ABL 0965 (P238201)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABL 0965 |
|---|---|
| ID | P238201 |
| 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/saa18 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | in [......], and the king [......]. |
| Obverse [2:8] o 3'3'–o 8'8' | Hin[numu o]f [Uruk] is gaining in everything that we [...] not [...]. It should be known to the king, my lord, (that) his accomplice, Ša-Nabû-šû, is publicly speaking as follows in the presence of Babylonians and [Uruk]ians: "The king has written to Hinnumu, saying: 'F[ear] not! The commandership of Uruk belongs to you. I shall not give it to anybody else in my entourage, and I shall place in [your han]ds all those who plotted against you.'" |
| Obverse [8:15] o 9'9'–o 15'15' | Also, he has sa[id] to Ahhešaya, the son of Nanaya-uṣalli: "Everything that the king is sp[eaking] to you and the Urukians is but a big lie. The chief eunuch com[es] daily into the presence of Hinnumu. As for you, do not grasp the feet of the king, (as) the king will not do anything [for you], but grasp the feet of Hinnumu and stay alive [...]! The cohort commander Nuriya and the chief eunuch, Aššur-naṣir, [...] have told me: 'You can rely on us.'" |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | When I heard [this talk], I (immediately) wrote to the king, my lord. Ahhešaya [...] (and) the scribe of Hinnumu should together be tried in the king's presence. |
| Obverse [16:22] o 17'17'–o 22'22' | [I am Bel-ušezib], your servant, your dog, and one who reveres you. [Let ...] to Ahh[ešaya]! This (kind of) talk is not (on behalf) of the king, my lord. Nobody knows anything of what he is thinking up [in his mind]. The lady T[a... and NN] do not know what is in his heart. Whether he will do good or [bad ...] is known (only) to him in his heart. Nobo[dy] says a word [......]. |
| Obverse [22:27] o 23'23'–o 27'27' | Now, if Hinnumu should give [......] and [...] inter[cede] for him in [the palace], let it be known [to the king], my lord, (that) the crimes of [Hinnumu against the king] are many. [He spoke] disloyally to the king, [your] father, (while) he wrote [......] to the king of Elam. [Did he] not [write him as follows]: |
| Obverse [27:32] o 28'28'– | "I [will] at my own expense [......]. May your messenger come and [...! If you ...], you will not defeat [...] and not [......]; you will retreat [...], (and) afterwards [......] will destroy my people." |
| Bottom [2:7] b.e. 3232– | The mes[senger of the king of Elam led him away ......]. He gave [the king of Elam] a chariot and hors[es ......] and 20 minas of gold from the temple [of ...]. And [he wrote] to the king of Elam: |
| Reverse [2:4] r 33–r 44 | "They have given to you [......]. The governo[r ......]. May the king appoint me in his service and [...]!" |
| Reverse [4:7] r 55–r 77 | When [...] we[nt] with him to Elam, he [......] used to move about in Elam as he wished. Afterwards they did not denig[rate him ...] to the king, your father. When he depart[ed, ...]. |
| Reverse [7:9] r 88–r 99 | Afterwards the king, your father, said to him: "You (dare to) give ten chariots [and horses] to the king of Elam!" Hinnumu said: "I was taken prisoner and handed over to the king of Elam." |
| Reverse [9:16] r 1010–r 1616 | An Urukian, [Bulluṭu], son of Hummuru, [testified against him] in the presence of the king, your father, and they were sentenced to an ordeal. Bulluṭu was saying: "You gave [ten chariots] and horses to the king of Elam. The Ur[ukians] did not hand you over." When they went to the ordeal, Bulluṭu came through cl[ear], but Hinnumu refused it. The king, your father, wr[ote to him] later on and told him: "You yourself [......] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 1717–r 1717 | Ahhešaya, the son of Nan[aya-uṣalli ......] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | old [...]s to [......] |
| Reverse [18:19] r 1919–r 1919 | of Nanaya-uṣal[li ......] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | when [he grasped] my feet, [......]." |
| Reverse [20:21] r 2121–r 2121 | And the king, your father, [......] to [...]. |
| Reverse [21:24] r 2222–r 2424 | And before the later (intervention) of the ki[ng ......], when they got up and w[ent ......], he m[arch]ed against Ur [......] |
| Reverse [24:25] r 2525–r 2525 | gives him [...] lance(r)s, 300 a[rchers ......] |
| Reverse [25:30] r 2626–r 3030 | Having lead (him) away [......], he m[ade him accept] the treaty of Zer-kitti-lišir and wrote [to Bel-iqiša] son of Bunanu: "[......! I] be[ar] the responsibility for barley and straw [......]." And Zer-kitti-lišir [...] his letters [...]. |
| Reverse [30:32] r 3131–r 3232 | And now [he ......] deserters from [GN], (and) is telling the people: "[......] |
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' | ⸢it⸣-[x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 2' | i-⸢na⸣ [x x x x x x]+⸢x-si⸣ u₃ LUGAL [x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 3' | {1}hi-in-[nu-mu {lu₂}UNUG{ki}a].⸢a⸣ i-na ŠA₃-bi mim-ma ša₂ la ni-[x x x x x x x x] | |
| 4' | it-tir ⸢x⸣+[x x a]-⸢na⸣ LUGAL be-li₂-ia lu-u₂ mi-di {1}ša₂—{d}⸢AG⸣—[šu₂-u x x x] | |
| 5' | ša₂ it-ti-⸢šu₂⸣ [x] ki-i u₂-ṣa-aʾ i-na pa-an {lu₂}TIN.TIR{ki}MEŠ u {lu₂}[UNUG{ki}a.a] | |
| 6' | i-dab-bu-ub um-ma LUGAL a-na {1}hi-in-nu-mu il-tap-ru um-ma la ⸢ta⸣-[pal-lah₃] | |
| 7' | {lu₂}GAR—UMUŠ-u₂-ti {lu₂}GAR—UMUŠ-u₂-ti ša₂ UNUG{ki} at-tu-ka IGI-ia a-na mam-ma ša₂-nam-[ma (x x)] | |
| 8' | ul a-nam-din u₃ ša₂ i-na UGU-hi-ka id-bu-bu-u₂ gab-bi-šu₂-nu ina ⸢ŠU⸣.2-ka] | |
| 9' | a-šak-kan u₃ a-na {1}ŠEŠ-MEŠ-ša₂-a DUMU-šu₂ ša₂ {1}{d}na-na-a—u₂-ṣal-li iq-⸢ta⸣-[bi] | |
| 10' | um-ma mim-ma ma-la LUGAL it-ti-ka u₃ it-ti {lu₂}UNUG{ki}a.a i-⸢dab₂⸣-[bu-bu] | |
| 11' | gab-bi pi-ir-ṣa-a-ta {lu₂}SAG—LUGAL {lu₂}SAG—LUGAL a-na pa-an {1}hi-in-nu-mu ša₂ UD-me-šu₂ il-⸢la⸣-[ka] | |
| 12' | at-ta i-na GIR₃.2-MEŠ ša₂ LUGAL la ta-ṣab-bat mim-ma LUGAL ul ip-pu-⸢šak⸣-[ka] | |
| 13' | ul i-nam-dak-ka ina GIR₃.2-ME ša₂ {1}hi-in-nu-mu ṣa-bat-ma bu-lu-⸢ṭu⸣ [x x x] | |
| 14' | {1}nu-ri-ia {lu₂}[GAL]—ki-ṣir {lu₂}[GAL]—ki-ṣir u₃ {1}aš-šur—ŠEŠ-ir {lu₂}GAL—SAG-MEŠ {lu₂}GAL—SAG-MEŠ [x x x x] | |
| 15' | iq-ta-bu-ni um-ma a-na UGU-hi-i-ni lu-u₂ tak-la-a-ta ⸢x⸣+[x x x x] | |
| 16' | ki-i aš₂-mu-u₂ a-na LUGAL EN-ia al-tap-ra {1}ŠEŠ-MEŠ-ša₂-a [x x x x x x] | |
| 17' | {lu₂}DUB.SAR ša₂ {1}hi-in-nu-mu a-ha-meš ina pa-an LUGAL lu-kin-⸢nu⸣ [a-na-ku {1}{d}EN—u₂-še-zib] | |
| 18' | ARAD-ka UR.KU-ka u pa-li-ih-ka a-na {1}ŠEŠ-[MEŠ-ša₂-a x x x x x] | |
| 19' | da-ba-bu a-ga-a ul ša₂ LUGAL be-li₂-ia šu-u₂ mim-ma [ma-la x x x x x] | |
| 20' | i-ke-ṣi-pu mam-ma ka-la-me ul i-di {mi₂}⸢ta⸣-[x x x x x x x] | |
| 21' | ša₂ ŠA₃-bi-šu₂ ul i-du-u₂ ki-i ba-ni-ti u₃ ⸢ki⸣-[i la ba-ni-ti x x x] | |
| 22' | ip-pu-šu it-ti ŠA₃-bi-šu₂ mi-da-aš₂-šu₂ ⸢mam⸣-[ma x x x x x x x x] | |
| 23' | a-mat ul i-qab-bi en-na ki-i {1}hi-in-nu-[mu x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 24' | i-nam-din-u₂-ma a-bu-us-su i-na [E₂.GAL x x iṣ-ṣa-bat a-na LUGAL] | |
| 25' | be-li₂-ia lu-u₂ mi-di hi-ṭu-a-ta ša₂ {1}hi-in-nu-mu ina IGI LUGAL] | |
| 26' | ma-a-da la kit-ti it-ti LUGAL AD-[ka x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 27' | a-na LUGAL {kur}NIM.MA{ki} il-tap-ru ul [ki-i pi-i an-nim-ma x x x] | |
| 28' | um-ma a-na-ku i-na ram-ni-ia [x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 29' | {lu₂}A—KIN-ka {lu₂}A—KIN-ka lil-li-kam₂-ma [x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| b.e. | ||
| 30 | ul ta-si-ik-kip-ma ul [x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 31 | ta-ni-ih-hi-si ar₂-ka-niš [x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 32 | UN-MEŠ-ia u₂-hal-laq {lu₂}A—[KIN {lu₂}A—[KIN x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 33 | i-ta-bak-šu₂ GIŠ.GIGIR u {anše}KUR.[RA-MEŠ x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | u₃ 20 MA.NA KUG.GI ul-tu E₂ [x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 2 | it-ta-din u₃ a-na LUGAL {kur}NIM.MA{[ki} il-tap-ra um-ma x x x x] | |
| 3 | it-tan-nu-nik-ka {lu₂}ša₂-kan-⸢nak⸣-[ku x x x x x x x x] | |
| 4 | LUGAL ina pa-ni-šu₂ li-ip-qi₂-dan-ni-⸢ma⸣ [x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 5 | it-ti-šu₂ a-na {kur}NIM.MA{ki} ki-i il-[li-ku x x x x x x x] | |
| 6 | a-ki-i ŠA₃-bi-šu₂ ina {kur}NIM.MA{ki} i-sig-ga ar₂-⸢ka⸣-[niš x x x x kar-ṣi-šu₂] | |
| 7 | a-na LUGAL AD-ka ul i-kul-u₂ ki-i it-ba-[a] ⸢x⸣ [x x x x x x] | |
| 8 | ar₂-ka-niš LUGAL a-bu-ka iq-ta-ba-aš₂-šu₂ um-ma 10 {giš}GIGIR-⸢MEŠ⸣ [u {anše}KUR.RA-MEŠ] | |
| 9 | a-na LUGAL {kur}NIM.MA{ki} ta-nam-din {1}hi-in-nu-mu iq-ta-bi [um-ma] | |
| 10 | ki-i iṣ-ba-tu-in-ni a-na LUGAL {kur}NIM.MA{ki} it-tan-nu-⸢in⸣-[ni {1}bul-lu-ṭu] | |
| 11 | DUMU-šu₂ ša₂ {1}hu-um-mu-ru {lu₂}UNUG{ki}a.a i-na pa-an LUGAL AD-ka ⸢x⸣+[x x x] | |
| 12 | hur-ša₂-an ina UGU-hi-šu₂-nu pa-ri-si {1}bul-lu-ṭu i-qab-bi um-⸢ma⸣ 10 {giš}GIGIR-MEŠ] | |
| 13 | u₃ {anše}KUR.RA-MEŠ a-na LUGAL {kur}NIM.MA{ki} ta-at-ta-din {lu₂}⸢UNUG⸣{[ki}a.a] | |
| 14 | ul id-din-u₂-ka hur-ša₂-an ki-i il-lik-u₂ {1}bul-lu-ṭu iz-[za-ka-aʾ] | |
| 15 | u₃ {1}hi-in-nu-mu it-tu-ru LUGAL a-bu-ka a-na ar₂-ki-ti ⸢il⸣-[tap-ru] | |
| 16 | u₃ iq-ta-ba-aš₂-šu₂ um-ma at-ta-ma [x x x x x x] ⸢x x x⸣ [x x x] | |
| 17 | {1}ŠEŠ-MEŠ-ša₂-a DUMU-šu₂ ša₂ {1}{d}na-⸢na⸣-[a—u₂-ṣal-li x x x x x x x] | |
| 18 | la-bi-ru-ti a-na ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 19 | ša₂ {1}{d}na-na-a—u₂-ṣal-[li x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 20 | i-na GIR₃.2-ME-ia ki-i ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 21 | u₃ LUGAL a-bu-ka a-na ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 22 | u₃ pa-an ar₂-ki-ti ša₂ ⸢LUGAL⸣ [x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 23 | ki-i it-bu-u₂ ki-i ⸢il⸣-[li-ku x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 24 | a-na UGU-hi {uru}u₂-ru it-⸢ta⸣-[lak x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 25 | {giš}as-ma-ra-a-ne₂-e 03-me {lu₂}⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 26 | id-da-aš₂-šu₂ ki-i i-bu-ku-⸢ma⸣ [x x x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 27 | a-de-e ša₂ {1}NUMUN—kit-tu₂—SI.SA₂ ⸢ul⸣-[te-eṣ-bit₂-ma a-na {1}{d}EN—BA-ša₂] | |
| 28 | DUMU-šu₂ ša₂ {1}bu-na-nu il-tap-ru ⸢um⸣-[ma x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 29 | pu-u₂-tu {še}BAR u {še}IN.NU na-[ša₂-ku x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 30 | u₃ ši-pir-e-ti-šu₂ {1}NUMUN—kit-⸢ti⸣—[SI.SA₂ x x x x x x x x] | |
| 31 | u₃ en-na {lu₂}ma-aq-tu-tu ša₂ ul-⸢tu⸣ [x x x x x x x x x x] | |
| 32 | a-na ⸢UN⸣-MEŠ i-⸢qab-bi⸣ [um-ma x x] [x x x x x x x x x] | |
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.