CT 54, 212 (P238758)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | CT 54, 212 |
|---|---|
| ID | P238758 |
| 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 [0:1] o 1o 1–o 1o 1 | [To the king of the lands, my lord]: your [ser]vant Bel-ušezib. [May] Bel, Nabû and Š[amaš bless the king, my lord]! |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | [If] the moon becomes visible on the 1st day: reliable speech, [the land will become happy]. |
| Obverse [2:5] o 33–o 55 | [When I wrote to the king], saying, "Cancer [stands] in the halo of the moon," [...] did not deliver [my letter to the king], but they took it, [erased] the omen without [...], and c[oncealed] from the king the portent that had come. |
| Obverse [5:8] o 66–o 88 | [The great gods] who dwell in heaven and earth have suddenly [repented, and] their mind [with regard to Ni]ppur and Babylon has changed. The lord of kings [knows that I am] more devoted [t]o Babylon than to Nippur. How could I change anything that [the gods have decreed]? |
| Obverse [8:13] o 99–o 1313 | Nippur is a dynastic house and a temple of the [great] gods [of heaven and e]arth. It is not summoned for state service and it [does not pay] tribute. They do only the king's [wor]k that the king can legally claim, (and) [do] not [...] corve therein. It is [...] the eternal [c]ity of Enlil, the lord of all lands, the organiser of heaven and earth. [...], no malicious finger is pointed at it. And the king who [rules over it], should recognise [its privileges], so his days will be long. |
| Obverse [13:17] o 1414– | Now I, your servant, [shall ...] every[thing]. I shall g[o to Nippur]. If the lord of kings rebuilds Babylon, the land of Ak[kad in its entirety (and) the citizens of Bab]ylon should reciprocate, so that the name of the king, my lord, [will be mentioned] graciously [forever]. |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | [Nippur], like Babylon, is a destroyed sanctuary, and its repair work has not been ord[ered. Now] let the [servants] of the king rebuild Nippur on their own. |
| Reverse [1:7] r 22–r 77 | [You are] a strong, able and [righteous] king. May the lord of kings attend to [Nippu]r in the same way as to Babylon. The well-known tablet, 'If a king does not h[eed] justice' [... s]ays: "Be it a king, a šandabakku, an overseer, or an [administrator], [who] puts state service [on Si]ppar, Nippur and Babylon, and [imposes] corve on the houses of the gods, [the]se great gods will become angry and not enter their chapels." It will happe[n. The lord of kings], should inquire (about it) and let them bring the tablet and read it in the king's presence. |
| Reverse [7:10] r 88–r 1010 | [The ... who] said [to the ki]ng, my lord, "The Nippurians and the Sippari[ans are ...]; the king should not accept [... b]ecause of (them)" — all the inhabitants of the [land of A]kkad [...] Babylon. [Now], let the house of the great gods in Nippur be [rebuilt] by the command of the king. |
| Reverse [10:14] r 1111–r 1414 | [Perhaps the king will s]ay: "Have they started a lawsuit against somebody?" By Bel, Nabû, (and) the gods of the kin[g ...], I sent these words to the king, my lord, [only today]. May [the lord of kings] do [as he deems best], and may Enlil, Šamaš and Marduk, the [great] gods, [and the gods of Nippu]r and Babylon length[en] the days of the king, my lord. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 1515–r 1515 | [I am Bel-ušezib], your [ser]vant and one who reveres you. [May I see light] under the aegis of the king, [my] lor[d]. |
| Reverse [15:17] r 1616–r 1717 | May the king not forsake Kunâ [...]! As to the dese[rters, let] them [c]ome [...] and [...] about the [...] of Elam. |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | [Nabû-šumu-išk]un and [NN know] all (about it). |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | [......] them, and afterwards the king [...] |
| Reverse [20:21] r 2121–r 2121 | [...... s]ent [...] |
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-šib {d}EN {d}AG u {d⸣}[UTU a-na LUGAL] | |
| 2 | [be-li₂-ia lik-ru-bu 1 {d}30 UD 01-KAM₂ IGI-ir KA-u₂ ⸢GI.NA⸣ [ŠA₃ KUR DUG₃-ab x x x x] | |
| 3 | [x x x x x x]+⸢x um-ma {mul⸣}AL.LUL ina ⸢TUR₃⸣ 30 [x x x x x x x x] | |
| 4 | [x x x x x x] ⸢x⸣ ul it-ta-din i-ṣab-tu GISKIM ša₂ la [x x x x] | |
| 5 | [x x x x x] u₃ GISKIM ša₂ tal-li-ka la—pa-an LUGAL ⸢ik⸣-[ta-at-mu] | |
| 6 | [DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ] a-ši-bu AN-e u₃ KI.TIM ul-tu ul-la-nu-um-⸢ma⸣ [x x] | |
| 7 | [ina UGU EN].LIL₂{ki} u₃ TIN.TIR{ki} ṭe₃-en-šu₂-nu il-te-nim EN LUGAL-⸢MEŠ⸣ [x x x] | |
| 8 | [x a-na] ⸢UGU⸣ TIN.TIR{ki} al-la EN.LIL₂{ki} am-ra-ku mim-ma ša₂ ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x] | |
| 9 | [x x x] ak-ka-a-i lu-še-en-ni EN.LIL₂{ki} E₂—AD-MEŠ E₂—AD-MEŠ E₂ DINGIR-⸢MEŠ⸣ [GAL-MEŠ ša₂ AN-e] | |
| 10 | [u₃] ⸢KI⸣.TIM šu-u₂ a-na il-ki ul id-de-ek-ku-u₂ man-da-at-ta [x x x x x x] | |
| 11 | [dul]-⸢li⸣ LUGAL ša₂ LUGAL i-ger-ru-ma ip-pu-šu tup-šik-ku ina ŠA₃-bi ul ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x] | |
| 12 | [x x] ⸢URU⸣ ṣa-a-ta ša₂ {d}EN.LIL₂ EN KUR.KUR pa-qid AN-e u₃ KI.TIM šu-u₂ ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x] | |
| 13 | [x x x]+⸢x⸣ ŠU.SI HUL-tim ar₂-ki-šu₂ ul it-tar-ra-ṣu u₃ LUGAL ša₂ a-[x x x x x x x x] | |
| 14 | [x x x lu]-ma-as-si UD-me-šu₂ GID₂.DA-MEŠ en-na a-na-ku ARAD-ka ka-⸢la⸣-[mu x x x x] | |
| 15 | [x x x x]-a al-⸢lak⸣ ki-i TIN.TIR{ki} EN LUGAL-MEŠ ip-pu-šu KUR—⸢URI⸣{[ki} x x x x] | |
| 16 | [x x TIN].TIR{ki} li-pu-lu u₃ šu-mu ša₂ LUGAL be-li₂-ia ina SIG₅-⸢tim⸣ [x x x] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [EN.LIL₂]{ki} ki-ma TIN.TIR{ki} aʾ-a-ku šul-pu-tu₂ u₃ ba-taq-šu₂ ul ša₂-ap-⸢x⸣+[x x x] | |
| 2 | [x x x] LUGAL i-na ram-ni-šu₂-nu EN.LIL₂{ki} li-pu-šu₂ LUGAL dan-nu le-ʾu-u₂ u₃ [ki-i-nu at-ta] | |
| 3 | [EN.LIL₂]{ki} ki-ma TIN.TIR{ki}ma EN LUGAL-MEŠ lid-gul ṭup-pi šu-⸢u₂ LUGAL ana⸣ di-i-ni la i-⸢qu⸣-[ul] | |
| 4 | [x x] ⸢iq⸣-ta-bi um-ma lu-u₂ LUGAL lu-u₂ {lu₂}GU₂.EN.NA lu-u₂ {lu₂}ak-lum lu-u₂ {lu₂}[ša₂-pi-ru] | |
| 5 | [ša₂ il-ku UGU UD].⸢KIB⸣.NUN{ki} EN.LIL₂{ki} u₃ TIN.TIR{ki} iš-šak-kan-u₂-ma tup-šik-ku E₂-MEŠ DINGIR-MEŠ [im-mi-du] | |
| 6 | [an]-⸢nu⸣-tu DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ ig-ga-gu-ma ul ir-ru-bu a-na ki-iṣ-ṣi-šu₂-nu i-ne₂-ep-⸢piš⸣ [o] | |
| 7 | [EN LUGAL-MEŠ] liš-ša₂-al u₃ ṭup-pi liš-šu-nim-ma ina pa-an LUGAL lil-su-⸢u₂⸣ [o] | |
| 8 | [ša₂ a-na] ⸢LUGAL⸣ be-li₂-ia iq-ta-bu-u₂ um-ma {lu₂}EN.LIL₂{ki}MEŠ u₃ {lu₂}UD.KIB.⸢NUN⸣{[ki}MEŠ x x] | |
| 9 | [x x x x] ⸢la⸣—pa-an LUGAL la i-mah-har {lu₂}[KUR]—⸢URI⸣{ki}MEŠ gab-bi TIN.TIR{ki} ⸢x⸣+[x x x] | |
| 10 | [x x x x x] ša₂ pi-i LUGAL E₂ DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ ša₂ i-na EN.LIL₂{ki} lu-⸢x⸣+[x x x] | |
| 11 | [x x x x i]-⸢qab⸣-bi um-ma mam-ma ig-ru-u {d}EN {d}PA DINGIR-MEŠ ša₂ ⸢LUGAL⸣ [x x] | |
| 12 | [x x x x x]+⸢x⸣ da-ba-ba an-na-a a-na LUGAL be-li₂-ia aš₂-pu-⸢ra⸣ [EN LUGAL-ME] | |
| 13 | [ki-i ša₂ i-le-ʾu-u₂] li-pu-uš-⸢ma⸣ {d}EN.LIL₂ {d}UTU u {d}AMAR.UTU DINGIR-MEŠ [GAL-MEŠ] | |
| 14 | [DINGIR-MEŠ ša₂ EN.LIL₂]{⸢ki⸣} u₃ TIN.TIR{ki} UD-MEŠ ša₂ LUGAL be-li₂-ia lu-ur-⸢ri⸣-[ku o] | |
| 15 | [a-na-ku {1}{d}EN—u₂-še-zib] ⸢ARAD⸣-ka u₃ pa-li-ih-ka ina GIŠ.MI LUGAL be-⸢li₂⸣-[ia x x x] | |
| 16 | [x x x x x x]+⸢x⸣ {1}ku-na-a LUGAL la u₂-maš-šar aš₂-šu₂ {lu₂}ma-⸢aq⸣-[tu-ti] | |
| 17 | [x x x x x x lil]-⸢li⸣-ku-nim-ma ina UGU [x x] ša₂ {kur}NIM.MA{⸢ki⸣} [x x x x] | |
| 18 | [x x x x {1}d.AG—MU—GAR]-un u {1}{[d}x]—⸢x x x⸣ gab-[bi x x x] | |
| 19 | [x x x x x x x x x x] ⸢IGI⸣-MEŠ ⸢la it-ti x⸣+[x x x x] | |
| 20 | [x x x x x x x x x x x]+⸢x⸣-šu₂-nu-tu₂ u ar₂-ka-niš LUGAL [x x x] | |
| 21 | [x x x x x x x x x x x] ⸢x x x x⸣-tap-⸢ra⸣ [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.