ABL 0211 (P334154)
Letter, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | ABL 0211 |
|---|---|
| ID | P334154 |
| 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/saa16 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:3] o 1o 1–o 33 | To the king, my lord: your servant [Mannu-k]i-Libbali. Good health to the king, my lord! May Bel (and) Nabû bless the king, my lord. |
| Obverse [3:12] o 44–o 1212 | As to the matter of the 'third man' and the chariot driver of the palace scribe, about whom the king, my lord, wrote to his servant, saying: "Tell me the truth!" — how could I speak dishonestly to the king, my lord? What have I been able to give to my lord in exchange for this favour that the king, my lord, has shown his servant? Would the patronage of the palace scribe have had such an influence over me that I would still be obliged to him? (No), I shall tell to the king, my lord, the thing that I have seen and heard. |
| Obverse [12:22] o 1313– | The king, my lord, knows from those times when I was (still) in his service how he used to regard me and what trust he used to place in me. (But) ever since the king, my lord, appointed me to his household, it has been intolerable to him. [In fact, he told] the king, my lord, not to appoint me. He regards me as a mortal enemy. He has gone [...] (and) he has been spreading tales about me — [the king], my lord, should ask the [...]s and the servants of the palace scribe. |
| Bottom [0:8] b.e. 22b.e. 22– | Hence, now that we have settled the Kushite girls in the royal palace — a matter about which I wrote several times to the king, my lord — Kanunayu, the deputy, has made me out to be even more hateful to him, and he (now) regards me as very much of a mortal enemy indeed. |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | It is in this light that the king, my lord, should determine what the truth is. |
| Reverse [5:12] r 66–r 1212 | I swear that I did not know (and) did not learn about this matter, that I am not implicated in it, that I have told the king, my lord, (the truth about) what I heard in the inner precinct of Calah, what the wife of the 'third man' speaks against me, and (why) I refused to litigate with her, saying, "Let the king determine my veracity." |
| Reverse [12:17] r 1313–r 1717 | Bel and Nabû have given vast insight to the king, my lord. If I am implicated in this matter, let the king, my lord, punish me. |
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 ARAD-ka {1}man-nu]—⸢ki⸣—{uru}ŠA₃—URU | |
| 2 | lu DI-mu a-na LUGAL EN-ia | |
| 3 | {d}EN {d}PA a-na LUGAL EN-ia lik-ru-bu | |
| 4 | ina UGU {lu₂v}03.U₅ {lu₂v}mu-kil—{kuš}PA-MEŠ {lu₂v}mu-kil—{kuš}PA-MEŠ ša {lu₂v}A.BA—KUR {lu₂v}A.BA—KUR | |
| 5 | ša LUGAL be-li₂ a-na ARAD-šu₂ iš-pu-ra-an-ni | |
| 6 | ma-a ina ket-te qi-bi-a a-ke-<e> a-na-ku | |
| 7 | TA@v LUGAL EN-ia la ket-tu ad-da-bu-ub | |
| 8 | ina ŠA₃ MUN an-ni-te ša LUGAL be-li₂ a-na ARAD-šu₂ e-pu-šu₂-u-ni | |
| 9 | a-na-ku ina ku-me mi-i-nu a-na EN-ia u₂-sa-hi-ir | |
| 10 | MUN-u₂ ša {lu₂v}A.BA—E₂.GAL {lu₂v}A.BA—E₂.GAL ina UGU-hi-ia te-te-qe | |
| 11 | IGI.2-MEŠ-šu₂ a-da-gal a-bu-tu₂ ša a-mur-u-ni | |
| 12 | aš₂-mu-u-ni a-na LUGAL EN-ia la-aq-bi | |
| 13 | TA@v UD-MEŠ am-ma-te a-ki ina IGI-šu₂ a-za-zu-ni | |
| 14 | LUGAL be-li₂ u₂-da a-ki i-da-gal-an-ni-ni | |
| 15 | u₃ pa-ni-šu₂ ina UGU-hi-ia-a-ni TA@v mar LUGAL be-li₂ | |
| 16 | ina ⸢E₂-šu₂⸣ ip-qid-an-ni-ni ina IGI-šu₂ la mah-ri | |
| 17 | [u₃ ina] UGU la pa-qa-di-ia a-na LUGAL EN-ia | |
| 18 | [i-da-bu-ub] a-ki EN—da-me EN—da-me i-da-gal-an-ni | |
| 19 | [x x x]-šu₂ it-ta-lak us-sa-ta-ʾi-da-ni | |
| 20 | [a-na x x]+⸢x⸣-MEŠ u₃ {lu₂v}ARAD-MEŠ-šu₂ ša {lu₂v}A.BA—KUR {lu₂v}A.BA—KUR | |
| 21 | [LUGAL] be-li₂ liš-ʾa-al | |
| b.e. | ||
| 22 | [i—da]-a-te [i—da]-a-te u₂-ma-a a-ki GEME₂-MEŠ | |
| 23 | {[kur}ku]-sa-a-a-te nu-ša₂-aṣ-bat-u-ni | |
| 24 | [ina] ⸢UGU⸣ E₂ ša LUGAL ša 02-šu₂ 03-šu₂ | |
| r | ||
| 1 | a-na LUGAL EN-ia aš₂-pur-an-ni | |
| 2 | {1}{iti}AB-a.a {lu₂v}02-u₂ ina IGI-šu₂ | |
| 3 | us-sa-an-zi-ir-an-ni ša a—dan-niš | |
| 4 | a-ki EN—da-me-šu₂ EN—da-me-šu₂ id-da-gal-an-ni | |
| 5 | ina UGU an-ni-te LUGAL be-li₂ lu-ki-in-ma | |
| 6 | ⸢šum₂⸣-ma a-bu-tu₂ an-ni-tu₂ u₂-du-ni | |
| 7 | aš₂-mu-u-ni ina ŠA₃-bi qur-ba-ku-u-ni | |
| 8 | a-na LUGAL EN-ia la aq-bu-u-ni | |
| 9 | ina UGU ša ina qab-si {uru}kal₃-ha aš₂-mu-u-ni | |
| 10 | MI₂-šu₂ ša {lu₂v}03-šu₂ ina UGU-hi-ia ta-da-bu-bu-u-ni | |
| 11 | la a-ma-gur₂-u-ni is-si-ša₂ la a-da-bu-u-ni | |
| 12 | mu-uk LUGAL lu-ki-na-an-ni-ni | |
| 13 | {d}EN u {d}AG uz-nu ra-pa-aš₂-tu | |
| 14 | a-na LUGAL EN-ia it-ta-nu | |
| 15 | a—ki-ma a—ki-ma ina ŠA₃ a-bi-te an-ni-te | |
| 16 | qur-ba-ku LUGAL be-li₂ | |
| 17 | a-na ši-ip-ṭi liš-kun-an-ni | |
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.