ABL 0043 (P333995)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABL 0043 |
|---|---|
| ID | P333995 |
| 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 [0:4] o 1o 1–o 44 | To the king, my lord: your servant Akkullanu. Good health to the king, my lord! May Nabû and Marduk bless the king, my lord! |
| Obverse [4:7] o 55–o 77 | Concerning the constant sheep offering and the regular deliveries to Aššur about which the king, my lord, wrote to his servant: "Who of the magnates have not agreed to give them?" — |
| Obverse [7:12] o 88–o 1212 | I was not able to specify (them and thus) did not write to the king, my lord yesterday. (Now then) here are the magnates who have not given the sheep offerings: |
| Obverse [12:16] o 1313–o 1616 | The governors of Barhalzi, Raṣappa, Kilizi, Isana, Tillê, Kullania, and Arpadda. All (these) have not given the constant sheep-offering. |
| Obverse [16:27] o 1717– | Raṣappa, Barhalzi, Diquqina, the chief of granaries, Dayyan-Adad, Isana, Halzi-atbar, Birtu, Arzuhina, Arbela, Guzana, Šahuppa, Tamnuna, Talmusa. All these have not given the regular deliveries of barley and emmer. |
| Reverse [0:10] r 1r 1–r 1010 | Furthermore, concerning the priest of the cook's house, the priest of the confectioner's and the chief baker, about whom the king, my lord, inquired, they were originally shaved. Their story is as follows: The priest of the little cook's house was shaved by Sennacherib, (but) a priest from Nineveh, Aššur-zeru-iddina, denounced him and he was flogged with leather whips. He retained his headgear, (however, since) he had committed no serious crime. |
| Reverse [10:17] r 1111–r 1717 | The father of the (present) priest of the confectioner's house set the (sacrificial) table of Aššur; whereupon he was killed. This one was appointed by your father to take care of the table. He is son of an owner of a headgear; (it is only) due to an oversight (that) he has not been shaved. |
| Reverse [17:28] r 1818– | And concerning the chief baker, Sennacherib ap[pointed] him to supervise their 'bread.' Indeed he was shaved and received his headgear in his reign. It is now the eighth year since he died, and his son is at present 'standing with his hair' (expecting to be shaved). |
| Edge [0:2] e. 1e. 1–e. 22 | Indeed, in the old times — until the reigns of Sargon and Sennacherib — they were shaved. This was their story; the king, my lord, may act as he prefers. |
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 EN-ia | |
| 2 | ARAD-ka {1}ak-kul-la-nu | |
| 3 | lu-u šul-mu a-na LUGAL EN-ia₂ | |
| 4 | {d}AG u {d}AMAR.UTU a-na LUGAL EN-ia₂ lik-ru-bu | |
| 5 | ina UGU {udu}da-ri-e gi-ne₂-e ša aš-šur | |
| 6 | ša LUGAL be-li₂ a-na {lu₂}ARAD-šu₂ iš-pur-an-ni | |
| 7 | ma-a man-nu ina {lu₂}GAL-MEŠ ša la im-ma-gur-u-ni | |
| 8 | la i-din-u-ni la u₂-ša₂-an-ṣi | |
| 9 | la u₂-si-ik ina ti-ma-li | |
| 10 | a-na LUGAL EN-ia₂ la-a aš₂-pu-ra | |
| 11 | an-nu-te {lu₂}GAL-MEŠ ša {udu}⸢da-ri-i⸣ | |
| 12 | la-a id-din-u-ni | |
| 13 | {lu₂}EN.NAM {kur}bar-hal-za | |
| 14 | {kur}ra-ṣap-pa {uru}kal₃-zi | |
| 15 | {uru}i-sa-na {uru}til-e {kur}kul-la-ni-a | |
| 16 | {uru}ar-pad-da PAB ša da-ri-i la i-din-u-⸢ni⸣ | |
| 17 | {kur}ra-ṣap-pa {kur}bar-hal-za | |
| 18 | {kur}di-qu-ki-na {lu₂}GAL—kar-man {lu₂}GAL—kar-man {1}DI.KUD—{d}IM | |
| 19 | {uru}i-sa-na {kur}hal-zi—AD.BAR | |
| 20 | {uru}bir-tum {uru}ar-zu-hi-na | |
| 21 | {uru}arba-il₃ {uru}gu-za-na | |
| b.e. | ||
| 22 | {uru}ša₂-hu-pa {uru}tam-nu-na | |
| 23 | {uru}tal-mu-su PAB an-nu-te | |
| 24 | ša {še}PAD-MEŠ {še}ZIZ₂.AM₃ | |
| 25 | gi-nu-u la i-din-u-ni | |
| r | ||
| 1 | u₃ ina UGU {lu₂}SANGA E₂ {lu₂}MU | |
| 2 | {lu₂}SANGA SUM.NINDA {lu₂}GAL—NINDA-MEŠ {lu₂}GAL—NINDA-MEŠ | |
| 3 | ša LUGAL be-li iš-al-u-ni | |
| 4 | TA@v re-e-ši gal-lu-bu | |
| 5 | ki-i an-ni-i šu-u-tu₂ ṭe₃-en-šu₂-nu | |
| 6 | {lu₂}SANGA ša E₂ {lu₂}MU ṣe-eh-ri | |
| 7 | {1}30—PAB-MEŠ—SU ug-da-lib-šu₂ | |
| 8 | {1}aš-šur—NUMUN—AŠ {lu₂}SANGA ša {uru}NINA | |
| 9 | kar-ṣi-šu₂ e-ta-kal ina mar-ša₂-a-ni | |
| 10 | ha-a-si {tug₂}U.SAG-šu₂ ma-hi-ir | |
| 11 | la-a hi-ṭu dan-nu ih-ṭi ⸢AD-šu₂ ša⸣ | |
| 12 | {lu₂}SANGA ša E₂ {lu₂}SUM.NINDA | |
| 13 | {giš}BANŠUR ša aš-šur ik-ta-ra-ar | |
| 14 | ina UGU-hi de-e-ke an-ni-u | |
| 15 | AD-ka ina ku-me-šu₂ ina pa-an {giš}BANŠUR | |
| 16 | ip-ti-qi-su DUMU EN {tug₂}U.SAG šu-u | |
| 17 | ina la šah-sa-su-te la gal-lu-ub | |
| 18 | u₃ ina UGU {lu₂}GAL—NINDA-MEŠ {lu₂}GAL—NINDA-MEŠ | |
| 19 | {1}30—PAB-MEŠ—SU ina UGU ak-li-šu₂-nu | |
| 20 | ⸢ip⸣-[ti-qi-su] ⸢ket⸣-tu ina ŠA₃-bi-šu₂ | |
| 21 | ⸢gal-lu-ub⸣ {tug₂}U.SAG-šu₂ ma-hir | |
| 22 | an-nu-rig 08 MU.AN.NA | |
| r.e. | ||
| 23 | TA@v be₂-et mi-tu-u-ni | |
| 24 | u₂-ma-a DUMU-šu₂ | |
| 25 | TA@v pi-ir-ti-šu₂ | |
| 26 | iz-za-az | |
| e. | ||
| 1 | ket-tu₂ ina la-bi-ri a-du ŠA₃ {1}MAN—GIN {1}30—PAB-MEŠ—SU | |
| 2 | gal-lu-bu an-ni-u šu-u-tu₂ ṭe₃-en-šu₂-nu LUGAL be-li₂ | |
| 3 | ki-i ša i-la-u-ni le-pu-uš | |
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.