ABL 1237 (P237234)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABL 1237 |
|---|---|
| ID | P237234 |
| 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/saa10 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:2] o 1o 1–o 22 | To the king of the lands, my lord: your servant B[el-ušezib]. May Bel, Nabû and Šamaš bless the king, my lord! |
| Obverse [2:4] o 33–o 44 | If a star flashes like a torch from the east and sets in the west: the main army of the enemy will fall. |
| Obverse [4:8] o 55–o 88 | If a flash appears and appears again in the south, makes a circle and again makes a circle, stands there and again stands there, flickers and flickers again, and is scattered: the ruler will capture property and possessions in his expedition. |
| Obverse [8:16] o 99–o 1616 | If the king has written to his army: "Invade Mannea," the whole army should not invade; (only) the cavalry and the professional troops should invade. The Cimmerians who said, "The Manneans are at your disposal, we shall keep aloof" — maybe it was a lie; they are barbarians who recognize no oath sworn by god and no treaty. |
| Obverse [16:28] o 1717– | [The cha]riots and wagons should stay side by side [in] the pass, while the [ca]valry and the professionals should invade and plunder the countryside of Mannea and come back and take up position [in] the pass. [If], after they have repeatedly entered and plundered the open country, the Cimmerians have not advanced against them, the [whole] army can enter and [throw itself] against the cities of Mannea. |
| Reverse [3:8] r 44–r 88 | Bel [has ordered] the destruction of the Manneans and is for the second time [delivering] them into the hands of the king, my lord. If on this 15th day the moon [is seen] with the sun, it will be on account of them, (indicating) that the Cimmerians will keep aloof from them and that [the ...] will be conquered. |
| Reverse [8:12] r 99–r 1212 | I am writing to the king, my lord, without knowing the exit and entry of that country. The lord of kings should ask an expert of the country, and the king should (then) write to his army as he deems best. |
| Reverse [12:18] r 1313–r 1818 | Deserters outnumber fighting men among the enemy — therein lies your advantage. At the entry of the whole army, let patrols make sorties, capture their men in the open country and question them; if the Indareans are keeping away from them, the army can invade and throw itself against the cities. |
| Reverse [18:22] r 1919–r 2222 | The king of the gods, Marduk, is reconciled with the king, my lord; whatever the king my lord says, he can do. Sitting on your throne, you will vanquish your enemies, conquer your foes and plunder the land of your enemy. |
| Reverse [22:26] r 2323– | Bel has said: "Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, is (seated) on the throne like Marduk-šapik-zeri, and (while) he is seated there, I will deliver all the countries into his hands." The king is the lord of [...]. |
| Right [0:2] r.e. 26r.e. 26–r.e. 2727 | The king may happily do as he deems best. |
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 KUR.KUR be-li₂-ia ARAD-ka {1}{d}[EN—u₂-še-zib] | |
| 2 | {d}EN {d}AG u {d}UTU a-na LUGAL be-li₂-ia lik-ru-⸢bu⸣ | |
| 3 | 1 MUL ki {giš}di-pa-ri TA {d}UTU.E₃ {d}UTU.E₃ SUR-ma | |
| 4 | ina {d}UTU.ŠU₂.A {d}UTU.ŠU₂.A ŠU₂ ERIM KUR₂ ina DUGUD-ša₂ ŠUB-ut | |
| 5 | 1 mi-iš-hu {im}U₁₈.LU iš-kun iš-kun-ma | |
| 6 | im-ṣur im-ṣur-ma GUB-iz GUB-iz-ma | |
| 7 | ip-ru-uṭ ip-ru-uṭ-ma is-sa-pi-ih | |
| 8 | NUN ina KASKAL DU-ku NIG₂.NAM NIG₂.NAM NIG₂.GAL₂.LA ŠU.2-su KUR-ad | |
| 9 | ki-i LUGAL a-na e-mu-qi₂-šu₂ il-tap-ru um-ma | |
| 10 | a-na ŠA₃-bi {kur}man-na-a.a er-ba-aʾ e-mu-qa | |
| 11 | gab-bi la er-ru-ub {lu₂}ERIM-ME ša₂—BAD-HAL-la-a-ti | |
| 12 | u₃ {lu₂}zuk-ku-u₂ li-ru-bu {lu₂}gi-mir-a.a | |
| 13 | ša₂ iq-bu-u₂ um-ma {kur}man-na-a.a ina pa-ni-ku-nu | |
| 14 | GIR₃.2-a-ni ni-ip-ta-ra-su min₃-de-e-ma | |
| 15 | pi-ir-ṣa-tu ši-i NUMUN—{lu₂}hal-ga-ti-i šu-nu | |
| 16 | ⸢ma⸣-me-ti ša₂ DINGIR u₃ a-de-e ul i-du-u₂ | |
| 17 | {[giš]}⸢GIGIR⸣-MEŠ u₃ {giš}ṣu-ub-ba-nu a-hi-a a-hi-a | |
| 18 | [ina] ⸢ne₂⸣-e-re-bi lu-u₂ u₂-šu-uz-zu | |
| 19 | [x x]+⸢x⸣ {anše}KUR.RA-MEŠ u {lu₂}zuk-ku-u₂ | |
| 20 | ⸢li⸣-ru-bu-u₂-ma hu-bu-ut EDIN ša₂ {kur}man-na-a.a | |
| 21 | [li]-⸢ih⸣-bu-tu-nu u₃ lil-li-ku-nim-ma | |
| b.e. | ||
| 22 | [ina ŠA₃] ne₂-e-re-bi lu-u₂ u₂-šu-uz-zu | |
| 23 | [ki-i] 01-en-šu₂ 02-šu₂ i-ter-e-bu-u₂-ma | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [hu-bu-ut EDIN] ih-tab-tu-nim-ma {lu₂}gi-mir-a.a | |
| 2 | [ina UGU-šu₂]-⸢nu⸣ la it-tal-ku-ni e-mu-qa | |
| 3 | [gab-bi li]-ru-ub-ma ina UGU URU-ME ša₂ {kur}man-na-a.a | |
| 4 | [lid-du]-⸢u₂⸣ {d}EN ha-pu-u₂ ša₂ {kur}man-na-a.a | |
| 5 | [iq-ta-bi] u₂-ša₂-an-nu a-na ŠU.2 LUGAL be-li₂-ia | |
| 6 | [i-man-ni ki]-i UD 15-KAM₂ a-ga-a {d}30 KI {d}UTU | |
| 7 | [in-nam]-⸢ru⸣ ina UGU-hi-šu₂-nu šu-u₂ GIR₃.2-ME | |
| 8 | {[lu₂}gi]-⸢mir⸣-a.a la—pa-ni-šu₂-nu ta-at-tap-ra-su | |
| 9 | ⸢x⸣+[x x]+⸢x⸣ ik-kaš-ša₂-du a-na-ku mu-ṣu-u₂ u e-re-bi | |
| 10 | ša₂ ⸢KUR ul⸣-li-ti ul i-di a-na LUGAL be-li₂-ia | |
| 11 | al-tap-ra EN LUGAL-MEŠ {lu₂}mu-de-e KUR liš-al | |
| 12 | u₃ LUGAL a-ki-i ša₂ i-le-ʾu-u₂ a-na e-mu-qi₂-šu₂ | |
| 13 | liš-pur mu-uš-ta-hal-qu₂-ti ina UGU mun-dah-ṣu-ti | |
| 14 | ina {lu₂}KUR₂ dan-na-tu ina ŠA₃-bi tu-mu-lu-ka | |
| 15 | e-mu-qa gab-bi li-ru-bu {lu₂}gu-du-da-nu | |
| 16 | lu-ṣu-u₂-ma {lu₂}ERIM-ME-šu₂-nu ša₂ EDIN lu-ṣab-bit-u₂-ma | |
| 17 | liš-a-lu ki-i {lu₂}in-da-ru-a.a la—pa-ni-šu₂-nu i-ri-qu | |
| 18 | e-mu-qu li-ru-ub ina UGU URU-ME lid-du-u₂ | |
| 19 | LUGAL DINGIR-ME {d}AMAR.UTU it-ti LUGAL be-li₂-ia sa-lim | |
| 20 | mim-ma ma-la LUGAL be-li₂-a i-qab-bu-u₂ ip-pu-uš | |
| 21 | ina {giš}GU.ZA-ka aš₂-ba-a-ta {lu₂}KUR₂-MEŠ-ka | |
| 22 | ta-kam₂-mu a.a-bi-ka ta-kaš-šad u₃ KUR KUR₂-i-ka | |
| 23 | ta-šal-lal {d}EN iq-ta-bi um-ma a-ki-i | |
| 24 | {1}{d}AMAR.UTU—DUB—NUMUN {1}AN.ŠAR₂—ŠEŠ—SUM-na LUGAL KUR—aš-⸢šur⸣{[ki]} | |
| 25 | ina {giš}GU.ZA u₃ ina ŠA₃ a-ši-ib u₃ KUR.[KUR] | |
| r.e. | ||
| 26 | gab-bi a-na ŠU.2-šu₂ ⸢a⸣-man-ni LUGAL ⸢EN⸣ ni-[x x x] | |
| 27 | ha-di-iš LUGAL a-ki-i ša₂ i-le-[ʾu-u₂] | |
| 28 | li-pu-uš [o] | |
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.