ABRT 1, 05 - 06 (P313430)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABRT 1, 05 - 06 |
|---|---|
| ID | P313430 |
| 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/saa03 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:2] o 1o 1–o 22 | [I constantly spe]ak in praise of you, Nabû, in the assembly of the great gods; may [the host of] those who [wish] me ill not take possession of my life! |
| Obverse [2:4] o 33–o 44 | [In the temple of the Queen of Ni]neveh I approach you, hero among the gods, his brothers; [you are the t]rust of Assurbanipal for ever and ever! |
| Obverse [4:6] o 55–o 66 | [Ever since] I was [a small child] I have lain at the feet of Nabû; [do not abandon me] to the assembly of my ill-wishers, O Nabû!" |
| Obverse [6:10] o 77–o 1010 | Pay a[ttent]ion, Assurbanipal! I am Nabû. Until the end of time your feet shall not grow slack, your hands not tremble; your lips shall not become weary in praying to me; your tongue shall not falter on your lips, |
| Obverse [10:12] o 1111–o 1212 | Because I will endow you with pleasant speech. I will lift your head and straighten your body in the House of Emašmaš. |
| Obverse [12:15] o 1313–o 1515 | Nabû continues: "That pleasant mouth of yours which constantly prays to Urkittu; your figure, which I created, prays incessantly to me in Emašmaš. |
| Obverse [15:17] o 1616–o 1717 | "Your fate, which I devised, incessantly prays to me thus: 'Bring safety into Egašankalamma!' |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | "Your soul incessantly prays to me: 'Prolong the life of Assurbanipal!'" |
| Obverse [18:21] o 1919–o 2121 | Assurbanipal is on his knees, praying incessantly to Nabû, his lord: Please, Nabû, do not abandon me! My life is written before you, my soul is deposited in the lap of Mullissu. |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | Please, powerful Nabû, do not abandon me among those who wish me ill! |
| Obverse [22:23] o 2323–o 2323 | A dream god answered from the presence of Nabû, his lord: |
| Obverse [23:26] o 2424–o 2626 | Fear not, Assurbanipal! I will give you long life, I will entrust pleasant breezes with your soul; my pleasant mouth shall ever bless you in the assembly of the great gods. |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | Assurbanipal opened his hands, praying incessantly to Nabû, his lord: |
| Reverse [1:3] r 22–r 33 | May he who grasped the feet of the Queen of Nineveh not come to shame in the assembly of the great gods; may he who sits next to Urkittu not come to shame in the assembly of those who wish him ill! |
| Reverse [3:5] r 44–r 55 | Do not abandon me to the assembly of those who wish me ill, O Nabû! Do not abandon my life to the assembly of my adversaries!" |
| Reverse [5:8] r 66–r 88 | You were a child, Assurbanipal, when I left you with the Queen of Nineveh; you were a baby, Assurbanipal, when you sat in the lap of the Queen of Nineveh! Her four teats are placed in your mouth; two you suck, and two you milk to your face. |
| Reverse [8:10] r 99–r 1010 | Your ill-wishers, Assurbanipal, will fly away like pollen on the surface of the water. They will be squashed before your feet like burbillātu insects in spring! |
| Reverse [10:11] r 1111–r 1111 | You, Assurbanipal, you will stand before the great gods and praise Nabû! |
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 | [ad-da-na-ab]-⸢bu⸣-ub ta-na-at-ta-ka {d}PA ina UKKIN DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ | |
| 2 | [ina UKKIN ha-ad]-⸢da⸣-nu-u-a la it-ta-nak-ša₂-du ZI-MEŠ-ia | |
| 3 | [ina E₂ {d}šar-rat]—⸢NINA⸣{ki} at-ta-na-ah-har-ka qar-rad DINGIR-MEŠ ŠEŠ-MEŠ-šu₂ | |
| 4 | [at-ta-ma tu]-kul-ti\t {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A a-na ur-kiš a-na ma-te-ma | |
| 5 | [ul-tu ṣe-eh]-⸢ra⸣-ku at-te-ʾi-i-la ina GIR₃.2 {d}PA | |
| 6 | [la tu-maš-šar-an-ni] {d}AG ina UKKIN ha-ad-da-nu-u-a | |
| 7 | ⸢ad⸣-[da-ni]-ka {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ana-ku {d}PA a-di ṣa-at UD-me | |
| 8 | GIR₃.2-MEŠ-ka la is-sa-nam-ma-a la i-nar-ru-ṭa ŠU.2-MEŠ-ka | |
| 9 | an-na-a-te NUNDUN-MEŠ-ka la en-na-ha a-na mi-tah-hu-ri-ia | |
| 10 | EME-ka la ta-at-ta-ni-gi-ir TA@v NUNDUN-MEŠ-ka | |
| 11 | ša a-na-ku da-ba-bu DUG₃.GA at-ta-na-ad-da-nak-ka | |
| 12 | a-mat-tah SAG\t-ka u₂-šat-tah la-an-ka ina E₂ E₂.MAŠ.MAŠ | |
| 13 | {d}PA iq-ṭa-nab-bi ma-a pi-i-ka am-mi₃-u ša DUG₃.GA | |
| 14 | ša it-ta-na-ah-ha-ra a-na {d}ur-kit-tu | |
| 15 | la-an-ka ša ab-nu-u-ni it-ta-na-ah-har-an-ni a-na i-tu-us-si ina E₂.MAŠ.MAŠ | |
| 16 | šim-ta\d-ka ša ab-nu-u-ni [o] ta\d-at-ta\d-na-ah-har-an-ni | |
| 17 | ma-a tuq-nu bi-la ina E₂.GAŠAN.KALAM.MA | |
| 18 | ZI-MEŠ-ka it-ta-na-ah-har-a-ni ma-a TI\t.LA-su ur-rik ša₂ {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A | |
| 19 | ka-mi₃-iṣ ina ki-in\d-ṣe-e-šu₂ {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A it-ta-na-ah-har a-na {d}AG\t EN-šu₂ | |
| 20 | ad-da-ni-ka {d}AG la tu-maš-šar\p-an-ni ia-a-ši | |
| 21 | TI\t.LA-MU ina IGI-ka ša₂-ṭir ZI-MEŠ-ia paq-da ina UR₂ {d}NIN.LIL₂ | |
| 22 | ad-da-ni-ka {d}PA gaš-ru la tu-maš-šar\p-an-ni ia₂-ši ina bi-rit ha-da-nu-u-a | |
| 23 | e-tap-la za-ki-qu TA@v IGI {d}PA EN-šu₂ | |
| 24 | la ta-pal-lah₃ {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ZI-MEŠ GID₂.DA-MEŠ ad-da-nak-ka | |
| 25 | IM-MEŠ DUG₃.GA-MEŠ TA@v ZI-MEŠ-ka a-paq-qid | |
| 26 | pi-ia am-mi₃-u ša DUG₃.GA ik-ta-nar-rab-ka ina UKKIN DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ | |
| r | ||
| 1 | ip-te-te {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A up-ni-šu₂ it-ta-na-ah-har a-na {d}PA EN-šu₂ | |
| 2 | ša₂ iṣ-ba-tu ina GIR₃.2 {d}šar\p-rat—NINA{ki} la i-lu-ad ina UKKIN DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ | |
| 3 | ša₂ ina qa-an-ni ša {d}ur-kit-tu ka-mus la i-lu-ad ina UKKIN ha-da-nu-te-šu₂ | |
| 4 | ina UKKIN ha-da-nu-te-ia la tu-maš-šar\p-an-ni {d}AG | |
| 5 | ina UKKIN EN—ṣa-as-si-ia la tu-maš-ša₂-ra ZI-MEŠ-ia | |
| 6 | ṣe-eh-ru at-ta {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ša u₂-maš-šir-u-ka ina UGU {d}šar-rat—NINA{ki} | |
| 7 | la-ku-u at-ta {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ša aš₂-ba-ka ina bur-ki {d}šar\p-rat—NINA{ki} | |
| 8 | er-bi zi-ze-e-ša₂ ina pi-ka šak\t-na 02 te-en-ni-iq 02 ta-hal-lip₂ ana pa-ni-ka | |
| 9 | ha-da-nu-te-ka {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ki-i si-pi ina pa-an me-e i-šu-ʾu | |
| 10 | ki-i bur-bi-il-la-a-te ša pa-an šat-ti\t un-ta-at-ar-ru-qu ina IGI GIR₃.2-ka | |
| 11 | ta-az-za-az {1}AN.ŠAR₂—DU₃—A ina tar-ṣi DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ tu-na-ʾa-ad ana {d}PA | |
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.