ABL 1420 (P236923)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABL 1420 |
|---|---|
| ID | P236923 |
| Museum no. | BM — |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE |
| Genre | Letter |
| Find spot | Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) |
| Coordinates | 36.3582, 43.1621 |
English translation
By ORACC project saao/saa21 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:5] o 1o 1–o 55 | [To the king, my lord: your] servant [NN. I would gladly die] as a substitute for [the king, my lord]. Good health [to the king, my lord]! Say to the ki[ng, my lord]: |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | As I have heard, [......] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | saying, “Mar[duk-... ...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | “the Gambu[lians ......] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | let them give [......] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | the Gambulians [......] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | about [......] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | the king, your brother, who [......] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | whatever to [......] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | is not good [......] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | did not enter [......] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | does not say [......] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | in th[is] manner [......] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | “to my brother [......] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | “the ki[ng ......] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | When he saw [......] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 2121–o 2121 | he speaks [......] |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | I [...] about [...] |
| Obverse [22:23] o 2323–o 2323 | another [......] |
| Obverse [23:25] o 2424– | when/if [......] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | of the king, [my] l[ord, ......] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | a word [......] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | befo[re ......] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | until you [......] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | I shall say [......] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | in [......] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 77–r 77 | I shall say a word [......] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | you know [......] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | until four [......] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 1010–r 1010 | [A]s I have heard, [......] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 1111–r 1111 | is say[ing t]o the king [......] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 1212–r 1212 | [N]ergal-eṭir [......] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 1313–r 1313 | [wh]en he sai[d ......] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 1414–r 1414 | [he did not] say [......] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 1515–r 1515 | [w]ent [......] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | [yo]u [......] |
| Reverse [18:19] r 1919–r 1919 | [H]ow [......] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | may I enjoy? The Pu[qudu tribe ......] |
| Reverse [20:21] r 2121–r 2121 | which the king and [his] brot[her ......] |
| Reverse [21:22] r 2222–r 2222 | in the hands [......] |
| Reverse [22:23] r 2323–r 2323 | of Raš[i ......] |
| Reverse [23:24] r 2424–r 2424 | When I [......] |
| Right [0:2] r.e. 1r.e. 1–r.e. 22 | Let the king question me! [What] the legate of Raši enjoys, let me enjoy as well! What detriment would it be for the king? |
| Right [2:3] r.e. 33–r.e. 33 | *ABL 1420 |
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 | [a-na LUGAL be-li₂-ia] | |
| 2 | ⸢ARAD⸣-[ka {1}x x x x x x] | |
| 3 | a-na ⸢di-na-an⸣ [LUGAL EN-ia lul-lik] | |
| 4 | lu-u₂ šul-⸢mu⸣ [a-na LUGAL be-li₂-ia] | |
| 5 | um-ma-a a-na ⸢LUGAL⸣ [be-li₂-ia-a-ma] | |
| 6 | ki-i aš₂-mu-u₂ [x x x x x x] | |
| 7 | um-ma-a {1}{d}AMAR.[UTU—x x x x x] | |
| 8 | um-ma-a {lu₂}gam-bu-[la-a.a x x x] | |
| 9 | lid-di-nu ku-[x x x x x x x] | |
| 10 | {lu₂}gam-bu-lu-a.[a x x x x x] | |
| 11 | a-na UGU-hi [x x x x x x x] | |
| 12 | LUGAL ŠEŠ-ka ša₂ [x x x x x x x] | |
| 13 | mim-mu-u₂ a-na [x x x x x] | |
| 14 | la ṭa-bu [x x x x x x x] | |
| 15 | ul i-ter-[bu x x x x x x] | |
| 16 | ul i-qab-⸢bi⸣ [x x x x] | |
| 17 | ki pi an-[ni-i x x x x x x] | |
| 18 | a-na ŠEŠ-ia₂ [x x x x x] | |
| 19 | um-ma-a ⸢LUGAL⸣ [x x x x] | |
| 20 | ki-i i-mur [x x x x x] | |
| 21 | i-dab-bu-⸢ub⸣ [x x x x] | |
| 22 | a-na-ku ina ⸢UGU⸣ [x x x x] | |
| 23 | ša₂-ni-ti [x x x x x] | |
| 24 | ki-i [x x x x x x x x x] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | ša₂ LUGAL ⸢be⸣-[li₂-ia x x x x x] | |
| 2 | a-mat e-[x x x x x x x x] | |
| 3 | i-na pa-[an x x x x x x x] | |
| 4 | a-di tak-[x x x x x x x x] | |
| 5 | a-qab-bi [x x x x x x x x] | |
| 6 | i-na bi-[x x x x x x x x] | |
| 7 | a-mat a-qab-⸢bi⸣ [x x x x x x x] | |
| 8 | ti-da-a [x x x x x x x x] | |
| 9 | a-di er-⸢bet⸣ [x x x x x x x] | |
| 10 | ⸢ki⸣-i aš₂-mu-[u₂ x x x x x x] | |
| 11 | [a]-⸢na⸣ LUGAL i-⸢qab⸣-[bi x x x x x] | |
| 12 | {1}{d}U].GUR—ŠEŠ-ir [x x x x x x] | |
| 13 | [ki]-i iq-bu-[u₂ x x x x x] | |
| 14 | [x] ⸢iq⸣-ba-aʾ [x x x x x x] | |
| 15 | [it]-ta-lak [x x x x x x x] | |
| 16 | [x x] tak KUR [x x x x x x x] | |
| 17 | [(x) x] i si [x x x x x x x] | |
| 18 | [at]-ta-ma [x x x x x x x] | |
| 19 | ⸢ak⸣-ka-a.a-i [x x x x x x] | |
| 20 | lu-kul {lu₂}pu-[qu-du x x x x x] | |
| 21 | ša₂ LUGAL u₃ ⸢ŠEŠ⸣-[šu₂ x x x] | |
| 22 | i-na ŠU.2 [x x x x x x] | |
| 23 | ša₂ {kur}ra-a-⸢ši⸣ [x x x x x x] | |
| 24 | ki-i ak-[x x x x x x x] | |
| 25 | [x] ⸢x⸣-ʾa-[x x x x x x x] | |
| 26 | [x x x x] hal [x x x x x x x] | |
| r.e. | ||
| 1 | LUGAL li-is-ni-qa-an-ni [ša₂] {lu₂}qi₂-i-pi ša₂ {kur}ra-⸢a⸣-šu₂ | |
| 2 | ik-kal a-na-ku-ma lu-kul ša₂ LUGAL mi-nu-u₂ 0 | |
| 3 | muṭ-ṭe₃-e-šu₂ | |
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.