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VS 16, 001 (P372858)
Letter, Old Babylonian, Sippar-Yahrurum · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | VS 16, 001 |
|---|---|
| ID | P372858 |
| Museum no. | VAT 00703 |
| Collection | Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Letter |
| Find spot | Sippar-Yahrurum (mod. Tell Abu Habbah) |
| Coordinates | 33.0605, 44.2552 |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched)
Machine draft. The right-hand column is machine English from ixmon/atf-to-english (atf-en-t5base-F, 2026-10-17), generated line by line from the transliteration. It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| obverse | ||
| 1 | a-na a-ha-ti-ia | to my brother |
| 2 | qi2-bi2-ma | speak! |
| 3 | um-ma {d}marduk-na-s,i-ir-ma | Thus Marduk-nāṣir: |
| 4 | {d}utu u3 {d}marduk asz-szu-mi-ia da-ri-isz _u4_-mi | May Šamaš and Marduk forever be my friends. |
| 5 | li-ba-al-li-t,u2-ki | may they keep you alive! |
| 6 | lu sza-al-ma-ti lu ba-al-t,a-ti lu da-ri-a-ti | Be it pure, be it old age or eternal, |
| 7 | _dingir_ na-s,i-ir-ki re-esz-ki a-na da-mi-iq-ti | O god, guardian of your head, may it be good for you! |
| 8 | li-ki-il | may he bind. |
| 9 | a-na szu-ul-mi-ki asz-pu-ra-am | I wrote to you for your well-being. |
| 10 | szu-lum-ki ma-har {d}utu u3 {d}marduk lu da-ri | May your well-being be everlasting before Šamaš and Marduk! |
| 11 | be-el-ki u3 be-le-et-ki ki-ma ki-si sza qa2-ti-szu-nu | Your lord and your lady, like the wool of their hands, |
| 12 | li-is,-s,u2-ru-ki | may they guard you. |
| 13 | asz-szum 1/3(disz) _ma-na 6(disz) gin2 ku3-babbar_ sza a-ha-ti | Because 1/3 mina 6 shekels of silver belonging to the ahatu-official |
| 14 | isz-pu-ra-am | he wrote to me |
| 15 | 1/3(disz) _ma-na ku3-babbar_-ma lu-u2 tu-sza-bi-lam | you shall pay 1/3 mina of silver. |
| 16 | 6(disz) _gin2 ku3-babbar_ u2-ul i-ba-<asz-szi> | 6 shekels of silver he shall not have |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | [i]-na# 1/3(disz) _ma-na ku3-babbar 1(u) 3(disz) gin2 ku3-babbar_ | from 1/3 mina of silver 13 shekels of silver |
| 2 | {disz}ma-an-na-szi u2-sza-bi-lam KI BI TA x HA x | Mannaši sent. That place ... |
| 3 | u3 _zabar?_ | and bronze(?) |
| 4 | szi-ta-tum 6(disz) _gin2 ku3-babbar_ sza i-na qa2-ti-ia | Six shekels of silver that in my hand |
| 5 | iz-zi-zu | he stood. |
| 6 | i-na _u4_-mi 1/3(disz) _ma-na ku3-babbar_ szu-a-tu | on the day that 1/3 mina of silver |
| 7 | a-na ma-an-na-szi tu-ur-ra-am aq-bi-szi | I said to her: "Return to us!" |
| 8 | i-na-an-na i-na sza a-ha-ti-ma | Now, in the midst of the battle |
| 9 | isz-pu-ra-am lu-mur ta-me-ku | He wrote to me, (saying:) “Let me see the tamekû-demon!’ |
| 10 | ma-szi-a-ku i-nu-ma i-na pi2-ha-ti az-za-az-zu | When I stand in the assembly, |
| 11 | tup-pi2 a-ha-ti-ia u3 na-asz-par2-ki | A tablet of my rivals and your letter |
| 12 | u2-ul il-li-kam-ma | did not come, and |
| 13 | _ku3-babbar_ u2-ul as,-mi-da-am-ma | I did not measure out the silver, and |
| 14 | u2-ul u2-sza-bi-lam | he did not send. |
| 15 | i-na-an-na sza a-ha-ti isz-pu-ra-am | Now, he has written to me about the rivals. |
| 16 | mi-na-a-am i-szu-ma a-na a-ha-ti-ia | What is it that he has against me? |
| 17 | u2-sza-ab-ba-lam | he shall make whole |
| 18 | ki-ma na-az2-qa2-ku a-ha-ti u2-ul isz-te#-ne#-me-e | Like a lion, I have no rival. |
| 19 | ki#-ma# {d}marduk sza i-ka-ra-ba-ki ir#-te-ma-an-ni-ma | Like Marduk, who loves you, he approached me, and |
| left col 1 | ||
| 1 | i-na pi2-ha-tim at-ta-zi-iz-zu | I stood in the assembly. |
| 2 | _ku3-babbar_ ma-la sza a-ha-ti isz-pu-ra-am | the silver as much as the brothers wrote to me |
| left col 2 | ||
| 1 | a-na a-ha-ti-ia u2-sza-ab-ba-al# | to my brother he shall carry. |
| 2 | mu-usz-ke-nu-ti at-ti u2-ul ti#-[di-i] | You are the one who establishes justice, but you did not know. |
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
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.