Inglés · Antiguo Cercano Oriente
Registros del pasado, 2.ª serie, Vol. III
Parte 6
104:1 Or minister, i.e. of the gods. The Accadian ideogram is foot + man; somewhat like the Chinese foot + firm, pronounced kân (= kín), "a servant." But Chinese actually possesses an identical ideogram in the term fu (= bu or ba), "to sit in state," "to make a low obeisance," "to sit cross-legged in worship"; a character compounded of foot + man. David "sat before the Lord" in prayer (2 Sam. vii. 18). This, at least, favours the opinion that sagganakku or sakkanakku meant a priestly rather than a secular personage; and that when Sargon called himself sagganak Bâbili, he meant not "Machthaber," but "high-priest of Babylon."
104:2 Literally "fillings," "filler" (zanânu is a synonym of malû, Rich Cyl. i. 17, 18).
104:3 The chief temples of Babylon and Borsippa. E-sagilla, the temple of Bel-Merodach, also contained a shrine dedicated to Nebo, called "E-zida of E-sagilla" (Cyl. A.H., 82-7-54. 1042, col. i. 31).
105:1 Literally "fillings," "filler" (zanânu is a synonym of malû, Rich Cyl. i. 17, 18).
105:2 The cylinder 85-4-30. 1, establishes this reading of the ideogram.
106:1 Literally "thou directest his name."
106:2 Cp. ii. 6. The meaning is, "Show thyself kind or gracious."
106:3 Cp. the words of Assurbanipal: "The yoke, the wood (= implement) of drawing, I made them (the conquered kings) put on; to the temple they drew beneath me" (i.e. drew me in my chariot): 5 R. 10.29.30a. See also Phillipp's Cyl., i, 11, 12. "Unto Merodach . I reverently submitted; to draw his car I bowed the neck:" and I, 61, below.
107:1 Or, lofty confidence. The word tukultu coincides in form and meaning with the Ethiopic tukelt, "trust," "confidence," "hope"; and "his trust" is equivalent to "trust in him" (obj. genit.)
107:2 [Lake Van and the Persian Gulf.—Ed.]
107:3 Or, deported, carried away, cp. 2 Kings xvii. 6.
107:4 Literally "fillings," as at i. 12.
108:1 I only guess the meaning of imtû from the context. Solomon "made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones," 1 Kings x. 27. Is imtû a noun of the form ikribu, from the root matû, "to strike," "break" (= LAL)?? Some common material must be meant; but unfortunately the reading "stone" is not certain. (See Amiaud and Méchineau, Tabl. Comp., No. 145 note.)
108:2 The Accadian ZAGIN is a compound term, denoting simply "bright," "pure," "white," and as such might be applied to various valuable stones, such as jade, jasper, onyx, and other veined and coloured quartzose stones, of which uknû may have been a specific kind.
108:3 From the Accadian ZAG, "head," i.e. beginning, and MU, "year."
109:1 [Meaning, in Accadian, "'The house of the foundation-stone of heaven and earth."—Ed.]
109:2 This phrase is found in Hebrew, Exod. xxxv. 21–26.
109:3 Literally "spake," "sware"; i.e. resolved to devote them to this use.
110:1 Mismakanna or Mishmakanna, which looks like "Makan-wood," (Makan being the Sinaitic Peninsula, or perhaps the east side of the Delta see Sayce, Hilbert Lectures, p. 31, note 2), is perhaps the origin of the Biblical shikmîm, Amos vii. 54 (St. Luke xvii. 6).
110:2 The ideogram is (GIS) ES-GAN-RU, shoot + bar + long. The last character, RU, is explained "to be long, of a pole." It is composed of the signs U, earth + GU, ox; like the Chinese mau, mu, "bolt," "sliding part of a lock," a character compounded of ox + earth (ngu + du).
110:3 With the Accadian KANA, cp. Chinese kan, and k‘an, "threshold," "door-sill," sometimes fixed, sometimes movable.
110:4 Perhaps related to the Heb. debîr, or inmost recess of the temple.
110:5 With lulû, which is probably of Accadian origin, cp. the Chinese lau, old lu, "to carve," and luh, luk, ditto.
111:1 Apparently this means "perennial abundance," or "flow."
111:2 [The spirits of heaven and earth.—Ed.]
111:3 The Moon-god. Sin means "bright."
112:1 The Accadian terms ALAM SHIG mean "bright or pure image," and so "pure, right thought, desire, or design." Cp. the old Chinese lam, "to see, perceive," lam, "desirous," and shing "bright," "pure," "holy."
112:2 [The Air-god.—Ed.]
113:1 Or, "beareth away," "removeth": cp. Sarg. Cyl. 57, where the same god is called "exposer of snares," and Ps. xci. 3.
113:2 The river of Babylon.
113:3 See Herod. i. 180.
113:4 This Accadian term recurs, with a different initial sign, in line 43. Those who know the difficulty of identifying the precious stones and trees mentioned in the Old Testament will not be surprised to find that similar difficulties exist in cuneiform documents. It may be that the material here mentioned (lines 18, 43) is only some kind of glazed or coloured brick, with a double determinative prefix (brick+ stone).
114:1 Literally "with a high filling I filled up." Cp. the Latin expression agger viae.
114:2 i.e. yield, or produce.
115:1 Or perhaps, "the interior of them, which was made with (or into) bulls and dreadful serpents, cunningly I constructed." The relative clause sometimes precedes its antecedent.
115:2 Cp. viii. 42; ix. 40. The Accadian GIN ME denotes that which turns back battle (GIN = târu, ME = takhâzu), in this case an outer wall.
116:1 Reading la babil; see Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., March 1889. Col. iii. 30 (la ba-bi-il).
118:1 Literally "a substance of."
120:1 ganû, kanû, Accadian GIN "bar," "barrier," "bulwark," "wall," answers to the old Chinese gan, gin, "outer wall," "bank," "barrier," and the like.
120:2 For this distinction, see 2 R. 46, No. 2, 29, 30, where it is applied to palms.
121:1 The Accadian DAN, "hard," "strong," is like the old Chinese dan (modern t‘an), which denotes several kinds of hard-wood trees, including sandal-wood.
121:2 The Accadian KA-AMA-SI(G) = mouth + wild-ax +horn, which is the ideogram for "ivory," recalls the Chinese k‘au, "mouth," ma, an obsolete name of the yak or wild-ox, and siang, "elephant," "ivory," as well as si, "rhinoceros" (written ox + tail).
121:3 baltu (from the same root as balak, i. 47. "I heed or care for," "regard," cp. Arab. bala). The phrase might be rendered "heed of wrath."
121:4 Literally "present face," as at vi. 40 supra.
122:1 Literally "the bulwark of his battle I carried to a distance" (from the inner wall); cp. vi. 40; viii. 42.
122:2 Borsippa was no exception, being part of Babylon.
122:3 See note on i. 12, 19 supra.
122:4 i.e. with Merodach's town, Babylon itself, ix. 65. Cp. ix. 54 sqq.
123:1 The Blackheads were the aboriginal population of Babylonia, i.e. the Accadians. The Chinese anciently bore the same title, a fact which is one of the innumerable proofs of their Accadian origin. The meaning appears to be black-haired; though the expression is said to refer to the colour of their caps or kerchiefs. The Chinese still call themselves by several synonymous titles meaning the black-haired folk.
CONTRACT-TABLETS RELATING TO BELSHAZZAR
[figure]
p. 124
CONTRACT-TABLETS RELATING TO BELSHAZZAR
Translated by the Editor
The three contracts which follow are among the numerous cuneiform documents of the same class the publication of which we owe to the indefatigable labours of Dr Strassmaier. They are published in his Babylonische Texte: Inschriften von Nabonidus, i., iii., Nos. 184, 581, and 688, and are interesting on account of their references to Belshazzar, the eldest son of Nabonidos, whose name is written in Babylonian Bilu-sarra-utsur, "O Bel, defend the king." It is especially curious to learn from one of them that the heir-apparent to the throne had to conform to the same legal obligations as the meanest of his subjects. Security was exacted by him for the payment of a debt, a portion of the security being a house inhabited by a Persian. As Persian slaves are mentioned in other deeds of the period it is possible that the Persian in question was a slave. At all events the notice of him proves that there were Persians living in Babylon before the conquest of the country by Cyrus. The third document, it will be observed, is dated six years before the overthrow of Nabonidos and the entrance of Cyrus into Babylon.
CONTRACT-TABLETS RELATING TO BELSHAZZAR
[figure]
p. 125
CONTRACT-TABLETS RELATING TO BELSHAZZAR
No. I
A house belonging to Nebo-akhi-iddin, the son of Sulâ, the son of Egibi, which adjoins the house of Bel-nadin, the son of Rimut, the son of the soldier (?) 1 has been handed over (by Nebo-akhi-iddin) for 3 years to Nebo-yukin-akhi the secretary 2 of Belshazzar, the son of the king, for 1½ manehs of silver, sub-letting of the house being forbidden, as well as interest on the money. (Nebo-yukin-akhi) undertakes to plant trees and repair the house. 3 At the expiration of the 3 years Nebo-akhi-iddin shall repay the money, namely 1½ manehs, to Nebo-yukin-akhi, and Nebo-yukin-akhi shall quit the house in the presence of Nebo-akhi-iddin. The witnesses (are) Kabtiya, the son of Tabnêa, the son of Egibi; Tabik-zira, the son of Nergal-yusallim, the son of Sin-karabi-isime; Nebo-zira-ibni, the son of Ardia; and the priest Bel-akhi-basa, the son of Nebo-baladhsu-iqbi. (Dated) Babylon, the 21st day of Nisan, the 5th year of Nabonidos king of Babylon. 4
No. II
The sum of 20 manehs of silver for wool, the property of Belshazzar, the son of the king, which has been handed
p. 126
over to Iddin-Merodach, the son of Basâ, the son of Nur-Sin, through the agency of Nebo-tsabit the steward of the house 1 of Belshazzar, the son of the king, and the secretaries of the son of the king. In the month Adar, of the 11th year (of Nabonidos), he gives the money, namely 20 manehs. The house of … the Persian 2 and all his property in town and country shall be the security of Belshazzar, the son of the king, until he shall pay in full the money aforesaid. The money which he shall (meanwhile) make upon [the property] (?), 3 he shall pay as interest. Witnessed by Bel-iddin, the son of Rimut, the son of the soldier (?); Etilpi, the son of … the son of the father of the house; Nadin, the son of Merodach-[sum-utsur], the son of the superintendent of the works; Nergal-yusallim, the son of Merodach-[edir], the son of Gasura; Merodach-natsir, the son of Samas- …, the son of Dabibi; and the priest Bel-akhi-iddin, the son of Nebo-baladhsu-iqbi. (Dated) Babylon, the 20th day of the month …, the 11th year of Nabonidos king [of Babylon]. 4
No. III
One maneh 16 shekels of silver capital and interest, the property 5 of Nebo-tsabit-idâ, the steward of the house of Belshazzar, the son of the king, which (he owes) to Bel-iddina, the son of Bel-sum-iskun, the son of Sin-tabni, and the seed grown in sight of the chief gates (of Babylon) which has been taken as security (for it). The money, namely 1 maneh 16 shekels, Nebo-tsabit-idâ, by the agency of Itti-Merodach-baladhu, the son of Nebo-akhi-iddin, the son of Egibi, has presented to Bel-iddina. The witnesses (are) Nebo-iddina, the son of Rimutu, the son of Kîkî; 6 Bel-iddina, the son of Bel-sum-iskun, the son of Sin-tabni; Nebo-zira-esir, the son of Ina-essu-edir, the son of the
p. 127
[paragraph continues] Umuk; 1 Nadinu, the son of Merodach-iddin-akhi; Nergal-yusallim, the priest, the son of Merodach-edir, the son of Gasura. (Dated) at Babylon, the 27th day of the second Adar, 2 the 12th year of Nabonidos king of Babylon. 3
Footnotes
125:1 Kîkî; in the account of the Deluge (l. 169) Bel is called qurad kîkî, "the warrior of the kîkî."
125:2 Amel'sipiri. In the reign of Darius we hear of a certain Ablâ, who was "royal prince and secretary to the princes of the new palace."
125:3 That is to say, to keep the garden and house in order.
125:4 B.C. 551.
126:1 Rab-biti.
126:2 Par'su.
126:3 Literally "the money as much as upon [the property] he shall fill up (?)." Perhaps we should read isabsû, "he shall acquire," instead of imir-sû.
126:4 B.C. 545.
126:5 Read rasutu.
126:6 Written here as a proper name.
127:1 An officer who seems to have had something to do with the beginning of the year.
127:2 The intercalary month Ve-Adar.
127:3 B.C. 544.
THE KINGS OF ARARAT (Biainas or Van)
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p. 128 p. 129
THE KINGS OF ARARAT (Biainas or Van):—
B.C.
The earlier dynasty ends with Arame
cir. 857–840
1.
Sarduris I, the son of Lutipris, founds the city of Dhuspas (Van) and the later dynasty
840
2.
Ispuinis, "the settler," his son
?
Ispuinis and his son Menuas together.
?
3.
Menuas alone
?
4.
Argistis I, his son
780
5.
Sarduris II, his son
?
6.
Ru´sas I, called Ur´sa by the Assyrians
730
7.
Argistis II
715
8.
Erimenas, his son
?
9.
Ru´sas II, his son
660
10.
Sarduris III.
645
Ararat conquered by Media
610 (?)
THE KINGS OF PERSIA
[figure]
p. 130
THE KINGS OF PERSIA:—
B.C.
1.
Akhæmenês (Hakhâmanish)
—
2.
Teispes (Chaispaish), his son. He conquers Susiania and rules in Anzan
cir. 600
3.
Ariaramnês (Ariyârâmna), son of Teispes, in Persia
—
3.
Kyros I (Kuras), son of Teispes, in Anzan
—
4.
Arsamês (Arshâma), son of Ariaramnês, in Persia
—
4.
Kambysês. I (Kamujyiya), son of Kyros, in Anzan
—
5.
Kyros II, or Agradatês, son of Kambysês, in Anzan. He conquers Media, and founds the Persian empire
550
6.
Kambysês II, his son
529
7.
Gomatês (Gaumata) the Magian, the pseudo-Bardes or Smerdis, usurps the throne for seven months
521
8.
Dareios (Dârayavaush), son of Hystaspês (Vishtâspa) and grandson of Arsamês
521
9.
Xerxes I (Khshayârshâ), his son
485
10.
Artaxerxês I (Artakshatra) Longimanus, his son
465
11.
Xerxes II, his son, for 2 months
425
p. 131
B.C.
12.
Sogdianos, his half-brother, for 7 months
425
13.
Dareios II Nothos (Okhos), his brother 1
424
14.
Artaxerxes II Mnêmôn, his son 1
405
Revolt of Kyros the younger
401
15.
Okhos (Uvasu), son of Artaxerxes
362
16.
Arsês his son
339
17.
Dareios III Kodomannos
336
Conquered by Alexander
330
END OF VOL. III
Printed by R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh
Footnotes
131:1 A cuneiform tablet, however, gives the length of the reigns of Dareios II, and Artaxerxes II, as respectively 29 and 36 years.
Errata
page 76: 'Egptian'->'Egyptian'
page 99: 'landllord'->'landlord'