction so I could breathe freely.

20.         My babbling lips, which had taken on a hard crust,

21.         He wiped away their distress and undid their deformation.

22.         My mouth, which was muffled, so that proper speech was difficult,

23.         He scoured like copper and removed its filth.

24.         My teeth, which were clenched and locked together firmly,

25.         He opened their fastening, freed the jaws.

26.         My tongue, which was tied and could not converse,

27.         He wiped off its coating and its speech became fluent.

28.         My windpipe, which was tight and choking, as though on a gobbet,

29.         He made well and let it sing its songs like a flute.

30.         My gullet, which was swollen so it could not take food,

31.         Its swelling went down and he opened its blockage

32.         My… which…

33.         …. above….

34.         …. which was darkened like

   (three damaged lines, then gap)

TABLET IV

   (FRAGMENT A)

1.         The Lord…. me

2.         The Lord took hold of me,

3.         The Lord set me on my feet,

4.         The Lord revived me,

5.         He rescued me from the pit

6.         He summoned me from destruction

7.         …. he pulled me from the river of death,

8.         …. he took my hand.

9.         He who smote me,

10.         Marduk, he restored me!

            (Marduk & son Nabu attack Inanna, Ninhursag warns against it)

1.         It was Marduk who made him drop his weapon.

2.         He …. the attack of my foe,

3.         It was Marduk who……

    (Two fragmentary lines, then gap.

Insert here, perhaps, two lines known only from an ancient commentary)

   At the place of the river ordeal,

   where people´s fates are decided,

   I was struck on the forehead, my slavemarks removed

 (Marduk‘s mud brick-built landing site)

FRAGMENT B

1.         [ ] which in my prayers….

                (Babylon & Marduk‘s Temple ziggurat / residence)

2.         With prostration and supplication [ ] to Esagila (Marduk‘s ziggurat residence in Babylon) [ ]

3.         I who went down to the grave have returned to the Gate of Sunrise

4.         In the Gate of Prosperity prosperity was given me

5.         In the Gateway of the Guardian Spirit, a guardian spirit drew nigh to me,

6.         In the Gate of Well-being I beheld well-being

7.         In the Gate of Life I was granted life

8.         In the Gate of Sunrise I was reckoned among the living

9.         In the Gate of Splendid Wonderment my signs were plain to see.

10.         In the Gate of Release from Guilt, I was released from my bond.

11.         In the Gate of Petition my mouth made inquiry.

12.         In the Gate of Release from Sighing my sighs were released.

13.         In the Gate of Pure Water, I was sprinkled with purifying water.

14.         In the Gate of Conciliation, I appeared with Marduk,

15.         In the Gate of Joy I kissed the foot of Sarpanitum (Marduk‘s spouse),

16.         I was assiduous in supplication and prayer before them,

17.         I placed fragrant incense before them,

18.         An offering, a gift, sundry donations I presented,

19.         Many fatted oxen I slaughtered, butchered many… (to feed the giant gods)
    

20.         Honey-sweet beer and pure wine I repeatedly libated, (beer, drink of the gods)
    

21.         The protecting genius, the guardian spirit, divine attendants of the fabric of Esagila (Marduk‘s temple residence),

22.         I made their feelings glow with libation,

23.         I made them exultant with lavish meals.

24.         To the threshold, the bolt socket, the bolt, the doors

25.         I offered oil, butterfat, and choicest grain,

26.         [ ] the rites of the temple

   (large gap)

Insert here four lines quoted in an ancient commentary

1.         I proceeded along Kunush-kadru Street in a state of redemption,

2.         He who has done wrong by Esagila, let him learn from me.

3.         It was Marduk who put a muzzle on the mouth of the lion that was devouring me.

4.         Marduk took away the sling of my pursuer and deflected slingstone.

 (Marduk & his dragon symbol, alien advanced technologies, rocket atop temple in background)

  FRAGMENT C

1.         [ ] golden grain

2.         He anointed himself with sweet cedar perfume upon him,

3.         A feast for the Babylonians ……………..

4.         His tomb he had made was set up for a feast!

5.         The Babylonians saw how Marduk can restore to life,

6.         And all mouths proclaimed his greatness,

7.         “Who would have said he would see his sun?

8.         “Who would have imagined that we would pass through his street?

9.         “Who but Marduk revived him as he was dying?

10.         “Besides Sarpanitum, which goddess bestowed his breath of life?

11.         “Marduk can restore to life from the grave,

           

              (Alexander “the Great” & his proclaimed father Marduk; Sarpanitum & Marduk)

1.         “Sarpanitum (Marduk‘s spouse) knows how to rescue from annihilation,

2.         “Wherever earth is founded, heavens are stretched wide,

3.         “Wherever sun shines, fire ablazes,

4.         “Wherever water runs, wind blows,

               

(clay mixing vessels, lab assistants, newly fashioned “modern man” / baby Biblical Adam, DNA specialist Ninhursag, & “Tree of Life“)           

1.         “Those whose bits of clay Aruru (Ninhursag) pinched off to form them,

2.         “Those endowed with life, who walk upright,

3.         “Teeming mankind as many they be, give praise to Marduk!

4.         “[…] those who can speak

5.         “[…] may he rule all the peoples

6.         “[…] shepherd of all habitations

7.         “[…] floods from the deep..

8.         “[…] the gods [ ]

9.         “[…] the extent of heaven and netherworld

10.         “[…………………………………………….]

11.         “[…] was getting darker and darker for him”.