Inglés · Antiguo Cercano Oriente
Registros del pasado, 2.ª serie, Vol. III
Parte 5
29. Now I send my ambassador Giliya to my brother, and let my brother
30. not detain him. Let him dismiss him with a costly present, and let him go.
31. May I rejoice very exceedingly when I hear of my brother's present;
32. may I hear for ever of my brother's present.
33. And as for this letter 2 which we have sent may Rimmon 3 my lord
34. and Amanum 4 direct them, 5 and unto their destination
35. may they attain, and as (things are) at present so may they continue with them.
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36. As at present we love (one another), so, as at present,
37. for ever may we love (one another)!
_______________
38. Now for a present to my brother, one goblet of gold set with crystals
39. (around) its cup; one heavy necklace of 20 crystal beads, and 19 (beads) of gold,
40. in its centre a crystal (amulet) encased in gold; one heavy necklace of 42 khulalu stones
41. (and) 40 gold beads, the metal of which (is) … of Istar, (in) its centre an (amulet) of khulalu stone cased in gold;
42. 10 pairs of horses; 10 chariots of wood, together with their furniture;
43. and 30 eunuchs I have sent for a present to my brother.
Footnotes
84:1 Budge, Proceedings, pll. i.–iv.
85:1 That is to say, his daughter Tadukhepa, who being the wife of his "brother" had thus become his sister.
85:2 Literally "loved."
85:3 Literally "fulfilled" (it).
85:4 If the copy is correct, Dusratta must have written "them" in mistake for "us."
85:5 Called Tessubbe or Tessupa, in the language of Mitanni, as we learn from a letter of Dusratta which is written in that dialect. The name is written Tessupa in an Assyrian letter of Dusratta (W. 24. 79.)
85:6 The Egyptian Amon.
85:7 So Zimmern.
85:8 Annimâ, "favourably." Dr. Zimmern renders ina panatimma ("publicly") "in joy," considering it to stand for ina banatimma.
86:1 Yuttehizzi, in correct Assyrian yuttehi's'si from nanâdu, "to honour."
86:2 Literally, "been made to enter."
86:3 Sakharratu.
87:1 Mâtus.
87:2 Literally, "goes twice to be asked for."
88:1 Literally, "dismiss."
88:2 Literally, "words."
88:3 Tessubbe in the language of Mitanni.
88:4 Amon.
88:5 The scribe forgets that he has written the feminine amâtum in the preceding line, and uses the masculine sunuti, as if "messengers" had been spoken of.
XI.—Letter of Dusratta to Amenophis IV 1
[figure]
OBVERSE
1. To Napkhurruriya the king of Egypt,
2. my brother, my son-in-law, who loves [me],
3. and (whom) I love, it is said
4. as follows: Dusratta, king of the country of Mittani,
5. thy father-in-law, who loves thee, speaks thus:
6. Unto myself (is) peace; unto thee may there be peace,
7. unto thy houses, Teie thy mother, and the land of Egypt,
8. to Tâdukhêpa my daughter, thy wife,
9. to the rest of thy wives, to thy sons, to thy soldiers
10. and thy chariots, to thy horses, to thy men,
11. to thy country and to all that thou hast, may there be very abundant peace!
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12. Pirizzi and Pupri my ambassadors
13. I have sent to my brother to explain, and
14. have addressed them with great trouble and earnestness,
15. and I have sent them in a body (?) 1;
16. and this speech beforehand
17. I make to my brother: Manê, thy ambassador
18. I detain, and Umeatu my messenger. …
19. I will dismiss, and the prophet 2 shall go [to thee].
_______________
20. And now my brother to [their own land?]
21. has not permitted them to go, but has detained them
22. overmuch. Wherefore has he not
23. protected the ambassadors? They have fled, and (there is) guilt
24. on my brother in respect of the ambassadors. Why is his heart
25. [angered]? Why has he spoken (?) before the face of …
26 [Pup]ru has not returned and he has spoken (?).
27. … his offers of alliance he does not listen to.
28. [Yet I,] O son-in-law, (am) verily thy father-in-law.
_______________
Lacuna.
Last paragraph:—
1. And as regards the frequent intercourse which with thy father
2. I had Teie thy mother knows the facts;
3. no one else knows the facts;
4. but after Teie thy mother thou knowest them, and
5. what he said to thee. As thy father with me
6. was friendly, so now, O my brother again
7. with me thou art friendly, and what (is) contrary thereto no one,
8. O my brother, listens to.
Footnotes
89:1 Sayce, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, June 1889, pp. 389–391.
90:1 Mi'sûsamma; but the reading is not certain.
90:2 Asip.
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN AGRICULTURAL PRECEPTS
[figure]
p. 91
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN AGRICULTURAL PRECEPTS
Translated by G. Bertin
The tablet which contains the agricultural precepts is one of the series called by the Babylonians, from the first line of the first tablet, uludinebisu = ana itti-su, 1 formerly read ki-kankala-bi-su = ana itti-su. This collection, which must have contained at least ten or twelve tablets, was a compendium of precepts and prescriptions written at an early date in Akkadian for the guidance of the people in their various professions. 2 The work, as we know it from the fragments in the British Museum, is accompanied with a Babylonian translation, probably of the time of Sargon of Agade; and the fragments recovered are those of a Ninevite transcription made in the time of Assurbanipal for his library.
The tablets are divided into two columns, the left-hand one giving the Akkadian and the right-hand one the translation. The first six tablets and part of the seventh contained what may be called the commentary,
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that is, the list of the most difficult words and expressions, with explanations or translations. The notion, strange at first sight, of beginning with the commentary, appears natural when we bear in mind that these works were the text-books of the Babylonians, which they had to copy in order to master their complicated system of writing and the literary Akkadian language 1; the text-book therefore began, as in our reading-books for children, with simple expressions or isolated words; the learner having acquired these, next undertook and understood without difficulty the connected text.
These tablets contained no laws, as has been sometimes stated, but precepts drawn, perhaps by a philosopher like Confucius or Mencius, from the customs and usages of the time. The seventh tablet contained "Precepts for a man in his private life." 2 The agricultural precepts covered no doubt more than one tablet; the only one we possess is partly mutilated, and, the colophon being lost, we do not know what place exactly it occupied in the collection. What we possess, however, strange to say, has never been entirely published; the fragments found at first were published by the trustees of the British
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[paragraph continues] Museum, 1 and a fragment found afterwards was published by Dr. Haupt. 2 No complete translation of the fragments has been attempted, 3 no doubt because the tablet was considered to be a list of unconnected words and sentences; some of the paragraphs have, however, been incidentally explained in order to support the interpretation of other texts. 4
In the following translation the Akkadian has been taken as the standard text, but it has often been necessary to follow the Babylonian translation. Some parts of the translation are doubtful, partly on account of the mutilated state of the text and partly because, as many words are not found anywhere else, we have no means of testing their signification, 5 and some paragraphs are still obscure.
Footnotes
91:1 E. G. Pinches.
91:2 S. B. A., vol. viii. part 2; Akkadian Precepts, pp. 4 and 5.
92:1 An exercise book (on clay) has been found in which some parts of these tablets have been copied three times over for practice; this fragment of a copy-book is now in the British Museum.
92:2 W. A. I., ii. pl. 10, and v. pls. 24 and 25. It is the tablet which revealed to me the real character of this collection. See my paper which contains a translation of it; it must be remembered that our knowledge of Akkadian has made great progress since its publication. A mutilated tablet of "Commercial Precepts," which belong probably to the same collection, is published, W. A. I., ii. pl. 13.
93:1 W. A. I., ii. pls. 14 and 15.
93:2 Keilschrifttexte, p. 74. In the same publication Dr. Haupt has also republished the two first columns, pp. 71–73; it is difficult to see why he has not also republished the other parts, so as to make the publication complete.
93:3 Prof. Sayce has given in the Records of the Past, vol. xi. p. 153, the translation of the fourth column nearly complete.
93:4 The difficult passages have been generally omitted, and in the vocabularies already made public many words found in these texts are left out.
93:5 I may also state that the translation is free, as my object is to give the meaning of the text and not that of the isolated words; I reserve the discussion of the words for a critical paper, where the text can be reproduced.
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN AGRICULTURAL PRECEPTS
[figure]
p. 94
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN AGRICULTURAL PRECEPTS
COLUMN I
(First paragraph lost.)
II.
In the sixth month 1 of the year, he (the agriculturist) marks his establishment.
III.
He agrees about the covenant.
IV.
He completes the wording of the covenant.
V.
He collects his tax-gift and surrounds the field with hedges.
VI.
He brings together the gazelles (his flock) and gathers the birds.
VII.
[He is to work] from dawn to dusk.
VIII.
When the time of the working of the field comes, he ploughs, rakes, and divides it.
IX.
For every sixty measures of grain the farmer takes eight measures, wheat produce, straw in stokes, grain thrashed and winnowed.
_______________
X.
Field of half. In this case a field of culture is merely for culture.
XI.
He (the agriculturist) goes as associate to his associate.
XII.
He ploughs the field, he keeps his seeds, he takes the birds together, and gathers manure.
XIII.
He waters the field and multiplies the seeds.
p. 95
XIV.
When the time of working the field comes he ploughs and rakes it, and the overseer reports to the lord of the field.
_______________
XV.
Field of partnership. He (the agriculturist) takes a field of partnership with the lord of the field.
XVI.
Everything is made equal and on the same footing; man as man, house as house, seed as seed.
XVII.
When the time of working (reaping) comes, the master sends from his place as help a long cart, an ox for thrashing the corn; and the corn of the field …
(One paragraph lost.)
COLUMN II
(Three paragraphs lost.)
IV.
He draws water 1 for the field …
V.
He takes possession of the field.
VI.
He fences with sticks the ground to be ploughed.
VII.
He has the field ploughed and rakes it.
VIII.
He waters it once and twice.
IX.
He fixes hooks for the pails for drawing water.
X.
When the time of working comes, in a field of fifths the farmer takes one part.
_______________
XI.
As for the other divisions, he takes the percentage according to the division.
XII.
In a field of a third, he takes a third.
XIII.
In a field of a fourth, he takes a fourth.
XIV.
In a field of a fifth, he takes a fifth.
XV.
In a field of a tenth, he takes a tenth.
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XVI.
As for the tithe, he gives one part as tithe to the palace.
(One paragraph lost.)
(REVERSE.)—COLUMN III
I.
Of property.
II.
Various kinds of divisions (or land tenures):
division of half,
division of a third,
division of a fourth,
division of a fifth,
division of a tenth,
division with a tithe.
III.
Furnitures and fixtures:
furniture of the palace,
fences,
sticks for fences,
poles,
threshold,
ploughing instruments,
ploughing instruments of the field,
poles of the plantation.
IV.
Enclosure (or garden):
enclosure of the palace,
enclosure of the lord,
enclosure of the associate.
_______________
V.
He (the agriculturist) marks the limit of his garden.
VI.
He indicates the limit of the garden by means of boundary stones. 1
VII.
He plants date-trees in it.
VIII.
He waters the young plants.
IX.
He strengthens the walls.
X.
He completes the paling of the garden.
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XI.
The lord of the garden may give to the farmer his dismissal.
XII.
He pulls up the paling of the garden.
XIII.
He extends one enclosure to the other.
XIV.
He strengthens the walls.
_______________
XV.
On the thirtieth of the eighth month, 1 in fine weather.
XVI.
At the time of drying dates.
XVII.
At the time of pulling off the paling.
XVIII.
In order to quit himself he delivers to the lord of the plantation two-thirds of the dates.
XIX.
He takes a fixed amount and he sends in money the amount of the produce of the date-trees.
(A paragraph lost.)
COLUMN IV
I.
He makes secure the door and the gate.
II.
The servants’ (or working) house and the dwelling house [also].
III.
He establishes for a dwelling his dwelling house as such.
IV.
Until the house is built, he prepares the beams and makes the foundations.
V.
He gathers together the beams which have been cut.
VI.
He arranges in rows the chief beams.
VII.
He strengthens the old house with bricks and sets up the uprights.
VIII.
When he does not work in the fields, he works in the house.
IX.
He makes a small house in the middle of the garden.
X.
He lays down the intermediary wall of his foundation.
XI.
He puts a roof over the wall he has devised.
XII.
He makes first the house of the man.
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XIII.
Let him hold himself cautioned once and twice, even if he is not told so.
XIV.
He works and toils for himself.
XV.
He pays the wages at the time of the cessation of work.
XVI.
If his wall is not constructed strongly, he must not set up props.
XVII.
The house of comfort must be a house for his comfort.
XVIII.
He makes a house as a (proper) house for a man, as (becoming to) a man.
XIX.
If the house is not arranged as a proper house, he shall pay a fine of ten shekels.
(Two or more paragraphs and the colophon are lost.)
The tablet from which the above is a translation is of great importance as giving us information and particulars as to the system of land tenure and cultivation of the land in the early Akkadian period. The tablet speaks first of the simple tenure, and it shows (Paragraph II) that the tenure was to begin legally from the sixth month, that is the Babylonian Ululu. The end of that month is no doubt meant, and it would tend to confirm the opinion that at an earlier date Tisritu was the first and Ululu the last month of the year, though the Babylonians might have had an agricultural year, as we have a financial year, a scholastic or university year, etc. After having chosen the farm and agreed to the conditions of the contract, the first step of the farmer was to determine his position towards the treasury, for, among the Babylonians as among us, the payment of the taxes is a proof of the legality of the holding.
p. 99
[paragraph continues] After that the farmer had to gather his live stock. The tablet says "gazelles," and so carries us back to the earliest period, for the ox and sheep did not come originally from Babylonia, and the first animal domesticated there must have been a kind of gazelle which was found wild in the country. In the tablet, however, the word "gazelle" is no doubt taken to mean any kind of quadruped; in the same way the word "birds" designates here domesticated birds,—doves, ostriches, and at a later period hens, which were introduced a long time before the Persian conquest. 1 Being once established in his farm, he is to give all his time to it.
After these preliminaries about tenure in general come the specifications about the various kinds of tenure. The first spoken of is the tenure by half, as it is called; it appears to signify the properties which used to belong half to the lord and half to the peasant who was attached to the soil as serf. In that case the farmer worked for his master, he kept the live stock and the seeds, but everything was controlled by the agent of the landlord. In the field of partnership, on the contrary, the landlord was placed on the same footing as his tenant; if the latter gave his labour, the former had to provide him with the material, implements, utensils, stock, grain, seeds, etc.
After a lacuna of a few paragraphs the tablet
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speaks of the various works to be performed by the agriculturist or farmer. The tenure of a fifth, or the tenure in which the farmer took a fifth of the produce for himself, was probably the most common in early times, and for this reason is mentioned here; but we also get an account of the percentage to be taken in the other sorts of tenure. To understand this we must suppose that the character of the tenure depended on the quality of the land; in very bad land the farmer was obliged to take a third of the produce to be able to subsist and be prepared for the next season.
The first paragraphs of Column are devoted to what might be termed "legal specification." They enumerate the various sorts of tenure, what are furnitures and fixtures, and the four sorts of garden, probably private gardens independent of the farm land. Then we are told about the general field work to be performed independently of the growing of seeds. The farmer may dissolve partnership or resign his contract at the end of the eighth month or Marcheswan, in fine weather, or at the time of drying the dates, or when the palings are to be pulled out, but only on certain conditions.
Column IV speaks of the works to be performed independently of the field works, and contains very interesting statements; for instance, the farmer was obliged to construct first the house of his workmen; we are even told that if the house is not constructed properly he will have to pay a fine. It is also stated
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that the farmer must pay his men when the work is finished.
Part of Paragraph XIX and the colophon are lost at the end of the fourth column, but it is probable that these precepts covered at least another tablet.
Before closing it is needful to remark again that the tablet of agricultural precepts did not contain laws but only precepts; in the time of the Babylonian Empire these were no doubt consulted by the lawyers, but the progress of civilisation had rendered some of the prescriptions impracticable, and, as is shown by the contract tablets recovered from Babylon, the laws of land tenure had become much more complicated.
Footnotes
94:1 Only the Akkadian text of this paragraph remains; it is interesting to note that the month is designated by a number, as in some of the omen and astronomical tablets.
95:1 The paragraph is mutilated, it may refer to the establishment of some irrigating instrument.
96:1 Or palings.
97:1 In Akkadian the month Apin.
99:1 I have found on a Babylonian contract tablet, two centuries older than Cyrus, the representation of a cock.
THE INDIA HOUSE INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADREZZAR THE GREAT
[figure]
p. 102
THE INDIA HOUSE INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADREZZAR THE GREAT
Translated by The Rev. C. J. Ball
Whether we suppose that this famous relic of the past embodies the ipsissima verba of the great king, in whose name and by whose orders, at all events, it was written and graven in imperishable stone; or that it is the set panegyrical composition of some one of the literary men of his brilliant court; will make little difference to the deep interest which such a monument must always inspire in the minds of thoughtful readers of the prophecies of Jeremiah and the picturesque traditions of the book of Daniel. Here we have an unquestionable relic of the age of the fall of the Jewish monarchy and the brilliant sunset of Hebrew prophecy: an authentic record, preserved almost intact in its original shape, of the very sovereign whom Jeremiah declared to be Jehovah's chosen servant, and whom, consequently, it was Judah's duty as well as highest political wisdom to obey. And not only this. The inscription paints for us in unfading colours a portrait of the man Nebuchadrezzar; it exhibits in the vivid light of
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actuality his pride of place and power and greatness, his strong conviction of his own divine call to universal empire, his passionate devotion to his gods, his untiring labours for their glory and the aggrandisement of that peerless capital which was their chosen dwelling-place.
The style of the inscription is elevated almost to the level of poetry; and the phraseology often recalls familiar expressions of the Old Testament. If I have not noted all such coincidences as they occurred, it was because I felt that they were too obvious and striking for even a cursory reader to miss.
In correcting my former version (Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Dec. 1887) I have, of course, made use of the other inscriptions of the king. The beautifully written cylinder, numbered 85-4-30. I, Brit. Mus., has supplied several important corrections of the text. (See Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., March 1889.)
Some of the Accadian ideograms and words I have succeeded in explaining and illustrating by means of their Chinese representatives, as will be seen from the notes (cp. my papers in Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., entitled The New Accadian).
THE INDIA HOUSE INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADREZZAR
[figure]
p. 104
THE INDIA HOUSE INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADREZZAR
COLUMN I
1. Nebuchadrezzar
2. king of Babylon,
3. the prince exalted,
4. the favourite of Merodach,
5. the pontiff supreme,
6. the beloved of Nebo,
7. the serene, the possessor of wisdom,
8. who the way of their godhead
9. regardeth,
10. who feareth their lordship;
11. the servant 1 unwearied,
12. who for the maintenance 2
13. of Esagilla and Ezida 3
14. daily bethought him, and
15. the weal of Babylon
16. and Borsippa
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17. regardeth ever;
18. the wise, the prayerful,
19. the maintainer 1 of Esagilla and Ezida,
20. the chiefest son
21. of Nabopalassar,
22. king of Babylon, am I.
23. After that the lord my god had created me,
24. that Merodach had framed
25. the creature in the mother;
26. when I was born,
27. when I was created, even I,
28. the holy places of the god I regarded,
29. the way of the god I walked in.
30. Of Merodach, the great lord, the god my creator,
31. his cunning works
32. highly do I extol.
33. Of Nebo, his true son,
34. the beloved of my majesty,
35. the way of his supreme godhead
36. steadfastly do I exalt;
37. with all my true heart
38. I love the fear of their godhead,
39. I worship their lordship.
40. When Merodach, the great lord,
41. lifted up the head of my majesty and
42. with lordship over the multitude of peoples invested me; and
43. Nebo, the overseer of the multitude of heaven and earth,
44. for the governing of the peoples
45. a righteous sceptre
46. placed in my hands:
47. for me, of them I am heedful,
48. I have regard unto their godhead;
49. for the mention of their glorious name,
50. I worship the god and Ishtar. 2
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51. To Merodach my lord I made supplication,
52. prayers to him I undertook, and
53. the word which my heart looked for,
54. to him I spate:
55. "Of old, O prince, lord of all that is!
56. for the king whom thou lovest, and
57. whose name thou callest,
58. that to thee is pleasing;
59. thou leadest him aright, 1
60. a straight path thou appointest him.
61. I am a prince obedient unto thee,
62. a creature of thy hands;
63. thou it was that madest me, and
64. with sovereignty over the multitude of the peoples
65. didst invest me;
66. according to thy goodness, O Lord,
67. wherewith thou crownest
68. all of them.
69. Thy lordship supreme do thou make loving, 2 and
70. the fear of thy godhead
71. cause thou to be in my heart!
72. Yea, grant that to thee is pleasing,
COLUMN II
1. for my life truly thou makest."
2. Himself; the leader glorious,
3. the open-eyed of the gods, the prince Merodach,
4. my supplications heard and
5. received my prayers.
6. Yea, he made gracious his supreme lordship,
7. the fear of his godhead
8. he implanted in my heart;
9. to draw his car (?) 3
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10. he made me submit the heart;
11. I worshipped his lordship.
12. In his high trust, 1
13. to far-off lands,
14. distant hills,
15. from the Upper Sea
16. to the Lower Sea, 2
17. immense journeys,
18. blocked ways,
19. a place where the path is broken,
20. feet are not;
21. a road of hardships,
22. a journey of straits,
23. I pursued, and
24. the unyielding I reduced,
25. I fettered the rebels.
26. The land I ordered aright, and
27. the people I made to thrive;
28. bad and good
29. among the people I removed. 3
30. Silver, gold, glitter of precious stones,
31. copper, mismakanna-wood, cedar
32. what thing soever is precious,
33. a large abundance;
34. the produce of mountains,
35. the fulness of seas,
36. a rich present,
37. a splendid gift,
38. to my city of Babylon
39. into his presence I brought.
40. In Esagilla,
41. the palace of his lordship,
42. I wrought repairs. 4
43. Ekua, the cell
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44. of the lord of the gods, Merodach,
45. I made to glisten like suns
46. the walls thereof;
47. with large gold,
48. like rubble (?) stone, 1
49. with uknû 2 and alabaster,
50. the habitation of the house I overlaid.
51. The gate Khilisu, even the Beautiful Gate,
52. and the gate of Ezida (and) Esagilla,
53. I had them made brilliant as the sun.
54. The bright seat, the place of them that determine destinies, .
55. which is the Quarter of Assembly, the chapel of the Fates,
56. wherein, at Zagmuku, 3 the opening of the year,
57. on the 8th day (and) the 11th day,
58. the divine king, the god of heaven (and) earth, the lord of heaven,
59. taketh up his abode;
60. the gods of heaven (and) earth
61. with awe submit unto him;
62. they bow, they take their stand before him;
63. a destiny of enduring days,
64. as the destiny of my life,
65. they predestine in the midst (thereof):—
COLUMN III
1. that chapel, a chapel of majesty,
2. the chapel of the lordship
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3. of the open-eyed of the gods, the prince Merodach,
4. whose fabric a former king
5. in silver had fabricated,
6. with shining gold, a splendid decoration,
7. I overlaid it.
8. The vessels of the house Esagilla
9. with large gold,—
10. the Bark of Merodach with Zarirû-stones,—
11. I made bright,
12. as the stars of the heavens.
13. The temples of Babylon
14. I made, I filled.
15. Of Etimmen-ana-ki 1
16. in burnt brick (and) fine uknû stone,
17. I reared its summits.
18. To make Esagilla
19. my heart lifted me up 2;
20. in chief have I regarded it.
2 I. The choicest of my cedars,
22. which from Lebanon,
23. the noble forest, I brought,
24. for the roofing of Ekua,
25. the cell of his lordship,
26. I looked out, and my heart vowed. 3
27. The huge cedar-beams
28. for the roofing of Ekua
29. with shining gold I overlaid.
30. The panels under the cedar of the roofing
31. with gold and precious stones
32. I made bright.
33. For the making of Esagilla
34. daily I besought
35. the King of the gods, the Lord of lords.
36. Borsippa the city of his abode
37. I beautified, and
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38. Ezida, the Eternal House,
39. in the midst thereof I made.
40. With silver, gold, precious stones,
45. copper, mismakanna-wood, 1 cedar-wood,
42. I finished the work of it.
43. The cedar of the roofing
44. of the cells of Nebo
45. with gold I overlaid.
46. The cedar of the roofing of the gate of Nanâ,
47. I overlaid with shining silver.
48. The bulls, the leaves of the gate of the cell,
49. the lintels, the bars, the bolt, 2
50. the door-sill, 3 Zarirû-stone.
51. The cedar of the roofing
52. of its chambers (?) 4
53. with silver I made bright.
54. The path to the cell,
55. and the way to the house,
56. (was of) glazed (?) brickwork.
57. The seat of the chapel therein
58. (was) a work of silver.
59. The bulls, the leaves of the gates,
60. with plates of bronze (?),
61. brightly I made to glisten.
62. The house I made gloriously bright, and,
63. for gazings (of wonder),
64. with carved work 5 I had (it) filled.
65. The temples of Borsippa
p. 111
66. I made, I filled.
67. Of the House of the Seven Spheres of Heaven and Earth,
68. in burnt bricks, (and) gleaming uknû stone,
69. I reared the heads thereof.
70. The Bark of the river of Gan-ulu, 1
71. the car of his princeliness
COLUMN IV
1. the Bark of the Way of Zagmuku,
2. the festival of Babylon,
3. its sides
4. (and) the pavilion within it,
5. I overlaid
6. with Tîrisassû-stone.
7. The House of the Drink-offering, the exalted resting-place
8. of the lord of the gods, Merodach,
9. the master of the revels and rejoicings
10. of the Igigi and the Anunnaki, 2
11. on the ramparts of Babylon,
12. with bitumen and burnt brick
13. mountain-high I erected.
14. the great house, E-dimmer-nin-khar-shagga,
15. in the heart of Babylon,
16. for the Great Goddess, the Mother that made me,
17. in Babylon I built.
18. For Nebo, the exalted Messenger,
19. who bestowed a righteous sceptre
20. for governing all habitable places,
21. E-shapa-kalama-simma, his house,
22. in Babylon,
23. with bitumen and burnt brick
24. I constructed the structure thereof.
25. For Sin, 3 that brighteneth
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26. my boundary walls,
27. E-gishshir-gal, his house,
28. in Babylon I made.
29. For Shamash, the Judge Supreme,
30. who putteth the righteous purpose 1 in my mind,
31. E-sakud-kalama, his house,
32. in Babylon,
33. with bitumen and brick
34. loftily I made.
35. For Rimmon, 2 who causeth abundance
36. in my land, E-nam-ghe, his house,
37. in Babylon, I built.
38. For Gula that spareth,
39. that fostereth my life,
40. E-sa-bad, E-kharsagella,
41. her houses in Babylon,
42. with bitumen and burnt brick
43. in fair wise I built.
44. For the Dame of the House of Heaven,
45. the lady that loveth me,
46. Ekikukus, her house,
47. in the purlieus of the wall of Babylon
48. loftily I made.
49. For the Son of the House, that shattereth
50. the sword of my foes,
51. his house in Borsippa I made.
52. For Gula, the Lady
53. that maketh whole my flesh,
54. Egula, Etilla, Ezibatilla,
55. her three temples,
56. in Borsippa I made.
57. For Rimmon, that raineth
58. the rain of plenty in my land,
59. his house in Borsippa
60. in fair wise I built.
p. 113
61. For Sin, that lifteth 1 the snare
62. of my welfare,
63. E-dim-anna, his house,
64. at the side of the precinct of Ezida
65. splendidly I made.
66. Imgur-bel
67. and Nimitti-bel,
68. the great ramparts of Babylon 2
69. which Nabopolassar,
70. king of Babylon, the father that begot me,
71. had made and not finished
72. the work of them;
COLUMN V
1. whose moat he had dug, and
2. the two strong walls
3. with bitumen and burnt brick
4. had constructed along its bank;
5. the dykes of the Arakhtu 3
6. had made, and
7. a fence of burnt brick
8. (on) the other side of Euphrates
9. had constructed, and
10. had not finished
11. the rest;
12. from the Bright Seat,
13. the place of them that determine destinies,
14. the shrine of the Fates,
15. unto A-ibur-shabu,
16. the causeway of Babylon,
17. before the Gate of Beltis,
18. with brick (and) tur-mina-banda 4 stone,
p. 114
19. along the way of the great lord Merodach
20. he beautified the road.
21. As for me, his eldest son,
22. the beloved of his heart,
23. Imgur-bel
24. and Nimitti-bel,
25. the great ramparts of Babylon,
26. I finished;
27. beside the scarp of its moat,
28. the two strong walls,
29. with bitumen and burnt brick I built, and
30. with the wall (which) my father had constructed,
31. I joined (them), and
32. the city, for cover,
33. I carried (them) round.
34. A wall of burnt brick,
35. at the ford of the setting sun,
36. the rampart of Babylon
37. I threw around.
38. Â-bur-shabu,
39. the causeway of Babylon,
40. for the way of the great lord Merodach,
41. to a high elevation
42. I raised, 1 and
43. with brick (and) dur-mina-banda stone,
44. and stone, the work 2 of mountains,
45. Â-ibur-shabû,
46. from the Shining Gate
47. to Ishtar that hurleth down them that assail her,
48. for the way of his godhead
49. I made fair, and
50. with what my father had done
51. I connected (it), and
52. I beautified
53. the road
54. of Ishtar, that hurleth down
55. them that assail her.
p. 115
56. Of Imgur-bel
57. and Nimitti-bel
58. the portals, on both sides,
59. through the raising
60. of the causeway of Babylon
61. had become low
62. in their entries:
63. those portals
64. I pulled down, and
COLUMN VI
1. over against the water their foundation
2. with bitumen and burnt brick
3. I firmly laid, and
4. with burnt brick (and) gleaming uknû stone,
5. whereof bulls and dreadful serpents
6. were made, the interior of them 1
7. cunningly I constructed.
8. Strong cedar beams
9. for the roofing of them
10. I laid on.
11. Doors of cedar
12. (with) plating of bronze,
13. lintels and hinges,
14. copper-work, in its gates
15. I set up.
16. Strong bulls of copper,
17. and dreadful serpents, standing upright,
18. on their thresholds I erected:
19. those portals,
20. for the gazings of the multitude of the people,
21. with carven work I caused to be filled.
22. As an outwork 2 for Imgur-bel,
23. the wall of Babylon, unapproachable,
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24. (what no king before me had done;)
25. at four thousand cubits off,
26. on the flanks of Babylon
27. from afar unapproachable,
28. a mighty rampart, at the ford of the sunrising,
29. Babylon I threw around.
30. Its moat I dug, and the bank of it
31. with bitumen and brick
32. I bound together, and
33. the mighty rampart on the marge of it
34. mountain-high I built.
35. Its portals broad
36. I constructed, and
37. the doors in cedar, with plating of bronze,
38. I set them up.
39. That foes might not present 1 the face,
40. the bounds of Babylon might not approach;
41. great waters,
42. like the volume of the sea,
43. the land I carried round, and
44. the crossing of them
45. (was) like the crossing of the great sea,
46. of the briny flood.
47. An outburst of that within them
48. not to suffer to befal,
49. with a bank of earth
50. I embanked them, and
51. walls of kiln-brick
52. I threw around them.
53. The ward skilfully
54. did I strengthen, and
55. the city of Babylon
56. I made a fortress.
57. Dhâbi-suburshu,
58. the wall of Borsippa,
59. anew I made.
60. Its moat I dug, and
p. 117
61. with bitumen and burnt brick
62. I fenced its bank.
63. Nebuchadrezzar,
COLUMN VII
1. king of Babylon,
2. whom Merodach, the great Lord,
3. for the weal of his city
4. Babylon did call, am I.
5. Esagilla and Ezida
6. like the brilliance of the sun I made shine.
7. The temples of the great gods
8. like day I made bright.
9. Formerly, from the days of yore
10. to the reign
11. of Nabopalassar, king of Babylon,
12. the father that begot me,
13. the many kings my predecessors,
14. whose name the god
15. named for the sovereignty;
16. in their favourite cities,
17. in a place they determined on,
18. palaces they built themselves,
19. they set up their abode.
20. Their wealth within
21. they heaped up;
22. they piled their substance.
23. On the feast of Zagmuku,
24. the merrymaking of the lord of the gods, Merodach,
25. they entered Babylon.
26. From the time that Merodach created me,
27. for sovereignty;
28. (from the time that) Nebo his true son
29. committed his subjects (to me);
30. like dear life
31. love I the building of their lodging-place:
32. Besides Babylon and Borsippa,
p. 118
33. I did not beautify a city.
34. In Babylon,
35. my favourite city, which I love,
36. the palace, the house of the gazings of the people,
37. the bond of the country,
38. the splendid mansion,
39. the abode of royalty,
40. in the land of Babylon,
41. that is in the midst of Babylonia,
42. from Imgur-bel
43. to Libil-khegalla,
44. the canal of the sunrising,
45. from the bank of the Euphrates
46. to A-ibur-shabû;
47. which Nabopalassar
48. king of Babylon, the father who begot me,
49. with sun-dried brick had erected, and
50. dwelt therein;
51. by the waters of a flood
52. its foundation was weakened, and
53. through the raising
54. of the causeway of Babylon,
55. of that palace
56. low had become the gates of it:
57. its walls of 1 sun-dried brick
58. I pulled down, and
59. its record I uncovered, and
60. the bottom of the water I reached;
61. over against the water its foundation
62. I firmly laid, and
63. with bitumen and burnt brick
COLUMN VIII
1. I reared it high
2. as the wooded hills.
p. 119
3. Stout cedars for the roofing of it
4. I laid on.
5. Doors of cedar
6. (with) a plating of bronze,
7. sills and hinges
8. of copper-work, in its gates
9. I set up.
10. Silver, gold, precious stones,
11. everything that is prized,
12. is magnificent;
13. substance, wealth,
14. the ornaments of majesty,
15. I heaped up within it;
16. strength, splendour,
17. royal treasure,
18. I hoarded within it.
19. Because the establishment of my royalty
20. in another city
2 I. my heart loveth not;
22. in no dwelling-places
23. built I an abode of lordship:
24. riches (and) the ornaments of royalty,
25. I place not
26. among the lands.
27. In Babylon,
28. a stead for my abode,
29. for the insignia of my royalty,
30. was not to be found.
31. For that the fear of Merodach my lord
32. was in my heart,
33. in Babylon,
34. his fenced city,
35. to make large
36. the seat of my royalty,
37. his street I altered not,
38. his chapel I demolished not,
39. his canals I filled not up;
40. a stead far and wide
41. I looked for.
p. 120
42. For an outwork 1
43. to Imgur-bel,
44. the wall of Babylon, unapproachable,
45. at 490 cubits off,
46. on the flanks of Nimitti-bel,
47. The outer wall of Babylon,
48. for cover
49. of the two strong walls,
50. with bitumen and burnt brick
51. a rampart mountain-like I made. And
52. betwixt them
53. a structure of burnt brick I constructed, and
54. on the top of it a great stead,
55. for the seat of my royalty,
56. with bitumen and burnt brick
57. loftily I made, and
58. with my father's palace I joined (it), and
59. in a salutary month, on a lucky day,
60. the foundation of it in the bosom of broad Earth
61. I firmly laid, and
62. the top of it I reared
63. high as the wooded hills. 2
64. On the 15th day, the work of it
COLUMN IX
1. I finished, and
2. made splendid the seat of lordship.
3. Strong male 2 cedars,
4. the growth of high mountains,
5. huge female 2 cedars,
6. and cypresses,
7. costly stones glittering,
8. for the roofing of it I laid on.
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9. Doors of mismakanna,
10. cedar, cypress,
11. ushû 1 and ivory, 2
12. the frame of silver (and) gold,
13. and the plating bronze;
14. the thresholds and hinges
15. copper-work
16. in the gates of it I set up, and
17. with a cornice of uknû its tops
18. I surrounded.
19. A strong wall
20. in bitumen and burnt brick
21. mountain-like I threw around it.
22. On the flanks of the wall of brick,
23. a great wall
24. with huge stones,
25. the yield of great mountains,
26. I made, and
27. like mountains
28. I raised its heads.
29. That house for gazings
30. I caused to be made, and,
31. for the beholding of the multitude of the people,
32. with sculptures I had (it) filled.
33. The awe 3 of power, the dread
34. of the splendour of sovereignty,
35. its sides begird, and
36. the bad unrighteous man
37. cometh not within it.
38. That no foe might appear, 4
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39. on the sides of the wall of Babylon
40. a bulwark against him 1
41. I built afar, and
42. the city of Babylon
43. I made strong
44. as the wooded hills.
45. To Merodach, my lord,
46. I made supplication, and lifted up my hands:
47. "Merodach, lord, open-eyed of the gods,
48. glorious prince!
49. Thou it was that createdst me, and
50. with the sovereignty of a multitude of peoples
51. didst invest me.
52. Like dear life
53. I love the exaltation of thy lodging-place:
54. besides thy city of Babylon
55. In no place
56. have I adorned a city. 2
57. Like as I love
58. the fear of thy godhead,
59. (and) seek unto thy lordship;
60. favourably regard the lifting up of my hands,
61. hear my prayers!
62. I verily am the maintaining 3 king,
63. that maketh glad thine heart;
64. the careful servant,
65. that maintaineth 3 all thy town.
COLUMN X
1. At thy behest,
2. O merciful Merodach,
3. may the house I have made
4. therewith 4 endure! and
5. with the fulness of it may I be satisfied, and
p. 123
6. within it
7. hoar age may I reach!
8. May I be satisfied with offspring!
9. Of the kings of the world,
10. of all men,
11. their heavy tribute
12. may I receive within it!
13. From nadir to zenith,
14. (and) where the sun riseth,
15. may I have no enemies,
16. foemen may I possess not!
17. My posterity within it!
18. for evermore
19. over the Blackheads 1 may they rule!"