CTN 5, ND 2603 (P224432)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Kalhu · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | CTN 5, ND 2603 |
|---|---|
| ID | P224432 |
| Museum no. | IM 064071 |
| Collection | National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE |
| Genre | Letter |
| Find spot | Kalhu (mod. Nimrūd) |
| Coordinates | 36.1022, 43.3385 |
English translation
By ORACC project saao/saa19 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:1] o 1'1'–o 1'1' | [...] are running away [......] |
| Obverse [1:7] o 2'2'–o 7'7' | he [refu]ses to come. His messengers (are going) to [Mukin-zeri and the messenger]s of Mukin-zeri are going to him. A le[tter of Za]kir was brought to Merodach-baladan [with the following message]: "Who do you think you are among the chieftains of Chaldea who are [l]eft for you? Why do you remain inactive (while) the Chaldean land is getting paralyzed? Is it pleasing to you that Balassu is giving Chaldea [to] destruction?" |
| Obverse [7:17] o 8'8'– | They intercepted the letter which was brought to Merodach-baladan and read it [in] our [pr]esence. But Balassu [g]ot very scared, saying: "You must come this moment and deport me! I will go [wit]h you. How can I become an enemy of my sister's son? [Mu]kin-zeri is dragging the army here and will destroy the land." |
| Reverse [0:2] r 1r 1–r 22 | [From] here, the chief of the Malilatu [has com]e to me, saying: "How can I stay watchful? Cross over and conquer [the ...]!" |
| Reverse [2:4] r 33–r 44 | Perhaps the king, my lord, will say: "Do [no]t cross (the river). The king, my lord, knows that the trees are (already) cut. |
| Reverse [4:8] r 55–r 88 | We have [now] spoken kindly with him [...], saying: "[Did we not go] to the help of the Larakeans? How would we not come [to] your [h]elp?" Let the [army] go to him, and let them make him confident. |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | [...... the pe]op[le should no]t go into exile |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| o | ||
| 1' | [x x x x] ⸢i⸣-hal-⸢li-qu⸣ [x x x x x x x] | |
| 2' | [la i-ma]-gur₂ la il-la-ka {lu₂v}A—KIN-MEŠ-šu₂ {lu₂v}A—KIN-MEŠ-šu₂ ina ⸢UGU⸣ {1}GIN—NUMUN] | |
| 3' | {[lu₂v}A—KIN]-MEŠ {[lu₂v}A—KIN]-MEŠ ša {1}GIN—NUMUN ina UGU-šu₂ il-la-ku-ni ⸢e-gir⸣-[tum] | |
| 4' | [ša {1}za]-kir ina UGU {1}{d}AMAR.⸢UTU⸣—DUMU.UŠ—SUM-na na-ṣu-ni | |
| 5' | [ma-a] ma—at-ta-a ma—at-ta-a ina ŠA₃ {lu₂v}re-eʾ-sa-ni ša {kur}kal-di | |
| 6' | [ša] ⸢re⸣-ha-ka-ni ma-a a-ta-a qa-la-ka {kur}kal-du i-sa-am-mu | |
| 7' | [ma-a ina] ⸢pa⸣-ni-ka ma-he-e-re a-⸢ki⸣ {1}ba-la-su {kur}kal-du | |
| 8' | [a-na] ha-pe-e id-da-nu-ni e-gir-tum ša ina UGU | |
| 9' | {1}{d]}AMAR.UTU—A—SUM-na na-ṣu-ni-ni it-tab-lu-ni | |
| 10' | [ina] ⸢pa⸣-ni-ni i-si-si-u₂ u₃ {1}ba-la-su | |
| 11' | [ip]-⸢ta⸣-la-ah a—da-niš ma-a an-nu-rig ⸢x⸣+[x x] | |
| b.e. | ||
| 12' | [at]-⸢tu⸣-nu tal-la-ka ma-a ša-ga-la-ni [o] | |
| 13' | [i]-⸢si⸣-ku-nu la-al-lik ma-a DUMU—NIN-ia DUMU—NIN-ia | |
| 14' | [a-ke]-⸢e⸣ a-na-ki-ir ma-a {lu₂v}e-mu-qi | |
| 15' | {1}⸢GIN⸣—NUMUN i-ša-da-⸢da⸣ KUR i-hap-pi | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [su]-un-na-ka [su]-un-na-ka {lu₂v}{uru}ma-⸢li⸣-la-ta-a-a ina ⸢UGU-ia₂⸣ | |
| 2 | [it-tal]-⸢ka⸣ ma-a a-ke-e a-ha-ri-di ma-a eb-ra-ni | |
| 3 | [x x x]+⸢x⸣-tu ku-⸢ul⸣-da i—su-ri LUGAL be-li₂ i-qab-bi | |
| 4 | [ma-a] ⸢la⸣ ti-bi-ra LUGAL be-li₂ u₂-da {giš}gup-ni ma-hi-ṣi | |
| 5 | [an-nu-rig] ⸢di⸣-ib-bi DUG₃.GA-MEŠ i-si-šu₂ ni-du-bu-ub | |
| 6 | [x x x] ⸢mu-uk⸣ a-na a-a-le-e ša {uru}la-rak-a-a | |
| 7 | [la ni-lik a-na a]-⸢a⸣-li-ka ik-ke-e la ni-la-ka | |
| 8 | [e-mu-qi] ina UGU-šu₂ lu tal-⸢li⸣-ka lu-šar-hi-ṣu-šu₂ | |
| 9 | [x x x x x] ⸢UN⸣-[MEŠ lu la]-a i-ga-li-u₂ | |
Sources & licences
- Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched) · Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), https://cdli.earth/ ; cite CDLI and the P-number
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.