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BM 047456 (P554809)
Letter, Achaemenid, Babylon · c. 539 BCE–330 BCE
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| Designation | BM 047456 |
|---|---|
| ID | P554809 |
| Museum no. | BM 047456 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Achaemenid · c. 539 BCE–330 BCE |
| Genre | Letter |
| Find spot | Babylon (mod. Bābil) |
| Coordinates | 32.5350, 44.4258 |
Machine English (draft)
Machine draft. Machine English from montycrypto/atf-to-english (atf-en-best-v2, 2026-10-05), generated line by line from the source transliteration (not reproduced here). It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|
| reverse 31 | the king of Babylon and the lands |
| obverse 4 | If he builds a house and does not open a gate: an eclipse will take place. |
| reverse 4 | If in Nisannu (Month I) the Scorpion's bricks in.... |
| reverse 25 | If a man's house is abandoned on the 16th day: that house will be abandoned. |
| reverse 15 | If in Nisannu (I) a man's days are long: he will acquire wealth. |
| reverse 8 | If in Abu (Month V) a man will die |
| reverse 20 | If in Abu (Month V)....... |
| reverse 2 | If in abau (Month XI) its property goes before him |
| obverse 1 | If a ghost enters a man's house: Nisannu, Ayyaru, Simanu, Taritu, abau (Month I), |
| obverse 6 | If in Ayyaru (II) there is a fever in the future: he will recover. |
| obverse 16 | If a man is seen in Arasamna (VIII): there will be frost. |
| reverse 24 | If in Addaru (Month XII)... evil |
| reverse 6 | If in Simanu (Month III) |
| reverse 13 | If in ebtu (Month X), that man will die. |
| obverse 15 | If in Ululu (Month VI) there is a mole in the land: the man's house will diminish. : If in Taritu (Month VII) either a brother or a wife will die. |
| obverse 24 | If in Taritu (Month VII), at the command of Itar the people of the land will diminish (or): if in Arasamnu (Month VII), the people of the land will see. |
| reverse 18 | If in Ayyaru (Month III) days are long (means) : If in Simanu (Month III) anything does not increase(?) his hand(?) |
| obverse 21 | If in Simanu (Month III) there is a curse in the land: the land will diminish. |
| reverse 28 | You do (the ritual) from a threshing floor that is set. |
| obverse 29 | If in Ayyaru (II) a qt-ulu-plant is located: : If in Simanu (II) a death will occur. |
| reverse 7 | If in Duuzu (Month IV) a man... before....... |
| obverse 12 | If in Nisannu (I) a gall bladder is broken: the prince will die. |
| obverse 9 | If in Taritu (VII) Itar in his city dies (or): |
| obverse 10 | If in Kislimu (Month IX) his father’s house : |
| obverse 25 | If in Kislimu (Month IX), at the command of Ningizida (means) : If in Kislimu (Month IX), at the command of Adad will devastate the land. |
| obverse 7 | If in Simanu (Month III) (If) in Simanu (Month III): he will eat bread for future days. |
| reverse 16 | ... all of the uttû-offerings you place in his hands. |
| reverse 10 | If in the month of Addaru (XII) his god...s him for good fortune. |
| obverse 5 | If in Nisannu (I) a baby is born or his father or his mother dies or his father’s house will be scattered. |
| obverse 17 | If in ebtu (Month X), a man will die : (variant:) |
| obverse 3 | (If) it is not good: the middle watch is not good. |
| obverse 20 | If in Ayyaru (Month I), at the command of the ruler there will be deaths in the land. |
| reverse 9 | If in Ululu (Month VI) the command of Itar will rage: his house will be scattered. |
| reverse 1 | If in ebtu a snake is seen in front of the ibtu-demon: |
| reverse 17 | If in Nisannu (Month I) a undeveloped plot is located and the field.... |
| reverse 29 | Hand of Marduk-nair, son of Ir-Babylon, descendant of Eiru |
| obverse 13 | If in Ayyaru (Month I), the owner of the sacrifice will die : (If) in Simanu (Month III) a enemy will come into the field and (then) he will eat food. |
| obverse 23 | If in Abu (Month V): he will die (or): in Ululu (Month VI): there will be death in the land. |
| reverse 3 | If in Addaru (Month XII)... his god |
| reverse 19 | If in Duuzu (Month IV)....... |
| obverse 28 | If in Nisannu (Month I) a jug of wine places: death will be present in a man's house. |
| reverse 14 | (If) in abau (Month XI): that man will give life. : (If) in abau (Month XI): that man will give life. |
| reverse 22 | If in Kislimu (Month IX) there will be abundance : (variant:) |
| reverse 27 | If its first appearance in the month of Kislimu (IX): he will die. |
| obverse 19 | If in Nisannu (I) the hands are seized: for the command of Enlil, the king of his land will seize him. |
| obverse 14 | If in Duuzu (Month IV) a man enters (the sky): at the command of Ningizida (means): |
| reverse 5 | If in Ayyaru (Month I)...... |
| obverse 32 | If in Arasamnu (Month VIII)... he afflicts him : (variant:) he afflicts him in Kislimu. |
| obverse 27 | If in Duuzu (Month I), at the command of Ea, there will be floods. |
| reverse 12 | If in Kislimu (Month IX) the thick wall becomes stationary |
| reverse 11 | If in Ullu (Month VI) he goes whatever he wants to see |
| reverse 21 | If in Taritu (Month VII) it stands over his owner. |
| reverse 30 | Ayyaru (XII), 14th day, eponym year of Artaxerxes. |
| obverse 31 | If in Ululu (Month VI): he will die. : If in Taritu (Month VII), his foundations will not be stable. |
| reverse 23 | (If) in abau (Month XI) there is confusion and evil in his body |
| obverse 30 | If in Duuzu (Month IV): he will die (or): he will die. |
| obverse 18 | If a man is dead in Adar (XII): his house will be scattered. |
| obverse 2 | (If) in Addaru (Month XII) it is good: the days will be good. |
| obverse 26 | If in abau (Month XI), at the command of Adad, rains will fall in the sky. |
| obverse 8 | If in Abu (Month V) he strews and the house of his father : (variant:) |
| obverse 22 | If in Duuzu (Month IV) at the command of Dumuzi there are deaths in the land. |
| obverse 11 | If in abau (Month XI) the barley and silver are in balance : |
| reverse 26 | The slander of his afflictedness he shall tear out |
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
- electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich · MIT (eBL Zenodo dataset); platform terms unverified · electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich, https://www.ebl.lmu.de/ ; Zenodo dataset (MIT)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.