Chapter II

1 O mighty mountain of Bel, Im-kharsak,[1] whose head rivals
heaven, whose root (is) the holy deep!
2 Among the mountains, like a strong wild bull, it lieth down.
3 Its horn like the brilliance of the sun is bright.
4 Like the star of heaven[2] it is a prophet and is filled with
sheen.
5 O mighty mother of Beltis, daughter of Bit-Esir: splendor
of Bit-kurra,[3] appointment of Bit-Gigune, handmaid of
Bit-Cigusurra![4]
.....[5]

[Footnote 1: "Wind of the mountain."]

[Footnote 2: That is, Dilbat, "the prophet," or Venus, the morning-star.]

[Footnote 3: "The temple of the East."]

[Footnote 4: "The temple of the land of forests."]

[Footnote 5: Lacuna.]

ACCADIAN PROVERBS AND SONGS

TRANSLATED BY REV. A.H. SAYCE, M.A.

The following is a selection from an interesting collection of Accadian songs and proverbs, gjven in a mutilated reading-book of the ancient language which was compiled for the use of Assyrian (or rather Semitic Babylonian) students. These sentences were drawn up at a time when it was necessary for the scribes to be familiar with the old language of Accad, and to be able to translate it into Assyrian, and hence these phrases are of very great philological value, since they indicate often analogous words and various verbal forms. The Assyrian translation and the Accadian texts are arranged in parallel columns. Some of the proverbs must be taken from an agricultural treatise of the same nature as the "Works and Days" of Hesiod. Copies of the texts will be found in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," Vol. II, 15, 16.

ACCADIAN PROVERBS

1 Door and bolt are made fast. 2 Oracle to oracle: to the oracle it is brought.[1] 3 The cut beam he strikes: the strong beam he shapes. 4 The resting-place of the field which (is) in the house he will establish. 5 Within the court of the house he feels himself small. 6 A heap of witnesses[2] as his foundation he has made strong. 7 Once and twice he has made gains;[3] yet he is not content. 8 By himself he dug and wrought.[4] 9 For silver his resting-place he shall buy. 10 On his heap of bricks a building he builds not, a beam he set not up. 11 A house like his own house one man to another consigns. 12 If the house he contracts for he does not complete, 10 shekels of silver he pays. 13 The joists of his wall he plasters. 14 In the month Marchesvan,[5] the 30th day (let him choose) for removal. 15 (Let him choose it, too,) for the burning of weeds. 16 The tenant of the farm two-thirds of the produce on his own head to the master of the orchard pays out.

[Footnote 1: That is, "compared."]

[Footnote 2: Accadian "izzi ribanna," Assyrian "igar kasritu" ("heap of covenant"), like the Hebrew "Galeed," Aramaic "Yegar-sahadutha" (Gen. xxxi. 47).]

[Footnote 3: That is, "the more a man has, the more he wants."]

[Footnote 4: That is, "if you want a thing done, do it yourself."]

[Footnote 5: October.]

ACCADIAN SONGS

26 (If) evil
thou hast done,
(to) the sea forever
...[1] thou goest.
23 My _city_ bless:
among my men
fully prosper me.
26 Bless everything;
and to (my) dress be favorable.
28 Before the oxen as they march
in the grain thou liest down.
30 My knees are marching,
my feet are not resting:
with no wealth of thine own,
grain thou begettest for me.
34 A heifer am I;
to the cow I am yoked:
the plough-handle is strong;
lift it up, lift it up!
53 May he perform vengeance:
may he return also
(to him) who gives.
55 The marsh as though it were not he passes;[2]
the slain as though they were not ...[3] he makes good.
57 To the waters their god[4]
has returned:
to the house of bright things
he descended (as) an icicle:
(on) a seat of snow
he grew not old in wisdom.
....[3]
10 Like an oven
(which is) old
against thy foes
be hard.
15 Thou wentest, thou spoiledst
the land of the foe;
(for) he went, he spoiled
thy land, (even) the foe.
18 Kingship
in its going forth
(is) like a _royal robe_(?)
19 Into the river thou plungest, and
thy water (is) swollen
at the time:[5]
into the orchard thou plungest, and
thy fruit
(is) bitter.
34 The corn (is) high,
it is flourishing;
how
is it known?
The corn (is) bearded,
it is flourishing;
how
is it known?
42 The fruit of death
may the man eat,
(and yet) the fruit of life
may he achieve.

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 2: I have translated this line from the Accadian, the Assyrian text being wanting, and the words "a recent lacuna" being written instead. This makes it clear that the scribe who copied the tablet for Assur-bani-pal's library did not understand Accadian and could not therefore supply the translation.]

[Footnote 3: Lacunæ.]

[Footnote 4: This seems to be quoted from a hymn describing the return of Oannes to the Persian Gulf.]

[Footnote 5: See "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," vol. i. 25, 10.]

BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING PRIVATE PERSONS

EDITED BY MM. OPPERT AND MENANT

These translations are taken from a French work published by Dr. Oppert and M. Ménant; [Footnote: The title of the work is "Documents juridiques de l'Assyrie et de la Chaldée," par J. Oppert et J. Ménant, Paris, 1877.] the versions have been revised, in some essential points, for the "Records of the Past," by Dr. Oppert, who holds himself personally responsible for the exact representation of the sense of these documents; but on account of the unusual difficulty of these texts, the reader may easily be convinced that for a long time yet, and particularly in details of minor importance, there will remain room enough for a conscientious improvement of all previous translations.

BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS

THE STONE OF ZA'ALEH

This document, engraved on a small broken slab of basalt, is dated from the first year of the reign of Marduk-idin-akhe. It was discovered long ago in the small mound of Za'aleh, on the left bank of the Euphrates, a few miles northwest of Babylon. The text forms two columns of cursive Babylonian characters; the first column is extremely damaged. Though defaced, this contract offers some interest by its differing from other documents of the aforesaid reign. It has been published in the first volume of the collection of the British Museum ("W.A.I.," pl. 66), and translated for the first time by Dr. Oppert, "_Expédition en Mésopotamie_" t. i, p. 253.

COLUMN I

Covenant which in the town of Babylon, in the month Sebat, in the first year of Marduk-idin-akhe, the mighty King, the men of M ..., have agreed:

The waters of the river ...,[1] and the waters of the canals did not go through....[2]

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna of several lines.]

COLUMN II

....[1] and all the streams which exist at the mouth of the river Salmani. Therefore, Aradsu, son of Erisnunak, has agreed to (aforesaid things) for the times to come, in giving his signature to this tablet.

Bit-Karra-basa, son of Hea-habal-idin, Governor of the town of Isin; Babilayu, son of Sin-mustesir, Chief; Malik-akh-idinna, son of Nigazi, Chief of the _ru-bar;_[2] Tab-asap-Marduk, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, a Scribe; Zikar-Nana, son of ...[1] Bin, _sabil_; Nabu-mumaddid-zir, a servant, son of Zikar-Ea, a Governor; and Nabu-idin-akhe, son of Namri, have fixed it in the furnitures of the house.

In the town of Babylon, on the 30th of Sebat (January), in the first year of Marduk-idin-akhe, the mighty King.

The Masters of the Royal Seal have granted approbation.

[Footnote 1: Lacuna of several lines.]

[Footnote 2: Unknown dignity.]

THE PARIS MICHAUX STONE

This monument is so called from the name of the traveller by whom it was brought over to France in 1800. It was discovered near the Tigris, not far from the ruins of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. It is an ovoid basalt stone of seventeen inches in height, by twenty-four in circumference. The upper part is decorated with symbolical figures spread over nearly one-third of the monument; one of the sides is divided in two parts. At the top the moon crescent and the sun are represented; in a somewhat lower place there are four altars; two on the right support tiaras; the other two are adorned with two symbolical figures. In the middle a winged goat kneeling; the lower part of the animal is hidden by the image of another altar. The second part contains two altars; one of them bears a sort of arrow-head which for a long time has been taken for the symbol of the Cuneiform writing, because it resembles the element of these characters, On the other part there is a triangular symbol, then, between both altars, two kneeling monsters; only the fore part of their body is visible. On the left behind the altar there is to be seen a symbolical figure preceding a downward pointed arrow. On the back side of the monument there is a scorpion, a bird roosting. On the ground there is a bird, on the head of which is to be seen an unknown symbol composed of two other monsters, one bears a bird's head, and the other has a hideous horned face; the rest of the body is wrapped up in a sort of sheath; opposite to which a dog kneeling. The top of the stone is bordered with an immense snake; its tail extends into the very inscriptions, its head touches the head of the dog. On each side of the monument in its lower part, there are two columns of cuneiform texts, which contain altogether ninety-five lines.

This monument is now kept since 1801 in the "_Cabinet des Médailles_" at Paris (No. 702). Since that epoch it has always attracted the attention of scholars; it was published by M. Millin in 1802, "_Monuments inédits_" t. I, pl. viii, ix. Münter first attempted to explain the symbolical figures (_"Religion der Babylonier,"_ p. 102, pl. III). Sir Henry Rawlinson has also published the inscription again, in "W.A.I.," Vol. I, p. 70. The sense of this text has been fixed for the first time, in 1856, by M. Oppert's translation in the "_Bulletin Archéologique de l'Athénéum Français_" After this translation, Mr. Fox Talbot gave one in 1861, in the "Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society," Vol. XVIII, p. 54.

COLUMN I

20 hin of corn is the quantity for seeding an _arura_.[1] The field is situated near the town of Kar-Nabu, on the bank of the river Mekaldan, depending of the property of Kilnamandu.

The field is measured as follows:[2] Three stades in length toward the East, in the direction of the town of Bagdad; three stades in length toward the West, adjoining the house of Tunamissah; 1 stade 50 fathoms[3] in breadth toward the North, adjoining the property of Kilnamandu; 1 stade 50 fathoms up in the South, adjoining the property of Kilnamandu.

Sirusur, son of Kilnamandu, gave it for all future days to Dur-Sarginaiti, his daughter, the bride[4] of Tab-asap-Marduk, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu (the pretended), who wrote this; and Tab-asap-Marduk, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, who wrote this in order to perpetuate without interruption the memory of this gift, and commemorated on this stone the will of the great gods and the god Serah.

[Footnote 1: Or the great U, namely, of the field in question.]

[Footnote 2: Dr. Oppert's first translation of this passage, which is to be found in almost all documents of this kind, has been corrected in "L'Etalon des mesures assyriennes," p. 42. The field of Kilnamandu was a rectangle of 1-5/6 stades in breadth and 3 stades long, viz., 5-1/2 square stades, amounting to 19.64 hectares, or 48-1/2 English acres. The Stone of Micheux is the only one which affords a valuation of the land.

The arura (great U) is valued at 88 hectares, 207 acres in the Babylonian system; a hin is almost 3 litres, or 5 pints and a quarter; 20 hins, therefore, are somewhat more than 13 gallons. The fertility of the Babylonian soil was renowned in antiquity. See Herodotus i. 193.]

[Footnote 3: A fathom, 10-1/3 feet, is the sixtieth part of a stade, 620 feet.]

[Footnote 4: This word is explained in a syllabary copied by Dr. Oppert in 1855, but which has never been published. The three signs of the ideogram ("Bit-gigunu-a") are rendered by "kallatu" ("a bride"), and this very important statement put the translator on the track of the right interpretation.]

COLUMN II

Whosoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the sons, the family, the men and women, the servants both male and female, of the house of Kilnamandu, either a foreigner, or a guest, or whosoever he may be (or anyone else), who will destroy this field, who will venture to take away the boundary-stone, or will vindicate it: whether he consecrate this field to a god, or earn it for his superior, or claim it for himself, or change the extent, the surface, or the limits, that he reaps new harvests (crops); or who will say of the field with its measures, "There is no granter;" whether he call forth malediction and hostility on the tablets; or establish on it anyone other who change these curses, in swearing: "The head is not the head;" and in asserting: There is no evil eye;[1] whosoever will carry elsewhere those tablets; or will throw them into the water; will bury them in the earth; will hide them under stones; will burn them with fire, will alter what is written on them, will confine them into a place where they might not be seen; that man shall be cursed:

May the gods Anu, El, Hea, the Great Goddess, the great gods, inflict upon him the utmost contumely, extirpate his name, annihilate his family.

May Marduk, the great Lord of eternity without end, bind him in fetters which cannot be broken.

May Samas, the great Judge of heaven and earth, judge his unpunished misdeeds, and surprise him in flagrant deeds.

May Sin, the brilliant (_Nannar_), who dwells in the sacred heavens, clothe him in leprosy as in a garment, and give him up to the wild beasts that wander in the outsides of the town.

May Istar, the Queen of heaven and earth, carry him off, and deliver him for avenge to the god and the king.

May Ninip, son of the zenith, son of El the sublime, take away his lands, funds, and limits.

May Gula, the great Queen, the wife of Ninip, infilter into his bowels a poison which cannot be pushed out, and may he void blood and pus like water.

May Bin, the great Guardian of heaven and earth, the son of the warrior Anu, inundate his field.

May Serah destroy his firstborn; may he torture his flesh, and load his feet with chains.

May Nabu, the supreme Watcher, strike him with misfortune and ruin, and blast his happiness that he not obtain it, in the wrath of his face.

May all the great gods whose names are recorded on this tablet, curse him with irrevocable malediction, and scatter his race even to the last days.

[Footnote 1: This seems to be a usual formula.]

(This monument is equally engraved on a black basalt stone; it offers the same arrangement as the stone of Michaux. The analogous documents show that numerous inaccuracies have been committed.

In the upper part there occur the same altars, tiaras, birds, as well as the above-mentioned goat, dog, scorpion, and snake. The surface of the basso-relievo is also covered with Cuneiform writing.

The inscriptions are arranged in four columns, and take both sides of the monument. The first column originally finished at the 30th line; it seems to have been completed by four lines, which contain one of the essential articles of the contract, but which evidently are not in their right place, and had been actually forgotten in the original engraving.

On the margins and the bassso-relievo many additions and repetitions are to be read, which also prove the engraver's carelessness or precipitation.)

20 hins[1] of corn are sufficient to seed an _arura_,[2] a field in the land of Zunire,[3] on the bank of the river Zirzirri, belonging to the house of Ada.

Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, has thus sentenced according to the laws of the country of Assur. Bin-zir-basa, his Minister, has favored Marduk-ilusu, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu,[4] who has written this to the King of Babylon: I say, He has loaded me with favors, and I proclaim that this rating has been made according to the epha[5] of the King of Babylon.

20 hin of corn are sufficient to seed an _arura_. Bin-zir-basa, the Lieutenant (of the King) has invested him with it, and (the measurer of lands) has thus measured it for the time to come.

In the length[6] above toward the North, turned to the river Zirzirri, adjoining the house of Ada, and the field of the house of the Satraps. In the length below, toward the South of the river Atab-du-Istar, adjoining the house of Ada. In breadth above toward the East, adjoining the limits of Bit-ulbar. In breadth below toward the West, adjoining the house of Ada.

According to the law of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, servant of the gods of the City of the eternal fire,[7] it was so measured by Bel-zir-kini, son of Zikar-Istar, the measurer of the field.

In the town of Dindu, in the month of Tebet, on the 28th day (December) in the 10th year of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon.

In the presence of Bet-ulbar-sakimu, son of Bazi, Chief of the _ru-bar_ of the countries;

in the presence of Babilai, son of Sin-mustesir,[8] Chief of the head Rulers of the country;

in the presence of Hea-Kudurri-ibni, son of Zikar-Ea, Governor of the provinces;

in the presence of Bel-nasir-habal, son of the Chief of the _rubar_ of the orders in the provinces;

in the presence of Takisa-belit, son of Riu-simti;

in the presence of Uballitsu, son of Karistiya-napasti;

in the presence of Bel-idin-akh, son of Suti;

in the presence of Sukamuna[9]-idin, son of Meliharbat;

in the presence of Isu-il, son of Habliya;

in the presence of Bel-akhesu, son of Meliharbat;

in the presence of Nis-bet-ulbar, son of Ulamhala;

in the presence of Sumidu, son of Marduk-kabuya, Prefect of the house of Ada;

in the presence of E-saggatu-bunuya, _hazan_[10] of the house of Ada;

in the presence of Babrabtatutai, son of Sar-Babil-Assurissi;

in the presence of Sadu-rabu-kabuya, Judge;

in the presence of Marduk-nasir, son of Gamilu.

Whoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the sons, among the near relations, the allies of the family of the house of Ada, would claim this land, would nourish against it bad designs, or would suggest them; whoever would utter these words, "There is no giver," who would say, "There is no sealer," or whosoever will say, "I deny that there is a master of the house of Ada, that there is a Chief in the house of Ada; that there is a _hazan_ of the house of Ada; or that there is either a speculator for the house of Ada; or a _gitta_[11] of the house of Ada; or a _sumtalu_; or a _lubattu_; or an _aklu_; or a _kisirtu_ in the house of Ada;" or he will say, "The confiscation has been pronounced;" whether he say: "This field has no measurer," or say, "This seal is not of a sealer" (who has the right to); or whoever will take possession of this field; or consecrate it to the gods; or claim it for himself; or alter its surface, circumference and limits; or construct buildings on this land, and in the middle of this field (that man will be cursed):

The gods who are inscribed on this tablet, all those whose name is commemorated herein, will curse him with irrevocable curses.

May the gods Anu,[12] Bel, Hea, these great gods, torment him and overwhelm him; that ...[13]

May Marduk, the great Lord of eternity without limits, fetter him with inextricable bonds.

May Nebo, the supreme minister, overthrow the surface, circumference, and limits of his properties.

May Bin, the great Lord of heaven and earth, cause the streams of his river to overflow[14] ... have his progeny circumcised, and load his feet with a heavy chain.

May Sin, who turns around heaven, envelop his body with leprosy as in a garment.

May Samas, the bright Judge of heaven and earth, judge his lawsuit, and have him seized in deed doing.

May Istar, the goddess of heaven and earth, deliver him to the vengeance of the gods and of the King.

May Gula, the Sovereign Lady, the great wife of Ninip, infilter into his bowels with a poison that will not leave him, and may he void pus and blood like water.

May Ninip, the god of boundaries, _filium camelas inire cogat_.[15]

May Nergal, the god of arms and bows, break his arrows.

May Zamal, the King of battles, prevent him in the midst of the fray from taking a prisoner.

May Turda, the Keeper of the images of the great gods, walking in the right ways of the gods, besiege his door during the night.

May Iskhara, the goddess of the ancient customs, not hear him in the battles.

May Malik, the great Master of Heaven,[16] while he sins cause him to be slain in the act.

May all the gods that are on this stone, whose name is commemorated, curse him with irrevocable curses.

(The lines at the end of the first column read as follows:)

[17]If anybody swears thus: This head is not a head ...[17] or institutes here an outlaw or a causer of mischief, immerse them in the waters, bury them in the earth, hide them under a heap of stones, destroy them by fire.

(On the edge of the second column:)

May the gods whose image is on this table, and whose name is invoked, curse him with irrevocable curses.

(On the edge of the fourth column:)

The horses ...[18] the Master of the house of Ada may dispose of them after him. 30 horses, 25 buffaloes, 3 mares in the fields are not inclosed in the decree of the King of Babylon; Bin-zir-basa has ascribed it for the benefit of Mahanitu, after Marduk-ilusu, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu.

The Chief of the _rubar_ of the house of Ada has said it (named and pronounced) to Marduk-ilusu, son of the Scribe of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, and Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, the Scribe, the field, this one has[19] ... owner of the house of Ada, has given it for the days to come, and has yielded it up.

(A great many short inscriptions are placed over the basso-relievos.

1. The smallest of them is placed over a kind of lyre. It reads:

In sum, an epha and a half.

2. Entangled between the branches of an object difficult to design and the horns of a goat, occurs a sentence which has not been translated.

3. The word "_nase_" is written between and the altar supporting a triangular object.

4. A legend of three lines is engraved between the mentioned altar, and a horned animal.)

So that he may not devastate the land of Zunire, nor the
dwellings which are belonging to the Governor of Zunire.

5. Under an undetermined object, opposite to the nose of the above-mentioned fantastical animal is written a sentence composed of a perpendicular line and four lines parallel to the circumference.)

That he will not acknowledge either the _kisirtu_ or the tribute
of this house, or the Prefect, or the _hazan_ of the house of Ada.

6. Below the preceding one.

Either the author of the treaty, or the _hazan_ of the land of
Zunire.

7. Included between the roost and the back of the dog occurs another sentence which has not been translated.

8. Across the symbolical figures [commencement obscure]:

That he might not watch upon the streets of Bit-Ada.

9. Between the scorpion and the back of the snake.

That he may pay the rent of the land.

10. Over the head of the snake.

That in his abode, there may not be any power, any judge,
any implorer.

[Footnote 1: Twenty hins are equal to 60 litres, 13-1/4 gallons.]

[Footnote 2: Great U, the standard agrarian measure.]

[Footnote 3: The country is unknown; the river Zirzirri is also mentioned elsewhere.]

[Footnote 4: This name signifies, "In the Pyramid he will increase."]

[Footnote 5: The valuations of the estates are made by the quantity of corn required to seed them, as it is the case in rabbinical literature, where the unity is a beth-sea, or the surface seeded by a sea. Therefore the epha of the king (royal epha) is quite in its place: the epha is varying from 32 to 36 pints.

The text itself states the royal endowment of a perhaps conquered land.]

[Footnote 6: There is no valuation of the field. An error crept into the French transliteration; "us" is not "a stade," but the word "length."]

[Footnote 7: This is the city generally read "Agade."]

[Footnote 8: Person already mentioned in the Za-aleh Stone.]

[Footnote 9: The god Sukamanu occurs elsewhere.]

[Footnote 10: The "hazan" seems to be a superintendent.]

[Footnote 11: By an error, this line is omitted in the French work; the Assyrian words are not yet understood.]

[Footnote 12: In the text is nu.]

[Footnote 13: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 14: The passage is very obscure; if Dr. Oppert's idea is correct, there is an allusion to the detested custom of circumcision, the performance of which was regarded as an affliction.]

[Footnote 15: See Lev. xx. 15.]

[Footnote 16: "Gara anna."]

[Footnote 17: In the French work, this passage has been left untranslated.]

[Footnote 18: Lacunæ.]

[Footnote 19: Here are two very obscure words.]

CONTRACT OF HANKAS

(The fourth monument of the reign of Marduk-idin-akhe is a black basalt stone of nearly the same size and arrangement as the preceding. At the top we also see analogous symbols disposed in a similar way. The inscription has but two colums, and occupies but one side of the monument; on the other, the image of the King is engraved, and near the garment of the King, represented by the basso-relievo, the three lines of the beginning are repeated at the end of the document.)

By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever perpetuated his name.[1]

25 hins[2] of corn are sufficient to seed an arura,[3] in a field lying on the bank of the river Besim, belonging to Hankas.

In length[4] above toward the North, adjoining the property of Hankas; in length below toward the South, adjoining the property of Imbiyati; in breadth above toward the West, adjoining the property of Hankas; in breadth below toward the East, limited by the river Besim.

Such is what Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, has received from the hands of Nis-Bel, son of Hankas. He has paid the price for it. Sapiku son of Itti-Marduk-balat, son of Zikar-Ea, is the measurer[5] of the field.

Weights of 1 Chariot with its team of horses[6] 100 silver 6 Harnesses 300 " 1 Ass from Phoenicia 30 " 6 Harnesses, 1 Ass from Phoenicia 50 " Weights of 1 Mule 15 silver 1 Cow (pregnant) 30 " 30 Measures of corn, 60 Measures of 12 epha[7] 137 " 1 Hemicorion, 10 Shovels of 4 epha 16 " 2 Dogs, good 12 " 9 Greyhounds from the East 18 " 1 Hunting dog 1 " 1 Shepherd dog 1 " 1 Dog (bloodhound[8]) 6 " Total 616[9] (weights of) silver.

Such is what Nis-Bel, son of Hankas, has paid in the hands of Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, as equivalent of the price of a field of 25 hins of (grain).

At any epoch whatever, in the days to come (or process of time) either an _aklu,[10]_ or a no-servant, or a farmer, or a husbandman, or a workman, or any other guardian who presents himself, and who settles in the house of Hankas, and will endeavor to lay waste this field, will earn its first-fruits, will turn it over, will plough it (mix up the earth), will have it put under water, who will occupy this property by fraud or violence and will settle in its territories, either in the name of the god, or in the name of the King, or in the name of the representative of the Lord of the country, or in the name of the representative of the house, or in the name of any person whatever, whoever he may be, who will give it, will earn the harvest of the land, will say,[11] "These fields are not granted as gifts by the King"; whether he pronounce against them the holy malediction or he swears by these words, "The head is not the head"; and establish anyone therein, in saying, "There is no eye"; or who will carry away this tablet, or will throw it into the river, or will break it into pieces, or will bury it under a heap of stones, or will burn it by fire, or will bury it in the earth, or will hide it in a dark place, that man (shall be cursed):

May the god Anu, Bel, Hea, the great gods, afflict him and curse him with maledictions which are not (retracted).

May the god Sin, the splendid in the high heaven, envelop all his members with incurable leprosy until the day of his death; and expel him to the farthest limits like a wild beast.

May Samas, the Judge of heaven and earth, fly before him; that he change into darkness the light of the day.

May Istar, the Sovereign, the Queen of the gods, load him with infirmities and anguish of illness like arrows, may she increase (day and night his pains,) so that he runs about like a dog, in the ways of his town.

May Marduk, the King of heaven and earth, the Lord of the eternity without end, entangle his weapons with bonds which cannot be broken.

May Ninip, the god of crops and boundaries, sweep away its limits and tread upon his crops, and remove its limit.

May Gula, the mother (nurse), the great Lady, infect his bowels with a poison, and that he void pus and blood like water.

May Bin, the supreme Guardian of heaven and earth, inundate his field like a ...[12]

May Serah suffocate his first-born.

May Nabu, the holy minister of the gods, continually pour over his destinies laments and curses; and blast his wishes.

May all the great gods whose name is invoked on this table, devote him to vengeance and scorn, and may his name, his race, his fruits, his offspring, before the face of men perish wretchedly.

By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever perpetuated his name.

[Footnote 1: See at the end.]

[Footnote 2: These 25 hins represent 75 litres, 16 gallons and a half, for seeding a surface of 207 acres.]

[Footnote 3: The great U, or arura.]

[Footnote 4: Again in this deed no statement is given in account of the measurings. The space is determined merely by the indication of the boundaries.

This document is also the charter of a royal donation: it is not clear whether the below-mentioned objects are the price, or if, what is much more verisimilar, they are only the accessoria of the field.]

[Footnote 5: Measurer is expressed by "masi-han."]

[Footnote 6: Cf. I Kings x. 29: "A chariot ... of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver; and a horse for 150."]

[Footnote 7: It is a question here of the utensils used for measuring, viz., thirty of one kind, and sixty of another.]

[Footnote 8: The quality of the dogs is somewhat uncertain.]

[Footnote 9: There is evidently a fault in the total number, 616 instead of 716.

A weight of silver may be an obolus, the 360th part of a mina.]

[Footnote 10: The "akli," who were at the royal court, may have been legists.]

[Footnote 11: All these are formulæ solennes, as in the Roman law.]

[Footnote 12: Obscure.]

TRANSLATION OF AN UNEDITED FRAGMENT

Five-sixths of an _artaba_[1] of corn sows an _arura_, a field situated on the Euphrates.

....adjoining ... wide ... adjoining ... a field in great measure ... Zirbet-u-Alzu ... and for the days to come he has given ... this table ... sin-idin ... son of Tuklat-habal-Marduk, Governor of the town of Nisin. Bani-Marduk, son of Tuklat ... Malik-kilim, son of Tuklat ... Chief of ... An-sali ... son of Zab-zib-malik ... Malik-habal-idin, of the town of Balaki ... Chief of Sin-idin-habal ... May he cause him to perish ... and his offering.[2]

[Footnote 1: The artaba was 3 epha, 18 hins; the mentioned quantity of 15 hins necessary to seed this very fertile field is only 79 pints.]

[Footnote 2: Dr. Oppert copied this text twenty years ago; he does not know whether since that time any other piece of the stone has been discovered.]

GREAT INSCRIPTION IN THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD

TRANSLATED BY DR. JULIUS OPPERT

The document of which I publish a translation has been copied with admirable precision by M. Botta in his "_Monuments de Ninive_" There are four specimens of this same text in the Assyrian palace, which bear the title of Inscriptions of the Halls, Nos. iv, vii, viii, and x.

There is another historical document in the palace of Khorsabad containing more minute particulars, and classed in a chronological order, which I translated in my "_Dur-Sar-kayan_," 1870, and in the "Records of the Past," Vol. VII.

The several copies of this document have been united in one sole text in a work which I published in common with M. Ménant in the "_Journal Asiatique_," 1863.

I published my translation of the "Great Inscriptions of Khorsabad," in the "_Annales de Philosophie Chrétienne_," July and August, 1862, tom. V (New Series), p. 62; then in my "_Inscriptions des Sargonides_," p. 20 (1862). The same text was inserted in the work which I edited in communion with my friend M. Joachim Ménant, entitled "_La Grande Inscription des Salles de Khorsabad_," "_Journal Asiatique_," 1863. Some passages have been since corrected by me in my "_Dur-Sarkayan_," Paris, 1870, in the great work of M. Victor Place, and these corrections have been totally admitted by M. Ménant in a translation which he has given in his book, "_Annales des Rois d'Assyrie_," Paris, 1874, p. 180. As the reader may easily convince himself in collating it with my previous attempts, this present translation is now amended according to the exigencies of the progressing science of Assyriology, as it is now understood.

GREAT INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD

1 Palace of Sargon, the great King, the powerful King,
King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy of the gods
at Babylon, King of the Sumers and of the Accads, favorite
of the great gods.

2 The gods Assur, Nebo, and Merodach have conferred on
me the royalty of the nations, and they have propagated
the memory of my fortunate name to the ends of the earth.
I have followed the reformed precepts of Sippara, Nipur,
Babylon, and Borsippa; I have amended the imperfections
which the men of all laws had admitted.

3 I have reunited the dominions of Kalu, Ur, Orchoé, Erikhi,
Larsa,[1] Kullab, Kisik, the dwelling-place of the god Laguda;
I have subdued their inhabitants. As to the laws
of Sumer[2] and of the town of Harran, which had fallen
into desuetude from the most ancient times, I have restored
to fresh vigor their forgotten customs.

4 The great gods have made me happy by the constancy of
their affection, they have granted me the exercise of my
sovereignty over all kings; they have re-established obedience
upon them all. From the day of my accession there
existed no princes who were my masters; I have not, in
combats or battles, seen my victor. I have crushed the
territories of the rebels like straws, and I have struck them
with the plagues of the four elements. I have opened innumerable
deep and very extensive forests, I have levelled
their inequalities. I have traversed winding and thick
valleys, which were impenetrable, like a needle, and I
passed in digging tanks dug on my way.

5 By the grace and power of the great gods, my Masters, I
have flung my arms; by my force I have defeated my enemies.
I have ruled from Iatnan,[3] which is in the middle
of the sea of the setting sun, to the frontiers of Egypt and
of the country of the Moschians, over vast Phoenicia, the
whole of Syria, the whole of _guti muski_[4] of distant Media,
near the country of Bikni, to the country of Ellip, from Ras
which borders upon Elam, to the banks of the Tigris, to
the tribes of Itu, Rubu, Haril, Kaldud, Hauran, Ubul,
Ruhua, of the Litaï who dwell on the borders of the Surappi
and the Ukne, Gambul, Khindar, and Pukud.[5] I have
reigned over the _suti_ hunters who are in the territory of
Iatbur, in whatever it was as far as the towns of Samhun,
Bab-Dur, Dur-Tilit, Khilikh, Pillat, Dunni-Samas, Bubi,
Tell-Khumba, which are in the dependency of Elam,[6] and
Kar-duniyas[7] Upper and Lower, of the countries of Bit-Amukkan,
Bit-Dakkur, Bit-Silan, Bit-Sa'alla, which together
form Chaldea in its totality, over the country of Bit-Iakin,
which is on the sea-shore, as far as the frontier of
Dilmun. I have received their tributes, I have established
my Lieutenants over them as Governors, and I have reduced
them under my suzerainty.

6 This is what I did from the beginning of my reign to my
fifteenth year of reign:
I defeated Khumbanigas, King of Elam, in the plains of
Kalu.

7 I besieged and occupied the town of Samaria, and took
27,280 of its inhabitants captive. I took from them 50
chariots, but left them the rest of their belongings. I
placed my Lieutenants over them; I renewed the obligation
imposed upon them by one of the Kings who preceded
me.[8]

8 Hanun, King of Gaza, and Sebech, Sultan[9] of Egypt,
allied themselves at Rapih[10] to oppose me, and fight against
me; they came before me, I put them to flight. Sebech
yielded before my cohorts, he fled, and no one has ever
seen any trace of him since. I took with my own hand
Hanun, King of Gaza.

9 I imposed a tribute on Pharaoh, King of Egypt; Samsie,
Queen of Arabia; It-amar, the Sabean, of gold, sweet smelling
herbs of the land, horses, and camels.

10 Kiakku of Sinukhta had despised the god Assur, and refused
submission to him. I took him prisoner, and seized
his 30 chariots and 7,350 of his soldiers. I gave Sinuhta,
the town of his royalty, to Matti from the country of Tuna,
I added some horses and asses to the former tribute and
appointed Matti as Governor.

11 Amris of Tabal, had been placed upon the throne of Khulli
his father; I gave to him a daughter and I gave him Cilicia[10]
which had never submitted to his ancestors. But he did
not keep the treaty and sent his ambassador to Urzaha,
King of Armenia, and to Mita, King of the Moschians,
who had seized my provinces. I transported Amris to
Assyria, with his belongings, the members of his ancestors'
families, and the magnates of the country, as well as 100
chariots; I established some Assyrians, devoted to my government,
in their places. I appointed my Lieutenant Governor
over them, and commanded tributes to be levied
upon them.

12 Jaubid of Hamath, a smith,[12] was not the legitimate master
of the throne, he was an infidel and an impious man, and
he had coveted the royalty of Hamath. He incited the
towns of Arpad, Simyra, Damascus, and Samaria to rise
against me, took his precautions with each of them, and
prepared for battle. I counted all the troops of the god
Assur; in the town of Karkar which had declared itself
for the rebel, I besieged him and his warriors, I occupied
Karkar and reduced it to ashes. I took him, himself, and
had him flayed, and I killed the chief of the rioters in each
town, and reduced them to a heap of ruins. I recruited
my forces with 200 chariots and 600 horsemen from among
the inhabitants of the country of Hamath and added them
to my empire.

13 Whilst Iranzu of Van[13] lived, he was subservient and devoted
to my rule, but fate removed him. His subjects
placed his son Aza on the throne. Urzaha the Armenian
intrigued with the people of Mount Mildis, Zikirta, Misiandi,
with the nobles of Van, and enticed them to rebellion;
they threw the body of their Master Aza on the top of the
mountains. Ullusun of Van, his brother, whom they had
placed on his father's throne, did homage to Urzaha, and
gave him 22 fortresses with their garrisons. In the anger
of my heart I counted all the armies of the god Assur, I
watched like a lion in ambush and advanced to attack these
countries. Ullusun of Van saw my expedition approaching,
he set out with his troops and took up a strong position
in the ravines of the high mountains. I occupied Izirti the
town of his royalty, and the towns of Izibia and Armit, his
formidable fortresses, I reduced them to ashes. I killed
all that belonged to Urzaha the Armenian, in these high
mountains. I took with my own hand 250 royal members
of his family. I occupied 55 royal towns of which 8 were
ordinary towns and 11 impregnable fortresses. I reduced
them to ashes. I incorporated the 22 strong towns, that
Ullusun of Van had delivered to him with Assyria. I occupied
8 strong cities of the country of Tuaya and the districts
of Tilusina of Andia; 4,200 men, with their belongings,
were carried away into slavery.

14 Mitatti, of Zikirta, had secured himself against my arms;
he and the men of his country had fled into the forests;
no trace of them was to be seen. I reduced Parda, the
town of his royalty to ashes; I occupied twenty-three great
towns in the environs, and I spoiled them. The cities of
Suandakhul and Zurzukka, of the country of Van, took
the part of Mitatti; I occupied and pillaged them. Then I
took Bagadatti of the Mount Mildis, and I had him flayed.
I banished Dayaukku and his suite to Hamath, and I made
them dwell there.

15 Then Ullusun heard in his high mountains of my glorious
exploits: he departed in haste like a bird, and kissed my
feet; I pardoned his innumerable misdeeds, and I blotted
out his iniquities. I granted pardon to him; I replaced
him upon the throne of his royalty. I gave him the two
fortresses and the 22 great towns that I had taken away
from Urzaha and Mitatti. I endeavored to restore peace
to his country. I made the image of my Majesty: I wrote
on it the glory of the god Assur, my Master, I erected many
fac-similes of it in Izirti, the town of his royalty.

16 I imposed a tribute of horses, oxen, and lambs upon Ianzu,
King of the river country, in Hupuskia, the town of his
power.

17 Assurlih, of Kar-Alla, Itti, of Allapur, had sinned against
Assur and despised his power. I had Assurlih flayed. I
banished the men of Kar-Alla, whoever they were, and Itti,
with his suite, I placed them in Hamath.

18 I took the inhabitants of the towns of Sukkia, Bala,
Ahitikna, Pappa,[14] Lallukni away from their homes; I made
them dwell at Damascus in Syria.

19 I occupied the 6 towns of the country of Niksamma, I took
with my own hand Nirisar, Governor of the town of Surgadia;
I added these towns to the satrapy of Parsuas.[15]

20 Bel-sar-usur[16] was King of the town of Kisisim; I had him
transported to Assyria with all that he possessed, his treasure,
the contents of his palace; I put my Lieutenant in as
Governor of the town, to which I gave the name of Kar-Marduk.
I had an image made of my Majesty and erected
it in the middle of the town. I occupied 6 towns in the
neighborhood and I added them to his government.

21 I attacked and conquered Kibaba, Prefect of the town of
Kharkhar, I took him and the inhabitants of his country
captive, I rebuilt this city and made the inhabitants of the
provinces, that my arm had conquered, live there. I placed
my Lieutenant as Governor over them. I named the town
Kar-Sarkin; I established the worship of the god Assur,
my Master, there. I erected an image of my Royal self.
I occupied 6 towns in the environs, and added them to his
government.

22 I besieged and took the towns of Tel-Akhi-tub, Khindau,
Bagai, and Anzaria; I transported the inhabitants of them
to Assyria. I rebuilt them; I gave them the names of
Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin, Kar-Ben, Kar-Istar.

23 To maintain my position in Media, I have erected fortifications
in the neighborhood of Kar-Sarkin. I occupied
34 towns in Media and annexed them to Assyria and I
levied annual tributes of horses upon them.

24 I besieged and took the town of Eristana, and the surrounding
towns in the country of Bait-Ili; I carried away the
spoil.

25 The countries of Agag[17] and Ambanda,[18] in Media, opposite
the Arabs of the East, had refused their tributes, I destroyed
them, laid them waste, and burnt them by fire.

26 Dalta of Ellip was subject to me, and devoted to the worship
of Assur; 5 of his towns revolted and no longer recognized
his dominion. I came to his aid, I besieged and
occupied these towns, I carried the men and their goods
away into Assyria with numberless horses.

27 Urzana, of the town of Musasir, had attached himself to
Urzaha the Armenian, and had refused me his allegiance.
With the multitude of my army, I covered the city of Musasir
as if it were with ravens, and he to save his life, fled
alone into the mountains.

28 I entered as a Ruler into Musasir. I seized as spoil Urzana's
wife, sons and daughters, his money, his treasures, all
the stores of his palace whatever they were, with 20,100
men and all that they possessed, the gods Haldia and Bagabarta,
his gods, and their holy vessels in great numbers.

29 Urzaha, King of Armenia, heard of the defeat of Musasir
and the carrying away of the god Haldia[19] his god, he cut
off his life by his own hands with a dagger of his girdle.
I held a severe judgment over the whole of Armenia. I
spread over the men, who inhabit this country, mourning
and lamentation.

30 Tarhunazi, of the town of Melid, sought for revenge. He
sinned against the laws of the great gods, and refused his
submission. In the anger of my heart, I crushed like
briars Melid, which was the town of his kingdom, and the
neighboring towns. I made him, his wife, sons and daughters,
the slaves of his palace whoever they were, with 5,000
warriors, leave Tel-Garimmi; I treated them all as booty.
I rebuilt Tel-Garimmi; I had it entirely occupied by some
archers from the country of Khammanua, which my hand
had conquered, and I added it to the boundaries of this
country. I put it in the hands of my Lieutenant, and I
restituted the surface of the dominion, as it had been in
the time of Gunzinan, the preceding King.

31 Tarhular, of Gamgum, had a son Muttallu, who had murdered
his father by the arms, and sat on the throne against
my will, and to whom they had intrusted their country.
In the anger of my heart, I hastily marched against the
town of Markasi, with my chariots and horsemen, who
followed on my steps, I treated Muttallu, his son and the
families of the country of Bit-Pa'alla in its totality, as
captives, and seized as booty the gold and silver and the
numberless treasures of his palace. I reinstated the men of
Gamgum and the neighboring tribes, and placed my Lieutenant
as Governor over them; I treated them like the
Assyrians.

32 Azuri, King of Ashdod,[20] determined within himself to
render no more tributes; he sent hostile messages against
Assyria to the neighboring kings. I meditated vengeance
for this, and I withdrew from him the government over
his country. I put his brother Akhimit on his throne.
But the people of Syria, eager for revolt, got tired of Akhimit's
rule, and installed Iaman, who like the former, was
not the legitimate master of the throne. In the anger of
my heart, I did not assemble the bulk of my army nor
divide my baggage, but I marched against Ashdod with
my warriors, who did not leave the trace of my feet.

33 Iaman learnt from afar of the approach of my expedition;
he fled beyond Egypt toward Libya (Meluhhi),[21] and no
one ever saw any further trace of him. I besieged and
took Ashdod and the town of Gimtu-Asdudim;[22] I carried
away captive Iaman's gods, his wife, his sons, his daughters,
his money, and the contents of his palace, together
with the inhabitants of his country. I built these towns
anew and placed in them the men that my arm had conquered.

34 I placed my Lieutenant as Governor over them, and I
treated them as Assyrians. They never again became
guilty of impiety.

35 The King of Libya[23] lives in the middle of the desert, in an
inaccessible place, at (a month's) journey. From the most
remote times until the renewal of the lunar period[24] his
fathers had sent no ambassadors to the kings, my ancestors,
to ask for peace and friendship and to acknowledge the
power of Merodach. But the immense terror inspired by
my Majesty roused him, and fear changed his intentions.
In fetters of iron he threw him (Iaman), directed his steps
toward Assyria and kissed my feet.

36 Muttallu, of Commagene, a fraudulent and hostile man,
did not honor the memory of the gods, he plotted a conspiracy,
and meditated defection. He trusted upon Ar-gisti,[25]
King of Armenia, an helper who did not assist him,
took upon himself the collection of the tributes and his
part of the spoil, and refused me his submission. In the
anger of my heart, I took the road to his country with the
chariots of my power, and the horsemen who never left
the traces of my feet. Muttallu saw the approach of my
expedition, he withdrew his troops, and no one saw any
further trace of him. I besieged and occupied his capital
and 62 large towns all together. I carried away his wife,
his sons, his daughters, his money, his treasure, all precious
things from his palace, together with the inhabitants of his
country as spoil, I left none of them. I inaugurated this
town afresh; I placed in it men from the country of Bit-Iakin,
that my arm had conquered. I instituted my Lieutenant
as Governor, and subdued them under my rule. I
previously took from them 150 chariots, 1,500 horsemen,
20,000 archers, 1,000 men armed with shields and lances,
and I confided the country to my Satrap.

37 While Dalta, King of Ellip, lived, he was submissive and
devoted to my rule, the infirmities of age however came
and he walked on the path of death. Nibie and Ispabara,
the sons of his wives, claimed both the vacant throne of
his royalty, the country and the taxes, and they fought a
battle. Nibie applied to Sutruk-Nakhunti[26] King of Elam
to support his claims, giving to him pledges for his alliance,
and the other came as a helper. Ispabara, on his side,
implored me to maintain his cause, and to encourage him,
at the same time bowing down, and humbling himself, and
asking my alliance. I sent seven of my Lieutenants with
their armies to support his claims, they put Nibie and the
army of the four rivers,[27] which had helped him, to flight,
at the town of Mareobisti. I reinstated Ispabara on the
throne; I re-established peace in his country, and confided
it to his care.

38 Merodach-Baladan, son of Iakin,[28] King of Chaldæa, the
fallacious, the persistent in enmity, did not respect the
memory of the gods, he trusted in the sea, and in the retreat
of the marshes; he eluded the precepts of the great
gods, and refused to send his tributes. He had supported
as an ally Khumbanigas, King of Elam. He had excited
all the nomadic tribes of the desert against me. He prepared
himself for battle, and advanced. During twelve
years,[29] against the will of the gods of Babylon, the town
of Bel which judges the gods, he had excited the country
of the Sumers and Accads, and had sent ambassadors to
them. In honor of the god Assur, the father of the gods,
and of the great and august Lord Merodach, I roused my
courage, I prepared my ranks for battle. I decreed an
expedition against the Chaldeans, an impious and riotous
people. Merodach-Baladan heard of the approach of my
expedition, dreading the terror of his own warriors, he fled
before it, and flew in the night time like an owl, falling back
from Babylon, to the town of Ikbibel. He assembled together
the towns possessing oracles, and the gods living
in these towns he brought to save them to Dur-Iakin, fortifying
its walls. He summoned the tribes of Gambul,
Pukud, Tamun, Ruhua, and Khindar, put them in this place,
and prepared for battle. He calculated the extent of a
plethrum[30] in front of the great wall. He constructed a
ditch 200 spans[31] wide, and deep one fathom and a half.[32]
The conduits of water, coming from the Euphrates, flowed
out into this ditch; he had cut off the course of the river,
and divided it into canals, he had surrounded the town,
the place of his revolt, with a dam, he had filled it with
water, and cut off the conduits. Merodach-Baladan, with
his allies and his soldiers had the insignia of his royalty
kept as in an island on the banks of the river; he arranged
his plan of battle. I stretched my combatants all along
the river dividing them into bands; they conquered the
enemies. By the blood of the rebels the waters of these
canals reddened like dyed wool. The nomadic tribes
were terrified by this disaster which surprised him and fled;
I completely separated his allies and the men of Marsan
from him; I filled the ranks of the insurgents with mortal
terror. He left in his tent the insignia of his royalty, the
golden ...[33] the golden throne, the golden parasol,
the golden sceptre, the silver chariot, the golden ornaments,
and other effects of considerable weight; he fled
alone, and disappeared like the ruined battlements of his
fortress, and I entered into his retreat. I besieged and
occupied the town of Dur-Iakin, I took as spoil and made
captive, him, his wife, his sons, his daughters, the gold
and silver and all that he possessed, the contents of his
palace, whatever it was, with considerable booty from the
town. I made each family and every man who had withdrawn
himself from my arms, accountable for this sin. I
reduced Dur-Iakin the town of his power to ashes. I undermined
and destroyed its ancient forts. I dug up the
foundation stone;[34] I made it like a thunder-stricken ruin,
I allowed the people of Sippara, Nipur, Babylon, and Borsippa,
who live in the middle of the towns to exercise their
profession, to enjoy their belongings in peace, and I have
watched upon them. I took away the possession of the
fields which from remote times had been in the hand of
the _Suti_ Nomad, and restored them to their rightful owners.
I placed the nomadic tribes of the desert again under my
yoke, and I restored the forgotten land delimitations which
had existed during the tranquillity of the land. I gave to
each of the towns of Ur, Orchoé, Erikhi, Larsa, Kullab,
and Kisik, the dwelling of the god Laguda, the god that
resides in each, and I restored the gods who had been
taken away, to their sanctuaries. I re-established the
altered laws in full force.

39 I imposed tributes on the countries of Bet-Iakin, the high
and low part, and on the towns of Samhun, Bab-Dur, Dur-Tilit,
Bubi, Tell-Khumba, which are the resort of Elam.
I transplanted into Elam the inhabitants of the Commagene,
in Syria, that I had attacked with my own hand,
obeying the commands of the great gods my Masters, and
I placed them on the territory of Elam, in the town of
Sakbat. Nabu-Pakid-Ilan was authorized to collect the
taxes from the Elamites in order to govern them; I claimed
as a pledge the town of Birtu. I placed all this country
in the hands of my Lieutenant at Babylon and my Lieutenant
in the country of Gambul.[35]

40 I returned alone to Babylon, to the sanctuaries of Bel, the
judge of the gods, in the excitement of my heart and the
splendor of my appearance; I took the hands of the great
Lord, the august god Merodach, and I traversed the way
to the chamber of the spoil.

41 I transported into it 154 talents 26 minas 10 drachms of
gold _russù_;[36] 1804 talents 20 minas of silver;[37] ivory,
a great deal of copper, iron in an innumerable quantity,
some of the stone _ka_, alabaster, the minerals _pi digili_,
flattened _pi sirru_ for witness seals, blue and purple stuffs,
cloth of _berom_ and cotton, ebony; cedar, and cypress wood,
freshly cut from the fine forests on Mount Amanus, in
honor of Bel, Zarpanit, Nebo, and Tasmit, and the gods
who inhabit the sanctuaries of the Sumers and Accads; all
that from my accession to the third year of my reign.[38]

42 Upir, King of Dilmun who dwells at the distance of 30
parasanges[39] in the midst of the sea of the rising sun and
who is established as a fish, heard of the favor that the gods
Assur, Nebo, and Merodach had accorded me; he sent
therefore his expiatory gift.

43 And the seven Kings of the country of Iahnagi, of the
country of Iatnan (who have established and extended
their dwellings at a distance of seven days' navigation in
the midst of the sea of the setting sun, and whose name
from the most ancient ages until the renewal of the lunar
period,[40] none of the Kings my fathers in Assyria and
Chaldea[41] had heard), had been told of my lofty achievements
in Chaldea and Syria, and my glory, which had
spread from afar to the midst of the sea. They subdued
their pride and humbled themselves; they presented themselves
before me at Babylon, bearing metals, gold, silver,
vases, ebony wood, and the manufactures of their country;
they kissed my feet.

44 While I endeavored to exterminate Bet-Iakin and reduce
Aram, and render my rule more efficacious in the country
of Iatbur, which is beyond Elam, my Lieutenant, the Governor
of the country of Kue, attacked Mita, the Moschian,
and 3,000 of his towns; he demolished these towns, destroyed
them, burnt them with fire, and led away many
captives. And this Mita the Moschian, who had never
submitted to the Kings my predecessors and had never
changed his will, sent his envoy to me to the very borders
of the sea of the rising sun, bearing professions of allegiance
and tributes.

45 In these days, these nations and these countries that my
hand has conquered, and that the gods Assur, Nebo, and
Merodach have made bow to my feet, followed the ways
of piety. With their help I built at the feet of the _musri_,
following the divine will and the wish of my heart, a town
that I called _Dur-Sarkin_[42] to replace Nineveh.[43]
Nisroch,[44] Sin, Samas, Nebo, Bin, Ninip, and their great
spouses, who procreate eternally in the lofty temple of the upper
and the nether world (Aralli) blessed the splendid wonders,
the superb streets in the town of Dur-Sarkin. I reformed
the institutions which were not agreeable to their ideas.
The priests, the _nisi ramki_, the _surmahhi supar_ disputed
at their learned discussions about the pre-eminence of
their divinities, and the efficacy of their sacrifices.

46 I built in the town some palaces covered with the skin of
the sea-calf,[45] and of sandal wood, ebony, the wood of mastic
tree, cedar, cypress, wild pistachio nut tree, a palace of
incomparable splendor, as the seat of my royalty. I
placed their _dunu_ upon tablets of gold, silver, alabaster,
_tilpe_ stones, _parut_ stones, copper, lead, iron, tin, and
_khibisti_ made of earth. I wrote thereupon the glory of the gods.
Above I built a platform of cedar beams. I bordered the
doors of pine and mastic wood with bronze garnitures,
and I calculated their distance. I made a spiral staircase
similar to the one in the great temple of Syria, that is
called in the Phoenician language, _Bethilanni_. Between
the doors I placed 8 double lions whose weight is 1 _ner_ 6
_soss_, 50 talents[46] of first-rate copper, made in honor of
Mylitta ...[47] and their four _kubur_ in materials from
Mount Amanus; I placed them on _nirgalli_.[8] Over them I
sculptured artistically a crown of beast of the fields, a bird
in stone of the mountains. Toward the four celestial regions,
I turned their front. The lintels and the uprights
I made in large gypsum stone that I had taken away with
my own hand, I placed them above. I walled them in
and I drew upon me the admiration of the people of the
countries.

47 From the beginning to the end, I walked worshipping the
god Assur, and following the custom of wise men, I built
palaces, I amassed treasures.

48 In the month of blessing, on the happy day, I invoked,
in the midst of them, Assur, the father of the gods, the
greatest sovereign of the gods and the _Istarât_[49] who inhabit
Assyria. I presented vessels of glass, things in
chased silver, ivory, valuable jewels and immense presents,
in great quantities, and I rejoiced their heart. I exhibited
sculptured idols, double and winged, some ...[50]
winged, some ...[50] winged, serpents, fishes, and birds,
from unknown regions and abysses, the ...[50] in high
mountains, summits of the lands that I have conquered
with my own hand, for the glory of my royalty. As a worshipper
of the gods and the god Assur, I sacrificed in their
presence, with the sacrifice of white lambs, holy holocausts
of expiation, in order to withdraw the gifts that had not
been agreeable to the gods.

49 He has granted me in his august power, a happy existence,
long life, and I obtained a constantly lucky reign.
I have entrusted myself to his favor.

50 The great Lord Bel-El, the Master of the lands, inhabits
the lofty tracts; the gods and _Istarât_ inhabit Assyria;
their legions remain there in _pargiti_, and _martakni_.

51 With the Chiefs of provinces, the Satraps, wise men,
Astronomers, Magnates, the Lieutenants and Governors
of Assyria, I have ruled in my palace, and administered
justice.

52 I have bid them take gold, silver, gold and silver vessels,
precious stones, copper, iron, considerable products of
mountains the mines of which are rich, cloth of _berom_ and
cotton, blue and purple cloth, amber, skins of sea-calves,
pearls, sandal-wood, ebony, horses from higher Egypt,[51]
asses, mules, camels, oxen. With all these numerous
tributes I have rejoiced the heart of the gods.

53 May Assur, the father of the gods, bless these palaces, by
giving to his images a spontaneous splendor. May he
watch over the issue even to the remote future. May the
sculptured bull, the protector and god who imparts perfection,
dwell in day and in night-time in his presence, and
never stir from this threshold!

54 With the help of Assur, may the King who has built these
palaces, attain an old age, and may his offspring multiply
greatly! May these battlements last to the most remote
future! May he who dwells there come forth surrounded
with the greatest splendor; may he rejoice in his corporal
health, in the satisfaction of his heart accomplish his
wishes, attain his end, and may he render his magnificence
seven times more imposing!

[Footnote 1: Orchoé, the Erech of the Bible, is certainly the Warka of the present day; Sippara, Sofeira; Nipur, Niffar; Larsam, Senkereh. Ur (the Ur of the Bible) is Mugheir; Kullab and Erikhi are unknown. (See "Expéd. en Mésopot.," i. p. 255 et seq.)]

[Footnote 2: The old empire Bal-bat-ki. The syllabaries explain this ideogram by "Assur," but it is very awkward that in these texts the identification with Assur occurs nowhere. I therefore transcribe "Sumer," which was the true name of the people and the language named wrongly Accadian. The term of "Sumerian" is supported by MM. Ménant, Eneberg, Gelzer, Prætorius, Delitzsch, Olshausen, and other scholars.]

[Footnote 3: "Itanus," or Yatnan, in the island of Crete, became afterward the name of the island of Cyprus.]

[Footnote 4: For the words in italics no satisfactory translation has as yet been found.]

[Footnote 5: The "Pekod" of the Bible (Jer. i. 21; Ezek. xxiii. 23).]

[Footnote 6: Which belongs to Elam.]

[Footnote 7: Lower Chaldea. Nearly all the names of the Elamite towns are Semitic (see Gen. x. 22), but the Susian ones are not.]

[Footnote 8: Tiglatpileser, whom Sargon would not acknowledge.]

[Footnote 9: This is the word "siltan," the Hebrew "shilton" ("power"), the Arabic "sultan."]

[Footnote 10: Raphia, near the frontier of Egypt.]

[Footnote 11: Khilakku. It seems to be identical with the "Sparda" of Persian, the "Sepharad" of Obadiah.]

[Footnote 12: The condition of Jaubid before his accession.]

[Footnote 13: Or Minni.]

[Footnote 14: It seems not to be Paphos.]

[Footnote 15: Parthia(?).]

[Footnote 16: The same name as Belshazzar.]

[Footnote 17: This Agag is very possibly the country of Haman the Agagite, if we must not read Agaz.]

[Footnote 18: Ambanda is perhaps the Median "Kampanda."]

[Footnote 19: We find in the inscriptions of Van, the god Haldi as god of the Armenians, which proves more forcibly than ever that the syllabary of the Armenian inscriptions is the same as the Assyrian syllabary.]

[Footnote 20: See Isaiah xx. 1.]

[Footnote 21: Meluhhi is not Méroe, but Libya, and especially the Marmarica. The name seems to be the "Milyes" of Herodotus.]

[Footnote 22: "Asdudim" seems to be a Hebraic plural.]

[Footnote 23: Meluhhi. This is the only passage where small gaps occur.]

[Footnote 24: This is one of the most important passages of the text; the period is the Chaldean eclipse period of 1,805 years, and ended in 712 B.C. Instead of this passage, the stele of Larnaca, now in Berlin, has, "from the remotest times, the beginning of Assyria, until now." The commencement of the period, 2517 B.C., coincided very nearly with the capture of Babylon by the Medes. This date commences the real history; previous to this time reigned the 86 princes during twelve lunar periods of 1,805, and twelve solar periods of 1,460 years, viz., 39,180 years. The very event may have happened eleven years afterward, 2506 B.C. The Deluge happened, according to the Chaldeans, in 41697 B.C.]

[Footnote 25: This royal name is still found in the Armenian texts of Van.]

[Footnote 26: The inscriptions of this prince are translated in the seventh volume.]

[Footnote 27: Elam. We are now certain of this identification.]

[Footnote 28: The same who occurs in the Ptolemaic canon (721-709).]

[Footnote 29: From 721 to 709 B.C.]

[Footnote 30: 32 m. 91 cm., 39 yds.]

[Footnote 31: 54 m. 85 cm., 65 yds.]

[Footnote 32: 4 m. 94 cm., 17-1/2 ft.]

[Footnote 33: Unexplained.]

[Footnote 34: "Timin," not "cylinder."]

[Footnote 35: Only two years after the commencement of the war.]

[Footnote 36: 12,544. pd. troy 68.]

[Footnote 37: 152,227. pd. troy, 75. A royal silver drachm is nearly 3s., a royal mina £9; the state drachm and mina is the half of it. A silver talent is always very close to £270 sterling.]

[Footnote 38: Sargon speaks of his third "year" and not of his third campaign, in order to mark what he had already accomplished before the year 717.]

[Footnote 39: One hundred and ten English miles.]

[Footnote 40: This is the second passage where Sargon alludes to this period ending under his reign.]

[Footnote 41: "Karduniyas."]

[Footnote 42: Or "Dur-Sarkayan." The King passes rapidly over some other peculiarities which he inserts in other texts, namely, the measures of the town, and the ceremonies of its edification. The circuit is given as containing 3-1/3 ners (miles) 1 stadium 3 canes 2 spans, or 24,740 spans, and Botta's measurings afford 6,790 metres (7,427 yds.). This statement gives for the span, with a slight correction in the fourth decimal, 27,425 cm. (10.797 ins., and for the cubit 5,485 cm. 21.594 ins.).]

[Transcriber's Note: Above, the author seems to be using the European decimal point ",", in the metric measurements, and the American decimal point in the Imperial measurements, ".".]

[Footnote 43: At this time the palace of Nineveh was still in ruins. It was rebuilt by Sennacherib.]

[Footnote 44: This is my former transcription of the divine name which is now pronounced Hea. But I think sincerely that the latter is not better than the former one.]

[Footnote 45: This assimilation is not quite certain.]

[Footnote 46: One thousand ten talents 602 cwt. English.]

[Footnote 47: Obscure.]

[Footnote 48: A very difficult passage; the name of the god Nergal does not interfere with the object.]

[Footnote 49: The Hebrew "Astaroth," which signifies "goddesses." Compare Judges x. 6.]

[Footnote 50: Obscure.]

[Footnote 51: It is not clear what animals are meant.]

End of Project Gutenberg's Babylonian and Assyrian Literature, by Anonymous