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Assyrian Deeds and Documents
PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
Assyrian Deeds and Documents
Recording the X^'^^^^^f^'^ ^f Property
Including the so-called private contracts, legal decisions
and proclamations preserved in the Kouyunjik
Collections of the British Museum
Chiefly of the 7th Century B.C.
COPIED, COLLATED, ARRANGED, ABSTRACTED,
ANNOTATED AND INDEXED
BY
The Rev. C. H. W. JOHNS M.A.
Lecturer in Assyriology, Queens' College, Cambridge
VOL. III.
MONEY LOANS— LEGAL DECISIONS-
DEEDS OF SALE— SLAVE SALES
CAMBRIDGE
DEIGHTON BELL AND CO.
LONDON GEORGE BELL AND SONS
1 901
All Rights reserved
TO HIS FRIEND AND TEACHER,
PROFESSOR S. A, STRONG,
LIBRARIAN TO THE HOUSE OF LORDS,
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
BY THE AUTHOR
AS A MARK OF
AFFECTIONATE ESTEEM.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
University of Toronto
http://www.archive.org/details/assyriandeedsdoc03john
PREFACE.
THE task of translating and elucidating the documents treated
in this Volume has been hindered by a desire for completeness
which has only partly been satisfied. The appearance of many
notable and valuable works in Assyriology has entailed an amount
of study which has led to some improvements, but at a great expense
of time. Whether the additional information on a few points has
made amends for the delay must be left to the reader's judgement
to decide. This Volume, however, deals with about one-third of
the whole material published in Volumes I. and II.
In order to render the disjointed facts, so plentifully scattered
throughout these texts, and often so interesting for their indirect
bearings on other subjects, more readily accessible, somewhat full
indexes have been given. These are not intended to be complete
registers of every point raised, suggestion made, or word discussed,
but to assist readers to find the principal matters for which they
would naturally look. In the nature of things, it was inevitable that
some points should be touched upon time after time, as they
occurred in their different associations. Few subjects could be
treated once for all and then dismissed from notice. Hence a full
estimate of what may be gathered from these texts on a given point
is best reached by comparing what is said in one place with the
other places which are indicated by an index.
In such an arrangement of texts as has been followed here, a
table of contents could only register the headings of a few chapters ;
and the incidental subjects touched upon are more conveniently
arranged alphabetically. In the case of the indexes of Semitic words
and names the order of the Semitic alphabet is followed. In the
index of Assyrian words and phrases, no attempt is made to assign
words to their roots, for several reasons. In a few cases, the root
is not certain ; in most cases the root is not considered in the text,
only the word itself. Phrases would have to be entered under
several roots, instead of under their first word. The assignment
of words to their roots is more appropriate in a glossary than in an
VIU PREFACE.
index. It also appears likely to give needless trouble to some who
might use the book and who might not readily discover to which
root the word they sought would be referred. Especially with words
beginning with a vowel, which are here alphabetically arranged,
no attempt is made to distinguish the root vowel.
The proper names will be found to play a very important part
in the notes. At first, it was my intention to relegate them to a
Chapter on Proper Names, but the continual recurrence of the same
name made this undesirable. Besides, the true bearing of the
transactions could only be made clear by emphasising the personality
of the parties to them. Hence, it soon became evident that the
most direct way was to give, on the occasion of mentioning any one
person, a condensed sketch of his doings, so far as recorded in our
documents. I had intended to present such a sketch under each
name in a final index. But after indexing the proper names in our
documents, with references to the occurrences of each name, I
realised that thus there would have to be a separate index volume.
This could not, of course, appear until all else had been finished.
The notes and comments must either anticipate much of that index,
or lose much of their point. Hence, I decided to make each note
as full as I could, and refer to it when further mentions occurred.
This plan, of giving all the occurrences of a name, in the notes,
on its first appearance, was not adopted until its convenience had
become evident. In the notes on the simple advances or loans, the
importance of the personalities involved was less marked ; for a
prominent official generally made advances to inferior personages,
who rarely appeared again. But with the more complicated trans-
actions, it became clear that much would depend on the recognition
of the individuals concerned and of their exact status. In fact, so
closely are the interests involved in our documents interwoven one
with another, that the reader will notice, before he reaches the end
of the volume, that almost every person named in the transaction
before him has been deah with previously. As the references had
to be given in the MSS., as sent to the printer, I could only quote
by sections, not Ijy pages. The inconvenience of reading through
a long section in order to find a single name will, I hope, be reduced
by the Index of Proper Names now attached to this volume.
In that index will he found ; first, the number of the section
under which any enumeration of the occurrences of a particular
name is to be kjoked for; and, second, the numbers of the pages
on which (jther mentions of that name may also be found. The
PREFACE. IX
references in the body of the text liacl to be made to the number
of the contract where the name occurred. When that contract falls
within the limits of this volume, each name is of course noticed ; if
only by a reference to the previous section in which it was discussed.
But references to the number of a text, especially when a name has
to be sought out in the cuneiform of Volume I., are likely to cause
considerable inconvenience. If the only subject of enquiry is the
position or functions of the person, not merely the way in which his
name was written, then a reference to the page of this volume will
be sufficient.
Another view of the proper names soon forced itself into a
position of importance. The scribes are far from anything like
uniformity in the way in which they spell proper names. It became
necessary, not only to record the places where the same collection
of signs could be found, but to add the places where the same name
was written differently. The recognition of these various spellings
was necessary if a record was to be set out of all the transactions
in which a given person took part. As a preliminary to such a
recognition, the analysis of the names had to be undertaken. It
then appeared that many names lay outside the range of Assyrian
and Babylonian derivations. The comparison of Aramaic, Hebrew,
Arabic, Egyptian and even Persian names had to be at least
attempted. This was not entirely uncongenial work, for a collection
of Proper Names, specially for the sake of comparison with Old
Testament names, was the object that had first led me to examine the
contracts. Hence, I have recorded my views of the affinities of the
names occurring in this volume, and the Index of Biblical and
Aramaic Names illustrated, will perhaps be welcomed as a con-
tribution to the subject.
It was, at one time, my intention to publish a collection of the
names in Assyrian and Babylonian documents as well as in the other
Cuneiform Inscriptions. This is the intention, apparently, of others
also ; and from what I have heard of the size of their collections,
I judge that little use would now be served by persisting in carrying
out my purpose. But I should fail in my duty to my readers, if
I did not make their use of the material in my work as easy as
possible.
The admirable remarks by Professor Hilprecht in the Ninth
Volume of Ctmeiform Texts of the Babylonia?! Expedition of the
University of Philadelphia, pp. 20-29 {B, E. ix.); the invaluable
collection of names in Volume v. of the Catalogue of the Cuneiform
X PREFACE.
Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collections of the British Museum^ by
Professor Bezold {Cata.) ; and the numerous lists of Proper Names
attached to the recent editions of Cutieiform Texts, have made much
of my previous work superfluous. The student should specially
consult Strassmaier's Alphabetisches Verzeichniss {S. A. V.), for
variants to the names. Dr Peiser's lists at the end of his Babylon-
ische Vert rage {B. V.) and Acten-Stikke {A. S.), the index of names
in the Tell-el-Amarna Tablets, at the end of Vol. v. of Schrader's
Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek {T. A.), are very valuable. The articles
by Professor Delitzsch, Dr Ziemer, Dr Demuth, Dr Jager, and others
in the Beitrdge zur Assyriologie, have added much to our knowledge
of the reading of proper names.
Professor Hommel deals at length with Proper Names, Biblical
and other, in his Ancient Hebreiv Tradition.
Lidzbarski's Nordsemitische Epigraphik gives the Aramaic, Phoeni-
cian, Punic, Palmyrene, Nabataean, Sinaitic, and other Semitic
names from the inscriptions and is largely quoted in this volume.
It is invaluable for comparative purposes {N, £.).
A large number of interesting names, chiefly Aramaic, are noted
in my 'Assyrian Doomsday Book,' Vol. xvii. of Delitzsch and
Haupt's Assyriologische Bibliothek, usually quoted as the Harran
Census {A. D. B.).
Of great value are the lists of Specimen Names drawn up by the
Assyrian scribes themselves. One very large example, K 241, was
published in 11. R. pp. 63, 64. This appears in Vol. II. as App. i.
In Rawlinson's Edition some readings are doubtful. The obverse
and reverse are there interchanged, as printed out in the Catalogue,
p. 63. Dr Bezold in his list of Proper Names in Vol. v. of the
Catalogue has given the correct transcription of most of these names.
I have had the good fortune to recognise that 82-3-23, 137, is really
a join to K. 241, thus restoring 9 lines of columns viii. and ix.
The next example, App. 2, Sm 55 + Rm 567, is only a small
fragment of what it once was, and does not add much to our know-
ledge compared with the others.
The fine example, App. 3, 83-1-18, 695, is unfortunately in a
very bad state and was much defaced by silica when I copied it.
It has since been beautifully cleaned and many better readings are
[)ossible. 'I'hese will be used in the notes as we proceed. No far-
reaching theories should therefore be based upon the text as given
in Vol. II., with(jut careful collation. Some improved readings will
be found in the Corrigenda, p. xiii.
PREFACE. xi
With respect to App. 4, 83-1- 18, 715, it may well be a flake off
one of these three lists, but I have not yet discovered its place. The
tablet App. 5, K 5656, would have been invaluable, if we had more
of it, for it gives us the accepted renderings in the later nomenclature
of a number of ideographically written names. In this respect it
resembles K 4426, published v. R. 44, where, however, the names
seem to be those of ancient Babylonian monarchs and authors. In
this text, however, one or two points seem clear. Thus, at any rate
in proper names, AN-UR-RA is read Nergal, and that Bau was to
be read Gula, rather than the reverse.
In view of the comparative rarity of female names, App. 6,
81-2-4, 255, and the next three lists should be welcome. They
are unfortunately not well preserved.
The value of these lists for my work is obvious. For when on
the damaged and often carelessly written contracts a name appears,
which does not occur elsewhere, our reading becomes a practical
certainty, if found in Appendix i.
Since the publication of the texts in Vol. II., a number of further
joins have been made. Thus the fortunate recognition of K 8787
as'part of K 9060, led me to join into one tablet nos. 1110-1115.
That tablet now consists of nine fragments, K 8787, K 9060,
K 10329, K 12983 + K 12988, K 13200, K 13214, K 13216,
K 13223, K 14305. This thoroughly justifies my classification of
nos. 1110-1115 together. But it was impossible to join them until
the connecting links were found.
In view of the great probability that further joins will be made
in the course of my further examination of other classes of fragments,
I have decided not to republish the joined tablets until it is necessary
to write the comments upon them in full.
The promise of publication of the joins marked with a * in the
list of joins in Vol. II. will therefore be redeemed later. Already
some texts have been twice published for the sake of their added
fragments. To continue to do this, to republish a text each time a
new fragment is added, seems likely to lead to no useful result.
Should any reader be working on texts of which I have announced
further fragments, I shall be glad to give any information directly,
by correspondence. But the further publication of joins must now
be postponed until the texts are dealt with in their proper order.
On the other hand, I shall welcome any suggestions made to me
as to the probable connection of the published fragments. If such
suggestions prove to be correct, I shall gladly acknowledge their
Xll PREFACE.
source, while if they are not of any value I shall not remark
upon them.
Many of the fragments are so similar in style that there is every
probability that they originally belonged to one tablet, but nothing
can be done to join them till the connecting link is found. On the
other hand, two fragments which really join may lie side by side
some time before their connection is seen. This is especially true
of lists, where the character of the articles enumerated is so varied
that no plan is to be discerned. Even when the sort of list is clearly
the same on two fragments, repeated trial is needed. Thus I have
tried to join no. 858 to no less than six others, and at last, after two
failures, found that it really joined no. 840. Lines 2-11 of the
obverse of no. 858 restore lines i-io of col. i. of no. 840, the first
complete line reading Kurdi-Asur anielu sakiiu apil sarri.
With respect to the Tables of the amounts of loans, referred to on
p. 14; and most other Tables, for which additional information may
be expected, it seems best to postpone them all until the texts are as
complete as I can make them. As long as these continue to alter,
or increase in number, it is waste of space to tabulate.
To Dr E. A. W. Budge, for many kind concessions, and to
Messrs King and Thompson are due my renewed thanks for interest
and sympathy.
I also desire to express my great indebtedness to the Rev.
W. Cruickshank, who not only carefully collated the whole of the
texts treated in this volume, but also read over the proof-sheets and
verified most of the references to parallel passages.
Professor Dr P. Jensen has again done me the inestimable service
of reading the proof-sheets, and to his suggestions I owe many im-
provements. In several cases further enquiry based on his criticism
has resulted in important elucidations. The appearance of his notes
to the Sixth Volume of Schrader's Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek after
most of this work was written, has considerably modified my views.
Some of the changes to be made in consequence are embodied in
the Addenda and Corrigenda, on p. xiii. It is to be hoped that
the reader will consent to consult these with the texts.
The remainder of the work will now, I trust, proceed more
rapidly.
CORRIGENDA ET ADDENDA.
PAGE
8 In the Sumerian SAG-DU, the DC7 \s not a phonetic suffix, but part of the
ideogram.
9 It would be better to say that SA may denote 'shape,' and to leave it
uncertain whether si^fiu is the word for 'shape' or 'form,' see Jensen,
A'. B. VI. p. 333. The reading of SA-MES might be sukndte here, the
plural of sukutttc, ' possession.'
368. Professor Jensen points out that the reading Bel is very unlikely.
The ideogram AN-BIL is almost certainly to be read ilu essu, ' the new
god,' i.e. 'the new moon.' According to iv. R. 5, 40c and B. A. S. ill.
228, the eddisti, or edisu = t^H.n. Further ina kakkadi is best rendered
'precisely,' here, of time, 'precisely at new moon'; in § 361, of a sum of
money, 'so much precisely.' See also § 508, and K. B. vi. p. 396.
31 Against Delitzsch, H. IV. B. p. 490 b, Professor Jensen has shewn, IC. B. vi.
p. 355, that sissu is the true form for * six.' Hence sixteen would be sisserit.
In reading the name of Asur, Professor Jensen would write Assur for
the god, and Assur for the city.
Another way of regarding the apparent confusion of readings for the
preposition AS, would be to say that it was always read ina ; but the words
ina and ana interchange.
32 We should note that UD-mu is only limu, with the phonetic suffix mu.
When used where we expect a plural, we may say that the singular is used
for the plural, or that the ending has been dropped, so that lunii has been
written for {iine.
34 It would be better to say that Samsu is the way in which the Assyrians
rendered Samsu, the ^ of the Aramaic is rendered by s in Assyrian
regularly, as sih'ii for 11K', saglu for 73C^^ etc But Samsu might also be
Phoenician or Arabic.
37 Perhaps the best reading is sdkil-esedi, ' weigher of the harvest.'
81 There is no satisfactory evidence that KU=kiirmatu\ but KU\^ the ideogram
for all sorts of cloth. Hence a kdsir of KU may be one who looks after
clothes in some way, if not a 'tailor.' •
95 Professor Jensen has pointed out to me that on K 2100, Atgi is said to be a
name of Adad, in the land of Suhu. Hence Atgi-ilu may be 'Atgi is god'.
or, if we read Atgi-ili, 'Atgi is my god.' I am now rather inclined to
regard Lategi, etc., as from etegti, for the etektt of H. W. B. p. 157 a,
'to rejoice.' Thus we should have 'I will rejoice in Istar,' etc.
loi The kinnitisH may well be the kitiitu, H. IV. B. p. 338b, 'maid.' Hence
we should here have a maid-servant of Dari-Bel's.
103 The phrase ina saltisu hallak might perhaps mean ' when a year has gone
xiv CORRIGENDA.
PAGE
by ' ; but I do not know of an example of halakti used for the passage of
time.
10/ The name Ubbuku, etc., I should now read Upuku, and refer to the same
root as Upak in Upak-ana-Arbaili, etc. Compare Ukubu alongside
Akabbi-ilu, etc.
I lo In view of the Latin transcriptions, Methun, Metthunus, Mettun, Mettunus,
etc., of the Phoenician name |nO, given N. E. p. 319 b, I am inclined to
think that Metiinu, Mitunu, are transcriptions of what appears as Matan
in other names, see § 409. To take nutiinu as meaning ' gift ' in the
name Aa-metiinu would demand that the name was shortened from a
longer name of which the last element should be a verb.
120 f. The various forms shew rather that UR — bdsii. NU-UR may be read La-
tabas, 'Be not ashamed' ; but Nur may, of course, be shortened from Nur-ili.
For further examples of U R, compare Nabu-sarhu-u-ba-sa, in K 858,
line 3, with its variant in line 9, Nabu-sarhu-UR ; H. A. B. L. p. 551.
So too, the name Nabil-alsi-tu-nu-ur , in ii. R. 64, ill. 46, is really Nabii-
ahika-NU-UR^ rendered by the previous line Nabu-alsika-labbis.
143 The name Siltiba-Istar, or Siltiba-Istar, see p. 170, might very well be read
Tarteba, etc. , so as to give a verbal form, probably from rdbu. But I
know of no exact parallel.
151 f. With respect to tappi, we may note that TAB = esJpii. The meaning of
lapdtti is ' to touch, beat, knock.' Hence talpitit might mean lipit kdti,
'the application of manual labour,' in fact, the undertaking of repairs.
But we might also postulate a root rapu, 'to make better.' Then we
might render 'he shall undertake the making good of all the beams.'
The uric as Jensen has shewn, A". B. vi. p. 438, means 'a flat roof.'
153 The Greek form would, according to some, rather point to a name Kin-zer.
165 The name Minu-ahti-ana-ili, of course, means 'What have I sinned against
God?'
168 Professor Jensen, G. G. A. 1900, p. 863, has given a very ingenious explana-
tion of the note Habigal attached to Sennacherib's name. He takes it to
be for hdbu rabil and would render 'great rascal,' because Sennacherib
destroyed Babylon.
175 The city name rather means 'the new fold.' For supAru = io\d, enclosure,
see Jensen, K. B. vi. p. 338.
185 There seems no reason why we should not read Nabu-la-tusarani, from
ussuru, with a meaning ' Nabu do not leave me.'
186 The wording of the last line would imply that Professor Jensen had himself
argued against the identity of Nusku and '^^1, which he has always
maintained. The word 'his' has been misplaced. Read 'the last argument
against his identification.' But in any case I should have said ' relieving'
rather than ' depriving.'
203 The name Sa-mudammik-zer may also be read Sapik-zeri.
333 Professor Jensen suggests to me that the name of the god BE-ir can be read
Labir. Whether any connection exists between this Labir and the ' old '
Bel of Tiglalh Pileser I. is not clear to me.
340 Professor Jensen suggests that there may be two goddesses called Btiit seri,
one who is Asratu and another who is the tupsarrdtu of Hades.
CORRIGENDA. XV
PAGE
346 Professor Jensen would read the signs TA PA-NU ERIN Ti^ ina pdni erhti,
that is 'before the cedar-tree,' which was used in the cult of Asratu.
357 A possible reading would be aniniar karpat aganni Satru iSatti, ' the whole
contents of an inscribed agannii bowl he shall drink.' In this case, the
bowl was doubtless inscribed with some magical formula that would
produce sickness in an evil-doer. This suggestion was made to me by
Professor Jensen. He further suggests that takaltu may be from akdluy
'to write,' the root possibly oi akhi and o{ makaltu, something with which
the l>dri7, or magician, operated ; see //. IV. B. p. 56. Then takaltu dsi
looks very like 'a physician's prescription.'
403 The reading Alahha-Samas is founded upon the possibility that the sign
DAN was really LAH \ but I am nearly sure the scribe intended DAN.
This is not known to have the value LAH, and hence the reading is
doubtful. If it were correct, Professor Jensen suggests that it might be
K'DC^-Nil'pN. If we read A-DAN as Ela we have Elaha-Samas, which
would not be very different. But A-DAN is an ideogram for several
words, some one of which with HA, either as an ideogram or phonetic
syllable, may form a name, which at present I do not recognise. In
App. 3, III. \i, the A-DAN is now quite certain. That tablet having
been cleaned I am now able to suggest some improved readings.
Col. I. line i, there is nothing clear after li. Hence I am not prepared
to say what the full name was.
Col. II. Before line 1 are traces of a name beginning with Bel, then
the name Bel-ba-ni, but line i of my edition was very likely Bel-haldtsu-
ikbi. Only ik-bi is really certain. After this was a line ruled before
EN-LIL-sa7'-usur. The presence of AN-BE in the next line points to
AN-BE being one reading of EN-LIL ; though it is not a proof.
In line 29, for KAK XQ.2A LJD. In line 31, the last sign may have
been na. In line 37, after AN may now be read GA-DU, but there
seems to have been more.
Col. III. At the end of line 18, AN may now be read. In line 23,
the first two signs may have been HU-UT. After line 24, another line
may be read Sa-la-a-AN. In line 29, for DU read AL. Line 31 was
probably Ardi-ili.
Col, IV. In line 1 7, rim is doubtful, a single horizontal followed
AN-XXX. In line 22, after sa seems to have been la. In line 25, the
last sign was ma not pa and the name may not be complete. In line 26,
the last sign is la not ka, and more may have followed. Below line 28,
read AN-XXX-PAP again, then PAP below the other two signs PAP.
Col. XI. In line 7, read DU-'-A-NI-AN-II : AN-II, of course, is
Allai. In line 12, for KAK read LID, i.e. rtm. In line 15, read
AN-BU-da-ri. Line 16 is clearly AN-BU-dald: in line 17, read AN-
BU-PIR-a. Line 19 is certainly AN-DI-ma-nu-BAR. In line 21,
read A N- D I-ma-mi-ha-man-nti.
Col. XII. In line i, after AN' is the sign Briinnow's no. 306. After
line 6 is a division line. In line 11, the signs AN-IAI are certain now.
In line 17, for ba read la, for ki read kii. In line 18, the signs tna-hir
seem to be run together, and at the bottom of ma is a slant wedge (or a
XVI CORRIGENDA.
PAGE
scratch?). In line 20, before EN^ AN Va now clear. But ^A^ may be
KID, only I can see l^ut two verticals ; AN-KID-DAL-LI-ilai is curious.
In line 21, the first two signs are IS-MI. Then again KID for EN., and
at the end LI for ZU. This would give Sil-KID-DAL-LL In line 26,
for KAN read AD-DI. The name is AN-Da-ad-di-EN-ni. In line 32,
the first sign is the form of IS DC/, which occurs all through, and the
name may be read Isdi-KUR-GA-GAL.
408 The names Atta-imme, Atta-idri, might mean * Thou art my right (hand or
side),' 'Thou art my help.'
468 Professor Jensen suggests that in place of Atalu-sumia we should read the
name Ata-lii-sumia, 'Ata be my name.' This raises the question whether
Ata may not be for Atta, ' thou.' We should then render ' Be thou my
name.' Here sumtc, properly 'name,' may be used, as often in proper
names, in the sense of 'son,' 'heir.' Then also Atta-'idri niay mean
'Thou art my help,' see p. 408; compare Ata-idri, p. 442.
492 Professor Jensen suggests that Tirai may be from the god Ter, see the
Harran Census, like Mardukai from Marduk. For the name Gadiai, if so
read, he would compare inHJ. This might also appear as Gadi-Iama,
since lama was, at any rate in later times, the rendering of jH^ ; see
Hilprecht, B. E. ix. p. 27. But it is clear that 'Iba could also be a
rendering of Jahve, compare Jensen, K. B. vi. p. 578, (Sib'e for KID) and
then 'Iba-kame is the same name as Jehoiakim, Joiakim, Jokim. That
'Iba is a possible cuneiform rendering of Jahve, lends great probability to
Professor Jensen's suggestion, that in Abdi-heba, the name of the Tell
Amarna king of Jerusalem, the element Iheba is really 'Iba, Jahve.
Examples of the ' being replaced by h are plentiful, e.g. Nabu-hakabi for
Nabu-'akabbi, etc. If this be so, then Iheba, Jahve, was worshipped at
Jerusalem, in the Tell-el-Amarna period. That the first element of the
name is Abdi almost proves that Iheba was a divinity. The name would
mean ' Servant of Jahve.' Can the ideogram IB in NIN-IB, AN-IB,
represent 'Iba, Jahve?
493 With Hinumu, Professor Jensen would compare D3n.
496 In the name Hadasa, if the last a be a badly made ni, then we have
Hadasani with which Professor Jensen would compare Handasani.
520 The reasoning on p. 520 as to the equivalence of UD-su and batilsu is not
conclusive. As batihti is only applied to a daughter, UD-su, which is
used of both sons and daughters, may be different. In fact, we may read
UD-su phonetically as parsu : and derive it from pardsu, ' to cut off,
separate,' //. W. B. p. 542, and especially pardsu sa tide, ' to wean.'
Yitwz^ parsu would mean *a weaned child.' Hence the youngest division
was '.sucklings,' the next 'weaned children.' This explanation is due to
Professor Jensen, and clears up a very obscure point in the Harran Census
Lists. The recognition of batiste for batultu is also due to Professor
Jen.sen. The word means 'daughter' in this connection, literally 'maiden.'
On p. 521 it would be better to read 2 I A SAL batula... as ^itta batuldte,
' two girls.'
CHAPTER IV.
LOANS OR ADVANCES OF MONEY OR GOODS.
345. Some sort of classification of the documents contained in
this work seems a necessary prehminary to a successful attempt to
study them. It seemed best, however, not to decide the character
of a document by a summary estimate of its likeness to some modern
type, and so to bring it under the heads of division which would
appear in a modern legal treatise ; but rather to place together those
texts which were most nearly alike, and then by comparison, and
recognition of likeness or unlikeness, to gradually settle their real
nature. This result can hardly be regarded as certain in all cases.
There are, however, some groups very clearly defined by the nature
of their formula ; so that, setting aside the accidentals of time, place,
and parties concerned, we may regard each such group as consisting
of entirely similar documents. Other documents appear related,
more or less, to more than one such group, and may be differently
classed, according to the predominance assigned to one or other
characteristic. These may be then appended either to those groups
which they most closely resemble in form, or to those which seem
most closely allied in purpose. A classification according to the
class of property involved, real or personal, would lead to a different
order.
The plan adopted here is, first, to collect those most similar in
the terms employed ; then, to select the fullest and most complete
of the type so recognised, and finally, to arrange the rest so as to
form a commentary upon them. Having thus settled the type, the
variations will supply a means to settle the meaning of the terms
which constitute its characteristic formula, or the amplifications and
condensations, which it might undergo, without essential change.
J. III. I
2 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
346. Which of the groups so formed should first engage our
attention may be decided on various grounds. The group actually
taken first is that which seemed to me, on the whole, to form the
best introduction to the others. Their shortness, the simplicity of
their subject, and the comparative ease with which they are recog-
nised, were sufficient in my opinion to give them the first place.
Consequently we shall consider first, the loans or advances, of
money or goods : and documents more or less closely allied to
them. As I have conceived the principles that should underlie their
classification, I have taken first the simple loans of money. These
seemed to present the fewest complications or obscurities, with the
sole exception of the much longer and more detailed deeds of sale.
The latter are in some senses equally clear and simple in their
purpose, but involve a much longer treatment from the penalty
clauses which they impose for breach of contract. The simplicity
of these simple money loans consists partly in their brevity, partly
in their being solely concerned with money. The most closely
related documents seemed to be loans of money on security, in-
volving a slight addition to the formula of a ' simple ' loan. Scarcely
to be distinguished from these, except by slight changes in formula,
are the assignments of property in composition of debt, or in
discharge of interest. The exact nature of most of the simple
money loans clearly being an advance to meet working expenses,
the question arises whether these expenses were ultimately incurred
on the lender's, or on the borrower's behalf. It will be seen that
probably they were intended to be those incurred, in the administra-
tion of the lender's property, by the borrower acting as tenant or
bailiff. Hence an allowance, for wages and keep, for workmen
employed on a job, seemed necessarily to be grouped next in order.
Some fragments of documents, possibly belonging to the above-
named classes, are placed next ; in default of more appropriate
position. A document apparently agreeing to a renewal of a loan,
an agreement as to repayment, some assignments of property for
debt with contingent possession, some advances on security with a
variant formula, and a further set of fragments seemingly of a nature
similar to one or other of the above classes, complete a group mainly
concerned with the advance of money.
347. Suspending our judgement on the question whether the
above are loans or really only management advances, the next set
of tablets are allied in formula, and record the advance of corn,
AND DOCUMENTS. 3
cattle, wine, or oil under closely similar conditions. The probability
that these were advances made by the lender for the benefit of his
own estate, to be accounted for by a steward, is more or less
prominent : but the great similarity of formula involves their being
placed next. Quite distinct in shape of tablet, but closely allied in
formula, are the loans of corn, evidently for seed, or keep, until
harvest. A somewhat different purpose appears in an advance of
corn and a cow in return for service. Deposits of slaves, whose
service is to recoup the value of the loan, seem to be closely allied
in purpose to the last. An actual receipt for repayment forms a
fitting appendix to a group dealing with loans : and a few fragments,
each of which must come under some one of the preceding heads,
close the group.
348. There is a justification for this grouping, which may serve
as some reply to the natural objection that in modern law these
documents belong to different classes. This is given by the fact
that in most cases these tablets are of a shape and size quite unlike
the other classes to be considered later. They are nearly all inner
tablets, that is to say, they once had envelopes. Some nine of them
exist in duplicate, the outer inscribed envelopes being, at least partly,
preserved. A few are mere fragments of envelopes, the inner tablet
being lost. One section of the group, the corn loans, are of the so-
called ' heart shape.' That these shapes were not used to record
sales, leases, etc., forms an argument for supposing that the Assyrian
scribes themselves regarded the contents as distinct in purpose.
There was not, however, a rigid adherence to the rule that such
transactions should be recorded on a particular shape of tablet, for
one or two of these documents are of much the same shape as a
deed of sale should be ; but in these cases the similarity of formula
secures their position. Many, which preserve no certain indication
of having had an envelope, are of the same shape as those which
had. In the majority of cases the lines of writing are parallel to the
longer axis of the tablet.
349. The predominance of this class of case tablet among
those recording loans or advances is very noteworthy. It is probable
that this method of enclosing a document in an envelope was also
used for letters. We have at least one such example of a letter, and
its envelope bearing the address and sender's name and seal, in
81-7-27, 199, pub. H.A.B.L. p. 396. Other letter tablets seem
to have been enclosed in a coarse cloth envelope, doubtless also
4 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sealed and addressed. In the case of our documents, the envelope
was inscribed with a duplicate of the text on the inner tablet, and
sealed by the borrower. The method suggests that they were a note
of acknowledgement of the debt and its conditions. We are not
able to regard them as orders to a treasurer or banker to furnish
the money, as the envelope would then have been addressed to him.
Still, in the absence of the envelopes, we cannot be quite sure that
this was never the case. The balance of evidence, however, is
against it, and we may perhaps regard all our documents as in one
sense acknowledgements of debt. They were therefore held by the
lender, and there seems no obvious reason why the borrower should
have had a copy, unless as a check on the lender's demands. Of
course the lender held both envelope and inner tablet, and they are
not so much duplicate copies, as one original executed in duplicate.
350. The value of a duplicate version of a text is enhanced by
the fact that the scribes seem rarely to have made exact duplicates.
The two versions vary in spelling, and also by the insertion or
omission of terms or even clauses, the outer text being as a rule the
fuller and longer. The inner text is often very condensed and only
a comparison of the longer forms could make it intelligible. The
adhesion of the clay of the envelope, the distortion caused by its
pressure, and perhaps the knowledge that it was not so likely to be
read, cause obscurities and effacements which render inner tablets
hard to read and hard to understand. The simplicity of the trans-
action does not always find a corresponding simplicity of interpretation.
Notwithstanding, it seems to me most appropriate to commence with
the simple money loans.
Simple loans of jnoney.
351. The tablet which I have given as no. i seems to be the
best example we have of the unabridged formula. Others furnish
some slight expansions, but they also omit something that is here
given. In order to have a clear view of the whole transaction it is
best to reconstruct an imaginary case. We will suppose that A lends
B ten shekels of silver. The acknowledgement which B gives of the
debt should state that the ten shekels of silver belong to A^ but are
now in the possession of B. It should record the date at which the
money is to be returned, and what interest or rate of interest is to be
charged, and may affix a penalty or forfeit in case of failure to repay
AND DOCUMENTS. 5
at the proper date. The document should be sealed and dated, and
then constitutes B^s bond for the money.
352. The way in which each of these requirements was carried
out has to l)e discussed. The actual acknowledgement was made by
affixing the seal, or impressing the nailmark, and the formula affirming
this to be the act of B, or of the borrowers, if more than one, was set,
as a rule, at the head of the document. Thus the document would
commence with the w^ords kuniik B, 'the seal of BJ Then would
follow B's titles or offices or perhaps his parentage, so as to satisfac-
torily identify him. If he could not seal the document he impressed
his nail, usually the thumb-nail, I believe. Then the clause would run
kihn kimukkisu supursu iskun, ' in lieu of his seal he has set his
nailmark.' Then the document would go on, siipur B, 'the nailmark
of BJ If more than one borrower had to be named, kunuk or supur
is written before each name and the opening words are put in the
plural, kum kunukkisumi supursunu iskimu^ 'in place of their seal
they have set their nailmark.' Often one seal seems to have served
for the party.
353' Not all of our tablets, however, preserve this statement,
nor even the seal or nailmark. The envelope often appears to have
been sealed, when the inner tablet was not, e.g. nos. 48 and 49,
87 and 88, 103 and 104. In some cases it is absent from both,
e.g. nos. 122 and 123. Several tablets, which judging from their
shape may have been inner tablets, have no seal mark nor nailmark,
e.g. nos. 6, 8, 20, 26, 34, 35, 36, 42, 46, 47.
354. The sum of money, as one would expect, was always
stated. As belonging to A^ the lender, it is said to be sa A. As
now in the possession of B^ the borrower, it is said to be ina pdni B.
These two phrases are the key to the whole transaction : and they
are liable to be misunderstood. The sa is not here the relative
pronoun, 'which,' referring to the antecedent sum that ^ has lent;
for then the verb of the sentence should agree either with A^ or less
probably with the noun expressing the sum. The verb agrees with B^
as we shall see presently. The words ifia pdni B, literally mean ' in
the presence oi B': that is 'at his disposal,' 'offered him.' They
mark the transfer of the money from the presence of A to the
presence of B, as we should say 'from A's pocket to ^'s.' Accord-
ingly in no. 43, we have is/u pdni A, 'from the presence of A,'
indicating A as the lender. Actually, this first sentence has no verb
expressed. In our hypothetical case it would read X sikli kaspi sa A
6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ina pcini B^ ' ten shekels of silver from A to B.^ The verb which
follows is ittisi^ 'he has borrowed,' or ittasu, with the same sense.
We might render ' ten shekels of silver which B has borrowed oi A' :
but not correctly, for B is not in the nominative, but governed by
i'na J>dm', nor could we render ' ten shekels of silver which A has lent
to B.^ For although it is conceivable that the words X sikli kaspi
sa A ma pani B ittisi might mean that, we have several instances in
which the borrowers are denoted by ina pani, as is proved by the
following verbs for returning the money being in the plural. Then
we also have the verb ittasu in the plural, see nos. 4 and 5. If this
be not conclusive, we may consider the clause at the end of no. 350,
IV ma?te ere sa supur ittisi. After what has been said in § 61, on the
meaning of this clause, ' so much for his seal,' it must be clear that
ittisi here means 'he has taken' or 'received,' not 'he has lent.' In
fact, we may go so far as to render directly, ' he has borrowed ' : for
that is true, with the reservation that the loan was of a certain nature
to be later discussed. '
355. Whether the verb ittisi, in the sense 'he has borrowed,' is
derived from the well-known Assyrian verb nahi, 'to lift up,' then
' to carry off, take away ' ; or whether we are to postulate a separate
verb, at any rate we may compare the Hebrew ^*^^, 'to lend on
interest,' ^^^, 'to lend or borrow on security.' In the frequent
phrase in the Babylonian contracts ina piit . . nasi, it means ' to be
taken as security.' It is thus clearly a technical term for ' taking,'
not 'lending.' I do not think that the notion of 'at interest,' or 'on
security ' belongs necessarily to the verb, but was only implied by
custom. In the acquisition clause of the deeds of sale, e.g. no. 318,
line 12, it takes the place of the more common i/h', 'he has taken.'
In nos. 83, 84, 102, inassi must mean 'to take,' 'to receive.' In
no. 72, nasiat must mean 'is taken,' even if the idea of a pledge be
implied.
356. The verb nasu, to which Meissner, Siipp. p. 68, gives the
meaning ' to come and bring,' is evidently used in our documents as
a practical synonym of nasu. The meaning for ittasu, or ittasa can
hardly be ' he has brought,' for that would suggest payment ; it must
also have the sense of ' take,' for no distinction can be made
between the use of the verbs nam and nasu.
357. It seems to me certain, that as far as this class of document
is concerned, the bare literal rendering of X sikli kaspi sa A ina
pani B ittisi is 'ten shekels of silver belonging to A, in the possession
AND DOCUMENTS. 7
of B^ he has borrowed.' The verb ittasu I render in exactly the
same way. There remains an uncertainty about the actual con-
struction, as long as it is uncertain whether ittasu is really a plural
form. This would be removed were a document available in which
the borrower was a female.
358. As a rule a certain specified day is fixed for the date of the
repayment, and in that case apparently no interest is demanded. If
payment be not then made, interest is charged at a specified rate
per month. Thus on no. i, we have ma umi I {kaii) sd arhi Du^uzi
kaspu iddan summa la iddini ana rebtitisii irabbi^ ' on the first day of
the month Du'uzu he shall give the silver; if he do not give it, it shall
increase by a fourth part of it.' Then follow the date and the names
of the witnesses. It seems needless to repeat here the summary of
facts concerning the date and witnesses, which will be found in
§§ 62—76.
359. We have now dealt with the essential part of the formula.
The amplifications which it receives in some cases may next be
noted. At the same time we may note that some of these terms are
omitted and the condensations will also be taken into account.
Thus the very important clause which records the acknowledgement
of the debt may be omitted. I imagine that that was only done on
the inner tablets, as a rule, but the loss of the envelope in some
cases, and the undoubted validity of an inner tablet in such a case,
led to the recognition of such an abbreviated form as valid, in any
case. Hence it was occasionally omitted as well understood and
implied of course. So we shall find other terms omitted, and we
may entertain the question whether they were implied or not really
contemplated. Such cases must be decided on their own merits and
a degree of uncertainty must remain in several cases.
360. We shall for the time being avoid the term 'lent' as
having too special a sense and speak of the sum as 'advanced.'
The sum of money advanced is usually named at once, in the first
line of the document, after the seals, if there are any. It was
generally silver, kaspu, but in a few cases bronze, eru, see nos. 29,
31, 40, 43. The amounts are very various: see table of 'amounts
of loan ' at end of this chapter. The mina of Carchemish occurs in
many sums, e.g. nos. 5, 15, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 35, 41, 48, 52, 55, 58.
The mina of the king is named in nos. 3, 9, 12, 33. No data are
furnished for correlating these minas.
361. The sum may be specified as kakkadu^ as in nos. 20, 31,
8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
32, 34, 35^ 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 52- This term has often been
rendered * capital ' : but can hardly mean that always when applied
to a sum of money. When the word kakkadu is applied to the sum
advanced in the first clause of the body of the document, the
meaning ' capital ' seems admissible even if somewhat superfluous.
But elsewhere it seems better to render ' sum advanced,' as it
certainly denotes that. It may imply that the ' capital sum ' was
handed over, without any rebate, or deduction on account of interest
due. It clearly marks the sum as the amount advanced and therefore
also to be repaid. In later Babylonian times kakkadu is distinctly
opposed to 'interest,' though the sense of 'complete sum' remains
in use.
The term is always written SAK-du, i.e. kakkadu, with the
phonetic suffix -du,
362. Another term which is applied to the sum lent is SAK-
MES, see nos. 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 50, 108. That this is
not the plural of kakkadu is shewn by no. 38 and its duplicate
no. 39, where both terms are applied to the same sum. It is always
associated with Istar and the complex SAK-MES sa /star may be
rendered 'Istar heads.' This I have argued, in §§ 336, 337, may
be the name of a rudimentary coin. To the views there given may
be added the opinion of Babelon, Les Origines de la Monnaie,
p. 58, where he regards these as at any rate ingots stamped with a
head of Istar. The enigmatic circle found upon the early Persian
coins, may be inherited from these Assyrian ' coins ' and have been
originally the initial of Istar in its Aramaic form 1nt^•V.
363. In two or three cases the sum lent is said to be a kisirtu.
Now Dr Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 134, has shewn that kisru in the
old Babylonian contracts meant ' wages.' If this was still true,
kisirtu may be the collective form of kisru, and we should have to
regard the sum as ' wages,' or ' maintenance money ' for the servants
under the control of the borrower. In Assyrian times, however,
kisru appears also to mean a ' collection ' of men, as a troop for
war or a gang for work. It also seems to denote a ' collection ' of
dwellings, as a quarter of a town, e.g. the kisir essi of Nineveh in
no. 950. The meaning 'collection ' of money may refer to a number
of advances for different purposes all advanced at one time. The
meanings here suggested are not at all inconsistent. In later times
the term kisru also retained the meaning ' hire,' see Meissner,
Supp. p. 85 b, and we may fairly conclude this was its predominant
AND DOCUiMKN'lS. 9
meaning in Assyria. I'or this term sec nos. 50 and 52, compare
no. 51.
364. Once the money is stated to be the iskai' of the Queen
Motlier, no. 3;^. With tliis word wc may compare the is-ka-ri in
Peek-Pinches, p. 4, no. 2, 1. 5, i 2. These were some revenues or
income connected with the year, 'of the 13th year, of the 14th year.'
Del. H. W. B. p. 145 b, considers that it has a similar meaning to
simdu^ or simittu. Now the sinidat sarri in old Babylonian times
was some tax or forfeit, Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 97. This may
therefore be the name of some fund, replenished in older times by
* fines ' ; but there is very little evidence to decide the sense.
365. In another case the advance was made from the ginu of
the god Asur : nos. 49, 50. The ^^/V/?/, or 'customary,' of a god, was
the fixed revenue or income due to his temple from endowments of
land, and consisted of a variety of products, often food and wines,
but in some cases also money. The unconsumed portion may have
formed an accumulated fund, from which the priests made advances
to borrowers. It is less likely that the term here denotes the
purpose for which the advance was made, viz. to pay the giiiu.
366. Once the money is said to be set SA-MES bit Hi. Here
the SA or GAR may be an ideogram for some part of sakdnu or
its derivatives. It may be the property of the temple, or its ' product'
Also SA may be the ideogram for sak/iu, and then the money
belonged to the saknuti of the temple. But SA is also an ideogram
for akdlu^ and the money may be for the akdle or ' breads ' for the
temple. As SAK seems to have been used to denote ' drink ' w^e may
suppose that the SAK-MES named above were the ' drinkables ' to
be bought with the money. But this very text, no. 44, shew^s that
the SAK-MES was for ' breads,' which seems to me to exclude the
notion of ' drink ' altogether. It seems most likely that the money
was the property of the sakniiti of the temple, or perhaps that we
have to do with a ' mint ' of which these ' Istar heads ' were a
'product.' It may be noted that siktiu means also 'shape,' and
these pieces of metal may have borne representations of E-anna, the
temple of Istar.
367. The money advanced belonged to a god, as Asur in nos.
48, 49, to Istar of Arbela in nos. 42, 43, and to Istar of Nineveh,
in no. 37.
368. The phrase kakkadu {ilii) Bel, where kakkadu is wTitten
SAK, occurs in nos. 53, 57, 105. It seems to mean some specific
lO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
date, as it is always followed by sa arhi, 'of the month.' I fancy it
must denote some festival of Bel, which always occurred in a well-
known part of each month, or of the months referred to. It is
possibly an unrecognised ideographic expression. The phrase also
occurs on K 464, where we read, kakkadu {ilu) Bel sd arhi Adddri
ana {alu) Dur-Sarru-kinu imatuhu^ * at the beginning (?) of Addaru,
they will set out to Dur-Sargon.' At any rate, we may take it that
this is not a specification of the money.
369. The name of the ultimate owner is always introduced by
the preposition sa^ which we may render by ' belonging to.' In some
translations, which have appeared, and which will be noted later,
this force of sa seems to have been overlooked. If the verb used
implied a notion of transfer we might render by ' from.' The idea
of origin is not foreign entirely to sa^ but ' from ' is more usually
expressed by /////. We must not, however, mistake our sa for the
personal pronoun, referring to the sum advanced, as that would
involve taking the name of its owner as nominative to the following
verb, if any.
370. When the owner is a god, or the temple treasury, the
name of the official who makes the advance on his behalf is also
introduced by sa. Here again, if this official was stated to have lent
or advanced the money, we might render sa by 'which,' taking it
as the object of the verb. But no such verb appears. We must
therefore I think render sa^ either by ' belonging to,' as implying the
delegated ownership, or in view of the real owner acting through this
official, render /«, hy per, 'through,' or 'by.' This idea of agency is
usually expressed by kdtd, ' by the hands of.'
371. The verb of the sentence is never expressed, nor is it
easy to state authoritatively what was implied. Literally it may be
rendered, ' ten shekels of silver belonging to A, in the presence of
/)'.' As the arrangement of no. i stands we might be inclined to let
the sentence run on and include the words ina puhi ittisi. Leaving
on one side the exact force of ina puhi, and noting that fiasu, if taken
as the Assyrian rendering of the Hebrew, HK^i, ' to lend to a person,'
would allow us to take A as nominative, we may render the whole,
' ten shekels of silver which A lent to B ina piihi.' Here we may
remark that the Hebrew uses ? of the person B, and that the
Aramaic dockets render ina by n. If we take ina as equivalent to
ina pcini we should have a very consistent view of the whole. But
here is the great difficulty as it seems to mc. As long as we have
i
AND DOCUMENTS. II
only one lender we have ////// witli only one borrower, but ittasUy
a plural form, when there are more than one borrower. Hence it
seems clear that the nominatives to the verbs //////, ittasu are the
names of the borrowers. The phrase i7ia piihi ittisi {ittasu)^ therefore
seems to be a fresh sentence and must read, 'he (they) received
(borrowed) ina puhi.'
372. We have now noted all the general terms of the fuller
formula of an acknowledgement of a debt, in the case of the simple
loans or advances. Only three cases occur when a form so full as
that here discussed is used, nos. i, 51, 52. Others evidently follow
the same general form, but omit some detail.
Many state the sum, the parties, the fact of the advance (or
receipt) ana puhi ittisi, and the rate charged, but omit the date for
repayment. In such cases, possibly, interest accrued from the date
of the advance, or equally likely, the date was well understood to be
after harvest, or at the end of the current year. Examples of this
sort are: nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 20, 38, 39, 42.
In other cases we have given the sum, the parties, the date of
repayment, omitting the clause ana puhi tttisi, but inserting the
clause summa la iddan^ 'if he do not pay,' and adding a rate of
interest as a penalty. Such are nos. 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17,
33j 35. 40, 41, 46, 54, 59-
The rate of interest is omitted in no. 18, and not preserved
in no. 14.
Others are still more concise; stating merely the sum, the parties,
and the rate of interest, e.g., nos. 19, 21 (?), 22, 23, 24, 25 (?), 26,
27, 28, 29, 31, 34, 44, 48, 49, 50.
In one case, two minas of silver were advanced, one to bear
interest, the other not; See no. 32.
Another case, no. 30, states a sum to be repaid with interest,
adi rube, but omits to state the rate, or amount. Another states
the sum advanced and the parties, but neither mentions interest nor
date of repayment, no. 37.
Some are too fragmentary to give any certainty as to the terms
which they originally contained, e.g., nos. 10, 36, 47, 53, 55, 56,
57, 58.
The last, no. 60, seems to be part of another tablet, but little
is left to decide the nature of the tablet exactly.
373. In view of the great variety in the clauses retained or
omitted we may doubt whether the omitted clauses were implied,
12 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
or whether the variations mark real differences in the nature of the
transaction. I am inclined to think the former is more likely.
I believe that it was always understood that the advances would
be repaid at the usual time, that they were not subject to bear
interest if returned then, but bore interest at the usual rate if kept
back longer. Further I am inclined to believe that they were
always lent aim puhi, though on this point I should desire more
evidence.
The danger of arguing from the omission of any phrase, from
these inner tablets, is seen by comparing no. 19 with its dupHcate
no. 20. For while no. 19 omits the phrase ana piihi ittisi^ no. 20
inserts it. So too no. 3 has the phrase, while the duplicate
no. 26 omits it. It seems probable, therefore, that where the inner
tablet omits a phrase, we should find it on the outer tablet if
preserved. This is not certain, but must make us cautious in
arguing from the absence of any clause from what is clearly an
inner tablet.
374. It is now time to pass in review the opinions that have
already been formulated on the various points raised in this sketch
of the purpose and contents of our group. In doing this we have
to remember that Professor Oppert, at any rate, was breaking fresh
ground, and had to make working hypotheses as he went along,
subject to revision when further light should come. The process
is instructive and the handling of it by him is masterly. But it must
be admitted that the results are rather uncertain.
375. First, in regard to the terms sa and ina pdni, which are
the key to the whole transaction, we may note that Dr Oppert
reached no sure conclusion in his Documents Juridiqiies. There
he deals with our nos. 2, 5, 16, 19, 22, 27, 38, 39, 40, 48, 49,
87, 88, 115, 162. In the case of no. 2, he renders sa by debitum
or dette de, and ina pani by in facie or vis-a-vis de. In no. 5, sa is
replaced by qiias (i.e. niinae) and ina pdni by pro, but J)r Oppert
recognises that the money fornient le niontant de la creance de A
sur B, quHl leur a dofinec en prct. Further in his remarks on this
text, p. 163, he says, le noinme A a donne 20 minas et deniie d' argent
a quatre individus soil en pret, soil contre ime hypotheqiie. As this
term, hypotheque, often meets us in Doc.Jur., it is well to note its
exact meaning. In I)r Oppert's own words, nous disons hypotheque
pour indiquer que le prcteur n\i pas besoin de dctenir reellenient le
gage, ct que, suivant la loi assyricnne, le droit pouvait s^attacher.
AND DOCUMENTS. I3
covune chcz ks J^oviains, a unc chose fno/'i/ihr covivie a un inwieuble.
Now thai is not a very clear cx])lanation, for there is no cliose
viobilicre suggested in the text, nor any iiinnei(ble either. We cannot
appeal to the Assyrian law, for all we know of that is to be deduced
from our documents. It is to them we must turn for explanation.
It seems that I)r Oppert, with his logical mind and legal training,
was puzzled by the strangeness of a loan without security. But
if we bear in mind the possibility, which will I think gradually
become a conviction of certainty, that the lender A advanced this
money for expenses incurred by B in harvesting the crop on land
owned by A and farmed by B^ the case is quite simple. A had
his security in the crop, of w^hich he probably took one-third as
rent, and he would expect the repayment of his advance from the
share which B would have as his own. He naturally required
^'s acknowledgement of the advance, to be spent by B on the
wages and keep of himself and the harvesters, and provided he was
repaid in full, he was merely investing capital in his own business.
The greater efficiency secured by the facility the advance afforded
B in procuring harvesters and ensuring their contented labour, would
be reflected in the more rapid and satisfactory harvesting of the crop.
This improvement in the amount and quality of the crop would be
shewn in the increased rent paid to A^ and would stand for interest
on the advance in the meantime. Hence if the full sum was repaid
at harvest time, no interest need be demanded. But if B^ notwith-
standing the facility afforded by the advance, delayed or scamped his
work, A would suffer not only by diminished quality and quantity
in his share of the crop, but his money would have lain idle and a
high rate of interest would fairly be charged. This was an increase
of, apparently, one-third per month. The justice of such a rate
of interest lay as much in the exceptional purpose and nature of
the loan, as in the conventional ideas of the time on the point.
A third was the share which A had in the produce of the land,
which was his capital, and now w^as augmented in value by the
amount of the loan. The detention of both beyond the proper
date called for a similar return from both. Such seems to have
been the argument. It was probably never contemplated, that in
any case the delay would extend beyond a month or two. In all
probability after a month's delay, A could himself claim the harvest
and recoup his expenses from it. In any case he had his security
and it was ample. What would happen, if in case of war, tempest,
14 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
or other disaster, neither A nor B could save the crop, does not
appear. Probably the risk had to be borne as best they could, and
B would be reduced to sell himself to A to pay off his debt.
In no. 1 6, Doc. Jur. p. 231, Dr Oppert renders sa by quae^
dette de, and ifia pani by i7i facie^ e?t face de. In no. 19, Doc. /ur.
p. 181, we find sa replaced by qiwd, and t72a pdni by ex^ the two
phrases being rendered also by C7'eance de A venant de B. In
no. 22, Doc. Jur. p. 239, we have sa rendered again by debitum
and ina pdni by /;/ facie, the whole as crea?ice de A su7' B. In
no. 27, Doc. Jur. p. 193, sa is rendered by quas and ina pdni by
in facie., the whole as creance de A au profit de B. In nos. 38, 39,
Doc. Jur. p. 226, sa is still qtias and ina pdni is in facie., the money
so7it la creance de A sur B. In no. 40, Doc. Jur. p. 187, /<2 is quod,
ina pdni, in facie, but the French takes a new turn, que A devra a B,
which is certainly wrong, for B owed it to A. In nos. 48, 49,
Doc. Jur. p. 233, we have sa given as quod, ina pdni as in facie,
and the whole as dette de A vis-d-vis de B. In nos. 87, 88, Doc. Jur.
p. 155, we have sa rendered quas and ina pdni, ex, or in the French
version creance que A a re^ue, but the B, C, etc., are not mentioned.
In no. 115, Doc. Jur. p. 158, we have sa rendered as creditum, and
i7ia pd7ii as ex : the whole as creance de A sur B, etc. Lastly, in
no. 162, Doc. Jur. p. 173, the whole text is misunderstood, owing
to the bad edition of it given in in. R.
On the whole then, we see that from the texts at his disposal,
Dr Oppert was unable to decide whether sa meant debitu77i or
creditum, dette or creance, nor who was the debtor and who the
creditor. In fact, as Dr Oppert says later, Assyrisches Landrecht,
Z. A. XIII. p. 245, so wiirde nia7t platterdi7igs in Zweifel dariiber
sein, wer Schuldner U7id 7ver Gliiubiger ist, da die iiberaus lako7iischen
Ausdrilcke nach beiderlei Seiten kin erkldrt werde7t kdnne7i. He says
that the Assyrian language and lexicon admit either rendering.
One can only settle the question by finding a case where one party
is a female or when more than one person occur on either side.
This latter case, however, was already at Dr Oppert's disposal, as
in nos. 87 and 88, without being of any assistance to him. But
now he proceeds to render our no. i quite correctly thus, 16 Drach-
men Siiber des Kisir-Assur angesichts Abdi-sa7nsi. Als A7ileihe hat
er es entno77inien. Am i Ta77i77mz wird er das Geld geben, etc. He
then asks triumphantly, Wer ist /tier der Schuld7ier, wer ist Gliiubiger,
wer hat gelieheii, wer soil Zi7isen zaJilen ? Professor Oppert answers
AND DOCUMENTS. 15
his questions as I do, and for llio same reasons. When several
persons appear iiiarkcd by iua paui, the verb 'shall pay' is in the
plural iddinu'. no. 17, 1. 5. This solution of the question was not
available in 1877, when Doc. Jur. was published, for the text in
point had not only not been published, the tablet was not even
found till 1 89 1. We therefore owe this step to the understanding
of these documents to the last collection brought to the British
Museum by Dr E. A. W. Budge.
376. All the more credit should therefore be given to Dr F. E.
Peiser, who in K. B. iv. p. iii, first divined the inner significance of
the words. He there renders our no. 5, and for sa gives gehorig
and for ina pmi, im Besiize des. He appends as a foot-note these
words, das Geld, ice/ches das Eigenthum des Zazi ist, ist dem Sulniu-
sarri und de?i a?tdern geborgt^ u?id somit nun in ihrem Besitze. At
any rate in the contracts which he was able to publish, Dr Peiser
had not the key which no. 17 gives, but he correctly divined who
was lender and who \vas borrower, without its aid. Further he had
the great merit of keeping his opinion all through. He always
renders these terms the same way. Dr Oppert attacks Dr Peiser
fiercely for the rendering im Besitze., pointing out that the same sum
cannot be in the possession of more than one person at the same
time. In strictness, he might have found the same fault with
gehorig., for the money very often did not belong to the lender, but
to some owner on w^hose account he advanced it. He may have
lent money ' belonging to ' Asur, but if it had been his ow-n, the
scribe would still have used sa before his name, as he does now.
Hence the sa rather marks the source of the loan, than the actual
ownership of it. It may mark either the ultimate source in the
owner, or the immediate source, in the agent of the ow^ner, and may
be applied to both at the same time. As to a rendering, sa is
certainly the preposition 'of,' but it has that shade of meaning
which marks origin, de or ex in Latin. We can use ' from ' in
English with little risk of being misunderstood, when it denotes
the ultimate ownership, and ' by ' when mere agency is implied.
But we should be unwise to neglect the precaution of seeing how
far this meaning could be traced outside this oft-repeated phrase,
used always in the same context.
377. In the deeds of sale, to be discussed later, where there
never was any doubt, even for Dr Oppert, w^ho was seller and who
buyer, we find that the property is spoken of as istu pdni^ ' from the
l6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
presence of the seller, and ana pani ox iua pani^ 'into the presence
of the buyer. Here then the receiver is undoubtedly noted by ina
pdm, so in a loan, the borrower should be noted by ina pdni also.
The scribe was content to express the fact, the money passed from
A to Bj from A^s presence to ^'s presence. Possession is a
metaphysical term ; a legal notion. Whether a sum of money
belongs to more than one person at a time or can be in the
possession of more than one person at the same moment is an
interesting question, but has no place here. The Assyrian scribe
probably had never considered how far possession could be shared,
and perhaps had never considered the question whether a man
possessed what he had borrowed. But he had a terse but sufficient
phrase to express the fact that money had been advanced by A to
J3, without entering into the question of who then possessed it. He
said simply ' Money from A to B,'' and we may expand his phrase
into 'money advanced by A to B,^ without any further implications
as to 'possession.' If a verb were implied in the Assyrian, it must
have been one which agreed with the sum of money as its nomin-
ative, and have meant 'has been given,' or 'has been transferred.'
The deeds of sale express the words ' the money has been given ' by
kaspu tadin. Hence we may assume here iadin^ or some more
appropriate equivalent, if there was one. This expresses the fact,
and leaves the purpose of the advance undefined.
378. Professor Oppert goes on to say that es geliort denn dock
das non plus ultra von metrologischer und archdologischer Ufizuldng-
lichkeit dazu, in assyrischen Documenten von Geld zu spreche?i ; which
seems to me to overstep the mark. If the Assyrians had not coin,
they did not lack money. After about a page of close reasoning,
he concludes therefrom, zwatizig Minen Silber sind enthalten in
einern Silberbarren von etwas weniger als einem Decimetercubus ; fimf
Manner besitzen denselben nicht auf einmal zur selben Zeit^ aber
solidarisch kdnnen sie Schuldner dieses Silbergewichts seifi. Now to
no five men that ever lived would a solid bar of silver be any value
whatever to keep, either singly, or in turns, or as a company, for a
few months and then return as they received it. If it was only
silver, as Dr Oppert will have it to be, and not money, for what
conceivable pur[)ose could it have been borrowed ? It was too
heavy to wear. It must not be supposed that they were smiths who
would work it uj) and repay with other silver. They must have
borrowed it for some business purpose, to pay something or buy
AND DOCUMKNTS. 1 7
something to sell again at a profit. The purpose, I believe, actually
was to pay hired servants to do harvesting, and on the sale of the
crop, or accounting for it to the landlord, they made their profit and
returned their loan. But they used it as money in any case.
379. In the case of the loans or advances of money, and of
other commodities also, the nature of the advance is often expressed
by the phrase, ana piihi ittisi. A common variant is ana piihi iitasu.
The general sense cannot be gainsaid. Both ittisi and ittasu are
clearly passives from nasii and ?iam respectively. Nasu exists in
Hebrew with the sense of * borrowing,' and ' lending ' ; a verb nasii
exists in the Assyrian with the sense of 'carrying.' Hence 1 venture
to render ittisi by ' is taken ' or ' has been taken ' that is to say ' is
borrowed.' That nasu is an exact synonym of nahl I do not assert,
but ittasu in our texts expresses the same fact as ////// does. Its
form is plural, while ////// is singular. Strict grammatical accuracy
may not exist in these documents ; but one may suppose in the one
case, that the separate money pieces are regarded as needing a plural
and in the other that the sum of money regarded as a whole
demanded the singular. Mere habit seems to have had more to do
with the usages than grammatical rules. We find ittasa as well as
ittasu and without any certain reason for the change. It might
occur to some to think that ana puhi ittisi could mean ' he advanced
ana puhi^ while ana puhi ittasu meant 'they received ana piihi.^
Such a distinction however breaks down before facts, the latter
phrase is used when there was but one receiver. Both verbs nam
and nasu are used elsewhere in other forms and nowhere can I
detect a shade of difference between their meanings. In Das
Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 250, Dr Oppert says both are
singular. As far as form goes they may be present or preterite.
The expression aim puhi serves to indicate the nature of the
advance. It is not a loan proper, but, as abundantly shewn by the
fuller formula, an advance for a term without interest, subject to
the payment of interest should the capital not be repaid at the
proper time. That the Assyrians should have a special term for this
sort of loan need not be cause for wonder. The only security the
lender had was his tablet bearing the borrower's seal ; it was like our
' note of hand.' That the term does not appear in later Babylonian
times seems to me merely to shew that this class of loan was not
common then. The loans then were of the same kind as usual in
modern times : interest accrued from the date of the loan, until
J. III. 2
1 8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
repaid, and at a fixed rate. Yet not always, for money was also lent
without interest, and without security beyond the acknowledgement ;
and in these cases, though ana pilhi is not written, the same idea
may be implied.
380. Dr Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 130, seems to have established
the fact that pnhu means 'to exchange.' It may thus have reached
a general commercial sense, such as ' barter ' and even ' business ' in
general. However, we can hardly think here of such a sense as ' for a
bargain ' or ' for consideration received.' It is more likely that the
advance was made so to speak in ' exchange ' for the document as
an 'acknowledgement.' This document would have to be returned
on the repayment, and would then be appropriately broken. In this
case the document had a certain value to the holder, if lost he would
be unable to establish his claim to repayment. Even if not ' negoti-
able,' which it very likely was not, it could doubtless be regarded
as an asset and descend to heirs, representatives and assigns. That
some such inherent value attached to the document may be inferred
from the fact that apparently in the case of pledges ' any one ' who
repaid the loan could take the pledge. Of course this ' any one '
may in practice have been restricted to the depositor and his legal
representatives, but it is not so stated. So the document acknow-
ledging a debt may have been ' negotiable paper ' and have passed
into other hands to collect. Otherwise how are we to account for
the number of these acknowledgements of debt in the Palace
Archives ? if the loans had been repaid, the tablets must have been
broken. Were all these debts never paid? Of course the broken
tablets may some of them have been broken before the fall of Nineveh ;
it seems likely enough that some were. The number left, however,
of all dates, either shews that the debts were never repaid or that we
are on the wrong track in considering the loan to be in ' exchange '
for the document. No other object is named as having served to
earn the loan.
381. It is clear that the most important seal to obtain to such
an acknowledgement would be that of the borrower and that it is
his seal which is said to be affixed. Once in possession of the
sealed acknowledgement of the debt, the creditor would have felt
secure and may have considered such a document a fair ' exchange '
for his money. If this idea is to be kept prominent we may render
ana pfihi itlisi by ' he has advanced in exchange for this acknow-
ledgement,' and then ittasu may refer to the receiver, ' he or they
AND DOCUMENTS. I9
have taken in exchange.' This idea seems to underlie several
renderings which have appeared. Against it is the doubt as to the
number of the verb as pointed out above ; which is got over by
taking the word kaspu or the idea of money as the nominative.
The invariable form of the phrase makes it very difficult to be sure.
So far as our documents go the word may be puij^ buhi or Miti
equally well with puhi^ and then the connection with paM must be
given up. No other derivative oi pahu occurs in our documents.
382. In view of this, and the number of unreturned puhi
tablets, I am still inclined to doubt whether this idea of ' exchange '
is prominent. I content myself with saying that a7m puhi expresses
and names that sort of advance which the documents make clear to
us. The same phrase is applied freely to corn advances. The
purpose of these advances will appear later and seems to have been
to serve as seed for the fields or food for the reapers, to be returned
at harvest time, with a specified rate of increase, and under a penalty
of paying interest at a high rate, if not repaid 'to date.' It seems to
me very probable that the explanation of ana puhi is to be found in
the metayer system. The owner of the estate supplies to his serfs,
who are partly smaller farmers on their own account, partly his
servants, a large proportion of their stock. Thus we find the same
officials advancing corn, oxen, sheep, oil, wine, &c. to people on
precisely the same conditions as the money is here advanced.
383. It was the interest, the duty, of the landlord to find these
things for his farmers for a proper time. They were bound to return
them at the end of the period for which they had been furnished.
They were bound to return them uninjured, or in full measure,
or pay for them at market rates. If they retained them beyond
the proper period they paid a fine, for the prolonged use of them.
The money advanced may have been in lieu of these corn and stock
allowances, or for other businesses than farming. The payment of
wages is possible, the keep of labourers on some work in hand is
also possible. It seems more probable that the borrowers were
commissioned to undertake some remunerative works and furnished
with the capital. It must have been remunerative or the money
could not be returned. It could not be mere wages nor keep for
that could not be expected back. If, however, these borrowers had
been farmers of the royal estates and the lenders royal stewards,
all is plain. The money was advanced to work the farm, repaid
from sale of produce, when also the farmer paid himself for his
20 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
labour and made his profit. That no interest was charged during
the period of loan was natural, the money was sunk in the specula-
tion, it was a necessary expense of the management, its return later
was all that was demanded. Such farming may not seem profitable
to the landlord at first sight, but I think it was. If he had no
interest on his money, he had his crop saved at the sole expense
of a fixed proportion which the farmer kept for his trouble and
as his share. What the share was I do not know. Of course if
the farmer had the capital to expend on the farm he would not
borrow: he had only his rent to pay whether that was a fixed sum
or a share of the crop. On the other hand, if he had no capital
to carry on till harvest, he did not go to a money lender and borrow
at the ruinous Oriental rates, his landlord advanced the capital and
he repaid when he sold the crop. The heavy rates charged for
nonfulfilment of the contract seem to me merely deterrent penalties
to insure attention to business. If the crop were an utter failure,
there is very little probability the interest would be paid. Perhaps
the farmer then pledged himself, or some of his property, to repay
the loan.
384. We have one example of a repayment which may be
noticed here, although it belongs to the corn loans. In Ululu
(Aug. -Sept.), B.C. 686, Bahianu advanced two homers of barley to
Nabu-nur-nammir, and one homer each to Latubasani-ilu and
Sabtanu, ana puhi ittasu. In Aaru (Ap.-May), next year, the
two men, who had borrowed one homer each, repaid each one
homer, Nabt\-ntir-nammir did not repay his loan. There was no
more repaid than lent. It is most likely that there rarely was.
Now I maintain that a?ia puhi distinguishes these advances and
denotes their special character. They were allowances for adminis-
tration, and like the tools and plant found by a manufacturer for
his workmen, only that here the workmen were not paid wages but
shared profits. If this explanation be the right one and we retain
the derivation of puhi from paM this verb must have come to mean
'administer' or 'carry on business,' especially 'farm.' In that case,
it is very likely X^^-dX pahatu was the proper expression for a business
so administered, and when applied to a province really meant an
'administrative district.' The function of the bel pahdti would be
to carry on State business, doubtless in the first place to collect
revenue, then also to rule and otherwise administer. If this be
so, Meissner's contention that pahdtu is not connected with our
AND DOCUMKNTS. 21
pahu falls to the ground and Jensen's derivation (Kosin. p. 420) is
justified, though from another ix)int of view.
'I'he appearance of the del pahati in these documents, as the
receiver of considerable advances, supports the contention ; though
independently it would have little weight. In no. 152, the agent
acting for the king's son is called his bcl pahati. That an agent
should have this title is very significant.
385. The word piihic also occurs in the letters: e.g. 80-7-19,
20, H. A. B. L. p. 372, has ma eli sarri puhi sd sarru bc-ili ispiir-
anui ma-a Szc. i.e. * concerning the king, the p?/ki which the king my
lord sent me, saying &c.' Here priki surely means a ' commission '
or 'instruction': compare 83-1-18, 16, If. A. B. L. p. 375 : K 112,
H. A. B. L. p. 228. It appears clear that ana puhi alone means
for purposes of administration ; or, as we should say, ' for manage-
ment expenses.' That these expenses should be advanced is also
to be expected and seems to have been a regular custom. It seems
to me that ana puhi nam describes the responsibility which an
Assyrian landlord had, to find stock in trade, and even capital, for
his tenants to work their farms, and further to furnish it on easy
terms. It must also have included the responsibility to furnish the
governors of distant provinces with all needful maintenance while
at their posts. Whether these officials had salaries I doubt, they
probably exacted what they could and merely transmitted the
appointed revenue, keeping the surplus for themselves. Such a
process may often have meant ruin to the official. We find in our
documents, governors pledging their estates in their provinces, to
creditors at Nineveh, whether on receipt of the appointment, or
for expenses in the capital, or to make up deficiencies in the
revenue due from them, does not appear. They very likely expected
to make a good thing out of the appointment and found no difficulty
in raising money upon their estates with such good prospect of their
early redemption.
386. Some of the renderings which have appeared may be
noted here. Oppert, in Doc. fur. p. 162, 227, 247, renders ad
mutuum deprompsit^ il leur a do?i?iee en pret^ or ad niutuutn abstulit^
pour faire ufi pret.
Peiser, in K. B. iv. p. iii, renders ^ Gegen Quittung Q) werden
sie {es) herausgeben.''
Meissner, V. O. J. 1896, p. 264, in his review of K. B. iv. thinks
' Gegen Quittu?ig ' inadmissible and points out that neither ////// nor
22 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ittasu are presents. He renders ^ ah Tauschobjcd heratisgebe?i^' i.e.
^ si7id entlehnt' This, however, while cautious, seems to leave
matters as they were. The fact of an advance being made is
already implied in the document. The question is, what kind of
advance is to be understood?
Pinches, J. R. A. S. p. 894, renders ' He has taken it in
possession.'
Oppert, in Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 246, says
Das Wort pi^ihii ist schwierig^ heisst ' Darkhn ' mutuiim^ nicht com-
modatutn^ da es 7iicht iinvicr gratis gegebe?i wt7'd. Ob es mit dem
chalddische7i niQ ' Quelle ' zusa77t77ienJidjigt^ 7?iag dahi7igestellt bleiben.
He renders it ' als A7ileihc hat er es e7it)io)ii77ie7i.^ This is not going
far to make the reason for the use of the phrase apparent. But
it is evident that the consensus of opinion regards the phrase as
indicating the nature of the transaction as a loan, or advance.
387. One of the commonest phrases in the loan tablets is that
which expresses the penalty for detention of the loan beyond the
proper time. It is usually specified that if the loan be not returned
at a fixed date, interest shall accrue at a fixed rate. When the date
is not stated some customary term is probably implied. The words
which express this stipulation are 'the money (or other loan) he
shall give (back) ; if he do not give (it back),' so and so shall be
the penalty.
The first verb, 'he shall give,' is frequently spelt i-da7i^ once
id-da7i ; but most often written with the ideogram, SE = 7iadd7tu,
followed by the phonetic suffix -a7i. Curious and exceptional
spellings are i-da-au^ i-da/i-{a7t), id-da7t-a7i : and SE-7ia. The femi-
nine ta-dan occurs once. The plural, ' they shall give,' is not found
in the form idda7iu^ but as i-du-7m^ id-du-7m and SE-71U. Still more
irregular is the form SE-7ii for ' he shall give ' and it may be an
error.
'If is written su77i-77ia or BE-7/ia or SE-77ia; occasionally SE-77iu\
the latter, no doubt, is to be read sum-77tu.
' Not ' is usually la or la-a and also ideographically expressed
by NU. Occasionally the words la and idi7i arc run together, and
we get la-di7i.
In the second member of the clause, usually, the form iddifi is
used. It is often written i-diii. A very frequent form is id-di-7u\
or SE-ni, or i-di-ni\ and even SE alone occurs. The plural is
given as i-din-7iu^ id-diji-7iu^ i-du-7iu and SE-jhl On the other hand
AND DOCUMKNTS. 23
i-din-nuu is used as singular. In some cases i dan or SE-an is
used, whether in error, or because the form was really a matter of
indifference is not for me to say. In one case i-di-fta is found, and
such forms as id-da-nu-u-?ii, i-din-u-ni and id-din-nu-ni go to shew
that the -;// in the form idini^ or SE-ni, is the enclitic, and marks a
dependent clause. In one case we have the form i-ti-din.
After this clause we get iddan, isakkan or i?'abbi, as the case
may demand, to express the penalty, which usually was an increased
amount. This was a sort of interest, that is to say, the advance was
to be repaid with increment at some fixed rate.
388. The most usual rate of interest was 25 per cent. : expressed
by a?ia rebutisu irabbi ' it shall increase to a quarter of itself.' The
way of expressing 'one quarter' is deserving of note. It is never
phonetically written, but built up from the numeral four. ' Four '
is expressed by GAR or SA or TAB-TAB. This is followed by
phonetic suffixes, -ut^ utti, or ti alone: so that we have GAR {= IV)-
ut-ti, GAR { = IV)-ut, GAR { = IV)-ti, SA { = IV)-ut, SA {^IVyti
and TAB-TAB { = IV)-iit. Those forms which end in -ut should
properly be followed by su^ but sii is invariably used. So we must
read all these forms of writing simply rebiiti. The su used is
Brunnow's no. 108 18 and never su. In no. 779, 6, one quarter
is written GAR-tu ; and, very oddly, three quarters appears to be
written GAR-tu ma libbi III.
389. I think it is significant that we are not told whether this
interest was per month or per year. As however the interest per
year is never stated, and in the Babylonian contracts also the rate
is so much per month., we may here assume that the rate was per
fjionth., and therefore would amount to 300 per cent, per annum.
This need not startle us, because in all probability it was expected
that the utmost delay would be a month or six weeks. The loan
was not lent for the sake of the interest, that was a penalty, and the
repayment being for the most part expected to follow harvest, the
natural causes of delay could not exceed the month, or so. If a
man neglected to harvest his own crop, by hiring himself out to
another, the extra profit which he might gain would be discounted
by the interest he had to pay for delay, even if he were personally
to take the risk of his own crop spoiling. So too, if he were
disposed to loiter over his harvest, or neglected to employ labour to
save it promptly, the lender was secured by the interest. This
served to secure strict attention to business.
24 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
390. Interest was sometimes ' one third,' that is 33^ per cent. :
possibly 400 per cent, per annum. The way this was expressed was,
ana III-su-su irabbi, 'it shall increase to one third of itself.' A
phonetic reading of III-su is not easy to devise. One third is
salsdtu and we might suppose salsatsu would express a third of it ;
but we should then have to account for the second su. The truth
appears to be that III-su is an ideographic writing of salsati and we
are to read the whole expression as ana salsati-su irabbi. Against
this is to be placed the form Ill-si-su which suggests that -su is
phonetic. Another rate, mentioned once, is one eighth : or 1 2^ per
cent. : possibly 150 per cent, per annum. In this case we have ana
VIII-su-su irabbi perhaps to be read ana saninatisu irabbi. From
these two examples it looks as if fractions were named from their
numerals by the addition of -su and we may perhaps suggest sulsit
as 'one third,' and sumunsu as one eighth. Elsewhere we have
III-su used to denote 'one third.'
391. Another expression, occupying the same position in its
context as the above do in theirs, is ana mithar irabbi. Mitharu
is usually derived from maharu and ana mithar would be equivalent
to mithar is., which means ' completely,' so that we should conclude
this meant that the interest was to equal the principal. If that be
true we must have 100 per cent, as the contemplated rate: this
seems very high indeed if it really be reckoned per month. The
continually occurring mahiru in the sense of ' market rate ' suggests
that ana mithar may merely mean -'what is proper' or 'usual' or
'customary,' and that ana mithar irabbi was the correct Assyrian
expression for 'shall bear interest at customary rates.' If so it was
probably identical with the 25 per cent, above.
That this is the real sense of the passage is rendered probable by
the similar phrase a7ia mithar ina dl Ninua irabbi; of which a
variant has idan^ for irabbi. This phrase at any rate can hardly
mean anything else than 'according to the current rate in Nineveh it
shall increase,' or, ' he shall pay.' With the exception of the city
name the phrase is identical with the last : and forms a transition to
the i)hrase kt ?nahiri sa dl Nifiiia ' according to the market rate in
Nineveh.'
392. In a number of cases the interest is stated to be so much
money per month and one might ex[)ect to get considerable help
from these cases. It will be well to take the most definite examples
first. Thus we have two shekels per mina per mouth, that is 40 per
AND DOCUMENTS. 2$
cent, per ainnoii (nos. 41, 7 ; 55, 5 ; 66, 6): four shekels per months
on a liair mina, or \Go per o'fif. pe?- (ninuni (no. 51, 4): four shekels
per mina per mouthy or 80 per cent, per aiuium (no. 32, 4) : six shekels
per mouth on three minas, or 40 per cent, per ajumin (no. 28, 4) :
five shekels per motitJi on four minas, or 25 per cent, per a?inunt
(no 27, 5): one mina five shekels per mont/i, on five and a half
minas, or over 200 per cent, per annum (no. 17, 6) : half a mina, on
one mina, in eight months, or 75 per cent, per annum (no. 41, 5):
and one mina twelve shekels per i?io?it/i, on at least twelve minas, say
120 per cent, per annum (no. 78, 3, 4). These examples certainly go
some way to establishing the conclusion that no customary rate of
interest underlies their calculations. It is quite likely that they are
so clearly specified because of their unusual amounts. Further it is
very clear that usually the Assyrians reckoned interest at so much
per month.
393. In a few other cases the phrase per mo7ith occurs, where,
the amount of loan being lost, we have no means of deducing a
per-centage. Thus we have two shekels per month (no. 30, 4) said
to be 7'ubie ' the interest.' In other cases the phrase per month is
omitted, thus we have half a shekel on 30 shekels or 20 per cent, per
annum (no. 34, 4) : half a mina on seven minas, or nearly f^o per cent,
per annum (no. 29, 4) : half a shekel on ten shekels or 120 per cent,
per atinu7n (no. 103, R. 2) : five shekels /^r mina or \oo per ce7it. per
annum (no. 117, L. E. 2): half a shekel on four shekels or 150
per ce7it. per anuu77i (no. 170, R. 2): half a shekel on eight shekels,
or ']^ per ce7it. per an7iu77i (no. 16, R. i) : half a shekel on three and
a half minas, or only about 'i, per ce7it.per aii7iu77i (no. 15, 7): and half
a shekel on eight and a third minas, or about one and a fifth per cent,
per a7inu7n (no. 50, 5). In the cases of the very small interests one
may suspect that the scribe either wrote shekel for mina, or meant
half a shekel per mina per month which is 10 per cent, per annu77i.
394. The interest on corn is always the same, 2,0 ka per homer,
or 50 per cent. It is never stated, however, whether this was/^r 77ionih
or not, if so it amounted to 600 per ce7it. per an7iu7n (nos. 129, 6;
130, 9 prob. ; 131, 5 ; 132, R. i ; 133, 6 ; 147, 6 ; 148, R. 3 ; 149, 5).
In one case we have ten minas of silver and 120 homers of barley
lent and the interest upon them is to be half a mina (no. 113,
B. E. i). It may be that ten minas is stated as the value of the
corn, making the interest 5 per ce7it. per 771071th. This would be a
most valuable piece of information, making a homer of barley worth
26 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
five shekels of silver. This is, however, by no means certain ; the
money alone appears to bear interest and that is low compared with
other cases : all of which speaks in favour of ten minas being the
worth of the corn, but it may be quite different.
395. A few further remarks on the Assyrian modes of expression
may be collected here. The Assyrian usually regarded the sum lent
as one lump sum and spoke of it in the singular. Thus the interest
is a fourth, a third or an eighth of '//,' -su\ but occasionally he
regarded the sum as a plural thing, using -sunn (nos. 40, B. E. i ;
147, 6). So while he usually said irabbi 'it shall increase' we
sometimes have the plural irabbiu ' they shall increase.' The barley in
the corn loans is regarded as a feminine singular, and ta7'abbi is used.
396. The scribe uses considerable licence in his writing of these
words for 'increase.' Thus we have most commonly i-rab-bi^ also
i-ra-bi, i-ra-ab-bi, t-ra-{bi), e-ra-bi, e-rab-bi, and with seemingly little
change of meaning uraba, urabba. So we have tar-rab-bi as well as
tarabbi.
The sign GAL - rabii, is used with, or without, suffix -bi : thus
GAL-bt, or GAL alone. In the case i-GAL-bi we must either admit
that GAL had also the value rab^ or else we have both a phonetic
prefix /- and a phonetic suffix -bi. A freely ideographic writing is
GALE. The fact, that the interest was to be ' given,' led the scribe
occasionally to write iddan, or SE-an, for irabbi (no. 45, R. 2). If
we were to press this, we might argue that the real nominative to the
verb irabbi was the borrower. Against this are the facts that when
we have the plural irabbiu (nos. 29, 4 ; 31, 6) we have not more than
one borrower; and that when we get the feminine forms (nos. 129, 7 ;
131, 6 ; 132, R. 2), the borrowers are men. On the other hand this
shifting of the nominative from the money to its borrower may be
the reason for uraba and urabba^ the scribe may have meant ' he (the
borrower) shall cause to increase.'
In place of iddan^ in other cases of giving money, as a penalty,
we often have isakka?i, expressed by GAR = sakdiiu. When there-
fore, in no. 129, 6, we have GAR followed by tarabbi^ I fancy the
scribe meant us to read isakkan tarabbi ' he shall pay, it shall
increase.' In no. 133, 6, GAR appears alone, and, if we do not read
it as some part of sakdnu, the sentence is without a verb. If we are
to insist on the corn lacing nominative to both verbs, perhaps we
should read saknat tarabbi in the one case, and sahiat in the other.
This would mean 'shall be placed,' that is, 'given.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 2/
The scribe liad also anotlier verb in Assyrian meaning *to
increase ' or ' bear interest ' : this verb, escpu or escbu (see Del.
//. W. B. p. 308 f. ; whence sibtu^ * increase,' in general, and
interest in particular, is certainly derived), occurs (in nos. 53, 4 and
no, 5, R. 3) in the form csip^ along with iddan, or alone.
397. Interest itself was called rub?}-, we have I'libiesu 'its
interest ' ; adu rubie ' with interest ' ; kihn ruble sa kaspi ' in lieu of
the interest of the money ' ; kian rubie ' in lieu of interest ' ; and
//// rubie sa SE-BAR. These leave no doubt that rubu means
'interest,' pure and simple. For references see glossary under rabU,
Another name for interest was habul/u, or, as it is more usually
spelt, habulu. This is certainly the same as hubullu (Del. H. W. B.
p. 267 b) which Delitzsch does not connect with either of his verbs
habalu. In view of the ruinous effects of usury, at such rates as we
have been considering, it may not be too fanciful to connect it with
the verb habalu 'to ruin.' At any rate the English use of the word
' damage,' for what is to be paid, shews a line of thought that may
justify the derivation. The passages at our disposal are too few to
shew any difference between this word and 7'ubii ; but we may
suppose that this regards the interest rather from the borrower's point
of view than the lender's, rather as 'damage'" than 'profit.' In any
case it is one name for 'interest.'
The term slbtu or slptu^ which in old Babylonian times, at any
rate, meant interest on money, does not occur in our loan tablets.
It does however occur in the sales in the phrase slbtu bennu &c.,
which is discussed later.
398. In some cases the rate of interest was so well understood
that the scribe did not consider it needed specifying, thus he merely
says the money shall be repaid, with interest (nos. 98, R. 2 ; loi, R. 3 ;
66, R. 7), adl ruble \ or that the money shall bear interest, eslp
(no. 53, 4), kaspu Irabbl. Both rate and amount are omitted, and
often the information is not preserved, though probably originally
specified.
399. Dr Bezold, in his Llteratur^ p. 156 ff. divides the
Darlehensurkunden into three sorts : A. Mlt vertragsmdsslger Zl/is-
bestlmmung) B. Ohrie vertragsmiisslge Zlnsbestlmmung^ dagegen mlt
der Verelnbarung, dass der {nach landesiibllcJum^ gesetzllchem (?) Zlnsfuss
zu entrlc/ite?tde) Zlns nur bis zu elnem besthnmten Vlelfachen des
Capitals an st el gen soil; C. Ohne 71 a her en Angaben oder viit sole hen ^
die wlr bis jetzt noch nlcht volllg zu verstehen In der Lage slnd. Of our
28 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
documents, Dr Bezold puts no. 27 in class A; nos. 2, 5, 19, 22, 38,
39, 40, 48 and 49 in class B, and nos, 16, 87, 88, 115 and 162 in
class C. He adds that no. 115 '^ scheiiit auf ein atitichretisclie Verhdltnis
zu deuien^ no. 16 ' eine Com'entionalpon in Gestalt eines Zinses enthaUen
zu sein^ : cf. Kohler, A. B. R. 2 09f. These estimates appear to be
based simply on the conclusions of Dr Oppert. There is nothing to
mark off these documents from others of their class.
The conclusion to which these considerations leads is that there
was nothing to prevent any rate of interest being set down : there
was no law against exorbitant interest and no customary rate for
loans proper. On the other hand these loans were usually meant
to be without interest until such a time as they might reasonably be
expected to be repaid. The interests set down as to be charged
were rather to ensure attention to business, than a genuine business
profit. They were a species of insurance against risk from negligence
or incompetency.
Abstracts of nos. i — 57.
400. In the accounts of the separate tablets which follow,
I have only recorded the size of a tablet, when in consequence of a
'join ' having been made, the size given in the Catalogue is no longer
correct. The number of lines can be readily gathered from the text
as published, and is generally correctly given in the Catalogue. The
colours of the tablets are given, more out of deference to a custom,
than from any conviction of utility. The thickness of a tablet is
only given, as a rule, in the case of fragments, in the hope of
assisting future workers on the contracts to notice and detect 'joins.'
The discussion of the proper names seems best deferred to a
later chapter, dealing with the proper names as a whole, but some
noteworthy forms will be pointed out.
The personality of the parties involved will be more or less
completely discussed in the belief that it will be helpful towards
realising the part which each plays, and so understanding the real
purpose of the documents. The occurrence of the same name
elsewhere, is no guarantee of identity between the persons, but when
the name is further associated with the same office, and occurs within
a reasonable distance of time, there is a strong presumption in favour
of that identity. Of course, it will not be desirable to load the notes
with references to every occurrence, and the list of proper names in
the indexes must be consulted. But I hope to render evident all
AND DOCUMKNTS. 29
the more striking personalities and to assign them an approximately
true position.
After giving, in each class, a transliteration and baldly literal
translation of the first example, 1 shall, as a rule, content myself
with simply giving an abstract of the document. In these earlier
documents, this will often be almost as full as, though much more
free than, a literal translation. In the longer deeds, I shall avail
myself of a regular system of abbreviations to indicate the constituent
parts of their formulae. Thus, at a glance, the student will be able
to grasp the drift and contents of the document.
In the case of technical phrases, which admit of some doubt as
to their meaning, I shall simply transliterate them, and leave them
untranslated. Thus, in the group now before us, the phrase ana
ptihi will not be translated. When the abstract states that 'an
advance has been made ana puhi^^ that implies that the phrase a7ia
piihi occurs in the original.
Where necessary, the Aramaic names quoted, as also the other
North Semitic, and Canaanite names, may be verified in Lidtzbarski's
Noi'dsemitische Epigraphik^ quoted as Z. N. E. The Biblical names,
generally called Hebrew, may also be verified from G. B. Gray's
Studies in Hebrew Propci' Names, or, of course, from any of the
Bible Dictionaries. But as most of this work was written before I
had seen either of these works, and the quotations are taken from
my own notes made from the Corpus Inscriptionuni Sef?iilicarum, no
error that I have made must be imputed to them. It has not been
possible for me, in all cases, to compare these works, and they may
have improved some readings or thrown doubts on others, in a way
which will invalidate my results. But in cases, where a name
written in cuneiform agrees letter for letter with the readings in the
Corpus or the Old Testament, conjectural emendations must be
received with caution.
401. No. I. Almost complete. Red.
Kisir-Asur advances sixteen shekels of silver to Abdi-
Samsi, ana puhi, to be repaid on the first of Du'uzu. If not
then repaid, the money shall bear interest at 25 per ce?it.
Dated, the i ith (?) of Nisanu, e.g. 731 (?). Three witnesses.
The date is quoted by G. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 84 and S. A. V.
4822.
Mr Pinches gave a translation, _/. R. A. S. 1898, p. 894 : so also
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 245 f.
30 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The date is not well preserved, it may be the 12th or 13th, just
as well as the nth. The year is also uncertain. The Bel-ludari of
the Canon List, who is the most likely, was Eponym in B.C. 731.
But Kisir- Asur is a name that continually appears in these documents,
and always in the Post Canon period, after r.c. 667. The only
witness, whose name actually occurs again, is Nargi, who appears as
witness in B.C. 677, no. 576; as a witness in B.C. 644, no. 4 ; as a
witness B.C. 648, no. 206; as a buyer B.C. 656, no. 152; and as a
witness in Ep. Q and Ep. S, nos. 82 and 311. Consequently I
incline to think this Bel-ludari was also a Post Canon Eponym.
His name occurs as that of a witness B.C. 676, no. 175.
The term of the loan was about two months and a half, lent in
April — May, to be repaid in June.
402. For form's sake, I append here a full transliteration and
translation.
Transliteration .
Obv. I XVI sikle {GE-MES) kaspi {KU-BABBAR)
2 sd Kisir- Asur {AS- SUB)
3 ana pdni (SI) Ab-di-(AN)- Sam-si
4 ana pu-u-hi it-ti-si
5 ina iimi I {KAN) sd arhi Dii'Tizii {SU)
6 kaspu {KU-BABBAR) iddan {SE-an) sum-fna la
iddini {SE-ni)
Edge. I su?n-ma la iddini {SE-ni) a-na rebii-{I V)-ut-ti-su
Rev. I irabbi {GAL-bi). Arhi NisCiuu iimi XI {KAN)
2 lim-me Bel-lu-dd-ri
3 pan {SI) Gi-r it-tic
4 pa? I {SI) Ndr-gi-i
5 pan {SI) Ardi-{AN)-Ba-ni-tic.
Translation.
Obv. I Sixteen shekels of silver,
2 from Kisir-Asur,
3 to Abdi-Samsi.
4 As management expenses, he has taken.
5 On the first day of the month Du'uzu,
6 the money he shall pay, if he do not pay,
Edge. I (if he do not pay), to a fourth part of it,
AND l^OCUMKNTS. 3 1
Rev. I it shall increase. Month Nisanu, day eleventh,
2 in the Eponymy of IJcl-ludari.
3 In the presence of (iirittu.
4 In the presence of Nargi.
5 In the presence of Ardi-Banitu.
403. As the beginner may desire to follow these renderings
with the original texts, I will be very full and precise in the
explanation of all the peculiarities which he is likely to notice.
I read the cuneiform numbers by Roman numerals, rather than
attempt to represent them by words. In fact, I do not know that
the Assyrian for sixteen has yet been found phonetically written,
probably it was something like sissesrit. On the numerals §§ 241 — 248
may be consulted. The sign TU, as an ideogram for shekel, has
been usually read GIA\ see § 310, but Rm. 11. 588, Meissner, Snppt,
p. 25, in line 26, shews, that when that sign was used to denote the
shekel, it was pronounced GE. Hence the singular sequence of
GIN, GAN, GUN no longer exists. At the time I wrote §310,
Rm. II. 588 was unknown to me. The same tablet gives another
example of a phonetic spelling of shekel, viz. si-ik-li. For the
reading of KU-BABBAR, as kaspu, see § 315. For the view that
kasp7i originally had the sense of 'wealth,' see now Professor Jensen's
note on X2D3, in Brockelmann's Syriac Lexicon. The name of the
god Asur is indifferently written, AS-SUR, A-SUR, HI, AS, see
Delitzsch, H. IV. B. p. 148 b, Jensen, Theol. Lit. Zeit. 1895, P- 248.
The form Asur seems to be an archaism, and, in the Cappadocian
tablets and elsewhere, may belong to the time when consonants were
not doubled. But we need some way of distinguishing Asur, the
god, from the Assyrian name of the country Assyria, and the city
Assur. Probably all three names were indistinguishable in pronun-
ciation, but I have adopted the convenient form of transliteration :
Asur for the god, Assur for the city and country. This does not
imply any difference of spelling or pronunciation. The sign written
AS when used as a preposition can be read either ana or ina. It
is by no means clear that any real difference exists between ana and
ina, but in our documents ana seems more to take the force of 'to,'
Latin in with accusative, while ina has the force of 'in,' Latin /;/
with the ablative. This is not strictly adhered to, but in the phrase
ana pdfti, we keep the sense 'to the presence of,' while ina pcini, or
pan simply, is 'in the presence of Even if these distinctions are
not adhered to by the Assyrian scribes, the opposite view has less
32 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
support, and all we can say is that AS can be indifferently read ana
or t?ia. In that case, we shall do well to take this view, for the sake
of uniformity in transliteration. Of course when a scribe takes the
trouble to write i-?ia, or a-7ia, phonetically, we must accept his ruling,
even if we doubt his correctness. In the case of ana piihi, we follow
the scribe's usage on nos. 6, 20, 39, 114. If we read ina puhi^ we
might be tempted to think ptihu was some sort of ' bag ' or ' purse,'
' in ' which the money was carried away. But ana puhi marks the
purpose. On this see § 379 f. : on the verb ittisi see § 379.
404. In the case of the date for repayment, we read ina th?u /,
in accordance with our rule, as that should mean 'on the day I.'
The phrase afta {nni 1 probably would mean ' for one day,' as a-na
C ume certainly means ' for a hundred days,' see no. 248, R. 7 and
often. The addition of {KAN) to the cardinal / makes it an
ordinal, 'the first,' perhaps read restu, D. A. G. p. 207. In dating
the day of repayment, it is usual to use the full form ' on such a day
of the month,' sa a7'hi. On the other hand 'on the day that a thing
happens' is written distinctly i-na time, nos. 646, R. 19; 647, R. 19,
or ina iime, no. 709, 5. The ihnu in no. 112, 6 is not decisive.
On the other hand, ina UD-MU sa of no. 67, R. 2, and UD-MU sa
of no. 65, B. E. I, do not clearly shew that we are to read ina umu
sa or umu sa, for ' the day that ' ; because UD-MU is also used in
the phrase ina arkat {line, no. 468, 13, where we surely expect the
plural : compare arkdt UD-MES, no. 652, R. 4, arkdt ume, no. 293,
10. In fact UD-MU is the ideogram for ihnu, and, of itself, is
either singular or plural. Now compare ina ume, in nos. 63, 6 ;
68, R. 2 ; T02, R. 4; 160, 12 ; and the variant phrase ina libbi ume,
no. 98, 2. The verb naddnu, 'to give,' is used, of course, in
connection with money, in the sense 'to pay,' and also 'to repay.'
Its ideogram is SE and the phonetic suffixes settle for us the part
of the verb used. Thus SE-an is to be read iddan, as the variants
shew idan in no. 9, 4, and often ; id-dan in no. 50, 4. The form
SE-ni is to be read iddini, as the variants idin, in no. 9, 5, and often ;
i-di-ni, in no. 122, 6 ; id-di-ni, in no. 40, 6.
Other variants are used when there are more than one person to
repay. Thus we get iddunu, in no. 17, 5; i-du-nu, in no. 13, 7 ;
id-da-nu-u-ni, in no. 99, B. E. i, for the plural of the present, 'they
shall give.' Also we have id-di)i-nu-ni in no. 17, 6; i-din-u-ni in
no. loi, 7; for 'they gave,' 'have given.' l"'or other variants and
fuller references, see glossary under naddnu.
AND DOCUMFNTS. 33
But we arc compelled to avoid unusual forms in our transliterations
of ideograms, and sliould therefore write iddinni for the singular,
idditnhii for the plural.
In our case it will be noted that the scribe repeated summa la
iddini^ twice over, once at the end of line 6, once at the beginning of
edge line i. This of course was an error. We shall meet with
several others as we go on.
The ' fourth part ' is read rebflti^ the scribe makes it needlessly
long, by writing /V-ut-ti\ as if it were rebuiti. The -///, 'its,' refers to
the money, as is well shewn by the fact that when corn is spoken of
we get sa.
The verb rabu^ 'to increase,' is denoted by GAL, to which the
phonetic suffix bi is added to shew that we are to read irabbi. We
may compare the variants.
On the reading of the date see § 64-73. ^^"^ ^^e reading oi pan
before the names of witnesses see § 74.
405. The names deserve a passing notice. The lender, if we
may call him so, Kisir-Asur, occurs no less than thirty times in our
documents. He is a witness, in B.C. 656, on nos. 48, 49 ; a neigh-
bour and witness, in Ep. A', on no. 414; he was then a rab kisir.
As rab kisir of the mutir puti of the Crow^n Prince he appears as a
buyer, in Ep. B, no. 207. As rab kisir and w^itness, in Ep. A, on
no. 325 ; rab kisir of the Crown Prince, neighbour and witness, in
Ep. F, on no. 621; rab kisir and witness again, same date, on
no. 361 ; rab kisir and lender, in Ep. Y, on no, 151. He is also a
witness, in Ep. I, on no. 102, in Ep. S, on no. 619. He acts as
lender, in Ep. F, on no. 23 ; again on no. 80. He is a principal on
no. no; rab kisir of the mutir puti on no. 211 ; witness and rab
kisir of the mutir puti of the Crown Prince on no. 235 ; as lender,
on no. 46, he is said to be of the city Hubabai. He is also a
witness on nos. 503, 571. He is named in letters or writes them,
K 596, 623, 764, 940, 1018, 1061, 1253, 7342, 83-1-18, 31.
When Professor Harper has published the letters we shall doubtless
know more about him. But from these notices we can learn much.
His full title at last appears to have been rab kisir of the viutir
piiti, or 'body-guard,' of the Crown Prince. When called only
rab kisir he may not have attained this full dignity, but it is
possible his title is given less fully. At any rate there can be little
doubt we have to do with the same person, throughout most of
these places. Hence we can hardly draw any other conclusion
J. III. 3
34 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
than that the Eponyms A, A', B, F, I, S, Y, are not many years
apart, nor too long after B.C. 656. It also seems likely that
our document belongs to the same period. Hence the doubts
expressed above as to the date, B.C. 731-0. By taking into account
a large number of similar cases I believe it is possible to give a
provisional order to the Post Canon Eponyms. This must be
postponed to the Chapter on Chronology, but we may note such
points as we go on. From K 1253, we learn that Kisir-Asur became
the bel pahati of Diir-Sargon : probably at a date later than the
mentions made in our documents, perhaps when the Crown Prince
became King. As the Crown Prince was evidently a son of Asur-
banipal^ K 1253 was probably written after B.C. 626, to which date
that King is generally supposed to have survived.
406. The receiver of the advance was Abdi-Samsi. The names
which have the element abdi are probably not Assyrian, as abdu
does not occur in connected Assyrian prose. This view of the names
is borne out by their second elements. Besides Abda, Abda',
Abdabani, Abda-ili, Abdtinu, Abdi, Abdia, which prove nothing
either way, we have the significant series, Abdi-Azuzi, Abdi-Bel,
Abdi-Himuni, Abdi-idri, Abdi-ikrisu, Abdi-ili, Abdi-li'iti, Abdi-
Kububi, Abdi-limu, Abdi-milkiati, Abdi-milki, Abdi-Sihur, Abdi-
rama, Abdi-sarri. These shew probably that Azuzi, Himuni, Kububi,
and Sihur were divinities, like Bel and Samsi. They are not Assyrian.
Bel is a divinity common to many lands, at any rate as the Assyrians
counted. Samsu is the Aramaic form of Samsu. The word Abdu^
for ' servant ' may be Aramaic also. Such forms as idri^ milki, rarna^
are common in Mesopotamian names, see A. D. B. passim. Besides
we have actually Aramaic parallels to several, xnny, Sm3y, nay,
nay, lateiay ; and compare prnny, neopunic.
Hence we may feel fairly certain that Abdi-Samsi was a
Syrian.
The name Girittu seems to be the same as Gi-ri-tu, mentioned
by Dadi, on 83-1-18, 67, a letter; and as Gi-rit-te, a sak/iu, on
no. 771. The names Girtu, on nos. 151, 622, and Girte on no. 50,
all of them occurring at Post Canon dates are so similar that we
may easily suppose the same person intended. If so, we have an
additional argument for supposing our Eponym to be really later
than B.C. 667.
The name Nargi will be discussed in no. 4, § 409.
The last witness was Ardi-Banitu. The reading Ardi, in place of
AND DOCUMENTS. 35
Arad, as has been common, was made clear to me liy no. 7, 3, where
we have Ar-di-Htar: Delitzsch, B. A. S. 111. p. 387, quotes from the
later Babylonian contracts to prove the same thing. A parallel is
Isdi in place of the form Isid, which used to be given in proper
names. The goddess Banitum or Banitu is rare in the Assyrian
documents, but we have the names, (//?/) Ba-ni-tiim-bel-usur^ as the
name of a woman, S. A. K ion, {Ilu) Bdnitum-erd \ S. A. V. 1012,
(////) Bdiutuvi-lukin^ S. A. V. 1013; and {Ilu) Bdnituvi-tuklat^
S. A. V. 1014 ; in Babylonian contracts, as a certain witness to
her existence.
407. No 2. Complete. Brown.
Ardiai lends ten shekels of silver to Kitinu, a7ia puhi.
Interest 25 pe?- ce?it. Dated the 2nd (or 3rd?) of Aaru,
Ep. A. Six witnesses.
Date quoted, Ep. Can. p. 97, where read K 179 for K 173.
Transliteration and translation, Doc. Jur. p. 247 f.
Oppert's reading of line 2 gave him Ardisu, which he read Zikarsu.
Whether we should take A-a as a divine name and read Ardi-Aa
seems a little uncertain. Ardiai seems rather improbable.
In line 3, Oppert gives Ki-an-an-u, possibly the second an is a
misprint, for the Latin rendering has Kiannu (?), and the French,
Kiannu, without question. The last sign may be either nu, BE^
or PAP.
In line 4, Oppert transliterates i7ia bu-u-hi i-ti-si, and renders ad
muiuuni abstulit^ pour fair e un pret.
In line 5, the transliteration in Doc. Jur. is ina IV ut an-se-bar-bi :
rendered by usque ad quartiwi ta7iium fenerabitur, V argent portera
interet Jusqii'au quadruple de la soTnme. This clearly arose from a
defective text. For hia we generally find ajta : IV-ut-ti-su is rebicfisu,
'its fourth part.' What looked like bar was the end of GAL, the
ideogram for rabii, and bi is the phonetic complement to the part
irabbi. It will be noted that kaspu, which is the nominative to irabbi
is not written in the text.
The name of the Eponym in Doc. Jur. appears as Sin-sar-u-si-lik.
The si is wrong, it is clearly zu : and we have the curious phonetic
spelling uzur., in place of the usual usur. Parallels could easily be
collected from the Old Babylonian texts to shew that no distinction
was observed between z and i-, and the fact that the same sign always
stood for both za and sa may shew that the Assyrian scribe was
indifferent to the distinction in wTiting. But it is also possible that
3—2
36 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
uzur was heard alongside usur^ and formed a step in the transition
from usur to ezzar, as in Nabil-kudur-usur to Nebuchadrezzar.
In the names of the witnesses, R. 5, we have Kan-nmi-ai^ which
Doc. Jiir, leaves so, and I am inclined to think rightly. As, however,
KAN-NUN is ideographic for nuhsu, Dr Peiser reads the name
Nuhsai. Delitzsch, H. W. B. p. 572, suggests Zazai or Zazaku as a
likely reading. But p:3, the Aramaic, and possibly Assyrian, name of
Arahsamnu, would give Kannunai, like Tebetai and others. We
may also compare the proper names Kanunu, no. 166; Kaninu,
K 8375, and the town name Kanfmu, K 13033.
The name of the witness in line 6, Doc. Jtir. gives as Sab-sa-?ta, it
is very clearly as I give it, and to be read Nur-Samas, or Niir-Samsi.
The last name was read in Doc. Jur. as Kusai, but it is more
likely Disai.
Professor Oppert, Doc. Jur.., p. 248, says that ten 'drachmes,'
of silver, forniejit environ 37 /?'. ^o de notre mo7inaie. This is a
mere estimate of the bullion weight of silver, and neglects all
purchasing values.
There is no date fixed for repayment, but interest is stipulated
for. If this case stood alone, we might regard it as an ordinary
loan, and suppose that interest began to accrue from the date of
the loan. But having regard to the customs shewn by the other
documents in this group, it is more likely that the advance was
to be repaid, without interest, at the autumn ' rent day,' and was
only subject to interest if retained beyond that date.
In Doc. Jur. this transaction is called a Pret hypothecaire.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, B. 7, calls it a Darlehensurkunde ohne vertrags-
nidssige Zinsbestimjnung. In the index volume of the Catalogue,
p. 2000b., it is entered as 'an acknowledgement of debt.'
408. No. 3. Complete. Slate grey.
Sangu-Istar lends Adunaiz, ana puhi, one mina of
silver, Carchemish standard. Interest 25 /fr ^^//Z. Dated,
2ist of Tisritu, B.C. 680. Four witnesses.
It is important to notice that this tablet is probably a duplicate
of no. 26, which gives some interesting additions. The lender is
the same, the borrower the same, the date the same, and three
witnesses are the same. The tablet now shews clearly that here also
GAR-GA-MJS is to be read for MAN. Hence the sum also
was the same. Here the money is advanced ana puhi, there no
mention is made of the purpose. But Adunaiz is said to be SangCl-
AND DOCUMENTS. 37
Istar's siikil ts/i/i, or * superintendent of tlie harvest.' It is not clear
whether i<7/(r/7 is from sakalu^ ' to care for,' ' superintend,' or from
akcMu, 'to feed,' 'a caterer for,' or again from kalu, 'to grasp,' 'take
in hand.' Also the ^E-KI-KUD may be the 'harvest' or the
'harvesters.' But in any case, it is quite clear that Adunaiz
was occupied about Sangu-lstar's harvest, and the suggestion is
obvious that the money was advanced for the purposes of the
harvest.
Sangd-Istar appears as a witness in B.C. 692, no. 440; as plaintiff,
B.C. 679, no. 161 ; as witness and servant of the Crown Prince,
in B.C. 670, no. 257, beside other undated passages. The other
party, Adunaiz, may be the same as named on K 1595, R. 6, with
Nergal-sarru-usur. His name is clearly a compound of Adunu, seen
also in Aduni-ba'al, Adunu-nadin-aplu, no. 346 ; Adunu-mat-usur,
no. 513; Aduni-turi, no. 240; Aduni-iha, no. 148. The termination
IS^ in proper names, is usually read lisir^ but the variant in no. 26,
Aduna-i-zi, compels us to read Aduna-iz. These Adon compounds
are characteristically Phoenician ; compare p::'XJlS, '?3JnN, to'pDnK,
K'lDC'JlS, and the Hebrew (Canaanite) Adoni-bezek, Adonikam,
Adoniram, Adoni-zedek.
Arbailai, 'the Arbelite,' also a witness on no. 26, occurs as a
name in our documents from B.C. 712 down to Post Canon times.
He holds so many different offices, even appearing as Eponym in
B.C. 661, that it is difficult not to suppose there were two or three
of this name. Hence we can hardly say with which of the three
we have to do here. He and Nabu-erba-ahe, the next witness,
occur together again on no. 115, where he is sanu of Bar-Halzi;
compare also no. 116. This was in B.C. 664. The next witness
Aa-ahe bears the name of a witness in B.C. 700, no. 294 ; and of
the father of Ahda-erba, on no. 308. The name appears to contain
the divine name Aa, and is probably shortened from Aa-ahe-sallim
or Aa-ahe-erba, or some such fuller name. The name of the next
witness, Isdi-Nabu, is common from B.C. 734 to Post Canon dates.
He also witnessed no. 26.
Because of the difference in formula, no. 26 is placed later, as
all the advances expressly said to be ana puhi come together
naturally, and the sum advanced seemed not to be the same; but the
comparison needs to be carefully borne in mind.
409. No. 4. Complete. Brown.
Liiku lends ten shekels of silver to Dihai and Rimilt-
3^ ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ilani, atia pi^ihi. Interest 25 per cent. Dated the 5th of
Ultilu, B.C. 644. Seven witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 97, and assigned to B.C. 644,
which I follow.
The Guide to the Kouyunjik Gallery describes it, p. 177, no. 57.
Extracts are given S. A. V. 4822, 4905, 5070, 7904, where in
the Eponym's name the wrong dan is given.
Transliteration and translation are given by Peiser, K. B. iv.
p. 148 f.
In line 3, Peiser reads the name TE-a-a as Dihai, which I
follow.
In line 4, he gives a name LID-KU-ild-ni, where the KU
should be UT^ and then we have the name Rim-ut-ilani, a common
form. Dihai occurs as the name of a witness, from B.C. 717,
no. 391, twice in B.C. 670, nos. 42, 257; as a seller, in B.C. 663,
no. 309; as a witness in Ep. O. no. 16; as a witness in Ep. S.
no. 311, and without date in nos. 419, 429. Rimtit-ili is the name
of a witness, B.C. 710, no. 416; again B.C. 682, nos. 122, 123;
again in B.C. 679-8, no. 462 ; and in Ep. Z. no. 340 ; usually
without title of office, without date in nos. 410, 356. In the latter
case he is a sdM of the sakintii. Variants of this name are Rimti-ili,
Ri-mut-ti-ili, and in later Babylonian contracts Ri-mut-ili. It is
possible that Rimut-iH is not the same name as Rimllt-ilani. The
latter was the name of a slave, sold b.c. 683, no. 447 ; of a witness
in Ep. O., no. 16 ; Ep. S., no. 31 1 ; Ep. T., no. 45, and occurs also in
later Babylonian times. Variants are Rim-ut-ilani, Rim-mu-ut-ilani,
Ri-mut-ilani.
In line 5, Peiser renders ' Atif Quittung werden sie herausgeben.^
He gives the date as B.C. 643 (?).
Rev. line 2, Peiser read NI-A^ which of course he left un-
translated, in place of ainel GAR., which I take to be sahiu. In
line 3, Peiser reads the name Sadu-Malik. I doubt if {i/n)-A-a is
ever to be read Malik, see O. L. Z, 1899, p. 315. But here there
is a much more likely reading, Matilai ; compare the names Mat-'ilu,
Mattallai, Matalli. For Matalli see no. 296, 3 : for Mat'ilu see
Peiser M. V. A. G. '98, 6, 2, p. 228, Lay. p. 17, 20, T. PI. iii. A. 20,
K. B. II. p. 16: for Mattallai, no. 5, R. 2 ; 296, R. i. Our form
occurs as the name of a witness in Ep. Z>., no. 622, and again
no. 574. It is surely the same name as Mati-la-a-a, the seller on
nos. 270, 271, in Ep. D. It might also be read Matanai and
AND DOCUMENTS. 39
compared with tho name Matan-Ra'al, in. R. i6, V. 17, of which
variants are Matan-Bi'il and Matinu-l^a'H.
In line 7, Pciscr reads the name Mildi-Bel ; Musallim-Adadi has
more parallels. The .same name occurs as that of the buyer in
no. 195, H.C. 73o(?)-
Dr Peiser calls this transaction a Bestimmung^ dass gegen Quittutig
zu zahlen ist.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls it 'an acknowledgement of
debt.'
It will be noted that ittisi^ of the last three texts, is now replaced
by ittasu.
The name of the witness in rev. 1. i, Mannu-ki-A§ur, 'who is
like (the god) Asur ? ' occurs often. There was a mukil apdti of the
Crown Prince, called by this name, who appears as witness in
B.C. 660, on no. 444, cf. no. 445 ; a mutir pi7ti, who appears on
K 622, K 1260, in connection with the uprising in Armenia, in the
last days of Sargon XL ; a tukultu on K 919, and others, of unnamed
title, at various times. Whether the name is the same as Mannu-
ki-Asur-li', 'who is strong as Asur'? may be doubted. This was
the name of the Eponym of B.C. 710-9, saktiu of Tile, and is also
found as the name of a witness on no. 782, in B.C. 661. Further it
may be doubted whether it is the same name as Mannu-ki-Assur,
' who is like the land of Assyria ? ', though it is hard to see how
it could be distinguished in pronunciation. This was the name
of the Eponym of B.C. 795-4, saknu of Guzana, named on no. 1077.
The name occurs on the letter K 2908, and on no. 102, in Ep. I.
There is another Mannu-ki-Assur, where the name of the town Assur
is involved. This occurs in B.C. 670, as the name of a scribe and
witness, on no. 625, on K 662 and K 671 as writer to the king,
and elsewhere as witness. Perhaps the same name is meant, and
the different forms are only refinements of the scribes.
This witness was an ai7iel sa sepd, a title which suggests many
readings. The sa here might be an ideogram for saknu and the
sepd referred to may be the 'infantry,' see § 217. The probability is
that sa is part of the title, and a sa sepd was simply a foot-soldier : a
really decisive passage has yet to be found.
The next witness was called Kurdi-Sarri, or 'warrior of the
king.' Dr Bezold, throughout the Fifth Volume of the Catalogue,
regards sarru as a by name of Samas, the Sun-god, w^hich is
undoubtedly the case ; but it by no means follows that we are to
40 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
read this name as Kurdi-Samsi. I believe that except in such terms
as sar-ildni, the sarru intended was the earthly monarch. My
reading and rendering does not prejudice the question, the King
may still be the Sun-god, all I plead for is that in this case he
is known as the King, and we may only transliterate a name, not half
translate it. Kurdi-Sarri, so far as I know, at present, only occurs
here. The third witness Matilai, was a tamkaru, or ' merchant,'
see § 165.
The name of the fourth witness Takilati was also borne by a
witness on no. 311, in Ep. S. How we are to read the name of the
next witness is open to question. Names beginning with U-GUR
have generally been read Akar : and many names begin with Akar.
But we could also read Ukui\ and unless UG-GUR, is held to be
an ideogram for Akar also, we are most likely to be correct in
reading both as Ukur. We have then the name Ukur-ahe. Whether
this is to be taken as a complete name or not, seems to me doubtful.
Ukur-Adadi is the only close parallel I know, see no. 354. Our
name, in the form U-GUR-ahe occurs as that of a witness in no. 105,
Ep. Z., where he is said to be an amel sa sepa.
The name in rev. 1. 6, I read Nirgi ; compare the witness Ni-ir-gi-i,
no. 498. The name seems to me a variant of Nargi, which could
also be read Lipgi, Lulgi. The name Nargi is borne by a witness,
on no. I ; again by a borrower, on no. 152, in B.C. 656; on no. 311,
in Ep. S. ; on no. 23, in Ep. E. ; on no. 82, in Ep. Q. ; on no. 206,
in B.C. 648, and on nos. 209, 318, 538. Our form of the name is
that of a witness on no. 576, B.C. 677, and occurs also on no. 899.
The form Narage, is used by Asur-rislia in his letter K 194, to
Sennacherib about affairs in Armenia, at the end of Sargon's reign.
He was a rab kisir ; see H. A. B. L. p. 139. The last witness,
Musallim-Adadi, here probably the scribe of the tablet, is called
the aba.
The name of the lender, LCiku, is written more fully, Lu-u-ku., on
no. 678. He may be the same man as was rab kisir of the Crown
Prince in B.C. 659, no. 233, and as the witness, of Ep. S., no. 311.
The name also occurs as that of a witness in no. 267 ; as a neighbour,
in no. 348; as father of a witness, no. 438; and as resident in
Nuniba, no. 899.
410. No. 5. Complete. Dark brown.
Zazi lends twenty minas of silver to five men, Sulmu-Bel,
Sulmu-Sarri, Pappu, Asur-mutakkil-Sarri, and Kakkia,
AND DOCUMENTS. 4I
(in (J puhi. The money to l)ear interest at ^iTi^ P^^ cent.
Dated the 21st of Nisan, r..c:. 712. wSeven witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 85.
Extracts are given ^S". A. V., 4202, 4822.
The text was pubHshed 111. R. 47, No. 10.
A transHteration and translation were given by Oppert, Doc. Jnr.
p. 162 ff. : and again by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 1 10.
In hne i, Oppert took the ina I or uia isien before MANA^
to be bar., read it paj-as., and rendered it '' dimidiuvi^^ ^et deviie.''
In my text I have omitted the vertical wedge before MA-NA,
III. R. gives it correctly.
In line 2, he renders sd by qiias and by 'forinent le montant de la
creance de ' : the latter rendering expresses the sense accurately, but
is rather free. The sd, as shewn by the other similar documents,
is simply = ' belonging to.' In the same line in. R., and of course
Oppert and Peiser following, have omitted all after the name
Zazi. Probably the editors thought the words had been erased, and
perhaps they were, but I think it rather a later injury to the tablet.
In line 7, Oppert renders by ad mutuum deprompsit., qu^il leur
a do7iiiee eji pret ; thus he takes itasu as singular. I see no reason
against that.
B. E. I, ana salsu (in. su) -su irabbiis Oppert's reading; he renders
by usque ad tcrtium ta?ituni fenerabitur, and Eiuteret pourra s^accroitre
jusqu'au triple de la sonime. I should prefer to read a?ia salsdtsu-su,
to its third part, or ana salsu-su as Peiser reads it.
B. E. 2. The first witness appears to bear the name of
Gimil-ilu, written SU-il-ilu. in. R. did not give the traces of //,
and neither Oppert nor Peiser do more than leave the space for
another character, or two, after su. The office of this witness is
bel kdtdti, which often occurs, in. R. gave a doubtful indication,
Oppert left it alone, Peiser made Bcl-kdtd a proper name, or
part of one.
Rev. 2, Oppert appears to take mat as a determinative and gives
the name as Tallai only. Peiser gives Kurtallai. I think the name
is simply Mattallai and a variant of Matilai : see no. 4.
Rev. 3, Oppert has Ninip-ahi-usur; Peiser rightly Ninip-ahi-iddin :
but after ckalli Peiser reads labiri. That is because on the tablet
be appears to be written after GAL. It may be an error, or the
'old palace' was so called to distinguish it from the bit essi^ 'new
palace,' so often mentioned.
42 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In line 4, in. R. has SI for S/ and the other ame/. Oppert
read the sign at end of the Hne by kablu^ Peiser rightly by
nappahu.
In line 5, the office is given as nappahu siparri: so Peiser rightly.
Oppert has kabli ud-ka-bar^ and renders vir praepositus p07iderajido
aere^ or preposc au pesage (?) des metaux.
R. E. 2. Oppert read the name Nabu-munazziz ; Peiser acutely
suggested Nabli-siim-kenis-lisir, which I follow.
In his remarks, Oppert says the 20 minas of silver would be
about 4612 fr. 50 cent. He says the money may be either a loan
pret^ or a hypotheque, ' nous disons hypothlque pour indiquer que le
preteur Ji^a pas besoin de detenir reellement le gage, et que, suivant
la loi assyrienue, le droit pouvait s'attacher, coinme chez les Romains
a une chose ?nobtliere comine a un i?n?neuble.^
He further remarks: ^Le prix devra porter interet jusqu^a con-
currence du triple de la somme pre tee. ^
Peiser makes most of the corrections and some important
suggestions.
In line 3, on ina pan, which he renders im Besitze des, he remarks
' Das Geld, welches das Eigenthuin des Zazi ist, ist dem Sulmu-sarri
und den andern geborgt und somit nun in ihrem Besitze.^
In line 7, on ana pi7hi itasu, which he renders ' Gegen Quittung (?)
iverden sie {es) herausgeben.'' In a note to ' Quittung^ he says ' Wenn
puhu etymologisch niit puhdtu in den altbabylonischen Contracten
verwandt sein sollte, so wiirde die Bedeutungsentwicklung sich daraus
erkldren, dass das Geld im Austausch gegen die Empfangsquittung
zurilckgegeben wurde.
Meissner, however, to whom the idea that pdhu means to
exchange is due, in a review of K. B. iv., in Vienna Oriental
Journal, 1896, p. 264 says of this point: Die Bedeutung Quittung
fiir puhu scheint inir sehr unwahrscheinlich zu sein, ebenso die Fassung
von itasu c?^ ittesi als Prs. vielmehr wird ina puhi itasu {ittesi) zum
vorigen Satze zu ziehen sein : 20 Minen Geld, gehorend dem Zazi, sind
zur Verjiigung des ^ulmu-sarri qt'c. als Tauschobject herausgegangen
{d. h. sind entlehnt).
It is possible that the name in line 2, afterwards erased, was
Sulmu-ilu, bel kdtdti but I do not think so. Also in B. E. 2 the
name may be Su-lum-ilu, but I think Gimil-ilu is better.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, B. 6, calls this a Darlehensurkunde, ohfie
vcrtragsmdssige Zinsbestimni ung.
AND nOCUMKNl'S. 43
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b calls ii an 'acknowledgement of debt.'
411. No. 6. Complete. Red brown.
Mudabirai lends three minas of silver, misu^ to Si-'kitri
and another, a7ia puhi. Interest to be at 12J per cent.
Dated the i8th of Simanu, the Eponomy being omitted.
The tablet seems to have been carelessly written and is now
badly defaced.
The Eponomy is omitted unless we are to reckon what appears
as the first witness as his name. That name is certainly not the
name of an Eponym in the lists.
The names are all unfamiliar and hardly any certain.
In line i, we have a compound of Si', the Mesopotamian form of
Sin, and a comparison with the names in the Census of Harran
shews that we are probably to read Si'-kitri.
In line 2, the first sign may be AN., ba^ la, or ?ta, then comes
sur-sii, or suh. Hence I think we may read Nasuh, a divinity
common in Harran names. But after the hi the tablet clearly has
two small verticals. Why they are here, unless to mark off suh from
the next sign, I cannot tell. The lu is very doubtful ; it may be ku,
ki, or kil, and there may have been more signs on the edge.
Mudabirai may be a gentilic name and is fairly certain.
Zubi-sidki is clearly a compound of the name of Sedek, or the
Aramaic p"iv, with the element Zubi. For Zubi compare ^a^^ato?,
in the Palmyrene inscriptions. Is it possible to compare the Hebrew,
^'^'\^ ?
The next witness may have been called Balatia, but that is an
unusual name.
The name Sara-ili, or Saran is curious : but on K 947 we also
have Sarani, the name of an Erechite, and in 83— 1-18, 695, App. 3,
III. 15, a specimen name is given as Sara-an.
In the next line, we may again read Nasuh, followed by two
small verticals, the meaning of which is not clear. In place of a7?iel
we may read / or tur. After the doubtful l?a may be another ba ; on
the whole I am incHned to think the name was Nasuh-iababa. The
element iababa occurs in the Harran names.
In the last name, Al is certain, ilu or AN may be na, and we
have suh again, with its two little verticals. The da may be //, mil.
Now the names Al-Nashu-milki, and Al-Si'-milki occur in the Harran
Census, and I therefore incline to think this name is really Al-Nashu-
milki.
44 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The Catalogue, p. 2001, merely put this among the 'private
contracts.'
412. No. 7. Complete. Brown.
Ardi-Marduk lends Ardi-Istar half a mina of silver,
ana puhi. Interest at 25 per cent. Dated the 22nd or
23rd of Ululu B.C. 648 (?). Five witnesses.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 96.
The tablet was crumpled up after being inscribed, so that the
wedges are distorted and bent in all directions. I give what seem to
me the most likely readings.
The name Basadu, in reverse, line 3, can hardly be right. Basa
may be read Ikisa, but what the sign like du was meant for, I am not
able to decide.
The Catalogue p. 2001, simply puts this among the 'private
contracts.'
413. No. 8. The reverse is lost : otherwise complete. Brown.
Mannuki-Arbaili lends Ahuni, of Kar-Belit, twenty
shekels of silver. In Aaru, in the midst of the month
Aaru, he shall give the money in full {ana kakkadtsu) \
if he do not give it (back then), it shall bear interest at
25 per cent.
Dated the first of Aaru, b.c. 673. Two witnesses preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this 'an acknowledgement of debt.'
The lender is the same as in no. 40 : where he also lends money
belonging to Istar.
Some account of this frequently occurring personage may be
given here.
A slave of this name, son of Ahu-iau, was sold, by Zakuri and
another, to Bahianu who appears so often as advancing corn, no. 176.
In K 7334 M is connected with corn.
It appears that Bahianu at once freed M; no. 176. This was
B.C. 700. In B.C. 693 he witnessed a sale of some property of
Bahianu's ; no. 491. In B.C. 687, in Addaru, he witnessed a loan by
Dumuka, no. 17; on the i8th of Te^ritu, he lent one mina twenty
shekels of silver to Ardiarkia ; no. 100. On the 20th of the same
month he borrowed a sum of bronze from Sepa-Adadi, no. 43 ; and,
in Tebetu, he sold some fields to Ribate, no. 624. In i5.c. 680, as
rah kisjr, he bought a vineyard for thirty-one shekels of silver ; in
Aaru, no. 360, in Simanu, witnessed a loan, and in Du'uzu, bought
another vineyard ; no. 359. Next year, in Sabatu, he lent some
AND DOCUMENTS. 45
grain (?), no. 150 ; in Simanii, appears as a witness, nos. 83, 84 ; and,
in Tisritu, bought a garden in Nineveh, no. 364. In h.c. 675, he
lent Samas-ahe-salhm, two talents of bronze, no. 40. Next year he
obtained a legal decision against Belnasir and (labbu-Adadi, no. 167.
In H.c. 673, he lent Ahilni, as above, twenty shekels of silver, no. 8.
In B.C. 668, he sold his sister Bilikutu, for a mina and a half of silver,
to Sarpi the sakififu, no. 208. Next year as amel sa si... he appears
as a witness, no. 204. Here the Eponym Canon deserts us. In
B.C. 663 (?), as a rakbu^ he is one of the sellers of the 'city' Dannai,
to Rimani-Adadi, no. 470. In Ep. B, as rakbu sa sepd^ he appears
as witness, no. 207. In Ep. 1), he borrows ten shekels of silver of
Bel-lubalat, nos. 38, 39. The rakbu of these last dates may be
another person : but M. was already a mar sipri in B.C. 679, no. 83.
It is difficult to doubt that we are dealing with the same man all
through. He appears as a seller, in no. 493, and as a witness in
nos. 406, 590, 602, at dates which probably lie within the limits
B.C. 700 — 660. He is named in letters also; K 1953, in connection
with Kalah, 81-2-4, 5° by Nabu-bani-ahe, writing to the King along
with Ardi-Nabu, and in K 13006 appears as writer to the King
himself. His period of active business life seems to be about five
and thirty years, and if Ep. B and Ep. D are put soon after the close
of Canon we need not exceed that figure.
The money was lent in Tebetu and was to be returned in the
' midst ' of Aaru, that is, four whole months were allowed. The phrase
i?ia libbi may mean simply ' in ' Aaru : it is hardly likely to mean ' by
the middle of.' So perhaps the loan was for five months.
Ahiini is a very common name and calls for no remark. The
name of the Eponym is probably to be read Adar-ili, where Adru is a
by-form of idru., ' help,' an element common especially in the
Aramaic names. That adru is the same as idru is shewn by the
name Adria, of which a variant is Idria. Adar w^ould be the
construct case of adric^ and the name would mean ' the help of
God.'
Meli-Zaza seems to contain the Kassite element Meli, seen in
Meli-Sihu, and perhaps shews Zaza to have been a Kassite divinity.
414. No. 9. Complete. Slate grey.
Bel-lamur lends a mina and a half, royal standard, to
Sukkai. He shall return the money in Tebetu (two
months' time), or pay interest at 25 per cent. Dated the
20th of Arah-samna b.c, 686. Seven witnesses.
46 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Published by Bezold, Cat. p. 17 15.
In line i, Bezold gives bar^\ in place of i?ia I 2l?, it must be
read.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an ' acknowledgement of debt.'
415. No. 10. The left half perhaps. A pinkish drab.
Se. . . lends fifteen minas to Se... and Ki... ana piihi.
Interest at 25 per cent. Dated in Sabatu, limmu Ki....
Five witnesses.
Too little is preserved for any successful restorations to be made.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts it among the 'private contracts.'
416. No. II. Nearly complete. Brown.
Dannai lends, perhaps thirty-eight shekels of silver,
to Lakipu. He shall repay it on the 20th of Du'tlzu, or
pay interest at 2 5 per cent. Dated the 4th of Simanu
B.C. 676. Six witnesses.
The loan was for one month and sixteen days.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 92.
Extracts are given S. A. F. 8499.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts it among the 'acknowledgements
of debt'
The name of the lender Dannai could also be read Labnai. He
appears again, as a lender, on no. 118, in B.C. 673; as witness and
mukil apdti, on no. 284, in B.C. 668; as a buyer, on no. 178, in
Ep. H' ; and as neighbour, on no. 439. Perhaps he is the same as
Dannia, a lender, on no. 117, in b.c. 674.
417. No. "12 is considerably damaged and not enough is left to
determine its nature exactly.
Some one, possibly a bel pahdti, lends money, to
...upahhiri perhaps. It is to be repaid, in the month of
TiS^ritu: if not paid then, interest will be charged at 25
per cent. Dated perhaps in B.C. 660. Three witnesses
preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts it simply among the 'private
contracts.'
The colour is chocolate brown, shading off to a slate grey.
The name in line 3, may end in ilu-Jiuri, but it is impossible to
say how it may read. What the names on the reverse involve it is
hard to see. Possibly we have there to do with persons who acted
as guarantees. The name Bidada is not otherwise known to me. I
think the preposition, in line 4, may be ina^ but J^AP'xs possible.
AND DOCUMENTS. 47
Possibly the edge line contains the remains of the Eponym's
name, Gir-Zapunu.
418. No. 13. Only pieces preserved. Pink to buff.
I^tar-Babi-erba lends ten shekels to Istar-tariba, Sum-
mu-ili, and Rimut-Istar, on the first of Tisritu they shall
repay the money in full, ana kakkadihi. If not, interest
is to be charged at 25 per cent. Date gone. Perhaps
five witnesses.
What the beginning of reverse was about I cannot see. From
line 4 one may perhaps gather that the scribe repeated part of
obverse and then erased it. This part is all but illegible. In line 5
of obverse, in place of ^/w-z// perhaps A^/6^/A^ (Briinnow's no. 10328)
is meant.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, enters it as an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
419. No. 14. Lower portion. Grey colour.
A sum of money is lent, on condition that if not
repaid at a specified time, interest shall accrue at 25 per
cent. Dated the 26th of Nisan B.C. 672. Two witnesses
preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 b, puts it among the 'private contracts.'
420. No. 15. Complete. Light brown.
Silim-Asur lends three minas and a half of silver,
Carchemish standard, to Marduk-erba. On the first of
Abu he shall repay the loan, if not his debt shall in-
crease by half a shekel. Dated the 29th of Simanu
B.C. 672. Five witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 93, and Budge, H. E. p. 13.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 608, 1139, 1558, 401 1, 5040, 5 151
57305 5764, 5909. 6675, 7442.
The loan was for a full month. The interest was probably to be
half a shekel per mina per month.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
The personality of Silim-Asur is very distinct. In B.C. 680 he
lent ten minas of silver and 120 homers of barley to two men,
no. 113. Next year, in Simanu, he lent a mina of silver, Carchemish,
to Ardi-Istar, taking six homers of land in dl Ilatat, in exchange as
a pledge, nos. 83, 84 ; and, in Addaru, he bought a slave of Bel-eres
for thirty shekels of silver, no. 186. In B.C. 674, in Aaru, he lent
48 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
five homers of wine, no. 126 ; in Addaru, again, he lent five homers
of wine, no. 124. In B.C. 672, as above. In b.c. 671, he advanced
one mina of silver, Carchemish, the capital of Istar of Arbela, no. 41.
Next year he appears as a creditor, no. 99, in Aaru ; in Tisritu, he
advances twelve minas of silver, property of Istar of Arbela, no. 44 ;
and, in Addaru, appears as witness to one of Rimani-Adadi's
purchases. He is now probably sukallu dannu. As a witness,
in B.C. 663, no. 470, as sukallu dannu ; in B.C. 660 (?), probably with
same title, nos. 444, 445 ; in Ep. Y, as witness and rakbu (no. 151).
At other times he appears as buyer and saknu, no. 629 ; as witness
and sukallu dannu, no. 433; as buyer, no. 227; and, as Eponym,
perhaps B.C. 659. In Ep. W his sons appear to take up his role of
advancing money, on behalf of Istar of Arbela, no. 88. Of cours'e
there is no proof whatever that all these references belong to the
same Silim-Asur : but it is likely enough they do. The same names
occur as his witnesses from time to time, or as co-witnesses with him.
Thus, for example, in Ep. Y a co-witness is Kurdi-Adadi, who
witnessed for him in B.C. 679. See further in Tables of Witnesses
under Silim-Asur and Rimani-Adadi.
If we conclude it is the same person all through, Ep. Y must
come before B.C. 659.
The name of the witness, in line i of reverse, Kadamu, is a
peculiar one.
In line 5, the name spelt Tab-IR-a-a, is of course to be read
Tabalai, ' the man from Tabal : ' but the use is rare. Compare,
however, A. L^ p. 29, note 22,
421. No. 16. Complete. Red brown.
Kitri lends eight shekels of silver to Sarru-na'id, son of
Nergal-nasir. He shall pay the money on the first of
Simanu, or shall be charged half a shekel more. Dated
the iith of Aaru, Ep. O. Four witnesses.
The text is published in. R. 47, no. 4.
Extracts are given, ^. A. V. 4822, 6342, 7379, 7442, 8083.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 99.
It is described in the Guide to Kouyunjik Gallery, p. 177, no. 55.
A transliteration and translation of the text are given by Oppert,
Doc. Jur. p. 231.
In line 2, Oppert reads the name Ki-sa-ri-i ; I read Kitri, with
Strassmaicr.
In rev. 4, he reads the name Amar-yum-ili ; I prefer RimOt-ilani.
AND DOCUMENTS. 49
Oppert observes that tliis is a debt, payable after twenty days,
II til Aaru to ist Simanu, with a fine in case of non-payment.
I entirely agree with that estimate. He notes that the signature of
the debtor is not sufficient, it is authenticated by the witnesses ; this
however was always the case, even when the debtor affixed his seal,
which here he has not done. I rather question what the Professor
meant by 'signature.' As there is not a seal, does he think Sarru-
na'id wrote his name? He certainly did not, unless he wrote the
whole document. No one wrote anything here, nor on any Assyrian
contract, save the scribe who wrote it all.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, C. 3 f., calls this a Dariehensurkunde, ohne
7iahcre Angabe7i. On p. 158 Anm. he says that there seems to be
' ei7ie Com)e7itionalpdn 171 Gestalt €t7ies Zi7ises ' : and refers to Kohler,
A. B. R. p. 209 f.
In the Catalogue, p. 2000 b, this is entered as an 'acknowledge-
ment of debt.'
The witness, w^hose name appears, on the edge line, as Hubasate,
is the same as Ahu-baste in no. 115, Ahu-basate, in no. 150,
Ahi-bastu, in no. 52, and Habaste in no. 425.
422. No. 17. Complete. Red-brown.
Dilmukai lends five and a half minas of silver, to
Balasti, Silai, Atgi-ilu, Nabu-sezib, Tamdi-ilu and la-akie.
They shall repay it in Aaru, if not they shall pay interest
at the rate of five shekels per mina per month. Dated, the
25th of Addaru, B.C. 687. Five witnesses.
The loan was for a little over a month : say a month to five weeks.
The interest amounts to 100 per cent, per a7i7ium.
The name of the witness, in rev. line 2, is best read Addi-idri,
' Addu is my help.' The sign on the original looks more like ad
than ab^ though it is not easy to be certain. A name Abdi-idri is
perhaps possible, but less likely. The name is probably the same as
Hadad-ezer.
In the Catalogue, p. 2000b, this is entered among the 'acknow-
ledgements of debt.'
423. No. 18. Left-hand portion. Light brown.
Mannuki... lends twelve and a half minas of silver, to
Bel... He shall repay it in Tisritu, or interest will be
charged. Dated the 9th of Ululu, in the Eponymy of
Nergal...Five witnesses.
Here no rate of interest is named ; the interest was probably a threat.
J. III. A
50 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Entered in the Catalogue, p. 2000b, as an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
The name in line 3, begins with NUN, not ilu, and was therefore
Silli-Bel and there was no more written on this line, for a space of
at least three characters.
In the date, the number of the day is certainly 12, not 6, as
I give. The date was given as 3, in the Catalogue. The name of
the Eponym probably began with U-GUR, i.e. Nergal, and the
only likely date therefore is B.C. 678.
424. No. 19. Complete. Black to grey.
Summu-ilani lends six (?) minas and ten shekels of
silver to Bel-asarid. It shall bear interest at 25 per cent.
Dated the loth of Nisanu, b.c. 684. Five witnesses.
The text is published in. R. 47, no. 7.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 91, and Hist. Sennacherib, p. 20.
Extracts are given in S. A. V. 4944, 5058.
It is transliterated and translated by Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 181 :
and again by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 118.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, B. 5, calls it a Darlehensurkunde, ohne
vertragsmdssige Zinsbestim7nu?ig.
In line 2, Oppert reads Sum-mu-elani : Peiser has rightly Sum-
mu-ila-ni.
In line 3, Oppert reads the name Bel-ris-tan, Peiser rightly
Bel-a^aridu.
In line 4, Oppert reads IV-su, Peiser rightly ribu-tu-su.
In line 5, Oppert reads the name Sin-zir-bani, Peiser rightly
Sin-zer-ibni.
In line 6, Oppert reads gur-bu-ti\ Peiser adopts as I do, Delitzsch's
reading mutir puti.
In line 7, Oppert reads ABA as milu and renders by '' m agister^ :
Peiser reads it aba, as I do, and renders ' Secret dr.' I should prefer
'scribe' or 'notary.'
In line 9, Oppert reads Nabu-ilmad-a-ni, Peiser rightly Nabu-ili'-a-ni.
Oppert sees nothing to remark except the amount of the loan, which
he reckons to be 1387 fr. 50. He adds that the name of the lender
may be read Nabas-sum-ilani.
In line 2, for 771a in. R. has mu rightly. I now see that it is inu
clearly.
In line 4, in place of sa = IV, in. R. has sa^-IV-. I cannot feel
certain which it is, there seem to be two wedges below but also three
AND DOCUMENTS. 51
above. Either the scribe's style slipped down, or up, and we must
neglect one of the five apparent wedges, unless we are ready to admit
interest at 20 per cent. here. It would be unique in these documents.
The form of ub or ar in the Eponym's name, which Bezold gives
Cat. p. 86, is not so pronounced. The vertical wedge which he
omits is there.
In the Catalogue, this is entered as *an acknowledgement of
debt,' p. 2000 b.
425. No. 20. Nearly complete. Brown.
A duplicate of last save that the scribe appears to have written
three minas in place of six. Perhaps one is an error. The principals
are the same and the wording is exactly the same : except certain
small additions. The witnesses are the same, with one addition.
Summu-ilani lends three minas and ten shekels of silver
{kakkadu) to Bel-asarid ana puhi. Interest at 2^ per cent.
Dated, probably same time. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted Ep, Ca?i. p. 91 and Hist. Sennach. p. 20.
G. Smith evidently recognised this as a duplicate of no. 19.
Peiser published a transliteration and translation K. B. iv. p. 118.
In line i, he restores \_di-ri\ii^) at beginning of line. Such a
beginning is without parallel. If it were a legal decision it would
begin with dietiic not di?ii\ and the diction is entirely unlike a legal
decision: see nos. 160 ff.
In line 8, Peiser gives Nabtl-bel-usur, for Nabu-ahu-usur of line 6
in no. 19. In his note 7 there he questioned his reading BAB and
suggested it should be BI to agree with his reading here. I think it
is BAB., in both places.
A comparison of these duplicates gives some interesting results.
Line i shews that kakkadu may be meant, when it is not expressed :
this is in favour of its meaning nothing more than 'capital,' as
opposed to interest. Line 3 shews that the phrase ana puhi ittisi
may be omitted without loss of meaning to Assyrian lawyers. Hence
it must denote a form of loan, which would be understood, even
when not expressly defined. Line 4 compared with line 5 of no. 19
shews that the a7nel III su is the same as a??iel III HU-SI. There
is therefore no necessity to leave this latter as an ideogram, but we
may read both amel salsu. Line 5 compared with line 6 of no. 19
shews that the amel GUR-ZAK is the same as the amel GUR-pu-ii
as was suggested by Delitzsch, B. A. S. i. p. 203. Bezold, Cata.
p. 1429, thinks a sort of 'priest' was meant: but Delitzsch decides
52 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
for an official whose original office was that of ' sentinel ' or ' body-
guard.' He seems, however, to have had other functions.
In my edition I have given SE-via in line 2, for TAK-mu,
probably through a reminiscence of the duplicate. In line 3, the
tablet has clearly BAR in place of SAK-DAN, of course also to be
read asarid. At the end of line 5, the scribe has written clearly
A-ZU^ instead of the aba^ of line 7 in no. 19. Whether this was a
slip of his, or whether the same man was both 'scribe' and 'physician,'
is not easy to decide.
In the Catalogue, this is entered as a 'legal decision,' p. 2001 a.
426. No. 21. Complete. Light brown.
Nabtl-rimani lends five shekels of silver to Nadinu.
Interest at 25 per ce?it. Dated, the 5th of Tisritu,
B.C. 682. Four witnesses.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 91 and Hist. Sennacherib^ p. 21.
Perhaps the whole of the line on bottom edge was meant to be
erased, or the erasure of the first words is an accidental injury to the
tablet.
The reading of the name in rev. 3, I take to be Nabd-tursani. The
sign LAL is an ideogram for tardsu, and its compounds. The next
name is puzzling, Kinti-Bel is possible, Kitibe very unlikely. The
KI here, as in rev. 2 of no. 22, is very like KAB, and Kabti-Bel
would be a very usual form.
In the Catalogue, p. 2001b, this is entered as a 'private contract.'
427. No. 22. Complete. Black.
Ultilai and Au-ba'di lend Sansuru, the son of Sin-na'id,
fifteen shekels of silver. Interest 25 per cent. Dated in
Simanu, Ep. a. Four witnesses.
The text is published in. R. 47, no. 3.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 100.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 6710, 7 181: Sayce, Hibbert Lectures^
p. 109 footnote.
A transliteration and translation are given by Oppert, Doc. Jur.
p. 239 f. : and by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 156.
In line 3, Oppert reads the name Uu-na'di, Peiser rightly Au-ba'di.
That Au is to be read Ilu is not known to me from any source : but
Oppert probably considered Au as the equivalent of EL According
to my collation it is ba^ not na : ba^di I consider is to be compared
with bidi in the name Ilu-bidi &c. In my edition, 1 omitted AN
before A-u, which is now clear on the tablet. On lower edge 3, the
AND nOCUMKNTS. 53
name of tlic Eponym is cither Bar-ku-rtm-an-ni or AA/'-K'U'-nm-dn-nl.
Oppert gives Ninip-takkil-ani. Peiser reads as I do. AN-KU is
given by Hriinnow, Sign List, as Marduk. Tlie name Marduk-
rimanni does very well : on the other hand Barku-rimanni would
give us an otherwise unknown god liarku. He is said to be saknu
of III KAK-ZI: this I believe to be the same place as Tezi, which
I take to be its phonetic spelling. It was near Nineveh.
In rev. 2, Oppert reads Ki-bi-ilani, following 111. R. Peiser very
plausibly emends to Kisur-ilani. I read Kab-ti-ilani : but the sign is
very likely KI.
In rev. 3, Oppert reads Sa-ka-ya-an, Peiser Sa-ka-a-ilu : a com-
parison of other places leads me to read it Sakan.
In rev. 5, both Oppert and Peiser have Bel-Malik, I do not think
this ilu-a-a is ever to be read Malik but simply ilai: as it changes
with /// and ildni. The BE which they have read Bel may be Ea
as Hilprecht maintains.
In obv. 5, I have omitted AN before XXX^ the tablet now
shews it clearly.
Oppert calls the transaction : ' Crea?ice portant interet.^
Peiser calls it ^ Schuldschein mit Zinsza/ilwigJ
It is noticeable that the money lent was the property of two men.
In the Catalogue, this is entered as an 'acknowledgement of
debt,' p. 2000 b.
428. No. 23. Complete. Brown.
Kisir-Asur lends eight shekels of silver to Nargi, son
of Samas-na'id, from the city Anatu. Interest 2^ per ce7it.
Dated, the 21st of Tisritu, Ep. F. Four witnesses.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 98.
In line 3, the name has been read Lip-gi-i but I prefer Nargi.
The sign LIP has the value NAR : and I compare the names
Nergi and Naragi which I believe to be the same. The reading of
the city name as Anatu is quite conjectural, it is spelt TIS-UD \
but as a?taku is often written TIS-KU I think this is admissible.
The city Anat occurs i. R. 23, 15 as situated on the river Euphrates.
It occurs again in no. 385 as near the town Sa-sillai.
In the Catalogue, p. 2001 b, this is entered as a 'private contract.'
429. No. 24. Complete. Dark brown.
Imsai lends Zabinu, the rakbu of the rab mugi, a mina
of silver, Carchemish standard. Interest 25 per cent.
Dated, the 9th of Du'uzu, B.C. 645? Five witnesses.
54 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
This is the inner tablet of which the next number is the envelope.
In rev. 4, there are two signs at the end of the line, clearly amel
SAK, and more may have been written, see the duplicate. On the
edge, line 2, as in the duplicate, LUH is written like NUN-U^
which can hardly be intended.
In the Catalogue, p. 2001 b, this tablet and its duplicate are
entered as 'acknowledgements of debt.'
430. No. 25. The upper right-hand portion of an outer tablet
or envelope. Light brown.
The same text as the preceding with slight changes.
The text of this tablet is published C. I. S. Pars II. t. i. p. 35 f. :
with restorations from the last. The date is lost. There were five
witnesses.
This text adds the title saku of Kumuh to the name of the third
witness : the names of the first two witnesses on the last tablet are
lost here. The last tablet gives Nashu-aali and Ahull as LUH-MES
or sukalle, this gives them as sukalle of Niribi.
This text adds two more names, Harranai and Nabti-rihtu-usur,
the aba.
It is noteworthy that names compounded with Nashu are
common in the neighbourhood of Harran. The name is written
Na-as-hu : or Na-suh. The text as given by Pinches in C. I. S,
has hu and I read it so in every case. In J. R. A. S., 1898, p. 897,
Mr Pinches says " My copy has Nasri " : a very tempting reading,
but never I think on the documents : compare the names in no. 6.
Mr Pinches' restorations of this text I adopt as a whole.
Between lines i and 2 of rev. may have been the names of
Istar-dljri and Indti omitted in my text. In line 2, I do not think
anything followed sak : but in line 4 there was room for more.
C. I. S. reads Bab-li-i for Ahu-li ; it is possible, but not likely.
In line 6 of rev. C. /. 6". gives an unknown sign for LUH:
and omits to render the sukalle sa niribi altogether. The aba is
again rendered by praeses.
The Aramaic inscription is very perfect and reads n NDD3 niJX
pT 'py, that is, ' the acknowledgement of the money lent to Zabinu.'
This leaves no doubt whatever that Zabinu was the borrower.
Further it excludes the possible reading of the cuneiform spelling
of the name as Sabinu. ,
431. No. 26. Complete. Light brown.
Sangd-Istar lends one mina of silver, Carchemish, to
AND DOCUMENTS. 55
Adunaizi, who is in charge of his reapers. The money
shall bear interest at 25 per ce?it. Dated, the 21st of
Tisritu, B.C. 680. Six witnesses.
This is a duplicate of no. 3, and would have been placed next it,
but for its variations in style being greater than others which are
numbered before it. The persons named as parties are the same,
the amount is the same, the rate of interest the same, the date the
same and three witnesses are common. The tablets are as much
duplicates as most inner tablets are of their envelope. There are
however noteworthy differences.
In no. 3 the money w^as lent ana puhi-. this is omitted in no. 26 :
but here the specification of the borrower as sakil esiddni-su^ ' the
one who has charge of his reapers,' offers us some food for reflection.
His reapers, a man would not be represented as * caring for his own
reapers ' : they must be the reapers of Sangu-Istar. He then paid
out this mina of silver to Adunaizi, who was his bailiff, or at any
rate in charge of the harvest operations. This was lent at the
beginning of October : perhaps the harvest was got in and he had
to pay hire for the labourers. Even if we have the courage to
assert that Adunaizi borrowed the money to take care of his own
reapers, the phrase sakil esidani-su could not so be rendered : and
would be an unneeded and awkw^ard way of expressing the fact.
We must I think admit that to pay hired labourers w^as one of the
purposes covered by ana ptihi. That is why I render it ' for
administration': what we should call 'management expenses.'
The name of the borrower in no. 3 is Adunaiz : and here it is
given as Adunaizi, variant of Adunaiz. Mr Pinches, J. R. A. S.
1898, p. 896, thinks that one part of this name is Adonai, the
well-known Hebrew W'Ord for 'lord.' According to Moore's rule
that 'in names compounded w'ith xA.d6n the second name is uni-
formly the name of a god,' we should find a god Izi or Izu here.
The names compounded with Adunu in Assyrian do not all support
the rule: for example we have Adunu-apla-iddin, 'Adunai has
given a son ' ; Aduni-turi, ' A. is my fortress ' ; Aduniha, ' A. is
alive (?).'
These shew that Adunu is the proper name of a god : and does
not simply mean 'lord.' The compounds of Adunu are probably
Phoenician names : and in Phoenicia we may seek for the name
Aduna-izi. It is scarcely likely to be a Semitic rendering of the
Greek Adonis, pointing to a Greek already in service in Nineveh.
56 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
I do not think, with Mr Pinches^ that Bel-iz is the same name :
IS at the end of names is very commonly read lisir^ and I have
never found an instance where it may not be so read. So I read
Bel-ZS as Bel-lisir.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, enters this as an 'acknowledgement
of debt.'
In line 4, the name of the office seems at first to be written
sa MUT-KJN-TI-su, but that is quite unknown to me, though
some one else may make something of it. I believe the signs were
meant for what I give.
432. No. 27. Complete. Red-brown.
Nergal-sar-usur lends five minas of silver, Carchemish
standard, to Nabu-sum-iddin, son of Nabu-raim-napisti,
the aba of the bel pahdii of Dlir-Sargon. Interest five
shekels (per mina) per month. Dated, the 26th of Aaru,
B.C. 667. Eight witnesses.
The text is published, iii. R. 47, no. 9.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 7927, 8080.
A translation by Sayce was given, Rec. Past., i. p. i38f.
A transliteration and translation was given by Oppert, Doc. Jur.
p. 193 ff. : and by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 134 f.
In line i, the first sign is best read 5.
In line 2, Oppert renders sa by quas., but he has no verb to
govern the accusative. I take it sa is here to be rendered ' of,'
' belonging to ' : so Peiser, gehorig.
In line 3, Oppert reads the second name as Nabu-madid-napsat,
Peiser has Nabti-ram-napisti. RAM is better read rdim.
In line 4, Oppert has milu for aba and renders magistri, Peiser
as usual Secretdr.
In rev. 4, Oppert has milu for aba again, but now renders ^ doctor^
and '■chef.'
In rev. 5, Oppert read the office gur{zak), but gave no rendering.
Peiser rightly 7?iutir putt, and Tliiirsteher.
In rev. line 6, in. R. gives amcl gab which Oppert left un-
translated, Peiser rightly gives amcl MU but leaves untranslated.
It probably denotes a ' baker.'
On the whole text Oppert merely remarks the high rate of
interest: he makes this 25 per cent. I think however that the rate
is 5 shekels per mina per month or 100 per cent, per annum. Oppert
AND DOCUMENTS. 57
reckons the four minas as worth 900 fr. and the five shekels as worth
19 fr. nearly.
On line 1 of reverse, Peiser has the note 2 pati abgekiirzt fi'ir
SU-pati\ which is clearly correct. It is one of the ways of writing
apati'. on the tablet the II is not very clear and Strassmair, 7297,
seems to have thought it might be a. The balance of evidence
makes for the II which in. R., Peiser and I give. R. E. i Peiser
read sar for mat.
Oppert calls the transaction Creance portant inieret^ Peiser calls
it Schuldschei)i 77iit Zi?iszahlimg. Bezold, Lit. p. 156, 11. A. i, calls
this Dar/ehensurkunde mit vertragsfudssiger Zi?isbestimmung. The
Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an 'acknowledgement of debt.'
The father of our borrower was a witness B.C. 700 ; this is
probably the son's first appearance in business matters. It is not
likely he w'as the often occurring writer about horses.
In line 4 before dl and after bcl pahdti read sd.
In rev. 3, sarru is written exactly like the in before it.
In lower edge of rev. read sarru^ i.e. MAN 'vi\ place of MAT:
i.e. Sin-sarr-ihii.
433. No. 28. Complete. Red-brow^n.
Aplia lends Sukai three minas of silver, Carchemish
standard. The interest shall be six shekels per month
(on a mina). Dated, the 2nd of Abtl, b.c. 686. Five
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca7i. p. 90, and Hist. Sefinacherib, p. 18.
It is described in the Guide to the Kouyunjik Gallery., p. 177,
no. 56.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 6802, 9064.
The rate of interest is 120 per cent, per annu7?i: unless the six
shekels are the full interest per month, when it would be only
20 per ce7it.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
434. No. 29. Complete. Brown.
Bahianu lends Kabti-ilani seven minas of bronze. It
shall increase one half mina. Dated in the Eponymy of
Iddinahe, b.c. 693 or b.c. 688. Three witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89, and Hist. Sen7iacherib,
p. 16.
It is described in the Guide to the Kouyu7tjik Gallery, p. 178, no. 61.
58 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
/ The lender Bahianu is a most interesting person. He was for
a long time concerned with advances of corn to various parties
under conditions which will be considered later in dealing with the
corn tablets. The name occurs in Asurnasirpal's account of his
conquests of the Hatti. He may therefore have been a Hittite.
On the contrary a name ending in -anu points by analogy to some
place Bahi or Bahia. The Hittite king Bahianu may not have been
a real Hittite. The name strikes me as having a Semitic or
Semitised style about it. The Bahianu who figures so largely on
the corn tablets was active in business from B.C. 704 to B.C. 667.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, calls this a 'private contract.'
The name of the borrower, in line 3, is what I believe to be
intended also in no. 22, rev. 2, and here the Kab is quite plain.
435. No. 30. Complete. Slate grey.
Summu-ilani lends some money to NinClai. The in-
terest is to be two shekels per month. Dated, the 4th of
Ti^ritu, B.C. 681. Five witnesses.
The tablet is partly defaced. Nothing legible is left of the first line.
Line 4, now that the tablet is clean, shews no sign of su after arhi.
Line 2 of B. E. The signs look like Ha-lal-lal-ba-ia : perhaps to
be read Halabaia.
Line 2 of Rev. the name may be Hu-za-nu, but the sign za looks
like a. After repeated collation, I am of opinion that the two signs
given doubtfully as A-nu^ are really the remains of gu. The name
therefore must be Baggubasu.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, calls this a 'private contract.'
The name in line i, of reverse, reads Illu-uknu, which suggests
' bright gem,' uknu being the Assyrian name for the lapis lazuli.
But it is more likely to be an attempt to give a significant form to a
foreign name, possibly Illugnu. We may compare the name Apli-
uknu, which might mean, ' my son is a gem,' but of which the variant
Abalu-kunu points to an attempt to render a foreign name. The
owner of the latter name was an Armenian, or Gimirrai (?), and
perhaps was really called Ablugnu. Our name may point to the
same nationality. See H. A. B. L. p. 139, cp. p. 395.
436. No. 31. Complete. Brown.
Bahianu lends ten minas of bronze to Bel-lisir. He is
to repay it on the twenty-first of Nisan. If not, it shall
increase at the rate of too pe7' cent, per annum. Dated,
the 3rd of Kislimu, B.C. 695. Four witnesses.
AND norUMKNTS. 59
The date is (luolid, Hist, of Sennacherib^ \). 15. liezold gives the
date H.c. 773 (?) l>ul that cannot be right. IJahianu, as we shall
see later, lived h.c. 707 - 667. Bel-lisir the borrower occurs also
in H.c. 688. The sign which 1 read Nisanu is very oddly made, and
may really be KAA\ i.e. Kislimu, written over another sign. 'Inhere
is certainly one vertical, but also four horizontals at the beginning of
the sign.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 5076, 5389, 8499.
In the sign given as KAN, on the edge line, there is certainly
one vertical.
Mithar in line 6 means 'all,' ana mithar \\\Q.2,rvi to its entirety. It
has been suggested above that it could mean at market rate: but
this is only a guess. No certainty, however, can be reached till we
find some receipt for a sum with its interest, which had been lent on
this condition.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 a, calls this simply a 'private contract.'
437. No. 32. Complete. Slate grey.
Sinsarusur, the sanii, lends tw^o minas of silver {kak-
kadu) to Ah{isu. Four shekels per mina, per month,
shall be the interest on one mina, the second shall not
bear interest. Dated, the 12th or 22nd of some month
B.C. 693 or 688. Six witnesses.
The peculiarity about this seems to be that one half the sum
bears interest at 80 per cent., the other half bears none. It seems
impossible to take saniu as meaning anything else than ' second,'
'other one.'
If this be so, then in some sense the lender was bound to advance
one mina for some time, not specified, without interest, but apparently
he was not bound to advance more than one. As I maintain, he
advanced a mina to meet expenses for which he was ultimately
responsible, but which Ahusu was to disburse for him, as some sort
of steward. Then when the business was at an end, the steward
would render his account and, after repaying the cash advanced as
capital, would proceed to the agreed division of profits ; or payment
of rent, or whatever his actual position demanded. In addition to
what he was fairly entitled by custom to demand, as an advance for
expenses of management ; he borrowed, in the ordinary way of
business, as much again, for which he paid interest. The exorbitant
rate of that interest may be due to his subordinate position. His
credit may not have been good.
/
6o ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In line 2, the title at the end of the line, instead of sanu, we
should read SA or GAR, followed by mi, i.e. sahiu.
In line 6, there is space for one or two characters before / manii,
and perhaps the text read sa 2 mane sanin, i.e. ' of the two minas the
second.'
In reverse 2, the sign ER is now completely clear, and of Isdi^
three horizontals are quite certain.
In reverse 4, the name began with AS-SUR, there are no longer
any traces of MAS, nor of SI. The name may have been Asur-
usabsi. In the same line, the title is now clearly the same as in
line 2 of obverse, i.e. saknu.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an 'acknowledgement of debt.'
438. No. 33. Complete. Light brown, or drab.
Nabti-tak-lak lends one mina of silver, royal standard,
said to be iskar of the Queen Mother, to Nergal-ilai. In
Tisritu he shall pay the money to its full amount; if not,
the money shall increase a half mina. Dated, the 28th
of Ululu, B.C. 692. Six witnesses.
The money is said to be the iskar of the king's mother. In no. 2
of the ' Inscribed Babylonian tablets in the possession of Sir Henry
Peek, Bart.' we have a number of clothes, or cloth material, described
as the Hskari of the 14th or 13th years.' Mr Pinches renders by
'presents' and compares the Hebrew 1?P^, 'a gift.' In our case, it
must mean money belonging to the Queen Mother ; in all probability
some ' income ' or allowance of hers. It can hardly have anything to
do with iskar u, ' a fetter.'
On the edge line, the last sign is very likely e, there seem to be
two verticals.
In reverse 4, the second za is oddly written, one short vertical
over three short verticals.
In line 5, there was space for ER before Arba, and the AN is
exactly like ba. The name may be read Arbailu-bel-iddin, but is of
course very doubtful.
In line 6, what I took for // is now clearly ri, spaced somewhat
widely.
On the left-hand edge, line i, the last sign may be ihi. The
name Salame is a singular one, Sala-ili is distinctly more likely, and
there may have been more originally, perhaps Sala-ilai.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an ' acknowledgement of
debt.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 6 1
439. No. 34. Complete. Slatey black.
Suninia-ilani lends thirty shekels of silver, kakkadu^
to Asur-ittia. The money shall increase half a shekel.
Dated, the 13th of Nisanii, i^c. 695. Imvc witnesses.
The date (which Hezold gives without (question) r,.c. 773 is very
unlikely.
In line 7, the title of the witness is now clearly amU IIl-su^
i.e. salsu.
On line 2 of the lower edge, the form of tir is unusual, it seems
to be Babylonian, but even more shortened. The title of course is
7nutir feme, 'a bringer back of news.'
In the date, 12 is probably better than 13.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
440. No. 35. Nearly complete. Brown.
Rimani-Adadi, the mukil apate dajuiu, lends ten minas
of silver, kakkadu, Carchemish standard, to Mannu-ki-
ahi, the sanu of Arbaha,, and Nabti-asarid. They shall
repay the full sum {kakkadu) in Nisanu, or interest will
be charged at 25 per cent. Dated, the 22nd of Tebetu,
B.C. 665. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 5080.
Two clear months and perhaps a fortnight is the period for
which the sum was lent.
In line i of lower edge the lost name was very likely Sa-kan who
often occurs with Barrukku as witness and mukil apati on Rimani-
Adadi's deeds.
In line 4, of obverse, in Rimani-Adadi's name, for a read a}i :
and for /J/, U is possible, though not quite certain.
In line 7, of the name Bar-ru-ku, only part oi ku is now left.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this simply a 'private contract.'
441. No. 36. A small fragment only. Brown to dark grey.
Musallim-Ilu lends four minas (of silver?), kakkadu,
to Daiadi-Ilu. The rest of the body of the document is
lost. Dated, the 8th, i8th, or 28th of some month in
B.C. 685. No names of witnesses are preserved.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 90, and Hist, of Sennacherib,
p. 19.
In line i, what looked like the remains of da is now represented
62 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
by only one vertical. That makes me doubtful, if da was "really written.
Daiadi-ilu is a curious name. Baiadi-ilu is much more likely.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
442. No. 37. Complete. Grey.
Sepit-Istar lends four (?) minas less six shekels, Car-
chemish standard, to Sepa-Asur. Dated, the ist of
Tisritu, B.C. 676. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92.
The amount lent is not fully preserved : the number of minas
ended in four or five. The use of LAL = matu ~ ' less by,' is rather
rare in Assyrian documents ; see § 244.
Instead of I star Ninua, in line i, may now be clearly read sa
Gar-ga-mis.
In line 2, instead of Se^ seems to be hi^ but Hi-pit- 1st ar seems a
curious name.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
443. Nos. 38 and 39 are the inner and outer tablets of a well
preserved case tablet. Only a piece of the outer tablet is gone, but
it does not affect the text.
Bel-lubalat lends ten shekels of silver, kakkadti^ SAK-
MES of Istar of Nineveh, to Mannu-ki-Arbaili ana puhi.
The silver shall bear interest at 25 per cent. On the 3rd of
Sabatu he shall repay the money. Dated the 3rd day of
Sabatu, Ep. D. Nine witnesses on the outer, five on the
inner tablet.
It was translated by Sayce, in Rec. Past, i. p. 138.
The text was published, from the outer tablet, with some variants
from the inner tablet, iii. R. 46, no. 8.
The text is also given, C. /. S. p. 22 : with transliteration and
translation (by Oppert?).
It was transliterated and translated by Oppert, Doc. Jiir. p. 226 f.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 97, and the tablet is described
in the Guide to the Koiiyunjik Gallery, p. 174, no. 41.
In line i, of lower edge of no. 39, in. R. puts kaspu in brackets
apparendy by way of indicating that it is not on the duplicate.
C. I. S. combines the texts, without any indication of the separate
sources.
Oppert, in Doc.Jur., renders kakkadu by verticis, and by depremilre
qualite.
In line 2, he has for ^AK-MES only m, and no Latin rendering:
AND DOCUMENTS. 63
it is uncertain whether au iitre is to be taken as a rendering, or only
a gloss. The sa of line 3 he renders quas and sont la crea?ice de.
In line 4, in a pan is rendered hi facie and siir. In line 7, he reads
^^-^A^by id-diii-na. In rev. line 7 the office (or is it nationality?)
of the witness is given as se-rip-pa-ai. In view of the se-lapa-a-a of
no. 125, R. 3, I read it here as se-lap-pa-a-a. The name of the last
witness, Oppert reads Bel-sad-ilu, I prefer Bel-nat-an.
Oppert calls the transaction ' Ct-cance avcc constitution hypotheque.^
He also points out that the Aramaic docket in rendering Mannu-ki-
Arbaili gives g for ki : as in the Biblical rendering of Tukulti-apil-esarra
by Tiglath-Pileser : and Sarrukin by Sargon. He points out that \
Hatpimunu and Ra'u are Egyptian names.
The translator in C. I. S. also gives ris. . . for SAK-AIES^ but reads
kakkadu or rather qaqqadu : he seems to render kakkadu SAK-MES
by caput principale praesidum (?), evidently taking SAK-MES as sake^
' chiefs.' He takes sa as quas but renders the whole passage as quas
Bel-lubalat a Manjiuki-Arbailo pro niutuo abstulit. That seems to
be reversing the order of things, Alannu-ki-Arbaili is certainly the
borrower. In the rendering of the name Mannu-ki-Arbaili, he
suggests that Arbaili means Istar of Arbela, which is probably right.
I have little to remark. The variants are of small importance,
i-rab-bi for GAL-BI is clear from many other places, and a-na for
ana is common. The loan was for a year, from the 3rd of Sabatu
to the same date next year. Bezold, Lit. p. 157, B. i, calls this a
Darlehensurkunde^ ohne vertragsnidssige Zinsbestimmung.
The Aramaic docket reads 'pmxJDioi' To Mannu-ki-Arbaili
n^nonpn who is before the
NP^Ti palace.
On the left-hand edge of no. 38 are three lines, omitted in my
edition, which read Zer-ukin, Nergal-sar-usur, Hanni.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, reckons this an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
444. No. 40. Complete. Brown.
Mannu-ki-Arbaili lends two talents of bronze, SAK-
MES of Istar of Arbela, to Samas-ahe-sallim. In Abu
he shall return it, if not it shall increase by one-third part.
Dated the iith of Simanu, B.C. 676. Four witnesses.
The text was published, in. R. 47, no. 2.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92, and Budge, Hist. Esarhaddon,
P- 13-
64 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 5909, 7442, 8499,
It was translated by Sayce, Rec, Fast, i. p. 138.
Oppert gave a transliteration and translation, Doc. Jur. p. 187 f.
In line i, he already gave bilat for 'talent': but now he takes
SAK-MES quite differently from p. 226 f. ; he reads it sagriite (ris)
and YQndiers, pur i, pure.
In line 2, iii. R. gave wrongly the sign TIS before Istar : so
Oppert read it a?ia and made Istar-sa-(alu)-Arba-ilu a proper name
apparently ; at any rate, he renders ana by d\
In line 3, sa he renders by quod.
In line 4, he completed the name e-j'ib in place of e-DI\ but as
DI= salamu, I read e as phonetic complement to ahe, and take the
whole name to be Samas-ahe-sallim.
In line 5, he reads id-dan-an and renders debebit. Of course the
an is only a phonetic complement to dan, and the verb is iddan, ' he
shall give,' not ' he will owe.'
In rev. line 6, Oppert reads the name Damik-eni-sar : taking
KA-MES=ent. But as KA = rigmu we may compare the name
Tab-rigimatu-Adadi, and read perhaps better, Damik-rigmati-sarri.
In rev. line 7, he reads the name Nabu-bel-ya; why, unless for
variety, it is hard to see. Nab{ia is common enough in all sorts of
spellings.
Oppert calls the transaction ^ Creance portant interet.^ He says
two talents would weigh about 60 kilogrammes, but declines rightly
to fix a value.
The loan was for about two months.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, B. 3, calls this a Darlehensurkunde, ohne
vertragsmdssige Zinsbestimmung.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this 'an acknowledgement of debt.'
445. No. 41. Complete. Greeny grey.
Silim-Asur lends one mina of silver, Carchemish
standard, SAK-MES of Istar of Arbela, to Zabinai. In
Addaru he shall return one mina and a half. If not,
interest shall be at the rate of two shekels per mina per
month. Dated the 29th of Arahsamna, B.C. 671. Five
witnesses.
As Tebetai seems to have been Eponym also in u.c. 666, there
seems no reason to prefer the date B.C. 671.
I have wrongly given the day in line 8 as 26, it should be 29 as
Bezold gave, Cata. p. 1590.
AND DOCUMENTS. 65
Oppert has given a rendering of this in Z. A. xiii. p. 247. He
remarks that Zabina, as he reads the borrower's name, is that of a
Syrian king, Alexander Zebina n.c. 95. Hence Zabinai is probably
an Aramaic name. On p. 248, Oppert comments on the high rate
of interest, this seems to me superfluous. It was only a penalty, the
likelihood of its ever being exacted was remote.
On reverse, line 3, there seems to have been something written
between Asur and /, but whether it was afterwards erased, or not,
seems very uncertain. The remains look like KAK^ or 7ii. In any
case, it would make the name unusual, while Asur-na'id, is perfectly
regular.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, reckons this an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
446. No. 42. Complete. Slate grey.
Erba-Adadi lends half a mina of silver, kakkadu, of
Istar of Arbela, to Mannu-ki-Asur, ana piihi. Interest at
25 per ce?it. Dated, perhaps the 21st of some month in
B.C. 670. Seven \vitnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 93. It may be the 12th,
or nth.
A transliteration and translation was given by Peiser, K. B.
IV. p. 130 f.
In line 2, he seems to have read GAS AN, Briinnow's 6983,
in place of sd. The character is so rubbed as not to be certain :
his belli is without parallel in these tablets, while my sd occurs
uniformly in this connection.
In line 3, he did not read su before ilu IA1\ the character
appears to be certain.
In line 4, he omits all the name, which, though defaced, seems
to me quite sure.
He omits all line 5 and only gives bi at end of line 6.
The Catalogue gives the wrong number of lines : there are 8 on
obverse, not 7 only.
In line 2 of edge, Peiser read Arad-Istar, I believe this should
be Ardi-Istar.
In rev. line 2, the narhe of the witness I read as Akakua. Peiser
reads II for a and takes it to be sanu. Against his reading is the
fact that no other w^itness has his office given, by itself this is not of
much weight : but the traces look to me more like a.
In rev. line 4, Peiser reads Asur-silim-amur. That seems to me
J. III. 5
66 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
very questionable. Pan-Asur-amur, Sulmu-Asur-amur, appear to
give sense. But what could Asur-silim-amur mean? Surely amur
is ' I have seen.' Asur-silim conveys no meaning to me ; I do not
know what silim could be. DI= saldmu and its derivatives : perhaps
salmis would suit here. Asur-salmis-amur is a reading that appears
to give sense.
In line 5, Nabu-kibsi, which Peiser gives, is all that is now on
the tablet, but I suspect the name ended in usur.
In line 2 of the lower edge, instead of ARAD, the tablet has
clearly ITU, but Arhu-Istar, ' the month of Istar,' seems an unlikely
name. In obverse line 4, in place of kt, perhaps the tablet had lu,
Mannu-lu-Asur is very unusual.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an ' acknowledgement of
debt.'
447. No. 43. Left-hand portion. Chocolate brown.
Sepa-Adadi borrows of Mannu-ki-{al Arbaili?), ana
puhi, eleven or more minas of bronze, kakkadu, of Istar
of Arbela. He shall repay it on the ist of If not,
interest will be charged at i'i^\ per cent. Dated, the 20th
of Tisritu, B.C. 687. Seven witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can, p. 90, and Hist. Sennacherib,
p. 18.
In line i, the number at the beginning may be 12, as well as 11,
or some number ending in i or 2.
In line 6, after KAN, read sa, it is now clear on the tablet.
On reverse, line 4, the name of the witness is Abu-larim, read
AD for /.
In the next line, la is better than Si, and there was room for
more at the end of the name. If lada were a divine name, compare
Mannu-ki-Iada, then the name here may be lada-ukin. As it stands
ladadu does not seem likely.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
448. No. 44. Complete. Red brown.
Silim-Asur lends twelve minas of silver, SAK-MES
of Istar of Arbela, belonging to the GAR-MES of the
temple, to Zaruti son of Gugi. Interest at 25 per cent.
Dated, the nth (or before the 20th) of Tisritu, B.C.
670 probably.
The Eponym was probably Sulmu-bel-lasme ; but what came
after bel is illegible.
AND DOCUMENTS. C)'J
It is clear that SA-ME^ or GAR-MES is not the same as
SAK-ME^. The usual meaning of GAR-ME^ appears to be
saknuti^ plu. of saknu^ 'the chief officers.' This money then be-
longed to Istar of Arbela, that is to the officials of her temple or
bit-ili\ see further, § 366.
Rev. line 2, the name is nearly illegible now, and I can make
nothing of it.
In line 4, what I have given as bii may be te.
The edge line now reads clearly Ha-nu-7iu followed by traces
of auiel instead of AN.
The left-hand edge has also another line before the date, which
clearly reads amcl a-ba.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, recognises this as an 'acknowledge-
ment of debt'
449. No. 45. Complete. Drab or buff.
Rimut-ilani lends Ululai, Sin-sar-ahesu, Sarru-emurani,
and four others whose names are destroyed, one mina of
silver, SAK-MES of the lender(?). In Nisanu they shall
return the money in full : if not, interest will be at 25 per
cent. Dated, the 20th of Du'^zu, Ep. T. Seven witnesses.
It is very likely that, if SAK-MES be the right reading in line i,
the name of Istar at least followed it. It must have been written on
the edge of the tablet.
In line 3, the signs now read clearly Su-lu-ma-a-a^ a rare name.
On reverse, line 2 reads best SE-ni, though the ni is not very
clear.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, gives this as a 'private contract.'
450. No. 46. A fragment only, of the right hand. Brown.
Kisir-Asur lends some silver, SAK-MES of Istar of
Arbela, to Hubabai (?). Interest to be charged. Dated,
the i6th or 26th of some month.
This is very difficult to follow because the same name Kisir-
Asur seems to occur also as a witness, and the names of the first and
fourth witnesses seem the same.
In rev. 3, at the end, LAL, here probably read utarris^ is written
over tar; perhaps the scribe wrote matu-tar and meant to end with
is., but changed his mind and wrote LAL instead.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, calls this a 'private contract.'
451. No. 47. A fragment of an inner tablet. Light brown.
Sin-rimni lends two minas of silver, Carchemish stan-
5—2
68 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
dard, to Mannu-ki-Rabu, the sa7tti{}) of the sukalle. It
shall bear interest. Dated in B.C. 683.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 91, and Hist, of Sennacherib, p. 20.
In line 5, the traces are now somewhat clearer and in place
of 2-2/, we may read SI-UM, but there is no amel. If this is so,
Mannu-ki-Rabu was the tukultu, not sanu, of the sukalle.
The four or five lines lost include those of which I give the ends,
in reverse i, 2, 3.
The whole of the last line is now legible, and reads pdfi (TIS)
MAN ainel L UL. As a name MAN can only be read sarru, but
that is a very singular name. The scribe must surely have omitted
something.
On the line, last but one, nothing more was written than I give.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
452. Nos. 48 and 49 are a well preserved pair of case tablets.
The outer case, no. 48, is practically complete, the inner tablet,
no. 49, quite so.
Asur-res-isi lends nine minas fifteen shekels of silver,
Carchemish standard, the ginti of Asur, to Zeruti, the
rab-karani of the New Palace and Ultilai his sanu. The
money shall bear interest at 25 per cent. Dated, the i6th
of Simanu B.C. 656. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 95.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4202, 4822, 5139.
It is described in the Guide to the Kouyunjik Gallery., p. 177,
no. 56.
The text is published iii. R. 47 no. 6 from the outer tablet. This
is transliterated and translated by Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 232 ff. : and
by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 140-
III. R. gives, at the end of line i, what appears to be traces of
ku: Peiser saw it was the ideogram for kardnu 'wine.' The rab
kardni was the cellarer.
In line 3, in. R. omits the first vertical of tu, both Oppert and
Peiser read rightly. It is noteworthy that while the outer tablet
gives 15 shekels clearly, the inner, as Peiser remarked, appears
to give 16.
In line 4, iii. R. inserts e after MA-NA, a common enough
reading, but, as Peiser rightly saw, not on the tablet.
On lower edge, in. R. inserts // after Zer, which is only on the
inner tablet, and gives traces Hke rab ku again, for rab kardni.
AND DOCUMENTS. 69
In rev. 4, III. R. omits hotli amc/ before ^AJCsind sarri 'diicr it:
and for c/t gives /am. Peiser corrected these errors.
In rev. edge i, at end iii. R. gives the last character as bi-hin^
Peiser omits it altogether. It is Briinnow's no. 5205, but wo
reading nor meaning is known to me : I have conjectured raibu.
Peiser omits the next two lines, and in. R. omits the left-hand
edge.
Oppert could not be expected to divine the true readings from
the text of in. R. He reads however ha in place of II-u in line 2 :
although in line 2 of lower edge //-?/, i.e. sanu^ occurs again, where
he reads sa7isii {u). In line 5, he leaves gimi unrendered, and takes
Asur to be Assyria.
On lower edge, line i, he takes bit essu to be teinpli novi, or
teiJiple nouveau.
Rev. 5 he reads II sik for A-SIK, i.e. mar-sipri.
Oppert considers the transaction a Creance avec interet.
On page 234, Oppert considers that gimi sa Asur is some way
modifies the standard of the niina employed ; and must mean
' Telle gii'elle est usitce en Assyrie.' The frequent mention in
Babylonian documents of a MAA^A GINA lends some countenance
to this idea, if only it had been Assur in place of Asur. Peiser
renders the phrase by '' Gerechtsa77ie Asur's.^
In other respects the renderings leave little to be desired.
Peiser, with a better text, also corrects the little slips in Oppert's
work. He takes the whole transaction to be a ' Schuldschein mit
Zinszahlung und Benennung der Schuldsum^ne.^ Bezold, Lit. p. 157,
B. 4, calls this a Darlehensurkuftde, ohne vertragsmdssige Zins-
bestimmung.
I imagine, that like the rest of these 'loans,' the money was
advanced to the grand cellarer and his deputy to purchase wine
or other goods for the king's household : and would be repaid when
the allowance for their purchase was due to them.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, calls this an 'acknowledgement of
debt.'
In lines 3 and 4 of rev. the scribe seems to repeat himself, he
has amel saku at end of line 3, but begins line 4 with the same
words amel sak sarri. In line 2 of lower edge he has placed the
statement of the rate of interest after the date, instead of before it,
as is usual.
Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 248, gives a fresh rendering of this
70 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
document. He renders ginil, by Geldbusse. He takes the occasion
to severely condemn Peiser for his renderings of ina pdni, by im
Besitz des ; but surely Peiser is right in thinking the borrower
is actually 'in possession' of the money although it belongs still
to the lender.
453. No. 50. Complete.
Tursu-eres, the nappahii, lends eight and a third minas,
^AK-MES of Istar of Arbela, to Girte, the dammugiri,
ana puhi. In Arahsamna he shall repay the money or the
money shall increase by a half shekel (per mina). Dated,
the 20th of Aaru, Ep. H. Seventeen witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 98.
Reference is made by Schrader, K. G. p. 543.
It is described in the Guide to the Kouyiinjik Gallery^ p. 173,
no. 35.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 6079, 6342, 7441.
A reference is made to it by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 128.
Although very well preserved, the writing is very close and in
places the scribe has written one sign upon another in a way that is
extremely puzzling. '
At the beginning the word kisirti occurs. If this means a sum
of wages or hire one can understand its being advanced to carry on
work. It is advanced by a 'smith.' The office of the borrower
is a curious one : the sign I give as SAL may be GU ox even US
with the vertical omitted. I take it and the following FIN to make
DAM, but what dam-mu-gir-ri is I do not know : can it be a spelling
of the ordinary tamgaru ?
The sum lent could hardly be meant to bear only half a shekel
interest altogether. I take it to be half a shekel per mina per month,
or 10 per cent, per annum. What the sign, third from the end of
line II, may be I cannot tell, perhaps ba-su, I cannot read the
characters then.
In reverse 2, what I give as SAL looks like us without its
vertical : raksu daldni conveys some sense, would ussu daldni}
In rev. line 6, the signs after amcl I read sakin sarri, but the
sarru may be a scribal error.
In rev. line 11, the scribe seems to have begun hal-zu, a by-form
of halsu.^ then made zu do duty for dl and left the hat unerased.
The name of the Eponym appears to me to be meant for
Mannu-ki-ahe.
AND DOCUMENTS. 7?
The Catalogue, p. 2000 1), recognises this as an 'acknowledge-
ment of debt.'
454. No. 51. Complete. Brown.
Aplia lends a half mina of silver, kakkadu^ to Asur-eres.
It is to bear four shekels per month. Dated, the 25th of
Nisanu, r.c. 683. Six witnesses.
Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 247, gives a rendering of this text. He
renders kisirtu by ^ Forderung.^ Of course that reading kisiriu, being
only a restoration, cannot be pressed.
In line 2, at the end of the line, what I took for LUGAL
turns out to be e sa and there was therefore more on the edge,
after this.
The name of the witness, at the end of reverse, now reads
clearly Hal-zu followed by // or ut-i. A name Halzupi would be
new, but Halzuti would be more likely spelt Hal-zu-u-ti.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, recognises this as an 'acknowledge-
ment of debt.'
455. No. 52. Only part of tablet is left, and some has been
burnt to a cinder. The rest is a greeny grey to drab colour.
Ten minas of silver, kakkadu, of Carchemish standard,
said to be a kisirte, is lent, but the names of the principals
are entirely gone. If it is not paid at the date named, the
money shall bear interest at 25 per cent. Dated, the loth
of Tebetu, the name of the Eponym being lost. Four
witnesses.
In line 6, for i read u^ that is 10, as the number of the day.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
456. No. 53. Lower half of a tablet. Black.
Some money was lent to Didi, ana kakkadi Bel sa ....
If it is not paid it shall increase (esip). Dated, the 21st
of Addaru mahru, B.C. 672. Four witnesses.
The fragmentary condition of this tablet renders the nature of
the transaction uncertain.
Professor Oppert in Le Droit has a long discussion of the
meaning and value of the date : see § 66,
In line i, after du may plainly be seen another du^ followed by
two horizontals.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 b, calls this a ' private contract.'
457. No. 54. The lower half. Drab.
Money probably was lent to Dur-kali : which he had to repay in
72 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Tebetu. The date is gone : but the names of four witnesses are
preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 2003a, calls this a 'private contract'
458. No. 55. Complete but badly vitrified. Greeny grey.
Aplia lends some Carchemish minas to Bel-aplu...and
another. The interest shall be two shekels per mina per
month. Dated in Tisritu, b.c. 690. Four or five wit-
nesses.
Much of this tablet is really illegible. In line 2, there is nothing
legible after SI.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
459. No. 56. About half the tablet is gone and only the right
hand is left. Brown.
Some money seems to have been lent, for in line 2, we have
sumnia la idin^ and, in the next line, the word irabbi, ' it shall bear
interest.' It seems to be dated the i8th of UMlu, B.C. 663. Four
witnesses.
There does not seem enough left to classify the transaction by.
In line 5, the tablet seems to read Istar, i.e. 15, before TA : and
on reverse, line 6 has clearly the end of SI and. T/S, before Se-'ilu
which therefore was all the name.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, calls this a 'private contract.'
460. No. 57. Right-hand portion of inner tablet. Light
brown.
The first three lines are covered by a piece of the outer tablet
and it does not quite clearly appear what part each person named
played in the transaction.
The first line informs us that some shekels of silver are in
question.
The second line defies my powers of decipherment. The last
sign may be PIS.
The third may contain part of a name : perhaps Gir-lul (?). He
may be either lender to the next named, or with him borrower from
someone named in line 2.
The money was to be paid (?) a?ia kakkadi ilu Be/, 'on some
festival (?) of Bel.' It is to be repaid in Tisritu, if not then it shall
increase by a third, i.e. 33J per cent. Dated, the first of Nisanu,
B.C. 644 (?). vSix witnesses.
The same name appears in line 3 of rev. (as a witness), as in line
4 of obverse, ai)parcntly as principal. This is very unusual in cases
AND DOCUMKN'I'S. 73
where we have the whole text and may go to throw suspicion on this
being a money ' loan.' On the whole however 1 put it here.
The date is ciuoted, Ep, Can. p. 97, where however K 1378 is
given for K 1379.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
The name, in line 4, and reverse, line 3, must be read Isdi-Istar.
, . . . . '
The first sign, though not clear, is certainly more like UR., Br.
no. 4828, than SIM. Also, in line 4 of reverse, insert a after LAL,
reading the name Nabii-tursani.
Loatis 071 security.
461. The assignment of profitable property, in lieu of debt, was
clearly conceived and often practised. In documents dealing with
this kind of transaction no stereotyped formula can be expected, but
some general features may be gathered up here. The characteristic
phrase is kiim kaspi^ ' in Heu of money,' kiini ruble or kum habulli^
' in lieu of interest.' Usually the debt is specified as a sum of money;
and the term for which the creditor shall enjoy the usufruct of the
property is stated. In one case this is for life ; a slave being assigned.
But more generally, it was estate that was made over. The value
of the crops for a number of years was enjoyed by the creditor,
on some basis of calculation as to the time in which the debt would
be so paid off. Then the property returned to the original owner ;
who however had always the option of redeeming his property
by payment of his debt.
Although to our eyes this may differ, in some respects, from
a loan on security : the form which the document took was very
similar. The money and the property balance one another in both
cases. The profits are a set-off against interest, and the resumption
of the property on payment of the money forms a strong likeness
between the cases.
The discussion of the technical terms which each document
supplies is to be looked for in the commentary on each. I do not
pretend to know the finer shades of difference, but I have put
together what seem to me related in purpose though differing in
details.
Along with these assignments of property in lieu of debt, or
interest, we may class the deposit of a pledge for the money
borrowed. This is not exactly the same thing, but both in shape of
74 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
tablet and in characteristic formula the documents concerned with
such loans are identical.
462. In the case of advances, or loans, without interest, we
may suspect that the borrower was in some way the dependent of
the lender, and that the latter was bound to lend by some undisclosed
relationship. Otherwise the lender could have no security for his
money. True, he held the debtor's acknowledgement and it is
possible the law-courts of Assyria would support his claim : but
there was always danger of something occurring to defraud him.
When the lender had not the security involved in being the
borrower's landlord, he naturally desired some pledge on which he
might lay hands in default of repayment.
That money was advanced on security, against property pledged,
we know to have been the case both in old and new Babylonian
times. The name for a pledge, in Babylonia, was maskdnu, whether
a derivative of sakdnu 'to place,' or not, does not affect its meaning.
This term does not however occur anywhere in our documents. To
' deposit as a pledge ' is expressed in the Babylonian documents by
ana maskdnu sakdnu. When then, in our nos. 58 to 72, we read
that some property, ana sabarti sakm, it is natural to conclude
sabartu to be the Assyrian equivalent of the Babylonian maskdnu.
The things which seem to be pledged, on this supposition, are such
as were pledged in the Babylonian transactions : and, so far as we can
judge, were of a value fairly equivalent to the money lent on them.
The word seems to come from sabdru, which may also be found
in Heb. with the sense 'to appoint, assign.' We may compare
naspartu, sipru, sibirtu, words that occur in lists of legal phrases.
I am not concerned to maintain that sabartu^ in all its senses, is
a synonym of maskanu, nor sabdru of sakdnu ; but the sense is
pretty clear.
Take no. 58 for example. Two minas of silver, kakkadu, ac-
cording to the mina of Carchemish, belonging to Addati the sakintu,
were lent to M. the sanu of the rab aldni. In lieu of these two minas
of silver, a parcel of twelve homers of land, on the outskirts of the
city Assur, and seven slaves were deposited in the presence of
Addati, as pledge, ana sabarti saknu. Here kum II mane kaspi
can only mean ' in place of two minas of silver ' : saknu can only
mean 'were deposited,' the ana sabarti can hardly mean anything
else than 'as a pledge.' For the text goes on ina libbi lune, 'on the
day that,' kaspu iddanuni, ' the money is repaid,' the slaves and the
AND DOCUMENTS. 75
field 'shall bo released,' usha. In other words, when the loan is
repaid the pledge shall be returned. Here it must be noted that the
literal meaning of iddanwii is ' they shall return ' ; but as it was lent
to only one man, the 'they' must be an impersonal pronoun here.
So too the field and slaves are not nominative to uscza which means
'he shall set free.' The person to set them free, of course, was the
lady Addati, who held them as pledge : she cannot be the nominative
to the verb for it is not feminine. Here, as often, we must recognise
an impersonal use of the verb, and in English shall best render
it by the passive. The scribe, however, often ignores the actual
personalities concerned and violates strict concords.
No. 60 bears out this view. Here Salmu-sarr-ikbi pledges two or
more slaves, ana sabarii saknu, to Rimani-Adadi for half a mina of
silver. The text goes on, ' whoever shall pay the half mina of silver
to Rimani-Adadi he shall set free the slaves.' Here all the concords
are correct, but the same words iddanwii and useza are used.
No. 59 is a Httle differently treated, it starts off exactly like a sale.
Milkia, the bel-pahati of the city Rimusi, the owner of the fields,
houses, gardens and people transferred, is said to have sealed the
document. There, as in a sale, the property is specified fully ; in all
twenty-seven souls with their lands, houses, gardens, oxen, sheep,
and property, in the district of Rimusi, are made over to the lady
who was then the sab-ckalli (unless this was her proper name,
Ntlr-ekalli, ' Light of the Palace '). But, instead of the price being
stated in the way usual in sales, our document goes on, kiim XX
mane kaspi^ ' in lieu of twenty minas of silver,' Carchemish standard,
ana sabarti sakin^ 'it is pledged.' The document then continued
with the ordinary sale clauses against breach of contract ; and the
mention of return has not been preserved. Here it seems that a
governor of a distant province, being in Nineveh, and in want of
cash, pledges his estate at home, for what was surely much below its
value, to a princess (probably).
No. 61 brings up another point of view. It begins : 'fifty minas
of bronze, {sak) from Ibni-ahe, to {ina cli) Tabalai,' clearly then
a loan. It goes on : ' Karitti-Arbaili ' (a female slave), ana sabarti
kam^nusat, 'shall remain as pledge.' After some obscure lines,
which seem to guarantee the depositor, against liability for the death
or flight of his pledge, accident by lightning (?) or water ; the text
continues ' on the day that he, the borrower, shall repay the bronze,
he, the lender, will cause the woman to go free.'
^6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
No. 62 is mutilated, both at the beginning and end. Some
agreement about an estate had been come to, and the penalty for
repudiation is laid down and duly witnessed. Then a fresh para-
graph starts, in line 2 of the lower edge. 'The field belonging to
the sakintu, the field which Inibi-Asur, ana sabarte ikkahini, is
enjoying as security, the messenger of the house of its owners came,
the field, the house of its owners he resumed, its crops etc. he paid
a price for, the field, the house of its owners '...Then comes a break.
All this may be very obscure, but, as far as it goes, it shews that
ana sabarte can bear the same meaning here also. It probably
relates to a pledge deposited with the sakintu^ by her farmed out to
Inibi-Asur, and reclaimed ultimately by the legal representative of
the man who had deposited it. The holder was apparently com-
pensated for his loss. The first part of the document may rehearse
part of the old agreement between the depositor and the sakintu^ or
between her and the man to whom she let it.
No. 63 deals with a loan of silver. In lieu of the silver, the
borrower pledged a slave, ana sabarte sakin. The next words are a
little obscure, a7ia sanati may mean 'for years' or merely 'in future.'
However the text goes on clearly ' the day that he shall pay the
money he shall go free,' usa. Then follows a clause guaranteeing
against the death or flight of the pledged slave.
No. 64, again, begins like a sale. The borrower, the owner of
the fields and people transferred, seals the document. The situation
and extent of the field are set forth, and with it six persons, two
oxen, ten homers of arable land are 'pledged,' ana sibirti saknu, 'in
lieu of fifteen minas of silver.' Then 'whoever shall pay the money,
the people and field shall go free.'
No. 65 begins exactly like an ordinary loan. Three minas of
silver, kakkadu, belonging to Rimani-Adadi are lent to two borrowers.
A slave, or two, is pledged, ana sabarte sakin. The money shall not
bear interest, the services of the slave being of course a set-off"
against it. The day they repay the money, he will release the
slaves.
No. 66 states the sum lent and its rate of interest, if not repaid
to date. A plantation of vines, its attendants, slaves or serfs, etc.,
ana sabirti sakin. The lender is guaranteed against the death or
flight of the slaves. The day that the money with its interest shall
be returned, the plantation and slaves shall be released. It seems
strange that interest should be expected under such circumstances.
AND DOCUMENTS. 'J^
The money however may have been the full value of the estate or
more.
No. 67. A sum of money, belonging to the sakifitu of Kabal-ali,
was lent to Ardi-lstar on security of his son as pledge. Isdi-ahesu,
the son of Ardi-lstar, therefore, isakkin ' he deposited as a pledge,'
ana sabirti^ in the presence of the sakintu. Bel-ere§ intervenes as
an agent, bel-kdtd. If the pledge die or flee, the sakifitu shall pay
double the money. On the day that he repays the money, the
pledge shall go free. If the sakintu do not give up the pledge, she
shall give the money to the pledged man himself. Here it is clear
that a fresh contingency comes in. The pledged person being the
son of the depositor, his father stipulates that his son shall either be
returned, on the repayment of the loan, or if the lady wish to keep
him as her servant still, she shall pay to the son the loan which
has been repaid to her.
No. 68 states that Ubbuku and another lent Tursu-Istar thirty
shekels of silver; and Nabu-nadin-ahi his slave was pledged for it,
ajia sabirti sakin. The day the money is paid, the slave shall be set
free.
No. 69 deals with an estate, ana sabirti sakin, 'pledged,' the
usufruct to be enjoyed for six years, and when the value of the
produce amounted to the equivalent of the sum lent, the lender had
to release the estate. This is more like a lease for a lump sum
instead of a yearly rent. But the important phrase ana sabirti sakin
decided me to class it here.
No. 70 opens like a sale to the sister of the Queen Mother, aunt
of Esarhaddon, named Abirami. Then we read ktim 1 7?iani kaspi
ana sa{birti sakin) ' pledged for half a mina of silver.' As in the last
case the estate was to be enjoyed six years, in which time the loan
would be held cancelled by the value of the produce and the estate
was to be restored to its original owner.
No. 71 seems similar, it contains the characteristic phrases
sabirti, userabdni and usesa. It therefore was a pledge of some sort
apparently for a term of years.
No. 72 takes an unusual form. As far as we can judge from
what is left, the reverse repeated the obverse. A female slave is
here said to remain pledged, ana sabri kanwtusat (cf. no. 61), for ten
days, when the borrower is to repay the money. If then he do not
repay the loan, the slave is to be reckoned sold and given up : zarpat,
nasiat.
yS ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Looking back over these cases, nos. 58 — 72, there seems no
doubt that sabartu^ sibirtii or sabirtu must mean a ' pledge,' and that
sabru is its equivalent. In each case we may read/ for b^ but I do
not think the word is connected with sapctru ' to send.' It is
tempting to connect it with the Babylonian term naspartu^ which is
usually connected with saparu and taken to mean an ' order.'
463. When a sum of money is lent '^^2' a pledge, the word
'on' is represented in the text by ina eli. Thus in no. 67, Ardi-Istar
borrowed money ma eli mdr-su, and in no. 63, Mannu-ki-nuri
borrowed money ina eli sdbi, 'on his slave.'
I have sketched the character of each transaction briefly in order
to bring out clearly and without complications the force of the
phrase ana sabarte sakin, but I must now give a more detailed
account of each tablet and its peculiarities from other points of
view. It is impossible however to deny the title of loans on security
to other documents, where this special phrase does not occur, and
an exact line of demarcation is hard to draw.
464. A few other peculiarities of these advances may be noted
here.
When a loan of money is made to several persons, no hint is
given as to how it was distributed among them, one may perhaps
assume in equal shares, but it is the merest assumption. Often in
the corn loans, it is stated how much was lent to each, but rarely, if
ever, in the case of money.
The persons who borrow are rarely named again ; they are only
found as parties to one transaction. There are conspicuous ex-
ceptions, but this is the rule. This subordinate position would
account for both peculiarities, in the one case their obscurity would
account for their not being mentioned again, in the other their being
royal servants would lead to a frequent mention.
On the other hand the lenders are well-known persons, their
names recur again and again. For example Kisir-Asur who lends in
no. I occurs again no less than thirty times : see the account of him
P- 33-
Abstracts of nos. 58 — 72.
465. No. 58. Nearly complete. Red.
The lady Addati, the sakintu, lends two minas of silver,
Carchemish standard, kakkadu^ to ...ia, the sanu of the rdb-
aldni. In lieu of the two minas of silver a plot of twelve
AND DOCUMENTS. 79
homers of land ina eli kabli Ni7iua^ Kurdi-Adadi, his
wife and three sons, Kandilanu and his wife, in all seven
people, and twelve homers of land, are pledged. On the
day that one returns the money the other shall release
the people and land. Dated, the first of Arahsamna,
B.C. 694. Ten witnesses.
The date is given. Cat. p. 1733, but with the wrong form of
KAN.
On the status of the sakintti, see § 179.
The first witness, Nabu-sum-lisir, is noted here as scribe, aba, and
Ninevite, mar Aliiua. In B.C. 698, a scribe of the same name
appears on no. 191. The writer to the king, of K 509, 562, 563,
607, 825, 1045, 13100, 82-5-22, 100; 83-1-18, 29; Bu. 89-4-26,
63 ; may well be the same person.
The second witness bears the name (Ilu) Suriha-ilai, not otherwise
known, whence we may deduce the existence of a divinity Suriha.
The next witness, Samas-ah-iddm, here an dsii, or 'physician,' is
a witness also on nos. 180, 532, 536, and is named on no. 852,
K 4287 and Rm. 11. 130.
Dari-Bel was the name of a witness, on no. 294, as an irrisu,
B.C. 700 ; as a slave pledged, B.C. 693, on no. 66 ; as a serf 'with his
people,' on no. 661, and no. 742. For Dabi, or Tabi, compare
Tabia in the later Babylonian tablets, e.g. iS. A. V. 1768. Here he is
an amel SA, perhaps 'cook.'
The next witness, here a kdsir, see § 167 f., may be a domestic
connected with the preparation of food, if KU-KA-SAR be a
'confectioner.' The name Zabinu occurs again as that of a servant
and 'gardener,' B.C. 683, on no. 447; as seller and mukil apdte, of
Lahiri, B.C. 670, on no. 625 ; as borrower and rakbu of rdb MU-GI,
B.C. 645 (?), on no. 24; and as witness on no. 586, B.C. 642 (?) ; on
no. 619, in Ep. S; on no. 329, in Ep. K; a slave sold on no. 252,
as borrower, no. 25. The name is the same as Zabini, father of
ArdiTstar, on no. 311; and the resident in Nineveh (?), a neighbour,
on no. 391, B.C. 717; no. 392, b.c. 710; nos. 393, 394; as seller, on
no. 336. The name was borne by an Assyrian, taken captive in
Elam, K 974; and occurs in the letter K 1247. The name was
also borne by the king of Kisirtu, in the time of Asur-nasir-aplu, i. R.
21, 58. It is probably Aramaic, compare Zabina, N:nT.
The name of the next witness, Andaranu, is that of a neighbour
on no. 515. It recalls the name of the city Andaria.
8o ASSYRIAN DEEDS
V
The name Samas-ah-usur, here a rehl isstirdte, or 'keeper of
birds,' is also that of a borrower on no. 141, b.c. 704; and of a seller
on no. 477.
The name of the next witness is probably to be read Sa-gih-i^ in
view of such names as Sagibu, in A. D. B.^ and of Sa-gi-M-i, a
witness, B.C. 677, on no. 72; a weaver sold on no. 268; a witness
and kepu of the palace on no. 244, and a witness on no. 573. The
same root appears in Sagibi-sarru, in A. D. B., and perhaps in
Sagabbu. I consider it Aramaic, '^2'yz\ the root seems to mean to
'protect.' Sagibi, 'my protector.' For the reading of NI-GAB^
see § 127.
The witness, Nabu-sallim, very likely here the scribe of the
tablet, is also witness and scribe on no. 244 ; witness, and muMl
apati sa apil sarri Bdbili, on no. 477 ; a witness on nos. 254, 503,
511. He appears as a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 661 ; on no.
675, his house is named. The same name was borne by a mar
Dakkiiri, D. T. 301. Also the name was borne by a scribe, or
official of Esarhaddon's, m the enquiries of the Samas oracle, see
G. A. S. nos. 48, 118, 120, and occurs often elsewhere. On K 3788,
the Aramaic docket renders it D'?t^^133 ; and it is clearly the same
name as AN-FA-DI-im, a witness and aba, B.C. 694, on no. 281.
The lady Addati, who appears here as sakintu, is probably named
also on no. 223.
466. No. 59. Part only is left, both end of obverse and
beginning of reverse are lost. Brown to black.
The deed starts exactly like a sale — stating in its preamble ' this
is the seal of Milkia, the bel-pahdti of Rimusi, owner of the fields,
houses, plantations, and people transferred,' that is, in this case,
' pledged.'
Then it specifies the property made over. ' Ehia, his wife, three
sons and two daughters; Ispala (or Pilakkia), his wife and two sons;
Tab-ruhite, his wife and son ; Napte, his wife, mother and brother ;
Tillai-kanun, his wife, mother, son and brother ; Uria, his wife,
mother and brother : in all twenty-seven souls, together with their
fields, their houses, their plantations, their sheep, and family posses-
sions in the city Sadi-Samalla, in the pahdtu of Rimusi.'
All this property is acquired by the lady NQr-]fckalli (' Light of
the Palace ') ' in lieu of twenty minas of silver, Carchemish standard,
it is pledged.'
Then it goes on quite like a deed of sale, ' whoever hereafter, at
AND DOCUMENTS. 8 1
any time, either Milkia, the bcl pahdti^ or his /«;/?/, or his rdb-alani,
or the hazdnu of his city, or his son, or his grandson, shall set up a
plea of nullity of contract, etc. ; shall pay so many minas of silver to
the treasury, etc'
Here the obverse breaks off. Clearly the remaining clauses
provided for a restoration of the mortgage on repayment of the loan.
The reverse now preserves the traces of four witnesses. Dated,
the 27th of Uldlu, B.C. 681.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 91, and Hist, of Sennacherib,
p. 22.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4282, 5147, 5701, 7839.
The name of the city, in line 10, is doubtful, for // we may read
di and for hu perhaps al\ in that case we should have the name
Sadi-Samalla or Sadi-Ualla. The hu is very like the al at end of
line 6 of rev. and so pretty certainly al. Also for sa we could read
Da, and then the name is Dadi-ualla.
In line 3, there is now clearly no a in taddni. In line 6, several
characters, about which I had considerable doubt in 1898, are now
clear : thus for ia, nap seems certain ; and for Ki, tul should be read.
In line 13, there is no ina before urkis and before matema is
only u.
In line 17, ina purki is now represented only by the tops of the
characters. There are no longer any traces of MA-NA, but the
beginning of line 18 is visible, below kaspu. Probably about eight
lines are lost.
On the reverse, both sar and bit, in line 2, are very badly
damaged, but can hardly be anything else. The name Amramu is
unique, we may compare the Hebrew Amram, the Aramaic seems to
be pt:y. He was a 'confectioner,' a KU-KA-SAR, kdsir kurmdti.
The name of the witness in line 3, Nabiiti, is singular. It may
be a shortened form, like Tabni for Sin-tabni-usur, but NabCiti may
mean ' my prophecy,' a not impossible name for a child. Here he
is a rdb kisir ispare, or chief of the kisru (guild ?) of weavers : in
B.C. 683, as a witness and simple weaver we find him on no. 447.
Nabilte is a witness on no. 358, Nabiiti, on no. 287, is a seller. We
may compare Nabutu on K 4285, and Nabuttu, a witness on
Rm. 157, in B.C. 659.
In line 4, the witness Nabti-rimani bears a common name. In
B.C. 694, as witness on no. 440 ; in B.C. 686, as witness and goldsmith
J. III. 6
82 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
on no. 453; in B.C. 682, as lender on no. 21; in B.C. 663 (?), as
seller and rab kisir of Dannai on no. 470 ; of Sa-sillai, witness, on
no. 385 ; on no. 62 as witness and aba^ as here; on no. 446, brother
of Nabu-asarid, servant of the Crown Prince and witness in Ep. Q ;
possibly on no. 368 and K 5446 b. He occurs in letters, K 146,
497, 671 and Bu. 89-4-26, 71.
The lender, a lady whose name I read Nur-ekalli, occurs as a
buyer on no. 316, in B.C. 686. The name may however be a title,
' maid of the palace,' but the many masculine names beginning with
Nur incline me to think a proper name is meant.
The borrower, Milkia, bel pahati of Rimusi, bears a name which
from its related names Milka, Milki, Milkai, Milkiai, Milki-uri,
Milki-idri, Milki-ilu, Milki-larim, Milki-ntari, Milki-ramu, may very
well be Aramaic or Hebrew, compare Melchior, Milkiasapa, king of
Gebal, iii. R. 16, v. 16. Compounds of milki are common in the
Harran names, see A.D.B.: and Rimusi was in Mesopotamia.
The names of the slaves are worth noting. Ehia is unique, but
compare Ehi, '•nN^ if that name in Gen. xlvi. 21, is genuine. Ispala
is not impossible as a name, but as {IS) BAL is the ideogram for
pilakku an 'axe,' it seems best to read Pilakkia, even if it did not
really mean ' my axe.' There was a bird called pilakki I star. The
curious name, in no. 150, Ispal-su-pi-nim-e may be compared. What
was the true reading of this I do not know. The name Tab-ruhite
may mean something like 'good is the apparition'; but the reading
Tab is open to doubt, and ruhite may be from a root not found in
Assyrian. late would be like lata', in K 525; Napte may be
connected with Nubta, a female name generally considered to mean
'Bee.' The name Tillai-kanun may be connected with Kanun as
the name of a month, but it seems to me altogether foreign. Uria
is temptingly like Uriah, the more so, on account of the long a at
the end.
For a discussion of the clauses relating to repudiation of contract
and penalty clauses in lines 1 1 to 1 7 of obverse, see later under the
deeds of sale.
467. No. 60. Portions of a tablet only. Red.
It begins like an ordinary sale. '(The seal) of Salmu-sarr-ikbi...';
then follows another name ending in 'Ninip'; whether another
borrower, or, as I fancy, the slave pledged. He is said to be a
dagil..., perhaps 'bird keeper.' i;hen, line 3 begins with perhaps the
end of ardani, it goes on 'of Sa]mu-sarr(-ikbi).' Then, as I restore
AND DOCUMENTS. 83
it, line 4 goes on — ' in lieu of onc-and-a-half mina of silver is
pledged.' The name of Rimani-Adadi must have been written over
the edge, for his title follows in line 5 : mukll apdti dannu sa sarri.
Then the deed lays down 'whoever shall pay one and a half
mina of silver to Rimani-Adadi, the slaves shall be released.'
Owing to the fragmentary condition of the tablet we may fill up
the blanks a little differently, but the general result will be the same.
This can hardly then be a 'sale of slaves,' as Cat a. p. 191 7 gives,
but is 'a loan on security of some slaves': compare Cata. p. 2000a.
It is dated in the year B.C. 671 — 670, and had apparently thirteen
witnesses.
The probable lender of this sum was the great Rimani-Adadi,
whose career may be briefly sketched here. He first appears in our
documents in B.C. 676, as witness and tamkaru, on no. 256. In
B.C. 671, as mukll apdti dannu sa sarri, i.e. of Asurbanipal, he is a
lender as above; and again on no. 121. In B.C. 670, in the same
office, he is a buyer on nos. 172 and 266. In B.C. 668, he is a
lender on no. 65. Then in B.C. 667, in the same office, he is a
buyer on no. 200. In B.C. 666, in the same office, he is a buyer on
nos. 258, 420. Next year probably, still in the same office, he is a
lender on no. 35, a buyer on nos. 237, 331. The next year, in the
same office, he is a lender on no. 115. Then probably, in B.C. 663,
he is a buyer on no. 470. Still in the same office, he is a buyer on
no. 44. The full title of his office meets us first, in B.C. 665, on
no. 331, where he is styled, mukU apdti dannu sa Asur-bdni-aplu sar
{mdt) Assur; i.e. 'chief charioteer of Asurbanipal, king of Assyria.'
In this office he appears, as a buyer, on nos. 174, 183, 187, 203,
260, 270, 271, 322, 418, 419, 424, 448, 451, 471, without this title
on nos. 247, 477, 503. The same name is borne in Ep. R by an
aba of the rdb ekalli on no. 642; by a witness and salsu on no. 244;
by a witness and rdb bit ildni oi Assur on no. 261 ; by a mutir puti
on no. 860, II. 25; by a musarkis on K 655. These may be
different persons : but our Rimani-Adadi is probably principal also
on nos. 116, 571, 596, 599, 605, 611. Compare also nos. 170, 857.
For a discussion of his office, see § 124. He seems to have been
able to command the services of the same set of witnesses almost all
the time. From this fact certain important conclusions may be
drawn as to the sequence of the Post Canon Eponyms, which must
be postponed to the Chapter on Chronology.
The reading of the borrower's name, as Salmu-sarr-ikbi, is based
6—2
84 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
partly on the fact that in the list of specimen names, App. 3,
Rev. Col. XII. I, ilu SALAM is followed by ilu NU. The reading
there ilu SALAM is certain now that the tablet has been cleaned.
But the same might be concluded from the variants of the Eponym's
name, AN-NU-MAN-E on no. 81, NU-MAN-E on no. 441,
NU-MAN-ik-bi on no. 308. We have the same name as that of
a borrower on no. 85 ; a witness on no. 332 ; a seller, living in
Narkabate, on no. 396 ; a witness and sa sepd, in Ep. Z, on no. 105 ;
a witness, b.c. 667, on no. 200 ; a witness and rdb kisir on no. 344.
The same name occurs on no. 844, and on no. 164, we have
Sal-mii-MAN-ik-bi as a witness, in B.C. 679. Hence we have here
a compound of the divine name Salmu, doubtless the well known
Aramaic god xht- The Eponym was Tartan of Kummuh and also
Tartan sumeli.
The list of witnesses starts in rev. 1. 8, with Samas-S^arr-usur, the
mukil apdti. The name first appears as that of a neighbour, in
B.C. 674, on no. 383; as a witness in B.C. 671, on no. 60; as
witness also on nos. 433, 448, 471, 503, 571, always without state-
ment of office. On no. 599, as a witness he is only salsu^ a lower
office than that of mukil apdti ^ see § 159. We may therefore date
no. 599, before B.C. 670, when he is already iiiukil apdti of the
Crown Prince, on no. 266, as on nos. 174, 477 which are undated.
This title may really have been inscribed on our tablet, as the end
of the line is lost, and was probably shortened to simple mukil apdti,
a title which he bears as witness, in B.C. 670, on no. 421; in
B.C. 666, on no. 185; in B.C. 664, on no. 115; in B.C. 663, on
no. 470 ; and at unknown dates on nos. 247 and 408. He is
named also on no. 880. A comparison with the above sketch of
Rimani-Adadi's occurrences in our documents will shew that this
man usually occurs as Rimani-Adadi's witness.
The next witness, Summa-ilani, also a mukil apdti, bears a name
which occurs without title as that of a witness, B.C. 710, on no. 392 ;
as a principal, B.C. 700, on no. 112; a lender, B.C. 695, on no. 34;
a buyer, B.C. 694, on no. 427 ; a buyer, B.C. 688 (?), on no. 239 ;
a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 335 ; a buyer, the same year, on no. 212 ;
probably as witness, in same year, on no. 624 ; as lender, in B.C. 684,
on nos. 19, 20; a lender, in B.C. 681, on no. 127 ; again as lender,
same year, on no. 30 ; as witness, in B.C. 668, on no. 65 ; as witness,
in Ep. Q, on no. 165 ; as neighbour, in Irbdai, same year, on
no. 446; as buyer, without title or date, on nos. 236, 319, 196,
AND DOCUMENTS. 85
226, 422, 246, 423, 508 ; as witness, without title or date, on
nos. 464, 477. It is of course possible, but not likely that all
these references are to the same person. The name was borne
also by the 7?iukil apati oi Kasarin, a buyer, in B.C. 710, on no. 234;
by a miikil apdft, as buyer, in B.C. 688, on no. 238 ; as witness,
in B.C. 671, here; as witness, in B.C. 670, on no. 421; as witness,
in B.C. 664, on no. 115 ; as mukil apati sa atneli sa eli bitdni, and
buyer, in Ep. i, on no. 326 ; as mukil apdti, and witness without
date, on no. 174. The general aspect of these references confirms
the idea that we have at most two persons to deal with, and that
Ep. Q and Ep. t are not long after B.C. 664. As will be seen
he is not a frequent witness for Rimani-Adadi ; only four times.
But he is continually associated with one or other of this group
of witnesses, one or other of whom often witnessed for him. I am
therefore inclined to think he at one time held the same office as
Rimani-Adadi, and, in old age, retired in his favour, acting as
his witness afterwards.
The witness in line 10 presents us with the full name Bar-rtik-ku,
of which variants are Bar-rii-ku and Bar-riik. The name occurs
as that of a witness, without title, in B.C. 688, on no. 264; in
B.C. 687, on no. 17; in B.C. 681, on no. 213; and in B.C. 664, on
no. 115; also without date, on nos. 174, 228, 471, 571, 611. As
mukil apdti and witness in B.C. 671, as here; in B.C. 670, on
no. 421 ; in B.C. 665, on no. 35 ; in B.C. 663, on no. 470; without
date on nos. 408, 418. The name is borne, in B.C. 677, by a
witness and aba^ on no. 7 2 ; and by a witness and amcl DIN sa
ekalli sant, on no. 481. He does not appear as a principal in our
documents, and as will be seen he usually witnesses Rimani-Adadi's
deeds. The name Baruku presents a different form from the Barak,
Barka, Baric, Baricas, Baricio, which appear as renderings of the
Punic 1"i2 ; and the form Ba-ri-ki^ in no. 448, more closely
represents them. Hence I should rather compare the Palmyrene
\r\1^ without necessarily excluding the other names as more distant
relations.
Sakanu, here written Sa-ak-ka?i, on B. E. i, occurs first in
B.C. 671, as witness and 7nuktl apdti here ; with same title as witness
in B.C. 670, on no. 421 ; in B.C. 666, on no. 185; in B.C. 665, on
no. 35 ; in B.C. 664, on no. 115 ; in B.C. 663, on no. 470; without
date, on nos. 116, 529. Also as witness, without title, in Ep. a, on
no. 22; without date, on nos. 174, 332, 433, 571, 611. The name
86 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
is very variously spelt, Sa-ka-nu, Sa-kan-nu^ Sa-ak-kan, Sa-ka-a-an^
Sak-ka-a-an, on App. 3, iii. 21, Sa-kan, Sak-kan, Sa-ak-kan-nu,
Sa-ka-\ The word seems to be the same as seen in Sa-kan-da-da,
on K 1572, cf. the Phoenician Gir-sakon. A divine name Sakon
is evident in Sakan-dada, Gir-Sakon, Sakon-iaton ; and pD appears
to mean a 'prefect,' see L. N. E. p. 329. He is usually one of
Rimani-Adadi's witnesses.
The fourth witness, Nabu-sum-iddin, the last of the ' charioteers,'
occurs first, in that office, in B.C. 671, here; and later is rakbu and
witness, B.C. 667, on no. 57. As an aba^ the name appears as that
of a witness, b.c. 683, on no. 447 ; again as witness, in B.C. 676,
on nos. 330, 502 ; as witness also, without date, on nos. 52 and 225.
A witness, son of Im..., occurs B.C. 670, on no. 499; a buyer,
aba of the bel pahdti of Diir-Sargon, and son of Nabti-ra'im-napisti,
in B.C. 667, on no. 27; a witness, without title, in b.c. 644, on
no. 57 ; and without date, on nos. 85, 577. A certain Nabli-sum-
iddin was a continual writer to the King about sundry movements
of horses, K 487, 529, 549, 550, 1069: 82-5-22, 172, 83-1-18,
41, 42, 113; compare K 11 13, 80—7-19, 37, 82-5-22, 99. Other
letters to the irrisu^ aba matt, sukal/u, or the King, from a writer
of this name, are K 88, 531, 547, 1017, 1053, 1070, 1272, 5509,
13000, Rm. 550, Rm. 11. 8; 83-1-18, 43; K 1050, 629, 10991,
80-7-19, 26; 81-2-4, 96. The name is mentioned in other letters
K 504, 671, 893, 7403, 13018, 1898, 3034, Rm. 215, K 8392, and
on K 8134, as well as no. 851, as aba, no. 857, as rakbu GAB-
MES. One may suppose him to be a sort of Master of the Horse.
The first witness on the reverse bears the name Sin-asarid, he
is the salsu dannu of the Crown Prince. On the title, see §§ 155 fif.
He is named as salsu of the Crown Prince, b.c. 663, on no. 470 ;
as salsu, in B.C. 664, on no. 377; without title, in B.C. 677, on
no. 701 ; as brother of witness on no. 224 ; as buyer on no. 478.
The next witness, Ahu-lamassi, occurs first at Diir-Sargon, as
a slave of Nadbani, B.C. 709, on no. 1141 ; without title as witness,
in B.C. 687-6, on no. 624; in B.C. 686, on no. 374; in B.C. 670,
on no. 420; and on nos. 433, 471. As salsu he is also witness,
in B.C. 670, on no. 421 ; as witness and naggaru rabu, in B.C. 668,
on no. 472; as niukil apati and witness, in B.C. 663, on no. 470.
The witness, who is probably rab HAL on both nos. 387 and 429,
in B.C. 651 and at unknown date, may be a different person. The
irrisu, who appears as a defendant, son of Dilil-Istar, in Ep. G,
AND DOCUMENTS. 87
on no. 160, may be the serf who appears, 'with his people,' on
no. 465. A neighbour and rakbu of this name occurs on no. 520;
an amcl LUL on no. 761. He is a frequent witness for Rimani-
Adadi.
Nabd-erba, the next witness, here sa7i{i sa rab urate, occurs with
the same title, as witness, in B.C. 670, on nos. 172, 420, 421 ; in
B.C. 667, on no. 200 ; in B.C. 666, on no. 185 ; in B.C. 664, on
no. 377; in B.C. 663, on no. 470; in B.C. 660, on nos. 444, 445;
as well as on the undated nos. 174, 247, 408, 433, 439, 529; and
as a witness, without title, on nos. 342, 448, 6t,t,. At earlier dates
as witness, in B.C. 686, on no. 9; witness and aba, in B.C. 686, on
rio- 453; ^s buyer, b.c. 684, on no. 230; later as witness, ga//abu,
son of Istar-sum-iddin, in Ep. G, on no. 160 ; as witness and mutir
putt, in Ep. Q, on no. 446, the name occurs but may well refer
to other persons. In the letters the name occurs on K 17, 504,
an dsu, 579, 1252 a, Sm. 1685, 83— 1-18, 13, an usku, but it is
difficult to identify the persons. On nos. 843, 883, 912, the name
also occurs. He usually witnesses for Rimani-Adadi.
Nabii-zer-iddin, here said to be rakbu GAB-MES, bears a
name difficult to distinguish from that of Nabli-sum-iddin, on badly
written tablets. Consequently some of the places assigned to him
may belong to the fourth witness above and vice versa. As I read
them he may be the seller, b.c. 687, on no. 212, the witness and
aba on no. 612, B.C. 686. As witness and nitikil apciti of the Crown
Prince, in B.C. 676, on no. 256; in b.c. 660, on no. 444; and
without date on no. 477, as well as on no. 444, in b.c. 660, w^ithout
title \ we may consider his personality the same. Without title, as
witness, in B.C. 670, on nos. 202, 266; in Ep. Q, on no. 165; and
without date on nos. 170, 503, 571; also as seller, without title
or date, on no. 226, we have little to identify him by. On no. 851,
we meet with an usku of this name. The name occurs also on
K 4277. The name Nabti-zer-iddina occurs as that of a witness,
in B.C. 688, on no. 264; and is frequent in letters as K 5457, 12947,
Sm. 80, 80-7-19, 34; 81-2-4, 76; 82-5-22, 131; 83-1-18, 193,
but there seems to belong to one of the Babylonian nobles, or
officials, at the time of Asurbanipal's troubles with his brother
Samas-sum-ukin.
The next witness, Na'id-Adadi, also a rakbu GAB-MES, is also
a witness, with same office, in b.c. 670, on no. 421 ; and as rakbu
is witness at same date, on no. 420. There is nothing left to
88 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
identify the next witness, and his name may never have been filled
in, or afterwards erased. The traces are now illegible.
Bani is almost certainly the name of the next witness and aba
of the tablet As witness and aba^ we find him in B.C. 698, on
no. 328 ; in B.C. 683, on no. 447 \ as witness and sa7iu of the
rab dsti^ in B.C. 664, on no. 377; again in same capacities, in
B.C. 663, on no. 470; without title, as witness in B.C. 664, on
no. 398; in B.C. 651, on no. 387; and without date on no. 605.
A witness of this name, from Hirana, in Ep. W, on no. 210; another
in Ep. a, on no. 22 ; another, saku of the Crown Prince, on no. 261;
another, on no. 439; another, a slave, in B.C. 698, on no. 475; a
bdru on no. 851 ; a gardener on no. 811 ; a serf, 'with his people,'
on no. 661 ; the father of Aheia on no. 880; the writer of the letter
K 512; the scribe of Esarhaddon on K 11437, and 83-1-18, 544
(see G. A. S. nos. 108, 119); the person named in Sm. 346, shew
how widely spread the name was, and make us chary of attempting
their identification with our scribe.
We may remark the use of egirtu here to denote the document
as a ' note.'
The reader may now perceive something of the nature of the
problem to be dealt with in the Chapter on Chronology, and the
sort of evidence which we have in general by which to fix the order
of the Post Canon Eponyms. The list of Rimani-Adadi's witnesses
is so constant that, while one or other name may disappear, and
fresh names occur, we are fairly warranted in dating a large number
of our texts within narrow limits, and may also fix some of the letters
within a year or two.
468. No. 61. Complete. Red.
Ibni-ahtia advances fifty minas of bronze, SAK^ to
Taballda, on security of the slave girl Etillit-Arbaili, who
shall remain as pledge. He takes all risks. The day that
the money is repaid the slave shall be released. Dated,
the 4th (or 5th ?) of Aaru, Ep. L. Seven witnesses.
The Catalogue, p. 1884, gives the date, and p. 2000 b, puts it
among the 'acknowledgements of debt.'
In lines 6 and 7, we meet with a clause, in which the lender
guarantees the borrower against accident to the slave. The clause
is ideographically written, and badly preserved. Whether anything
was written at the beginning of line 6, before BE^ cannot now be
decided. Nothing seems to be required, but a parallel to kammusat,
AND DOCUMENTS. 89
l)crhaps snknaf, may have hcLMi written. At any rate, a fresh
sentence l)egins with BE. This has to be read enmna, ' when,' or,
as I prefer, summa, ' if.' The second BE is the ideogram for niitu^
'to die'; compare no. 66, R 5, no. 67, B. E. 2. Hence in the case
of a male slave we might read imifit^ or mit^ here in the feminine
viitat. The HA-A is the ideogram for ha/dku, ' to perish,' also
' to flee,' for a male slave read hal-ka, in no. 63, R i ; haiku in
no. 66, R 5 ; for a female here perhaps halkat. Then we may read
the line, sum?fia initat-ma halkat, or we may suppose the first summa
now lost, and read sunitna mitat sumitia halkat. This would mean
* if she be dead or fled.' Then the next line begins with a broken
space, the first character legible being GIR, followed by tap. Now
GIR-TAB is an ideogram for akrabu, 'scorpion,' and for * Istar.'
Either of these meanings would seem very unsuitable, unless death
or disablement by scorpion bite was intended. I rather think it
the end of some word for wages, i-gir ?, or of an ideogram. The
tap is faintly impressed and may not be intended, or erased. The
signs which follow are badly preserved but seem to me to read
PAT-MES A-MES, i.e. kurmdte me, 'food and drink.' We know
that in later Babylonian times, when a slave was apprenticed, the
owner had to find food and drink for that slave, and if the slave
was not properly taught, the craftsman had to pay for this expense
on the part of the owner. So here it seems to me that the borrower
if he lost his slave through the carelessness of the lender had a
claim for the expense he had been put to for the time. But the
clause must remain obscure, until a complete text is available, or
until we find a parallel case. In line 8, we read elt belisa..., but
I am unable even now to say what was meant by the last sign.
In the parallel text, no. 63, R i, we read mitu halka ina eli belisu
followed by no verb ; in no. 66, R 5, 6, metu haiku i?ia eli belisunu ;
in no. 67, B. E. 2, 3, mttu halka ina belt ina sattisu hallik ina eli
Isdi-ahesu, saki?ttu kaspu saniu. At first sight, some one may be
tempted to think that halka is to be taken with ina eli belisu, ' fled
back to his old master.' But that would be more likely to be
expressed by ana than ina eli. It seems to mean that these things,
the death or flight of the slave, should be ' on his owner,' i.e. at
his cost. If the slave died or ran away, his owner would surely
have to supply another slave to take his place as ple^e. But it
is a difficult question how far the guarantee extended. In the
later Babylonian documents, e.g. Nbkd. 346, when a slave was
90 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sold, the sellers were guarantee, piit hiliku u mitutu sa A, where
A is the slave. Therefore they were to make him good to the
buyer. In our case, it is possible that when the borrower offered
his slave in pledge, he had to guarantee that the slave was not a
fiction, that he was not already dead or fled. But it is not likely
the words mean that. In the later Babylonian case the sellers
actually had the slave, but he was a well known runaway. It was
surely a contingency against which they guaranteed the buyer. In
the case of a pledge, the slave had to be returned ; if he was a known
runaway, the lender would not accept the risk of taking him, as
he could not insist on the return of the money, without being
prepared to produce the pledge. He naturally bargained for a
healthy, docile slave, who would cause him no special anxiety.
Hence if the pledge turned out badly, he stipulates that the loss
shall fall on the owner. If the slave die or run away, the borrower
must find another, or return the loan. The stipulation about the
keep of the slave remains obscure. The borrower could hardly have
to pay for what had been consumed by the dead or fugitive slave,
for the lender had had his work out of him, as long as he remained.
But if the borrower had to pay for his keep all the time, then on
returning the money he might set up a claim on account of his
expense, or more likely have to pay for the keep of a substitute.
We may, however, continue to speculate at large, until more
information is procurable. At any rate, it is clear, that in case
of death, or flight, the holder of the pledge had not to make it good,
the loss was on the owner of the pledge.
In reverse, 1. i, we have the verb userabdni, evidently from
erebu 'to enter.' On the day that the money he shall cause to
come in, i.e. 'repay,' is parallel to the iddanuni of no. 58. Then
the lender shall release the pledge.
The first witness, Istar-.sum-iddin, occurs as witness and aba^ in
B.C. 671, on no. 40; as witness without date on no. 448; and as
father of NabQ-erba, on no. 160, in Ep. G. Also the name occurs
on no. 860.
The next witness, NabCl-sum-usur, whose name could also be
read Nabu-nadin-ahi, was a witness, in B.C. 692, on no. 324; a
witness and priest of NabCl, in Kalah, Ep. C, on no. 641 ; in same
office, place, and capacity, in Ep. O, on no. 640 ; again in Ep. R,
on no. 641. Without title he was a witness on nos. 79, 630, and
neighbour on no. 346. He is named in the letters, K 5420 b, 7403.
AND DOCUMKNTS. nl
On no. S6o a kcpu bears tlic name; on 79-7-8, 190, he is the father
of Nabu-sarrani ; on K 8868, he is the owner of the tablet and an
amel NIR-ME-ME-7ii.
Sulmu-Lstar only occurs here, so far as I know. The next name I
read Rimut-Bel. The same name was borne by a ??iasmasu^ on no. 85 1.
In the next name I have omitted ir after KAR. The name is Nabu-
etirani. The name was borne by the Eponym of B.C. 741 ; by a witness,
in B.C. 680, on no. 359 ; by a witness, B.C. 675, on no. 167 ; by a
witness, B.C. 673, on no. 8; and by a witness, without date, on no. 255.
Saklu, the name of the witness in rev. line 8, occurs here only.
We may seek an Assyrian meaning in saklu, 'fool,' 'simpleton,' but
I am more inclined to read Saglu and compare the Palmyrene, ^y^.
With the name of the next witness, Hazianu, we may compare the
name Hazian, father of the sellers in no. 233.
The Eponym, Nabii-danan, only occurs here, unless we are
to identify him with the Nabu-daninani, Eponym K, saknu of Kue,
on nos. 329 and 593 ; or less likely, with the Nabu-daninani, Tartan,
in B.C. 743-2.
469. No. 62. Nearly complete. Brown.
The exact purport of the transaction here is very uncertain, but,
as I take it an estate has been pledged. In such cases, as in the
leases, q.v., a common stipulation is that certain government officials
shall have no claim to exact anything from the estate. Also the
creditor was expected to retain the estate until the value of the crops
should have sufficed to liquidate the debt. At any time, if the
debtor and mortgagor, or his executors, wished to redeem the
property, they had to pay for the standing crop. This is expressed
by saying kaspusu ina eli se tard7?te isakkan, ' its price for the standing
crop he shall deposit.' The se tarCmie is here the ungathered crop
of any sort. The se nusdhi was the crop that could be gathered, or
'plucked': nasdhu is to 'pluck up.' The se sibsu is that which
could be trodden down, if sabdsu means to ' tread down ' in this
connection. A frequent substitute for se sibsu is se IN'-NU, i.e. tibnu,
grass, or 'fodder,' the crop specially liable to injury by treading down.
The stipulation therefore usually takes the form, se nusdhisu Id
innasuhu, se IN-NU-su Id isabbas, ' its crop he shall not pluck, its
grass he shall not tread down.' The 'he,' or 'they,' may here be
taken impersonally as 'one,' i.e. an official on behalf of the govern-
ment, or less probably, the debtor or mortgagor, bound to respect the
well being of the crops on the land he has pledged.
92 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
This document opens with the remains of some such stipulation.
If the mortgagor shall desire to redeem the estate, he shall pay for
the crop, kaspusu eli se nusahi isakkan. Instead of kaspu isakkan^
we have here the word usaniium, perhaps iii. 3, from saldmu, for
ustanallum. The verb salaniu., 'to be at peace,' often takes the
sense of ' to pay ' in our documents. In line 2, after sa there was
perhaps room for ekhi : ' the crop of this field.' Then we read,
'the field the portion of its owners.' This can hardly be the object
of the verb usanihmi. I regard it as a statement, 'the field is still
the property of its owners,' they have pledged it, but not alienated
it. This ended the body of the contract, or agreement. In the
next line, we meet with the usual pains and penalties for breach or
repudiation of the agreement. 'Whoever shall dispute,' 'raise an
exception,' inamm sa iparikuni, ' shall deposit two white horses as
penalty to Asur,' // KUR-MES UD-MES ana AS-SUR SA-an,
or, II sise pisuti ana Asur isakkaii. Further, ' he shall pay one mina
of gold to Beltis,' / MA-NA hurdsi ana Belit SE-an. Also, 'he
shall seek the decision of the king,' ade sa sarri su ubta. These
pains and penalties will be discussed more fully, with their many
parallels, in the introduction to the deeds of sale, later.
Then follow, very oddly, the names of some witness. This I can
only explain by supposing that the first eight lines of this tablet are
a quotation or rehearsal of a former agreement. The name of the
first witness is apparently Kibit-Istar, 'the command of Istar.' The
name occurs as that of the seller, on no. 173, in Ep. G. We may
compare Kibit-Asur, in no. 37, and no. 363 ; also, Kibit-Ninip, in
no. 37. Our witness was an amel rdb KAK-MES^ perhaps rab bdne^
or 'chief of the workmen,' or 'builders,' see Del. H. IV. B. p. 178 b.
The name of the next witness is only partly preserved, and the sign
BAR is not certain. The third witness was called Sanan, compare
Sananu, witness on nos. 122, 123, in B.C. 682. Here he is the
* messenger,' mar sipri, of the majordomo. The next witness, the
scribe, aba, of the original document was Nabu-rimani, see § 464.
Now this tablet states the present state of affairs. ' The field of
the sakintu, the field which Inibi-Asur was enjoying as a mortgage,
the messenger of the house of its owners, came, the field, the portion
of its owners he resumed, its grass, its crop, etc., its price he paid,
the field the portion of its owners, etc' Defective as the passage is,
it can hardly be misunderstood. The case was this. The sakintu
had pledged a field, which from the expression ' house or portion of
AND DOCUMENTS. 93
its owners ' was probably her family estate, under an agreement
of which the first eight lines rehearse the terms. Now a messenger,
on behalf of the family, arrives and redeems the estate. The
mortgagee was called Inibi-Asur, ' fruit of Asur.' For the first
element compare names like Inba, no. 590, Imbu-ia, no. 677, Imbu-
pania, in P. A. S. Sarg. St. iii. 24, and Imbi, Del. H. IV. B.
p. 97 b. In line 6, Nabu-salim may be the name of the witness to
this new agreement, a quittance for the sum lent and for the price
of the crops. The name occurs, no. 857, 11. 30, as that of a mutir
piiti, and on the inscriptions K 11 289, and in. R. 33, vi. 57, 62, as
son of Marduk-aplu-iddin and father of Aplia. In the next line,
the sign ub may be ip^ and after ta may have been me. Perhaps we
have the remains of se nusdhi urtaine^ but all is very doubtful. The
last line seems to have the end of a proper name, ah-erba.
The verb akdlu, ideogram KU, literally ' to eat,' is often used in
our documents in the sense of 'to enjoy the usufruct,' of an estate.
As I suppose Inibi-Asur was actually in the possession of the estate,
I read ikkaluni, 'is enjoying,' but ekuluni is also possible. The
phrase ana sabarti points to a pledge, as we have seen. Hence,
I placed the text here, although in other respects it is unlike those
we have hitherto discussed. It is clear that the contingency con-
templated in the original agreement, line 2, occurred. The verb
urtame is used in the sense of ' to loosen,' see rainu, H. W. B.
p. 623 a. Here it clearly means 'to redeem,' 'to set free.'
The Catalogue puts this among the 'private contracts,' p. 2001 b.
470. No. 63. A very damaged tablet. Dark red.
Ahu-duri lends some minas of silver to Mannu-ki-nuri,
on a slave, or his own person, as pledge, for years. On the
day that the money is returned, Mannu-ki-nuri shall go free.
If he die or flee it shall be at his owner's risk. Dated, the
5th of UMlu, Ep. V. Eight witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 100.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
It is certain that Mannu-ki-nuri is the borrower as he seals the
document. The name occurs as that of a witness on no. 391, in
B.C. 717; also on K 5823. One would expect that line 3 should
read ijia eli aijiel sdbi, 'on a slave.' But lower down we see that
when the money is repaid, Mannu-ki-nuri, not his slave, is to be
released. That may mean that he is to be released from obligation,
but usually it means that the pledge is set free. We cannot read
94 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
* Mannu-ki-nuri shall release,' for it was Ahu-duri who held the
pledge. Hence I fancy Mannu-ki-nuri pledged himself.
Note that iddanuni and usa are actives, and the former is plural.
Hence they are used impersonally. Ahu-duri may be taken as the
nominative to the latter verb : or more likely Mannu-ki-nuri is the
nominative, and the verb is to be taken in its usual sense, ' go out,'
i.e. 'be free.'
On the clause, rnitu halka ina eli belisu^ see § 468. We may read
summa halka, ' if he flee,' and then the contingency of death is not
contemplated. What was expected to take place then is obvious.
The borrower was still in debt, and he must either find a fresh pledge
or return the money. We have the phrase kaspu ana belisu utar^
which of course may be what is meant here, for the debtor's risk.
If it be the case that Mannu-ki-nuri is his own security, then if he
fled, of course he was still indebted.
The lender, Ahu-duri, bears the same name as the seller, on
no. 453, of B.C. 686; the witness, on nos. ^2)-> ^4) of B.C. 679; the
witness, on no. 516, of B.C. 676; on no. 53, of B.C. 672; and on
no. 128, of B.C. 665. As seller, on no. 490; as witness, on nos. 168,
268, 448, 633; as resident in al Ban..., no. 675 ; as grantee, on no.
661 ; as rab danindte, on no. 857, 11. 5 ; as rab kisir mar sarri in the
next line of no. 857, on K 916, K 8134, the same name meets us,
but with Httle to fix identity.
The Eponym, Nabu-nadin-ahi, Ep. V, is only known as such on
this tablet. On no. 120, as a borrower in b.c. 693 ; on Rm. 157, as
witness, in b.c. 679 ; on no. 68, as slave pledged, b.c. 645 ; as witness,
and aba, in Ep. N. The name is not likely to be the same as Nabli-
nadin-ahe, aba and witness, on no. 176, B.C. 700; as aba, witness,
son of Nabu-sallimsunu, of ^/ Tab-Bel, on no. 172, B.C. 670 ; witness
on no. 310, B.C. 669; witness, no. 128, B.C. 655; aba, witness, on
no. 307, Ep. F; witness, on no. 102, Ep. I; witness, on nos. 260,
536 ; principal and saku sa apil sarri, on no. 334 ; father of
Sa-Marduk-zakup, on no. 351. The attempt to place this Eponym
among those Post Canon, must be attended with great uncertainty
on account of the paucity of names on this tablet.
The first witness, Sulmu-ahe, bears the same name as the witness
and sepa, of b.c. 680, on no. 631 ; the witness, of B.C. 670, on no. 99 ;
the witness and bel kdiati of Su'i, B.C. 648, on no. 147 ; the witness
and mutir piiti of Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; the witness and ratbu of no.
357; the seller of no. 454; the serfs of nos. 661, 742, and the
AND DOCUMENTS. 95
Harran Census. Here it seems from my text that he was the son of
Istar-ddri, but a closer examination makes it quite likely that for a
we should read XY. Hence, I take it, Istar-duri was also a witness.
The name was borne by the Eponyms of B.C. 775 and of B.C. 715.
A witness in B.C. 707, on no. 292 ; another on no. 281, in B.C. 694;
the son of Adseki, in B.C. 670, on no. 331 ; the witness and ada,
B.C. 666, on no. 185 ; a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 28; the father of
Sala-belitsunu, on no. 160 ; the buyer, on no. 507 ; the witness, on
no. 638; the writers of K 1068, 80-7-19, 67, 81-2-4, 87, cf.
If. A. B. L. p. 1 01, bear the same name spelt AN-XV-BAD.
With the same spelling as here, XV-BAD, the name is that of a
neighbour, on no. 379, in B.C. 651 ; of a witness, on no. 24, in
B.C. 645; of a witness, on no. 329, Ep. K, and again on no. 334;
of the father of the borrower, on no. 80 ; of a mutirptiti, on no. 857,
III. 21 ; and of the writer of the letters to the King, K 1896, compare
H. A. B. L. pp. 152 — 157. To these letters will be added later
Sm. 1212, 82-3-23, 142. The name was also that of a serf, 'with
his people,' at the Nineveh gate of Arbela, no. 742, 9.
The witness, Didi, bears a name with which we may compare the
Palmyrene, xii AaSos, and the Aramaic rhv^'^- The Assyrian form
of the word dddu, appears in Dada, Dadai, Daddi, Dadi, Dadia, and
we may perhaps compare Dido and David. This was also the name
of a borrower, B.C. 672, on no. 53 ; of a slave, B.C. 668, on no. 65 ;
of a witness, b.c. 671, on no. 121; of a witness, on no. 245 ; of a serf,
with his people, in dl JDarraska, on no. 742.
The next witness appears to bear the name Ugine, or Samgine,
but the readings are too uncertain to be of any value. So the next
name, perhaps, is lakite, as some horizontal traces precede a, but
nothing is clear except the ti-e. A name ending in ka-a, recalls Si'-
saka, but no restoration is advisable. In line 9, either te or tu is
sure. The name Lategi-Istar is clearly the same in type, as the
Latagi-ana-ilu, of App. i, xii. 18, where ^/ is certainly meant, though
dar has been written on the tablet. Lategi-ana-Istar was the name
of the witness, salsu of Assur, on no. 50, Ep. H; of the witness, on
no. 105, Ep. Z; and of the witness, on no. in. Compare also
Latugi-Nana, the seller, on no. 173, Ep. G. The same verb occurs
in Atgi-ilu, and I think in the takti, used in the sense of 'to entrust,'
in the Harran Census. Lategi is ' Verily I will trust,' Atgi, ' I have
trusted.' To this root I am inclined to refer also Taka-sarri, and
Takuni.
96 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name of the last witness may be NabCi-ah-iddin, but the
readings are too uncertain to be of any value.
471. No. 64. Nearly complete. Light red.
The text begins exactly like an estate sale. The name of the
borrower is mutilated, all one can see is that it ended in ga. He
was the sami of Rasappa, and legitimate owner of a field and some
slaves pledged. These are then further specified : two hundred
(at least) homers of land in the city of Kupalate (or Kupalabu),
bordering on the city Birahaiate, on the city of Bit-Ramannu, on
the city of the ame/ sd eli dli, i.e. probably the governor of Rasappa,
and on the city of Dilr-Nana. The slaves were Tab-rigimatu-Adadi,
his wife and two daughters, Nabii-sar-ilani his wife, two oxen, ten
homers of seed land, drsu. All this was, in lieu of fifteen minas of
silver, Carchemish standard, deposited as security. When the money
is repaid to Ilu-sarr-usur, the land and people shall be released.
Dated, the 4th of Addaru, B.C. 672. Six witnesses.
Bezold, Cata. p. 89, queries the date B.C. 695-4, apparently
because he did not know in which of two years the 4th of Addaru
then fell. G. Smith, Hist, of Sennacherib, p. 15, gives B.C. 695,
without question. He must have overlooked the mention of
Esarhaddon, as reigning monarch, in the next two lines. In my
headline I hesitated to do more than query the date : as I felt there
must be some superior knowledge underlying these assertions.
The date is also quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89, and by Gutschmid,
Neue Beitrdge, p. 46.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 5068, 7489.
In the text I have omitted the last line of reverse and the lower
edge which reads ki-sir Asur-ahe-iddin, sar mat Assur. This implies
that the money was needed for the kisru or levy of Esarhaddon, or
that the Eponym was perhaps rdb kisir of that king.
The name of the city, in line 5, is difficult to read. After Ku^
which seems certain, ha may be meant, followed by a small inserted
UD, or these may form the sign URU, Briinnow's no. 909, then
we have a certain, followed by mat, or se, and by me or lal or even a.
The reading seems therefore very doubtful. The city, Be-ra-ha-ia-te,
seems clearly written. The reading Mit, for Be, would give Mitra-
haiate. The name Bit-Ramanu shews that Ramanu was the name
of a god, note the determinative AN, but it does not prove that
AN-JM was read Ramman. The city Dur-Nana is named on
no. 742, R 24, between the cities of Irinnih and Bel-ikbi. The
AND DOCUMENTS. 97
latter, according to no. 774, 8, was in the paMti o{ Lahiri. Hence,
perhaps, we may assume our estate to be in the same district.
The name Tab-rigimatu-Adadi is a singular one, and suggests
that the ideograms for speech, KA, PI, etc., which occur in proper
names may be rendered rigmii, rigiviatu.
In line 11, in place of ahusu, SAL-su, i.e. assatusu, is now quite
plain. The name of the second serf, NabCl-sar-ilani is not common,
see App. I, I. 46.
The a/pi4 ardu was the trained ox, probably for driving the
watering machines or the plough. The se zer, if so read, denotes
land used for corn growing, arsu, here spelt a-ar-su, is the land which
could be watered, eresu.
In B. E. I, kii-viu is a variant of the commoner ku-um.
In rev. i, the name of the lender is very badly written, or else
much damaged, the first sign must be Na, then for AN read sur,
which with hi forms the sign suh, sa being the ideogram for sakd?ni,
we finally have Nasuh-aplu-iskun, 'Nasuh has established the son.'
In the next line for pir, we can now read clearly UD, i.e. pir or bir
also. Here again we have ana sabirti saknu. What was the function
of Ilu-sar-usur is not easy to discern, because of the ruined condition
of line 4, the restoration of which, although according to analogy,
is quite conjectural. Perhaps he witnessed the actual loan, as the
others below witnessed the document. The verb userabani seems
to have been written u-se-ra-ba-ni, in other words, for an read '^.
This points to the use of the sign ^a to denote an. In line 6, usest is
used for the more usual usesa.
The first witness, Nabu-sezib, or more fully, Nabta-usezib, is the
name of a witness, B.C. 688, on no. 264; of a borrower, B.C. 687, on
no. 17; a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 28; a slave sold, B.C. 681, on
no. 269; a witness, B.C. 680, on K 3790; a witness, B.C. 679, on
Rm. 157; a witness and sanu, B.C. 673, on no. 431; witness and
mukil apdti, B.C. 670, on no. 421 ; same year, witness and salsu, on
no. 202 ; in B.C. 668, on no. 472 ; witness and mukil apdft, B.C. 667,
on no. 27 ; same also in B.C. 666, on no. 185 ; in B.C. 664, on no. 1 15 ;
in B.C. 663, on no. 470; same on nos. 116, 174, 247, 296, 408, 448,
579 ; a buyer on no. 41 1 ; a principal and dupsar on no. 12, B.C. 660.
The same name occurs as that of a seller on K 12960, in the letters,
K 1202, 3024, 5457, 5461, 81-7-27, 68 ; 83-1-18, 260 ; Bu. 91-5-9,
113; also K 832 b, 995, 13139, D. T. 224, and as a serf, 'with his
people,' in dl Lukumviai, on no. 742 ; on no. 858.
J. HI. 7
98 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name in line 8, Da-ru-ra-a-{te) is like the Da-ra-ra-a-te^
witness of B.C. 692, on no. 440. The name Hara-MAN^ I read
Hara-sarru, because of Ha-rt-LUGAL, in no. 356, Har-MAN^
witness, in B.C. 651, on no. 387. Our name is also that of a witness
and viiikil apdti, Ep. H', on no. 178. For the first element compare
Hare, and the Aramaic name nn.
Mannu-ki-ahe, the witness of line 10, occurs as a seller, B.C. 698,
on no. 328; a neighbour in Nineveh, B.C. 692, on no. 324; a
witness, B.C. 681, on no. 277 ; a witness and rakasu^ B.C. 676, on
no. 330; a witness, same date, on no. 502; a witness, B.C. 661, on
no. 586; a witness, B.C. 648, on no. 333; a slave sold on no. 251 ;
a neighbour on no. 425 ; a saknu on no. 857, 11. 35 ; on no. 852 ; as
in al Takku^ on no. 899. The name is borne by the Ep. H, saknu
of Simir. A variant form Mannu-kim-ahe is the name of the seller,
in B.C. 698, on no. 475. Another form Mannu-ka-ahe, was the
name of the witness, and haza?iu of Tursana, B.C. 686, on no. 363.
The ally of Dunanu, in Gambtali, had the same name, iii. R. 33,
V. 71. A similar name, Mannu-ki-ahi, is borne by the borrower,
sa?iu of Nineveh, B.C. 665, on no. 35 ; by a seller, B.C. 680, on
K 3790; a witness on no. 291, and in the letter K 4306.
On the witness Habasite, see next no. p. 99. The name
Za-ib-da-a-ni seems to me to be meant for Zabdani, or Sabdani.
Having regard to the facts recorded of the witnesses above and
the mention of Esarhaddon in the next line, I have now no hesitation
in assigning our Eponym, Nabti-bel-usur, to B.C. 672.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 a, regards this a 'sale of land, etc'
472. No. 65. Part of a tablet. Light red.
Rimani-Adadi lends three minas of silver, kakkadu (or
perhaps SAK-MES), Carchemish standard, to . . . -na'id,
the sanu, and Tusii, another official. Didi, the amel 7ii . . .
was given as pledge. The money shall not bear interest.
The day the money is repaid the slaves shall be released.
Dated, the 20th (or before the 30th) of Aaru, b.c. 668.
Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, £/>. Can. p. 94.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, regards this as a 'private contract.'
In line i, the kakkadu is now almost entirely obliterated. In
line 3, the lender is the great Rimani-Adadi, on whose career, see
§ 465. There can be no doubt that the sanu., in line 4, was one
borrower. In line 5, the name is now clearly Tu-si-i^ not Sa-si-i as it
AND DOCUMENTS. 99
seemed to nic when I copied the text. The pledged man, Didi, was
probably accompanied by his wife, or family, as the ;////' of B. E. 2,
implies more than one.
The name 'rust occurs as that of a neighbour, Ep. A, on
no. 325 ; the name Didi is discussed, § 468. The name of the first
witness may be Sarru-ilai, faint traces of AN are now to be seen
after MAN. This name was borne by a witness and mutir pfiti^
B.C. 660, on nos. 444, 445 ; by a seller, Ep. P, on no. 628 ; a
witness, on nos. 321, 448 ; by the father of Duraua, on no. 429, and
in the letter K 796. The traces of mu^ in line 2, are no longer
certain, indeed they suggest a name beginning with XV., i.e. Istar.
The name, in line 3, may be restored Habasite. This is one of
the most variable names in our documents. We have on no. 64,
Ha-ba-a-si-te., witness in B.C. 672. The name Ha-ba-as-te must be
the same, borne by a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; by a witness
and rab kepe, B.C. 663, on no. 470; by a witness, Ep. J, on no. 297.
The name Ha-ba-as-ti is borne by a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 433 ;
by a witness and rab kepe, B.C. 670, on no. 266 ; by a witness, on
no. 493. The form Habastu is the name of a witness and rab kepe,
B.C. 668, on no. 284. To this name obviously belong the witness
in B.C. 679, on no. 462 ; the witness of no. 537, rab kcpc also; the
witnesses of nos. 358, 571. Hence we must admit another variant,
Ha-ba-as-ti., witness and rab kepe^ on no. 425. The name Hu-ba-
as-a-te occurs for a witness and rab kisir sa sepd, on no. 235. We
get Hu-ba-sa-a-te, as the name of a witness, in Ep. O, on no. 1 6 ;
a witness and sakii sarri, on no. 322. A further change appears
in Ahu-ba-sa-te, witness and rab kepe, B.C. 679, on no. 150; and in
Ahu-ba-as-fe^ witness and rab kepe, B.C. 664, on no. 115. In the last
two names, Ahu is written with the sign FAF, which may be read
Ahi also. Now A-hi-ba-as-tu is the name of a witness on no. 52.
The name was evidently foreign to the Assyrian scribes. For its
root we may compare the Phoenician E^an, the female name
Hambusu, with its Aramaic rendering, \^ir\^ on no. 233 ; as well
as Habasu, the neighbour, of B.C. 693, on no. 66 ; and Habasi, on
no. 434. But we may also think of the Egyptian Habsti, the name
of the bearded Abyssinians, cf. Arabic J^w&., Z. A. xi. p. 82.
Whether bastu^ bastu, common in proper names, influenced the
spellings, or the scribe thought of a divinity Bast, is difficult to
decide.
The name borne by the next witness, Asur-etir, occurs also on
7—2
lOO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
no. 699, as that of a rab kisir : and in the letter K 5463, as son of
Sillai. The next name, Samas-bel-iddin, would be unique. There
seem to be traces of a slanting wedge, which would give us PAP for
the last character. Then we should read the name Samas-bel-usur.
This name w^as borne by the Eponyms of B.C. 866, 853, and 711.
It occurs in the letters K 504, 1023, 7297, 7299, 7325, 7424, 8535,
Rm. II. I, 81-7-27, 39.
It is now clear that, m Ime 6, what I read as MES^ is the trace
of amel. Hence the name was Summu-ili, not Summu-ilani. The
longer name was discussed in § 465. Summa-ili, or Summu-ili,
occurs as a witness and sangii, B.C. 686, on no. 374; witness and
sa sepd, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; witness and tamkar, Ep. i, on no. 326 ;
witness and rab kisir, on no. 425; borrower, on no. 13; rab kisir,
on no. 931 ; and is a specimen name given App. i, viii. 46, App. 3,
III. 6.
The name of the Eponym, Marlarim, is here given Mar-la-ar-{me) :
compare in. R. i, vi. 3. On no. 472, as Tartan of Kummuh, the
name is Mar-la-rim-me \ on K 11478, G. A. S. no. 149, we have
Ma-ri-la-rim. The common spelling. Mar-la-rim, occurs on iii. R. i,
VI. 13, as a variant, on nos. 184, 190, 204, 208, 284, and on the
letter 83-1-18, 75. I am inclined to think that Mar here is not
maru, 'a son,' but the god Mar, Meri, the Aramaic &<"I0, and in
bV21D. pD"iD, compare Z. A. xi. p. 237. With the ending, -larim,
we may compare Abu-larim, Ahu-larim.
473. No. 66. Complete. Grey and light red.
The lady Indibi lends sixteen minas of silver, royal
standard, to Arbai. In the month of Tisritu, he shall pay
the money in full; if not, interest shall be two shekels
per mina per month. A plantation, planted with vines,
in al se Bel-ahe: bordering on the plantation of Habasu,
on that of Si'-ba-nik, on that of the chief aba: also these
slaves, Dari-Bel, his wife, three sons, and two daughters
along with his household property, four salhi of his, huzabu ;
Hudi-sarrCltsu, his daughter: all are pledged as security.
If they die, or run away, the loss shall be on their owners.
The day that he shall refund the money, with the interest,
his slaves and plantation shall be released. Dated, the
9th of Abd, B.C. 693 (or B.C. 688). Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89 : and Hist, of Sennacherib,
p. t6.
AND DOCUMENTS. lOI
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among tlie 'private contracts.'
The lady's name does not occur elsewhere. In line i, there
is now clearly a vertical before matie^ hence we read ma isten inane.
At the end of the line, sarru is very uncertain. The name of the
borrower occurs as that of the seller on no. 260 ; as that of a
bel pahati on no. 857, 11. 50, and on the letters K 176, 83-1-18,
119, compare Arbai, on Sm. 152. The name may be a gentilic,
from some city Arbu, but I think it means one born on the fourth
day. In App. i, ix. 22, the 'month' names Du'Clzai, Uldlai,
Tebetai, are followed by the 'day' names, UD-IV\KAN)-a-a,
UD-XX-{KAN)-a-a, which I venture to read Arbai and Esrai.
On line 5, the scribe has written id with two verticals.
On line 7, the I'su til-lit, which I take to mean a 'vine,' tillatu,
is rather indistinct. The lit seems to have been written over lut.
In the Harran Census, the word is often spelt til-hit. If this be not
so, then perhaps the sign of repetition was written after ///, as well as
at the end of the line.
On B. E. I, no trace of sa is now preserved. The 'farm,' or
dl se of Bel-ahe is not named elsewhere, but the personal name is
quite common. The name Habasu is probably the same as Habasi,
the name of a neighbour, on no. 434. The name Si'-banik recalls
the Harran names, it clearly means, 'Si' thy creator.' Dari-Bel
curiously enough occurs as the name of a serf, irrigator, irrisu, and
witness, B.C. 700, on no. 294; a witness, B.C. 694, on no, 58; an
irrisu, 'with his people,' at the Nineveh gate of Arbela, on no. 742 ;
a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 661. There was a city called
Dari-Bel, see no. 515. In line 3, instead of 'three' daughters, as
my text gives, the original has clearly only 'two.' The term kiiinitisu,
I take to be a by-form of kimtu,, and as the wife and children are all
named already, these must be Dari-Bel's slaves or servants.
The first words of line 4 are very difficult. We may probably
take them to read IV salhisu husdbu. But what are the salhil Are
they animals which are 'fat,' husdbu? Or are we to take husabu as
a plant, and salhu as a ' trench ' ? It does not even seem certain
that su is the possessive pronoun. The name Hudi-sarrutsu is
unique, we may compare Hudai, Hadi', and Hade-lipusu. It probably
means ' Rejoice his kingship.'
The name of the Eponym, evidently to be read Iddini-ahe, raises
some difficult questions. The name of the Eponym of B.C. 693, and
of B.C. 688, is given, iii. R. i, v. 31, 36, as AS-PAP-MES, which
102 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
may be read Iddin-ahe. This form of the name occurs on nos. 29,
264, also on no. 114; as a borrower, on no. 851; as a fnasmasu,
on no. 880, as father of Zer-lisir. Also iii. R. i, v. 31, 36, gives our
form as variant for both years. Hence we cannot say whether our
date is B.C. 693, or b.c. 688. The name of the Eponym, on nos. 17,
'^?)?>^ 1 45 J appears as SE-na-FAP-MES, or Iddinaahe, in the two
latter places he is said to be saknu of Simera. The form SE-PAP-
MES, or Iddin-ahe, as Eponym occurs on nos. 238, 491, in the
latter case, as saknu of Simera. The same form of name is borne
by a witness and aba^ B.C. 669, on no. 188; and occurs in the letter
K 1880. The name of the Eponym, on no. 243, begins with
Id-din-^ and is taken to be the same as ours. On no. 400, the
name of the Eponym begins with Se G. Smith, Ep. Can, p. 90,
assigned this to B.C. 688, apparently because this Eponym is saknu
of Dur-Sargon. He seems to have thought that as Dur-Sargon was
probably a more important place than Simera, Iddin-ahe, or Nadni-
ahi, as Smith read the name, was saknu of Simera, before he became
saknu of Dur-Sargon. On no. 240 also, the Eponym's name begins
with SE^ and this may be the same person. Admitting the force of
G. Smith's reasons, we are only certain of the dates on nos. 133,
145, 491, which are B.C. 693, and no. 400, which is b.c. 688. We
have nothing to fix the others. Another way of writing the name is
MU-SIS-MES, a witness, sa hudddi, on no. 246. Yet another is
SE-na-SIS-MES, on the letter Bu. 91-5-9, 88. On the letters,
K 1 135, 13191, 82-5-22, 132; and 83-1-18, Zt,, we meet with the
similar name Iddina-ahi, SE-na-S/S.
The name of the first witness, which I read Mannu-ki-Adadi,
occurs in a similar spelling as that of a witness, and kej>u, Ep. T,
on no. 618; as that of the Eponym for B.C. 683, the 23rd year of
Sennacherib, saknu of Supite, on nos. 47, 155, 447, 697, 703,
III. R. I, v. 41. The same name occurs on no. 852, and the letter
K 107 1. In all these cases Adadi is written [/, or AN-U. The
name with AN-IM occurs as Eponym for b.c. 683, of Supite, on
nos. 51, 122, 123, 2 73(?), III. R. I, v. 41, as a variant. This was
also the name of the Eponym, B.C. 774; in. R. 1, in. 44. It was
the name of a witness from Hirana, Ep. V, on no. 210; of the lender
on no. 7 1 ; of the seller, a saku^ on no. 438 ; and occurs in the letters,
K 533> 1046, 7360, 13027, 13120.
The name of the witness, R. E. i, begins with AN- EN, not
ANSCI as my text gives. Hence we must read Bcksum-ibni. It
AND DOCUMENTS. IO3
docs not occur again. The second name is also uncertain, for Ifu
1 am now inclined to read Gii. T'he name is therefore (iusanu.
In the next line, for kak we may read is and for lal^ Jiic is better.
The name Iskame is unique. T'he title following seems to be, mar
NIM-ME^ a man from the land of Numme.
The name of the first witness, on Z. E.^ is Rimani-ilu, borne by
the lender, B.C. 648, on no. 147 ; a witness and tafnkaru^ B.C. 646,
on no. 197 ; a witness, Ep. Q, on no. 165 ; a principal, Ep. W, on
no. 210; a witness, B.C. 693, on no. 491, possibly on nos. 393, 496,
and K 4767. The next name may be read Ilu-sallim-ahi, or the last
sign may be iiaphar^ 'all,' of the city Dur-Rimte.
474. No. 67. Nearly complete. Red.
The Sakintu of Kabal-Ninua lends some money to
Ardi-Istar upon security of Isdi-ahesu his son. He has
mortgaged his son to the sakintu, Bel-eres is her agent.
The other conditions appear unusual. If the slave died
or ran away, the debtor was to owe double. When the
money was returned the slave was to be set free from the
sakintu^s control, or as an alternative remain her slave
if she gave him the money. Dated the 26th of Tebetu,
B.C. 748?
The date is quoted by Bezold correctly. Cat. p. 203 : but the year
B.C. 748 is very unlikely indeed. We have probably here another
Post Canon Eponym : Ep. tt. The w^hole tablet is fearfully crumpled
up and very difficult to make out. It seems never to have been
baked and judging from its present appearance may have been
carried in a modern pocket. The characters, instead of being deep
cut, are now very little below the surface. They sometimes look no
more than irregular shaped little pits. What I give as my reading
I shall only be too glad to see improved. The lower edge is the
most indistinct ; there in line 2, for bab-mes almost anything might
be read. In line 3 the first three or four characters may be really
ana beli-su or even ana Ardi-Istar.
However, if ina libbi Babe stands, it may mean ' in open market '
or some such phrase for due publicity. The gate, bdbit^ was the
' exchange ' of an Eastern city. The phrase niitu halka a?ia be/isu,
'if he die or flee to his old master,' follows the formula of no. 62.
The consequence is not very clear : i?ia MU-AN-su hallak ina eli
Isdi-ahesu f. Sakintu kaspu sa?iiu, seems to mean ' at the time (lit.
in his year) that he shall flee, for Isdi-ahesu, the sakintu^ double
104 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
money.' That I take to mean, if the slave died or ran away the
debtor should owe double. Then as usual, on the day the debtor
repays his loan the pledge shall be returned. If it be not returned,
the sakintii shall give the money to Isdi-ahesu and presumably he
will remain her slave. It seems a rather mixed affair but is reason-
able enough. The father pledged his son, he was to owe double
if the son died or ran away. When he returned the money, he
stipulated that his son should be set free. The son might however
prefer to remain a slave in the household of such a distinguished
lady, so, if she liked to pay him the money, the father waived his
claim upon him. A different view of the transaction is taken in
§ 468 : but as the original is so defaced, I am very doubtful whether
either view is correct.
The district intended by Kabal ali is a little doubtful. We read
of a sakintu of it, also in nos. 232, 242. The sakintu of Kabal dli
in no. 232, is called Ahi-dalli. On no. 447, she is a sakintu of
Nineveh; and on no. 643, Ahi-TAR-li, which may be intended for
the same person, is a sakintu of Kabal Ninua. We have only to
suppose alu to denote Nineveh here, to reconcile the variants.
What was meant by the kablu of a city seems open to doubt.
Perhaps its central district as distinguished from its mahirtu or
'outskirts.' But in no. 778, we have mention of several kablu,
plural kab-la-te, of different cities, each of which seems to be ina
ugari of its city. The ugaru, H. IV. B. p. 18 a, seems to mean
the outskirts itself. There seems to be another word gablu, which
may be meant in no. 778, used of some sort of garden, or plantation.
Thus we read of a gablu of {isu) SA-Su-GI, on K 2017, and others
are named in the Harran Census tablets. This may be intended in
no. 413, line 4; no. 360, line 4; and in no. 778, where in each case
the sign gab is used. In our case the sign DE may perhaps not be
read Kabal, but subtti, or in some other way. But, however it is
read, we see that a distinct quarter of Nineveh is meant. The
Kabal hurdsi is named on nos. 174, 415, unless we are to read 'the
city of the goldsmiths.' The sakintu of Kabal Ninua is named also
on no. 190, and on no. 950, where it is distinguished from mat
mahirte Ninua and mat mahirte kisir essi.
The name of Ardi-Istar was borne by a number of people and
we have little to distinguish many of them. From ^S". A. V. 724, we
have one a servant of the bcl pahdti of Halsu, u.c. 708. A seller,
son of Ardi-A^ur, of the city Katkanu, in Ep. 1), on no. 622; a
AND DOCUMKNTS. IO5
witness of the city Kurai, on no. 500 ; a witness, son of a lady
Hi , in H.c. 698, on no. 328 ; the seller, son of Abu-erba, brother
of Samai-bullitani, of the city Kurubi, in Ep. A, on no. 623 ; the
son of Ina-eSi-eres, on no. 525 ; a witness, of the city Nasibina,
B.C. 656, on no. 152 ; a witness, of the city Hubaba, in Ep. Q, on
no. 165 ; the agent for NabiVrihtu-usur, of the city of the 'washermen,'
in Ep. F; the witness, son of Sasanu, in Ep. S, on no. 311 ; the
witness and goldsmith, B.C. 686, on no. 612; are probably all
different persons. The son of Tarnugam, of the city Hubaba, in
Ep. Q, on no. 446, may be the same as the one above on no. 165.
This was the name of a witness and aba^ in B.C. 707, on no. 350 ; of
an aba sa pant pikittdti, on no. 922. These two may be the same.
Without title, as the name of a witness, in B.C. 687, on no. 212 ; in
B.C. 686, on no. 28; in B.C. 683, on nos. 89 and 278; in B.C. 670,
on no. 42 ; in Ep. C, on no. 641 ; in Ep. I, on no. 102 ; in Ep. p,
on no. 225 ; we have no means of identifying the person intended.
As borrower, without title, in B.C. 679, on nos. 83, 84; as seller,
in B.C. 680, on nos. 229, 231; on nos. 775, 925; on K 10541,
13208, 132 10, we are in no better case. In b.c. 668, a buyer of this
name was eli bitdni, no. 284 ; another was sangu of Bit Kidmuri,
in Ep. R, on no. 642 ; another was a slave, and witness, on no. 464 ;
a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 661 ; a seller possibly, in B.C. 651,
on no. 379; a witness, in B.C. 648, on no. 147; a borrower, in
B.C. 648, on no. 7; and the names on K 11806, 82-5-22, 159;
serve to complete a list of occurrences that seems to defy analysis.
The name of his son, Isdi-ahesu, occurs as that of a neighbour,
B.C. 648, on no. 373 ; and of a witness, in Ep. P, on no. 628. The
name of the agent of the sakmtu, Bel-eres, occurs with the same
title, bel kdtdti, in B.C. 680, on nos. 113, 119; in the same year,
without title, as witness, on nos. 73, 74 ; and as seller, on nos. 305,
355. The name is also on K 1560 and App. 3, i. 20.
The first witness, Danna, occurs as buyer on no. 251; and on
no. 899. A similar name, Dannai, was borne by the lender,
B.C. 676, on no. 11; by the lender, b.c. 673, on no. 118; by a
witness and uiukil apdti^ B.C. 668, on no. 284; by the seller, on
no. 439 ; by a shepherd, on K 8134. This may be the same as the
lender, Dannaia, in B.C. 674, on no. 117. Also Dana, the lender,
B.C. 680, on no. 119; and the witness, b.c. 670, on no. 202, may be
the same. So may be Danaia, witness, B.C. 674, on no. 404. The
writer of the astrological reports, K 4, 375, 392, 396, 1360, 1423,
106 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
all in B.C. 649; and of 82-5-22, 86, in b.c. 648; who calls himself
bel-tcmi^ may well be a different person. He spells his name
Dan-a-a.
The next witness, Bel-ahe, bears the name of a witness, in
B.C. 693, or 688, on no. 32 ; of a borrower, in B.C. 687, on no. 125 ;
of a witness, in Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; and in our last, no. 66, his
' farm ' appears. How the next name is to be read is not clear,
Ahuasi, Ahualim, seem unlikely. On the whole I prefer to take
Ahua-lamur. At any rate, I have not met it elsewhere.
The next witness, Tab-sar-Istar, bears the name of a witness, in
B.C. 710, on no. 234 ; of a neighbour, in Ep. N, on no. 327 ; and of
a witness, on no. 288. The name of Tabalai, clearly a gentilic,
'from Tabal,' occurs fairly often. A witness, in B.C. 672, on no. 15 ;
a principal, in Ep. T, on no. 618; a witness on no. 159; a witness
and kepu on no. 425; a musappiu on no. 775; a mutir ptiti on
no. 840 ; all bear the name, which also occurs on no. 860 and in the
letters K 613, Rm. 51. The name is variously spelt, Ta-ba-la-a-a^
Ta-bal-a-a^ Tab-bal-a-a, Tab-la-a-a, Tab-ER-a-a. I think Tab-al-lu-u-a^
the name of the slave pledged, in Ep. L, on no. 61, is the same.
The form Ta-ba-li is given as the name of a witness, on no. 275 ;
and Tab-li, as a witness in B.C. 695, on no. 569.
The name Mannu-ki-Ninua occurs as that of a slave sold,
B.C. 707, on no. 292 ; of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 125 ; of a lender,
B.C. 682, on no. 122; of a witness, B.C. 669, on no. 310; of a
witness, B.C. 660, on no. 12 ; of a witness, son of Emur-lstar, of the
city Bit Hurabi, in Ep. G, on no. 160; of a seller, on no. 471 ; of a
witness, on nos. 209, 590; of a slave sold, on no. 246; beside the
letters K 609, 616, 650, 5458, 7534, and on no. 844. The name of
Nineveh is distinctly spelt Ninila in several of these places.
The name of the witness, R. E. i, is very difficult to read. The
traces of ku may be ?na-a^ but that would give three a's, one after
the other, a very unlikely reading. I have a fancy that ra was
written, over or upon another sign. The name Su-ku-ai is not
likely, but compare Suk-ku-ai on nos. 9, 204, 386. Sumai occurs on
V)W. 89-4-26, 20. Su-ra-a-a occurs often in later Babylonian texts,
S. A. K. 6859 ; and may be restored for no. 286, as the name of
the seller, in line 2. The name Sura occurs in the Harran Census.
In the date, the sign AB^ for Tebetu, seems to lack the vertical
at the end. Dr Bezold was therefore probably correct in reading
KAN, i.e. Kislimu. On a review of the above names of witnesses,
AND DOCUMENTS. I07
it will be scon how improbable the date I5.c. 748 is. Tliere does not
ai)pear to be more than w'hat 1 give, though the missing signs may
have been lightly impressed and defaced by finger marks. On the
whole I distinctly incline to suppose that Sin-mu§^allim, if that was
his name, is really a Post Canon Eponym.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
475. No. 68. Complete. Red.
Ubbuku and Sirkinuba, his brother, lend Tursu-Istar,
the sasinnu of Asur, thirty shekels of silver. He pledges
Nabil-nadin-ahi his slave.
The day that he returns the money, his slave shall be
released. If he die or run away the loss shall be to his
owner.
Dated, the 13th of Ululu, B.C. 645. Nine witnesses.
The date is given, Ej>. Can. p. 96.
Extracts are given, S. A. K 4822, 6710.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private con-
tracts.'
In line 2 of the edge, after duppisu, we may read esidsu; or
kal, dan, and in the first line of rev. after ki/na diippi-su we may
read rnpi, or subbi. What these phrases can mean, I do not know
in the least ; and the tablet is so injured that I am unable to read
them. The common phrases, ki duppi, adi duppi u duppi, etc., see
Muss-Arnolt, p. 263 a, do not seem to be intended.
The name of the second witness, on the left-hand edge, may
be really Isdi-di-ri, with which we may perhaps compare Isdi-
Harran : or Isdi-DI-KUT, i.e. Isdi-Daiani.
On rev. edge i, in place of Ur, we may read NIG IN, the
double KIL, which is the ideogram for pahdru : and in place of
ha we may have la, the form which also serves as the numeral 5.
If these readings be accepted, the name may be Upahhiri-Iau,
instead of Urriha. Of the next name, only bu is now preserved.
In line 3, the sign ad is much blurred and may have been Ab,
giving the name Abda.
The name of the lender is a singular one, Ubbuku, and occurs on
no. 857, IV. 12, as a rab kisir mar sarri ; in the Harran Census as
brother of Kakustu, and sojn of Artalanu. What appears to be the
same name, V-bu-uk-ki, is borne by a witness, in B.C. 674, on
no. 124; the form U-bu-ku, name of a witness on no. 125, in B.C.
687 ; and U-bu-ku, name of a witness, in B.C. 670, on no. 44.
I08 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name of the second lender may be read Muskinu-ilu, if we
suppose the ba really a badly made ilu. But in either case I know
of no parallel. The sign SIS^ which I have taken to mean
' brother ' above, may be part of the name. Sirkinubasis may be
really the name of the lender, perhaps of Elamite extraction.
The reading of the borrower's name as Tursu-Istar is conjectural.
The ideogram LAL denotes tardsu and its derivatives. In the first
element of names LAL occurs in LAL-Ahir, a witness, Ep. W, on
no. 88 ; in LAL-FLN-es, a smith, in Ep. H, on no. 50 ; in L.AL-
KAM-es^ a witness, Ep. A', on no. 414; a witness, on no. 592;
a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 672 ; an irrigator, ' with his people,'
on no. 742, line i ; again, line 4, in the city Bit Likbiru ; again,
line 25, in the city Kaspi ; again, rev. 12, in Bit Adadi-eres ; again,
rev. 32, in al se of Sakimme. Here we have LAL-E-XV, as also
in the name of a witness, Ep. r, on no. 45. A phonetic reading
of what I take to be the same name occurs on no. 260, R. 12, as
Tiir-su-XV. Hence I read it Tursu-Istar, and the above names,
Tursu-Asur, Tursu-eres. With the form of the latter compare
Tu-ku-nii-KAM-es^ i.e. Tukunu-eres, on no. 840, 11. 5. This person
was a sasimiu of Asur : on the title, see § 200. On the name of the
slave pledged, see § 478.
On rev. 3, we expect HA-A, but the scribe seems to have written
ZA-A, a scribal error I think. In the next line, hi may now be read
after 7fiuh : the line therefore reads ina muh-hi belisu. In the date
the day is clearly 13, not 12 as in my edition.
The dating of the Eponym as B.C. 645, follows G. Smith,
Ep. Can. p. 96. As Eponym, Nabti-sar-ahesu occurs on no. 24 ;
on the astrological reports, K 359, 83-1-18, 27, 156, and on the
prismoid K 1729, where he is saknu of Samaria. The seller on
no. 411 bears this name, also found on the letters K 96, 681, 974
(as taken prisoner in Elam), and Rm. 78. He also dates no. 8i8,
not mentioned in the Catalogue.
The name of the first witness is very uncertain, see above. The
second witness bore the curious name of Ahi-abCi, compare FAF-
a-bu-Uy the witness, b.c. 694, on no. 281 ; FAF-a-bit, witness,
13. c. 675, on no. 167 ; and I^AF-a-bi, witness, B.C. 680, on no. 26.
So far as these forms are concerned we might as well read Nasir-
ab(J, but compare Winckler, A. L\ Sec. Ser. p. 85 : and the names
Ahi-imme, Ahi-umme, Ahat-immai, Ahat-abisa.
The next name I read Pani-I^tar-lamur, *'I'he face of Istar may
AND DOCUMENTS. IO9
I sec,' a name like Pnni-A^ur-laniur, Pani-NabA-lamur. The name
was also borne l)y a witness, in u.c, 651, on no. 387; by a seller,
on no. 452.
The next witness bears a name that seems to read Kitenii, with
which I compare Kitinu, in no. 21, the witness of B.C. 682. The
name Isdi-diri is only found here.
The name Raman-raba is one of the few names which witness
to the existence of a god Raman. We have Raman-ibni, in no. 298,
the seller in B.C. 680 ; Raman-nadin-aplu, the witness, of Sasabinai,
B.C. 681, on no. 269; on both of which we have the determinative
AN before Raman. There is no witness for Ram man, the long
accepted reading of AA^-U, and AN-IM. The name U-rabd occurs
as a seller and tamkaru^ on no. 197, in B.C. 646 (?), of which a
variant seems to be U-ra-pa\ the witness and son of Nabti-etir, in
Ep. A, on no. 325 : compare the witness on no. 46. It would,
however, be hazardous to conclude from this that while AN-IM
is Adadi, ANU is Raman, for in many names AN-IM is replaced
by ANU. But there may be good reason to say that Raman and
Adad are the same divinity.
The name Sin-na'id was borne by a witness in Ep. S, on no.
311; in Ep. J, on no. 297; in Ep. y, as a rab kisir^ on no. 236;
by a seller, on no. 195, in B.C. 73o(?); by a buyer, on no. 464; on
no. 509, by a witness; by the father of Sansuru, on no. 22; by
a serf, vigniard, in the city Maribe-uarri, on K 2017; occurs on
no. 584; and in the letters, K 598, 652, 82-5-22, 93.
476. No. 69. About one quarter of the tablet is gone, but
only a character or two is missing at the commencement of each
line on the reverse. Light slate colour.
The borrower's name ended in eres. Taribi-Istar lends him
some money, the amount of which is not now preserved. The
security was a field, or plot of land, situated near the cities Su-ra
and Dannani, and next the field of Aa-metunu. Its crops he shall
enjoy, three karabhi and three ?nerise : that is for six years possibly.
The sum shall be paid off by the value of these crops, and then
the field shall be restored. The date has been destroyed. Five
witnesses.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the ' private con-
tracts.'
The name Taribi-Istar appears here in the form Ta-SU-XV^
where SU \s the ideogram for erebu 'to increase,' and Ta is the
no ASSYRIAN DEEDS
phonetic prefix. As a rule the verb in names does not agree with
the feminine subject Istar. This name is written more ideogra-
phically SU-AN-XV^ as the name of a witness, amel MU, in
B.C. 688, on no. 243; phonetically Ta-ri-bi-AN-XV^ as that of a
slave sold, on no. 244; or Ta-ri-^?a-AN-XV, as that of a witness,
rab kepe^ B.C. 668, on no. 284.
From the traces, in line 3, the name may be Ninip-eres or
Nergal-eres. The city Si\ra, spelt Sii-ti-ra, occurs in Asurnasirpal's
inscriptions, in. R. 6, R. 53, 54, as near Mt Hamani ; and the city
Su-ri-a occurs in Tiglath Pileser I., in iii. R. 5, no. 4, 11, and
perhaps on no. 629. The line 5 is now clearer, and before alu
were traces of sa^ and the ending ni may be a. The city Dannani
may be the same as the Dannai, of no. 470, and the city Dania,
mentioned by Tiglath Pileser III., in iii. R. 10, no. i, 5 a : and the
city Dana, of 80-7-19, 26. An dl se Danaia named on no. 416,
like the dl se Danna on no. 377, implies a personal Dannai as holder,
after whom the place was named. There was a river Dana, see
B. A. S. II. 51. The land Dananu, named in Sargon's Annals,
161, as a remote district of the Aribi, is not likely here. It must
be recalled also that all names beginning with Dan^ may be read
Lab. Hence we may have a city Labnani in our text, Labnai in
no. 470, and an dl se Labna, in no. 377.
In line 6, instead of the remains of bit^ we should clearly read
traces of lib. The field of Aa-metunu is named as a boundary
probably. The name Metunu was borne by the Eponym of B.C.
700, sakmi of Isana, see iii. R. i, v. 24 and no. 112. Of this
name, the variant Mitunu, is given on nos. 176, 294; Mitunu, on
no. 144, 80-7-19, I : and the same name occurs in the letters,
K 1266, 10017, Rm. 65. Our name is unique. I suppose Aa to
be the divine name, and that it means ' Aa is our mitu^' but what the
mitu here is intended to mean is very uncertain.
The spelling kar-ap-hi is welcome alongside the more usual
ka-rap-hi. The word is always associated with 7fierisu, and seems
to denote a treatment of the land, alternating with 7nerisu, perhaps
'a fallow.' We shall return to it under the leases. Tlie pledge of
land exactly corresponds to a lease of the property for a lump sum
in advance instead of a yearly rent. We may therefore suppose that
this land was leased or pledged for six years ; during which time the
money lent was to be paid off by the value of the crop. In line 2
of the lower edge, the last two signs are of course meant for kaspii :
AND DOCUMENTS. I IT
and probably only imi is lost from the first line of reverse. The
clause certainly read, kaspu imx eli sc taramc iddan : and either
meant 'he shall repay himself the money lent from the crop grown,'
or is an abbreviated form of the stipulation, that if the borrower
redeemed his pledge before the expiry of the six years, ' he shall
pay cash for the growing crop.' Then of course the holder would
release the pledged field, ek/u uscsa.
The name of the first witness, Sipranu, is clearly the same as the
name Si-pa-ra-7iu^ the witness and sdrip tahse, of Til-Ninip, in B.C.
742 (?), on no. 75 ; and as Si-par-a-nu, the w^itness, h.c. 687, on
no. 100: compare the seller, B.C. 682, on no. 276. It seems to
me probable that the name is derived from one of the city names
Sippara.
The name Au-ilai is interesting as testifying to the existence of
a divine name Au. Whether w^e are to identify wath Aa, Ai, la,
lau, etc., is too wide a question to decide here. I prefer to keep
the forms apart for the present. Compounds of Au are Au-ba'di,
Au-bani, Au-ianu, Au-iddin, Au-idri, Au-killani. If the Au here be
identical with that in Au-si', the rendering of Hoshea, in in. R. 10,
no. 2, 17, then it is a rendering of the name seen in Hebrew as
Jeho, or Jo ; and there can be no doubt of its identity with lau.
The third witness is named Isdi-Istar. This is the name of a
witness, and BI-LUL sa siikalli^ in B.C. 716, on no. 382; of a
witness, in B.C. 687, on no. 624; of a witness, in B.C. 686, on
no. 374; of an aiiiel sa biti (?) saknute, no. 857, 11. 8. It also
occurs B.C. 709, as the name of a sasinu, servant of the bel pahdti
of Kalhu, S. A. V. 720.
The next witness, Sin-sar-usur, bears the name of the Eponym A,
aba mdti, that is, aba ekalli, on nos. 318, 623, and possibly on
no. 325. Another Eponym, of the same name, Ep. B, bel pahdti
of Hindana, occurs on no. 207, and a third possibly, called an
amel arku, as Ep. A', on no. 414. The name is borne by a witness,
B.C. 692, on no. 324 ; by the lender, a sanu, in B.C. 693, or 688,
on no. 32; by a witness and mukil apdti, B.C. 671, on no. 41;
a lessee, sanu of Lahiru, b.c. 670, on no. 625 ; by a witness and
mutir piUi, B.C. 663, on no. 56; in b.c. 649, on K 392; a
neighbour in Nineveh, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; a witness and ??iiitir
piUi, in Ep. A, on no. 318; a witness, son of Nabti-nasir, of Hubabai,
in Ep. Q, on no. 446; a borrow^er, Ep. A, on no. 136; as buyer on
J^o. 334 ; an dsu on no. 851, 11. 12, an dsu on Sm. 471 ; and is often
112 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
named in the letters K 585, 824, 1425, 1588, 7484, 82-5-22, 167,
83-1-18, 84, 99, 105, as well as being named on nos. 813, 844, 849,
^51? 931- The curious variant Sin-sar-uzur is noticed as Eponym
on no. 2 : see § 407, Clearly the above references concern more
than one person of this name. There are traces of AN before XXX
in line 6.
The last witness is called Samas-upahir. This was the name
of the Eponym in B.C. 709, saknu of Kirruri. As such he dates
K 2682, 2685, 2689, 3670. This was also the name of the Eponym
in B.C. 876, see iii. R. i, v. 16, and variants, in. R. i, i. 35, and
variants. In V. R. 44, 50, we have this as the name of an ancient
Babylonian ruler, on K 631, as a writer to the King; on no. 105,
as witness and sa sepd, in Ep. Z. The comparison of the names
is very instructive for the reading of ideograms, we have the variants,
AN-UD-ii-pa-hir, AN-UD-UB-LA, AN-UD-NIGIN, AN-Sa-mas-
SAB-ri, AN-Sa-mas-u-pa-hir, DUL-DUL-AN-GIS-SIR, AN-UD-
u-pah-hir.
That the date is B.C. 692, is a conjecture from the remains of the
Eponym's name. It ended in za-a^ which could be the end of Zdza^
perhaps a variant of Zazai. This name is spelt on no. 324, Za-za-a^
he is there saknu of Arpadda ; as Za-za-a-a, on nos. T,2t^ 44° ; as
Za-za-ia, on no. 189; as Za-za-ku, on no. 286. A closely related,
if not identical, name, is Zazi, who appears as mukil apdti of the
rdb Bl-LUL, in B.C. 688, on nos. 238, 240, and perhaps 236; as
witness on no. 252, as lender, in B.C. 712, on no. 5. This name
is spelt Za-a-zt-i, on no. 239, as the mukil apdti of the BI-LUL^ in
B.C. 688, and witness. Also the Eponym on no. 158, is Za-zi-e ;
hence the series of names probably are all variants of one and the
same name. The name Zi-zi-i is borne by a witness and tanikaru^
B.C. 686, on no. 285 ; by an ikkaru in B.C. 669, on no. 366 ; by
a witness and sanu sa rab ktsir, B.C. 663, on no. 309 ; witness and
sajiu sa rab kisir^ in Ep. A, on no. 623 ; in Ep. F, with same
title, on no. 361 ; with additional title of inutir puti in Ep. F,
on no. 621 ; as witness and sami sa rab urdt^ in Ep. A, on no. 318 ;
as witness and sanu^ on no. 211; as witness and 7mittr tenii, on
no. 253; as neighbour, on no. 597, as witness, on no. 573; as
buyer and saku sarri, on no. 434 ; as ' irrigator, with his people,' in
Adizani, on no. 742; as bdru, on no. 851, 11. 3; as writer of
K 1423, and named on Sm. 11 98. The sanu sa rdb kisir and
witness, in Ep. Q, on no. 308, is called Zi-zi-e. The name appears
AND DOCUMENTS. II3
as Zi-e-zi-i, on no. SS4 ; and Zi-zi is the name of a kcpu^ on no. 857,
III. 3.
477. No. 70. Upper half. Light slate colour.
The document opens like a sale. Silim-ilu, the ra/f kisir,
apparently was owner of some land described as an ai se in 7ft(U
Haritc. It is specified as a parcel of twenty-two homers and or\Q pa,
a field near the fields of three neighbours whose names are mutilated.
Other fields must have been mentioned on the lost portion — for in
line 3 of rev., we learn there were in all a lot of eight homers and
one pa : all zaku/e, and not grass land (?) in the city of Baruhu.
This estate is transferred to the lady Abi-rami, sister of the Queen-
Mother, in lieu of half a mina of silver, and pledged as security. She
shall enjoy three karabhi and three merise ; the money she shall take
from the growing crops, and then restore the field.
Dated the nth of Simanu, B.C. 674. Three witnesses from the
city of Baruhu and another.
In this year, of course, Esarhaddon was king. The Queen-
Mother was, as we know, Nakia (or Zaktitu, as the Assyrians
called her). The lady Abi-rami was therefore maternal aunt of
Esarhaddon.
Now that the tablet is perfectly clean, some fresh readings are
possible. There does not seem to have been room for kunukku at the
beginning of the first line ; and in the name, UD is very indistinct.
The name Silim-Samas would be the only case of its occurrence,
while Silim-ilu is the name of the witness, sa eli kisdti, B.C. 700, on
no. 112 ; of a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 44; of a witness and sangu,
on no. 245 ; of a witness, on no. 637 ; of a rah kisir mar sarri, on
no. 857, I. 38 ; and of the principal, in Ep. T, on no. 618.
With j?idi Harite, which only occurs here, we may compare indt
Hirutu, which Sargon, Annals 264, puts in Gambuli. There was a
city Haridi in mat Suhu, i. R. 23, 14; i. R. 24, 34, 37.
In line 4, there is now no trace at the beginning, but at the end
before AN are traces of har, or su. In line 6, the homer is very
indistinct and su seems to have followed pa. The sign pa denotes
a fifteenth of the gur, and if three homers make one gur we have
here twenty-two homers and one-fifth.
How the names of the neighbours should be completed is
difficult to decide. Ahi-iababa would suit the first. This was the
name of the upstart king in Bit-Adini, i. R. 18, 76 etc. Also it was
the name of the buyer, B.C. 698, on no. 468. But we might also
J. in. 8
114 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
complete it Ahi-iamnu, which was the name of a neighbour in
Lahiru, B.C. 670, on no. 625. As we know the Queen-Mother
resided in Lahiru, this seems most Hkely. Ahi-iakamu, Ahi-iakar,
are also to be thought of. The second name now clearly shews
Ihi-la for which I know no parallel. Ilu-larim, Ilu-lamur may
be imagined.
On the reverse, traces of signs may be seen all along the edge
but I can make nothing of them. In line 2, the first two signs may
be za\ and for su we might read //, but these readings do not seem
to me to give any sense. The term zaku applied to land generally
seems to mean ' free,' from imposts or duty. But it may be here
intended to shew that the holder was to be set free from any claim
on the part of the mortgagor to the use of the crops. I should read
zakute la se sibsu isabbas ; ' the lands are free, the grass crop he shall
not tread down.'
The city Baruhu occurs again below as the place of residence of
the first three witnesses. In neither place is the last sign free
from doubt, here it could be ri^ there it might be tar. So far as
I know the place is not elsewhere named, cf. the personal name
Baruhu-ilu.
In line 9, instead of me., we can read mi clearly. As in the last
number and generally in the leases, the three karaphi and three
merise involve a six years' tenure. Here we have in full the phrase
kaspu ina eli se tardmi isakkan, ' the money for the growing crop he
shall lay down.'
The first witness is named Ahu-ere^, or as it was probably read,
Ah-eres. The name is borne by a witness, B.C. 690, on no. 55 ; a
neighbour, in Singara, B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; a witness, in Ep. W,
on no. 177. The next name, Nabu-sarrani, which I take to mean
'Nabli our king,' is that of a witness and rab all of Nineveh, on
no. 261; on no. 851, as an usku ; and as aba of Assur, son of
NabCl-sum-usur, on 79-7-8, 190, and on Sm. 2015.
The next name ends in SU, that is to say in erba, probably.
These three were all from the city Baruhu. The traces in line 3
are now clearer perhaps, there seems to be one horizontal, AS
or the end of ^I, PI, or ME, then a is certain, and sak probably
follows.
The name of the Eponym is written, as here, LUGAL-nu-ri,
in III. R. I. VI. 7 : on no. 857, in. 40, as a bel narkabti ; on no. 841 ;
MAN-nu-ri, as Eponym, on no. 117 ; LUGAL-SAB, as bel pahati,
AND DOCUMENTS. II5
on no. 853; as l^vponym, on no. 126; MAN-SAB^ as Eponym,
III. R. 1, VI. 7, on nos. 383, 404, and as witness, rah a/(hii, on
no. 476. He was sakuu of Har-halza. This place appears as
Bar-ha/-za, on nos. 404, 447, K 122, 11 13, 83-1-18, 75; as
Bar-hal-zi^ on nos. 115, 294, 675; as Halza simply, on no. 533,
in which places it is called }nat. As a city, alu, BiW-hal-za occurs
on nos. 116, 468, 853; as Bar-hal-zu^ on no, 468; as Bar-ha-za, on
no. 919. Hence I think we may compare the district, fia^s^u, of
Bar-ha-zi-ia^ named by Tiglath-Pileser III. From no. 447 we may
conclude it was near Rasappa.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 a, regards this as a 'sale o{ a house.^
478. No. 71. Only a fragment. Red.
Here also w^e have to deal with the mortgage of an estate, to
Marduk-bel-usur, the salsii of Sa-NabiVsu. The loan was ad-
vanced to Mannu-ki-Adadi, its amount was at least 50 shekels of
silver : and the estate was to be held in pledge for three years.
The word 'years,' sandti, occurs in three lines, but nothing else is
left to shew what the clauses were. The day that he returns the
money the estate will be released.
Both date and witnesses are gone.
This tablet is shaped like a deed, not like a money or loan tablet.
The phrase, in line i, on the lower edge {ana) sabirti {sakin) alone
justifies its place. The references to the se nusahi, the number of
years, and the trace of usesa seem to confirm the view. It is possible
that in place of the usual ana III sandti ikkal ' he shall enjoy three
years,' we have here usab for ikkal \ i.e. 'he shall inhabit.' But the
very fragmentary condition prevents any great certainty.
In line i, the traces are not to be recognised. In line 3, the
name Marduk-bel-usur is the same as that of the Eponym, B.C. 727,
saknu of Amedi, in. R. i, iv. 43; of the neighbour, B.C. 716, on
no. 382 ; and of the principal, on no. 348. The name of his master
is here Sa-Nabti-si\. This seems to be a variant of Sa-Nabu-su, ' of
Nabil is he.' This name was borne by the Eponym of B.C. 656, on
nos. 48, 49, 152, 702, K 1 1446, III. R. I, VI. 28. The name occurs
on enquiries of the oracle of Samas, G. A. S., nos. 17, 57, 58, on
K 433, as son of Nabil-nasir, at Erech, B.C. 648; on no. 128, as
witness, B.C. 665; on K 13155, 81-2-4, 78. On no. 890, he
appears as rdb sake; his son is named on no. 880, i. 15.
Mannu-ki-Adadi, evidently the borrower, is discussed in § 471.
479. No. 72. Only a part of the text is preserved. On the
8—2
Il6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
obverse which has 12 lines the writing extends to what is really the
bottom of the tablet. On the reverse some three or four lines are
lost at the beginning : but the writing goes down to the end of the
text. Colour dark brown to black. In line i, was probably kunuk^
followed by the name of the borrower, which ends in eres. The
lender seems to have been Nusku-usur, who advances money on
behalf of Istar of Arbaili. In line 4, appears the end of the
borrower's name, written now -eris. The pledge is the girl Lamassi,
who is to remain ten days redeemable. If at the end of that time
the money is not repaid she is to become the property of the lender
outright, that is she is to be considered sold and taken. Dated, the
7th of Addaru, b.c. 677. Three witnesses.
The peculiarity about this tablet is that, so far as preserved, the
reverse is the duplicate of the obverse.
The phrase ana sabri kammusat^ cf. no. 61, seems a variant to
ana sabi7'ti saknu. In obv. 8, AT vs, written twice by the scribe:
of course this is an error.
This is not a pillow shape as loan tablets usually are.
Of course, we are not able to restore the name of the debtor,
the master of Lamassi, who is pledged, but the mortgagee, Nusku-
usur, or Nusku-nasir, seems fairly certain, though the name only
occurs here.
The name of the first witness, Arbailai, is partly discussed in
§ 409. The name appears first as that of a witness, B.C. 748 (?),
on no. 412 ; as salsu and witness, B.C. 712, on no. 5 ; as neighbour
in Bit Dagan, B.C. 707, on no. 350; as witness and eli kisdte^
B.C. 700, on no. 112; as witness, B.C. 695, on no. 34; witness and
sa sepd, B.C. 688, on no. 400 ; witness and rdb ispare^ B.C. 686, on
no. 453; witness, b c. 680, on nos. 3 and 26; witness, B.C. 677, on
no. 72; borrower and sa?iu, B.C. 671, on no. 121 ; witness, B.C. 669,
on no. 310; borrower and sanu of Bar-halzi, B.C. 664, on no. 115;
as Eponym, B.C. 661, on nos. 586, 782, 993, where he is tukultu
rabl4. III. R. i, vi. 19; as witness and rakbu sa sepd, Ep. B, on
no. 207 ; witness and mukil apdti, Ep. i, on no. 326 ; as seller and
servant of the sakintu^ on no. 261 ; witness and sa sepd of the Crown
Prince, on no. 312 ; as borrower and saiiu of Bar-halzu, on no. 116 ;
witness and rdb kepc, on no. 241 ; witness, on nos. 92, 291, 339,
seller, on no. 424; on nos. 706, 844, 857, 902, 913; and in letters
K 554, 80-7-19, 24; 83-1-18, 67.
SagibCi has been discussed in § 463, Barrukku in § 465. The
AND DOCUMENTS. II7
name of tlic l^ponym Al)i-ranui is found on nos. 194, 576, 701,
K 1658, 111. R. I, V. 4; III. R. 2, 50, no. XXIII. He was sukallu
rahh in the ivlh year of Esarhaddon. \Vc may compare the female
name Abi-rami, of Esarhaddon's maternal aunt. We know that
Esarhaddon's mother played the part of ruler of the kingdom in
his absence, and that many ladies were made governors of cities.
Is it possible that the lady Abi-rami was made sukallu rabii and
so became an Eponym ? The absence of the feminine determinative
seems against that. In line 10, I have given the wrong form of
amel. On reverse, line 6, at end MES is now clear, instead of me.
In line 9, a ki is now clear after AN\n Arbailai.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private
contracts.'
480. The next three documents, nos. 73-5, seem to follow
naturally here. Although the phrase ana sabirti sakin is absent,
the nature of the transactions seems to imply it.
Abstracts of nos. 73-75.
No. 73 and no. 74. Tablet and case. The inner tablet no. 73
is 'pillow' shaped and complete. The outer case no. 74 has only
lost a very small piece. Brown.
Here the document begins by stating the nature of the security,
five homers of land, belonging to Edu-sallim, in al Kar-Au. Then
we read that Musezibu gave Edu-sallim two-thirds of a mina of silver.
The two-thirds of a mina of silver Musezibu shall acquire from the
field, and, on the day that the two-thirds mina of silver shall be
given to Musezibu by Edusallim his field shall be released. Dated,
the 16th of Aaru, B.C. 680.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 92.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 174, no. 39.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 a, regards this as a ' sale of fields (?).'
The text is published, in transliteration and translation, by
Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 184. Oppert did not give the number,
probably it was not then numbered. Bezold Cata. p. 564 does
not seem to have known this edition.
Oppert reads three homers, in line i, in place of five.
In line 2, he reads ilu for Au.
In line 3, he gives one jnana, in place of two-thirds.
In line i, of lower edge, he gave a?ia bar sa in place of two-thirds
MA-NA.
Il8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In rev. line i, he has se zir for SE-?iu^ and then gives me su...
for A-LIB-su.
In consequence, as he says, the sense is very obscure. It is
not too much to say that with a clear text before him he would
have given a luminous rendering of it. It is superfluous to point
out the misconceptions of a rendering based on such a corrupt text.
He seems in line 5 rev. of no. 74, for Bel-eres to have read
Bel-la-sin, evidently reading la in place of PIN.
For Zer-Istar, he reads Bi-il-lu, and for Istar-bab-eres, reads
Ilu-bab-essis.
For Lu-u-ba-lat, he reads Lu-zib-balat, and for La-tu-basa-ni-ilu
he has Ab-tir-u-ni-el.
After Mansuate he gives no more, omitting the edges of both
outer and inner tablets.
The name Edu-sallim is interesting because it shews that some
god was called 'The One,' or 'only God.' Another spelling seems
to be AS-sal-lim, which has been read Asur-sallim : but as one of the
meanings of AS is edu, and it is used as the numeral ' one,' I think
we should read AS-sallim as Edu-sallim. No doubt, Asur was the
god meant by an Assyrian in any case, I only doubt if he said Asur
in this name.
The name Au in Kar-Au can hardly be anything but a divine
name, when we compare Kar-Asur, Kar-Belit, Kar-Dunias, Kar-
Istar, Kar-Kassi, Kar-Nabu, Kar-Nina, Kar-Nergal, Kar-Ninib,
Kar-Sin, Kar-Samas. That it was the divine name for Assyrians
is not proved by their writing Au-bi'di as a variant to Ilu-bi'di : nor
does this seem any sound reason for reading Au, when written so,
as ilu.
It is interesting to note that Dananu the Eponym is said to be
arku sd Kar-Au^ or sd arkU dl Kar-Au. This way of writing the
information forbids us to take sd as = ' of,' we must read ' who was
arku of Kar-Au.' There was an office expressed by amel arku,
perhaps the same as the sanu : but we may doubt if that is meant
here. I believe it means, 'who was afterwards of Kar-Au.' Whether
that implies that during his Eponymy Dananu was removed from
Mansuate to Kar-Au, or that he had once been ark?} of Kar-Au
I cannot tell. The place is not otherwise known.
In line 5 of no. 73, line 5 of no. 74 we find E-DAN, written
also DAN-E. Oppert ol)served this, and read erib. It should be
erab, if it has anything to do with rabu to increase : erib should
AND DOCUMENTS. I IQ
l)c part of cnhii to 'enter,' i)L'rliaps used in the sense of returning
money. That is unlikely, however, and I read ekal a by-form
to ikkal^ which is commonly used, for taking the usufruct of an
estate.
An interesting variant is shewn by the name Nab{\-dumuk-ilani :
in line 2 of rev. no. 73 we have ^I-PIR^ in line 2 of rev. no. 74 we
have SIK. So that we have to admit SIK - damaku^ a value not
given in Briinnow.
A comparison of line i of rev. edge on no. 73, with the second
name in line 5 of rev. 74, shews that KUR^ PAP may be read
bab before cres. This suggests the reading bab in many places
where it has been read ahu, but docs not necessarily imply a
frequent use in that way. One must bear in mind the possibility,
that is all.
The name Edu-sallim only occurs here, but AS-sallim^ is the
name of a witness, in B.C. 682, on nos. 122, 123; a lender in
B.C. 669, on no. 103 ; and depositor of slave, B.C. 663, on nos. 153,
154, where he appears as son of Aplu-usur.
Musezibu, of which no. 74 gives the variant Musezib, only
occurs here and in Sargon's Ainials, 281, as the name of the
nasiku of latburu.
The name of the first witness, Nabil-dumku-ilani, or Nabil-
dumuk-ilani, is that of a witness, on no. 209 ; and is named on
K 1 241, 5400. The name Iltappa seems unique. The name
Abi-danu does not occur elsewhere. The witness Bel-eres has been
discussed in § 472. The name Lti-balat, which occurs as that of a
seller, B.C. 681, on no. 269, may be also the reading of Lu-uTI-LA,
the witness and neighbour in the city Kurubi, in Ep. A, on no. 623 ;
and of Lu-TI-LA, a susdnu ure on no. 852, iv. i. But we should
rather expect to read these names Luballit. The name Lu-balat seems
likely to be shortened from some such name as Bel-lu-balat-usur.
The name Marduk-danan would be only found here : but
unfortunately I am not able to read the traces clearly. Istar-bab-
eres, is also the name of a witness, B.C. 676, on no. 40; and
according to Catalogue, p. 2064 t), may be written Istar-bdb-SA-
TAR. With this latter form we may compare the Istar-bab-sapi
who is a witness on no. 127, in B.C. 681. A number of names
begin with Istar-bab, where the bcib is written with the sign KA.
There is no doubt this means 'gate.' Istar-babu recals the Bctbn
which is a by-form of Baic\ and raises the question whether
120 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Jstar-babi may not be a single divinity and a special name of Bau.
Such a name as Istar-babu-ilai points to this, and certainly bdbu
is not the object of the verb in Istar-babu-ah-iddin. Here our
name is ' Istar-babu the protector.' The exact sense of cres is
difficult to deduce from eresu^ 'to irrigate,' it may mean 'to cultivate,'
'care for.' As the next name shews, Istar was interested in that
growth of men which takes its terms from the operations of the
field.
The name Zer-Istar, where Zer means ' seed,' in the sense of
'child,' occurs as that of a witness and chief weaver, B.C. 683, on
no. 447; of a witness, B.C. 682, on nos. 122, 123; of a witness,
B.C. 676, on nos. 330, 502 ; a witness and aba^ B.C. 670, on no. 257 ;
as a witness and rab kisir, in Ep. N, on no. 327.
On no. 74, rev. 2, in the last name read SIX in place of EN.
In line 4, we have a fresh witness, Samas-taklak, unless this is the
true reading of Marduk-danan, in line 6, of no. 73. The name was
borne by a witness, B.C. 682, on nos. 122, 123; by a principal,
Ep. T, on no. 618, and occurs on K 558, Sm. 911. The recognition
of the reading of UR as basu and its derivatives was long in coming.
So far as I know, Dr H. Winckler led the way, with his recognition
that in the Tell el Amarna Tablets, UR = bastu, K. B. v. vocabulary
p. 12*. Mr Pinches, J. R. A. S. 1898, p. 897, shewed from a
consideration of the variants of our name, that UR = bastL This
name, here written, La-tu-UR-ni-ili^ is La-UR-ni-ili as the name of
a witness, B.C. 693, on nos. 120, 162; is La-UR-a-ni-ili^ as the
name of a borrower, B.C. 686, on no. 134; but phonetically written
La-tu-ba-sa-a-ni-ili^ as the name of a witness, B.C. 688, on no. 243 ;
and B.C. 685, on no. 135. With some doubt as to the ending,
whether AN alone or some other divine name was there written,
the same name is borne by a workman, B.C. 734, on no. 90;
by a witness and isparu sa bit sukallt, B.C. 734, on no. 415, and
on no. 852. Another specimen writing of the name is given,
App. I, X. 37, as NU-UR-an-ni-AN Mr Pinches renders the
name, * Make me not ashamed, O (jod.' An exact parallel is
La-tu-ba-sa-an-?ii-Adadi, the name of a witness on no. 260 : and
so is La-tu-ba-sa-a-fii- Istar, the name of a witness on no. 243.
Another name La-tu-UR-ana-ili, where a7ia is written TIS^ the
name of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 100; might cause us doubt;
but we find Rim-ana-ili interchanging with Rimani-ili, so that we
must suppose this use of ana a clerical error, or that TIS could
AND DOCUMKNTS. 121
stand for (hii as wt-ll as dfia. Onr rcsiill of tliis discussion is that
\vc may suppose the name NU-UI\, of the I^)onyni T, on no. 6i8,
to be read Latubasani, 'Shame me not.' 'Hie UR further in
Asur-UR-nisesu may be read bastii or baltu^ so that we have
Asur-baltu-nisesu.
The Eponym, Dananu, here said to be * of Mansuate, afterwards
of Kar-Au,' is known from in. R. i, vi. i, to be (jf r..c. 680: and
from no. 631 to be of Markasa. Whether the places Kar-Au,
Mansuate, Markasa are to be identified, or lay so close as to give
title to the same province, or whether the Eponym of Markasa is to
be placed at a later date, I am not able to decide. In this Eponymy
are dated nos. 3, 26, 113, 119, 164, 229, 298, 359, 360, 631. The
name does not occur elsewhere.
481. No. 75. Has only a few ends of lines left on the obverse
and may have lost a line or two at the bottom edge. Pale slatey grey.
I conclude that this was a loan upon security solely from the fact
that lines 6 ff , of rev. read, mannu sd... mane kaspi ana Midallim-
Istar iddanuni amel adi nisesu usesa, 'whoever shall pay so many
minas of silver to Musallim-Istar, the slave and people shall be
released.' The borrow^er's name may have ended in -ncCid. The
text w^as dated the 26th of Sabatu b.c. 742.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 83 : where the registration mark
is wrongly given as K. 427.
An extract is given 6". A. V. 7885.
The first sign in the name of the Eponym may as well be Asur
as Nabii, see Bezold Catalogue, p. 104, note f: but the only Eponym
in Tiglath-Pileser Ill's reign whose name ends in -dan-in-a{n)?u and
who is also turtdnu is Nabu-daninani. The date must therefore be
B.C. 742.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
On the obverse, there is room at the end of line i, for iskun :
line 2, therefore began with supiir. In line 3, the traces of imer are
not at all clear, they are more like ab and there is no mention of
land being pledged in rev. 6. At the ends of lines 3 and 4 there
was room for more. At the end of lines 5 and 10, sak was written,
not di^ as I gave.
The name of the lender was not Musallim-Samas, as I gave
hesitatingly, but now clearly MusallimTstar, where Istar is written
with the sign NANNU, Brunno\\'s no. 949. This same form of the
name occurs on no. 320, for the buyer, B.C. 691 ; on nos. 492, 497,
122 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
for a buyer and rab aldni. Now on no. i8o, the buyer and rab
aldni sa rab sdki has his name spelt Mu-DI-XV\ compare the
buyers on nos. 480, 486; while in B.C. 714, on no. 248, the buyer
is called Mu-sal-lim-AN-XV. There seems every probability that
these names are the same and refer to the same person.
The first witness Siparanu has been discussed in § 474. For bit
read DAN, i.e. rip, the title is sdrip tahse, a dyer of fleeces, or of
leather. The next name Assurai, where Assur is written LIB-ER^
is of course a gentilic and means ' inhabitant of the city of Assur.'
A fuller writing, ALU-LIB-ER-a-a, is the name of a witness and
aba, B.C. 694, on no. 272; of a witness on no. 464; and is a
specimen name, App. i. ix. 11. The name ALU-HI-a-a, borne by
a principal, Ep. T, on no. 618, is to be read Eridai. The name
AS-SUR-a-a, which may mean 'Assyrian,' occurs on K. 5424a.
The next witness, Asur-sallim-ahe, bears the same name as the
buyer, and the witness of the city Du'ua, in B.C. 748, on no. 412;
and the seller, on nos. 270, 271. A witness of this name, brother of
Asur-uballit, in Ep. A, occurs on no. 325 ; and the name occurs also
in the letter 82-5-22, 122. Here he is a mukil apdti. Sin-iddin,
in line 11, was a salsu. After a^jiel, III If U-SI m3.y now be clearly
read. The form Sin-iddina occurs in i. R. 3, no. ix. 4, no. xx. i ;
IV. R. 36, no. 2, 6, 21; and on K. 1159, Rm. 77, 81-7-27, 31.
The next name is too uncertain to be read : Parsi would be unique,
Samas-si unlikely. The name Bihi is unique, but compare Bahi, the
name of a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; and the country Bahi (or
mountain?), in in. R. 50, no. 4, 32. Bahai gave his name to an
dl se in nos. 472, 625, 627.
The name Immani-Asur only occurs here, but we may compare
Imani-ilu, the name of a witness B.C. 691, on no. 286, and the Heb.
Immanu-el. The witness, la-ai, bears a name that is unique. Is it
a gentilic from the mdt la', which Sargon, Ann. 383, puts in Atnana,
which was 'seven days' journey in the midst of the sea,' see Winckler's
Sargon, Pr. 145, Pp. iv. 42, in. R. 11, n. 28. The city I-ia-ia is
named by Asurnasirpal, i. R. 22, 16; in. R. 6, R. 34, Is this the
Ivah of the Old Testament, whose gods had been deposed by the
Assyrian king? The restoration, in line 14, is made according to
what precedes, but the summation may not extend to all before it.
The last witness, with a title, being Sin-iddin, perhaps only the four
witnesses which follow arc meant. The city Til-Ninip only occurs
here. Perhaps this place could be the same as the Til-bari of
AND DOCUMENTS. F23
Asurnasirpal, i. R. 23, 130; 1. R. 26, 123; near Zaban, or tlic
'ni-Bit-bari of 11. R. 65, no. i, 111. 11.
The next witness, Asur-nadin-ahe, ' of the city of the sdke^^ seems
with the preceding, to have completed the list of 'witnesses who
were servants of the amcL..'' It seems as if a sign that may be read
di or sak was on the edge at the end of this line. If so, perhaps the
lost title was rab sdki. But the trace may belong to the end of the
next line.
I am inclined to suppose Nadi was all the name of the next
witness, but it is impossible to be sure. For the name we may
compare the city Nadi'. This witness was the aba sdbit daiiniti^ or
egirti^ or duppi. Hence I think the sign on the edge must belong
to the last line, not to this. The probabilities of the date are dis-
cussed above. The name Nabti-daninani was that of the Eponym,
B.C. 743-2, Tartan, see in. R. i, iv. 27. The name also occurs on
K. 4522, and as a specimen, App. i, 1. 37. Another Eponym of
the same name, saknu of Kue, is Ep. K, on no. 329, and no. 593.
Whether ina tarsi means ' in the time of,' or by ' direction of,' it
fixes the Eponymy to the reign of a Tiglath-Pileser.
482. The succeeding numbers 76 to 80 deal wdth assignments
of property in lieu of money, k{im kaspi^ or in payment of debt.
They are, of course, distinct from loans on security, but similar in
formula.
Abstracts of 110s. i^-Zq.
No. 76. Complete. Light red.
In lieu of money, Belit-ittia, the maid of the saktntii, is
assigned to the lady Sinki-Istar. As long as she lives, she
shall serve her. Dated, the 14th of Aaru, B.C. 652.
The text is published, in transliteration and translation, by
Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 146 f.
The script is peculiar, and for the sign HI the wedges are written
closely together, so that HAR looks very like su. This peculiarity
misled Dr Peiser ; in line 3, he reads Sa-rik-te for Sa-kift-te^ and says
in a note that rik is written with the sign su. So, in line 4, what he
read as kab is really KI^ the three horizontal wedges being written
obliquely, like zib. The scribe ignored genders, adi balatjini would
be ' as long as he lives,' when all the parties are females. If we take
this impersonally, then he has wTitten /?/, 'him,' in place of sa^ 'her.'
However he does say tapai/ah, 'she shall serve.' In rev. line 6, as
I 24 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Dr Pc^iser remarks, ha seems to be written for na. A name Isabai is
possible, but Isanai, ' he of Isana,' is more likely.
Dr Peiser calls this document a Dienstvertrdg ilber eine Sclavm.
The Catalogue, p. 1590, correctly terms it, 'a private contract
concerning the transfer of a female slave in composition of a debt,'
kiim kaspi. On p. 2001 a, it is entered as a private contract, being
' an agreement of servitude.'
The name Belit-ittia, could be read Belit-kia. It does not occur
again.
The name Sinki-Istar, here borne by a lady, is also a masculine
name, that of an irrisu, ' with his people,' in Bit-Likbiru ; of another,
'with his people,' in Anduli, both on no. 742 ; and of a third, 'with
his people,' on no. 743. The more usual form, Sinik-Istar, was the
name of the principal, on no. no. This latter probably excludes the
reading EskiTstar, which we might deduce from H. //'. B. p. 476.
The date is given after G. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 70: see in. R. i,
VI. 32. The same Eponymy is named in the letter K 553. The
name Asur-nasir is borne by the seller, B.C. 670, on no. 181 ; by the
seller on no. 199, by an arnel DAN-DAN-GUR on no. 857, 11. 29;
and occurs in the letters K 896, 978, 1963, 2889; 83-1-18, 64,
276.
The name of the first witness Nabu-sezibani, was borne by a
witness, B.C. 665, on no. 237; occurs on no. 680; and the letter
K 1883; and as a specimen, in App. i, i. 32. This was also the
name of a son of Nikii, Necho, set up by Asurbanipal as Lord in
Hathariba, iii. R. 29, no. i, i. Further it occurs as the name of a
witness, saku sarri sa eli bit sarrdni^ B.C. 656, on nos. 48, 49; of an
aniel NI-SUR on no. 775, and of the seller, on no. 353.
Asur-etirani only occurs here, but Asur-etir, a rab kdsir^ is named
on no. 699. The name lamanni, like lamannu, the witness, and
rdb hansel^ in B.C. 659, on no. 233 ; and lamani, the seller, in Ep. P,
on no. 214; forcibly reminds us of lamani, the king of Ashdod, in
Sargon's Annals, 220, and often, see Winckler's Sargon, of which a
variant was latna. As the land lamanu, or Javan, in 11 1. R. 39, 5, is
clearly Ionia, or some Oreek people, our name is surely also to be
rendered ' Greek,' and these places therefore point to Greeks in the
service of Asurbanipal.
The name SarTstar, 'Wind of Istar,' i.e. 'breath of lstar'(?), or
a reference t(; the 'evening breeze,' occurs as that of a witness, in
Ep. P, on no. 628 ; of a neighbour, in Ep. C, on no. 373, and on
AND DOCUMENTS. I 25
no. 429 ; of a sa/su of the amclu sa cli /)ifihn\ on no. 260 ; of a
witncs.s, on no. 267.
The name Isanai, gentilic from Isana, is also the name of a
witness, h.c. 671, on no. 121; of a witness on nos. 267, 590.
483. No. 77. A portion only is preserved. It was not pillow
shaped. Light red.
The fragmentary condition of the tablet leaves some points
uncertain but as far as I can make out someone has pledged a
slave, for seventy minas of bronze, to serve his creditor for life.
Whether Nabiia, in line 2, is the creditor or debtor does not appear
quite certain. The meaning of the word iptatra^ clearly from pataru
' to free,' but also * to loose ' does not help much here.
At the beginning of line 4, ma'da may mean 'interest,' and the
scribe perhaps meant to say that the slave's work or service should
be a set-off, sartii, for this interest : the verb at the end of the line
may be ///', i.e. ' shall avail.' The text goes on more intelligibly, ' who-
ever hereafter, either his brothers, or his sakfiu, or his people, or his
bel-pahdti, or the hazdnu of his city, or his saknu that shall come,
and bring (?), and pay the seventy minas of bronze, the slave shall
be released." Then follow^ traces of perhaps seven witnesses. No
trace of the date is left. The British Museum label calls it 'a
contract for copper.'
We have a valuable enumeration here of the people and officials
who could be expected to redeem the pledge. In nos. 60 and 73,
we have maiinu sa, ' whoever ' shall repay the money, the slave shall
be released. It is clearly not meant that anyone who came along
could take aw^ay the slave on paying what had been lent on him.
The man?iu sa is an abbreviation of the list here given at length.
In line i, there are more traces of characters to be seen, which
are hardly to be read, but there may have been more after /;;/.
In line 4, in place of hi, either tis or /// may be written.
In line 7, the GAR-su may be read sasu, and amelu sasu is,
perhaps, 'the person himself.' Though a7nel GAR sometimes means
sahiu, we already have had the sakin, in line 6, which makes it
unlikely that we have the saknu again here.
In line 11, for ina ??idt read now ?nu. The a?ftei MU of the
abullu rabitu, may be intended. In line 12, we may read e in place
of ba.
In line 3, of reverse, the name Ludime could be read Lu-sulme.
The name Ludimu occurs on no. 877, where he is said to be from
126 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Supite. Ludimu is the name of a witness on no. 290; of a neighbour
on no. 386.
It seems probable that the titles on the reverse are those of the
witnesses.
484. No. 78. Lower half of obverse. Light red.
The upper half probably contained one line, with the word
kuniik followed by the name of the borrower. Then came the
seals, very likely.
The body of the document is preserved, and contains the
following account of the transaction : ' twelve minas of silver,
kakkadu, belonging to Samas-abila, the rakbu, are lent ana puhi.
One mina twelve shekels per month shall be the interest. Amat-
Sad6a, his wife, Adrahi, his daughter, Sukkai his son and...lu
his son, shall remain as pledge for the money.' The name Bel-
emiiranni which occurs at the end of line 7 is wrong.
The date and the names of the witnesses are destroyed.
I have restored the first line from the traces left and the
restoration may of course be wrong.
It is possible that Samas-abua was the borrower, then ana pilhi
ittisi will mean ' he has borrowed for management expenses ' : and
he will have pledged his whole family. The same name is borne
by the seller, b.c. 667, on no. 200; by the father of Bel-ahesu, on
no. 207 ; by the son of Kaki, of Maganisi, on no. 337 ; by the
witness and hazanu, on no. 433 ; by the Eponym of B.C. 854,
III. R. I, II. II, and as a specimen name on App. i, vi. 9.
The name of his wife, Amat-Sadua, may perhaps be rendered
Amti-Bel, but I think Bel would have been written if intended.
The female name Adrahi, or Abi-rahi, . is that of a sister of a
saktntu, and buyer, on no. 245 ; and also occurs on no. 741.
The name of his first son, Sukkai, was that of a witness, B.C. 716,
on no. 382 ; of a witness and isparu^ on no. 392 ; of a rakbu sarri,
on no. 832 ; of the son of Ha..., on no. 925 ; and occurs in the
letter 83-1-18, 75. What appears to be the same name Sukkuai, is
that of the borrower, b.c. 686, on no. 9 ; of a witness and sakii, on
no. 386 ; of a witness, B.C. 667, on no. 204. The same name belongs
to a witness and servant of the rab BI-LUL, on no. 247. The
name Sukuai is borne by a witness, B.C. 748 (?) on no. 67 ; occurs
on no. 742, as a serf, 'with his people.' Suka was a witness on
no. 97, a borrower, B.C. 686, on no. 28. Sukai was the father of a
slave sold, Ep. W, on no. 210, and is the form common in later
AND DOCUMENTS. \2J
Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 590, etc. Sukai is the nann- of a witness
and sakfiK, ICp. !>, on no. 207. A connection with .9///'//, 'street,'
is possible, but needs explanation before it could be accepted.
The name of the next son ended in -In. The reading of the
next name is now quite clearly KAK-SI-LAL, which I read Oabbu-
amur, ' I have seen all.' It is followed by the sign ARAD not
AN^ and the restoration on the edge should therefore be su, not ni.
The name, written Gab-bu-a-niur^ occurs as that of a slave sold, on
no. 428 ; of a nddin akli, on no. 854 ; of a serf, ' with his people,'
at the Nineveh gate of Arbela, on no. 742 and no. 775. The inter-
mediate form Gab-bu-SI-LA L^ occurs as a specimen, App. i, xii. 23.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
485. No. 79. Mere portions. Red.
To judge from what is left, a slave of Tarhu-ismeani, two sons
(probably) and wife, in all four souls {i7ia sabarti sak)nu^ kum
VI 77iaiie kaspi 'are pledged in lieu of six minas of silver' which...
til lent Nahiri. The fragmentary state of the tablet leaves it nearly
impossible to follow the rest : but it seems that Tiurame is to pay
so many minas of silver a year to Nahiri, and if he do not pay
it &c. &c. they are to be considered sold for the money, lakkiu
ina libbi {kaspi). The date is lost : on the first line of the edge
Nabii-sum-usur may be the name of a witness.
It is possible that here Tiurame is the borrower and Nahiri the
lender : and very likely Tarhu-ismeani is the name of the slave
pledged. The names are all rare. That HAL in names may be
read lasme is seen from the variants to the name Sulmu-bel-lasme :
and we may perhaps read Tarhu-simi, or take some other form of semu^
' to hear.' The compounds of Tarhu point to Gamgam, Markasa,
and Cilicia as their home : which may be taken as additional reason
for supposing this man to be a slave. The name TI-UR-a-7ne is
unique, and as UR has many values, beside being an ideogram, the
reading is very uncertain. The name Nahiri was borne by a witness,
B.C. 694, on no. 404. We may compare Naharau, the name of a
neighbour in Nineveh, B.C. 687, on no. 335 ; and of a witness,
B.C. 670, on no. 266. This may perhaps be Nahar-Au, and we
may also compare Nahor, in the Old Testament. There was a
Til-Nahiri, named in nos. 420, 421.
In line 8, for /^/, read ki\ the ina is now very indistinct, and
may not have been intended. The name Nablj-sum-usur is discussed
in § 466.
128 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The Catalogue, p. 2000 a, puts this among the ' private contracts
concerning sales of slaves.'
486. No. 80. Nearly complete. Dark red.
Kisir-Asur lends Kata-Asur-asbat, son of Istar-dtiri, and SusCi,
son of Lusakin one mina thirty shekels on a Subarrim sixteen
cubits (?) wide. On a fixed day, in Aaru, they shall repay the
money; or if not, interest shall accrue at 25 per cent, Nik-ilani is
the bel-kata (of the king). Dated, the 22nd day of Tebetu, in the
Eponymy of Asur.... Five witnesses.
Here I take the phrase SU-BAR-RIM, XVI G I D-D A epusu
ina kuine to mean 'a SU-BAR-RIM, 15 (something) wide, he has
acquired in lieu of the money.' It seems impossible to \k\vc\V puda
here is the piitu^ of which Peiser treats B. V. p. 225. SU-BAR =
eldtu, KU-BAR-RA =--^ subat elati, seem to me to render it possible
that SU-BAR-RIM may be a sort of cloak, or outer dress : and
the '15 wide' I imagine means 'fifteen ells.' This is all pure
conjecture, and someone may know exactly what it means, I frankly
admit I do not.
In line i, the sign I give as ma looks like £f, there is no na on
the tablet. The name of the borrower, in line 3, begins with the
sign GAL^ Briinnow no. 939. I take it to be either a scribal error
for su with the dual sign, or else that GAL has also the value
KA T or KA TA, and so I read the name Kata-Asur-asbat. This
also is mere guesswork.
The pledge was valuable, but not such as would bring in interest,
hence the lender has claim for interest.
The affairs of Kisir-Asur were discussed in § 405. The name
Kata-Asur-asbat only occurs here, if it is correctly so read. Istar-
d(iri was the name of the Eponym, B.C. 775, saknu of Nasibina ;
B.C. 715, sakmc of Arabha; in. R. i, m. 43, v. 10. His occurrences
are discussed in § 478. Susu was the name of the father of Urdi,
on no. 320 ; and the form Susi occurs B.C. 709, as the name of a
witness and kdstr, S. A. V. 6843; of a witness and neighbour, in
Ep. D, on no. 622 ; of a witness on no. 342. The name is clearly
related to wSftsia, the witness of Kabal hurdsi, of the house of the
sukaiiu, 15. c. 734, and also father of Nalbas-sami-li', same date, on
no. 415. A very similar, but probably distinct name is SasCi, borne
by the slave of Sasi, B.C. 668, on no. 204; and given on K 11898.
Sasi is the name of a neighbour, B.C. 687, on no. 624 ; of a slave
sold, B.C. 683, on no. 447; of a witness, B.C. 671, on no. 121 ; of
AND DOCUMENTS. < 29
a seller, n.c. 668, on no. 204 ; of a witness and hazanu, on no. 44« ;
of a witne.ss on no. 582; on no. 851 ; in the letters K 89, 1357,
,963, 4786; 82-5-22, 108; 83-1-18, .2. ; as a specimen name
App. 1, X. 8, and in the Harran Census. Sasia occurs on K 1353,
7378, and iii the later Babylonian texts, .S". A. V. 6572. Sasai is
the name of a serf, with his people, in DOr-Nana, on no. 742. 'ri^^^
name Sist appears as that of a witness, h.c. 664, on no. 398.
Whether these all, or any of them are connected with the Assyrian
sUu, 'a horse,' Hebrew DID, Aramaic N^DID, is not quite certain,
but seems probable. There is also the Assyrian word sasu, *a moth,'
to be considered.
The name Lilsakin is borne by a witness, b.c. 687, on no. 335 ;
by a slave sold, B.C. 668, on no. 190; by the seller and son of
Adseki, B.C. 671, on no. 331 ; and in the letter K 796.
In line 5, the numeral is now clearly sixteen, not fifteen, as
I gave. Also in line 6, before arhu, ma may now be read. I see
nothing to fix the date of the Eponym. In line i, of reverse, there
is now no trace of sa sarri on the tablet, but it was there when
I copied the text.
The name of the first witness, I read Abi-lisir : ii also occurs
on no. 857. There is now no trace of rab on the tablet. The
second name may be restored Mar-du-u, as the name of the witness
and rab kisir sa Upd, on no. 235 ; and the letter K 664. The allied
form Mardua, occurs as the name of a witness, B.C. 676, on no. 256.
The name Mardi, possibly genitive of Mardil, is borne by the seller,
servant of the bel pahati of Barhalsu, B.C. 683, on no. 447 ; ^Y a
witness, B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; by a witness and sangu of the god
KUR-KUR-NUN, on no. 255 ; by a seller, on no. 507 ; by a slave
sold, gardener, on no. 235; by a rab kisir, on no. 857, iv. 13;
on the letter K 4757 ; as a specimen name, App. i, xi. 18. The
form Mardi' occurs as a variant to Mardi on no. 447- My former
restoration Marduku was influenced by the later Babylonian texts,
.^. A. V. 5134.
The name Abi... is not to be restored. Nabiia is very frequent.
The purely phonetic spelling Na-bu-u-a occurs as the name of a
witness and mutir putt, B.C. 685, on no. 232 ; as that of a witness
and sangi7, on no. 255; of a witness, on no. 291. It is also^the
name of a frequent writer of astrological reports, said to be of Assur,
on K 481, 603, 716, 792, 802, 1368, 131 16; Rm. 205, 82-5-22,
37; 83-T-18, 19; Bu. 91-5-9, 6: compare K 551. A variant of
T. 111. 9
130 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
this name, denoting the same person as the last, is Na-bu-H-a^ on
K 184, 720. It therefore seems unlikely that AN-PA-U-A is to
be read Nabii-belia, but simply Nabfia. This is the name of a
witness and aba^ B.C. 717, on no. 391 ; of a witness, and nappah
hurdst, B.C. 692, on no. 440 ; of a neighbour, in Nineveh, B.C. 687,
on no. 335 ; of a witness and rdb kepe, B.C. 686, on no. 453 ; of a
slave sold, B.C. 683, on no. 447 ; of a neighbour, B.C. 678, on
no. 630 ; of a witness, B.C. 676, on no. 40 ; of a seller of alu
Ahu-hauar, B.C. 674, on no. 404; of a buyer, B.C. 670, on no. 257 ;
of a witness and aba, B.C. 668, on no. 208 ; named in B.C. 667, on
no. 204; same date as witness and aba, on no. 315 ; of a witness,
B.C. 663, on no. 154; of a witness, Ep. O, on no. 163 ; of a witness
and aba, Ep. T, on no. 618; a witness and santl of arkusu (?) on
no. 246, witness and aba or dsii, on no. 273; of a witness and
Ninevite, on no. 500 ; of a sarabbu on no. 626 ; of a nappah hiirdsi,
on no. 626; of a serf, 'with his people,' in Bit Likbiru, on no. 742 ;
of an dsu on no. 851 ; of witnesses without title on nos. 153, 253,
551 ; of a buyer, on no. 406, of a seller, on no. 418, as a specimen
name, App. i, iv. 3. A slightly different form, AN-PA-ii-a was the
name of a witness, in B.C. 682, on no. 679; of an ainel sa bit kudin
on K 513, on K 12994. The very pleonastic form AN-FA-ti-u-a,
was the name of a borrower, B.C. 693, on no. 133 ; of a witness and
aba in Ep. J, on nos. 297 and 614. The form AN-AK-u-a, occurs
on no. 77 ; and AN-PA-u-u-a as a specimen, App. 2, i. 18.
The name Ilu-usur, or as it may equally well be read, Ilu-nasir,
is the name of the witness, B.C. 698, on no. 473 ; of the witness
and servant of the Tartan, on no. 244 ; of a neighbour on no. 347 ;
of a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 661; as a specimen App. i,
IX. 41.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the ' acknowledge-
ments of debts.'
487. The next nine numbers appear to concern assignments
of property in lieu of interest due. The security for the loan itself
is not referred to, but the lender evidently held the property as a
pledge, and its yield paid the interest due. In one or two cases,
the yield seems to have been intended to pay off the capital
advanced as well, but the clauses are so concisely stated that any
certainty is difficult to arrive at now.
AND norUMKNTS. 131
Abstracts of nos. 81-89.
No. 81. Complete. Reddish brown.
Sepa-Asur lends eleven shekels of silver, belonging to Islar of
Arbela (? Nineveh), to Kulu'-Istar, and Daian-Kurban. In lieu of
interest they pledge a plot of one homer thirty Ka of land, at an
average yield of ten Ka per homer of land, tabri and harbute,
freehold, bordering on the fields of Kassudu on two sides, on the
road and the field of Oabbaru on the other sides. He shall enjoy
the usufruct for three years, when the year's crops shall have repaid
him, the debtors shall pay for the crop growing on the estate, he
shall release the field, the crop and grass they shall pay for at
the market price in the city. Dated, in Sabatu, Ep. A. Six
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 99. The Catalogue, p. 2001 b,
reckons this among the 'private contracts': on p. 10 1, the number
of lines is wrongly given.
In line i, at end, it is doubtful now whether Arbailu was written,
or Nina ; I fancy that ki is visible and there seems too little space
of Arba and ilu. On the other hand, in line 4, we may read a for
i?ta pdni. In that case Kulu'-Istar was the son of Daian-Kurban.
The technical terms are left to be discussed later in the chapter
on Estate Sales. For GIS-BAR see §§ 82-92. The meaning of
tabrii seems to be 'cultivated,' of harbiltu^ 'waste,' or 'cropped,'
that is to say, ' stubble ' land. The land was zakii when it was
free from imposts of any kind, hence I render 'freehold.' But this,
in English, implies something more : and perhaps ' free ' is a
sufficient rendering. The plural sunu is in favour of there being
two borrowers at least.
In line 9, the sign sd is now clearly to be read in place of sa.
At the end of the line, perhaps du not ut should be read : but in
the next line the traces distinctly favour ut. On the lower edge,
line 2, the two verticals after harrdnu may be meant for a 'ditto'
sign, marking the repetition of SUH. The vertical before Gabbaru
is very close to them and want of room may account for such a use.
At the end ru is very indistinct, but I consider Gab and ba quite
certain. The se at the end of line 4 appears to belong to the word
se-ib-se, which I take to be the same as the sibsu elsewhere, and
a parallel, if not equivalent of se IN-NU^ that is, tibnu^ ' straw ' or
132 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
'grass.' Usually sc precedes nusdhu and this may have given rise
to the sc here. In line 5, we have ki sa ali for the fuller phrase
ki mahiri sa ali.
The main point here is that the field was pledged, and its crops
were a set-off against the usual interest. The yield of the land
per homer was 10 ka. As one homer and a sixth of a ^ur are
pledged, we can most easily make a sum divisible by eleven by
supposing the homer to be five-thirds of the gur. We can suppose
that the homer was still, like the old GUR^ 300 ka^ while the gur
was the same as in Babylonia, now only 180 ka. Hence in ka the
land was 330 ka^ and at a yield of \q ka per homer would give
exactly 11 ka. Now these ka in corn were worth as many ka in
bronze, and in three years would be worth 33 ka of bronze, which
should be the interest on 1 1 shekels of silver. The rate of interest
per annum was usually 300 per cent, and this agrees with a ratio
of silver to bronze of 100 : i. But if we take it that more than
one year's interest was due, or that the original sum and its interest
for three years was to be paid off, the value of the corn must be
10 times the loan: and we should have to suppose silver was only
worth 10 times its weight in copper. At present we are still
uncertain of several steps in the reckoning.
The name Sepa-Istar was that of a witness, B.C. 716, on no. 382 ;
of a witness and aba^ B.C. 676, on no. 330; and of a witness here,
perhaps as the aba. See also no. 852, 11. 15. The name of the
first borrower, Kulu'-Istar, only occurs on the duplicate no. 82 ; but
may be restored on no. 352, R 9, as the name of a witness, Ep. S.
The other borrower, Daian-Kurban, 'Judge of Kurban,' has the
same name as the seller, B.C. 687, on no. 335 ; the buyer on
no. 386; and the borrower on no. 136, in Ep. X. In these cases
the first element is written DI-KUD, the well-known ideogram for
daianuj 'a judge.' Here and on the duplicate, we have Da-an
simply. On the duplicate the prefix alii shews that Kurban was
the name of the city. The saknu of Kurban, Eponym in B.C. 757,
was Ninip-iddin ; in B.C. 784, Nabd-sarru-usur, in B.C. 699, Bel-
sarrani, see 11. R. 52, 13 a, 34 c, nos. 328, 371. The place is also
named i. R. 29, 47; and on K 574. It could be also read
Kurban.
The name of the first neighbour, Kassudu, also a witness, only
occurs on this tablet and the duplicate. But for the variant ud
for du we might read Ka.ssu-ukin. We may perhaps (X)mpare the
y\NI) DOCUMENTS. 133
name Kassadai, the witness on no. 463, l)ul this could be read
Harran-sadai, compare (Ilu)-Harran-sadu, which but for the Ilu
could also be read KaSsadil We may think of the Assyrian verb
kasadu, 'to conquer,' but the god Kassu may be one element of
the name, which may be foreign. Compare Kassu-nadin-ahi, the
King of Babylon, circ. B.C. 11 60, v. R. 60, i. 25. Note the spelling
Ka-su-dii on no. 82.
The name of the Eponym, Salmu-sarr-ikbi is discussed in § 465.
Ardi-Nabd was a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 499 ; a witness and
selappai, Ep. D, on nos. 38, 39 ; a witness and asu in Ep. Q, on
no. 349 and also witness, without title, on the same ; a witness and
husband of Gularimat, Ep. E, on no. 711; occurs in the letters
K 50I5 53S5 575 (a sangu), 627, 640, 970; 80-7-19, 23; 81-2-4,
50; 83-1-18, 35 ; Bu. 91-5-9, 66. A rab kisir of this name occurs
on no. 857, IV. 7 ; and on no. 711, an Aramaic docket gives n^Tiy.
For Istar-BE-TI, see below.
The name Zer-ukin is also that of a seller and rakbu in the city
Dannai, B.C. 663, on no. 470; of a witness and miikil apdti^ B.C. 660,
on no. 444 ; and probably, on no. 445 ; of a seller, son of Bel-duri,
in Ep. Q, on no. 446 ; of a witness and mukil apdti on no. 418;
of a serf, 'with his people,' in the city Nuni, on no. 742; and
named on no. 947. The fuller form Zer-DU-in^ is the name of a
witness, Ep. D, on no. 39. It also occurs on K 135 1, 4278,
80-7-19, 46 and often in later Babylonian texts, see 5. A. V. 1157.
The name of the last witness appears to be Nergal-kardu, ' Nergal
is a champion.'
No. 82. A small flake of the case tablet of the last. Red.
Only part of the text of the inner tablet has been preserved,
but some additional details are given. The two borrowers were of
the city //-//-, a name that may be variously restored.
On the reverse we have a fuller spelling of the name Istar-BE- TI^
of no. 81, which we now see must be read Istar-mitu-bullit, or
Istar-mit-tuballit (?). It means 'Istar raise to life the dead.' It
only occurs in these texts. The name Nargi is discussed in § 409.
The name Gabbu-ilani occurs also as that of a witness on
no. 159, a Jiaggaru; as that of a buyer, of the city Handata, on
no. 130 ; and of a witness, on no. 92. It may be a shortened form
of Gabbu-ilani-eres, 'all the gods preserve (him),' the name of a
seller, on no. 270, and of the often named father of Marduk-sum-
ikisa, grandfather of Nabtl-zukup-kenis the celebrated rdb dupsarre
134 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
of Kalah : see in. R. 2, lines i, 2, 3, 9, 13, 16, 22, 32, 39, 45,
47, etc. The form Gabbi-ilani-eres is also probably intended by
the specimen name, App. i, ix. 45, written KAK-AN-MES-fti-
KAM-es.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 b, puts this among the 'private contracts,'
consistently with the nature assigned to the last, but does not point
out the real relationship between them. In line 2, of reverse, the
tablet clearly has tu and not He.
488. No. 83. Complete. Reddish brown.
Silim-Asur lends one mina of silver, Carchemish standard, to
Ardi-Istar. In lieu of the interest of the money a plot of land, six
homers, in the city Hata, of an average yield of 10 -^^ per homer,
the plot of Silim-A^ur, is pledged and deposited. For a term of
years he shall enjoy it. Four merise and four karabhi he shall enjoy.
The merise shall pay the capital. He shall pay cash for the standing
crop and the field he shall release. Four homers one PA are
AN-ZI^ two homers are karabhi^ in all six homers of land zaMi.
Dated, the 12th of Simanu, B.C. 679. Eight witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 5069, read K 400 for K 406.
The text is published, in. R. 50, No. 2.
The text is transliterated and translated by Oppert, Doc. fur.
p. 234; and again by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 126.
In line 4, Oppert reads II ana ut bi nap sa and renders tisque ad
alterum tantum userabit. In line 5, he reads Hatuya in place of
Hata^ and he takes bit before Silim-Asur in line 6 as ^do?nus.^ In
line 6, he reads is bar-sa and regards barsa as a measure of land ;
taking the whole phrase to mean ' each barsa produces ten epha.^
However plausible that may seem, the many cases where GIS-BAR
occurs with another meaning seem to demand here the meaning of
'average yield.' In line 7, he read the first two characters as eleven
rat: which is really a misreading. In line 8, he reads ^ per otmies
annos erit ususfructus.'' Hence it is evident that when Dr Oppert has
a legible text before him, he knows what it means. I think that
ana sanate means ' for a term of years,' not merely for a space of
time, indeed it seems to mean 'per year,' so that the tenure is to be
for a definite number of complete years, not for years and part of a
year. Also I prefer to read the verb ikkal., and render ' he, i.e. Silim-
ASur shall enjoy.'
In line i, of the lower edge, Oppert renders quatuor messes
AND DOCUMENTS. I35
ui'rnos^ (juatuor messes di/r/um/ia/i's, a mosl tcnii)ting rendering.
Peiser leaves tlie words uiirendered, A' /)\ iv. p. 127, except that
in botli cases he considers them Ernie. In his notes he suggests
for 77icrisi\ ' Ernte von bearbeitetem Boden.' That surely needs no
query. The imrisc was the process of the verb eresu^ 'to irrigate,'
then generally ' to cultivate ' ; and the word was naturally also used
of the resulting crop. When, however, Dr Peiser suggests for
karahhi, the rendering ErrJe vofi unbearbeitetem Bodeji^ I regard the
question mark as very appropriate. It seems clear that vierise and
karabhi are so distinct as to be mutually exclusive terms : but
karabhi need not deny cultivation. An alternative fallow may be
intended, and this may have implied 'grass,' or we may suppose
a separate crop. The harvest of what grew of itself was not likely
to be very valuable. Against the assumption of a spring and
autumn crop, is the fact that inerise and karabhi occur in alternate
years, not both in the same year. Four merise and four karabhi
imply an eight years' tenure. The merise paid the capital, kakkadu.
That was clear to Oppert, who renders usum fructum messium ejus
pensabit. Peiser renders Seine -Ernte ivird er vollenden. That
the karabhi were to pay the interest is very unlikely, for on the
usual scale of interest this would amount yearly to three or four
times the capital. In that case karabhi would be more valuable
than 7nerise.
In line 2, of reverse, Oppert reads kakkadu {ris-du) kasap ifia
eli se tu-ra-ine i-sak-kan, and renders et insuper caput argenti ob
frujjientum debitmn sacerdoti dabit, or in the French, et do?inera en
mane temps la totalite de Vargefit en dehors du ble destine aux
offrandes. Peiser reads kakkad kaspi ina ili SI iarami isakka7i^
die Su77wie des Geldes auf das Korn, welches fdllt (?) legen. But
I think that kakkadu belongs to the last sentence. The merise must
pay something. The word kakkadu usually succeeds kaspu when
it belongs with it. And the phrase, which we meet so often, kaspu
i7ia eli SE tarame isakkan, seems always to mean, 'he,' that is the
mortgagor, 'shall pay for the standing crop,' when he redeems the
land, or, as here, when its usufruct has discharged his debt. Other-
wise, in the last year of tenancy, the holder would return the land
bare : and that would of course be to the detriment of its fertility.
It was not to be allowed to go out of cultivation. But the resuming
owner had no right to the standing crop ; whatever it was he must
buy that at fair market price. It seems clear that the land was not
136 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
all mcrisc at one time, nor all karabhi at another. At the time it
was handed over, only one-third was karabhi^ even if the rest was
not merise.
Oppert reads then, ekil {a-lib) su yu-se-sa IV emeri pa-an-zi II
emeri kar-ap-hi kur VI emeri ekil (a-ltb) za-ku-te^ and renders Ager
ejus producei quatuor homer segetis duo homer messium auctum-
naliufu, summa tola sex homer de agro de quo agitur, or in the French
version, /^//j" il aura Pusufruit exclusif du cfiainp^ et paiera en plus du
champ en question quatre homers^ pa-an-zi^ et deux homers du grain
d^automne, efi tout six homers, Peiser reads, eklisu usesa 4 imer
GAR-ZI 2 imer karabhi naphar 6 imer zakuti, and renders, sein Feld
wird er herausgaben^ 4 Imer sind {Boden), 2 Imer sind
Boden ; summa 6 Imer {welche) steuerfreiQ) {sind). It is clear that
the sense is partly clear, partly very obscure. The reading GAR-ZI
is founded on the assumption that FA-AN is to be read GAR.
But here PA is certainly the subdivision of the gur.^ its fifteenth.
That the totals are not exact is easily accounted for. A fraction so
small as one-fifteenth may be neglected. In the Harran Census we
find I FA-AN-ZI^ where i FA is the subdivision of ihQ gur, 'seven
fifteenths.' Hence AN-ZI is the ideogram, and the rest of the text
suggests that this was read merise. Hence after the words ' his field
he shall release ' ; I would render, four homers one FA are AN-ZI
{merise})^ two homers are karabhi^ in all six homers impost free.
I take it the sense of the whole is that SiUm-Asur advanced a
mina of silver which should bear interest at 25 per cent.^ or perhaps
at 33J per cent.^ per month. It would thus bear 3 or 4 minas
interest every year. Now a GIS-BAR of 10 ka means an average
yield of 10 ka of corn on every ka of land. If we assume that a
homer of land consisted of 300 ka^ we have the merise of one year
on the 6 homers as 18000 ka of corn, that is as many ka or shekels
of bronze, that is 180 shekels of silver if silver be worth 100 times
bronze, that is 3 minas of silver. Hence the merise exactly discharged
the interest, at the usual rate of 25 per cent, per month. This seems
to exclude the idea of the capital being repaid from the crop.
Perhaps that is not intended at all. The borrower was to repay the
loan at the end of the time and receive back his field. The text
expressly says the field was pledged in lieu of interest. Then we
must take kakkadu kaspi as meaning the exact or full price for the
SE tardme : and not the sum (jf the loan that agrees well with its
meaning elsewhere. The value of the four homers one PA, or on
AND DOCUMENTS. *37
ours<.Wof,.M./.-,wou.ab...... shews of silver, or about
' 'how «o should read ihc characters at the begmning of line 7
How «c '^""'" i ^^.^j jh,n,, l.,iser says they are
,,s not very cl ar Oppe has ^ ^ ^^^^^^ .^^^_ ^^^^^^. ^^
wr>tten 6/-J/£A, for whtch he s tg transliteration he
to Bal>. K...n,i^. 358, 18 'IIJ''^^^^^^^^^
renderuig It rf«.^' ««»'»' j^^^^^ ^„^ ^„i,„rn
,vT^n nu the verb into the conditional form >saH-a,m,u, unless
nothing to put the vero u ,„•, .„hpn' Clearly the sentence
for *2/ we read the conjunction W, when Lleariy
means 'when Silim-Asur shall lay down (the money), he shall take
Se LldV I think that as SI is the ideogram for ^-; -^ ''^
1 . i the sisns S/-^-M£S mean ma birtisunu, and that tm
derivatives, the signs ^^ - ^ ^^^ cash.
birti sakanu means 'to produce, a sum, to '^^ ^°
Hence the whole clause appears to mean, 'when SiUm-Asur produces
the money, he shall take the field.'
Oooert calls the transaction, Creame a,<cc interet, c^ara
Uppert cans _ Pachtvertrag.' Oppert,
/'«.«A«// rf'«« champ. Peiser calls it
Z A. X.U. p. ^59, puts .t .nto f ^f J -^..t 5«..M/'^^^^^^
,an. Classe — ^ ^ Jf^^J "H L..V. ./.../.</..«W.
hpa-riliiden. sondern unrlzLiciie ivauj uu^ „ j u„
J 7)r Onoert very kindly says that line 4 was wrongly read by
smd. Dr Uppert very k > j ^^^ ^^^^^
Rawlinson and Peiser and rightly by me Dr Upp
for ,kkal and renders ! N-sbrau^- He ^1- - ^^ ^^^^^^
»//«<'««/'«/«/, but ;/«;m<; is Getmdeernten .
read >^.V«*«, a term often applied to land in *.^ '^'':;fj3e
texts- and says it means ' Wiesengrund,' on which hay and tora^e
texts . ana says ^^ ^ ^j^^ j^^j
plants were grown. ^^^^^^^''^^^^.^ ,,,,,^„ ,«,^, ,„. ./.■ SE
^nrd -.-'-^'- ^l ^mZ-d er aus dcm Korn heraussMagen.
tarame isakkan by Vas Lapnai doun c ^ r.nhhnn is ' sich
With tara.u he would compare nonn -,'^. ''';,''' 'V^^u'te ender
^.../.// ,««.to.' He leaves pa-an-.i unexplained -''hough he renders
it once by 'Getreide': but on zakuti he delivers a very positive
opinrn It Lply means '*. in Verhandlun.en stekenie Acker.
138 • ASSYRIAN DEEDS
and he renders ekil zakuti^ der zugesta7idejie Acker. He states that
the Steuerfreiheit has nothing to do here : this immunity is in
Babylon a personal right and does not apply to things. It is clear
that Professor Oppert has already seen through most of the difficulties,
but the solutions he proposes are not entirely satisfactory. It is
clear that tardme is m opposition to SE : and that SE is really
a determinative, and tardme is governed by ina eli. With respect
to SI-2-MES, Oppert makes a noteworthy suggestion. As ' the two
hands ' denote Biirgschaft, so ' the two eyes,' mc denote the
Babylonian maskdnu ; ene isakkan means iiberwachen, es ah Pfand
bewahren. This is of course exactly what Silim-Asur did, but does
not account for the conditional form. The whole of Dr Oppert's
discussion is most interesting.
The lender, Silim-Asur, is a conspicuous person in our docu-
ments. He is a lender in B.C. 680, on no. 113; in B.C. 679, on
no. 84; a buyer on no. 186; in B.C. 674, on no. 124; in B.C. 672,
on no. 15 ; in b.c. 671, on no. 41 ; in b.c. 670, on no. 44. He
is a witness B.C. 670, on no. 421 ; in b.c. 663, as sukallii da/uiu on
nos. 433, 470 ; in B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; in Ep. Y, as a rakbii^
on no. 151. In b.c. 66o, he became Eponym. As a hirer and
saknii in B.C. 678, he is on no. 629; as buyer on no. 227 ; witness
on no. 445 ; on no. 58, he is the father of Asur-res-isi ; as sukallu
he is named on no. 815 ; and the name occurs in the letter K 9212.
Whether the Silim-A?t-HI, the principal, B.C. 670, on no. 99, is
the same seems uncertain. But it seems probable that the lender
of B.C. 680-670, then very likely a saknu, of some rank at court,
is the witness of B.C. 670-660, and as sukallu dannu became
Eponym in the latter year. The rakbu of no. 151, is probably
a different person.
The borrower, Ardi-Istar, is a difficult personage to fix : see
§ 472. The city of Hata is very likely that named by Sennacherib,
Bavian Inscription, 111. R. 14, 9, as N of Nineveh. See also in
no. 629, where also Silim-Asur hires land in Hata. In Rm. 564
people from Hata seem to be intended and the name must not
be confounded with Hattai, and the land Hattu. The first vvitness
Ahi-dOri is discussed in >^ 468. The next, Si'-n{\ri, is the name of
a slave sold, on no. 268 : and occurs in the Harran Census. The
name AN-BU-AN-a-a, here and on the duplicate no. 84, I identify
with Sc-ir-AN-a-a on K 6951, (jne of tiie Harran Census-tablets.
The name Aplu-usur occurs as that of a witness and aba, B.C. 680,
AND DOCUMENTS. ^39
on m,. ,.y; of a wkncss, „.c. 674, on "<'. ,26; of a witness,
.c. 07., on no. .5; as father of Kdu-sallim, on "o ■54;_as son
:f ASurrimani on no. 394; as witness and broker of cUa. ,ur
on no. 385 ; and on no. 852. The nan.e Mannu-k.-Arba.h ,s
discussed' in' S 4.3. The na.e Kurdt, 'my ^^'^^^JJ^
witness, B.C. 674, on no. 404; of a buyer, on no 357 , and occurs
on the letters K 594, K 1366. The name Btbati occurs only here
Nergal-asarid, the next name, is that of the master of a w.tne s on
no. 427, •'•c. 694; of a witness i.e. 686, on no. 374, of a witness,
B.C 684, on no. 230 ; of a witness and nil, kisir, Ep. Q, on no. 349 ;
of a borrower, Ep. X, on no. 136; of a slave sold, no. 252 ; occurs
on no. 877, and as a specimen name on App. 3, xi. 4-
On the reverse edge the scribe seems to have written ..for ;««,
but of course Iwumu was meant. The name of the Eponym,
Istu-Adadi-ninu, ' From Adad are we,' is written Istu-Adadt-anmu,
as Eponym, on nos. 150, 364, 534, ».. R. ., v 2 and probably
originally on no. 84; in these cases we have AN-IM; on no. 462,
tA replaces this ideogram, as in our case. A curious variant occurs
as ntu-AN-U-an-ni, on no. 161. Further r.i. R. i, records DA for
TA, as a variant. Except as the Eponym, I have nowhere found
the name. ^ . , ^^^
The Catalogue, p. 2001a, puts this no. among 'private con-
tracts, being documents of a farm.'
480. No. 84. Right hand portion. Slate.
This may be a duplicate of the last, although, if the restorations
be correct, it rather records the loan of the money : and did not
say anything about the interest. In the first line we have all that
IS in no. 83, except the numeral 'one.' In the next line, only the
name of the borrower is preserved, and this must have contained
Unes 2 and 3 of the last number. In line 3, the restoration ana
fiuh, IS by no means compulsory : and the four homers, placed
at 'the end of the line, may belong to the next. In line 4, the
scribe seems to have written GI in place of HI; but I regarded
that as a scribal error. If not, it is worth noting as a variant
There were 'two homers of land karapki' as before. The land
was zakute and in the city Hata, as before. \Vhether the restoration
of a G IS- BAR of 10 ka is safe, is now not clear, only ka is lelt.
But the insertion of eklu, before Intu in line 6, is confirmatory of
my view of no. 83. Read eklu bid, 'the field, when Sihm-Asur
has paid the money, he shall take.' In line 8, there seems to be
140 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
a divergence ; we have here 3 merisc^ which forms no part of no. 83.
It is, however, possible that the 3 here is the top of 4. The rest
as far as preserved agrees with the last.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, reckons this among 'private contracts.'
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii., p. 261, regards the field as an
antichrdisches Pfand. He says that the field had eine Grosse von
6 Homer, zu 10 Kab das Sechstel, also 600 Kab, da uns fiir Ninive
die einschldgigen Belege fehlen ; nach babylonischein Branch wdre?i
es 180000 Quadratellen.
490. No. 85. Only portions preserved. Red.
The text is too fragmentary to be certainly placed. Apparently,
Mannu-ki-Ninip had pledged himself, his wife Arbail-sarrat, and his
daughter, in all three souls, to a merchant : or possibly Salmu-sarr-
ikbi had pledged these three persons in lieu of money and interest,
{kuvi kas)pi ha-bu-li-su. hx. any rate Salmu-sarr-ikbi 'redeemed
them from the merchant,' istu pdni tai7ikdri iptatar. Then, as I take
it, in lieu of the money and its interest kum rube sa kaspi, 'they
shall serve him,' iptallahusu. Of the latter verb what looks like
the remains of ik may be the end of hu : or it may be the end
of a name of the brother, a/iu-su, but this reading is very doubtful,
for a we may read me, for Au perhaps a/. Then, various officials
of Mannu-ki-Ninip's, his saknu or others, who shall pay the money,
evidently to Salmu-sarr-ikbi, may take away from him these three,
'he shall set them free,' usesa.
If this view is correct, we have an interesting case indeed.
An Assyrian, being in debt to a merchant, perhaps a foreigner,
has pledged himself, wife and daughter, and is perhaps liable to
be carried abroad. Another Assyrian, perhaps as a work of piety,
redeems these unfortunates, who are however bound to serve him
as his slaves. The saknu of his city, perhaps his relatives, may
intervene to redeem him from his servitude, and his present ransomer
agrees to deliver him up on being recouped for his expense.
Although such appears to me to be the state of things, I am
by no means inclined to reject any other solution that takes into
account what is here preserved. Of course the name of the person,
in line i, may not be Mannu-ki-Ninip after all. The name does
not occur elsewhere. The name of his wife, Arbail-sarrat, is that
of a slave sold, in Kp. B, by l>el-ahe-su, on no. 207. The redeemer
here, Salmu-.sarr-ikbi, is discussed in § 465. We do not know the
date of the transaction. The first witness, NabCl-sum-iddin, is
AND DOCUMENTS. I4I
discussed in ^ 465. The next name j)rcserved, Samai^-sallim, is
that of the seller, u.c. 748, on no. 412; of the neighbour and
buyer, i?.c. 674, on no. 383 ; of the witness and saknu ckalli,
H.c. 667, on no. 200 ; of the witness, B.C. 660, on no. 362 ; of
a witness, on nos. 247, 433; named on nos. 852, 860. A variant,
Samas-sallam, is the name of a witness, n.c. 676, on no. 11.
The curious name, Ispu, ' child (?),' from esepii^ or 'product';
or Ispu, from 5]D{<, occurs also as that of a witness, B.C. 734, on
no. 90; of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 624; on no. 869; and on
K 1078, as ardu sa rab aba. The same root occurs in the name
Isputu, on no. 851, as a ddgil issurati \ and on no. 895. The same
word occurs in the name Lspu-lisir, a witness and nds patri^ B.C. 714,
on no. 248 \ and on Sm. 236.
In line 6, I am inclined to restore Adadi-ilai, the name of a
buyer, B.C. 671, on no. 121; and of a serf, 'with his people,' on
no. 661. The name Immani is like the Immanu, a slave sold, on
no. 275. The other fragments of names are all uncertain.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 a, reckons this among the 'private
contracts, concerning sales of slaves, male and female.'
491. No. 86. Has lost the upper and lower edges. Slate and
greeny grey.
Isdi-Asur made over his daughter, Ahat-abisa, to Zabdi, in lieu
of the interest he owed Zabdi for thirty shekels of bright silver,
which Zabdi had deposited with him. Besides, he shall repay the
silver {usalli). The girl shall be considered sold and bought. Any
repudiation of the bargain is expressly barred in the usual terms,
as in the case of a sale, with penalties of ten minas of silver and
one mina of gold to the treasury of Istar of Nineveh, and the return
of the money ana esrati; if anyone shall raise a counter action, he
shall not succeed in it. Dated, the 26th of Ululu (?), b.c. 650.
Perhaps nine witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 95, where, as in Cata. p. no,
footnote, the month is taken to be Du'uzu. The sign is very badly
preserved, but on the whole I think Ultilu is best.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, put it among 'private contracts.'
Professor Oppert, Z A. xiii., p. 266, gives a translation of this
document : and regards the transaction as a Verkauf einer Tochter
durch den Vater. Certainly the scribe says she is to be considered
sold outright, so that she is not a pledge to be returned, but the
antecedent circumstances hardly warrant this being regarded as
142 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
a common 'sale.' The father apparently owes money, thirty shekels
of silver, the usual full price of a slave. If my restoration, in line 6,
is correct, then Zabdi had deposited the money with him, issakan,
to keep in trust. This was not a loan, but a trust. He could not
return the money when demanded, and had to pay interest. In lieu
of the interest, kiim habuUsu, he assigned his daughter outright, and
still owed the money. This transaction therefore is not a sale, but
an 'assignment in. lieu of debt.'
The word usalli, in line 8, is difficult. I fancy it must mean
'assign,' from salu, 'to send,' 'to discharge weapons,' 'to shoot':
see Del. H. W. B. p. 66 1 a. We have usalli again in no. 326, R 3,
where we usually have urakas, hence it must mean to 'present,'
'dedicate,' in no. 399, R 4, where a field seems to be 'made over.'
Another form of the verb, usali occurs in no. 98, 5, where it is
parallel with idin ; and the verb seems to be the same as usela, used
in no. 310, R 7, of 'presenting' a bronze bow to Ninip ; and as
selu\ used of ' dedicating,' a boy to Ninip. Hence I take the verb
to be selu, 'to send,' 11. i, uselli, usalli, to 'present,' 'dedicate.'
We may compare scliltu, a 'votary,' iv. R. 61, 51 b. Here the verb
usalli is evidently parallel to ittidin, ' gave.'
At the end of line 9, read UD, for tu. In line 10, la is not
well preserved, we may have the remains of lak. I do not think
anything was written on the lower edge, as the sentence runs on,
with the usual formula from obverse 12 to reverse i. Traces only
of the first line of reverse are now left, but they suit what I give.
In line 5, Kl may have been written after NINA, there was
something there.
The nature of the clauses forbidding repudiation of the contract
will be considered in the chapter on Deeds of Sale. The epithet
of silver, 7Jiisu, 'bright,' 'clean,' has been discussed in § 317.
The name of the daughter, Ahat-abisa, was that borne by a
mdrat Arbaili, and prophetess in the time of Esarhaddon, on
K 4310; by the daughter of Sargon, married by him to Hulli,
king of Tabal, and mentioned by Sennacherib, in K 181, a letter
to Sargon, as resident in Tabal, and mistress of NabCl-li'. Oppert,
Z A. XIII., p. 266, reads the name Mima-abusa, and renders it,
^ alles was ihr Vater hat.' The sense is 'Sister of her father,'
compare Winckler, A. F. Sec. Ser. p. 85. The name occurs again
in no. 311, 4, as that of a slave sold, in Ep. S.
The name of her father, I^di-Asur, was borne by a witness, and
AND nOCUMKNTS. 1 43
tukuitu, H.c. 665, on no. 35, by a witness, Ej). W, on no. 8<S, by
the son of Siltiba-Istar, Ep. E, on no. 711, and occurs on no. 877.
The creditor, who takes over the girl, Zabdi, or Zabdi', bears tlic
same name as the witness and mukll apati^ on no. 476. We may
compare Zabda, the witness and inukil apdti^ Ep. H', on no. 178,
and Zabdia, in later Babylonian contracts, S. A. V. 725. The
names n::!. N"I3T. N. E. p. 265, Palmyrene, Nabataean, shew that
we are not to read Saddi, as the Assyrian would allow.
Ardi-Nana, the first witness, may be the same as the witness and
aba, B.C. 678, on no. 301 ; the witness, Ep. W, on nos. 87, 88; the
witness, Ep. t, on no. 45 ; Ep. F', on no. 307 ; Ep. I), on no. 622,
and on no. 358. A writer to the king, on K 519, 532, 576, 4704;
Sm. 1064; 83-1-18, 2, 106; bears this name. He is a mutir puti
on 81-2-4, 93; a i?iiirakkisu, on Bu. 91-5-9, 218, see Winckler,
A. F. Sec. Ser. p. 21 ; and is named on Rm. 56, Bu, 91-5-9, 130.
Compare no. 831, line 2.
The name of the second witness may be read Asur-mutarrisu,
Asur-mutakkin, or Asur-sum-utarris, Asur-sum-utakkin, according as
we take MU to be a phonetic prefix or the word swnu^ ' name,'
i.e. ' son ' ; and LAL to be the ideogram for tarasu or takdnu.
On the whole, I prefer Asur-sum-utakkin. The name only occurs
here.
' The name of the third witness may be completed Zerkuru, from
the name of the witness, Ep. p, on no. 225. The next name may
be restored Sakilia, from the name of a witness and aba^ Ep. W, on
no. 177; a rafbu, on no. 998; and the specimen name, App. i,
XI. 10. Adadi-milki, the name of the fifth witness, only occurs here.
Nothing can be made of the traces in line 1 4.
The left-hand edge is almost illegible and I cannot read the
traces of the first name. The second name seems to be Adadi-
emurinni ; a curious form, if correct, and only here. The usual
form would be Adadi-emurani. Of the first name in line 2, nothing
is certain ; but Nabti-na'id is a common name. It was borne by
the seller and son of Itu'ai, B.C. 734, on no. 415 ; the witness and
aba, B.C. 707, on no. 292; the witness, B.C. 684, on no. 230; a
servant of Sasi, witness, B.C. 683, on no. 273; a witness, B.C. 680,
on no. 231 ; a witness and aba, B.C. 651, on no. 387 ; a witness and
7nuttr puti Ep. A, on no. 325; same in Ep. A', on no. 414; a
witness, Ep. G, on no. 173; a principal and brother of Bel-na'id,
Ep. O, on no. 640; witness and mukil apdti Ep. P, on no. 214;
144 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
witness and aha, Ep. Q, on. 446 ; witness and mutir piiti, on
no. 568; witness and rab kisir of the Queen, on no. 594 ; a slave
sold to the sakintu^ Ep. 8, on no. 242 ; a witness on no. 595 :
compare iii. R. 33, vi. 80: and the specimen name App. 1, in. 52.
It is known to us as the name of the king of Babylon, Nabonidus,
Na^ovcSSo?, B.C. 555-538. The name of the king gives us some
important light on the readings of proper names. It is written
AN-AK-lM-rUK, AN-AK-I, AN-FA-I, see the dates on B. T.
27, 30, etc., in the Catalogue. A Nab0-na'id is named on K 906.
The name of the Eponym is written Asur-B AD-PAP^ here, as
in III. R. I, VI. 34, II. R. 69, no. 3, rev. The same form is used
in the dates on K 84, 83-1-18, 85 ; and our no. 533, where he is
said to be sak?iu of Barhalza. In no. 496, he appears as a buyer.
The form AN-HI-B AD-PAP^ is the name of the Eponym on
K 8904, and of a witness and saknu, no. 253. The name of the
Eponym on 81-2-4, 117, is written AS-BAD-PAP. Of course all
are read Asur-dur-usur. I adopt G. Smith's date, B.C. 650-49, see
chapter on Chronology.
492. Nos. 87 and 88 are a pair of case tablets. The inner one
no. 87 is complete : the outer has lost a small piece which however
does not spoil its readings. Brown.
The outer is much fuller than the inner tablet. Taking both
together we get this view of the transaction. Mutarris-Asur and
Asur-res-isi, sons of vSilim-Asur, seal the document, as borrowers of
seventeen shekels of silver, belonging to Istar of Arbela, which
NabCl-ikbi lends them ana piihi. The money is to bear interest at
25 per cent. The field in cultivation he shall sow and reap. Neither
the kepu nor the saknu shall enjoy the mutiitu. From the field he
shall repay himself the interest. Dated, the 21st of Arahsamna,
Ep. W. Eleven witnesses on the outer, four on the inner tablet.
At the right-hand lower corner of the rev. of outer tablet three
lines are faintly inscribed. They read as I think (i) Sa kar,
(2) MU X-LAL-II, (3) U-sal-liniy which I take to mean 'from the
karabhi^ of 8 years, he shall pay himself.' On the right-hand edge
are also three lines which I read SE-KI-7AR GIS-BAR-hi isafiJian:
that is 'the harvest shall pay the rent.'
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 1 00.
An extract is given, S. A. K 4822.
Pinches gave an extract S. A. S. Kcilsch. prt. I. p. 108: correcting
the false reading of iii. R., which m line i, rev. of no. 88, gives SE
AND DOCUMENTS. I45
for BU in the title BAT-GID-DA which no. 87 shews to he the
ideogram for kcpu.
Toloni also makes a reference, Z. A. 1887, p. 100.
The tablets are described in the Guide, p. 173 f., No. 37.
The text of no. 88 was published in. R. 47, No. 2.
A transliteration and a translation were given by Ojipert, Doc.
Jur. p. 155 fif.
The text in 111. R. reads me for lal'xw line i, and omits a vertical
from sak in line 2.
In rev. i, besides reading ^E for BU., it does not give GAR.,
only a shaded SA (?).
In rev. 2, the second character UD is given as NA.
On the right-hand lower corner of rev., 111. R. gives XII.,
instead of X-LAL-II, i.e. VIII., and for I'lsallim reads apparently
rii-tum.
In line 9 of rev., iii. R. omits the last two names entirely : and
from the left-hand edge omits all line 5.
Oppert could not, of course, go behind the text of in. R.
In line i, he read the name Mumi-Assur.
In line 4, he gives XVI, sedecim., for 'seventeen.'
In line 7, he reads i7ia sa-par-su, for ana rebutisu., and translates
by i7i quartum tantum.
In line i of lower edge, he renders ina aristitu by i7i segete : and
he takes eras esida as coTisitus mete?idus.
The corrupt text of in. R. in line i of rev. he reads — /a nisu
besida la nisu akasu and continues munautu akal istic libbi ekil
(a-lib). This he renders nott crit vir messor., non colledio., defensio
erit comedere ex agro, a condition which would render the field
valueless to its tenant. The 3rd line of rev. he read habuli u-sa-at
sa-lam and rendered pignus (erit) superficies imaginis.
Of the side notes he naturally could make nothing.
He calls the transaction a Ureaiice portant sur la nue-propriete
d^un cha7np.^
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, c. 2, Darlehensurkunde ohne /idhere A7igabe7i
Oder 77iit solcJwi., die ivir bis jetzt 7ioch iiic/it vollig zu verstehen in der
Lage sind.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
The form in line 3 of rev. usatala7n is surely for ustala77i, i.e.
us-ta-lam (?). It seems that ikkal was omitted on the inner tablet.
J. III. 10
146 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Of considerable interest is the result that TIL-GID-DA is to be
read kepii; compare § 127.
The term arisuti literally is the process of ' irrigation,' eras is
*he shall irrigate.' The phrase means of course all that a proper
course of treatment of an irrigated plot would involve.
The word viuti'itn is very obscure. It is evidently an impost
on the crops. As such it will be considered again under the sales
of estates.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 262, points out
that the false readings of iii. R. misled him as to its meaning : es ist
wahrscheinlich^ dass es sich nicht urn eine ?iuda proprietas handelt^
sondern wiederum um ein a?ttichrestisc/ies Ffand. In his rendering he
thinks the field by its yield should repay the loan and its interest.
Unfortunately here only the interest is referred to, and the size of
the field is not given.
The name Mutarris-Asur, where Mu is the phonetic prefix, could
also be read Mutakkin-Asur. It is the name also of a witness on
no. 467. The name Asur-res-isi was that of a king of Assyria, about
B.C. 1 130; but also occurs as that of a lender, b.c. 656, on no. 48;
of a witness on no. 532 ; on Sm. 714, as a muiir pufi, and in the
letters K 7332, Bu. 91-5-9, 145. A variant, Asur-res-is, is the name
of the lender, B.C. 656, on no. 49. On the name of their father,
Silim-Asur, see § 420, 486.
The variants AN-PA-E, AN-PA-ik-bi for the name of the
lender here, shew that E is the ideogram for ikbi, at the end of
names. Nabu-ikbi was the name of the writer of the astrological
reports K 18, 699, 744, 745? 789, 933' 1329. 1380, 4716; Rm. 198;
81-2-4, 91, 141, 273; 82-5-22, 51, 72; 83-1-18, 188, 202, 219,
290, 303, 305; Bu. 91-5-9, 9 and of the letter 79-7-8, 315. He
seems to be of Cutha. The name is also a specimen, App. i, v. 12.
The name of the Eponym, written MAN-I, could be read
Sama^-na'id, since MAN is one of the ideograms for Samas. We
have however no variant of the name indicating that MAN is a
divine title, nor any phonetic spelling Sa-mas. Hence I read this
name Sarru-na'id, leaving the question open whether by Sarru is
meant the earthly king, or the Sun-god. As r:ponym W, we have
this name on nos. 210, 221, where he is also said to be tuhiliu or
abarakku. On no. 155, this is the name of a witness, B.C. 683; it
was the name of the son of Nergal-nasir, on no. 1 6, in Ep. O ; of
the father of Nargi, on no. 23 ; of a witness and kalbu sipirite, on
AND DOCUMENTS. \ 47
no. 171 ; of a nj/c/'u GAB-MES ow no. 857 ; and a specimen name
on App. I, X. 34.
'I'he name Mannu-ki-Istar-li' was I)ome by a witness and rah
kisir of the Queen, n.c. 686, on no. 612; by a witness and salsu^
H.c. 684, on no. 230; by a sa sepa on no. 857; by a witness on
no. 594; and is named on 82-5-22, 122. The name appears in
the shortened form Mannu-ki-Istar, as that of a witness, n.c. 693, on
no. 120; and in the form Mannu-kim-Lstar, as that of a witness,
on no. 603. The name of the second witness, Ardi-Nana, was
discussed in § 491.
Nergal-abu-usur was also the name of the witness, B.C. 676, on
no. 37 ; and of the witness and rakbu taherdt^ probably in n.c. 676,
on no. 256. This last title suggests that iaberat is the reading of
the ideogram GAB-MES in the oft-occurring rakbu GAB-MES.
The name I star-mas lallate, which only occurs on no. 87, R. 6, is
of a curious form and what the maslallu is seems uncertain. The
name in no. 88, R. 9, I read Sulmu-Assur, ' Peace in Assyria ' ;
compare the name of the principal on no. 1 10, DI-MU-MAT-Assur.
In the same line we have Na'id-Istar, the name of the father of
Nabu-asarid, on no. 446 : of the seller and son of Istar-sum-iddin,
Ep. R, on no. 642. The next name in this line is Sarru-ikbi, the
name of the father of Kua, B.C. 676, on no. 40; of the witness,
Ep. D, on no. 622 ; of a witness and servant of the rab ncidin akle,
on no. 464; and of a {rab}) sdki on no. 857. The name LUGAL-
ikbi, of a witness on no. 137, supports the reading Sarru-ikbi, but the
occurrence of Samas-ikbi, as a witness and daialu^ Ep. A, on no. 318,
and as a neighbour on no. 434, leaves the question open whether
Sarru is the name of Sama.s or not.
The name of the first witness on the left-hand edge is almost
certainly Nabu-sakip. This was the name of the Eponym Y on
no. 151 ; of a witness and aba, Ep. P, on no. 628 ; of a witness on
no. 193 ; of a masmasu on no. 851; and occurs as a specimen name
on App. I, IV. 25. It is mentioned in the letter K 613. The next
name, Ardi-Asur, is that of the father of Ardi-Istar, on no. 622 ; and
of a witness on no. 638. Compare also Ardi-AN-HI, a witness and
sa sepd apil sarri, on no. 312. The name Isdi-Asur we discussed in
§ 491. The next name LAL-Asur, I read Mutarris-Asur, as in § 491,
but we could read Tursu-Asur, see § 473. Also Mutakkin-Asur,
Tukunu-Asur are possible.
The line 5 is omitted in iii. R. The name Nabti-aplu-iddin, here
10 — 2
14^^ ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the aba^ probably scribe of the tablet, is one that may be very
variously written. As here, AN-PA-A-AS, it is the name of a
witness and aba, B.C. 68 1, on no. 277 ; of a witness, B.C. 649, on
no. 574 ; of a witness, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; of a witness and aba of
the Queen, Ep. B, on no. 207 ; of a witness on no. 568 ; of the
father of Banai, on no. 161; and a specimen name, App. i, 11. 16.
The form AN-PA-TUR-US-AS is a specimen name, App. i, 11. 17.
The form AN-AK-A-AS is the name of a witness, B.C. 667, on
no. 27 ; of a witness and aba of the Queen, B.C. 666, on no. 185 ;
and the scribe of 82-3-23, 32. The form AN'-AK-A-MU oq,qmx% on
later Babylonian tablets, S. A.V. 5714. A longer form AN-PA-A-
SE-?ia, Nabfi-aplu-iddina, is the name of the seller on no. 322. The
form AN-AK-TUR-US-SE-Jia was the name of the king of
Kardunias, brother of Sabdanu, i. R. 23, 19, and occurs in later
Babylonian texts, S.A. V. 5715. The form AN-PA-TUR-US-SE-na
is a variant name for the king of Kardunias, and also occurs on
K 5463. The form AN-PA-A S-SE-na is a specimen name, App. i,
II. 18. The form AN-AK-A-SE-na is the name of a neighbour, in
the time of Sin-sar-iskun, Z. A. xi. p. 47 ; and occurs as a variant to
the forms above for the name of the king of Kardunias.
The readings of the side notes deserve remark. They were very
lightly impressed, after the clay had dried, on a surface rendered
greasy by damping it afresh. They are evidently much condensed.
The sa kar of the first line I have taken to be for sa karabhi., but it
may be something quite different. The MU X-LAL-II I take to
mean 'for eight years,' taking MUd.% an abbreviation oi MU-AN-NA.
The third line usallim needs no comment. In the body of the text
the statement of the time for which the property was to be enjoyed
is omitted. Four karabhi and four merise, implying eight years in all,
is a common term. The money was generally repaid from the crops.
The traces on the right-hand edge seem to be all that was written
there. The first line, SE-KI-KUD^ is a well-known ideogram of
esidu, 'harvest.' In the second line the scribe seems to have written
IS SI SU, but I am quite unable to make out the meaning of that.
I think SI is an error for BAR. We have seen that GIS-BAR is
the ideogram for average yield, § 86 {{. The third line I read
isakkan, taking the final a?i as a phonetic suffix to ka?/. The whole
.seems therefore to mean, the 'harvest shall lay down its average
yield.' This I take to be a short way of expressing that the average
yield was estimated to l)e a fair equivalent of the sum to be repaid.
AND nOCUMKNTS. 149
493- No. 89. Portions only. Red.
SanKis-d;iru lends a half niina of silver, royal standard, to Mannu-
ki The house of the borrower was probably named in line 4.
^^'hat could have been in line 5, I can only conjecture ; /assu, ' there
shall not he,' points to a prohibition of some sort. The phrase so
common in Babylonian loans on security, idi biti ianu^ hiibulli kaspi
ia'nu^ may here have been replaced by the same words with lassu for
iauu. The exact form which it took we are not able to decide, for
line 5 seems to begin with a. In line 6, ma does not seem to fit the
formula. We may have here kaspii u {habulli). On the edge we
have ijia libbi ilme sa kaspu {GUR = ) itur adi habullisu iddanfuii ana
bitisu erabbi\ ' on the day that he returns the money with the interest
and pays it over he shall enter upon his house.' Such seemed to me
to be the reading in 1898, now I incline to take GUR-A-DU as a
damaged kakkadu which was evidently followed by habulli. The
sense is unaltered, except that we have no verb taru.
The date is given as the 25th of Ululu, B.C. 683. There are five
witnesses.
It is noticeable that no Eponym is given, only the regnal year,
the 22nd year of Sennacherib.
The name of the lender, Samas-daru, only occurs here, and as
the name of the borrower is lost with the exception of Mannu-(ki-) ;
we are not in a good position to identify any fragment as joining it.
The name of the first witness, Istar-taribi, is that of a borrower
on no. 13; of the lender in no. 780, in h.c. 663 ; of a slave sold, a
red imere, on no. 196 ; of a witness, Ep. G, on no. 250. The name
is variously spelt, 6" 6^ being the ideogram for ercbu^ 'to increase,' we
have here AN-XV-ta-ri-bi, probably a genitive after pani\ AN-XV-
ta-ri-ba, a genitive or accusative after i?ia pcvii, or after sa ; AA^-XV-
ta-SU, XV-ta-SU, and perhaps XV-SU. The latter name is borne
by a slave, on no. 661. In view of the fact that here we find the
verb tariba made to agree with Istar, construed as feminine, we
might deduce a rule that such was always the case. But there are
many cases where Istar is con.strued as masculine ; and we may also
regard this case as the 2nd person singular of the verb, 'Istar thou
givest increase.' A name like AN-XV-7icCid, or the frequent Istar-
.sum-eres, leaves us in much uncertainty.
The name ArdiTstar is discussed in § 472. The name lUu is
unique, but we may compare Illu-uknu, in § 435. In the next name
Silli-Marduk, as I read it once, the AN-SU is now not at all clear.
ISO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
It may be Bel, ox RI. I am of opinion that NUN as the first
element of names is to be read Silli^ and not Sil^ as has been usual.
This would be the only occurrence in our documents of Silli-Marduk.
Silli-Bel was the name of the Eponym and rab-BI-LUL^ B.C. 808,
III. R. I, III. 10; of the king of Gaza, in the time of Asur-banipal,
III. R. 16, no. I, V. 15 ; of a neighbour in Lahiru and fe'u sagidlat,
B.C. 670, on no. 625 ; of a slave sold, on no. 241. The name
NUN-RI might perhaps be read Silli-Istar, but does not occur
elsewhere.
The name written Si-lim-Sl is curious and only occurs here.
Usually Siliin is followed by a divine name, e.g. Silim-Adadi,
Silim-Asur, Silim-Bel, Silim-ili, Silim-Istar, Silim-Samas, Silim-Sarri,
even SilimTstar-lamur is no exception. We may take Si here to be
the god Si', so common in Harran names. But at the end of words
SI often is read lisir and Silim-lisir would be an admissible name.
The next name is doubtful. As I give it, we must read Musallim-
Marduk, the only instance of this quite admissible name. But the
AN before hi now looks more like the remains of ardu^ in which
case we should read Musallim ardusu. This would be the only
occurrence of Musallim as a name in our documents. The ardusu,
' his servant,' would perhaps refer to the last witness, or to one of the
principals.
The Catalogue, p. 3003a, calls this a 'private contract.'
An advance of niofiey and food to workmen.
494. No. 90. Complete all but the right hand top corner of
obverse and lower corner of reverse. Red brown.
The character of this document is unique. There is here an
advance of money, bronze, and of corn and drink to a certain
Samas-ibni, Latubasani-(ilu ?), Ukin-abia, Ahu..., in all six sCibe.^ as
wages and keep, for their work on some building. They are to
repair the ruin, make firm the beams, fix the woodwork, set up the
roof. If the brickwork and fastening by the end of the montli
Tisritu be n(;t handed over, they shall work and finish it. Seven
witnesses. Dated on the 6th, i6th, or 26th, of some month, in the
I'^ponymy of Jiel-danan, in his second term of office, i.e. B.C. 734.
The date is (juoted, Ep. Can. p. 84.
The (Catalogue, p. 2001 h, calls this a 'private contract,' presumably
because of the presence of witnesses.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 15I
The unusual nature of the contents is rendered still more obscure
by the bad state of preservation of the tablet. Some textual criticisms
must precede any consideration of the sense. In line i, the tablet
has two verticals where I give a : with some trouble these may be
seen to be the remains of a, but make me doubt if a was meant. If
so, we should read Samas-bani-aplu, in place of Samas-ibni. What
follows may be taken for su, which is not very intelligible, or for the
remains of a7ficL Hence we may have Samas-ibni and two others, or
Samas-bani-aplu, with a title. There can hardly be much more of
the name, in line 2, than I give, though of course the god's name
may have stood on the edge of the tablet. What followed SIS in
line 3, I am unable to conjecture. But we clearly have either four
or six persons named in the first three lines. In line 4, the numeral
is now represented by a pit, of which the top edge indicates the top
of three or four wedges. If there were three, we should suppose it
to mean 6, if four were written, then the number must be 4 ; we
cannot admit more than 6, or less than 4.
The amount of bronze cannot have been anything else than what
I give, though several of the signs are very indistinct. In line 6, the
three homers, one SE, i.e. 60 K/i, are certain. The sign PAT^
kurummaiu, ' food,' specially roast corn, is very indistinct but
seems demanded. The MES is quite clear. ^Fhe tappi is wTitten
as if BI-ME. That might be taken for BI, Avith a plural sign, but
this scribe uses MES throughout. I should regard tappi as from
epu^ 'to bake,' 'to cook,' in the sense of 'roasted' corn.
The signs which I read UD X^ ' tenth day,' in line 7, are
doubtful. There is no ka7i after the numeral, as one would expect
for a date. I suspect some sign to have been written over another.
The sign ITU, arhu, 'month,' is clear. The signs dui-lu, 'the
work,' are certain, but kak is followed by us, not kil d^s I give. The
sign is clearly us, and KAK-us is, of course, epus. Hence the line
seems to have meant, 'within the month they (or he) shall do the
work.'
In line 8, it is a question whether // or pu was written. I take
the word to be talpitu, or talputu, and derive it from lapCitu, 'to
overthrow,' in the sense of 'a ruin,' 'a breakdown,' needing repairs.
Thus talpitic gabbu will mean all the injured parts of the building.
In line 9, is is certain, but for sar we must read gusuru, and the
whole line is gusure usabat, a frequent phrase for making firm the
beams of a house. These beams I take to be those supporting the
152 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
roof, or floors of upper chambers, and we may suspect that the term
was extended to include brickwork or stone pillars or other supports.
The //r/, in line i of the lower edge, are also ' beams,' which I take
to be cross beams. The verb isibi clearly means ' to repair ' in some
sense, and I had thought of connecting it with sippu^ 'a threshold,'
of which one form is sibbu. But SI is an ideogram for nakabu, and
both / and bi could be phonetic prefix and suffix, giving ikkabi.
There is a verb nakdpu^ or nakdbu^ connected with 'walls,' and ?iakdbu
sa duri may denote some 'repair of a wall.' At present the derivation
seems uncertain.
Whether ispinu is one word, and a by-form of supinnu^ 'a
covering,' or a verb, like ilbinu from labdnu, seems not clear.
Possibly we are to read {isii) ptnu, but that also is obscure. The
verb, in line 3, is clearly isakkan : 'he shall lay' or 'place.' Hence
I ventured to render both lines by 'he shall place the roof.' In the
first line of the reverse, summu, 'if,' introduces a condition, and we
should expect that it would be that if the work were not done to the
satisfaction of the employer, a penalty would be imposed. The
words are obscure, however. It seems likely that libini is a noun,
perhaps plural of libinu, and connected with the verb labdnu. The
usual word for a ' brick ' is libittu, and libinii I have taken to mean
' brickwork ' : either the process of setting bricks or the resulting
masonry may be meant. Whether, in line 2, tamahi is one word
and complete is hard to say. When I copied the tablet, I imagined
that istu uiahiri had been written, but there is no certainty that ri
was ever on the tablet. There is a verb tamahu^ 'to lay hold of,'
'to hold,' which does not seem to suit here. The verb is also
parallel to esip^ usteni^ uraddi. The meaning of ' to add ' would suit
very well here, in the sense of 'additions' to a building. In line 3,
I simply cannot read the sign or two before arku, perhaps it is the
same as in line 7 of obverse. It has some resemblance to inier^ or
tuni^ and at times also to pi. Perhaps it was an ideogram for
'during.' It is certainly not iiia libbi. In the same line we could
take dulla as meaning ' work,' accusative of dullu., but then
din would be alone. If we take TUL as the month 'I'isritu, we
have lddi?i left, which might be fd idin and would so be correct after
himma. Then we should render, ' if tlie brickw(jrk and additions
within the month of Tisritu he has not given over.' There is
another l>are possibility ; amcl TI N is the fnidiciii^gisu, who is c(;n-
cerncd with re[)airs, see § 189. If 77 N be the ideogram for the
AND DOCUMENTS. I 53
mol of this word, //dji^dsu, tlicn instead of /a idin \vc may read la
4y-*" • ' '"'''' ^^'^^ '"'^^^ repaired.'
In line 4, we liave tlie decision as to what sliall l)e the consequence
of the failure to execute the job within the agreed time. Here again
read KAK-us, cpus^ 'he shall do,' or 'make,' followed by u^i^aniur,
' he shall complete.'
Such is the best explanation that I can offer of this obscure and
badly preserved text. Curiously enough we cannot tell the employer.
If Samas-bani-aplu be the correct reading of the first name, perhaps
he was the employer. Then in line 4, the numeral is certainly to be
read 4 and not 6. The name Samas-bani-aplu was borne by a
person named on K 1351. Samas-ibni is a very common name,
borne by a king of Bit Dakkuri, i. R. 45, 11. 44; in. R. 15, 111. 20 ;
and on K 112, 615, 644, 4285, 8363; 83-1-18, 554; Bu. 91-5-9,
no : also on K 961.
The second name is not complete, on its form see § 478. The
name Ukin-abia is only found here. A similar name Ukin-abua was
borne by the Eponym of B.C. 796, saknu of Tushan, iii. R. i, in. 22 ;
and by the father of Sinki, on no. 311. Some would perhaps read
it Mukin-abia, but the fact that Ukin zer is supported, as the name
of the king of Babylon, by the Greek XtV^7;po?, seems conclusive in
favour of my reading. Of the fourth name I can make nothing.
Perhaps it was Ahu-ilai.
The first witness bears the name Abu-ul-idi, ' he knows not his
father.' The name suggests a posthumous son. The name was
borne also by a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 100 ; by a witness and aba^
B.C. 666, on no. 185 ; by a witness and saknu of Kakzi, Ep. H, on
no. 50 ; by a witness, Ep. P, on no. 628 ; by a witness and salsu^
Ep. T, on no. 618; by a witness and tiikultu^ on no. 345; by a
principal and sangti rabu, on no. 657 ; by the father of Tebetai, on
no. 128 ; by a neighbour, on no. 411 ; by a slave sold, on no. 265 ;
and occurs on Rm. n. 462. The name is here written phonetically
except that AD is the ideogram for Abu, but we also meet with
AD-ul-ZU, and AD-NU-ZU.
The next name only occurs here, Kurbu-ilu. I take kurbu to be
the imperative of kardbu, 'to draw near,' like tursu from tardsu ;
and render it ' Draw nigh, O (iod.' The next name is Adadi-ahu-
usur, borne also by the principal, Ep. T, on no. 618. The name
Ispu has already been discussed in § 488. The next name probably
ended in lisir. The next ends in im, very likely the ideogram for
154 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Adadi. The day of the month is not certain, except that the numeral
ended in 6.
The Eponym Bel-danan was Eponym in B.C. 882, iii. R. i,
II. 43 ; again B.C. 809, as ndgir ekalli^ iii. R. i, in. 9 ; again
B.C. 751, as rab BI-LUL^ in. R. i, iv. 19. These may well be the
same person. Another Bel-danan, saknu of Kalhu, was Eponym
B.C. 745, and again B.C. 734, still as saknu of Kalhu : in. R. i,
IV. 25, 35. This unusual event, that the same person, in the same
office, should twice act as Eponym not only called for remark, but
would lead to confusion unless an additional statement was made
in which of the two Eponymies the date really lay. This is done
here by the words bia sane purisu. The same remark is added to
the date in no. 415, where he is also said to be saknu of Kalhu.
In his comments on no. 415, Dr Reiser, K. B. iv. p. 106, called
attention to this significance of puru as meaning Amtszeit. He
further pointed out that on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II.,
K. B. I. p. 148, in line 174, the word pu-u... was probably to be
completed to piiri or buri. He would then translate that line,
Iin 31. meiner Regierungsjahre lief ich zum zweiten Male den puru-
Lauf Asurs und Rammans. He further says, Augenscheinlich luar
das die Ceremonie, durch deren Vollzug das Eponymat feierlich iiber-
nommen wurde. G. Smith, Ep. Catt. p. 84, had already given the
date of our tablet as ' 8th day, eponym Bel-daan in his second
eponymy(?).' The fact that a recurrence of a term of office, specially
as Eponym, was regarded as a second piiru, has an evident bearing
on the vexed derivation of Purim, which the book of Esther declares
to mean ' lots.' This bearing was pointed out by me in a note in
the Expositor, Aug. 1896. Since then I have examined the traces
on Shalmaneser's Obelisk and they are those of ru, so that the word
there was certainly /?/^2<f. In 1897, Professor Sayce, in P. S. B. A.
XIX. p. 280, called attention to the passages pointed out by Dr Peiser,
and rendered the Shalmaneser passage, ' for the second time the
PClr-festival of Assur and Rimmon I celebrated.' He states that
'the meaning of akruru was fixed by Rawlinson many years ago.'
J astro w in his Baby lofiian- Assyrian Religio?i, p. 686, note 2, says
that Sayce's view that this puru is connected with Purim is not to be
taken .seriously. At least I suppose that is the view which he wishes
to combat. For on p. 687, Jastrow also quotes Peiser's comment
and says that the ceremony connected with the installation of a
limmu 'involved a running of some kind.' He recals 'the running
AND DOCUMENTS. I 55
hclwccn the iwi) hills Marwa and Safa in Mokka that forms |)arl of
the religious observances in connection with a visit to the Kaaba.'
He admits the name of the ceremony to have been puru or huru^
but thinks that 'to connect this word with the Jewish festival of
Purim, as Sayce proposes, is wholly unwarranted.' l^ut it is the
nature of the ceremony which he ascribes to the PCiru festival which
is unwarranted. Until Jastrow had emphasised the idea of 'running,'
it never struck me that l)r Peiser meant literal 'running.' If so, he
must have read agrurii for akruru^ which is of course permissible,
but unlikely. The meaning of kardru, a word often applied to work
done to buildings, is given by Delitzsch, H. IV. B. p. 355 b, as
' to pull down,' so also by Muss-Arnolt, p. 440 b, but Meissner,
Supp. p. 50 f, shews that it means really ' to erect,' and this meaning
is possible in all the passages quoted to support the opposite
meaning. It may of course be that it means rather ' to re-erect,'
'renovate,' a process which implies some pulling down. That it
is parallel to j-akasu, ' to bind,' ' to repair,' is very suggestive.
Ur C. Johnston in his Assyrian Epistolary Literature^ p. 67, renders
'to sanctify,' 'consecrate,' comparing the Arabic jj^, 'to purify.'
But in the case which he considers, the consecration of Nabu's couch
in the city of Kalah, all that is necessary is the ' renovation ' of the
couch. Nabu was moved out of his shrine, on the 3rd of Aaru and
returned on the 4th. Whether this was an annual ceremony is not
stated, but the sacrifices named as attending it appear to be
customary, and the work done on the couch could not have taken
long. The quotation which Delitzsch makes from C^ obv. 30, ussu
sa bit Nabu sa Nina karru, and takes to mean ' the foundation
of the temple of Nabu in Nineveh was fallen down,' need only mean
' was renovated.' That the next year was marked by a return of
Nabu to a new temple, B.C. 787, would apply equally well after
a 'renovation.' In the fragment of an Eponym list, published by
me, F. S. B. A. xviii. p. 205 ff., and no. 1098, an ideogram SAB
appears in the years B.C. 718 and 689. Now SAB as an ideogram
denotes rakdsu, which we have seen to be similar in meaning to
kardru. It also denotes surru, which certainly means ' beginning.'
Here we may notice that SUB and KAB are both ideograms for
eteru and perhaps SUB had also the value KAB. If so, huru is
to be read karru. However that may be surru., as ' commencement,'
denotes a fresh 'start.' That, with a thing that has already been
some time in existence, means a ' renovation.' Now there is no
136 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
event connected with these years B.C. 718 and 689, of which we
know, that can interfere with the supposition that these were karru.
We know that SAR also means isifinu, a 'festival' of some kind.
Professor Sayce conjectures, 1. c, that the Piir Festival took place
each 30 years, because Shalmaneser returned to his second purti
after 30 years. This is also the interval between our SAR years :
but the other occurrences would not suit such an interval. Hence
it seems certain that according to the Obelisk, we must render, ' in
the 31st year of my reign, for the second time, I renewed the piirii,
before Asur and Adadi.' Radau, Early Babylonian History^ p. 306,
has shewn reason to think that at one time there was a 30 years'
cycle, to account for the three intercalary months which were in use.
Without accepting his solution as the only one possible, we may have
in the karru an evidence of some such cycle.
When we go back to puru^ we may note that u^ the sign for 10,
originally a circle, was called pi^iru \ and that GASAN, the ten-fold
of the same sign, was originally a barred circle, and also called ///r?/,
see Thureau-Dangin, LEcriture Cuneiforme^ p. 78. How could
both be called puru, unless in the process of counting each was
a round counter, one with cross bars, the other plain? Hence
Professor Jensen's view that puru was a small round stone, used
as a counter and meaning ' ten ' is at least made probable. But
Professor Zimmern in his B. K. B. R. Ritualtafeln^ p. 147, note k,
shews that puru denoted a 'jar' or 'pot,' probably a 'stone jar' for
holding ' oil.' Reisner, in his Sumerisch-Babylonische Nymnen, no. 31,
obv. II f., has picru as the name of a 'stone,' on which Jensen
remarks in LiterariscJus Centralblatt^ 1896, no. 50, 1803.
These facts were communicated to Wildeboer, and incorporated
in his Hand-Commentar on Esther, p. 173 f. Winckler, A. F. Sec.
Ser. p. 334, takes exactly the same view as I do of Peiser's facts.
But he further concludes that the pj7ru ceremony was associated
directly with the coronation of an Assyrian king. He further deduces
from Tiglath Pileser Hi's coronation on the 12th of Aaru, and the
absence in his case of any res sarruti^ that this was then the date
of ceremony. He regards the date as not necessarily tied to one
month and in this he may be right. But there is nothing to prevent
the pilru, or ' lot,' for the offices of the incoming year being usually
taken in Adar, followed by a solemn inauguration into those offices
at the New Year Festival, or Zakmuku, in Nisan. The actual use
(jf the \\()\i\ puru to denote a lot, is furnished by Nbd. 787, 7, where
AND DOCUMKNTS. I 57
|)r()i)crty is divided nsar puru^ 'by lot,' ])arallcl with asar sibu,
'by choice'; see Marx, />'. A. S. iv. 65. Hence tlie use of purn
to denote ' lot ' is fully made out. Whether the office of Eponyni
was actually ever settled by casting lots is a different cjuestion. 'I'he
order of the Eponyms in earlier times shews that there was something
like a fixed order of the cities which should furnish the Eponyms.
Perhaps the question as to which city should furnish the Eponym was
not brought up, but only, for a given year, who should be sak?iu of
that city which then implied the Eponymy. After Sennacherib's
accession the old order was so altered and such variations occur,
that we may well believe the decision was made by lot. But the
candidates, if we may so call them, were probably a select few and
the king's favour or some collusion must be supposed to account for
the Tartan, the rab Bl-LUL, etc., always getting the first places.
At any rate the sense of pjh-u as denoting a ' term of office,'
especially a tenure of the Eponymy, is quite made out. We may
await with confidence further facts and instances to throw light on
the varied usages of the w^ord and on the connection of the Pi^r
festival with a particular date.
Fragments of texts similar to those above.
495. No. 91. Portions only are preserved. Grey.
There is not sufficient of the text left in order to make out the
nature of the transaction with certainty. The shape of the tablet
is like that of those we have been considering. In line 2, we have
mention of some ' souls,' apparently ' slaves,' ardd?ii. Line 3 has
the end of the word ussibila, 'he has caused to be brought,' pointing
to a production of a pledge probably. In the next line was probably
' so many homers of corn-land,' sezer^ followed by a number, 1200 or
more, probably ' vines,' //////, in a plantation. All this property
seems to have been situated ' in the vicinity,' ina kdni, of some
place or other. The next line seems to preserve part of a place or
personal name, -turkdta-, but I fail to identify it. The date, in
line I of the reverse, may be that on which it was to be returned,
ina muhhi, * to ' something or some one. But it could also be the
end of a personal name, like Rimut-Istar. After the division line,
we perhaps have {ma?i)?iu kaspii ??ia^du, ' whoever the money and
increase,' shall repay, etc. The signs nie su are not what one would
expect. The word kdtd is followed by su, and if they are to be
158 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
taken together, must be read kdt-s7i. In line 4, we see that there
were kire ntse, 'gardens and people,' involved.
On the whole, there seems just enough to justify our regarding
the transaction as a loan on security, or an assignment of property in
lieu of a debt.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
496. No. 92. Lacks both end of obverse and beginning of
reverse, and no line is quite complete. The colour is dark red.
In line i, we read 'on the first of some month,' ina fimi I {KAN^)
sa arhi. Probably only the name of the month is lost, and this was
the day on which the debt was to be repaid. What followed the
name Sarru-ludari, in line 2, is hard to say. Perl\aps the two slant
wedges are the beginning of amtusu, ' his maid,' as a woman's name,
Sumuitu, follows. She is said to be adi^ ' with ' something ; probably
kifinisa^ as in no. 59, 10. Then we find the sum of 'ten shekels
of silver,' which was perhaps the debt for which this woman was
pledged. The trace after kaspi may be the beginning of LUH,
that is, misii, 'clean,' 'bright,' as epithet of the silver. Or perhaps
it was kakkadu, the 'capital.' Apparently the sum was to be paid
ina libbi al KAK...^ perhaps in Kalhu or Kakzi.
There are traces of the presence of six witnesses. The name of
the first is lost, of the second only Ab is legible. The next name,
Gabbu-ilani, if complete, is discussed in § 485. The name of the
next, Arbailai, is taken in §§ 409, 477. Kurdi-Adadi was also the
name of the witness, aba sa ekalli inahirte sa Ka/hi, in B.C. 709, see
S. A. V. 28. It was borne by a witness, B.C. 698, on no. 371 ; by
a witness and rab urcite^ B.C. 692, on no. 440 ; by a witness and
rab urate^ in Ep. Y, on no. 151 ; by a slave, B.C. 694, on no, 58 ; by
a witness and rakbu, Ep. B, on no. 207 ; by a principal, on no. 11 1.
How to read the name, in line 6, I do not know. Kuluka...
reminds us of Kulu'-Istar, discussed in § 485 ; but the name is
incomplete. The next name ends in zer-kcnis-lmr, with which we
may compare NabCt-zer-kenis-lisir. This was the name of the hazdnu
sanu of Nineveh, in Ep. G, on no. 160. Our witness was probably
also a hazdnu^ seen next line. The same name occurs on the letter
82-5-22, 150. It may also be read NabA-zer-munazziz, but the
meaning of that would be questionable.
The name of Sarru-lAdari was borne by the king of Askalon, son
of Rukipti, I. R. 38, 62. Also the seller, B.C. 692, on no. 324 ; a
witness, b.c. 667, on no. 204; the Eponyni of b.c. 664, sak?iu of
AND DOCUMENTS. 1 S9
I )rir-Sargon, on nos. 377, 398; the seller, son of Ahuasu, rakhu of
the rah scikc of the Oown l^rince, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; a witness and
niu/ir p?Ut\ Vj\i. Q, on no. 349; a seller on no. 174; a buyer on
nos. 336, 639 ; a neighbour on no. 433 ; a witness on no. 476 ; all
bear this name. It occurs in the letters K 31, 571, 1353 ; 83-1 -18,
75. On no. 857, it is the name of a mukil apati \ on no. 876, the
father of Nusku-iddin ; on no. 986, the son of Arihi, in dl se
Sakamanu ; on no. 1046, the donor of an ox is called Sarru-lildari.
This was the name of the king of Si'nu, in Egypt, in the beginning
of Asurbanipal's reign, see in. R. 28, 33, 45 ; 81-2-4, 403, K 8537.
It is a specimen name, App. i, ix. i : and means 'Long may the
kinc; endure.'
The maid's name Sumuitu only occurs here. It seems to be
gentilic, 'She from Sumu.'
We might reconcile the traces with the formula of a loan on
security more closely perhaps by supposing kum at the end of line 3,
and completing line 4 with the verb isakkan.
A quotation was given, 6". A. V. 7427.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, calls this a 'private contract.'
497. No. 93. Only the right-hand half is preserved. Red.
The traces of the first three lines are quite meaningless. In line
4, ikribu7ii is quite certain. The word kardbu occurs in legal
decisions, and of course this may be one, but the word is clearly
in a dependent clause, and it is more likely that an appeal to the
law courts is thereby expressly barred. In line 5, the signs are not
unlike amel AZAG-LAL^ which perhaps could be read amel sdnik
sarpi, 'a silver cutter '(?). The whole of the next line is all but
illegible. For the first a we could read za ; after lu, we may have sa
in place of TIS ; m place of ia perhaps si; and for a-ba, perhaps hi
followed by 7?tes. But I can make no combination of the signs
to yield any sense. In line 7, in place of SI- TIS, we may read
kii or hi.
The word ba-tu-ku seems to be clear, iddaniini is clearly part
of a dependent clause. In the next line we have perhaps ba instead
of ardu. The next two signs may be ru followed by lib. The word
i-tu-ru-ni is possible at the end of the line. But, in line 3, /-'//
iutufii again points to a dependent clause. So far we might suppose
the text to be part of a letter.
On the edge, there seems to have been part of the clauses of
a deed of sale. But the whole text conveys no sense. The clause
l6o ASSYRIAN DEEDS
bifihi TU-ti-ni could be read bltisu eralmiii^ ' his house he shall
enter.' This and the sale clause made me fancy the text might refer
to a loan on security of a house. Whether there is any force in such
a conclusion, I leave to others to decide. The bataku also seems to
point to 'repairs to a house,' but the usual word is batkv.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, only ventures to call it ' a private
contract.' The shape suggests an inner case tablet.
498. No. 94. Only portions preserved. Red.
No connected view of the transaction is possible. In line i,
we have the end of a proper name, probably Nabiia, who may have
been a borrower. In line 2, the summa is not certain, la kittu
seems to be 'not justice,' SE-ni is of course iddini, 'he give,' in
a dependent clause. The words therefore seem to mean, ' if he do
not give justice.' In line 3, we read ainiltu adi sartisa iddan^ 'the
woman with her value (or fine) he shall give.' Then in line 4, we
read that Handnu is bel kdtati sa sarri, that is, ' agent for the king.'
All this looks as if we had to do with a legal decision. The sartu
will be seen later under legal decisions to be the fine or compensation
due for a wrong. Here the woman and her compensation are to
be given. The delinquent had perhaps stolen a woman and is
condemned to pay her value and a sartu, or fine, and if he does not
do this justice, he is to return her with the fine. Apparently she
was stolen from the king, or royal household, and Hananu is the
king's agent in the matter. When I placed this here, I thought the
clauses suggestive of a loan on security. Now I should be inclined
to put it later, but there is very little to go by.
The name of the first witness Babilai, literally 'Babylonian,' is
the name of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 624 ; of a witness and salsu,
B.C. 668, on no. 472; a seller on no. 244; buyer on no. 296;
witness ardii sa pdni ekalli, on no. 464; father of Ninip , on
no. 415 ; father of Nusku-emurani, on no. 387 ; witness SiVid pii'hinu,
on no. 255; a mutir puti, on no. 857, i. 26; on no. 852. 11. 8;
on no. 874, 2; son of Nabu-nasir, on no. 880, 8; on no. 855, 12 ;
in the letters K 31, 660, 4709; and as a specimen name App. i,
IX. 14. The name Babu-ilai, which was borne by a witness, u.c. 679,
on no. 150, I take to mean something different. The Babu here
seems to be a by-form of Bau. Our witness was a hazdnu.
How to complete the name, in rev. line 2, I do not know,
(xugua is possible : for H could have been separated some way from
a. The name Gugu was borne by the king of Lydia, in the time
AND DOCUMKNTS. l6l
of Asurbaniiial ; m. R. 29, no 1, R. 13 ; v. R. 2, 95, where it is spelt
Gn-i^i/. Tlic variaiU (///-i/x-.^n occurs 111. R. 30, 11. 89, and as
variant to v. R. 2, 95. This is tlie classical (iyges. The same
name spelt Gu-^i^i-i occurs as that of the father of Zaruti, on no. 44 ;
as that of the fiithcr of Adadi-uballit, on no. 446. Were all these
folk Lydians or is the name really Semitic? Compare Gagi on
K 1991 ; and the female name Gagai, wife of Iddua, on no. 891, R 5.
See now Scheil, D. P. 11. p. 78. Gugu is an Elamite or Kassite god,
see the name Kuri-Gugu. Also Gaga is a god, Zimmern B. K. B. R.^
Surpii VIII. 15; and Gagaia is a country, Tell el Aniarna^ B. M. i. 38.
We may compare Old Test. Gog and Magog. There was also a
Gagu, hazanu of the land of Sahi, see Cyl. B., Ci. Smith's Assw'-
banipal^ p. 97. 'Hiis chieftain seems associated with the Madai.
The traces of the other names of witnesses and the date are too
badly preserved to be of any use.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, places this among the 'private
contracts.'
499. No. 95. A mere fragment. Chocolate brown.
I am unable to offer any suggestions concerning the nature of
the transaction. The shape of the tablet suggests a money advance.
The few traces left seem to exclude a simple loan, hence it may be
a loan on security. In line i, we may have the end of inane or of
a proper name. In line 2, we probably have the end of a proper
name, -Bel. In line 3, we seem to have a price, 'one half ka of
bronze,' a very small price for anything. Perhaps the characters in
line 4, pi-e are the end of the same proper name as occurred in
line I. If this was a loan on security, //, in line 5, may be the end
of sabirii. The character, at the end of line 6, seems to have been
te. In line 7, di-7iu was perhaps the end of iddimi. The traces at
the ends of the first four lines of reverse probably are the ends of the
names of witnesses.
The name of the Eponym, Nabii-ahe-iddin, is that of the Eponym
of B.C. 675-4, III. R. I, VI. 6, where it is written AN-PA-PAP-
MES-SE-na. It occurs in the same form as here, as that of the
Eponym on no. 124; witness, B.C. 680, on no. 119; witness and
sakmi^ B.C. 676, on no. 175 ; judge and hazd?iu^ Ep. S, on no. 166;
tukultu ralm, on no. 186; mutir pidi sa sarri, on K 121 7; on
K 1896; as a specimen name, App. i, 11. 15. The same name,
spelt AN-AK-SIS-MES-id-din is on 81-7-27, 31 ; as AN-PA-SIS-
MES-MU, on K 7335 ; as AN-AK-SIS-MES-SE-na, a writer of
J. in. II
1 62 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
astrological reports, on K 755, 794, 1373, 83-1 — 18, 244; and in
later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 5699. The form AN-AK-PAP-
ME-MU occurs on K 433, father of Sillai ; and in later Babylonian
texts, 6". A. V. 5698. Another form AN-AK-SIS-MES-M U occnrs
in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 5698.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92, and Budge, H. E. p. 13.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, calls it a 'private contract.'
500. No. 96 is a small fragment. Drab.
There is too little left to decide the character of the transaction,
but by the shape of the tablet I should expect it to be a money loan.
In line i, we may perhaps restore gini'i sa Adadi. After ilu may
well be the trace of IM. In line 2, ZU-AN may be La'iti-ili, if
so, it is all the name, perhaps of the lender. In line 3, may be a
date, or the end of kaspii. The date is complete, the 20th of Aaru,
B.C. 651. Two witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 95. The tablet was then
unnumbered.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 b, regards it as a 'private contract.'
The Eponym's name, Asur-ilai, was borne by an Eponym,
B.C. 863, III. R. I, II. 2, as well as by the Eponym assigned by
G. Smith to B.C. 651, which is the date I accept. As Eponym the
name occurs also on nos. 379, 387, whence we learn that he was a
sukallu rabii. The name was borne by a witness ; B.C. 680, on
"o. 359; B.C. 679, on no. 150; B.C. 673, on no. 118; B.C. 671, on
nos. 192, 258 ; by a witness and rab kisir, muttr pnti, B.C. 664, on
no. 115; by a neighbour, Ep. A', on no. 414; by a witness and
salsUj on no. 471 ; by a witness and rab kisir, on no. 537; by a
witness, on no. 529; and in the letter K 633.
The name, Apil-sarri-bel-ahe, of the first witness, occurs also on
no. 628, as that of a tenant, in Ep. P. A somewhat similar name,
Apil-sarri-ilai, was borne by a witness and rab kisir sa sepd, on
no. 235, and occurs in the Harran Census. The Apil-S^arri here
intended I take to be the Crown-Prince. Hence this use of the
name, like that of Sarru^ seems to imply divine honour being paid
to the king and king's son. If on the other hand we read Sarru as
Samas, perhaps Apil-sarri is also a divine name.
Marduk-mat-usur, the name of the second witness, is the name
of a bdru^ on no. 851, 11. 4.
501. No. 97. Only part of the tablet is left to the upper portion
of which a part of the outer tablet adheres. Red.
AND noCUMKNTS. 1 63
Of the obverse, hardly anything is certain. In h'lie 4, the Istar,
A'/'., is not so certain as I give. The name may have begun further
to I lie left, and after a vertical read AN-A, or AN-ZA. On the
first line of the lower edge, there is a horizontal after lu. The date
is certain as I give. A very remarkable feature of the reverse is the
repeated use of ina pani before the nine names. As a rule this
is not used before witnesses but before borrowers only. Here there
were nine borrowers.
The first name on the reverse may be restored Samas-tegi, which
only occurs here. The root of tegi is seen in Atgi-ilu, Lategi-ana-ili,
but is not otherwise known to me; see §478. The name Uari is
not found elsewhere : but a similar word appears in the name
Sandu-uarri and in the town named Maribe-uarri, in the Harran
Census. This latter reference suggests an Aramaic origin, compare
the numerous names beginning with 1, in Lidzbarski, N. E. p. 261 f.
The name Taela seems to be the same as Ta'la, borne by an zrrisu,
in Asihi, ' with his people ' ; and by another irrisu, also ' with his
people,' in Ardizi, both on no. 742. This name also occurs in the
Harran Census.
The name NabO-kasir, is found on no. 880, i. 8, as that of the
father of Babilai ; on no. 889, R 6, as that of the father of Bel-ah-
iddin ; and App. i, iv. 15, as a specimen. The next name I read
Ikisa-aplu. It is the name of a witness, B.C. 685, on no. 232 ; of an
aba of the king on K 81 ; on K 10, 679 ; on the Sargon stone, son
of Sumu-ukin, B.C. 709, F. A. S.^. 10: and often in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. r. 173, etc. I imagine the scribe has written one a too
many. We could hardly read Ikisai, or Basai. The da is badly
written and may be meant for Bar or Mas, so that we could read
Barsai or Massai. The next name may be variously read. I incline
to Likkime, compare the Likimmai, on the Sargon Stone, F. A. S.
p. 14. The name Dina also occurs in later Babylonian texts,
6". A. V. 2000. Sukai has been considered in § 482. The last
name Mesa is very doubtful. This is a very singular collection of
names.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
502. No. 98. Part, only, of an inner tablet. Red.
The whole transaction is not clear, but seems to concern a
renewal of a bond for some money. So far as it is preserved we
may read, 'in the month Simanu, on the day when Ukubu should
have released into the hands of Menahimu, he did not present (the
II — 2
164 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
money) he did not give. Two minas of silver, with its interest,
Ukubu to Menahimu shall give.' Dated the 23rd of Nisanu, Ep. Z.
Two witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 100.
A transliteration and translation is published by Peiser, K. B. iv.
p. 156.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
Dr Peiser renders the first five lines by {Geld voni) Siman
7velches Ukubu aiis der Hand des Minahimi hatte herausgehen lassen,
iaber) nicht gegeben hat. The word usesu is generally applied to the
release of the pledge. Literally it means ' to cause to go forth.' It
might therefore be rendered ' go forth at the hands of Menahimu ' ;
only it is active in sense. It must refer to ' causing something to go
forth,' this clearly was the money, which Ukubu had to place in the
hands of Menahimu. Dr Peiser omits line 5 entirely. The verb usali
must be for ustalli, 11. 2, from salu, 'to present,' discussed in § 491.
This may be a legal decision or a renewal of a bond to pay. We
are not told that two minas was the original debt, but very likely
that sum was advanced without interest up to the month of Simanu.
Dr Peiser calls the transaction an unterlassene Zahlung.
The name of the debtor, Ukubu, only occurs here, but the
female name Ukubutu occurs as the name of a slave sold, b.c. 682,
on no. 222. The root of course is that seen in Akabi-ilu, T. S. B. A.
VIII. p. 284 ; in the Akaba, witness on no. 448 ; the city Akaba,
of v. R. 3, 98, in Akkad ; and of Akaba, a citizen of Daratai, on
K 186. Professor Hilprecht, B. E. P. ix. p. 49, gives the form
Akabbi-ili, and compares the Aramaic h^l\>')i, Palmyrene 2pyb3.
We may add surely, Jacob, from the Old Test., and the Palmyrene
npynj;. From the Harran Census we may add Si'-akabi, and from
B. E. P. IX. p. 49, Akubu, p. 61, Ikubu, p. 64, NabCl-hakabi, where
Hilprecht gives the meaning ' Nabtl rewards.' Perhaps the same
root occurs in the Babylonian clan name Egibi, but see Peiser,
M. V. G. 97, p. 309, where he shews Egibi to be an abbreviation for
Aku-batila, i.e. Sin-uballit.
The name of the creditor, Menahimu, is the same as Mi-ni-hi-
im-mu, Menahem of Samaria, in. R. 9, 50 ; or Mbihimmu, in i. R.
38, 17. It also occurs as the name of a seller, Mi-na-hi-mi, on
no. 245. According to some folk we have here two Jews, Jacob and
Menahem.
AND DOCUMENTS. 1O5
'y\\c iKUUc ul ihc lCi)()nym, Asur-}i;aruu-niii, in which 1 have
oiiiitU'd ;i // after /v/, occurs also as ICjx^iiym, on no. 340. I'roiii
no. 105, wc learn he was a nr/f BI-LUL. On no. 516, he ai)[)ears
as a neighbour. The l^)onyni of is.c. 725, bore the similar name
Asur-garAa, in. R. i, iv. 45. The word ^i::;iiru signifies 'an enemy,'
and the verb ncru means ' to slay.' The two words often occur
together. Hence we should render 'Asur slay my enemy.'
It is not tjuite clear that the first name on the edge begins with
Bel, and I know of no other occurrence of Bel-sar-ahesu. The
name Nabu-sar-ahesu is common, see § 473. What the syllables
-sa-at, in line 2, can belong to, it is impossible to say.
503. No. 99. Nearly complete. Red.
In the first line, in place of the first three characters read TAK-
SID, and the whole line will be kunuk Mhmhdi-ana-ili^ ' the seal
of Minuhdi-ana-ili.' He was therefore the borrower. What was
w'ritten in the second line does not appear. Iiia pdnisu, usually
denotes that some money has been paid ' to him,' the borrower.
Then we read summu Pudu-Plati. I suspect that siimmu is due to
something being written over, perhaps a-na. For the text goes on,
Minuhdi-ana-ili kaspu ana Silim Asiir iddan summa Pudu-Plati
kaspu Id iddanuni. This gives good sense, ' Minuhdi-ana-ili shall
pay the silver to Silim- Asur, if Pudu-Piati does not pay it' Perhaps
the scribe began to write the second clause first, 'if Pudu-Piati,' and
then changed his mind. But, in line 6, he writes sunmia^ BE-ina ;
not su)/imu, SE-mu, as in line 3. Hence I think we may say that
Minuhdi-ana-ili becomes surety for Pudu-Piati. In line 6, the name
is badly wTitten, the du pi looks more like ku me : but there can be
little doubt what is meant. On the edge line, what I have given as
?iu may be na^ but iddana would be unusual. The tablet is dated, the
loth of Aaru, B.C. 670. There are four witnesses. The scribe adds
a postscript, 'on the 20th he shall pay the silver.' Hence the loan
was for ten days.
The Catalogue, p. 2000b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
The name of the guarantee, as I take him to be, is best read
Minu-ahti-ana-ili, ' what shall I pay to God ? ' It occurs also as the
name of a witness, in Ep. F, on no. 23. The name of the borrower,
Pudu-Piati, is clearly the same as Pu-tu-{AN)-Pa-i-ti, the name of
a witness, Ep. F, on no. 307. The compounds of Putu, Puti, are
fairly common, and usually have a divine name as the second
l66 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
element. Puti-Baal, the son of lakin-lu, v. R. 2, 83, in the time
of Asurbanipal ; and witness on no. 408 ; Puti-Hiiru, a slave, on
no. 763, 7; Puti-Mani, a slave, on no. 763, 12; Puti-Seri, a slave,
on no. 763, 13; Puti-Sahai, father of Dilil-Istar, on no. 311, all
occur in our texts. The name of the Assyrian king, Puti-ilu, on
I. R. 6, no. III. A. 2, B. no. i, 2 ; C. 2; iv. R. 39, 14; K 6303,
8554; 79-7-8, 303; with the variant Putu-ilu, i. R. 38, 52, king of
Bit-Ammana, iii. R. 16, no. i, v. 18, surely helps to set aside a
necessarily Egyptian origin in Pet. On the other side are the many
Egyptian Aramaic names in Lidzbarski, JV. E. p. 350, compounds
of D2. This name gives warrant for a god Piati, or Paiti. The
occurrence of Egyptian compounds in such unlooked for quarters
needs investigation. The affairs of Silim-Asur are discussed in
§§ 420, 486.
The reading of the Eponym's name is rather doubtful, but seems
probable from similar dates elsewhere. The name is that of the
Eponym, B.C. 670, saknu of Diri, or Durili, in. R. i, vi. 11. He
dates nos. 42, 44, 99, 172, 18 r, 202, 332, 625, 715. He appears as
an amel MU^ nuhatwtjjiu, or 'baker,' in B.C. 686, on no. 453;
B.C. 679, on no. 364; on no. 588; always as witness; as ame/ MU
also on no. 857, 11. 37 ; no. 860, iii. 27 ; as a witness, B.C. 686, on
no. 9 ; as a witness and salsn on no. 506 ; and in the letters K 11 70,
4306, Sm. 167.
The name of the first witness Mannu-ki-sabe, appears as that of
a witness, brother of Diia, e.c. 664, on no. 377 ; and as a specimen,
App. I, XII. 6. 1 he similar name Mannu-ki-sabi is discussed, § 468.
Erba-Adadi is discussed in § 504 : Sulmu-ahe, in § 478. The name
Aisuri is Aramaic, ' Ai is my wall.' The suri here and in other
names is iit^', ' wall,' as pointed out to me by Professor Jensen.
Compounds of Ai as a divine name are rare, Ai-rimmu occurs in
Winckler's Sargon ; Aia-duri on no. 880, 11. 10. Here we have proof
that we are to read si7ri^ not suri. We may compare the Aramaic,
-l"l£^'^3, mt:', Lidzbarski, N. E. p. 373 f.
504. No. 100. Complete. Red.
Mannu-ki-Arbaili lends Ardia-arkia one mina and twenty shekels
of silver. The woman Cula-kasdu he has brought as a pledge for
four days, if he does not give (the money back) Ardia-arkia shall pay.
Erba-Adadi is agent (for Mannu-ki-Arbaili). Dated the i8th of
Ti^ritu, li.c. 687. I^our witnesses.
In line 1, of the iid (m\y the two slant lines were written, so that
AND DOCUMENTS. 1 67
ihc sii^ii looks like a division mark. liiil the scribe clearly mleiuled
to write kaspu. The scribe also seems Lo have written 30 shekels,
not 20 as 1 have given. I'he amount is therefore about three limes
the \alue ol" the pledge, whicii seems rather unlikely. It occurs to
me that the scribe may have intended to write first one mina of
silver, then a division mark, then thirty shekels. This would account
for his having written kaspu after one mina instead of after the whole
sum. Then he has really omitted ud from kaspu. This would be
of some value as a statement that one mina was equivalent to thirty
shekels. The sum would be then a fair equivalent for a slave girl
pledged.
In line 2, the scribe has written PAP for nii in the name
Mannu-ki-Arbaili. In line 3, the debtor's name seems to have da
in place of /V, but a name Ardia-arda seems impossible. In line 4,
the first three signs seem to be written over others, or are erased.
We might perhaps read Munabidu : which would probably be meant
for Munabitu, 'fugitive.' The verb ubala, is used of bringing a slave
to deposit, no. 153, 3 ; compare no. 206, 4. In line i, of the lower
edge, usallama can hardly mean ' to pay,' though that is a common
sense for the word. It must mean ' to be quit.' Probably the
debtor was to lose his slave, if he could not find the money by the
end of 'four days.' Then he was to have no further liability.
The affairs of Mannu-ki-Arbaili are discussed in §413. The
name Ardia-arkia, which I take to mean, ' my slave after me,' only
occurs here. For a name like Gula-kasdu, I have no parallel, while
Munabitu is the name of the witness on no. 498 ; of the wTiter of
the astrological reports K 769, 776, 812, 921, 1305, 1398, 2085 ; and
occurs in the letters K 954, 5463. It is common in later Babylonian
texts; see S. A. V. 5508.
Erba-Adadi, the bel kdtdti, or agent, appearing in the transaction
for Mannu-ki-Arbaili probably, is the name of a witness, B.C. 674,
on no. 186; of a lender, B.C. 670, on no. 42; of a borrower,
inhabitant of Supure-editi, in B.C. 669, on no. 103 , of a witness and
sami, B.C. 668 ; of a witness on the last no. in B.C. 670. The name
was also borne by an Assyrian king, named on K 2693, circ. B.C. 975 ;
I. R. 28, II. 4, by Asur-nasir-aplu.
Na'id-ilu, the first witness, occurs as a witness and son of
ilani, B.C. 707, on no. 350; as witness, B.C. 686, on no. 285;
as witness, B.C. 669, on no. 366 ; as seller and sami, on no. 241 ; on
no. 947 as in charge of troops ; in the letters K 146, 542, 665,
l68 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
1246, 7493, 7797; Sm. 333, 521; 81-2-4, 114; 81-7-27, 33;
82-5-22, 141 ; and as a specimen his name is on App. i, x. 32.
The name Bi'su, which only occurs here, may be b^sii^ ' stinking (?),'
but compare Neopunic NC^'yi, and Heb. Baasha. The name in Hne
4 is to be read Latubasani-ilu, see § 478. That in line 5, Abu-ul-idi
is discussed in § 494, Siparanu, the last witness, in § 474.
The date, in the Eponymy of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, is
known to be B.C. 687, from in. R. i, v. 37. This Eponymy dates
nos. 43, 100, 125, 212, 218, 317, 335, 624. ' Dated by regnal years
are no. 89, xiith year; no. 230, xximd year; no. 447, xxiiird
year. On no. 253, his mukil apati'x^ named; on no. 255, an officer
of his is a buyer ; on no. 804, a daughter of his is called Matitu,
compare the letter K 687, where this lady appears to be at Kalah.
Further we find that a quarter of Nineveh, the kisir essi was named
after him, no. 853. As granting charters, or sealing documents,, we
find his name on nos. 636, 645, 648, 666, 667. He appears in the
letters K 122, 125, 181, 543, 961, 986, 1062, 5464, 7434; 82-7-27,
41; 82-5-22, 108; 83-1-18, 231. A list of his inscriptions will
be found in the Catalogue, p. 2187 f.: but they need arranging
according to subject matter. A very curious inscription of his
referring to his entry into Babylon, after his con(|uest of Merodach
Baladan, seems to deduce his descent from the ancient mythical
heroes of Babylonia, through a line of names, some of which may
be kings of Babylon or Assyria, not known from historical sources.
The list of names reads, Gilgamis, , Eabani..., Humbaba, ,
Egiba, Sin..., IDTK-ti-Asur, AN-KI-LU..., Asur-gamilia, x\na-
Asur..., Asur-TIG-EN-NA, Asur-na..., Samas-sullulusu, Ilu.. , etc.
We know that Sennacherib was regarded in Babylon as of the
dynasty of Habigal, some of these names may supply a clue to the
meaning of this. The text will appear in the Appendix to this
volume.
'I'he Catalogue, p. 2000 b, reckons this among the ' acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
505. No. loi. Complete inner tablet, with part of outer tablet
attached and now inseparai)le. Slate grey.
'i'here was a rather complicated transaction recorded, and llie
loss of the text at critical points (juite prevents a clear statement.
In line 1, the first character is possibly the remains of 7MA', and
therefore part of kunuk. But it looks more like the first part of tak^
su7)i^ part of the word snmma. What the very clear se ma, on the
AND DOCUMENTS. 169
oulci [)urlK)ii, belongs lo, 1 tlo noL sec ; hul llic ar/iu KI arc very
doubtful. Perhaps wc have the traces of u-sc-si followed by arhu or
ardu. The KI may be read sal, but that throws no light on the
rest of the text. In the second line, on the inner tablet are clearly
l)reserved the beginning and end of Ninip-ahu-usur, which name
occurs at full length in line 6. On the outer portion, the traces
AS-IS are certainly the end of the name, of which more is preserved
on line 3 of the inner tablet, where we may read the end of
pu-hur-IS, i.e. puhiir-lUir. This was followed probably in both
places by Bel-ukin. These may be the proper names of two slaves
deposited by the debtor, who I think was Ninip-ahu-u.sur. But the
words in line 4, SI-MES-su suggest that these are the names of two
witnesses, and it seems, from reverse 3, that one of them, Bel-ukin,
will pay Mutakkil-Marduk something. From line 3, wc may complete
the name of one man Nergal-puhur-lisir. On line 3, the outer
portion seems to preserve part of ubala which means ' he brought,'
and corresponds clearly to line 4 of the inner tablet. Hence 'he
brought his witnesses.' The TA at the end of the line may be istu,
' from,' his city or district. In line 5, I give ukanu, from kanu ' to
fix,' in the sense, 'they corroborated his statement.' But the scribe
seems to have written PAP for ?iu. I then regard the following
words to mean, ' that Ninip-ahu-usur did give 38 (?) (shekels of
silver?) to Uliilai.' This is a dependent clause, ki XXXVIII {})
{sikle kaspi) Ninip-ahu-usur ana U{lulai) iddiimni. \Ve then have
su77ima Id idin, which looks as if the witnesses had some doubt as
to the payment. The traces which I took for 7/ia and la i-din are no
longer on the tablet, and I may have mistaken them. The word
iddinu on the edge is clear, and md seems to introduce a further
statement. In line i of reverse we read m Ninip-ahu-usur, 'he
Ninip-ahu-usur,' then sujuma SI-MES i-tu-bil, 'if he brought wit-
nesses'; kaspu adi rubesu Bel-ukin, 'the money with its interest
Bel-ukin,' ana Mutakkil-Marduk idati, 'to Mutakkil-Marduk will
give.' This is very singular. It looks as if one of the witnesses,
Bel-ukin, became security for Ninip-ahu-usur, and promised to pay
his debt for him. But the restoration Bel-ukin is not certain, and
line 3 may have ended with ana belisu 'to its owner.' Then
Mutakkil-Marduk was that owner.
On a review of the whole case I am inclined to think that
Ululai had borrowed a sum, something over thirty shekels of silver
of Mutakkil-Marduk and had further lent it or part of it to Ninip-
I/O ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ahu-usur. Mutakkil-Marduk now pressed for payment. Ninip-ahu-
usur was called on to repay Ululai. Perhaps he said he had paid,
or Ululai had to produce witnesses to shew that he had lent the
money to this man. The witnesses substantiated the statement,
whatever it was. Or the clause may mean, that if they proved that
Ululai had lent the money to Ninip- ahu-usur, this latter shall pay
direct to Mutakkil-Marduk, but if they prove that Ninip-ahu-usur
had paid Ululai, then the latter shall pay Mutakkil-Marduk. This
all looks like a legal decision, but may be a contract among the
parties themselves. It clearly is concerned with a loan. Hence
I put it here.
The document is dated, the 12th of Simanu, Eponymy of
Asur Four witnesses.
The name of one party in the transaction seems to have been
Ululai, though the traces in lines i, and 6, are far from convincing.
It was the name of the Eponym of B.C. 834, iii. R. i, 11. 31. It
also appears from the Babylonian Kings' List to have been the
Babylonian name of Shalmaneser IV., king of Assyria, B.C. 727 — 722,
died in Tebetu, of the dynasty of Tinu. The name was also borne
by the witness and ardu sa rab BI-LUL^ of Dannaia, B.C. 710, on
no. 416; by the neighbour and witness, B.C. 698, on no. 328; of a
witness and bel ere. B.C. 698, on no. 475; of a buyer, B.C. 684, on
no. 230; of a witness, B.C. 669, on no. 230; of a borrower and saiiii^
B.C. 656, on nos. 48, 49 : of a seller and sasinnu of Usimerai,
B.C. 651, on no. 379; of a lender, Ep. a, on no. 22; of a witness,
Ep. F, on no. 307 ; of a borrower, Ep. r, on no. 45 ; of a witness,
Ep. S, on no. 311; of a servant of Kakkullanu, B.C. 663, on
no. 309; of a witness and muttr p?7ti, B.C. 656, on no. 611 ; of a
witness, on nos. 168, 342, 436; of a principal here perhaps; of a
witness and KU-KA-SAR^ on no. 260 ; of a slave and saknu of the
tukultu, on no. 617; of a holder of slaves, on no. 877, 4; named
as owing money, on no. 813, 3 ; as in the city Ilnam .., on no. 899,
I. 36 ; and in the Harran Census. The name Kinai, witness,
B.C. 674, on no. 404, may be the same if we suppose arhu omitted
in error.
Ninip-ahu-usur only occurs here. Nergal-puhur-lisir would be
unic^ue. Jicl-ukin occurs as the name of an irrisu, 'with his people,'
in iiit-Adadi eres, on no. 742. Mutakkil-Marduk was also the name
of a seller and brother of Siltiba-Istar, in I'^p. l*^, on no. 711. The
name of the J'vponym began with Asur, but we cannot restore it.
AND DOCUMENTS. 17'
The name of tlie first witness, iiel-ilmi, occurs in our documents,
as that of a witness, u.c. 707, on no. 292 ; of a neighbour, Kp. A',
on no. 414; of a witness and ardu sa sahiu eli bitani^ Ep. t ; of a
serf, with his people, on nos. 661, 742; of a witness, on no. 568;
of a neighbour in Sasillai, on no. 385 ; of an amcl sa kiuatattu^ on
no. 771. The servant of Bel-ibni is named on no. 196. This is
a specimen name, App. 3, i. 5. The name was borne by the prince,
whom Sennacherib set on the throne of Babylon, u.c. 702 — 699,
being considered by the Babylonians as of the dynasty of Babylon.
A large number of letters concern this prince, K 10, 13, 95, 524,
597, 599> 93S, 1066, 1158, 1268, 1895, 1899, 1926, 5398, 5437 a,
5457, 7383, 8440; Rm. 48; 82-5-22, 131; 83-1-18, 4, 31, 51, 52,
79, no, 133, 150; Bu. 91-5-9, 5: Sm. 1910, 2192; Rm. 563;
82-5-22, 97; Bu. 91-5-9, 107; and in a different speUing, K 312,
680, 828, 1030, 1964, 1992, 4793, 5062, 5473, 8247, 8440; 67-4-2,
i; 83-1-18, 824; Bu. 89-4-26, 156; Sm. 1392; Lay. 63, 14,
IV. R. 47, no. 4 ; K 9462, mention the name and mostly refer to
the last named person. Further remarks on them may be left
until Dr R. F. Harper has completed his edition of the letters.
Dr C. Johnston, in his Assyrian Epistolary Literature^ has made an
excellent start on this material.
The next name begins with Za..., but can hardly be restored.
The name Sulmu-iskun seems to be complete. It only occurs here
and is perhaps shortened, by the omission of the divine name from
the beginning. The name of the last witness, Asur-sar-usur, was
that of a witness, B.C. 682, on no. 363 ; of a witness and rakasu,
B.C. 676, on no. 330 ; of a witness and mutir piUi, of Bamatai,
B.C. 656, on no. 152; of a witness, Ep. O, on no. 16; of a seller,
Ep. Z, on no. 340 : of a witness and ral? kisir, on no. 608 ; of a
witness, on nos. 211, 547; of an official of the Crown Prince, on
no. 857, II. 32 ; of a debtor, on no. 813, 7 ; of an official, on no. 928,
I. 6, III. 2 ; and in a different spelling, of the witness and muktl
apati sa ekalli^ Ep. R., on no. 642.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
506. No. 102. Complete. Light brown.
Nabti-sallim-ahe, son of Pani-Nabu-teme seals the document.
In the text I have accidentally omitted SI before Nabu, i.e. pdni.
Mannu-ki-Assur, in the kapsu of Nineveh, in the presence of, Nabii-
sallim-ahe, before Nabu-balatsu-ikbi, before Kisir-Asur, before Nabu-
nadiri-ahe, isahat ina eli amcl urki isallam itiajJidini : ' shall take and
1/2 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
to the creditor shall pay and give.' Here we are faced by several
difficulties. The kapsu is a place, see Meissner, Suppt. p. 86.
The kapsu of a country, of a town, of a palace, are there named.
It was a place where one would hear news or meet with the king.
Winckler, A. F. ii. p. 310, suggests a meaning like Bezirk. But
from our no. 812, lines, 2, 5, 8, B, E 3, R 3, it clearly means a place
where things were bought and sold, either a market-place or a shop.
The former meaning will suit all the passages well enough. Hence
it was ' in the market-place of Nineveh ' that these events took place.
The ina pciJii in money loans generally denotes the receiver. Hence
we are to regard Nabil-sallim-ahe as receiver. The presence of three
witnesses at the transaction suggests that we have here an extract
from a previous bond. In line 5, the sign of repetition is a better
reading than SI. The verbs following are all presents. The verb
sabdiu, 'to take,' 'hold' is difficult here: without an object. But
Winckler, A. F. 11. p. 90, shews that samddu means 'to measure
out,' 'pay,' hence we may read, 'he shall pay,' isamid. Clearly then
ina Hi amel urki means ' to the lender,' and we are left to doubt
why the lender should pay the creditor. The other verbs isallam
inamdini also mean 'to pay.' With all reserve I regard Nabu-sallim-
ahe as the original lender to whom now Mannu-ki-Assur pays back
his loan, and he is also the urki^ or 'creditor.'
Now we read md amel urkt inassi ubalu la iddinmc, ' and (or but)
the creditor brought and produced and gave not.' That I take to
mean, that Nabu-sallim-ahe produced the pledge but would not
surrender : ' since,' 2C7}id, ' Mannu-ki-Assur one and a half shekels
of silver to Nabu-sallim-ahe,' Id umahi urtame, ' did not pay, kept
back.' The verb mahu occurs also on no. 119, 2, where it clearly
takes the place of a verb meaning 'to pay,' or 'lend.' Perhaps the
tamahi of no. 90, R 2, is from this root. The verb ram^^i bears other
meanings, but they do not seem to suit here, and my rendering is a
mere conjecture.
Then we read ' that on the day that he Mannu-ki-Assur shall
complete, etehirdi, the money with its interest, the creditor shall
come and bring (the pledge).' Here again, my rendering of the
verb, from harddu, is not easily deducible from the meanings usually
given ; but is conjectured to suit the circumstances. The whole
case I take to be this. Nabu-sallim-ahe had lent Mannu-ki-Assur
a sum of money or a {)ledge. On the termination of the period of
the loan, the debtor came to pay, and creditor produced the [)ledge.
AND DOCUMENTS. I 73
But tlu' (KO)tor was a slickcl and a half short in his i)aynu'nt. 'I'hc
creditor retained the pledge, but gave lliis bond to surrender the
pledge when the arrears were produced. He seems to have bargained
that the arrears should bear interest. Such seems to me to have
been the transaction here recorded.
The text is full of unusual words, isabat, or isamid^ u?'ki, uviahi^
jirtame, efeht'j'di, ubd^ the fixation of any one of which, in a different
sense, would affect the rest probably. To add to our difficulties the
text is often extremely uncertain. In reverse, line 5, there may be
two or three more signs, but they are illegible and were probably
erased. On the left-hand edge, line r, instead of the first three
signs, read the ditto sign, then 77. V, then AN-PA. The name of the
witness was therefore Nabu-saknu.
The name, NabiV.sallim-ahe, may be read NabCl-sullim-ahe, or
Nabu-salim-ahe, is also that of a rab kisir and witness, Ep. A, on
no. 325 ; and a specimen on App. i, in. 19. Mannu-ki-Assur we
have already dealt with in § 409. The name of the witness, Nabti-
balatsu-ikbi, is prolific of varieties in spelling. As here, it is the
name of a neighbour, in Kuriibi, Ep. A, on no. 623 ; of an usku,
on no. 851. If this latter is the same person, perhaps urku is the
same as usku^ see § 191. Even if usgu is a misreading for UR-KU^
i.e. kalbu, we must await further evidence before we can accept the
meaning 'creditor.' Another spelling of Nabii-balatsu-ikbi, AN-
PA-TI-su-ik-bi^ is the name of the witness and rab kisir ^ Ep. Q, on
no. 349 ; and on no. 892, 5. The form AN-AK-TIN-su-ik-bi occurs
on K 31, 10595, 13061 ; Bu. 91-5-9, 72, 87 ; iv. R. Add. p. 9, 14;
and in later Babylonian texts, S. A. F. ^'jig. A form AN-AK-TI-
su-ik-bi is found on K 553; AN-AK-TI-E, the name of a witness,
Ep. i/^, on no. 351; {AN-AK)-TI-su-KA-GA, a witness and IV
HU-SI-nisu, B.C. 668, on no. 284; AN-PA-TI-LA-su-ik-bi, as a
specimen, App. i, in. 15; AN-AK-TIN-su-E, in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. V. 5719; compare the name of the witness and
IV HU-SI-nisu, on no. 537. The occurrences of Kisir-Asur have
been discussed, § 405 ; and of Nabii-nadin-ahe in § 478.
The tablet is dated, the ist of Simanu, Ep. I, i.e. in the Eponymy
of ...ubbuti-DU. This name has been variously read. Although
badly damaged, the traces of the first character suggest, to my eye,
Bel. There are, as Bezold gives the traces, Cafa. p. 275, one
horizontal to the left certain, and one vertical to the right. He also,
as his suggestion of su shews, felt that there could be tw^o verticals.
1/4 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
This is so, but there is hardly room to the left for su^ and I imagine
there are distinct traces of two slant wedges below. Hence I read
Bel-ubbuti-ukin. The meaning of the name is not clear to me.
There were four witnesses to this renewal of the bond. The
first Nabu-saknu only occurs here ; but we may compare Nabu-su-
KIM^ the name of a witness and aba^ B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; and the
name of the seller, Ep. Q, on no. 349. Oppert read this name
Nabu-sakin. The name Kuni-Huru only occurs here. The occur-
rences of ArdiTstar are dealt with, § 472. The name Pisanisi is
clearly the same as Pisinisi, the name of the witness and rab hansd,
B.C. 646, on no. 197, witness probably, B.C. 688, on no. 264.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, reckons this among 'private contracts.'
507. Nos. 103 and 104. The outer tablet is only a fragment,
the inner tablet is complete but much injured. Colour, red.
Edu-sallim lent Erba-Adadi ten shekels of silver, kakkadu. Erba-
Adadi was of the city Supuri-editi. Judging from what is left in
line 5, maratsu alone being certain, I think the debtor pledged his
daughter. The loan was to be repaid in Simanu. What followed
on the second line of the lower edge is doubtful. I fancy from the
sii at the end of the line, that ' his daughter ' was again referred to.
The reverse goes on, ' if he do not repay, the money shall increase,
(literally, he shall cause it to increase) by half a shekel, he shall pay,
if he has paid ' ; then comes an illegible line, the traces of which
I cannot understand. Dated, the 23rd of Tisritu, B.C. 669, only one
witness on the inner tablet, traces of five on the outer.
Owing to the illegibility of the critical phrases in lines 5, B.E. 2,
R 5, there is no certainty concerning the nature of the transaction.
Compared with others, of apparently a similar nature, I think that
the scribe has repeated one or more clauses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92, Budge, H. E. p 13.
The text is published in transliteration with a translation, by
Peiser, J^. B. iv. p. 132. He calls the transaction a Schuldschein
mit Zahlungsfrist und ev. spdter eintretender Verzinsiing.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, regards it as an ' acknowledgement
of debt.'
I read the lender's name Edu-sallim, instead of Asur-sallim, see
§ 478. Dr Peiser reads Asur-sallim. His calculation of the rate of
interest seems to be wrong. A half shekel on ten shekels, if paid
each month, would amount to 60 pe7' cent, as he has. Put if a half
shekel be all the interest, it is only 5 per cent. For the borrower,
AND DOCUMKNTS. 1 75
Erba-Adadi, sec § 504. 'Vhc iianu- of ihc city, Supiiri-cditi, only
occurs licrc. The sign si/ is doubtful. I'hc meaning may be ' Wall
of the flood.'
The name of the Eponym, Samas-kasid-aibi, ' Samas conquers
the enemy,' occurs on nos. 188, 310, 366, in. R. i, vi. 2. On
no. 366, he seems to have been of the city U The name only
occurs as that of the Eponym. The name of the first witness on the
inner tablet seems to be intended for Mannu-ki-Assur, but we should
expect EJ^, instead of U/?, which is quite clear on the tablet. The
sign might be meant for £>Uj but not for ^/d. For the name,
see § 409. What was meant by the traces on the left-hand edge,
I cannot say, perhaps the end of a title, but no more may have been
written.
On the outer tablet, occurs the name of another witness, Marduk-
abu-usur. Perhaps this is also the name of the witness, on no. 114,
R. 3/
508. No. 105. Nearly complete. Slate colour.
The first line may have had what I gave as a restoration, ku7iuk
Bel-sar-usur, of the amel sepa. The name and title recur, on line 3
of the lower edge. This then was the borrower. In line 2, the
name of Nintlai may be that of the lender, in which case the sign
sd may have preceded k. The next line ina eli arddnisu suggests,
that the money was lent 'upon his slaves,' i.e. Bel-sar-usur's. But
the fourth line seems inconsistent with this. Bel-sar-usur igr{mi.
This seems to mean he or they quarrelled, garii. It is not likely
that igruni means, ' he hired.' But the subsequent clauses look
as if Bel-sar-usur had wronged at least three men, Ahi-erba, in
line 6, Adadi-sum-iddina, in line 7, for whom Niniiai was to receive
money, and also Lategi-ana-Istar, who was not to be found. These
may be the slaves of Ninuai, whom Bel-sar-usur had hired and not
paid.
In line 5, we read ina kakkad AN-BIL sd arhi Stmd?ii. I
formerly read this ina kakkad Bel sa arhi Simdni^ and conjectured
that some fixed date in the month was meant. Professor Jensen
has pointed out to me that AN-BIL^ is not Bel, but means 'the
new god,' and the phrase may therefore mean, 'on the new moon
of Simanu.' The signs SAG-DU then would refer to the first
appearance, AN-BIL could be read iddisu, but further evidence
seems needed. However, it clearly denotes a fixed date. Then
we read that 'at this date, Bel-sar-usur, to Ahi-erba, to Adadi-sum-
1/6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
iddina, did not bring his urkiiiti^ in the hands of Ninilai, the sak
sarri did not place, his money was wanting.' Here we have the
obscure word urkVuti: which I take to mean 'arrears.' For the
form compare pdniu, originally panaiu ; to which it is usually
opposed. Clearly urkm means ' later.' The urkiuti are ' things
that come later,' promised, or due. Hence I believe it means
' debts,' and the aiucl urki of § 506, may be the one to whom
the debt is due, the ' creditor.' Why Bel-sar-usur should pay Ninilai
the urkVuti which he should have brought to Ahi-erba and Adadi-
sum-iddina, unless they were Ninuai's slaves, I fail to see. The
expression HA-A is usually the ideogram for ha/dku, used of slaves
'running away.' But the verb means 'to fall to the ground,' 'cease
to be,' and here must mean, his money ' was not forthcoming.'
That our conclusion is substantially correct is borne out by the
conditions now agreed to. We read in line 1 1 f., summa urkViitisu
nasa ma kdtd AHuiiai isakan, 30 sikle kaspi Ninnai ana Bel-sar-usur
sa sepd iddina u summa bid Lategi-ana-Istar inamanhii adi sai'tesu
iddina ; that is to say, ' if he brings his urkVuti and places them
in the hands of Ninuai, Niniiai will give Bel-sar-usur, the sa sepd,
thirty shekels of silver, and if when Lategi-ana-Istar is seen, he
will pay him to the extent of his price.' Several points call for
remark. In reverse, line i, zi is an unusual way of writing the
conjunction, but I see no other way of taking it. In the same
line, I take bid, to be the adverb 'when,' bttu, 'a house,' is
impossible here. The word inamartini demands a subordinate
conjunction: the collocation of 'if and 'when,' is difficult in
English, but clearly means that, 'when and if,' Lategi-ana-Istar is
seen, so and so will happen. It seems probable that Bel-sar-usur
made excuse that he had tried to pay these men but could not
find them and perhaps NinCiai had sent them elsewhere. What
seems to be most strange is that NinOai should pay Bel-sar-usur
anything at all. But perhaps he had been allowed a sum to pay
the slaves and had retained it for his own wages. Now on bringing
the sum due from him to Ninilai, the latter will pay him, in full and
pay the others as well, or as they are his slaves at least settle their
claims. The term sarlu, as we shall see in the case of the legal
decisions later, usually means 'a fine,' 'compensation'; perhaps
something was due to Lategi-ana-Istar, which had properly to be
deducted from the sum in Hel-sar-usur's possession. At any rate,
NinQai seems to accept all responsibility for outlying claims, if
AND DOCUMENTS. 177
Bel-sar-usur will [)ay up at oiicc. In line 3, hy error I have written
i-na, for SE-jia, i.e. iddina.
The Eponym's name, Asur-garfla-niri, has been discussed in
§ 502, Lategi-ana-Ii^tar, in § 478. Bel-sar-usur was the name of a
seller, H.c. 670, on no. 202 ; of a witness, B.C. 648, on no. 206 ;
of a witness and rakbu, Ep. B, on no. 207 ; of the principal and
sa scpa^ Ep. .Z, here ; of a neighbour, on no. 348 ; of the sellers
on nos. 357, 418; named on nos. 686, 857, iv. 17; on the letters
Sm. 1428; 81-2-4, 96; Bu. 89-4-26, 71, and as a specimen name,
App. 3, II. I, XII. 10. It was also borne by a king of Kisesim, who
rebelled against Sargon, was defeated and brought to Assyria,
B.C. 716; see Winckler's Sargon.
The name Ninuai is spelt phonetically, Ni-nu-a-a^ as the name
of a witness on no. 320, B.C. 691 ; of a witness, B.C. 665, on
no. 237 ; of a slave sold, on no. 252 ; of a buyer, on no. 505 ; and
of a witness on no. 606. We have AL-Ni-nu-ii-a-a as the name
of a witness from Kurai on no. 500; but our form AL-NINA-KI-a-a
is the name of the sdk sarri and buyer, Ep. P, on nos. 214, 254;
and in Ep. G, on no. 250 ; also on no. 674. A closely allied form
without the AY, is the name of the borrower, B.C. 681, on no. 30;
of a witness and hazdnu, on no. 244; of a witness on no. 332;
a specimen name, App. i, iv. 12. The form NINA-a-a is the
name of a rab bdru^ bel temt, B.C. 649, on K 385. We have further
NINA-KI-a-a, as the name of a buyer and sdk sarri^ on nos. 182,
249, 260, as a variant here, and as a sa sepd on no. 872.
Ahu-erba, or as it may be read Ahusu, only occurs here. For
the reading Ahusu compare AhCisi, the name of a slave sold,
B.C. 730, on no. 195. The form Ahusu, which may be read
Ahti-erba, occurs as the name of a borrower, B.C. 688, on no. 32.
Ahdasu, or Ahtia-erba, was the name of a witness, B.C. 710, on
no. 392 ; of the seller and son of Aa-ahe, Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; of
a seller, on nos. 209, 405 ; of the father of Sarru-ludari, on no. 325 ;
of the father of a witness, on no. 337. Also in a slightly different
form, Ahtiasu is the name of a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 172. These
are not all the same name probably. I am inclined to recognise
two separate names Ahusu, i.e. Ahut-su, and Ahtaa-erba. The
former seems abbreviated from Ahiatu-su-lisir, ' Preserve his brother-
hood,' or something similar. The second, ' He has increased my
brother,' seems odd, unless the father had married a deceased
brother's wife.
J. III. 12
178 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Adadi-sum-iddina is also the name of a witness, B.C. 674, on
no. 383 ; and occurs in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 7504. The
name of the first witness, Salmu-sar-ikbi, is discussed in § 465 ; that
of the second, Ukur-ahe, in § 409. The name Ilu-biihif-BI-E, does
not occur elsewhere. As BI is the suffix of the 3rd person singular,
and E at the end of names is usually read ikbi, I suggest the reading
Ilu-bulutsu-ikbi. If this be correct, it may be the same name as
that of the witness and ardu sa tuknlti rabe., on no. 464, there
written A N-TI-LA- su-ik-bi. The name of the next witness, Sin-ilai,
is that of a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 186; and of a writer to the
king, K 1065. The name which Dr Bezold, Cata. p. 2189 a, reads
Sin-ilai, is written AN-BU-AN-a-a and I read that Seru-ilai, or
Ser-ilai, see § 486.
The name of the witness, line lo, which I read Samas-upahhiri, see
§ 474, may be read Samas-nuri. For this name compare AN-UD-
SAB, on K 751, and Samas-mi-ri, the name of the Eponym of
B.C. 868, III. R. I. I. 43; and i. R. 25, 92. The next witness bears
the name Ninip-mat-usur, only found here. On the edge was
another witness whose name began with Samas.
It is noteworthy that throughout this tablet the title sa a?7iel
sepa replaces the more usual amel sa sepd, with which it is clearly
identical. On this title see § 217. On the musarkis, see § 152.
The tablet is dated, the 13th of Tisritu, Ep. Z. There were
seven witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 100.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 7445.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among 'private contracts.'
The nature of the transaction seemed to justify a place here,
but there is little to fix its place by. The next numbers, 106-111,
may belong also to money transactions but are very uncertain.
509. No. 106. Nearly complete. Dark red.
I cannot venture to suggest any account of the transaction
beyond this ; the shape of the tablet and the almost certain presence
of ina pani 2X the beginnings of several lines render it probable that
it recorded an advance of money to several persons. The names
arc all too uncertain to be worth discussing.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts it among the ' private contracts.'
No. 107. Only about half a tablet. Drab.
In the space between lines 4 and 5 a double line lias been ruled
across the tablet. On the reverse also there is a double line between
AND DOCUMENTS. I79
lines 2 and 3. I'Voni line 4, we may conclude that ' four niinas
of silver' were paid to Ilu.... There was a date in Tisritu. Three
witnesses. In hiu- 3, the beginning of summa, 'if,' seems to be
written.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debts.'
No. 108. About half the tablet. Black.
Sin... lends Gab..., a talent and three minas, probably of bronze,
SAK-MES of some god. The date is lost. Five witnesses.
In line 2, we probably should not read Asur, but take the sign
to be the end of MES, followed by SA. We have probably here
the ' Istar heads ' of § 336. We may note the spelling bi-lat for
'talent.' The name of the first witness began with Bel-Harran.
The next might be restored Bani, but the first sign is very uncertain.
After line 6, are the traces of yet another line, a witness whose name
began with Bal-... may have been entered there. The name of the
first witness on the reverse begins oddly, with Kasmar... apparently,
to which I know no parallel. The next name began with Sepa....
The last witness bore a name like Ilu-rimani, which is the name of
the witness, of Abnu Pulisu, B.C. 656, on no. 152.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the 'private con-
tracts.'
No. 109. Upper portion. Dark brown.
From line i, we gather that some money was lent. The borrower's
name may be Marduk-ahe-erba, or something similar. A date for
the repayment, the 15th of Nisanu (?), appears in line 3. The
line 4, may have read sa mane I siklu kaspi riibesu^ ' of each mina
one shekel is its interest.' Then a line seems to have been ruled
across the tablet. All below was therefore probably a list of
witnesses and the date. There may have been a character after
kin. Can we suppose mukinnu written on an Assyrian document?
Sillai is clearly the name of a witness, as on no. 275. The name
is common in later Babylonian documents, compare K 433, 7, 28,
two persons of the name at Erech, B.C. 648, and the witness on
no. 551. The name Silla occurs on the letters, K 830, 974, 5463,
13191; 81-2-4, 77, 78; 82-5-22, 161; 83-1-18, 56, 124, 554;
and in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 15 15. A variant is Si-la-a,
the name of the borrower, B.C. 687, on no. 17.
It is doubtful if anything was written after l?i, in line 6, before
apilsu sa ' son of.' Hence in line 7, the name ended in -a ; followed
12 — 2
l80 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
by apilsu sa. So in line 8, we have . . . UD-a, apilsu sa. This use
of apilsu sa is rare in our texts. The traces, in Une 9, are quite
unreliable. Line i, of reverse seems to have read mat Num-77ia-
{Kl-ai), 'an Elamite?'
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
510. No. no. Upper portion. Red.
Sulmu-Assur, apparently the gardener, irrisu, of Kisir-Asur (the
mutir pi^iti of the Crown Prince), seals the document. Sinik-Istar
is named next, probably as the lender. The signs, -tu-ra, are
perhaps the end of a place-name or of Sinik-Istar's office. The
loan was ten shekels of silver. In line 5, we read estp iddan, 'it
shall increase, he shall give.' The traces in lines i and 2 of reverse
are quite illegible. The name of the lender Sinik-Istar occurs again,
probably preceded by ana. The first two characters in line 3 are
really illegible, but point to a verb in a conditional clause, perhaps
id-dan-u-ni^ followed by esip. The nominative to this verb is
possibly Sinik-Istar in line 4, but more probably is 'the money'
understood. Curiously enough Kisir-Asur is named in the next
line and the names of two witnesses appear to follow. No date
is preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private con-
tracts.'
The name Sulmu-Asur is discussed in § 492, Kisir-Asur in § 405,
Sinik-Istar in § 480. Kakkullanu, the name of the first witness,
was also the name of the buyer, B.C. 663, on no 309 ; of a buyer
and neighbour, Ep. A, on nos. 318, 325; a hirer and rab kisir^
Ep. A, on no. 623 ; a buyer and rab ktsirj in Ep. A', on no. 414;
in Ep. E, on no. 711; in Ep. F, with addition to title, rab kisir
of Crown Prince, on no. 621 ; as buyer and rab kisir of the Crown
Prince, or simple rab kisir, on nos. 211, 235. In all these cases
the name is spelt Kak-kul-la-nu. The form Kak-kul-la-a-nii is the
name of a witness, on no. 322. Ka-kul-la-nu the name of a witness,
Ep. S, on no. 619; Ka-ku-la-nu the name of a buyer, rab kisir of
the Crown Prince, Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; or of a niuttr puti on the
letter K 567 ; even A-kul-la-ni the name of a buyer and 7'ab kisir
of the Crown Prince, on no. 312, are evidently the same name
and probably denote the same person. The name Ku-kii-la-nu,
borne by the buyer and rab kisir of the Crown Prince, Ep. F,
on no. 361 ; and of the buyer, in Ep. Q, on no. 349; of the buyer,
AND DOCUMENTS. l8l
n.c. 688 (?), on no. 400 ; Ku-kul-la-nu the name of the ljuycr, Ep. F,
on no. 361 ; Ku-kid-la-a-tii^ the buyer, Ep. N, of no. 327 ; Kul-
ku-la-nu^ the neiglibour \\.\\(\. rab kisir^ in Nineveh, on no. 349 ;
Kul-ku-la-a-nu, the buyer, rah kisir^ I^). Q, on no. 446 ; are clearly
the same name. The very singular thing about these names is that
Kakulanu, KukCllanu, Kulkulanu are the same. The person is
almost always a buyer, eighteen times out of twenty-four, usually
rab kisir and confmed to the Eponyms A, A', E, F, N, Q, S. The
other dates are B.C. 663, 688. We may perhaps add the name
Kul-ku-la-a, B.C. 683, on no. 703, and the Ku-ku-la-a-nu^ witness,
son of Ardi-Nabu, b.c. 709, on no. 1141, see S. A. V. 4503. We
have then, in all, fourteen ways of presenting the name. The
Eponyms named above must obviously be near one another in
date. Their order and approximate date will be discussed in the
chapter on Chronology.
Marduk-sar-usur, the name of the second witness, occurs as the
name of the Eponym of B.C. 786, saknu of Parnunna, in. R. i,
III. 32. It was borne also by a person described as son of Gabe,
witness, b.c. 664, on no. 115 ; without date, as witness on nos. 116,
418, 429, 433, 611. It was the name of a witness and aba^ b.c. 693,
on no. 29; of a witness, son of lazini, Ep. A, on no. 116; of
a seller on nos. 174, 483; as the name of the Eponym S, saknu
of Kue, on nos. 166, 311, 352, 619. The same name was borne
by a sdku of the Crown Prince, on no. 854 ; and in the letters
K 1 217, 7351, and on no. 1047. In these cases the name is written
AN-SU-MAN-FAP. The form AN-SU-LUGAL-PAP occurs on
no. 429. The form AN-AMAR-UD-MAN-PAP is found as the
name of the witness and mukil apdti of the Queen, b.c. 660, on
nos. 444, 445 ; as the name of the father of a witness, on no. 475 ;
of the father of Lulabbir-sarrutsu, on the letters, etc., K 186, 619,
930, 1051; Rm. II. 205; 81-2-4, 52; 83-1-18, 169, 476; K 5264,
III. R. 37, 75 by Asurbanipal as his hit saki. Another form
AN-AMAR-UD-LUGAL-PAP occurs in the letters K 1172, 14 10,
3102, 5399, 7417. The form AN-AMAR-UD-LUGAL-SIS occurs
in the letters K 1095, 1610, 1895, 5594; Sm. 1066; 82-5-22, 131;
83-1-18, 275, AN-AMAR-UD-iM ANSIS occurs in the letter
K 7409 ; while finally ANRID-MAN-PAP is the name of the
witness, priest of Nabil, Ep. O, on no. 640 ; of the son of Gabe,
witness on no. 433 ; and of a mutir piiti of the Crown Prince,
on. 857, II. 46.
1 82 • ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The text is in too fragmentary a condition to be placed with
certainty.
511. No. III. Right-hand edge. Bright red.
The tablet was concerned with money, see lower edge, line i,
manu kaspi. In line 4, the ma-ia-di may be a word for 'interest.'
In line 5, the name Lategi-ana-Istar occurs, see § 478. The other
traces lead to little or nothing, except that a name, in rev. 2, seems
to be Rimani. This is very likely the same as Rini-aji-ni-i, the name
of a witness, on no. 273.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, regards this as a 'private contract.'
512. No. 112. Nearly complete. Dark brown.
Here, in the first line, we have so many homers of corn,
SE-BAR^ for the house of Summa-ilani. Then after a division
mark, we read ma-ka-tak-ni^ but whether one word or more, does
not appear. Then, in line 3, we learn that Kidin-ilu received, ittasa,
fifteen minas of silver from the amel LUL-MES, i.e. 'from the
singers.' That sum he proceeded to give Summa-ilani. What
exactly is meant by U-MU iddini is not clear. If we read umUy
we may take it adverbially, 'the day on which he has given.' But
there is no other sentence to complete the idea so suggested con-
ditionally. However, there seem to have been seven witnesses.
Dated, the 30th of some month, B.C. 700.
Probably we have here a note of the food and money entrusted
to Summa-ilani, but we are unable to determine the exact nature
of the transaction. In line 4, I have given the wrong form of
TA and the wrong form of amcl. In reverse, line 2, the term kisdte
conveys no meaning to me. Have we here a use of sa to denote
sir'^ We have Unzahu alongside Unzarhu. In this case we should
obtain kisirte. The sign KI is not quite certain, it may really be
a, badly made KA. Until some further examples of the use are
obtainable, we may suspend our judgement.
Summa-ilani we discussed in § 465 ; Kidin-ilu only occurs here,
but we have Kidinia, as the name of a neighbour, on no. 376 ;
Kidin-Bel, v. R. 44, 56 d; Kidin-Ea, S. A. V. 4283; Kidin-Marduk,
v. R. 44, 28 \\ found also on no. 891, as the name of a son of
Sapiku, a rab banu^ in l>ab Sapi ; and Kidinu, S. A. V. 4286, are
all very similar names.
Abda also occurs in the Harran Census, as the name of a
shepherd. A very similar name, Abda', is borne by a witness and
Tartan, B.C. 694, on no. 281 ; by a witness and aba^ B.C. 688, on
AND DOCUMKNTS. 1 83
no. 238 ; by the bcl paliad of Rasappa, on nos. 7O4, 853, 854.
Slightly different is Al)daia, the name of the witness, u.c. 645, on
no. 68. The name Abdi was borne by the witness, u.c. 674, on
no. 186; the witness, n.c. 648, on no. 373; the witness, E[). !',
on no. 628; the seller on no. 254; a serf, 'with his people,' on
no. 672; a serf, with his people, in the city lada'i, on no. 742;
on no. 947 ; and in the letter 83-1-18, 75, as of Tille. A witness
and naggaru, B.C. 707 is named Abdi, on no. 292. Abdia was the
name of the bel pahati oi Kar-Esarhaddon, on no. 884.
The name of the next witness only occurs here and as a
specimen name, App. i, iv. 16. The element kdsir^ perhaps means
'preserver,' see Del. H. IV. B. p. 360 b, and note kusur libbi^
Z. A. X., 194 rev. 15 ff . : and compare B. A. S. in. 361, kasciru
— ausbessern^ wiederherstelkn. AVhether we are to take PAP, in line 2,
as ahu^ ' brother,' so that Nabu-kasir would be brother of the amelu
sa eli kisate ; or whether we are to read naphar and consider that
both Abda and Nabu-kasir were eli kisate ; there seems little to
decide. Against the latter view is the fact that also the next two
witnesses are eli kisate^ so that the naphar would be more appropriate
in line 5. The witness, Arbailai, has been discussed in §§ 408, 477 ;
Silim-ilu in § 475.
The name of the next witness, Nabu-ram-napisti, was also that
of the father of Nabu-nadin-ahe, on no. 27; and occurs as a
specimen name, App. i, iii. 30; App. 2, 11. 10. The name of the
next witness ended in -SU, perhaps to be read -erba : on the title
mutdr time, see § 196. The next name is Asur-taklak, which only
occurs here.
The name of the Eponym Metunu has been discussed in § 474.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, calls this a ' private contract.'
Advances of various sorts of property.
513. These next fifteen texts, nos. 1 13-127, concern loans or
advances of various sorts of property, apparently after the fashion
of the ana piihi money loans with which we commenced, and clearly
related closely to the corn loans which follow. The association of
money and corn in nos. 113, 114, recalls the case of no. 90: but
there is no close connection between the different transactions.
No. 113. Nearly perfect. Red.
184 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Silim-Asur advances ten minas of silver and one hundred
and twenty homers of corn, with its interest, to Handasani
and Marduk-sum-usur. If they repay in Ululu, (well and
good); if they do not pay, it shall increase by a half
mina. Bel-eres acts as agent. Dated in Simanu, B.C. 680.
Seven witnesses.
A translation has been given by Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 255, who
deduces from it and no. 114 a number of remarkable results to
which we shall return later. It is clear that the mention of interest,
in line 2, is rather premature, but the scribe merely states the
indebtedness in full and so includes the interest, if any. I think
Professor Oppert is quite right in rendering line 5 by zinsfrei
werde?i sie im Monat Ehtl wiedergeben. Also the rendering, of
line 2 of the lower edge, by Bel-eres leistet Bilrgschaft^ is not far
from the truth. What degree of responsibility Bel-eres took is not
quite clear : ' agency ' is all that I am prepared to admit. I think
that Silim-Asur was really the ' steward ' of the royal household,
and Bel-eres acted for him as 'agent' in this case. Professor
Oppert regards the money as the value of the corn. But there is
reason to suppose that a gur of corn was always worth about a
shekel of silver. The money was therefore worth 600 giir of corn :
or if the mina had only 30 shekels, at least 300 gur. Hence a
homer of corn would be five gur or two and a half gur. Neither
supposition seems likely. The relation which we took between the
homer and gur^ in § 487, would make a gur worth three shekels.
On the whole, I regard the loans as separate. Indeed the ideogram
for corn here, SE-FA7] points to corn as 'rations.' The suggestion
is that Silim-Asur advanced a quantity of corn as food for the
labourers on some job and money for wages or other expenses.
The advance is made in May or June, to be repaid in August
or September. The business in hand was very likely harvest
operations.
Another question is raised by the interest to be paid. The text
only states 'a half mina.' If we regard this as the usual quarter
of the sum lent, that could only have amounted to two minas in
all. The interest must have been very small ; even if only reckoned
on the money lent, it was only five per cent. The cause for this
may be sought in the relation between the lender and the borrower.
We have already discussed Silim-AS^ur in §§ 420, 488. Handasani
is the name of a borrower on no. 119, from Dana, in this same year
AND DOCUMENTS. 185
and monlli, and is named on no. 855, R 3, as in charge of a troop
of thirteen or fourteen hundred men. Possibly the money and
rations here and the sheep in no. 119, were for the support of
this troop, in Simanu, B.C. 680. The name is singular, the element
Handa, if really separate, occurs also in Handapi, the name of
a witness and nagiru, son of Hunzudi, of the city Hubaba, Ep. Q,
on no. 446 ; and is perhaps connected with Handu, the name of
a witness on no. 262 ; and Handi, the name of a witness and Kasi^
B.C. 682, on no. 215 ; of a witness, B.C. 683, on no. 273; and of a
witness on no. 300. These names seem to be foreign, Kassite (?).
The name of the other borrower, Marduk-sum-usur, only occurs
here in this form, AN-RID-MU-PAP. The form AN-AMAR-
UD-MU-PAP occurs as the name of a witness, on no. 712, in
the letters Sm. 152; 83-1-18, 6; in the enquiries of the Samas
oracle, G. A. S., nos. 35, 48, 91, 98, 108, 145 ; and on the
astrological reports, K 1460, 3742, 8650, as a de/ femi, B.C. 648.
The form AN-SU-MU-PAP occurs as the name of a witness and
aba, B.C. 674, on no. 186; and on the letter K 13108. The form
AN-SU-MU-SIS, is the name of a writer to the king on K 2701 a.
The form AN-AMAR-UD-MU-u-sur occurs in an enquiry of the
Samas oracle, G. A. S. no. 6 ; and in later Babylonian texts
S. A. V. 5 1 71. The form AN-KU-MU-PAP occms on an enquiry
of the Samas oracle, G. A. S. no. 85 ; and is a witness for the
equation AN-KU= Marduk. The form AN-AMAR-UD-MU-SIS
occurs in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 51 71. The same name
occurs on K 396, 81-7-27, 136, in the years B.C. 649-8.
In line 5, the scribe appears to have omitted ina before arhi,
though it is clearly needed to make sense. On the lower edge also,
" ' . . .
in line 2, he has omitted the dual sign after SU, usual m writmg
kdtati. The name of the first witness is written Nabu-la-tu-SAR-a-ni.
If we take this to be for Nabu-la-tubasani, we must take SAR as an
ideogram for basu, as UR certainly is, see § 478. It is the only
occurrence of the form in our documents. We might read Nabu-la-
tamhirani, but it does not seem likely to be right.
The name Milkaia is singular, only occurring here. Milkia we
have noted in § 464. Milkai is the name of a witness, B.C. 684, on
nos. 19, 20. Milki is the name of a witness on nos. 245, 300. But
often Milki is followed by a divine name, as in Milki-Asur the name
of a witness, B.C. 648, on no. 7, and on no. 877 ; Milki-ilu, as
specimen name, App. i, viii. 13; Milki-Istar, the name of a witness,
1 86 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
B.C. 687, on no. 218. Hence we may suppose here a divine name
la and read Milka-Ia. So the name of the witness, h.c. 675, on
no. 167, may be read Milki-Ai. Alongside these names we must
note those where the element Milki seems itself to be a divine name,
as in Milki-erba, a specimen name, App. i, x. 35 ; in Milki-idri, the
name of a seller and rab kisir, in the city Dannai, B.C. 663, on
no. 470 ; and a witness on no. 507 ; in Milki-mudammik, a specimen
name, App. i, x. 36; in Milki-nuri, the seller, sdkii of the Queen,
B.C. 668, to B.C. 666, on nos. 287, 316, 452, 474, 494, 627; an
irrisu, on no. 741 ; on no. 890 and no. 928 ; in Milki-ramu, the
name of the Eponym, B.C. 654, iii. R. i, vi. 30; the principal,
B.C. 663, on no. 56; on 83-1-18, 476; in Milki-iram on K. 3102.
Here Milki is clearly the Hebrew Melech, or Malchi seen in
Malchijah, Malchi-el, Malchiram, etc. : the Aramaic and specially
Canaanite '-p'o, A^ ^- p. 310. The shade of meaning to be assigned
to Milki, in Milki-asapa, king of Gebal, iii. R. 16, v. 16; in Milki-
uri, the name of a slave, B.C. 710, on no. 234; in Milki-larim, a
specimen name, App. 2, xi. 12; must depend on the meaning of the
second element in each case. Other incomplete names with the
element miiki are those, of the rab kisir on K 998 ; and of a slave
sold, B.C. 686, on no. 453, perhaps to be completed Milki-baba. In
Assyrian names, when not a divine name, milkii may mean 'counsel,'
'prudence.'
The name of the next witness, Nuranu, is found also on no. 902.
The name written SAB-d^-xm could be read Nuranu, but I prefer
Sabanu in most cases. Mannu-aki-Arbaili is, of course, the same
name as the more usual Mannu-ki-Arbaili, for which see § 413.
The name of the witness, in line 4, Salamame, only occurs here.
One may perhaps suppose a scribal error for wSalamanu, which is the
name of a king of Moab, Tiglath Pileser HI., B. 60; of an irristt,
with his people, in the city Ka^pi, on no. 742 ; and occurs in the
letters K 518, 4690, 13509; Sm. 268a; Bu. 91-5-9, 18. A different
form of this name is borne by a rab kisir of the Queen Mother, on
no. 857, II. 31, where we read Sa-lam-a-nu. The name Salamu
occurs in the Harran Census. The curious name Salama-sarri, if
that is how it is to be read, occurs as that of a witness on no. 598.
In our case the me is very distinct now.
The name of the witness, in line 5, si)elt Nu-us-hi-il-a-a^ is
commented upon by Profess(jr Zimmcrn, G. G. A. 1899, p. 249.
He regards it as depriving Professor Jensen of his last argument
AND DOCUMENTS. I 87
against the identification of Nusku vvitli tlic "]C'3 of tlic Ncral) Slclc.
Elscwlicrc in our text Nusku is always written ideograi)liically AN-
PA-KU. Tlie name Nusku-ikii occurs as that of a witness, u.c. 686,
on no. 9; of a witness, it.c. 676, on no. 576 ; of a witness, h.c. 674,
on no. 124; of a witness, u.c. 645, on nos. 24, 25, where he is called
saku of the city Kummuh ; of a witness on nos. 478, 601 ; and in
the Harran Census. The name of the Ej^onym has been discussed
in § 478. There is nothing to be made of the traces on the left-hand
edge.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'acknowledge-
ments of debt.'
514. No. 114. A mere fragment. Drab.
The fragmentary condition of the tablet prevents full use being
made of the text, but so far as preserved the state of the case seems
to be as follows. Thirty shekels of silver and ten homers of corn,
ina {GIS-BAR) sa 9^ ka {eri), were lent by Bel-ba... to Edu-usur,
afia pithi. Dated sometime in the Eponymy of Ki Seven
witnesses.
The similarity to no. 113 is obvious. Here however one-twentieth
of the money is associated with one-twelfth of the corn. The GIS-
BAR here cannot mean 'average yield,' but may be a price or
estimate of quality. Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii., p. 255, considers
that the phrase indicates the number of kabs to the homer. He
calls a tenth of a homer a Sechstel^ and considers that here this
Sechstel is equivalent to 9 J kabs^ so that the homer has here 95 kabs.
The price of corn is thus 3 it kabs per shekel. In the case of
no. 113, he adds to the 120 homers a quarter to give the rubc^ and
thus has 150 homers. Taking the homer to be 60 kabs he obtains
a price of one shekel for 15 kabs. If he takes the homer to be
usually 120 kabs, then a shekel would buy 30 kabs. But the whole
calculation starts from the precarious assumption, that the money is
the price of the corn. Then it further involves the assumption that
the 9 J refers to the number of ka in a Sechstel. The calculation
leads to no result that can stand and may be dismissed as fallacious.
The connecting link between this GIS-BAR and that applied to
land and denoting 'average yield,' see § 276, p. 235, may perhaps be
found in GIS-BAR denoting a 'wooden measure,' 'a tub,' or even
' a sack.' This would be a convenient way of keeping the corn, and
the content of ' the sack ' might be variable. At any rate it held the
produce of a ka of land.
1 88 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
One further point deserves notice here. This advance was ana
puhi. Hence there is fair reason to suppose the advance in no. 113
was so as well. We have already seen, § 373, that the phrase may
be omitted, when really implied. There is no mention of interest
preserved.
The names of the principals are not easily restored. Bel-balat
may be intended but the ba is not certain. The name Edu-usur,
written E-dii-PAP^ occurs as that of a serf, with his people, on
no. 661. If AS-PAP is all the name here, it could be read the
same. Both names may be read Edu-nasir. The former may mean
' Preserve the only (son),' or if, as is suggested in § 478, Edu is a
divine name, we may render *Edu preserve,' or 'Edu is a preserver.'
The names of the first few witnesses, Marduk..., lb..., Istar...,
Mannu... cannot be restored with any confidence. Ahu-erba has
been discussed, § 508. Sarru-emurani occurs, spelt as here restored,
as the name of a witness and salsu, Ep. S, on no. 352 ; of a witness
and rab kisir, Ep. Y, on no. 151 ; of a witness and salsu, on no. 312 ;
of a sakic of the Crown Prince, on no. 840, 11. 7 ; on no. 880,
II. 12; and in the letters D. T. 63; Rm. 51. The form M ANSI-
LA L-afi-ni was the name of the Eponym of B.C. 713, saknu of
Lullume, in. R. i, v. 12; of the witness, B.C. 683, on no. 447;
occurs in the letters K 1227, 1500, 7473; Rm. 11. 463; and as a
specimen name, App. i, ix. 3. A phonetic spelling MAN-e-miir-an-ni
is a variant to the last, in. R. i, v. 12; taken probably from no. 677.
A shorter form MAN-SI-a-ni was the name of the borrower, Ep. r,
on no. 45 ; and occurs in the letter K 650. The clipped form
MAN-SPLAL-ni occurs in the letters K 665, Rm. 11. 529: cf.
Sm. 754. The form LUGAL-SPLAL-a-ni was the name of a
witness and mutir putt, on no. 506 ; and occurs in the letters
K 1413, vSm. 548, 81-2-4, 126. In the letters K 1402, 4307, we
have LUGAL-SPLAL-an-nL The phonetic spelling LUGAPc-
mur-an-?ii occ\ix?> in the letters K 630, 1081, 7384, 14093, Rm. n. 7.
A clipped form LUGAL-SPLAL-ni occurs in the letters K 610,
Sm. 1045, Rm. n. 474; cf. K 689, 5291, 5468. Also K 2680, 2681,
2691, 5284, were dated in his Eponymy, and give the year as the
xth of Sargon, and his office as saknu of Eullume, see (1. Smith,
Ep. Can. p. 85, and in. R. 2, nos. iv., vn.
The name of the last witness and scribe, aba, of the tablet,
Nabft-sadClni, ' Nabfl our mountain,' occurs also as a specimen
name, App. i, iv. 8.
AND DOCUMENTS. 1 89
Tlio Catalogue, p. 2001 h, puts this among llic 'private contracts.'
515. No. 115. Complete. Red.
'I'en minas of silver, Carchemish standard, seventy-five
sheep, one cow (?) ; are lent by Rimani-Adadi, the muJiil
apiUt, to Arbailai, the sani't of Barhalzi ; to NabCl-erba-ahe,
the aba; to Maskaru, the sa/su; to Ilu-nadin-aplu, the
sa/su; atia ptihi^ interest to be one-third. The sheep and
the cow they shall return in the month Addaru. If they
do not return the sheep, they shall breed them. Dated the
25th of Tebetu, B.C. 664. Thirteen witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
Extracts are given, S. A. K 4822, 8082.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 171, no. 23.
The text was published, in. R. 47, no. i.
A transliteration and a translation were given by Oppert, Doc.
fur. p. 158 f. ; and again Z. A. xiii. p. 257, Oppert gives a summary
of it.
In line 2, for 75, Oppert reads ana 15, the signs LID-NIGIN
he renders gravidam^ vache pleine. As a rule G UD-LID may be
read 'cow,' littu^ but what the force of NIG IN here may be is
not clear. The sign may be LID-LID-SIK. After a repeated
comparison with the older forms I am of opinion that we have here
a lineal descendant of the LID-AL of the old Babylonian texts, see
Radau, Early Babylojiian History., p. 367. Whether the AL is
rightly identified there I do not pretend to say, for I have no
experience in examining the older tablets. But I agree with Radau
in his conclusion that the signs mean a full-grown cow. In our case
there seem to be too many wedges for the usual Assyrian AL^ but
the older ideogram may have been preserved.
In line 3, I have inadvertently given mu-kil in place of its
ideogram LU. There is no viu on the tablet, and what I give as
kil is really In. The two verticals which follow are possibly a badly
made «:, and then we should read, as in reverse 4 and 8, LU a-pa-te.
Oppert of course could not read the signs as given in iii. R. In
line 4, he leaves saiui unread, but renders viro prefecto militum urbis
Hahi. He takes BAR as AN.
In line 7, iii. R. gives e in place of AS-A, so Oppert read the
name Same. It is noticeable that in line 6, as in line 9, sa/su is
written III-SI-su. Here the usual HU is omitted from before SI.
In line 9, the writing is also wrong. There in. R. gave the first two
\
I90 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
characters as // ak, so Oppert read // ah III gur-su and rendered
duo ak tres gur, and says, in the French version, P argent rapport era
deux ak et trots giir. What is curious is that /// is followed in each
case by SI. This favours Professor Jensen's suggestion that for
' one-third ' we are to read sulsu. Perhaps here in line 6, /// SI-su
is not salsH but ' a third man,' sulsu.
In line 2, of the lower edge, Oppert renders uludu by oves
parturientes {vel potius natos\ in the French version, // donnera le
produit des animaux. I think he is right. I take idudu to be from
aladu, 'to give birth,' perhaps infinitive 11. i. Either the sheep,
then shorn, were to be returned, or if retained were to be put to
breed. It does not follow that the debtors might retain them till
the lambs were born, but they must see that the proper attention was
given them, so that when returned, the sheep should not be profitless
to their owner.
In line 2, of the reverse, Oppert reads ilu BAR-BAR as Ninip.
It is now generally read as Nergal and was certainly one of the
names of that god, but it is not clear that it was pronounced Nergal.
For Nergal-sar-usur occurs lower down written in the usual way,
L. E. I. Perhaps it was read Masmas-sar-usur. For the occur-
rences of the names, see below, p. 192. The names certainly denote
different persons and I have seen nothing to shew that the names
ever interchange.
In line 3, of the reverse, Oppert reads the name U-a-sa-ar. The
name is a puzzling one. It frequently occurs as that of one of
Rimani-Adadi's witnesses. It is written U-a-ar-bi-is^ as the name of
a witness and salsu, B.C. 667, on no. 185 ; U-ar-bi-is, as the name
of a witness and salsu on nos. 247, 408, 471, 571; governor in
Egypt, Bu. 91-5-9, 218. But the place of this witness is taken on
our tablet by a witness and salsu, B.C. 664, called U-a-dr-me-ri.
Then the same place is taken on no. 470, in B.C. 663, as a witness
and salsu by U-bar-bi-si, which also is the name of a witness and
salsu dannu, on no. 418. As these are all witnesses to Rimani-
Adadi's deeds and closely associated with the same set of men as
fellow-witnesses, there can hardly be any doubt that the same name
is meant by these varied spellings. Then if we regard Ubar, Uwar,
Uar, as one element perhaps related to the Sumerian (?) Ubara, and
com|)are the name with Ubara-Tutu, we may conclude that IJis or
Bisi is a divine name and perhaps a synonym of Meri. The element
Ubar will Ijc found also in Ubaru, in the letter Sm. 1028 and in Liter
AND DOCUMENTS. I9I
Babylonian texts, ^S". A. V. 11 26, etc. Even Ubar occurs as a
proi)er name, J\ A. S. vii. 20. We liave Ul^arru on tlie contracts
K 3790, Rni. 157, in the years li.c. 679, 680: i)erha[)s tlie same as
the sa/<:u of Babylon on Sm. 1028. I'or the form Uar we may
compare, Uari the witness on no. 97, see § 500 : and Uarzaun, of
the land of Makutti, on K 1668 b, 11. 19, in Winckler's Sargoji.
In line 4, Oppcrt reads the name Ninip-Sar-u.sur in place of
Samas-sar-usur, and gives no rendering for LU apate. It is singular
that this clear phonetic reading oi LU SU-J^A-AIES should so long
have escaped notice, see § 124. In line 5, Oppert reads the name
Nabti-magir and for Barruk reads Massun. In line 6, iii. R. gave
the curious reading Ni-in-Jtu-ti for the clearly written Sakannu and
the sign of repetition. In line 8, iii. R. gave as the title LU
LL-pa-te. I am sure that here also L U a-pa-te was written, though
the a is less distinct than in line 4. In reverse, edge line i, Oppert
read the name as Kurbasti, but in view of the variants Hubaste,
Habasite, we must read it .A.hibaste. On line i, of the left-hand
edge, the title of the witness is given as IL-si-su^ on which see § 155.
In line 2, a comparison of no. 116, makes it clear that we must
restore the name Marduk-sar-usur ; see also § 510.
Oppert considers the whole transaction a Creaiice hypothecaire.
In his remarks, p. 159, he says that w^hat he has called a vache
pleine may on the contrary be un taureau. In Z. A. xiii., p. 257,
he suggests reading GUD LLD-MALI^ which would suit the traces
very well indeed. In the contracts treated by Radau, the sign 7nah
may be a better reading than al. Oppert takes the value of the
sheep and cow to be ten minas, but there seems no good reason for
this. He would reckon a sheep as worth 7 shekels and the cow as
75 shekels. We shall return to this in the chapter on Prices.
Bezold, Lit. p. 157, c. i., calls this a Darlehensurkunde^ ohne
ndJureii Angabeji.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'private con-
tracts concerning sales, etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other
moveables.'
For the business transactions of the great Rimani-Adadi, see
§ 465. Of the recipients of the grant, Arbailai is discussed in
§§408, 477. Nabu-erba-ahe also occurred on no. 116, probably;
w^as the name of a writer to the king's son, K 614; and is a specimen
name App. 2, 11. 13. The name Maskaru also occurred on no. 116,
probably, but is otherwise unknow^n. Ilu-nadin-aplu also occurred
192 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
probably on no. ii6; is the name of the sa?iu of Haurina, on
no. 922, I. 6; and occurs in the Harran Census.
The name of the first witness, Nergal-sar-usur as it is usually
read, written AN-BAR-BAR-MAN-PAP occurs as that of a
witness, son of Daian-Adadi, B.C. 680, on no. 631 ; of a witness
and salsu^ as here, B.C. 663, on no. 470; and on nos. 116, 247, 448.
On no. 408, he appears as salsu dannu, and his position in the lists
of witnesses renders it probable that the fuller title was generally
intended in his case. The name occurs as that of a witness also on
nos. 433, 471, 571, 599. On no. 596, he appears as mukil apdti
and witness. He is named on K 677, 1595, 7389.
The more common writing AN-U-GUR-MAN-PAP, is the
name of a witness, saku of the Crown Prince, B.C. 710, on no. 416 ;
of a witness, son of the mdhu of Tarbisi, B.C. 666, on no. 258 ;
of the witness and kepu^ e.c. 664, on no. 377 ; of a bel pahdti^
B.C. 648, on K 3742; and occurs in the letters K 1051, 8872,
81-2-4, 131- What is certainly the same name, U-GUR-MAN-
PAP ysidiS borne by the seller, B.C. 679, on no. 534; by the Eponym,
B.C. 678, and rdb BI-LUL^ on no. 630; by the Eponym, B.C. 678,
on no. 301 ; by a witness, B.C. 671, on no. 192 ; by a witness below
on Z. E. I.; by a witness and salsu^ B.C. 663, on no. 470; by a
witness and salsu^ Ep. A, on no. 325 ; by a witness, Ep. D, on
no. 39 ; by witnesses on nos. 295, 396, 439 ; occurs as the name
of a bel pahdti^ on no. 854; in the letter K 17 and as Eponym,
B.C. 678, and rdb BI-LUL^ iii. R. i, vi. 3. Clearly the Eponym
was not the witness, B.C. 664, onwards. The form AN-U-GUR-
LUGAL-PAP occurs on K 13052. Another form AN-U-GUR-
LUGAL-ii-sur^ occurs in the letter 83-1 -18, 772, and in later
Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 6345. The form AN-U-GUR-LUGAL-
SIS occurs in the letters K 131 76, and in later Babylonian texts,
S. A. V. 6345. The form U-GUR-LUGAL-PAP is the name
of a lender, b.c. 667, on no. 27 ; and occurs in the letter K 1086.
We have AN-PA-U-GUR-MAN-PAP given iii. R. i, vi. 3, as
variant for the Eponym's name B.C. 678. In later Babylonian texts,
S. A. V. 6345, we have also the form AN-SI-DU-LUGAL-SIS.
To this name also must be referred the traces in no. 529, R 6,
witness and inukil apdti \ and no. 611, R 5, witness and salsu.
Ncrgal-sar-usur was the name of the king of Babylon, B.C. 559-556 :
see 1. R. 8, no. 5 ; i. R. 67, i. i, where in the latter place we must
restore AN-SIS-GAL-L UGAL-u-su-ur.
AND DOCUMENTS. 193
Tlio witnesses SamaS-Sar-usur, Barriik, Sumnia-iirmi and Sakanu,
have been diseiissed in § 467 ; Nabfl-sezih in § 479 ; Asur-ilai in
§500, Alui-haste in §472; Marduk-sar-iisur in §510. 'I'he name
boine by the two witnesses, in lines 8 and 9, wliieli 1 read Zaruti
is also that of the neighbour, B.C. 668, on no. 471 ; of a borrower,
rab karCini sa biti cssi n.c. 656, on nos. 48, 49 ; of a witness on
no. 606 ; of the father of Asur-katsu on no. 711 ; of a rah kisir on
no. 815, R. III. 8, II. 8 ; of a salbi on no. 912, 5. Further it was the
name of a witness and J?iukii apdti o^ \.\\q Crown Prince, B.C. 667, on
no. 200, as here ; of a witness and mukil apdti on nos. 247, 439.
On the latter, the two men occur together again, the second, as here,
being a rdb kisir. In the same form we find it as the name of
a witness and kcpu., on no. 477. These names are spelt Zcr-71-ti^
or Zcr-u-ti-i. The form Za-rii-ti-i occurs as the name of a witness
and aba^ B.C. 698, on no. 328 ; of a witness, mukil apdti of the
rdb sake, B.C. 695, on no. 34 ; and as a borrower, son of Gugti,
B.C. 670, on no. 44.
516. No. 116. Only the right half is preserved. Red.
A comparison of this text with the last shews that if not
dupHcates they are so closely related that one may be supposed
to be an incomplete draft of the other. Perhaps one \vas a renewal
of the grant made in the other. There are some small differences.
In line 5, there is mention of a half mina ; unless we are to read
ina isten mane. This phrase often replaces ifta sa, which is an
abbreviation of it. In line 8, an epithet da?niktu, ' goodly ' is added
to the ideogram for 'cow.' We can therefore hardly suppose a bull
was really meant. In line 10, we see that Rimani-Adadi's full title
was mukU apdti dannu sa Asurbdnipal sar indt Assur, as often,
see § 467. This is shortened, as often, on no. 115, to miikil apdti
simply. We may therefore assume that the shorter title need not
imply an earlier date. In reverse, line 4, there seems to be no room
for uludu. In the list of witnesses here Uarmeri is omitted, also the
first Zdruti, and as far as I can judge there was no date unless it was
on the left-hand edge, now lost. It is worth noting here that on
this tablet rdb KA-SAR is written for rdb ki-sir.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the ' private con-
tracts.'
517. No. 117. Nearly complete. Slate.
Dannaia lends two camels to lahutu, Ilu-mukin-ahi,
and Adadi-aplu. . . . They shall return the camels on the
J. III. 13
194 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ist of the month.... If they do not return them then,
they shall pay six minas of silver. Dated, the 14th of
Tisritu, B.C. 674. Three witnesses. P.S. If they do not
pay the money, interest will be charged at the rate of five
shekels per mina.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 93, and S. A. V. 4822.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts it among the 'private contracts.'
The text is discussed by Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii., p. 257,
who regards A-A-AB-BA as a very costly substance, the so-called
' Meerwasser.' He reads the difficult second line as sa 2A zak-
kartaii., and suggests that it may mean zweifaches Wasser : or welches
man doppeltes Wasser ne?int. He regards this costly material as
worth about 3' 13 francs per litre, wofur ma7i jetzt schon ei?ie Flasche
Chanipagner haben kann. But it is not likely that such a grand
drink would be expected back. I regard imer A-A-AB-BA as an
ideogram for camel or dromedary : see Del. H. W. B. under udru.^
ibilu, gammalu. The usual ideogram for camel is GAM-MAL^
but also imer A-AB-BA, while imer AB-BA is ibi/u. For the
meaning of the latter as 'camel,' see Zimmern, Z. A. v. p. 387:
cp. the Arabic J-jI, 'camel.' In K 152, inter AB-BA, ibilu, is
followed by imer TU-DU, sanu, and then by AM-SI-HA-RA-AN,
ibilu^ again. Here it seems that an animal called sanil is closely
allied to ibilu. Now on Shalmaneser's Monolith, obv. 28, we read
of 7 udrdte sa 2 giingulipesina, rev. 62 (cf. Layard 98, i.), udrdte
{inter A-AB-BA-MES) sa sunai sirisina. Samsi-Adadi 11. 56 has
inter udrdti sa 2 {ta-a-an) iskubiii sitkuna. These dromedaries with
two or double humps would be called santi very likely ; at any rate
the ijner A-AB-BA was often a double humped dromedary. On
the meaning of the terms see Hilprecht, Assyriaca, i. p. 62, f.
Now the natural way to read Il-a is sand, or sund. Hence I think
the scribe meant here, ' 2 dromedaries which they call double
humped.' There is a difficulty about zakarilni, one would expect
zakrHtti.
In line i, of reverse, the first two signs are badly rubbed, but
now I think they are clearly to be read GAM-MAL, but there
does not seem to be any plural sign. Still gammale is probably
what was meant. Hence it appears these two humped dromedaries
were highly valued, three minas of silver apiece. The passages
from the historical texts cited above shew that they were valued
as articles of tribute, and as no more than seven are mentioned
AND DOCUMENTS. IQS
at one time, they were evidently rare. One wonders wliat tlie three
borrowers wanted with a pair of such animals. Wcvc they taking
round a menagerie on show? There could hardly he any business
demand for them.
The lender, Dannaia, has been discussed in § 416. The first
borrower lahutu seems to be the same person, who in no. 118,
is a borrower and saf/?/ of Rasappa, B.C. 673 ; a witness, Ep. Q,
on no. 165; and is in charge of horses, on no. 988. The name
of the second borrower, Ilu-mukin-ahi, or possibly Ilu-kenis-usur,
is completed from no. 118, where also he is a borrower and
associated with lahutu. This is also the name of a slave sold,
B.C. 670, on no. 266 ; was the name of the Eponym of B.C. 830,
III. R. I, II. 35 ; and is a specimen name, App. 3, 11. 25. The
name of the third borrower might be Adadi-aplu-iddin, Adadi-aplu-
usur, or something similar. Of such names only the first is found
in our documents. It was the name of a king of Kardunias,
father-in-law of Asur-bel-kala, king of Assyria, son of Esaggil-saddni,
circ. B.C. 1020, see i. R. 5, no. xxii. i ; 11. R. 65, 34. In this case
the name is spelt AN-IM-A-SE-7ia. The form AN-IM-A-SE-ni
is the name of a witness, Ep. t, on no. 45. Also AN-IM-A-AS
is the name of a witness on no. 259, and occurs in the letter
^ 7393- The form AN-IM-TUR-US-SE-na, probably denoting
the king of Kardunias, is found on K 6156, which is dated in his
nth year.
The name of the Eponym, Sarru-ntiri, is discussed in § 477.
The name of the first witness, Sikinanni, only occurs here. The
name of the second I read Sulmu-sarri, though it could be Musallim-
sarru, as DI is an ideogram for salamii and its derivatives. We
could also read Silim-sarri or Sulman. Of these other forms we
have no certain case in our documents, but Sulmu-sarri was the
name of an Eponym, B.C. 698, saknu of Barhalza, iii. R. i, v. 26 ;
and on nos. 191, 198, 468, 473, 475. The name was also borne
by a buyer, e.c. 712, on no. 5 ; by a witness, B.C. 688, on no. 243 ;
by a witness, b.c. 687, on no. 17; by a witness, B.C. 669, on
no. 310; by a witness and mutir pfdi, B.C. 666, on no. 627; as
sakii of the land Kusai, on no. 1076, 11. 5 ; on no. 899, in. 12 ;
on no. 913, R. 4. The Eponym's name, written Sulum-sarri occurs
on K 398, where this is said to be the viith year of Sennacherib.
The name of the next witness, Adadi-danan, written as here,
U-daii-an occurs in the letters K 1083; 82-5-22, 146: written
13—2
196 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
AN-IM-da?i-a72, it denotes a neighbour on no. 429 ; and the
sartenu on no. 675. The form IM-dan-aii occurs on no. 893. In
the third Hne on left-hand edge, instead of rah read GAL, i-GAL-bi,
that is irabbi.
518. No. 118. Nearly complete. Drab.
Dannai lends two hundred sheep, one hundred and fifty
goats, two hundred and thirty yearling lambs, in all five
hundred and fifty small cattle, to lahCitu, Ilu-mukin-ahi
and another. They are to return the animals in a certain
month, or pay. Dated, the 7th of Aaru, B.C. 673. Seven
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 93, and S. A. V. 4822.
The text is transliterated and translated by Peiser, K. B. iv.
p. 128 f.
In line i, he did not see that lahtitu was sanu of mat Rasappa,
but gave KUR-RA.... It is noteworthy that although three men
are named as receiving the grant, only one, lahutu, seals the ac-
knowledgement. The three names are probably the same as those
of the receivers in no. 117. In line 2, I have given the scribe's
oddly made tia as ki-zib. There is no doubt however as to the
meaning. As pointed out by Dr Peiser, the scribe has added up
the numbers incorrectly. We may note that L U includes all sorts
of small cattle. Dr Peiser recognised the nature of the transaction
so clearly as to say in his note, K. B. p. 129; die Schafe sind vom
Eigeiithiimer in die Obhut des Jahuti und seiner Genossen verstellt
warden. He indexed the document as Lieferungstermin. It is clear
that here as in no. 115, the animals are consigned to the care of
a head herdsman or shepherd. On what terms we may ask ? He
had to restore them or pay for them and take all due care of them
in the meantime. What profit had he, or was he simply a hired
servant? It seems to me that a well-known rate of profit was
allowed him, which lay at the root of the fine he had to pay for
retention of his charge overtime. I think he took the cattle out
to pasture, and had to bring them back and then was paid.
Although the principals are the same as in no. 117, the witnesses
arc not. The first, who seems to bear the name Batudanu, was
a rdb dsu. The su is not now preserved. The name does not
occur again in our documents. The next name, Adadi-nasir, written
U-JAP-ir, is that of a witness, B.C. 669, on no. 310; and of a
seller, aba, son of Nabu-nasir, B.C. 660, on no. 362. 'i'he form
AND DOCUMENTS. I97
AN IM PAP-ir was the name of the seller, it.c. 6.87, on no. 624 ;
of the seller, n.c. 686, on no. 374 ; of the seller, aba sa biti Asur-li\
B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; of a neighbour on no. 643 ; and a specimen
name, App. 3. 11. 7. A form AN-IM-Jia-si-ir occurs as the name
of the father of Ninip-aplu-iddina, tcfnp. Merodach-Baladan I., see
IV. R. 38, II. 32.
The name, Ahi-niiri, written PAP-SAB, was that of an aba and
witness, b.c. 688, on no. 238; of a witness and rab kistr, B.C. 681,
on no. 127; of a seller, son of Silu, Ep. A, on no. 318; occurs
in the letter K 4779; in the Harran Census; and as a specimen
name, App. i, ix. 42* The form PAP-nu-ri is the name of a
neighbour, on no. 347 ; SIS-nu-ri, of a slave sold, on no. 246.
The name Aplai, written here TUR- US-a-a, could be read
Sumai, as Dr Peiser suggests. It was borne by the buyer, B.C. 698,
on nos. 473, 474; by the lender, B.C. 683, on no. 51; by the
witness and son of Musalhm-Asur, kcpu of Kar-Samas, B.C. 682,
on no. 363 ; by a neighbour in Singara, B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; was
the name of the Eponym of B.C. 769, saknu of Mazamua, iii. R. i,
IV. I ; of a nagir ekalli, on no. 1131; and occurs in a letter
K 1 3 188. Another form, A-a-a, was the name of the buyer on
no. 436; of a saku, B.C. 671, on no. 829; of an Elamite officer,
III. R. 37, 75 a; and is a specimen name, App. i, ix. 33. The
Eponym's name has a variant Aplia, which goes to confirm the
reading Aplai. Aplia, written A-ia^ was the name of a lender,
B.C. 690, on no. 55; of a witness and aba, b.c. 650, on no. 533;
of a seller and aba, on no. 93 ; of a witness, bcl all of Hubaba,
on no. 171; of a witness and tamkaru, Ep. E, on no. 711; of the
father of Sa-pi-Bel, son of Kilti, of the guild of boatmen, a servant
of Nabu-belsunu, dedicated to Bel, on no. 889 ; and is named in
the letter Bu. 91-5-9, 12. The form A-ia was the name of a buyer,
salsu of Ardi-Belit, the Crown Prince, b.c. 694, on no. 201. The
form TUR-US-ia is the name of a lender, B.C. 686, on no. iZ \ of
the father of Bdlut, of the tribe of Nur-Sin, on no. 891 ; and occurs
in the letter K 571. The form A-ia-a occurs in the letter 83-1-18,
44, as the name of 2, pirhinu of Istar of Arbela.
The name Atar-ilani, or Atar-ile, only occurs here in this form.
The more usual form Atar-ili was the name of the Eponym, b.c. 673,
bel pahati of Lahiru, iii. R. i, vi. 8 and on no. 8; on the Cylinder B,
48-1 1-4, 315 ; I. R. 47, VI. 73. It was also the name of the seller
and rab urate, B.C. 666, on no. 627 ; and of the buyer, sakii of the
>4
198 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Crown Prince of Babylon, B.C. 670, at Lahiru. Another form
Atri-ili for the Eponym is found on nos. 53, 431. Hence the
name is not 'Atar is god,' but 'the atru of god.' Now atru or
adru is a variant to idru^ as shewn by the name Adria variant to
Idria, on no. 360 ; compare Adru in the Harran Census. Hence
Adru must mean ' help,' like idru. We must therefore read Adar-ili,
' the help of god,' or Adri-ile, ' help of the gods ' ; and the name
is not a compound of the divine name Atar.
The name Sin-nadina-ahe can hardly be meant, we have here
to read Sin-iddina-ahe, against the rule that the verb in the second
member is a participle. This is the only example of the name,
but Sin-nadin-ahe, AN-XXX-SE-PAF-MES, is a specimen name,
App. 3, IV. 18. A nearly allied name Sin-nadin-ahu, XXX-SE-FAF,
occurs as the name of a seller, on no. 262. The name of the last
witness, Asur-ilai is discussed in § 500.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts this among the 'private contracts
concerning sales, etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other moveables.'
519. No. 119. Nearly complete. Bright red.
Dannai lends seventy-two sheep to Handasani and
Marduk. They shall return them in Abu, or if not, shall
pay for them according to the market rate in Nineveh.
Bel-eres acts as agent. Dated in Simanu, b.c. 680. Four
witnesses.
The only phrase that seems to call for remark is that in line 2
of the lower edge. Although much defaced that line seems to have
read a?ia mithar ina Niiiua kaspu iddanu. Whether this means
' to the full value they shall pay cash for them in Nineveh,' or
only 'according to their market value in Nineveh they shall pay';
seems to me to be difficult to decide. In one sense both come
to much the same thing, but the meaning of ana viithar still seems
open. The rare word umahu has already been discussed in § 506.
It clearly takes the place of the usual words for 'advance.' The
presence of sil is very curious. It must be used to denote the whole
lot of sheep.
It will be noted that it is Dannai who again farms out the cattle.
'I'he name of the first receiver, Handasani, has been discussed in
§513. Marduk is peculiar, being usually a divine name, Merodach,
but is the name of a witness, B.C. 676, on no. 11 ; of a neighbour
Ep. Z, on no. 340; of a bU narkabti on no. 857, iii. 43; of a
kalu on no. 851 ; of the son of Bau-eres, father of Bcl-^arran-fi^adCla,
AND DOCUMENTS. 1 99
on no. 889; occurs in [he. letters K 544; Sm. 267; 83-1-18, 39;
Hii. 91-5-9, 85, 90, 113; and in later Habylonian tablets, S. A. V.
5134. A closely allied name Marduka occurs in the letters K 5380,
5398, and later liabylonian texts, ^. A. V. 5137. Mardukate is the
name of a witness and aba^ on no. 259. Marduku is the name of
a witness, possibly, on no. 80, and occurs in the later liabylonian
texts, S. A. V. 5134; see § 486. It is natural to compare with these
names the Mordecai of the Book of Esther.
The occurrences of Bel-eres have been discussed in § 474, of
NabCl-ahe-iddin in § 499. The name Gabbu-ere.s only occurs here,
but is similar to (jabbu-ilani-eres, § 487, of which it and Gabbu-ere§
are probably abbreviations. The next name may be read Kassu-
na'id, only occurring here, and compared with Kassu-ai, the name
of an inhabitant of Assur, on K 1078. The doings of Aplu-usur, are
discussed in § 486.
520. No. 120. Complete. Red.
The sakintu grants a thousand sheep with their lambs (?)
to Nabu-nadin-ahi. Dated, the loth of Addaru, B.C. 693.
Four witnesses.
Here again I have wTitten ki-zib for {la^ but the tablet is badly
crumpled. In line 2, the tablet probably originally had /// where
I give ku^ and instead of sa-ar-ti was some sign followed by MES^
but I am unable to say what the sign was. It can hardly, be
ARAB. It may be NUM, hardly ZIK, but Del. H. IV. B.
p. 205, would read both girru, 'lion.' My conjecture that the
signs indicate lambs is quite a guess. According to the view of
sartu taken later in the chapter on Legal Decisions, LU sarin might
mean ' the profit ' w^hich these sheep should yield to their mistress.
The scribe then has stated the whole property w-hich was expected
back, *a thousand sheep and their increment,' just as in no. 113,
he states 'the money and corn with its interest.' The lambs would
be the profit intended. So the two readings yield much the same
sense.
Professor Oppert, Z A. xiii., p. 258, has translated this text.
He suggests that In should be read for ku. He regards sartu as
das Accessorium, deriving it from -idx, 'to bind,' es ist dauiit das
pruicipale verbunden. But it has a further meaning, as from ligarc
comes obligatio, and is frequently used in that sense. He regards
the case in no. 94, as meaning a female slave \vith her accede?is,
adi sat sartisa. We shall return to the sense of sartu later, its
200 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
existence here is very doubtful. Oppert regards the name of the
Eponym here as Anki-qiba, not El-ittiya. He also regards the clause
in line 2 as implying 'lambs.'
The occurrences of Nabti-nadin-ahi are given in § 470. Marduk-
danani only occurs here. The name in my opinion throws light
on the many names ending in danan. This is spelt DAJV-an, and
has often been read da-an. But the ending aiini often exchanges
with mii^ hence we may read our name as ending in dandni, for
which danan may be an abbreviation. On the other hand DAN
may be an ideogram for some verb, not yet recognised. A reading
kullimdni has been suggested, and if DAN or DANAN is an
ideogram for dandnu we may read udanin and udanindni. So
far, I have not met with any good ground for adopting either
suggestion.
Nabil-ahu-usur, written as here, ANPA-PAP-PAP, was the
name of a witness and rdb kalle^ B.C. 698, on no. 328 ; of a witness,
B.C. 693, on no. 162 ; of a witness, B.C. 683, on no. 51 ; of a witness,
B.C. 681, on no. 279; of an aba^ Ep. K, on no. 329; of a seller,
son of Nargi, Ep. A, on no. 318 ; of a witness, Ep. O, on no. 163 ;
of a witness and rab ekalli^ Ep. O, on no. 640 ; of a witness, Ep. ^,
on no. 31 ; of a witness and aba^ on no. 598; of an irrisu^ sold,
on no. 429; also possibly, of the witness and mutir ptlti, B.C. 684,
on nos. 19, 20; and of a witness, Ep. /x, on no. 679. It also
occurs, with a variant AN-PA-SIS-PAP on K 638, in the letter
82-5-22, 128; and as a specimen, App. i, i. 2. Another form,
AN-AK-SIS ii-sur^ occurs in the later Babylonian texts, S. A. V.
5704. The next name Mannu-kMstar is discussed, § 492, Latubasani-
ilu, in § 480.
The name of the Eponym I take to be the same as that usually
written ANKI-ia. This name was that of the Eponym, B.C. 694,
saknu of Damascus, iii. R. i, v. 30, dating nos. 58, 140, 201. 272,
281, 427, and K 75, where the year is also stated to be the xith of
Sennacherib. The same name is borne by a neighbour, B.C. 692,
in Nineveh, on no. 324; occurs in the Harran Census, and as
a specimen, App. i, ix. 6; xii. 41. Our form ANKI-E-a occurs
also HI. R. 1, v. 30, as a variant to the last and on no. 162, from
which the variant was probably taken. By assigning this to
B.C. 694-3, III. R., (j. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 89, and Bezold,
Catalogue, p. 1881, identify with ANKI-ia and I entirely agree
with them. Professor Oppert's reading Anki-qiba is like nothing
AND DOCUMENTS. 20I
else I have ever seen. Anotlicr foini I-lu-KI-a is the name of
a witness, of the city Kurai, on no. 500. The reading of these
names as Ilu-ittia, '(Tod is with me,' is so far open to doubt that
it is not certain that KI is to be read ////". There is an Assyrian
/'/, which means Mike,' and the Aramaic rendering of KI-AN-UD
is t^ic^^3, see N. E. p. 295. Hence we may read the name Ilu-kia,
with a variant, in our case, Ilu-kea. This is easier to suppose than
that e-a is written for i-a. But the usual reading is quite likely to
be the correct one.
It is interesting to note that the sakintu was such a great
sheep-owner.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, reckons this among the 'private
contracts concerning sales, etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other
moveables.'
521. No. 121. The left half or two-thirds. Drab.
Rimani-Adadi entrusts five hundred sheep, sixteen
oxen, thirty purime to xArbailai, the sanu^ Isdi-Nabu and
Adadi-ilai. In Nisanu they shall return them ; if not, they
shall pay the full value of them in (Nineveh?). Dated,
the ist of Nisanu, B.C. 671. Four witnesses.
The animals here denoted by inter EDIN-NA, usually read
purinic, and rendered ' wild asses,' are apparently domesticated.
On the obscurities of the name, see § 340. What the traces, in
line I, of reverse point to, I cannot say. In line 2, there is nothing
to point to Nineveh, but it is the most likely. The loan seems to
be for a whole year, the inside of a month is improbable. In line 2,
there may have been AfO purime.
The affairs of Rimani-Adadi, §467; of Arbailai, §§408, 479;
Sasi, §486; Isanai, §482; Didi, §470; have been considered
already. Lsdi-Nabu, here one of the receivers, appears as the name
of a witness and aba^ B.C. 734, on no. 415 ; of a witness, B.C. 680,
on nos. 3, 26; of a witness and rab kisir, Ep. A, on no. 325; of
a neighbour, witness and rab kisir^ Ep. A', on no. 414; of a witness
and rdb kisir, Ep. C, on no. 641 ; of a witness, Ep. D, on no. 622 ;
of a witness, Ep. E, on no. 711; of a neighbour, witness and rab
kisir of the Crown Prince, Ep. F, on no. 621 ; of a witness and
rab kisir., Ep. N, on no. 327; of a witness, Ep. O, on no. 163;
same and rab ekaliiy on no. 640 ; witness and rab ekalli, Ep. R,
on no. 642 ; witness and brother of Aplu-usur and Bel-busu-etir,
on no. 385 ; witness and rakbu of Crown Prince, on no. 312; a
202 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
neighbour in Nineveh, on no. 343; a witness on nos. 169, 456;
his son is named on no. 394 ; he is a frequent writer to the king,
Iv II, 589, 1000, 1048, 1583, 13737. In all these cases the name
is written, GIRI-AN-PA. The other form, GIRI-AN-AK, occurs
as the name of a witness and rab kisir^ Ep. F, on no. 361 ; and
is named on K 13035. There is di prima facie case for supposing
that the witness and rab kisir, generally a witness for Rimani-Adadi,
is the same person throughout, and it is extremely probable that
he is identical with the rab ekalli. Hence there is good reason to
group together the Eponyms A, A', C, D, E, F, N, O, R. The
subject of their order will be discussed in the chapter on Chrono-
logy.
Adadi-ilai is also the name of a witness, on no. 85 ; and of a
serf, with his people, on no. 661. The name of the Eponym,
Tebetai, occurs as the Eponym of B.C. 671, in. R. i, vi. 10.
Also, as already given, S. A. V. 3489, the traces of the name are
probably given for the Eponym of B.C. 666. Hence there is some
doubt always attaching to dates in which his name only is given.
On nos. 258, 420, 421, as on nos. 192, 331, he is entitled saknu
of Bit essi, or bel pahdti of Bit essi ; while on no. 266, as Eponym
he is Sartatu, as also is the witness, on no. 470, in B.C. 663. Now
on no. 258, Rimani-Adadi is the muktl apdti o{ t\\Q king, on no. 420,
of Asurbanipal, king of Assyria. These two dates are therefore later
than B.C. 667. Hence we may fairly date nos. 192, 258, 331, 420,
421, as in B.C. 666—5, ^^^<^ regard Tebetai as then 'ruler of the
New Palace.' Further, no. 627 is a lease of an estate by Adar-ili
to Milki-nuri, which the former bought in B.C. 670, and must
therefore belong to the later date. On no. 60, also, Rimani-Adadi
is already mukil apdti dannu sa sarri but as he was niukil apdti
sa sarri in B.C. 670, the earlier date is possible. Now when the
second Eponymy of Tebetai had arrived, it is reasonable to expect
that care would be taken to give the Eponym his correct title, but
in B.C. 671, the reason for this would not appear. Hence we may
suppose nos. 41, 121, 257, 266, to belong to the Eponymy of Tebetai,
the Sarthiii, B.C. 671-670. But there must remain some doubt as
to the first three of these documents. Tebetai was the name of
a witness and neighbour, B.C. 687, on no. 624 ; again witness and
neighbour, B.C. 686, on no. 374; witness, B.C. 682, on no. 21;
witness, B.C. 667, on no. 204 ; borrower and rakbti, B.C. 665, on
no. 128; witness, B.C. 648, on nos. 206, 333; neighbour, witness
AND DOCUMKN IS. 2O3
and riih kisir, V.\). A, on no. 325 ; seller and son of Nai)iVrihlu-usur,
Ep. F, on no. 307 ; witness in Ep. 12, on no. 435 ; in Vj\). t, on
no. 45 ; father of Bani-ahe, on no. 446 ; seller on no. 504 ; witness,
on nos. 568, 611 ; donor and father of Adadi-uballit, on no. 779;
father of Adadi-uballit, on no. 780 ; a neighbour, time of Sin-sar-
iskun, Z. A. xi. p. 47; in letters, K 662, 671, 82-3-23, 137 ; writer
of Astrological Report, K 711; as serf, with people, in DOr-Nana
and Alahina, on no. 742.
Balasu was the name of a borrower and kcp?^, B.C. 687, on
no. 17; of a buyer on no. 441; of a ra/? kisir on no. 675; of
a masmasii on no. 851, i. 3; of the father of vSa-mudammik-zer,
grandfiither of Itti-Marduk-balatu, of the family of Mulubsu, on
no. 889; in the letters K 4268, 8535; Bu. 89-4-26, 20, 71; the
name of the apil Dakiiri^ in 11. R. 67, 26; compare i. R. 45, 11. 52 ;
III. R. 15, III. 27 : also the sangu of Harran, on no. 981. But the
name may be differently restored. We may have Balasi, which was
the name of a witness and rah bifi, B.C. 665, on no. 128; and
occurs in the letters K 484, 954, 11. R. 69, no. 3. Balasi was the
name of a witness and ??mtir puti, b.c. 688, on no. 400 ; of a witness
and rab kisir sa sepd, on no. 235 ; of a son of Nabil-nakil, witness
and rab kisir, Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; of a witness and rdb kisir, Ep. A,
on no. 318; of a witness and uiutir piiti, Ep. A, on no. 325; of a
witness and rdb kisir, Ep. A', on no. 414; same, Ep. F, on no. 361 ;
same, Ep. A, in Kurubi, on no. 623 ; witness, on no. 585 ; is the
name of a writer of Astrological Reports, K 185, 484, 703, 706,
712, 774, 784, 786, 795, 855, 1301, 1327, 1333; Sm. 1027;
80-7-19, 18, 335; 83-1-18, 37, 109, 207, 300; Bu. 89-4-26,
160; and perhaps K 86, 11046. This name occurs also as the
writer of many letters, K 546, 555, 565, 569, 4281; 83-1-18, 17,
83, 102, 152, 154; Bu. 91-5-9, 45" compare also K 1335, 5997;
80-7-19, 21; 82-5-22, 94, 169, Bu. 91-5-9, 12. A form of the
name, Bal-a-si-i, may be read as that of a witness and sa sepd,
B.C. 698, on no. 475 ; and part of one or other of these names may
be suspected on no. 206, as the name of a witness, b.c. 648 ; and
on no. 532, as the name of a witness. Whether Balasi, and Balasi
are genitives of Balasu, and whether that has anything to do with
Balatu, 'Life,' does not seem altogether clear to me at present.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, calls this a 'private contract.'
522. Nos. 122 and 123 are the inner and outer tablets of a
case pair. The former is nearly all preserved, the outer has lost
204 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
a large piece from the right-hand top corner, both of obverse and
reverse. Drab.
Mannu-ki-Ninua entrusts two homers thirty ka of wine
to Tamtama. It is to be repaid in Nineveh, in Aaru ; if
not, the balance is to be paid for at the market rate in
Nineveh. Dated, the 26th of Tebetu, B.C. 683. Eight
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 91, and Hist. Semach.
p. 20.
Extracts are given S. A. V. 6548, 7928, 8499.
It is interesting to notice that delivery was demanded in Nineveh,
clearly carriage was a consideration. The name UT-TA-A-MA is
quite unique ; and its reading as Uttama is of course conjectural.
In line 4, of no. 123, some other sign appears to have been written,
consisting perhaps of two slant wedges, followed by two short
horizontals, possibly a badly made sab., ox pir. Hence it is possible
that the name is to be read Pirtama. The reading of the number
of ka as 30 depends on the number of ka in the homer or gur.
It may be 50. According to the market rate is here expressed by
ki mahiri and not by ana mithar.
A transliteration and translation are given by Oppert, Z. A. xiii.
p. 252. He reads the receiver's name as I do, Uttama. He omits
the reading of the extra quantity of wine above two homers. In
other respects the rendering is practically what I give.
In line 6, of no. 122, the scribe has written PAP for NU., a
scribal error probably, as PAP does not mean la, ' not,' as NU
does. In reverse, line i, the inner tablet appears to give the date
as 'the 26th,' while the outer case has 'the 25th,' but the sign
for 6 may be 5 badly written. It is scarcely likely that the inner
tablet was written after the outer. On no. 123, in line 2 of the
reverse the scribe has omitted PAP from the name Samas-nasir,
of course in error. In line 4, in place of zer., in the name Zer-Lstar,
he has clearly written Rim, or LID. Unless we are to credit him
with another error, we must admit a value zer for LID., Briinnow's
no. 8866. In line 5, he seems to have written LID-AN-UD in
place of the IJD-DU-AN of the inner tablet. Which is right,
I cannot say, Rimut-ili is a known name. Unless we again read
LID as zer, and the whole name Zer-Samas, I do not see what
LID-AN-UD could be. The scribe at any rate was careless in
the former cases and I expect that LID-AN-UD was an error for
AND DOCUMENTS. 205
Rim At ill". Besides I think he erased the AN, before I'D, so in my
edition 1 did not give it.
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, recognised this as 'a i)rivate contract
concerning sales, etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other moveables.'
Tlie affairs of Mannu-ki-Ninua are dealt with in § 474, the
Eponym Mannu-ki-Adadi in § 473, Sananu in § 469, Rimiit-ili in
§ 409. Kdu-.sallim, Samas-taklak, and Zer-Istar in § 480.
The name of Samas-nasir was borne by an ancient Babylonian
ruler, v. R. 44, 11 b, where the form AN-UD-na-sir is given.
Our form was the name of a borrower on no. 138; and of a
witness, B.C. 679, on no. 462. We have the form AN-Sa-mas-
PAP-ir, on no. 880, as father of Ahu-li', and AN-UD-SIS-ir is
given as a specimen name, App. i, vi. 8. There was a city, Samas-
nasir, see K 63 b, Zi^ A. B. L. p. 162. The name NabiVnasaka only
occurs on this document. The second element, nasaka, is curiously
spelt.
Nabll-taklak, spelt as here, was the name of a witness, b.c. 676,
on no. 576 ; of a witness, on no. 601 ; occurs in the letters K 5138,
55175 5537 j Sm. 911 (with Samas-taklak). The form AiV-PA-
tak-lak is the name of a witness, on no. 493 ; of a lender, B.C. 692,
on no. 33. The form AN-AK-tak-lak was the name of a witness,
B.C. 680, on no. 631 ; and occurs in the letters K 588, 835, 8301.
523. No. 124. Complete. Bright red.
Silim-Asur entrusts five homers of wine, according to
the standard of the royal ka, to Isdi-Harran. On the first
of Nisanu he shall return the wine; otherwise, he shall
pay for the wine according to the market rate in Nineveh.
Dated, the 5th of Addaru, B.C. 674. Five witnesses.
Here the market rate is expressed by aki viahiri sa Ni?iiia.
The tablet having been recently cleaned, in reverse line 4 we may
read Ahi-ddri in place of Ahi-li. In the next line, after bu, the next
sign may be um, then u and te. But on the whole I prefer my old
reading U-bu-uk-ki.
A translation is given by Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 252, where in
line 2, he reads ina atir qdbi sa sarrt, and renders ^ nach dem Kab
des Kojiigs.' He also notes that the word kaspu, ' money,' is lacking,
but to be understood. It is interesting to note that there was a
royal ka, as a royal mina, and royal cubit. It is my impression that
these were generally meant, even if not stated.
The Catalogue, p. 1766, states that this records *a sale of wine,'
206 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
and p. 2 000 b, puts it among the 'private contracts concerning sales,
etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other moveables.'
The affairs of Silim-A.sur have been discussed in § 420, 488,
Nusku-ilai in § 513, Ubukku in § 473, Nabti-ahe-iddin in § 499.
Isdi-Harran occurs as the name of a witness, B.C. 688, on no. 32 ;
of a witness and rab kisir, Gimirrai, B.C. 679, on no. 364; of a
witness and salsu, B.C. 666, on no. 627 ; as witness on nos. 159, 585,
and on no. 880. The name sometimes has the determinative of
city before KAS, sometimes not. On no. 880, it has the dual sign
after KAS. The name Gurrai as a proper personal name only
occurs here, but Gu-ra- was the name of an irrisu, with his people,
over against Arbaha, on no. 742. Compare the folk name Gurrai,
in Rm. 11. 463, H. A. B. L. p. 404, in Sabahani.
Nabii-sar-usur, AN-PA-MAN-PAP, was the name of the Eponym,
B.C. 785, saknu of Kurban, in. R. i, in. 33; of the Eponym of
B.C. 682, saknu of Markasi, in. R. i, v. 42. As Eponym of
B.C. 682-1, he dates nos. 21, 129, 132, 136, 143, 166, 215, 222,
276, 363, 370, 437, 679. The date on no. 213, is the year after the
Eponymy of Nabu-sar-usur, B.C. 681. Another Eponym of this
name, Ep. E, was aha mdti, on no. 711, and probably Post-Canon.
This was the name also of a witness, B.C. 670, on nos. 202, 266;
of a witness and salsu^ B.C. 666, on no. 627 ; witness and rab kisir
sa sepa of the Crown Prince, B.C. 663, on no. 470 ; and is named
on no. 696, in B.C. 648. As witness, Ep. D, on no. 622; witness
and daia/u, also as aba and plaintiff, Ep. G, on no. 160; as
witness and rab kisir, Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; as witness and rab
ekalli, Ep. O, on no. 640; witness and rab kisir on no. 477;
witness and saku on nos. 344, 386; witness on nos. 267, 342, 503,
601, named on no. 700, and a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 612; we
may well suspect the name to denote more than one person.
Actually on no. 857, there are three of this name at one time,
the rab kisir, rab sake, 11. 27; an officer of the king, in. 18 • and
a rab kisir of the Crown Prince, iv. 9. This was the name of the
bel pahati oi Nineveh, of the kisir essu of Sennacherib, on nos. 853,
854; as a bel pahati, on no. 814; tlie rab MUGI of Asurbanipal,
on no. 899 ; rab kisir of the Crown Prince, on no. 860, rab kisir
of the King on no. 211 ; also a 7nutir p^ti, on no. 860; tlie servant
of Nabu-ahe-sallim, on no. 922 ; named in various connections on
nos. 754, 840, 880, 925, 1006, loio, 1021, 1024, 1030, 1041. The
same name occurs in the letters K 1042, 5637; Pu. 91-5 9, 12.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 207
Other forms of this name are, A N- A K- MAN-PAP, name of a
witness and ?-()h kisir, Myt. A', on no. 414; in the letter, 83-1 iS,
118; AN-PA-LUGAL-PAP^ name of a witness, B.C. 672, on
no. 53; AN-AK-LUGAL-PAP, the name of the rab sake of
Asurbanipal, to whom the charter in no. 646, was granted, r..c. 655 ;
and of the same person on K 1288, 11446, 11450, in the last a
rhb MUGI; AN-AK-LUGAL-SIS, a satigu of Bit Eki, on K 16 ;
a rhb kisir on K 82, 1374; and in K 830; AN-AK-LUGAL-u-sur^
m enquiry of Samas oracle, G. A. S. no. 67.
The name, which I read Ahu-li, occurs in the same spelling
on no. 126, as a witness in the same year; and as a gardener, with
his people, in the city Apsu, on no. 742. In the form PAP-li-i,
it was the name of a witness and sukallu of Neribi, B.C. 645, on
nos. 24, 25 ; of a seller, son of Bel-Harran-duri, on no. 193; of an
irrisu, with his people, in the city Ilu-sale, on no. 742 ; on no. 741 ;
the son of Samas-nasir on no. 880 ; and as a variant of the Eponym's
name, Ahe-ilai, on a letter between xAsurbanipal and Indabigas,
83-1-18, 263. On the other hand, if we are to read, Ahi-duri, this
name has already been taken, § 470.
524. No. 125. Nearly complete. Red.
So many shekels, Carchemish standard, were given
by...abiia to Bel-ahe, for nine homers of wine, ifia GIS-
BAR so IX Ka. In Bit Zamani he shall deliver them. If
not, he shall pay for them at the market rate of Nineveh.
Dated, the 3rd of Kislimu, B.C. 687. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 90 and Hist. Sem. p. 17.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 7551, 8216.
It w^ould have been very interesting to know the price of the
wine, as it might have thrown some light upon the vexed question
of the meaning of GIS-BAR here. As the expression means
' average yield ' when applied to land, it may mean here the quality
of the wine. Oppert, Z. A. xiii., p. 255 f. has discussed GIS-BAR
at length, without making its meaning apparent to me. The nine
ka he takes to imply 90 ka to the homer. But, at present, I see no
ground for that. In Hne 4, the scribe has omitted GIS. He writes
the sign for wine all through exactly like AL.
How the name of the buyer should be completed I do not know.
Ninip-abiia, or perhaps Ahi-abiia. The name Bel-ahe is discussed
in §474, Ubuku in §475, Mannu-ki-Ninua in §474; Sin-ahe-erba in
§504-
208 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name Ribai only occurs here. Batiti is also unique, but
perhaps we may compare Bitati, in § 483. Sepa-Asur was also the
name of a witness and inutir putt, B.C. 679, on no. 161 ; of a
borrower, B.C. 676, on no. 37; occurs in K 596, 8134. The name
Ubtiku I regard as the same as Ubukku in our last number. The
name Nabli-bel-ilani only occurs as a specimen name, App. i, i. 45,
50; App. 2, II. I, 4.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
525. No. 126. Complete. Drab.
Silim-AsurlendstoSi'-immethe rab aldnioL..\\us\tQ, four
homers at least of wine, kakkadu. He shall return them in
Abu. Mehsa is the agent for the wine. Dated, in Aaru,
B.C. 674. Three witnesses.
A translation is given by Oppert, Z. A. xiii., p. 253, where he
enlarges chiefly upon the meaning of kakkadu as the sum without
increment, and on bel gate, which he renders by Biirge. He says
that this was denoted in Babylon by nasu, and in older times by
qabu, '' sagen? He thinks the idea is the lifting up of the hand in
gesture of intercession. But the bel kdtati is a mere agent, here as
elsewhere. Oppert has made some queer names out of the characters
I give, Sieme, Mir-malik, Akal-usur, are surely misprints in Z. A.
The name Si'-imme is a compound of Si', so common in the
Harran Census, and of imme, seen also in Ahu-imme, Ilu-imme,
Mannu-ki-imme, Samas-imme, Sulmanu-imme, etc. The same
name was borne by a slave sold, b.c. 683, on no. 278. Here the
name is very indistinctly written, but I can make no better reading
of it. Perhaps it is the same name as that of the seller on nos. 282,
283, there spelt Si-e-i-me. The name of the city may have been
Kar-husite, the space left is just enough for that. I have not met
the name elsewhere.
Silim-Asur, the lender, is discussed in § 420, 488 ; Nusku-ilai in
§513, Aplu-u.sur in §488, Ahu-li in §523, the Eponym Sarru-nClri in
§477. Mehsa is new, compare the Hebrew, nono, 'Refuge.' In
line 7, after kdtd, the plural sign seems to have been written, though
very indistinct.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 b, puts this among the 'private con-
tracts.'
526. No. 127. Complete. Red.
Summa-ilani advances six homers of pure oil, ina GIS-
BAR sa 10 ka eri, to Asur-bcl usur, the rub bUi o^ Carche-
AND DOCUMENTS. 209
mish. In Sahalu he shall repay the oil; if not, it shall
increase (it/i m ///jar. Dated, the 2 i st of A bii, h.c. 68 1 . Six
witnesses.
The date is (juoted, A/. Oi^i. p. 92, ///s/. Scn/i. p. 22, liudge,
Hist. Esarh. p. 13.
It is described in the Guide, p. 176, no. 49.
Extracts are given, .S". A. V. 4822, 5147, 5701, 7885.
Ol)pert, Z A. xiii. p. 252, gives a translation, much as I do.
Me thinks that adu inithar may mean ' nach dem Brauche der
Stadt.' It may mean 'to its entirety,' i.e. 'as much again,' or in
other words *at the rate of cefit per cent.'' He also renders the
epithet of the oil, ha/su, by '' reines.'' Perhaps we can compare the
5 0
Arabic ^jaL*», sincerus^ mtegerrwius. In line 3, the use of GIS-BAR
may denote a measure, giving the homer 100 ka^ as Oppert takes it.
But why then the addition of bronze? I take it that the quality is
such that 10 kaoi bronze is the price of one ka of oil. Unfortunately
we do not know the price of the whole amount, or we might solve
the question how many ka went to a homer of oil.
This advance was made to the rab biti of Carchemish. The
title is usually rendered Major domo. If this be correct, we may
suppose that Esarhaddon was at Carchemish, in Abu, B.C. 681.
The name of the borrow^er, Asur-bel-usur, occurs as the name
of the Eponym, B.C. 797, saknii of Kirruri, in, R. i, iii. 20; of the
Eponym, B.C. 773, saknu of Kalhu, 111. R. i, 111. 45 ; and is also
the name of the Eponym of B.C. 695, according to ^\ A. V. 858.
As such he dates nos. 31, 34, 569, 616 ; appearing as saknu of some
province, on no. 569. This should therefore be the reading of
III. R. I, V. 29, see G. Smith, Hist. Senn. p. 15. This was the
name of the seller, on no. 399; of a slave sold, on no. 241 ; of a
serf, with his people, on no. 672. It also occurs in the letters
K 1044, 11148.
The name of the lender, Summa-ilani is discussed in § 467,
Ahu-nijri in § 518, Istar-babi-sapi in § 480.
The name of the Eponym is given in. R. i, v. 43, as of B.C. 681,
sakftu of Samalla ; he dates also no. 277, Sm. 1037. Here the
name is given as AN-PA-PAF-MES-PIN-es as in in. R. On
Sm. 1037, it is AN-PA-PAP-ME-KAM ; on no. 277, AN-PA-
PAP-MES These spellings would suggest a reading Nabu-
ahe-eres. But on nos. 30, 231, we have AN-PA-PAP-PIN-es \
as the name of a brother of Palih, K 679 ; and as a specimen,
J. HI. 14
2IO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
App. I, II. 31. On nos. 59, 269, 279, 635, we have AN-PA-PAP-
KAM-es as Eponym and saknu of Samalla. These two forms we
should read NabCi-ahu-eres. Hence it seems probable that both
names were really read Nabu-aheres, that is to say, in pronunciation
it would be hard to tell whether ahe or ahu were meant.
The name of the first witness, Bel-sarr-ibni, occurs as the name
of the father of Bani-Ai, on no. 161, with the same spelling. The
form EN-MAN-KAK is the name of a witness, Ep. o-, on no. 45 ;
of the father of ...ilai, on no. 256; and of a slave sold, on no. 287.
The name of the next witness, Bel-ahu-usur, appears as that of the
bearer of the letter, Sm. 378, and in the letter 82-5-22, 108.
I have omitted AN before EN in this name, it is clearly on the
tablet and my first copy. The next name Marduk-ere^ is not on the
tablet. I had noted its presence from S. A. V. but although
I noted its absence from the tablet in my notes, I omitted to erase
it from my copy. The name Zer-napisti-lisir only occurs here. In
the last line, for Istar we may read AZAG. As ANAZAG is
perhaps a name of Bau, we may perhaps read Bau-sapi. For the
element 5^// compare the name Sapu, son of Ahi-Nana, on no. 652 ;
the town-name Sapi, capital of Bit Amukkani, 11. R. 67, 23, T. PI.
III. B. 23; with its variants Sapia, 11. R. 67, 27; 11. R. 52, 43 b:
Sapia on K 1227, Sapiai on Rm. 11. 529. There was an expedition
to Sapia, B.C. 731. Perhaps we may compare also Sapiku, the name
of a principal and aba, on no. 533, in B.C. 650; an aba of KCltu,
father of Ahtanu, on no. 891, and another, father of Kidin-Marduk,
on no. 891 ; also see the letter K 186. Perhaps some meaning like
' help,' ' defence ' is possible.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 a, puts this among the private con-
tracts.
Advances of cor?t. Nos. 128 — 150.
527. These form on the whole a very distinct class. For
the most part they are of the shape called in the Catalogue heart-
shaped. Excellent illustrations of these will l)e found in plate i of
Catalogue, Vol. v., where figures 3 and 4 are reproduced from
photographs of nos. 134 and 133. The places where the string or
thong entered and left the clay can be seen, on figure 4, at the
upper corners. On the same plate, figure 2, is a good likeness of
what is meant by a pillow-shaped, or inner case tablet. It corresponds
y\Nl) DOCUMENTS. 211
to my no. 167, and gives some idea of what is intended by the words
'well preserved,' 'complete,' * clearly written' as applied to i)rivat(;
contracts in the Catalogue. Some beautiful reproductions will be
found in the Tabulae^ fasciailus primus^ to Toifiiis /, of the Corpus
r?tscriptio}iiim Scjniticarum^ Tab. III. nos. 42 a, b, c ; 38 a, b ;
39 a, b, c ; 43 a, b. The places at which the cords or thongs were
inserted can be plainly seen in these reproductions. Such tablets
seem to have been made by rolling the clay into a little cone and
then flattening it between the palms of the two hands. It then
assumed a shape which, if the original cone had its vertical axis
about equal to the diameter of the base, might be called ' heart-
shaped.' Some are much more pointed, more like a spear head, or
axe of the stone age.
All do not, however, take this shape, one is a little cylinder
about the thickness of a stout pencil. Others take the ordinary
form of a sale tablet. There is no marked peculiarity about the
script. Of course, on a piece of clay so shaped the writing could
not run in parallel lines, unless they were made very short towards
the thin end. Sometimes the writing must have hung vertically,
though more often horizontally. It is often written on the slant,
or over the edge.
All, however, have this feature in common. They deal with
advances, or, as they have generally been called. Moans,' of corn.
They were ' loans ' in this sense, that the corn had to be returned.
But they certainly were not simple loans, in the sense in which
a banker would lend money now, nor in any ordinary trade sense.
They were advances, made by one who did not expect profit from
the transaction. The rate of interest to be paid is still stated, it
is true, but with the understanding that nothing is to be paid, if
the corn is returned by a specified or implied usual date. Such
was no ordinary trade transaction. Professor Revillout has already
compared these loans with the vietayer system.
Without, however, hampering our freedom of investigation by
a definite equation with modern systems, it seems clear that in
Assyria the great landlords, especially the King and his stewards,
acting for him, were accustomed to advance corn to certain persons,
presumably tenants on their estates. These advances were to be
returned after harvest, and, if promptly paid, would not be charged
for. The charge for delay would press most heavily when harvest
was late and poor. In the case of persons unrelated to the lender,
14 — 2
212 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
such a method of borrowing could never have been popular. It
might be, if they were tenants of his. For then, in all probability,
the landlord suffered proportionately with his tenants, or at any
rate would deal leniently with them. Their rent was almost certainly
a fixed proportion of the crop, not a fixed and inelastic sum. The
cases of leases, dealt with later, where a sum in cash is paid, do
not affect this contention, for the lessees were not tenants properly
speaking.
528. For what purpose the corn was lent is not evident at
first sight. A very plausible conjecture would be that it was
intended for seed. Out of a total of twenty-four cases those dated
number twenty-one. Of these, six are dated in Nisanu and six in
Aaru, one in Simanu, two in Du'uzu, two in Ululu, one in Tisritu,
one in Kislimu and two in Sabatu. Now harvest began not later
than May, and therefore in the majority of cases the corn was
borrowed just before the harvest, when corn would be dearest to
buy. It could not be for seed. In several cases the reapers, eside^
are named. It is difficult to see why they should be named, or
their number stated, unless they in some way conditioned the
amount of corn. Harvest operations were clearly in the minds of
the parties to the transaction.
In all probability, the ordinary staff of the farm was insufficient
to deal with the rush of labour at harvest time, so labourers had
to be hired and fed. The corn then was for the keep of the
harvesters. The occurrence of a demand for this sort of advance
would not be entirely out of place in Du'ilzu. On the other hand,
in Kislimu and Sabatu we may think of sowing. But even then
the tenant may in some cases have needed corn for himself or the
hired labourers he had to employ. In Uldlu and Tisritu, food must
have been the sole purpose, seed corn, or food for harvesters, seems
out of question then.
We may now enquire what was the kind of grain in question.
It is generally denoted by SE-PAT-MES, the Assyrian reading
of which is unknown. Dr Peiser renders the ideogram by Kor?i ziitn
UnterhaU, which is a literal rendering and gives a meaning suited
to what we have already concluded as to its purpose. It does not,
however, give any clue to the kind of grain. Rawlinson suggested
'rice' /. /v'. yi. S. '65, p. 226. The Aramaic dockets on several
of these tablets give \-\W, which Dc Vogue, C. I. S. passim, reads
seoraft ; and Oppcrt consequently reads the ideogram, serafti, C. I. S.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 213
p. 43, and often. There is as yet no evidence that this was the
Assyrian reading. The meaning of seoran is taken to he ' barley,'
cf. the Hebrew se^orah. Barley, rather than wheat, was the food
of the lower classes and is to be expected as food for the reapers.
The period at which the return was expected is rarely stated, once
it was Arahsamna, the corn being lent in Sabatu ; once in Aaru,
once in Abu. These dates do not give much information as to the
kind of grain, but are consistent with what is said above. Oppert,
Z. A. XIII., p. 253, suggests that se-paf-c, as he reads the name, is
' Weizen.' It is usually construed as feminine.
The grain, mentioned in nos. 148, 149, was clearly, in the first
case, for the reapers, cside^ mentioned in the last line. In the
second case, being advanced in Kislimu it was possibly for seed.
Here its ideogram is SE-GIG-MES. No Assyrian reading is
known. It was lent in Aaru to be repaid in Ululu. This gives
no assistance. The grain was also connected with the land of
Jaudi, which may be the Syrian land of laudi, named by Panammu,
see Winckler, A. F. p. i f. In the later Babylonian tablets we
have GIG-BA, GIG-BI, Cyr. 54, 59, Nbd. 618, and often.
The grain, if it ^s grain, in no. 150, is denoted by GIR-N^UN-NA
sume. Is it possible that here we have ' onion seed ' ?
The ideogram SE-BAR is a more inclusive term for grain,
which includes both SE-PAT-MES and SE-GIG-MES. It is
a variant of the former in nos. 124. 152, 780; of the latter in
no. 148. In no. 121, it was received for the house of Summa-ilani :
compare no. 469. Delitzsch, B. A. S. iii. p. 389, discusses its
meaning very fully. It is a food for fowls, Camb. 209, 266, 259.
It is white, Dar. 387. It is construed as feminine, Nbd. 263, 369,
Cyr. 59. The writing SE-BAR-su shews that its Assyrian reading
ended in -/. He concludes that SE is probably the determinative
prefix and that we are to look for its pronunciation under the sign
BAR., in vocabularies yet to be discovered. It may well be,
however, that some of these data are specifications of use or quality
rather than descriptions of SE-BAR itself. Thus there may have
been a white SE-BAR, needing to be marked by the epithet, and
it may not always have been a white grain.
The discussion by Zehnpfund, B. A. S. i. p. 515, deserves
notice, for its registration of previous results. He would read it
kipatu. But he also shews, from a comparison of proper names, like
Nadin-se-im with Na-din- SE-BAR., that SE-BAR was also read Wu.
214 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
529. It will be observed that most of the corn loans are ana
pfihi. Two meanings here appear possible ; either they were lent
'on acknowledgement,' a mere note of hand, or promise to pay;
or else they were lent as 'management expenses.' In the former
case, which preserves best the meaning of pahu^ ' to exchange,'
these documents are 'bonds.' In the latter case, which serves
best to keep up the connection with pahCiiu 'an administrative
district,' they were bonds still ; but the phrase expresses the purpose
of the loan, rather than the nature of the document. The phrase
ana puhi ittisi (or ittasii) occurs in nos. 131, 132, 134, 136, 138,
141, 143, 146, 149. In each case the loan was made by Bahianu :
except in no. 146 where the name of the lender is lost. In nos. 129,
130 and 152, the corn is stated to belong to the King's son, who
acts through an agent. The phrase for acting through an agent
is kaia or sa kdta, 'by the hands of.' The title given to the agent
is sanii, continually used as meaning ' deputy,' or be/ pahati. This
latter term confirms the meaning ' administration,' for pahatu. A
very frequent term, which occurs elsewhere, is bel katd or bel-kdtdti,
which can hardly mean anything else than 'agent.' Consequently
the expression kdtdti I take to be a colloquial formation from kdtd^
a plural, according to its usual writing, or an abstract, if the word
kdtdtu existed. It is possible therefore that kdtdtu meant 'business,'
in general, and that bit kdtdti was a ' business house,' or perhaps
'shop' (see however Del. H. W. B. p. 599a).
In no. 137, the corn was the property of the sakintn (probably
of IXir-Sargon). In no. 128, it was owned by Nabil-duri, whose
agent was a rdb kisir. It would be unfair to conclude that rdb
kisir meant 'agent,' for he is not said to be the rdb kisir of
Nab(i-duri : while above, the agent (in no. 152) is said to be bel
pahdti of the king's son.
In nos. 139, 140, 142, 144, 145 and 147 the phrase ana puhi
is omitted either because the text is too concise, or too defective
to preserve it.
530. In no. 128, the city Maganisi ; in no. 137, Dur-Sargon ;
in no. 148, Nineveh; are named as the places where repayment
is to be made. In no. 147, payment is to be made ina (or ana)
adri dl Argazu^ in no. 133, sim[)ly ina adri. The way in which
the phrase occurs points distinctly to a place of some kind. It
would perhaps be going too far to render ' market place,' but some
enclosed place such as a 'court' is possible. In K O29, H. A. B. L.
AND DOCUMENTS. 21 5
j). 60 f. wc find NahA-sum-iddin reporting to the King's son, llint
he himself was about to attend to a procession of NabQ of Kalhu
from his shrine into the gardens and back. The route is described
in Hues 15 ((. tlius, //// ///a libbi adri ckalli ussa sd libbi adri <'kalli
(i?ia kiri i/Zaka, ' the god will go forth into the midst of the court
of the palace, from the midst of the court of the palace he will
come into the garden etc' In no. 416, we have a plot of land
adru viesil kiru, ' a court, half of it garden ' ; in no. 409, another
plot is named adru : in no. 623, with a plot of land, adni kiru
tabriu biiru 'a court, a garden cultivated (?), a well etc' : in no. 415,
we have a field with adru kiru ina /ibbi, ' a court and garden in it ' ;
in no. 412, we have a plot of 9 ka which is an adru in dl Du'ua,
bordering on so and so, further referred to as adru sudtu zarpat
shewing adru to be feminine; in no. 420, we have a plot of 12 ka
adru in dl Til-Nahiri ; in no. 404, we have a field with an adru
tabriu buru ina tarbasu, that is ' a court cultivated (?) with a well
in the fold' : in no. 779, we have a plot one quarter adru and three
quarters tabridti: and in no. 643, a votive dedication of an estate,
by a sakintu, for the life of the King, the estate is specified as
'fields, houses, adru (plu.), garden, well, tabriu etc' In the census
lists, among the possessions of the families enumerated we find so
many homers of land, houses, adru etc
When therefore we read, in no. 385, that ' whoever shall dispute
the agreement then made shall forfeit the price paid, so many
homers of barley, and shall pay it to Nabu ina adrisu^^ we cannot
avoid the conclusion that here we have to do with the ' court of the
god,' and also may think it very likely that the same court is meant
as in K 629 above. Further, when, in no. 151, we find that a
quantity of hay or straw, tibnu, was contracted for by three men with
Kisir-Asur, the rdb kisir, and the transaction is said to have taken
place ina adri tibni, we may hazard the rendering, ' the straw
yard^: it could hardly be a ^ straw niarket^^ but a place where
straw was stored ; a ' straw loft ' would assume an upper chamber,
which is going too far. It is noteworthy that in this case the
agent, bel-kdtdti tibni, is one of the recipients and sealed for the
whole party.
I am not so bold as to assert that in every case where adru,
atru, or atru (for it may be read either way) occurs, it means a
'court' or 'yard,' or other enclosed place. This meaning, however,
seems to me to fit all these cases. The size of an adru when given
2l6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
is much less than a homer ; it is generally associated, when not
alone, with a garden, often with a well, or a fold, and is said to
be tabriu. This last term applies also to gardens, it can hardly
mean 'fenced,' for that would not suit no. 779: if Scheil's text
be correct.
531. In the corn tablets, as in the money and produce loans,
we have mention of interest. In many cases it is simply stated
that interest is to accrue. It would be hazardous to conclude that
these advances were made with a view to profit. It is more likely
that in every case it was understood that interest would only be
charged for undue delay in repayment.
As we have already seen, in nos. 128, 148, 150, a date and
place are named for the repayment, and the interest is expressly
stated to be a consequence of not repaying the advance, when due.
In nos. 133, 147, a place is named, and interest follows on non-
payment. It is hardly likely that the place was so important a
consideration as to deserve mention alone, a date must be implied
here also, the usual term being assumed. In the other cases,
where neither time nor place is named, they must yet be implied.
This is strongly supported by a comparison of nos. 134 and 135.
In the former, two homers were lent to NabCl-nur-nammir and one
each to Latubasani-ilu and Sabtanu. Seven months later, the two
latter repay, each their homer, and no more. Nabu-nCir-nammir
was a defaulter, he did not pay. For such cases as his, it was
usually inserted that if payment was not made, interest should be
charged. In no. 134, however, neither date for repayment, nor
interest was set down. Perhaps that is why no. 135 does not add,
that when Nabu-nCir-nammir did pay, he should pay his interest
as well. At least we are certain that corn could be obtained for
seven months free of interest.
The rate is always 30 ka per homer : that is apparently one
tenth : it is very likely that this was a monthly rate : giving over
ce7it. per cent., per amiiwi.
'J'he sa or GAR, which, in nos. 129 and 133, follows the 30 ka,
is not a numeral four, in my o[)inion, but is the ideogram for issakan,
'he shall lay down,' that is, 'pay.' It is not likely that it is an
abbreviation of the phrase sa arhisn, 'per month.' On the other
hand, as it is followed by tarahbi, shewing SE PAT-MES was
considered a feminine, some feminine form of sakanu may be read.
In some places it is possibly the feminine possessive pronoun.
AND DOCUMENTS. 217
532. A very large number of these tablets record the trans-
actions of one man. If we cared to adopt the popular style of some
Assyriologists, we might easily write up a ' story of an Assyrian
corn dealer,' and even perhaps work in a few Jews into the business.
As a fact, I believe the corn in every case belonged to the king, and
was advanced by some one holding the position of a steward.
From B.C. 704 to B.C. 667, Bahianu plays a very prominent part
in these affairs. In Nisanu, B.C. 704, he lent three homers of barley
to Samas-ahu-usur, no. 141. In Du'uzu, B.C. 693, he lent twenty-
three homers of barley to Nabua, no. 133. In Ulillu, B.C. 686,
he lent two homers of barley to Nabd-ndr-nammir, and one each
to Latubasani-ilu and Sabtanu, no. 134. In Aaru, of the next
year, the two latter returned their homer each to Bahianu, but
Nabu-nur-nammir was a defaulter, no. 135. In Simanu, b.c, 684,
Bahianu advanced ten homers to some one whose name has
perished ; and again, in Kislimu, advanced four homers of corn
to Lamassi-Bel, nos. 142, 149. In b.c. 682, in Aaru, he lent corn
to several persons unknown, no. 143. In b.c. 667, probably in
Aaru, he lends Summa-Adadi some corn, no. 139. So w^hen we
find a Bahianu lending four homers of barley to Gabu, in Nisanu,
in the Eponymy of Nabu-sarru... ; although, as Dr Bezold says.
Catalogue, p. 94 note t, ' It cannot be decided from the tablet
whether anything was written here,' that is, after sarru, yet it seems
impossible to doubt that Nabu-sarr-usur is meant, and that what
I have called Ep. /w,, is really B.C. 682; no. 132. Further, when
we find that Bahianu lent varied amounts of corn to Sin-sarru-usur,
Nergal-asarid, Rimutti-ilu and Daian-Kurban, in Aaru, of an Eponymy
Nabu-sarru..., we can hardly hesitate to say that what I call Ep. A, is
B.C. 682 ; no. 136. On the other hand, when we find that in Nisanu,
in the Eponymy of Asur-danin-sarri, he lends two homers of barley
to Astakumme, no. 131, it will be impossible to place this Ep. M,
as I call it, long after B.C. 667.
Bahianu did not confine himself to corn loans. As early as
Nisanu, B.C. 707, he officiated as witness; no. 292. In b.c. 700,
he bought and perhaps set free a slave Mannu-ki-Arbaili ; no. 176.
In B.C. 695, in Kislimu, he lent Bel-lisir ten minas of bronze ;
no. 31. The date, which Dr Bezold suggests. Catalogue p. 75,
viz. B.C. 773 (?), is out of the question. Already Strassmaier,
A. V. 858, gives B.C. 695. In B.C. 693, or 688, he lends seven
minas of bronze to Kabti-ilani, no. 29 ; and perhaps in the same
2l8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
year, in Nisanu, he appears as a seller and rab-alani of the city
Pirhinite (?); no. 491. In B.C. 692, he bought some slaves and
land from Lukimama and Zer-lisir ; no. 440. In Abu of an
Eponymy Nabu-sarr... he appears as a witness, obviously in B.C.
682 ; no. 679. Beside these dated transactions he is mentioned as
advancing corn also in nos. 138 and 720: and as a neighbour
in no. 337. In the latter case he seems to have lived near the
city Maganisi, which occurs on other corn tablets not apparently
connected with him.
We find our hero also named in a letter to the king; Bu. 91-5-9,
172. There his death is mentioned, and the spoliation of his goods.
The letter is too fragmentary for us to be certain who was the
destroyer, but apparently the old steward had prospered in his day,
for we read of three minas of gold, two talents of silver, five mules
and ten camels. We must probably place his death not long after
B.C. 667, because he began his public career at least as early as
B.C. 707, and we can hardly expect him to have been actively
engaged in his duties much over forty years. He lived, as we
see, still in office, up to a Post Canon date. We cannot date his
, death after B.C. 644, and as there is a vacant space in the conjectural
Canon List given by Oppert, Le Droit de Retrait^ p. 30 (591), after
B.C. 665-660 we may take this as his obit.
Consequently we have for hi^floreat^ B.C. 707-660.
533. The Aramaic legends on these corn tablets are something
■ more than mere dockets. Either at this time Aramaic writing was
the general script in use amongst the commercial classes and lesser
officials or these people were Aramaeans. The names of the persons,
to whom the corn was advanced, are often not Assyrian in type.
Some were Aramaic, or at any rate similar to those found in the
Census of Harran.
Starting with Bahianu, which in form at least is identical with
the name of a Hittite king, and going through these corn tablets,
we find as lender, agent, or steward, Takuni, and as recipients,
farmers, or tenants, Hamatutu, AstakumnuL', (jabd, Sabtanu, Hudapi,
Kilamsi, Aduniha, AtarsCiri, Padi, Urdai, Rapai, Abdilimc, KurAbi,
laisi. Among the witnesses too we find Basua, Dandaru, Abi-ummi,
Istar-tazi, Arzizu, Mame, Abilure, Girtu, Kimama. 'I'hese names
either are foreign, or stamp the native population as being of a
different stock from the pure Assyrians.
The Aramaic legends generally give an abstract of the trans-
AND DOCUMKNTS. 219
action, often as full as the Assyrian text itself, and usually giving
some additional information. For example, we fmd the name of
the corn advanced given as pyc^ or seorati ; on nos. 128, 129.
The amount advanced is stated in homers on no. 1 29.
The number of months, for which it is lent, is generally given,
introduced by the preposition bi^ as in no. 129, 7 months ; in K 3785,
C. I. S. p. 45, Aramaic only, 7 mo.
The number of reapers is stated, usually the same as the number
of homers of grain advanced ; no. 129, K 3785.
Abstracts of nos. 128-150.
534. No. 128. Complete. Heart-shaped. Drab.
Nabii-d6ri advances thirty homers of corn, ina GIS-
BAR sa 10 /;a, to Tebetai, the rakbu^ son of Abu-ul-idi,
from the city of Maganisi, by the hands of Unzarhi-Istar,
the rab kisir. He shall pay the corn, in Arahsamna, in
the city of Maganisi; or pay the full value of it in
Nineveh. Dated, the 17th of Sabatu, b.c. 665. Eight
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
The text is given by Pinches, C. I. S. p. 48, with transliteration
and translation by Professor Oppert. The tablet is there described
as in speciem coni effictus. Oppert reads SE-PAT-MES as serani^
and renders hordea. In line 2, he renders i7ia GIS-BAR sa 10 ka
by palmi cubo co?tti?ie?ite decern cabos^ which seems to be the best
rendering yet given. In line 5, he reads the title avil narkabti and
the name as Abu-ul-la. The text of C. I. S. gives a sign, in place of
ZU, that is not easily recognisable. In line 7, Oppert renders sa
kdtd by per manus^ and rdb kisir as taxator. In line 2, of lower
edge, we see that SE-BAR covers SE-PAT-MES. In reverse,
line 3, Oppert reads mithar as hiibuUi and renders addito foenore.
In line 5, he reads the title of the Eponym as ris sarri and renders
by capite regis. In line 6, he gives no rendering of the title ; in
line 7, he renders salsu by satellite.
The Aramaic docket apparently reads, in three lines,
a. Nny*i^
b. ]-iC^pD
c. ma: "pj; ^t
220 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
which seems to mean, ' the barley, the assignment, which is from
NabCi-duri.' The word ]''\l^pJ2 seems formed from T^p, which may be
the Aramaic for the Assyrian kasdru. But the readings are by no
means certain, although I am unable to improve them. The fact
that the assignment is made by a rab kisir seems some support to
this.
The date given m C. I. S. has the month Arahsamna, not Sabatu,
as I give. Bezold in the Catalogue, p. 1450, also gives Arahsamna;
probably they are right, but the sign seems to lack the first horizontal.
Nabu-duri is the name of a witness, B.C. 707, on no. 292 ; of a
witness, on no. 12, in both cases his title is bel za.... The name
was also borne by a writer on K 12969, and is a specimen name,
App. I, II. 35. Tebetai is here a rakbu and it seems possible that
the corn was for the troop which he commanded. For other
occurrences of the name, see § 521. The name of his father
Abu-ul-idi is discussed in § 494. The city Maganisi is named also
in nos. 337, 347, but without any clear indication of its locality.
The name Unzarhi-Istar is also borne by a witness and NU-kirt on
no. 600. The name Unzerhu-Asur occurs as that of a witness and
rab kisir, Ep. F, on no. 361 ; of a witness and rab kisir of the Crown
Prince, Ep. F, on no. 621 ; of a witness and rab kisir, Ep. N, on no.
327 ; and of a witness and rcib kisir on no. 312. The simple form
Unzerhu is the name of a witness, sa/igi7 of the god KUR-NUN, on
no. 255. The writer of the letter K 5291, H. A. B. L. p. 231,
Sarru-emurani calls himself an amel unzarhu and also an ardu sa
sarri. Also there was a plot of land called an unzarhu, see no. 425.
The name of the Eponym, Mannu-ki-sarri, dates also nos. 35,
237. This is the only place where a title is given him. I follow
G. Smith in assigning him the date B.C. 665, for reasons to be set
out in the chapter on Chronology. The name is that of a witness,
B.C. 670, on no. 202; of a mukil apdti on no. 857, iv. i ; of two
men, one a saknu{}), on no. 860, in. 2, 8. A clipped form Manki-
sarri occurs as the name of a rab MUG/, B.C. 661,' on no. 993 ; and
on no. 1041.
Among the witnesses, Balasi has been considered in § 5-i;
Nabu-nadin-ahe, in § 480 ; Sa-Nabu-sCi in § 478 ; Ahu-duri in § 470.
ArdiTielit was also the name of the Crown Prince, B.C. 694, on
no. 201 ; he was a son of Sennacherib, see Vol. 1. Preface, p. xiv.
This was the name of a neighbour, 1^). A', on no. 414; and of a
witness, Ep. F, on no. 621. Nabu-ahu-iddin is the name of an aba
AND DOCUMENTS. 22 1
and witness, ii.c. 694, on no. 427 ; of a witness, n.c. 687, on no. 335 ;
of a witness in B.C. 693, or u.c. 688, on no. 32 ; of a witness and
/aw(,7/, B.C. 680, on no. 360 ; of a witness and rab j/iafi\ Ep. C, on
no. 641 ; of a Ihi kdtdti, Ep. S, on no. 166 ; of a witness, Ep. V, on
no. 63; of a seller on no. 251 ; of a witness on nos. 288, 300, 388,
536; of a slave of Zeriiti on no. 912; occurs in the letters, K 510,
820, 1585, 1591, 1875, 4286; 82-3-23, 136; and as a specimen
name, App. i, 11. 14. In all these cases the name is spelt, as here,
AN-PA-PAF-AS. A variant AN-AK-PAP^AS is the name of the
father of Balasu, on Bu. 89-4-26, 20. Another variant AN-AK-
PAP-MU \s the name of a witness, on no. 241. Another, AN-AK-
SIS-MU, occurs in later Babylonian texts, 6". A. V. 5698, where it
is apparently the same name as Nabtl-ahe-iddin. Lastly on no. 253,
we have the name of a witness given as AN-PA-PAP-SE-na. If,
as is possible, the name is really not distinct from Nabu-ahe-iddin,
see § 499, it was probably pronounced simply Nabu-ahiddin.
The name of the last witness can be read Akbar, Akbar, or
Agbar. With the same spelling, it is the name of a slave sold, on
no. 180. Also Ak-ba-ru is the name of a slave sold, on no. 251 ;
and in in. R. 15, iv. 19 is the name of a king of Elpiati ; compare
Z A. XI. p. 221. In this form also the doubt as to the first consonant
remains. A similar name Ak-bii-ru is borne by the seller, B.C. 670,
on no. 202 ; and Ak-bur is the name of a sdbu^ in the letter K 581.
In the latter form we are guided to read Agburu, Agbur, by the name
of a witness, spelt A-ga-bu-ru, on no. 500. Hence we may perhaps
prefer Agbar, compare the Aramaic "inJi^, A\ E. p. 207 a : but note
also the Canaanite ")33y, which means 'mouse.' This last name
seems more like Ugbaru.
The Catalogue, p. 2000a, puts this among 'the acknowledgements
of debts.'
535. No. 129. Complete. Heart-shaped. Drab.
Five homers of corn, belonging to the Crown Prince,
were advanced by Takuni, his agent, to Hamatutu of the
city of Handuate. The corn shall bear interest at the rate
of 3oka per homer. Dated, the month of Tisritu, B.C. 682.
Five reapers.
For the text, by Pinches, with transliteration and translation by
Professor Oppert, see C. I. S. p. 43 ff. See also Briinnow, Z A. 111.
p. 238 ff., and p. 414. Another translation, by Oppert, appears,
Z. A. XIII. p. 253.
222 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Here ' agent ' is expressed by sani\ which C. I. S. renders
mandatorio. In line 6, C. L S. gives sa^ at the end of the line, reads
it qa...^ and leaves it unrendered. The sa may of course be a
pronoun, as the SE-PAT-MES is taken to be feminine. But 1
prefer to take it as the ideogram to sakdnu and read isakkan.
Oppert reckons 6o cabs to the homer, reading V itneri serani and
rendering quinque Jwmeri {irecenti cabi). He takes the whole of
line 6, as giving a fine, hordea u?io ho^nero et triginta cabis {nonaginta
cabis) ex miilcta auctitabuntur. But all this is very doubtful. I
consider the homer as possibly 300 ka, and the increment 30 ka^ on
the assumption that the gur had then 180 ka.
The Aramaic docket has five lines, which seem to me to read,
a.
n ■ • • . pyt^'
k
'?y j^d'pd 12
c.
nnn \'o dddh
d.
17 3 5
€,
5 \^^r\
/
D-lDm DN^
^•
1V-ID3:
This is discussed in C. /. 6*. p. 44. The discussion might now
be improved. In line <2, there was perhaps nothing lost after seoran,
unless it was the numeral 5. The zt is the usual Aramaic 'of,'
corresponding to the Assyrian sa. Whether we read bar malkd or
bir malkd in line b, we have the Aramaic rendering of the Assyrian
mdr sarri, 'Crown Prince.' The preposition *?j;, is always used in
these dockets to mark the recipients and therefore supplies a
rendering for the Assyrian ana pdni, 'to.' There is no mention
of the agent here. The name in line c supplies a check on our
Assyrian reading Hamatutu. The preposition p answers to the
Assyrian sa, denoting the place of origin, 'from.' A rather marked
change is the Aramaic rendering of the city name Handuate by
Haduah. There is therefore good reason to suppose this name to
be the same as the Hadatti, which appears in the Harran Census.
In line d we have the numeral 5 followed by 3, then the numeral 7,
followed by v C. I. S. rightly discerned the purpose of tlic 5, it
denotes the number of homers of corn. The 1 was puzzling.
Apparently I)e Vogiie recalled the 3 which occurs on the Lion
AND DOCUMENTS. 223
Standard weights, already long misunderstood. He therefore fancied
it niiglit have regard to the standard of measurement, mctievdi
ratioficni. I have shewn that 3 on the Lion Standards is only the
common Aramaic preposition, ' for,' here used of ' time,' see § 296.
For examples of 2 as denoting 'time' see N. E. p. 232a. The
numeral 7 which I)e Vogiie does not explain must mark a space of
'time.' I take it to be the duration of the loan, Tisritu to Nisanu
inclusive, or to Aaru exclusive. On page 45, C. I. S. gives the text
of a precisely similar Aramaic document, K 3785, where also the
same numera'ls and prepositions occur. But there the lines are
differently divided. The 3 precedes 7, in a line by itself. Hence
the 2 goes with the 7. Also in the next line the i goes with '^^t\
and must here also be the conjunction 'and.' This De Vogiie saw
correctly. The name of the ' reapers ' in Aramaic is \'^^r\, which lead
Oppert to read amele SE KI-KUD-MES as esiddni. This form
may have existed alongside of estde, for which no. 132 gives the
spelling e-si-di: see § 172. It is worthy of note that in this and
K 3785 the number of homers of corn and the number of reapers
are the same. We may probably conclude that a homer of corn
lasted seven months for a man. In the later Babylonian texts we
find the allowance to be a ka per day for a slave : see § 292. This
would give a homer about 210 ka. But the allowance for a reaper
may have been more, and there may have been more persons to feed
than the five ' reapers.' If we could reduce the time to six months,
we should have a homer with 180 ka^ exactly the amount of 2. gur in
later Babylonian times. The number 210 ka can scarcely be
accurate.
An important piece of information is given by the Aramaic
rendering of the date. As in K 3785, limmu appears as ON^. The
Eponym Nabu-sar-usur is, however, said to be DlDm, Rabsaris. Of
course De Vogiie and Oppert render this title ^Eunuchorum dux.''
The offices held by the Eponyms of the name of Nabu-sar-usur will
be found under that name in § 523. The Eponym of B.C. 682 was
saknu of Markasi. The Eponym E was aba 7ndti^ which I regard as
equivalent to aba ekalli. Perhaps then Rabsaris is equivalent to aba
mdti and this transaction is to be dated in Ep. E. But Nabu-sar-usur
was also a rdb sake, and a rdb MU-GI. We cannot well identify
Rabsaris with Rabshakeh for they occur together in the Old
Testament. There is perhaps a chance that rdb MU-GI is the
Assvrian form for Rabsaris.
224 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
It is perhaps desirable to notice some of the more prominent
opinions that have been held on the Aramaic terms here given. The
term i")]^^ was taken by P. Berger to be the name of the corn, i.e.
' barley.' In all probabiHty this is right : see the references N. E.
p. 381. But R. Duval, whom De Vogiie seems inclined to follow,
regards it as the nyt^' of the Talmud and Targums, in the sense of
'taxation,' or 'revenue.' Apart from the difficulty about the form
there is nothing to point to any revenue collection : and the purpose
of the corn is indicated by the ideogram SE-FAT, 'corn food.'
De Vogiie thought the king's son was acting as a collector of revenue,
and compared i Kings xxii. 16; Jeremiah xxxvi. 26; xxxvii. 6.
Briinnovv, Z. A. in. p. 241, considers that we should read it V!^.^\
and then take it to mean 'interest.' But while the roots may be the
same, this is an 'advance' rather than 'interest.' I do not cling
to the idea of ' barley ' so much as to the fact that this was
corn advanced to meet the needs of a tenant. But ' interest ' it
was not.
The gap after pyc> has been variously filled. Berger read
ns'' which he rendered 'pulchra.' The objection that a singular
adjective would thus be attached to a plural noun is not of great
weight in view of the Assyrian tarabbi. But the reading is doubtful,
Duval and Briinnow both give n2T, which Duval and De Vogiie take
to be 'this.' But there was a plant called zibu, 11. R. 42, b. 33-35 :
if this was the name of the sort of corn, there would be ground for
the presence of the word. A mere demonstrative seems quite super-
fluous. But the signs do not look to me like what these scholars
have read, though I cannot suggest a better reading now. Dr
Stevenson may have recognised them, but at present I do not.
Briinnow, p. 242, note 2, also suggests that the 7 may denote the
month : only he takes it as the ' 7th month,' which agrees with the
date Tisritu, and then we should have perhaps only one month as
the duration of the loan. But a homer of corn per month is surely
a large allowance, unless, as Oppcrt thinks, the homer had only 60
ka^ which would give a reaper 2ka per day. Briinnow, however,
reads the /«, at the end of line 6, as a numeral 4, making the increase
on a homer to be 34 ha. He also read the title of Nabu-sar-usur as
nj"i3, which is clearly wrong, from his facsimile, Z. A. in. p. 414.
Until we are in a position to say exactly what was the amount of
grain in a homer, or ka^ many of the interesting questions raised by
this and similar tablets must remain unsolved puzzles. But it is
AND DOCUMENTS. 22 5
clear thai the same rate of increase was always expected from
a loan of grain : namely 30 ka per homer, if the ^ur was tl^-n
180 ka.
The agent, or sajiu^ in this case was Takdni, who is clearly the
same as the lender and agent for the Crown Prince, on no. 130.
The same name is borne by a slave (or seller?), on no. 487. The
name of the borrower Hamatutu only occurs here. The city
Handuate appears also in no. 130, spelt Handuata. As stated
above, I am inclined to identify it with Hadatti, of the Harran
Census, also perhaps with the Hadatta of in. R. 35, no. 6, in. 42
said to be in mat Mas, or madhar, the Syrian desert. We may
compare the list of city names, Hadeth, Hadatha, in Payne-Smith's
Thesaurus Syriacus, p. 1207. Of these our city may be the one on
the Euphrates, but there is little to fix the locality by.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 a, calls this a private contract 'concerning
the payment of interest'
536. No. 130. Portion of a ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Brown.
Five homers 48 ka, SE-FAT-MES, belonging to the
Crown Prince, are lent by Takuni, his agent ; three homers
to laisi and two homers 48 ka to Gabbu-ilani, of the city
Handuata. Same rate of increase as in the last case
probably. The number of reapers was stated, but is now
lost. The date is lost.
The text, by Pinches, with a transliteration and translation by
Professor Oppert, is given, C. I. S. pp. 46 ff. The Aramaic docket
was published also, n. R. 70, no. 11. Briinnow, Z. A. in. pp. 239,
240, quotes from it.
Oppert, in C. I. S., renders kdtd by the word mandatorio and
sanu by proawatore. He further gives a translation, Z. A. xiii.
p. 254. He there raises the question whether by mar sarri is really
meant the 'king's son,' adding that in Hebrew the phrase did not
imply such filial relationship.
The Aramaic inscription here is very fragmentary. Of the first line
only )^y^'s:,> is preserved. Of the second only in and the d of malkd.
In the next line only yi appears, which De Vogiie takes to be the
conjunction i, 'and,' followed by part of Sy, 'to.' In the next line
only n is preserved, probably the beginning of the city name
Hadduah. Except that, so far as it goes, it supports the readings
for no. 129, this docket is of no value to us.
Because of its interest for comparison, we may here add the
J. in. 15
226 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Aramaic inscription of K 3785, given C. I. S. p. 45. It is perfectly
preserved, on a ' heart-shaped,' brown tablet. We have there,
a. -in '•I \yi^
c.^ 5 |Ty |D
d. 7 1
e. 5 pvni
In line <2, we have ' corn of the son ' : in line b^ ' of the king ; to
Nabu-erbani ' : in hne <r, ' from (the city) Airan ; 5 (homers) ' : in line
d, 'for seven months (or the 7th)': in line e^ 'and reapers 5': and
in line f^ ' Eponymy of Sarru-huri.' Here we have a most valuable
substantiation of the readings in no. 129. The proper names are
interesting. The borrower bears a name which is unique. We have
discussed Nabla-erba in § 467, Nabu-erba-ahe in § 515. NabCl-erba-
ahesu is a specimen name, App. i, iii. 24. Nabti-erba-ahi is named
on K 590, K 9650, and occurs as a specimen name, App. 1,1. 12 ;
App. 2, II. 14. But these are all on a different model. Nabu-erba-
sunu is more like this name. It occurs as a specimen name, App. i,
II. 56. The place name is difficult to identify, because it is not easy
to say how it would be written in Assyrian. Perhaps it is the city
laranu named in no. 630 ; or we may have the place Arana, named
by Tiglath Pileser III., A 32. The Eponym, Sarru-ntiri, or as the
Aramaic would have us read it, Sar-nuri, was the name of the
Eponym of B.C. 674; see § 477.
The agent here, TaMni, has been discussed, § 535. The
recipient la-isi, if that is the way to read the name, only occurs
here. Perhaps it is a compound of a divine name, la : but that
is doubtful as long as we have no other compounds with -id to
compare. The name Gabbu-ilani is discussed in § 487. The place
name Handuata is discussed in § 535.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 a, calls this a private contract 'concerning
the payment of interest.'
537. No. 131. Complete. Heart-shaped. Red.
Two homers SE-FA T-MES are lent by l^ahianu to
Astakummc, ana ptihi. The interest shall be 30 ka per
homer. Dated, the 27th of Nisanu, Ep. M.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 98.
AND DOCUMENTS. 227
Tlic tablet is described in the (luide, \). 171, no. 22.
The text was piibHshed by Peiser, A'. B. iv. p. 154 f. in
transliteration and translation. Little need be added to improve
his treatment. In line 5, he seems to be a little puzzled by the a-a
after the 30 I'a. This is specially common after >C'<a:, and gives a
distributive sense. Thus here it emphasizes 30 /^a as being /<?r each
homer. I)r Peiser calls this a ' Vcrpfiiclit2i}ig^ Kor?t gegejt Quittung zu
liefer 71.^
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, puts it among the ' private contracts
concerning sales, etc., of animals, corn, wine, and other moveables.'
The occurrences of Bahianu are discussed in § 532. The
recipient here is Astakumme. The name does not recur. The
name of the Eponym, Asur-danin-sarri, was also borne by a witness
and mukil apdti, B.C. 667, on no. 27 ; and by the writers of the
astrological reports, K 3161, 3791, both dated B.C. 649. It is clear
from the dates at which Bahianu lived that Ep. M is not long after
B.C. 667.
538. No. 132. Complete. Heart-shaped. Brown.
Bahianu advances four homers, SE-PA T-MES, to Gabii,
ana piihi. Interest as before. Four reapers. Dated, the
2ist of Nisanu, Ep. /x.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 91 ; and Hist. Senn. p. 21.
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 4822, 5863.
Dr Peiser published the text, in transliteration and translation,
K. B. IV. p. 150 f.
G. Smith, Strassmaier, Dr Bezold, and apparently Peiser, all take
the date to be Post Canon, but as I have shewn, § 532, it must really
be B.C. 682.
Peiser's readings and renderings are correct as a whole. He,
however, points out that in this case the interest amounted to ^o per
cent.^ i.e. 30 ka on a homer of 60 ka. But there is no proof that the
homer had 60 ka. Indeed, in no. 130, the presence of i PA^ which
on this scale is 48 ka^ is admissible, but there are cases of more than
60 ka standing after the homer; see § 270.
Dr Peiser calls this a ' Verpfiichtimg^ Korngege?i Quittung zu lief em.'
The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, classes this with the last number.
Gabii, the receiver, only occurs here. The father of Marduk-sar-
usur is called Ga-bi-e on no. 418, and in the letter 82-5-22, 131, at
Erech ; Gab-bi-i on no. 115 ; rab Bl-LUL of Barhalza on 83-1-18,
75 ; Ga-bi-a on no. 429 : Gab-e on no. 116.
15—2
228 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
539. No. 133. Complete. Heart-shaped. Drab.
Bahianu advances twenty-three homers, SE-PA T-MES^
to Nabua. In the Court he shall return the loan in full.
If not, interest as before. Dated, the 2nd of Du'lizu,
B.C. 693.
This very perfect specimen is photographed and reproduced in
the Catalogue, Vol. v. Plate i, no. 3.
The meaning of line 4, ina adri a?ia kakkadu isakkan, is discussed,
§ 530. Here SA at the end of the line may be the possessive
pronoun, feminine to agree with SE-FAT-MES, but I prefer to read
it as an ideogram for sakdnn : as also below, at end of line 6. The
meaning of kakkadu here is ' full amount.'
That we are to date this b.c. 693 is due to G. Smith's view, see
§ 473. The name of the recipient has been discussed, § 486.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
540. No. 134. Complete. Heart-shaped. Red.
Bahianu advances two homers, SE-PA T-MES, to Nabli-
nur-nammir and one each to Latubasani-ilu and Sabutanu,
anapuhi. Dated, the 29th of Ululu, B.C. 686.
The Catalogue, Vol. v. Plate i, no. 4, gives an excellent repro-
duction of this fine specimen. On p. 2003 a, it is placed among the
private contracts. The loan here made was partly returned in Aaru,
next year, see no. 135. On the significance of this, see § 384.
The name of the lender and first recipient of the loan are
discussed in § 532 and § 480. Sabutanu only occurs here and on
no. 135, where the same person is referred to. Here we have
Sdbu-ta-a-nu, there Sa-bu-ta-a-nu. I am inclined to compare the
name Sa-ab-da-a-nu, mentioned by Asurnasirpal, i. R. 23, 20, as
brother of Nabti-aplu-iddin, king of Babylon, defeated and taken
prisoner by him. Also we have Sab-da-a-nu as the name of a inuktl
apdti on no. 675 ; Sa-ib-da-a-nu^ a witness, B.C. 672, on no. 64; and
Sab-da-nu, a witness, Ep. W, on no. 221. Perhaps we should read
all the forms as Sabutanu, or Sabitanu, ' snatcher ' (?).
NabO-nClr-nammir did not repay his loan, see no. 135. The
name does not occur elsewhere. Bel-emurani, the name of the
Eponym of I5.c. 738, sak?iu of Rasappa, in. R. i, iv. 32 ; of the
Eponym, B.C. 691, saknu of Carchemish, in. R. i, v. t^t^; of the
Eponym, B.C. 686, Tartan, in. R. i, v. 38; dates nos. 28, 443, 482,
as tartari, which are therefore put in B.C. 686. These cases have the
name written EN-^I-LAL-aii-ni^ which is also that of a witness,
AND DOCUMKNTS. 229
RC. 710, on no. 234. The form EN-SI-LA L-a-ni is the name of
the F.ponym on nos. 232, 374, 453, 612 ; also possibly on no. 410:
it is also the name of a witness, n.c. 700, on no. 176 ; of a buyer, on
no. 407 ; of a witness, B.C. 693 or B.C. 688, on no. 32 ; compare nos.
y
247, 320. The form which we have here, EN-SI-a-fii, occurs as the
name of the Eponym on no. 9; and in. R. i, v. 38. A clipped
form EN-SI-LAL iii occurs in the letters K 102 1, 7532. A fuller
form, AN-EN-SI-LAL-a?t-?n^ is the name of the Eponym on no. 285.
541. No. 135. Complete. Nut-shaped. Slate.
Sabutanu and Latubasani-ilu return the corn borrowed
from Bahianu, each paying one homer. Nabu-nur-nammir
did not pay. Dated, in Aaru, B.C. 685.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 90; and Hist. Se?m. p. 19.
This tablet does not record a loan, or advance of corn, but is so
closely connected with the last as to deserve a place next to it. The
two men, who, in no. 134, borrowed each one homer, in Ululu,
B.C. 686, seven months before, now repay each just one homer.
Hence interest was not charged on loans ana puhi, if repaid at the
customary date. Further one homer was all that some men borrowed
for seven months : see the Aramaic dockets above. The third person,
who on the same day borrowed two homers, does not now repay
anything. Probably he had to pay interest later.
The date of the Eponym, Asur-daninani, is given by in. R. i, v.
39 as B.C. 685. The name was, however, borne by the Eponym of
B.C. 734-3, ni. R. I, IV. 36; and by the Tartan of Tiglath Pileser III.,
II. R. 67, 42. Our Eponym is probably the same as the sak?iu of
Kue, who dates no. 274. The same Eponym dates nos. 430, 753.
Traces of the name may be recognised as those of the Eponym,
B.C. 903, III. R. I, I. 8. The form of name is the same in all these
cases, but in. R. i, iv. 36 also gives the variant Asur-daninanni.
The other names we have had before.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
542. No. 136. Complete. Heart-shaped. Fawn.
Bahianu lends, ana p7ihi, one homer 12 ka^ SE-PAT-
MES, to Sin-.sar-usur ; a homer 6 ka each to Nergal-asarid,
Rimutti-ilu, and Daian-Kurban. Dated, the 25th of Aaru,
Ep. A.
The date is almost certainly B.C. 682, see § 532 above. The
tablet does not shew the end of the name so clearly as I give it,
and Dr Bezold, as well as G. Smith, seems to have been unable to
230 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
recognise the name. That the signs in lines 3, 4, 5 are to be read
one and a half homer is not likely. Whether the FA and BAR
really denote 1 2 ka and 6 ka, I am not in a position to say.
The name of Sin-sar-usur has been discussed in § 476 ; of
Rimutti-ilu in § 409 ; of Daian-Kurban in § 487 ; of Nergal-asarid
in § 488.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
543. No. 137. Upper portion. Drab.
Two hundred (homers) of corn, SE-FAT-MES, kakkadu,
belonging to a sakintu are advanced to Ilu-amar, the rab
karmdni. He shall return them in the month of Abu, in the
cityofDClr-Sargon. If not, interest was probably stipulated
for. Dated, in Nisanu (?). Traces of five witnesses.
We may perhaps conclude that the sakintu of Dur-Sargon was
the owner. The meaning of kakkadu here is ' full amount.' The
recipient Ilu-amar appears, on no. 427, as seller and rab karmdni oi
Maganuba, which was the old name of Diir-Sargon, B.C. 694. The
name is given as Ilu-a-mar-ra, seller and rdb karmdni, on no. 508,
with a variant Ilu-a-ma-ra. It is clear that a penalty followed below
the second seal impression. There are more traces of a seal im-
pression on the edge of the tablet.
What the first witness was called I cannot conjecture. Tebis...
does not suggest any other name to me. Sarru-ikbi seems a hkely
restoration, see § 492 for its occurrences. The next name may begin
with Milki. The name of Nabii-kudur-usur is a likely restoration.
The name was borne by the two kings of Babylon, Nebuchadrezzar I.,
circ. B.C. 1 130 and Nebuchadrezzar II., b.c. 604 to B.C. 561, son of
Nabd-aplu-usur. For their inscriptions see the Catalogue, p. 2124 a.
The name was borne by a witness and kcpii of the Tartan, Ep. H, on
no. 50; by the writer of K 822; and occurs as a specimen name,
App. I, I. II. These names are spelt as I have restored our traces.
The form AN-FA-KU-KU-FAF is on K 710, iii. R. 52, no. i ;
also AN-AK-SA-DU-SIS occurs in the letters 82-5-22, 131 and
132. Besides these spellings we have AN-FA-ku-dur-FAF, 11. R.
65, no. I, II. 8; AN-AK-KU-KU-ri-ii-su-iir, i. R. 53, i a; AN-AK-
ku-du-ur-ri-u-su-ur, E. I. H. vi. 63; AN-Na-bi-um-kn-du-icr-ri-it-su-ur,
I. R. 65, I a; AN-AK-KU-KU-ri-SIS, i. R. 5, no. 7, i ; AN-AK-
SA-DU-u-sur, S. A. V. 5807. There is no other name known to
me beginning Nabu-SA-DU
The Catalogue, p. 1743, calls this 'i)art of a private contract
AND DOCUMENTS. 23 I
concerning a sale of corn' ; with which agrees its entry on p. 2000 b.
Hut there is no trace of any money having been paid for tlie corn.
The words ina libbi, in h'ne 4, are followed by the name of a month,
not by a sum of money.
544. No. 138. Upper half, or more, of a 'heart-shaped' tablet.
Red brown.
Bahianu lends corn in varied amounts, mostly a homer
each, to at least twelve men, ana puhi. Dated, in Nisanu.
The Catalogue, p. 1880, calls it 'part of a list of names of
persons, probably connected with the census'; and, p. 2102 b, puts
it among the 'lists of persons.' But the shape of the tablet is exactly
like our group of grain loans, 'heart-shaped,' a flattened cone, with
a seal on the apex. The presence of Bahianu's name, preceded as
usual by sd^ the phrase ana puhi it..., in line 5 of reverse, the
numerals at the side, with the subdivisions of the homer, all render
the nature of the transaction unmistakable.
Some improvements may be made in the readings. In line 8,
for TA we should probably read SU. In reverse, lines 2, 3, for
XV read AZAG. On the left-hand edge perhaps ma is better
than GIS.
The names of the recipients are not easily restored for the first
four lines. In line 5, Galul is almost certain. This name, thus
spelt, was the name of a witness and kepu of the palace, on no. 255 ;
of a neighbour on no. 429 ; of a massar bit-ili in the letter 83-1-18,
13 ; and a specimen name, App. i, xi. 6. The form Gal-lul is the
name of a witness and rab kisir, B.C. 670, on no. 266 ; and Ga-lu-lu
is the name of a w^itness and kepu, B.C. 681, on no. 218. The name
Isdi-ahe occurs on no. 857, 11. 28, and in the letters K 118 7, 1555.
The fuller form Isdi-ahesu is the name of the son of Ardi-Istar,
pledged, B.C. 748 (?), on no. 67; of a neighbour, B.C. 648, on no. 373;
and of a witness, Ep. P, on no. 628. The occurrences of Samas-
nasir are given in § 522. The name in line 8 is Erba-ilani, which
also occurs as the name of a buyer and tamkarti, B.C. 698, on no. 328.
The related name Erba-ilu was that of a buyer, on no. 314: of a
witness, on no. 388; and a specimen name, App. 3, 11 1. 7.
The name Ahum is remarkable for the unusual extra / at the
end, the only example known to me. The spelling PAP-u-ni is
found as the name of a son of Nargi, brother of Nabu-ahu-usur,
Ep. A, on no. 318. The common spelling A-hu-ni is used for the
names of the borrower, of Kar-Belit, B.C. 673, on no. 8; of the
232 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
witness, kisir sarri, B.C. 682, on no. 276; of the famous mar Adini^
in Asurnasirpal's inscriptions, i. R. 24, 55, 61, 63 ; in. R. 7, i. 20 etc. \
wShalmaneser III., see K. B. i. pp. 156, 158 etc. It is also a specimen
name, App. i, x. 33. That it is the genitive of Ahunu, I do not
maintain, but probably both mean 'Our brother.' We find A-hu-nu
as the name of a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 44 ; and in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. V. 267. The writing PAP-u-nu occurs on no. 899, as
resident in Karti-haldi ; as son of Sapiku, aba of Cuthah, on K 90 ;
and in the Harran Census.
The name, in line i of reverse, which I read Kurdi-Istar, is also
borne by a neighbour, in Bit Dagan, B.C. 707, on no. 350; by
witnesses on nos. 493, 602 ; and occurs in 81-2-4, 100, probably.
The next name is not Istar-babi-ahu-iddin, but probably Bau-ahi-
iddin : the spelling with the former reading would be unique. We
have, however, AN-Ba-u-PAP-AS as a specimen name, App. i,
XII. 30; and II. R. 65, 24 add.: compare i. R. 31, iv. 24 ; i. R. 66, 96.
So the next name is to be read Bau-ilai. With the former reading
compare the name of the slave sold, Ep. Q, on no. 446 ; the name
in the letter 79-7-8, 234, H. A. B. L. p. 351 ; and the name of the
witness, B.C. 679, on no. 150.
The name of the Eponym could not have come on line 6 ; hence
I suspect it was on the left-hand edge. The reading nia-as-ha-at, if
that is correct, reminds us of the mashdti of v. R. 65, 51 b: the
meaning of which is doubtful. But it seems to me possible that this
is really to be read Ma-as-sa-ii-at^ a variant perhaps of Mansuate, the
name of the city of which the Eponym was saknu. Now Dananu
was saknu of Mansuate, B.C. 680, see no. 359. The town occurs
also II. R. 53, 39 b, and 11. R. 52, 21 d, where we learn that there
was an expedition to it, B.C. 797. It is also named 11. R. 53, 59 d,
and on K 1533. The change in spelling would be parallel to
Mazarnie for Manzarnie ; and as that name is also spelt Mannu-
zarne, so Mansuate appears as Mannu-suate. The date B.C. 680
would fall within Bahianu's time. But this is only a conjecture.
545. No. 139. The left-hand portion is destroyed. It is
a little cylinder about as thick as an ordinary pencil. wSlate
colour.
Bahianu lends some corn, SE-PAT-MES^ to Summa-
Raman. Dated, the 5th (jf Aaru, n.c. 667.
The nature of the transaction is clear, from the terms and the
presence of Bahianu.
AND DOCUMENIS. 233
'I'hc Catalogue, p. 1291, calls il a 'private note': and enters it
on [). 21 12 b as a 'memorandum.'
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94. The tablet had n(;t been
numbered then.
The name of the recipient only occurs here. It would be a
witness for the existence of a god Raman, only it is so badly
preserved that no great reliance can be placed on the reading.
The first sign after the break may be SAL^ followed by NIJS/^ then
AN-RA is quite certain, but of MANY now see only a trace. How
to read the name, except as I give it, I am unable to suggest.
The name of the Eponym is also much effaced. The GA is
certain, but AD may be the next sign, and GAL the last. But
G. Smith's previous reading supports mine, as does Bezold, Cata-
logue, p. 1 29 1.
546. No. 140. Upper portion of a ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Red
brown.
Some one advanced one homer of corn, SE-FAT-MES^
kakkadu. The name of Asur-ibni which follows may be
either that of the lender or recipient. Dated, in B.C. 694.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89, and Uist. Senn. p. 15.
The name Asur-ibni only occurs, with certainty, here. A name,
written AS-SUR-KAK which could also be read Asur-bani, or
Asur-epus, occurs as that of a witness, Ep. i//, on no. 351. The
Eponym is discussed, § 120.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, enters this as a 'private contract.'
547. No. 141. Nearly complete. Heart-shaped. Drab.
Bahianu advanced three homers, SE-FAT-MES, kak-
kadu, to Samas-ahu-usur, ana p{ihi. Dated, the ist(?) of
Nisanu, B.C. 704.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. ^Z., and Hist. Senn. p. 11.
The formula is here reversed, the corn is said to be taken ' from,'
istu piini, the lender. Hence the nominative to ////// is the receiver,
and the verb can have its proper sense, ' has taken.' The receiver,
Samas-ahu-usur, bears the same name as a rehi issurdte and witness,
B.C. 694, on no; 58 ; and a seller, on no. 477.
The Eponym, Nabu-dini-epus, is given by in. R. i, v. 20, as
Eponym, B.C. 704, saknu of Nineveh ; also dating K 3068, iii. R. 2,
40 : in ist year of Sennacherib. The name also occurs in the letter
K 12953.
The Catalogue, p. 2001 b, puts this among the 'private contracts.'
234 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
548. No. 142. Upper portion of a 'heart-shaped' tablet.
Drab.
Bahianu advances ten homers, SE-PAT-MES^ to per-
sons whose names are lost. Dated, the 21st of Simanu,
B.C. 684. Three witnesses.
The Eponym, whose name here appears as Ma-za-ar-ni-e^ is
clearly the same as the Ma-za-a(r-ni-e), on K 2760, iii. R. 2, 59,
there given to be Eponym of the 22nd year of Sennacherib and
saknu of Kullania, i.e. B.C. 684. The form Man-za-ar-ni-e is given
as that of the Eponym, on no. 230, where the double date, 22nd
year of Sennacherib, and the title bel pahati of Kullania are added.
On no. 19, duplicate of no. 20, the form is Man-za-dr-ni-e, which of
course may also have been the form on no. 20. The form Ma-an-
za-ni-e^ on no. 149, loses the r\ perhaps the scribe omitted the ar in
error. There can be no doubt that Mazarne was the native form,
to which a desire for some Assyrian sense finally gave the shape
Man-nu-zi-ir-ni-e, in in. R. i, v. 40, as the name of the Eponym for
B.C. 684. The reading given, G. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 91, Man-zar-ile
seems to me to be a printer's error, for on p. 68, we have Mannu-
zir-iie. I fancy both endings are meant for -ne. That the form
Mannu-zir-ne has a good Assyrian meaning is not clear to me.
The name may have been Mazaranu, Mazarnu, from some place
Mazara.
The witness, Sin-ahu-iddin, bears the same name as the witness
and aba, Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; the father of a witness, on no. 589 ;
and a seller, B.C. 676, on no. 256. The next name, Basuai, only
occurs here, but we may compare Ba-su-u-a, a witness, b.c. 671, on
no. 266. But the sign su is perhaps really /<?, and then we should
have Balai, a gentilic, compare Sargon, Ann. 40.
The name of the scribe, aba, was probably Dandaru, also the
name of a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 752, 22.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, makes this a 'private contract.'
549. No. 143. Part of a ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Drab.
Bahianu advances corn to a number of persons, whose
names arc now lost; ana puhi. Dated, the 20th (?) of
Aaru, B.C. 682.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can \). 9 1 ; and Hist. Scnn. [). 21.
The trace of a recipient's name, in line i, may possibly be
restored Au-iddin. But it is impossible to say how imich [)receded
the A The names with Au are somewhat rare, see § 476. Professor
AND DOCUMENTS. 235
Jensen has suggested to me that A-U may be an ideogram, /I 'son,'
and U ~ Adad, or Raman. Then it may be read Mar-Raman, or
IMr-Addi, with which we could compare Benhadad. The name of
Benhadad has been much discussed, see Winckler, A. T. U. 68 ff. :
Hilprecht, Assjri'aca, 76-78. But it seems clear that Ben has been
written for Bir, either to translate it, or as an error. The king was
certainly called Bir-dadda by the Assyrians. Then the second
Benhadad seems to be the same as the Mari' of Adadi-nirari III.
Was this an error for Mari-IM ? If so the name would be the same
as Mari-iddi, in no. 742, the name of an irrisu^ 'with his people,' in
the city Basre.
The Eponym has been discussed in § 523.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, puts this among the ' private contracts.'
550. No. 144. The top edge of a 'heart-shaped' tablet.
Drab.
Some homers of corn, SE-PAT-MES^ were advanced
to Hudapi, and perhaps others. Dated, in B.C. 700.
The Catalogue, p. 1278, calls it a 'private note,' and, p. 2112a,
puts it among the 'memoranda.'
The name of the receiver only occurs here. The name reminds
one of Handapi, in § 513, and this comparison suggests that Hu is
the name of a god, as Han may be. Are we to read Bag-dapi ?
The Eponym is discussed in § 476.
551. No. 145. The edge of a ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Drab.
Only the date is left, the 23rd of Du'uzu, B.C. 693. There are
traces of a line before Hne i. The seal was the same as on no. 133.
It may be the lower edge of the tablet.
The Catalogue, p. 2003 a, puts it among the 'private contracts.'
The Eponym is discussed, § 473.
552. No. 146. Lower portion of a ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Slate.
Some corn probably was advanced, ana p{ihi^ to at
least three persons. Dated, the 23rd of Nisanu. The
Eponymy may have been on the edge.
The Catalogue, p. 2002 a, puts it among the 'private contracts.'
The only legible name, in line 3, seems to be Kilamsi, compare
Kil-lam-si, the name of a witness, B.C. 679, on no. 462 ; and the
specimen name, Ki-i-la-an-si^ ^^PP- ij ^i- i4- l^id it mean, 'By her
side,' or more probably ' Like a colossus,' lamassu ?
553- No. 147. Complete. Red brown.
Rimani-ilu advances two homers thirty ka of KUR-
236 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
SU-' to Bel-su. He shall repay it in the Court of the
city Argazu. If he do not repay it, interest will accrue
at the rate of 30 ka per homer. Dated, the 22nd of
Aaru, B.C. 648. Irisu-ilani and Sulmu-ahe are agents for
the KUR-SU-.'' Five witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 96.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 7442.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 176, no. 50.
That KUR-SU- is a sort of grain follows from the measurement
by homers : and from the rate of interest being the same as for corn.
That we are to read mat Sii is improbable from the fact that two
men are agents for the corn, they could not be agents for a country.
Professor Oppert would make them guarantees. The corn, in lower
edge line i, is taken to be masculine, not feminine, as SE-PAT-
MES usually is. There was a garden plant called karsu^ see
H. W. B. p. 356 b.
The occurrences of Rimani-ilu are given, § 473 ; Sulmu-ahe m
§ 480; Sepa-Asur m § 524; ArdiTstar m § 474.
Bel-su is a somewhat rare name, but is found in the letters,
K 10363, 12991.
The name of the Eponym Bel-sadiia occurs as that of the
Eponym, B.C. 757, saknu of Parnunna; and also in B.C. 648 as a
variant of Bel-Harran-sadua, see 111. R. i, vi. 36; iv. 13. In our
form it dates no. 7, and K 1292, 4537. He was a saknu of Tyre,
Siirri. The longer form occurs in. R. i, vi. 36, and dates nos. 696,
705, K 297, 312, 10532, 13190, 82-5-22, 91. Without the final a
this name dates no. 206, and occurs on no. 889, and in the later
Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 1009. I am quite satisfied with
G. Smith's date b.c. 648, and shall return to the reasons in the
Chapter on the Chronology.
The two agents, or guarantees, as Professor Oppert considers
them, in my opinion acted for Rimani-ilu, and furnished the grain
to Bel-sQ. Irisu-ilani only occurs here. The first member reminds
one of Eresu, king of Sillu, iii. R. 16, no. i, v. 21 ; 111. R. 27, 128.
The name of the first witness Sar-Asur only occurs here, unless
wc also read IM-AN-HI a.^ Sar-Asur. This form was the name of a
slave sold, B.C. 685, on no. 232. Tiie name of the second witness
Rim{ia only occurs here. The form Ai)laia, if that is the proper
reading, only occurs here, see Aplai, in § 518. But perhaps we are
to read Apil-aplia.
AND DOCUMENTS. 237
The Catalogue, p. 2000 h, calls this 'an acknowlcdgemcnl of
debt'
55^V No. 148. Complete; perhaps an inner tablet. Light red.
Aduni-iha advances to Atar-suri three homers of SE-
GIG- .UES, ina GIS-BAR sa mat latidi. The grain
bolonged to Padi. In Ululu, he shall repay to the full
.value, in Nineveh he shall give it back. If not, it shall
increase at the rate of 30 ka per homer. Dated, Aaru,
perhaps in b.c. 660. Three witnesses. Two reapers.
The Catalogue, p. 191 8, considers this 'a sale of corn.' There is
no doubt that SE-GIG-MES is corn of some kind, but there is
nothing to indicate a sale. Dr Bezold did not commit himself as to
the date. Professor Jensen suggested to me that for Girizakanni we
should read Giri-sapuni. The sign kaii may be a badly written /?/,
but there are five slant wedges before the horizontal, which also
slants somewhat. In any case the date omits the day, and the word
Iwiviu. I am inclined to think the Eponym, of B.C. 660, is intended.
What is meant by the GIS-BAR here is not clear to me. If the
tribute of the land laudi was paid in corn, then the GIS-BAR may
be the corn so paid, regarded as a fund from which the advance is
made.
I am disposed to think that not J,«daea, but the Syrian land of
Jaudi, is here intended. The names Aduni-iha, Atar-suri, Padi,
Istar-tazi and Bir-Samas are all Syrian rather than Jewish. The loan
is to be repaid in Nineveh, which suggests that the Syrian collector
advanced the corn from what was in his charge and destined for
transmission to Nineveh. The advance was clearly made to a
Syrian, probably tenant of a royal estate in the land of Jaudi, or
perhaps he was a tenant of Pad!. Who this person was does not
appear. Was he the vassal princ/e of Jaudi ?
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 254, gives a translation of this
document. He makes no scruple of taking Girizabuni as the
Eponym and dates the transaction in b.c. 665. He reads Adfmi-iha
as Adonia and Atar-sfiri as Ahassuri. He also discusses at length
the meaning of GIS-BAR Ix mat laudi. But the grounds on which
he bases his theory are not at all convincing, and the relation of the
homer to the ka is not elucidated.
On the Syrian land of Jaudi see specially Winckler, A. F. pp. 1-22.
It was later known, from; the name of its chief city, as Kullani. It
lay between the northern boundary of Unki, the modern 'Amk, and
238
ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the south border of Sam'al, on both sides of the Kaia-Su. ' For
references, see Winckler, I.e. and Sendscherli i. p. 53. That the
language of the coiintry was Aramaic can hardly be doubted.
Aduni-iha only occurs here. The compounds of Adfini are few
in our documents ; for Aduna-izi see § 408. Adunu-ba'li occurs in
III. R. 8, 94, as the name of a king of Siana, a land not far from
laudi. Addnu-mat-usur is a witness on no. 513. Adunu-nadin-aplr
is a buyer on no. 346. AdAni-turi seems to have been the name of
a slave sold, b.c. 688, on no. 240. As a rule compounds of pt< are
Phoenician, Hebrew, or Canaanite, rather than Aramaic, see N. E.
p. 208 f. The second element could be read aha^ 'brother,' but I
am rather inclined to compare the Phoenician in^ in j'pNins 'pynins
Atar-suri is like Atar-suru the name of the seller, B.C. 692, on
no. 324. The god Atar is Aramaic, see N. E. p. 348 a, and Harran
Census. The element suru^ as Dr Jensen has pointed out, is the
Aramaic -n:>», 'wall' Compare the Palmyrene -i^tj>-iny. With nTyiny
compare Aduna-izi, in § 408. For the ending swii compare Ata-suru,
the name of the witness and aba, Ep. B, on no. 207.
The name Padt was borne by the king of Amkaruna, Ekron,
I. R. 38, 70 ; I. R. 39, 7, 25, who was deposed by his subjects and
sent captive to Hezekiah, just before b.c. 701. This is not likely to
be the same person. The witness, Ep. F, on no. ^21, is nearer our
date: the rab naggaru^ on no. 814; and the vigniard in the city
Saidi of the Harran Census, bear the same name. We may compare
the Punic ns, N. E. p. 349 b :t. Hebrew Pediah (?), and the specimen
name Paddti-ili, App. 3, iii. 32.
The name of the Eponym here probably Girisapiinu is written
Gir-sa-piMiu, as dating nos. 12, 3612, 444, and restored on in. R. i,
VI. 20, for the date B.C. 660; see -j. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 95. The
compounds of Gir are generally formed with a divine name as second
element. Hence Saptinu is probably a god, compare the Phoenician
IQV, N. E. p. 359 b.
The name of the first witness Abi-umme only occurs here. Is it
possible that it means * My father was my motlier ' ? I incline to
think umme here means 'people': the Aramaic dv, N. E. p. 342.
The name would then mean ' Father of his people.' The next name
also Istar-tazi only occurs here, 'i'he secpnd element 1 consider to
be feminine singular, corresponding to Iti (masculine singular), of a
verb nty, seen in AdQna-izi above. Compare also the Phoenician
AND DOCUMENTS. 239
(Neo-Punic) name "inyvsn. ^Vc may question wlicther in our case
A'Fmay not be the ideogram for Atar, rather than Istar, and so read
the name Atar-tazi.
The name Bir-Samas was also borne by a witness and tamkaru^
B.C. 694, on no. 281. Compounds of Bir are rare in our texts;
Btr-Atar is the probable reading of the seller's name, Ep. K, on
no. 329; Bir-Amma of a witness and salsu on no. 476; of a
commander of troops on no. 855, 18 ; Bir-Dadda was the name of a
king of Arabia, father of Uaite', in. R. 36, no. i, iv. 3; v. R. 9, etc.
Bir-iama, a mukil apati of the Queen-Mother, on no. 857, iv. 5,
seems to be a variant of Bir-amma. The name E^^Dd2 is Palmyrene,
N. E. p. 246.
On a review of these names, the North Semitic affinity will be
very clear. Further, a strong Phoenician or Canaanite influence is
apparent. Hence the location of this land of laudi, near Sam'al, is
strongly confirmed.
In line 2, before mat read sd rather than sa. In line 3 of reverse,
the scribe seems to have written a at the end instead of the e which
I give. On the edge, line i, before Samas is to be seen only BAR^
not AN^ which of course was intended.
555. No. 149. Nearly complete, ' heart-shaped ' tablet. Drab.
Bahianu advances four homers, SE-G IG-MES, to
Lamassi-Bel, ana p 21 hi. Interest to be 30 ka per homer.
Dated, in Kislimu, day lost, b.c. 684.
The Catalogue, p. 1590, compare p. 2000b, calls this 'a private
contract concerning a sale of corn.' I admit the 'corn,' but not the
'sale.'
The recipient Lamassi-Bel only occurs here. For the form of
the name we may compare Lamassi-Papsukal, v. R. 44, 11. 23,
written La-itias-si-AN-FAF-LUH d^nd. AN-KAN-UL-AN-KAL-RA;
and the female name Lamassi, name of a slave pledged, b.c. 677, on
no. 72.
556. No. 150. Nearly complete : probably inner tablet. Drab.
Mannu-ki-Arbaili lends so many homers, GIR-NUN-
N A-SU-ME, to Pilakku-supinune. Urda is agent. In
Aaru he shall return the loan. If not, he shall pay twenty
minas of silver (at least) to the king. Dated, the 15th
of Sabatu, b.c. 679. Six witnesses.
The Catalogue, p. 1932, calls this a 'contract concerning a sale
of corn," and p. 2000 b, adheres to this view. Consequently, feeUng
240 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sure that Dr Bezold probably had good grounds for his views, I
placed the text here. But as yet I have been unable to find an
example of GIR-NUN-NA elsewhere. The ideogram NER-NUN-
NA is read pai'u^ H. IV. B. p. 539 b, and taken to mean ' mule.'
But this is not the same ideogram. In our case also, there is no
sign SE^ and m the penalty for not returnmg the loan, no niterest is
charged, but a fine in money. One would expect so many ka per
homer, if we had to do with grain. The terms rather recall the loan
of the camels in no. 117.
In any case, it is not a 'sale.' The terms sa^ indicating the
lender, and ina pdni^ indicating the receiver, are not used in sales :
there is no price named. The property, whatever it was, was owned
by the king, to whom the fine was to be paid.
The lender, Mannu-kim-Arbaili, as the name is here written, was
discussed in § 413 : the Eponym, Istu-Adadi-aninu, in § 488; Ahu-
basate in § 480 ; Asur-ilai in § 500.
The borrower bears the quite exceptional name GIS-PAL-
SU-PI-NUN-E^ which appears to be entirely ideographic. But
GIS-PAL may be read pilakku^ and supinnu is a word often
associated with pilakku : compare the name Pilakkia, § 466. But
in any case the reading remains very doubtful. Urda is a rare
name, only occurring here. On the other hand Urdu is common.
This name was borne by a witness, B.C. 734, on no. 415; by a
neighbour, B.C. 664, on no. 377 ; by a witness, B.C. 648, on no. 333 ;
by a witness and rab kisir, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; by a witness,
nuhatimmu of bit Hi of Nabti, Ep. O, on no. 640 ; by a buyer, on
no. 259; by a witness and rab selappai, on no. 394; by a witness
and isparu, on no. 357 ; by a witness and servant of the aitielu sa
pani ekalii, on no. 464 ; by the father of Marduk-erba, on no. 311;
by a receiver, on no. 931 ; a selappai, on no. 769 ; a serf, 'with his
people,' on no. 752. A genitive case, Ur-di^ appears as the name of
a neighbour and witness, Ep. A, on no. 623 ; and another probably,
Ur-di-i, as the name of a witness, son of SClsCl, B.C. 691, on no. 320.
The name also occurs in the Harran Census. It will be noted that
he was a servant of the amelu sa pdni ekalii, on no. 464 ; which
seems, from no. 204, combined with the Aramaic docket on no. 39,
to have been the title of Mannu-ki-Arbaili. Urda is therefore
probably the same person as Urdu, and servant of llie lender here.
Hence he was agent for the lender, who himself probably acted for
the king.
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 24I
The first witness, Arzizu, seems to hear the same name as the
father of Parutanu, on no. 160 ; and as a receiver on no. 931, where
Urdu also occurs. I think that his title here is certainly rab kisir,
not raklm scpCi sarri as I gave in my text. With the name compare
the city Arzizu, i. R. 21, 73, named by Asurna.sirpal as in Zamri.
The next name Mamei only occurs here and on no. 602, where he is
also witness and tab kisir^ thus confirming the reading rab kisir^ for
line 4. In line 6, perhaps tu should be read rather than tc. In
line 7, before ba traces of AZAG are now to be seen, therefore read
Bau-ilai, see § 544.
On the edge, the first name, Abi-lure only occurs here.
557. No. 151. Complete. Drab to brown.
Kisir-A^ur, the rab kisir, advanced ten shekels of
silver to Rapa, son of Abdilime, the a?nel LUL. The
transaction took place in the straw^ market. Rapa shall
give sixty makarutu^ Kuriibi and SaSmai twenty each; in
all, one hundred ffiakardte of straw, for the ten shekels
of silver, in the city Sidiasika. If they do not give the
straw, the debt shall bear interest on its whole amount.
Rapa is agent for the straw and seals the document.
Dated, the 15th of Nisanu, Ep. Y. Nine witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 100.
Extracts are given, S. A. F., 4383, 4822, 7442, 8168.
The tablet is described in the Guide^ p. 117, no. 52.
The text is published, iii. R. 50, no. i.
A transliteration and translation are given by Oppert, Doc. /jir.
pp. 244 ff.
Here, as I understand the transaction, the ten shekels are the
worth of a hundred f?iakardt of straw. We may perhaps conjecture
that here, ina adri SE IN-NU-MES means 'as the price of the
straw.' If so, we may here have an example of the atrii^ which
occurs in the Babylonian contracts in the phrases ki pi afra, ki atir,
ki at?-i, and which Dr Reiser, K. A. S. nib, would read ' according
to.' Feuchtwang, Z. A. v. 29, compares the Talmudic N"it0^j;,
' document ' ; see also Jensen, Kosni. p. 385. Meissner, A. B. P. R.
10, note I, distinguishes atru from 77iahh'u 'the market price,' as
a sort of extra payment, something thrown in to close the bargain,
a sort of addition to the price to secure the goodwill of the seller.
The augmented price, mahiru and atru together, was called sipirtu.
In this case the // may be read w : and we should have ki watra,
J. III. 16
242 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ki wati'i which go back to a root ini ' to exceed.' See, beside the
references in the lexicons, B. A. S. ii. p. 559. It is certainly true
that here ten shekels may have been the afru, or price paid down
to close the bargain, but it is very unlikely that it was an addition
to the market price. The Talmudic derivation would suggest afru
and serve to connect with efer?^ which means ' to pay,' and ' to
receive,' or ' buy,' see Tallqvist, Spr. JVM, pp. 36 f. ; but also
compare Jensen, Z. A. vi. 349, who read ederu. Hence we may
think of an atru^ or adrii,, here as 'the price.' But there is also
another adrii, discussed in § 530, which means 'a court,' or part
of the grounds of a temple, palace, or house. This seems to be
usually associated with a farm, see A. D. B. p. 20, and may very
well be a market-place, also in a city. Hence if our adrii,, or atru^
is a place, a good rendering will be ' straw market ' ; but a ' straw
yard,' or storehouse may be meant.
We are as yet uninformed as to the contents or weight of a
makandu. There was a sort of utensil mentioned Nbk. 92, 5,
called makardtu^ which may well be a chaldron, or large pot : such
as was used for a measure in England, and still denotes a definite
amount, 36 bushels for coal, 48 bushels for coke. If used for
weight, perhaps the root of the word is the same as that oi carat,, the
diamond and gold weight.
The tablet is somewhat carelessly written. In line 5, the ka is
written as if the scribe had begun to write te or kar. In line i, of
reverse, I have given wrongly sa for sd. In line 5, it is hard to say
whether zer or mu was meant in the name. In the title, the scribe
has omitted su. In line 7, I have omitted SI after the ditto sign,
and the scribe omits AMEL before the title, as he also does in
line 3 of obverse.
The renderings given by Oppert are noteworthy still. He
renders adru by ' area ' ; SE-IN-NU by hordeus,, and ina 7nithir
gal by erit in tributo generali. He calls the whole transaction a
^ partage d^une redevance en Grains.^
Bezold, Lit. p. 161, says this is perhaps to be taken as a simple
' Quittung.' In the Catalogue, p. 93, he considered it a simple
'private contract'; on p. 2000 b, he adds that it concerns 'a sale,
etc., of animals, corn, wine, or other moveables.'
The principal contractor for fodder was Rapa, if that is how we
arc to read the name. With the name we may compare, Ba-/>a-ia,
the name of a witness, on no. 422 : and Ra-a-pi-\ the name of a
AND DOCUMENTS. 243
naslku of Ijin(l;ir;i, Sa/xo?i, Anti. 269. ('omparc tlic I'alniyrcnc t<Dl
and the form xnDl. ^21, N. E. p. 370. 15ut RA-PA is an ideogram,
and AN-RA-PA is read Sululu^ with which we may compare the
name Su-lu-lu in K 1015 and Sii-lu-lu-luh-hi-a on K 823. This man
Rapa signed or sealed for himself and fellow contractors. We seem
here to have a real contract, or undertaking to supply goods, at a
stated price.
The name of the second contractor only occurs here, and might
be variously read, owing to the polyphony of the sign PAP. I
compare the city name Kurilbi, spelt GUR-U-BI^ on no. 623, but
also Ku-u7'-ii-bi. The name of the third contractor only occurs here,
it may mean 'one born in time of war,' like the month names; or
perhaps 'warlike one.'
The occurrences of Kisir-Asur are dealt with in § 405, the
Eponym, Nabu-sakip, in §492; Sarru-emurani in §514; Kurdi-
Adadi in § 496 ; Silim-Asur in §§ 420, 488 ; Girtu in § 406 ; Matilai,
§ 409-
The city Sidi-asika only occurs here. ''
The name of the first witness, as I give it, Sarru-zer-ukin, only
occurs here. Sarru-sum-ukin with AIU for zer is clear in no. 619,
as the name of a witness, Ep. S. The reading of Sarru as Samas
would make this name identical with the very frequent Samas-sum-
ukin, the name of the king of Babylon, brother of Asurbanipal.
The appearance of Kisir-Asur as w^itness raises some doubts. Would
he witness his own deeds ? or were there two of the name, in
the same office, at the same time ? Asur-napistu-iram is a name
that only occurs elsewhere as that of the father of Nusku-bel-usur.
Samas-sum-usur was also the name of a neighbour, B.C. 698, on
no. 328 ; of a witness and sa?igu on no. 255.
558. No. 152. Complete. Chocolate Brown.
Bel-duri, the bel pahdti of the Crown Prince, advances
thirty-two homers thirty ka of corn, SE-PAT-MES, and
a cow in calf(?), belonging to the Crown Prince, to Nargi
of the city of Bamatu. In lieu of the corn and cow he
shall serve Bel-dtlri. When he shall have served out the
value of the advance, he shall go free. Dated, the 28th of
Ulillu, B.C. 656. Eight witnesses.
The Catalogue, p. 1591, calls this 'a private contract concerning
a sale of corn.' Though there is undoubtedly some corn, I fail to
see any evidence of ' a sale.' It seems to me to be an advance of
16 — 2
244 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
keep in lieu of service. The Catalogue, p. 2000 b, adheres to the
above description.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 178, no. 60. It is there
called 'a sale.'
The text was very difficult to read and I spent hours in fruitless
attempts to read some places, which cleaning shews to have been
written over. The script itself is unusual. At the end of line 5,
in my opinion the scribe began to write ba and then turned it into
the sign GIRI, Briinnow's no. 4809 : or he may have meant,
ba-ma-MES, that is, bamdfe. This is generally read isdu, but in
V. R. 29, 59 a, ZAK means isdu, and in the next line dSao-bamatu.
Hence I conjecture that GIRI also had the meaning bamatu and
that we are to read GIRI-MES=baj?iafe. Line 2, of reverse, shews
that the name of the city was Bamatai. In line 8, the first two
characters, SA MAN, are hardly to be read sa sarri. A reading
sanis would hardly fit in either; one expects a word meaning 'until.'
It is known that sanitu means 'time,' in the sense of repetition, but
Delitzsch, H. /^ -5. p. 674 b, leaves sa7tis without a meaning.
This passage is, however, hardly enough to fix the sense, because
the characters are written over others partly effaced. Hence the
reading is not certain.
In reverse, line i, it is now certain that in place oi AS-SUR we
should read AN-PA. Also in reverse, line 7, I have omitted PA
after AN, in the name of the witness.
The epithet applied to the alpu ardu, in line 2, pataritte points
to a female animal. The verb patdru, H. W. B. p. 555 a, is
associated With pitu, 'to open.' Hence I think pataritte means 'a
cow in calf,' or 'that has just calved,' hence a 'milch cow.' In
line 8, the scribe has added the plural sign, but he may have regarded
the whole advance, corn and cow, as a plural.
In reverse, line 7, the reading of the signs is conjectural, but
seems to be correct. In line 8, I conjecture that Takpulisu is the
name of a place, but we could read {abnu) pulisu. Perhaps the
name meant 'The Quarries,' oi pulu stone.
There is no mention of a return of the advance. On the whole,
I am inclined to think that Nargi was to earn the corn and a cow by
j)ersonal service.
The lender, Bel-dQri, bears the same name as the husband of
Amat-Su'la, salsu of the spearmen, li.c. 692, on no. 324 ; a witness,
B.C. 676, on no. 330; a witness, r..c. 668, on no. 284: the fallier of
AND DOCUMKN'IS. 245
Zer-ukiii, on no. 44O ; the buyer and rab b'lli^ on no. 467 ; (jf a
buyer, on nos. 485 and 495 ; of a witness, on no. 323 ; a serf, witli
his [)eoi)le, on no. 752; an offieial, on no. 843; an amel scpa^ on
no. 860. The name also occurs in tlie letters K 530, 535, 1142,
13034. On no. 324, a variant of the name occurs, in reverse, line 3,
which seems to shew that U- dnrii^ in names at least.
The name of the receiver has been discussed in § 409 ; Nabu-
sar-usur, the first witness, in § 523; Ardi-Istar in §474; Ilu-rimani
in § 509 ; Nabii-rimani in § 466 ; the Eponym, Sa-Nabu-sCi in § 478.
The city Bamate, or Bamatai, only occurs here, but a name like
'The high places,' may have been common. The name of the
second witness, Asur-li', was also borne by the Eponym, B.C. 873,
III. R. I, I. 38 ; and was the name of the bel all of Karalla, named by
Sargon, see Winckler's Sargon passim. A more phonetic spelling,
AN-A-SUR-li-i^ occurs on no. 713. The form AN-HI-ZU occurs
on nos. 444, 445, where his aba is named in B.C. 660. Compare also
Sm. 935. The allied name Asur-li'ani was borne by a witness
and kepu sa ekalli, on no. 255. The name Asur-re'usunu only
occurs here.
The name Bel-abu-usur was also borne by a seller, in the time of
Sargon, on no. 255 ; by a seller on no. 259 ; and occurs on K 4767,
1 09 1 9. The name Kimama was that of a witness, b.c. 661, on
no. 586; of a witness, B.C. 681, on no. 213; of a witness, on
1^0- 633 ; of the father of Sadu-nadin-ahi on no. 446. The name is
unusual in type, compare Lukimama, the name of a seller, b.c. 692,
on no. 440 ; and of a witness, servant of the rab nddin akli, on
no. 464. Bel-Harran-abu-usur only occurs here.
559. Nos. 153 and 154. A pair of case tablets. The former,
or inner tablet, is quite complete. The outer case, cracked in
several directions, has lost some small portions here and there.
Drab.
Edu-sallim, on the 22nd of Aaru, shall deliver Au-
killani, son of Riza, to Gabbu-kata-ili. If he do not keep
and deliver him up, slave for slave, he shall give. Dated,
the 26th of Aaru, b.c. 663. Five witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
The text is published in transliteration and translation, by
Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 136.
The name AS-salliin, written with the horizontal AS, can be
read Asur-sallim, as Dr Peiser reads it, but as AS is also an ideo-
246 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
gram for cdu^ and as the name Edu-sallim is phonetically spelt in
nos. 73, 74, I read the name here as Edu-sallim; see §480. In
line 3, Peiser gave the slave's name as {ilu) Ha(^) -diQ) -la-a-ni, a
very unlikely form, it is really {tin) A-u-kil-la-a-ni. He also groups
up Ri-za-u-ba-la^ as one name. This is quite clearly wrong. The
form ubala is so common, for bringing anything as a deposit, that
we should wonder at its absence here. The case pretty clearly is,
that Edu-sallim is to keep Au-killani, for a year (save a fortnight),
and then hand him over. There is no mention of any money at all,
neither a debt in lieu of which the slave was pledged, nor a value
set upon the deposit. The stipulation ardu aki ardisu iddan shews
that the deposit is expected back. Why the slave was deposited
does not appear.
Dr Peiser calls this a Verpflichtung^ elnen bestimmten {Haft-)
Sclaven zum bestimmten Termin zu lie/em, ev. Ersatz.
The name of the slave only occurs here : on the god Au, see
§§ 476, 549. The name Riza seems foreign and only occurs here.
The name Gabbu-kata-ili only occurs here, but is doubtless the
same as Gabbu-ina-kata-ili, 'All is in the hands of God,' App. i,
VIII. 20.
The name of the Eponym is given in. R. i, vi. 17, and is
dated B.C. 663, by G. Smith, Ep. Can. p. 94. With this dating
I agree. This Eponym dates also nos. 56, 309, and probably
no. 780; see O. L. Z. i. 365. From these contracts we learn that
he was a tartanu of some country, perhaps of Kumuhhi. The date
on no. 470, gives a phonetic spelling, Bel-na--di. The name was
borne by a witness and tukultu of the Crown Prince, B.C. 690, on
no. 625 ; by a witness, Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; by a testator, Ep. S, on
no. 619 ; by the father of Ardi-Istar and another, Ep. O, on no. 640 ;
and occurs as a specimen name, App. i, v. 15 ; App. 3, i. 6. The
Catalogue, p. 1991, dates this tablet b.c. 644-3 (?).
The name Busi-ilani only occurs here. On no. 153, the sa may
really have been written, in line 3, of reverse, before the sign SI.
The title on both tablets seems to have been amclu sa pivri dinani,
'the officer who is before the presence.' The next name Uburaki,
with its variant on no. 154, Ub-ra-ki^ only occurs here. The name
Munepus-ilu (jnly occurs here, but Mit-ni-pis-AN, the name of a
witness and hazdnu^ n.c. 717, on no. 391, is very similar: and
Mu-ni-pi...^ the name of a witness on no. 518, is perhaps to be
restored from these. On no. 153, the scribe has omitted/// entirely.
AND DOCUMENTS. 247
'Thai Niil)ii-dur-bcli is all one name seems probable from no. 154,
where it is followed by avicl. But possibly he was bel of some amelc.
As seen in § 534, NabQ-dilri was a bcl za.... The name NabiVddr-bel
seems to occur also on no. 1 2, as that of a witnes.s, h.c. 660 : and as
the name of a witness, h.c. 707, on no. 292. But in every case
there is some doubt whether this is certainly intended. The name
Nabila is discussed, in § 486.
On no. 154, we have some other points to notice. In line 4,
the end of ubala is just recognisable on the tablet In line 6, there
is a space between tia and sa^ but it is not easy to say whether
anything was written there. The sign ru is not certain : rid^ ia, or
some other character may have been written. On no. 153, the
horizontal also is not very certain, but on the whole nasdru ?,e,Qu\s
the most probable reading in both places. On no. 154, reverse 13,
the name of the witness is quite uncertain, and there are several
more traces than I give, but I cannot read any of them. On the
edge line seems to have been the name of a witness ending in
KAR^ this is probably etir. On no. 153 also, in line i, the date 22nd
was intended. The second wedge is there, though faint.
An acquittance.
560. No. 155. Complete. Drab.
The four minas of silver, interest, habilli^ belonging to
Samas-ilai, which were due from Sailu, Sailu has paid and
given to Samas-ilai. One with the other, neither party
shall litigate. Dated, the 7th of Simanu, B.C. 683. Three
witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 91.
This contract shares with no. 9 the honour of being published
in the Catalogue, p. 141 1, where it is said to be 'a private contract,
concerning a sum of money.' It seems to be of the nature of a
receipt for a sum due. The Catalogue, p. 2001 a, most admirably
terms it 'an acquittance.'
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 274, reckons this to belong to
the class of 'legal decisions.' He renders uturu by Ausgleich; and
takes it with the following words. He reads the clause, uturu ultu
pan ahis matiama anu la idabubu, which he renders gegenseitig
iverden sie keine Klage fuhreft, stating that it recalls the Babylonian
clause, ana ahavis ul iraggamu. Otherwise his rendering is very
248 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
similar to mine, but he takes habuli as Zinsen sammt Capital.
However, he would class it with the 'legal decisions.'
The word uhim, permansive, 11. i, of eteru, 'to pay,' see § 242,
occurs in a very similar connection in no. 780, line 8, but is
otherwise unknown to me. The parallelism with usalim, ittidtn,
leaves us little room for doubt that it means ' he has paid.' What
shade of difference divides its meaning from these other verbs does
not appear clearly.
The creditor, who now gives his receipt for the four minas,
Samas-ilai bears a name which was also that of the Eponym,
B.C. 820, III. R. I, II. 45 ; of a witness and mukil apdti^ B.C. 694,
on no. 427; of a witness and rab kisir, B.C. 672, on no. 14; of a
witness sa biti sa?it, B.C. 668, on no. 284 ; of a seller, official in
Dur-Sargon, b.c. 666, on no. 185 ; of a witness sa biti sani on
iio- 537 j of a witness on no. 532; of a slave sold, on no. 316;
of the servant of Isbutu, on no. 182 ; and occurs in the letter
K 669. In all these cases Samas is written AN-UD, but the
phonetic spelling Sa-mas occurs in the name of a witness, Ep. G,
on no. 173 and in that of a witness, Ep. H', on no. 178.
The name of the debtor Sailu, in line 4, has its genitive Sa-i-li^
in line 3. Hence the name must have ended in t-lu. The name
is that of a witness, of the city Te-aldu, on no. 500 ; of the
Eponym O, a rdb nuhatimme., on no. 435. Dr Bezold, Cata.
p. 1767, seems to imagine that this name could be read Sakap,
which is against the above evidence.
The Eponym's name, Mannu-ki-Adadi, is discussed in § 473.
The name Saeru is also borne by a witness and salsu^ B.C. 683,
named twice on no. 273. It is clearly the same as Sa-i-ru the
name of a witness and salsu^ B.C. 667, on no. 185 ; and as
Sa-a-e-ru^ in the letter K 186, where he inhabits the city ]3arati.
There was also a town called Saeru, named in nos. 383, 414,
and K 146.
The name Sarru-na'id is discussed in § 492. The name Rimilt-
Bau only occurs here. The signs at the end of the name seem to
have been written over and are therefore very unreliable.
561. The last two documents are abnormal. 'I'hey each might
be classed by themselves, l^ut they seem fairly to be appended
to the class of 'acknowledgements of debt,' or to those recording
advances or loans. The next four fragments of outer cases have
so little inscripti(jn i)reserved that no one can say what they were.
AND DOCUMENTS. 249
As they arc iTicnilxjrs of case pairs, we may assume, from the
previous examples, that these were acknowledgements of debt of
some sort. Hence I decide to place them here.
Fragments of outer cases.
No. 156. A mere fragment. Red.
It is possible that in line i, we have the beginning of ina pcini,
indicating a borrower, and in line 2, the beginning of ER\ possibly
the name of the debtor's city followed. The other lines seem to
have contained the names of five witnesses.
The Aramaic docket is published, C. /. S. pp. 42 f. and consists
now of the one word m^X, 'document,' perhaps here in the sense
of ' bond.' That confirms, as far as it goes, the opinion that this
was an 'acknowledgement of debt.'
No. 157. A fragment of an outer case. Red.
I fancy that the ends of the names of several witnesses are
preserved. The text is not very easy to be sure about. In the
first line, the name seems to have ended in bnurdtii. What the
signs HI dan-?iis could be the end of, I cannot conjecture at all.
There was perhaps another line, between lines 2 and 3, ending
in two verticals. In line 3, the name seems to have ended in
ilai. Then line 4 ends in last, perhaps the name was Balasi.
Another name, in line 5, seems to have ended in iddhi. In line 6,
in place of A MEL, there is now only what look like sa, in place
of the two verticals we may read sa, and then perhaps traces of //.
The trace in line 7 may be part of pa or di. On the reverse are also
some traces, perhaps the beginning of da, or ka, or a/u.
No. 158. Portion of the left half of a case tablet. Drab.
On the obverse, the position of bel, at the beginning of the line,
just before the seal, looks suggestive of a deed of sale. The traces
on the reverse, lines i, 2, 3, are also suggestive of the formula
at the conclusion of such a deed. Then followed the names of
at least five witnesses. The last of them was clearly the aba, scribe
of the tablet. The date was in Nisanu, e.g. 692. The name of the
Eponym is discussed, in § 476.
No. 159. A fragment of a case. Drab.
The ending of line i, sipta, does not lend itself readily to a
restoration. On the other hand, in line 2, I am inclined to read
fia in place of du. If so, the name may have been Ninip-napi',
250 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
compare Si'-napi', on K 2017, in the Harran Census. In line 3,
I do not think the first sign is the end of either har^ or su^ but
is complete. The name was therefore almost certainly Astamasti.
This is clearly a foreign name. With Asia we may perhaps compare
Asta^ in Astananu, the name of an irrisu, with his people, in Asihi,
on no. 742 ; and also in the name Asta-kumi, in § 537. If this be
legitimate, then perhaps the element 7nasti is the name of the
Elamite goddess, see Jensen's Elamitische Eigennamen^ W. Z. K. M.
IV. pp. 57 ff. We should then read Asta-Masti.
The name Tabalai has been discussed in § 474 ; Gabbu-ilani,
in § 487. The date is very clear, the 27th of Simanu, in the
Eponymy of one who was a sukallu rabu. This was the office
held by Silim-Asur, B.C. 659, see §§ 420, 488. But others were also
sukallu and the probability is that the rabti was not always written,
though intended.
By the kind permission of Dr E. A. W. Budge, a cast of the
interior was taken for me. The signs are of course blurred and
it is difficult to rely upon the readings. If these are correct, it
would seem that the tablet was concerned with the SA-MES of
Asur. What follows I cannot read : Arhu is most unlikely but
I am unable to make anything else of it. Whatever it was seems
to have belonged to Kibit-Adadi, the amel SA. The name is like
Kibit-Istar, Kibit-Nashu, and so is likely to be right, but only occurs
here. The next name appears to be that of a witness, Isdi-Harran,
on which see § 523. There was another witness.
562. Some of the fragments, published in the Additional
Cuneiform Texts, in Vol. 11., certainly belong to the classes we
have been considering ; consequently they will be treated here for
the sake of completeness.
No. 720. Part of a 'heart-shaped' tablet. Drab.
Bahianu advances thirteen homers of corn, SE-PAT-MES^ to
Aa-iddin (?), Sulmu..., Mar-bi'di, Nadin-apil-ili (?), Adadi-bcl-usur.
The date, and usual statement of rate of interest are not preserved.
The Catalogue, p. 9591, entered this as a 'list of names of
persons, prol)ably part of a private letter'; and on j). 21 12 a, it is
entered under ' memoranda.'
For tlie business dealings of Bahianu, see § 532. The first three
receivers seem to have had three homers each, the last two, two
homers each. The first name may not be complete. Hence the
sign As may also be read nadin. I have had considerable hesitation
AND DOCUMENTS. 25 I
about the leading of names beginning with Aa. \Vc could read Ai.
But //// A-(i is to be read Malkaiu. in some cases, and if we do not
do lliis, we may think of Mahk, or combine with la, and others.
Hence I have determined to write Aa^ and ho[)e that this will
not be misunderstood to mean that I have fixed on its pro-
nunciation.
How the second name is to be completed is difficult to say. I
fancy Sulmu-KAN-es^ i.e. Sulmu-eres, would suit the traces. This
was the name of a slave of Asur-sallim, Ep. O, on no. 163 ; and the
form Sul-mu-PIN-cs occurs in D. T. 317. The name Mar-bi'di
only occurs here. The ending bi'di is seen also in Ilu-bi'di, Sagil-
bi'di, Adadi-bi'di, Au-ba'di. These names suggest an Aramaic
nationality. We may compare with this ending ny3, see Hoffmann,
Z. A. XI. p. 228 : Jastrow, Z. A. x. pp. 222 f. It may mean
'surrounds,' 'prot-ects.' There are also some examples of T'n which
may belong to this root, e.g. NT'n, with its transcription, /?at8a,
genitive, and ^nt»3, see N. E. p. 235 a. Hence we may expect
Mar here to be a divine name, doubtless the Aramaic m, 'lord,' see
Hoffmann, Z. A. xi. p. 237. The next name is puzzling, because it
ideographically represents a divine name, Sulu sa dini^ see Briinnow,
no. 70. But as AS is usually the ideogram for 7iaddnu, in proper
names, I prefer to read Nadin-Apil-ili, taking Apil-ili to be a divine
name. The name only occurs here.
The name Adadi-bel-usur is that of a witness, B.C. 642, on
no. 586 ; and occurs in the Harran Census.
563. No. 785. A mere fragment of the right half. Brown.
Some money said to be the kakkadu of a lender, whose name
ended in ildni^ was advanced to Atar-suri. Whether the characters,
in line 3, are the end of a proper name, or of a title, is difficult to
say. I think the latter more probable, though I cannot recognise
the title. Dated, the loth of Uliilu, in an Eponymy whose Eponym
bore a name ending in usur or perhaps ahi. The traces of the
reverse appear to belong to the names of witnesses. The sik may
be the end of the title AS IK, i.e. mar sipri. The name Atar-suri
is discussed in § 554.
No. 792. Part of an outer case. Red.
Bahianu gave seven shekels of silver to Hale-abu. Istu-Adadi-
ahutu was perhaps a pledge, guarantee or agent. This is of course
a money loan. We have discussed Bahianu in § 532. The name
Hale-abu may be incomplete. It only occurs here. The name
252 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Istu-Adadi-ahutu, I should restore after TA-AN-IM-SIS-u-te, the
name of a witness, B.C. 663, on no. 780 ; and TA-AN-IM-SIS-u-tu,
an irrisu with his people in the city Bel-ikbi, on no. 742.
No. 794. Part of a 'heart-shaped' tablet. Drab.
Some one lends three homers, of corn probably, to a person,
whose name is lost, ana puhi. The usual interest, 30 ka per homer,
is given. How to complete the title of the borrower, in Hne 4, seems
difficult. No names are preserved.
No. 800. Part of an outer case tablet. Black.
There are traces of a line before line i, which also began ina
pani. The name which followed seems to have begun with la-hu-
tu...j but nothing is certain. Then came ina pani Ilu-mukin-ahi
a-{ba). The name could also be read Ilu-kenis-usur, see § 517.
The next line reads ina pdni Adadi-aplu-idditi amel salsu. For the
name see § 517- Then we read, ina ilfni I{KAN) Arhi samna^ 'on
the first of Arahsamna.' The next line reads mat Rasappa iddiinu^
'in Rasappa they shall pay.' There are a few indistinct traces of
another line.
Now a reference to § 517 will shew that in no. 117, the borrowers
are lahutu, Ilu-mukin-ahi and Adadi-aplu , . . . There can be little
doubt then that the traces above line i, are those of la-hu-tu : and
that the third name in no 1 1 7 is to be restored to Adadi-aplu-iddin.
These three people also occur together, as borrowers, on no. 118.
Now in no. 117 there is no mention of Rasappa, but on no. 118 we
see that lahutu was sanu of Rasappa. Hence, I think, here we may
restore Ilu-mukin-ahi's title as aba^ and then Adadi-aplu-iddin was
salsii of Rasappa. A question arises whether the scribe did not
mean the Rasappa of line 4, to be in line 3. At any rate these
three were probably at that time the three chief officials of Rasappa;
below the saknu, of course. If the scribe really intended to write
Rasappa, in line 4, he must have meant to indicate the place where
the payment was to be made. It is not unlikely that this tablet was
the outer case of no. 117, or of no. 118. I have been unable to
.satisfy myself of this.
564. Before we pass on to the next group of documents, a few
remarks of a desultory character may be made by way of resume and
conclusion.
As a rule we find only one lender advancing money or corn.
On the contrary, in no. 22, there were two lenders, pointing to a
partnership : compare no. 68.
AND DOCUMENTS. 253
A list of the i)rincipal lenders who occur in these texts may be of
some service :
Aplai. Bahianu. Kisir-Asur.
Mannu-ki-Arbaili. Silim-Asur. Summa-ilani.
The amounts advanced, both in money and corn, are very
various and no general conclusions can be drawn from them. The
most frequent amounts of money are ten shekels, half a mina, and
one mina. These loans are most often to one man, but may be to
two, or more, up to as many as seven, at the same time. The largest
amount is twenty minas of silver. No gold loans occur, but the
majority are silver ; copper occurs in five or six cases.
The old British Museum labels, or the descriptions given on the
boxes containing the tablets, the descriptions given in the table of
contents prefaced to in. R., or in the old Guide to the Kouyunjik
Gallery are for the most part of mere antiquarian interest. The New
Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities appeared after
most of this chapter was already written down. The excellent
descriptions there given, carrying with them the weight of high
authority, will be referred to in future when they concern our
documents. But in these earlier documents, they do not offer any
notable contribution to the solution of the difficulties which these
involve.
It may be worth recording here that, although I have followed
the generally accepted view that in these documents interest was
charged at 25 per cent., or that ana rebiitisu means 'to its fourth
part,' involving an addition of one quarter, there is good reason to
doubt the correctness of this view. It may well be that the words
mean ' fourfold ' : which would agree well with the agricultural rate
of interest then common, namely one-third per month. This is
quite in accordance with other penalties for non-fulfilment of
contract.
565. For the information of the beginner in cuneiform studies a
short summary of the customs and formulae in use in Babylonia may
be appended here. A more advanced student will naturally wash to
study the works of Professor Oppert, Professor Kohler and Dr Peiser.
Professor Oppert gave a very useful summary of results in Z. A. xiii.
pp. 275 f., Dr Meissner in his Altbabylonische Privatrecht, pp. 7-10,
gave a useful review of the results for the early times. Dr K. L.
Tallqvist, in Die Sprache der Contracte Nabii-na'id's, analyses the
contents of Strassmaier's great works, Babylonische Texte, Inschriften
254 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
V071 Nabonidtis ; Inschrifte?i von Nabiichodonosor ; and Inschriften von
Cyrus ; pp. xi, xii. These will serve at any rate for a start on the
subject.
Loans of money in the earlier times seem chiefly to have had in
view the expenses of harvest. The wages and food for the labourers,
harvesters, were usually the destination of the loan. But there were
also loans expressly for seed as well as for food ; these were generally
in corn, rather than money. Other things were also lent, as sesame,
bricks, etc. The money' was usually to be repaid at the time of
harvest ana nme eburi. The verb ' to borrow ' was clearly lakn^
literally ' to take.' The verb ' to return ' or ' give back ' was apalu,
or Uirru. The verb ' to be lent,' used of the money, is //?/, recalling
our //////. That the sum should be repaid ' in full ' is expressed by
ina salmu u bahu^ which Dr Meissner considers, p. 107, to refer to
the bodily and mental condition. He could take balzu as for balatsu,
and then perhaps baldtu may have been used for baldtu. But I think
it possible that salmu and baldtu may be used here quite simply in a
metaphorical sense, as we say ' safe and sound,' even of inanimate
things. Besides, as Dr Meissner notes, the word baltu means
' fulness,' and salmu may have a similar meaning. In our documents
saldmu means ' to pay,' like acquietare.
The lenders in early times were most often priests, so much so
that Dr Meissner is justified in saying that almost the whole business
of banking was a temple monopoly. The god himself is often said
to own the money. This is quite in accordance with our documents ;
see § 367. Private bankers or lenders appear but seldom, and I think
in nearly every case the loan may be supposed to be made to a
tenant of the lender or of the temple.
Dr Meissner concludes that if the loan was for a short time, ten
days to a month, it would be without interest. The usual rate of
interest was, on small sums, one-sixth, but on a sum as large as a
mina or more, it was rather more, one-fifth, or twelve shekels per
mina per annum ; one shekel per mina per month. The rate on
corn was much higher, one-third, which was also the usual share of
prcjduce taken by the landlord as rent. It was this rent consideration
probably which fixed the rate of interest. In our documents we
have seen it to be 30, or 50, ka per homer. 'I'his suggests that the
homer was at least 90 ka. In the series of paradigms concerned
with legal terms, v. R. 40, 66 a b, we have mention of compound
interest, sibit sibli, but Dr Meissner finds no trace of it in actual
AND DOCUMENTS. 255
contracts. The term for interest is sibtu, 'I'hc term of the loan is
sometimes settled by fixing a day for repayment. This is often 'the
days of harvest,' and when no day was expressly named, this was
probably meant. When the debt was discharged, the tablet, or
acknowledgement of debt, was broken.
It is clear that loans on security were recognised, for in 11. R. 13,
27 a b, we find that a precedent is laid down for the case where
a man 'deposits as a pledge, against the interest of the loan, his
house, his field, his garden, his slave, male or female.' The phrase
for depositing as a pledge seems to have been ana manzazdni usziz.
In the case of restoration, the verb used for bringing back the
money was ubbalu ; then the depositor might ' re-enter ' his house,
irrub ; ' resume ' his field, izzaz ; ' plant ' his garden, izakap ; ' take '
or ' return ' his slave, ubal, if dr. On the other hand I)r Meissner
was unable to find any actual example of a contract concerning a
loan on security.
Whether Dr Meissner rightly separated ' deposits ' from ' loans
on security,' can hardly be decided until we have more examples
of these transactions, in which w^e might have further data. But it
seems clear that money, at any rate, might be deposited with a
banker to be received back without interest. The phrase for this,
given in 11. R. 8, 61 cd, fif., was ana 7?tassarti naddnu, sakdnu. The
banker does not seem to have made any charge for taking care
of the money, though, as he was liable to be called upon for re-
payment, his opportunities for profitable investment must have been
small.
566. In the later Babylonian times, that is in the Second
Babylonian Empire, from the time of Nabopolassar onwards, B.C. 626
to B.C. 485, we meet with a very altered phraseology. But we must
not forget that here we have to do more frequently with 'private
transactions.' In the business of the courts and temples w^e can
naturally discern survivals of older customs and terms.
Money was frequently lent upon interest. The owner and lender
is introduced by sa, 'from,' the debtor or borrower by eli, or ?nuhhi,
'to.' The interest is usually denoted by the ideogram HAR-RA,
occasionally rendered by hubullu. The word sibtu seems almost
entirely to be disused, the examples given by Meissner, A. B. P. R.
p. 109, note, as occurring at this period, are not very convincing.
The rate of interest was almost always i shekel /^r mv[\2i per month,
or 12 shekels per mina per year. Occasionally a different rate was
256 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
demanded, e.g., on one mina only 8 shekels, in Nhk. 54, 68, 69, etc. ;
and where only interest is named we may think of the usual rate.
It is not a little singular that this rate should have remained
unaltered for some 3000 years. I believe that in similar private
contracts in Assyria the same rate was usual. Our documents do
not relate to loans of this stamp.
In most cases these loans were made on security, or with a
guarantee. The name for a ' pledge ' was maskanu. It was the
pledge of the lender, his 'security,' what was placed with him, if we
derive the word from sakanu. The creditor was called i-ahi^ written
ideographically, 2'UK-il. A clause is often added to the effect that
no other creditor has, nor shall have, power over the pledge, ram
sanamma ina miihhi id isallat. The pledge was such that it
produced some regular profit to the holder, a house, field, garden,
slave, etc. The profit from the pledge was a set-off against the
interest due on the loan. We often have the phrase hubulli kaspi
idnUj idi biti idnu^ ' the interest of the money is nothing, the hire of
the (pledged) house is nothing.' They mutually cancelled each
other. When a garden, or plantation, was pledged, the crop was
to be estimated according to the market rate, adi mahtri, of the
locality, and the price set against the interest, akt hubulli ilakki.
Often this rate of reckoning was stated, as the then current rate.
We may therefore reckon in the case of a slave that his services were
worth to his master about 1 2 shekels per amium on the average price
of a slave. Now the usual kallu^ or domestic slave, sold for about
one mina, hence his services would be worth 1 2 shekels per annum,
over and above the cost of his keep. The pledge was ' taken,' sabtu ;
or ' deposited,' saknu.
The money lent, or other loan, was to be returned ' in full,' ana
kakkadisu. The term kakkadu, denoting the ' capital,' or lump sum
lent, is often contrasted directly with the interest. The phrase ina
sabni u balti does not appear to be now used to denote ' fulness ' or
'entirety.' But in the case of the security, it is sometimes stated
that all the debtor has, anielntsu u salmusu mala basu, in city or
country, is the security, maskanu. This seems to suggest a different
meaning for salmu, ' property ' (?). 'I'he verb saldmu is used in the
sense of 'be paid,' 'satisfied,' 'quieted.' It is the lender of whom it
is said that he shall enjoy, ikkal, the possession of the pledge, adi eli
sa kaspusu isallimu, 'until he is repaid his money.'
A very common occurrence is a guarantee. Certain persons,
AND DOCUMENTS. 25/
often relatives of the debtor, are taken as guarantees for the repay-
ment of the sum : pftt etjr sa kaspi naM. Here eteru seems to imply
repayment, but may only mean the 'preservation,' 'security,' of the
loan. The use of nasu here bears out the meaning of 'to take,' in
the permansive, 'be taken.' Sometimes guarantees are added to the
security of the pledge.
The cases in which money is lent, without interest, for a term,
generally stated, but subject to interest if not then repaid, are few.
We may regard them as due to peculiar relationships between the
principal parties.
Loans without any interest, with or without specified term, are
very frequent. In these cases pledges and guarantees are usually
dispensed with. Many of these cases are simple acknowledgements
of indebtedness, without any statement of the reason for that state.
They are promissory notes, also bonds.
There are many other cases of contracts concerning advances,
loans, etc., which raise other points of extreme interest and import-
ance for the student of ancient institutions, but they seem quite
distinct from anything in our documents. They may be studied in
Kohler-Peiser, A. B. R. The references to the passages, in which
the terms referred to above occur, may be found in Tallqvist, Spr.
Nbd., under the Babylonian words.
J. HI. 17
CHAPTER V.
LEGAL DECISIONS.
567. A legal decision, as I understand it, was the ruling of
some judicial authority, upon some case submitted to him.
The Assyrians themselves called this decision a denu, a 'judg-
ment.' So far from this term being convertible with 'private
contract,' or generally applicable to the class of document published
in this book, we continually find in them an express stipulation that
recourse shall not be had to law-courts, and the seeking or obtaining
a denu is expressly excluded.
As we might expect, no general formula runs all through these
legal decisions, but each case received the distinct statement which
it required. Still some sort of general plan may be perceived and
briefly sketched here.
The opening paragraph usually contains the words denu sa A ina
eli B emidHni^ or some slight variant of them. In view of the context
this can hardly mean anything else than ^ the legal decision which A
laid upon B^ or 'the award which A laid down in the case of B.^
If we examine the question who A is, we shall find his judicial
position beyond all doubt. In nos. 164 and 171, he is the sartenu^
'president of the court of justice,' Del. H. W. B. p. ^12 b. In nos.
166 and 169, he is the hazanu^ the 'chief civil magistrate of the
city'; in no. 160, the hazanu sanu of Nineveh; in no. 161
(cf. no. 162), he is the sukallu ; in no. 163, the a7?iel TIN; and
in no. 165, the daianu^ or 'judge.' Each of these officials acted as
'judge,' and gave a decision on the case submitted to him.
The person in favour of whom the award was given is indicated
by sd 'of; it was his award, he had gained the day; so in
nos. 163 and 165.
ASSYRIAN DEEDS AND DOCUMENTS. 259
The person, or object, concerning whom the decision was made
is introduced by the preposition wa eli^ in no. 163.
The i)erson on whom the sentence was imposed is introduced by
/////, 'from,' 'at the expense of,' nos. 163, 165; by istu libbi^ in
no. 160; by aiia^ in no. 164.
In each case, to lay down a decision is expressed by the phrase
denu emidu. The form emidwii is that proper for use in a relative
attributive clause, introduced by sd. The name of the decision itself,
or the document recording it, was denu.
568. The material award itself, whether regarded as 'compen-
sation ' or ' fine,' in the form of money or goods, was called sartu.
Thus, in no. 160, an ox had been stolen, the denu was that an ox
should be given in compensation, and this ox was called the sartu sd
alpi sd isrukicni^ i.e. the sartu, or ' equivalent of,' or ' compensation
for the ox that he had stolen.' In no. 161, four slaves had been
stolen, and the denu was that 210 minas of bronze should be paid
for them, and this sum is called the sartu. In no. 162, we have a
receipt for the sum of 40 minas of bronze, said to be the sartu sd
sukallu e??iidilni, 'the award which the sukallu imposed.' Here we
see that the same phrase is used for the laying down of the material
as of the verbal award ; sartu takes the place of denu.^ sartu being
what one has to pay, if the denu so directs. The meaning of ' fine '
goes somewhat further ; these were ' damages,' not ' fines.' In
no. 167, it appears that Bel-etir ought to have delivered up a slave
to Mannu-ki-Arbaili ; the decision is that, if this is not done by a
certain time, he shall pay the slave's value, sartisu. We cannot here
say that sartu meant 'value,' but as the compensation paid was the
same in amount as the value, we see how sartu may have exchanged
with a term meaning value, in such a context. In no. 169, we have
thirty shekels of silver, the usual ' price ' of a slave, given as being
the sartu. In no. 164, a rather obscure case arises. As I read it,
300 sheep, belonging to the king's son, had been farmed out to
Hani. He was doubtless bound to return them, either with a
proper increase in numbers, or some profit in wool. He would take
either a fixed share, or the surplus, as his benefit. The revenue due
from him, in addition to the 300 sheep received by him, would in
my opinion be the sibtu. The compensation due to the owner for
any sheep lost, stolen, or strayed, would be their sartu ; and that
would no doubt be their money value. In this case, the sheep
appear to have died. At first sight, such a heavy loss seems to
17 — 2
26o ASSYRIAN DEEDS
point to a cattle plague, a rinderpest, or the invasion of the enemy.
In such cases, one would be astonished to find compensation de-
manded. The loss was clearly due to culpable negligence, in which
the shepherds appear to have shared, as evidently implied by the
denu. Each shepherd had to pay two talents of bronze, as his sartu.
Hani, and his people, and their fields, were taken as security until
he could pay for the three hundred sheep adi sariisina. It is obvious
that he could not be expected to pay for them, and their value, so
the wording must mean ' up to their value.'
I have dwelt, somewhat at length, on the meaning of sartu,
because no one has yet paid the word any attention. Delitzsch was
aware of its existence, for under bennu ii, H. W. B. p. i8o b, he
enters the word ; but I have been unable to find sartu anywhere
else. Muss-Arnolt has not yet reached the word. The word occurs
elsewhere, especially in the phrase sibtu beniiu ana loo lime, sartu
ana kdl sandte, discussed in the introduction to the slave sales. In
my opinion, here it can only mean, ' equivalent,' ' compensation,'
technically ' the award imposed on the defaulter,' and then naturally
any composition offered and accepted, even without legal process. It
stops short of ' fine,' which assesses a moral injury at a material rate,
but no doubt it may have borne that meaning in some cases. All I
contend for is that it is not needed here. One may perhaps compare
the Talmudic and Targumic lyj^, in the sense of 'taxation,' an
estimated price, and Arabic jAw = ' taxavit.^ This sense survives in
our legal phrase 'taxing of costs.' It is tempting to find here a
derivation for sartenu, as the one who awards the sartu.
'J 'hat sartu came to mean what Oppert and Peiser have suggested
I cannot peremptorily deny ; but such meanings as ' Emtragungs-
sporteP or even ^ conditio^ will hardly apply beyond the few cases
from which those brilliant thinkers have deduced them.
569. To 'plead before' the judge is expressed by dabdbu. This
was specially the term for mutual interpleading : to argue the case
out is the technical sense of dabdbu. The phrases miviniu itti
mimma, ' one with another,' itti ahdmes ' mutually,' ' each with the
opponent,' are frequently used to make the simple meaning ' plead '
more explicit. As an oriental plea, like our special pleading, was
usually disingenuous, dabdbu easily came to mean 'to plot' or 'plan.'
The 'plea' was also called denu. Thus, in no. 163, the case is
stated to be the denu, which A and B pleaded, idlmbimi, concerning
C, A\ slave. They came before the magistrate, the amel TIN, and
AND DOCUMENTS. 261
he imposed a fine of one and a half minas of silver ; B paid one
mina of silver to A^ who apparently was content, and that closed the
transaction. The record of it was preserved as an agreement not to
reopen the quarrel. This use of dbiii dababu occurs continually in
the sale documents to express one form of litigation, that is, to state
a case before a judge, and demand his decision. It is, however,
only named to be renounced. The document states, there shall be
no such action taken. The mere occurrence of the word denu in a
document, which expressly bars any such legal decision being sought,
and often has the stipulation ' if any one shall perversely try to obtain
a denu, he shall not be allowed to succeed,' or ' if he brings an action
before the judge, the judge shall not hear him,' so far from estab-
lishing the claim of the document to be called a 'legal decision,'
goes as far in the direction of denying that claim as one can expect
from a writer to whom it would have been inconceivable. The mere
presence of the word dhiu can no more stamp the document as a
legal decision than the presence of the word sarin would, or the
mention of silver constitute it a 'contract for silver.'
If I may be allowed to speculate upon reasons which have never
been stated, 1 should be inclined to suppose that the ending -cini or
-anni, being mistaken for the pronominal suffix of the first person,
appended to certain verbs, had caused the confusion. Dr Oppert in
his translations has consistently kept to this view. Dr Peiser has as
consistently rejected it : and the latter is certainly right. The suffix
in question is merely the result of attaching the enclitic -ni to the
verb, furnished with a final vowel : the double -nn- only indicates
the length of this final vowel. In the genuine legal decisions, the
judge never speaks in the first person. His decision is embodied in
the document simply as ^ denu of A, the magistrate,' but he is not
referred to again, not even by a personal pronominal suffix.
On these grounds I have reduced the thirty odd legal decisions
of the Catalogue to twelve : of which at least two are still doubtful.
There are a few other documents which may possibly have been
legal decisions, but they lack the characteristic phrases : and may
equally well have been private agreements between the parties :
such are nos. 57, 94, 153, 154, etc.
The remainder of the tablets called by this name. Catalogue,
p. 2001 a, I have placed in the classes to which they seem to belong.
In case any one should care at once to examine them, in order to
estimate their claim to be treated as legal decisions, they will be
262 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
found as nos. 20, 238, 261, 263, 271, 330, 405, 408, 417, 419, 434>
445^ 473^ 481, 489, 5oOj 5^2, 503, 506, 507, 519, 583, 609, 704. I
have added to this class nos. 161, 162, 167, 168, 170, 171, which are
not regarded in the Catalogue as legal decisions. It is clear that
Dr Bezold had an entirely different idea as to what constitutes a
legal decision from any which has hitherto been set forth. I do not
point out this undefined idea as a mistaken one, but venture to
express a hope that one so able may soon enlighten the world as to
the grounds of his opinion. It would be a gain, to beginners in
Assyriology, at any rate, if some authority would make clear where
the line of division between a private contract and a legal decision
should be drawn. In default of such pronouncement, I trust the
reader will pardon the frequent uncertainty of my attempts at
classification. A reviewer of Vol. i. in the Athenceum, with the
literary smartness which characterises that Journal, laid his finger
on an obvious blemish when he said that ' the various classes of
texts are not well distinguished.' It would be a real boon to future
workers at the subject if that reviewer or some expert could be
induced to publish some guiding principles for the purpose.
570. ' To go before ' the magistrate is expressed by ina pCini
karCibu. In no. 163, we have ma pdni iktarbu ; in no. 161, perhaps
the form uktarribsu was written, though the sign for uk looks more
like that for Nimia, in which case we may render, ' he, the plaintiff,
caused the defendant to come before the judge.' In no. 160, we
find the thief unable to pay his fine, and he comes before the judge
again, iktarbu^ and is ' held,' sabit^ till the fine be paid. So too in
the Old Babylonian contracts kiirrubu is the technical term for ' to
bring before the judge' : Meissner, A. B. P. R., p. 125.
Another way of regarding the decision suggests itself at once.
The decision, having once been given, in favour of A against B, was
regarded as the denu sd A istu libbi B^ ' the decision for A at
expense of B.^ With this form it is that no. 160 begins.
I^rofessor Oppert says. Das Assyrisclie Lafidrecht^ Z. A. xiii.
p. 272, Uber das gerichtliclie VerfaJiren in Nineve ivisscn wir sehr
wentg. Auch in Babylon sind unter den Tausenden vo?i Reclits-
documenten die processiialen Urkunden JiocJist selten ; dock wissen
7vir, nament/ich schon aus altester Zcit^ dass eine Zeugenaufnahme
statlfand^ und 7tamcntlich der Urktmdenbe^veis niit alleii Untersu-
c/m?igen tend Nachforschungen in Archiven und Privatcigenthum
statthaft war. Wir liaben fiun einige Richterspriiche^ die aber cinen
AND DOCUMENTS. 263
priviiicn Charaktcr zu liabcn scJiciuen ; sic Jiaben niclit das soloinc
Aussehn dcr babvloiiisclioi EntscJieiduugai. Leiclit zu verstehen sind
sic nicJit. On the whole class he remarks p. 275 : wirklicli klar
dargelegtc Thatbcstandangabcn^ wic in den babylonischen Texten Jinden
sick /eider in den ninivitischen Urkunden nicht.
Abstracts of nos. 160-161.
571. No. 160. Complete. Brown.
The decision which NaJ)Li-sar-usur, the aba^ (obtained) against
Ahu-lamas§i, son of Dilil-Istar, of the city of Sabiri-edi, an irrisu,
through Ahu-ukur, son of Akkullanu, the rdb HAR-BI of the
RAB-BI-LUL, concerning the value of a bull, which Ahu-lamassi
stole from the house of Nabu-sar-usur. They came before Nabil-zer-
kenis-lisir, the hazdnu^ sanu of Nineveh. One bull, the equivalent
of the bull which he stole, he imposed on Ahu-lamassi. In lieu of
his fine, he was taken. On the day that he shall have made good
the value of the bull, he shall go free. Dated the 12th of Ululu,
Ep. G. Twelve witnesses.
The date is quoted Ep. Can. p. 98.
Extracts from it are given 5. A. V. 28, 81, 257, 335, 341, 740,
1169, 1299, 1836, i860, 1863, 1933, 1975, 2006, 2350, 3089, 3761,
3922, 3923, 3924, 3926, 4724, 4822, 5077, 5582, 5768, 5787, 5867,
7344, 7443, 7445^ 7691, 797^, 8043, 8425 ; and by S. A. Smith,
Keilsch. Texte^ 11. p. 32,
Oppert has given the entire text, in transcription and translation,
in Doc. Jur. p. 2 1 5 ff. The description given in the Catalogue would
prove very misleading to a beginner. Although the tablet is com-
plete, and the wTiting well preserved, and beautifully written ; yet in
several places the scribe wrote one character over another, and makes
some mistakes. In line 11, he wrote la twice in the name Ahu-
lamassi. In line 4 of rev., after the name Parutani, a vertical wedge
appears which can have no meaning there. In line 5, the words
amel irrisu sd amel irrisu sd amcl sartinmc clearly preserve an
erroneous repetition.
Many of Strassmaier's readings differ widely from mine, yet I
believe they must be wrong. Oppert's readings seem equally corrupt,
and in my opinion the tablet is very hard to read, and difficult to
copy. I do not pretend to have escaped error, but I hope to have
obtained an intelligible text.
264 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In line i, Oppert correctly gave NabiVsar-usur as the name of the
aba. My reading is undoubtedly wrong, as line 7 shews clearly.
But the sign pa is strangely made.
Oppert here rendered aba^ which he read milu^ by vir doctor^ or
docteur. Demi he rendered causa, or prods, which is vaguely right,
decision is exact.
In line 2, istii lib he rendered by ex, or supplying a verb, a souleve
co7itre. His fine instinct always led him right when he had a good
text. This phrase expresses the fact that an award having been made,
its execution was due from the defendant.
Oppert read the name Nasir-la-mas-si, which is unlikely, when we
compare Abu-lamassi.
In line 3, the end of the city name, Oppert read as -su.
In line 4 Oppert read iiisu sa sun-kur U-gur-ru in place of
amel irrisu sd kdtd Ahu-ukur. It is easy to see how each mistake
arose and each mistake is a comment on the ' beauty ' of the writing.
The meaning of sd kdtd here I take to be that Nabti-sar-usur
acted, in this suit, by his agent Ahu-ukur.
In line 5, nisu rabu harbi Oppert rendered viagister gladii, homme
d'armes and gal bi-lul as magister eunuchorum. There is always
reverence due to the early efforts at translation, even when no
reasons are set forth, but one gets a little tired of every obscure
official being dubbed either priest or eunuch.
In line 6, Oppert read ina eli sarti sa alap zi-kar : but he made
no attempt to render the phrase in Latin ; in the French he gave, iin
taureau pour la saillie (?) ; and at the end of the line, he unaccount-
ably read ma-as in place of tnas.
In line 7, he read the verb is-tal-ku-u, and rendered abstultt.
That my reading is correct is shewn by Del. H. W. B. p. 692 a,
sub voc. sardku 11.
In line 8, Oppert read the name Nabu-mu-naz-ziz instead of
Nabu-zer-kenis-lisir : there is much to be said in favour of his
reading. For hazdnu he read ha-sa-nu, but rendered hazan.
In line 9, he read JI-u, saiisu, and for iktarbu has igtarbu which
he left unrendered.
In line 10, for sartu he read sar-tuv, and gave no rendering in
Latin, but in the French had taureau de saillie, for some part of this
line : he read the rest of it as sa alap zikar sa is-sin-u-ni.
In line 11, he read emid as I do, but did not render it, nor the
words kuvi sarti-su.
AND DOCUMENTS. 265
In line 12, he read sabit liu me sa a lap zikar 2i-se-rab-a-?ii, for
which tlie Latin gives only conjirmatio bovis. I do not quite know
if any of the French rendering applies to this line. That sabit means
'was seized' is clear enough, and it almost certainly applies to Ahu-
lamas§i, but whether he was- committed to prison, or held by the
plaintiff as bondman, is less certain. I think the latter more
probable, and that when by the value of his work he had paid off
the value of the ox, he would be free.
In line i, of lower edge, Oppert read usa and rendered eduxit.
It is clearly not 'he shall cause to go forth,' but the preterite used in
the conditional clause for what we should replace by a future.
In line 2, Oppert read the second name as Amar-Istar\ whether
he read the sign Amar for SI-LA L^ or read SI-LA L by Amar I
hardly know : I read Lamur-Istar, or Emur-Istar.
In rev. 2, Oppert read the first name Istar-na-i-dat. It is quite
an open question, whether Istar-na'id is not as correct. He then
gave the second name as Ak-ri-ticr-la-si-mii^ evidently reading tiir in
place of auiel.
In line 3, the first name is given as Aiii-idin \ whether KUR,
FAF, was misread, or whether Oppert read it Arw, does not appear.
After Bel-sum-eres, which he read Bel?nu-essis, he only gave maru
asis sa, evidently not being able to make out the name Lakipu.
In line 4, I have given a vertical wedge before mar; it may be
only a scratch on the tablet. S. A. V. 740 gives it as I do, only he
shades the wedge before Arzizi. He gives also la for FIN.
In line 5, Oppert gave nisu asis sa nisii asis sa ?iisu dur tin ?ii,
evidently reading the same signs as I do, only replacing sar by dur.
He did not render this line. 5. A. V. 740 gives // for sar.
In line 6, he gave //after LIB: the scribe wrote LIB with four
verticals, as is often done. Oppert read di, in place of//-/, at end of
the line.
In line 7, he read the first name, Nabu-yuballit-atii^ and then, of
the name Tabni he only gave /.
In line 8, for ia he gave su ; perhaps he read si for ia : for the
title damkar, he gave nir kar.
In line 9, at end, he read tur for amel, and left SU-I
unread.
In line 10, the first name he gave as Assurlii-ba-lit, for Asur-
naballit, and for Summa-ilani he read Sa-mu-nu-ya-tu-ni, which he
very naturally identified with Esmun-yaton. It is clear that he went
266 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
on, from line lo, into line ii. He read the end of line ii, as nap
pah hurus, but gave no rendering; S. A. V. 1863 gives na clearly.
In line 12, he gave Sa-la-ba-lit-ahu-nu, for Sala-belit-sunu ; and
Istar-dairat, for Istar-duri : the title he read ?iisu mat sa.
The last aba he rendered by praeses, and president.
The whole transaction he called a ' Proces relatif a des Bestiaux.^
As hy proces he probably meant a 'legal proceeding,' it is clear that
he regarded this as a legal decision.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht, Z. A. xiii. p. 275, says, etJi
anderes Idngeres Document {the above) habe ich schon {Doc. Jur. p. 215)
ubersetzt : ich behalte mir seine richtige Erkldrung vor.
572. The name of the plaintiff in this action has already been
discussed in § 523; that of the defendant, Ahu-lamassi, in § 467;
that of the judge, Nabu-zer-kenis-lisir, in § 496.
The name of the defendant's father, Dilil-Istar, was borne by a
witness, Ep. C, on no. 641 ; by a witness and son of Puti-Mau,
Ep. S, on no. 311; by witnesses on nos. 260, 463; and by a bel
narkabti, on no. 860, i. 23. The name of his city, Sabiri-edi, only
occurs here, but is suggestively like that of Supuri-editi, in § 507.
The name of the agent, who appeared for Nabil-sar-usur in this
action, Ahu-ukur, was that of a slave sold, B.C. 730, on no. 195 ; of a
neighbour, B.C. 687, on no. 624; of a serf adi nisesu, on no. 661.
On the reading of the second element as ukur^ see § 409. That
Nabu-sar-usur appears by an agent, suggests either high rank, great
age, or less likely, absence from Nineveh. The agent was clearly a
distinguished person.
The name of the agent's father, Akkullanu, was borne by a
witness on no. 342, and is that of a very frequently occurring writer
to the king in the time of Sargon, and probably of Sennacherib also.
His name occurs in the letters, K 14, 17, 122, 604, 691, 694, 747,
939 a, 979, 1007, 1242, 1304, 1396, 1406, 1428, 13176; Rm. 69,
208; 80-7-19, 36, 147; 82-5-22, 1763; 83-1-18, 61, 191, 228;
IjU. 89-4-26, 159; Bu. 91-5-9, 63. An estate of his is named on
no. 775.
'I'he name of the Eponym I read Musallim-A.sur, Ep. G. He
also dated nos. 173, 250, whence we learn that he was saknu of
Alihi. This was the name also of a seller, son of Itu'ai, B.C. 734,
on no. 415; of the father of Aplai, on no. 363; and occurs on
no. 626.
Among the witnesses, we have already discussed the name of
AND DOCUMENTS. 267
Mannu-ki-Ninvla, in § 474; NabCl-crba in § 467; Nabft-sar-usur
in § 523-
The father of llic first witness was called Lamur-Istar, or Emur-
I§tar, but only occurs here. The city of Bit H'^^'^t)!, or, as it is
written, in rev. line 6, Bit Hurapi, only occurs here. The name of
the second witness, which I read Istar-na'id, was borne by a witness,
B.C. 674, on no. 186; by a witness, of the city Kurai, on no. 500;
by a seller, on no. 388 ; by a witness, on no. 532 ; by a rab ktsir, on
no. 857, I. 32 ; by the father of Asur-aplu-liSir, on no. 1040; and
occurs in the letters, Sm. 1942; 82-5-22, 128; 83-1-18, 20, 24.
That it is not necessary to read Istar-na'idat is shewn by K 8530,
where we have the form AA^-XV-na--id. His father, x^kru, bears
the name of a borrower and aba^ on no. 171 ; of a witness, BI-LUL
and Ninevite, on no. 464 ; of a witness and rab kisir sa sepd^ on
no. 235 ; of a witness and salsu^ on no. 396 ; of witnesses on
nos. 228, 259; of a neighbour, in the time of Sin-sar-iskun,
Z A. XI. p. 47 ; of an irrisu^ with his people, in the city Irinnih,
on no. 742, R 21. Istar-na'id was a lasimu of Nineveh.
The name of the third witness, Ahu-iddin, or Ahiddin, was
borne by a witness b.c. 687, on no. 624; by a witness, B.C. 686,
on no. 374; by a serf, with his people, on no. 661 ; by an irrisu^
with his people, in the city Bit Urbiru, on no. 742, 4; by another
irrisu^ with his people, in Narkabate, on no. 742, i ; by a person,
associated with several slaves or serfs, on no. 811, 2; by a person
named on no. 713 ; and occurs as a specimen name, App. i, xi. 33.
He w^as the son of Bel-sum-eres, who is only mentioned here. He
is said to be an irrisu of Lakipu. Lakipu was the name of the
Eponym, B.C. 761, in. R. i, iv. 9 ; of a witness, Ep. O, on no. 163;
of a borrower, B.C. 676, on no. 11 ; of a witness and sa sepd^ on
no. 604; of the father of Abit-papahi, on no. 650; of a viutir puti^
on no. 857, II. 45; of a serf, with his people, on no. 743, R 6;
as an amcl LUL, on no. 847, R 3. The forms Lakip, and Lakipu
occur in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 261, 4700.
The name of the fourth witness, Parutanu, only occurs here.
I believe the scribe meant to indicate that he was the son of Arzizu,
for whose name see § 556. He was an irrisu of the Sartenu. All
these first four witnesses were ' from,' istu iibbi, the city Bit Hurapi.
The probability is that it was in this city, or the neighbouring
district, that the theft took place.
The name of the next witness, written AN-PA-LAL-a-ni^ I read
268 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Nabii-tursani. It also occurs as the name of a witness, B.C. 682,
on no. 21 ; and in the letters K 4271 ; Rm. 11. 464. Compare the
specimen name, AN-PA-tur-sa-an-ni, App. i, i. 40. He was son
of Tabni. This name was that of a witness and aba^ B.C. 710, on
no. 234; of a witness and aba^ B.C. 679, on no. 164; of a writer
to the aba 7?idfi, very likely the plaintiff in this case, in K 175;
occurs as writer of enquiries of the Samas oracle, G. A. S., nos. 48,
55, 108, 124, 145; and in the letters 81-2-4, 4^7; 83-1-18, 73.
Here his son is an aba.
The next witness bears the singular name Istar-paia, only found
here. He was a tamkai'u. The next witness, Nabu-erba, was son
of Istar-sum-iddin, and a gallabu. This name was discussed in
§ 468. The name of the next witness, Asur-naballit, only occurs
here. The reading of this name has greatly puzzled me. Possibly
the sign na is a badly written BAT-hi, to be read mitu, and the
whole name would then read, Asur-mitu-uballit, 'Asur makes the
dead to live.' But we may compare the name Asur-natkil, borne
by the Eponym, B.C. 872, iii. R. i, i. 39 ; by a witness, B.C. 717,
on no. 391 ; by a witness and inukil apati of the Crown Prince, on
no. 260; by the rab kisir of Adinnu, in K 1303. He was the son
of Summa-ilani, whose name is discussed in § 467. His title ajtiel
si-pir is perhaps for apil sipri, ' messenger.'
The name of the next witness, Abkallipi, only occurs here. He
was the son of Samtinu-iatuni, in which we of course recognise
the Phoenician Eshmiin-iaton. Another compound of EshmCln is
Samiinu-aplu-iddin, occurring in the Harran Census. I am inclined
also to recognise it in the name Samnu-ha..., in K 658, 13030 : and
in Samnu-huna, in Sm. 1201. Assyrian scribes were perhaps not
familiar with this divine name. In the treaty between Esarhaddon
and Baal, king of Tyre, published by Winckler, A. F. 11. 10,
K 3500, line 14, we have the form lasumunu, associated with
Milkartu. Our witness was a goldsmith.
The name of the next witness may be read Sala-beltisunu, which
only f>ccurs here. We may compare the name Sa-la-EN-su-nu^ in
the Harran Census, which was perhaps read the same way. Com-
pounds of Sala are rare in our documents, although the goddess
was known to the Assyrians and had a place in the Pantheon of
Assyrian kings and is common enough in Babylonian names of the
Hammurabi period. Slie was the consort of Adad. This witness
was the son of Istar-dClri, who is discussed in § 486. This witness
AND DOCUMENTS. 269
was an mncl KUR-G.iR RA. 'I'hc ncxl wilncsb, already discussed,
see above, was a daialu. We have also discussed the name of the
last witness, NabQ-tursani, above. He was an aba^ probably scribe
of the tablet, and son of Dadai. 'I'he latter name was borne by
a witness, h.c. 680, on no. 359 ; by a buyer, B.C. 676, on no. 256 ;
by a buyer, in Ep. W, on no. 221. The very similar name Da-da-a
was borne by a seller, Ep. F, on no. 361 ; and occurs in the letters,
K 4789, 5291, 5606 ; 82-5-22, 105.
The names of the witnesses are throughout followed by those
of their fathers, a usage which points to a private contract proper.
It does not appear that the royal family had any standing in this
transaction. The Nabii-sar-usur, here acting as plaintiff, is an aba^
and may well be the aba inati, who acts as Ep. E. That a
document recording a judgment in favour of Nabu-sar-usur should
find its w^ay into the palace archives at Kouyunjik requires explana-
tion. I believe the case was this. In no. 646, we find that in
B.C. 655, Asurbanipal executed a deed of gift in favour of NabCl-
sar-usur, the rabsake, who had been a faithful servant of the king,
from his childhood, till he came to the throne. One of the
concessions made by the king was that Nabii-sar-usur should
continue ' to walk in peace in the midst of the king's palace.'
Obviously, from that time, Nabii-sar-usur was a permanent resident
at the court, and his business documents w^ould naturally find a
place with those of the royal household. That he resigned the title
of Rabshakeh and became aba 7nati might easily be the case. The
military post would be taken by some other, probably younger, man.
That there w^ere more than one of the same name is rendered
certain, however, by line i of rev. edge, where another appears as
witness, holding the office of daiabi.
The career of the old general is difficult to trace owing to the
uncertainty as to whether we are always dealing with the same
person. There can hardly have been another rabsake of the same
name, so we are justified in saying that he was in command of the
army of Asurbanipal against the Mannai, the Urbi and the Gambuli.
He may also be the rab-mugi sent by the same king against the
Ikkalu. In no. 853, a person of this name appears to be rdb kisir
and rabsake. So that as rab kisir, first of the king's son, then of the
king himself, we can trace him back, till we find him engaged with
Ummahaldasu, Nabti-bel-sumate and Samas-sum-ukin. The pub-
lication of the letters by Harper will doubtless still further clear up
270 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
an interesting history and perhaps lead to his identification with the
Eponym of B.C. 682, sak?iu of Markasi.
573. No. 161. Complete. Red.
NabCl-utarris, the slave of Sapanu, seals the document.
Four souls, slaves of Sangli-Istar, he stole. Into the
presence of the sukallu he caused him to approach. Two
hundred and ten minas of silver he imposed upon him
(as damages). In lieu of the damages the bronze, ta-si,
he has given. Whoever shall pay the two hundred and
ten minas of bronze to Sangti-Istar, he will release his
slave. Whoever shall withdraw from this agreement, Asur
and Samas shall be the advocates of his cause; ten minas
of silver, and ten minas of gold, he shall place in the
treasury of Belit. Dated, the loth of Addaru, B.C. 678.
Eleven witnesses.
The date is quoted S. A. V. 4^22.
The tablet is described in the Guide^ p. 177, no. 54.
The Catalogue says it is a ' private contract concerning the sale
of four slaves.'
The Guide says it is ' the mortgaging of four slaves for 210 mana
of copper, by Sangu-Istar to Zapanu, whose servant, Nabti-taris,
represents Zapanu in the contract.'
In line 2, the arah at the beginning of the line is clearly for
ardu. In line 4, the sign before tar is certainly uk in my opinion,
though what is left looks more like part of Ninda. What the ta-si,
at end of line 6 means, I do not know ; it may be some ideogram
not entered in Briinnow. One might expect ardusu, only that one
slave could hardly have been accepted as security for four. Still
that appears, from line 9, to have been actually the case.
In spite of the authoritative statements quoted above, I venture
to consider the transaction a legal decision. The facts that the
plaintiff ' brought him before the magistrate,' ina pdni amel sukalli
uktarribsu ; that that official imposed an award, etemissu^ ' laid it
upon him'; and that it was in lieu of a sartu that he gave over
his slave to SangiVIstar, to work out the amount due ; all go to shew
we have the same sort of transaction as in no. 160.
In line 14, the office of the witness is difficult to read owing
to the tablet having received a blow ; the sa is certain, and the mes
at end. After sa may be muh tar. Then we must read sa cli
sukani, ' who is over the streets.' I think it is better to read sa si
AND DOCUMENTS. 27 I
di-tar-mes, 'who is over the judges.' IV'ihaps, however, ?ne-hal is
right, and then I do not know how to read it at all.
The singular thing here is, that neither of the principals, nor the
judge, seals the document. Whether Nabfi-utarris, who seals the
tablet as slave of Sapanu, was the thief, or only the slave pledged
for the payment of the fine, does not appear from the concise
statement. The name NabCi-utarris was borne by a witness and
sa sepd, B.C. 688, on no. 400 ; by a witness and rakbu sarri^
B.C. 663, on no. 309 ; by a witness and rakbu sarri, Ep. Q, on
no. 308; by a witness, Ep. F, on no. 621 ; by a witness and rakbu
of the Crown Prince, on no. 312; by a witness and rakbu sarri,
on no. 211 ; by a rab kisir, on no. 675 ; by the Eponym of B.C. 722,
III. R. I, v. 3 ; and occurs as a specimen name, App. i, v. 8. The
name of the master Sapanu, as I read it, only occurs here. On one
side it suggests a likeness to the frequent Zabinu, discussed in
§ 465. But it also recalls Sabanu, the name of a witness and
rab kisir^ B.C. 684, on no. 230 ; of a witness and 7tagiru, B.C. 682,
on no. 215; of a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 404; of a sukallu in
Bar-halzi, on no. 675. A name spelt Sab-ba-a-nu^ said to be of
Harran, on no. 922, 7, is very likely the same. The fact that the
first witness is an aba of the sukallu^ makes me think that our
man was that sukallu of Bar-halzi, named in no. 675. The master
was therefore very likely absent from Nineveh, and presumably Nabii-
utarris represented him as steward.
The name of the plaintiff in the action, which I have read
V
Sangii-Istar, was discussed in § 408. Professor Jensen points out
to me that it could be read Ritti-Istar, 'Hand of Istar.' The verbs
are of some interest for their forms, issirik, uktarib, etemid^ ittidin.
What we are to understand by tasi I do not know. If a verb dsii^
with a meaning 'to bind,' really exists, see H. W. B. p. 107 b, we
may perhaps suppose lasi means 'a bond.' Then tasi ittidin would
mean 'he has given a bond.' That Asur and Samas are said to be
bel denesu, in line lo, means that these gods are invoked to avenge
the wrong. We shall return to these oaths or imprecations when we
consider the -sanctions of deeds of sale. The usual spelling di-e-ni
here seems to have been intended, but the scribe writes di-ni-e, I
think in error. In line 11, the scribe wrote AZAG-HI^ for AZAG-
GI\ an obvious error which I corrected in my text. I believe he
also wrote SE-an at the end of the line, but erased it, as it would be
redundant. We shall return to the penalties paid for breach of
2/2 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
contract in the chapter on Deeds of Sale. We only need note here
that the scribe regarded this as embodying an agreement to pay
the sartu^ which the sukallu imposed.
The name of the first witness, Nabd-etir, was borne also by a
witness and aba^ B.C. 692, on no. 33 ; by two witnesses, B.C. 670, on
no. 266 ; by the father of Raman-rapa, on no. 325 ; by a witness, on
1^0- 375 ^ by the father of Tabnea, grandfather of Marduk-sum-ibni,
on no. 889, 3; occurs in Sm. 1341 ; 80-7-19, 43; as a specimen
name, App. i, iii. 32 ; and in the later Babylonian texts, S. A. V.
5746. In these cases it is spelt as here, AN-PA-KAR-ir. We
have the form AN-FA-KAR, on no. 246, as the name of a slave.
The form AN-PA-SUR occurs as a specimen name, App. i, in. 33.
The form AN-AK-KAR-ir occurs in K 1156, 3899; 79-7-8, 153;
82-5-22, 105; 83-1-18, 77. \.di?,t\y AN-AK-SUR is the name of
the father of Ina-esi-etir, B.C. 648, on K 433 ; and occurs in
K 87, 7541.
The name of the second witness, written IK-SI-AN, I read
Ibassi-ilu, but perhaps it may be read Ittabsi-ilu. It only occurs
here. As remarked above his office is entirely uncertain, but he
was some official connected with Kalah. This city, the ancient
Calah, n??, XaXa, the modern Nimroud, 20 miles S. of Nineveh, is
frequently mentioned in the Assyrian Inscriptions, and letters. It
was the residence of the kings, from the time of Shalmaneser I., who
claimed to be its founder, down to Sargon. When Sennacherib bent
all his energies to securing the supremacy of Nineveh, the old
residence fell into some neglect. Esarhaddon, who in many respects
departed from his father's policy, erected a palace there for himself,
and later still Asur-etil-ilani resided there. The history of the town
in the Sargonide period is in some obscurity, and it would take too
long to combine the scattered references here. I shall content
myself now with the occurrences in our documents. The city god
was Ninip. In B.C. 709, Belti was aba of the bel pahCiti; Kurdi-
Adadi was aba of the ekallu mahirtu there at the same date, see
S. A. V. 4071. The various saknute and bel pahdti vi\\\ be found in
§ 180, p. 136: sec nos. 248, 415, 56, 225, 640, 641, 676, 310, 465,
391, 500, 612, 642, 662, 392, 257, 477, 493, 626.
The name of the third witness, Mesu, occurs as that of a witness
and aba^ B.C. 684. on nos. 19 and 20; as that of the bel pahdti of
Arbela, on no. 854, 1 1. 'I'hc variant Misu occurs as the name of a
witness, r..c. 676, on no. 11; of a witness on no. 288 ; of the bel
AND DOCUMENTS. 273
pahati of Arbela, on no. 853, 7 ; and in the Harran Census. The
name of the next witness, NabCl-li', written as here AN-PA-DA, only
occurs elsewhere as a specimen name, App. i, 11. 53. A variant of
the name, AN-PA-ID-GAL, is a specimen name, App. i, 11. 52 ;
is borne by a saki7 on K 114; and occurs in K 1177, 4775, 8750.
Another variant, AN-PA-ZU^ occurs as a specimen name, App. i,
II. 51 ; as the name of a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 612 ; of a seller,
B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; as the name of the Eponym, saknu of Arbela,
III. R. I, V. 22, dating no. 365 ; in K 181, as the name of a bel
pahati of Halsu, named by Sennacherib to Sargon ; as that of the
father of Nabii-kasir, grandfather of Bel-ahu-iddin, on no. 889, R 7 ;
of a mutir puti^ in Bu. 91-5-9, 183. A variant AN-PA-li is the
name of a saknu of the Crown Prince, on no. 815, 11. 4. The
variant AN-AK-DA is common in the later Babylonian texts,
^. A. V. 5738.
The name of the next witness, which I read Azi-ilu, was that of a
saknu of Lake, in the time of iVsurnasirpal, i. R. 19, 89; i. R. 24,
30, 38, 45 ; of a witness, B.C. 673, on no. 431 ; of witnesses on nos.
288, 500 ; and of a bel pahati of the city Tarim-Dagan (?), on
no. 904, IV. 3. A variant, A-zi-lu, occurs in i. R. 24, 45. The
name perhaps contains the element ny seen in many Aramaic names,
N. E. p. 338. Whether it has any connection with Hazael seems
doubtful.
The name Nabu-killani was also borne by a witness and saku^ on
no. 386; and occurs in K 13 137, and the Harran Census. The
next name, Saidu, only occurs here ; perhaps we may take it to be
sdidu, 'hunter.' The next name I read Kabti ; it also occurs as a
specimen name, App. i, x. 16. A variant, Kab-ti-i, was the name of
a dupsar of the king, in 81-2-4, 113; of an aba^ servant of Asur-
udanin-aplu, son of Shalmaneser, in Bu. 89-4-26, 16.
We have discussed the name of the Eponym in § 488 ; Sepa-
Asur in § 524. The two last witnesses bear the name of Bani-Aa,
or perhaps Tabni-Aa, or Ibni-Aa. The name does not occur
elsewhere. The first was son of Bel-sar-ibni, whose name we
discussed in § 526. A comparison with the traces of the name on
no. 256, R 3, makes me doubtful whether we ought to read AN-a-a
in that place ; I now^ think ...na-a-a is better. Hence it is likely that
the name really is Banai. The father of the second was Nab6-aplu-
iddin, which name was discussed in § 492.
574. No. 162. Complete. Drab.
J. III. 18
2/4 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Forty minas of bronze, kakkadu, the sarin which the
sukallu imposed. Paid to the sakintu. Dated, the loth
of Addaru, b.c. 693. Four witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89 ; Hist. Senn. p. 15.
The full text is published iii. R. 47, no. 8.
A transliteration and translation are given by Oppert, Doc. Jur.
p. 173 f. ; and by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 116 f.
The document is not a legal decision, but the characteristic
phrase sartu sa aniel sukallu emidimi stamps it as closely connected.
The sakintu, a lady of high rank, doubtless a peeress of the rank of
the saknu, who like him usually took her title from the city she
governed, has been party to a lawsuit before the sukallu. She has
won the day and forty minas of bronze are awarded her as 'damages.'
This document may be her receipt for the payment, or a copy of her
demand for payment, or a note from the judge notifying his award.
As a rule, ina pdni marks the person who has received money. All
uncertainty which we feel must have been absent from those who
sent and received this message.
In the edition in iii. R., the first sign of line 2 appears to be
meant for amel, and the first sign, in line 3, for sd. It would be
very interesting to know what the editor of that edition thought his
text meant. An amel ubtu or artu is unique, as far as I know, and
what he could have made of sd me du u ni I cannot even guess.
Oppert reads the first line XL ma-na urudu ris, and renders,
Quadraginta minae aeris operarii, or quarante mines de cuivre {de
premiere qualite}). It is difficult to suppose that kakkadu here
means ' capital ' ; Peiser's rendering ' Summe ' seems very safe : but
to me always seems superfluous. Why should a sum of money be
stated to be a ' sum ' ? What would be the sense of a sum of money
which was not a sum ? Here kakkadu may bear the meaning ' in
full,' ' without rebate,' as it clearly does in several places ; but a good
rendering, which would suit all contexts, is yet to be found.
In line 2, Oppert reads nisu up-par sa nisu kiselu (luh) which he
renders vir, viri scrip tor is, and creance de le chef des
He evidently could not make any sense of lines 3 and 4. Peiser
reads (amelu) ub-tu sa {ainilu) sukalli sa mi illiku-u-7ii [ina pan (?)]
{amiltu) sa-ki-in-ti ; and renders, des Beamten des Baden, welcher
zum Wasser (?) gegajigen ist, [im Besitz (?)] der Statthalterin. This
was a most ingenious turn ; he takes me as possibly meaning * by
water,' and du-u-?ti as meant for some part of the verb aldku, of
AND DOCUMENTS. 275
whicli DU '\s the ideogram. The via paiii is clearly on the tablet
though now defaced, and //// Besitz is an admirable rendering of it,
as is Statthalterin of saki7itu.
In line 5, Oppert reads the name liin-mi, Bin being one of his
early readings of Jlu-IM^ now usually read Rammdn. However
Ramman-mi would be just as incorrect. Peiser correctly gives Ilu-
imme. For the meaning of i7ninu in personal names see Del.
H. W. B. p. 85. The second witness Oppert read as Bin-kit-ni,
following III. R., which wrongly gives kit for dan. Peiser correctly
gave Ilu-udanni. The last witness, Oppert gives as La-lik-ni-ilu,
Peiser as La-tas-ni-ilu. It is really Latubasani-ilu.
In my register of registration marks I wrongly ascribed to
Strassmaier the publication of part of the text : therefore in Vol. i.
p. xviii, under K 370, del. S.
The Catalogue calls this a 'private contract ' ; Oppert a ''Cr'eance'' ;
Peiser very correctly ' A?ierkennung iiber eine Summed
Bezold, Lit. p. 158, C 4, calls this Dar/ehensurkunde, ohne
7idheren Ajigabe?i.
The name of the first witness, Ilu-imme, was borne by a witness,
B.C. 683, on no. 273; by a witness, on no. 397 ; by an irrisu, with
his people, in Asihi, no. 742, 22. It was also the name of a king of
Sallai, I. R. 24, 59, with a variant Ilu-im-im. The name Ilu-udanni
also occurs as a specimen name, App. 3, 11. 27 ; and seems to be the
same as Ilu-udanani, father of Bel-sum-iddin, on no. 307. W^e have
discussed Nabii-ahu-usur in §520; Latubasani-ilu in § 480; the
Eponym, Ilu-kia, in § 520.
575. No. 163. Complete. Red.
The lawsuit which Asur-sallim pleaded with Salmu-ahe,
concerning Sulmu-eres, the slave of Asur-sallim. They
came before Sepa-sarri, the amel TIN. One mina and a
half the amel TIN imposed as damages. Salmu-ahe gave
one mina of silver to Asur-sallim. Whoever shall dispute
with the other shall pay to Asur, his god, the advocate of
his cause, ten minas of silver. Dated, the month of
Du'uzu, Ep. O. Six witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 99.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 173, no. 33.
In line 2, the first character may be TA^ which one would expect
rather than sa. The quarrel was about Asur-sallim's slave, Sulmu-
eres ; what Salmu-ahe had done to him we do not know ; he may
2/6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
have killed him, or stolen him. The award was three times the value
of a slave of the ordinary sort, and the plaintiff was content to take
less, namely only double the amount for which he could buy a slave.
The a7nel TIN^ before whom the case was brought, is rather an
obscure official. The meanings given in Briinnow, haitu and
muitaggisu^ do not seem to suggest legal functions. It may be
an abbreviated ideogram for sartenu : or the scribe may have
omitted SAR. In rev. line 2, the scribe apparently wrote the name
of the defendant as Sulmu-ahe, but in obv. 2 quite certainly Salmu-
ahe. I believe he tried to erase the di, and to write ni over it and
so left indistinct traces. Whether ' the image of his brothers ' is a
possible Assyrian name, I doubt, but there was a god Salmu, whose
name occurs in the Eponym's name Salmu-sar-ikbi. Salmu-ahe
would then be like Bel-ahe. What the full name was seems un-
certain. The whole subject of Assyrian personal names seems still
to need elucidation ; an Assyrian scribe may have been able to read
them at a glance, but I fancy even he was sometimes puzzled, unless
he knew the bearers personally.
Rev. 4 reads mannu ana mannisunu iparikunt ; as only two are
concerned we may render, ' whichever of them shall dispute with the
other.'
In line 5, it is a question whether Ahir AN SU is to be read
Asur ilusu^ Asur, his god, or ^ Asur, Marduk' \ the appeal is generally
to two or more gods, but Asur occupied such a unique position, that
we may imagine him named alone.
In line 6, the scribe started to write line 5 again, and then erased
all except dini-su, which by itself has no meaning. The erasure
however left these words clearly legible. The scribe has omitted
si before the witnesses' names, in rev. 10 and L. E. i.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 272, gives a
translation of this. He takes amel DIN as 'a judge.'
In no. 153, we saw that Asur-sallim, or Edusallim, if he was the
same person, deposited a slave with Gabbu-kata-ili in B.C. 663. In
this case, we may here have a suit against Salmu-ahe, to recover
a similarly lent or deposited slave. It is certain we have to do with
a different holder of the deposit, and a different slave, but the
depositor may be the same, and we then have some suggestion
of a parallel case.
The name Asur-sallim has been partly discussed in § 480 ; it was
borne by a witness and son of Birtai, Ep. U, on no. 526; by a
AND DOCUMENTS. 2/7
buyer, on no. 487 ; by the father of Idate-Bel-alaka, Adadi-sar-usur
and Sarru-suni-ukin, on no. 266. The name Sahnu-ahe, written as
here, oceur.s a.s that of a buyer, on no. 217 ; the variant, AN-NU-
PAP-MES, as that of a buyer and sa scpa, Ep. C, on no. 373 ; the
variant, NU-PAP-MES, as that of a witness and rakbu^ Ep. B, on
no. 207 ; of a witness, Ep. «//, on no. 351 ; and as in charge of a
troop of 1400 men, on no. 855, 15. The name of the slave Suhiiu-
eres has been considered in § 562.
The name of the judge, Sepa-^arri, as I read it, was borne by the
Eponym, B.C. 837, iii. R. i, 11. 28; by the Eponym of B.C. 802,
saknu of Nasibina, 111. R. i, in. 16; and by a witness, B.C. 648, on
no. 147. If we are to read Sepa-Samas, the name would be the
same as that of the Eponym, B.C. 792, saknu of Isana, in. R. i, in.
26 ; and a specimen name, App. i, vii. 19.
The name of the Eponym, Asur-gimil-tirri, occurs in the date on
no. 640, where he is said to be a tukultu rabu : and on no. 16. On
nos. 853, I. 2; 854, 7 ; K 176, 578, he is named as tukultu. The
variants which oCcur are AS-SUR-gi-mil-tir-ri^ AS-SUR-SU-GUR-
ra, and AN-HI-SU-GUR-ra, the latter in 82-5-22, 166. The
name of the first witness, Nab<i-ahu-usur, is considered in § 520;
Isdi-Nabii, in § 521; Lakipu, in § 572; Nabua, in § 486. The
name Ilkisu only occurs here.
576. No. 164. Complete. Drab.
The decision of the sartenu which he laid on Hani.
Three hundred sheep, adi sartisijia, belonging to the king's
son, were entrusted to Hani, BAD-MES of the shepherd.
Each person, two talents of bronze is his sartu. Hani and
his people and his fields, in lieu of the three hundred
sheep, or their sartu, and in lieu of the BAD-MES of the
shepherds, are their sartu (?). Whoever shall demand
him, whether his saknu, or his rab kisir, or any one that
shall demand him, shall give three hundred sheep or their
sartu, the BAD-MES of the shepherds, each person, two
talents of bronze for the persons, and then Hani shall go
free, the HAR-RU-ili he shall return. Dated, the 27th of
Sabatu, B.C. 679. Four witnesses.
There are several great difficulties in this text, and they can only
be set out as clearly as possible. The general nature of the trans-
action is clear enough.
Hani had received three hundred sheep, belonging to the king's
2/8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
son : they are said to have been itia pant Harii. This we know,
from former cases, to mean that he had to return them uninjured,
with a proper amount of increase or produce. If he lost them, he
would have to replace them, or pay their sartu. He did apparently
lose them, and as a consequence was taken as security with his fields
and his people. On payment of the three hundred sheep, or their
sartu^ he would be released.
The first difficulty arises in the expression BAD-MES. I have
tried again and again to get another reading, but, although not
certain, it is the best I can make of it. Now the BAD-MES of a
shepherd, or the shepherds, may mean their 'crooks,' for BAD =
hiitdrii^ a ' shepherd's crook.' Surely these were of no great value.
L U-BAD means a ' ram ' or ' sheep ' : it is not likely these were
meant. Then aniel BAD means a 'body,' especially a 'corpse.'
Had Hani slain the shepherds? It looks like it. Then, for each
slain man, two talents of bronze is to be his sartu. Two talents of
bronze = 72 shekels of silver, at the reckoning that silver was worth
100 times the same weight of bronze. This is rather a high price
for a shepherd ; at any rate an ordinary slave cost only 30 shekels.
In no. 163, however, we saw that the sartu for a slave was fixed at
90 shekels, so this may be the meaning after all. We are not told
how much Hani had to pay for the lot, nor how many shepherds he
had to compound for. As Briinnow gives some forty meanings for
BAD, there is a wide field for speculation.
I put it forth as my conclusion, that Hani had slain the shepherds
and either appropriated the sheep, or sold them. This case was
decided at the end of B.C. 679. Esarhaddon had not long been
crowned : affairs at the beginning of the year were too unsettled to
suppose that the title of king's son was borne by Asurbanipal, even
if he was then born. The king's son must have been Esarhaddon
himself, or one of his brothers. Hani then probably took advantage
of the disputed succession to enrich himself at Esarhaddon's expense.
Affairs must have looked pretty desperate for Esarhaddon at the
time, or his farmer would hardly have ventured on such a course.
Doubtless he made away with the shepherds, as inconvenient wit-
nesses : but he had probably to reckon with some such document as
our nos. 1 18-12 1 recording his receipt of the sheep. 'I'his speculation
of mine is given for what it is worth.
In line 6, a superfluous vertical wedge follows su : at any rate I
can see no reasons for it.
AND DOCUMENTS. 2/9
In line 8, the use of -sitia indicates that the sheep were cives^
doubtless farmed for breeding purposes.
In line 9, the ku at beginning is a difficulty. After puzzling over
it a long time I can suggest nothing better than that it is meant for
kum\ it is hardly a determinative of 'clothing,' indicating 'fleeces'
here.
In line 10, NA-SI-N'A is a great difficulty. NA may hQ-amc/u,
but what could be amelu-si-na ? No part of the verb ?iasu would
admit of an ending -na. I have imagined NA to be the ideogram for
sartu, but even then we should expect -sumi in place of sina, unless
the BAD-MES are feminine.
In rev. line 5, sd amelfiti may not be the right way to read the
signs. The sd probably means ''for^ \ it is possible that // means
baldtu, and the phrase ' for the life of the person.' This seems less
likely.
In line 6, harm Hi can hardly mean the ' ring of the god ' :
HAR-RA-AN means dardgu, harrdnu^ ineteku^ urhu. Can this
phrase be read harrdna itura ' he shall return the way he came,'
i.e. 'go his way'? It would be a fit addition to 'he shall go free.'
Unfortunately the scribe has not written HAR-RA-ANhMX. HAR-
RU-AN. I do not know what that means. The RU mdij possibly
be read SA.
The sense of adi here must be 'to the extent of,' not 'with.'
For the sheep w^ould hardly be returned ' along with ' their estimated
value. It must be a payment made ' in lieu ' of them, 'up to ' their
full value. The payment of three hundred sheep of ordinary quality
would doubtless be accepted, so I have rendered freely by ' 300
sheep or their sartii.^
Professor Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 272 f.,
translates this document. He takes sartu here, as usually he does,
to mean Zubehor, or accessoruim. He says the three hundred sheep
and their belongings ist die Forderung des Mannes des Konigs an
Hani, die verpfdndet sind an den Avil Agu. There is no verb
corresponding to ist; I believe the trust was in the past. The name
Avil-Agu is not in the text. I suppose BAD-MES is somehow to
be connected with 'pledges,' but I cannot see how. In line 5,
Dr Oppert renders, Ein Sklave 2 Talente Bronze ist das Accessoriiim.
In line 9, he reads ku-c, and renders the line, die Eigent/iumsstucke
des Avil Agu garantiren fiir Alles. He takes HAR-RU- AN itura
as sein Weg zurikkgehn. Dr Oppert's unhappy introduction of the
28o ASSYRIAN DEEDS
man A7i/ Agii has put him on the wrong track and vitiates all his
reasonings. It is merely 'a shepherd.'
In the Babylonian Contracts BAD-MES is used of the 'carcases
of sheep.' Here I take it, the bodies of the dead ' shepherds ' are
meant, i.e. their persons are to be paid for. But also amel BAD is
used in early Babylonian texts to mean 'a serf,' see Scheil, D. P.
p. 8, note 3.
The name Hani also occurs as that of a servant of the bel pahdti
of Haurina, on no. 922, i. 3, and in the Harran Census. It is like
Ha-an-ni-i^ the name of a witness, Ep. D, on no. 39 ; and Ha-a-ni^
in III. R. 7, I. 42, king of Sama'al. The name of the first witness,
Tabni, is already discussed in § 572; Salmu-sar-ikbi, in § 467; the
Eponym Dananu, in § 480. Samas-napistu-iddin, the third witness,
does not occur elsewhere ; nor does Amsi, with which we may
perhaps compare the Aramaic ••tJ^D-
577. No. 165. A fragment from the left-hand side. Red.
The decision, for Rim-an (?)... against Malgagir (?),
which Pasi, the judge, laid down, concerning the people
of the former. People for people (he shall restore). A
break follows. So many minas of silver he shall give.
Dated, the 17th of some month, Ep. Q. Eighteen wit-
nesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 99.
This is clearly a legal decision. Malgagir, or whatever his name
was, must have stolen, or slain, or otherwise caused the loss of,
the plaintiff's slaves, or ' people,' which may include ' family.' The
judge awards a restitution, 'man for man.' Then doubtless came
the stipulation that, whoever should repudiate the settlement, should
pay a fine. The number of witnesses is unusually large.
The Eponym, Salmu-sar-ikbi, has been already discussed in
§ 467 ; the name of the first witness, Rimani-ilu, in § 473; of the
third witness, Ardi-Istar, in §474; lahutu, the fifth witness, in §517 ;
NabCi-zer-iddin, in § 467 ; Summa-ilani, in § 467.
The name of the second witness, Marduk-eres, was also borne by
a witness, li.c. 681, on no. 127; by a witness and musarkis^ on
no. 261 ; by the father of the seller, on no. 431 ; by an aba., in
Bu. 91-5-9, 157,; occurs on no. 878, i; and as a s[)ecimen name,
App. r, v. 25. Nergal-sallim occurs as the name of a bel pahdti,
on n(;. 873, 7; on no. 906, 3; in the letter K 527, and in later
Babylonian texts, v. R. 67, 43 a. Silim-Adadi was the name of a
AND DOCUMENTS. 28 I
witness, kt'pu and servant of tlie bcl pahati of Kalhu, h.c. 714, on
no. 248 ; of a seller, and son of NahiVrihtu-usur, on no. 307 ;
occurs on no. 852, i. 1 1 ; as a slave sold, on no. 429. Sulmu-ahe-su
only occuirs here, hut may simply he a longer form of Sulmu-ahe,
discussed in § 470. After the name here the scribe has written a
vertical wedge, which I have omitted. Possibly, therefore, Ardi is
the beginning of a fresh name, or the vertical is an error. The next
name, spelt Pa-ru-hi, is probably the genitive of Parutu, the name of
a witness, B.C. 686, on no. 285 ; of the seller on no. 428. The next
name is not very certain, it may be Bel-Harran-sadiia, discussed in
§ 553, but the traces are not decisive. Dunuzu only occurs here ; we
may compare AD-NU-ZU the ideographic writing of Abu-ul-idi,
only it is not easy to see how DU would be read here. Manzazu-
ul-idi, 'a standing place he has not known,' may be thought
of. The next name, like those in lines 6, R. E. i, has been
destroyed.
It is not easy to say whether what I give, in the first line of the
left-hand edge, is really all the name. Ninip-iddina only occurs
here, though Ninip-iddin w^as the name of the Eponym, B.C. 758,
saknu of Kurban, in. R. i, iv. 12. If the name was really written
AN-MAS-MAS-SE-na^ we should read Nergal-iddina. Nergal-iddina,
spelt, however, AN-U-GUR-SE-ua, was the name of a slave sold,
on no. 261 ; and spelt AN-U-GUR-MU, occurs in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. F. 6337. I do not know how to restore the next name,
which ended in diiri. The name in 1. 4 can hardly be Erkiti, the first
sign may have been AN-EN, written with the ligature. But a name
Bel-KI-TI does not seem likely. The name Kitini, in no. 2, as the
name of a buyer, suggests that Kiti, or KI-TI^ may be an element
in proper names. Can it be an abbreviation of Kitti ? Even then
Bel-kitti would be unusual. The last name may be Huzina, or
Rizina, and only occurs here : it is somewhat uncertain.
578. No. 166. Complete. Brown.
The decision which Nabti-ahe-iddin, the hazdnu, laid
down. In the month Tebetu, Adadi-risila shall come,
beside his handmaid Sulmu-na'id he shall stand. If he
do not come, maid for maid shall Sulmu-na'id give.
Nabii-ah-iddin is bel-katdti for Sulmu-na'id, until the
first of Tebetu. If he do not give the maid, maid for
maid Nabti-ah-iddin will give to Kaniinu. Dated, the
i8th of some month, Ep. S. Five witnesses.
282 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 99.
The tablet is described in the Guide, p. 178, no. 63.
The case appears to be this. Adadi-risua, being absent from
home, has left his affairs in the hands of the woman Sulmu-na'id,
who was summoned by Kanunu to surrender custody of some maid,
whom he claimed. It is possible, but not likely, that he claimed
Sulmu-na'id herself. She, at any rate, resists the claim, but Kanunu
seems to have made it clear that he had a right to some maid.
Sulmu-na'id is therefore allowed till the ist of Tebetu for her master
to return and support her contention. Meantime Nabti-ah-iddin will
go bail for her that if her master does not return, she will satisfy
Kanunu's claim, which would probably be established completely,
by default of the counter-evidence. Nabu-ah-iddin further under-
takes that if the master Adadi-risua does not restore a maid to
Kanunu, he will do so himself. I am not sure if Nabu-ah-iddin,
who goes bail for the woman, is the same person as Nabu-ahe-iddin,
the hazdnu who laid down the decision. The names are slightly
different, and in line i there is some doubt of the last character ; the
hazan's name may be Nabu-ahe-usur.
Whether Sulmu-na'id was a concubine of Adadi-risua, we cannot
be sure : she is not called his wife. As the date is mutilated we
cannot tell how long was allowed for the absentee to return. A
similar case of a woman's administering a household for an absent
master occurs in the letter K 1274.
In line 2, the scribe has written a horizontal wedge before amel.
What it implies I do not know, perhaps he was going to write ina
pant and remembered that Nabii-ahe-iddin was the hazdnu, before
whom the case came ; so he added that fact, and then went on
without erasing i7ia.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht, Z, A. xiii. p. 273, translates
this. He does not recognise ina kutal but thinks I have written it
for ina kumu. He considers Nabu-ahe-iddin as different from NabCl-
ah-iddin. He thinks the case rather obscure. On p. 274 he gives
also a transliteration with the remark, jeder kann sick nun selbst eine
Meinung bildc7i.
'I'he name of the judge, if it really is NabCl-ahe-iddin, has been
discussed in § 499 ; Adadi-risua only occurs here. Sulmu-na'id, as
a woman's name, only occurs here, l)ut is a specimen masculine
name, App. i, xi. 16. Whether the ideogram here is best read
ndi^id, or by some other part of the vcrl), docs not appear. The
AND DOCUMENTS. 283
name of the claimant KanAnu only occurs here ; 1 connect it with
Kannunai, which was discussed in § 407.
Asur-sallim-sunu, or perhaps Asur-musallim-sunu, the name of
the first witness, only occurs here. Mannu-ld-sulmu, however, is
the name of a witness, on no. 259 ; and of a seller, on no. 532.
Mannu-ki-ili was the name of a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 44 ; of a
witness, Ep. A, on no. 325 ; and occurs in the Harran Census.
Banitu was the name of a witness, Ep. F, on no. 307 ; and of a
witness, on no. 557. It is not likely to be the same as the name
Ilu-banitu, borne by a slave, on no. 249.
The name Naid-Marduk is common. A very prominent person,
who bore the name, was son of Merodach Baladan II., and brother of
Nabii-zer-napisti-lisir. He seems to have been named, i. R. 45, 11. 35;
K 112, 1009, 1355, 1459, 1973, 2905; 83-1-18, 21, 65; 48-7-20,
116; III. R. 15, II. 20. A scribe, or owner of the tablet, bears this
name on 81-7-27, 205, with the singular spelling Na-ah-id-AN-
AMAR-UD. The Eponym, Marduk-sar-usur, has already been
discussed in § 510.
579. No. 167. Complete. Red.
A line is lost at the commencement possibly, though the text
makes sense as it stands.
If, at the beginning of the month, Bel-etir do not
bring Gabbu-Adadi and give him to Mannu-ki-Arbaili,
he shall give his sartu and be quit. Dated, the loth of
Sabatu, B.C. 675. Seven witnesses.
Although this may be a private contract, as the Catalogue says it
is, yet the uncertainty about the first line and the style of its contents
leave it open to doubt. It is very like a legal decision.
Here saldtnu appears to bear its primitive meaning ' to be quiet,'
hence in 11. i, 'to content,' 'to satisfy demands,' and therefore,
according to context, 'to pay.' Compare mediaeval Latin 'acquie-
tare,' and its derivatives and cognates.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 275, translates
this. He reads la-a nasa by la arasu, and renders o/ine Zwang.
He misread idatisu in line 6, as tartansu^ which of course spoils
his view of the whole thing. He could not find die strittige Sache
and has to say, der Thatbestand des Processus ist u?ts unbekan?it.
The name of the defendant, Bel-etir, was borne by a son of
Nabil-sum-eres, and brother of Sin-na'id, who played a somewhat
important role at Babylon, see Peiser, J/. V. A. G. 98 p. 241 f ; he
/'
284 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
is referred to in. R. 33, vi. 30; v. R. 3, 62 ; K 176, 1610, 13135;
D. T. 301, Rm. II. 14; 80-7-19, 362; 81-2-4, 70; 81-7-27, 20;
82-5-22, 129, 153. Another person very likely appears as a corre-
spondent of the king, probably Asurbanipal, as a ' son of Ibai,' in
^ 1351J 3102. A sah7 of this name appears in the letter K 154.
As father of Sa'kap, the name occurs in K 79. On K 433, in B.C.
648, this is the name of the father of Bel-zer. On no. 889, 15, Be/-
e-ti-ra seems to be a clan name. It is a specimen name, A pp. 3, i.
19. It is frequent in later Babylonian texts, see v. R. 36, 2 ; 67,
52 b, 48c, 8 a: S. A. V. 1135. The slave Gabbu-Adadi bears a
name only found here. Mannu-ki-Arbaili is discussed in § 413.
The Eponym, Banba, was the Eponym of B.C. 676, and sukallu
sanuj in the 5th year of Esarhaddon, in. R. i, vi. 5. The name is
also written Bamba, and may be a Lall name from Asia Minor, see
Kretschmer, E. G. G. S. p. 336. He dates nos. 11, 37, 40, 167,
175, 256, 502 and is named in K 9821.
The name of the first witness, Nabu-etirani is discussed in § 468 ;
Ahu-abil in § 475 ; Milki-Aa in § 513.
Abunu, ' our father,' only occurs here. The name, in reverse
line 3, is probably meant for Musalame, compare AIu-sa-la-7ftu, the
father of Isbutu, on no. 182. Bamu only occurs here, compare
Bamma, in 81-2-4, 452. The next name may be read Kabar-ili,
Kapar-ili, Kamas-ili, etc., according to the value we take for the
second sign. It was the name of a mutir pilti sa sepCi sarri^
Ep. w, on no. 177; of an irrisu, with his people, in Alihi, on
no. 742, 23 ; also a NU-kiri^ with his people, in Irinnih, no. 742,
R23.
580. No. 168. Portions only are preserved. Drab.
In the first line we have sukallu sartin. This must be the
official who pronounced the decision, either the sukallu of the
sartenu, or perhaps the sukallu, acting as sartenu. In line 2, the
sign bar does not suggest anything, but perhaps is the end of a name.
In line 3, wc have the very characteristic word emidimi. In line 4,
we have the form ilika, which probably implies that the plaintiff
'came' before the judge. In line 5, some homers of land are
mentioned, and the verb utame, or tctasib, 11. 2, of asdim, follows.
At least it may be a verb ; but what it could mean in this
connection I do not know. In the next line we read sd Silim-Asur,
sd Ahuai, but what these persons have to do in the case does not
appear. They, or the land in dispute, seem to have been in the
AND DOCUMENTS. 285
city TT^-UD\ then follow some characters, from which I can get
no sense, TA-TE-A-HU-KAK-RIM.
Line 8 seems clear, sulmu ina birtisunu^ mivwiu minima la
idabub^ ' there shall be peace between them, neither shall plead
against other.' Then follows simply, 'whoever shall dispute,
whether it be the king's son, or an advocate of his, shall pay ' so
much silver, and something shall be returned to its owner. The
date is lost. There are traces of perhaps a dozen witnesses.
The name of the city written TIS-UD occurs also in nos. 23,
228 and 385. I have ventured to read it Anatu : cf. Anat, Asurn.
III. 15, 16 : ina kabal Puratii. It seems, from no. 385, to have
been near Sasillai.
The traces given in most cases are very uncertain. In lower
edge, line 2, perhaps the last two signs are w/-//, but that seems
very obscure. I can make nothing of reverse 3, except that there
was a ditto sign at the end. The name in line 4 may well have
been Ahiia, the name of a slave sold, B.C. 682, on no. 276; and of
the father of Asire, on no. 446; and on no. 899, i. 31, as in Kar-
enabis. In line 8, after E appears to be di^ then another sign
before ilu. Perhaps it was E-ti-ir-ilu, compare Etir-ilu, a specimen
name, App. i, viii. 9.
The occurrences of Silim-Asur are given, § 488. Ahuai is a
singular form ; but for the u, we might read Nasir-Aa, but Ahu-Aa
seems unlikely. However read, this name also occurs, as that of a
witness, B.C. 676, on no. 382; of a slave sold, B.C. 682, on no. 276.
The Crown Prince appears to have been a party to the suit.
The way in which the term bel dini is here used goes far to shew-
that the professional advocate was known in Assyrian law-courts.
As the bel nike is the offerer, so the bel dini is certainly one who
brings, or conducts a suit. So too when the gods are called on to
be the bel dini of one who is wronged, ' advocate ' seems the most
appropriate rendering. The bel dini was not ' the judge,' who was
daia?iu, but the one who pleaded the case.
Of the witnesses, Mannu-ki-Arbaili has been dealt with in §413;
Ahi-duri, in § 470 ; Asur-sar-usur in § 505.
The second name, in reverse line 6, which I read NOr-Samas,
might of course be read Sab-Samas. It was the name of a witness and
goldsmith, on no. 345 ; of a witness, Ep. A, on no. 2 ; of a witness,
Ep. F', on no. 307 ; of a seller, on no. 343 ; occurs on no. 830, 4 ;
as a specimen name, App. i, xi. 22 ; and in later Babylonian texts,
286 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
S. A. V. 6461. The Eponym was very likely Gir-Sapunu, see § 554.
On the left-hand edge, the name appears to be simply Sar-usur,
which would be of some importance as a witness to the possibility of
Shareser as a proper name. Unfortunately the signs before it are
not so certain as I give them. Asur or Ilu may have preceded
them.
581. No. 169. Left-hand upper corner. Dark red.
The decision which Lute'u, the hazanu^ laid down.
Thirty shekels of silver is the sartu for the maidservant
of.... The date is lost, but there are traces of four
witnesses.
The end of line 2 retains the beginning of emiduni^ and line 3
part of sartu.
The Catalogue regards it as a legal decision, concerning Lute'u,
but this seems to be incorrect. He acted in a judicial capacity.
His name occurs, on no. 339, as that of a seller. The name Lu-tu-u
occurs on Rm. 11. 464. The name of the third witness began with
/-//, which has no parallel, as far as I know. The name of the fourth
witness, Isdi-Nabu, is discussed in § 521.
582. No. 170. The left half. Drab.
In line i, the commencement of denu ; in line 2, sd, probably
followed by the name of a magistrate ; in line 3, emtdu{?u) ; all point
clearly to a legal decision. It appears to concern four shekels, which
Gab... had lent to Ilu... ; and the decision was that on the fourth
of the month the defendant should give the money and satisfy the
demands of the plaintiff. If not, the sum should increase by half a
shekel. The date is lost. There seem to have been six witnesses.
Seal impressions are evident on the lower edge.
The Catalogue calls it a ' private contract.'
It is of course impossible to restore the names of the parties, or
of the first three witnesses. Nabli-zer-iddin has been discussed in
§ 467. I now see that there was more than u at the end of the next
name, it was therefore certainly Rimani-Istar, not Rimani-Adadi, as
given in § 467. This name also occurs as that of a seller, on no. 439;
and of a Oel narkabti on no. 857, 11. 12. Au-idri only occurs here.
If we read A-U as an ideogram, as Professor Jensen suggests, we
might have here Ben-Hadad-idri.
583. No. 171. 'I'he lower half. Drab.
The commencement is lost : but, when it begins to be intelligible,
we find that Kurbu-usur had lent Akri, the aba, four minas of silver.
AND DOCUMENTS. 28/
The dhiu, which the sartenu laid down, was that he should i)ay the
money in Abu, and, if not, the money should bear interest at 25 per
cent. The date is lost, but there are traces of perhaps four witnesses.
There is some doubt, owing to its fragmentary nature, about the
meaning of this document. It is possil)le that, in line 4, t?ta pani
introduces not the name of the debtor but of the judicial authority.
If so, he was probably aba of the sartenu. A comparison of the
preceding cases, however, leads me to combine sa sartenu eniidtmi.
At the end of line 2, of lower edge, there is hardly room for all that
I give as a restoration.
I fancy that, in line 2 of obverse, the first few characters contain
a female name ending in -tab?ii. The name in line 3 can hardly be
Pappu-usur. I venture to read it, Kurbti-usur, but I know of no
parallel to either. Akru has been discussed in § 572.
The name of the first witness, Ata, only occurs here : but A-ta
was the name of the prefect of Arzizu, in the time of Asur-nasir-pal,
I. R. 21, 73. We may also compare Atu, in the Harran Census;
A-te\ a witness, Ep. F, on no. 307 ; Ati-i, father of Isdi-Belit, on
no. 307. The latter seems to be the same person as Adi, a witness
and mukil apati^ on no. 260 ; a witness and tamkaru, Ep. A', on
no. 414; also on no. 312; a slave sold, on no. 249; a witness,
on no. 249 ; named on no. 349. We may also note Adu', the name
of a witness, B.C. 675, on no. 175. But Adi is almost certainly the
same person as Idi, a witness, from Ki§^, B.C. 663, on no. 309 ; a
witness and tamkaru^ Ep. A, on nos. 318, 325, 623; the same, in
Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; the same, on no. 344. I must confess that this
variable name puzzles me. The forms may not be all variants of the
one name, but although someone else may discriminate between
them, I am quite unable to do so. This witness was a bel ali of the
city of the goldsmiths, which occurs again in no. 415. I believe
it was the 'Goldsmiths' quarter' in Nineveh.
The next witness, Sarru-na'id, is discussed in § 492. He was
apparently a kalbu sipiriti: as was also the next witness, from
Hubaba, Aplia. For this name see § 518. The remains of the next
name may perhaps be restored Ninip-ukin, which has no parallel in
our documents. Whether dur-ekalli is part of the name of a person,
or place, or whether it is complete, does not clearly appear. There
was room for another short name, or a title, before it.
CHAPTER VI.
DEEDS OF SALE IN GENERAL.
584. In order to avoid endless repetition it is necessary to group
together some general observations on the deeds of sale which are
perfectly distinct in character from all the other documents in this
work. With but few exceptions the shape of the tablets containing
them is the same and quite unlike the loan-tablets, the corn-tablets,
or the deeds of gift. At the same time they differ considerably in
size, and are of varied thickness. The writing is usually across the
tablet parallel to its shorter side. The number of lines contained on
the tablet is far from uniform, but the spacing of the words and
phrases is very regular. A glance at the glossary will shew how often
the same word will be found in the same line of a text. Constant
practice in writing the same formulae can only account for such close
correspondence in the mechanical arrangement of a document. One
might even be tempted to suppose that deeds of sale were kept ready
written with spaces left for the names and necessary details to be
filled in on occasion. The way in which a short name is often
spread out, and a long one crammed up ; or in which what would
have filled a whole line is often written over the edge ; the frequent
occurrence of the determinative for a witness without any name
following it; and, finally, the fact that often a name or numeral or
other variable detail has perished while the body of the document
continues clearly preserved, all lend support to this conjecture. On
the other hand no instance occurs where the details are filled in by a
different hand from the body of the document. It may be that the
scribe having received instructions to prepare a deed of sale went
with three or four copies ready drawn up and filled in ihc details in
the presence of the contracting parties. 'I'he clay would then have
partially set and the subsequent writing be less durable.
AND DOCUMENTS. 289
Many of the phrases, which occur in the deeds of sale, occur also
in the mortgages and in charters, etc. It seems desirable rather to
take note of them in this chapter than to recapitulate in two or three
places.
585. The deed of sale may be considered to have consisted of three
portions : the preamble, the body of the document, and the attestation.
However this division may strike modern lawyers, it was recognised
by the Assyrian scribe in a marked manner. The three portions are
generally divided from each other by lines ruled across the tablet.
586. The first division of a deed of sale contains a sort of
preamble or introduction. It does not set forth a complete abstract
of the document, for it omits to name the purchaser. It is calculated,
however, to legally establish the consent of the seller and his solemn
declaration of it by his seal. It implies an exhibition of his title.
It indicates in general terms the nature of the property made
over, and forms a perfectly distinct paragraph from the rest of the
document.
This is all accomplished in a very concise and pregnant manner.
Suppose for example A sells B a house {bitu). The document would
open with the words, ku7iiik A bel biti tadanni, 'the seal of A,
legitimate owner of the house sold.' Then would follow the
impression of his seal.
Each word here deserves to be carefully considered. The
Assyrian name for a seal was kwiukku : this is always in these
documents represented by the ideogram TAK-SID. There is no
doubt whatever that the seal impressed was that of the seller. Not
only does the document expressly say so, but no trace exists in these
documents of any one else having ever sealed the document. The
scribe certainly did not, nor the witnesses ^ The usage may have
been entirely different in early Babylonian times and perhaps was so
in later Babylonian times. One may well conjecture that when a
deed was executed in duplicate each party would take a copy and
that the copy held by each bore the other's seal. If so, none of the
documents in this collection are sellers' copies, for each bears the
seller's seal. When there were more than one seller, each seller's
name is preceded in this way by kunukku : or for kutiukku a sign of
repetition is written.
What has been said is subject to the reservation that the declara-
^ Dr Bezold, Cat. p. 538, K 3493, says the tablet bears the "impressions of the
seals of the witnesses."
J. III. 19
290 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
tion of the seller's consent was not always made by a seal-mark.
Some men apparently did not possess a seal or it was not forthcoming
when wanted. Often instead of a seal they impressed a nail, probably
the thumb nail. So they ' made their mark.' That this was done in
lieu of setting a seal is generally stated expressly in the words, kdm
kunnukkisu supursu tsku?i, in place of his seal he has impressed his
nail. Then instead of the formula first quoted we have the words
supur A bel biti tadanni, the nailmat-k of A the legitimate owner of the
house sold. When there were more than one who impressed this
nailmark we have the sentence in the plural, knm kunukkisunu
supur su7m iskunu. Once, in no. 415, TAK-SID-MES is written,
and once we read the names of the sellers in this sentence, thus
kum kunukkisunu H. and S. supar-sunu iskunu^ no. 473. This
declaration kimi kunukkisu is often omitted and supur A is written
alone; see nos. 191, 259, 412 etc.
Sometimes one seller impressed his seal and another his nailmark
on the same tablet.
587. Very many tablets contain the above verbal statements
that the seller has sealed the deed without preserving any trace of a
seal impression or nailmark. A blank space is then left below the
first paragraph as if for these impressions, but in not a few cases this
space is so narrow that no seal could ever have been impressed
without damaging the writing. In Babylonian tablets the impression
of seals often does partially obliterate the writing of the document ;
but no such case occurs in this collection. This usage may support
the conjecture that the deed was drawn up before the details were
inserted. It may have been the case however that the mere verbal
statement was legally sufficient without an actual impression of the
seal. Such tablets may possibly contain a draft of a deed never
legally executed, but then I think they would not be likely to bear
the date nor the names of the witnesses, as these do. A more
probable suggestion is that such tablets contain copies of the deeds,
kept perhaps by the scribe or notary, while the actually sealed copies
remained in the hands of the contracting parties. This would also
account for the presence of duplicates in the palace archives ; one
copy belonging to the court official making the purchase, the other to
the court scribe who drew up the agreement. This would further
explain the epithet so often applied to the scribe, sdbit duppi, ' holder
of the tablet' or, once at least, sdbit danndt suatu, '■holder of this
agreement.''
AND DOCUMENTS. 29I
588. The sealmark, or the nailmark which takes its place,
establishes the consent of the owner of the property about to be
transferred. His identity is usually rendered beyond question by the
addition of his titles, his parentage or in the case of aliens his
nationality. That he was really entitled to sell was naturally an
important question for the buyer, who may be presumed to have
satisfied himself on the point before closing the bargain. The
document, however, distinctly and unequivocally states the fact, by
using of the seller the important word hcl. As in the historical
documents bel kussi signifies legitimate possessor of the throne^ so here
the words bel biii mean more than ' master of the house^' they imply
the right to sell it, and form a stereotyped addition to his name and
titles, without which an Assyrian judge would doubtless have con-
sidered the document invalid. It is of importance to bear this in
mind, for in this connection bel is so constantly used that no text has
preserved the passage without it.
The word which immediately follows bel is the designation of the
property ; and therefore gives the clue to the whole transaction.
When we read bel biti, we need read no further to know we are
dealing with the transfer of a 'house.' If w^e find the seller called
bel ekli, in the line before the seals, we know that the transaction is a
transfer of a field. An observance of this rule is the sure guide to a
correct classification of the properties sold or leased or mortgaged.
Once we have settled that we are dealing with a sale, if the line
before the seal space be preserved, we need have no doubt as to
what is being sold. The detailed specification of the property,
which follows in the body of the document, may be lengthy, obscure,
or ambiguous, but with this key we know at least what the Assyrian
scribe considered the property to be. For example, no. 383 has in
the line before the seal the unmistakeable words bel ekli tadanni
'' legitimate owner of the field transferred.^ The detailed specification
of the property may begin with the words Bit X imer ekli., and we
may be tempted to render, a house and X homers of land., but as
there is no house named in the preamble, we must render a parcel of
X homers of land. So even though the scribe has in no. 415 placed
the names of the sellers below the nailmarks instead of above them,
when he calls them collectively bel ekle he cannot mean ' surveyors of
land'^^ ; but ^legitimate owners of the fields sold.'
The use of bel in this connection is so fixed, that the word
^ See Cat. p. 1637, Rni. 11. 19.
19 — 2
292 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
generally undergoes no change, even where bel in the sense of * lord '
would be grammatically impossible. If there were several sellers the
formula kunuk A is repeated for each of them, each seller separately
impressing his seal or nailmark. In some cases, to judge by the
seal-impressions, one man sealed for the party or all used the same
seal. But seal or no seal, one or many, the line before reads only
bel. Whether the sellers were regarded as a corporate unity in
ownership, or the formula was too fixed to be affected by the plural
sense ; this is the common usage. In a few cases the plural bele is
correctly given \ The usual spelling is replaced by be-ili in no. 286 :
but even a lady is styled bel in no. 217.
589. Finally, the transfer of ownership is expressed by tadanni.
No matter what the nature of the property, be it mascuHne or
feminine, singular or plural, it is always said to be tadanni. This
word, then, cannot be a verb, but must be a noun in apposition with
the name of the property sold. Taking a verb form, one must render
it variously sold^ leased or mortgaged^ according to the nature of the
transaction. The only rendering that would cover all these meanings
seems to be ^ transfefTed.' Given is inadmissible (even if the root
be naddnu to gii'e) because except in an Oriental sense (of an
dvTiBoipov) it is not a gift. The use of a noun would be rather
awkward in English, owner of the house the purchase would be fairly
literal ; ' the grant ' is a legal term, but English usage demands a
participle here. The general sense of the phrase then is legitimate
owner of the property granted. In the case of real property the term
used in English deeds is 'conveyed,' and as that seems to fit the
sense well enough for ordinary purposes I shall use it as a rule. The
various ways of writing the word will be found under tadanni in the
glossary. In the glossary will also, I hope, be found every place
entered, in which kunukku is written. The places where kunukku
occurs in the phrase kum kunukkisu supursu iskun are entered
separately. The word supru is entered by itself, where it occurs
alone, then are entered the places where it occurs in this phrase.
The word iskun is entered under sakdnu, its proper verb root : and
the cases furnished by this phrase are there distinguished. The
abbreviation I adopt for the preamble is Z'; K denotes that a seal
is either said to be impressed or is actually on the tablet : $ denotes
that a nailmark is either said to be impressed or is actually on the
' NOS. ■202, ^46, 2()(), 616.
AND DOCUMENTS. 293
tablet. Of course P is not used of a tablet where the preamble is
lost, although it may be certain that it was originally on the tablet.
590. The second division follows the seal-space, and even when
the seals or nailmarks are absent, is marked off by a line drawn
across the tablet. In a few cases, however, the preamble extends
beyond the seal-space and then there is no division line between it
and the body of the document. In some of these cases it looks as
if the scribe had allowed three or four lines for his preamble and
drawn the division lines above and below the seal-space, before he
began to write the document, and then finding insufficient space in
his first division had simply gone on into the second.
The second division contains the body of the document and is
complete in itself. If this alone be preserved we know the parties to
the agreement, the nature of the transaction, a detailed description
of the property, its price and sometimes the date of the sale. As a
rule, however, it gives less information about the seller than the first
division. It usually states that the purchaser has acquired the
property and that the full price has been paid, in other words, that
the transfer has actually taken place. Although in the eye of the
law the ownership changed from the date of the sale, some con-
siderations may be urged later to shew that time had to be allowed
for the seller to produce the property and that the purchaser in some
cases did not enter into possession or occupancy, though legally he
had full power to do so. The document however knows nothing of
such deferred assumption of possession.
A great part of this division is usually occupied with clauses
calculated to exclude any future invalidation of the contract, or in
some way to render the bargain more definite and explicit on certain
points that might possibly cause disagreement.
This second division begins with a specification of the property
transferred. The details regarded as necessary to identify the
property, of course, vary from class to class and must be dealt with
in the separate chapters introductory to them. One point alone
calls for notice here, the seller's name is often given in this specifi-
cation. Thus amongst other details, when A sells a house to B^ it
is specified as bitusu sa A, the house of A. When there are more
sellers than one the names may be repeated, but they are often
referred to as amele anniite, 'these people.'
591. The first word after the specification is the verb upis. If
A sold B a house \sq have tipibna B. The exact sense of this word
294 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
is not so obvious as some seem to have found it. It cannot simply
mean ' B has bought ' for it occurs when he has not done so. It is,
however, certain that B is the nominative to the verb, because when
-5 is a lady we have the feminine form tupisma. The word has been
derived from the verb epesu^ ''to do, ??iake, etc.^ In this case it has
taken a technical shade of meaning, possibly with some word meaning
'bargain ' to be understood (cf. the phrase mahira epus in Rm. 157).
At any rate, it means here, ''he has acquired,^ '' ?7iade his oivn.^ Prof.
Delitzsch H. W. B. p. 116, however, postulates a separate root for it.
In any case, its meaning clearly implies in this connection that
whereas A was before now owner of the house, he is that no longer,
but B has become the owner. The word of itself is not sufficient
to stamp the transaction as a sale, for it occurs also in leases,
exchanges, etc. ; but as it does not seem to occur outside the
contracts, any fragment containing it is prima facie part of a contract
(see nos. 718, 725, etc.).
It makes clear the transfer of ownership : possibly stopping short
of implying occupancy or possession. It is however quite fair to
render it has bought, when from other considerations we know we are
dealing with a sale, only I should hesitate to say epesu meant to buy.
The almost invariable suffix -ma (exceptions in nos. 181, 265,
308, 354, 384, 387, 442) implies that another verb follows in the same
sentence. Usually this associated verb ilki is to be found some
way further on in the document. The two verbs have the same
nominative and when one is feminine so is the other. It not
unfrequently happens that the scribe ignores the gender of this
nominative and writes both upisma and ilki of a lady. (See nos.
242, 245, 310, 317.)
This word ilki, from the verb laku, ' to take,'' simply means ' has
taken ' : so that the clause implies that the purchaser has ' acquired
and taken'' the property, a statement corresponding to the common
phrase *" sold and delivered.''
There are but few variants to upis \ beside the feminine tupis,
uppis occurs in nos. 207 and 642, and in another connection a
female slave is said to be 'acquired,' uppusat. A form utappis
occurs in no. 181. As far as I know, upis is never replaced
by a different verb. On the other hand ilki, besides its feminine
form talki, has variants, ilki and talki fairly often, and sometimes is
partly written ideographically as il-TI, Tl-ki. A plural form ilakkiu
occurs in no. 216, and ilakki'xw no, 201 etc. This verb is replaced
AND DOCUMENTS. 295
by others, as izirip ^ he has bout^ht,'' from zai'apu to ^ biiy^ (once at
least izan'p); isiki, issiki\ from eseku^ 'to acquire,' in nos. 247, etc. ;
all with a similar meaning, and once by tadin, used of a female
buyer; no. 219.
One or two cases occur where the purchaser acquired, only to
part WMth, the property: such as no. 176, where we have upih?ia
ipiatar^ 'he acquired and set free,' a slave ; no. 318, where we have
upisma izirip ittisi, ' he acquired, bought and exchanged,' a case of
barter or exchange ; in no. 293, we have upisma followed by izirip
itiditna, ' he has acquired, bought and assigned,' to a servant.
592. The second of these verbs usually closes the sentence, and
is preceded by a phrase, i?ia libbi X i?ia?ie kaspi, for example, which
gives us the price of the property. This piece of the clause may
come before upisma and occasionally after ilki. Naturally it varies
considerably, but some generalisations are possible. Ina libbi is a
compound expression meaning literally in the heart of^ in the midst,
within, but in this connection it must be rendered at the price of, for.
As we say the price 'covers' the purchase, so here the price 'includes'
it. hia libbi has few variants ; ina lib, where lib may be an ideogram
for libbi, i-na lib-bi and i-7ia lib occur. It is used of exchanges as
well as sales, to mark the exchange taken. For ina libbi, istu libbi
occurs in no. 625, 16.
The price paid follows, expressed as usual in shekels, minas, or
talents, of bronze, or silver ; see Chapter in, for the money
system. These prices are collected in tables, later, and some
remarks on them will be found in the introductions to the separate
classes.
A further frequent expansion of this clause is the insertion of the
names of the sellers ; thus upisma B, istu pdni A, means B has
acquired from A. The note of this expanded phrase is istu pd?ii,
literally from the face, or presence of: the transferred property leaves
the presence of the seller to enter that of the purchaser. It is
impossible to decide whether the phrase is more closely associated
with upis, or ilki. It may occur anywhere in the clause : before or
after upisf?ia, see Glossary under pdnu.
When there were more sellers than one, their names may here be
repeated from the preamble, even with their full titles and relation-
ships, but very often they are merely termed amele anjitite, ''these
persons,^ or as in no. 389, 7, afnele suate. The former word annu has
the force of ' here,' as contrasted with ammu, ' that there ' ; suatu
296 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
covers both 'this' and 'that.' We should therefore render amele
hiate by 'the aforesaid.'
The clause which I have just discussed I call the acquisition
clause. It contains, then for the first time, the name of the
purchaser, his titles etc., it expresses the acquisition by him of the
property from the former owners, and gives the price paid down.
I denote it by Ac.
In any complete document we have so far a threefold mention of
the former owner, first in the ' preamble,' next in the ' specification,'
lastly in the 'acquisition clause.' The purchaser is here named for
the first time. It is usual later to name both again, in a clause
forbidding either to bring any action against the other, and so we
have the name of the purchaser written twice and that of the seller
four times. It is of importance to note this, when dealing with
fragments, as we can then assign the contract to the proper parties.
593. That we probably have in this collection only buyers'
copies of the deeds in question renders it hazardous to guess what
differences the other copies would shew. In no. 399 we have a
different arrangement of words, rev. i f. reads tipihna ma lib {price) istu
pant A ilki. Here the buyer B is clearly the nominative to upisma
as usual. In no. 401, 4 we have ilki ina libbi {price) upisma ana M.
ittidin^ here the buyer is probably nominative to lipihna and M may
be the person for whose benefit the purchase was made. The tablet
is too broken, however, to decide whether the seller may not here
be the subject of lipisma and M the buyer. In no. 384, 7 f. we
read A upisma ina libbi {price) ana B izirip ittidin, and here B is
certainly the buyer, for in rev. 2 his name appears in the usual
buyer's place. In no. 462, 7 f. we have ana B... upisma A... ina
libbi (price). This also is too mutilated a text to build any theory
upon. The last three examples, however, seem to shew that either
buyer or seller may be subject of 2ipis??ia : so that it cannot mean
simply either to ' sell ' or ' buy,' but, as I think, merely to ' make a
bargain,' or as we say ' come to terms.' It may be that had we a
more general selection of documents we should find many more
cases of the seller being the subject to this verb.
594. After the acquisition clause we generally have the words
kaspu ga7Hmitr tadin : ' the whole money is paid,' literally ' the money
is complete, is given.' The words gammur and tadin are permansives
from gamdru, 'to complete' and naddnu^ 'to give.' This phrase is
one of the commonest and most constant.
AND DOCUMENTS. 297
The word kaspu is nearly always written phonetically kas-pu ; see
however nos. 176, 271, 324 and possibly 484, where KUBABBAR
is written. It must be rendered *■ 7nouey^ here, not 'silver,' for it is
used even when the price is bronze, or when there has been a simple
exchange of property ; e.g. nos. 180, and 252, etc.
Gamniur is the usual spelling, gamur is nearly as frequent and
ga-a7fi-inur is written in nos. 238 and 399. Por ganimur^ 7iiithar is
written in no. 442, and the word in no, 469 appears to have
commenced with HE^ perhaps an ideogram for gamdru, read gam.
Tadin is the most usual spelling, but ta-ad-din is very frequent ;
tadinni and SE-ni also occur. Tadini comes in nos. 381, 492 and
577. The odd form tatidi?i, in no. 373, may be an error.
This phrase is occasionally omitted, e.g. nos. 318, 385, 450,
apparently without prejudice.
This statement seems to me expressly to exclude the idea of any
earnest money, or any deposit on the purchase money. We must
return to that point later.
I call this sentence the closure clause, C.
595. It is generally followed by the converse statement, the
property conveyed is said to be ' bought and taken,' zarip, laki,
permansives of zardpu, 'to buy,' and /aku 'to take.' The feminine
forms are za?pat, lakkiat, plural forms zarpi^ and lakkut. Some
exceptional spellings occur. After pat we have a phonetic comple-
ment, at^ the word being written zar-pat{-at), in no. 208 ; za-ar-pa-at
occurs in no. 209, za-dr-pai in nos. 210, 222 : za-ar-pat in nos. 211,
311, 412. In no. 308, za-pat is very likely an error. The sign,
usually read zer^ has clearly the value zdr\ we have in no. 233,
zdr-pat (at) as a feminine plural. As variants to za?'ip we have
zdr-rip in no. 349 ; za-ar-pi, of a house in no. 335 ; and of fields in
nos. 408, 414. The form za-dr-pi occurs of a house in no. 334; and
za-ri-bi of a field in no. 386. The apparently plural form zar-pu is
used of one male slave in no. 175, unless the strange spelling
zar-zip-pu is really meant. On the other hand zarip is used fairly
often for the plural : zdr-pu is nearly as common as zar-pu^ za-ar-pu
and za-dr-pu are quite as frequent. Abnormal forms are za-fip-pu
in no. 643, and za-rap-pu in no. 452, A feminine (?) plural occurs in
no. 446, where we have kirn nise za-ar-pat-ti. The form za-ar-pa^
no. 419, is plural, and valuable, with zarpi^ to fix the /, as against
the h shewn in zaribi.
The correct representation of the parts of laM was clearly a
298 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
matter of divided opinion. In the singular masculine, lakki is
commonest, but lakki is frequent enough : la-ki is as common, and
la-ki occurs in no. 172. A rather unexpected form is la-a-ki, in
nos. 384 and 415 : but in no. 492, we have la-a-ki. The feminine
singular is lakkiat, in no. 207, lak-ki-at in no. 317, and often la-ki-at,
la-ki-atm nos. 215 and 219. A rather remarkable form is la-ki-ta-a
in no. 216, cf. also no. 442. The plural lak-ki-il is common, also
lak-ki-u ', lak-ki-u is frequent and lak-ki-{i occurs in nos. 258, and
289. The form la-ki-u is also common, and la-ki-u fairly so, but
ia-ki-il in nos. 242 and 350, and la-ki-u in nos. 237 and 238 also
occur. The form la-a-ki-u is perhaps a plural, though it is con-
structed only with eklu in no. 386. The forms lak-ki- in no. 560,
lak-ki- in no. 428, and la-ki- in no. 643, are plural forms and we
may assume that the breathing -' implies a 71.
The ideogram for laHi being 77, a number of forms arise from
the use of TI with phonetic suffix or prefix. In the singular we
have 7Y simply, in nos. 200 and 324. More often we get Tl-ki^ but
also la-TI m. no. 400, and il-TI in no. 506. In the feminine we get
SAL-TI'\n no. 308, that is 77 with sign of the feminine, i.e. lakkiat.
Also in no. 446, 77 seems to be a feminine plural, perhaps to be
read lakkf as in no. 233. In the plural TI alone is read in
nos. 310, 477 : TI-u in nos. 235, and 283 a: 77-// in 241 and 262.
In 254, B. E. I occurs the very odd form NU-TI, that is usually to
be read Id ilakki: here, however, it seems we are to read A-^^as la, a
phonetic prefix to 77, and the whole as lakkiu. Quite abnormal
appears to be laik in no. 181.
In no. 477, isikih added to the verbs zarpu, TI.... There must
be some error here surely. We expect another permansive.
In one case we have uppusat used of a female slave, i.e. ' she is
acquired'; no. 207. In some cases, nos. 384 and 492, cf. also
no. 436, we have aptl from apdlu, originally ' to answer,' ' reply.'
This permansive form comes in as an addition to the usual zarip
lakki and is found in great profusion in the new Babylonian contracts.
Written a-pil in our case, it is given as a-pi-il in Sir. Nbd. it 6, 293 :
so that the somewhat uncertain /// is made clear. From the sense
of 'answering' seems to have arisen that of 'paying' a sum, and in
the new Babylonian contracts the usual rendering is 'is paid.' Here,
however, it is used of the purchase, and apil must have the general
sense 'is made over'; doubTless with the understanding 'in answer
to the price paid.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 299
Another addition to these verbs is za-a-ku in no. 492, and
possibly za-ku-u in no. 438. Whether this is to be derived from ?Mku
' to be free ' and here means ' is set free,' is rather difficult to decide
from a single instance. The spelling given inclines one rather to
zciku. If that be so, we have to remember that zaku is clearly
parallel with our zai'ip lakki: there seems no real change in the
bearing of the clause.
No. 409 has, in rev. 4, a phrase which seems to take the place of
this clause and of which the remains are only ...takkanu i?ia dint.
No conclusion can be drawn from this damaged text. The formula
may here have been widely different.
In no. 434, ta-din^ 'is given,' occurs as parallel to the usual
verbs. It is rather remarkable that this form occurs so rarely in
this clause.
The clause itself is often omitted ; being in fact only the converse
of the last, it is really unnecessary for accuracy, though valuable as
giving a logical completeness to the statement of the transaction.
I call it the converse closure clause and denote by C .
The subject of these verbs is of course the property itself.
596. It is to be noticed that in this clause the property con-
veyed is again briefly indicated ; for example, in a house sale, we
should read here, hitu suatii zarip lakki. This second summary
description, beside that in the preamble, is of great value. For when
the description of the property in detail is likely to mislead because
of its unknown terms, this second summary will settle any doubt as
to the real nature of the property. I call this D' .
The property is almost always here spoken of as suafu, ' this '
* the aforesaid.' Thus in the example quoted we should render, ' the
house aforesaid is sold and taken.'
The word suatu is spelt with every conceivable variety, uiatu,
siiatu, suaM, Matii, suate, siiate, suati^ and hcati. So far as I can
judge, either of these forms may be used of singular or plural,
masculine or feminine. An abnormal form in no. 319 is su-u-a-te^
used of the masculine singular.
This word is omitted in nos. 210, 236, 237, 238, 239, 262, 330,
33i» 383, 384, 386.
A singular variant is HAR-MES^ which, as an epithet of a single
male slave in no. 175, line 8, takes the place of suatu. Already
Knudtzon, G. A. S. pp. 16, 77, and glossary, sub voc. suatu, has
pointed out that HAR-tu, which occurs fairly often in his texts,
300 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
must be for suatu. On the stele of Bel-Harran-sar-usur, found at
Tel-Abta, and published by Scheil in Rec. d. Trav. xvi. p. 176 f. (1894),
the same use occurs. There, in line 26, we read ildni sa ina {aban)
nari HAR-tu sumsunu satru, ' the gods whose names are written on
this stele.' Here HAR-tu is clearly suatii^ as I pointed out in 'The
Academy,' no. 1209, p, 14 (July 6, 1895). Scheil read it isirtu,
taking HAR as the ideogram, and tu as the phonetic suffix. Peiser,
K. B. IV. p. 104, followed Scheil, but in a footnote pointed out that
suatu was to be expected : and thought HAR-tu must be an error
for suatu. The true explanation is that HAR is an ideogram for
suatu, and tu is the phonetic suffix. In our case, however, we meet
with a further peculiarity, MES is not here the sign of the plural; but,
from having been so often used in that way and becoming practically
interchangeable with te or //, is here used as a phonetic suffix with
the value te. We are therefore to read HAR-MES here as suate.
The form suate often occurs with nouns in the masculine singular.
The form HAR-tti, of course to be read suati7, occurs in our texts, in
no. 241, as a plural.
As these clauses conclude the statement of the bargain and
affirm its mutual acceptance by the contracting parties, they are a
verbal expression of the conclusion of the bargain, taking the place
of our old-fashioned handshake, and are therefore called by me
' closure ' clauses. The omission of one or other of them however
seems to have made not the least difference to the validity of the
transaction. They are only necessary for formal completeness.
597. Now commences a series of stipulations, intended to bar
litigation, to exclude all openings for revision of the agreement, and
to secure each side from the possible repudiation of the bargain.
As these clauses are fairly independent, they will be denoted by
Roman numerals and quoted as stipulation clause I., II., etc. I
denote them by 6", S^ S,, etc. Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 152 Anm. 3, very
conveniently sums these up as Ei/te Geldbusse fiir eiiien Tempelschatz
(sacrameiitum ?) und Ejitschddigung an dem Vertragsgegner fii?- den
Fall des Zurikktrittes vom Kauf.
I. The commonest of all, usually also occupying the first place,
is the concise phrase, tuaru denu dababu lassu. One cannot be as
concise in its rendering.
Tudru (sometimes replaced by GUR or GUR-RA, ideograms for
the verb tdrtc to return) is a noun meaning a return. Here it means
a repudiation of the bargain sucli as would be effected by a return of
AND DOCUMENTS. 3OI
the goods and a demand for a return of the price, or vice versa. This
is expressly to be barred as the goods are not sold on approval.
That tuih'u is not syntactically connected with the next word is
proved by its omission in no. 262. So we cannot render a return of
tJu dcnu as if it were an annulment of the legal decision laid down.
In these cases of sales there is no legal ' decision ' to be annulled,
only a legally binding agreement. Tudru contemplates a returji of
the money or goods. That is one form of repudiation : the coarsest
form. Tu-a-ru is the usual spelling, but tu-a-rii is common : tu-u-a-ru
in no. 319; tu-a-ri in no. 175: GUR in nos. 181, 199, 410 and
GUR-RA in no. 642 are variants.
Denu means a legal decision here as elsewhere : but it is not the
title of the document. If it were, we might expect suatu to follow it,
as in no. 185, where we have the agreement called dannat suatu, or
as in the deeds of gift, e.g. no. 646, dannite suatu. It is something,
the existence of which is expressly excluded. There is no denu in
the business as yet, and the fervent hope of all concerned is that
there may never be. The word is used in a pregnant sense to denote
the seeking of such a legal decision as w^ould lead to a revision of the
bargain. One may render it by litigation. In a few cases we have
di-e-ni or deni, and then we are not to take tuaru deni together, but
deni dabdbu. The ideogram Dl-TAR, which also signifies the verb
ddnu, to Judge, or the noun daianu, a judge, replaces denu, in nos.
492 and 320. A curious bye-form is di-en-nu, nos. 397, 434, 490,
probably a scribal idiosyncrasy. DI-TAR-su in no. 216 is also
perhaps a slip. The commonest spelling is di-e-nu, and next di-nu.
The word is very often omitted altogether, for example, in nos. 207,
218, 236, 239 etc.
Dabdbu is the infinitive of a verb, here used as a noun, to signify
the action. It means 'to speak,' 'to plead,' 'to speak secretly
against,' 'plan,' 'plot,' 'intrigue.' The phrase daii dabdbu means
'to plead a cause.'
That dabdbu does not usually govern denu, is proved by its
omission in nos. 280 and 401 ; and by the omission of denu itself,
in nos. 207, 218, 412, 428, 467, 491 and often.
The usual writing of the word is ideographic KA-KA, but
nos. 179, 245, 248 give the phonetic spelling da-ba-bu and nos. 260,
384 give da-ba-a-bu] cf. also 217 and 260. The spelling KA-KA-bu,
i.e. the ideogram for dabdbu, with phonetic sufifix bu, is found in
no. 468.
302 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In no. 324, rev. 6 we read tuaru dmi u dabdbu lassu^ which shews
that dini and dabdbu are coordinate and independent.
These nouns are all nominatives to the verb lassu^ which is
contracted from Id and isu. It therefore negatives the existence of
all its nominatives. These things ' shall not be.' It has some variety
of spelling, la-as-m is the commonest, but also la-as-su, la-a-su^
la-a-sii^ la-su^ la-sii, no. 510: la-as-si^ no. 476; and la-a-si^ no. 246;
occur. It appears to be omitted in no. 425, rev. 7, probably
accidentally.
Hence we really have two alternative phrases to render, tudru
denu dabdbu lashi, and tudru dent dabdbu lassu. They must be
rendered, 'there shall be no repudiation, litigation, or machination,'
and ' there shall be no repudiation, or lawsuit.'
A very similar phrase is found in the Babylonian contracts, tdri u
dabdbu tdnu, 'there shall be no repudiation or lawsuit.' The full
Babylonian phrase adds i?ia btrisunu, ' between them ' ; this shews
that the kind of repudiation contemplated is a return of the goods,
and the meaning of dabdbu is a spoken quarrel, or a difference
expressed in words.
That this stipulation was an exhaustive one is obvious, and
several documents go no further. It is however entirely omitted
in a few cases, e.g. nos. 230, 307, 312, 376, 385, etc.
598. II. The second most common stipulation against re-
pudiation of the bargain, which often occurs together with I. and
follows it, I denote by 82- It is usually stated thus : mafinu sa ina
urkis ina mate-ma izakupdni iparikuni lu A hi etc. denu dabdbu istu
B, etc. ubta^uni : then follows a penalty of some kind.
We may render this at once, ' whoever hereafter shall set up a
claim or take an exception, whether A (the seller, his heirs or
assigns), or shall seek from B (the buyer, his heirs or assigns) a legal
forfeit or suit,' shall incur a penalty.
The penalties attaching to breach of contract or legal process for
annulment of the bargain are so various and interesting that they
must have a section to themselves later.
This stipulation, as a rule, is the longest sentence in the whole
document and it often sorely taxed the powers of the scribe to keep
it logical and grammatical throughout. As a consequence it is one
of the most difficult sentences to analyse and set out clearly. In
some cases it is given in a form that is almost chaotic.
Mannu sa^ or mannu sd, is simple enough, 'whoever that.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 303
The scril)c intends to ;idd 'in future.' In this connection /rt is
as frequent as hi. 'I'lie pronoun, ' wlio or tliat,' is almost redundant,
according to our way of thinking, and it is omitted by the scribe in
nos. 329, 356, 386, at least. The scribe further omits inannu sa
altogether in nos. 207, 223, 419 and perhaps elsewhere. It is
postponed till after the words ma urkis^ 'in future,' in nos. 356, 418.
In by far the majority of cases, however, it stands at the head of this
stipulation.
To express futurity the scribe has at his disposal several phrases.
The commonest is ina iirkis. The preposition iiia is usually written
with the single horizontal wedge, but we have i-iia^ written pho-
netically in no. 315 : but also, a-na in no. 252 : and cf. no. 200, ...;/«.
The preposition is sometimes omitted altogether, and iirkis appears
alone, in nos. 350, 412 and 503. Urkis is usually written ur-kis ',
but also ur-kis-si, in nos. 174, 418, 419 and 643. The curious
variant, i?ta ur-kis-a-tu^ occurs in no. 480. As urku means 'after,'
this phrase clearly means 'in after-time,' 'hereafter.' This phrase is
often omitted and may therefore be considered as complementary to
the next, if not exactly synonymous with it. Either would serve the
purpose, each is complementary to the other, and most often both
occur together.
The next phrase is ina mathna. I am inclined to think that
niati is connected with mannu^ and without entering here upon a
discussion of that connection, I venture to suggest that it originally
means 'anything.' If so ina 7nate had originally the sense, 'on any
ground,' 'on any occasion,' and its temporal signification, 'at any
time,' is not necessarily prominent here. If we render 'on any
occasion ' we shall keep the vagueness of the original. For ina^
we have usually the single horizontal wedge : but a-tia occurs in
nos. 252, 360 and 503. The phonetic spelling i-na does not occur.
Instead of ina we have ZL4, istu or ultu^ in no. 471. In several
cases the ina has been absorbed into a compound with rnathna^ and
is represented by //;/. It is replaced by u in several cases, and by u
in one; nos. 249, 260, 326, 373, 428, 507, 642. It is entirely
omitted before niatema m no. 237.
In by far the majority of cases we have ma-te-ma, but ma-te-e-?na
often occurs. We have ma-ti-e-tna in no. 208, via-ti-ma often, and
ma-te-me several times. Mat-e-ma occurs in nos. 238, 428, 435 and
443; 7nat-e in no. 235, but in a different connection, cf. no. 349;
ma-ti^ in nos. 407 and 415, cf. 503 and 642. Ma-te-e-me in no. 427;
304 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ijia-te-e-i^mes read)-;;/^ in no. 264 : ma-a-te in no. 386, and ma-a-te-ma^
in nos. 374 and 376, are also found as variants. By the absorption
of ina, as mentioned above, we get im-via-te-ma in nos. 223, 249, 356
and 414; and apparently im-te-ma in no. 173, unless the scribe has
omitted a ma. In Bu. 91-5-9, 141, see Cata. p. 1942, we have the
form ijn-ma-tim, clearly to be rendered 'now.'
This phrase is more often omitted than the last, see for example
nos. 196, 218, 232, 236, etc.
Other phrases for futurity may be mentioned here.
In no. 492, line 8, after ma iirkis we have a-na ume a-sa-ti ^ iox
days to come.' Compare no. 659, line 6, a-na umi a-{sati). We
may compare the phrase tim sati so frequent in the historical texts,
see Del. H. W. B. p. 239 b.
The phrase ina dr-kat wne occurs with ina matema in no. 474,
line I.
The ideogram EGIR, Br. 4998, which serves for arku and its
derivatives, occurs in the phrase ina (or ana) arkat nine. In no. 436,
line 8, ina EGIR-kdt time occurs; in no. 468, line 13, we have ina
EGIR urnil; and in no. 293, line 10, EGIR wne comes without the
ina. It is frequent in the proclamations, etc., to read rubu arku^
'the future prince,' that is 'the prince who in future'; and in this
formula we once have mannu ark/}, that is 'whoever in future.' This
occurs no. 640, line 13, written EGIR-il that is arkii.
All reference to futurity is, however, sometimes omitted, as in
no. 178, 385, etc., but it is implied by the use of the present (future)
tense of the verbs employed.
It was obviously open to the scribe to write ' in future whoever,'
just as well as to write 'whoever in future.' He usually prefers the
latter style; but we have several arrangements. Thus in no. 356,
we have ina urkis mannu sa ina matema', in no. 271, ina urkis ina
matema mannu sa, and in no. 418, ina urkissi ina matema mannu sa.
After the phrases denoting futurity, generally come the verbs
denoting the action which this clause was meant to exclude and
penalise. The subject of these verbs is of course mannu sa^ and
that no further subject need be sought is clearly shewn by the
repetition of mannu sa, before the second verb, as in no. 174. The
scribe certainly appears to have found it difficult always to keep the
subject of the sentence clearly before his mind, or felt it was likely
to be forgotten, for he resumes it by the use of a pronoun in a very
unnecessary and sometimes rather embarrassing way. Thus, in
AND DOCUMENTS. 305
no, 471, we read tnannu sa itia urkis ultu matcma ma/unt sa ; and
he frequently inserts what seems to me to be a redundant sa. Some
examples will be given as we go on, i)ut there is no good to be gained
from registering every case of what is mere incapacity to carry on the
thread of an argument.
In passing we note that, after this beginning ma}iiiu sa ina urkis
ina matcma^ the scribe, in no. 310, line 16, inserts isiu pani and the
name of the seller. Owing to the defective state of the tablet, it is
not easy to decide how he meant to conclude his sentence, and the
text appears to read sa pani. Perhaps he meant by sa pchii, simply
an adverse animus, and we may render 'whoever in future on any
occasion against the seller or his representatives shall set up a claim
or take an exception,' but then he adds, ' either the buyer or her
representatives shall seek,' which is elliptical possibly. It may mean,
'shall do these things or seek to do them': but I fancy he forgot
the departure he had already made from the usual beginning, and
merely dropped into the usual phrases for the conclusion of his
sentence. The sentence seems disjointed as it stands. One line,
however, is lost partly and the beginning of another, so he may have
written good sense after all. Only, this is a distinct departure from
the usual formula.
We now come to the verbs expressing the actions that were to be
condemned and penalised. They are usually two and for the most
part the same two. This very frequent association of words whose
meaning is hardly synonymous, but rather complementary, is very
characteristic of our documents, as it is also of modern legal writings.
The use of one word alone would conceivably leave an opening for
the other class of action, the use of both covers all the ground, though
at some risk of overlapping of ideas, if not exactly of tautology.
The most usual pair are zakdpu diud pardku. The former literally
means ' to set up ' and is used of setting up ' stakes,' ' obelisks,'
' stelae ' and the like, also of ' setting out ' plants in a garden, etc.
Delitzsch therefore, H. W. B. p. 261, considers the use in our
contracts to be intransitive, and would render, ' whoever in future
shall stand up and do so and so.' This would, I think, involve that
the second verb should contain all the objectionable action. It
would probably also demand that our verb should be followed by ;;/«,
as when we have upisma ilki above. At any rate, it is certain zakdpu
can occur alone, and in those cases we should have to assume that
the ' standing up ' implied the hostile intent. This may of course be
J. III. 20
306 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
implied in Uelitzsch's aufsteheti which we could render ' rebel ' etc.
I do not think it is necessary to make zakapu intransitive here. The
' setting up of a claim ' is not an inconceivable implication. The
interchange of our verb with ehvini, which is sometimes transitive,
sometimes implies a claim ; and its replacement by idabubu seems to
imply that it meant 'to take legal action.' Accordingly I render by
'set up a claim.'
The nouns which so often follow it in the sentence, dini dabdbu,
are undoubtedly the objects of the verb ubtahmi^ but it seems
allowable to regard them either as objects also of zakapu^ or as the
implied objects. They mean ' a legal claim,' and ' a plea ' ; to both
of these we can apply zakapu very well. We can speak of ' setting
up a claim,' or of 'setting up a plea,' without violence to well
recognised figures of speech.
The second associated verb is paraku. For this Delitzsch,
H. W. B. p. 539 f., has two distinct meanings, one 'to bar' or
'blockade' and the other 'to exercise power over.' Neither suits
very well here. It can hardly be supposed to refer to imprisonment.
Delitzsch nowhere, that I can see, refers to this verb as occurring in
the contracts. It seems to me that the primitive meaning is that of
' separation,' and that in legal terms ' to shut one up to a course of
action ' or ' to conclude one in a fault ' may be parallels to the sense
required. I take it to refer to that legal process which would limit
the free exercise of ownership by the buyer over his purchase : the
pleading of some reservation about the property which would ' hem
in,' 'shackle' or 'hamper' the purchaser. Hence I give this verb
the general sense of 'take exception.'
The clause that is wanted here is clearly an express declaration
that the bargain is final, and whoever on the seller's side shall
attempt to upset it by raising a legal point concerning the validity of
the .sale, or the fulfilment of the sale conditions, is to be penalised.
We shall see later who and what persons were likely to intervene,
and something of the grounds they would allege. The reader will do
well perha[)s to suspend his judgment on the sense of these two verbs
until he has considered the points on which the bargain conceivably
might be upset. 'J'hese grounds of dispute must have influenced the
selection of terms here and must be covered by them.
The form in which the former verb occurs is especially interesting
because on it Oppert and others founded a complete and absolutely
false theory of the nature of the transaction. It very often appears
AND DOCUMENTS. 307
as izakupanui^ of which ihc otlicr forms known to these writers were
regarded as variants. They regarded -anni as the first personal
pronoun, suffixed ; and insisting strongly on grammatical accuracy,
rendered the verb 'shall set himself up before me.'
Grammatical accuracy does not seem to me to be the strong
point of this rendering. One would rather expect this to mean
' shall set me up.' I have not come across any suffix yet that would
signify that the action of the verb takes place 'before me.' If -an?ii
be the personal suffix at all, it could only be attached to transitive
verbs. However, l)r Oppert alone adheres now to this rendering;
Dr Peiser frankly abandoned it in K. B. iv. all through his renderings
of the Assyrian contracts; Delitzsch shews no sign of it in his
H. W. B. On this sentence, however, was founded the conclusion
that the words were uttered by 'a judge' and that he forbade this
course of action, and laid down the attached penalties. A legal
functionary was therefore to be sought somewhere in the text. The
parties to the contract having been recognised and the witnesses,
there only remained the aba. His title, with its suggestiveness of
'elder,' the epithets accompanying the name, such as sdbit damiiti.,
'holding the agreement,' all lent some support to the idea, and
Dr Oppert renders aba by judex continually. He even was able to
find one or two other verbs in the first person singular to bear out
the theory. These, however, either do not exist on the tablet, or are
capable also of being taken as third person singular. Numerous
examples of verbs in the first person singular occur in the later
Babylonian contracts, but they are usually prefixed by kiam ikbi,
'thus saith.' A further consequence followed from the conclusion
that the aba was the judge who pronounced the decision of which
the document was the written monument. The real legal decisions,
which have been discussed separately, and which never use the first
person singular, any more than the contracts do, were not sharply
distinguished from the contracts. Dr Bezold in his great catalogue
was betrayed by this specious theory into confusing the documents.
So far as I can see, he had no criterion for distinguishing a legal
decision from a contract ; and I suspect that when the document had
not already been published and its nature pointed out by others, he
merely relied on the existence of the suffix -ajini to justify his calling
the document a legal decision. Although, in a few cases, Professor
Oppert has omitted to render anfii by ' before me,' he still maintains
the above view. In Das Assyrische Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii. p. 266,
20 — 2
308 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
he says of the deeds of sale, diese Urkiinden sind keine Vertrdge,
sofider?i ivirkliche Ui'theile^ gefdllt von Schoffengericht unter Vorsitz
eines Chef {aba, mihi).
The forms in which izakupamii appears are many. I-za-ku-pa-ni
occurs t6 times; i-za-ku-pa-a-ni, ii times, cf. also no. 260; i-za-ku-
pa-an-ni, 7 times; i-za-ktip-a-ni, in no. 327 ; i-za-kup-an-7ii, 5 times;
i-za-kii-ba-m, in no. 218; i-zak-ku-pati-ni, in no. 263; i-zak-ku-pa-ni^
in nos. 237 and 427 ; t-zak-kup-an-ni, 17 times; i-zak-ku-pa-an-?ii, in
nos. 373 and 642 ; e-za-ku-pa-ni, in no. 349. In no. 311, the scribe
wrote i-za-ku-a-pa-7ii, and in no. 464, i-za-ku-za-pa-ni. In several
cases, the verb is not completely preserved, but counting all cases
where the ending is legible, we have 32 cases in -amii, to 46 that
ended differently.
My explanation of the case is that the verb itself here is izakupa,
rarely izakupu, once abnormally izakfibd, the long vowel being due to
the use in a pausal form. The -ni is merely the enclitic ni marking
the hypothetical sentence. The form -an-ni is only a graphical
device for expressing the length of the a in d-ni. In the cases
where, in other documents, -anni clearly means ' me,' it seems that
really nt is the pronoun, and that quite separate in origin and sense
from -ni enclitic. The presence of an before it is a graphic device
to indicate the length of the final vowel. It would be very difficult
to account for such variants as end in nni, on the supposition that
they were derived from -anni.
Some verbs seem to have always preferred to make their final
vowel, in these hypothetical sentences, a, as zakdpu clearly
does. On the other hand pardku usually prefers the long u
before -ni.
Pardku is nearly always written with the ideogram GIL, Br. 1386.
In by far the majority of cases we have GiL-u-ni\ twice GIL-u-ni,
nos. 236 and 265. This verb gives frequent examples of a phonetic
prefix ; we very often have i-GlL-u-ni, i-GIL-u-ni also, in nos. 246,
260, 326. The spelling e-GIL-ic-ni occurs in nos. 210 and 284,
cf also the cases in nos. 184, 349. The reading of this ideogram by
Ol)[K'rt as gug, for which I know no reason, led him to transliterate
either ii^uguni or cguguni. His theory demanded and led to his
rendering by invocabit inc, poscet a me, and the like. 'I'lie ideogram
GJL however is given in Briinnow as pardku. l)r Peiser in K.B. iv.
uniformly reads it pardku. In no. 552, line 3, we liave a phonetic
spelling, i-pa-ri-ku-u-ni : which not only makes Peiser's reading
AND DOCUMENTS. 309
certain, but shews very clearly that the ending is not a first personal
pronominal suffix.
The way in wliicli either one or other of these two verbs is omitted
renders it very improbable indeed that they are more than coordinate.
It is quite unlikely that if izaktipani meant 'shall set himself up
to do' what is meant hypaniku, either verb could be omitted. A com-
parison of a few places will render this clear to the reader : thus zakapu
is omitted in nos. 230, 236, 244, 247, 248, 249, 254, 262, 312, 315,
324, 335, 383, 385 etc.: paraku is omitted in nos. 203, 208, 212,
231, 238, 239, 251, 259, 263, 319, 350, 360, 374, 418 etc.: both are
omitted in nos. 181, 183, 232, 336, 386, 389, 407, 412, 417, 434 etc.
The scribe however was not entirely confined to the use of these
two verbs.
He used the verb elmi to replace the pair. Thus in no. 252, we
have mannu sa ana urkis ana niatema e-la-a?i'?iij the same in nos.
372, 489. In no. 618, we have mannu sa e-la-a-ni\ in no. 474, we
have mannu sa ina arkat ume ina matema e-la-an-ni. In this formula,
after enumerating the probable litigants, the scribe resumed his
thread with another sa e-la-a-ni. In no. 418, after the scribe had
written, in rev. 2, i7ia urkissi t?ia matema manmi sa izakupani^ he
enumerated the likely litigants and added kurbu ma7i7iu sa cldni. In
no. 436, the passage is defective, but may be restored as follows,
{niannu sa tfia) matema ina arkat {iwie e)-ta-an-7n, and here again,
after the litigants, he resumes with sa e-la-an-7ii. In no. 506, the
same wording was probably followed.
Here it seems clear that elan7ii or eld7ii is capable of taking the
place of the two verbs above. It will hardly be maintained that this
word could mean ' shall set himself up before me ' : if it meant to
'set up' at all, it would surely mean 'shall set me up.' It must
mean simply ' shall rise.'
The phrase kurbu elanni appears to be intended to take the place
of dim dabdbu ubta\mi and will be considered again with that phrase :
but we may note here that it exchanges with elanni alone. So that
in legal phraseology ' to rise ' was taken to imply the hostile intent of
bringing a lawsuit. We could not attach that meaning to the word
in English and must render at least ' to raise a point.' The freer
rendering ' to set up a claim ' is clearer and admits of interchange
with zakapu.
In no. 419, rev. 6, we have the spelling e-la-a-a-7ti.
Another way of putting the point was to say, as in no. 376,
310 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
ma?inu sa ina urkis ina 7nathna ibalkdtuni. This verb clearly means
to ' break off,' from the agreement ; the sense of ' rebellion ' which it
often has is very similar. In no. 265, rev. 7, after the scribe had
written {niannu so) ina urkis ina matema^ and probably had used the
verbs zakapu and parakii^ and had enumerated likely litigants and
the penalties, and had indeed come to the usual end of the formula,
for some cause he seems to have started this clause again with
niajinu sa ipaj-ikuni {i-ba)l-a-kat-ii-ni and then appended a penalty.
The place is badly written and the sign kdt is not very certain. As
parallels to this may be added here the condensed forms given in
no. 321, mannu sa ina eli mannu ibalkatHni^ 'whoever shall fall out
with the other': and in no. 633, simply {7na?inu s)a i-bal-kdt-u-ni^
' w^hoever shall break off.' It is worthy of note, that in these cases,
wherever phonetically spelt, the sign kdt is used, Br. 1365. In
no. 321, BAL-u-jii is written, where BAL is the ideogram for
balkatu. The usual form of the present, in one of the mortgages,
may be noted here; in no. 161, we have ib-bal-lak-kit-u-ni. Also, in
no. 780, will be found i-bal-kdt-ii-ni. That we have here a syncopated
form of the present ibbalakit is obvious.
A very distinct variant from the above clause, but yet only a
variant, is to be found occasionally. The first example is to be
found in no. 264, where we read, ma?tnu sa ina urkis ina mateme
{ikab)-bu-u-ni ; then, after enumerating the litigants, the scribe re-
sumes sa ikabbuni md iiise Id addin ; then follows the penalty. Here
again the scribe shews that what is really contemplated is a verbal
repudiation of the bargain, and instances the sort of plea that would
be put in. We may render ' whoever in future on any occasion
shall say (among the representatives of the seller) I did not give
the slaves.'
In several other cases we have a similar construction to this, but
they are best taken after the phrase dini dabdbu ubta^ihii has been
dealt with.
After the two verbs izakupdm\ iparikuni^ or whichever occurs, or
after the verbs ekumi^ ibalkatuni^ or ikabbiini, taking their place, we
usually have an enumeration of the litigants on the seller's side, who
may take these exceptionable actions against the buyer and his
representatives. As these lists are long and of great interest, it is
be.st to postj)one them for separate consideration ; merely noting
here their place. As the enumeration of them takes some space,
the scribe often resumes his sentence after the enumeration by a
AND DOCUMENTS. 3II
repetition of tlie Jiiannu or niantiu sa or sa to which these names are
in apposition, and which he had already written at the head of
the clause.
599. The real thread of the sentence is resumed with the
words dinu dababu ubtd'uui. This we may render, ' (or) seek a legal
decision or plea.'
The most usual spelling here is di-e-nu^ but di-nii is very common.
The form di-?ii occurs often; di-e-fii in nos. 237 and 428; di-i-ni m
no. 447, and di-en-?m in nos. 434 and 490. Quite abnormal is
di-ni-su in no. 468, but we can quite sensibly admit the rendering
* shall seek his legal decision or plea.' The claim a man brings is
'his' claim certainly. The meaning oi dhiu here is 'a legal decision.*
It is of course possible that dini is an oblique case and that then we
are to take dhii dababu together and render ' shall seek to plead a
suit.'
The dababu here is usually written ideographically KA-KA. In
nos. 207 and 422 we have the phonetic spelling da-ba-bu and in
no. 384, da-ba-a-bu. In no. 318, we have KA-KA-bu^ the ideogram
with phonetic complement bu. In no. 209, line 16, where my
restoration is clearly wrong, we have most probably dinu dababuma ;
this is of importance, as shewing that dinu dababu are coordinate as
a rule. In no. 308, R 3 we have KA-KA-MES^ perhaps to be read
dibbi^ ' pleas ' or a plural sense attached to dababu^ not capable of
being expressed in speech.
The independence of dinu and dababu is further shewn by the
occurrence of the former alone, in nos. 383, 400, and 478 ; cf 259,
line 16 : and oi dababu alone in no. 643, R 10, cf nos. 280, R 2 and
508 R 5. Both are omitted in no. 498, line 5.
The usual spelling of ubtdiini is ub-ta--u-ni, but ub-ta-u-ni is
nearly as common. The form ub-ta-ii-fii occurs several times, and
ub-tu-u-ni in no. 280, ub-ta-'-ii-ni in no. 494, ub-ta-na-u-ni m no. 311,
and ub-ta-an-u-7ii m no. 520. The two last illustrate the connection
between ;/ and the breath '. The forms ub-ta- in no. 498, ub-ta--u
in no. 422, and ub-ta- -i in no. 350, are noteworthy for the absence of
the enclitic -ni. The meaning of bdu itself is ' to seek ' ; see Muss
Arnolt p. 136, cf Del. H. W. B. p. 161, where ubta' seems omitted.
The special shade of meaning here is well given by inipetrare^ we
may render ' demand,' ' seek at law.'
Usually the words dinu dababu precede the buyer's name and his
representatives, and ubtdihii concludes the clause : but very often
312 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
indeed we find that the names precede dinu dabdbu. Examples of
f the former arrangement may be seen in no. 203 where we read sa
dhiu dabdbu itti B ??idresu mdr-mdresu ubtd'iini ; ' who shall seek a
legal decision (or) plea against B^ his sons or grandsons.' The
same arrangement is followed, sometimes with a longer list of i5's
representatives, in nos. 210, 211, 237, 238, etc.
The second arrangement is found, for example, in no. 308, where
I we have sa itti B mdi'esu mdr-mdresu dhiu dabdbu ubta'uni ; ' who
from B, his sons or grandsons shall seek a legal decision or plea.'
This arrangement is followed, sometimes with a longer list of i?'s
representatives, or other slight variants, in nos. 208, 232, 233, etc.
That dinu dabdbu ubtd'iini means ' to plead objections ' is shewn
by the addition, in no. 386, of the actual pleas, see below,
and p. 313.
In no. 213, the scribe wrote dhtu itti B mdr{esu mdr-mdresu^
dinu ubtd'iini. I take the second dinu as an error for dabdbu. In
no. 311, rev. 2 ff., the scribe writes sa dhiu dabdbu sa itti B etc. dinu
dabdbu ubtd'uni. Here the words dinu dabdbu are evidently repeated
in error. In no. 212, 13 and rev. i, the scribe has repeated ina dinu
dabdbu clearly in error, he has also reversed the usual order of buyer
and sellers. In consequence it is not clear how we ought to correct
his arrangement. The i?ia before dinu dabdbu is also unusual and
very likely wrong. In no. 500 the scribe has put dinu dabdbu before
//// B etc. and again before ubtdiini. In no. 503 the scribe has put
the whole phrase, in line 3, after izakupdni before the seller and his
representatives and again after sa itti B etc. These repetitions may
be due to a desire for clearness and to keep the thread of the
sentence free, but they only shew a great inability to follow what
was written. It is perhaps fairer to the scribe's intelligence to
suppose them mere oversights. They are not without their value
as they emphasise the meaning of the sentence.
As already remarked this phrase gets replaced in several cases by
an instructive variation. It is a little difficult to say which of the
verbs izakupdni, iparikuni or ubtduni is replaced. In no. 436, we
have apparently one of the former replaced by elanni, thus we read
fnannu sa ina matema ina arkat lime elanni iu A etc. sa elanni dinu
dabdbu itti B etc. igdriini ikablmni md kaspu gammur Id tadin eklu
bitu kirii Id apil Id zarip Id lakki. Mere tlie second sa elanni I
regard as a mere resumption of the thread of tlie sentence. JTinu
dabdbu igdrfini takes tlie place of dinu dabdbu ubta^iini, and, as in
AND DOCUMENTS. 313
section 598 above, the pleas whieli were likely to be advanced are set
forth by ikabbuni^ 'shall say.' These pleas are introduced by via
'saying,' or 'to wit.' They are kaspii ^^aniniur la fadi?i, 'the full
price was not paid'; eklu bUii kiru la apil Id zarip la lakki, 'the
field, house, and garden, were not paid for, bought or taken.'
Before entering into details we had better compare similar cases.
In no. 252, already partly considered in section 598, we have
matiJiu sa ana urkis a?ia 7tiatcma elaji?ii hi A etc. itti B etc (sa) kurbu
tgarufii. Here kurbu igdruui may take the place of dhiu dabdbu
ubta'thii. In nos. 473 and 474, duplicates, at any rate as far as
formula is concerned, we read maniiu sa ina arkat ume ina mate
{kurbu) elajmi lu A etc. sa eldni dinu dabdbu istu pdtii B etc. igdrthii
ikabbuni ma kaspu Id gammur Id taddin isitu etc. Id lakkiu Id
Here the duplicate, no. 473, renders it probable that the first elannt^
to which I restore kurbu, corresponds to dinu dabdbu ubtaunt. The
second elanni, var. eldni, resumes the thread of the sentence. Also
di?tu dabdbu igdrthii, in the duplicate, dhiu dabdbu istu pdni B etc.
igdruni, takes the place of the usual dinu dabdbu ubto'iini. As before,
ikabbuni 7?id, ' shall say, to wit,' introduces the pleas. The pleas
now are ' the money was not complete,' ' was not given,' ' the property
isitu etc. was not taken, not....'
In no. 419, despite the fragmentary state of the text, we read i?ia
urkissi hi A etc. kurbu sa eldni itti B etc. dinu (dabdbu) igdrwii f?id
kaspu Id gamur etc. Here kurbu eldni takes the place of either
izakupdni or iparihini. Again igdrwii replaces ubta^wii, and though
ikabbuni has disappeared, its force is maintained by md, ' saying.'
The pleas are just the same, ' the money was not complete,' ' the
property was not taken.'
In no. 506, distinct traces are left of the same formula, in line 7
we have the end of ela?mi, in b. e. 3, elamii recurs to resume, di7iu
{dabdbu}) igdrtini md kaspu Id gamur Id ilakki...ki-a kaspu Id tadin.
Once more we have the omission of ikablnini. The pleas seem to
have been mixed up by the scribe, we expect the Id tadin to follow
kaspu la gamur. As they are, they may be rendered, ' the money
was not complete,' ' was not taken,' ' the property (?) was (?),' ' the
money was not given.'
In no. 314, rev. i, only the end of {i)gdriini is left: in no. 559,
obv. 3 and 4, we have di?iu {dabdbu ?) {igd)rujii.
That here igdi-iini is a complete parallel to ubtaiini is borne out
by no. 386, where after the usual dinu dabdbu istu B ubta'iini we have
314 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the pleas given, ma eklu sd ad-niNU. . . a curious spelling perhaps for
addini. A careful recollation inclines me to think the last two
characters there are sii-u or la-u.
From these cases we may deduce that garu is a synonym, at
least as far as this phrase goes, of ubta!u. Hence it must mean ' to
seek' or 'demand by legal process.' The verb garii, Delitzsch,
H. IV. B. p. 204 a, gives as originally meaning ' to make war upon,'
' be an enemy to.' There is no doubt about its meaning here and
we may render here by 'quarrel.'
The usual spelling is i-gar-ru-u-ni^ once i-gar-ru-ii-ni in no. 436,
rev. 2.
Another obvious deduction is that kiirbic has a similar meaning
to dmu dahdbu. It must mean something like 'petition' or 'plea.'
On the one side, we may think of kardbu whence comes ikribu 'a
prayer or petition ' ; on the other, of kardbu ' to approach.' We may
note that in the old Babylonian contracts, see Meissner, A. B. P. R.
pp. 125, 127, kuri'ubu is the usual phrase for 'to send a case to the
judge.' On the whole I incline to read ku?dm, and render, 'a suit.'
The phrases kurbii elan?ii^ kurbu igdrmii then will mean ' to raise
a suit' and 'to plead a suit.'
Before passing away from this clause to consider the lists of
possible litigants, we may note some condensed forms. We have
already noted the mamiu sa eli mannu ibalkatdiii of no. 321,
'whichever shall fall out with the other,' and we may add from the
mortgages, no. 161, mannu sa ibballakkattini^ 'whoever shall fall
out.' Another concise form is mannu ana man?iusu?tu la iparikuni,
'one with another of them shall not take exception,' in no. 163:
compare mannu itti mannu Id idabubu mannu sa iparikuni^ ' one
shall not plead against the other, whoever shall take exception, etc.,'
in no. 168: so man?iu itti mannu Id idab/ibu in no. 155 and ?fui?inu
sa ina urkis idabiibu, ' whoever in future shall plead,' in no. 196. Of
these all except the first and last are from the mortgages.
One other presentation of this clause which does not seem readily
to fall under the above classes may be added here.
In no. 339 we have mannu sa iparikuni lu A etc. sa itti B etc.
idil){ibu. Here the whole phrase dhiu dabdbu ubtduni appears to be
replaced by idibubu.
The arrangement and wording may differ greatly, but after all the
general sense is the same and the variants only serve to make the
formula clearer, 'i'he l)argain is final, ikj (juestion can be raised in
AND DOCUMENTS. 315
future, whoever does that is to suffer. With few exceptions, it
appears to be contemplated that the only side on which objection is
likely to be taken is that of the seller. As I have observed before,
we seem only to have buyers' copies of the deeds, the seller would
probably stipulate that the buyer did not repudiate the bargain.
600. We now come to the enumeration of the persons likely to
attempt to set aside the bargain on the seller's side. They are of
course his heirs, or. closest relations, and in some cases certain officials
of his city, district or tribe possibly.
The enumeration usually is set out in this fashion, h'l A, /u
mdresu, In viar-maresu, hi ahesti, In mar-ahesu etc., i.e. 'either A
(the seller), or his sons, or his grandsons, or his brothers, or their
sons, etc'
Of course such a full enumeration is not always adopted. We
proceed to examine in detail the ways of writing it. Here, as
elsewhere, I do not claim to have noticed every small point, but any
way this may serve as a beginning.
The conjunctions 'either... or' are here usually expressed by hi...
hi. By far the most usual way of writing /?/ is hi-u. However, /u
alone is fairly common, hi-u occurs in nos. 176, 384 and 555, which
are probably of early date. It is also often expressed by one of the
signs of repetition, and very often omitted altogether, especially in
the more condensed lists of representatives on the buyer's side. So,
too, the preposition itti or /////, which precedes the first name, may
be repeated before each of the names or designations which follow,
as in no. 187.
In no. 324, rev. 8, hi occurs alone, not followed by any other
conjunction. This I regard as an error. The hi is very often
omitted before the personal name, even when it precedes the
designations which follow.
In place of ///, w^e sometimes have ?/, Br. 9455, repeated, as in
nos. 212, 477, 496 and 507 ; more often singly, as in nos. 238, 244,
247, 259, etc. ; followed by u, as in nos. 233 and 407 ; or u singly,
as in nos. 251, 252, 357 and often. It is not always easy to dis-
tinguish this use of w, 'or,' from the use of u, 'and.' Probably, as
a conjunction, no real difference of ideas existed, and consequently
other examples should possibly be added to the cases enumerated
in the glossary. Those that seem to me certain are there separated
for the sake of form.
The seller's name calls for no remark here, except that we have
3l6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
in this clause a means of recognising who the seller was, when other
parts of the document are missing. In some cases this would be
the fourth mention of the seller by name. He would then be
named, first, in the preamble, as owner of the property, and as
having sealed the document. In the second place, he would have
been named in the specification of the property, said to belong to
him. In the third place, his name would occur as the person from
whom the buyer acquired the property ; and lastly he is named here,
as expressly debarred from any attempt to procure a revision or
repudiation of the agreement.
In some cases he alone is named here : his representatives
probably being considered covered by him. Instead of his actual
name being given here, he is once apparently referred to as amelu
annu, 'this person': no 218. Of course when there were more
sellers than one, the names of each might be repeated here, or the
whole group designated by some expression like 'these persons.'
It is curious that no word meaning a ' seller ' or ' buyer ' is ever
used. As the cases where there were several sellers are marked by
some peculiarities of diction, I shall deal first with the cases where
there is only one.
In considering what relatives were thought likely to move for a
revision of the contract, we must bear in mind that the enumeration
is only a legal figure of speech and the omission in any case of one
relation could not be held to admit his claim. The seller's name
alone was enough. Nor can we argue from the omission of any
relation that such a person did not exist. Still if a man's brothers
are named and not his sons, there is a tolerable presumption that as
yet at any rate he had no sons. On the other hand the omission
to name his brothers is no presumption that he had none. It was
sufficient to name his sons alone in order to cover all male relatives.
As a rule 'his sons,' indresu^ are mentioned next to the seller's
name. In one case that I have noted, no. 172, 'his brothers' are
named first, then the sons. 'Inhere may be others. The word 'son'
is usually written ideographically: either TUR or TUR-US (the
latter to distinguish 'son' from 'daughter' TUR-SAL) which I
render always by Jfidru; or A, which I render ap/u.
By far the commonest writing is TUR-MES-su, 'his sons,'
mdresu. 'I'he form TUR-MES-su occurs only in nos. 264 and
477. TUR-su^ mdrsu sometimes occurs, and once at least, TUR
or mar occurs alone, no. 503: cf nos. 172 and 556. I do not
AND DOCUMENTS. 317
regard this use of the singular ' son ' as any proof that the seller had
as yet but one son. The word in the singular may be used
generically to eover all sons. In our contracts aplusu does not
occur, nor any phonetic spelling of mdni.
In many cases the enumeration proceeds no further. This may
have been because the phrase ' he and his sons ' would be regarded
as sufficiently inclusive. In no. 384, line 12, we have ina libbi
md{resii) as expressing 'any and all heirs.'
If the enumeration proceeds further, we usually have 'grandsons'
next. Of course in some cases the scribe would pass on to other
representatives.
The word 'grandson' is written ideographically ^fUR-TUR and
read vidr-tndi'i. I still feel some doubt as to the way the Assyrians
read the plural. Usually we have TUR-TUR-MES-su, which I
read provisionally mdr-mdresu. The singular form TUR-TUR-su^
mdr-mdrisu occurs in nos. 354, 503, 506 and 613. The suffix su
is not found here, nor the word aplii. No phonetic spelling of
either form occurs.
The seller's ' brethren ' are mentioned next in some cases. I
presume they would only act in case the sons or grandsons did not.
The mention of them may well be due to a desire for greater fulness
and formality rather than to any real need for them to be expressly
named. The word 'brother,' ahu^ could be ideographically repre-
sented either hy FAR, Br. 1138, or SES, Br. 6434. What Delitzsch,
H.W.B. p. 38 b, says about FAR being only used to express ahu in
proper names is curiously at variance with the usage in our contracts.
We usually have ahesu^ and it is written FAF-MES-su at least as
often as SES-MES-su. The singular ahiisii occurs as FAF-su in
no. 350, as SES-su in no. 618. The suffix is usually ///, but once
we have FAF-AfES-sii, ahesu, in no. 172. In no. 85, we have in
a similar clause the phonetic spelling a-hu-su.
The seller's ' sisters,' ahdtesu, written NIN-MES-su, are named
as well as his sons and brothers in no. 562.
The seller's 'nephews,' i.e. 'his brothers' sons,' are often included
in the enumeration ; in about half as many cases. Here we have a
great variety of writings. The most common is TUR- FAF-MES-su
or mdr-ahesu : the next most frequent form is TUR-SES-MES-sii
also mdr-ahesu. Once we have the form TUR-MES-FAF-MES-su
or mdre-ahcsu, in no. 307 ; twice TUR-MES- SES-MES-su also
mdre-ahesu, in nos. 263 and 356. The form with aplu occurs once.
/
3l8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
in no. 446, A-FAP-MES-sii, apil-ahesu. The suffix is usually /w,
only once have we hi, in no. 450, TUR-PAP-AIES-su or fiidr-ahesu.
It may be well to notice here that in the case of the dedication
of a son to Ninip, no. 641, the relatives mentioned as likely to
reclaim the lad are his uncle and his cousin. These are written
SES-AD-su or ah-abisu, 'his father's brother,' or 'paternal uncle'
(so probably line 12), and TUR-SES-AD-su or mdr-ah-abisu, 'his
paternal uncle's son,' or ' first cousin on the father's side.'
It is noteworthy that phonetic writings of 'nephew,' 'uncle' and
'cousin' do not occur and it may be these ideograms had such readings.
The Assyrian words for these relatives, if they had any, are not
known to me.
From the loans, etc., we may add one or two other possible
claimants. In no. 77, a slave apparently is assigned for life in lieu
of a sum of money ; upon the payment of that sum, any of the
representatives of the borrower could reclaim the slave. Among
the representatives are named ' his brethren ' and also riisesu. This,
written UN-MES, included, as we learn from the use of the phrase
adi nisesu in the charters etc., not only the man's blood relations
but also his household slaves. It is another question whether the
fellow-servants of a slave had the right to redeem him when he had
been mortgaged. In this case nisesu may only mean ' blood rela-
tions,' but the mention of ahesu just before makes it somewhat
probable that here at any rate other members of the household are
meant.
We now consider the case of sellers in the plural. This common
ownership of property may be held to fall under partnership : but
see the remarks in section 94. When, as is often the case, there
were more sellers than one, the names may all be set out in full
here, as in no. 436 etc., each with In before it ; or simply one after
the other. As a rule, however, they are spoken of as amele annute,
'these persons.' In no. 500, we have sdOe stmtite, 'those people,'
or perhaps 'those servants.' In no. 400, after rehearsing the names
of the sellers, the scribe wrote hi hmu, ' either they.'
Amele may be spelt either with MULU, Br. 6394; or AMELU^
Br. 3881. The variant of the latter which Brilnnow gives, no. 4951,
only differs from Br. 3881 in that, of the kist two horizontal wedges,
the upper one is written on the slant instead of being horizontal. The
degree of slant varies from a very slight deviation from the horizontal
to an angle of about 60" and appears to me to be merely an accident
AND DOCUMENTS. 319
and l)y no means to constitute a different sign. I have treated these
two signs Br. 3881 and Hr. 6394 as one and for both 1 write
A MEL. In this clause, MULU-ME.^-e is most common. AMRL-
MESc and MULU-MES each occurs four times: AMIIL-ME^
three times: MULU-ME twice : MULU-e in no. 176: and AMP.L
alone in no. 218. Except the last amelu^ I read all amcle.
The word annute is generally spelt an-mi-ie, but an-nu-ti is
common. The form an-?tii-u-te occurs in nos. 242, 256, 308, and
no. 779. The variant sutiute occurs in no. 500, being the plural
masculine of suatu.
In enumerating the relatives, sons, grandsons, etc., of course the
plural suffix sunu takes the place of su ; that is, ' their ' is written
for ' his.' In our contracts sunu never occurs, which is probably
accidental.
Some peculiarities occur ; mar-sunu is written for viare-sunu in
no. 319. This may be an error, or vidr is for marc generically.
The scribe has written mdresu where he should have written
maresunu in no. 407 : also mdr-ffidresu for mdr-7iidresunu in no. 308.
These I reckon errors.
Some additions to the varieties mentioned under the head of
the single seller may be recorded here. Thus we have A-MES-mnu
or aplesu7iu in no. 318. In no. 500, the suffix sunu occurs and in
no. 318 we have apil-aplesunu. For the brethren of the sellers,
ahesunu, PAP-MES-sunu is most common, but SES-MES-sunu
occurs in nos. 418 and 419.
601. To the list of relatives presumably entitled to intervene
in the transaction because of their relationship is often appended an
enumeration of the officials who might attempt to invalidate the
bargain. In the almost total ignorance which has hitherto prevailed
as to the functions of these officials, it is difficult to see why any
of them should interfere except in their own interests. What those
interests were, it is also hopeless to determine until we know more
of their functions. What is said of them here may serve as a con-
tribution towards fixing those interests and elucidating the functions.
More will be found in the Chapter on the Officials.
The order in which they are named has some interest. The
most frequently named is the sak?iu. Out of four-and-twenty places
where this official seems to be named, setting aside some doubtful
cases, where the reading is uncertain, no further official is named
except in fourteen cases. Of these fourteen, the saknu is always
320 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
named first. One doubtful case occurs, in no. 77, where the order
appears to be saknu fiise bel pahCiti saknu hazdnu alisu. We shall
return to this, as the scribe seems to have confused his order.
As a rule when the saknu appears, ' slaves ' are being sold or
pledged or otherwise involved in the sale. Cases where the slave
was the object conveyed are nos. 77, 85, 164, 223, 244, 271, 307,
308; and, in no. 641, a son is dedicated to the service of a god.
In nos. 426, 429, 446, 471, which are estate sales, slaves are expressly
named as part of the estate conveyed. In nos. 405, 418, 419, 474,
although the nature of the transaction is an estate sale, there is no
express mention of slaves or serfs conveyed. In the two last cases
these may have been named on the lost portion of the document.
In no. 325, the property is a house, sold ana gwiirttsa, and though
no servants are named in the document, they may have been
included in the phrase, ' in its entirety.' In the doubtful case
no. 87 (88 dup.), a field is pledged and the lender of the money
is to enjoy its crops : the specification is made that no kepu and
no saknu (?) shall appropriate (lit. eat of) its mututii. In the other
cases, where the saknu is named, I see nothing to decide what the
nature of the estate or property conveyed really was. From these
examples I conclude that when a sale involved the transfer of
personal service the saknu often had rights in the matter. This
does not necessarily involve the conclusion that the saknu always
had rights : for many such sales make no reference to him. The
condensed forms of the formulae may be the reason for this
omission. We may only be entitled to conclude that, when he is
named, the sale involved the transfer of personal services on which
he had an official lien. The transfer of real property, when slaves
or serfs are not included, may, or may not, have concerned the
sakuu. All I can say is that in no case is he named except where
the presence of these persons may be reasonably assumed.
As has already long been observed, the saknu is the chief official
of a state or district. In the lists of Eponyms the title saknu^ usually
written sa-ktn, i.e. with the signs GAR-KUR^ occurs with great
frcfjuency : and in our contracts, among the witnesses this form is
common. In most cases we have the official described as sakiti
of a city, in a few cases we have the saknu of a country named.
'J'he spelling usual in this clause differs, it is almost invariably
GAR-nu^ that is the ideogram GAR-sakanu, with the phonetic
suffix nu. That this is to l)e read saknu seems most probable, it
AND DOCUMENTS. 32 1
is of thill degree of probability wliicli I think some Assyriologists
would say admitted of no doubt, or would describe as impossible,
according to the purpose they had in view ; a degree of probability
which in the absence of proof would convince most unbiassed
persons, but which can always be safely denied to have any value
at all.
In no. 223, sak-a?i-su appears; in no. 478, we have sa-ka?i-su ; in
no. 560, sak-?m-su-Jtu ; in no. 477, the suffix is omitted and we
have sak?iu, i.e. GAR-?tu simply. In no. 77, we have a very curious
order, ahesu, representing the blood relations, then apparently the
official sa-ktJi, but without the suffix su. Perhaps this is the end of a
name. Then comes 7ilsesH, denoting perhaps the fellow-servants of
the mortgaged slave ; then we get the bel pahati and then perhaps
the sakjtu, written amel GAR. That the latter is a writing for
saknu is very likely indeed ; all the more so that it is followed by
hazdnu, but it is odd that it should be written twice (if it is so). A
phonetic spelling, sak-?iu-su-7m occurs in no. 560.
It seems to me probable that ail the old states or cities of the
Assyrian confederacy had their saktiu, and that newer cities and
conquered countries were put under bel pahati. Further, the king,
that is the state, had claims on the service of all cultivators of the
land, and could and did on occasion demand service and work from
the slaves in the district, by whomsoever owned. As a consequence,
as the transfer of ownership might in some cases diminish the
available resources of the sahiu for state works, by attaching the
persons sold to another saknu, their obligation being through their
owner to the saknu of his city, the saknu might take on him to
move for a revision of the contract. Something of the incon-
veniences of non-resident landlords, not amenable to local needs
and requirements, was already felt. The local governors were clearly
prepared to assert their rights, for local purposes, over the estates in
the locality, even when owned outside their jurisdiction. The object
of this clause clearly was to contract out of local liabilities, the seller
stipulating that the local authority should not come on the buyer for
contributions of produce or of service. How far the law-courts
would admit the right to make such stipulations is not clear. There
is another view possible, not entirely alternative to this. It is that
the property of the clan, gens or familia, was inalienable and that on
the death of the seller, or at stated intervals, the heirs had the right
to resume their inheritance. If so, sale outright of freehold property
J. III. 21
322 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
was perhaps unusual, and these rights had to be expressly waived
before a buyer could be assured against an attempt to resume.
While this is possible, and I believe we have a few hints of some
such right, see § 623, the pleas referred to in § 599 merely concern
the non-fulfilment of the terms of the bargain. Even then it is
conceivable that, in a certain degree, the saknu may have had
power on behalf of the city corporation to intervene. The sale of
estates on the borders of two cities would otherwise lead to a
transfer of territory which might lead to dispute. At any rate,
whatever the rights of the local saknu, this clause seems contrived
to set them aside. It has been usual to render saknu by 'governor,'
and, in an undefined sense I use that term, without insisting upon
any of its usual implications.
That it is a matter of local government is further borne out by
the next official named. The saknu, if accompanied in this clause
by other officials, is generally followed by the hazdnu. This official
was clearly the chief civil magistrate of the city ; as the saknu
probably was the representative of the central authority, and very
likely, as such, the chief military authority.
The hazdnu is named as likely to intervene, in nine documents,
in each of which he is associated with the saknu, and is named after
him. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that he was inferior in
rank, even if not subordinate, to the saknu. In five of these cases,
the saknu and hazdnu seem to cover all the intervention likely. In
five cases, this official is described as hazdnu alisu, that is ' the hazdn
of his (the seller's) city,' in the other cases we have hazdnasunu.
The spelling in each case is phonetic. The association with saknu
shews that the claims of the hazdn concerned the slaves or serf
population. This official title supports the idea that the claims
referred to were of a municipal nature, they were certain local rights
over population, certain claims which the city as a corporate body
had on the resident slave population, and which probably forbade their
transfer to another city jurisdiction.
It has been usual to render hazdfiu variously by 'prefect, ruler,'
etc., but hazdn is my preference. The hazdnu does not occur alone,
for in no. 473, we may almost certainly restore sakiiu before him.
The next official that demands notice is the hcl pahdti. His
'position is much less clearly defined. He is mentioned nine times.
In four of them he is named alone. The sales or assignments are of
slaves, or estates with slaves. In no. 230, he comes first, and is
AND DOCUMENTS. 323
succeeded by liis sanu, or deputy. In no. 495 he succeeds the
saknu and precedes the hazanu. In no. 471 he follows the saknu
and hazatiu. In llie doubtful list, in no. 77, his place depends on
whether we admit sakin to be really a form of sakfiu, if so, he follows
luse after sahiu. Otherwise he stands at the head of the officials,
and the GAR-su or sa-su who succeeds him may be an irregular
spelling of sa7iu^ 'deputy.' Then comes the hazanu alisu. If,
however, we are to read GAR-su^ as saknu-su^ then in this one place
the be/ pahati precedes sakfiu. Excluding this doubtful place, we
may say the /W pahati is the inferior of the saknu^ and on a level
with the hazd?iu. We may note that in no. 252, he is specified more
particularly as bel pahati of the city Samarba, and in no. 506 as hel
pahati of Arapha. Here the cities named are clearly those in whose
district the estate lay. In no. 252, the bel pahati is placed even
before the sellers themselves.
The title is written bei-NAM, in nos. 230, 252, and 506, simply
NAM, which we may perhaps read pihu, in no. 471. That the
NAMm the first form is to be read pahati is supported by the fact
that when the suffix su is appended, it would become sii under the
influence of the /. Thus in nos. 181, 199, 495 we have the writing
bel-NAM-su, to be read bel-pahdt-su. The title has been rendered
' prefect,' and that I adopt, without insisting on the implications. I
think there is reason to believe, see Chapter on the Officials, that he
was a comptroller of the revenue. His function also appears to have
been military, for in the letters and historical texts, he is often
associated with troops. I imagine the link to be, that like Adoniram,
he was ' over the levy.' That ' levy ' might consist of men for works,
or for military service, or of revenue contributions. His military
functions I presume arose from his having to furnish and command
the district, or city, quota to the Assyrian army. If so his locus
standi in any transfer of estate carrying with it resident slaves is
easily understood. The transfer of a portion of his subject popula-
tion to the district of another bel pahati would diminish his available
material, and he might lodge an objection on that ground. This
stipulation expressly exonerates the buyer from such an objection
being brought against him.
The official title in no. 448 I have included here with some mis-
giving ; as only bel is preserved it may really belong to the next title.
In nos. 247, 436, 474, 477, 492, 500 and 508, the bel ilki is
named as likely to intervene. In no. 247, the context might be
21 — 2
324 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
taken to imply that bel ilkihmu was in apposition to the relatives,
that any of them, who intervened, would thereby become a bel ilki.
So in no. 474, we read NIN bel ilkisiinii^ that is, as I take it, inimmu
bel ilkisunu 'any bel ilki of theirs.' On the other hand we can
hardly avoid thinking of the ilki dupsikki from which the charters
were meant to set an estate free. That this was some service, of the
nature perhaps of the corvee^ or other 'levy,' has long been recognised.
The inhabitants of an estate were doubtless liable to furnish a quota
of men for the public works, and for the army. Without in the least
prejudging the question of the exact meaning of ilku^ I believe that
here it refers to some such liability. The bel ilki was the official
who had the power to levy this quota. It naturally occurs to one to
examine whether there is any indication of this term being a synonym
with any of the preceding titles. In no. 474, he is named with the
sakmi and the sdpiru, with whom therefore we cannot identify him.
So in no. 477 with the saknu again. He is, however, never named
with either a hazctnu or a bel pahati. On the whole it seems to me
reasonable to suppose that this is not the title of an official of definite
rank, but rather a term defining a function. It seems to me that all
these passages admit the presumption that any one of the relatives of
the seller, or either of the officials above named, might on occasion
become a bel ilki. That would mean that being called on to furnish
one or more men for some service he would seek to enforce the
demand on the slaves transferred. Any such action is therefore
barred by this stipulation. In such a case we ought to render the
above phrase mivimu bel ilkisunu^ ' any one of them as bel ilki^ that
is, under plea of a levy. Compare the notes on no. 386 ; left-hand
edge clause.
In no. 641, where a father dedicates his son to the service of
Ninip, the officials named as likely to take him away from the god
are the saknu and the rab hansd or 'captain of fifty.' This person is
certainly a military commander. As the account in 2 Kings, i. 9,
suggests, 'the fifty' was a military unit in Israel, and this term renders
it probable that the same was true in Assyria. It looks as if the
country were divided into groups of families, each group being bound
to furnish a quota of fifty men to the army. Whether the group
consisted of fifty families each bound to furnish one man, is not
clear. We may compare the term kastu applied to land in the later
times, as denoting an area bound to furnisli one bowman to the
army, see Hilprecht, B. E. P. ix. p. 36 and § 263,
AND DOCUMENTS. 325
We may also compare our old ICnglish division of the county
into ' Hundreds ' for civil and military purposes.
The title is written rah L and the reading rab hansa is of
course provisional. There can, however, be little doubt about the
meaning. The title occurs elsewhere in the contracts, see Chapter
on the Officials.
A term occurs here, in nos. 223, 244, 423, 429, 446, 498, and
perhaps elsewhere, which I have felt some difficulty in understanding.
It is spelt exactly the same way as the kurbu which is noticed above
in § 599. It may be the same word. Retaining provisionally the
reading kurbu, we may note that the determinative amel is never put
before it. Therefore I imagine this is not a title properly, but rather,
as I think bcl tiki above to be, a designation of a function. On
the other hand, in no. 446, the list saknu, kisir, kurbu, hazdnu, seems
to fix that function as distinctly official. In no. 436, the run of the
words bel ilkisunu sa elaniii is closely parallel with the kurbu sa
elanni of no. 419. If we render the former, 'who as bel tiki shall
rise,' we may render the latter by ' who as kurbu shall rise.' It may
be that, in some cases, we shall have to add to our list here some of
those discussed before. As I have before pointed out, kurrubu is
the old Babylonian term 'for sending a case before the judge.' I do
not pretend to say that kurbu here does mean ' he that sends before
a judge,' that is in our language 'plaintiff' : nor am I at all sure that
this is the way to read the word. It may be that this is quite distinct
from the former kurbu. All I feel sure of is that gurpu or kurbu or
kurbu denotes a person here, who, on some ground or other, may
bring an action to annul the contract. Here also the presence of
slaves among the property transferred is certain, except in no. 498,
where no indication of the nature of the property is preserved.
It might occur to some to connect this word with the often
occurring GUR-pu-ti, but that has been established, beyond doubt,
as I think, to be really mutir piiti. It is not likely that this is an
abbreviation. I know of no sense for PU ^hdX would combine with
mutir, and in three cases we have GUR-ub. Hence I believe that
the word always ends in bu or pu, except when the influence of the
suffix su leads to the ending ub or up. In no. 223, the rather
unusual suffix sii occurs.
On the other hand, it is clear that viuiir puti is not an incon-
ceivable official to intervene, for in no. 378 we have this title written
GUR-ZAG as often. In this case 'a field' is sold, but no certain
326 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
indication of any slaves is left. It does not do to press a doubtful
case like this, but the mutir putt nowhere appears very intimately
connected with the slave population.
In nos. 59 and 570, the rab aldni appears as an official likely to
intervene. In the former case he immediately follow^s the seller and
his deputy, and is in turn succeeded by the hazdnu alisu. We may
perhaps therefore identify this title with sakiiii. In no. 570 no
indication is preserved. The title means ' chief of cities.' As alu
includes also 'villages,' perhaps the 7'db aldni was to a group of
villages what the sak?m was to a 'city proper.'
The very common title J'db kisir occurs here in nos. 164, 498
and 501. In no. 446, the rdb is omitted and this official is ranked
next the saknu and above the kurbu and hazdnu. In no. 164 the
rdb kisir is put next the sakmc, and in no. 498 below the kurbu.
This official constantly occurs in the letters, etc., as a military
officer and in our contracts is very frequent as a witness to all kinds
of sales, and indeed every kind of transaction. The kisru of the old
Babylonian contracts, see Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 134, means
' wages.' In the new Babylonian documents it sometimes means
'provisions,' according to Zehnpfund, B. A. S. i. p. 503. Without
pretending to revise these conclusions, I would point out that kisru
clearly means a district, in no. 853, where we have Nabil-sar-usur
named as bet pahdti of Nineveh, kisir Sin-ahe-erba essu. I take that
to mean ' the new quarter,' or collection of houses, belonging to, or
named after Sennacherib. I believe that it is this shade of meaning
which appears in rdb kisir. The official was over a district, or
collection of households (?), which furnished a quota to the army and
as such took command of that quota in war. The variant in no. 498,
rdb ki-sir (MES) seems to me to support this view. I do not read
it as a plural of rdb ki-sir^ but as an indication that rdb is to be given
a generic meaning, 'one who is over such divisions as a kisir.''
In no. 234, after the enumeration of the relatives, the scribe adds
III dannu. I take it, here he means ' or any magnate ' ; and having
regard to the use of dandnu in the historic inscriptions, to mean
'power of place,' I feel inclined to render here, 'any power.' It is
pretty clear to me that no official was properly entitled dannu., but
that every high-placed official was a dajinu. There is no suffix to
dannu.
In nos. 59 and 230 we have mention of the sanu^ literally
'second man.' In no. 59, line 14, we have /// A^ bet pahdti li^ ainel
AND DOCUMENTS. 32/
sancsNy tlial is to say 'cither //, the bi'l pahad, w liis deputy.' It
appears, see § 210, that in every city the chief official, bU
/>a/uUi\ or saknu, probably had a sa/u'/, or 'deputy,' There was
also usually 'a third' man in power, called sa/sii. I do not think
this was a hazanu^ but the deputy of the former official. In many
passages in the contracts the sanu appears when it is not clear that the
title conveys the idea of rank, but only of deputed authority. Here
sane is written Il-e. In no. 230, we have again /// bcl pahctti In amel
sanu^ that is 'or the bel pahati or his deputy.' Here sam'i is written
//-//. I do not believe that SA-nu is to be read saftu^ but only
saktiu^ see above. Hence this sum/ is really only a deputy; that
is, one acting for another. That there was in each city a permanent
official bearing the title of ' deputy,' does not necessitate our rendering
the title always as if this official were meant. We might designate
him the 'Deputy,' and reserve 'deputy' for our case and those
similar to it.
Another mere agent appears in no. 246, rev. line 3, where we
read /?2 atncle kata su. It follows the name of Sil-Asur, the bel
pahati. In this document the sellers are a salsu^ a rab kisir^ and the
son of Bel-Harran-taklak. As it is difficult to identify any of these
three sellers with Sil-Asur, I imagine they acted for him. His name
therefore appears in this clause as the principal seller, and, in place of
the names of those who actually sealed the document appearing, or
being replaced as usual by a7tiele amifite^ we have this phrase. The
term bel k at a often occurs in our documents, in the sense of 'agent'
(see § 187), and I regard this phrase simply as meaning 'his
agents.'
In no. 474, line 6, after the saknu and before the bcl tiki we
have the title sdpiru, spelt sa-pi-ru. In Del. H. W. B. p. 683 b,
the first meaning given to this word is 'writer,' lit. 'he who sends
the message,' and the second meaning is 'regent.' For examples of
sdpiru as an official title, see § 622, and I think here it only means
'one who sends the order.' The case of a written order coming
from the saknu seems to me to be intended, so that really sdpiru is
the 'agent,' 'under written order,' of the saknu. This function
appears to have been frequent in the new Babylonian contracts.
Transactions often took place i?ia nasparfi sa X, 'on the written
order of X.' Compare the di-scussion of the phrase ina sapirti sakin.
It is of course quite conceivable that the custom of doing business
by agents in this way may have led to a really definite office of
328 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sapiru. A good parallel is the title siikallu which, from meaning
merely ' messenger,' seems to have passed, through the meaning
'agent,' to a perfectly definite title, which has been rendered
'chamberlain.' 'Agent-general' would perhaps be better, and this
may be the sense of sapiru here. I am not aware of its occurrence
elsewhere. On the whole I prefer the less definite term 'agent.'
In 209, line 15, we seem to have lie de/sii, if that is what the
scribe meant, as a general term for all such officials as had authority
over the seller and therefore claim on his estate.
After enumerating the relatives, and sometimes after adding one
or more of the official titles given above, the scribe sums up
finally by saying ' or any of them.' It seems somewhat redundant,
but was evidently meant to sum up all and sundry that had been
named.
This term is very frequent indeed, I have noted about forty
places. The commonest spelling is NIN-mc-sii^ or NIN-nu-su-nu :
but we have NIN-mu-nu-sii-nu in no. 211 : NIN-nu-sic in nos. 238
and 502 : NIN-ni-su in no. 427 : NIN-sii-nic in nos. 318, 419 and
473, and simply AV^Vin no. 474. I think that here NINh clearly
used as an ideogram for 'anyone,' and that nu, ra, and mu-mc, are
phonetic suffixes. The reading is further complicated by such forms
as NIN-mu-su in nos. 325 and 495, which could perhaps be read
minima snm-su ; NIN-me-nu-su in no. 446 : but is I think cleared up
by me-7ne-ni-su in no. 476, and me-me-ni-su-mi in no. 246. I believe
they all go back to a form memenu meaning ' anyone ' : NIN-nu I
read memenu; NIN-mu-nu I read me7tiunu\ iV7A^;w simply memeni ',
NIN^ memenu ; NIN-me-nu^ memenu. Whether this could be at-
tained by giving to NIN the syllabic value mim I doubt. In the
curious variant amel MU-MU-nu-su-7iu in no. 418 I recognise simply
a by-form mumunu, and in SAL-mu-nu-su in no. 489 I recognise
SAL as an ideogram of mumunu with the phonetic suffix mu-nu. It
may however be that SAL is an error for NIN. I think it not
unlikely that miminu was variously altered in speech, but that it is
the only actual form for 'anyone.' How it could produce ma/i/iu as
an interrogative form, or memeni as an adverbial form, for 'anyhow,'
is still to be discussed. In no. 164 we have the form NIN-ma-nu^
that is mimanu or mamaiiu. 'J'he use of NIN^ as an ideogram for
'anyone,' is seen in the phrase NIN TA NIN 'one with another,'
lit. 'anyone with anyone,' in nos. 155, 163 and 780. Cf. also
NIN NJN \s\\\\ the same sense in no. 168. In view of the ideo-
AND DOCUMENTS. 329
graphic use of jV/N dhoxc, it may he thai in no. 562, NJN-ME^-su
may be meant for a plural of mcnicnii. i\l)ove I have taken it tcj
mean sisters. In the Babylonian contract Rm. 157, A'. 7^. iv. p. 124,
I have noted the form man-fna-nu, which points perhaps to a redu-
plicated form of mannu which by way of mimmanu may lie at the
root of above.
Some deviations from the usual order in the phrase /// A^ In
niarcsu etc., may be recorded here. They are too miscellaneous to
shew any definite change of sense. In no. 59 we have lu A^ In
saticsu III rab alcuiisu In hazanu diisu, lu marsu lu mar-inari-su. In
no. 246, rev. 2 ff. we read lu Sil-Asur amel bel pahati lu amelc
kdtasu lu mdresunu lii itiemenisunu. Here the actual seller was
Sil-Asur^ but, as three of his representatives conducted the sale and
sealed the document, we may conclude that these agents are here
regarded as effective sellers, and their sons, not his, are included in
the stipulation.
Going back over the clause, and using ourselves the words which
the scribe does, I imagine we should write the sentence, 7nannu sa
ina urkis iua mat etna izakupdni iparikihii^ lii ^, hi etc., istu B etc.,
dhiu dabdbu ubta^fini ; that is to say ' whoever hereafter on any
occasion shall set up (a claim), or take exception, whether it be A,
his relatives or any official on his part, or shall seek a legal decision
and suit against B and his heirs, etc' We have already dealt with
this whole sentence, except the istu B etc. ; which had better come
next.
The preposition I render istu is always written TA. The only
question is whether we are to read istu, ultu, or ////. Unfortunately
a phonetic spelling does not occur.
In several cases sd is apparently written in place of TA, as in the
nos. 318, 419, etc. It may be that in each case a form of TA is
meant. Except that sd should have four horizontal wedges at the
beginning and only two verticals, while TA should have only two
horizontals and three verticals, the signs when badly written are very
much alike. The sign sd is continually written with only three
discernible horizontals and is then practically indistinguishable from
da : but also the three verticals of TA are often only to be imagined,
a sign like // being written. Of course, anyone who comes to the
tablet with a fixed idea that only TA can be here, will say TA is
certain. One who comes to read merely what is there, content to
reproduce what he sees, may often set down sd. Now I hold that sd
^^O ASSYRIAN DEEDS
is quite conceivable, for it can mean 'from,' see Glossary on sd: and
that is all we need to make sense. That the scribe meant TA, is
now my conviction and the characters sd in no. 211, rev. 6, may
all be altered to TA. I still think the scribe often wrote TA very
like sd : and it is not inconceivable he meant sd.
The confusion, if such it be, may be connected with the very
frecjuent association of the pronoun sa with TA. It seems to us
redundant to say, 'whoever... who,' when referring to the same
persons in the same clause. In the above-quoted phrase we con-
tinually find sa, ' who,' put in, after /u etc., and before istii B : and
an equally common arrangement is to separate dimi dabdbu from
iibta^uni and put it before istii. In both these arrangements sd is
very much more common than sa. We may even have sd before
tibta^thii, and istu B after it, as in no. 319 : cf. no. 307 : this repeated
sd may occur before izakupdni, as in no. 237 : or after istu B etc., as
in no. 560. In no. 223, we have a very odd turn, sd pant before
some name, perhaps of a judge, and istu B after it.
We may note that two forms of TA are used, as shewn in the
Glossary, but I am unable to formulate any difference in their
meaning. As already noted, two chief forms of arrangement are in
use, TA may come before dime dabdbu ubtahhii, or after dinu dabdbu,
and before ubtahmi. In no. 311, sd occurs before dinu dabdbu, and
sa TA after and before B etc., and then dinu dabdbu is repeated
before ubta'uni. In no. 319, TA B etc. occurs after ubta'uni. In
no. 237, we have TA before B, and then SI (that is, pani)-su after B.
In no. 246, we have TA B iparikuni) in no. 252, TA B kurbu
if^dnini. In no. 339, we have TA B tdibub, of course dinu dabdbu
being absent; in no. 657, we have TA B la idabub.
In place of the simple TA we get TA-SI, that is istu pant,
several times; once, in no. 338, istu pa-an. In no. 263, istu is
replaced by a-na. In several cases, e.g. nos. 59, 230, 264, 434, 519,
the whole phrase istu B etc. is omitted, though of course the sense of
it is understood.
However we read TA, the sense, when ubta^u/ii occurs with it,
must be ' from.' 'i'o seek or obtain a legal decision or a plea
' against ' B would be more natural for us to say ; but TA marks,
as the variant TA SI shews, the fact that such a demand is 'from,'
' at the expense of,' ' to the detriment of ' the buyer. The sense of
a-7ia, literally 'to,' must also be 'against,' 'in opposition to.' Of
course in entering upon a legal process ' with ' B, we may take
AND DOCUMENTS. 33 1
'with' lu l)c a very ap[)ioprialc rendering of TV/, and ihen we
might read ////. On tlie wliole, however, it seems to me tliat iUu or
ultii is the best reading and ' from ' the most Hteral rendering.
602. The enumeration of buyer and representatives follows
much the same plan as that of the seller and his representatives.
The preposition TA is repeated before the separate members of
the list in very many cases, e.g. nos. 187 (twice), 260 (three times),
318 (three times), 349 (twice), 414 (twice), 418 (twice), 427 (twice),
468 (twice), 478 (twice), etc.
Of course this insertion of the buyer's name affords a second
place to look out for it, in seeking to recognise the parties to the
contract. The other place is earlier, after upisma. The real buyer
may be named here alone : only his agent occurring earlier.
The buyer's sons usually follow. Usually we have TUR-MES-su^
i.e. mdresu. Very common is TUR-sii^ i.e. vicirsu^ 'his son,' used
generically for 'sons.' In no. 559, we have A-MES-su^ i.e. aplesu.
The suffix su is usual, I have only noticed sii once, in no. 470. In
no. 307, we have nidresa^ 'her sons,' used of a lady buyer. In no.
223, we have arkusu^ 'his successor,' in place of 'his son,' and in
no. 244, arkusu is used of a lady buyer in place of the more correct
arkusa.
The buyer's grandsons usually follow his sons. We generally
have TUR-TUR-MES-su, mar-mar esu: also TUR-TUR-MES,
mdr-mdrc^ without the suffix, in nos. 235, 308, and 560: with the
suffix sil^ in no. 477, with suffix sa^ in no. 307. The singular
TUR-TUR-su, mdr-7ndri-su, 'his grandson,' occurs generically, in
nos. 336, 503 and 613. A variant UN-MES-su^ i.e. ntsesu^ occurs
in no. 389.
The buyer's brethren are less often named, but we have PAP-
MES-su three times, and SES-MES-su also three times.
The buyer's nephews, or brothers' sons, are named in fewer
places, TUR-SES-MES-su indr-ahesu^ in nos. 238 and 260 ; and
TUR-PAP-MES-su^ mdr-ahesu, in no. 508, cf. also no. 405.
A general resume of the buyer and his relatives is given in
no. 446, by NIN-ME-MU-su^ which I venture to read memenu
sum-su^ or 'what's his name.'
The separate members of this list are sometimes divided by ??, as
in nos. 374, 378, but usually they run on without conjunctions. Of
course this list contains no mention of officials to intervene for the
buyer.
332 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
603. We collect here some of the deviations from the normal
arrangement and logical order which may be noted.
After mannu sa ina urkis ina mateina^ before izakupani^ sa is
repeated, in no. 374, rev. 2.
So mannu sa is repeated after ina matema and before izakupani^
in nos. 418, 471. In the latter case also, after lu A etc. mannu sa is
again repeated before eldni^ and then sa istu B follows : so that sa
occurs four times in one sentence with the same antecedent. So
too, mannu sa is written where we usually have sa alone, before dinu
dababu^ in no. 181, line 13.
Mannu is repeated after izakupani^ and before iparikiini^ in
no. 174.
After mannu sa ina urkis ina 7?iatema, In A etc. follows, and the
sentence is resumed with sa izakupdni, in no. 59.
After mannu sa ina urkis ina mateme ikabbiini lu amele la adin,
lu A etc.^ the sentence is resumed with sa ikabbiini ma nise Id addin^
no. 264.
After mannu sa ina matema ina arkat time eldni, lu A etc., we
have again sa eldni dinu dabdbu istu B etc. igdruni ikabbimi md kaspu
gammur Id tadin eklu bitu kiru Id apil Id zarip Id lakki, in no. 436.
In no. 474, the arrangement is the same, sa eldni coming after the
seller and his representatives, and also eldni before them. Here,
however, the pleas are omitted.
After mannu sa ina nrkis ina matema., we have sd {SI— ) pdn A^
lu mdresu etc. izakupdfii iparikuni^ in no. 310. So after tnannu sa
ina urkis ina matana izakupdni iparikiini lu A etc., we have, in
no. 311, sd dhiu dabdbu sa istu B etc. dinu dabdbu ubta^iini.
The phrase is written without sa in no. 386, mannu ina urkis ina
mdte.
604. Properly speaking the whole sentence hitherto considered,
is one clause, to which the first penalty is a complement. If anyone
shall attempt to upset the agreement he shall suffer such and such
penalties. Hence the penalties really come under the stipulation S^.
It seems, however, desirable for the sake of completeness, and
systematic treatment, to take all the penalties together here and to
consider the whole subject of the sanctions to the contracts.
In earlier, and possibly more pious times, the sanction to a
contract was embodied in an oath, taken by the parties to observe
their agreement. The injured party thus [)laced himself under the
protection of the divine [)ower and invoked the vengeance of the
AN' I) DCXTIMKNTS. 333
deity upon him who should do ihc wrong. In the old Babylonian
contracts (sec Meissner, A. B. P. R. passim) the formula of this oath
seems to have been MU Hi Scwias etc.^ or MU Ammizaduga sarrt,
' by the name of Samas,' or ' by the name of Ammizaduga the kmg,
he swore ' itma. Very often the two forms are combined. The king,
of course, was the earthly representative of the divinity, and as such
guardian of the right, and upholder of justice. We may compare
the often occurring epithets in the historical inscriptions, e.g. iidsir
kiftt\ riYi?n 7nisari\ though this may not really refer to the king's
function as 'protector of the right and lover of justice,' so much as
to the private virtue of his character.
In the documents of the period embraced by this work, traces of
this formula are preserved for us in the charters or proclamations.
Thus, in nos. 651, 658 and 659, we have a formula which is restored
by no. 652 ; compare nos. 646, 647. In full it seems to have been,
MU Astir ^ Safuas. . . Ista?' Assuriti, Adadi, Nergal^ Nmip, il Hi Sihitti^
itaphar Hani a?i?mte rahfite sd mat Assur; see no. 651. That is to
say, ' in the name of Asur, Samas, . . , Istar of Assyria, Adad, Nergal,
Ninip and Sibitti, in all, these great gods of Assyria.' The missing
god appears, from no. 652, to be Hu Be-ir. The list of gods is of
interest because it dates from the time of Adadi-nirari, B.C. 794,
on no. 651. In nos. 646, 647, of about the year B.C. 655, we have
ni-is Asu?', Adadi, Be-ir, Bel En-lil Assuru, Istar Assuritu. Here
MU '\% replaced by ins. The meaning of this word is disputed.
Delitzsch, H. IV. B. p. 4S2 b, f., considers it to mean first, * existence,'
and as such a synonym of tiapistu, 'soul,' and of suimi, 'name.' As
far as this formula goes we may regard it as simply indicating an
oath, and render ' by.' The verb appropriate to it would be either
tami^i or sakdrii. These verbs do not occur in our documents. The
list of gods is rather interesting for its changes. Samas, Nergal and
Ninip have disappeared, and Bel of Assyria has come in. The rather
obscure god BE-IR, or is it Labir (?), retains a place.
Some years later, at the accession (?) or Asur-etil-ilani, in no. 649,
we have ni-is Asur..., by Asur.... The list of gods is not yet
complete.
It is the same divine sanction which is invoked in the formula,
Samas lu bel dinisu. As bel dini probably means the ' owner of the
legal decision,' that is the party who brings the suit, this probably
means that Samas was to take up the case and be the adversary of
the wrong-doer. It does not seem to me to be the same as 'Samas
334 ' ASSYRIAN DEEDS
be judge.' That Samas was 'the divine judge' we know, but so
were other gods. I do not think that bcl dhiisu is exactly equivalent
to daia7iiisu. In either case the meaning is ultimately the same.
The god is appealed to, to vindicate the right and avenge the wrong.
This occurs in no. 711.
In no. 318, we have Asur, Samas, Bel, Nadu lii bel dinihi. In
both these cases and in 780, line 12, we have lu-u\ the gods in this
case are, Asur Samas Nairn Mardiik. The phrase occurs without ///,
in no. 161, Asur 21 Satnas bel-di-7ii-e-su. Here the addition oi e to bel
dini is noteworthy. Was it meant to make a plural of bel dini} As
a rule the singular bel dhiisu is used without alteration for several
gods. So, beside the examples above, we have in no. 163, Asur
Mardtik bel dhiisu. In this case the line before has ana Asur bel
dhiisu X mane kaspi iddan, ' to Asur, the vindicator of the right, he
shall pay ten minas of silver.' That bel dhiisu is not the 'judge,' but
the ' avenger ' or the ' intervener ' in the suit, seems clear from
no. 168. There we read ma7inu sa iparikuni lu mar sarri lu bil
dinisu etc., 'shall pay a forfeit.' Clearly here the Crown Prince was
a party or had some claim on the property. As it occurs in a legal
decision, it is probable that here bel dhiisu is the opposing party :
perhaps we could render 'plaintiff.' It means more than 'plaintiff,'
it means the successful suitor, one who has proved his right, gained
the day and is in possession of the decision. In no. 243, after the
relatives, perhaps bel dinisu was named.
In no. 476, we read in line 2 of reverse, ade sa sarri lu bel dinisu,
'the decisions of the king be the vindicator of his cause.' The ade
sa sarri are often named in the letters, ' to enter into them ' was to
take the oath of fealty to the sovereign. They were the agreements
drawn up apparently between the sovereign and his people. The
word ade is used of the treaties between two sovereigns, as between
Esarhaddon and Baal of Tyre. It looks as if there was a code of
law, something after the style of our Coronation oath, to which
perhaps the king swore, and to which each state officer also swore
on taking office. The letters convey to me the impression that this
'entering into the ade,^ like some ceremony of 'swearing in' of the
officials, was an annual affair. A favourable day for performing the
ceremony is the subject of enquiry in K 682, see // A. B. L.
p. 216.
To this code, then, appeal is made, ' it shall be the vindicator of
the right,' It shall be vindex as well as index.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 335
The words A7 li'i/iisu also occur in no. 491, but in a jjosition
which suggests tliat it is the end of a proper name. In view of the
above, I think that Samas-l{\-bel-dinisu is not an unHkely Assyrian
name.
In no. 619, line 3 of rev. f., we have Asur, Sift, ^ainas, Bel^
Nabu, i/dfii sa ?ncif Assip' a?ia kaUisu hdba'u, that is, ' may Asur Sin
Samas Bel and Nabu the gods of Assyria require it at his (the wrong-
doer's) hands.' The use of the same verb in the phrase dhii dabdbu
ubta'ihii, bears out my contention that the god is appealed to, to
appear as 'plaintiff' against the wrong-doer.
The appeal to the adi of the king also occurs in no. 62, line 5,
where we read, nde sa sarrisu uba\ ' he shall appeal to the ade of his
king.' I do not think this constituted the king's private judgement
as the ultimate arbiter. That would be expressed better by fern
sarri ; or his official decision as judge, by dhiu sarri. The ade,
I believe, were certain rules or legal precedents already decided and
agreed upon. Is it too much to suppose that they included some
such cases as are recorded in Rm. 77, etc., of which Meissner, B. A. S.
III. 493 ff., has published specimens? The appropriateness of such
decisions to the case of no. 62, is obvious. If I am right in my
surmise, Assyria had begun to collect a code of laws. In no. 177,
the form runs ade sa sarri belisu uba\ The addition of beiisu to
sarri alters nothing.
With respect to these ade it is tempting to compare the cases
in Meissner, A. B. P. R., where appeal or reference is made to sindat
sarri. The ' yoke of the king ' would not be an inappropriate name
for such a body of decided cases. It would doubtless be his ' yoke '
on the people, but also to some kings a 'yoke' on themselves. How-
ever, Winckler, A. F. 11. 90, has given reason to think it has nothing to
do with a ' yoke,' but is rather a standard of reference. That does
not militate against the comparison, but rather supports it.
It is only rarely that any allusion to the king as arbiter or judge
is made. In one case, in a legal decision, the collocation of the
fragmentary remains suggests that the king Asurbanipal himself had
acted as sartaiu or chief judge (no. 321). In another case,
no. 150, it is stipulated that if the property lent be not returned
at the proper date, ' twenty minas of silver shall be paid to the
king.' We have here no means of deciding whether this was
compensation for the property, which may have been the king's,
or really a fine payable to him.
336 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The Penalties.
605. Penalty I.
Failing the influence of religious reverence for divine right and
the law, a material penalty is attached to the breach of contract.
A certain definite sum of silver, or gold, or both, is named, to be
paid to the treasury of some god or goddess. As a rule the divinity
is indicated as the god ' inhabiting,' asib^ or asihat in the case of a
goddess, such and such a city. It is of interest to note these
incidental notices of the local cults : they are given in the Table
of local divinities.
The usual phrase was x mane kaspi y 7)ia7te hurasi ina burki
ihi A asibi al B isakkan ; that is, ' so many minas of silver, so many
minas of gold, in the treasury of the god A^ inhabiting the city
of B^ he, the offender, shall place.'
The word burhi is not clear, the rendering 'treasury' is very
free, and based merely on the probability that the money would find
its way there, wherever it was originally put by the offender.
There is some reason to think that bw-kii means some part of
the body, see Delitzsch, H. W. B. p. 186 a. Otherwise one might
be tempted to read purkii^ and connect with the root of parakkii
which means a shrine or holy chamber of some sort : see H. 11 '. B,
p. 541 a. Other forfeits were paid ina sepd, 'at the feet' of a god :
and it may be 'the knees,' or 'lap' of a seated god, who would
be clothed in such a way that even male divinities would have a
real lap.
That burku is a part of the person, appears certain from K 8268,
Cata. p. 911.
In no. 385, the destination of the forfeit is the atru or adru of
Nabfl, which pretty certainly means the ' court of the temple,' hence
probably the treasury.
The amounts of silver and gold to be paid in this way as forfeit
are very large, amounting to as much as two talents of silver in
nos. 470, 471 ; and to two talents of gold in no. 376. That such
large sums were ever paid I think improbable. I imagine that
according to ancient and antiquated ideas the enormity of the
penalty was held to be a powerful deterrent. The relation of the
amount of the penalty to the price at one time seemed likely to be an
interesting enquiry. I accordingly tabulated tlie prices and penalties
together. There is certainly no fixed relation between the price
AND DOCUMKNTS. 337
and the jicnalty. In a fair number of cases (ten), however, the
penalty in silver is tenfold the |)rice in silver. In as many as
seventeen cases, the penalty is ten minas of silver and one mina
of gold. This penalty is attached when the price is one mina of
silver, at least three times, but is also set down when the price
is i\ mina, 35 shekels, 30 shekels, two minas, two minas Car-
chemish, ten minas, one and a half minas, half a mina, three minas
30 shekels, ten shekels, five minas, three minas, six minas, respec-
tively, of silver. It looks rather as if it were regarded as a fair
average penalty to set down, than that it was a calculated multiple
of the price. The other relations are even less consistent. On the
whole, I conclude the penalty bore no relation to the value of the
property, though high penalties were associated with valuable property,
but that its amount was usually set high, in order to deter the seller
from disturbing the buyer.
On the whole, the most common amount in silver was ten minas,
the next most common one mina. In gold the commonest amount
was one mina, then two minas. Silver is often spoken of as 7;iis?2,
'clean,' perhaps in the sense of new, or free from the soil of
commerce. The gold is often called sakm, which I render tenta-
tively by 'fine.' On these terms, see § 317.
Very little variation occurs in the phrase ina burki. The usual
way of writing ina is with one horizontal wedge. The phonetic
spelling a-7ia occurs in nos. 246, 332 and 485, and i-iia in no. 501.
The word burki is generally spelt bur-ki\ phonetically bu-ur-ki in
J^o- 376, and bur-{ur)-ki in no. 225.
The list of gods is dealt wath later, see § 606.
The epithet a-sib is most usual, a-si-bat for goddesses. Also
a-si-bi occurs several times, and a-si-bdt in nos. 330, 376. The god
is often said to be sa dl.... In place of this designation, in no. 181,
Adadi is said to be bel dl Kalzi.
The usual writing of isakkan is GAR-an, but i-sak-kaJi is common,
and i-sa-kan occurs several times. We have i-GAR-nu in no. 334,
that is GAR = sakdnii, with phonetic prefix /, and phonetic suffix ?iu,
read i-sakka-nu. In place of isakkan., in this phrase, idda7i., ' shall
give,' is quite common. It is written SE-a?i. Once it appears that
u-rak-ka-sa, 'shall devote,' occurs in no. 244, but the reading is
uncertain. The verb is omitted apparently, in no. 376. For isakka?!^
GAR alone is sometimes written.
A substitute for this formula is the simpler phrase ana Hi...
J. III. 22
338 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
iddan. This occurs very frequently, e.g. nos. 234, 248, 350, 283 a,
330, 359. 507, 384. 417, 425, 460, 596, 453, 520. In no. 385,
the forfeit is to be paid ana (or ina) atrisu ana A^abu. In this case
it was not money but corn, SE-PAT-MES. Here ana atri may
mean 'in addition,' but also 'the treasury' of the god, see § 557-
In no. 506, the penalty is divided, the silver being payable to Istar
of Nineveh, and the gold to Ninip. So too, in no. 321, it seems
that Asur and Samas divide the money.
Beside this we also have a sum of money to be paid, but the
destination is not mentioned. Thus we read simply of the offender,
that X mane kaspi iddan, ' ten minas of silver he shall pay.' As
far as the tablet goes, therefore, we do not know whether this fine
is to be paid to a god, and if so we are not told to which god or
goddess. It may be it was to be paid to the injured party. That
I regard as improbable.
The general sense of this penalty admits of no doubt. The
money was to be paid to the god, that is, of course, to the treasury
of the temple. Whether such fines ever did get paid is another
question altogether. It seems likely enough that if the seller found
it really worth while to repudiate his bargain he would contrive some
way to avoid the penalty or satisfy the priests with less. That the
temples did sometimes profit by fines appears to explain the fact
that in no. 806, which appears to contain a list of the lands held
as endowments by a temple, we find certain lands as having been
presented in the time of Tiglath Pileser by the bel-pahati of Sime,
Mm dame as composition for blood, or ' blood-money.'
This penalty is denoted as forfeit, E^ .
Local Divinities,
606. The penalties payable, under stipulation S^, as forfeits to
the gods for breach of contract, are deserving of attention from the
information they afford as to the local cults of these divinities.
Istar, for example, was undoubtedly the city goddess of Nineveh, as
she was also of Arbela. She is therefore spoken of as ilu Istar
dsibat dl Ni?ina, 'Istar that dwells in Nineveh.' Nineveh was, so to
speak, her ' home.' This seems to be a convenient place in which
to collect all the notices of the gods scattered throughout the
contracts.
We may begin with Ahtr. The name is generally written i/u
AND DOCUMENTS. 339
A^-sur^ or as often without tlic ih(^ simply yiS-sitr. Tlic plioiictic
spelling A-sur does not occur in our documents. 'I'he form i/n HI
occurs in nos. 321, 394 and 649. The hurJd of Asur as destination
of a fine only occurs in nos. 321 and 394. In the former case, it
seems as if the fine were to be divided with Samas. He is frequently
named with other gods in the oath which the king swore, and
imposed on his successors, to respect the charter, which he granted.
When named with other gods Asur is invariably placed first. In
no. 425, the fine was to be paid to Asur asib Esari'a^ *to Asur that
dwells in Esarra.' He is however not said to 'inhabit' any particular
city. The ginil of Asur is mentioned, in nos. 48 and 49, where the
money advanced is said to be gmu sa Asur, and in no. 363, where a
certain plantation is said to be sd ginc sd Asur ilu NJN-LIL, that is
to belong to the ginu of Asur, and his consort AUN-LIL or Belit.
The forfeit of ' white horses ' was often to be paid to Asur, see
nos. 62, 263, 337, 386, 429, 464, 470, and 471. He appears as bel
dhii, the 'vindicator of wrong' in no. 163, and in a different way as
'avenger of wrong' in no. 619. Of course he shared with other
gods this function, when appealed to in the oaths referred to
above ; § 604.
His consort Bclit, written NI^-LIL, appears with him, as noted
above, in no. 2>^2)- Alone, she appears as dsibat Esarra, in no. 645,
line I. The same tablet shews that she is to be distinguished from
ilu Be-lit dl Niniia, who is there said, rev. line i, to inhabit E-MAS-
MAS. In no. 62, she is associated with Asur in so far that, while he
is to receive 'two white horses,' she is to receive a 'mina of gold.'
In no. 243, she is named alone, as in no. 337; in both cases a
forfeit appears to be payable to her burku. In no. 559, rev. line 2,
the burki of a god or goddess dsib Esarra is the destination of the
forfeit : if one could depend on the masculine asib, this would mean
Asur ; the goddess Beiit is the alternative.
The goddess Belit of Nineveh referred to above, as occurring in
no. 645, may be also named in no. 236, line 14, where we have i/u
NIN... dsibat dl Ninua. I was perhaps wrong in restoring the name
as NIN-GAL, but this goddess occurs in nos. 215 and 389. Ur
Zimmern, G. G. A. 1889, Nr. 3, p. 248, says we should restore
NIN-LIL. This would make Belit, NIN-LIL, a city goddess of
Nineveh. This is in contradiction to the contrast between the Lady
of Nineveh, and NIN-LIL. It may be that NIN alone was written
here, and that Istar of Nineveh is meant.
22 — 2
340 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Another goddess Belit is named, in no. 436, as Be-lit seri, and in
no. 474, as Be-Iit ilu seri. In these cases the penalty was the
devotion of the offender's eldest daughter to this goddess. As
Dr Zimmern, 1. c. p. 251, points out, this is clearly the same goddess
as the Bi-la-tu si-e-ri of no. 310. He further identifies her with
Asratu, 'the Lady of the desert,' ^'^C'^?^ cf. Jensen, Z A. xi. 302 ff.
In no. 310, she is to receive as forfeit, two i77ier rike tabfiti^ along
with the eldest son, or eldest daughter. In the same context Istar
of Nineveh appears, so there is no connection between these
goddesses.
The goddess Istar of Nineveh is naturally most frequently named
of all the deities. For probably nearly all our documents are
concerned with Ninevites primarily. The name is written ilu XV,
XV simply, and Is-tar phonetically, with about equal frequency.
The goddess owned the money advanced in no. 37. It is probable
that her head was stamped on the money named in nos. 38, 39.
Her burhi is the destination of the forfeit in nos. 86, 203, 242, and
often.
The goddess Istar of Arbela is named, less than half as many
times as Istar of Nineveh. Nine of ten times she is owner of the
money advanced, in no. 409 of an estate, next to that sold. Her
hurku is named in nos. 180, 376, 446 and 519. In no. 485, the
burku of a goddess (end of bat is preserved) asibat dl Arbailu, is
named, and in no. 492, that of some deity of Arbela. We can
hardly doubt that Ktar of Arbela is meant in these two cases. In
no. 384, the forfeit is to be paid to the Belat Arbaili, who was
probably Istar.
The goddess Istar Assuritu is named in nos. 646 (twice),
647 (prob. twice), 651, 652, 659. The spellings of the name are
ilu Is-tar AS-SUR-KI-i-tu, ilu Is-tar AS-SUR-KI4-tum, ilu Is-tar
As-sH-ri-te,. . JH-ri-tii and ihi Is-tar As-sii.... It is not easy to say
which of the last two goddesses is really meant.
In quite a number of cases the fragmentary condition of the
tablet prevents our deciding which of the above two Istars is meant.
That one is intended is probable, for we can generally see that it was
an Istar asibat, or sa, some city.
In some cases I.^tar is used without any indication having been
given by the scribe as to which he meant. In no. 172, we have a
witness described as ardu sd ilu Istar : in no. 444, a bit ilu Istar or
'temple of Istar' is named; and in no. 640, a 'priest of Istar'
AND DOCUMENTS. 34 1
appears as witness. In no. 570, the penalty is to devote i)crhaps
two ' white horses ' to Istar.
or all the other localised gods, Ninip, if that was his real name,
is most often named. Usually his name is written ilu BAR : but in
no. 640, we have i/u Ninip^ written three times, and in no. 641,
twice. The form ilu BAR occurs in these two tablets, twice in the
former, four times in the latter, in such a way as to leave no doubt
of the identity of the gods named. His burku is often named, and
except in no, 506, he is then always said to ' inhabit ' Kalhu. So, in
no. 640, he is described as sa kirib Cil Kalha Svho is in the midst
of Kalhu.' He was therefore preeminently the town-god of Kalhu.
Iddinia is mentioned as his priest, in nos. 640, 641 and 642. In
no. 640, we also have mention of his rdb-BI-LUL^ diud his MU-Biti.
VVe read of his temple in no. 640, and in no. 50, Ahularim is said to
be its kepu. In no. 640, the lady Ramti dedicated her son Diir-
maki-Istar, with the consent of his next of kin, to Ninip of Kalhu.
In no. 641, a saku^ Mannu-dik-alak, dedicated his son to the same
god. In no. 642, his priest, Iddinia, bought Summa-Nabti, a skilled
weaver, for the service of Ninip. He only occurs once, among the
gods by whom the king swore to observe his charter, in no. 651. In
no. 310, a penalty is that the offender shall dedicate a great bow of
bronze to Ninip of Kalhu.
Sin of Harran occupies the next place. His name is written
ilu XXX. Curiously enough, with this title, as 'inhabiting Harran,'
he is only named in connection wdth a penalty of two or more ' white
horses' to be paid him by an offender, in nos. 215, 262, 275 and
389.
Sin of Dtir-Sargon is named in no. 336, and to his burku the
forfeit for breach of contract was to be paid.
Sin is, however, often named without indication of his city.
Chiefly his burku is named, but once, in no. 619, he is named as the
avenger of wrong. In no. 436, the delinquent is to dedicate his son
to Sin. When we recall the restoration of the temple of Sin at
Harran by Asurbanipal, we may perhaps see in these references a
reflection of the popular revival of his worship at that period.
The god Ramman, or, as we should perhaps read his name, Adadi,
seems to have had a localised cult in several places. Thus, in
no. 500, we have Adadi of Dur-Bel, or, as we ought perhaps to read,
Dilr-Ea. In no. 228, we have Adadi of Anatu, and in no. 181,
Adadi of Kalzi. In nos. 338, 397, and 501, we have Adadi o( Al...,
342 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the city name being lost. In every case the name is written AN-IM.
He is appealed to, in the royal oaths, nos. 646, 647, 651, 652, 658.
His priest occurs, as a witness, in no. 640. As a penalty, a son was
to be devoted to him, in no. 632.
The god Bel is occasionally named, but his cult is not localised
by our contracts. In no. 216, I think his priest is named. The
Eiia Bel, written SI-2-MES, is named, m Ime 2 of no. 665. He
appears as avenger of wrong in no. 619, and perhaps in no. 641,
rev. 6. He is appealed to, by the king, in oaths to preserve a
charter, see nos. 646, 647. It was at his command, coupled with
that of Nabu, that the king Asur-etil-ilani undertook some expedition
in no. 650. His biirku actually occurs in no. 259. In these cases,
the name is written ilu EN, with or without a ligature. In no. 650,
the scribe has prefixed another ////.
In nos. 646, 647, the name is written ilu EN-LIL Assurii
(i.e. AS-SUR-KI-U). In the curious term, or phrase, ina kakkadu
ilu BIL, in nos. 53, 57 and 105, we perhaps have not a god's name
at all; see § 508.
Nabii of Nineveh has a priest, as witness, in no. 394, his biirkii is
named in no. 428, if my reading of line 5 of rev. is right. The name
is written AN-PA, or AN-AK, with ligature in nos. 428 and 650,
without, in no. 640. Without any localisation the burku of Nabu is
named in no. 585 ; his pirhinu, in nos. 302 and 640; his priest in
640, 641 and 642; his MU-biti in no. 640. He is 'avenger of
wrong' in no. 619, and at his command Asur-etil-ilani acted in
no. 650.
Nergal, if we are so to read ilu BAR-BAR, is usually found in
the forfeit of imer harbakanni. In those forfeits he seems to have
been identified with ilu SES-GAL or ahu rabu, 'the elder brother.
This may be the meaning of BAR- BAR also, for BAR ---ahu, see
Briinnow, but also «^?/ ^ ' enemy ' ; cf. UR-UR-RI in K 2022,
Del. H. JV. B. p. 41. 'The great enemy' is an appropriate name for
Nergal. We learn from no. 364 that Nergal had a plantation in
Nineveh.
Nergal is named among the gods in Adadi-nirari's oath, in
no. 651.
Samas had a temple Ijy the gate of Nineveh, no. 619 ; and he is
a[)pealed to as the 'avenger of wrong' there, and named in the oatli,
in no. 651. In tliese cases, his name is phonetically written, ilu
Sa-mas. 'I'he name written ilu UD occurs in no. 321, where his
'
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 343
hurku is named ; in no. 630, where his al sc is referred lo ; and in
no. 711, where he is appealed to, to be the bcl dint, or ' vindieator of
the riii;ht.'
Bclanu of the city Hirana, written i/u Be-la-nii (which may be
read Tillanu), is named in no. 210. His burku was to be the
destination of the forfeit and he is spoken of as asibi alu Hirana.
Ilii Be-ir, whose name we may read Bcr, Bir, or LCibir is only
named in the oaths, nos. 646, 647, 651 and 652.
In no. 244, 17 f., we have mention of the biirki of ilu...dsib all
ji-rak-ka-sa. I take this to mean a god inhabiting ' the city,' that is,
of the delinquent. Perhaps aiu here denotes Nineveh, or possibly
Assur. I think iirakkasa is not the name of the city, but only a
form of urakkasa.
In nos. 206 and 209, we have mention of the burkii of a god
dsibi dl Assur. It is rather tantalising not to have this god's name.
In no. 198 we have the burku of some god inhabiting Nineveh.
This of course may be Istar, but also possibly Nabu or Nergal.
The burku of a god is named in nos. 173, 177, 225, 244, 378,
413, without any clue to the deity referred to.
607. Penalty II. Another penalty destined to the enrichment
of the temple was the obligation to dedicate horses to a divinity.
It occurs over twenty times. It is one of those clauses that have
suffered most frequently from the mutilation of the tablets.
In full, it reads // sise pisuti atia sepd Hi X irakkas, ' he shall
devote two white horses to the god X' It occurs more or less
completely thus, in nos. 215, 263, 275, 350, 386, 389, 429, 464, 470,
471 and 570. The number of horses, when preserved, is usually
'two,' but in no. 215, we have 'four.' 'Horses,' she, is written
IMER-KUR-RA-MES, as a rule; in no. 62, KUR alone is written;
in no. 261, only KUR-RA is left.
The adjective pisu, ' white,' is written UD-MES, and assuming
that sisu here is masculine, I xQ2iA pisuti. It is lost in several places,
but never omitted, when its place is preserved.
The preposition atia is usually written with the single horizontal
wedge, once it is given phonetically a-na in no. 262. As, however,
this is not followed by scpd, it is conceivable that we are to read it
itia as a rule.
The word sepd is that usually given, but it is replaced by KI-TA
in no. 215, literally 'below,' 'at the foot of: ana sepd means of course
'at the feet of.' In place of this, we have simply ana, in no. 262.
344 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The gods who were to benefit by this clause are, so far as
preserved, Sin of Harran, in nos. 215, 262, 275 and 389; Asur, in
nos. 62, 263, 337, 386, 429, 464, 470, 471 : and Istar, in no. 570.
In no. 280, we have only iddan^ no god being named.
The verb irakkas is variously written : most often i-rak-kas, also
i-ra-ka-sa in nos. 386 and 570; which I take to fix the verb as
rakdsu, not rakdsu. The form i-ra-kas occurs in nos. 350 and 464.
The phrase ina sepd ili irakkas means literally 'he shall bind, or
harness, at the feet of the god.' I take it that means ' he shall
devote to the god for his chariot.' It is, however, also used in the
wider sense of devotion or dedication to service, both of a child and
of money in nos. 244 and 310.
That this general sense is the best to take is shewn by the
variants. In nos. 262 and 280, we have idan and SE-an, 'he shall
give.' In nos. 62 and 337, we have isakkan^ 'he shall place.'
Beside the above-named cases, we clearly have part of this penalty
preserved, in no. 326, rev. i ; // she pisuti^ in no. 394, R 5 ; sise
pisfiti^ in no. 426, R 9 ; and ana sepd, in no. 560.
This penalty is denoted as forfeit, F2.
608. Penalty III. This was the devotion of some animals
called harhakanni to a god. We may regard the full form as,
IV irner harbakanni ana sepd ili X userab. Parts of this occur in
nos. 263, 326, 336, 350, 394, 429, 464, 471, 481, 498 and 570.
The number when preserved is always 'four.' In no. 263, the
scribe has written sik for inter : unless this is meant to mark the
animal as a ' wool bearer,' it must surely be an error. All the other
cases are imer. In no. 485, rev. i, we have KUR-MES harbakanni.
Unless the scribe began again the last penalty and left the KUR-
MES unerased, we have here the clue to what the animal was.
This, and its usual association with the last penalty, the clause
occurs alone only in nos. 336, 481 and 498, incline me to think that
harbakanni is an epithet of some kind of 'horse.' It is -usually
written har-ba-kan-ni, also har-bak-kan-ni in nos. 336, 394 and
probably 326. Of course the word might be read mur-bakan7ii, in
which case the mur may have the same origin, or force, as that in
murnisku, also a name for some species, or quality, of ' horse.' The
latter JJclitzsch, //. W. B. p. 391 b, connects with vmru a young
animal : however that may be, the reading niu-ur-ni-is-ke-ia, in
III. R. 38, Nr. 2, rev. 62, makes the reading nmr certain for the one
animal. We may therefore look for a separate meaning for baka?ini,
AND DOCUMENTS. 345
or bagan/ii. May wc nol suppose both words to l)cl(jng to the
language of tlie horse-producing country, perhiii)s Cilicia or North
Syria? That a l)ird is also called harbakanni^ finds its parallel in
the atan ;ian\ or 'river ass,' i.e. pelican, see Del. B. W. B. p. 158 b.
For the bird name see Del. H. IV. B. p. 289 a, where one spelling is
har-ha-ka-nu : see also K 6082, Col. iii. 7, in Winckler, Saininl.
II. 67.
The destination of this forfeit is expressed generally by ana sepa ;
ana KI-TA is found in nos. 263, 394, 498, 560, and KI-TA alone,
in no. 336.
The god usually named is Nergal, ilu BAR-BAR., but his name
is written ilu URU-GAL or SES-GAL, i.e. ahu rabu, 'the elder
brother,' in nos. 263 and 481. Sin of Harran seems to have been
written, in no. 429.
The verb of this sentence is generally userab, the same term as is
used in the mortgages for returning the loan. It clearly is derived
from ercbu, 'to enter': 'he shall cause to enter,' 'return' or 'pay
back.' As variant to this we have irakkcBs, in no. 481 : that is 'shall
bind,' 'harness,' or in a wider sense, 'dedicate.' In no. 326, we
have lisalii, 'he shall dedicate.' This I take to be 11. i from /?////,
' to devote, dedicate,' a verb which occurs with the same meaning in
the usela of no. 310, rev. 7, and selu' of no. 640, 6. We should
perhaps read usellL Oppert, Das Assyrische Lafidrecht, Z, A. xiii.
p. 265, suggests the reading murbakanni and the rendering ^MauleseL'
Forfeit F.^.
609. Penalty IV. In a few cases the penalty was the devotion
of a child to the service of a god. This form occurs in a more or less
complete state in five cases, nos. 310, 436, 474, 491, 632. The full
form appears to have been In mCirsu rabtc ana Hi X issarap lu maratsu
rabitu ana Hi Y issarap : that is ' he shall burn his eldest son to X,
or he shall burn his eldest daughter to K' That these penalties
were alternative, and not concurrent, appears clearly from no. 310,
where /?/, M occurs. So, also, no. 491 has ma after the first clause.
In the other cases, in no. 436, there is no conjunction at all, in
no. 474, we may doubt the presence of the first clause, and in no. 632,
only one clause probably occurred. The son is named, in nos. 310
and 436; each time written TUR-US-sii. The epithet rabu is
written GAL-{u) in no. 310, omitted in no. 436, and not preserved
in the rest. In no. 310, both children are destined to Bilatu scri,
so that there is no mention of a god, in the first clause ; it runs lu
34^ ASwSYRIAN DEEDS
7?tarsu rabu In fnaralsu rabitu. However, in no. 436, the son is
destined a-na ilu Sin. The reading of Sin, in no. 474, is doubtful
and there is no certainty that a son is named at alP. In nos. 491
and 632, little is left but the last word ; in no. 632, however, the god
was Adadi. In this clause, the verb appears certain in nos. 436,
491 and 632, while it is likely in no. 474; it is always, in this clause,
written ideographically by GIBIL, Br. 10866, the meaning of which
is sarapu, 'to burn.' We should read this isarrap, for the next
clause twice has the phonetic spelling i-sar-rap.
In the next clause, preserved only in nos. 310, 436 and 474, we
have 'daughter' written TUR-SAL-su, i.e. mdratsu^ in each case.
' Eldest ' occurs in each case ; it is written GAL-te, i.e. ralnte^ in
no. 436 ; GAL-ttc, or rabttu^ in no. 474, and phonetically ra-bi-tu in
no. 310. The preposition a-na is each time written phonetically.
In no. 310, the verb is i-rak-kas, in the other two i-sar-rap. The
name of the deity in each is Belii seri. This is spelt in no. 310,
Bi-la-tu si-e-ri: in no. 436, Be-lit {EDIN~) seri, and in no. 474,
Be-lit ilu (EDIN=) seri. Here then we have the distinct statement
that this goddess is 'god of the desert,' the 'plain' or 'waste.'
To the sacrifice of a daughter we have an addition : after maratsu
rabitu, in no. 310, we read (TA =^) //// // imcr ri-ki-e DUG-GA-
MES su: or //// // inter rike tabiiti su, i.e. 'with his two homers of
sweet-smelling herbs.' I here take ri-ki-e to be the same as rikke, in
H. W. B. p. 620. The presence of su is rather odd, perhaps it is
for sa, 'her,' that is 'belonging to her.' It seems that, with the
daughter, two homers of sweet-smelling herbs, i.e. some form of
incense, were to be given. In nos. 436 and 474, this phrase runs
differently, TA PA NU ERIN. In view of the last, TA must = itti.
Also ERIN'vs> certainly erinu, ' cedar wood.' If this is, as H. W. B.
I.e. suggests, one of the substances meant by rike, we may suppose
the PA-NU to be either a measure, or an instrument. Whether it
is the Assyrian form of the division of the homer denoted by PA, or
whether it is an ideogram, or whether we are to read hatnu, does not
appear to me very certain.
In any case, we see that here a dedication by fire seems to be
the idea. Whether we can argue that human sacrifices continued to
be offered in Assyria, I do not feel certain. The appearance of
irakkas, as a [)arallel to isarrap, makes me inclined to suppose that
sarapu here means merely ' to dedicate,' thougli its root meaning is
* Hut sec notes tliere, on iu>. 47^.
AND DOCUMENTS. 347
'to hurn.' Wc may compare willi this j)cnalty the actual cases, in
nos. 640 and ()4i, of tlie dedication of a son to Ninib of Kalhu.
610. l*enalty V. A further example of a penalty payable to a
god, occurs in no. 310. There we read, GIS-BAN GU-LA ERU-
MES a-fia ilu BAR a-sib dl Kal-ha u-se-la of which the meaning is
clear, 'a great bow of bronze he shall dedicate to Ninib of Kalhu.'
Now GU-LA is an ideogram for rabu^ and we might be content to go
no further. But it is not so clear that we are to read rabu^ when
speaking of a bow. As may be seen, H. JV. B. p. 36 a, a usual, if
poetic, term to apply to the bow of Istar, is ezzitu. I think therefore
we should read kastu ezzitu ere ana Ninib asib Kalha usela. The
verb usela I take to be 11. i of mlu^ ' to dedicate ' : and to be for
usella. It is interesting to know that Ninip carried a bow.
611. Penalty VI. The next form of penalty is an amend to the
injured person : we should note that it is always the seller who is
assumed to be the offender. He has pocketed the purchase money,
as already expressly declared in the deed of sale, but now he would
seek to invalidate the sale. Then he shall return the purchase
money, and not only that, but tenfold its amount. We are not to
assume that this clause is meant to legalise a withdrawal from the
compact, or to lay down the conditions on which it may be annulled,
but to make the conditions so severe as to deter from any such
attempt.
This penalty is really the commonest of all, hardly any deeds are
without it. Naturally, when it is set down along with a penalty
payable to a deity, the deity comes first. Otherwise, this is evidently
the first penalty that occurs to the scribe to make sure of. It often
occurs, when the penalty to the gods has been omitted.
The usual phrasing of it is, kaspu ana esrdte ana belesu utar ; ' he
shall return the price, or money, to its owners, ana esrdte.^ The
most difficult word here is esrdte. Usually this has been taken to
mean either with an addition of a tenth to its amount, or 'to the
tithe.' The former is very unlikely. The rate of interest imposed
as penalty for delay in repayment of an advance was rarely less than
twenty-five per cent. This penalty would surely be set far higher,
the former was an inconvenience, the latter a direct injury. In the
latter case, we assume that there was 'a tithe.' That is to say, that
in Assyrian life, * a tithe ' was annually paid for some purpose, either
to the government, or to the local divinity. To this fund our penalty
would destine the money. The tithe or tenth is certainly esru, plural
348 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
esreti, and it is not clear that our form is meant to express that. For
esri7j see II. W. B. p. 149.
Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 115 and passim, treats it as meaning ten
out of sixty, that is a sixth, or i6| per cent. This is not high, as
interests went then. Professor Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 204 and p. 246,
suggested that it means 'tenfold.' That certainly appears most in
conformity with the ideas of the time and, unless the form esrate can
be shewn conclusively not to mean ' tenfold,' it seems the only
tenable interpretation.
The usual writmg of esrate is X-MES, that is, ' in tens ' ; a
phonetic suffix te is very often added, so that we have X-MES-te.
In nos. 265 and 386, we have X-MES-a-te ; and several times X-a-te
occurs. That the ten was taken with respect to the original sum is
clear from the form X-MES-su, i.e. esrdtesu, 'its esrate.^ In no. 612,
we have X-a-a-a-a, the second pair of a-a is probably a slip, but a-a
here is to be regarded as a plural of a and read ate. In no. 436, we
have clearly X-a-ta-a-a^ here the plural form a-ta has had the plural
a-a added, forming a sort of plural of plurals. The form X-ta-a-an^
in no. 502, is another graphic form of the same, ata added, then a-an
for a-d' ; cf. X-a-ta-an in no. 428.
It may of course be true that these spellings represent esreti^ but
on the face of it esrate seems the right reading. On the meaning of
the endings TA-A-A etc., see also § 248.
The occurrence of Xll-a-ta-an, which I take to mean 'twelve-
fold,' in no. 474, seems to me conclusive against 'a tenth' or 'a
tithe.' It could hardly be maintained that beside the tithe, a twelfth
was levied, and that the penalty was to go to the collector of the
twelfth.
The older view agrees, of course, admirably, with that universally
adopted custom among Semitic peoples of paying a tithe to the
government, and the penalty would amount to this, that the quondam
seller would have parted with his property to the buyer, and then on
raising his suit, would have lost the price which he had obtained for
it, the esrate or tithe chest of his village, city or province being the
gainer. That of course is a quite conceivable and reasonable sort of
penalty, 'i'he -su in esratesu would be taken as meaning '///V esrate^
that is, his local tithe chest.
It is the very reasonableness of this penalty that makes me doubt
its Ijcing intended. All the others breathe a spirit of fierce vindic-
tiveness, and are rather of the nature of Oriental reprisals than legal
AND DOCUMENTS. 349
fines. 1 have already remarked that when a sum is made out as
penalty to be paid to the gods, although no really fixed ratio to the
l)rice, or presumable value of the property, is observed, yet the
commonest of all customs is to name exactly ten times the price.
I am not so foolish as to regard this as a proof, l)ut it helps to shew
the way things were regarded there and then.
I usually shall leave the question open by adopting the native
term a7ia esrdte and shall call -this the esrdk clause and denote it
by/^c
Some further observations on the form of this clause are to be
made.
The general usage is to write kas-pu here, and I, follow^ing my
rule, render it 'money' or 'price.' A small variation is kas-pi in
nos. 209, 237, 480. The ideogram KU BABBAR does occur, five
or six times, and KU-BABBAR-MES at least once in no. 264.
As the price was, as far as we know, always in silver, in these cases I
take it that we are to render here simply by 'the silver.' In no. 198,
we have kaspu gamur here, which is a little surprising, but quite
reasonable any way. In no. 612, line 2, of lower edge, we have a
considerable variation kas-pi- kt?i-?tit, which, of course, may be a way
of writing, 'full price.' The last character 7iu is doubtful, it may be
tii^ and then we could read kaspp kt?itu which I think unlikely, or
kaspV HAR-tu^ i.e. kaspV siiaM. This seems to me the best reading
of all.
The preposition ana is usually written a-na, but both the single
horizontal, and the single vertical wedge, are used. This applies to
both the places where it occurs, before and after esrdte.
In the phrase ana belesu^ the usual way is to write EN-MES-su,
i.e. belesu, but EN-su is quite common. The su is omitted in
nos. 360, 397, 448. In no. 503, we have EN'-MES-e-su^ i.e. the
phonetic complement e is added, to shew- that the plural is to be
read belL In no. 225, the singular spelHng is given EN-MES-TI ,
are we to think of a plural in ti or is TI an ideogram ? Perhaps this
is a scribal error.
The suffix su is usual, su occurs once in no. 381.
The meaning of belesu, according to the usage of our contracts,
must be 'its or his owners.' Apart from the fact that su occurs
always, never sa or sunu, it is difficult to see who could be meant by
^ his owners.^ I take it, su refers to kaspu. 'Its' owners would by
all natural justice be, when the bargain was annulled, the buyer or
350 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
his representatives. How the money could be returned to them for
the tithe, I fail to see. I take it, it was to be returned to the buyer,
either plus an addition, or 'tenfold.'
The verb is iitdr, 'he shall return.' That alone seems to me
strong against the tithe. For as the purchase money did not come
from the tithe, it could not be returned to it. The verb tCiru means
'to return,' and can hardly have acquired the meaning 'to present.'
The person to return the money, of <:ourse, would be the plaintiff in
the process for annulment.
As the ideogram for taru was GUR, the scribe seems to have
revelled in his opportunity for fine spelling. The most common
form is GUR-ra, i.e. uttxra, but GUR alone is nearly as common.
Both phonetic prefix and suffix appear in ti-GUR-ra, nos. 211, 225 ;
a pure phonetic spelling is frequent, ii-ta-ra; also in nos. 216 and
384, zUa-a-ra; and u-ia-ra, in no. 361. A variant, in no. 373, is
-d-tir-ra. These endings in ra^ I take to be really plurals, used as a
sort of impersonal form, ' one shall return, or they shall return.' We
also meet the form utdr, rather often, thus GUR-dr in nos. 172, 492 :
u-tar in nos. 207, 350. Also we have GUR with a phonetic prefix,
tc-GUR, six times, and u-GUR, in nos. 181, 310.
In place of this verb we twice have simply iddan, ' he shall give,'
in nos. 246, 507. It appears to have been accidentally omitted, in
no. 386.
A distinct variant to the whole clause must be included here.
In no. 436, we read kaspu uhhar ana esrdte ana belesu utdra ; and
in no. 474, kaspu uhhar ana XII-A-TA-AN ana belesu utdra. That
is ' he shall give back the money, and return ten-(or twelve)-fold to
its owners.'
The new verb uh-har is from ahdru^ the use of which in the sense
of ' going back,' in the astronomical tablets, is noticed in H. W. B.
p. 44. The sense of retrograde motion is there well established. It
is used there apparently only in 11. i. Meissner, Supplement^ p. 5,
quotes from the letters several passages, from which he deduces the
sense kommen, but with a (?). Our passages could both be read
uh-har, which would bring them into line with the rest. It seems,
however, clear that they are to be taken as implying a ' return ' of the
money.
It is [)Ossible tliat tlic wliole phrase may be taken with kaspu as
subject and read 'the money (shall go back and) tenfold return to its
owners.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 35 I
6i2. In close connection with this repayment of the price to
t'le buyer sometimes occurs what looks like a return of the proj)erty.
These are of very varied complexion, so much so as to perhaps rather
be considered in the comments on the separate texts. Yet as they
have some details in common and thereby receive mutual illustration,
they may be taken together. Here we must try to distinguish between
sales and mortgages ; in the latter case, we continually have the
clause, 7uannu sa kaspu idanuni^ (the property) uscsa ; which certainly
means ' whoever on behalf of the debtor shall return the loan, the
creditor shall release the pledge.' The verb uscsa from asu ' to go
out' must mean 'shall cause to go out': that is 'release,' when
used of a pledge. It is used of all sorts of property, or of the debtor
himself, when taken as security for debt. 1 he nominative to it can-
not therefore be the property, we cannot say of a pledged field, eklu
uscsa^ ' the field shall go free ' : it must either refer to the creditor or
be used impersonally. It is distinctly transitive and causative in
meaning. See further, under Mortgages; §461.
The return of the property, on the expiry of a lease, is of the very
nature of the transaction, and we may expect such a term as usesa
there also. The lessee of course had to ' release ' the property. It
will be seen in the Chapter on Leases, that so far as form of
document is concerned, the Assyrians treated a lease exactly as a
sale for a limited period, and used the same phrases as for a sale,
only adding the qualification ' for a term of years,' where necessary.
As a consequence, the occurrence of the words eklu etc. uscsa is
not decisive as to the nature of the document and the cases where it
appears to be a penalty must be very cautiously handled.
A clear case appears to occur in no. 213, where in lines 8 ff. we
read, viannu sa ina urkis etc. lu A etc. dhiu istu B etc. ubtahmi^ II
ma?ie kaspi idda7i., amiltu usesa., that is to say, ' whoever hereafter on
the seller's side shall seek a decision against the buyer, shall pay
two minas of silver and he shall release the woman.' Here the
buyer had paid a mina and a half for the woman. It is clearly a
penalty : if the seller tried to upset the bargain he was to pay two
minas, when he had only received one and a half. But who was to
release the slave? Not the seller, for the buyer was supposed to
have her. It is not likely she was to be set free of both masters.
I think the verb here is impersonal, and we should say ' the woman
shall be released.' That I take to mean, go back to her former
master. Another view is possible. The seller may be assumed to
352 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
have kept back the slave after receiving the price, in spite of
the express declaration that she was sold and taken, lakkiat, m
Hne 8.
We may therefore consider three alternatives :
1. Property not delivered, but price paid. Seller raises legal
point. Penalty : he has to deliver property, and return price with
heavy interest.
2. Property delivered and price received. Seller tries to upset
bargain. Penalty : he has to forfeit property, but instead of getting
any money, has to pay a sum to a god, or the buyer.
3. Property delivered and price paid. Seller tries to upset
bargain. Penalty : he gets back his property but has to repay more
than he got for it.
It is to be noted, that in this first case the person who is to
receive the two minas is not stated. The amount of fine here is one-
third of the price. There is no esrate clause. If we take it that the
two minas went to the buyer, he gains half a mina on the whole, if it
went to the god, he is exactly in the same position as before.
In no. 218, we also have an undoubted sale of a female slave for
a talent of bronze, about three-fifths of a mina of silver. In lines 5 f.,
we read : mannu sa ina urkis Iti A etc. izakupdni, md amiltu apattar,
I manu kaspi iddan amel usesa^ that is to say, ' whoever hereafter on
the seller's side shall set up a claim saying, I set free the woman,
shall pay one mina of silver, he shall release the person.' Here the
excuse, made by the seller, is clearly ; I cannot deliver the property, I
had set her free, she is no longer under my authority. The penalty
is that he is to pay about two-thirds more than he has received, and
the slave is released. If the buyer got back a mina of silver for a
talent of bronze, he ought to be satisfied. But what happened to
the slave ? Who released her ? Clearly not the buyer, for he never
had possession : it is not likely that the seller would have to return
the purchase money, and hand over the property as well. Nor is it
likely he would have to make good his excuse, by really giving her
her freedom. It looks most likely that the usesa here refers to the
buyer and means that he ' releases ' her, in the sense that he waives
his claim to have her.
With this view agrees, as far as it goes, no. 184, where a male
slave is sold f(jr half a mina of silver. In lines to f., we read, man?iu
sa ina urkis ina matcma izakkupanni eparikilni .. .iddan amel nsesa^
'whoever hereafter on any occasion sliall set uj) a claim or take
AND DOCUMENTS. 353
exception..., shall give so much, he shall release the i)erson.'
Analogy shews that the ' whoever ' meant is on the seller's side.
Unfortunately, in this case, we do not know how much he had to
pay, nor are we told to whom he had to pay it. The slave was to be
'released.' We may take it, the buyer on getting back his money,
and something more, would waive his claim. On the other hand, if
he had received the slave, he would relinquish him.
Again in no. 254, where a woman and her two sons are sold for
half a mina of silver, we read, reverse i f., ina7i7iu sa iparikuni...
ma?h' kaspi iddan {nise) iisesa, ' whoever shall take exception, shall
pay so many minas of silver, the slaves shall be released.' Here
again we do not know how much was to be paid, nor to whom, but
the slaves are released. As far as it goes, this is consistent with
either of the alternatives.
In no. 289, some slaves were certainly sold, note the zarpii lakkm,
plurals, in line 3, then we have, in lines 5 f., {inannu so) ina urkis
{ina matema) izakupafii {... niafie kaspi) misu idaii {?iise) iisesa :
' whoever in future, on any occasion, shall set up a claim, shall pay
so many minas of pure silver and the slaves shall be released.' Once
more, we do not know the amount to be paid, nor to whom it was
due. The epithet 77iisu is suggestive of a payment to a god. The
slaves are to be released. This example does not decide between
our alternatives.
In no. 385, six homers of land were sold by some servants of the
Crown Prince for thirty homers of grain. In lines 8 f., we read
mannu sa iparihmu SE-PA T-MES ina atrisu ana {ibi) Nabu iddan
eklu usesi^ ' whoever shall take exception, shall pay the grain to Nabu,
in his court, the field shall be released.' Here then apparently the
price received by the seller is forfeit to Nabu. It is not likely the
buyer would forego his claim ; eklii usesi, must mean that the seller
gave up the field. So he lost his property and what he had received
for it, as well. It seems impossible to take it otherwise.
In no. 427, a considerable estate, including plantations, a field
and the cultivators of them, was undoubtedly sold. In lines 16 f.,
we read, mannii sa i?ta iirkis ina niateme izakkifpdni In A etc.^ sa istu
B etc. dinu dababu ubid'nni, . . . mane kaspi iddan, kire eklu 7itse
usessi, * whoever hereafter, on any occasion, either the seller, or his
representatives, shall set up a claim against the buyer, or his
representatives, he shall pay so many minas of silver, the plantations,
field and people, shall be released.' Here again, we do not know
J. III. 23
354 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
what was to be paid, nor to whom, nor who was to release or
rehnquish the property.
In no. 453, a considerable property, a field, a house and some
people were sold, and we read, in lines 3 f. of the reverse, ' whoever
hereafter, on any occasion shall take exception, etc., shall pay so
many minas of silver, or five minas of gold, to the biirki of Istar of
Nineveh, and the property shall be released.' Here we do have the
amount to be paid, at any rate part of it, and we learn it was payable
to a god : but we do not know who actually was in possession of the
property, nor certainly to whom it was to be relinquished.
No. 440 certainly had a similar clause; we only have left, however,
the words sa...ubta^{mi...usesa^ which we may render 'whoever shall
seek a revocation of the bargain, shall pay, and the property shall be
released.'
On the whole, therefore, we are left with our alternatives undecided.
The analogy of the other penalties inclines me to think that the
objector had to part with the property and lose also the money paid
him for it. He probably had to pay back more than he received.
That seems to me in any case most likely, though to us it seems
odd. Whether the buyer got back his money as well as the property
he had bargained for I cannot say. It is possible that always the
money disgorged was a fine paid to some god : and that, as in some
other cases, iddan^ in these clauses, implies payment to a deity. On
the other hand, as the buyer obtained what he bargained for, he
could not expect to receive anything else. Still, it is quite possible
he inserted this clause for the purpose of being able to claim back
his money, if the seller disturbed him in the possession of his
purchase, or tried to keep him out of it. In these cases, he may
have put in the god as the recipient of the penalty in some cases,
much as a man who has obtained damages in a law-suit, might elect
to pay over his gains to a hospital. In some of these cases, however,
the buyer may really have been the god, that is, his priests. It is
probable on many grounds, that, in our documents, we often have
the record of an acquisition of property for the temple, even when it
does not expressly appear to be so. In the absence of the documents
drawn up on the seller's side and in the absence of transactions
between strictly private parties, it is difficult, if not impossible, to
detect the real meaning of such a clause as this.
Owing to the i)rominence given lure to the ' release ' of the
property, without deciding who is to 'release' it: I call this the
AND DOCUMENTS. 355
'release' clause and denote il by K. Thai it really makes possible
the revocation of the bargain is not likely, in view of the clause ^9,,
discussed later. Thai it is really a penalty is rendered probable by
its position and likeness in statement to the penalties already dis-
cussed. I do not pretend to have mastered its real purpose, and
it remains, to me, the most obscure clause in the ordinary sale
formulae.
613. A penalty which may be appended to any of the former is
the payment of a quantity of tin, or lead, to an official of the state.
The most common statement of this clause is, / biliti ajuiki ana amel
bcl pahati alisu iddan ; ' one talent of tin he shall give to the hel
pahati of his city.' This form occurs, more or less completely, in
nos. 248, 326, 394, 417, 498 and 554. In no. 350, the tin is to be
given to the saknu ; and in no. 500, to the rab BI-LUL. In
nos. 303, 523 and 574, only the beginning of the clause is preserved,
so that it is not quite certain to whom the payment was to be made.
Usually the numeral, 'one,' is written with a single vertical wedge,
but in no. 248, a single horizontal is written, as so often in the early
and late Babylonian contracts. In no. 326, the numeral is omitted,
probably biltu alone is considered to be equivalent to one talent.
This numeral ' one ' is also left out each time before the phonetic
spelling bi-lat^ in nos. 303 and 498, which we are to take as 'a
talent.' Except in these two cases, biltu is expressed ideographically
by TIK-UN. The conclusion that TIK-UN\?> to be read bi/tu, or
btlat, is almost unavoidable ; the alternative being that, in these two
cases only, a different weight is referred to.
The metal is always expressed ideographically AN-NA^ i.e. anaku.
This is often stated to be 'lead,' see § 318.
In this clause, alisu follows bel pahati^ in all the cases, where the
formula is fully preserved ; and we may therefore assume it elsewhere.
As we said before, the saknu and the bel pahati are precisely the
officials who had the right to interfere in sales of persons, on the
ground of their dues and obligations to service. There does not
seem to be any special reason to connect these documents, however,
with persons sold. Still, in most of them, persons may have been
sold. It is odd that the rab BI-LUL should appear here and not
the hazanu. It does not, I fear, afford any clue to the real character
of that obscure official. All I can deduce is, that in no. 500, he is
the overlord of the sellers.
What the tin was needed for, is a puzzle. If it had been 'lead'
23—2
356 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
one might think of ammunition for the slingers. The use of tin to
form bronze may be the key to the custom. We never have anything
but ////, never the ' copper ' that would be also needed.
The verb iddan is written phonetically id-dan in no. 326, other-
wise SE-an.
I call this the * tin penalty,' and denote it by F^^
614. A penalty, occurring in a few cases, which are all somewhat
defaced, fragmentary, or otherwise uncertain, may be given here, as
far as I can make it out. It appears to consist of two separate but
coordinate clauses, the first of which reads / MANA SU TAB-BA
KU\ which may be read, I manti takalti asi ikkal, that is to say 'he
shall eat a mina of takalti asi.^ What is this ? Asil is a physician,
also perhaps 'a dog' (for in Esarh. 11. 4, i.e. i. R. 28a, 23, we read
of captives being set at the gate of Nineveh, with asi, dogs and
swine). Hence if, as is very likely from the verb ikkal, this is
something edible, we have either a physician's preparation of some
magical or medicinal nature, or else we may render 'dog's meat.'
The ideogram SUTAB is given in v. R. 19, 35 a, as = takaltu AZU,
and H. W. B. p. 320 refers this takaltu to sj kdlu, giving it the
meaning Behdlter or something similar. This he seems to do,
because he wants to get in the meaning of SU 2^?, 'leather.' SU
however is masku, 'skin,' as well as leather; seru, 'flesh' or body;
zu7?irti, 'body,' etc. Hence it is quite open to us, if necessary, to
think of 'offal,' the food of the asi. Dr Oppert,'Z^ Droit, p. 15,
arrives at the sense of ' matures fecales^ by a somewhat similar line
of reasoning. In the list in V. R. 19 however it seems most likely
that A-ZU\^ 'the physician.' The sense of TAB is clearly that of
* duplication.' ' collecting together,' rather than anything else : see
list of verbs under TAB in Briinnow. So we may here read,
TAB-BA as surrupu; and take that to mean not 'defecated,' .so
much as 'concocted.' It is then 'concocted flesh,' that is, some
jnedically or magically prepared meat.
In the later Babylonian contracts, cf. Nbd. 617, SU TAB-BA
appears to be some sort of an animal, named alongside GTDI^
which is also rendered by takaltum in V. R. 19, 37 a.
Oppert, Das Assyrische Landrecht, Z. A. xiii. p. 264, renders
SU TAB-BA by Menschetikoth, he takes takaltu asu to be ^ Speise
die herausj(eht^ the ideogram he says means ' was der Bauch ausfegt.^
In no. 436, rev. 5 f., the above phrase is complete: no, 474, rev. 3,
has all but the verb. In no. 244, 14, in place of SU TAB-BA we
i
AND DOCUMENTS. 357
have SIG-RU-DU \ and no. 303 has SIC... In no. 481, wc have
only / MANA.... If in no. 498, rev. 6, we are to read BAR SU
KUR-RU ikkal\ then perhaps BAR here is - takaltum^ as in
V. R. 16, 52 c, d : or perhaps also BAR is to be taken as equal one
half mina. In other passages, SU KUR-RU seems to be folknved
by isatti., see below. It is not clear whether ikJzal^ or isatti is on the
tablet.
The second phrase, in full, appears to be, ammar karpat aganni
KUR-R U isatti^ that is 'an aganfUT^oi full of KUR-RU ho. shall drink.'
We have, in no. 436, all but the KUR-RU; in no. 481, all but
the verb is preserved and part of ammar \ i.e. am is not complete.
In no. 474, the ammar is either lost, or was never written, only
karpat aganni KUR-RU is certain. The sign at the end of the
line may be // followed by others. Also as^ az is possible.
In no. 498, the two phrases are replaced by BAR-SU KUR-RU
isatti.
In no. 244, we have mar alone, the a7H appears never to have
been written, then karpat a-ga-nu KUR-RU isatti.
Hence ammar is, of course, ' the contents ' of the pot ; karpat
aganni seems to be the singular of the aganate of Asurnasirpal, see
H. W. B. p. 17 a. The spellings a-gan-m, in nos. 436, 474; a-ga-ni in
no. 481 ; a-ga-nu in no. 244, leave no doubt of its pronunciation. We
may compare 1^^, Talmudic, crater, and l^^?, Heb. ' a bason or bowl.'
What the KUR-RU W3is, is still obscure to me. In no. 498 we
may perhaps read BAR SU-KUR-RU: now 6" ^-^^i^-^ ^7 appears
to be a divine name in in. R. 68, 8 c ; and, in 11. R. 44, 73 a, we see
that AN SU-KUR is AN-AMAR-UD, usually read Marduk. In
no. 244, w^e could read MAR-DUK aganu KUR-RU. Of course,
for KUR-RU, we might read sat-ru, sad-ru etc., madru, nadru, latru
and many other readings. Perhaps as BAR = TAPPU, BAR-SU
is - SU-TAB-BA.
The penalty clearly was that the delinquent was to drink a cup
of something, probably some magically prepared decoction.
Oppert, Le Droit, p. 15, read a-i-ni for a-gan-ni, and then thought
of the Semitic _>'^//«, but suggested it should be saini, 'urine.' That
KUR-RU csin mean 'urine,' I doubt.
It is, of course, tempting to compare Rabshakeh's curse on the
obstinate defenders of Jerusalem (2 Kings xviii. 27). I am much
more inclined to compare the ' bitter water that causeth the curse,'
given to the suspected wife in Numbers v. 18 f.
358 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Oppert, Das AssyriscJu Landrecht^ Z. A. xiii, p. 265 takes
a-kan-ni to be 'water,' with the complement kanm, Assyrian, smi,
sinati^ Urin. Also Ulttc pani SIK-NUN he thinks means auf augend
)nit dem Schamtheil. He thinks the ideogram must mean supalu^
iinterer Theil. On the other hand, he recognises that the tree of the
same name was the cypress, erinu. He adds, die ganze Stelle trdgt
den Stempel obsconer Graiisamkeit.
The above penalty appears to me distinctly to be an ' ordeal ' of
some kind, I therefore call it the ' ordeal ' and denote by O.
615. There are further several exceptional penalties, which are
too fragmentary and too obscure for me to classify or name. I have
adopted the signs E^ E\ E'\ for them.
The first E seems to be an expansion of O. The context of this
penalty, in no. 481, is very fragmentary, but I should not be surprised
if it really contained further information on the nature of the ordeal.
The remains are ...Hl-LI-SAR adi siinuna...lisd7msu ilakkut...
GIS-BAR-su {i-mal-lu-u.... The first group of characters are pro-
bably the end oi .TAK-NA-ZAG-HI-LI-SAR, which 11. R. 30, i c d
gives as elit urd. Then K 240 rev. 8 and 9, gives ursu as a syn. of
mazuktwn^ and elit ursi as a syn. of aniitti; H. IV. B. p. 137. This
maziiktuni may be the Targumic ^^^ITp, 'a mortar,' as ajnitti may
be ^^J!i)''P^, * mint.' In any case I am inclined to think we have here
a mention of some constituents of the magic draught. The operation
of it appears to be alluded to in the words adi sitmnia^ 'until if:
very likely the idea being that a certain effect would follow if the
contention was right, etc.
The next line appears to contain the penalty, if by this ordeal the
contention be shewn to be false ; lisdnusu ilakkut, ' they shall tear
out his tongue.' Then the phrase ginusu umallit, 'they shall fill up
his ginu ' appears to be another consequence. It is not certain,
however, that GIS-BAR means gijm, nor is it at all clear what that
means, in such a connection.
The collection of penalties, in no. 498, starts with BAR-su
KUR-RU isatti. Whether BAR-sic is really equivalent to the
karpat aga?mi 1 do not know. In v. R. j6, 52 c, d, we see that an
ideogram, ending in BAR, is to be read takaltnin. Wliether this is
meant here, and su is to be combined with KUR-RU doa^ not seem
clear. After the forfeit of 'two horses,' probably to .some god, and
four har/mkanni to another, we have mention of two GI-MES sa la
kisir. These may be some 'reeds,' or 'canes,' of a kind used in
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 359
divine worsliij), one ran hardly sui)i)().sc GI to be a measure here.
Tlieii, a lalenl of tin is to be paid to iha hi'l pa/uUi o{ the dehnc^uent's
city, and a talent of lapislazuli, ZAGIN^ or uknu^ to someone
else. This last phrase 1 read, bi-Iat ZA-GIN HI-IB-SE ZA-DU.
Whether here hibsii^ 'a band,' or 'riband,' is to be thought of, does
not seem clear. In the next line, there seems to be mention of an
amcl ga-a-ru \ has this anything to do with garu^ 'the opponent'?
Whether the SAL that follows ended the line or not, I do not know.
In no. 560, beside a money forfeit to Istar, we have in line i of
the lower edge, VII GI-SUG-GE (-A), which may perhaps be
compared with the GI-MES in no. 498.
In no. 426, rev. 8, we have TAK-ZA-GIN HI-IB-SE^ reminding
us of the iiknu hibse of no. 498 above.
616. The preceding sketch of the penalties falling upon the
sellers who should attempt to withdraw from their bargain, or make
further claim upon the buyer, does not by any means pretend to
have exhausted the subject. For the most part, I have considered
the cases, where by the comparison of several examples closely
similar, I could gain some insight into the purport of the clause.
By taking the full formula, I hoped to render clearer what has only
been fragmentarily preserved. The reader will turn to the comments
on the individual documents to find other cases.
A few more interesting varieties that I have noticed may be
pointed out here.
Thus, in no. 174, we have the condensed form, mannii sa
izakupdni etc. VI mane kaspi iddan : that is, ' whoever shall litigate,
shall pay 6 minas of silver.' It is not said to whom this fine was to
be paid : cf. no. 509, 265.
In no. 216, we have sa ibbalkattiini iparikuni I manu kaspi ina
mahira sa dl Ninua iddan, that is, ' whoever shall fall out, or take
exception, shall pay a mina of silver, according to the market rate of
Nineveh.'
In no. 288, to all appearance a sale of slaves, on the reverse edge,
we read summa la idin X mane kaspi {iddan), that is, ' if he do not
give (the slaves), he shall pay ten minas of silver.' Here, the
possibility of the seller not being able to deliver the purchase seems
contemplated.
In no. 410, which has several phrases indicative of a sale, the
situation of the property is put after the price, and divided from the
rest of the formula by ruled lines. It looks as if this part of the
360 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
specification had been omitted from its proper place, and was put in
later. Its present place is, of course, quite unusual, and it must be
regarded as an interpolated section.
In no. 285, after the usual kuniik A bcl nise tadani^ and the space
for the seal impressions, the scribe went on to write a list of kunuk's,
each with a name and title after it. As the rest of the document
only contains the witnesses and date, it is impossible to say what this
really meant.
In no. 235, clearly a sale of several slaves, we have, rev. 7, this
clause, summa nise ina mat-e Id iddini kaspu urabba A and B
SAL-TE(^)^ 'if he do not give the slaves presently, the money shall
bear interest, and the seller shall return it to the buyer.' Here, as
above, the seller seems not to have delivered the slaves, when he
took the money.
In no. 386, left-hand edge, we have mannu sa eli ilki du(psikki)
etc. kaspu ana esrdtesu 'whoever on the score of the ilki dupsikki
shall bring up a claim, shall repay the price tenfold.'
617. Usually, the last clause of the formula is one of the
bitterest scorn and consummate mockery of the man who shall
dare to seek the invalidation of the contract. It is extremely
frequent, perhaps second in frequency only to clause F^, It reads
thus, in its usual shape, ina dtnisu idabub ma Id ilakki ' in his suit
he shall plead and shall not take ' ; that is, ' he may plead, if he will,
but he shall gain nothing.' The same legal terms are used as
above, dinu dabdbu ' to plead a suit'; and laki\ 'to take possession.'
Professor Oppert was a long time before he could bring himself to
believe this was the meaning. He felt that if a man were willing to
face the penalties that are usually set down as awaiting him, he
deserved, if he had right on his side, to gain his case. The scribe,
however, declines to admit that any such right could ever be on his
side ; plead as he may, he shall not succeed ; and the penalties of
course will have to be paid.
In his Doc.Jur. Professor Oppert tried to avoid what seemed to
him to have been an inconceivable height of mockery by taking laku
in the sense of 'sell.' He assumed that under the harsh conditions
imposed by the penalties, tlie seller could get the contract annulled.
So, Doc. Jiir. p. 148, he renders, et libe7'atus erii^ non ve?ididcrit\
p. 165, a contractu sua liber at us erit^ Jion vendiderit ; p. 190, a negotio
sua liberatus crit non vc?uliderit \ and often. In the P'rencli version
too he has, for example, p. 191, la nullitc sera pro/io/icce, il n'aura
AND DOCUMENTS. 36 1
pas ac/h'lc ; j). 166, // scfa dclivrc dc son niarchc^ il n\iura pas vciidu^
and oflcn.
The error arose partly from taking KA-KA lo mean ' nullity '
and partly, I think, from supposing a judge to be giving the
decision. I imagine Dr Oppert, seeing KA-KA meant 'words,'
contrasted 'words' with 'reality,' and took 'words' to mean 'nothing
worth.' He often renders KA-KA by ' ina?iitas' ; e.g. p. 165, di-e-nu
ka-ka ynb-ta'-n-ni is rendered contractus inanitatcm postulabit a me.
However, Dr Oppert is now of a different opinion. In his intensely
interesting article, Le Droit dc Retrait, p. 14, [5 75 J he renders ^ in
causa sua actioJtem feret non acquired and adds autrefois je traduisais:
^ nan vendiderit^^ ^ il n' aura pas venduJ It had seemed to him that
the plaintiff, after such sacrifices, must surely be able to obtain a
revision of his bargain. It was M. Victor Revillout who pointed
out that the words ' hi ilakki,' literally ' non emet^ il ne prendra il
n^achetera pas^ must be taken literally. Dr Oppert, comparing the
various forms that this phrase has in our documents, yields the
point, although he still finds it all but 'incomprehensible.'
This conversion to the view I take, of so skilled a translator as
Dr Oppert, is worth a great deal to me. It has given me confidence.
Dr Peiser may be of the same view, but he does not seem to me to
put it very clearly. In K. B. iv. p. 113, he renders the phrase by,
* so lange er in seineni Proccsse Klage fiihrt, wird er es nicht nehmen^
p. 115, wdhrend er in seine f?i Processe Klage filhrt, soil er es nicht
nehmen.^ Similarly, p. 123, line 21, and often. At least, it seems to
me, Dr Peiser tried to be literal, and in doing so imported a Httle
more than is implied.
Let us first consider the variants, to be sure of our ground.
I have followed Oppert and Peiser in reading the preposition ina :
but we must not insist on its not being ana : for while the phonetic
spelling i-7ta does once occur, in no. 481 ; a-na occurs at least six
times. It is therefore not only 'in his plea,' that is 'when he pleads';
but 'at his plea,' i.e. 'w^hen it takes place'; not exclusively 'while,'
but only ' when.'
Dinisu is of course in the oblique case because of ina^ and the
whole phrase, ina dinisu^ is adverbial to the verbs. It is the occasion.
The word diJii is never departed from really, most often it is written
di-7ii^ once di-e-?ii-su, in no. 503, and once, the presence of the suffix
leads to the form di-en-su ; no. 480. Once the word is written
deographically, DI-TAR, in no. 216. Now very often the phrase
362 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
appears without i)ia : we then have dinisu idabbiib Id ilakki. Here,
however, dini^ is governed by idabbuh \ we are to render ' he shall
plead his cause and shall not succeed.' In passing, we may note the
suffix is always ///, only once can we think of su^ in no. 443, R 6 :
where ma dini before it is a probable restoration.
The first verb, idabub, is most usually written KA-KA^ the
ideogram for dabcibu and its derivatives. We have a phonetic
spelling i-da-bti-bu, in nos. 376, 386, and 503. Also i-da-bu-ub, in
no. 384, cf. also, no. 322, rev. 2. KA-KA occurs, with phonetic
prefix /, thus i-KA-KA^ read i-dabubu^ in nos. 209, 225, 260, 383,
cf. 480. With phonetic suffix, we have KA-KA-ub, i.e. idab-ub^ in
nos. 374 and 381. The form therefore of the verb here is without
question idabub{u), ' he (or possibly they) shall plead.'
The encUtic ifta^ 'and,' occurs more often than not.
The adverb, ' not,' is usually la simply, but very often NU^ read
Id. Once we have la-a, i.e. Id^ in no. 384.
The verb ilakki occurs here in a variety of forms. TI being the
ideogram for lakH^ and its derivatives, we often have TI simply,
frequently Tl-ki^ and once Tl-ki, in no. 215. The commonest
phonetic spelling is i-lak-ki^ but i-lak-ki is frequent : i-la-ki occurs six
times, and curiously //-/'/ twice, in nos. 446 and 472. A noteworthy
variant for la ilakki is lak-ki, the la absorbing the /, in nos. 212, 285,
326. So for la ilaki^ in no. 386, the scribe wrote la-a-ki. In no. 469,
rev. 5 we have Zl-ku : whether this means that the scribe took ZI to
be the ideogram for laku, and used ku for his phonetic suffix, or
whether ziku in his mother tongue meant ' to fail,' I am not able to
decide.
The prominent idea of this clause is the utter failure of any
attempt on the part of the seller to get a legal decision for his retreat
from the bargain. I call it, therefore, the ' failure ' clause, and denote
it by Sy
618. What looks, at first sight, to be a different clause, reads
ilia Id dinisu idabub ma Id ilakki. It occurs, more or less complete,
about twenty times. I take it to be only a more emphatic way of
putting the last. I render it, ' in liis no suit, he shall plead, and
fail' The scribe will not pay his contention the compliment of
calling it a suit at all: he calls it a 'non-suited claim' from the
Ijeginning. \)x Oppert, ' Z^ droits' p. 14, renders in non causa sua.
^ Tiial lliis is llic case here is proved l>y llie vuriauL di-nn-iu idabub^ in no. ,jio.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 363
l)r IViscr, K. 7)'. iv. p. 133, admirably renders 'in seinein Ntclit-
process' \ and, in a footnote, adds '' li.i. so lange er Klage fiilirt und
dcr Process nicJit zu scincn Gunsten entschieden ist^ die Ricliter ilim
nicht dinu gegeben Jiabeii.^ Perhaps so, but I believe that dinu not
only means the legal decision, but also the effort to obtain one, the
legal process, or suit. The scribe denies the seller's contention to
be even a moot point, it is not matter for discussion, it is a Id dinu
from the start ; a question that cannot be put.
As to the writing of this clause, there is little to remark beyond
the presence of Id before dinu. Twice the suffix hi occurs, in nos.
352 and 418. In no. 280, we have Id iakki, and in no. 231, i-la-ki.
In consequence of the close relation of this to the last clause, I
call it also the 'emphatic failure clause,' and denote it by F' .
619. If any doubt remained as to the real purport of this clause,
it must surely be removed by the parallels, in nos. 206, 330, 460,
471, 501, and 503. In no. 460, we have the clause 7^, ina dinisu
idabub Id ilakki, followed by denu daia?iu Id isainu^ ' the judge shall
not hear the suit.' In no. 471, after F^ we have dinsu DI-{TAR Id
isainu) : ' the judge shall not hear his suit.' In no. 330, ina di-e-su
DI-TAR Id isamu^ 'in his suit, the judge shall not hear.' In no. 501,
after F^ we read again dinsu etc., as in the last case but one. In no.
503, after F, we have bel dinu Id {isamu), as before. In nos. 330,
460, 471, and 501, we have the ideogram DFTAR - daianw. in
r^o- 503) bel dinu may be the term for 'judge'; or perhaps dinu is,
as before, the object of the verb isamu.
These remove all doubt that dinu is, not only the decision of the
judge, but also the ' suit ' of the plaintiff.
We have here, in nos. 471 and 501, di-en-su ; in no. 330 di-e-su ^
for di-e-nu-su (?) The verb actually occurs only three times, but the
restoration in all cases is merely obvious.
As this clause could clearly occur alone, and is a counterpart, if
not altogether a synonym, of F ox F\ I do not separate it from them,
but call it F".
The ' failure clause ' usually closes the body of the document ;
and is followed by a division line before the date and names of
witnesses.
620. In accordance with the analysis of the sale formula which
has now been made, it is possible to give to most documents a
notation, which will stamp them at once ; and enable us, at a glance,
to see what we are dealing with.
364 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Accordingly here I recapitulate my notation.
The 'preamble' is denoted by P\ followed by k^ it denotes the
presence of a seal, or kimiikkii ; and similarly s stands for supru^ or a
nail-mark. The designation of the property here is D.
The ' specification,' is not general, but particular, and as it is
generally summarised in my abstracts, no abbreviation is needed to
denote it.
The 'acquisition clause,' iipisma B etc. down to ilki^ is denoted
by Ac.
The ' closure ' of the bargain, by actual payment, implied in kaspu
ga7nniur tadin \ and its converse, expressed by the verbs zarip lakki
etc. ; are denoted by C and C.
The closure clause often designates the property afresh. This
designation is D' .
The ' stipulations,' that there shall be no litigation, nor attempt
to evade the bargain ; are denoted by 6'j, and ^2, etc.
Si denotes tuaru dlnu dabdbit lassu.
So denotes the great clause mannu sa ina iirkis ina matema
izakupdiii iparikimi hi A etc., sa istu B etc. dlnu dabdbu ubta'uni,
with its penalties attached.
The ' penalties ' are denoted by ^1 etc. enclosed in a bracket
after S^-
Fi denotes the penalty, ' so much silver, so much gold, he shall
pay to the treasury of a certain god.'
F.^ denotes the forfeit of 'white horses to a god.'
F,, denotes the forfeit of '' murbakdni'' to a god.'
F^ denotes the devotion of a child to some god.
Ff, denotes some other forfeit, payable to a god.
F^ denotes the esrdte forfeit, to the buyer.
F-i denotes the enforced relinquishment of the property uscsa., the
' release ' clause.
F^ a forfeit of a quantity of tin to an official.
F^ the ' ordeal,' or O.
7^j„, ^11, 7^12, denote exceptional penalties.
7^ denotes the failure clause, and its variants F\ F" .
621. These formulae are evidently the outcome of a long
experience in business, and shew great legal acumen in avoiding
the pleas that could be raised. In earlier times there was much
less to be said. In seeking for parallels we must make a distinction
between the actual contracts, written in a cursive script, on clay
AND DOCUMENTS. 365
tablets, concerned with persons in a private position, on the one
hand ; and the monuniental records of deeds of gift, charters, etc.
mostly engraven on stone, and generally executed by royal per-
sonages, or public officials, on the other hand.
Many of the earlier contracts are written in non-Semitic phraseo-
logy. Although a Semitic rendering of many of the phrases has
been given in the so-called paradigms, and a conjectural rendering
is, usually, not difficult to construct for others, it is by no means
certain that we always really know how an Assyrian scribe would
have rendered them. Hence they may be less like the phrases we
have been discussing than they seem to be ; or, on the contrary,
may really be closely related, if not practically equivalent.
In his search for early parallels, the student will find most help
from Dr B. Meissner's Altbabylonische Privatrecht ; Dr Peiser's
selection of contracts in K. B. iv,, pp. i — 98 ; and Cuneiform Texts
from Babylonian Tablets^ etc. ^ ifi the British Museum) from which
only a few striking parallels can be here adduced.
At this early period, B.C. 2300 — 2000, circ, the formulae are
somew^hat varied, but simple. Thus we have isdm, X kaspi a7ia
simisu gamrim iskul, * he bought, and X silver pieces as its full price
he has weighed.' Of course, there was sometimes a preamble, and
generally a specification of the property, but nothing corresponding
to the acquisition clause.
A stipulation, that neither party, especially not the former owner,
should raise any objection to the transfer, nor disturb the buyer in his
possession of the property, usually occurs. Thus we have ana arkat
ume mataiia ana ragamu ula itdrma uld ibagaru^ ' in after days, on
any occasion, one shall not turn back to dispute, nor prosecute.' The
phrase is concise and my rendering free. The verb ragamu is
general in its meaning, literally 'to cry out,' here 'to protest.' The
sense of tdru is literally, 'to turn back,' here 'to retreat' from a
bargain, or to attempt to resume possession. The verb bagdru
appears later in the form pakdru^ and means ' to cry out, complain,
prosecute.' This sentence has many variants. We may have a7ia
arkat umu a7?ielu aiia a77ielim uld iturfnna^ ' in future days man with
man they shall not retreat,' i.e. 'withdraw from the bargain.' The
clause is even simpler in some agreements, simply, ' the party ' ?//
itw'a 111 ibaga7-a^ 'shall not withdraw, shall not prosecute.' The
parties are regarded as ' brethren,' and we often find ahu a7ia aha77t,
' brother against brother, shall not dispute.'
366 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The sanction, as a rule, was an oath, by the name of one or
more gods, and the king. Thus we read K. B. iv. p. 4, MU AN
NANNAR u Nu-ur-Adadi LUGAL IN-PA-DE-ES, ' by the name
of Nannar and Niir-Adadi the king they have sworn.' The phonetic
reading of MU here is nis^ probably to be connected with 7iasu^ ' to
lift up,' referring to the lifting up of the hand in prayer, see King's
Babylonian Magic and Sorcery. The reading of IN-PA-DE-ES is
probably itniu. It is also written IN-PAD^ and the various forms
are given in H. IV. B. p. 708 b.
These oaths are of great interest, as they so often give the name
of the reigning king, who is in some cases only known from such
references ; e.g. Immerum, Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 38.
622. The monumental records, chiefly the boundary stones, or so-
called Kiidurru Inschriften (see specially Belser, B. A. S. 11. p. 171 ff.,
Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 56 ff., Scheil, D. P. pp. 86 f., 99 f. ; etc.; and
C. T. IX. no. 92987, X. no. 87220, 90922), are, on the contrary,
often very full in their phraseology. They are not, however, deeds
of sale, except perhaps the Sargon stone, P. A. S. p. 6, ff. In them
we frequently meet with the words matenia ina arkat iime ; as early
as Nazimaruttas, B.C. 1320 — 1295, Scheil, D. P. p. 89. But then
followed a list of officials likely to interfere to appropriate the land
granted. These officials we shall turn to consider under the sales of
land, as they were specially concerned with the liabilities of estates.
But, in a charter of Marduk-nadin-ahi, iii. R. 43, see K. B. iv.
p. 69 i'i.^ we have the words immatima ina arkdti ihni ina ahe mare
ina kiviti nisuti u salldti sa Bit Ada sa illamma ina ekli suatu
idabubu usadbabu eklu ill nadan ikabn u kunukku ill kanikma ikabit,
* on any occasion in future days, among the brethren, or sons, of the
family, male or female, of Bit-Ada, who shall come and shall plead,
or cause to be pleaded, concerning this field, and shall say, the field
was not given ; or shall say, the seal was not set.' Then follows a
list of the officials who might attempt to make claims on the field.
But this is a good parallel to our clause S,, \ and it shews that the
family, or clan, of Bit Ada, to whom the field had belonged, were
likely to lay claim to it again, by denying the title of its new holder.
In itself, this clause must be classed with a number of other examples
of the clan claim, and considered together under the sales of land.
It seems that, in the earliest times, the elders of the city, the clan
fathers, had an important function in agreements as to the transfer of
land ; then, that gradually the state officials absorbed their [)owcr, and
AND DOCUMENTS. 367
finally, were the unly persons whose interference was t(j be dreaded :
compare the later Babylonian clauses, § 623. It seems clear that the
right of the clan, or of the state officials, to interfere, was really a
territorial right.
623. A comparison with some similar stipulations, in later
Babylonian times, may not be without interest. Thus in Nbkd. 164)
rev. I f., we have as follows, Marduk-sapik-zcr^ viarhc sa Marduk-
zer-ibni, {a??ie/) E-MAS {ilu) Niiiip^ s\m Intisu kasap gamirti77i mahir
apU rugimimct id ihi ul iturruma a?ta ahames ul iraggamu ; viatima
ina ahe marc kimii nisiitu u salata sa mare ainel E-MAS {ilu) Ninip
sa iraggumu nmma bitu suatim ill nadinma kaspa ul mahir pakirdni
kaspa imhuru adi XII {ta-a-a?i) itanappal ana la enc ?iis A^abu
u Marduk ildjiisimu u liis Nabukudurusur sarru belsumc isthiis
izkuru.
We may note that Marduk-sapik-zer is the seller. He is son of
Murduk-zer-ibni and an amel E-MAS of Ninip. 'The price of his
house,' Sim bUisu, 'the full money,' kasap gamirti7ti^ 'is received,'
mahir, 'and paid,' apll. 'There shall be no dispute,' rugummd ul
isii, literally, 'they, the parties, shall not have dispute.' 'There shall
be no return,' literally, ' they shall not return ' (either house, or
money), 'one with the other,' ana ahames, 'they shall not dispute,'
ill i?'agga7nu. ' In future,' jnafima, 'among the brothers, sons, family,
male or female, of the sons of the {amel) E-MAS of Ninip, whoever
shall,' sa, 'dispute,' saying, 'this house was not given up, the money
was not received,' 'the claimant, pakirdnu, shall pay the money back,
shall pay twelve fold.' 'That there shall be no alteration,' ana Id
ene, 'they have singly sworn,' istenis izkuru, ' by the name oi,^ nis,
' Nabtl and Marduk, their gods, and by the name of Nebuchadrezzar,
the king, their lord.'
Here we note the different modes of expression. We have the
new word, mahir, in place of tadin ; and kasap gamirtum, for kaspu
gamur. Also kasap is spelt phonetically, ka-sa-ap. The word apll
occurs occasionally in our documents. The verbs isu, iturru, are
plurals, and may be referred to the parties, or the plural may be
taken as impersonal. There is no mamiu sa, its place being taken
by sa simply. The pleas contemplated are a denial of the bargain.
The claimant has a special name, pakirdnu. The penalty is to
refund the price, 'twelve-fold,' in place of our 'ten-fold,' a7ia esrdte.
The meaning of a7ia la hie is clear, ' that there be no alteration,' and
that is the purpose of the oath.
368 ASSYRIAN DEEDS AND DOCUMENTS.
In Dar. 321, obv. 16 f., we have an almost identical formula,
with a few variants. Here kiintu is replaced by IM-RI-A. The
pleas are the same. The claimant is to repay the price ' twelve-fold.'
There is no oath here.
In another tablet of the time of Cyrus, S. A. V. 590, much the
same formula occurs in a condensed form. Here also the price is to
be repaid 'twelve-fold.'
It is noteworthy that beside actual relatives, in the first case,
representatives of the clan or guild to which the seller belonged, are
named, sa metre amel E-MAS {ihi) Ninip. In Cyr. 188, we have
sa mar abu biti; Nhd. 196, sa biti mar ispari \ in Cainb. 330, sa biti
Asaridu.
A variant, in Nbd. 668, is assu 7natt??ia Id saharimma ana eli
amelfdi siiatu Id ragamu^ 'on any ground shall not dispute, con-
cerning these persons shall not complain.'
Divine sanction is implored, by a curse, on any who shall 'alter,'
mi'i^ the agreement. So, in Cyr. 277, we read, sa dababa anna^ tnil
Anum^ Bel, u A-E arassu marrutu lirur, Nabu dupsar Esagila
umnsii arkutu ikarrir: 'whoever shall attempt to alter this agreement,
may Anu, Bel, and A-E, curse him a bitter curse, Nabii the scribe
of Esagila shall put a period to his future.' In Nbkd. 368, the
same attempt is cursed, 'may Marduk and Zarpanit decree his
destruction,' haldksu likbu.
A penalty, in the form of a payment to the injured party, occurs
in Camb. 97, where the rent of a house being five shekels a year, the
dissentient, nabalkattdmi, was to pay ten shekels. In Camb. 147,
the nabalkattd7iu was to pay one mina. This is also contemplated
in the return of the price ' twelve-fold ' to the buyer.
The transfer, or cession of the property, was called a nidintu,
cf. Nbkd. 416, 1, 7, sa nidinti anna innu, ' who attempts to alter this
cession.'
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
RELATION OF TENALTY TO PRICE.
In a large number of cases the penalty is tenfold the price, at
least. Thus, in nos. 203, 2^^, 235, where the price is one mina of
silver, the penalty is ten minas of silver and one mina of gold.
Further, in nos. 175, 177, 245, 313, 324, 327, where no gold is
named, the silver penalty is ten times the price. In no. 236, the
silver penalty is lost, but the gold is one mina on a price of one
mina of silver ; in no. 260, the price is lost, but the penalties are ten
minas of silver and one of gold.
With this relation agrees no. 180, where a price of 100 minas of
bronze corresponds to a penalty of ten minas of silver and one mina
of gold. Here the relation is the same if silver be worth one hundred
times bronze.
If these had been all, we should have had good reason to assume
that the gold and silver penalties were alternative, and that gold was
worth ten times as much as silver. But it seems that ten minas of
silver and one of gold was a conventional amount, for it is given as
the penalty, when the price was half a mina of silver, in nos. 211 and
336 ; three and a half minas, in no. 349 ; ten shekels of silver, in
iio- 373 j five minas of silver, in no. 383; three minas, in no. 414;
six minas, in nos. 422 and 423; a half mina, in no. 208; thirty-five
shekels, in no. 209 ; two minas, in nos. 231 and 245 ; ten minas, in
no. 263.
Hence the penalty of ten minas of silver and one of gold is laid
down no less than 24 times, in one-third of which it appears to be
tenfold the price.
Here, of course, I am assuming that a mina of silver had the
same weight as a mina of gold. If there are only 50 shekels to the
J. III. 24
370 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
gold mina, the value of gold would on the alternative theory be
twelve times that of silver, as in the time of Nabonidus.
Another penalty was one mina of silver, and one of gold ; the
corresponding prices being, in silver, five and a half minas, in no. 357;
thirty shekels, in no. 386 ; three minas, in nos. 234 and 244. The
same ratio of silver and gold appears in no. 389, a case of barter ; in
no. 215, two minas of each, price only nine shekels; and no. 642,
ten minas of each on a price of one and a half minas. Also, we
have one mina of each, on a price of 180 minas of bronze, in
no. 259.
A penalty of ten minas of silver and five of gold corresponds, in
no. 350, to a price of 80 minas of bronze ; in no. 262, to a price of
96 shekels of silver; and in no. 311, to a price of two and a half
shekels of silver.
A penalty of ten minas of silver and two minas of gold corre-
sponds to a price of one and a half minas of silver, in no. 249 ; to
95 shekels, in no. 361.
Ten shekels of silver appears as a penalty also in nos. 307, 308,
334) 335) 339) 3^0, with or without a gold penalty, and associated
with various prices.
The variations are therefore great, and sometimes the penalty
seems set down at random. Thus, while a price of 180 minas of
bronze has a penalty of ten minas of silver and one mina of gold, a
price of only 20 minas of bronze has a penalty of one mina of silver,
but two talents of gold. The last penalty is surely a farce, for no
one merchant was likely to be able to pay it.
These penalties must surely be merely conventional and intended
as deterrents ; they were not contemplated as likely to be enforced.
The whole tone of their expression forbids the idea that the resump-
tion of the property was thought of as possible. They are threats,
and probably empty threats at the best.
AND DOCUMENTS. 37 I
Table.
Price in
silver shekels,
Silver penalty
Gold penalty
No.
Assyrian standard
in shekels
in shekels
172
90
300
?
174
60
360
—
175
60
600
—
177
60
600
•
183
60
600
—
203
60
600
60
208
30
600
60
209
35
600
60
211
30
600
60
213
90
120
—
215
9
120
120
216
60
60
—
230
9
720
—
232
240
900
—
233
68
600
60
234
180
60
60
235
60
600
60
236
60
?
60
237
60
60
?
239
18
1200
—
242
60
60
?
244
90
60
60
245
120
600
60
246
210
60
—
249
90
600
120
257
120
300
120
262
96
600
300
263
600
600
60
283
120
1200
?
307
16
600
—
308
30
600
—
310
180
?
60
311
150
600
300
312
34
300
—
313
60
600
—
324
60
600
—
325
120
3600
600
24 — 2
372 ASSYRIAN DEEDS AND DOCUMENTS.
Price in
silver shekels,
Silver penalty
Gold penalty
No.
Assyrian standard
in shekels
in shekels
326
180
300
?
327
30
300
—
335
30
600
—
336
30
600
60
339
250
600
p
349
210
600
60
357
330
60
60
359
240
30?
p
360
31
600
?
361
95
600
120
Z73
10
600
60
378
II
300
60
381
30
120
—
383
300
600
60
384
240
?
60
386
30
60
60
389
barter
60
60
393
120
60
?
414
180
600
60
418
600
3600?
600
422
360
?
60
423
360
600
60
425
600
3600
600
428
3510
?
600
444
240
60
60
446
180
3600
300
642
90
Price in
bronze minas
600
?
180
100
600
60
181
50
?
60
218
60
60
—
248
180
600
—
259
180
60
60
3'9
50
120
—
350
80
600
300
376
20
60
7200
468
100
60
—
492
20
240
60
CHAPTER VII.
SLAVE SALES.
624. In the deeds of sale, contained in nos. 172 — 323, we are
concerned with the sale of slaves. The term ' slave,' as a rendering
of the Assyrian ardu^ is now consecrated by usage. It denoted a
condition far removed, however, from that so hateful to our ideas,
modern slavery, the joint product of European and African nation-
alities. Slavery, as we have now learnt to regard it, would have
been as abhorrent to Semitic ideas, as its horrors were foreign to
Assyrian practice. The slave was certainly a person of inferior social
status, but the ardu is rather to be compared with the Roman servus,
than with a negro slave. In some respects, he was more like the
diens. He probably had more real freedom than any other who
ever bore the name of slave.
625. The innumerable later Babylonian documents, published
by Strassmaier, have been much discussed, and the status of the
slave in Babylonia, in the vith and vth centuries b.c, is now well
known. Especially valuable are the discussions of Kohler and
Peiser in their Aiis Babylonische Rechtskben. Professor Oppert's La
Condition des esdaves a Babylo7ie contains much interesting matter,
unfortunately, for the most part, with few references to the sources of
his conclusions. I)r Meissner's very valuable tract De Scnntute
Babylonico-Assyriaca, on the other hand, gives a very useful selection
of passages, with references, in support of his conclusions.
Equally valuable, for early Babylonian times, is the work of
Meissner, in his Beitrdge ziun Altbabylofiischen P7'ivatrecht. Indeed,
the affinities of our documents are rather with the Babylonia of
B.C. 2300 — 2000, than with the contemporary southern country.
Assyria, or rather the usage in the palace household, seems to have
374 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
been highly conservative of the ideas prevalent in Babylonia fifteen
centuries before. True, we have but few contemporary Babylonian
documents, nor do we know how private persons acted at Nineveh.
Probably the common people in both countries had many customs
very similar. At Durilu, at Lahiru, we find terms and phrases that
are very unlike those of our documents and more like the later
Babylonian terms and phrases. The few properly private contracts,
found at Nineveh, for example, nos. 779 — 782, are very Babylonian
in style. It is my conviction that both in Assyria and Babylonia,
the business of the palace was conducted on ancient models. If we
had the family deeds and documents of Merodach Baladan II., or of
Samas-sum-ukin, we might expect them to be very similar to our
Nineveh specimens. If, on the other hand, we could compare the
legal documents of a great merchant firm in Nineveh with those of
some merchant prince in Babylon, of the same period, we should
probably find an equal degree of similarity. Further exploration
may one day enable us to make such comparisons.
On the whole, however, the position of the slave was probably
much the same, throughout long periods of time. Only, we must be
cautious in applying results deduced from Strassmaier's texts, to a
different place, at least a century earlier. Palace slaves may have
had privileges denied to the slaves of a private householder. On
the other hand, slavery may have been more strict in the palace
than in private homes. We must use the indications of both earlier
and later Babylonian times as suggestions of what to expect rather
than as rules to determine our views. At every point we must check
these external witnesses by the internal evidence of our own docu-
ments.
626. In Babylonia the slave had his pecultum, he could own
property. Here, also, we must be on our guard against misunder-
standing. Time after time, the party to a transaction is called ardii
sa, ' the slave of,' some one. When he buys and sells, bearing such
a description, is he the owner of the property, or is he merely the
agent of his master ? That agents did conduct business, for persons
of high rank, is plain from the occurrence of the term kdtd, ' by the
hands of.' Thus, the Crown Prince might advance corn to a number
of people ; he was the owner of the corn, but he acts ' by the hands
of his agent. This agent is not called his 'slave.' The agent may
have been a free man. A slave acting for his master might be
regarded as agent, and the statement of his condition might be
AND DOCUMENTS. 375
omitted. His position as agent might be regarded as overriding in
importance the status of slave. Hence no reference would be made
to the fact of his being a slave. But, if he could hold property of
his own, we might expect that, if the property sold was his master's,
that fact would be explicidy stated. On the other hand, we may
assume, that when the property is called his, it was not his master's.
But many cases are ambiguous, and it would be unsafe to found any
theory on the appearance of a slave as apparently buyer or seller in
his own right. Agency might generally be suspected, and is difficult
to disprove.
For the solution of the question, whether a slave in Assyria could
hold property, as distinct from what he enjoyed as his master's gift,
we must examine the usages in Babylonia. If we find there explicit
statements of what is only referred to in our documents, we shall
have good ground for assuming that the reference implies what is
explained in other cases. Each term or phrase fixed by Babylonian
usage may fairly be assumed to have borne the same sense in Assyria.
But a custom, which obtained in Babylonia, cannot be assumed for
Assyria, unless such terms can be produced to vouch for the existence
of the same custom.
627. What rights had a master over his slave's property?
Analogy shews that the master had a yearly income from the slave,
if engaged in business on his own account. The master had the
right, probably, to all the service of the slave, but owning men whose
ability went beyond manual labour, he suffered them to engage in
business on their own account ; commuting his right to service for a
fixed yearly payment. This is called in the later Babylonian times
mandattu. The word does not occur in the Assyrian documents.
This constituted the profit of the slave to the master. The most
frequent word for interest on money, or increase from cattle, is sibtu.
Now supposing a man pledged a slave for so much money, he
would, with possession, also lose the services of that slave, while the
mortgagee would gain them. These services, therefore, would roughly
be a set-off against the interest due on the money, and this is
sometimes expressly stated to be the case. When a man bought a
slave, he gave for him such a sum as would bring in an interest, at
current rates, equal to the value of his services. A slave, however,
was worth somewhat more than the capitalised value of his services.
He might increase his master's stock of slaves : he might learn a
trade and so become more valuable. A slave girl might be sold as
3/6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
a wife, even when her manual labour was already pledged. But,
roughly, the interest on the purchase money was the value of the
slave's services to his master. That I believe lies at the root of the
rates charged as interest in Assyria. The rate of interest was 25 7o)
because if one paid ;^ioo for a slave, his services would be worth
;j^2 5 to his owner.
Now a slave might be bought solely as a domestic, and his or
her services in house or garden might possibly be worth so much.
But a limit exists to the number of servants in a house, or of
labourers on an estate. It was then an obvious thing to buy, or to
own, more slaves than necessary for personal or domestic service ;
and to permit them to engage in business, and to acquire property,
on payment of a fixed sum. They would do more business on such
conditions, than if the master took all. It would perhaps suit him
better to take a fixed proportion of the business profits; and probably
he did that, in some cases. What should be the rate, or basis, of
the commutation of service for payment? Doubtless this was an
offer, made by the master, and accepted by the slave ; it is not likely
that the latter had the power or will to refuse what was offered.
There would soon spring up a fixed custom, and men would come to
regard it as a right. Instead of the whole of a slave's services the
master would accept part ; and the slave being able to gain his own
living, the master was relieved from the responsibility of his ' keep.' I
imagine that on such considerations the master would be justified in
accepting a third of his services : or in a rough way a hundred days
out of the year. On this may have been based the inaiidatUi.
Taking the price of a slave in Babylon as 60 shekels of silver, the
current rate of interest being 20 per ce?it., the value of his services
should be 12 shekels. Now in Nl?d. 838, as Kohler-Peiser, A. B. R. i.
p. 2, argue, the yearly inandattu of the slave NabCl-utirri was only four
shekels. The inandattu due from his wife Misatum was 12 shekels.
Evidently she had cost a mina to buy. Her master bought her, but
lost her services, when she married and left his house. Hence he
expected a full inandattu from lier. She was his slave still, he would
have sold her for a mina still. Her husband pays her niafidattu, his
cnvn, and the interest on the money, which had been lent him for
business. We have thus a total of 71 shekels in two payments,
59 shekels for himself, 12 for his wife, N/^d. 838, 858. So far as we
are in a position to estimate the facts of the case, Nabfl-utirri had
borrowed 5 J minas, on which the ordinary interest was 55 shekels.
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 377
Hence his own )}iandaitii was clearly 4 shekels. So at any rate
Kohler-Peiser argue. The loan may be differently estimated, how-
ever. NabA-utirri borrowed 4 minas in Simanu, and paid interest in
Aaru. If there was no second Adar in the 14th year of Nabonidus,
he had eleven months' interest to pay. That was 44 shekels. He
also borrowed another mina and a half in Tisritu, which would give
seven months' interest. That would be 10 J shekels. According to
Mahler's Chronologie der Babylo?iier^ p. n, there was a second Adar
in the 14th year of Nabonidus. Unless this month was not counted,
there was 5 J shekels interest more to pay, and then the sum would
be exactly one mina. This assumes that each loan dated from the
14th of the month, on which date it was paid in Aaru. There is a
discrepancy of one shekel. The receipt expressly states, moreover,
that the mandattii of both Nabii-utirri and his wife remained in his
hand. It was not till Simanu 24th that he paid his wife's 77iaiidattu^
and we have not the record of his own payment at all. There is,
therefore, not a clear proof that Nabu-utirri paid a yearly nia7idattu of
4 shekels, either for his freedom, or for any post which he held.
But it is clear that the viandaiiu for Misatum was 12 shekels.
There is a further suggestion, in Nbd. 573, A. B. R. p. 2, that this
mandattu was the real value of the slave to his master. A slave
Nabil-natanu was sold by his master Arrabi, who could not deliver
him at once. Perhaps he had fled, or was away on business. It is
agreed that on the day that he is seen in the possession of Arrabi, he
shall be handed over, and his mandattu. As the buyer was deprived
of his services, but also relieved of his keep, he would be in the same
position as the owner of a slave trading on his own account. The
slave, however, w^as not in that position, and could not be expected
to furnish a mandattu. The former ow^ner, therefore, has to make it
good. It is really interest on the price which he receives in advance,
before delivering up the property sold.
628. Theoretically no doubt a master had possession of his
slave's property ; but he could not take it away. He could tax it,
but not separate him from it. When the slave was sold, his family
was sold with him, he was not separated from them. Further, his
slaves were sold with him. No doubt in one sense these were his
master's slaves. They were counted in the number to be paid for.
But they were also his, and could not be sold away from him. No
doubt, in such cases, the slave merely paid over his mandattii to the
new master. He w^as a source of income and as such was sold, but
378 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
his new master had not the right to disturb him in the possession of
the property, which he had acquired, nor to reduce him from his
semi-independent condition.
Under such circumstances, what we may call the industrial
slaves, who lived outside their master's house, and in their own
home, had their own family and servants ; and the burden of their
slavery only consisted in their tributary condition. In this respect,
they were not unlike the tributary nations, they paid tribute ; and
the word viaiidattu is used of the tribute of the nations. Like them,
they could not migrate, nor enter into external relations with other
masters, without the consent of their own. To do that was rebellion,
sihu. Nor could they shift their residence. In all other respects
they seem to have been free.
629. Further, there was in Assyria a large body of serfs. These
men were glebae adscripti, they cultivated the land, and belonged to
it. They were bought and sold with it, and presumably could not
leave it, at their own pleasure. But they could not be sold away
from it. They were able to hold land of their own, and had oxen
and other property of their own. Hence they were not properly
slaves. This class does not occur in our sales of slaves, but we shall
meet with them later, as bought and sold with estates. To that
extent, they were owned by the owner of the estate. They were an
essential part of it. They too, probably, paid a rent ; in all proba-
bility, one-third of the produce. They looked to their landlord to
furnish them with free loans of seed corn, food for themselves and
their reapers, and probably, also, to some extent, with tools and
stock. To a certain extent, they could become peasant proprietors,
but there is no trace of any large body of such men, who were not
also serfs. There is little trace of serfs in Babylonia, except on
temple lands.
630. We may therefore regard the subject population in
Assyria as consisting of three great divisions. The domestic slaves,
resident in their master's house, fed and clothed by him and em-
ployed in household work, were for the most part females, and
unmarried. In many cases, they were employed in weaving, as
well as cooking, and attending to the personal service of their
mistress. There were, in great households, a certain number of
men, as cooks, brewers, gardeners, washermen, and in some few
other offices.
The married slaves, in towns, lived generally in their own houses.
AND DOCUMENTS. 379
They engaged in business, or various crafts, and owned property ;
but i)aid a yearly due, or tril)ute, to their masters. They kept
themselves.
The serfs, in the villages, seem to have been provided with
houses, and most of the necessaries of their profession. They were
only subject to rent, but tied to the soil. This class was often
recruited from the industrial classes.
631. Slaves often appear as skilled labourers; in many cases,
even when sold, their trade or occupation is stated. It would be
rash to say that all artisans were slaves. Such occupations as
goldsmith, silversmith, etc., were doubtless carried on by Assyrian
freemen. But their slaves could be of the same craft. On the
other hand, there seems no trace of a military or sacerdotal office
being held by a slave. Of course there were temple slaves, but
these were not necessarily ' priests.' The army seems to have been
largely recruited from the slave population, and especially from the
serfs. It is not unlikely that slaves could rise to high offices, as they
could purchase freedom, and were often freed. But then they had
ceased to be slaves. It is true, that the officers of the king usually
style themselves 'his slave,' but that need not be more than a
compliment. Even strangers might address their correspondents as
* my lord,' and style themselves, ' thy slave ' ; as we subscribe our-
selves, ' your obedient servant.' We may not argue that they had
ever been in real servitude.
632. It is not easy to determine how far the term aniu implied
any disgrace. In the early documents, see Meissner, A. B. P. R.
p. 92, the slave was usually termed SAG. That has usually been
read kakkadu, and taken to imply that he was regarded as only a
chattel, caput, to be counted. But it is more likely to have been
read resu, a word which has no necessary connection with 7'esu, ' a
head.' It is regarded, in some explanatory lists, as belonging to the
same class of terms as amtu, ' maid,' and other words for ' domestic
servants,' H. W. B. p. 615 b. The slave was named, as a rule, but
not his father. This has been regarded as implying that he was not
a citizen, not a mar banu, generosus. This deduction is not quite
convincing. For in the case of the mediaeval serf, it was the naming
of his father that specially denoted his being a serf. In the case of
the Harran Census also, the name of the present holder is always
followed by the name of his father. Hence the absence of a father's
name may only stamp the slave as not a serf. Further, in the case
380 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
of foreign slaves, it seems likely that the father's name would often
be unknown, or regarded as unimportant.
633. We have now sufficient indications of the probable status
of the slave in Assyria, drawn by analogy from that of the slave in
Babylonia, to guide us in our examination of our documents. The
slave is generally termed ardu^ written with the sign NITA^ which
Delitzsch, H. W. B. p. 129, reads ARAD, because in this case its
Sumerian value is unknown. The use of SAG has completely
disappeared ; unless it survives in a few cases in the title ainel SA G,
see § 214. The sign A RAD is often preceded by amelu, see nos. 202,
464, etc. Hence the slave is treated as a person, certainly not a
chattel, perhaps even as a professional. The word amelu is substi-
tuted for ardu in the clauses Ac^ or C, in nos. 173, 4, 11 ; 174, 3;
and often.
The slave's father is very often named in our documents. This
does not, however, in itself mark a rise in social position as compared
with earlier times. When both father and son bear good Assyrian
names, we may have to do with a case of a free-born citizen having
become enslaved, through poverty. We shall see in § 638 that this
was common. Or we may have to do with one originally a serf.
All we can say is that if any indignity attached to the omission of
his father's name, that has become less frequent. But here we have
to do with palace servants and they may have been of a better class.
When we examine the offices which the slave could hold we
have the same difficulties in drawing any conclusion from merely
negative evidence. No one called ardii also holds a military title,
or acts as priest, or even as aba. But if a man had been freed and had
risen to such a post, he could not be styled ardii any longer. Even
if he had not been freed, his acting as aba would probably lead to
his recording only the honourable title. But as a serf is never termed
ardu^ presumably he was regarded as a more honourable person than
a slave.
634. At any rate the ardu could act freely as witness. Of
course the ardu sa sarri may have been as much a free man as most
private persons. Even the ardu sa mar sarri^ or servant of the
Crown Prince, was probably an important i)ersonage, although
actually a slave, 'i'he presence of such servants of the Crown
Prince, as witnesses, in nos. 242, 253, 259, 360, 446, 606, does not
prove much as to the status of the slave. J3ut the presence of the
slaves of minor officials, and even of private persons, shews that an
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 381
ardu was not incapacitated from at least one imi)ortant civil function.
We have as witnesses, the ardu of the Tartan, in nos. 244, 371 ; of
the Abarakku in no. 244; of the Rabshakeh, in nos. 216, 500; of
the rab BI-LUL^ in no. 416; of the BI-LUL^ in no. 247 ; of the
sukallu^ in nos. 244, 248, 416 ; of the amclu sa cli /ufdni, in no. 326 ;
of the bcl pahati of Kalhu, in no. 248 ; even of Sin-kia, a i)rivate
person, in no. 244. In no. 464, we have four arddni of the amclu sa
paui ckal/i, three ardani of the auielu rab nddin a kit, two arddni of
the Abarakku rabu, one ai'du of the rab karmdni, and another ardu,
in all eleven slaves acting as witnesses. A group of eight, or nine,
witnesses is noted as the arddni of one man, in no. 75. Compare
also nos. 181, 224, 257, 294, 370, 606, where slaves are witnesses,
though their masters' titles are not preserved.
The servant of Istar, ardu sa Istar, who acts as a witness, in
no. 172, may be a mere temple servant, a slave; but he might be a
free man. The same uncertainty applies to the ardu sa bit Hi, a
witness, in no. 93 ; and to the ardu ekalli, who appears as a neigh-
bour, in no. 434.
635. The slave could act as principal in a contract. Thus the
ardu of Zapdnu, in no. 161 ; the ardu of Adadi-rimani, in no. 311 ;
a gardener and ardu, in no. 366 ; an ardu, in no. 482 ; and two
arddni of the bel pahdti of Barhalza, in no. 447 ; all treat on equal
terms with free men. It is, however, possible that in each case the
ardu simply acts as agent for his master.
636. A slave might hold property. Although we lack evidence
that he sold his own property ; bought his freedom, lent money to
other slaves or to free men, as he did in Babylonia ; he could hold
slaves, both menservants and maidservants, see nos. 241, 253, and
possibly nos. 261, 426. We may note, however, that he himself is
sold, with his slaves. They are counted in the total number of
slaves sold. They w^ere bought with him. He received no money
at their sale. Hence it is possible that he could not sell them. But
they must work for him. He could not be deprived of them. This
is as far as we can go in asserting that the slave owned property. It
is possible that he was as fully possessed of the rights to a peculium
as his brother slave in Babylonia. But we have no express evidence.
On the other hand, in the Harran Census, we find that the serf is
expressly stated to have land, oxen, etc., ramdnisu, ' of his own,'
beside what he held from his landlord, as serf.
637. The master took care of his slave. He even bought
382 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
him a wife, see nos. 308, 309, 711. A lady also buys a wife, or
concubine (?), for her son, no. 307. In earlier times, the female
slave seems to have been very often a concubine to her master, and
he was bound to educate her children, and provide for them to some
extent. They seem to have been free, but not coheirs with the sons
of the wife. Slaves were often adopted, both in early and later
times. The practice does not appear in our documents. The
slaves were often hired at harvest time, the hire being paid to their
owners. Slaves might also be hired from their owners for a whole
year or by the month. In early times the customary wages of a hired
slave was six shekels per annum. But the hirer had to keep the
slave as well. The owner, however, found him clothing. According
as these shares in the care of the slave were allotted to hirer or owner,
so we may expect the hire paid to have varied. Sometimes a shekel
was paid in advance, and the rest was paid monthly or daily. But it
would seem that the value of a slave's services exceeded the expense
of his keep by about six shekels per annum. In some cases a hired
slave seems to have received about 250 KA of corn per annum.
This is less than the amount of corn which one shekel would buy.
A slave, at any rate in later times, cost about 3 ka per day of corn
to keep; see Cyr. 313. The penalty, which a master had to pay in
case he failed to teach an apprenticed slave his business, was 3 ka of
corn per day. This Kohler-Peiser, A. B. R. 11. p. 54, reckon to be
6 gur of corn per year, worth about as many shekels. Hence, as the
slave's services above appear to be worth about 12 shekels beyond
his keep, etc., we may put his annual value down as worth 18 shekels.
In the case quoted by Kohler-Peiser, from Cyr. 248, they note that
the penalty for not teaching the trade was 6 ka of corn per day,
double the former amount. They account for this by noting that
here the teacher is also a slave ; but we may further note that the
work was to be learnt in six months, as against six years in the former
case. Hence, as we should expect, when the teacher had to give
such a long course of instruction, the failure was partly due to the
pupil's ineptitude, and so the penalty was less.
In another very interesting case, discussed by Kohler-Peiser,
A. B. R. II. p. 55 f , a slave was set to learn weaving. His owner
finds him i ka of corn per diem, and clothing. If, at the end of a
five years' apprenticeship, he has not learnt his trade, his master is
to pay 6 ka of corn for him. Here we may doubt if the one ka per
day was a fair keep. Any way we see the same penalty as in the
AND DOCUMENTS. ■ 3
last. In lliis case tlicrc is an interesting secjuel. Tlie master weaver
kept on the slave ten months, after his time was up, and had to pay
9 shekels as his mandattu : making that profit to he as before about
12 shekels per year. Hence as his keep was (juite 12 shekels, he
was worth 24 shekels a year, and he would sell for (juite a mina.
638. The sources from which the ranks of the slaves were
recruited were practically the same at all periods. As in the earlier
times, see Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 6, there was a certain number of
slaves born in slavery. Large family groups are sold. We shall
return to these family groups, in § 642.
Also free men might become slaves. AVe have instances of a
free man pledging himself and family for debt, see nos. 63, 86, and
compare no. 164. Such pledges, if not redeemed, must have added
to the number of slaves. That the family, or clan, had the power
to redeem its members from such a fate seems to be implied in
nos. 62, 641.
But, as in early times, a father might sell his son, and exercised
his right, see nos. 186, 201, 314, 319. The sale of a daughter was
equally common, see nos. 221, 307, 315, 317. A brother seems to
have had the same right over his sister, nos. 207, 208.
Hence it is clear that some slaves had been free-born Assyrians.
The alternative is, that in these cases the seller was himself a slave,
so that those sold were already slaves. In that case he may have
sold for his master. This is, however, not hinted at, in any case.
Among the total slave population, quite half bear names of the
ordinary Assyrian type.
Of itself this argument from names is of small value. For, as in
later Babylonian texts, see Nbd. 390, 3, etc., slaves were probably
often renamed. Whether a slave often bore the same name as his
master is not certain, but in one case, no. 204, a master, called Sasu,
sells a slave of the same name.
In the case of slaves of foreign origin, their nationality is rarely
stated. We have a man from Tabal named as sold in no. 197. We
have a long list, in no. 1099, of as many as 977 slaves from Kue.
In no. 763, we clearly have a list of Egyptian slaves, or at any rate
of slaves possibly bearing Egyptian names. Usually the names are
our only indication of the nationality of the slaves. But surely we
cannot mistake such names as Aa-turi, Addai, Adunitu, Akbar,
Atarhamu, Dakule, Usi', Urai, Hamnunu, Hanedu, lanuku, Imannti,
Imsai, Kamabani, Laduki, Marsete', Murai, Milkiuri, Sigaba, Sitir-
4 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
kanu, Tarhunazi, or the female names Akbarai, Gadia, Halmusu,
Hasalai, Hambusu, Me'sai. They bear a foreign aspect. But we
are not yet fully acquainted with all possible native names. The
Assyrians seem to have adopted many foreign gods into their
Pantheon. Thus Haldi is surely the Armenian god known from
the historical inscriptions, but it would be hazardous to class all
Haldi compounds as foreign names. The large infusion of Ara-
maeans, Chaldaeans, and even Arabs, must have influenced the
names. The Assyrians may have formed a majority of the popula-
tion, in the great towns like Nineveh, Calah, Assur, etc.; but, in the
country, an older non-Semitic population may have survived. The
importations of war-captives must have been considerable, but we
have singularly few traces of these among the slave names. Perhaps
the captives were chiefly settled in outlying districts rather than
brought as slaves to Nineveh. The use of the obscure term rutu^ as
applied both to serfs and war-captives, suggests that the latter were
usually settled as serfs, rather than sold as slaves.
639. The price of a slave in early times was very small. A
female slave could be bought for 4J shekels, and a male slave for
from 10 to 20 shekels. In later times the price varied very much
indeed, so that for all comparative purposes reference must be made
to the chapter on Prices. But in our documents, whether from the
uniformity of quality demanded for palace slaves, or from other
economic causes, the price is extraordinarily constant, thirty shekels
of silver. Outside prices were paid for specially qualified slaves,
such as a skilled weaver of figured stuffs, probably an artist in his
way, no. 172 ; or a gardener, in no. 235.
640. The slave might obtain his freedom, both in early times
and in the second Babylonian Empire. There were at least two
principal ways, first by purchase, and secondly by adoption. A sort
of manumission seems to have taken place also, but what the exact
status of the manumitted slave was does not appear clearly. In our
documents very little evidence on the point comes out. The verb
patdru^ generally used for paying the price of freedom, called the
iptiru^ occurs in a few instances in our documents. In one of them,
no. 176, the buyer, liahianu, bought a slave for 50 minas of bronze,
iptatar. This verb takes the place of the usual ilki^ 'took possession.'
It may only mean that he ])aid out money, but it may mean that he
'freed' the slave. In no. 218, the seller is contemplated as making
an excuse for not delivering up the slave, in the words amiltu apattar,
AND DOCUMENTS. 3-
which very likely means, ' I release or free the slave.' In nos. ''
and 85, the forms iptatra^ iptalar^ occur, hut the connection '■
ohscure for us to he sure of their exact meaning. Other indi(
will be noticed in the comments on individual texts. They .
slight to warrant our saying that we have any examples of a b.
acquiring his freedom in our documents,
641. It is clear that there were public liabilities incumbent on
the slave, or rather on the master who discharged them by his slave.
I am not aware that these have been recognised for early times.
Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. 97, gives a number of examples where the
parties who do not fulfil their contracts are subject ana swidat sarrt.
Some have taken this to mean, 'the yoke of the king,' and even
supposed that the delinquents were to be yoked to the king's plough.
But Meissner's quotation, from V. R. 24, 15 ab, ff., shews that simittu
here is in some sense an equivalent of dhiu. It was the 'judgement
of the king ' to which they were referred. Winckler, A. F. 11. p. 90,
has established a word samadii^ with the sense 'to measure out,'
whence we could easily reach the meaning 'decision.' Hence there
is no reason to imagine any ' royal yoke ' in the sense of a forced
labour gang. There were liabilities, which lay upon the land, some
of which have already been discussed in the second volume, §§ 225,
228 ff. Others will be referred to as the occasion demands, in the
sections dealing with estates and charters. The later Babylonian
texts mention the ardu-sarriitu and amat sari'iitu as liabilities. To
chese Hilprecht, B. E. ix. p. 44, note 1. 8, has added susanutu.
642. The number, and distribution as to sex, of the persons in
a slave family may deserve notice. It has already been pointed out
that to all appearance the family group was not broken up at a sale.
Although an Assyrian master did transfer his slaves to another man,
there is no evidence to shew that he sold them separately, and the in-
humanity of tearing a slave from his family ties seems to have been
practically avoided. The following groups are recorded in our docu-
ments. Man and wife occurs most often, nos. 237, 240, 241, 242,
243, 246, 247, 258, 259, 261, 265, 268, 270, 275 bis, 277 bis, 296,
322, 447. Man, wife and son, in nos. 241, 288 bis\ man, wife and
two sons, in nos. 246, 259, 447 ; man, wife, and three sons, in
nos. 240, 246; man, wife, two sons and a daughter, in nos. 241 bis,
305 ; man, wife, three sons, two daughters, a brother and two nephews,
in no. 230 ; man, wife, son and two daughters, in no. 266 ; man, wife,
son and four daughters, in no. 248 ; man, wife and four children, in
J. ni. 25
-)6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
">. 274; man, wife and daughter, in nos. 235, 247 bis, 322, 424;
wife and two daughters, in nos. 268, 275 ; man, wife and
•, in no. 241 ; man, wife, mother, two brothers and two sisters,
231 ; man, wife, brother and daughter, in no. 244; man, wife,
sons, daughter, three slaves and their two sons, in no. 261.
ihese furnish a very complete record.
Of some ambiguity are the cases where a man is said to have
'two wives.' The proper sign for 'wife,' DAM, is not used in our
texts, only SAL, which usually means 'woman.' But when the
name of a man is followed by SAL-su, it seems pedantic to render
' his woman,' for there is no indication that he hud any other ' wife.'
At any rate, she was the mother of his children. When ' daughters '
are intended they are called TUR SAL or martii ; ' maidservants '
are termed a77itu. That the scribe never called a ' wife ' of a slave
by her proper title need not surprise us, when we find that it does
not occur in the Harran Census, nor is it used at all in our
documents. As far as we know, therefore, if we press the point,
the Assyrians had no ' wives,' only ' concubines,' which is unlikely.
In the later Babylonian contracts also, Tallqvist only enters DAM
once. The term assatu does not once occur phonetically spelt in
our documents, and when a woman is bought to be a 'wife' for a
slave the term SAL-21-tu is used. I read this assutu, because on
no. 7 1 1 the Aramaic docket regards it as referring to the status of
the nt^N of the slave for whom the woman was intended. When,
therefore, a man is said to have 'two women,' SAL-MES, I regard
them as ' two wives,' in every sense in which an Assyrian could have
a wife at all. Such cases are, a man and two wives, in no. 306 ; a
man, two wives and two sons, in no. 277 ; a man, two wives, three
sons and three slaves, in no. 253 ; a man, two wives, two sons and
two daughters, in no. 229.
A man did not always have a wife. Whether a bachelor or
widower, he had his mother, sister or daughter, living with him.
Thus we have, a man and his mother, in nos. 236, 250, 284 ; a man,
his mother and three brothers, in no. 447 ; a man, two brothers and
a sister, in no. 447 ; a man, his sister and four sons, in no. 269 ; a
man, sister and daughter, in no. 246 ; a man, two sons, a daughter
and two maids, in no. 241 ; a man and his daughter, in no. 221.
Sometimes there seems to be no female in the family. Thus we
have, a man and at least three sons, in no. 240 ; a man and two
sons, in no. 258; a man and his son, in nos. 275, 447 ; a man and
AND DOCUMENTS. 387
his hrolher, in nos. 249, 265. A man evidently might live with his
children's family, for in no. 253, we have a man, his brother, his son
and wife, and their slaves.
We are not always informed of the distribution of the family.
Especially in the schedules of estates, we have merely, ' so and so
with so many souls.' This use also occurs in no. 238. We thus
only know the number in the family. An even less informing entry
occurs commonly in the schedules, ' so and so with his people.' This
phrase adi nisesu evidently includes all his relatives, living with him,
and his slaves, if he had any.
In a few cases, the slaves sold were a mother and daughter,
nos. 233, 245, 257, 267, 294. We have a mother and two children,
in nos. 254, 270.
A man, wife, three sons, two daughters, his brother and his two
sons, in no. 230 ; a man, his wife and mother, his two brothers and
two sisters, in no. 231 ; form groups somewhat wider than a single
family. But they are each a group related by family ties.
Sometimes the group of slaves sold seems unconnected by any
family relationships, see nos. 232, 234.
643. These slave families shew a fairly large proportion of sons.
In 36 families there are 56 sons and 29 daughters. But I take it
that many daughters of slaves, who lived outside their master's
house, were taken into service. Their use, as weavers and spinners,
kept up their value, and at any rate, so far as our documents go, a
female slave was worth quite as much as a male slave. Hence I
should suppose that, from girlhood till marriage, a female slave
stayed in her master's house. The wonder rather is to find so many
girls at home.
644. The number of slaves referred to in these documents is
considerable, fully 450. Rimani-Adadi is credited with the purchase
of at least 70 slaves in some 16 years. He never appears as a seller.
For his business transactions, see § 467. He seems to have acted
throughout on behalf of the royal household. His title of mukil
apate^ borne also by other slave buyers, really meant * holder of the
reins ' ; but the existence of another word apatt, to denote mankind,
makes it likely that the title was taken to mean a 'director of the
domestics.' At any rate such was evidently the duty which he
discharged. Another great slave buyer, also a royal mukil apdte, was
Summa-ilani ; see § 467. He bought at least fifty-four slaves, in a
space of some forty years. Another considerable buyer was Niniiai,
388 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the sdk sarri) see § 508. The sakifitii is often named as a buyer of
slaves, chiefly females; see nos. 190, 208, 209, 242, 261, 267. But
the title was borne by several different ladies. Several other officials
of the king purchased slaves, notably his rab kisir in no. 252; his
viukil apaie in no. 253; compare no. 255. In other cases the
purchaser was an official of the king's son; see nos. 201, 207, 211,
23 1) 233. It is conceivable that these officials bought these slaves
on their own account, and that their connection with the royal
household led to the preservation of their deeds at Nineveh. But
it is more likely still that they purchased slaves for the palace. It is
also distinctly clear that the mukil apate was most closely connected
with the purchase of slaves ; and then the rab kisir^ and the rah
aldni.
In earlier times the number of slaves in one house was not
great. At the partition of a large estate, only one slave is named ;
Strassmaier, Warka 26. Meissner did not know of more than four,
at one time, in any one man's possession. In our documents it is
not easy to be sure that the slaves purchased were necessarily all
from one household. In one case, however, Rimani-Adadi purchased
30 slaves, at one time, of Arbailai, ardmii sa btfisu, ' the slaves of his
house.' This looks as if Arbailai had owned 30 slaves as his own
household ; see no. 424.
645. The slave sales divide themselves into groups easily enough.
I have arranged them thus :
I. Sales of a single male slave, nos. 172-206.
II. Sales of a single female slave, nos. 207-228, 791, 796.
III. Sales of several slaves together, nos. 229-306. To this
group we may perhaps add nos. 319, 320, 322, 323, 725, 789, 811.
In these groups no mention is made of the destination of the
slave. They are sales for general purposes.
Sales for special purposes are :
IV. Sales of a slave, as wife for another slave, nos. 307-309 and
no. 711.
V. Sales of slaves of the class called riitu, nos. 310-317.
Compare nos. 718, 783, 906, 1099.
VI. Exchange of slaves, no. 318.
VII. Assignment of slave as composition for manslaughter,
no. 321.
Of course, a large number of slaves are included in the sales of
estates, to be discussed later.
AND DOCUMENTS. 389
646. The general formula of a sale has been discussed in
Chapter VI. Here we may consider some features common to
slave sales and characteristic of them.
In the preamble, a single male slave is usually styled amelu
tadanu. He is not here regarded as the slave, but as the person
granted. A single female slave in this place is nearly always denoted
by SAL. Of the meanings in which this sign is used, assatu^ ' wife,'
is clearly not intended. We might consider sinnistu^ 'woman,' as
intended. But as im'du, 'husband,' seems the proper antithesis to
dssatu, 'wife,' so zikru seems the proper antithesis to sinnistn, 'male,'
as against 'female.' As here the meaning of amelu is clearly a male
person, the proper antithesis should be amiltti, 'female person.' A
phonetic spelling of this occurs in K 3790, K. B. iv. p. 122, where a
female slave sold, in the time of Esarhaddon, is described in the
preamble, by a Babylonian scribe, as a-mil-ti SE-nu. Hence, I follow
Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. passim^ in transcribing SAL tadcini^ as amilti
taddni. When several slaves are sold at the same time they are
described here as nise taddni.
In the specification, a single male slave is always named, and
very often the name of his father is also given. The trade or
occupation of the slave is given in nos. 172, 235. But he is usually
styled ardu. His master's name is generally added here. The slave
is usually ardusu sa S, where S is the seller's name. Sometimes
ardusu is used, without the addition of sa S, the suffix su, 'his,'
referring to the seller named in the preamble, see nos. 178, 180,
181, etc. When there are more sellers than one, of course the suffix
sunu^ 'their,' replaces su ; or sa alone may be used, repeated before
the name of each seller, as in no. 267 ; compare nos. 202, 318. The
sa, followed by the seller's name, is usually put in the next line to
the slave's specification. The reference to the seller is often omitted
here, see nos. 246, 322, etc.
A female slave is generally styled anitiisu sa S, in this passage.
The word amhi, 'maidservant,' is the proper antithesis to ardu,
' manservant.' She is generally named, but the name of her father
is not given, unless he is the seller. When there are more slaves
than one, they are styled mse. Often arddnisii sa S occurs here.
In the case of family groups, the head of the family is generally
named first : but his father is not named. Often the mfe's name
follows, though she is very often merely described as SAL-sii : or
SAL-su, which I read assafusu, or assatsu. It would be pedantic to
390 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
deny that the slave was married, because the more accurate DAM is
not here used for assatu. Sons, brothers, sisters, daughters, are
often named, but sometimes counted only. Often a mother is
mentioned, sometimes named. Slaves of the slave are recorded.
The relationships are generally clearly stated. These family groups
are very interesting and are analysed in § 642. The specification of
several slaves, sold together, generally sums up all with the words
naphar X napsdti arddni sa S, 'in all, X souls, slaves of S.' The
word napsdti is written ZI-MES, ZI bemg the ideogram for napisiu,
'soul,' 'living person.' We may have Z/ alone, without the plural
sign, see nos. 284, 447 ; or even 2 Z/, in no. 237. The determinative
amel is used before Z/, in nos. 241, 249, 260, 261, 320. The Aramaic
docket on no. 229 gives ^Ji<. This summation is omitted in no. 230.
Once again the purchase is concisely referred to in the closure
clause, C. A single male slave here is usually styled amelu^ a
female slave, SAL^ i.e. amiltu. Sometimes we have ardit^ or aintiL.
The usual plural is tiise^ sometimes auieiute, no. 246, or when all are
females, amildte^ as in nos. 233, 256. This clause is omitted in
nos. 182, 218, 239, 307, 318.
The changes of the predicates, necessary to agree with the sex or
number of the slaves sold, are very instructive, shewing with certainty
the subject of the verbs, and so helping to fix the meaning of the
sentence.
647. It seems likely enough, despite the declarations made, 'the
full price is paid, this slave is handed over, etc.,' that sometimes
delivery was delayed. In no. 213, for example, it is possible to
understand the stipulations as meaning that, if the seller should
hold back on some plea, he should repay the purchase money, with
a substantial increase, and should all the same hand over the slave.
The actual phrase is amiltu usesd : but it is not clear who is the
nominative to the verb. In the rest of the sentence the seller is,
and my view makes him so still. Dr Oppert, Le Droit de lignager^
p. 579, supposes a sudden change from the seller to the buyer. He
renders '' pay era deux mines d'argent et emmenera la femme.^ That
looks as if he meant the two verbs payera and emmenera to have the
same nominative. Just before, he refers to this text as one of the
few, ' qui admet la restitution 7noyennant une modique augmentation du
prixJ If so, the man who paid the two minas must be *^^" seller,
and the man who returns the slave must be the buyer. It is
impossible to suppose that usesd means 'take back.' If we take
AND DOCUMENTS. 391
the same person as nominative to both verbs, it nmst he tliat tlie
same person pays the line of two minas and gives up tlie slave. Of
course, the seller is certainly the one who has to pay the two minas,
i.e. the purchase price, and a half mina more ; if he also sets free the
slave, he must have been holding back the property paid for, and is
now condemned to lose both price and property. I think this is
what the buyer's scribe really meant. As will be seen, Dr Oppert
clings to the idea of a restitution of the property. Indeed the title
of his article implies that he believes a right of resumption does
really exist.
In the earlier times, see Meissner, A. B. P. R. p. i8, the cash
was paid in advance and the seller covenanted to deliver the purchase
within a fixed time. A number of slaves were to be procured from
Gutium, some distance to the north of Babylonia, the seller * shall
bring them in one month,' ubbalam ana arhi KAN. If he do not
bring them, the seller shall repay the full price, to take back his
bond, ana nas kanikisu.
No. 235 adds an unusual stipulation, viz., if the slaves are not
delivered according to contract, the money shall bear interest, and
the seller shall serve the buyer. Clearly the buyer had paid cash in
advance. This is like a contract in the ordinary sense, there is an
undertaking to do something in the future.
The sibtu benmi clause.
648. A clause, which occurs with some frequency in slave
sales, is sibtu bentiu ana C twie, sartu ana kal sandte. It occurs, with
more or less completeness, in nos. 172, 176, 181, 183, 187, 201, 208,
211, 212, 232, 242, 247, 248, 257, 280, 281, 284, 288, 289, 290,
310, 312, 323, 429, 642.
Of these, no. 642, K 296, was published in in. R. 49, no. 2, and
transliterated and translated by Professor Oppert, in Doc. Jur.
pp. 236 ff. Dr Oppert read the clause zibti be bel tii ana C yume
sa-ar-tu ana nabhar sanat kak-mu an-na {nics)^ and rendered it,
fen us vetus erit domino nostro ; per {post) centum dies erit obligatio
per oinnes atmos ; also p. 238, Pifiteret a^tcien echerra a notre seigneur
{N'inip), et payable dans les cent premier jours. The French translation
appears only to deal with the first part of the clause, omitting to
render from sartu onwards. On p. 239, we have the further remark;
enfin^ ce contrat contient une clause qui ne se retrouve qu'ici et qui ajoute
392 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
encore an danger de la revendication, en fixant une redevance annuelle
due a notre seigneur^ dest-a-dire^ a Ninip, habitant CalacJi.
No. 429, 83-1-18, 350, was published, C. I. S. p. 36 f., from a
copy by Mr T. G. Pinches. The transliteration of the mutilated
clause is there given as bi-ni ana esten me unie ; but no rendering is
given in the summary of the meaning of the contract.
No. 208, K 321, was published by Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 132,
who restored the text as I should, sibtu bennii ana 100 ume sarin ana
kdl sajuiti, and rendered it, Die Kopfsteur ist bezahlt fiir 100 Tage^
die Eintragiingssportel fiir alle JaJire.
The other passages are new, but it is probable that Dr Peiser
knew some of them when he restored the text as above.
As to the individual words composing the clause, Dr Delitzsch,
H. IV. B. p. 180, under bennu 11., quotes, from 111. R. 49, no. 2, the
full clause, which he calls ein Finch. To which root he refers sibtu
is not clear, as he does not enter the passage under esepu^ H. IV. B.
p. 308, nor sabdtUf If. JV. B. p. ^62. I have not been able to find
sarti^ elsewhere in H. W. B.
Dr Meissner, A. B. F. R. p. 97, devotes a long note to bi-en-nu^
the form in which our bennu appears in his texts. He thinks first of
bdnu, ' to give,' but rejects it. He quotes our passage, from iii. R.
49, no. 2, and the equation sibtu = bennu^ from 11. R. 35 ef, 41. He
leaves bennu untouched. Dr Muss-Arnolt simply registers these
previous efforts under bennu, but goes no further.
After the appearance of Volume i.. Professor Oppert devoted a
great part of his article, Le Droit de retrait lignager a Ninive, to a
discussion of this phrase. On p. 157, he read it, sibtu bennu ana
100 yuine sartu ana kal sanati, and rendered it, voluntas libera et
quies ad centum dies est conditio ad omties annos, or liberie d\iction et
repos {ou bien, liberie de se reposer) pour cent Jours, dest la condition
pour toutes les annees. He also quotes the clause considered by
Meissner, from K. B. iv. p. 39, which he renders pour un jour
attouchement (tipsu), pour un mois repos {bennu). Dr Oppert says
that the clause has long defied the sagacity of interpreters. Further,
he explains the purpose of it to be that, lest the slave be overtaxed,
he has for himself, or for the women whom he represents, the
power of resting a hundred days, being bound to serve the remainder
of the year, in perpetuity.
In Das Assyrische Landrecht, A. A. xiii. p. 268, Dr Oppert
returned to the sul)jecl. He rendered sartu by obligatio, and gave
AND DOCUMENTS. 393
the rendering, WillcnsfrciJicit and Ruhc jiir liundert Tage^ dieses ist
der obligatio fiir alle Jahre. He said sibtu was for sibitu^ whicli he
derived from .y//w, from which comes sibutu^ meaning ' wish.' He
said ihaL Dehtzsch, //. W. B. p. iSob, had recognised rightly that
bennu was 'rest.' He dealt with sarin on p. 258, and made it out
to mean 'that which is bound up with the principal,' 'an accessory.'
Here he gave it as Verbindlichkeit. The phrase he regarded as one
of the ameliorations of slavery at Nineveh. The slave was to have
a hundred days' rest in the year. If he had his sabbaths free, and
one day off in each week, that would just meet the case. But is this
thinkable ? The only point in favour of Dr Oppert's explanation is
that it is intelligible.
Dr Peiser's renderings are accepted as possible by Meissner,
Siipp. p. 24. But they too are only intelligible, by no means likely
to be true.
649. The phrase itself occurs with so few variants that we are
not in much better position for its interpretation than the dis
tinguished Assyriologists who have already discussed it. There is
no doubt that we have two members in the clause, the first being
that sibtii and bennu are for 100 days, and the second that sartic is in
perpetuity. On examining the above passages we find both sibtu
and sibti^ bennu and benni ; and in no. 310, the order is reversed, we
have bennu sibtu. Hence the two words are coordinate, they do not
form a complex of noun in the construct with genitive. These
terms are probably, as usual with coordinate terms in our documents,
nearly synonymous. Further we have sibtu alone in no. 232, and
perhaps bennu alone in no. 248. The sartu is said to be for kdi
sandtij i.e. 'for every year'; for kdl umdte, 'for every day'; or for
arkdt ilnie, ' for after days.' The only common meaning of these
phrases is 'in perpetuity.' There is no verb in either member of the
clause, and much will depend on how we supply these verbs.
The word sibtu has little variation: sib-til occurs in nos. 172, 183,
208, 257, 289, 310, 312, compare the endings in nos. 212, 284.
We have sib-tu in no. 288; and sib-ti in nos. 211, 232, 242, 281,
307, 642, The signs sib could of course be read zib, sip, or zip.
The word bennu is spelt be-en-nu in nos. 208, 257, 281, 288, 289,
290, 312; be-en-ni in no. 642; be-nu in nos. 181, 284; be-e?i in
no. 242; be-ni in no. 211 ; bi-?iu in no. 183; bi-ni in no. 429; and
perhaps be-e-nu in no. 310. The other occurrences are not decisive ;
in nos. 212, 247, 248, the word is only partly preserved. Sartu
394 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
we have already discussed in § 568. Whether we have the same
word here seems open to doubt. It is spelt sa-ar-tu in nos. 183,
208, 211, 247, 248, 257, 290, 312; sa-ar-tu in nos. 288, 642;
sa-ar-ti in nos. 232, 281; sa-ar-tu in no. 284; sa-ar-tu in no. 242;
compare the fragments in nos. 212, 289, 310. This member of the
clause seems to have been omitted in no. 429.
650. Professor Jensen in a recent communication by letter to
me pointed out that sibtu and bennu are most certainly ' diseases,'
perhaps 'fever' or 'ague.' In his notes on the name of the 'Fever
Demon,' Bennu, in K. B. vi. p. 389, he shews that at any rate in the
passages which he considers there, the associated w^ords bennu,
sassatu, maskadu, sakikku, hatu, mursii, si-ib-tu, ununu, huntu, IPbu,
are sicknesses of different sorts. Further he shews that Sidimu,
Miktu are in some sense ' Disease Demons.' Hence he suggested
that the first member of our clause might mean, ' may fever and
fever heat attack him for a hundred days,' or something similar.
This would be a curse, as Delitzsch seems to think it may be. But
the way in which our clause occurs renders that a very unlikely view
here. Professor Jensen has since made me a much more reasonable
suggestion. It is that we should understand the clause to mean that
sibtu and bennu, two fevers, may be pleaded as an excuse for
100 days, a sartu, or defect, at any time. Thus, if the seller,
knowing his slave to be sickening for a fever, hastened to get rid of
him, the buyer, on discovering the state of things, could without
penalty repudiate the bargain. If there were any undisclosed defect
in the slave, the buyer could repudiate his purchase at any time.
That sounds reasonable, or it may be that a plea of sickness was
allowed to delay the delivery of the purchase, till recovery, which
was estimated to occur within 100 days. At the same time we could
give to sartu the meaning of a defect, or illegality. Then the second
member would imply that any illegality might be pleaded at any
time. These clauses, so understood, would seem to be distinct
instances of attempts to contract out of the very stringent sti[)ulations
that, after the conclusion of the bargain, the seller should raise no
legal question to invalidate the sale. But it will be noted that it is
the buyer who thus reserves to himself the right at any time to
repudiate the purchase, on the score of illegality or defect. The
rendering which Professor Jensen would then give to no. 307, rev.
1 3, sarte kdtd sibti habulli would mean ' a defect of the hands, fever
and inlirmity.' For these defects Karmeuni would be answerable.
AND DOCUMENTS. 395
Professor Jensen enters inlo a discussion of sarin ^ K. Jk vi. [). 324,
where lie shews that sarrii from sararu is ihe antithesis of kinu.
llciue llie meaning of sartu may well be 'illegality,' or •defect,'
hence, as in the legal decisions, 'damage,' and the 'compensation'
or 'fine' for the injury; see § 56S. Finally \ve may note, as
Professor Jensen himself does, K. B. vi. p. 389, that these terms
may in legal documents have technical meanings, but there is a great
probability that the sense is nearly the same.
651. The weak point in the above argument is that the word
sibtu is used so often in other meanings. A\'e have the sibtu which
denotes ' interest ' on money. There is also a sibtum^ which denotes
a cloth or clothes, from a root whence comes subdtu^ see K. B. vi.
p. 394. We know from Cyr. 64, that when a slave was apprenticed,
the owner had to furnish food and clothes, musibtiiin. Hence we
might suppose that sibtu here was the clothing which the owner had
found for the slave and which would perhaps last 100 days. The
real difficulty is that the form of the clause is so constant and so
concise that we find no internal evidence of its meaning. Then
beiinu might also be distinct from the bennu meaning 'fever,' and
perhaps refer to the food which the seller had already allowed the
slave for his keep. Or again sibtu might contain a reference to the
interest of the money paid for the slave. In fact, each word is
suggestive of many conjectures. At present, I think that some
modified form of Professor Jensen's view will ultimately prove to be
true. It seems to be the best solution yet advanced.
The presence of this clause will be denoted in the abstracts
by ^.
396 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
SALES OF A SINGLE MALE SLA VE.
652. Curiously enough, none of the sales of a single male
slave presents a perfectly complete text, so that it is difficult to select
a really representative example of the class. A transliteration and
translation of no. 172 is given here for the sake of those who might
find difficulty in grasping the whole arrangement. The references
to the renderings in Professor Oppert's work, and to Dr Peiser's
presentations in K. B. iv., will be helpful to the student. But it
seems unnecessary now to emphasise the differences between my
views and those of these scholars ; especially as they might not now
wish to maintain their early attempts. I can only hope that neither
they nor the ordinary reader will consider it a mark of carelessness,
ignorance, or conceit, that I do not expressly notice the points in
which I differ from them. Nor need the description of the tablet in
the Catalogue be repeated, except where I am forced to express a
different opinion as to the nature of the document. It may be taken
for granted that every earnest student will first peruse what is said
in that inestimable work.
Transliteration and translation of no. 172.
653. Obv. I Kuniik {TAK-SID) Mu-se-zih-Mar-duk
2 {amel) saknu {GAR-nu) sa sise {imer KUR-RA-MES)
sa biti
3 essi bel anieli tadani {SE-ni).
4 Ndsir {PAF)-Ninip (SI-DC/), SIBIR KU sip-rat
5 ARAD-su sa Mu-se-zib-Mar-duk
6 A-pis-ma Rlm-an-ni-Adadi {AN-IM)
7 {amel) mukil apdte {LU SU-FA-MES) sa sarri
{MAN) istu pdni {TA SI)
8 Mii-sc-zib-Mar-duk ina (AS) libbi (SA) ij mane
(MA-NA)
9 ina {AS) sd sarri {MAN) il-ki kas-pu gam-mur
10 ta-ad-din amclu sd-a-tu za-rip
1 1 la-ki {tuaru ?) di-e-nu dabdbu {KA-KA)
12 la-as-su {niannit sa ina) iir-kis
AND DOCUMENTS. 397
1 3 i-zak-ku/>-{a?mi iparikun i)
1 4 /;/-// Mu-se-zib-Mar-dnk
15 lu-u ahc {PAF-MESysii lu-u viare {TUR-MES)
16 sd di-e-iin dabdhu {KA-KA) istu {TA)
1 7 Khn-mi-iu-Adadi {AN-IM) mCiri ( TUR)-su
18 7? vhxr-vuirc {TUR-TUR-MES)-su u/>-ta-i^n?ii)
19 5 ma7ic{MA-NA)kaspu {KU-BABBAR)inisu {LUH)
{?na7ie)
Rev. I hurCxsi (GUSKIN) sak-ru ina {AS) bur-ki {ili )
2 a-sib all {A^i?tim ? isakkaii)
3 ilia (AS) di-ni-m {idabiibnia Id ilakki)
4 kas-pu a-7ia esr{ate ana belisu)
5 2itd7- {GUR-ar) sib-tH {ben72tc a7ia 100 U77ie sartii ana)
6 M/ y{me)
7 pan St7i {AN XXX)-ri77i {aimi )
8 pd7i Za-7na{l)-77ia{l)-
9 pan Adadi {AN IM)-
10 pdn Nabji {AN PA)-erba {SU) {amel) saim {II-u) {sa
rab urate)
11 pdn Ahu {FAP)-ii-a-5u
12 pdn Adadi {AN IM)-kas-sun
13 mdr{TUR) Is-man-ni-Adadi {AN U)
14 pdn Su77i-77ia-fa-se-zib {atnel) ARAD
15 sd /star {AN XV)
16 pdn Nabu {AN PA)-7iddin {MU)-ahe {PAP MPS)
{a77iel) a-ba.
17 apil {A) Nabu {AN PAysal-lim-hUw {sa) alt HI-GI-
AN-BE
18 Arhu {ITU) Ululu {KI) umu ( UD) 20 {KAN) li77i-77ie
Sul-viu-bel-las77ie {HAL)
19 {amel) sa-kin Durili {KI)
Translation.
Obv. I Seal of Musezib-Marduk
2 the saknu of the horses of the New Palace
3 legitimate owner of the person transferred.
4 Nasir-Ninip a weaver of embroidered cloth
398 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
5 slave of Musezib-Marduk,
6 has made a bargain Rimani-Adadi
7 the charioteer of the king and from
8 Musezib-Marduk for a mina and a half (of silver)
9 royal standard has taken. The price was complete
10 (and) given, this person was bought
1 1 (and) taken. There shall be no retreat or
1 2 law-suit. (Whoever in) future
13 shall set up a plea, shall make an exception,
14 either Musezib-Marduk,
15 or his brethren, or his sons,
16 who a law-suit against
17 Rimani-Adadi, his son,
18 and his grandsons shall prosecute
19 five minas of bright silver (...minas of)
Rev. I fine gold into the treasury of (the god...)
2 inhabiting the city (Nineveh ?) (shall place)
3 In his plea (he shall plead and not receive)
4 The price (to its owners ten-fold)
5 he shall return. The sibtii (and bennu shall be for a
hundred days, the smiu)
6 for all time.
7 In the presence of Sin-rimani ;
8 „ ,, Zamama ;
9 » » Adadi ;
10 „ „ Nabil-crba, the deputy (of the stall
master ?) ;
11 „ „ AhAasu;
12 „ „ Adadi-kassun,
13 son of Ismanni-Adadi
14 „ „ Summa-tasezib, servant
15 of Istar ;
16 „ ,, Nabu-nadin-ahe, the scribe,
17 son of NabA-sallimsunu, of /// G/-AN-BE.
18 In llic month Ululu, 20th day, in the Eponymy of
.Su]mu-l)C*l-lasme,
19 the jtYj;/.';/?/ of Dflrili.
The student will readily detect the clauses used in this deed,
AND DOCUMENTS. 399
from tlic abstract whicli follows, by reference to § 620. Any small
deviations from the text published are due to the improved readings
presented in § 654.
Abstracts of nos. 172 — 206.
654. No. 172. Nearly complete. Dark brown.
Musezib-Marduk, the saknu of the horses of the New
Palace, sells Nasir-Ninip, a sibiri'u siprCit^ to Rimani-
Adadi the king's mtikll apate, for one mina and a half,
royal standard. Dated, the 20th of Uliilu, B.C. 670.
Eight witnesses.
P, D, Ac, C, C\ S„ S, {P„ F,\ B, K
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 93, and Hist. Esarh. p. 13.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 5603, 7839, 8472, 8503.
In line 4, Strassmaier gives the slave's name as Ahu-sina, and
reads ki for kii. In line it, there is space on the tablet for one or
two characters, perhaps representing the usual tuaru, before dhn^.
In line 19, we should probably read 'five' in place of 'four.' In
reverse, line 2, probably a-si is an error for a-sib^ the si is not
certain.
The name of the seller only occurs here in our documents. The
name, spelt Musezib-AN-AMAR- UD, was borne by a nephew of
Bel-ibni, who played a somewhat prominent part as a pretender to
the throne of Babylon, in Sennacherib's reign, known also as Suzubu,
see Z. A. 11. p. 66. He is named in letters K 1066, 4748 ; 48-7-20,
115; 67-4-2, i; 82-5-22, 129. The same form occurs in later
Babylonian texts, ^. A. V. 553, etc. Another form Musezib-A N-SU
is also common in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 226. A scribe of
this^ name, son of Sesu, was at Erech, in the seventh year of Sin-sar-
iskun, Z. A. ix. p. 399.
The slave's name could be read Ahu-alik-mahri. His title is
discussed in § 146. The buyer Rimani-Adadi, and the witness
NabCi-erba are discussed in § 467, whence the title of the latter is
restored.
The first witness, Sin-rimani, if the name be correctly restored,
bears the same name as the buyer in no. 506. A shortened form
Sin-rimni occurs as the name of the lender, B.C. 683, in no. 47,
The second witness bears a name beginning with Zamama-, which
might be restored in various ways. The next name began with
400 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Adadi. AMa-erba, or AhCiasu, was discussed in § 508. Adadi-
kassun was the name also of a witness on no. 266, in B.C. 670 ; and
of a witness on no. 477. The name of his father, Ismeani- Adadi,
only occurs here. The name Summa-tasezib seems to be the same
as intended in no. 675, where a kepii bears the name Summa-tazib.
Here the scribe seems to have omitted se. So, in no. 640, the
principal and son of Tebetai, in Ep. O, may have had the same
name, of which Summa...e-zib^ is left. Nabd-nadin-ahe is discussed
in § 470. The name of his father, which I read Nabil-sallimsunu,
was also borne by a witness and selappai^ Ep. D, in nos. 38, 39.
The city name is uncertain, it is written HI-gi-AN-BE. If we read
DUG-GI-Bel, or Higi-Bel, we are met by difficulties as to a
meaning. The name occurs also 11. R. 53, 30 a, and on K 13656.
It may be some ideographic form. The Catalogue, p. 2040, places
it in Mesopotamia. The Eponym is discussed in § 504.
655. No. 173. Nearly complete. Drab, but discoloured.
Three men, Kibit-Istar, Lategi-Nana, and Mannu-ki-
Adadi sell a slave of theirs, Habildu, to Ribate for two
minas and ten or more shekels. Dated, the 22nd of
Sabatu, Ep. G. Seven witnesses. Five shekels were paid
for the seal.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, {F„ F,), F
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 98.
Extracts are given S. A. V. 4822, 5582, 7839, where the tablet is
quoted as (Rawl.) 178.
There seems no reason to account for the high price, but the
fact that the slave was owned by three men also suggests his great
value.
In line i, the last sign is doubtful. In line 2, the scribe has
written tu for the usual te, which he may have intended ; at the end
of the name he has given another <7, which I omitted. In line 12,
the whole line is now clearly legible. In line 13, the scribe may
have omitted ma, writing iiutema for ivimateina. In line 16, it is
possible that a sign, /;/ or {i perhaps, precedes luCw-mare, and also a
sign may occur before ahe. In reverse, lines 6 and 7, there is room
for more, but as the names seemed complete, I did not indicate this
in my Edition.
The name of Kibit-Istar occurs as that of a witness and rcib
bane, on no. 62. The name Lategi-Nana is discussed in § 480,
Mannu-ki-Adadi in § 473. The slave's name Habildu, or Hapildu
AND DOCUMENTS. 401
is that of a neighbour, on no. 469. It docs not seem to be Assyrian.
The buyer's name, Ribate, spelt as here occurs as that of a buyer,
B.C. 685, on no. 374; of a principal, v,.c. 687, on no. 624; of a
witness, Ep. R, on no. 642 : of a s<,'llcr, son of Salimdu, Ep. F, on
no. 361. In the last case it has a variant SU-a-ie. In no. 374, we
have a variant SU-MES-te\ and a form SU-a-ti occurs as a specimen
name, App. i, x. 28.
^ • . . . .
The name of the first witness, Samas-ilai, is discussed in § 560.
The name Tilri only occurs here : compare the Palmyrene niD,
'mountain,' and the name Turi-baltu, of a witness, on no. 54; and
Aa-tCiri, Aduni-tilri, Si'-tiiri, the first a slave sold, B.C. 675, on no. 186;
the second a slave sold, b.c. 688, on no. 240 ; the last a witness and
tiappahu^ B.C. 712, on no. 5. The name of the third witness, Adadi-
ahu-iddin, only occurs here, in this form ; but in the form AN-IM-
PAP-AS was the name of a buyer, b.c. 669, on no. 310 ; of a slave,
on no. 913 ; and occurs in K 540. The allied form U-PAP-SE-na
was borne by a witness, Ep. D, on no. 622. His title is an unusual
one, the last sign is hardly tar^ otherwise SAG-LI-TAR is pdkidu,
or pakddii sa pikitti^ and we might compare the anielu pikitti, of
Istar, IT. A. B. L. p. 13, and other passages, see H. W. B. p. 535 b.
In no. 922, rev. 11, ArdiTstar is said to be an aba sa pdni pi-kit-ia-te.
Consequently I am inclined to think we have here an ideogram for
pikittu^ in the sense of 'overseer.' Then I am inclined to think that
the next two witnesses had the same office. The name of the next
witness, Nabu-na'id, is discussed in § 491. The next witness bears
the name of Nabu-asarid, if it is complete. This was the name of
the seller and son of Itu'ai, B.C. 734 (?), on no. 415, where his brother
is called Nabu-na'id. Hence it is not improbable that these two
witnesses are brothers and sons of Itu'ai. If so, we have another
reason for supposing that the date of no. 415 is Post Canon. The
name was also borne by a witness and aba^ B.C. 684, on no. 230 ; by
a lender, b.c. 665, on no. 35 ; by a witness, son of Na'id-Istar and
servant of the Crown Prince, Ep. Q, on no. 446 ; and is a specimen
name, App. 2, 11. 15. In these cases the name is spelt AN-PA-BAR^
in App. 2, II. 16, we have the variant AN-PA-SAG-KAL. The form
AN-AK-BAR is the name of a witness, Ep. 8, on no. 242 ; the form
AN-AK-SAG-KAL is the name of the writer of K 1268.
How the next name is to be read I do not know, Adadi-bel-lisir
is possible. Then Adadi-asarid may be the name of the aba. The
latter name, in the form AN-IM-BAR^ occurs as a specimen name,
J. III. 26
402 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
App. 3, II. 12. The name of the Eponym, Musallim-Asur, is dis-
cussed in § 572. His city Alihu is named in no. 953, next
Nasibina.
656. No. 174 has lost several small pieces, but the added
fragment 81-2-4, 475 has rendered it almost complete. Red.
Marduk-sar-usur and Sarru-lftdari sell their slave Nab<i-
iali to Rimani-Adadi for one mina of silver according to
the mina of Carchemish. The date is lost. Traces of the
names of eight witnesses are preserved.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C", D\ S,, S, (F,).
The name of Marduk-sar-usur has been discussed in § 510;
Sarru-ludari in § 496. The name Nabti-iali was also borne by the
father of the sellers in no. 252. The buyer Rimani-Adadi is
discussed in § 467. The witness Samas-sar-usur, has been discussed
in § 467, Nabu-sezib in § 481, Summa-ilani, Sakanu, Barrukfi, and
Nabu-erba in § 467. It is impossible to restore the traces of the last
two names.
In line 7, the scribe wrote FA SU MES in place of SU PA
MES, and m reverse 7 he wrote amelu in place of the TUR which
I give. I believe both are scribal errors.
657. No. 175 has lost the lower portion, containing part of the
formula, but clearly only two or three lines are missing. Drab.
Saad sells his slave Laduki to Ahi-milki, for two minas
of silver, Carchemish. Dated, the 17th of Arahsamna,
B.C. 676. Ten witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, {P„ F,\ F'.
In line 8, note HAR-MES for suatu, see § 596. The scribe
wrote zar-zip-pu for zarip. We can hardly suppose that zip has the
value rip, and that he meant zar-rip-pu. I take zip to be a scribal
error. In line 10, read sd in place of sa. In line 12, the sign AS
may be the beginning of ina matana. If so, the phrase was out of
its usual place. At the commencement of line 3 of reverse, I think
the scribe wrote 'one,' then wrote 'ten' over it, but seeing it looked
indistinct, wrote another ' ten ' alongside it. Hence we should read
the fine as 'ten minas of silver.' In line 4, the scribe only wrote
AN AZAG, but it is probable he meant Istar. In line 6, there is no
SU after dini.
The first sign in the name of the first witness is very like KJ, but
I believe he meant Kabti-ilani. In line 8 of the reverse, there is no
a in hazanii. In line 10, the name is now clearly Sadu', not Adu'.
AND DOCUMENTS. 403
The name of the seller Saad only occurs here ; perhaps compare
sa-a-du, H. W. B. p. 488 a. The name of the slave Laduki only
occurs here. The name of the buyer, Ahimilki, was also borne by
the son of lakinlu, Asurb. 11. 84, 94, v. R. 2, 84, 94, where it is
spelt A-hi-mil-ki^ with a variant PAP-inil-ki^ as here. The form
FAF-mi/-ku appears as the name of a king of Ashdod, in. R. 16,
no. I, V. 18.
Kabti-ilani, as I read the name of the first witness, was also the
name of a witness on no. 22, rev. 2, where there is the same doubt
about the first sign. On no. 29, line 3, there is no doubt about the
first sign. We may compare the name Kabti-ilani-Marduk, frequent
in later Babylonian texts, v. R. 67, 22 b, 35 b; v. R. 68, 34 a,
48 a ; etc. How to read the next name is a puzzle. Sa-la-??iasa-ikbi,
or Sala-masa-ikbi^ seem to me less likely than Salama-sa-ikbt. It
only occurs here. Mudubirai only occurs here, but compare Muda-
birai, in no. 6, name of a lender; and of a witness, in no. 267. The
name is clearly connected with Madbar, 'the desert,' and may mean
'the beddin.' The name Sadu', or Zadu', only occurs here. These
four witnesses were natives of Saad's city, mare alisu. Perhaps his
name is the Palmyrene ny*^', of which the Greek transcription in the
genitive is croaSoi;, see Lidzbarski, N. E. p. 380. Then Sadu' might
be the Palmyrene nyv, genitive o-acSe/, N. E. p. 358 a. Note the
frequent compounds of D*?!^ in the Palmyrene names, N. E. p. 376 f.
The association of Mudabirai with Madbar and this group of names
with Palmyra, Nabataea (Sinaitic also), is very convincing.
In rev. 1 2, the name Likipu is the same as that of a witness and
rab kisir^ in B.C. 663, on no. 309; in Ep. A, on no. 318; in Ep. Q,
on no. 308 ; of a witness and rab kisir sa sepd^ on no. 235 ; and of
witnesses on nos. 498 and 633. That it is not to be read Likibu
seems clear from the similar name Lakipu, in § 572. The next
witness bears the name Bubiitu, only found here. Whether it is
connected with bubiitu, ' hunger,' ' want,' seems doubtful. The next
name, Isidsunu, only occurs here. Nabti-ahe-iddin was discussed in
§ 499. The name of the next witness, Bel-ludari, was also borne by
the Eponym of B.C. 731, in. R. i, iv. 39, where a variant gives the
other da in place of our da. As Eponym he seems to have dated
no. 658, where the mention of Tiglath Pileser III. (?) in line 2 makes
the date b.c. 730 likely. But there he seems to be saknu of Tille.
An Eponym of the same name dates nos. i and 295, but, in view of
the witnesses in these documents, I doubt the date b,c. 730 for them.
26 — 2
404 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
I think this Bel-ludari must be Post Canon : see further in the
Chapter on Chronology.
The name of the Eponym, Banba, is discussed in § 579.
658. No. 176. Now that K 9804 has been joined to K 304 the
tablet is nearly complete. About half of each line is lost at the lower
left-hand corner. Drab.
Zakuru and Dulat-ili sell their slave Mannu-ki-Arbaili,
son of Nasir-Iau, to Bahianu for fifty minas of bronze.
Dated, the 5th of some month in B.C. 700. Perhaps eight
witnesses. One mina of bronze was paid for the nailmark.
Fs, D, Ac, C, C\ n\ S„ S, {F, ?), B.
In line 3, there was perhaps a plural sign after bel. In line 11,
i-za is no longer on the tablet. The traces in line 13 are very
uncertain.
Very little can be made of the traces of the witnesses' names. In
line 16, only rab aldni, the title, is left. The end of the name in
line 17 reminds one of Basusu, who was witness and hazdnu, B.C. 668,
on no. 472. The trace in line i of rev. is not easy to restore;
names ending in ku4li must be rare. The tablet does not seem to
have had ki-ili. The name Bel-emurani is discussed in § 540. In
line 2, a name ending in tusezib is possible ; the reading Samas-sezib
is not likely, for the trace before UD does not seem to be the
remains of AN. A name ending in ta-ra is not easy to find. The
traces in line 4 clearly give a name ending in rnusezib, but it is quite
uncertain how we should complete it. In line 5, the traces are quite
useless. The traces in line 7 point to some unusual insertion in the
date. We might perhaps suppose ' the year after ' the Eponymy of
Mitunu. But the traces do not seem to suit such a phrase. In the
Eponym's name I have given the wrong tu ; and in line 9, the wrong
amelu.
The name of the first seller seems to have been ZakClru. It only
occurs here. The name of the second seller is somewhat puzzling.
Dugul-ili might be supported by Dugul-Lstar, the name of a witness,
in B.C. 676, on no. 37 ; or by Dugul-pani-ili, the name of a witness,
B.C. 698, on no. 328 ; of a witness, on no. 406 : and named in K loi i.
But the sign KUR seems certain. Dumat-ili has no meaning.
Dunatan is no better. Both names seem obscure.
It is noteworthy that in the specification the slave is not said to
be the seller's property but the son of Nasir-Iau. In the place of the
usual ilki, we have iptatar^ 'he has freed.' It seems then that
AND DOCUMENTS. 405
Mannu-ki-Arbaili, who appears afterwards as Bahianu's devoted
servant, was freed by him, perhaps redeemed from slavery for debt.
All the usual formulae of penalty for repudiation of the bargain seem
to be omitted.
For the occurrences of Bahianu, see § 532 ; for Mannu-ki-Arbaili,
see § 413. The name of the slave's father could be read, Ahiau, but
that would be difficult to explain. I regard it as a compound of lau.
On the name of the Eponym, Mitunu, see § 476. On Nabu-nadin-ahe
see § 470. On the last line, see § 61.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?t. p. 88 ; and Hist. Sennach. p. 12.
659. No. 177. The tablet has lost some of the lower portion,
containing part of the formula. Red, and much discoloured.
Nergal-ibni, the sanu of some city, sells his slave
Bullutu to Kabar-ili, the mutir puti sa sepd, for a mina of
silver. Dated, the 20th of some month in the Eponymy
of (Nabti-sar ?)-usur, the rdl? sake. Ten or more wit-
nesses.
PKD.Ac, S^{F^).
The name of the seller, Nergal-ibni, occurs in this form as the
name of a witness, B.C. 670, on no. 42 ; again on no. 388. In the
form AN-U-GUR-KAK^ it was the name of a witness, B.C. 686, on
no. 9 ; in B.C. 717, on no. 391 ; as witness and son of Adadi-sum-usur,
B.C. 707, on no. 350. In the form U-GUR-KAK-ni^ it is the name
of a witness and aba., B.C. 695, on no. 31. All these forms could
equally well be read Nergal-bani, but a phonetic spelling of that
form is unknown to me; while in later Babylonian texts, 6*. A. V. 6335,
we have AN-U-GUR-ib-7ii.
The name of the slave Bullutu, in this form, only occurs here ;
but Bul-lu-tu is the name of Ep. C, on no. 373 ; occurs in K 1245,
and often in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 647. The name Bu-ul-
lutu was borne by a writer of the astrological reports, K 742, 1334,
1375; 81-2-4, 133; 82-5-22,83; 83-1-18, 183, 184, 185; compare
K 2889. An abbreviated form Bul-lut occurs as a specimen, App. i,
X. 19, and in the later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 11 23. The form
Bu-lut-tu was that of Ep. C, on no. 641. The writer of astrological
reports appears as Bu-lii-tii in K 787; 83-1 — 18, 198. The abbre-
viated form Bu-lut is the name of a son of Aplia, a KAF-SAR,
no. 891, R i; also of a KAP-SAR and Babylonian, no. 771, 3;
probably the same person. The same name was borne by a sa sepd,
on no. 771, 5-
406 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name of Kabar-ili has been discussed in § 579. The names
of the first four witnesses cannot be restored. Sakiha, in rev. 1. 11,
is discussed in §491; Istar-mukinia only occurs here; so also
Nergal-sum-usur. The name of the father in line 2 of the reverse
edge is puzzling ; Bel-isbu-utarris may be intended, if we take NER
as an ideogram for tardsu. But the name may not be complete.
The name Usani-ilu was borne by a witness and rakbu, B.C. 667,
on no. 200 ; and is a specimen name, App. 3, in. 20. The name
Aheres is discussed in § 477. The name of the rakbu nakanti mSiy
be Abdia ; but the traces are not clear.
660. No. 178. Some of the lower part is lost, but the transaction
is clear. Buff.
Hatai sells his slave Musetik-ahe to Dannai for twenty
shekels of silver. Dated, the 5th of Ululu, Ep. H'. Seven
witnesses.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F, ).
The date is quoted, Fp. Can. p. 98.
A transliteration and translation are given by Oppert, Doc. Jur,
p. 153, and by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 128 ff.
The text was given in in. R. 49, no. 5.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 142, A. 12 calls this a Kauf-vertrdg, iiber den
Verkauf von Sclavew, Oppert calls it Vente d'Fsclaves; Peiser a
Sclavenverkauf.
In line 4, the scribe has omitted the vertical, determinative of
persons, before the name Dannai. Dr Peiser makes the name of the
Eponym to be Nabti-bel-usur. The tablet clearly has AS, iddin.
The traces in line 11 shew the signs given to have been there, but
it is impossible to restore the figures.
The seller's name only occurs here and on K 6409 ; compare the
town Hata, § 486. The slave's name LU-PAF-MES only occurs
here. I follow Dr Peiser's reading of it ; but compare Ltj-ahCla.
The buyer Dannai is discussed in § 416 ; Samas-ilai in § 560; Zabda
in § 491 ; Hara^arru in § 481.
The name of the second witness HimarG occurs also as that of a
witness, B.C. 695, on no. 569, and on no. 209. Mannu-ahe only
occurs here; it may be for Mannu-ki-ahe, see § 481. Compare
Mannu-aki-ahe on K 11898; and Mannu-ka-ahe, the name of a
witness and hazanu, of TQr.sana, B.C. 682, on no. 363. Ardi-Ninip,
the name of the witness and naggaru, in line 8, is also the name of
the scribe, in line 11 ; and of a witness on no. 291.
AND DOCUMENTS. 407
The name of the Eponym, if intended for NabO-bel-iddin, only
occurs here.
661. No. 179. The lower portion is gone, but the transaction
on the whole is clear. Brown.
Hakkubu sells his slave Samas-erba to Atu-ehu, the
saisu, for 30 shekels of silver. Dated, the 7th of Tebetu,
B.C. 697. Four witnesses preserved. One mina of bronze
for the nailmark.
Fs, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S2
The date is quoted, ^/. Can. p. 89, and Ht'sl. Senn. p. 14;
S. A. V. 4822.
The Guide (1885), p. 177, no. 53, calls it 'a sale of a slave for
30 shekels of silver, by Samas-erba, for his master Hakkubu.'
Samas-erba is the slave sold.
The name of the seller only occurs here. It may be Aramaic
for Jacob, compare the form Nabu-hakabi alongside Akabi-Ilu.
The name of Samas-erba is borne by a slave sold again in B.C. 691,
on no. 320; and on no. 265. Also it is the name of a witness,
B.C. 686, on no. 285 ; of a neighbour and witness in Kurubi, Ep. A,
on no. 623 ; of a witness, on no. 289 ; and often in later Babylonian
texts, 5. A. V. 1009. The name of the buyer Atu-ehu only occurs
here, compare Atu, Ate', in § 583. For the second part of the name
compare the Ihi so frequent in early Babylonian names.
The scribe has written the HU of salsu HU-SI with only one
vertical throughout. In the text I have inadvertently omitted two
lines after line 7. They read kas-pu ga-mur ta-ad-di?i a?nelu m-a-ti
za-rip lak-ki. In the first line of reverse there seems to have been
a second vertical after dam, which would make the signs sal da kar.
Perhaps that will be more suggestive to some than the dam kar which
I took to be a title.
The names of the witnesses are rare. Abagd, if correct, only
occurs here. He is expressly said to be an Aramaic scribe. Abba-
Aguni only occurs here. Abba is of course Aramaic, and we may
conclude Agilni to be a Syrian god. The scribe of the tablet was
probably Bel-iddin. The name was borne by a witness and aba,
B.C. 672, on no. 15 ; by a serf, with his people, on no. 661 ; by the
bel pahdti of Zermera, on no. 853 ; and occurs in the letters K 621,
1039, 1376, 11172; 48-7-20, 116. In the last two places we meet
the form AN-EN-MU. The closely related name EN-SE-na occurs
in no. 891, as that of a selappai, son of Bel-ahesu, of the family of
408 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Bit Ardi-Bau; also in the letters K 630, 689; Rm. 55. The name
AN-EN-SE-na occurs in the letters K 477, 617, 4734; 81-7-27, 31.
In the name of the last witness the last two characters are indistinct.
The name Atta-imme (?) only occurs here. The ending imme is
common enough ; and for Atta^ compare Atta-idri, in the Harran
Census, and Atta'-idri, the name of an irrisu, with his people, in
Asihi, no. 742. But we might read Atta-'ni or Atta-inni. With
these I should compare Atinni, the name of a witness and aba^
B.C. 688, on nos. 238, 239.
The Eponym Nabii-dur-usur is given in. R. v. 27 as of B.C. 697,
saknu of Dihnunna. As such he also dates Bu. 89-4-26, 177, a
prismoid of Sennacherib's. In S. A. V. 5745 we find the name
borne by the saku of the nuhatiinmu of the palace, B.C. 709 ; as
witness on no. 1141. With this agrees the witness and saku^
B.C. 687, on no. 218; compare no. 857, i. 35. As no. 1141 is
concerned with Dur-Sargon, compare the witness from Maganilba,
on no. 422. The letter K 622 connects him with Dilr-Sargon. The
name was also borne by a neighbour and witness, B.C. 698, on no. 328 ;
by a witness and muribdnu^ B.C. 692, on no. 324; by a witness, on
no. 222 ; by a seller, on no. 436 ; by the father of Dui, on no. 446 ;
by a rah BI-LUL^ on no. 693; occurs in the letters K 1194, 7373,
8855; 79-7-8, 261; 81-2-4, 51, 59; 83-1-18, 812; and as a
specimen name App. i, i. 9.
On the payment for the nailmark, see § 61. Note also the
reversal of the order of name and title in rev. line 8.
662. No. 180. Now that Sm. 199 has been joined to Sm. 447
and Sm. 553, the text is nearly complete. Drab to dark brown.
Balat-ere§' sells his slave Akbar to Musallim-Istar for
one hundred minas of bronze. The date is lost. Traces
of ten witnesses.
Ps, A Ac, C, C\ D\ S\, S, {F,, F,},F.
The reverse has suffered most loss. In line i, esrdfe is not
preserved. In line 2, a is lost and part of na and all after MES.
In line 3, ma is lost, in line 4, /'/. In line 6, the traces point rather
to be/ than AN- Bel.
The seller's name occurs as that of the seller on no. 480 ; of a
witness, \l\). S, on no. 311; of a witness and Kulumanai, on
no. 525 ; and as a specimen name, App. i, xi. 25. Tlie slave's
name is di.scus.sed in § 534, the buyer in § 481. His title is perhaps
rab aUuii.
AND DOCUMENTS. 409
The first witness seems to have had the name Nergal-bel-mati,
which only occurs here. Bel-Harran-pi is very uncertain and
I cannot venture on a restoration. The name Samas-ahu-iddin was
borne by a witness and ds?7, h.c. 694, on no. 58 ; by a seller, on
no. 532 ; by a witness, on no. 536 ; occurs, on no. 852, i. 9 ; in the
Harran Census ; and as a specimen, App. i, vi. 16. The allied form
AN-UD-SIS-SE-{?ia) occurs in the letter K 4287; and AN-UD-
SIS-MU in later Babylonian texts, ^. A. V. 7898.
663. _ No. 181 has lost considerable pieces, especially from the
left hand of reverse. Red.
Asur-nasir sells his slave Ahu-li iti to Samas-abu-usur
for 50 minas of bronze. Dated the. ..3rd of.. .B.C. 670. At
least six witnesses. One mina for seal.
Ps, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F„ F,), F, B.
The registration mark of the tablet is 83-1-18, 560.
In line 4, ii-tap-pis seems to be certain. In line 7, the scribe
omitted mur after gam. In line 15, the ?/ before ubid'imi is puzzling,
unless it is meant for a phonetic prefix, to prevent ub being read dr.
On the tablet the 11 before 7ii is doubtful. In line 1 2 of the reverse
a blank was left by the scribe. The absence of the seal space is
remarkable. The text is almost a duplicate of no. 199 below.
The seller Asur-nasir is discussed in § 482. The slave bears the
same name as the slave sold, on no. 199; and in the form PAP-
li-te the name occurs as a specimen, App. i, xi. 2. The buyer's name
Samas-abu-usur is that of the buyer on no. 199 ; occurs on no. 852,
and in the letters K 1078, 1376. In the form AN-UD-AD-SIS it
occurs in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 7897.
The first witness was a sangii of Nergal. The second bore a
name with the singular ending -a-a-?na-u, reminding us of Sahpimau
in no. 307 : usually taken to be Egyptian. The third witness seems
to have been a slave of Sulmanu The end of the next name seems
to have been li-ni. The next ended in a. A line was left blank after
line 12, before the date. The Eponym's name is very indistinct, but
I think certain ; see § 503. Names like that of the scribe Tab-
sar-Nabu, which occurs also as that of a witness and aba on
nos. 238 and 240, in B.C. 688, are fairly common. Tab-sar-Arbaili
is the name of a witness, Ep. F, on no. 23. Tab-sar-Asur was the
name of the Eponym of B.C. 718, iii. R. i, v. 7; also dating no. 695.
It was the name of a writer of an astrological report, 83-1-18, 117.
Further it occurs dating no. 391, where the Eponym is tukultu rabu ;
4IO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
and possibly on no. 81-2-4, 349. A frequent correspondent of the
king's, of this name, wrote K 554, 561, 567, 1061, 1189, 1195, 1205,
1209, 4304, 8375, 1 1666, 131 11; and 79-7-8, 138. It was probably
the name of a slave sold, B.C. 685, on no. 232. Tab-sar-ili was the
name of a witness, on no. 601; and is a specimen name, App. i,
VIII. 30. Tab-sar-Istar was the name of a witness, B.C. 710, on
no. 234; of a witness, on no. 288; of a neighbour, Ep. N, on
no. 327. Further it was the name of a witness, B.C. 748 (?), on
no. 67 ; and of a seller, Ep. N, on no. 327. Tab-sar-sin was the
name of the Eponym, B.C. 662, iii. R. i, vi. 18, and is named on
Rm. 69. Tab-sar-sarri occurs on 82-5-22, 1763. The beginning of
the name Tab-sar... is preserved for a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 43;
for an Eponym, perhaps B.C. 718, on no. 695 ; as a witness and rab
kisir, B.C. 670, on no. 266; and occurs on K 573, 5612; Rm. 959,
The sdru referred to here may mean 'wind,' or perhaps 'breath,' or
even 'scent.' But one is inclined to think that /J/ was also an
ideogram for 'speech'; see § 58. The word sar77, 'speech,' which
I deduced from the frequent i-SA-ru-u-?ii in these documents, is not
proved to exist. These words can all be read igarruni^ see § 599.
664. No. 182. Only the upper part of the obverse is left, but
that is sufficient to make the nature of the transaction clear. Black.
Isbutu, son of Musalamu, the palace gardener, sells his
slave Samas-ilai to Nintiai, the saki^ of the king, for one(?)
mina of silver, Carchemish standard. Date and witnesses
are lost.
Pk, A Ac, C, C\ D, S,...
In line 3, it is doubtful how we should read the title ame/u SAM;
perhaps simu. As swiu usually means ' price,' perhaps this denotes
a ' bought ' slave, in contrast to one born in his master's house.
The seller's name is a little uncertain in reading. The very
similar name Isputu is discussed in § 490. In view of Isbu, see § 490,
we should perhaps take TC/ a.^ an ideogram. But I am not able to
suggest a reading. The name only occurs here. Samas-ilai is
discussed in § 560; Ninuai in § 508; Musalamu in § 579.
665. No. 183. A few lines are lost at the beginning of obverse
and all the lower part of reverse : but the transaction is clear. Urab.
Mukinu-A^ur sells his slave NabCl-bel-usur to Rimani-
Adadi, the chief mukil apate, for one mina of silver,
Carchemish standard. The date and names of witnesses
are lost.
AND DOCUMENTS. 4II
The name of the seller, spelt as here, occurs as that of a seller on
no. 187. A more phonetic spelling Mu-ki-nu-Asur is given as the
name of the seller on no. 188, in B.C. 669; and of a witness, Ep. F,
on no. 23. Compare also the female name Mu-ki-?ia-at-AN-ISITTUy
name of a slave sold, B.C. 691, on no. 320. These forms suggest
that we are to read MuGI-NA as Mukinu. It is the name of the
writer of K 830 and occurs in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 809.
The name of the slave Nabti-bel-usur, spelt AN-PA-EN-PAP, as
here, was borne by the Eponym of B.C. 746, saknu of Arabha,
III. R. I, IV. 24; by the Eponym of B.C. 733, saknu of Sime,
III. R. I, VI. 9; by the Eponym of B.C. 672, saknu of DQr-Sargon.
It was also the name of the Eponym of B.C. 695, in. R. i, in. 29,
but see 6". A. V. 858. As Eponym of B.C. 672-1, he dates nos. 14, 15,
as well as K 7499 ; 80-7-19, 76 ; 83-1-18, 526. This was also the
name of a hazanu of Nineveh and witness, on no. 261 ; hazdnu and
witness, on no. 263 ; of a tukultu sanu, on no. 675 ; of a seller, on
no. 257 ; of a seller and servant of Adadi-rimani, Ep. S, on no. 311.
His son is named on K 4461. This is a specimen name, App. i,
I. I. A variant AN^-PA-U-PAP occurs for the names of the
Eponyms of B.C. 746 and 672, in. R. i, iv. 24 and vi. 9. An
Eponym of this name occurs as dating no. 64, but he is there
described as saknu of kisir Esarhaddon. Whether this is to be
identified with one of the dates above is doubtful. For Rimani-
Adadi see § 467.
In line 11, the scribe omitted the u after the second lu.
666. No. 184. The upper right-hand corner and lower left-
hand corner are lost, but only about four lines are entirely gone.
Red.
The seller's name is lost. He sold his slave Ahu-li to
Ti , the mukil apdte, for half a mina of silver, royal
standard. Dated, the i 6th of Addaru, B.C. 667. Only six
witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C", D\ S,, S,{?).
There never were more than four lines on the reverse. There is
a space after line 3, before the date. I have omitted to note the
seal space on the obverse after line i. The possible penalty of
'releasing' the slave in case of dispute is discussed in § 612. The
slave's name Ahu-li is discussed in § 523. I can suggest no re-
storation for the buyer's name.
412 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In line 14, before the ditto sign, the traces of a7nelu seem
probable. The last sign of rev. line i may be 7ii. At the end of
line 2, a name ending in -ahatCii seems improbable. Perhaps there
were two witnesses named in this line, Hata, and another whose
name ended in ^, but then we should expect SI before Hatai. On
Marlarim, the name of the Eponym, see § 472.
667. No. 185. Almost the whole obverse is lost. The reverse
is nearly perfect. Drab.
Samas-ilai, an official of Diir-Sargon, sells a slave.
The slave's name and that of the buyer are lost. Dated,
the i6th of Addaru, B.C. 666. Thirteen witnesses.
Pk,D .... ,S,{F,\
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
^ • • • •
For Samas-ilai see § 560. The list of witnesses suggests that the
buyer w^as Rimani-Adadi, see § 467. For the name of the first
witness, Uarbis, see § 515; for Samas-sar-usur, Sakan, Nabti-erba,
see § 467.
For Nabii-sezib, see § 481 ; Abu-ul-idi, see § 494; Istar-dCiri, § 486;
Sairu, § 560; Nabtl-aplu-iddin, § 492.
Mannu-ki-Harran was the name of a witness and rakbu GAB-
MES, as here, in b.c. 670, on no. 421 ; in B.C. 663, on no. 470; a
witness and rakbu, B.C. 670, on no. 420; a witness, in b.c. 668, on
no. 190; a witness and aba, on no. 193; a witness on no. 433.
Nabd-musezib is named also on K 975, as an dsu, and K 5478.
Dari-sarru is named in K 4 (b.c. 649), K 940, 1030, 1577, 13046;
on no. 853 ; and occurs as a specimen name, App. i, ix. 2. Si'dala
only occurs here. The name is Aramaic, see Harran Census.
The name of the Eponym, Gabbaru, in the form Ga-ab-ba-ru, is
given as the Eponym of B.C. 667, iii. R. i, vi. 14, with our form as
variant. As such he dates nos. 27, 200, and 83-1-18, 847 ; Ga-
ab-bar on no. 139; and Gab-bar-ru on no. 315, where he is sakrm of
Dur-Sin-ahe-erba. Our form occurs also as the name of a neighbour,
Ep. Q, on no. 81; of a seller, on no. 540 ; and in K 8741. The son
of Gabbari named Haianu occurs in 111. R. 7, 11. 24 and 111.
R. 8, 83.
668. No. 186. Only the upper portion is preserved.
Ilu-eres sells his slave Aa-turi to wSilim-Asur for thirty
shekels of silver. Dated, the ist of Addaru, b.c. 674. At
least ten witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S,, ...
AND DOCUMENTS. 413
In the head-line, the date is wrongly given, it should be h.c. 674.
There is a seal space after line 2. In line 2, tlie slave is called ynari
iadihii^ in line 7, maru smjtu^ but in line 3, ardu su sa Ilu-cres.
I conclude that maru^ literally *a son,' was used to denote a *boy'
slave. But it may be that Ilu-eres really sold his son, being able
to regard him as 'slave,' in virtue of his parental power.
Ilu-eres was the name of a borrower, B.C. 692, on no. 69 ; of a
witness and at ft of the Palace, on no. 255. The name of the slave
Aa-tdri is discussed in § 653; Silim-Asur in § 488.
The name of the first witness, Sin-ilai was borne by a witness and
musarkis, Ep. Z, on no. 105 ; occurs in K 1065. l)r Bezold, Cata.
p. 2189 a, reads AN-BU-AN-a-a in in. R. 50, 2, 15, as Sin-ilai.
I prefer Seru-ilai for this name. For Erba-Adadi see § 504 ; for
Abdi, § 512.
The next name is uncertain. The last sign may be UD or na.
Alahha-Samas or Alahhanna are unusual. But in App. 3, in. 12 we
have Alahha-AN as a specimen name. Hence Alahha-Samas here
and Alahha-ilu there seem most likely. Comparing Akabbi-ilu, we
may suppose a root lahu^ whence also may be derived Lahe-ili in the
Harran Census. If so, the latter need not mean 'the jaws of God.'
Compare, for the root, the still obscure Beer-lahai-roi, Gen. xvi. 14.
Hommel compares the S. Arabian Luhai-'Atht and Luhu'atu with
Lahai-roi. The Luhuatu were an Aramaean tribe, 11. R. 67, 5.
That places were called 'jaws,' from some resemblance to the
cheekbone of an animal, is obviously likely. There is a land (or
mountain?), Luhu, in Sugi, i. R. 12, 10; a land Luhiiti is named by
Asurnasirpal, i. R. 25, 82, 83. But the most convincing name is
Luh-barbari in K 1668 b. We know that barbaru is a wild animal,
say a 'jackal,' H. W. B. p. 182 a. What more likely than 'jackal's
jaw ' for a place name ? Compare Samson's Lehi. There is a place
called perhaps Halzi-luha, i. R. 19, 103. All these place names
permit of a meaning 'jaw' as applied to a peak, or jagged cliff; but
they leave the verb rather vague. There was a verb Alahu in
Assyrian, H. W. B. p. 66 a. The element nt>K occurs in Sinaitic
names, see N. E. p. 217a, which may be Arabic.
The next name Adadi-nagi only occurs here. It seems to contain
the rare element nagi. Natunu only occurs here. The Assyrians
adopted the verb 7iatd?iu alongside naddnu^ and Natanu occurs fairly
often as a proper name. Compare the king of the 'Sea-land,'
83-1-18, 121 ; Natannu in Rm. 215; Natan, in K 1095, 1210 and
414 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
a principal, B.C. 68 1, on no. 269. Later we find Na-ta-an^ S. A. V,
6169. The name Natanu-Iama occurs in 82-7-14, 550 ; Natini was
the name of an irrisu, with his people, in Asihi, no. 742. These
seem foreign, if Semitic names. Rahime seems to be the genitive
of Rahimu, which occurs on no. 741. Compare Rahima in the
Harran Census, and Rahimu-sarru, the name of a witness, and miikil
apdte dannu^ Ep. S, on no. 352. For Istar-na'id, see §572; for
Marduk-sum-usur, see §513; for the Eponym Nabti-ahe-iddin, see
§499-
What the traces in the last line were meant for, I do not know.
I believe they were intended to be erased, or something was written
over the first words. At any rate tukultu rabu makes good sense.
669. No. 187 is just the lower portion of a tablet. Slate grey.
Mukinu-Asur sells a slave to Rimani-Adadi, the chief
mukil apdte^ for one (?) mina of silver, Carchemish standard.
Date lost. At least five witnesses.
...Ac, C, C\D\S,,S^{F),F.
This may well be a duplicate of no. 183. It is difficult to see
why Dr Bezold doubted this being a contract. In the Catalogue,
p. 232, he quotes lines 8-13.
The character at the end of fine i is possibly Asur, the end of
the seller's name ; in line 4 there are two GARs after alu. In line
II, in place of a read an. In line 12 insert su after mare. In line 3
of rev. the last three signs are better read ina ume, AS UD-ME.
The principals are the same as in no. 183. The slave's name is
not preserved. The first witness was a salsu, I expect the second
was Ubarbisi, see § 515. It would be futile to guess the others.
670. No. 188. Only the upper right-hand portion is preserved,
but there need be no doubt of the nature of the transaction. Dark
brown.
Mukinu-Asur sells his slave, whose name ended in Istar.
Dated, the 21st of..., h.c. 669. At least four witnesses.
Pk, D...
Same seller as in no. 183. The slave's name is different. From
the date and presence of at least two nnikil apdte among the witnesses,
one may conjecture Rimani-Adadi to be the buyer. In line 2, for
sd read sa. The title was perhaps salsu sa pdni ckalli. The scribe
wrote a sign like us with the final vertical omitted. In reverse, lines
2 and 3 ended m pa-te, probably part of ffiukil apdte. In rev. 6, the
signs may be hi-da-ba, perhaps part of a city name, of which Samas-
AND DOCUMENTS. 4^5
kasid-aibi was saknu. There is a wide space between line 3 and tlic
date.
The Eponym's name, Samas-kasid-aibi, is discussed in § 507.
Nadin-ahe, or Iddin-ahe, is discussed in § 473.
671. No. 189. Very fragmentary and the surface much flaked
away, so that there is no hope of finding the lost portions. Light
red.
Line 7 shews that a single male slave was sold. Line 4 gives the
price as so many shekels of silver. In line 3, what I have given as
il-ki may be alu Diir The date was the 4th of Kislimu, B.C. 692.
Ac, C, C\D\S,,S.,{F,)...
The Eponym's name is discussed in § 476.
672. No. 190. Only the upper half. Dark red.
Nik-ilani sells his slave Lusakin to the sakintu of Kabal
Niniia for one (?) mina of silver, standard named but now
lost. Dated, the 22nd of Nisanu, B.C. 668. At least
thirteen witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C.
The name of the seller Nik-ilani was borne also by a witness, son
of Nergal-ilai, Ep. Q, on no. 446 ; by a witness and bel kdta sa sarri,
on no. 80; by a witness, on nos. 265 and 355. The allied form
Nik-ili occurs in K 505, and as a specimen name, App. i, viii. 31.
The name of the slave, Lusakin, is discussed in § 486.
In line 3 of rev. the witness Abi-diiri bears a name borne by the
borrower on no. 106 ; it occurs on no. 544, and as a specimen, App. i,
XI. 23. A name ending in aid is curious, perhaps it ended in dald.
Mannu-ki-ali is not likely. The name may have ended in Arbailu,
Harran, or Ninila. It is a question whether Dur-belia is complete.
It only occurs here. Ramiti only occurs here and in Rm. 59.
Compare Ramatia, in i. R. 46, iv. 21. Nabil-upahhir was also the
name, of a seller, B.C. 691, on no. 286; and occurs as a specimen
name, App. i, iv. 46. The name could be read also Nabii-nammir ;
see AN-PA-nam-7nir, the name of a witness, B.C. 683, on no. 273;
of a witness, on no. 638 ; and a specimen name, App. i, iv. 47.
For the name of the Eponym, see § 472.
673. No. 191. An upper piece, perhaps half. Drab.
Asur-na'id, son of Marda..., sells his slave. The buyer's
name and the price are lost. Dated, the i 8th ofTisritu, B.C.
698. At least four witnesses.
Ps, D.
4l6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Line i of rev. is very doubtful, line 2 names some ' boatmen.'
Line 3 contains the end of the name Rahime-ilu, which only occurs
here. Compare § 668 for Rahim6. The name of his city is very
uncertain, Hatpina, Hatpiti, are the most likely. Nabli-sum-lisir is
discussed in § 465; the Eponym, Sulmu-sarri, in § 517.
674. No. 192. Now that K 399, 7357, 10448 and 13056 are
joined we have an almost complete text. The joins, however, shew
that there were more slaves than one. Notes on this text will be
found in the section devoted to the sales of several slaves, after no.
258, of which it is a duplicate.
No. 193. The text was in a bad state when I copied it, but
having been cleaned it is now certain that the sale referred to a single
female slave. It will therefore be commented on after no. 221.
No. 194. About half the tablet, the upper portion, is preserved.
Slate grey.
Sesaka, the rab bttt, sells his slave. ..ri to...iiari. Dated,
the istofTebetu, B.C. 677.
Fk, n, Ac.
In line 2, the other amel is preferable. The last sign may be na^
in place of nu. The seller's name seems to be a compound of Se,
which is very likely the same as Si', the god so common in the
Harran Census. The second element sakd is probably Semitic.
The name only occurs here. The ending ri is rare in names. But
Tur-ri-i is not unlikely, in view of Tu-ri-i, the name of the scribe of
81-2-4, 99) which also occurs on K 836, 1863. I am inclined to
compare Turi, see § 653. The buyer's name ends in iiari, compare
Sanduari, Maribeuari, and see Harran Census. The amelu in line 2,
and ardiisu in line 3, shew that we are concerned with only one slave.
Dr Bezold, Cata. p. 1881, says 'slaves.'
In the witnesses, Sin-ahu-usur only occurs here : as does Sin-sum-
iddina. The name Se-seki is very like the seller's, only occurring
here. The next name is difficult. Salsali or Raksali only occurs here.
In fact the whole tablet is concerned with a foreign people, probably
Aramaic. The Eponym Abi-ramu was Eponym B.C. 677, iii. R. i,
v. 4. He was sukallu rabu in the fourth year of Esarhaddon, as
appears from in. R. 2, 50, no. xxiii., and the date on no. 72. He
dates nos. 576 and 701. In the text I have given me for ;;//'.
675. No. 195. 'iiie upper half Light grey, to black.
Sin-na'id sells his slave AhClsi to Musallim-Adadi.
Dated, the 3rd of Simanu, B.C. 73o(?).
AND DOCUMENTS. 417
Ps, D, Ac.
Sin-na'id is discussed in §475- I'hc slave name could be read
Ahu-Samsi, but in view of Alnlsu, in § 508, which may be read
AhA-erba, I think AhOsu is meant in both cases, for Ahftt-su.
Musallim-Adadi was discussed in § 409. The Eponym's name is
a puzzle, Liphur-ilu is quite admissible. Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 106,
considers the Eponym identical with Naphar-ilu, the Eponym of
B.C. 730, III. R. I, IV. 40, also a saknu of Kirrdri. Our form of the
name is supported by Liphuru, name of a witness, of alu Kapar....
But I doubt any such early contracts from Nineveh. Perhaps this
tablet came from Kalhu.
676. No. 196. Almost complete below the seal space. Red.
Bel-ibni and Ki sell Istar-taribi, a red itnere, to
Summa-ilani for one mina and a half of silver, royal
standard. At least five witnesses.
Ac^ C, C , x/ , Oj , Oo....
In line 4, after sarri the scribe seems to have written AS :
perhaps for Assur, but I think it was accidental. The name Istar-
taribi is discussed in § 493, Bel-ibni in § 505. The other buyer's
name began perhaps with Ki-ri, but I know of no parallel to that.
The witness in line 4, of reverse, seems to bear the name Zer-kitti-
ukin, which only occurs here. We may compare Zer-kitti-lisir, in
K 1 106, 2889. For Kannunai, see § 407. Some way below line 6
are traces of a line, which may have the signs MES and amelii.
677. No. 197. Upper portion. Drab.
Adadi-raba, the tamkaru^ sells his slave Kamabani,
a native of Tabal, to Girhai a captain of fifty, for one
mina and seven shekels of silver. Dated, the 22nd of
Tebetu, B.C. 645. Six witnesses preserved.
Pk,D, Ac, C, C...
In line 2, the second sign is clearly meant for amelii. The
SI-MES is peculiar. Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 148 ff., gave this text
in transliteration and translation. He renders the line des Herrn
des Mannes... der gegeben ist. He has a note on SI MRS: tmklar,
wie hier zu fassen. Ahnlich ivie S. 126, iv. 6? On page 126 he
transliterates SI-MES, of line 7, in K 400, my no. 83, by pd?ii, and
has a note on that, etwa als ipinnima (cf. Baby I. Vertrdge, 358, 18)
aufzulosen} So, to the translation of our text, on p. 149, he
appends a note, Nach der Vermuthung i?i der Anmerkung; des
Mannes, der friiher gegeben ist.
J. III. 27
41 8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
I may remark, after careful recollation, that the sign before
SI-MES was never finished. I believe the scribe began to write
the sign SAM, S'' 203, saw that he had omitted atnci, and left what
he had written to stand for it without completing it properly. He
then had no room for SAM, so started to write Stme, and actually
spelt it SI-MES. The sign SAM is used in no. 182, Une 3. There
are traces of the sign AN, which forms part of SAM. In no. 83,
the reading /^;z/ 'before,' or * former,' is admissible.
Our scribe was careless or inexperienced, for in line 2, of reverse,
he should clearly have written SI Habani SI Aba-a-ilu, but he
omitted the second SI.
The name Adadi-raba is discussed in §475- The name Kama-
bani only occurs here. As he was a foreigner, it is not clear that
bani is a verb. If so, Kama should be a god in Tabal. The name
Girhai only occurs here. The name Habani only occurs here ; but
compare Habban in V. R. di, vi. 19. Habahuru is the name of a
neighbour, Ep. K, on no. 329. Habanamru was the king of Puda',
III. R. 15, IV. 22. Hababa is the name of a witness, on no. 438.
The next name is not clear. Abati is possible, but Aba-a-AN is
what seems to have been written. The name Pisinisi is discussed in
§ 506 ; Rimani-ilu, in § 473.
The Eponym Belsunu was assigned to B.C. 646, by G. Smith in
his Assurbanipal, on account of the events recorded on Cyl. B,
III. R. 34, 94 b. He also dates K 78 where he is saknu of Hindana,
and the letters 80-7-19, 262, 82-5-22, 533, Bu. 91-5-9, 5. The
name also occurs in the letters K 1107, 1250, 1895, 7515, and in
the form AN-EN-su-nu, in K 986, 1929, 7355 ; Rm. 60. Perhaps
he is referred to K 12991. The name occurs in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. V. 237.
678. No. 198. Rather more than half, upper portion.
Chocolate.
As<i sells his slave Atarhamu tg Tarhundapi for thirty-
two shekels of silver. Dated, the 30th day of Addaru,
B.C. 697.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D', S„ S^, {F,, F,).
The name Asli occurs as that of a witness, B.C. 659, on no. 233.
In our form A-si-i it is the name of a witness, Ep. D, on no. 622,
and with a variant Assi occurs in the Harran Census. Whether it
really is the same as As77, 'physician,' is not clear. Atar-hamu
occurs in the form A-iar-ha-aui, on K 1897. Tarhundapi is the
AND DOCUMENTS. 419
name of a slave sold, B.C. 686, on no. 443 ; of the saknu of Halsu,
no. 857, II. 39; a sakfiu, no. 860, i. 19.
In line 6, I now see that the price was thirty-two shekels, not
thirty-three as I gave. In line 12, insert e after te. In rev. line 2,
the scribe did not write alu at the beginning of the line. In line 3,
there is not room for ana esrate^ what the scribe wrote is hard to say.
On the whole I believe he erased the beginning of esrate, though he
left te at end. He therefore probably intended to say, 'he shall
return the full price kaspu gamur to its owners.' If this be correct,
we have a new variant to F^,.
The first name in the list of witnesses is difficult to restore from
these traces. In line 6, LUL is probably part of the title. In line
7, we may perhaps restore Barzia, compare the Barzia, of Burammu,
no. 899, III. 9; K 10119 and the brother of Cambyses, iii. R. 39,
12, 13, 21. Nunua is a singular name, recaUing the father of
Joshua, Nun; and the Nunia of no. 57, name of a witness, B.C. 644.
Whether it has the same root as the next name Nani, or whether
both are lall names, I am not prepared to decide. Nani is the name
of a witness dcs\^ pirhinu of Nabti, Ep. R, on no. 642 ; probably the
same, Ep. R, on no. 642 ; of a neighbour on no. 425 ; a citizen of
Kar-enabis, on 899, i. 29; occurs in 83-1-18, 155, and the Harran
Census. The form Na-a-7ii meets us in Rm. 58 ; Na-a-ni-i on
no, 877, B. E. I. Nania occurs as a serf, 'with his people,' on
no. 661. Nini occurs on no. 877, R. 4; Nine in K 9124; Ninea
on K 566. We may perhaps compare the goddess Nana, and the
cities Nina, Nintaa. That Nunua is connected with nwiu, 'a fish,'
is possible, but there is quite possibly a family relation between
these names. Compare the Palmyrene names •'ii and n"*:^, in N. E,
p. 323 a.
The name, in line 10, could be read Nabil-mukin, taking mu as
phonetic prefix to the ideogram DU. But I prefer Nabil-sum-ukin,
on account of the phonetic spelHng from later Babylonian texts,
S. A. V, 5879, where we have AN-AK-MU-DU, AN-AK-MU-
u-km, A N-AK-su-um-ii-ki-i7i. It is a specimen name, App. i. in. 37.
The Eponym Sulmu-Sarri is discussed, §517.
679. No. 199. Somewhat more than half the upper portion.
Red.
Asur-nasir sells his slave Ahu-li'ti to Samas-abu-usur
for fifty minas of bronze. The date and names of witnesses
are lost. A charge for seal.
27 — 2
420 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Ps, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S^, 6*2. ...
This seems to be a duplicate of no. i8i. In my copy I have
misplaced the seal space. It should follow line i, which seems to
shew that the scribe ruled the space before he began to write. In
line 4, the fifty is legible still/ though the lower two wedges are
faint. In line lo, the scribe wrote AMEL-MES for TUR-MES.
For the persons involved, see § 663.
680. No. 200. Nearly complete. Red.
Samas-ab{ia sells his slave Ahu-lamur, a saku, to
Rimani-Adadi, the chief mukil apaie of Asurbanipal,
king of Assyria, for half a mina of silver. Dated, the. ..of
Nisanu, B.C. 667. Eleven witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S„ S, {F,, F,\ R
The seller Samas-abtia is discussed in § 484. Ahu-lamur is the
name of a witness and rakbu GAB, B.C. 663, on no. 470 ; of a
witness and sa?tgu, on no. 255; of a witness and rab alani, on
no. 322 ; of a seller and mukil alpe sa ekalli, on no. 358 ; of a witness,
on no. 448 ; the father of Sulmu-sarri, Parsidu and Isdi-Asur, on
no. 714 ; of a nadin akli, on no. 811 ; occurs on no. 545. The buyer
Rimani-Adadi is discussed in § 467.
In line 8, the tablet has ki, not ki, at the end of the line. In
line 7, of reverse, before sa ekalli was possibly a ditto sign : or a
word of two short signs like salsu. In line 10, the scribe omitted
amel before rab urate.
Among the witnesses, ZerM is discussed m §515; Samas-sallim
in § 490 ; Nabti-erba, Nabu-sum-iddin, Salmu-sar-ikbi, in § 467 ;
Usani-ilu, in § 659.
Ginai occurs only here, compare Ginnai, the name of a witness,
on no. 493. AhCl-amur was the name of a witness, on nos. 433 and
633. With the name lada we may compare la-da- on K 661 ;
Ia-di-\ the name of a witness, of alu BI-KA-MES, on no. 404;
and in K 1881. The same element appears in lada-ilu, the name
of a witness and Itu'ai of Lakipu, B.C. 710, on no. 416; and of the
father of P>el-sallim, on no. 880. In face of ladanu, the name of a
witness, b.c. 680, on no. 360, we might be tempted to read these
ladan. I'ut the name Ilu-iada' shews us that iada stands alone.
This name was borne by a resident at Samas-nasir, in the pahdtu
of Arabha, often mentioned in the letters in connection with Me-
Turnat, Dftr-Sargon, etc., in K 63 b., 570, 661, 667, 679, 906,
1013, 1047, 1 1 76, 2908, 4779; Sm. 30 j 81-2-4, 95. It was the
AND DOCUMENTS. 42 I
name of the siik?iu of Dilrilu, on the Sargon Stone, n.c. 726, P. A. S.
p. 7. Further, the name Ilu-iadinu, borne by a witness and rdd
ktsir, Ep. F, on no. 361 ; and by a witness and rdd kisir sa apil
sarrt\ on no. 345, points to iadi being a verb. Finally the name
A-a--dd' seems to be a variant of lada' in Sm. 30. Evidently we have
here a string of derivatives of the verb yT", 'to know.' The forms
iadi\ iada\ stamp the names as Aramaic, compare ^3V'''^^ and
perhaps ns rendered laSSatou in the genitive, see N. E. p. 285 a.
The Assyrian verb is Idji. Hence we may perhaps regard Adi, Idi,
as the Assyrian relatives of lada'; see § 583. For Gabbaru, see § 667.
Gula-zer-eres occurs only here.
681. No. 201. Nearly complete. I do not think there was
another line on the tablet. Both the bottom corners are gone, but
it is far more than half the upper portion. Buff.
Zunbu sells his son Nergal-etir to Aplia, the salsu of
the Crown Prince, Ardi-Belit, for two minas of silver,
Carchemish standard. Dated, the 12th of Ululu, B.C. 694.
One witness only is certain.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ U S,, B.
In line 4, the tablet is now clean and we may read probably the
other amelu. In line 6, the other form of TA is on the tablet. In
line 9, the second sign is si, not lak. On the reverse, after line 4,
there is room for another line. Of line 7, the traces are worthless,
except ba at end. There is a space before the date.
Professor Oppert, in his Droit de Lignager, p. 573, considers this
document among others. He reads the seller's name as Sunba, his
son as Nergal-nasir ; Apliya he takes to be scBur troisihne d^ Ardi-Belit.
He takes the sibtu bennu clause as conferring liberty and repose for
a hundred days. He adds nous rCavons aucune indication sur la
moralite des contractants.
The seller's name Zunbu I take to be zumbu, 'fly.' It only
occurs here. The name Nergal-etir only occurs here in our docu-
ments ; but is named, usually as the writer of astrological reports,
in K 526, 560, 701, 702, 722, 729, 739, 741, 749, 763, 783, 799,
842, 856, 901, 907, 926, 972, 1302, 1306, 1309, 1322, 1342, 1369,
1894, 4708, 7376, 8861; Sm. 1062; Rm. 54, 191, 194, 196, 197;
81-2-4, 103, 136; 81-7-27, 23, 95, 112; 82-3-23, 112; 82-5-22,
49^ 57; 83-1-18, 171, 172, 173, 208, 221, 302; Bu. 91-5-9, 7.
These clearly do not all refer to the same person. That in Rm. 54
is a rab ali of Padanu. In K 7376 the name is associated with the
422 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Itu'ai. In K 560 he names Daltai ; in K 526, writes about horses;
in K 749 he names Uddanu (?) ; in K 926 we learn that his brother
was called Ibbutu. In our case, he is consistently called the ' son '
of Zunbu, throughout the text ; he fetched a high price, and was
sold to the Crown Prince. For Aplia see § 518.
Ardi-Belit is discussed in § 534. Clearly this was the son of
Sennacherib ; and, Asur-nadin-sum, late king of Babylon, having
died in captivity in Elam, Ardi-Belit was Crown Prince. Esarhaddon
was either a younger son, or had been given the kingdom of Babylon.
Nothing can be made of the names of the witnesses, from the traces
left. The Eponym, Ilu-ki-ia has been discussed in § 520.
682. No. 202. Barely half the tablet is preserved, upper part.
Drab.
Sastitu, Bel-sar-usur and Akburu sell their slave.
Dated, the 28th of Nisanu, B.C. 670. Seven witnesses.
Pk,D, Ac, F.
In line 4 it is probable that the line began with a numeral,
followed by amele, then by bel ameli tadani. In line 5, the name of
the slave may have ended in ilani, but then AN was written over
something else. In line 7, the end of mu and part of Ml are
preserved. Hence the buyer probably was a mukil apate. The list
of witnesses and date suggest Rimani-Adadi as the buyer.
Sasutu only occurs here; compare nyvty, N. E. p. 381 b. The
second seller Bel-sar-usur bears a name discussed in § 508 : the third
name is discussed in § 534. Among the witnesses Zamama-erba bears
a name afterwards that of a witness and salsu, b.c. 664, on no. 377 ;
in B.C. 663 on no. 470 ; of a witness and mukil apate sa apil sarrt,
on no. 477; of witnesses, on nos. 471 and 611. The name was
borne also by Ep. R on no. 642 and occurs App. 3, xii. 4. NabCl-
usezib is discussed in § 479 ; Mannu-ki-Asur, in § 409 ; Mannu-
ki-sarri, in § 534; Dannai in § 416; Nabtl-zer-iddin in § 467;
Nabu-sar-usur in §523: the Eponym, Sulmu-bcl-laS^me in §503.
683. No. 203. Rather more than half the lower portion.
Brown.
Nabu-nasir sells a slave to Rimani-Adadi, the chief
mukil apate of Asurbanipal, king of Assyria, for a mina
of silver, Carchemish standard. Date and witnesses are
lost.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F„ F,), F
G. Smith, Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112, refers to line 5 of reverse.
AND DOCUMENTS. 423
For the buyer Rimani-Adadi see § 467. Nabd-nasir, written
AN-PA-PAP^ is the name of a witness B.C. 687, on no. 317; of
a witness, B.C. 682, on no. 679; of witness, sa ginisa B.C. 698, on
no. 328; of the father of Sin-§ar-usur, on no. 446; of the father of
Kudur, K 473; in K 724. The form AN-PA-PAP-ir meets us as
the name of a witness, B.C. 683, on no. 447 ; of a witness, B.C. 674,
on no. 404 ; of an aba and father of Adadi-nasir, on no. 362 ; on
no. 680; in 83-1-18, 106; and as a specimen name App. i, i. 19.
The form AN-AK-PAP is the name of the father of Sa-Nabli-su, in
Erech, B.C. 648, on K 433; in K 1181, and in later Babylonian
texts, 6". A. V. 5831. The form AN-AK-PAP-ir occurs in K 482,
4291 ; 83-1-18, 165 ; Bu. 91-5-9, 73. The form AN-AK-SIS-ir
occurs in K 1895, 61 18; 81-7-27, 48 : AN-AK-na-si-ir^ on iv. R. 38,
II. 34 : AN-AK-?ia-str, in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 5831.
684. No. 204. About one third of the tablet, upper part, is
preserved. Bright red.
Sasti sells a slave, also called Sasu. Dated, in Sabatu,
B.C. 667. Six names of witnesses preserved.
Pk, D
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 94.
Whether Nabua, in line 4, is the name of the buyer I cannot
decide. If so, the usual sequence is departed from. The word
manzazu if followed by pdni would be a title. But the signs are
far from certain. The scribe omitted to give the day of the month,
in the date. The name Sasti is discussed in § 486 ; Nabua in § 486 ;
the witness Mannu-ki-Arbaili, in § 413; Siikai in §484; Tebetai, in
§ 521 ; Sarru-lildari, in § 496.
Sil-Sin only occurs here. Bel-ahu-iddin occurs as the name of a
witness and rakbu nakanti B.C. 681, on no. 277 ; of a witness,
B.C. 668, on no. 204; of a seller, on no. 355 ; of a Babylonian
fisherman, assigned to Summa-Adadi, the saknu^ on no. 771; of
the son of Nabti-kasir, grandson of Nabii-li', of the clan Egibi,
dedicated to Bel, on no. 889 ; of the father of Bel-balat, on no. 880 ;
and in K 1475. ^"^ these cases the name is written EN-PAP-AS.
The form AN-EN-SIS-MU occurs in K 1135 ; 48-7-20, 116; and
in later Babylonian texts, »S. A. V. 1123.
685. No. 205. An upper fragment. Drab.
A priest of Asur, sells a slave whose name ends in
. . . im.
Pk,D.
424 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
No. 206. Now that Sm. 1249 is joined to K 451, which was
done after most of the class had been printed off, we have most of
the right half of the tablet ; from which nearly all can be restored.
Buff to brown.
Belit-usala sells his slave. .. eres, to...Asur. Dated
in B.C. 648. About twenty witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S,, S, {F,, F,\ F, F' ,
I was led to place this document here from its formula. In
line 4, we seem to have the end of ubala, which might point to a
mortgage. The characters at the end of line 5 suggest sakintu, but
the suflfix su points to the buyer being a man. I take Asur, in line 6,
to be the end of his name ; but if sakintu is right, this may be part
of her title, Kabal Asur.
Belit-usala only occurs here. Dr Bezold, in the Catalogue,
omitted to note the date. The name of the Eponym, discussed
i^ § 553> is badly written. Bel may be followed by gab, but that
is, of course, less likely. Among the witnesses, Ninip-erba only
occurs here ; Bel-sar-usur is discussed in § 508 ; Asur-nadin-ahi is
the name of a witness and sangu, on no. 209 ; of a witness, Ep. S,
on no. 311; of a seller, son of Siltiba-Istar, Ep. E, on no. 711 ;
Bel-Harran-balat only occurs here; Tebetai is discussed in §521;
Hadi' only occurs here, but compare Hadia, an irrisu, 'with his
people,' in Ilu-sale, on no. 742 ; Nargi is discussed in § 409.
AND DOCUMENTS. 425
SALES OF A SINGLE FEMALE SLA VE.
686. In nos. 207-228 we have the sales of a single female
slave. In nearly all respects they contain a text which follows the
same general conception as the sales of a single male slave ; except
that, of course, some of the predicates are usually made feminine.
A transliteration and translation of no. 207 will serve as a model
for all the rest.
Transliteration.
1 Kunuk Bei-ahesUy
2 mar Samas-abila, (amel) rakbu scpa,
3 bel ai?iilti tadani.
4 Arba-ilu-sar-rai^ amtasu
5 sd Bel-ahesu, up-pis-ma
6 Ki-sir-Asur, {amel) rab ki-sir viKtir puti
7 sd apil sarri, ina lib-bi i \ i7ia?ie kaspi,
8 istu pdni Bel-ahesu il-ki.
9 {Amiltu) sd-a-tu up-pu-sat^
I o zar-pat^ lak-ki-at ; kas-pii
I I gam-mur ta-ad-din ; tu-a-ru
12 dabdbu la-as-su.
13 Ana ma-te-me, lu-u Bel-aMsu^
{i;^2i)lu-u mdresu, mdr-?ndresUj
14 sd di-e-nu da-ba-bu
15 istu Ki-sir-Asur
B. E. I fndresu ub-ta-u-ni
2 kas-pu a-na esrdte ana bcli-su
3 ii-tar; di-7ii-su idabub-??ia
R. I la i-lak-ki
Then follow the witnesses and date.
Traftslation.
1 The seal of Bel-ahesu,
2 son of Samas-abua, the rakbu sepd,
3 legitimate owner of the woman transferred.
426 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
4 Arbailu-sarrat, the handmaid
5 of Bel-ahesu,
6 Kisir-Asur, the rab kisir and muttr piiti
7 of the Crown Prince, has made a bargain and, for a mina
and half of silver,
8 from Bel-ahesu has taken (her).
9 This woman has been bargained for,
10 bought, taken; the money
11 is complete, is given ; a return
12 (or) plea shall not be.
13 On any occasion, whether it be Bel-ahesu
(13a) or his sons, (or) his grandsons,
14 who seek a decision or plea
15 from Kisir-Asur,
B. E. I (or) his sons,
2 the money tenfold to its owner
3 shall return ; his plea he shall plead and
R I shall not receive.
A few comments will bring out the special force of the terms
used. In line 3, the woman is called simply SAL, ' a female body ' ;
this I read amiltu, after Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 122. It will be noted
that tadani retains its form, for a female slave, see no. 208, Hne 2 ;
where the woman is the sister of the seller, and SAL is replaced by
ahdtusu. In line 4, the maidservant is named. The names of these
female slaves can be collected easily from the abstracts which follow.
She is specified as amtasu sa, ' the maid servant ' of her owner. This
expression replaces the ardusu sa in the sales of a male slave. It is
written SAL-LAT-su sd. We may not read sallatsu, for the scribe
would have written that sallatsu, as, in no. 208, he writes ahdtsu.
Nor can we read auidtsu, for the same reason. It must be read
aintusu, or amtisu under the influence of the suffix su, if we take the
nominative. But as the word is the object of the verbs uppis and
///'/, I prefer to read amtasu. So, in no. 211, line 5, we read
amtasunu, 'their handmaid.'
The woman sold, in no. 210, is called A-SAL, vidrtii, 'the
daughter ' of the seller. In that text her specification has been lost
from Hne 3; in line 11, she is called a^ntu. This raises, but does
not decide, the question whether indrtu may not have been used
simply in the sense of 'girl.'
AND DOCUMENTS. 427
In no. 213, the usual sd is replaced by sa ; in no. 214, it is
omitted, and the name of the seller is not given in this clause ; in
no. 217, the su is omitted and sd used alone. In our text, line 5,
uppis is unusual, u/>is generally occurs, but in nos. 208, 209, iupisxs
used, the buyers being ladies. In our case, line 7, the price paid
is large, a mina and a half of silver. The standard is not named.
The same price in nos. 208, 217, is Carchemish standard. In
no. 213, the same price is said to be kaspu kinu.
Abstracts of nos. 207-228.
687. No. 207. Complete. Brown.
Bel-ahesu, son of Samas-abtla, a rakbii sepd^ sells his
maid Arbail-sarrat to Kisir-Asur, the rdb kisir inutir piiii
of the Crown Prince, for a mina and half of silver.
Dated, the 3rd of Sabatu, Ep. B. Eighteen witnesses.
The date is quoted, Ep. Ca?i. p. 97.
The old Guide, p. 175, no. 45, says it is 'the sale of Arbail-sarrat
by Bel-ahesu to Kisir-Asur for ij mana of silver. Ep. Sin-sar-usur,
B.C. 643.'
The text is published, iii. R. 46, no. i ; and C. I. S. p. 25 f; with
transliteration and translation.
A transliteration and translation of it are given by Oppert,
£>oc. fur. p. 201 f: and by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 150 f. Dr Bezold,
Lit. p. 148. A I, calls it a Kaufvertrag, icber den Vei'kauf von
Sclaven. Dr Peiser calls it Sclavenverkauf. Professor Oppert calls
it a Vente d' Esclaves.
The text in in. R., in line 2 gives AN-SU iox AN-UD; so C. I. S.
In line 10, in. R. gives su sab for zar. In line 11, in. R. and C. I. S.
give a for ad. After line 13, in. R. and C. I. S. give a whole line
correctly, which I have omitted in error. It is (13 a) in the trans-
literation and translation above. In reverse, line 5, in. R. and
C. I. S. give bit for ma; in rev. 8, both have Jtu for FAP\ and in
line 10, ki for ku. So far as I can see, both Oppert, in Doc. Jur.^
and Peiser, in K. B. iv, followed in. R.
In Doc. fur., Oppert reads the slave's name as Arbail-asirat ; for
(amel) rdb kisir he gives turgal-kisir ; for G UR-ZAK he reads alu
kab-bi-lu ; for sa apil sarri has sa a-nis ; in rev. 2, he reads the
witness's name as Atazuri ; in line 5, for Armai, has ub-bit-a; in
line 13, reads the name Ri?n-Asar [bit sat) ri\ in line 15, has
428 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Bel-kaS'Sar-usur. Dr Peiser corrected these errors ; corrected the
text in rev. 8, reading the name Sulmu-ahi; also in line lo, reading
Ku-sa-ai; in line 13, read Isid-i-kur-ri ; but in line 14 gave Zer-ukin.
Undoubtedly both these scholars gave the general sense correctly,
but to clear the ground I must point out some places where I differ
from them. In line 2, I read rakbu sepd. Oppert has rukub nirt, a
tempting reading ; Peiser has rakkdb sipd. The official rakbu, so far
as I know, is never written rak-ka-bu, see H. IV. B. p. 619 b. He
was a messenger, doubtless, originally 'a rider,' whether in a chariot
or on horseback. The epithet sepd changes continually, in other
connections, with KI-TA, and so might be taken to mean an inferior
sort of rakbu. But here I believe it to be a title, for {amel) sa sepd,
very likely 'foot-soldiers.' Each battalion, of spearmen and archers,
seems to have had one or two chariots attached to it, occupied
probably by the officers of the regiment, as the officers of an infantry
regiment, with us, are mounted. But there was also a division of
charioteers, who seem to have taken a higher rank. Thus the simple
rakbu invariably takes precedence, in lists of witnesses, of the rakbu
sepd. I do not believe, however, that rakbu sepd means a foot
messenger, but an infantry (charioteer) officer. Oppert rendered his
rukub niri by auriga and by condudeur des chars \ Peiser left his
rakkdb sepd untranslated. I suppose rakkdb was taken to be a
construct, and a rider (?) of feet (?) seemed unintelligible.
In line 6, Peiser rendered rdb kisir mutir puti by der Sackel-
meister des Thilrstehers. I think that as rdb kisir was the higher
title, the official was rdb kisir of the body of mutir puti of the Crown
Prince, a sort of Colonel of the bodyguard.
On line i of the bottom edge, Peiser has the note, hier fehlt die
Phrase, dass der Kldger eine bestimmte Summe Geldes zu deponiren hat.
It is true that such a phrase is very common, but the penalty for
litigation is there right enough, in lines 18 and 19.
Peiser's renderings leave little to be desired and he seems to have
divined many secrets. In rev. line 3, aba is rendered Secretary
Oppert had magister. In line 3, Peiser realised that Oppert's sanu
was to be read saknu, GAR = sakdnu and its derivatives, and nu
being the phonetic suffix ; he rendered excellently Statthalter. In
line 6, Peiser clings to assat ekalli for tlie rendering of SAL ekalli\
the meaning Palastfrau is better than Oppert's magister feminarum
regiae, or pr epos e d la garde des femmes du Palais. The ' lady of the
Palace' is the title of a distinct personage, whether the Queen
AND DOCUMENTS. 429
Mother, or more probably the Queen Consort of the king. In
line 13, I prefer to read Isdi-ekurri.
The Aramaic inscription is quite clearly, as in. R. and C. I. S.
give, "lo'pmN nn. Peiser reads the name Arbil-sarre, C. /. 6". gave
Arbail-asir(at). The word for ' deed of sale ' then is danjiitu in
Assyrian, daiuiat in Aramaic, if this is not merely a transcription
of the Assyrian.
The seller's name Bel-ahesu occurs as that of a witness and
official of the rab , b.c. 688, on no. 240; and of the father of
Bel-iddina, on no. 891. The name of his father, Samas-abOa, is
discussed in § 484. Arbail-sarrat is also the name of the wife of
Mannu-ki-Ninip, pledged on no. 85 ; see § 490. The buyer Kisir-
Asur is discussed in § 405. Among the witnesses Ata-sliri is dis-
cussed in § 554; Sukkai in § 484.
V
Samas-re'ua only occurs here. Ammai is the name of a witness,
B.C. 68 T, on no. 30; of a commander of a troop, on no. 947. Compare
the city Amma, and Ammaia, the name of a serf, with his people,
on no. 661. The name, of course, is Aramaic, compare Amma-ba'li
in III. R. 6, R. 36, with its variants, Ammeba'la, i. R. 20, 12;
I. R. 22, 118, 119; Amme-ba'li, i. R. 20, 12; Ammi-pa'li, iii. R. 6,
R. 37, 47, names given by Asurnasirpal to a king of Bit Zamani.
Ammu-ladin, the king of Kidri, in, R. 35, no. 6, 14, 20; with the
variant Ammu-ladi, v. R. 8, 15, is another example. That the
termination ladi is Arabic is not clear. Compare Nabu-ladi in
the Harran Census. I take ladi to be for la-di-\ for la-di-i?i.
Whether Amme'ta' is another Avwiu compound is not clear. The
name was borne by the father of Aa-kamaru, clearly Aramaean, in
K562.
Nabta-aplu-iddin is discussed, in § 492 ; Kurdi-Adadi, in § 496.
Sulmu-ahi, as Peiser reads the name, in line 8, may well be Sulmu-
usur; it only occurs here. The related Sulmu-ahe is discussed in
§470, Salmu-ahe in § 575. The name Kusai was that of the witness,
Ep. A, on no. 2 ; of a neighbour on no. 429 ; and occurs in the
Harran Census. Bel-sar-usur is discussed in § 508. Asur-sum-ukin
was the name of a buyer and rab kisir sa sarri, on no. 252 ; of the
father of Zitai, on no. 711, and also of a witness and muttr ptiti
Ep. E, on no. 711. A more phonetic spelling is Asur-MU-BU-in,
name of a slave sold, on no. 296 ; still more phonetic Asur-MU-kt-i?i
on K 943, Sm. 1031. Isdi-ekurri only occurs here. Sum-ukin is
named also on K 13467, Sm. 545 ; and in the form MU-GI-NA, for
430 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
which see Mukinu, in § 665. It occurs on K 830 and in later
Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 809. Bel-Harran-sar-usur is named in
K 916. With a prefixed AN, it is the name of a witness, B.C. 671,
on no. 266; of a witness and salsu, B.C. 694, on no. 427 ; see also
no. 870. With alu inserted before Harran the same name occurs on
no. 507, as the name of a rdb biti and witness. Tabalai is dealt
with, in § 474 ; Hambaku only occurs here. Mannu-ki-Arbaili is
discussed in § 413; the Eponym Sin-sar-usur in § 476. Kisir-Nabu
is the name of a mahnasu, on no. 851; and occurs in 80-7-19,
34.
688. No. 208. Nearly complete. Drab.
Mannu-ki-Arbaili sells Bilikutil, his sister, to Sarpi,
the sakintu, for half a mina of silver, Carchemish standard.
Dated, the 27th day of Tebetu, B.C. 668. At least eleven
witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, {F„ F,\ F, B.
In line 6, bi and the vertical after it are not on the tablet. Hence
the price is one half mina, not one and a half mina as stated in § 686.
In fine 13, the wrong sa is given. In reverse, line 15, the last
character is Asur not AN. In line 2, of reverse edge, I have omitted
alu. On the left-hand edge, instead of a read TUR- US.
The text was published by Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 132 f, in trans-
literation and translation. The date is quoted, 11 1. R. 2, no. xxiv ;
in G. Smith's Assurbanipal, p. i3f, Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112, Ep. Can.
p. 94, Budge, H. F. p. 13; S. A. V. 4822, 5180; Tiele, Geschichte,
p. 371 and note 2.
The edition by Dr Peiser exhibits few differences from mine,
which fact will give the reader more confidence, as when I made
my copy, in 1894, I had not seen K. B. iv. In line 2, he restores
ani', nils sufficient. In line 5, the SAL before Sarpi is clear, and
though no amiltu precedes sakintu, it is certainly the title, not part
of the name. In line 6, I was for long certain of my reading, which
was correctly given by Dr Peiser. In line 7, Dr Peiser seems to
restore the last two characters. They are actually on the tablet.
In line 2 of the lower edge, Kalhi is actually on the tablet ; Dr Peiser
seems to regard it as a restoration. In reverse line 6, the name
begins with Summa, and therefore Iddin is wrong. In line 13, the
last character is certainly //, not su. In line 14, Dr Peiser reads the
name as Su-u, I regard this as ideographic, for Erba-Adadi. In
line 16, Dr Peiser reads the name as Nabu-bila-ai, I read it NabQa.
AND DOCUMENTS. 43 1
On the left-hand edge, Dr Peiser reads LAL-is as tarsi; surely it
ought to be read taris^ a construct (?) of tarsu.
The sale of a sister by her brother raises many questions.
Probably the eldest son of a family had, as its head, on his father's
death, the same paternal rights as the father. The girl may have
been his father's daughter by a slave mother and so not free. But
she was sold to a lady of such high rank that service with the
Princess (?) may have been considered a satisfactory settlement for
life. In such a service small trace of slavery may have appeared.
Nothing whatever can be built upon this single instance, save the
fact that a man technically had the right to sell his sister, in some
cases. In later Babylonian times a brother gave his sister in marriage ;
Peiser, B. F. 92 and p. 128.
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 267, gives a translation of this
text : he regards it as the sale of seiner eigenen Frau von Seite eifies
zdrtlichen Gatten. In his article Le droit de Lig?tager, p. 573,
Professor Oppert gives another translation of this document. He
does not think a brother could sell his sister. He thinks that NIN
must mean maitresse ; but renders, throughout his translation, by
epouse. I do not know which Assyrian word he took to correspond
to NIN, but it must have ended in /, as the scribe writes NIN-su,
in line 3. In Hne 5, Dr Oppert gives without question, la marcha?ide
for sakintu. In line 12, he has gone a step beyond his old rendering
of izakupdni ; it is taken as de??ia?iderait a la femnie Zarpi, not deman-
derait a moi. He considers the sibtu be?inu clause to mean that a
holiday of a hundred days per year was to be allowed the slave.
He still renders aba by le chef juge. Ina tarsi he renders en presence
de, which I think nearly right ; and he gives a note on Dr Peiser's
rendering and very pertinently asks, why is ina tarsi so rarely
appended to dates, if it only means 'during the reign of? On
p. 574, he has a long remark on the sale of a wife. He supposes
that at Nineveh and Kalah, in Assyria, it was not a shameful deed
to sell a wife; but adds that in Babylon, among the thousands of
contracts, we know of not one such case. He compares the usages
at Rome and in Judaea, and is sarcastic at the expense of poor
Mannu-ki-Arbaili. It does not seem quite fair. It was no worse
than putting a sister into a convent, and very likely was an ex-
ceedingly good way of providing for the girl.
For Mannu-ki-Arbaili, see §413. The name Bilikutu only occurs
here. Sarpi only occurs here, the variant in line 13 gives a rare
432 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
value sar for the sign usually read zer. Among the list of witnesses,
the first seven names cannot be restored from the traces left.
Nabti-dur-kali only occurs, in the form Nabu-dur-kala, as a specimen
name, App. i, ii. 38. The name Erba-Adadi is discussed in § 504;
Kisir Asur in § 405 ; Nabiia in § 486 ; the Eponym Marlarim, in
§472.
689. No. 209. Now that Rm. 159 has been joined to K 1439,
the text is nearly complete. Drab.
Ahtiasu, acting for the hazdnu, sells Abi-lihia, his
maid, to the sakintu of Assur, for half a mina and five
shekels of silver. Dated, the fifth of Aaru At least
ten witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D, S^, S, (F,, F,\ F.
What actually was at the beginning of line 2 is hard to guess.
From line 6, we see that Ahuasu was over the house of the hazdnu.
The end of the hazdnu' s name suggests Ninip, or asartd, but there
is nothing to decide. On Ahuasu, or Ahtia-erba, see § 508. The
name of the slave is peculiar, in lihia we may have the root lahu
dealt with in § 668. In Hne 15, the third character is probably
meant for bel ; the fact that Ahuasu is acting for his master makes
the mention oi belsu very appropriate here. In line 16, it would be
better probably to restore TA SAL sakintu, or something similar.
In line 4, of reverse, pi may be a badly made pu, and di may be na.
In line 14, Professor Jensen suggested na for ka, and it is probably
so. In line 18, it is not clear whether any name stood before amelu.
The first two characters are not on the tablet. I think Nargi, in
line 17, was the aba. In line 4 of the obverse the whole line is on
the tablet.
Professor Zimmern, G. G. A. p. 248, suggests that the odd sign
in line 15, may be meant for 7ndr sipri. This is ingenious, and
then A-SIK was written. But I fancy the scribe began to write
mdrsu, as usual in this place, but recalled the fact that Ah{lasu's
master might take it into his head to repudiate his agent's transaction,
so tried to turn the first strokes into bel^ and left both horizontals
legible.
The date, in line 6, of reverse, is in an unusual place. How to
complete the name of the first witness is not clear. Samas-daru, see
§ 493 ; and Samas-daninani the name of the Eponym of B.C. 644,
bel pahdti of Babylon, K 1697, in. R. 26, 123, who dates nos. 4
and 57 ; are the only names I can recall that begin like this. If
AND DOCUMENTS. 433
the latter be correct, and the space suggests that it is, then it is very
hkely that here also he is an Eponym. If so, the scribe was in error
to put S/ at tlie beginning of the line. The name Sar-Nergal also
occurs as that of a buyer and rakbu^ on no. 509. NabCl-dumki-ilani
is a rather hazardous reading for the next name. The signs SI-PIR
denote damdku and its derivatives. But Nabu-damik-ilani seems to
me meaningless: see § 480. For Asur-nadin-ahi, rjee §685. Manani
only occurs here, but is frequent in compounds like Nashu-manani,
Si'-manani, Ser-manani, in the Harran Census. It may be abbre-
viated from one of these, and perhaps is Aramaic, compare pD, "•JDC,
N. E. p. 313 a, and the Hebrew Manaen. For Mannu-ki-NinOa, see
§ 474-
The name, in line 13, is difficult. Han-ahlisi is doubtful,
Han-ahu-lisir seems better, but why then should ahti be lengthened
by 21 ? The name only occurs here, but compounds of Han or Hani
are common in the Harran Census. The next name Adadi-natan, as
well as Manani, suggest that here we have three Aramaic names.
Adadi-natan is also found in 83-1-18, 75. For Himari, see § 660.
The ending nasi\ in Hne 16, does not lend itself to restoration, but
compare the Palmyrene ndj, Greek Ntcra, A^. E. p. 323. For Nargi
see § 409.
690. No. 210. Nearly complete. Red.
Rimani-ilu, a priest, sells Nana-da(?), daughter of
SCikai, his maid, to Bel-ilani-sitir (of?) Bel-killani, for
half (?) a mina of silver. Dated, the 20th of Abu, Ep. W.
Thirteen witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S„ S, (E, E,), E
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 100, where K 359 is given for
K 7682.
The text is badly damaged and in places hard to read. The
slave's name may end in //, but Nana-a-li is not likely. Nana-adalli
is possible; compare the names Ahi-dalli, Ahi-dalali, Adadi-dalli.
Nana-ada' is possible also. In line 7, Bel-ilani may be all the name.
It is not likely that it ended in //. The sign SI seems to be followed
by a division mark. But this may with the rest be taken as the
remains of TEE. What si'-Ur could mean here, either as the end of
a name, or as a word by itself, I do not know. One expects here
the title of an official, unless there were two buyers. But there is no
amc'/u to indicate a title. In line 3, of reverse, the traces of the
buyer's name are so uncertain that it is hard to say whether Ee/ or
J. III. 28
434 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
AN- EN was written. But there seems to have been only one
buyer's name there. Hence it seems likely that the signs, in line 7,
are meant for a title. If so, the {amel) was omitted, as is sometimes
done.
In line 10, I now think we should read ki not ki as the first sign.
In line 13, the traces oi su are too large for that sign, it was certainly
su. In line i, of reverse, the scribe put a superfluous vertical before a.
He seems to have meant to write Rim-ana-ili, with the vertical, and
then wrote a-ni partly over TIS^ without effacing it. In line 6, in
place of a-si-bi read a-sib-bi. Here again sib was written on //,
without quite effacing the first character. In line 17, after the
Eponym's name, one wedge appears ; the scribe began to write a
title, but either erased it, or it has been destroyed since. In the
first line of the left-hand edge, ma is uncertain, perhaps ba may be
meant. There is room for six or seven characters in the bracket.
I now think there were two separate names in this line. In the last
line, kab may be written in place of ki. But a city name ending in
ku-kab-na is not known to me, while Dikukina occurs in K 548 ;
Dikukina, as a country, in K 122; Di-kii-kin on no. 352.
For Rimani-ilu, see §473; for Sukai, §482. That Bel-ilani is
a complete name is proved by its occurrence as a specimen name,
App. 3, IV. no. Bel-killani only occurs here. For Sulmu-sarri, see
§517. Bel-Harran-ahu-usur is the name of a witness, B.C. 668, on
no. 472, and occurs in K 613, v. R. 54, 40 a. Bani is a very common
name. In this spelling it occurs as the name of a witness and aba^
B.C. 698, on no. 328, B.C. 683; on no. 447; B.C. 671, on no. 60; of a
witness, sanu sa rab dsti, B.C. 663, on no. 470; of a witness, B.C. 651,
on no. 387 ; B.C. 664, on no. 398; of a witness, Ep. a, on no. 22 ;
of a witness and saM of the Crown Prince, on no. 261 ; of a witness
and nuAa^immu, on no. 439 ; of a witness, on no. 605 ; witness and
ardu, B.C. 698, on no. 475. On no. 661, Bani is a serf, 'with his
people'; on no. 851, a bdru; on no. 811, a gardener; on no. 880,
the father of Aheia. He is named in K 512, 11437; Sm. 346;
83-1- 1 8, 544. In the form KAK-i the name is borne by a witness
and san^ sa rdb dsii^ B.C. 664, on no. 377.
The next name could be read Dugul, which is an element
occurring in several names, as DugulTstar, see §658; but Ukin-zer
is better probably. The name spelt like this was that of the king of
Bet Amukkani, king of Sapi, B.C. 729, 11. R. 67, 26, in the time of
Tiglath Pileser III., see Rost's Tiglath Pileser, and K, B. 11. p. i^
AND DOCUMENTS. 435
The same person may be alluded to in K 1095, 754° 5 81-2-4, 3^3?
where he is son of NabCl-eres ; 82-5-22, 131. But I think these
refer to a later date. It is a specimen name, App. i, xi. 26. Sa^f
is named on no. 854, as a rah batki. The next name DUG-GA-^I
can hardly be correct, if complete. It only occurs here, and can
hardly be restored from anything I know.
For Mannu-ki-Adadi, see §473. All the above seven witnesses
were from Hirana. This city is placed by Asurnasirpal, i. R. 25, 97,
in Adani (Bit-Adini ?), as Aramaean. In 11. R. 67, 5, Tiglath Pileser
III., names the a7?iclu Hiranu. The next short name may be Abda,
see § 512 ; this would be Aramaic also. On the lower edge, line i,
may be Bilai, the name of a witness, on no. 355. A people called
Bilai are named by Tiglath Pileser III., in iii. R. 9, 47. In the next
line, I can make nothing of Ki It seems to have been followed
by a single horizontal.
On the left-hand edge, the first name Hagabba (?) may be a badly
written Ha-am-ba, or Hammai, compare Reiser, A. S. xi. 19. We
may compare Hambi, a witness and chief goldsmith, on no. 244.
What followed is uncertain. In the next line Abdi-Bel is complete.
In the form Ab-di-BE, it is the name of witness and rdb sagulidte,
on no. 386. What the sign a means after it I do not know : perhaps
the beginning of aba, for the next line had evidently sdbit damiite.
All the last six, or seven, witnesses seem to have been from Dikukina.
What the a here means is not clear, unless perhaps the scribe wrote
Dikukinai. The ahe at the end is also difficult, unless it is the end
of a name.
The date is put in an unusual place, before the list of witnesses.
For the Eponym's name, see § 492.
691. No. 211. Now that K 1564 is joined to K 424, the text
is nearly complete. Red.
Asur-mat-utakkin and Gabbu-amur, sons of Gidda
sell their maid, Istar-rimeni, to Kakkullanu, rab kisir of
the Crown Prince, for half a mina of silver. Dated, the
29th of Tisritu Eleven witnesses.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F^), F, B.
In line 8, I have given the wrong amelu. In line 5, of reverse,
read TA for sd. At the end of hne 7, read ru for ra. Why the
scribe wrote a vertical, before bel in this line, is not easy to see.
He has omitted esrdte. Did he merely mean that the price was to
be returned ? or is the vertical intended for some idea of entirety ?
436 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
As the sign LAL denotes the verb tardsu and its derivatives, we
might read the first seller's name as Asur-mat-taris, or Asur-mat-utarris.
The name spelt like this was borne by an Eponym, who dates nos.
23, 307, 361, 62 c. He was a bel pahati^ see no. 361. I call him
Ep. F. The same name is that of a witness on no. 46. But the
name can be read Asur-mat-utakkin, and Asiir-mat-LAL-in is the
form taken by the name of a neighbour, Ep. A', on no. 414 ; of a
seller, son of Itu'ai, B.C. 745 (?), on no. 415. No name like this
occurs with the phonetic suffix is after LAL, Hence my reading above.
The name of the second buyer can be read Kal-amur, where
kal would mean, 'all.' But Gabbu-amur would mean the same,
so I read both alike, see § 482. The former KAK-SL-LAL^ which
also I read Gabbu-amur, occurs as the name of a witness and mahhu,
on no. 500. How we should read the father's name is hard to say.
BU-DA is an ideogram for ardku, 'to be long.' Arrakute, would
suit the traces well enough. The root seems to occur in the names
Arakai, a witness on no. 500; Arika' in 83-1-18, 8, which may,
however, be Elamitic ; and in Arkat-ilani-damiktu, a name in v. R.
46, 63 a. Of course, it may be phonetically read Buda , or
Gidda , but for these I know no parallels. The slave's name
Istar-rimeni only occurs here. Kakkullanu was well known, see
§ 510-
Among the witnesses, for Kisir-Asur, see § 405 ; the next three
names have disappeared. In rev. Hne 16, the name AN-DI-sunu
is to be read Ilu-daiansunu, 'God is their judge.' For DI as
ideogram for dinu and daianu, see Glossary under ddnii. For
Asur-sar-usur, see §505; for Zizi, see §476; for Nabtl-§^ar-usur, see
§523; for Nabd-utarris, see §573. Asur-killani, spelt like this, is
the name of a witness and muttr pyti, B.C. 663, on no. 309; Ep. A,
on no. 325; witness and rdO kisir, Ep. A, on nos. 318 and 623;
Ep. A', on no. 414. In the form Asur-kil-la-ni^ it is the name of a
witness and muitr pilti, B.C. 688, on no. 400 ; witness and rak/)i{ sa rdb
kisir, Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; holder of property, B.C. 656, on no. 702.
Also we have Asur-kil-la-a-ni as the name of a witness and vndirputi,
Ep. F, on no. 361 ; Asur-kil-an-ni as the name of a buyer and saku
sarri, on no. 425 ; Asur-ki-la-a-ni, as that of a witness and rdb kisir,
Ep. Q, on no. 349; and Asur-ki-la-ni on no. 993, in B.C. 661.
These forms exclude the reading Asur-hab-la-aji-ni which Delitzsch
gives H. W. B. p. 267 a.
In the date, the tablet clearly has 29th, not 26th, as I gave.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 437
I cannot rcsloie ihc name of llie I^jonyni. Tlic scribe of the tablet
probably was the witness whose name begins with Ikbi.
692. No. 212. Now that Sm. 1678 is joined to 81-2-4, 163
is almost complete. Black.
Nabd-zer-iddin sells his maid, Same-tabani (?) to
Summa-ilani. Dated, the 24th of B.C. 687. Perhaps
ten witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S,, S\ {F,, F,), F, B.
The sign zer in the buyer's name seemed to have no horizontal,
in line i, for a long time. Then it became clear. In line 4, it is
not clear to me yet. In line 13, and in rev. i, the horizontal at the
beginning of the line is not wanted, but the scribe seems to have
intended it. The second phrase, in rev. i, is needlessly repeated.
At the end of denu the scribe wrote PAFiox 7iu. In lines 14 and
15, read TA in place of lu and //. In line 2, of reverse, there was
no u in ubta'ni. In line 16, of obverse, we may restore mar ahesu.
For the seller's name Nabu-zer-iddin, see §467. The slave's
name is odd. Same-tabani ' thou hast built the heavens,' does not
seem unlikely. For the buyer's name Summa-ilani, see § 467.
Among the witnesses, Zamama-ahu-usur only occurs here ; Ardi-Istar
is discussed in §474; Haninai only occurs here, but compare
Haninaia, a witness, B.C. 681, on no. 30. With Dagana-milki
compare Dagan-milki, the seller on no. 234. Dagan compounds
are few. Dagan-bel-nasir appears to have been the name of the
Eponym of B.C. 880, see i. R. 23, i ; 11. R. 68, no. 2, 31 ; iii. R. i,
I. 31. Mannu-kim-sabe only occurs here. It is probably only a
graphical variety of Mannu-ki-sabe, see § 503. The name of the mut-
taggisu, in line 15, ends in na-an^ or -?ta-tlu, which is not easy to
complete. So, what could end like the traces in line 16, or 17,
I am unable to say. In line 17, the traces could be part of se-lt.
On the left-hand edge, ume is uncertain, MES may have been erased.
On Sennacherib as an Eponym, see § 504.
693. No. 213. Now that 83-1-18, 380, has been joined to
Sm. 701, the text is nearly complete. Red.
Dari-abtia sells his maid Nana-ibassi to Tabni-Istar
for one and a half minas of silver, normal weight, kinu.
Dated, the 5th of Aaru, B.C. 68i. Six witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S, (F^), P.
The date is quoted, Pp. Can. p. 91.
Apparently in Aaru, B.C. 681, the Eponym was not yet appointed,
438 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the date is therefore given as in the ' Eponymy after that of Nabti-
sar-usur, sakmi of Markasa', B.C. 682. This fact is eloquent as to
the troubles at the commencement of Esarhaddon's reign.
Professor Oppert, Z. A. xiii. p. 268, refers to this tablet as
recording the sale of a son. In his article Le droit de lignager^
p. 579, he translates the document in full, and thinks it admits the
withdrawal from the agreement on payment of a fine of two minas.
Dari-abila only occurs here. In line 9, I believe that my
restorations are wrong and that we should restore \lu-ii{i)i) Da^ri-
AD-\u-a lu-u maresu\ then line 10 might be \lu-u indr-mdrcsii lii\-ii
\etc\. The slave's name only occurs here. The buyer's name only
occurs here. Among the witnesses, for Barruk, see § 467 ; for
Kimama, § 558. For Rihate compare the witness on no. 228; and
the name Rihetu, in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 7575. For
Nabu-sar-usur as Eponym, see § 523.
694. No. 214. A mere fragment. Drab.
lamani sells his maid, . . . ma-li, to Ninuai, the king's
saku, for thirty-four shekels of silver. Dated, the 14th
of Aaru, Ep. P. At least seven witnesses.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (i^„ F,), R
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 99.
In line 7, the scribe wrote KA, three times, instead of twice, as
usual. In line 9, he omitted pa. In line 10, he wrote mare where
I give wrongly mar-mare. In line i, of reverse, I now see that he
never wrote ASUR, only i-sa-kan, of the last sign there are clear
traces. Hence he did not name the god, to whose burku the fine
was payable.
The seller's name was discussed in § 482. The slave's name
cannot be restored. For Nindai, see § 508. The Eponym's name
also occurs as dating no. 628. I regard it as the same as Paka-ana-
Arbaili, the name of the seller on no. 327, in Ep. N. How to
complete the first witness's name, I do not know. For Nabu-na'id,
see § 491. The next name ended in -liksur, the next in -nanu, the
next in idri, the next was probably Adadi-iddin. This was the name
of a serf, 'with his people,' in no. 661 ; and occurs in 83-1-18, 209.
'I'hc form A N-IM-SE-ni oucuy^ in K 1 13. 'I'he other traces do not
lend themselves to restoration.
In line 10, the title may be mukil AP-MRS.
695. No. 215 now that Bu. 89-4-26, 2 has been joined to
80-7-19, 353 is nearly complete. Black.
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 439
Si'-zabadi sells his maid, Abi-ha'ili, to Late', a lady,
for nine shekels of silver. Dated, the 7th of Sabatu,
B.C. 682. Probably five witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F, F,, F,\ F
In line 9, read ki for ki: in line 11, perhaps u is better than i?ia,
before matana. In rev. line 5, read tnc in place of MRS. In
line 10, the title is not sd-tu, but clearly LAGAR, i.e. ndgiru.
The seller's name only occurs here. It is Aramaic, see the Si^
and zabadi compounds in the Harran Census. Abi-ha'li only
occurs here. The buyer's name only occurs here. Among the
witnesses; for Handi, see § 513. Sabanu, spelt thus, is the name
of a witness and rab kisir, B.C. 684, on no. 230 ; of a witness,
B.C. 674, on no. 404; of a sukallu, in Barhalzi, on no. 675. The
name could be read Nuranu, but on no. 922 we have the form
Sabbanu. Whether we should read Zabanu, and connect with
Zabinu, see § 465, is not clear to me. Manzusu only occurs here,
and is not certain. Is it for Manzut-su ? The name Zibdi only
occurs here, but may be a form of Zabdu, see § 491- The traces
in lines 10, 11, do not lend themselves to restoration easily. For
the Eponym, see § 523.
696. No. 216. A fragment only. Slate grey to brown.
Sin-bel-usur sells his maid, for one mina of silver, to
a priest of Bel, apparently. Traces of the names of three
witnesses are preserved. Half a mina of bronze was paid
for sealing the contract.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, {F, F,\ F
The tablet is badly preserved. In line 3, the scribe wrote UF>,
for lib. In line 5, the last two characters of suatu are very doubtful,
they look more like the remains of ii. It seems unlikely that the
scribe wrote su-u for suatu. In line 6, the su after DI-TAR is not
on the tablet. In line 7, the scribe wrote GIR, not PAL, as I give.
Then KAB is clear. The HAR is so on the tablet, whether it was
meant for tu, I cannot see. What he really intended to be read in
this line I do not see. In line i, of the bottom edge, he seems to
have written itia mahira sd Ni?iua. In line 7, of reverse, alu is
uncertain. Perhaps the traces are the end of dan, rib. Then it
would probably be part of the title, probably sdrip {SU') tahse,
'leather dyer,' or 'leather worker.'
With regard to the names : the seller Sin-bel-usur bears the name
of a witness and rab kisir, in B.C. 682, on no. 276 ; of a witness, now
440 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
rab kisir sa 7ndti, B.C. 670, on no. 625; of a witness on no. 219.
The first witness Adadi-sum-usur, spelt thus, is the name of a witness,
who is rab on no. 448; aba on no. 193; witness in Ep. P, on
no. 628; father of witness on no. 350. This name is borne by a
voluminous writer, also named in letters, see K 167, 183, 492, 527,
568, 583, 595, 601, 612, 618, 641, 643, 666, 730, 991, 1026, 1038,
1087, 1197, 1428, 1963, 11922, 13000, 13065; Rm. 76: 80-7-19,
22; 81-2-4, 53, 58, 69; 82-5-22, 160, 171; 83-1-18, 33, 34, 38, 81;
Bu. 89-4-26, 17; Bu. 91-5-9, 15, 41, 156: compare also K 5550
and no. 709: possibly 89-7-19, 20. The form U-MU-PAP^ is the
name of a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; of a writer of K 5470. The
form AN-IM-MU-SIS occurs on Sm. 21 16, and 82-5-22, 103. A
partly phonetic form is AN-IM-MU-u-sur, in K 601, 1040, 11 18,
2223; Sm. 1368, 82-5-22, 168. Hanasu only occurs here: compare
the Egyptian Aramaic D^n.
697. No. 217. Only a fragment of the obverse. Drab.
I Si'-aali sells his maid . . . dibe-sa-libbi, to Salmu-ahe,
for a mina and a half of silver, Carchemish standard.
The seller's name, Si'-aali, only occurs here, but is allied to the
many Sr and aali compounds of the Harran Census. The slave's
name Hude-sa-libbi as I first read seemed very appropriate, but I
overlooked bi after di. I do not see what word would end in dibe.
Salmu-ahe is treated in § 575.
698. No. 218. Only a fragment. Drab.
That it was a slave sale I conclude from the general formula, and
the plea instanced in line 7, amilta apattar, seems to imply a female
slave. Dated, the 15th of Du'lizu, B.C. 687. Eight witnesses.
Ac^ C, Oj, 02, -tt.
The date is cjuoted, Ep. Can. p. 90, Hist. Senn. p. 18.
In line 6, the scribe wrote ba in place of t^b. In the date, the
day is the 15th, not i6th as I gave. In line 3 of reverse, before
sakintu should be sd, not sa. In line 8, the first sign may be uft
in place of mil. In line i, of reverse, insert a bracket after rab,
there certainly was more. The first character of all on tlie tablet
may be the traces of TA. In line 5, I think now that amelu annu
was all. There is no reason to restore ie.
The names of the seller, the slave, and the buyer are not
preserved.
On Sennacherib as Eponym, see § 504. Among the witnesses
AND DOCUMENTS. 44 1
Mannu-kim-Adadi is only a variant of Mannu-ki-Adadi, see § 473.
Ruradidi only occurs here. For (lalulu see § 544 , for Zi/.ia, § 476 ;
for NabiVdilr-usur, § 661 ; Milki-I^tar, § 513.
Mukalil-niittu was the name of a witness and {amcl) LUL Assurai^
Ep. H, on no. 50; of a witness and at^i of the palace, on no. 255 ;
a witness, Ep. S, on no. 311 ; also a principal, Ep. T, on no. 618. If
we are to read the name, in line 8, as Unki-Istar, it would have no
parallel. But in place of Istar, we could suppose a badly written ia,
then Unkia would be like Uft-ki-e, the name of a witness, B.C. 681,
on no. 269.
699. No. 219. Only a fragment. Drab.
It was certainly a slave sale, as in lines 3 and 4 we have
amtu {zar)pat lakiat. There are indications of perhaps nine wit-
nesses.
Ac, C, C\ S„ S, {F, F,\ F, B.
The formula is rather dipt in places and so hard to restore.
Thus in line 4, suatu may have been written at the beginning, but
then how could at be accounted for? The shortest spelling of
zarpat would occupy too much room with suatu. The words, in
line I of the edge, might go into the first line of reverse. Then
lines 2 and 3 of reverse, probably had the sibti be?inu clause. The
traces are quite unreHable.
No names of principals are preserved. The name of the first
witness ended in -re'u-iddin. For Sin-bel-usur, see § 696. The next
name seems to have ended in -ga-a-nu. Perhaps the next was Abdi
or Zabdi. Whether the last was Anu-sarru does not seem clear.
That is hardly long enough. In line 7, the scribe has omitted PA
from the title.
700. No. 220. A fragment only. Drab.
Ninip. . .sells his maid, Eri..., to a lady, for thirty-four
shekels of silver.
Ac, U, U , U , oj, Oo'
The names of the principals are too defective to be restored.
There are no names of witnesses.
No. 221. A fragment only. Drab.
Someone sells a maid, Silli-... to Dadai, for one (?)
mina of silver. Dated, probably in Ep. W. Traces of
five or six witnesses.
Ac, C, C\ D', S„ S, (F, F,), F
The maid is stated to be the daughter of the seller. In line i,
442 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
after a break, amtiisii can be read, if not more. In line 2, it seems
as if the seller's name ended in a plural. In line 7, zarpu is wrong
gender, lakki had more, perhaps ic^ hardly at. In line 5, of reverse,
the title looks as much like TUR-A as {a?nel)za..., but that does not
help much. A great portion of the rest is hardly legible.
As to the names, Dadai, see § 572 ; Sabdanu, see § 540.
The name Sadiini only occurs here. With Salai-ilu, compare
Sala-ilu, in Sm. 30. We have also Saliai, in no. 872, as a sa sepa\
Salla occurs on K 87 ; and Saliai in K 112 ; Bu. 91-5-9, 157 ; and
on no. 880, as the son of Mannu-iari. P'or Sarru-na'id, probably
Eponym, see § 492.
701. No. 193. A fragment. Red.
Bel-Harran-duri, the mukll apcite^ and Ahu-li, his son,
sell a girl. Traces of seven witnesses. Dated, perhaps
in Ep. Y.
The present state of the tablet allows of many corrections. In
line I, I have given the wrong amelu. In line 4, of the reverse, read
rakbu in place of aba. For line 5, read KAK-a-a {amel) a-ba ; then
what I gave as line 5 becomes line 6, reading dtlri at end in place
of SU. Then line 6 becomes line 7.
It is probable that the girl sold was daughter of Bel-Harran-duri,
and that the eldest son assisted. Unfortunately it is impossible to
make out her name. Bel-Harran-duri is the name of a witness,
B.C. 686, on no. 9 ; of a witness and {amel) LUL, B.C. 681, on
no. 279 ; of a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 383 ; of a witness and raksu^
in the same year, on no. 404 ; and occurs as a specimen name,
App. 3, XII, 28. For Ahull, see § 523.
Among the witnesses, in reverse, line 2, the title may well be rab
kisir apil sarri. Ata-idri also occurs in the Harran Census. Mannu-
ki-Harran occurs as the name of a witness and rakbu GAJB-MES,
B.C. 670, on no. 421; B.C. 666, on no. 185; B.C. 663, on no. 470;
as witness and rakbu, B.C. 670, on no. 420; here in Ep. Y; as witness
without title, B.C. 668, on no. 190 ; and also on no. 433. For Baniai,
see § 573. The next name we must read Istar-nasir-dilri ; it only occurs
here. Si'-katar only occurs here. It is very like the Harran names.
Of the next name only the end, -ahc-iddina, is preserved. I conjecture
the next name to have been Sailu, see § 560 ; Adadi-sum-usur, § 696 ;
NabCi-sakip, as Eponym, § 492.
702. No. 222. Only a fragment. Dark Ijrown.
Bel-utarris sells his maid Ulj:ubfltu, to Summa-ilani,
AND DOCUMENTS. 443
for a iiiina of silver, Carchcniish standard. Hated, tlic
25th of Tcbctu, H.c. 682. Traces of four witnesses.
1% D, Ac, C, C\ D'.
In line 7, the tablet has ki, not ki. In rev. line 2, read ku not ki.
In line 5, before arhn I have omitted {cduH) aba. In line 7, for ka
read ha, as Dr Bezold gave in the Catalogue. In line 5, after the
number 25, there is a slant KAN.
The seller, Bel-utarris, or Bel-utakkin, as the name may be read,
only occurs here. For Ukubutu, see § 502 ; for Summa-ilani, § 467 ;
for Takilati, see §409, for Nabil-dur-usur, see §661 ; for the Eponym,
Nabd-sar-usur, see § 523.
In line 3, the name may be read Nabu-rihtu-ilani, for KAD ^ rihtu,
see no. 307, lines 9, and lower edge, line 4, in the name of the seller.
No. 223. A fragment only. Drab.
Abu-salam sold his maid to the lady Addati. No date
or attestation preserved.
Ac, C, C , xy , Oi, 02*
In line 7, the signs after the bracket are actually on the edge of
the tablet. In line 11, the signs lu-u at the beginning are doubtful.
They should perhaps be ii.
Abu-salam only occurs here. Addati is restored from no. 58,
see § 465.
No. 224. A fragment only. Chocolate brown.
Someone sold his maid asu, for thirty shekels
of silver. Indications of four witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C, C, D'.
The only name preserved is Sin-asarid, father of a witness,
see § 467. The other traces do not lend themselves to restoration.
No. 225. A fragment. Black.
Ilu sells a maid. Dated, in Simanu, in the
Eponymy of an Assyrian king. Five witnesses.
Pk, D, S, {F^ F,), F
Dudua only occurs here, but compare Dudii, a witness and
pirhhiu, Ep. R, on no. 642. For Ardi-Istar, see § 474. The next
name is clearly Mukuru ; it only occurs here. The other names do
not lend themselves well to restoration : but it is almost certain now
that the last name is Nabu-sum-iddin, see § 467.
No. 226. Fragment only. Dark brown.
So far as it goes this is a duplicate of no. 212 : a fact which I did
not recognise when I autographed that text. The fact that in that
444 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
case the joins were made after the arrangement of the classes was
complete, probably caused me to overlook the likeness. This text
adds nothing to that, except that here NabCl-zer-iddin is certain.
Ac, C, C ., JJ , Oj, 02.
No. 227. A fragment only. Light red.
Nabu-diir-kusur, the sakii, sells his maid, Belit-dur-
usur, to Silim-Asur, for half a mina of silver. Date and
witnesses lost.
Pk, Z>, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ 6*2.
In line 3, I have omitted PAP at the end of the slave's name.
In line 8, read tu for tu.
The seller, Nabu-dur-kusur, only occurs here. The slave's name
occurs also as a specimen name, App. 6, i. 6, Ur Bezold, Cata.
p. 2065, read Istar-dur-usur. For Silim-Asur, see § 488.
No. 228. A fragment only. Drab, with greenish tinge.
My only reason for classing this here is to be found in line i of
the reverse. There Kuruku is said to be bel katdte of the woman.
Hence I conclude that a woman was sold. But this is hardly enough
to fix the character of the transaction. The name of Kuruku only
occurs here. Istanbu only occurs here. For Akru, see § 572; for
Barruk, see § 467; for Rihate, see § 693. The name Nabii-kippik,
if that is the way to read it, only occurs here.
No. 791. Mere fragment.
Clearly a sale of a female slave, whose name Elat , appears in
line 3.
No. 796. Mere fragment.
Clearly a sale of a female slave, whose name began with Ra
Her owner's name appears in line 2. The price seems to have been
forty or fifty minas of bronze (?). There are traces of four witnesses.
For lada, see § 680.
AND DOCUMENTS. 445
SALES OF SEVERAL SLAVES.
703. The formula of the document is the same as usual for
slave sales. A few changes in the predicates occur to mark the
plural. These plural forms are dealt with in § 595. Of great
interest is the way in which a slave's family are tied to him.
The sanctity of family ties seems to have been deeply respected in
Assyria, and it shews how humanely the slave was treated, that his
feelings on this point were so carefully guarded. On the general
distribution of the family revealed by these documents, see § 642.
On the terms applied to denote the slaves as 'people,' 'souls,'
'persons,' etc., see §§ 633, 646. In the preamble they are usually
called itise, 'people.' Women are called SAL-MES, a??teidte, in
nos. 233, 245, 256.
In the specification, they are generally called ardani of the seller,
but this term is omitted in nos. 230, 246, etc. They are often called
ZI-MES^ napsdte, 'souls,' in this place, see nos. 231, 232, 234, etc.,
with or without ardd?n following. Sometimes nisi, ' people,' is re-
peated here, after napsdte, as in no. 253. This is of value, because it
throws light on the frequently occurring adi Jttsesu, 'with his people.'
If a set of slaves are properly called ' the people ' of their owner, the
phrase 'with his people' may certainly include the man's 'slaves,' if
it is not confined to them. I believe it included the man's own
family, but I have not found it used to denote ' soldiers.' The
general term applied to them seems to be sdbe, see Delitzsch,
H. IV. B. p. 557 b; although this is used of slaves, apparently, in
nos. 90, 608, 696(?). Women here are called SAL-LAT-MES,
perhaps read amdte, ' maid-servants ' : but merely napsdte arddni in
no. 257.
The presence of airiebi before ardu has already been noted. It
may be a mere accident, or due to a scribe's excessive politeness to
those in a subordinate position, or a parallel to ' the gentleman's
gentleman ' of our servants' hall.
In the clause D\ they are generally styled nise; but ai7iele in
no. 246.
Women here are ameldte, in nos. 233, 256, 257.
The prices are difficult to deal with. For the presence of
44^ ASSYRIAN DEEDS
children may have been looked upon as an encumbrance in some
cases, as they had to be fed and clothed for some time before they
could be of service. In other cases, they may have added to the
price, as, provided they were cared for, and escaped the risks of
mortality, which must have been great in Assyria, they must ulti-
mately become a source of profit. Hence it is rarely the case that
the sale of several slaves, unless all were adults, gives any aid in
fixing prices.
Abstracts of 7ws. 229-307.
704. No. 229. Complete. Brown.
Ardi-Istar sells Usi', his two wives Me'sa and Badia,
Sigaba, Bel-Harran-taklak, and his two daughters, in all
seven souls, servants of Ardi-Istar, to Si'-ma'di, for three
minas of silver. Dated, in Tisritu, B.C. 680.
Fk, D, Ac, C, S^.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 92.
The text was published iii. R. 46, no. 6 ; in transliteration and
translation by Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 182 ff; and by Peiser, K. B. iv.
p. 124 f. In C. I. S. p. 17, the text was given again, with trans-
literation and translation by Oppert.
A translation by Professor Sayce appeared in Records of the
Past, I. p. 141.
Some extracts are given, S. A. V. 6558, 8979.
The Phoenician docket was discussed by Ledrain, R. A. /.p. 162L
The old Guide, p. 175, no. 43, describes it. Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148,
A. 5, calls this a Kaufvertrag, iiber den Vei-kauf von Sclaven.
As to the text these editions left little to be desired. In line i,
I withdraw my reading of ^iV before Istar. In line 9, C. I. S. omits
a in the name Si-ma-a-di, in. R. gave some scratches. In rev. line 9,
III. R. and C. I. S. gave the sign TIS after .SY, but I could not find
it on the tablet.
In Records of the Past, p. 141, tablet IV, are several readings
which would not now be retained. I*^bed-Lstar is now read Ardi-
Istar. Hoshea for Usi' is good. Bel-Kharran-cunucci is curious,
for cunuccu we now read taklak. But the general sense was well
seized, though some details were wrong. Thus tadCini was taken as
*the giving up of the slaves, whose names follow. There is no sa
to answer to ' of.' Again in the phrase ardCini sd, the sd is taken to
AND DOCUMENTS.
447
be 'wliom.' Hut it w;is wonderful for the time. I^rofessor Oppert's
renderings come under the general remarks on deeds of sale in
Chapter VI. Some special suggestions may be noted. Si'-dClri
is read Khara?i-dur. I suppose because SI ^ karjiu^ 'a horn.'
Dr Peiser's work was a great advance. He had clearly collated
his text. He made some interesting notes. Thus the utsii which
follows mardte he regarded as ot^ due to non-Assyrian influence.
In the Harran Census ut often occurs, but not only after females.
It seems to be an ideogram for batulu^ or batiiltu^ being read as
batusu. Hence UD is the ideogram, and su the phonetic com-
plement. Dr Peiser was clearly right about the non-Assyrian speech.
It seems to be old Aramaic. Probably the slaves were Aramaeans.
In case the student wishes to compare my readings and renderings
with the above cited works, or requires to see the whole arrangement
of a case before him, I add a transliteration and translation of the
body of the document.
Transliteration.
1 Kunuk Ardi-Istar,
2 bel nise taddni.
Translation.
Seal of Ardi-Istar
legitimate owner of the people
transferred.
3
Usi\ II assdtisu,
4
Me^sd, Badia,
5
Sigaba, Bel-Harrdn-taklak,
6
II mdrdte batusu^
7
7iaphar VII napsdte ardd?ii,
8
sd Ardi-Istar,
9
upisma Simddi
lO
i7ia libbi III mane kaspi
II
ilki. Kaspu
12
gatniir tadin.
Usi', his two wives,
Me'sa, Badia,
Sigaba, Bel-Harran-taklak,
two daughters, girls,
total, seven souls, slaves
of Ardi-Istar ;
Simadi has made a bargain, and
for three minas of silver,
has taken. The price
is complete, is given.
13 Tuaru denu
14 dabdbu lassu.
A return, suit, (or)
plea, shall not be.
The Aramaic docket is very plain ; as far as it goes. The first
line reads yj^in nn. This means ' the sale of Usi',' and renders it
certain that we cannot read Samsi'. This line is written on the end
of the tablet, and extends the full length of it. There is nothing lost.
448 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The second does not begin with D as C. I. S. has it. There are
certainly two letters before i Besides, 3D would not represent Sg in
Assyrian. Then comes clearly t^mx n vii tJ^jj^, that is, 'seven people
to Arda.' Clearly Arda is the usual form which an abbreviation
of Ardi-Istar would take ; compare Tabnia for Sin-tabni-usur.
For Ardi-Istar, see § 474. The slave name, Usi', is represented
in Aramaic by yc'in, which is literally the same as Hoshea ; of which
the Greek rendering is lio-T^e. The name is said to be Hebrew, in
N. E. p. 259a. The name only occurs here; but compare Usia,
name of a slave sold, on no. 316. The women's names Me'sa and
Badia only occur here. For the former compare the Hebrew in'^K^PD,
a masculine name. For Badia, compare ^^^n, see N. E. p. 233 b.
For Sigaba compare '^ly^, Aramaic name, from Canaanite root, in
N. E. 372 a, b. Bel-Harran-taklak, evidently the second son of a
Hebrew father, born under Assyrian influence, is very clearly of
Assyrian form. The Bel-Harran speaks for a settlement in Syria.
The name is borne by a seller on no. 246. The buyer's name,
Si'-ma'di, occurs as that of a rab aldni sa tndr sarri, B.C. 680, on
no. 231 ; and with the same title probably, B.C. 683, on no. 278.
The name recalls several others in the Harran Census.
As to the witnesses, Bel-nlari bears a name the same as that of
the father of Belili-milki, on no. 237 ; a specimen name, App. 3, i. 13.
Amiate' only occurs here, but is very like Amme'ta', see § 687.
Sangi only occurs here. Suisai only occurs here. Si'-duri is also
the name of the buyer and aba of the Queen Mother, on no. 428 ;
and occurs on no. 746, 'with his people.' It is of the Harran Census
type. For the Eponym, Dananu, see § 480.
705. No. 230. Complete. Drab to dark brown.
Nabu-erba sells Kandalanu, his three sons, his wife,
and two daughters, his brother and his two sons, to
Ullilai, for six minas of silver, Carchemish standard.
Dated, the 8th of Aaru, B.C. 684. Fifteen witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ n\ S, (A).
Extracts from the text were given, S. A. V. 4383, 4944, 5075,
7599, 7839, 8833.
The old Guide described it, p. 179, no. 65.
Dr Peiser published a transliteration and translation, K. B. iv.
p. 120 f.
In line 6, I wrongly gave ak for pa, in the name of Nabu. In
line 7, Dr Peiser read six minas, and probably he was right ; though
AND DOCUMENTS. 449
I fancied I could sec a third row of wedges below. In line 11, the
wrong sa is given. On the reverse, I have transposed the names of
the witnesses in lines 3 and 5. In line 8, at the end, read A-S/K ;
not A-HU Tis S. A. V. gave. In line 9, S. A. V. was probably right
in giving BAR not PA. The name is best read Ninip-na'id. The
name before may be Kusisi ; KU is perhaps to be read in place of
SU. At the end of line 12, read te^ not t^. In line 13, for BAR
we might read AN. In line 19, S. A. V. gives a slant form of KAN.
I prefer the horizontal form here.
Dr Peiser corrected some of these errors of S. A. V., but he has
one or two of his own. He omits all line 9 of reverse. In line 10,
he gives ni for sa, which S. A. V. has correctly. In line 18, he has
ba for la in the name of the country Kullania. In line 20, he omits
to notice KI after {7?idt) Assur. He points out in a note that the
name of the witness, in rev. line 4, may be read either Sabanu, or
Ntiranu. On line 12, he acutely remarks, that the use of egirte,
instead of the usual kunukku, or duppu, or da?iniiu, is made by a
scribe who bears a foreign name Tati. But he did not add that on
no. 60, rev. 7, we have egirtu, from the pen of a scribe, who is called
Bani, which is not a foreign name. The Aramaic docket uses the
form mJt< on no. 24, though it generally gives riJT. But where did
Dr Peiser find the tablet called kuniikii (?)
For Nabu-erba, see § 467 ; Uliilai, see § 505 ; NCiranu, see § 513 ;
Mannu-ki-Istar-li', see § 492 ; Kannunai, see § 407 ; Nabu-na'id in
§ 491 ; Nergal-asarid, § 488 ; Nabil-asarid, § 655 ; Manzarne, § 548 ;
Sin-ahe-erba, § 504.
The slave's name, Kandalanu, is that of a witness, B.C. 683, on
no. 51 ; of a seller, on no. 500, in the form of Kadalanu. For the
king of Babylon of this name, for 22 years after Samas-sum-ukin, see
K, B. IV. p. 170; Schrader in Z. K. 1. p. 222.. The name of the
first witness, Nabii-li'ani, is also borne by a witness and salsu,
B.C. 684, on nos. 19 and 20; by a witness, B.C. 660, on no. 12.
The second witness, in rev. 3, was called Sulmu-bel-lamur, which
was also the name of an {a??iel) GAR, devised, Ep. S, on no. 619 ;
of the bU pahCiti of the Crown Prince, on K 108 ; of the Eponym of
B.C. 841, III. R. I, II. 24 ; and is named on no. 708, and 80-7-19 50.
Sarru-ibni was also the name of a seller and rakbu, in Dannai, B.C. 663,
on no. 470; of a witness on nos. 7 and 296 ; of an ofiicer in charge of a
troop, on no. 947 ; and in D. T. 317. The two wedges of MAN' in
this name being somewhat widely separated, Dr Peiser took the first
J. III. 29
450 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
as an ideogram for Ramman, the second for bel^ and accordingly read
Ramman-bel-epus. I do not think there is any real reason for that.
Aplu-sezibani only occurs here. Who was the god called Aplu ?
Susisi would be unique, but Kusisi is a witness also in B.C. 686, on
no. 612. Nabtl-na'id is better read Ninip-na'id. This name was
that of a witness and sa sepd, B.C. 688, on no. 400 ; of a witness and
rcib daiali^ of Kalah, B.C. 686, on no. 612. Risai was a buyer and
mutir putij B.C. 700, on no. 294 ; and a neighbour, in Kurlibi,
Ep. A, on no. 623. Tatti was the name of a witness, B.C. 669, on
no. 310; and Ta-at-ti-i occurs as the name of a serf, adi nisesu, on
no. 747. Compare Tatai, of Gingibir, i. R. 30, in. 50; also Titti, a
seller, on no 613; and in the Harran Census. We may compare
the lall names of Asia Minor. The name Nergal-ilu, if intended,
only occurs here. Humamate only occurs here. Asur-abu-usur also
occurs as a witness on no. 332.
Note that of the eighteen persons named here, at least five occur
on the fragment no. 612.
706. No. 231. Complete. Dark red.
Ardi-Istar sells Hamntinu, his wife and mother; Adda
and Ilu-taribi, his brothers; his two sisters; in all seven
souls, slaves of Ardi-Istar, to Si'-ma'di, the rdb aldni of
the Crown Prince, for two minas of silver, Carchemish
standard. Dated, the i6th of Addaru, b.c. 680. Five
witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ n\ S,, S, {F,, F,\ K
In line 4, the scribe seems to have written BAR instead of the
vertical before the second name. He omitted bi at the end of the
name. It is, however, possible that he intended to write Ilu-tari.
Si'ma'di, in line 7, is not quite certain. The 7fta is effaced. But
compare no. 229. In line 9, the scribe omitted alu before Carche-
mish. In line 13, I have given the wrong sa. In rev. 6, for lak
better read la. In the date, the day may be 15th.
For Ardi-Istar, see § 474; Si'-ma'di, § 704; Nabu-na'id, § 491 ;
Nabu-ahe-eres, § 526.
The slave's name Hamnftnu only occurs here, but Hamnanu is
the name of a witness and muktl apdte, on no. 268 ; and occurs in
K 4786. Adda was the name of a witness and aba, B.C. 710, on
no. 234; com[)are Ad(?)daia, witness, B.C. 645, on no. 68; and
Addu, App. I, XI. 38. Ilu-tari only occurs here. Adadi-taka only
occurs here ; for takd, sec the Harran Census. Sulmu-Bel was the
AND DOCUMENTS. 45 I
name of a borrower, ac. 712, on no. 5; of a seller, h.c. 693, on
no. 243 ; of a sa sepd^ no. 857 ; a slave sold, irrisu, on no. 471 ; of
a witness and Ninivite, on no. 500 ; occurs as a specimen name,
App. I, VIII. 17; and in K 676, 1079, 80-7-19, 105. Whether to
read Usanani or Adadi-sanani, I do not know. For the former
compare Usuna, name of a witness, B.C. 680, on no. 359. Si'hutni
only occurs here, but see the Harran Census for similar names.
707. No. 232. Complete. Nearly black.
Sarrani sells ImSai, the servant of ..., Sar-Asur, and
the woman Urkit-ilai, in all a parcel of three souls, to
the lady Ahu-dali, sakintu of Kabal-ali, for four minas
of silver. Dated, the i8th of Addaru, B.C. 685. Nine
witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F,), B.
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 7887, where in rev. line 10, sab is
given for sib, which I read re' 11. In line 5, the three slaves are said
to be bit naphar III. Jiapsdti. There is no need to take bit here as
' a house ' ; for in line 2, the seller is called bei ntse only ; and in
line 10, we have the slaves again described as nise suate. In this
one case, we might think of bitu as meaning 'a household.' In
reverse, line i, read sd for sa.
Professor Oppert gave a translation of this deed in Le droit de
lignager, p. 571. He renders sakintu by une femine marcha?tde ;
Kabal ali he takes to mean la ville du centre de la ville, rather than
a proper place name. The names of the slaves he gives as Imsaibaii,
Im-ankhi, and Likkit-Mali ; on the sibtu bennu clause he remarks, la
clause fi7iale et speciale aux feinmes se trouve au suj'et d^un enfant
aussi.
Sarrani, spelt thus, is a specimen name App. i, x. 39. The
other form, LUGAL-a-ni occurs in K 13038; 82-5-22, 131; and
in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 8077. The slave name, Imsai,
could perhaps be read Adadi-sa-na'id ; it occurs, as here, as the
name of the lender, on nos. 24, 25 ; of a witness, on no. 342 ; of a
buyer, on no. 476. Whether we are to read ardusu after his name,
or whether the name of some other master followed, is not clear.
In the latter case, Sarrani may have been an agent. I think that
IM-AN-HI is complete. For this name, Sar-Asur, see § 553.
The female name, Urkit-ilai, only occurs here. Compounds of
Urkittu are rather favorite names with Assyrian ladies, thus Urkittu-
ismeani, a buyer, B.C. 667, on no. 315; Urkittu-abu-usur, on
29 — 2
452 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
no. 894; Urkittu-dtiri, a slave sold, on no. 779; Urkittu-le'at,
wife of Aa-enO, devised, Ep. S, on no. 619; Urkittu-rimat, a slave,
devised, Ep. S, on no. 619; are all female names. The buyer
Ahu-dali, here sakintu of Kabal ali^ bears the same name as Ahu-
dalli, a (f) sab ekalli^ a buyer, B.C. 686, on no. 317 ; and of a sakintu
of Nineveh, B.C. 683, on no. 447, probably. Hence I conclude that
Kabal ali is a part of Nineveh.
Among the witnesses, the first Ahu-kinu, as I venture to read it,
only occurs here in this form, but PAP-ki-7iu occurs on no. 813.
For Nabua, see § 486. The next name, Sarru-ittia, could be read
Mankia ; it only occurs here. Sama' is also the name of the writer
to the king, in K 564, 5627. It also occurs in later Babylonian
texts, see S. A. V. 7952, in the form Sa-am-ma\ Sarru-re'tla only
occurs here. The name, Istar-babi-erba, also occurs as that of a
witness, on no. 46; and of a lender, on no. 13. Here, as in many
other cases, Istar seems to be written like XI V^ not XV. Whether
AZAG-KA is an ideogram of Bau, or whether Istar-babi is really
meant, is a puzzle to me. At present I can find nothing to decide
it; see § 544. Ninib-kibsi-usur was the name of the Eponym of
B.C. 840, III. R. I, II. 25. Ezipata is the name also of a witness,
on no. 523. For Ikisa-aplu, see § 501 ; for the Eponym, Bel-
emurani, see § 540.
708. No. 233. Part of the right-hand upper corner is gone.
Dark brown.
Two sellers, whose names are defective, sons of Haza-
(ilu), sell two women, Hambtisu, their handmaid, and her
daughter, to LOku, the rab kisir of the Crown Prince:
for one mina eight shekels of silver. Dated, in Aaru,
B.C. 659. Six witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, {F„ Fe), F.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 95. G. Smith quoted from it,
Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112. Lenormant refers to it, Essai, p. 84, 137.
Extracts were given, S. A. V. 4905, 7228, 7836, 8024, 8979. The
old Guide described it, p. 176 f., no. 51. Bezold, Lit. calls it a
Kaufvertrag, iiber den Verkauf von Sdaven.
The complete text was published, in. R. 46, no. 5 ; repeated
C. J. S. p. 20 f.
A transliteration, with translation, was given by Professor Oppert,
Doc. Jur. p. 195 ff ; and again in C. I. S. I.e. Dr Peiser trans-
literated and translated it, K. B. iv. p. 138 f.
AND DOCUMENTS. 453
In line 6, iii. R. and C. I. S. omit sa, after marat. Peiser gives
it. In line 12, iii. R. and C. I. S. give something like ba or NJTA
after pat \ S. A. V. gave ah^ Peiser gave the sign for the breath, as at
the end of the lakki\ In my opinion the sign was at^ a phonetic
complement to PAT. In line 15, of reverse, S. A. V. read .S"/,
for J a.
The renderings of Doc. Jur. and C. /. .S". do not call for special
notice, as they chiefly come under Chapter VI. Others were due
to the defective state of the text in in. R. Dr Peiser corrected all
that I should consider errors, but I am at a loss to see what made
him read the end of line 6 as ina eli biti. The rendering fiir das
Haus is not impossible, but so far as I know without parallel.
I take the remains to be for the sign UBUR^ S^ 247, read tulu^
'breast' Hambtlsu had a child, 'at her breast.'
The sellers' names are not to be restored. The father's name
might be restored as Hazanu, which occurs in K 697. But Haza-ilu
is more probable, for it is the name of a witness, on no. 572 ; of a
kasiku of Gambulu, Sarg. An?i. 254 ; of a king of Damascus,
IV. R. 5, VI. 2 ; I. R. 46, III. 19; V. R. 8, i, 46; in. R. 34, vii. 80;
and occurs in K 899.
The slave's name Hamblisu, only occurs here. For Lfiku, see
§ 409 ; lamannu, § 482 ; for Astl, § 678. The next name was read
Malik-yum by Oppert, Malik- Samas by Peiser; but I fail to see why
Maliktu will not do. It only occurs here, but compare Malkiltu, the
name of a witness, on no. 265. Why should not Maliktu be the
Nabataean n^''^^^, Greek fxaXixaOo'i ? Ammaskiri only occurs here.
Asur-sum-usur only occurs here. For the Eponym, Silim-Asur, see
§ 488. In the head-line, correct Ep. Y to B.C. 659.
The Aramaic docket is not perfect, and the copy in C. I. S. is
not well done. Dr Peiser has done much better. The first line
reads np*? ^| ntiOn NDtDN* n:"l. The n of the first word is not clear,
but analogy renders it certain. I did not see the T, which Dr Peiser
gives next. It is unusual and not needed. The name ends, as
Dr Peiser says, in either n or n, but I do not think it easy to say
which it was. We may compare the Phoenician masculine name c^an-
Then i? is not absolutely certain, but so likely that we can hardly be
wrong in keeping it. The next name rXih is, of course, Luku. The
line reads therefore, 'the sale of Habbaseth to Luku.' Why the
Aramaic used / at the end of the name, except to make a feminine,
I do not know. It is hardly likely that T\^ was intended to replace
454 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
su. There was nothing after LUku. What Berger's copy, in C. I. S.,
gives, is only a scratch.
The second hne, as I read it, was apparently iii v tjjon. The 2,
introducing the price, seems quite certain. Then ^jo seems doubtful.
Would the construct be used here ? For the figure 5, the sign used
seems to have been that in C. I. S. 17, not unlike 1. But after these
figures was another mark, which I do not think was a scratch. It
does not look like ]^ and we should not expect ^pc^ after the figures.
In fact my whole reading is doubtful. Dr Peiser, however, supports
the 8, and I think the 2 is certain. Berger's copy might suggest
my D.
I regard the third line as even less certain. But it hardly agrees
with either C. /. S. or Dr Peiser's copy. I do think that at the end
"•tn are certain. Then I get \ and I thought Haza'il would be certain.
But Dr Peiser's copy shakes my confidence. So I can give no reading
worth reproducing, as I am not an expert in reading Aramaic dockets.
If Dr Peiser's ndJDX, laminta, stands finally, it must be a variant to
lamannii. We may doubt that. The name he gives for the other
witness, itJ^i< for Asu, would be possible, but is not at all like what I
copied. The whole docket has been much effaced, and I think it
would puzzle even an expert to read it.
709. No. 234. Almost complete. Red.
Dagan-milki sells Imannil, (f) U...ni, and Milkifiri,
in all three souls, to Summa-ilani, the mukil apdte of
Kisir-sarri, for three minas of silver, Carchemish stan-
dard. Dated, the 20th of Abu, b.c. 710. Eight witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (P„ F,), F.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 86.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4841, 5060, 5071, 8667, 8979.
The old Guide, p. 172, no. 24, describes it.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A 8, calls it a Kaufvertrag, Uber den
Verkauf von Sclaven.
The text was published, iii. R. 49, no. i.
A translation was given by Professor Oppert, Rec. Past, vii. p. 114;
again a transliteration and translation. Doc. Jur. p. i64ff. Dr Peiser
gave both transliteration and translation, K. B. iv. p. 112 f.
'I'he text of m. R. in line 6, gave BAR for PA, which misled
Dr Oppert. On the tablet the lower horizontal is present, though
very faint. In line 7 we meet with a real difficulty. On the tablet
the name reads KA-SAR-IN. The IN is so nearly certain that vvc
AND DOCUMENTS. 455
have to take it as possible. A proper name Kisirin, or Kasarin,
would be without parallel. On the other hand, several places shew
that the scribe either did not finish his signs well, or was only able
to impress some strokes very lightly. Hence I gave the name as
KA-SAR-LUGAL^ i.e. Kisir-sarri, which is a proper name, borne
by a witness on no. 600. Now our documents, see § 124, shew that
the nmkil apdte was an official of a person, usually of the King, or of
the Crown Prince. No one but high officials had such an officer.
Hence we may consider Kisir-sarri a high official. But if so, why is
not his office given ? We might perhaps consider KA-SAR as all
the name, he would then be king in B.C. 710. This is impossible.
Now the kisir sarri is often named, compare the kisir essi of Senna-
cherib. Now Professor Oppert read the phrase atta kasar sarri, and
as KA-SAR is an ideogram for kisru, we might read ana kisir sarri,
and regard it as part of the title, iii. R. gave LUGAL, Dr Peiser
read IN. The tablet seems to support Dr Peiser, but leaves a very
obscure term in the text.
In line 16, S. A, V. rightly gives u, after the first lu, which I
have omitted; but omits u after the first lu, in line 17, which I give
rightly. In line 18, 6". A. V. gives the first two signs of the name as
Isdu. In line 2, of reverse, at end read SE-an for SA-an. The
scribe ruled a line down the tablet to guide him in writing the names
of the witnesses. In line 13, the horizontal before arhu is doubtful,
but seems possibly intended. In the date, the KAN should be
slightly slanted down. On the obverse, there seem to be traces of
two slant wedges, in line 3, in the woman's name, after U, and the
sign at the end may have been tiwi, rather than 7ii. There was room
there for a name like U-pi-i-tum. I know of no parallel for the
name.
For Dagan-milki, see § 692 ; for Milkitiri, see § 513 ; for Summa-
ilani, see § 467 ; for Adda, see § 706 ; for Bel-emurani, see § 540 ;
for Tab-sar-Istar, see § 663; for Tabni, § 572; for the Eponym,
Mannu-ki-Istar-li', see § 492.
Imannll is the name of a witness on no. 598 ; compare Imanna,
on the Sargon stone, P. A. S. p. 12. The form Immanu occurs as
the name of a slave sold, on no. 275 ; the form Immani as that of a
witness, on no. 85. For a very similar name lamanii, see § 482, and
the Harran Census. Ahi-ramu is found, in the form A-hi-ra-mu, as
the name of a son of lahiri, of mat Salli, named by Asurnasirpal,
1. R. 20, 22 ; and as the name of a witness and mukil apdte, B.C. 667,
456 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
on no. 27. In the form PAP-ra-mu it is the name of a rab kisir^ on
no. 675 ; of a witness, on no. 290. The form PAP-ra-me-e is the
name of the writer of K 1899. The name Pakaha with the same
title, rab aldni, also a witness, B.C. 688, occurs on no. 238 ; the same
name occurs in K 657, and is used to denote Pekah, king of Israel,
by Tiglath Pileser III, in iii. R. 10, no. 2, 17. Nadbi-Iau only
occurs here : compare the Hebrew Nadab. Bindikiri only occurs
here.
710. No. 235. May have lost something of the beginning of
obverse ; at the end of reverse, perhaps two lines and the lower edge
are gone. Brown.
Nabd-sum-lisir sells Mardi, the gardener, his wife and
daughter, in all three souls, slaves of Nabii-sum-lisir, to
Kakkullanu, the rab kisir, for one mina of silver. The
date is lost. Ten witnesses.
Pk, D,Ac, C, C, D, S,, S, (P„ Fe), F.
G. Smith quoted from it, Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112; compare
Revillout, Rev. d' Egyptologie^ 1885, p. 184, no. i.
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 5133, 7442, 7443, 8792, 8979.
The whole of line i is restored, there is hardly a trace legible.
In line 2, bel is not on the tablet now. In line 9, of obverse, before
apil sarrij I have given the wrong sd; S. A. V. gives it correctly.
In rev., line i, the last sign is better read ni. In line 4, the name of
the city is spelt Ni-na-a.
For Nabu-sum-lisir, see § 465 ; for Mardi, see § 486 ; for Kakkul-
lanu, see § 510; for Kisir-Asur, see § 405 ; for MardCi, § 486; for
Likipu, see § 657 ; for Apil-sarri-ilai, see § 500 ; for Balasi, see § 521 ;
for Hubasate, see § 472 ; for Akru, see § 572.
Ilu-na'id only occurs here. The name, in rev. line 16, is too
uncertain to restore. The last name, on the left-hand edge, is too
damaged to be restored.
No. 236. Almost complete. Red.
Kikimanu sells his two slaves, sarru-usur, and
his mother, to Summu-ilani, for a mina of silver, Car-
chemish standard. Dated, the 2nd of Du'Clzu, Ep
Six witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, {F,, F,\ R
Extracts are given ^V. A. V. 5169, 6710, 7885.
JJr Bezold, Cata. p. jo8, considers that line 10 of reverse contains
the name of an l^ponym, Nabu-buUit. It seems to me more likely
AND DOCUMENTS. 457
tliat the Eponym's name was written at the end of Hne 9, and that
Nabd-buUit was the name of the aba^ and scribe of the tablet ; sabii
{duppi).
In line i, the initial iV/iVis an error of mine, for su. In line 14,
Professor Zimmern, G. G. A. p. 248, proposes to restore NIN-LIL,
rather than NIN-GAL. Whether, in line 5 of rev., the scribe meant
to write Samas-musezib, or Samas-sezib, is hard to say. He wrote mu
and then zib.
The seller's name Kikimanu only occurs here. Perhaps it was
meant to be Ki-km-na-ni. For the buyer, Summa-ilani, see § 467 ;
for Zazi, see § 476 ; for Sin-na'id, see § 475.
Samas-sezib was the name of a witness, B.C. 700, on no. 176; of
a witness, B.C. 688, on no. 240; of a witness, B.C. 676, on no. 175.
On the other hand Samas-musezib does not occur. Nabll-res-isi was
the name of a witness, and atii^ Ep. T, on no. 618; occurs on K 636,
as the name of the father of Ardu-musesi; as a specimen name,
App. I, III.- 48. In the form AN-AK-SAG-i-si^ it occurs in K 1187;
in the form AN-PA-SAG-GA-TU^ as a specimen, App. i, iii. 47.
Marduk-sum-iddin, spelt as here, may be the name of a buyer, son of
Arbailai, on no. 458. In the form AN-AMAR-UD-MU-AS, it is
the name of a witness, B.C. 698, on nos. 473 and 474; occurs on
no. 892; and in K 89 ; 83-1-18, 73. In the form AN-AMAR-
UD-MU-MU it occurs as the name of a king of Babylon (?) with
Samsi-Adad, and Marduk-rimani, M. V. A. G. 1898, p. 14 f. It
occurs also as the name of a bel pahdti, in K 13090 ; as the husband
of Bisa, B.C. 565, on 81-7-27, 201 ; compare iv. R. 38, iii. 21. A
form AN-AMAR-UD-MU-SE-na occurs in K 912; a form AN-
RID-MU-SE-na, in Sm. 1030; and a form AN-RID-MU-MU z.s
the name of a king of Babylon, circa B.C. 850, in 11. R. 65, no. i ;
III. 18, 22. It is not clear that the last name ended with TI-LA.
It might be Nabu-balatsu, compare S. A, F. 5717 ; or even Nabti-
balatsu-ikbi, see § 506. If it did end so, we could read it Nabti-ballit,
as in K 10 10, or the specimen name App. i, in. 16. But it is little
use speculating with such uncertainty.
711. No. 237. Almost complete. Drab to brown.
Si'natan sells the slaves, Dinanu, his wife Gabia, in all
two souls, slaves of his, to Rimani-Adadi, the mukil apdte^
for one mina of silver. Dated, the loth of Sabatu, B.C. 665.
Fourteen witnesses.
Pk, A Ac, Q C\ D\ S,, S, {P„ F,\ F.
45 8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The first name Si-natan, I take to be one of the compounds of
Si', it only occurs here. For Dinanu, see § 501 ; for Gabia, compare
the masculine Gabbi, etc., in § 538; for Rimani-Adadi, see § 467;
for Kisir-Asur, see § 405 ; for Niniiai, see § 508 ; for Nabu-sezibani,
see § 482 ; for the Eponym, Mannu-ki-sarri, see § 534.
In line 5, the scribe wrote e for ma ; hardly intentionally. In
line 7, there is no ad^ in ta-ad-din. In line 13, after Rimani-Adadi,
we have the beginning of u. On the reverse, in line 8, the name
really is Kisir-Asur, followed by the title amel hazdnu. The name
in line 9, begins with a more complex sign than EN\ AN-EN yN\\}!\
the ligature is most likely. In line 12, after DI iox A-a read ni-SI-
LAL 'y that is on the whole, Ilu-di-ni-emur. At the end SB is
doubtful. In the next Hne ka is very doubtful. In line 14, for lu
read // certain.
The name Bel-aplu-iddina was borne by a seller and rabu of
Tarbisi, B.C. 671, on nos. 258, 530, 609; and was a witness on
no. 291. In these places it is written EN-A-AS. We have the
form AN-EN-A-SE-na on no. 258; the form EN-A-SE-na lower
in line 12. The same form as in Hne 5 is the name of a bdrii of
Nabii aplu-iddina's, named by Asurnasirpal, i. R. 23, 20. Sin-abu-
usur is the name of a witness and aba^ on no. 353. Adadi-sar-usur
is also the name of a seller, son of Asur-sallim, B.C. 670, on no. 266.
In the form AN-IM-MAN-PAP^ it is a specimen name, App. 3, 11. 4.
It also occurs in the form AN-U-MAN-PAP^ as the name of a
neighbour, on no. 610. Bel-ili-milki only occurs here. Bel-taklak is
also the name of a witness of Nuhuttai, B.C. 710, on no. 416 ; and of a
slave on no. 913. Rihime-sarru only occurs here. Ilu-dini-emur only
occurs here. He was probably son of the witness in line 5. Adadi-
sallim is the name of a witness, B.C. 645, on no. 333 ; of a witness
on no. 578; occurs on no. 674. He was son of Aka, if that is the
correct reading. The name Aka does not occur elsewhere. Muttallu
was the name of a son of Tarhulara, prince of Gurgum, named in
Sargon's Annals, see Winckler's Sargon, passim. Also it was the
name of a prince of Kummuh, ally of Argistis of Urartu, also in
Sargon's Annals : see Winckler's Sargon. It is possible these were
the same person. Sachau, Z. A. vii. p. 99 compares the Cilician
name MoraArys.
Ahu-ilai, or perhaps better Ahi-ilai, is the name of a witness and
sa sepd, li.c. 679, on no. 364; of a seller, b.c. 698, on no. 371 ; of a
bel pahdti of Nineveh, on no. 853 ; of an irrisu^ with his people, on
AND DOCUMENTS. 459
no. 742 ; and in the form S/S-AN-a-a, of a witness, on no. 384.
The name Dui seems to be the genitive of Du. For on no. 377, we
have Du-a, brother of Mannu-ki-.sabe, B.C. 664; on no. 326, Du-n-a^
a witness, of Assur, in Ep. t. The form Dii-i^ as here, is the name
of a witness and aha^ B.C. 668, on no. 472 ; of a seller, on no. 419 ;
of a son of NabH-dCir-usur, Ep. Q, on no. 446; is named, B.C. 711,
on no. 676; and occurs in K 1946, 1948; Rm. 11. 130.
712. No. 238, now that 82-3-23, 134 has been joined to
83-1-18, 336, is complete, except the beginnings of the first six
lines, and a few broken places. Dark brown.
Bel-Harran-ittia sells sixteen of his slaves in three
family groups, salla, four souls; mu, six souls;
f ive (?) souls; to Summa-ilani, the mukil apdte^ for
... minas, Carchemish standard. Dated, Nisanu, B.C. 688.
Twelve witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F,, F,\ F.
The numbers do not add up correctly. It is difficult to say
which is wrong. The ' four ' in line 3 is the most likely. It may
really be six. In line 5, the five may be only four. In line 6, after
Bel, nothing is visible but the traces of the lower parts of the signs.
In line 7, I have written bur iox pis. I am not sure which the scribe
really wrote, but /// is correct, of course. In line 9, read sd for sa.
In line 11, at the end, ad-din is a restoration. In line 12, at end,
only traces of ki are visible, u must be regarded as restoration. In
line 13, no trace of lassii is now left. In line i, of reverse, UD is
omitted after AZA G. In line 2, the traces before ana belesu favour
ana esrdte ; kaspu seems to have been at the end of line i. In
line 3, nothing is now visible of itia la. In line 8, the title is clearly
aba, not dsi^i. In line 9, however, the scribe wrote A-ZU. See
G. G. A.. 1898, p. 248. In line 15, the atnclu and MU dJQ not on
the tablet. In line 16, only part of ^/ is now visible.
The seller's name, Bel-Harran-ittia, also occurs as that of a
witness, mar sipri of the belit biti in Ep. H, on no. 50; it is also a
specimen name, App. 3, xii. 29. The names of the slaves are not
to be restored. For Summa-ilani, see §467; for Ahi-niiri, §518;
for Atinni, see § 661 ; for Abda', see § 512 ; for Pahaka, see § 709 ;
for Zazi, see § 476 ; on the Eponym, Iddin-ahe, see § 473 ; for
Tab-sar-Nabii, see § 663.
Sama' occurs also as the first witness on nos. 239, 240, with the
same title as here : murabd7iu of the Crown Prince. Hence, in
460 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
no. 240, we may conclude that Nergal-sum was the name of the
Crown Prince, B.C. 688. Sama' is also a witness and murabanu^
B.C. 694, on no. 427. With this name we may compare Same', the
nasiku of Hindana, in Sargon's Amials, 269 : also the name of a
witness, B.C. 683, on no. 51; and B.C. 680, on no. 359. It is
doubtful whether we have here the same name as Sa'mu, a witness
on no. 259. We may compare Samaku, the father of Samas-ukin-ahi,
slain by Atar-kamu, on no. 321 ; and Samaka, a witness, on no. 598.
Compare also Sama', in § 707.
Nabd-husani is the name of a witness, B.C. 693, on no. 491 ;
named in K 1585. Also it is the name of a witness and mukil
apdte, B.C. 688, on no. 239; and a specimen name, App. i, i. 34.
Halua only occurs here, but may be restored on no. 239, line 18.
As Hal is an ideogram for barii, perhaps we should read this name
Barua : but a number of compounds of a verb hdlu occur. Thus
Hali-ilu is the name of a mandidu on K 931. Hale-abu occurs on
no. 792. Halimusu occurs on no. 877. Hallu is the name of an
ancient Babylonian monarch. Halla-alla' is the name of the father
of Lake, on K 680. Hallaba, the name of a witness and isparu^ on
no. 386, may be different in root. But Hallia, on no. 288, compare
Halli..., a witness and tamkaru, on no. 312 ; Halli-arraka, a witness
and ada, on no. 469, surely belong to the same group. Hull, the
name of a slave, B.C. 668, on no. 184; also an irrisu in K 582 ;
and Hulli, of Bit Burutas, father of Ambaris ; named by Tiglath
Pileser III. as succeeding Uassurme on the throne of Tabal,
II. R. 67, 65; and later by Sargon, A7in. 171, see Winckler's
Sargon, passim \ compare K 13854; are also suggestive of the same
root. The group Hilani-Asur, in K 571 ; Hilia, name of a witness,
on no. 265 ; and Hili-Istar, on no 902 ; are further examples. We
may compare the Neopunic ^n, in TV! ii. p. 273 b : for a meaning
see j^t^n iV. ^. p. 273 a.
The next name seems to be Susa, which only occurs here and in
the parallel passage of no. 239 probably. SaibOa only occurs here.
The ib is very clear. Bcl-nasir, spelt as here, is the name of a
witness, on no. 481 ; occurs in no. 909 ; is the name of a bcl pahCiti^
on no. 1 104; occurs in K 12, 651; and as a specimen name
App. 3, I. 18. The form AN-EN-PAP-ir is the name of a witness,
B.C. 676, on no. 576; and occurs in K 566. The form AN-EN-
SIS-ir is borne by a writer of Astrological reports, K 808, 1599;
81-2-4, 81, 485; 82-5-22, 69, 1778; 83-1-18, 195. The form
AND DOCUMENTS. 461
U-PAP-ir is the name of a witness, B.C. 673, on no. 118 ; AN-EN-
iia-sir occurs in K 1393, an uncle of Tdb-silli-Marduk \ as writer of
the astrological reports K 12017; 83-1-18, 896. A reference to
no. 239, rev. 6, makes it likely that we should restore the title in
rev. 14, as KU-KA-SAR, or RAB-KU-KA-SAR.
Bel-li' is the name of a witness and irrtsu, B.C. 700, on no. 294 ;
of a witness, B.C. 660, on no. 12; of a witness, on no. 355 ; and
occurs in K 186. The form A N-EN-ZU occurs as the name of an
amelu zazakku, in K 15 19. The form AN-EN-DA is the name of
a writer of astrological reports, a mas7?iasu, and mar Egibi^ on K 188,
734, 761, 960, 1399, also in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 1162.
Dr Bezold, Cata. p. 1990 b, reads this Bel-itti. The form EN- DA
is found in K 1134; AN-EN-DI-IK, on K 10489; 83-1-18, 775.
713. No. 239. The upper part is lost. Drab.
There is a remarkable similarity between this and the last. Here
the price is given as eighteen minas, Carchemish standard, which
might well be the price of the sixteen slaves in no. 238. The list of
witnesses, so far as preserved, is the same, the date seems similar,
Nisanu in both cases, note the omission of the day in both cases.
There are a few faults in my copy. In line 6, the ru at end is
not on the tablet. In line 9, the last maresu is not preserved, so
also in line 11. In line 13, the scribe seems to have meant 'twenty
minas of silver'; though one wedge is doubtful. In line 14, in place
of e read ni. In line 15, after KA-KA^ read 7na. On this tablet the
sixth witness is an aba^ on no. 238, he is an clsiIl. On the reverse,
the scribe ruled a line down the beginning of lines 8 — 11.
As the names of the principals are not recorded here, it may
well be that this is a duplicate of no. 238, but it may not be so.
No. 240. Only the left half, or so, of the tablet is preserved.
Black.
Here also there is a close likeness to no. 238, or no. 239. The
same witnesses occur, to some extent. The date is Nisanu, appa-
rently in the same year, but the day of the month was given. If it
were possible to adjust the names of the slaves, so as to suit the
remains in no. 238, we might regard them as duplicates. But the
name Ilu-natan seems to be complete, at any rate it is not likely to
have ended in ni-la. The name Ilu-natanu occurs in the Harran
Census. The name Ad(ini-ttiri is discussed in § 554. The name of
neither seller nor buyer is preserved, but the former began with Bel
and the next character might well be Harran. The buyer was a
462 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
mukil apdte. On this text I have given SU in the title by error. The
price here seems to be different from that in the former two texts.
So far as preserved the text has the same formula as the others.
For Zazi, see § 476; for Samas-sezib, see § 710; for Bel-ahesu, see
§ 687. The name Mannu-ki... could be restored in many ways. In
line 13, of reverse, the first sign may be daji or e. The second is
probably ha. The last witness is the same as on no. 238. It is
quite conceivable that all three tablets had the same names, but in
different orders. It is not clear therefore how they are related :
perhaps they refer to different sales executed the same month.
714. No. 241. Now that 82-5-22, 30 and Bu. 89-4-26, 123,
have been joined to K 15 13, the tablet is all but complete. Drab.
Na'id-ilu, the santi, sells seventeen souls in all, his
slaves, including Silli-Bel, and Asur-bel-usur, with their
families, to Bultaia, for eight and a half minas of silver,
royal standard. Dated, the 15th of some month, year
not given. Perhaps thirteen witnesses.
Fk, n, Ac, c, c, n\ s,, s, (i^, f,), f
Here the figures are puzzling. Line 3 probably began with a
slave's name which must have been short, followed by assatusu II
maresu martusu, which would give five. Then came clearly mar-
maresu mdrti II amcite ; if there were two grandsons and two maids,
that would make the nine in line 5 correct. The grandsons were
therefore sons of the daughter named in line 4. Then Silli-Bel, his
wife and son, account for three more, Asur-bel-usur for another three,
but the scribe gives seventeen. If we take more than nine in the
first two lines, we shall contradict line 5. Yet two are lacking. All
I can suggest is that in line 4 there were four grandsons, and that
the two maidservants were not counted in the nine, but were counted
in the seventeen.
In line 4, of reverse, a careful reconsideration of the traces has
convinced me that we ought to read Hal-pa-a-a ; and in line 6,
ITU...a-a. In the title AF-MES is quite certain. In line 7,
instead of nasiku, the scribe may have written EN-GUR-KU. At
the end of line 10, for sd read amelu. 'J'he city name appears to be
Ku-da-ru. The trace of the Eponym's name is probably the end
of bel.
For Na'id-ilu, see § 504; for Sillu-Bel see § 493; for Asur-bel-usur,
see § 526 ; for Arbailai, see § 479.
Bultaia only occurs here, but Bulla is very common. It was the
AND DOCUMENTS. 463
name of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 43 ; of a slave sold, B.C. 686, on
no. 453 ; of a seller and ch?/, B.C. 680, on no. 359 ; of the grantee,
rdl? SE-KI-SI, B.C. 655, on no. 647 ; of a neighbour, Ep. A', on
no. 414; of an irrisu, with his people, in NClni, on no. 742.
Compare the later Babylonian texts, in P. A. S., passim. Also we
may note Bultia, in K 1366.
Among the witnesses the first trace gives only Ga. The next
name may well have begun with Taribi.... On the whole I think
we might read line 3, as NabiVmukin-mati. An exact parallel is
wanting. Nabii-mukin-zer would do also, and that is a specimen
name, App. i, 11. 49. The name Haldi-ilai is that of a witness and
ikkaru^ B.C. 680, on no. 360. The better reading Halpai only occurs
here, but compare n'dSh, and is'pn, in N. E. p. 274 a. The title is
still uncertain ; perhaps only a ditto sign. Nabti-ahu-iddin is dis-
cussed in § 534, he seems to be followed by a ditto sign. Whether
the next witness was called Tebetai, or UMlai, or some other month
name is not easy to decide. Haldi-ahu-usur only occurs here.
The restoration of line 9 is suggested by the rare initial Ku and
the space. We have Kti as the name of a witness, son of Samas-ikbi,
B.C. 676, on no. 40; Ku-u-a^ name of a witness, on no. 46; and in
K 1008, 1078; Ku-u a-a, name of the seller, B.C. 682, on no. 363;
Ku-u-ia, name of a witness, B.C. 687, on no. 43. With these names
compare the Cilician names Koai, Kory, Koa, Kom?, Z. A. vii. p. 10 1.
But there are, of course, other names beginning in Ku^ of which I
had not thought. The restoration is therefore quite unreliable. The
name beginning with Isdi admits of many completions. The same
applies to the remaining traces.
715. No. 242. Nearly complete. Drab.
Two owners, Kirimzu and another, sell their two
slaves, Nabu-na'id and Akbara his wife, to the sakintu
of Kabal ali, for one mina of silver, royal standard.
Dated, the 6th of Tebetu, B.C. 692(?). Five witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, a, D\ S„ 6*2 {P„ Po), F, B.
The date seems to be in the Eponymy of Zazi, though the traces
at the end favour an ending in e, or ia. Owing to the polyphony of
the second sign, it is uncertain how we should read the seller's name.
It only occurs here. For Nabti-na'id, see § 491 ; for Nabtl-asarid,
see § 655. In this name, rev. 11, I have wrongly given AK for PA.
The female name Akbara only occurs here, but compare the
masculine Akbar, § 534. The name Eni-ili is interesting in view of
464 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the controversy over the name of the old Babylonian monarch,
Ine-Sin. It was the name of a witness, B.C. 679, on no. 462; of a
witness, on no. 168 ; of a king of Hamath, 11. R. 67, 58 ; iii. R. 9, 51 ;
and is a specimen name, App. 3, iii. 5. Sa-Istar-dubu only occurs
here. Ahu-nadbi only occurs here, compare Nadbi-Iau, § 709.
Samas-iddina is the long form of Samas-iddin. It occurs in K 4673
and in later Babylonian texts, see S. A. V. 7912. The form AD-
UD-AS is the name of a witness, on no. 52; of a serf, with his
people, on no. 661 ; of a bel 7nahdru on no. 680. The form
AD- UD-M U occnrs in later Babylonian texts, 5. ^. F. 7912; as
does the form AN-UD-MU-nu.
In line 10, read ki for ki. In line 8, the scribe omitted ni.
716. No. 243. Several small pieces are lost; but the tablet is
nearly complete. Brown to black.
Sulmu-Bel sells Pappti, perhaps a camel-ward, a woman
Talpu, and another, for three minas of silver, royal stan-
dard. Dated, b.c. 693 or B.C. 688. Eight wit-
nesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F„ F,\ F.
In line 5, in place of mii, read/z/. In place of UD, we perhaps
have a division mark. The scribe wrote ki in line 11, not ki. In
place of reverse, line i, it would be better to say that la-as-su man-nu
were on the lower edge. Then, also on that edge, are faint traces of
sd ina ur, followed by the beginning of Ms. Then on the first line
of reverse, appear traces of ku-pa-a-ni.
For Sulmu-Bel, see § 706; for Sulmu-sarri, see § 517; for
Latubasani-Istar, and Latubasani-ilu, see § 480 ; for the Eponym,
Iddin-ahe, see § 473.
The name PappO, owing to the polyphony of the first sign, might
be read in various ways. Spelt as here, it was the name of a witness
and neighbour, Ep. K, on no. 329. In the form Pap-pu-u, it is the
name of a witness, B.C. 694, on no. 281 ; of a witness, on no. 538 ;
of a borrower, b.c. 712, on no. 5 ; of an irrisu, 'with his people, in
Lukummai,' on no. 742, and occurs in 83-1-18, 75. It was the name
of a del narkal)ti, on no. 857, 111. 41 ; occurs on no. 893; was the
name of an dsli on no. 912 ; of the master of Sakiru on no. 913;
occurs on no. 987 ; was the name of an aba of the Palace, on
no. 1077; and a specimen name App. i, xi. 15. Related names
may be Pappai, in later Jial)ylonian texts, S. A. V. 6954 ; and
Pappatum ; the name of the author of the wock A~BIR-BA-A-RI-A
AND DOCUMENTS. 465
and of A A^-MUN-supu-usur^ Sm. 669, 5, see Haupt's Nimrod-Kpos^
p. 91. The name seems very like the lull names of Asia Minor,
Papa, l\ippa ; compare the Punic '•QS, in N. E. p. 353 b. If this was
a name of endearment, Hke our 'baby,' or 'pet,' perhaps we should
read the name in no. 171, line 3, as PappCl-usur. It seems evident
that, after his title, the name of the next slave followed. I think we
should complete the title, in line 4, as US IMAR A-AB-BA. The
woman's name, Talpu, only occurs here. I cannot restore the buyer's
name, from the traces, in line 8.
Erba-Istar occurs as the name of a witness and {amcl) kasir,
B.C. 698, on no. 328. Ardi-ahesu was the name of a witness,
B.C. 707, on no. 350; of a neighbour, on no. 429; of a sa/si/, on
no. 860; and occurs in K 1461. In the form ARAD-SIS-MES-su
it occurs in K 499. The next name is a little difficult to be sure of.
Since KA is the ideogram for 'mouth,' we might read Ilu-pa-usur.
The same would apply to the name of a principal, B.C. 648, on
no. 696. But the form AN-KA-A-PAP suggests the reading Ilu-
pia-usur, in K 8390. A specimen name, App. 3, 11. 30 reads
AN-KA-ia-PAP^ or again Ilu pia-usur is possible. But AN-SI-
ia-PAP, the name of a reVi, in K 10 11, suggests Ilu-pania-usur.
On the other hand AN-KA-BAR, the name of a witness, B.C. 686,
on no. 374; of a neighbour, B.C. 687, on no. 624; looks like Iluka-
asarid, ' thy god is a prince.' The name AN-KA-IA-A, name of a
witness, on no. 288, may be read IlukaTa, 'thy god is la.' Hence
our name may after all be Iluka-nasir, ' thy god is a saviour.'
Some doubt may be felt concerning the reading of the next name.
Kitai would be phonetic, but only occurs here. On the other hand,
KI-TA so often interchanges with sepa^ that we may think of Sepai,
which might be abbreviated from one of the common name Sepa-
Adadi, Sepa-Asur, etc.
717. No. 244. Only portions are left. Drab.
Babilai sells four of his slaves, Taribi-Istar, his brother,
his wife, and her daughter, to the lady Barsippaitu, for
three minas of silver, 'according to the mina of the
merchant.' Dated, in Arahsamna, Ep. Asur.... At least
eighteen witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (P„ F„ P,), P
In line 14, the kaspu after MA-NA is an error of mine. It is
hard to say whether the sign GU or KU was written at the end of
this line. The traces look like KA with an inserted su. Hence I
J. III. 30
466 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
can only appeal to the parallels, in § 614, for the assumption that it
is to be read ikkaL The SIG-RU-DU is quite clear. In line 15,
there is no am before mar. Professor Jensen suggests to me that
we should read aiiimar (karpat) agmu satru tsatti, and render, ' he
shall drink the whole contents of an inscribed bowl.' I had thought
of reading KUR-R U as sairu, but did not see a meaning for that.
I now too think the inscribed bowl' intended was one inscribed with
a curse, or magical text ; like the many inscribed bowls known to
contain exorcisms and the like. This would no doubt be an 'ordeal.'
At the end of line 16 was clearly the name of a god, who is said to
be ctsib ali. It must have been a short name, and perhaps the phrase
was general ilisu asib ali, 'of his god inhabiting the city,' i.e. the city
where the delinquent lives. But alu may denote Nineveh. The
verb irrakasa shews the existence of rakdsu, alongside rakdsu.
On the whole section, see § 614. In line 19, insert ma after
KA-KA. In reverse, line 7, read sd for sa. At the end of line 12,
ki is very doubtful. At the end of line 16, GAL is not on the
tablet.
For Babilai, see §498; for Taribi-Istar, see §476; for Nintiai,
see §508; for Hambi, see §690; for Rimani-Adadi, see §467; for
Ilu-nasir, see § 486 ; for Nabti-sallim, and Sagibi, see § 465.
Barsippaitu only occurs here. The name of the witness in rev.
line 4, cannot be restored. There were six witnesses, all sake. The
name of Ardi-Sin also occurs in K 485, where he writes to a ndgir
ekalli. Asur-ahi-iddin was probably not the Prince, afterwards King,
Esarhaddon. The name was also borne by a witness and rdb kisir,
B.C. 695, on no. 616. The next name may be Ahu-ukin-ka, or
Ahu-mukinka, Ahu being the name of a god (?). But we might also
read it Kurduka. The name was borne by a witness, B.C. 672, on
no. 53; and by a neighbour, in Kipsuna, B.C. 680, on no. 359.
The name of his master may have been Sin-ittia, but that has no
other occurrence in our documents. The next name may be read
Ukin-ahi, or Kin-ahi, or Keni§^-u.sur, but only occurs here. Haldi-
etir only occurs here. Ilu-ibni, in the form AN-KAK, which might
also be read Ilu-bani, occurs as the name of a witness, brother of the
hazdnu, Ep. t, on no. 326; and as a specimen name, App. 3, 11, 22.
Who the Eponym was I am unable to say.
718. No. 245. Only portions are preserved. Red.
Minahimu sells three women lakar-ahe, her daughter,
and Abia-ahia, to the lady Abu-rahi, sister of the sakifitu^
AND DOCUMENTS. 467
for two minas of silver, Carchemish standard. The date
is not preserved. At least five witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, 5, {F„ 7^,), F.
A Latin version of the text by Mr T. G. Pinches, and the
Aramaic docket, are published, C. I. S. p. 39. The Aramaic docket
merely gives nruD*?, from Menahem.
For Minahimu, see § 502 ; for Abi-rahi, or Adrahi, see
§484; for Silim-ilu, see §477; for Didi, see §470; for Milki, see
§513-
The female name lakar-ahe only occurs here. Compare the
female name lakira, name of a slave sold, Ep. A, on no. 435.
Abia-ahia only occurs here ; but it is also a man's name, borne by
a witness, B.C. 674, on no. 404. For the class of name compare
Abi-umme, in § 554. How to complete the witness's name in rev.
line 10, I do not know. Names beginning with Z?/ are rare. But
as ZU is an ideogram for td^}, etc., the name may have begun
differently. The next name was probably that of the Eponym, and
in the last line was sakm mat..., the title of the Eponym.
719. No. 246. This is said in the Catalogue, p. 1882, to be
the 'lower half.' This can hardly be correct. It is probable that
not more than two lines could have preceded what is preserved of
obverse. Red.
Three or four owners, a sa/su, a rdl? ki'st'r, perhaps called
Atalu-sumia, and a son of Bel-Harran-taklak, among them,
sell thirteen slaves, Ahi-niiri, his sister and daughter, in
all three souls; Mannu-ki-Nintla, his w^ife, and two sons,
in all five souls; Nabtl-etir, his wife, Nabti-musallim and
Niirai ; to Summa-ilani, for three and a half minas of silver.
The date is lost. At least eleven witnesses, ten of them
servants of the Crown Prince.
Fk, D, Ac, C\ C, D\ S„ S, {F„ F,).
In line 4, all the sellers are collectively described as be/, the
MES is a mistake of mine. The figures do not agree with the
summations. In line 6, a man, his wife, and two sons are counted
five. If this were correct, three souls, five souls, with four others
are counted thirteen. I think there is a double error in line 6. In
place of ' two ' read ' four,' i.e. SA, then, alter the ' five ' to ' six,' and
all will be correct. In the first line of reverse, the sign kis is oddly
made. It is formed of RIM, with inserted hal followed by es. In
line 2, read the other amelu. In line 3, the first amelu is doubtful.
30—2
468 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
It is very noteworthy that the person named here as seller is not
one of those named in the preamble, so far as it is preserved, but a
certain Silli-Asur, a bel pahati^ and the first persons named as likely
to interfere on his behalf, are the amelc kdtdtesu, 'his agents.'
Hence the persons named in the preamble obviously acted as his
agents, and he was the real seller. In line 4, the scribe has written
a short vertical, after the first me. In line 5, before ni, read z^ for tc ;
and in line 7, read sd for sa. In line 8, read the other amelu, and
for the doubtful arku, read US-SE, apparently, for which I know no
meaning. In the next line read the other amelu, but here the
doubtful arku seems meant for imeru, hence probably both are
intended for inter. Here the //which follows seems intended for
a ditto sign. There is a common title sanii sa rdb urdte. Perhaps
in line 8, we have some ideogram for urdte., and both men bore the
same title. In line 16, before 7nu are the traces of DI ; the name,
therefore, was Sulmu-ahe. In line 17, there may be traces of a77iele
after the 'ten.'
Atalu-sumia is a curious name, 'Eclipse is my name' is hardly
likely, but that is the best I can make of the traces. For Bel-
Harran-taklak, see §704; for Ahi-n0ri, see §518; for Mannu-ki-
Ninlia, see §474; for Nabti-etir, see §573; for Summa-ilani, see
§ 467 ; for Nabua, see § 486 ; for Nabti-sar-ahesu, see § 475 ; for
Sulmu-ahe, see § 470.
Nabu-musallim only occurs here, unless we are so to read
AN-FA-GI, a specimen name, App. i, in. 25 ; but compare
Nab(i-usallim, in § 465. Ndrai only occurs here. Silli-Asur, or
Sil-Asur, was the name of a buyer, B.C. 692, on no. 324; of a slave
sold, B.C. 670, on no. 266 ; and occurs on no. 860. The form
IS-MI-Asur occurs as the name of a buyer, aba Musurai, B.C. 692,
variant of this form in our text, on no. 324; also as the name of a
seller, on no. 314. Ila only occurs here, in our texts; but was the
name of a ruler of Laki, named by Asurnasirpal, i. R. 24, 43, 45.
The name should be Aramaic. The name Ka only occurs here, but
compare K(ia, § 714. Hantusu only occurs here, but compare
Handu, in § 513. Rimani-Asur only occurs here, and as the name
of a serf with his people, on no. 752. For Abi-ikamu compare
Abi-kamu, on no. 845. Sin-zakappi only occurs here, but compare
the specimen name, Sin-zakip, App. 3, iv. 20. How to read the
next name is a puzzle. Hubani, for Ahu-bani ; Huda, like Hudai,
the name of a son of Musurai, and seller, Ep. G, on no. 250 ; and
AND DOCUMENTS. 469
of a seller, on no. 249 ; arc perhaps possible. What Hudadi means
in rev. 16, is not clear. It may be a proper name; perhaps read
Bagdadi, compare Bagdada, an officer in command of a troop,
no. 947, 9. Also we may instance the name Bagdatti, spelt both
HU-da-at-ti and Ba-ag-da-at-ti, in Sargon's Annals, king of Umildis,
stirred up by Rusa of Armenia, against Aza of Mannai, whom he
with JMitatti of Zirkirtu contrived to murder ; but was conquered by
Sargon and flayed in vengeance, B.C. 716; see Winckler's Sargon^
passim. There was a town called Hudaddi, or Bagdaddi, see
Tiglath Pileser III., b. 6.
720. No. 247. All but a few lines are preserved, perhaps two
are lost at the top of obverse, and a few pieces from other parts.
Nearly black.
Several sellers dispose of Sin-alik-pani, his wife and
daughter; Lu , his wife and daughter; Usa
and wife; in all 'ten' souls; to Rimani-Adadi, for
minas of silver, Carchemish standard. Dated, the 21st
of Nisanu, year lost. Fourteen witnesses.
Ac, C, C\D\S„B,S,{F,,F,\F.
G. Smith, Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112, refers to line 16.
In line 2, after mdratsu may be UD-sti, i.e. batusii, 'a maid,'
see § 704. If so, there is no trace of the name of the second pater
familias. In line 4, after GAR, the sign seems to be made so on
the tablet. It appears to be the sign SAKKAD, Br. 8863, for
which a meaning kubsii is given. Perhaps he was a 'turban maker,'
see H. IV. B. p. 316 a. But the total does not agree with the items.
Either other slaves were named in lines i and 2, or else perhaps there
was a numeral before amele sa kubsesii. In line 13, after ifidr-mdre
the scribe wTOte sii, not su. In line 12, ?iii-te is restored, in line 13,
from after indrmdresu to end of line: in line 14, nu \ in line 15,
MES-su; in line 16, GI; m line 17, a-na. In line i of reverse, for
GUR read u and restore tdra. In line 3, there may have been more
after SI. In line 14, after rdb, urdt is restored. The Eponym's
name probably came, in line 16, and that of the scribe, in
line 17.
The name of the first slave seems complete. If so, we have a
phonetic spelling of the divine name Sin. Sin-alik-pani only occurs
here. U-sa is an unusual beginning for a name. I can think of no
parallel. For Rimani-Adadi, Samas-sar-usur and Nabu-erba, see
§ 467 ; for Nergal-sar-usur, Uarbis, and Zardti, see § 515 ; for Nabu-
470 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sezib, see § 471 ; for Sukkai, see § 484; and for Samas-sallim, see
§ 490-
Istar-sum-eres is a very frequently occurring name in the letters.
In the form X V-MU-KAM-es it is the name of a witness, B.C. 660,
on no. 445, and occurs in the letters, or reports, K 115, 527, 572,
696, 697, 728, 731, 733, 765, 773, 788, 981, 1032, 1039, 1049, 1540;
D. T. 148; Rm. 73, 195, 212; Rm. 11. 6; 80-7-19, 57; 81-7-27, 19;
83-1— 18, 9, 10, 19, 224, 287; and on no. 851 is the name of a
masmasu. The form A N-XV- MU-KAM-es is the name of a witness
and rab aba, B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; of a witness and rdb {aba), on
no. 448; in K 2861, rev. 42, is the name of a rdb dupsarre of
Asurbanipal, son of Nabil-zer-lisir, the rab GI-U; also occurring in
the letters K 13906, and 83-1-18, 88. The form XV-MU-PIN-es
occurs in K 12, 671; the form AN-XV-MU-FIN-es in K 1335.
The form XV-MU-KAM ocqmx?, in K522, 966, 983, 5470; Rm. 200;
81-7-27, 29; 82-5-22, 55; 83-1-18, 250; Bu. 91-5-9, 14. The
form XV-MU-KAN occurs in K 1051 ; AN-Is-tar-MU-KAM in
K3877; AN-lstar-MU-KAM-es'vcvY^^^^o', NANNU- MU-KAM-es
in K 2670, B.C. 684, and in K 3504. Fragments of this name are
preserved; tar-MU-KAM-es, in K 2330, an aba, son of Nabti-
zukup-kenis; XV-MU. in K 124, 1082, 2909, 13000, dcwirrisw,
83-1-18, 120; 83-1-18, 271. The name beginning NANNU \w
K 132 1 ; the names ending in KAM-es, in K 13121; and in PIN-es,
in K 1428; and that ending in -es, in K 12555, probably belong here.
On the reading of the name, see B. A. S. i. p. 215, where Professor
Delitzsch concludes that Istar-sum-eres is usually son of Nabu-zukup-
kenis. But at least one of the above is son of NabCl-zer-lisir.
The name in rev. 10 is not easily restored, the ending gi-me is
unusual. The next name is I think best read Bel-lamur. This name
written EN-la-mur occurs as the name of a lender, b.c. 686, on
no. 9 ; of a witness and aba, Ep. H, on no. 50 ; of a witness and aba,
on no. 262, also in K 679 and as a specimen name, App. i, v. 16.
Sarru-ukin-ahi, Sarru-mukin-ahi, Sarru-kenis-usur are possible readings
of the next name, which in this form only occurs here. MAN-DU-
PAP occurs in K 11 33. Adadi-ahe-iddin only occurs here, but
compare Adadi-ahi-iddin, in § 655.
721. No. 248. The first three or four lines and the last three
probably are lost. Brown.
GabCi sells Sama^-imme, his wife, his son, and four
daughters, in all seven souls, to Musallim-lstar for one
AND DOCUMENTS. 47 1
hundred and eighty minas of bronze. Dated, the 3rd of
Simanu, h.c. 714. At least four witnesses. Four niinas
of bronze charged for nailmark.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F,, F,), F, B.
Samas-imme only occurs here. Gabri was also the name of a
witness and rab kisir, on no. 268. Compare Gabri-ilu in the Harran
Census. For Musallim Istar, see §481; for Isbu-lisir, see § 490.
How AN-MA was really read in proper names is still a puzzle ;
Nalbas-sami is only a conjecture. The sign ki in this name is
doubtful. The sign now looks more like is. Hence the name is
very uncertain. We might perhaps read Ilu-marim-lisir, but that
form seems unlikely at this period. Sagil-bi'di appears at first sight
to be for Esaggil-bi'di, as Sagillai is common in later Babylonian
texts, 6". A. V. 6486, 7730. But the element bVdi suggests an
Aramaic name, compare the names in Harran Census. Hence
we may compare *?:5^, a Palmyrene name, N. E. p. 372 a. For
Silim-Adadi, see § 577. After line 12, I have omitted the name
of a witness, which seems to be Asur-nadin-aplu, written AS-SUR-
AS-TUR-US. The name seems further to have ended in su, so that
we may read Asur-nadin-aplusu.
The Eponym's name seems to have been Asur-bani. The Eponym
of this name is given 11. R. 68, no. i, R 11 ; and iii. R. i, v. 11 as
Eponym B.C. 714-13. He was saknu of Kalhu. He dates nos. 248,
765, 677, 809, 926: was still bel pahati of Kalhu in B.C. 712, on
no. 676. A great many letters, K 556, 1059, 7339, 7548, 13016,
14138, 14139 ; Sm. 1031, were written by an official called Asur-bani,
who is also named in K 7506. The name Asur-KAK ^\i\Q\\ could
also be read Asur-epus, was the name of a witness, Ep. i/^, on
no. 351.
722. No. 249. A lower portion, below the seals onwards.
Nearly black.
Hudai sells Marduk-hutnu, Adi his brother, in all two
souls, slaves of his, to Niniiai, the sakil of the king, for
one mina thirty shekels of silver, Carchemish standard.
The date is lost. Five or six witnesses.
Ac, C, C\D\S,,S,{F,,F,\F
The slave's name, in line i, was really written AN-ASARU-
MULU-HI-hu-ut-nu, or Marduk-hutnu. For the ideogram, see
Br. no. 925. The name only occurs here. For Adi, see § 583,
and note that the same name is borne by a witness, in rev. 12. In
472 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
line II, 7tise would be a better restoration. In reverse, line 2, the
M mdresu should be in line 3, and in line 3, there is no lu-u before
mdr-77idresic which completes the line. There w^as no mar ahcsu. In
line 9, read su for su.
There is a faint Aramaic inscription on the side, which is not
noted in the Catalogue. It is written in two lines, of which the first
reads ...'•JLiOJD... and the second only has 1^ As the name
of neither party appears in this docket, it is difficult to say to what
the words refer, jjo can hardly be the preposition, as it seems to be
followed by 2. But ^JK' may be the title sanu. Of the other traces
I can make nothing.
For Hudai, see § 719; for Niniiai, see § 508; for Bel-danan, see
§ 494 ; the other traces of names I am unable to complete.
No. 250. Upper fragment. Brown.
Hudai, son of Musiirai, sells Allahazzi, his mother
Ahali-tabat, in all two souls, slaves of his, to Niniiai,
the saku sarri, for minas of silver, Carchemish
standard. Dated, the i8th of Kislimu, Ep. G. At least
five witnesses.
Fk, D, Ac, C...
The date is quoted, Ej>. Can. p. 98.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4362, 4822.
The text was published in. R. 46, no. 7, and repeated C. I. S.
p. 18 f.
A transliteration and translation were given by Oppert, Doc. Jur.
p. 213 f.
In line 3, both iii. R. and C. I. S. give su after Ahati. I did not
see it on the tablet. At the end of line 5, both seem to give md^, in
place of sarru. The traces in line 7 are really those of kasj>u gavmiiir
tadin. In reverse, line i, both iii. R. and C. I. S. give PAT iox
I star. In both Doc. Jur. and C. I. S. Oppert read Abu in place of
Kislimu, for the month. Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A 6, calls this
a Kaufvertrag^ uber den Verkauf von Sclaven.
Although the principals are the same this is clearly not a duplicate
of the last. The Aramaic docket evidently read \rbh^ nJH). Of this
name the Assyrian only keeps the end -azzi. In view of the names
in the Harran Census, I am disposed to read the name Alla-hazi,
but whether the Assyrian scribe wrote Al-la-ha-az-zi, or simply
AN-ha-az-zi, I cannot say. There does not seem to be room for
the first. 'I'he name only occurs here.
AND DOCUMKNTS. 473
For Hudai, sec § 719; for Musallim-Istar, sec § 481 ; for Nin(\ai,
see § 508 ; for I^tar-taribi, see § 493 ; for the Eponym, Musallim-
Asur, see § 572.
Musiirai only occurs here, but compare Mu-zu-ra-a-a, the name
of a slave sold, on no. 275 ; and Mu-su-ri, the name of a king of
Moab, III. R. 16, V. 14. I am not convinced that it necessarily
means, 'Egyptian.' Compare also the Punic, nvo. Ahatisu-tabat
or Ahati-tabat, only occurs here. Compare the masculine name,
Ahu-tab, name of a witness, B.C. 717, on no. 391 ; of a neighbour,
B.C. 716, on no. 382; occurring also in 83-1-18, 74. Marduk-
zer-ibni, spelt as here, is the name of a witness, B.C. 667, on no. 27 ;
of a witness and ada, B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; also on no. 445. The
form AN-AMAR-UB'ZER-KAK is the name of a witness, probably
aba, B.C. 660, on no. 362 ; occurs in K 5138, and in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. V. 155. The form AN-AMAR-UD-zb'-ib-ni occurs in
K 646, 961, 4796, and in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 590.
723. No. 251. Middle portion. Drab.
Nabu-ahi-iddin sells Akbaru and Mannu-ki-ahe, his
slaves, to Dannai, for half a mina of silver. The date is
lost. Five witnesses.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, {F„ F,\ F.
In the head-hne read 81 for 83. In line i, the last character
seems to have been tu. In line 7, the last two characters are not
preserved completely. In line 11, the first ;/^rtr is just recognisable,
then all is broken away to end of ta. The square brackets should
be inserted exactly above those in line 12. In line 2, of reverse, the
tablet seems to have been blank before kisir^ which seems to be part
of the title of line i. In line 4, the first character was KAK, the
second ia, written like the numeral 'five.' Hence the name probably
was Bania. Now that the silica has been removed, the script is
marvellously clear-cut and square.
For Akbaru, see § 534. Akbarutu would be unique. For
Mannu-ki-ahe, see § 471. For Nabu-ahi-iddin, see § 534; for
Dannai, see § 474.
Ahi-ikamu occurs also as a witness in K 4285 ; Ahi-iakamu in
no. 755. Bania is the name of a writer of an astrological report,
B.C. 649, in K 303 ; occurs P. A. 6". p. 4 ; in later Babylonian texts,
6". A. V. 1009; also in the form KAK-A. For Baniai, see § 573;
for Bani, see § 690.
724. No. 252. Has lost the preamble. The reverse is terribly
474 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
mutilated, and the material is so gritty that it is perishing rapidly.
Dark red.
The sons of Nabti-iali barter Ninllai, Nergal-nasir and
Zabinu, their three slaves, with Asur-sum-ukin, the rab
kisir of the king, for one fine horse. The date is effaced.
There were probably at least eight witnesses.
A-C^ C, C , x/ , Oj, 02.
This is interesting as a case of barter, or exchange. Three male
slaves were worth one fine horse. It is very noteworthy that in this
case also the phrase kaspu gamur tadin is used. Hence kaspu is
'price,' as well as 'silver' and 'money.'
For Nintiai, see § 508 ; for Zabinu, see § 465 ; for Nabti-iali, see
§ 656 ; for Zazi, see § 476.
Nergal-nasir spelt as here, was the name of a neighbour, on
no. 338; and occurs in K 5380. The form AN-U-GUR-PAP-ir
was the name of the Eponym, B.C. 747, saknu of Nasibina, iii. R. i,
IV. 23 ; occurs, on no. 16, as the name of the father of Sarru-na'id ;
and in K 1142 ; and Bu. 91-5-9, 73. The form AN-Sl-DU-PAP-ir
is the name of a witness, saknu sarri, of Kurban, Ep. H, on no. 50.
The form AN-U-GUR-SIS-ir occurs in K 830, 882, 1055, 1228,
1901; Sm. 37.
In line 4, sarru really belongs to the end of line 3. At the end
of line 5, on the edge, are traces of what looks like lak-ki-u.
725. No. 252. Has lost the preamble, and the beginnings of
the first six lines ; also the lower edge and the left half of reverse.
Drab.
Isdi-Nusku sells twenty slaves, whose names have
disappeared, to Nabu-sum-iskun, the mukil apate of
Sennacherib, for ten minas of silver, Carchemish stan-
dard. The date is lost. There were probably at least
fifteen witnesses.
Ac^ C, C , J-J , Oj, 02.
The traces in line i are puzzling. Perhaps the first sign is the
end of sarru and part of a name. Lusakin is a name by itself, see
§ 486 ; but there is no determinative. The ahu may well be a SAL.
Note the presence of slaves in lines 2 and 4. In line 3, hi is the
end of a name. In line 10, gaiiunur fadi?i is restored. In reverse,
line 9, me at end is a restoration and both here and in the next line
there is room for more.
Isdi-Nusku only occurs here, and is uncertain. For Sennacherib,
»
AND DOCUMENTS. 475
sec § 504 ; for Nabd-ahi-iddina, see § 534 ; for Nabua, see § 486 ; for
Zizi, see § 474.
Nab(i-§um-iskun, as here, is the name of a witness, on nos. loi,
501, 595, 602, 677 possibly. The name occurs often in letters and
reports, K 19, 785, 791, 803, 1415°; 82-5-22, 59; 83-1-18, 90;
200 ; Bu. 89-4-26, 19. It was the name of a king of Kardunias, who
fought with Adadi-nirari, circ. B.C. 895, 11. R. 65, no. i, in. i, and is
a specimen name App. i, iv. 12. The form AN-FA-MU-SA occurs
as the name of a witness and aba^ B.C. 670, on no. 625 ; father of
Musezib-Nabil, no. 869, iv. 7; occurs on no. 925 ; and in 83-1-18,
25. The name AN-HI-diir-usur should be Asur-d^r-usur, see § 491,
but the diir is not certain. It may be //. Then we should have
Ilu-hili-usur, which only occurs here. What the term La mahruite})^
in line 10, can mean, I do not know.
726. No. 254. Has lost the preamble and part of the con-
clusion. Dark brown to black.
Abdi sells Belit-ummi, his maid-servant, two sons of
hers, in all three souls, to Ninuai, the saku of the king,
for half a mina, according to the mina of the merchant.
The date is lost. Names of four witnesses are preserved.
Ac, C, C\D\S,, S, (F,).
In line i, the small stroke after ummi may be part of the next
sign. In line 4, // is evidently meant for TA, but lacks the third
vertical. In edge line i, NU-TIvs, curious. The scribe meant ldki\
so he puts TI as an ideogram for lakii and NU= Id as a phonetic
prefix. It is less likely to be for Id Idki, i.e. 'were not delivered.'
In line 2, of obverse, we should expect indresa for 'her sons.' The
scribe has put indresu. Did he mean indre to signify ' boys ' solely ?
Then Abdi sold his maidservant and two of his boys.
Belit-ummi only occurs here. For Abdi, see §512; for NinMi,
see § 508.
Abdi-simur only occurs here. We might conclude that Simur,
or Sihar, was a god. Was "iriwS 'the morning red,' deified? At any
rate compare inc' 13y, a Punic name, N. E. p. 335 b. Samas-kilani
is also the name of a writer of astrological forecasts, K 303, in
B.C. 649; and occurs in K 12994. How to read the last name,
perhaps ending in likkazi, is not clear to me.
727. No. 255. The greater part of the upper portion. Slate
to black.
Bel-abu-usur sells Barahu and his family, Tab^ni and
476 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
his family, Sitirkanu and his family; all in their entirety
to Marduk , an officer of Sennacherib, for a talent
of (bronze). Dated, the 14th of Addaru II, in the Epo-
nymy of a saknu of the city Kula(nia). Sixteen witnesses.
Pk, n, Ac, C, C\ D'.
The text of the obverse was published, C. I. S. p. 38 f, with a
transliteration and translation by Oppert. This text gives /a for adu
in the name of the seller : but with a query. The transliteration
reads al^u, however. In line 8, the transliteration reads ina libbi, in
which case the mat or lat would perhaps really be the initial wedges
of the number ' fifty,' or ' sixty.' I think that i?ia libbi bilat {eri) is a
better reading. In the date I omitted DIR, before SE ; the month
is Addaru II, or makru sa Addari. In lines 5 to 10, after sangii,
and before ilu, I have given sd wrongly for sa. In my copy I had sa,
but made the error in the autography.
The Aramaic docket gives ...D p"lE^, which C. I. S. considers
to embody the name of Sargon, Sarrukinu in Assyrian. But the
Aramaic reading of Sarrukinu would surely be more like the Biblical
pjiD. Besides it is certain that neither party to the contract bore
this name. Lidzbarski, JV. E. p. 382 a, makes the acute suggestion
that it is intended to represent Sitirkanu. To that it may be objected
that the / is not given in the Aramaic. The next character o is
possibly the initial letter of Tabuni, as already suggested by
Lidzbarski, N. E. p. 284 a.
The seller's name, Bel-abu-usur, is discussed in § 558; Barahu,
7'abuni, and Sitirkanu only occur here. For the latter we may
compare Sitirna, ruler of the Musanai, K 1668 b, see Winckler's
Sargon. The seller's name cannot be restored. For Sennacherib,
see § 504; for Nabu-etirani, see § 468; for Samas-sum-usur, see
§557; fo'" Ahu-lamur, see § 680; for Nabiia, see § 486; for
Unzarhu, see § 534; for Mardi, see § 486; for Asur-li'ani, see § 558;
for Ilu-cres, see § 668 ; for Mukalil-mitu, see § 698 ; for Gallul, see
§ 544-
Nabu-mudammik only occurs here, but AN-AK-mu-SI-SAB-ik
occurs in later Babylonian texts, see S. A. V. 5818. The next
name, which seems to read Bab-ili-bel-nCirai, only occurs here. The
witnesses are all priestly personages of some kind, from lines 5 to 10:
but the gods named are not certain : AN-LAL\LAL) may perhaps
be read Allala. The god KUR-KUR-HA is unknown to me ;
AN-ME-ME may be Gula, but that is uncertain. Then follow six
AND DOCUMENTS. 477
witnesses, each aU) sa ekalli. The witness, in line lo, hears the
name Gula-zer-ibni, which only occurs licrc, but is found in later
Babylonian texts, see P. A. S. passim. Zizia also occurs as the
name of a witness and atu^ B.C. 687, on no. 218. Banai only occurs
here, compare Banai, the name of a 7nasmasu, on no. 851 : compare
also Baniai in § 573. For Pirhiai, compare Pirhia, in K 831 : Pirhu
in K 915, and in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 7075.
It is very unfortunate, from many points of view, that so
interesting a text is defective, but I imagine we must place it in
the reign of Sennacherib. After repeated efforts to make out the
first sign of the city name, I think it may be the remains of Ku.
The second sign was most probably la. Then of all the Eponyms
in Sennacherib's reign, the only one who is saknu of a city, the name
of which has la in its second syllable, is Manzarne saknu of Kullania.
It is not likely that the first sign here was meant for Ku : unless,
which is quite possible, the scribe wrote either Ku or Kul first, partly
erased it, and wrote the other sign over it. There seems no good
reason why we should not take this to be the date.
728. No. 256. Now that 83-1-18, 392 is joined to K 410, we
have about the upper two-thirds of the tablet ; much damaged, in
places. Red.
Sin-ahi-iddina and Tiii, two owners, sell Hasala, Huda,
and Ahati-immai, their three maidservants, to Dadai, for
shekels of silver, Carchemish standard. Dated, the
25th of Nisanu, B.C. 676. Seven witnesses. Charge made
for seal.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ ... S, (F,), F.
The date is quoted, Ep. Cati. p. 92.
In line 8, ina libbi is a restoration from traces. In line 11, part
of ki is visible still. There is a trace of another line, after line 1 2,
but not enough to reproduce. In line 5 of the reverse, only IM
is now left at end of the name. I have omitted amelu before
tamkaru.
Sin-ahi-iddina is discussed in § 548 ; Tiii only occurs here. One
is tempted to compare the Biblical Toi, king of Hamath. The slave
names Hasala, Huda, Ahati-immai only occur here. With the last
compare Ahat-abisa, § 491. For Bel-sar-ibni, see § 526 ; for Rimani-
Adadi, see § 467. The next witness may well be Nergal-sar-usur,
see § 515; the next may be Nabu-zer-iddin, see § 467. The next
may be restored Ha-lah-hi-a-a ; it only occurs here. For the land
478 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Halahhi, a district of Assyria, Biblical Halach, see Rm. 216 and
Winckler, A. F. I. p. 292. In Halahhi, Ahiakamu held lands, see
no. 755. It is named also in K 10922. A city Halahhu occurs in
II. R. 53, 36, near Arbaha, Schrader, K. A. T?" 275 f, identified with
the Armenian Albagh, which enters the Tigris 4 days' journey north
of Alkusch. Hence was named the Kalachene of Strabo, see
Jeremias, B. A. S. in. p. 91, note *** Also the god Magarida is
said to be sar Halha {KI).
For Mardua, see § 486 ; for the Eponym Banba, see § 579-
729. No. 257. Has lost the low edge and pieces out of both
obverse and reverse. Red.
Nabli-bel-usur sells his two slaves Markihita, his maid-
servant and her daughter, to Nabda, for two minas of
silver, Carchemish standard. Dated, the 26th of Addaru,
B.C. 670. Nine witnesses.
Pk, Ac, C, C, D\ S„ S, {F„ B, F,\ F.
The name of the slave only occurs here. Markihita. The
Assyrian signs were very illegible when I first copied them, but are
now clearer. They read Mar-ki-hi-ta, as was made clear to me by
the Aramaic docket, to which I had not paid any proper attention.
That reads, in line 10, of reverse, Nnnp"lD nxi), 'the sale of
Markihita.' The T is not now legible. On the lower edge are
traces of two lines, the first seems to read "in..., the second seems to
be "njT..., for which I can suggest no meaning.
In fine 3, of reverse, the sign ' is not on the tablet, and in place
of 'four' minas, we should read 'seven.' In line 7, after A'^^A^read
A. In line 16, the father's name began with AN-PA, not UR. In
the name of the Eponym, the last sign is restored. On the left-hand
edge, read te for ti.
For NabCl-bel-usur, see § 665 ; for Nabda, see § 486 ; for Dihai,
see § 409.
SClmai, spelt as here, is the name of a witness and kdsir sarri,
B.C. 682, on no. 276 ; of a witness and al)a, Ep. A, on both nos. 318
and 623 ; of a slave sold, on no. 261. Phonetically spelt, Su-ma-a-a
is the name of a writer of astrological reports, in K 121, 695, 713;
83-1-18, III, 216, 222, 298; liu. 91-5-9, 8; and a specimen name
App. I, IX. 37. The related name Suma, spelt Sii-ma-a, is the name
of a witness, B.C. 702, on no. 365 ; occurs in K 524, 673, 678, 8960;
80-7-19, 61, 70; 81-2-4, 283; and in later liabylonian texts,
S. A. V. 8477. A form MU-a occurs in K 433, as the name of a
I
AND DOCUMENTS. 479
witness, son of AhcSa, at Erech, h.c. 648. The name of the father
of this witness began with Samas.
For Dihai, see § 409 ; the name could also be read Temenai.
His father's name here began with Hu.... For SangCl-Istar, see
§ 408 ; the name could be read Ritti-Istar. He was a slave of some
official. The /t/r after sa is not certain, it may only be amelu.
Mannu-lime is a name that occurs in the form Mannu-li-e-nie, on the
Harran Census, and probably on no. 374, as the name of a seller,
B.C. 686. How to read the next name is puzzling. DI-TAR is
usually an ideogram for ddnu^ 'to judge,' and its derivatives; hence
Da'in-aplu may be read. But we can imagine Ditara here as an
oblique case of the Ditaru, which occurs as the name of the father of
Nergal-sar-usur, B.C. 680, on no. 631. But as this could be read
Da'in-Adadi, the question does not seem much nearer settlement.
His father's name began with Nabu. The next name is incomplete.
One might think of Iddina-Istar. The father's name I restore as
Tala, compare § 501.
The names of the next three witnesses, and their fathers, are not
to be restored. For the Eponym, see § 521. For ZerTstar see § 480.
730. No. 258. The tablet has lost the left-hand edge, and the
lower part. Nos. 192 and 801 form a duplicate of this, by means of
which nearly all can be restored. Dark brown.
Bel-aplu-iddin, the rab za...ri of Tarbuseba, sells
five slaves, to Rimani-Adadi the viukil apdte of the king,
for three minas of silver, Carchemish standard. Dated,
the 21st of Du'dzu, B.C. 671. Ten witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (i^, Fe).
The date of nos. 192 and 258 is quoted, Fp. Can. p. 93;
cf. Budge, Hist. Esarh. p. 13.
The text of no. 258 is given, in transliteration and translation, by
Dr Peiser, K. B. iv. p. 134 ff.
In my edition of no. 801, no use was made of the reverse of
no. 192. The duplicates are not exactly the same. The name of
the seller is spelt in no. 258, line i, 9, and no. 801, line i, B. E. i ;
as EN-A-AS; but in no. 258, line 6, as AN-EN-A-SE-na. In
no. 258 he is described as rabil of the city Tarbuse simply. But
on no. 801, a fuller title rab za.. ri is given him. Unfortunately the
break leaves some doubt as to the complete title. There is room for
za-ain-me-ri. But za may be a. In no. 801, the city name is twice
given, lines 2 and rev. 16, as Tarbusiba.
480 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The names of the slaves are not completely preserved on either
copy. From no. 258 we learn that the name of the first ended in e^
and that he was a kdsir, and had a wife. The name of the second
seems to have ended in ki, or kifi, and he had two sons. The buyer
Rimani-Adadi is only found on no. 258, see § 467. The scraps of
formula which are left on no. 801 agree, as far as they go, with
no. 258 ; but give laki{u) for lakkiu. The spacing was clearly
different. On no. 801, reverse, line 7, the nu at the end of the line
may be part of di-e-nu. In line 8, the witnesses began. The first
was a mukil apdte of the king's son. The next was also an official of
the king's son. The next, a mukil apdte, bore a name ending in
-sar-usur, doubtless the Samas-sar-usur, who so often witnessed for
Rimani-Adadi; see § 515. The next witness was also a mukil apdte,
whose name seems to have ended in ka-nu ; doubtless Sakanu. The
next was a sanu, whose name ended in -erba, doubtless the Nabil-erba
who so often witnessed for Rimani-Adadi, see § 467. The traces, in
line 13, may now be restored {sd) a??iel rdb u-rat, read 77?/ for m.
The next name I gave as if Aa-imanni, but it is the end of Asur-ilai ;
for i read TUR, mdr. Then came MAN-KAK, i.e. Sarru-ibni, see
§ 705. The next name was ANU-GUR-MAN-PAP, i.e. Nergal-
sar-usur, see § 515. Here he is said to be mahu of Tarbusiba.
We find that no. 192 completes the names in lines 14, on to the
end, with the names in no. 258. Asur-ilai is discussed in § 500,
Nergal-sar-usur, in § 515. No. 258 gave the name of the father of
the former ; the latter is said to be a mahu of Tarbuse. The
duplicates do not seem to agree as to the date. It is conceivable
that Bel-aplu-iddin sold to Rimani-Adadi two separate lots of slaves,
on different days in the same month. But the fact that there are at
least two witnesses also common to the two documents points rather
to duplicates, of which one may have been a first draft, cancelled by
a later copy. I can make nothing further of the city name in line i
of the reverse of no. 192. It docs not reappear on no. 258.
For Tarbusiba compare Tarbusibi, in K 12046; Sm. 167, 1206.
Can it be the same as Tarbisi? the modern Sherif Khan, where
Sennacherib repaired the temple Lamsid of Ncrgal see i. R. 7,
no. VIII, C 4, 1^4; III. R. 3, no. 13, 56; and where Esarhaddon
repaired a palace for Asurbanipal, i. R. 48, no. 5, 6 ; no. 6, 4 ;
no. 8, 2. Compare also i. R. 8, no. 2, 9; in. R. 14, 22; iii. R. 66,
VI. 3; K 521, 979, 1247, 4492, 9925.
On the lower edge of no. 801, in line 2 for su read gam, a ditto
AND docump:nts. 481
sign ; but lu-u is not there. Of the reverse a few traces of signs could
be read on the shaded part, but they make no connected text.
731. No. 259 has lost the right-hand bottom corner and several
places are damaged. Red.
Bel-amat-lisir, Zer-ibni and Bel-abu-usur sell
Marduk, his wife, his two sons, and two daughters, in
all six souls, to Urdu, for one hundred and eighty minas
of bronze. Dated, in Tisritu, in the Eponymy of Sul
Ten witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C C\ D\ S„ S, {F„ F,).
A line was ruled down the reverse to keep the names of the
witnesses under one another. The name of the first seller is not
quite clear. The sign JiA, ideogram for 'mouth,' also denotes
' speech ' ; but what meaning it has here, or by what Assyrian word
we should render it, is open to question. Perhaps we should read
Bel-pa-lisir. The name only occurs here. Zer-ibni, spelt as here,
was the name of the Eponym of B.C. 719, in. R. i, v. 6. It occurs
in the letters K 1076, 1045 1 ; Sm. 518; Rm. 58; Rm. 11. 12; the
form Zer-ib-ni, in K 580, 653, 1235, 1270; and on no. 661, as the
name of a serf, 'with his people.' A form Zer-ib-nu also occurs in
K 580. Our form could be read Zer-bani. For Bel-abu-usur, see
§ 558; for Urdu, see § 556.
The name of the witness, Nurzu, only occurs here. Perhaps we
should read Nur-li', but there may be some other way. Nabfi-sab.si
is only found here. Mannu-lu-sulmu is discussed in § 578; Sa'mu
in § 712; Adadi-aplu-iddin, in § 517. Zamama-eres is only found
here. Akru is discussed in § 572 ; Adadi-musesi is only found here.
For Mardukate, see § 519. The Eponym's name might be restored
in various ways.
732. No. 260 has lost the upper part. Brown to black.
Arbai sells several slaves to Nintiai, the king's saku^
for minas of silver, Carchemish standard. The date
is lost. Thirteen witnesses on part preserved.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F„ F,\ F
The text was published, in. R. 48, no. 5 ; and transliterated and
translated by Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 248 f.
A quotation was given, by G. Smith, Aeg. Z^its. 1872, p. 112.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 5048, 6238, 8979, 9059.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 152, B. 5, says Uber den Verkauf vo?i ImT?to-
bilien, von H a user 71.
J. III. 31
482 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Strassmaier, A. V. 5048, quotes a passage under ma-nu-tum (?).
Evidently he once regarded it as possible that in the clause F^ ina
dlnisu KA-KA-ma NU-TI^ the signs ma-nu-ti might form one word ;
he gives the correct transliteration la ilakki for NU- TI. He trans-
literated i-KA-KA-ma^ by ikabbuma. In line 9, he gave a shaded ha
where I restore ba-a ; in line 9 of reverse, he omits the determinative
vertical before the name UMlai.
Oppert's readings of the faulty text in iii. R. cannot be reckoned
against that master in cuneiform decipherment. What he reads as
an su-ba-a were the traces of Arbai, in line 3. In line 4, his miistesir
was the best that could be made of SI-DI^ which is really SAG.
In line 7, at the end, bite should of course be mse. He correctly
restored dabdbu at the end of line 9. The bi after KA-KA, in
line 15, is wrong. In line i of the lower edge, he read abusu at the
end of the line. In line 8 of reverse, he amended ku-ris-sar for
KU-KA-SAR. In line 10, he read Takkil for rIM, a tempting
suggestion, but seemingly needless. In line 11, he read Matursanni-
Bin for Latubasani-Adadi. In his line 33, the traces he gives as
Sa ba are those of Asur-ahesu-eres. In his remarks, at the foot
of p. 250, Professor Oppert regards the parties to the transaction as
lost, but the seller's name is now clear from line 6, the buyer's from
line 4.
In line 6, the last sign was evidently ki^ not ki. On the lower
edge, the scribe wrote what I give as first line, after the second line ;
clearly an error.
The name of the first witness, Bel-da'an I always distinguish from
that written Bel-dan-an, for which see § 474 : but many writers regard
them as the same. For Sar-Istar, see § 482 ; for Adi, see § 583 ;
Uznanu is found only here, but compare Uzna', on no. 893, rev. 4.
For UKilai, see § 505 ; for Asur-natkil, see § 572 ; for Rimani-Adadi,
see § 467; for Latubasani-Adadi, see § 480; for Tursu-Istar, see
§ 475 ; for Dilil-Istar, see § 572 ; for Nabu-nadin-ahe, see § 470; for
Arbai, see § 473 ; for Ninuai, see § 508.
Asur-damik may be read Asur-mudammik, but compare Asur-
dam-me-ik, no. 713, 5. Asur-ahesu-eres is only to be found here.
733. No. 261 is only the lower portion, and much of it is badly
defaced. Drab.
Arbailai sells twenty slaves, among them S(lmai, Urai,
Sina and Nergal-iddina, to a sakintu{}), for six minas
of silver. Date lost. Sixteen witnesses.
AND DOCUMENTS. 4^3
^^, S. (^2, F,, F^\ F.
In line 3, read PAP for Jiu. I can make no sense out of the
traces which I have tried to represent at the end of line 7. Perhaps
the line began with amcl sa sepa, the UD is quite certain. The
traces at the beginning of reverse, line 14, favour the reading amcl
nil) kisir, so that my restoration is probably wrong. In a number of
cases I am uncertain where the inscribed part ended, so I did not
venture to put square brackets.
The name Sumai is discussed in § 728 ; Urai is only found here,
but compare Uria, in § 466. Sina... may be completed Si-nadan, see
§711; for Nergal-iddin, see § 577; for Arbailai, see §4795 f^r
Marduk-ere^, see § 577; for Nabu-bel-usur, see § 665; for Nabd-
sarrani, see § 477 ; for Bani, see § 690 ; for Rimani-Adadi, see § 467 ;
for Balasi, see § 521.
Halmanu is only found here, compare the city Halman, named
by Shalmaneser II., in iii. R. 8, Zd, 87, perhaps Aleppo ; and the
country Halman, perhaps Holwan, in v. R. 56, 22; and K 5966.
Nabii-rem-ilani, spelt as here, is the name also of a hazdnu, on
no. 263 ; and a specimen name, App. i, i. 47 ; the form AN-AK-
AM-AN-MES occurs as the name of a writer, in K 4800, 9588 ;
83-1-18, 105. Bakilia, Haldi-rimani, Bel-etilli, Ib-ukin, are only
found here. Whether the god lb is the same as Ninip, or how his
name should be read, is not clear to me. The name Sin-sar-ilani, as
here, occurs also in 81-7-27, 151 ; and the form AN-XXX-MAN-
AN-MES was borne by the lessee, B.C. 680, on no. 631 ; occurs on
no. 857, II. 38; and in K 13099. The other few traces do not lend
themselves to a restoration.
734. No. 262. Only the lower two-thirds is preserved. Drab.
Some slaves, line 3, nise zarpu, are sold by Sin-nadin-
ahi to Sin-nadin-aplu (?), for one and a half minas six
shekels of silver. The date is lost. There seem to have
been ten names of witnesses on the part preserved.
The clay of this tablet is full of grit, and the reverse has
apparently long lain exposed to weather. It seems likely to have
been unearthed in the early explorations, thrown up amongst the
soil excavated, and then injured by rain and frost. It is now
crumbling away, and much of it is really illegible. Many signs are
very uncertain. In line 2, perhaps 'five' should be read in place of
six. In line 13, there is no ma after KA-KA.
Ac, C, r, S,, S, (F„ F,, F,), F
31—2
484 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
For Sin-nadin-ahi see §518; Sin-nadin-aplu, in the form AN-
XXX-SE-na-A, is named in K 195 ; in the form AN-XXX-MU-TUR
occurs in K 1550. Among the names of the witnesses, the first that
I can consider certain is Rimani-Marduk, and that is only found here.
We might perhaps read u for su at the end of the name. The next
name is probably Rimani-Bel, which also occurs as the name of a
witness and nadin akli, on no. 364, in B.C. 679. What the title was
in line 8 I do not know. I did think of su-2(t bitihi, which would be
the only example of this title. But there probably was something
between hi and te. For Handu, see § 513; Bel-lamur, see § 720.
735. No. 263. Almost half the tablet is fairly well preserved.
Drab.
Si'-gabbari sells some slaves, line 4, ntse suatu^ to the
sakintu, for ten minas of silver. The date is lost. The
traces of five names of witnesses are left.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (A, ^2, ^3, ^e), ^
In line 3, ma follows 'ten.' In line 7, read dan, before m, at the
end of the line. In line 4, of reverse, read imer for stk : and h' has
an extra vertical after it. In both cases the sign is indistinct, but
there can be no reasonable doubt as to what was intended. In line 9,
the tak-lak is no longer visible, though my copy and first collation
give it without question.
The name Si'gabbari may also be that of a witness, on no. 572 :
where Si'gab... is preserved in line 6 of reverse. For similar names
see the Harran Census. Nabti-bel-usur is discussed in § 665 ; Nabd-
rem-ilani in § 733.
Adadi-taklak is also the name of a witness, B.C. 698, on no. 473.
The name Nab(i-sum-usur or Nab^-sum-iddin is common. The last
name Ardi... may be variously restored.
736. No. 264. Now that Bu. 91-5-9, 59 is joined to Bu.
91-5-9, 98, the tablet preserves most of the lower half. Yellowish
buff
Ikisu seems to have sold some slaves, see line 7, the
buyers' names are lost. Dated, in B.C. 693 or B.C. 688.
Traces of ten witnesses.
^1,^2(^6).
In line 2, the sign MES at end is certain. In line 3, the traces
seem rather to read i-ka-bu-u-ni ma-a ntse, and in line 4, the scribe
certainly wrote is for a before din. But GiS-TIN is impossible
here. In line 8, after ana, and before 'ten,' there was a sign.
AND DOCUMENTS. 485
but it was probably erased again. In line i of reverse, for zcr
read /////.
The name of the seller Ikisu was borne by the Eponym of
B.C. 756, III. R. I, IV. 14; with a variant Kisu. How to complete
the name of the first witness, I do not know; Ilu-pisi... is not like
anything else. But if we take 6Yas part of SI-DI^ we should have
Ilu-pi-lisir, which might be compared with Ilu-pi-nasir, or Ilu-pa-usur,
in § 716. Bel-IS^ in line 11, is possible. We might read Bel-lisir,
or Bel-mustesir. The name Bel-IS\^d,^ the name of a buyer, B.C. 695,
on no. 31 ; of a slave sold, on no. 527 ; his saku was a witness on
no. 570. The name was also that of the Eponym of B.C. 779, a
7tdgir ikalli, in. R. i, in. 37. Another form, EA-SI-DI^ is the name
of a serf, 'with his people,' on no. 661. The form AN^-EA^-IS occurs
in Bu. 91-5-9, 87. If this was all the name, there probably was
also a title in the same line, or the name of another witness.
For Barrukku, see §467; for Nabii-sezib, see § 471. For the
Eponym, Iddin-ahe, see § 473. The traces on the edge, in line 2,
may be read/« kit^ ox pa bit.
Samas-zer-iddina was the name of a bdrii^ son of Samas-mu...,
writer of the forecast tablet, Rm. 11. loi. Samas-sum-iddina does
not occur elsewhere in our documents, but the form AN-UD-
M U-M U occMxs in later Babylonian tablets, S. A. V. 7934. Nabu-
ikisani is also a specimen name, App. i, i. 42. Nabu-ikisa is the
name of a witness, on no. 425 ; and a specimen name, App. i, 11. 7.
A variant AA'-AK-BA-sa w^as the name of a writer of several
astrological reports, K 736, 756, 793, 900; D. T. 304; 81-2-4,
104, 107; 82-5-22, 48; 83-1-18, 48, 186, 187, 229, 241, 299. He
was of Barsippa, and the name occurs in K 997. The next name
Ahu-mamate, if that is how we are to read it, is only found here. In
view of the frequent phrase id ndsir manntu^ for one \vho breaks his
oath, we should probably read this name Nasir-mamate, 'keeper of
oaths,' probably in reference to some divinity who had kept his
promise. The next name cannot be restored. Perhaps the next is
Adadi-pa-usur, but more likely Adadi-kasir, compare the witness and
naggaru^ B.C. 698, on nos. 473 and 474. The next name begins
with AN-GAL, a name of Bel, but scarcely to be read so. I read
such names Rabu. But how we should complete it seems doubtful ;
meri is possible, but not certain.
In line i, there are traces of di-e-nu before KA-KA. In line 12,
the scribe omitted the determinative before Barrukku's name. Note
486 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
the confusion and repetition in lines 4 and 7. There were more
buyers than one.
737. No. 265. Piece out of the middle of a tablet. Drab to
brown.
Kiribitu-Asur sells Ahu-lamsi, Bel-nuri, his brother;
Samas-erba, and his wife, Abi-lirim, to Idinnai, for one
hundred and fifty minas of bronze. The date is lost.
There are traces of the names of four witnesses.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,
In line i, which is badly rubbed, the first name seems to have
been FAF-/am-si, which I read Ahu-lamsi. Bel-niiri is possible, but
the ri is doubtful. The S/S is fairly clear, but not quite certain.
In line 2, I think now that AD is better than KAJ^. In line 3,
there is no ma after uj>is. In line 5, for TU we should probably
read eru. There is no sign of MA-JVA, however. In line 8, for ^u
read tu, written like se-ma. In line 10, of reverse, the last sign is
perhaps fe, rather than /z/, which is however quite possible. In the
next line, the // is uncertain, but I cannot recognise any other sign
in its place. The last sign is perhaps si, but I'a seems more suitable.
For Ahu-lamsi, which I consider to be short for Ahu-lamassi, see
§ 467. For Bel-ntiri, see § 704; for Samas-erba, see § 661. For
Abi-lirim, compare the male name Abu-larim, borne by a witness,
B.C. 687, on no. 43. For Idinnai compare the buyer, sangtl of
Ninip, on no. 642. The name Kiribitu-Asur is only found here.
Compare Kiribtu, son of Nimedu, on no. 812, L. E. 3; son of
Dabibi, in K 8671 ; and Kiribti, a specimen name, App. i, x. 12.
Dur-Asur was also the name of the Eponym B.C. 729, saknu of
Tushan, in. R. i, iv. 4. For Nik-ilani, see § 672. The name
Malkute is hardly complete. There may have been one sign before
inal. Hilia seems more likely than Hilisi, but compare the names
f'pn, 1^'pn, in N. E. p. 275.
738. No. 266. The upper half, or so, of the tablet. Brown to
black.
Idate-Bel-alaka, Adadi-isar-usur and Sarru-mukin, three
s(jns of A^ur-sallim, sell Ilu-mukin-ahi, Silli-Asur (pro-
bably his son, his wife), two daughters, in all five souls,
their slaves, to Rimani-Adadi, the mukil apate. Dated,
the I St of Addaru, B.C. 670. Fourteen witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac,
The text was published, in. R. 49, no. 4. A transliteration and
AND DOCUMENTS. 487
a translation were given, by Oppert, Doc. Jur. p. 191 f.; again by
Peiser, K. B. iv. pp. 130 ff.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 93.
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 5938, 8062.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A. 11, calls it a Kaufvertrag iiher den
Verkauf von Sclaven.
In line 2, read LUGAL as the last character but one. On the
reverse there are some remains of a line above that which I give as
the first. These are not clear enough to indicate. In line 6, the
last sign may be the remains of sir^ as Professor Jensen suggested to
me, but I cannot see any indication of more. Perhaps the line was
unfinished. In line 10, the name of the first witness is Nabu-etir, as
in the first line, the AN-PA is quite clear. In the second name
Professor Jensen suggests that for SI we should read SAL ; but the
scribe certainly wrote SI.
The first name, Idate-Bel-alaka, was read by Oppert as Idate,
and bel-alaka was taken to be a title. I think the name means
something like : ' At the side of Bel I will walk.' I do not know of
any parallel. Adadi-sar-usur is dealt with in § 711; Sarru-nmkin is
only found here. For Asur-sallim, see § 575 ; for Ilu-mukin-ahi, or
Ilu-kenis-usur, see § 517 ; for Silli-Asur, see § 719 ; for Rimani-Adadi,
see § 467 ; for Nabii-etir, see § 573 ; for Nabtl-zer-iddin, see § 467 ;
for Nabii-sar-usur, see § 523; for Naharau, see § 485; for Bel-
Harran-sar-usur, see § 687; for Nargi, see § 409; for Tab-sar ,
see § 663; for Habasti, see § 472; for Bastia, see § 548; for the
Eponym, Tebetai, see § 521; for Samas-sar-usur, see §467; for
Adadi-kassun, see § 653.
Kalhai is a fresh name, evidently gentilic, 'he from Kalhu.' It
was borne by a witness, B.C. 707, on no. 292 ; by a witness and
mukil apdte, B.C. 680, on no. 631 ; by an owner of land and saknu,
in Sela, on no. 918, 11. 5 ; and is a specimen name, App. i, ix. 18.
Simanu, if that is the correct name, is only found here.
739- No. 267. A mere fragment, broken at the top, and without
its right-hand edge. Drab.
Two sellers, Paka-ana and another, sell to the
sakintu, two female slaves, Ilu-banitu and her daughter,
for fifty shekels (of silver). The date is lost. At least
twelve witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C
In line 2, there is room for bele before SAL-MES. The
488 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
MES is not now on the tablet. In line lo of reverse, read sur
for bi.
Yox the slave's name compare the male name Ilu-banitu, name
of a slave sold, on no. 249 ; and the name Ilu-banitum, S. A. V, 237,
a female name in later Babylonian texts. For the seller's name,
compare Paka-ana-Arbaili, in § 694. The names of the first three
witnesses cannot be completed from the traces left; Asur-ma-... is a
beginning without known parallel. For Mudabirai, see § 657;
compare Mudubirai, witness, B.C. 676, on no. 175. Ardiai is hardly
likely, we should perhaps read Ardi-Aa ; see the lender, Ep. A, on
no. 2; and the witness, ispar birmi, Ep. i, on no. 326. Isanai,
evidently gentilic from Isana, is discussed in § 482 ; for Nabu-S^ar-
usur, see § 523. The name Mudammik-Asur' is only found here;
for Sar-Istar, see § 482. Iksur-ilu may be complete, or some divine
name may follow. Asur-bel-ilani is only found here. For Ltiku,
see § 409.
There is a blank space on the tablet after line 12 of reverse.
On the upper edge are some faint traces of an Aramaic inscription,
of which only n..., probably the end of nJI, is certain.
740. No. 268. The part above the seal space is gone and the
lower part of the tablet is lost. It is quite unusually thick. Drab.
Ilu sells Sagibi, an isparu, his wife; Si'niiri, his
wife, and two daughters, in all twelve souls. The buyer's
name is lost. Dated, the 22nd of Abu At least six
witnesses.
Ac.
In the head line read Rin. II, for Rm.
For Sagibi, see § 465 ; for Si'-nClri, see § 486 ; for Ahu-duri, see
§ 470 ; for Hamnanu, § 706; for Gabri, see § 721 ; for Mannu-ki-
Assur, see § 409.
Adadi-rahimu is only found here. P^or Zanzanu, or Sansanu,
compare Sasanu, father of Ardi-Istar, on no. 311; and Sana-sana, of
Partukka, i. R. 46, iv. 20.
741. No. 269. Upper third of tablet. Drab.
Lubalat sells Nabu-sezib, his sister, four sons, in all
six souls, his slaves, to ilai, the rab alani. Dated,
the 25th of Abu, B.C. 681. At least nine witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac,
^ For SIK—da?ndku, see ]). 1 19.
AND DOCUMENTS. 489
In line 3, for SAL DAM read simply NIN, i.e. ahatu. In
line 4, of reverse, I have omitted 7ia before SI. In line 5, the scribe
wrote Bar-za-ki-e^ I thought he must have meant Unke, but I am
doubtful now. In line 3, the determinative before NabQ-Sezib is not
preserved, nor the sd in line 5.
For Lil-balat, see § 480 ; for Nabu-sezib, § 471 ; for Natan, § 668 ;
for the Eponym, Nabu-ahe-ere^, see §526; for Ahu-lamur, §680;
for Asur-abu-usur, § 705.
Nothing can be made of the traces, in reverse, lines 2, 3 and 4,
but that the last witness was ana pmi Naidn. Balatsu also occurs
in K 7426, and later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 988. Whether it is
really the same as Balasu, § 521, is open to doubt. With Barzake,
if that is intended, compare Barzikutu, the name of a witness, on
no. 448. Unke would be without parallel. Ilu-li' also occurs as the
name of a seller, B.C. 698, on no. 475.
Raman-nadin-aplu is one of the few witnesses we have for the
existence of a god Raman. It is difficult to see how this name could
be differently read. Another is Raman-ibni, the name of the seller,
B.C. 680, on no. 298. In both these cases the determinative AN
before Ra-nia?i seems decisive. Raman-raba, the name of a witness,
B.C. 645, on no. 68, when compared with Adadi-raba, see § 475,
shews that Raman, like Adadi, is a divine name. As Adadi is here
written U, we might conjecture that ^was to be read Raman, while
Adadi should be reserved for AN-IM. But AN-IM frequently
interchanges with U in proper names, e.g. in the name Rimani-
Adadi, § 467 ; hence all we can say is that Z7and AN-IM may be
read either Adadi or Raman. There is, of course, no doubt that the
same god is meant in either case. This witness was an inhabitant,
or a native of the city Sazabinu. Whether the city was called Sa
Zabini, or only Zabina is not clear to me.
742. No. 270. Only one side preserved. Red.
Danani-Nergal, Ikli, Matilai, Asur-sallim-ahe, probably
the four sons of Gabbu-ilani-eres, sell, , his wifej
, Pirhia-dalali, Ilu , two(?) {amel) suharte, the
woman Mannu , their mother; in all five souls, slaves
of theirs; to Rimani-Adadi, the mukil apdte, of Asur-
banipal. King of Assyria, for five minas of silver, Car-
chemish standard. The date is lost. No witnesses
preserved.
Fk, D, Ac.
490 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
As the next number appears to be a duplicate of this we may
combine them.
No. 271. A fragment. Both upper and lower portions are
damaged. Bronze coloured.
Ac, C, C\ jD\ S,, S, (F,).
In no. 270, the first five characters of line i are restorations. It
is quite likely that we should here read Zili, though in line 9 of
no. 271, I think Ikli is better. In letter 3, TAK-SID is a restoration.
In line 5, only the lower parts of several signs are preserved, but they
can be restored from no. 271. In line 4, perhaps we should read
naphar IV tnare before the name of Gabbu-ilani-eres, but there is
hardly room for so much. Perhaps only IV mare may have been
written, or even only mare. In this case, the restoration in line 4 is
wrong. As Gabbu-ilani-eres is not mentioned again, I think one of
these explanations must be correct. In line 5, the first sign in the
second name is doubtful. In line 2, of no. 271, it may not be all
preserved. It looks as if SE-HI-a were written, or the horizontals
may be part of an erased character. My reading Pirhia is therefore
only a guess. In line 6, the first two signs are restored from no. 271.
These two names seem to be names of two 'little,' suharte, sons of
the first slave. In line 7, the name Mannu is a restoration.
In line 9, the first five characters are restored. The scribe omitted
MES 2X the end of the line. In line 10, the first four signs are
restored.
In no. 271, the traces in line i are very doubtful, but seem
possible. In line 2, the first character appears to begin with four
horizontals. In line 11, read the usual kas-pu for KU-BAB-BAR.
In reverse, line 8, the last restored sign, of course, should be ni, not
tap. In line 9, the traces seem to be what I give, but they do not
suit the usual formula here.
The name Pirhia-dalali, if correct, is unusual. What suhartu
means is very uncertain. The idea of 'little' would hardly be
expressed by this form. Note the mark sa in the Harran Census ;
and see later under the introduction to nos. 310 to 317.
The name of the first buyer, Danani-Nergal, is given in full by
no. 271, line 9. It does not occur outside these two texts. The
name is of interest for the reading of names like Danan-Ninip, a
specimen name, App. i, xi. 34; Danan-ili, a specimen name,
App. 3, III. 19. The former readings of the signs DAN- AN, as
etil-ili by Oppert, danin by Bezold, see Cata. p. 2004, and others less
ANl) DOCUMENTS. 49I
probable, can hardly be retained. I'^or the ending -dandn^ compare
Bel-danan, § 494. Zili would be without parallel, but Ikli was the
name of a witness, ardu sa Nadbchii, Sargon xii, B.C. 709, S. A. V. 720,
see no. 1141, 49. It also occurs in K 1220, 1226; Sm. 456. Vox
Matilai see § 409 ; for Asur-sallim-ahe, see § 481 ; for Gabbu-
ilani-eres, see § 487 ; for Rimani-Adadi, see § 467.
743. No. 272. An upper portion, much injured. Red.
The sellers' names began with Si... and Bur That
it was a slave sale is certain, from line 3, bel iiisc tadani.
Dated, the 29th of Abu, b.c. 694. Traces of at least five
witnesses.
Pks, D.
In reverse, line 3, the name may be Silim-iddin, hardly Abikta-
iddin. I know of no parallel. In line 4, the sign GAL is better read
Lip^ /ul, so that the name is Ilu-liphur, compare no. 770, 4. For
Assurai, see § 481 ; and for the Eponym, Ilu-kia, see § 520.
No. 273. Only a fragment of the obverse is preserved, the
reverse is almost complete and fairly well preserved. Light brown.
Only the presence of nise, in line 2, determines the nature of the
transaction. In line 3, the vertical may be the remains of TA. In
line 4, of reverse, for iamel) ardu sa Sa-e-ru, I now think we may
read {amel) su-sa-ni, a title found also on no. 852. In line 8, the
last sign was probably ba, not ardu. The names of the principals
and the date have quite disappeared, except that the seller's name
began with Rim. The name of the first witness Abilu is only found
here, but compare Abi'-ilu, in K 1202; and Abi-ilia, the name of
the Eponym of b.c. 900, in. R. i, i. 11. Bel-zer-iddin is only found
here. Eres-ilu is also the name of a witness, Ep. S, on no. 619, and
occurs in K 2908. Sin-utakkin is only found here. I think we may
venture to restore the name, in line 10, as Si'-parakka-(usur). I know
of no parallel.
For Saeru, see § 560; for Nabti-na'id, § 491 ; for Nabii-nammir,
§ 672 ; for Nabua, § 486 ; for Ilu-imme, § 574; for Rimani, § 511 ;
for Handi, § 513; for Mannu-ki-Adadi, § 473.
744. No. 274. A mere fragment. Dark slate colour.
Tiri, the saknu of Harran, sells a slave, his wife and
children, in all six souls. The buyer's name is lost.
Dated, the 26th of Tisritu, B.C. 685. One or two wit-
nesses indicated. 'One shekel of silver for his seal.'
Pk, Z>, Ac.
49^ ASSYRIAN DEEDS
In line 2, there seem to have been one or two signs after Harran
and before bel\ but they may have been erased again. In Hne 3,
after the second ba^ are traces that suggest a. The name may have
ended in baba.
The seller's name is only found here, compare perhaps the
Nabataean nTI, N. E. p. 386 a. The Eponym's name appears to
be written Ilu-daninani, but it seems clear that Asur-daninani is
intended ; see § 541.
No. 275. Fragments only, of both sides. Drab.
Several slaves are named and part of the formula of a sale is
preserved. Hence the transaction clearly was a sale of several
slaves.
■ PKAc, S,{R,,F,\F.
In lines i and 2, the traces are merely sufficient to indicate the
presence of the lines. Many signs are indistinct. In line 3, the
name Muzurai is possible. In line 4, the MES at the end was
omitted by the scribe. In line 5, for marsu we may read amelu
followed by an illegible sign. In line i, of reverse, I think Nergal
was written, and the traces which follow are the remains of i-sak~{ka7i).
In line 3, after i-rak-kas, there seem to be traces of two horizontals,
perhaps the remains of sa. In line 4, after the bracket, instead of
X'MES, read a-te, the end of esrdte. In line 6, the last sign is very
like the // at the end of line 12. The title FAF-SE-LI is not other-
wise known to me. Here, as often, the sign may be either, nu, be,
or FAF. Perhaps we could read NU-SE-RA. In line 8, after
TUR, read amelu in place of the second TUR.
The first slave name could be restored Sulmanu, which may also
be the name of a witness, on no. 403. Compare Sulman, a witness,
B.C. 674, on no. 117. For Immanu, see § 709; for Muzurai, see
§ 722 ; for Same, § 712 ; for Sillai, § 509 ; for Mannu-ki-Asur, § 409 ;
for Tabalai, § 474.
Gadia seems to have a superfluous a at the end ; compare
Ga-di-ia, a witness, on no. 291 ; Ga-di-a, in K 4286; Ga-di-i\ in
K 835 ; Ga-da-a, a sa sepa, on no. 860 ; Ga-da-\ a mutir puii, on
no. 857, II. 34; compare no. 595, R 4. (iadi-ilu is the name of a
seller, on no. 443. Compare such names as fc<-i:i, ill ni NHl "pNi:.
N. E. pp. 242-3.
The name Tba-kame is not certain, as it might begin with 'A or
'U. The element kame suggests that '//;(? should be a divine name.
But I know of no parallel and perhaps 'Abal^Lame is all one word.
AND docump:nts. 493
The name in line 8, Ditaki, seems to be complete. As he was son of
the bel pahdti of Lahiru, perhaps the name is Elamite. It does
not occur elsewhere. The name Kilaku is only found here. The
restoration Sillai is not inevitable. We might read Sallai, as in
§ 700. Tarditu-Asur is perhaps to be read Kudditu-Asur. The
same form is the name of a witness, b.c. 682, on no. 363 ; of a
witness and salsu of the Crown Prince, B.C. 660, on no. 444 ; of a
witness and salsu^ Ep. T, on no. 618 ; and occurs on no. 947. The
form Tar-di-it-A.s\iT was the name of a witness, B.C. 660, on no. 445.
For the reading Kudditu-Asur, compare Kuddi-ia, in 82-5-22, 131 ;
and Kiida, Kudda, in later texts, B. E. P. ix. p. 68 b.
745. No. 276. Fragment of the upper portion. Drab.
Sip(paranu ?) sells Ahua and other slaves. Dated, in
B.C. 682. Nine witnesses at least.
Pk, D, Ac.
The end of line 4 may be ka-a. In line 2 of reverse, the name
may be A-gi-a-a. In line 3, read tir for nir.
The only name known to me, beginning with Si-ip^ is Sipparanu,
see § 476. The name of the first witness ended in Istar. Asur-ilai
is a common name, see § 500 ; Agiai would be found here only, but
Aga in the Harran Census, if a proper name, and Aginu, the name
of a neighbour, on no. 425, might support it. Bel-ittia, or Bel-kia,
occurs as the name of the father of a witness, on no. 453, and as a
specimen name, App. i, v. 18, App. 3, i. 17. With Hinumu compare
Hi-t?i-nu-jnu, in K 2889. Rimut, in this form, which could be read
Littu, occurs as a specimen name, App. i, x. 13. The form Pim-71-iu
is the name of a jnasmasu, on no. 851, i. 15; Ri-mii-tu occurs on
no. 882, i; and in K 1054, 1269, 7317, 13173; 82-5-22, 68;
83-1-18, 245; Rt-mu-u-tu occurs in K 1194; Ri-??iu-te, on no. 829, 7;
Ri-mut^ in K 94, and often in later Babylonian texts, 6". A. V. 7591,
where also Ri-e-mu-tu is found.
For Sin-bel-usur, see § 696 ; for Suma, § 728; for Ahuni, § 544;
for the Eponym, Nabti-sar-usur, § 523.
The name Pulhu-sezib is clearly the same as Pulhu-usezib, the
name of an irrisu, ' with his people,' on no. 742, 20, in Asihi; named
also on no. 857, iv. 6.
No. 277. Upper portion, much injured. Drab.
Marduk-ahi-erba, the sanii of the ndgiru, sells a
number of slaves. Dated, the 12th of Aaru, b.c. 681.
Eight witnesses at least.
494 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Pk,D,Ac, S^{F,\
In line i, the last character given is amelu^ but after it, in some
lights, I think I can see //-z/, hence read sanu. In line 2, the first
two characters seem to be sd ndgiru. In line 2, of reverse, we may
complete ti-tara. On the left-hand edge, we may read SI (m)
A-sd-te.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 91, and Hist. Senn. p. 22.
The buyer's name is also found in the form AN-AMAR-UD-
PAP-er-ba^ in 81-2-4, 7o- The name of the first witness, Ahtaa-bani,
or Ah(ia-ibni, is only found here. If we take Ahu to be a divine
name, we might read Ahti-aplu-ibni. The name DUG-GA-I (lo^A^
be read Tab-na'id. In this form, it occurs as the name of a witness,
B.C. 717, on no. 391 ; in the Harran Census, and in K 4729, 7390 ;
Bu. 91-5-9, 183. But the name can be read Tabi, compare Ta-bi-i,
the name of a witness and saknu, B.C. 694, on no. 58. The name
Ta-bi-ia occurs as a writer of astrological reports, in K 1392 ;
81-2-4, 85; 83-1-18, 179, 180, 181, 182; Bu. 89-4-26, II. Ardi-
Gula often occurs in letters, K 14, 183, 472, 666, 991, 1026, 2077;
82-5-22, 171. The name of the last witness, in line 10, is not easily
restored. The name Asate is only found here.
For Mannu-ki-ahe, see § 471 ; for Bel-ahi-iddin, § 684; for NabO-
aplu-iddin, § 492 ; Nabu-ahe-eres, the Eponym, § 526.
746. No. 278. A fragment of the upper portion. Dark
red.
Ardi-Istar sells Marsete', Si'-imme, Mura, in all three
souls, slaves of his, to Si'-ma'di, the rdb aldni, for fifty
shekels of silver. Dated, the ...7th of some month,
B.C. 683. At least six witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac.
In line 5, a plural sign seems to have preceded the seller's name.
In line 8, read ki for ki. There are some traces of the next line.
In line 4, of reverse, for rdb read ainelu. There may have been
another line between lines i and 2.
For Ardi-Istar, see § 474; for Si'-imme, §525; for Si'-ma'di,
§ 704.
The name Marsete' is new. Comparing Mar-sClri, the name of
the seller, on no. 479 ; Mari', the name of the king of Damascus,
I. R. 35, no. I, 15; Mar-bi'di, the borrower, on no. 720; and Mari-
iddi, an irrisu, ' with his people,' in Basre, on no. 742 ; we may
regard Mar as the Aramaic -|D, 'lord.' The element sete' remains
AND DOCUMENTS. 495
without parallel. The name Mura is only found here. The name
of the witness, in line 6 of the reverse, ended in baba.
The al se Rabu in line 5 is only found here. An al se^ probably
a village in the open fields, was often called after some owner. Here
it seems to be simply called 'the great village.' I think that Subate,
in line 8, is the name of the city, of which the Eponym was sak?tu.
I am inclined to regard it as the same place as Supite. The name
of this town is given as Subutu, on no. 951, R 11 ; as Subute, on
no. 951, 10; as Subat, in 11. R. 53, 41 b ; as Subite, in v. R. 7, 114;
as Supite, on nos. 51, 447, and in Rm. 77. It seems likely to be
Zobah. Now as Mannu-ki-Adadi was saknu of Supite and Eponym,
B.C. 683, I think it most probable that this was the date of our
tablet.
No. 279. An upper portion. Drab.
Bel-Harran-kusurani sells some slaves for a sum of
bronze. Dated, the 14th of Arahsamna, b.c. 681.
Pk, D, Ac, F.
Bel-Harran-kusurani does not occur again. The names of the
slaves are lost, as that of the buyer is. It should come in line 5,
but the traces there are beyond my power to read. For the first
witness Kandalanu, see § 705. Radimu is not found again. It is
hardly likely to be the same as Rahimu, in § 668. Harazaza seems
a peculiar name, the second za may be a. Then Harasa might be
compared with Harrusu, the name of the seller's father, on no. 352 ;
and with Hirisai, the name of a witness and ahi, B.C. 663, on no. 309;
of a witness and atii of Bit Kidmuri, Ep. A, on no. 318; of a witness,
Ep. A, on nos. 325 and 623 ; of a witness, Ep. N, on no. 327 ; of a
witness and atu, Ep. Q, on no. 308 ; of a witness, Ep. Q, on no. 349;
of a witness and «///, Ep. E, on no. 711. But we may note that
Hara-sarru, in § 471, suggests that Sa may be a divine name. For this
we may compare the Palmyrene N^fJlDN, N. E. p. 221 a; and NVDTl,
N. E. p. 385 a. Also it is possible that Zaza was a divine name.
For Bel-Harran-duri, see § 701. How we should read llu-GAB-E
I do not know. For Nabii-ahu-usur, see § 520; for the Eponym,
NabO-ahe-eres, see § 526. On the lower edge is an Aramaic docket,
which seems to me to read...iny n:(n). Hence the name of the
slave sold probably began with Atar. The end of the name, in line 3,
seems to be maki; but my first copy has ??nlki. Atar-milki would be
quite regular. In the last line of reverse, before sa, are the traces of
aviUu,
49^ ASSYRIAN DEEDS
747. No. 280. Part of the lower portion. Drab to dark
brown.
Dannu-Nergal sells some slaves to Ninip-ahi-iddin for a
sum of bronze. Traces of two lines of witnesses.
...Ac, C, C\n\S,,S^{F,,B,F,\F.
In line 9, tu ; in line 10, la; in line 11, ina matema\ are
restorations. In line i, of reverse, there is not room for lii maresu,
probably only mdresu was written. In reverse, line 2, for ta the
scribe seems to have written tu.
Dannu-Nergal was the name of a {sa)sepd, on no. 857^ i. 12 ; and
occurs on no. 909. Ninip-ahi-iddin was the name of a witness and
sami of the old palace, B.C. 712, on no. 5; occurs in K 559,
Bu. 89-4-26, 20. The form AN-BAR-SIS-SE-na occurs in K 22,
672. I can make nothing of the traces of the names of the
witnesses.
No. 281. Part of the reverse. Drab.
That this is a sale of slaves is concluded only from
the B clause. Dated, the 15th of Abu, B.C. 694. Eight
witnesses.
...F, B.
In line 8, the last sign is written very like TIS-IR. In line 13,
for di we might read ki. In line 10, the scribe probably omitted
mas after sa ; it is not on the tablet.
For Abda', see § 512 ; for Ahu-abCi, see § 475 ; for Bir-Samas,
see § 554 ; for Istar-dtari, see § 486 ; for Nabti-usallim, see § 465 ; for
the Eponym, Ilu-ittia, see § 520.
In line 8, the name P61u is interesting, because it has been
suggested that this was the name by which Tiglath Pileser III. was
known, as king in Babylon. It occurs as the name of a witness,
B.C. 707, on no. 350; as a kalil, in K 189, and in the letters
K 832 a, Sm. 1067. Hadasa is only found here. Ninip-ilai was the
name of the Eponym, B.C. 865, iii. R. i, i. 46 ; B.C. 839, iii. R. i,
II. 26; B.C. 803, saknu of Ahi-zuhina, in. R. i, in. 15; B.C. 737,
sak7iu of Nasibina, in. R. i, iv. 33; B.C. 723, in. R. i, v. 2. It was
the name of the buyer, B.C. 717, on no. 391 ; of the seller, B.C. 710,
on no. 392 ; of a seller, from Dannai, B.C. 663, on no. 470 ; of a
buyer, on no. 405 ; and occurs in K 1142.
748. No. 282. A thin flake of the upper part of obverse. Black.
This is undoubtedly the upper part of no. 283, to which 80-7-19,
345 has now been joined. The augmented text appears as no. 802.
AND DOCUMENTS. 497
From these portions the transaction is very clear, but only one side
is preserved.
Se-ime and Disi sell a number of slaves to Se-iate for two
minas of silver. No date or name of witness is preserved.
The names of the parties are singular. The first, Se-ime, may be
a compound of Se, a form of Si'. The second seller, Disi, also bears
a name that occurs nowhere else. Se-iate seems also to be a
compound of Se. Thus we may perhaps regard these names as
Aramaic ; compare the Harran Census. Note the reference to Sin
of Harran.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F, F,\ F.
No. 284. A lower portion. Dark red.
Ardi-Istar sells , Sudala, his mother, in all two souls,
slaves of Ardi-Istar, who was over the bitdfii, to Sulmanu-
imme, for one mina and a half of silver according to the
mina of the king. Dated, the 28th of Tebetu, B.C. 668.
Thirteen witnesses.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, B, S,.
In line 10, after izakkupamii, the e is an error of mine. In line i,
of reverse, after ainelu, the traces are probably to be read rab
KA-SAR sa ekalli. In line 7, traces of PA may be seen, at the
beginning of the line. For ba read KA, and the whole name was
Nabu-balatsu-ikbi. In Hne 11, the last sign before anni is KAD,
which seems to be the ideogram for rihtu, but a name Nabu-rihtu-
anni is unlikely. Perhaps we may read Nabu-irihani.
The name Sudala has the ending -dala, seen in Nabu-dala,
Si'-dala, and Ser-dala. The same root appears in the ending -dilhii,
seen in Nasuh-dilini, Si'-dilini. We may compare the Biblical
Dalaiah, Delaiah. The verb dah7, 'to draw out,' may be used here
in some such meaning as 'to save.' But" this particular name would
point to a god Su, perhaps a form of Se\ Sa\ Si\ For Ardi-Istar,
see § 474. Sulmanu-imme is only found here.
The name of the first witness ends in -sallim. For Dannai, see
§474; for Tariba-Istar, see §476; for Nabu-balatsu-ikbi, see §506;
for Samas-ilai, see §560; for Habaste, see §472; for Bel-duri, see
§558; for Samas-eres, see §577. The name Tagali is singular.
Perhaps it is a form of Takali, shewing the same root as Takilate,
Takkallum, Takil-sarru, etc. The name Nabu-irihani might also be
read Nabu-kusurani. It also was borne by a witness and mukil apdte
of the Crown Prince ; occurs as the name of a slave, on no. 913, and
J. III. 32
498 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
as a specimen name, App. i, i. 21. For the Eponym Marlarim,
see § 472.
749. No. 285. A short upper portion. Brown.
Sar-uarri sells some slaves. Dated, the ist of Du'uzu,
B.C. 686. Eleven witnesses.
Pk,D, F.
In line 3, the name begins with Mar, not Sar, and is probably to
be read Mar-Samsi. I do not think this means 'Son of Samsu,' but
' The lord is Samsu.' For other Mar compounds, sec § 746. The
name is only found here. At the end of the line is amel sa?iu, quite
distinctly visible now. In line 4, the ru is much broken and only
Si-e can be relied on. I know of no parallel. The next name seems
to be Se-han, but is also rather doubtful. The name in line 6 is
altogether unreliable. So far as they go, these seem Aramaic names.
The name of the first seller is perhaps Sar-uarri. The ending uarri
is seen in Sarda-urri, the name of a prince of Urartu, named by
Tiglath Pileser III., A. 20. This may be the same name as Sarduri,
king of Urartu, v. R. 10, 40. The same ending occurs in Maribe-
uarri a place name in the Harran Census. Why these four persons
sealed the document, unfortunately does not appear. If they also
were sellers, then the scribe may have written line 2 before he was
aware of more sellers than one.
For Zizi, see §476; for Parutu, see § 577; for Samas-erba, see
§661; for Na'id-ilu, see §504; for the Eponym, Bel-emurani,
see § 540.
Ikbi-ilu was the name of a slave on no. 661, and a specimen
name, App. i, viii. 12. Sin-nasir was the name of two witnesses
here, in lines 3 and 7. The same form occurs in later Babylonian
texts, S.A. V. 67 1 1. The forms AN-XXX-na-sir, AN-XXX-PAP,
also are found in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 67 11. Also a form
EN-ZU-PAP occurs as the name of a Daratai, writer to the king, in
K 186. With Abdi-Azuzi we return to Aramaic names. The name
implies a god AzClzi ; see A^. E. p. 338 b, Ttynny, a Punic name.
Kakusi is only found here. Perhaps we should compare Kakustu in
the Harran Census. Ardi-Samas is only found here.
Marduk-erba, in this form, is the name of a witness, r.c. 676, on
no. 330 ; of a borrower, B.C. 672, on no. 15 ; of a witness and son of
Urdu, on no. 311 ; of a bel pahctii of Puramu, on no. 853; of an
officer in charge of 1300 men, on no. 855. The form AN-AMAR-
UD-SUh the name of a rab kisir of the Rabshakeh, on nos. 857,
AND DOCUMENTS. 499
860; of a seller, on no. 419; occurs in the letters K 653, 1051,
1274; 81-2-4, 313; and in later Babylonian texts, S.y^. V. 147.
The form AN-RID-SU occuxs as the name of a sahiu of the mukil
apate^ on no. 814.
750. No. 286. A fragment of the upper portion. Drab to
brown.
Sura, Gargamisai, Nabu-upahhir, in all three officials,
sell their slaves. Dated, the ist of Sabatu, n.c. 69 i . Two
witnesses.
Ps, n.
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 89, and Hist. Seim. p. 17.
The text is partly published in. R. 47. no. 11. Professor Oppert
gave a transliteration and translation. Doc. Jur. p. 154.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A. 7, calls it a Kaufvertrag^ iiber den
Verkauf von Sclaven.
In line 2, the name clearly begins Su-ra..., compare § 474.
There are distinct traces of a sixth line on the obverse, but it is
not legible, iii. R. omits the first two lines of the reverse. The first
line seems to have the name Imani-ilu, compare § 481. In line 2,
there are some traces left, which may point to Z^/A^ before su. The
name therefore seems to have ended in baldtsu^ but I cannot read
the rest.
The name of the second seller, Gargamisai, is obviously a
gentilic, but only occurs here. For Nabu-upahhir, see §672; for
the Eponym, Zazaku, see § 476. This latter name also occurs in
81-2-4, 65, where his sons are mentioned.
No. 287. A fragment of the obverse. Drab.
Nabuti sells five slaves, among them Bel-sar-ibni, to
Milki-nilri, the saku of the Queen. Date and witnesses
lost.
Pk, D, Ac.
There are distinct marks of the coarse cloth, or canvas, in which
this tablet was wrapped before it hardened. In line 2, the scribe
wrote the TA of taddni twice over. In line 3, the name ended in
PAP-M'ES-TI, i.e. in ahe-bullit. The first sign in line 5 seems to
be 6"/, rather than AN.
For Nabiiti, see § 466 ; for Bel-sar-ibni, see § 526 ; for Milki-ntiri,
§513-
751. No. 288. A fragment, out of the central part of the tablet.
Dark grey to black.
32—2
500 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Samas-aali, an amelu SA , lantiku his son, his
wife; Daktile, his son, his wife; the woman Bau-iaa(li ?),
the woman Dimtu(?); and others, in all fifteen (?) souls,
are sold. The names of the principals and the date are
lost. Ten witnesses.
Ac, ... F, B.
In line 5, the name is very uncertain. For Di we may read sa ;
for til perhaps ba followed by ni. In line 8, the traces are very
faint, and even the number is not certain. In line 9, upisf?ta is a
restoration. In the first line of reverse, the traces rather favour ina
dhiisu in place of di-e-nu. In line 5, I omitted AN before XXX.
In lines 6, 7, 8, 9, there should be a square bracket at the end of
each line ; they may have had more. On the reverse edge, line 2,
the first two signs are not certain.
The edge lines are puzzling. The words sar {mat) Assur {KI)
may point to the date being in the Eponymy of a king. Sargon is
unlikely, Sennacherib, B.C. 687, would be the most likely. Asurbanipal
seemingly was Eponym, for his Hmmu is named in 48-11— 4, 282, a
letter addressed to a king, his son, see IT. A. B. L. p. 505. On the
other hand, the tablet K 4728 is not dated in the Eponymy of
Asurbanipal, as Dr Bezold, Cata. p. 657, gave; but in the Eponymy
of Asur-dur-usur, which G. Smith considered to be B.C. 650. When
Asurbanipal was Eponym, we do not know. But in our case, we
may have ina tarsi of some king, that is, as I take it, ' by the
direction of the king. Then clearly followed a new sentence,
beginning with summu, 'if.' Then we might restore mse Id idin.
That would imply that the slaves were not delivered when the
purchase money was paid. But there is no certainty of the true
restoration.
For Samas-aali, compare Si'-aali, Nashu-aali, and Nabu-iali. They
seem Aramaic ; Bau-iali would be of the same type. The name
lanuku also occurs as that of a nastku of Zame, Sargon Annals, 267 ;
see Winckler's Sargon. Dakule seems related to the name Dakali-
Marduk, in App. r, xii. 15. It is less likely to be the Aramaic ^pl,
* palm.'
Among the witnesses Atarai is also the name of a bcl pahdti, on
no. 854, 14. Sin-sasu does not seem complete. Sin-sasu-usur
seems possible. I know of no parallel. Vox 'Tab-sar-Asur, see
§663; for Nabu-ahi-iddin, see § 534.
Tab-sil-Istar is only found here. The name is like I'ab-sil-Esarra,
AND DOCUMENTS. 50I
wliicli, in the form DUG-GA-IS-MI-E-sdr-ra^ was borne by the
Eponyni of B.C. 717, sahiu of A§^sur, in. R. i, v. 8, in the sixth year
of Sargon ; compare K 2686, 3067, 3127, in. R. 2, nos. i, 11, in. In
the same form it occurs in K 115 1, 82-5-22, 173; and dates
Bu. 91-5-9, 97- The form DUG-GA-NUN-E-sdr-ra occurs as
the name of the writer of the letters K 466, 507, 515, 594, 620, 656,
1057, 1147, 1413, 4770, 8402; Sm. 1030; Rm. II. 458; 82-5-22,
104; dating no. 662, and a specimen name, App. i, xii. 39.
DUG-GA-NUN-e-sdr-ra is the name of the writer of K 5465.
DUG-GA-NUN-e-sdr is the name of the writer of K 5466;
DUG-GA-NUN-E-SAR, of the writer of K 13019; and, probably
in error, IM-NUN-E-sdr-ra of the writer of 81-7-27, 33. Another
similar name is Tab-sil-Marduk, written DUG-GA-IS-MI-AN-
AMAR-UD, the name of the writer of the astrological reports
K 754, 1308, 1332, 1393, a nephew of Bel-nasir. The name Ilu-
kaia is discussed in § 716; Azi-ilu and Misu, in § 573; Hallia,
in § 712.
752. No. 289. A mere fragment. Drab.
The occurrence of the B clause in reverse, line 2, shews it is a
slave sale ; the presence of the plural predicates zarpu lakku, in
line 3, points to more slaves than one. The date is lost, and only
one name of a witness is preserved.
Ac, C, C, D\ 6",, S. \f,\ B.
The last sign but one in the first line of the reverse is dan. For
Samas-erba, see § 661.
No. 290. A fragment of the reverse side. Dark brown.
B,F.
There is only the B clause to rely upon for classification ; but
that need not imply more than one slave, and, of course, this might
also be an estate sale. There are parts of the names of nine witnesses
left. Adadi-na'id is also the name of a buyer, on no. 613. For
Ahi-ramu, see § 709 ; for Ludime, see § 483. The name Sili is that
of a witness, b.c. 692, on no. 33; of the father of Ahinuri, on no. 318.
Compare Sili, in K 7339. The next name may well be restored Sabai,
compare the folk name Sab'ai, named by Tiglath Pileser III., in 11.
R- 67, 53; in. R. 10, no. 2, 27, (1. 38); and the country Saba'ai,
Sargon, Ann. 97, Fr. 27. The name Ra'u recalls the witness, Ep. D,
on nos. 38 and 39 ; compare the Aramaic '•y-i, Greek 'Paaiou.
The name Zakiru occurs as that of a kalii, on no. 851, in. 2 ; as
the son of Iddina-sarru, in K 4740 ; and in later Babylonian texts.
502 * ASSYRIAN DEEDS
S. A. V. 553, etc. Zakiri occurs in 80-7-19, 113. Zakiru, of Bit
Sa'alli, is named by Tiglath Pileser III., B. 19, and occurs in K 186,
as a Daratai and writer to the king. Zakirru occurs in K 154.
Zakir occurs frequently as the name of a writer to the king, often of
astrological reports, K 467, 770, 931, 1345, 5467, 6077, 8379, 8391,
8671, 13092; D. T. 53; Rm. 193, 201; 80-7-19, 19, 59; 81-2-4,
77, 143; 82-5-22, 46, 67; 83-1-18, 85, 196, 248; Bu. 89-4-26,8;
also in later Babylonian texts, v. R. 67, 8 a; cf. v. R. 53, 20.
No. 291. A fragment. Slate grey.
The beginning of liise suatu, in line 2, marks this as a sale of
slaves. The date is lost. There are traces of nine witnesses.
C, C\ D'.
In line 4, I think we may have part of tuaru dcmi dabCibu lassii ;
as, in line 3, the first sign seems to be la the beginning of lakiu.
The first line of obverse seems to indicate that the scribe wrote ina
dinisu dababasu idabubma la ilakki. In line 6, after a may have been
hal : then either ////, or susu. In line 9, in place of bar read a single
vertical. At the end of line 10, are traces of amelu. All through
there may have been titles written at the ends of the lines, but they
are not preserved.
For Nabua, see § 486 ; for Bel-aplu-iddin see § 711 ; for Arbailai,
see §§ 409, 478; for Mannu-ki-ahi, see § 471 ; for Gadia, see § 744.
The second witness may have borne the name Nabii-bani,
compare the name of a witness on no. 601. In both these cases
the name may really be longer. Nab^-banunni was the name of an
aba^ IV. R. add. p. 9, Col. 11. 29. Nabti-bane-ahe was the name of a
witness, B.C. 680, on no. 3 ; of a witness, B.C. 680, on no. 26; occurs
in K 637, 81-2-4, 50, and as a specimen name, App. 2, 11. 5.
Nabu-bani-ahi occurs in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 5723;
Nabu-bani-ahesu as a specimen name, App. i, in. 23. Nabu-bani-aplu
is the name of a witness and aba, B.C. 687, on no. 624; of a witness
and aba, b.c. 686, on no. 374, and a specimen name, App. i, iv. 49.
The form AN-PA-KAK-TUR-U^ is a specimen name, App. i,
IV. 10; App. 2, II. 7. In nearly all these cases we have bdni
expressed ideographically by KAK. But AN-PA-ba-?ii-A is written
as a specimen name, App. 2, 11. 6. Hence, if our name be not
simply Nabu-bani, NabCi-bani-aplu is the most likely form.
Ahallili seems more likely than Ahalsusu. Perhaps we have the
root hhn, seen in Halla-alla', Hallu, etc., see § 712. Compare Halli-
arraka, the name of a witness and aba, on no. 469. Note the
AND DOCUMENTS. 503
Phoenician name b'?n3N, N. E. p. 205 b. The name in line 9
seems to be Ardi-Ea, which is written in this form also in K 626,
940. A shorter form ARAD-i occurs in 82-5-22, 145, The more
usual spelling ARAD-AN-A-A is the name of a frequent writer to
the king, in K 602, 1022, 1024, 1204, 1383, 1405, 1428, 1963, 7426,
1300; 81-2-4, 58; 81-7-27, 30; 83-1-18, 88, 211, 226, 255, 270.
These are not all to be referred to the same person, as some of the
letters belong to the time of Sargon II., and others are clearly later.
It was the name of a kalti^ on no. 857, i. 40. In in. R. 43, 11. 4, we
find the name as early as the time of Marduk-nadin-ahi of Babylon,
as borne by the father of Ea-kudurri-ibni del pahati sa matCite:
compare iv. R. 38, 11. 3, 37. In v. R. 44, 15 cd, we have a variant
given as LA-BAR- A N-NU-DIM-MUT, probably as the name of
an ancient Babylonian author. The name UR-40^ borne by the
boatman of the Ark in the Nimrod Epos, has been variously read ;
Amel-Ea, Puzur-Bel, etc. For this name, WR-^o, in iv. R. 44,
VI. 33, and U'R-AA^-40, in K 8517, seem to be variants, v. R. 44,
48 cd, reads UR-^o as Amel-Ea.
753' No. 292. A fragment. Light red.
The slaves Mannu-ki-Nintia, Handi, Istar-Arbaili (?)
, and Ilu-sallim , are sold. Dated, the 28th of
Nisanu, B.C. 707. Seven witnesses.
Several names are doubtful. Thus in line i , for NINA, perhaps
we should read /. Then the name might be restored in various ways.
In line 4, the name is doubtful all through and may not be complete.
In line i of reverse the traces are quite uncertain. In line 5, perhaps
the title was salsu, but it looks most like naggaru. In line 6, after
bcl may be za, or sa. In line 7, the office seems to have been aba.
In line 8, the KAN is very uncertain.
For Handi as a masculine name, see § 513. The name may not
be complete. The next name certainly is not complete, and the
Arbailu is very doubtful. For Istar-duri, see § 470 ; for Bel-ibni,
see § 505 ; for Kalhai, see § 738 ; for Bahianu, see § 532 ; for Abdi,
see § 512 ; for Nabil-diiri, see § 534 ; for Nabil-na'id, see § 491.
The name of the Eponym is doubtful, being much defaced, but
I follow Dr Bezold, in reading it Sa-Asur-dubbu. This was the name
of the Eponym, sahiu of Tushan, B.C. 707, 111. R. i, v. 17 ; compare
K 3064, III. R. 2, no. XIV, line 26, the fifteenth year of Sargon as
king of Assyria, third year as king of Babylon. The same infor-
mation as to the synchronisms is given by K 3055, 3074, in. R. 2,
504 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
nos. XIII, XV. In our documents he dates no. 350. The name
seems to be borne by a witness, on no. 467, and occurs in the letters
K 469, 1067, 1 108, 13008; 72-7-8, 292 and 82-5-22, 109.
No. 293. A fragment. Red.
Two slaves, one a woman called Danni-ilu, are sold
by two or more owners to a bel pahati^ for two minas of
silver. Traces of two witnesses.
In line 3, after ni^ the scribe seems to have written 7ii again, and
altered it to sa. The effect is very like TA. The formula presents
several peculiarities. In line 8, izirip is unusual in this place. The
word itidima only occurs here. Professor Zimmern, G. G. A. p. 249,
suggested KI for Z>/, but the scribe wrote DI. We should read the
signs i-TI-ki^ as ilakki. In line 9, the name is not KI-A , but
clearly Absa , compare Absa, the name of the brother of Karhai,
sold, B.C. 670, on no. 420. Can itidi be for itidm^ before ma} Then
it would seem that the be/ paMtz bought these slaves and handed them
over to Absa. After ardt^, the scribe wrote sa, in place of the usual
su. Clearly one sa is an error. For Danni-ili compare the masculine
name of a slave sold, B.C. 670, on no. 420. In neither place is the
name certainly complete. Compare Dannu-Nergal, in § 747 and
App. I, VII. 20. Dannu-karsi is the name of a serf, with his people,
on no. 672 : and a specimen name, App. i, viii. 34. Dannu-sarri is
the name of a witness and mar sipri, on no. 219. For names
beginning with Aka , see Aka, § 711 ; Akaba and Akabi-ilu, in
§ 502.
No. 294. A fragment. Red.
The script is very peculiar ; wedges usually written on the slant
are here all horizontal. The readings are often doubtful. In line 2,
the first sign may be mah, but possibly //. The next sign is probably
la, but may be u-ma. The ra seems certain. In line 6, we could
restore amel GUK pu-ti ; at the end sd is better than ki. In the
next line, read now MA-NA KU {BABBAK). Consequently we
may take the abstract to be :
Mahlara, his maidservant, liabai her daughter, in all
three souls, his slaves, are sold by a seller, whose name
is lost, to Risa, the multr pi7ti of , for so many minas
of silver. Dated, the 20th (?) of Ululu, li.c. 700. Traces
of ten witnesses.
So long as the name is so uncertain in its reading it seems useless
to .seek for parallels but I know of nothing like any of the forms
AND DOCUMENTS. 50$
which Mahlara could take. Willi Ikirbai compare the masculine
liabai, a specimen name, App. i, ix. 36. Note also IJabua, named
by Asurnasirpal as kcpu of Nistun, 1. R. 18, 67 ; Buba, Bdbu, BubQa,
variants of the same, or of his father's name. The more usual form
seems to have been Bibia, which occurs as the name of a witness,
B.C. 679, on Rm. 157 ; and in 83-1-18, 24. Bibi was the name of
a seller and bcl 7iarkabti, B.C. 679, on no. 364; of a witness and
sukallu rabu, Ep. i, on no. 326. Whether Bibe-hallusu, on no. 429,
is a proper name seems not quite clear; nor is Bibi-lagamur, on
no. 917, a proper name. But compare Bibblia, in later Babylonian
texts, S. A. F. 2 ; Hilprecht's Biba, I). E. ix. p. 57 a; and the
Biblical ^3n.
For Risai, see § 705; for Aa-ahe, § 408; for Bel-li', § 712; for
Dari-Bel, § 473; for lada, § 702; for the Eponym, Mitunu, § 476.
In line 5, of reverse, the scribe seems to have written Na-bi-ra-7nu^
over an erased name. The characters Na-bi were probably intended,
but in this text na is indistinguishable from ba. Babiramu is quite
likely, and may be restored perhaps, in no. 313, as the name of a
slave sold. Nabi would be an unusual commencement for a name,
but see Nabisikki, the name of a witness, on no. 388. Bala-imme
may be for Ba'al-imme ; but compare Balai in § 548. Zabai is the
name also of a mutir putt, named by Kudur, in K 82 ; of a witness,
B.C. 679, on Rm. 157 ; of a rab ali of Appina, writer of 83-1-18, 18.
Hence it seems not unfair to restore Barhalzi for the end of the line.
We could read Sabai, compare Sabaiu, the seller of no. 376, if u be
really part of the name. For Ameki I know no parallel. The name
on the edge seems to be Nabil-na'id, see § 491.
754. No. 295. A fragment. Red. The tablet was unusually
small for this sort of contract. There is nothing to decide how many
slaves were sold, perhaps only one woman. The seller's name began
with Im, or perhaps Adadi, or Sar. The buyer's name is lost. There
were five witnesses. Dated, the 15th of Nisanu, e.g. 731.
Ac, C, C, S, (F,).
Scarcely one name is complete. The female name Laha has
no parallel. The name of the first witness might be Belanu, or
Tillanu, both new to me. The next name began with DUG-GA,
which could be variously restored. The next may have begun with
Kurdi. No name beginning with Pai is known to me ; except
Pa'i, in K 4690, probably the same as Pa'e, the name of a king of
Elam, given by Asurbanipal, on K 6382 ; successor of Ummanaldas
5o6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
on the throne of Elam, v. R. 7, 51 and v. R. 10, 17. The name also
occurs in 83-1-18, 68 and in 11. R. 66, 11. 3. In line 9, the name
seems to have begun with I For the Eponym, Bel-liidari, see
§ 657. In line i, amtiisu is a restoration; in line 5, read ki for ki.
No. 296. A fragment. Slate grey.
Mar sells Halmusu, the KU-KA-SAR, his wife; Ilu-mehunai,
Matalli, his wife ; a son of Asur-sum-ukin, to Babilai. Date lost.
Seven witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac.
In line 7, the sign is very doubtful. In line i, of reverse,
Mattallai is a likely restoration. In line 6, we may restore Nabli-
sezib, with some probability. I cannot read the traces of the date.
Halmusu is the name of a witness, B.C. 679, on no. 462 ; of a
witness, servant of the rab nddin akli, on no. 464 ; and occurs in
the Harran Census. How to combine the signs for the next name,
I do not know. Anmehunai seems as difficult as Ilumehiinai. I
know of no parallel for either. For Matalli, see § 409. We might
perhaps read Mari-li. Whether Asur-sum-ukin is the father of the
slave whose name preceded, or whether he is another slave I am not
sure. For the name compare Asur-mu-ki-in in K 943, and Sm. 1031.
If this be so, perhaps the name really was Asur-mukinu. For Babilai,
see § 498.
Among the witnesses, Mattallai is discussed in § 409. Sula occurs
on no. 853, as the name of a bel pahati., and is named in 81-2-4, 493.
The related name, Sulai, occurs in K 821, and as a specimen name,
App. I, IX. 30. Sulia is the name of a witness, B.C. 679, on Rm. 157.
Aa-amme only occurs here. For Sarru-ibni, see § 705 ; for NabCi-
sezib, § 471.
Adadi-rimani was the name of the Eponym, B.C. 843, in. R. i,
II. 22; occurs as the name of a neighbour, in Du'ua, B.C. 748, on
no. 418 ; and in K 4675. Also it is a specimen name App. 3, 11. 13.
These names are spelt with AN-IM. Our form is the name of a
witness, a Ninevite, B.C. 668, on no. 472 ; of a witness, on no. 438;
as Ep. D, on nos. 38, 39, 622; also in K 534 and 13. T. 317. The
form AN-U-rim-an-ni is the name of the master of a slave, Ep. S, on
no. 311.
755. No. 297. Portions made up from 83-1-18, 259, 372, and
397. The first and third join ; the second is, in my o[)inion, part of
the same tablet, but does not join. Drab.
'J'he specification of the lot sold ])robnbly went down to line 7.
AND DOCUMENTS. 507
The name of the seller is partly preserved, in lines 8 and 18 ; perhaps
it was llu-tabani. Dated, the 5th of Abu, Ep. J. Eight witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ B\ S,, S, {F, yg, F.
For the witness ZarClti, see § 515 ; for Habaste, § 472 ; for Sin-
na'id, § 475 ; for Silla, § 509 ; for NabQa, § 486 : for the Eponym,
V
Sulmu-Bel, § 706. The other names are too fragmentary for re-
storation.
No. 298. The top edge only is preserved. Drab.
Raman-ibni sells some slaves. Dated, the 22nd of
Simanu, B.C. 680. At least three witnesses.
Fk, D.
For Raman-ibni, see § 475 ; for the Eponym, Dananu, § 480.
The other names are not easily restored.
No. 299. Fragment of top edge. Drab to black.
Four men, or three sons of one man, whose names are almost
destroyed, sell some slaves. Dated in Aaru, no day given. Trace
of one witness.
The name in line 4 may be that of the father of the first three.
The TAK-SID, at the beginning of the line, is a restoration, and
may be wrong. Damki-ili is possible as a name. Dumki-ilani
occurs on no. 862. The word tirisi, in rev. 3, replaces the more
usual ina tarsi. It was clearly followed by the name of a king. I
can make nothing of the other traces of names.
No. 300. A fragment. Slate grey to black.
No names of principals, or slaves, and no price, are preserved.
The bel nlse of line 2, however, is sufficient to mark a sale of slaves.
Dated, in Du'uzu. Seven witnesses. We have traces of Fk, D
and F.
Silim-ilu, Silim-Asur, or even Silim-Adadi, might be the name of
the first witness. For Handi, see §513; for Nabd-ahi-iddin, see
§ 534-
Babali is only found here. The other names I am unable to
restore.
756. No. 301. A fragment of the upper portion. Brown.
Aplua, the rab ali of Lahiru, of the house of the Queen
Mother, sells some slaves. Dated, the 7th of some month,
in B.C. 678. At least three witnesses.
Pk.D.Ac...
In the head line, read B.C. 678 for B.C. 698. In line i, I have
given the wrong amelu. The first slave was an irrisu. There are a
508 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
number of peculiar scratchings on the tablet. In line 2, the sd is
not now on the tablet. The names of the first two witnesses are not
to be restored.
Aplila is a form that only occurs here. For Aplia, see § 518;
for Ardi-Nana, see § 491 ; for the name of the Eponym, Nergal-
sarru-usur, § 515.
No. 302. A fragment of the upper edge. Drab.
Erihi, the pirhinu of Nabii, sells some slaves. Date
gone, witnesses missing.
At the end of line 3 may be 7?idrsu. We have traces of Fs, Z>,
Ac. The name Erihi is only found here.
No. 303. A fragment. Drab.
This text has really no right to be here. It rather seems to be
part out of the penalties to a contract. The buyer seems to have
been Sum-lisir. The name occurs as that of a buyer, and musarkisu,
B.C. 734, on no. 415 ; of a witness and sangu, on no. 603. Another
form, MU-SI-DIj is a specimen name, App. i, xi. 28. Among the
penalties we may recognise E^, J%, Fq, on the reverse, but it is not
easy to say what was on the obverse. ' One mina of some woollen
stuff, and one mina of bright silver,' are not like the usual
penalties.
No. 304. A mere strip from the right-hand side. Drab.
The words 7tise suatu^ in line 4, sufficiently mark it as a sale of
slaves. We can recognise parts of the clauses, Ac^ C, C, D\ Si, S^
(Fi Fq), F In line i, the sign may be part of na. In line 4, of
reverse, the trace may be u or SFLU. No names of the principals,
witnesses, slaves, nor date, are preserved.
No. 305. A top edge. Red brown.
Bel-eres sells several slaves. The names of the slaves, of the
buyer, and of the witnesses are lost. No date is preserved. P'or
Bel-eres, see § 474.
No. 306. A top edge. Drab.
A rdb aldni, called Idu , sells Nadin-Bel and other slaves. The
buyer's name, and those of the witnesses are lost. Dated in UlCllu.
757. No. 320. A singular shape, like a flat fig. Black. Now
that Sm. 649 is joined to Sm. 1407, we have most of the tablet.
The writing is along the length of tlie tablet, large and bold.
Three or four men whose names are only partly pre-
served sell Ncrgal-tuklatCia (?), Mumar-ili, Samas-li', Ktar-
di'nini, and Mukinat-Istar, in all five slaves to Musallim-
AND DOCUMENTS. 509
I^tar, for sixty-four iiiinas of bronze. Dated, the ytli of
Aaru, B.C. 691. Seven witnesses.
Ps, D, Ac, C, S.
The peculiarity of the writing, in which horizontals replace slant
wedges, makes me think that, in line 3, the first sign is meant for
U-GUR. Then tuk seems to be certain. The scribe wrote AD,
but I think he meant la. Then the name would be U-GUR-tuk-
la-a-tii-u-a, or Nergal-tuklatiia. In line 4, of reverse, the scribe wrote
amelu NI AS-SUR, which I do not understand. The title NI-SUR
is common, and may be intended here.
The names of the sellers are not to be restored from the traces in
lines I and 2. For Nergal-tuklatOa compare Nabu-tuklattla, written
AN-PA-tuk-lat-u-a, a specimen name, App. i, iv. 31. Mumar-ili is
quite without parallel. I take mumdr to be the participle 11. i, of
7ndru, 'to send.' Samas-li' was the name of a neighbour, Ep. N,
on no. 327 ; and a specimen name, App. i, vi. 13. In the form
AN-Sa-mas-DA it is the name of a witness on no. 209, if that name
be complete. Istar-di'nini is only found here. Mukinat-Istar is
considered in § 665, Musallim-Istar in § 481.
Kurdi-Nergal is the name of the purkullu, named by Akkullanu,
on Rm. 67, as having stolen a gold plate from the temple of Asur.
It also occurs in the Harran Census. Tabdsu is the name of a seller,
B.C. 686, on no. 374; of a lessor, B.C. 687, on no. 624. For Urdu,
see § 556; for Siisil, see § 486; for Ninuai, see § 508; for the
Eponym, Bel-emurani, see § 540.
Asur-aplu-iddin only occurs here. Isdu-na'id, or Isdi, is the
name of a seller, son of Hala-iddi ; of an Aramaic scribe, b.c. 661,
on no. 782; and occurs on no. 877 a. Kurdi-ilu, in line 6, may
not be complete.
758. No. 322. Now that K 1505 is joined to K 7407 we have
most of the tablet. Chocolate.
Nabti-aplu-iddina sells several slaves to Rimani-Adadi,
the viukil apdte of Asurbanipal, the king of Assyria, for
shekels of silver. Date lost. At least seven wit-
nesses.
Pk, Z>, Ac, F.
In line 7, there is something visible before a : perhaps an erasure.
In line 10, there is not quite all si left, the lower horizontal is wanting.
The next sign is sar, or zar; doubtless part of zarpu. In line 3, of
reverse, the word daia?n seems to indicate either the phrase daianu
5IO ASSYRIAN DEEDS
la isixmu^ or daiani ilu , meaning that some god shall be the judge.
But it may also be part of a proper name. In that case it may be
the name of the Eponym. In line lo, the scribe wrote bar for PAP\
but as Bar-lamur does not seem sense, I took the sign to be for ahu.
In line 3, I fancy the slave's name must have been Atarai, see
§751. For Rimani-Adadi, see § 467; for Nabii-aplu-iddina, see
§ 492. Recalling Rimani-Adadi's witnesses elsewhere, we may restore
the name in line 4 of reverse, as Saeru, see § 560. But no name,
known to me, ends in limme-ilu. Nabu-bel-usur seems the likeliest
reading in line 6, see § 665. Likibe seems possible in line 7, see
§657. For Hubasate, see §472; for Kakkullanu, see §510; for
Ahu-lamur, see § 680.
No. 323. A mere fragment, of a limy clay, calcined. Grey to
drab.
This is classed here because of the B clause. We can recognise
parts also of C, C, 5^, ^2 (^i)- I^^ li^e 3, for ka read te\ of course,
part of matema. In line 4, there are traces of na before kaspu. In
line 6, there are traces of sartit^ ar-tu being legible. Then came
As = ana. In line 7, Bel-diiri should be more to the left; there was
no other name before it. For Bel-ddri, see § 558. I can offer no
suggestion as to the other names.
759. No. 718. A piece of the left-hand side. Brown.
This is clearly part of the sale of several slaves. Adi\nu ,
seems to have been sold with four sons, Nablltu, Ambana , Abda',
and Laia' The signs in line 6, I read I EN mctru UD-su^ or
isten 7naru batusu, 'one son a child.' In line 7, we see there were
'in all four sons.' There may have been 'a wife,' in line i ; but in
line 7 we do not know what was the full total. In line 8, they are
called arddni of the seller, whose name is lost. Then follows upisma.
The buyer's name is lost, but he seems, from line 10, to have been
an aba. Line 1 1 suggests that the price was a hundred minas, or
perhaps several hundred minas. The price was therefore probably
paid in bronze.
No. 725. A fragment of the left-hand side. Red.
Here some slaves ; adaughter Dahi ,awoman Istar-napsir
among them ; ' in all five souls, slaves ' of the seller, are sold. Then
comes upihna, and the buyer's name began with Summa He
was a mukil apdie^ and was very likely called Summa-ilani. Of the
other traces I can make noticing clear.
No. 789. A right-hand edge. Black.
AND DOCUMENTS. 5 I I
Here several slaves, willi their families, (note the S/lL-^u in
lines I, 2 and 5, tlie mdrafsu in line 3,) are sold. In line 6, we
have clearly the end o{ aniihii; in line 7, upis ; there seems to have
been no ?iia. On the reverse we recognise part of S.> {/'] /^j), K In
line 3, we find the fine was paid to /s/ar dsibat ; either Arbela or
Nineveh probably followed. The names of two of the witnesses
ended in ikbi. In line 9 we have a singular title rdb SAL-MES,
rab sifinisdte^ 'master of the women.'
The names occurring in these fragments are mostly beyond
restoration. For Nabiltu, see § 466; for Abda', see § 512; for
Summa-ilani, see § 467. Ambana seems unique : but may not be
complete. La'ia may be restored Laiati-ilu. This name, in the
form La--i-ti-AN\s a specimen, App. 3, iii. 13; La-i-ti-AN \^ the
name of a witness, on no. 572, and occurs in the Harran Census;
La-a-a-te-AN is the name of the bel pahdti of Amedi, on K 6367 ;
La-it'ti-AN occurs in the Harran Census. An ideographic spelling
ZU-AN occurs as a specimen name, App. 3, in. 8 ; as the name of
a witness and rab kisir of the vidr sipri of the Queen, on no. 494 ;
as a witness on no. 388. A partly ideographic form is ZU-te-AN,
the name of a witness and tamkaru on no. 345, of a witness on
no. 568.
SALES OF A WOMAN AS WIFE.
760. In these cases the purpose of the sale is stated. The
slave is bought as a wife (or concubine) for a son, or as wife for a
slave. There is no marked deviation from the formula of a sale, but
the slave is bought ana assuti^ 'for wifedom.'
Abstracts of nos. 307-309 and 711.
No. 307. Nearly complete. Brown.
Nabu-rihtu-usur, son of Amur-dise, a Hasai, by his
agent Ardi-Istar of the city of the aslake, with Tebetai
and Silim-Adadi his sons, together sell Belit-hazina, his
daughter, to Nihti-sarau, as wife for her son Siha ; at the
price of sixteen shekels of silver. Dated, the ist of
Ullilu, Ep. F. Fifteen witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ S, (F,), F
512 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 98.
Extracts are given, 6". A. V. 6211, 7977.
The text was published iii. R. 49, no. 3. It was transHterated
and translated by Oppert, Doc. fur. p. 220 ff. See also Records of
the Past., VII. p. 115 ff. : Oppert, Mhnoire sur les rapports de V Egypte
et de l^Assyrie, p. 1 1 1. Mr T. G. Pinches, in his review of Vol. I., gave
a transliteration and translation; /. R. A. S. 1898, pp. 894-8.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A 10, calls this a Kaufvertrag, iiher den
Verkauf von Sclaven.
I regret to say that my edition exhibits many faults. In line i,
the last two characters are restored. In line 3, the wrong amelu is
given ; and of Ardi-Istar only Ardi is left on the tablet. Both Istar
and ma are gone. In line 4, for sd read TA. Also here, and in
line II of rev., read KU-UD, not KI-UD. I thought to connect
KI- UD with maskdnu. In line 6, at the end, only the beginning of
TUR is now visible. In lines 9, [o, 1 1, of rev. del. S/sit the beginnings
of the lines. In line 12, the wrong amelu is given. In line 14, the
last sign is u not u. In line 16, the first character of the first name
may be nap, not ba. At the end of line 18, the signs AN-NU-SI
or AN-NU-GI mdjj be read. On the edge, KAMI'S, slightly on the
slant. Note that in line 13, the end of the line is carried on, over
the edge, and into the seal, on the obverse. In line 9, rihtu is
replaced by KAD., giving a value not entered in Briinnow, p. 75.
There are many peculiarities of detail, due I think to the status
of the parties. The sellers are Nabu-rihtu-usur and his two sons.
The father was clearly of foreign extraction, for his father was called
Amur-dise. The name seems to be of the Harran type. I think it
means, 'I have seen increase.' Nabd-rihtu-usur, ' Nabil preserve a
remnant,' seems to point to family, if not to national distress. The
father is also said to be a Hasai. There was a land of HasCl, named
by Tiglath Pileser III., in in. R. 9, 28. A land HassCl is named by
Esarhaddon, in. R. 15, iv. 14. On no. 810, 10, certain garments
from Hasai are named. Hence I imagine we are dealing with one
of those deported families who must have been so common in Assyria.
The sons bear Assyrian names.
Nabft-rihtu-usur seems to have acted through an agent, Ardi-Istar.
The -ma., which follows the name, renders prominent the fact of
agency. The father and his two sons are bcl of the woman sold,
that is, they have the power t(; sell, but perhaps have not legal
standing as citizens. It is also possible, that while the sons and
AND DOCUMENTS. 513
daughter were present in Nineveh, the father was in his native place
and he had to act through an accredited proxy.
The woman sold, lielit-hasina, in line 7, is stated to be 7nartihinu^
' their daughter.' Actually she seems to have been ' daughter of,'
7naj-atsu sa, NabiVrihtu-usur, and sister of the other two. The
scribe may have allowed the idea of 'daughter' to outweigh that of
'sister.' Or we may suppose mdrtu used in the sense of 'girl.' In
the same way, we find maru used as if meaning ' boy.'
The buyer was the lady Nihti-esarau. Although in line 5, of
reverse, the scribe writes the masculine determinative before her
name, this must be an error, for he uses the feminine predicates
tupis^ talki, and the feminine suffix sa. This lady buys the girl for
her son, Siha, 'for his wife,' ana assiitisu ; compare line 14, assatisu
sa Sihd si, 'the wife of Sihai shall she be.' The names of this lady
and her son are foreign, Egyptian perhaps. But they also may have
been exiles from the land of Hasti.
The price paid is small, only sixteen shekels of silver. We may
discover a reason for this in the position, and poverty also, perhaps, of
the exiles. We note the careful formality of the contract, and may
imagine these people of high rank, but reduced to great want. It is
also quite possible that Belit-hasina had still to be fetched from her
home.
In reverse, lines 9-12, we read that Sahpimau, Bel-sum-iddin,
and Isdi-Belit, are three iamel) ur-ki-u {MES). Mr Pinches joins
this to the sa SAL of the next line, so that these men are ' iirkmte
of the girl sold.' An objection to this is that another urkiu, Karmeuni,
follows immediately. Now these men are not witnesses; the 6"/ before
their names is an error of mine. Their position in the transaction is
without parallel and hence obscure. Mr Pinches regards them as
' next of kin.' But urku seems used in other places to mean
'guarantee,' and here these men may be guarantees for the pro-
duction of the girl. I think that the next of kin would have sealed
the document. In line 13, if we take sartu as 'illegality'; kdtd
sibti as a 'defect of the hands,' like sibit pi in Manistusu's text,
D. P. p. no, line 38, which clearly means 'dumbness'; and habulli
as an ' injury ' of some kind, compare habdlu, * to destroy ' ; then we
see that Karmeiini is a 'guarantee,' urkiu, 'against,' or 'from,'/////
pdni, these blemishes. This explanation is due primarily to Professor
Jensen. Compare K. B. vi. i, p. 569.
On the other hand, urku sometimes appears to mean a mortgagee,
J. in. 33
514 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
sartji kdta could mean 'compensation from the handiwork,' sibtu
may be 'profit' and habullu 'interest.' Then the phrase would run,
sa afnilti, 'of the woman,' istu pdni sarte kCitd ' from the value of her
work,' shall be 'the profit and interest.' Then it would seem that
the girl had already been mortgaged to the urkiute^ for debt perhaps.
They had a right to the girl's hand service. It was the sartu^ ' set
off ' for the interest and profit on their loan. But they had no other
right to the girl, and she might become a wife. They could not
stand in the way of her marriage, but a clause must be inserted to
reserve their right to her manual labour. Hence the lady who
bought her could not make use of her as a domestic servant, and
she was less valuable than an ordinary slave girl. This might also
explain the presence of Ardi-Istar. He was from the city of the
aslake^ the 'washermen's quarter' in Nineveh. The third of the
mortgagees was an aslakii; it is possible, therefore, that the mortgagees
employed Ardi-Istar to watch their interests.
The absence of a verb in the sentence in line 13 is very trying.
If we take the sa amilti with the urJzmte of line 12, we could still
read sarte kdta sibti habulli^ ' (her) manual labour is (their) profit as
set off to the interest' But, on the whole, I think Professor Jensen's
explanations are the best. In no. 102, where [amel) urkiu may be
'mortgagee,' he might also be 'guarantee'; in no. 105, urki'iite may
be 'guarantees.' But at present the instances of its use are too few,
and their contexts too fragmentary, to warrant certainty. A reading
likkiu is not likely; nor is ^^^-iT/- C/" likely to be an ideogram.
Nab(i-rihtu-usur is the name of a witness and aba^ B.C. 645, on
no. 25 ; of a witness and mutir piiti^ Ep. Q, on no. 349 ; of witnesses
probably on nos. 448, 527, 532 : cf. nos. 649, 650 ; of an officer of the
king, on no. 860, 11. 11 ; occurs in K 7395 ; 82-5-22, 108; and as a
specimen name, App. i, i. 6. Compare Nabu-rihitum-u.sur, in later
Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 5853. Amur-dise appears also as a witness,
in rev. 15. As disu means the 'growing vegetation,' and disdti seems
used of nise in the sense of the ' uprising generation,' we may suppose
Amur-disc to mean ' I have seen a rising generation.' But the name
may be read Ahardise and may be foreign. Compare the name Disi,
'my growth,' in § 748. For Ardi-Istar, see § 474 ; for I'cbetai, § 521 ;
for Silim-Adadi, § 577.
The name of the girl sold I read Belit-hasina ; the Catalogue,
p. 2065 a, reads Ktar-hasina. I think that hasl is the same root as
seen in Ilazi-ilu, Ilu-ha/zi, Hazianu, etc. The name should mean
AND rx:)CUMENTS. 515
' Belit— our hazt.^ But, of course, the hasifia may l)e quite disliiul,
perhaps related to hasaiiu^ perhaps altogether foreign. Nihti-esarau
seems foreign. ^Ve may compare Nahti-luiruansini, the king of
Pisapti'a, in v. R. i, 104, see Steindorff, 7). A. S. i. p. 353. Siha
may also be compared with Siha, the king of Siafttu, in Ii^gypt, in
V. R. I, 106; and with Silul. a HAR-DI-BI^ on no. 851, i v. i. For
Sahpimau, see § 663 ; and compare "iro^sn:^', an Egyptian name,
N'. E. p. 374. Bel-sum-iddin only occurs here and under the form
EN-MU-MU, in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 11 68, etc. For
Ilu-udanani, see § 574, but we could read Ilu-ukalani, compare
AN-u-kal-la-an-7ii^ B.C. 649, on no. 698 ; and a specimen name,
App. 3, II. 26. Isdi-Belit is only found here ; for Ati, see § 583.
Karmetini I take to be all the name, su urkiu means ' he is urkiu.^
The name seems foreign.
The witness Banitu bears a name discussed in § 578; Nabnitu
would be unique. For Ardi-Nana, see § 491. For Putumhesu,
which only occurs here, compare Putu-Paiti, in § 503 ; Putu-Bisti
the king of Sinu, in Egypt, v. R. i, 96, the Greek n€To/5ao-6't9,
IleTo^ao-TT;?, IIcTov^acrTi? \ and perhaps Puturanu, a specimen name,
App. I, XII. 8. Also compare the many names spelt Pudi, which
might be read Puti, and some of which are clearly Egyptian, § 503.
But many of these could be read Budi, i.e. Bod, and may be
Semitic. Was the Phoenician Bod really a loan word from Egyptian
Pet?
The name, in line 18, begins apparently with Hasba , but I
cannot complete it. The names of the other witnesses are too
defective to restore, except Ultilai, see § 505 ; Nur-Samas, see § 580 ;
Putu-Paiti, see § 503. For the Eponym, Asur-mat-utakkin, see § 691.
For Ate', see § 583 ; for Nabti-nadin-ahe, see § 470.
761. No. 308. Nearly complete. Brown.
Ahuasu, son of Aa-ahe, and another, sell their maid,
Sali-Beltu, to Kaktllanu, the rab kisir of the Crown
Prince; as wife to Tarhunazi, his slave, for half a mina
of silver. Dated, the 20th of Aaru, Ep. A. Perhaps
nine witnesses.
Fk,D,Ac, C, C\ D',S„ S^{E,).
The date is quoted, Ej>. Can. p. 99.
Extracts are given, S. A. V. 4822, 7977, 8979.
In line 3, bel is a restoration. In line 7, the scribe has omitted
the usual ina libbi^ before the price, and kaspu after it. In other
33—2
5l6 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
respects the formula is condensed. In line 6, as Professor Zimmern
suggested, G. G. A. p. 249, sir-ki may be an error for kisir. There
seems to be an official called a strki?iii^ or mi/sktnu, of which the
scribe may have thought. Note that the price here is quite normal,
there are no iirkuite.
For Ahuasu, see § 508 ; for Aa-ahe, see § 408. The name of the
first seller it is impossible to restore. The name Sali-Beltu only
occurs here. Compare the masculine names Sala-ilu, Saliai, Salla, in
§ 700. For Kakkullanu, see § 510; for the Eponym, Salmu-sar-ikbi,
see § 467 ; for Likipu, § 657 ; for Balasi, § 521 ; for Nabii-utarris,
§ 573; for Zize, § 476; for Asur-killani, § 691 ; for Idi, § 583; for
Hirisai, § 746.
The name of the father of the witness, in line 9, is not clear;
Samas-natkil seems to be intended. It would only occur here, but
compare Asur-natkil, in § 572. The signs at the end of the line I
take to be a ditto sign, followed by ma : meaning that Balasi was
' also ' a rab kisir. That the name really was Samas-nakil-gamma, or
anything similar, is very unlikely. The traces, seri and UD-NA-SIS,
in the last two lines, are not easy to recognise.
No. 309. Only a fragment. Light red.
Dihai and his two sons sell a girl Abi-dalali to Kak-
kullanu, for half a mina of silver, as a wife for his slave
Ululai. Dated perhaps in B.C. 663. Eight witnesses.
Ac, C, C", n',
In line i, the traces of ia-li can be made out, at the end of the
name. In line i, of reverse, nothing can be made out with certainty.
On the left-hand edge, the Eponym's name certainly began with Bel,
and after mat, ku is possible.
For Dihai, or Temenai, see § 409; for Kakkullanu, § 510; for
UlCilai, § 505 ; for Likipu, § 657 ; for Zizi, § 476; for Asur-killani,
§ 691 ; for Nabu-utarris, § 573; for Idi, § 583 ; for Hirisai, !^ 746.
Note that the list of witnesses is almost the same as the last. The
price is quite normal and there are no urkiuic. Abi-dalali only
occurs here.
762. No. 71T. U[)per portion of tablet. Brown.
Mutakkil-Marduk and Asur-mufsallim, in all two bro-
thers of Siltiba-Istar ; Asur-nadin-ahi and Isdi-Istar, in
all two sons of the same; in all four 'sons' of Siltiba-
Istar; in all four iron-smiths, owners of the girl Gula-
rimat, sell her to Kakkullanu, for half a mina of silver.
AND DOCUMENTS. 517
He gave her to Ardi-Nabil, his slave, Lo wife. Dated, tlie
19th of Nisanu, Ep. E. Eleven witnesses.
Pk,D,Ac, S^{F,\F.
The date is quoted, Ep, Can. p. 98.
The text was published, iii. R. 46, no. 2 ; and repeated
C. I. S. p. 14.
A transliteration and translation were given by Oppert, Doc. Jur,
p. 147 ff. : also a transliteration and translation appear in C. I. S. 1. c.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A. 2, calls it a Kaufvertrag^ iiber den
Verkauf von Sclaven.
Reference is made to it by Amiaud, R. A. 11. p. 13.
It was described in the old Guide, p. 176, no. 47.
This document was postponed to such a late place because I was
unable to make up my mind where it really belonged. The Aramaic
docket gives nniy nt^'K, 'wife of Ardi-Nabii.' Now Ardi-Nabu
only occurs in the text as a witness. But in line 12 we see that
KakkuUanu upisma ittidi?!, ' bought and gave ' the girl to someone.
III. R. and C. I. S. gave ilisu before ittidin. Hence it seemed likely
that here we had a deed of dedication to the service of a god, like /
nos. 640-642. The references to the gods in line 2 of reverse
supported this somewhat. So I had classed the text as a dedication.
But when I came to examine the dedications more closely, it seemed
impossible to accept this view. A careful collation shewed that ilisu
was wrong and -susu was really on the tablet. This must be the end
of ana assuisu-su, where the su is redundant. This agrees with the
docket, which clearly implies that Gula-rimat was wife of Ardi-Nabu.
Now we can see why he was witness.
Another consideration delayed me. The rarity of the 19th as a
date seemed to demand a special reason. I thought that perhaps
a dedication to a god was such a good deed that it might be done
on the 19th. Perhaps the purchase of a wife for a slave ranked
equally appropriate for a day of rigid self-denial.
In line 3, in. R. and C. I. S. have amelu in place of SIS. In
line 5, they have amelu again for TUR\ and again in line 6, before
Siltiba-Istar, they insert a77iele {MES-e). They give XIV in place of
naphar IV, at the end of line 6. The sign at the end of line 7 they
omit, and I regard it as an error of the scribe's. These errors gave
Oppert a completely false view of the relationships. As it is, the
scribe is not clear. But he seems to have meant that the first two
sellers were brothers of Siltiba-Istar, the second two were sons.
5l8 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Then he calls them all ' sons,' perhaps using mare in the sense of
' next relatives.' Another way of understanding the text would be to
take the first sa as the feminine suffix ; the first two sellers being
' her two brothers ' ; the second two, sons of Siltiba-Istar, and all
four really his sons. The second two sellers would then be 'her
half-brothers.'
In line ii, in. R. and C. I. S. give u before bar. The end of bi
is plain, but ina lib- is a restoration of mine. What was written
before ma at the end of line 13, I cannot make out. iii. R. and
C, I. S. give U£f. Both in. R. and C. /. S. omit all line i, of
reverse; in line 2, they omit ina dini and give u for sii. They
insert ma before la. In line 3, they put SI TIS at the commence-
ment of the line and indicate a loss at the end. Hence Oppert made
Samas-sabit a proper name. Of course, the line reads Samas lu bel
dbiisu, 'Samas be his advocate.'
In rev. Hne 4, in. R. and C. I. S. have sii for su ; and in line 5,
give NU-MAN for zer-u. They both omitted all the left-hand edge
line. The title at the end of this line was very likely sa sepd. The
price is quite an ordinary one. There are no iirkiute. With respect
to the Aramaic docket, De Vogiie read it correctly, but he hazarded
the opinion that Ardi-Nabu was the principal witness or notary. As
a fact he is said to be some amelu^ but the traces do not suggest aba ;
while Adadi-abuusur was the principal witness.
For Mutakkil-Marduk, see § 505 ; for Asur-nadin-ahi, § 685 ; for
Isdi-AS^ur, § 491 ; for Kakkullanu, see § 510; for Zariiti, § 515; for
A^ur-sum-ukin, see § 687 ; for Isdi-Nabu, § 521 ; for Hirisai, § 746;
for Aplia, § 518; for the Eponym, Nabta-sar-usur, § 523; for Ardi-
NabCl, § 487.
Asur-musallim is named in the letter K 131 02, and in the form
Asur-GI, occurs in Bu. 89-4-26, 163. For Siltiba-Istar compare
the name Silteba, of a witness, Ep. P, on no. 628. Gula-rimat only
occurs here. Adadi-abu-usur is the name of a witness, son of Dilr-
Adadi, Ep. A, on no. 446 ; of a witness and mar sipri., on no. 600 ;
and of a neighbour, on no. 411. For Asur-katsu compare Asur-
kassunu, the name of a witness, and neighbour, Ep. D, on no. 622 ;
also in K 525 ; and Asur-kassun, the name of a witness and official
of the Crown Prince, on no. 527 ; of a witness and slave of the
amelu sa paiii ekalli, on no. 464. Ahu-lamma I regard as either an
error for Ahu-lamassi, or a variant of it, see § 467. Zitai is only
found here. P)Urkai is only found here. As burkit is a part of the
AND DOCUMENTS. 5 19
body, perhaps connected witli birku, ' ihe knee,' we may have Iieic
some name like * My knees.' Istar-ilai occurs as the name of a
seller and rab kirn- of Dannai, I3.c. 663, on no. 470.
It is noticeable, that in the last three cases, it is Kakkullanu who
buys wives for his slaves.
SALES OF SLAVES OF THE CLASS MARKED rOtU.
763. The peculiarity of this class is the presence of the word
rutu^ clearly an epithet applied to the slave. It is usually preceded
by a number, 3, 4, or 5 ; but this number does not agree with the
number of the slaves. Single slaves are marked by it, as in no. 311,
one female slave is 4 r{du\ in no. 312, one female slave is 3 rutWy
one male slave is nttu^ in no. 314; one female slave, 3 rutu^ in
no. 315 ; one female slave, 5 rutu^ in no. 317. In no. 783, we have
in lines 8-12, Unzarhu-'J'asmetum (?) followed by maratsu 4 rutu^
mdrsu 3 riiiu^ marsu saniu UD-sii. Then followed the total. Hence,
with the possible exception of a wife, named at the end of line 8,
this was all the family. Now it is singular to find a daughter put
before the sons, usually sons are enumerated first. The only reason
can be that the daughter was the eldest of the children. Hence,
4 rutu is applied to an elder child than that to which 3 rfitu is
applied. Apparently, the second son, evidently the youngest of the
family, is marked UD-sii. Also we may note that in no. 312, we
read 3 riitu lansa. Now Ithiii denotes ' stature,' originally ' external
appearance.' Hence we may regard the term ri7tu as concerned
with some external physical characteristic, perhaps height. '
Now, in no. 1099, a Hst of people brought from Kue, we have
first enumerated 334 sdbe, followed by an epithet unfortunately lost.
These were of course adult men. Then came 38 f/idre marked as
5 rtiti. These were clearly sons, or boys, not adult, but of the class
5 riifu. Then came 41 mare 4 niti, then 40 Jtidre 3 riiti. It will be
noted that nowhere does 2 rntu, or i riitu occur. Here and else-
where the next division below the 3 ri7tu is UD-sic. We next have
28 mdr UD-si. Note that as the plural of rutu is here written niti^
so the plural of UD-su seems to be written UD-si. This points to
the ending su being phonetic. Now a perfectly similar series of
numbers is used in the Harran Census, see ' An Assyrian Doomsday
520 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Book,' in Delitzsch and Haupt's Assyriologische Bibliothek, xvii. In
the 'excursus on the marks' given there on p. 79 f, it is shewn that
in some places batiisu replaces UD-su as applied to a daughter.
This must be the phonetic reading therefore of UD-su. It is clear
that batiisu^ for batussii^ for batultu^ is the name for a child, boy, or
girl, younger than that marked by 3 rutu. Next, in no. 1099, we
have 25 inaru sa GA ; here GA is the ideogram for ttihi, 'breast,'
and mdru sa GA is evidently to be read mdru sa tule^ as in Sm. 305.
This phrase must mean 'a child at the breast.' This view is con-
firmed by the fact that in the Harran Census, children marked GA
are not counted in the total, evidently being too young.
Hence there were evidently five classes at least, infants at the
breast, children called batiisu^ and then 3, 4, and 5 rtitu. As
no. 1099 shews, these classes apply equally well to daughters. Thus
line 8 onwards reads, 349 ameldte^ 8 ameldte 5 ruti^ 22 ameldte
4 riiti^ 59 ameldte 3 ruti^ 17 ameldte UD-si^ 25 ameldte sa GA.
Now these classes are denoted in the Harran Census by the obvious
abbreviations GA^ UD^ 3, 4, 5, but are accompanied by a higher
mark SA^ which is not to be confused with the numeral 4, always
written with SA. This class evidently does not appear in no. 1099.
But, in no. 783, the next section to that considered above had, in
line 13, the name, ending in -mi-ilu, perhaps Dannu-ilu, of an irrihi.
In the next line was named mdrsu samurtu. Now samurtu cannot
be a masculine name. It seems likely to be a noun in apposition to
mdrsu., and possibly SA is an abbreviation for it. The next two
lines both end in riitu., so that samurtu^ like SA., indicates a higher
class than could be caWed' nitu. This suggests our comparing the
slmru, H. IV. B. p. ^^ih, to which some such meaning as 'fulness,'
' multitude,' may be assigned. Hence our samurtu may mean
' completion ' ; samru may be used in the sense of ' adult,' ' fully-
grown,' or something practically equivalent. But we already have
met with what is evidently only a variant, sumurtu., applied in
nos. 270, 271, with the prefix amelu., apparently to a son. In no. 471,
lines 9 and 11, we have directly mdrsu sumurtu. Of course we could
read suhartu^ or sahartu, but it is not easy to see any meaning for
that. I believe that samurtu was appended to a child's name to
denote the ' completion ' of something, whether growth or term of
.service ; and that it was denoted by SA.
We may now see how our results work out for the rest of no. 783.
Tlie first fine seems to have liad a man's name. Line 2 begins with
AND DOCUMENTS. 521
'his wife,' followed by Bel-ilai perhaps, the name evidently of the
eldest son. What mark was attached to his name is now lost. In
the next line we read saniu mdrsu, evidently * his second son.' The
mark is lost here. In line 4, we read I's/cni^ maratsu TUR... 'one
daughter,' and perhaps another son. Then in line 5, 2 TA SAL
ba-tu-la^ evidently ^ in the second place a female batilla.^ But batula
is what is usually written batultu, ' a girl,' the same as in other texts
is written batusu. These were 'in all 7 souls,' as should be. A
name followed, Minuhi , beginning another family. In line 7, he
is said to be an irrisu, and is followed by SAL-su, ' his wife,' 2 nidrc^
'two sons,' and then probably came the total. We have already
dealt with the rest of the obverse.
The reverse began with a total probably, then the name Ntir-
Samas, starting a new section. After his wife and perhaps one son,
we have UD-su^ which we now read bahisu. According to our
reckoning any younger child would be called sa GA, and GA
appears at the end of line 3. This was followed by a total. Then
came the total of all the lot, written napharnia i LAL-DI ana 30
Zl-MES, or naphar7Jia i mdti 30 fiapsdti^ ' and in all one less than
thirty souls.' The total evidently comes to twenty-nine persons.
On the reading of LAL-DI^ see § 244.
Now a very similar enumeration of slaves occurs in no. 906.
There the tablet is divided into sections, by lines ruled across.
The first section has a name beginning with A^ and the sign for
' total ' in the next line. In the next section Nergal-sallim occurs
alone. Of these a total gives, ' in all one mutir piiti, one kdsir,
3 ' Clearly Nergal-sallim was the 7?iutir piiti, and the man in the
first section was a kdsir^ and had three children. In the next column,
we have a total i NU-kiri urki, i saniurtu, 1 abdi , naphar 9 sdb
DAN. Here we have 'a gardener, an adult child,' abdi may be
a name, but, with other items, ' in all there were nine SAB-DAN.^
This term may mean adults : sdbu is the regular term for ' workman,'
or we could read it umnidfiu; and DAN is the ideogram for da?mu.
The reverse, in column IV., begins with a summation, quite in
the style of the Census Tablets, i nidru 5, i ditto 4, 2 ditto di:
evidently meaning, ' one son marked 5, one son marked 4, two sons
marked di.^ In some way it may be that DI was used in place of
3 rutu : or, did the scribe intend to write rufi at the end? In the
next line, we have ' in all thirteen sdbe^ twelve women.' The final
e may mark a plural, or begin a fresh word. Then, in line 3, we
522 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
have 3 mar at 4, 5 ditto 3, ?iaphar 8, ' three daughters marked 4,
five marked 3, in all eight.' In line 4 we read, 'in all twenty
females, in all thirty-three sdbe.' The totals are correct. It is
difficult to see how we could otherwise account for the numbers
which appear. In the next line, we have 'six oxen, one vegetable
garden, SA.^ Here, as also in the Census, SA may apply to a
garden or orchard. This is consistent with its denoting completeness,
or even 'fully grown,' as distinguished from 'newly planted.' But
here SA may be read za^ the beginning of zamru^ a term also
applied to 'orchards.' Was this to be read samru, denoting 'full'
growth ?
The last section deals evidently with a summation over all,
recounting how many mutir pjitt, how many kdsir, at least twenty-
one, and other items. We have already noted the isolated occur-
rences of UD-su, in nos. 229, 718. We may now return to the
still obscure word riifu. Now, in no. 756, the word ri^fu is clearly
applied to ' beams of wood ' or ' blocks of stone.' They are said
to be so many am/natu rutu. Here a U-rutu seems to denote a
measure of length. If so, it cannot have been far from our foot.
For young folk, 3, 4 and 5 feet high might not be 'grown up,' but
any higher measure would be too long. Nor can it be much less,
for a child less than three feet tall would surely be a batusii. Even
this additional consideration leaves it quite uncertain, what the real
significance and derivation of rutu can be.
A suggestion which I made in the excursus, A.D.B. p. 81, that
the figures really referred to the terms of service, on the corvee or
other forced labour, is not so likely as the reference to size. For
in that case one would expect also the numbers i and 2 ri^u^ but
children two feet and one foot tall would, of course, be called 'child'
and 'infant.' Age is not so likely; as a child could hardly be
reckoned adult after six years of age.
Another consideration may serve to clear up some points.
Slaves sold with these marks often fetched very small prices. In
no. 311, only two shekels and a half were paid for a girl, 4 rutu:
but thirty-four shekels were paid, in no. 312, for a girl, only 3 rutu.
One would expect more for a tall girl than a short one. Of course
the tall girl may have been sickly, or in some way defective. In
no. 313, a male slave, 4 riltu^ fetched a full price, one mina.
In no. 314, a hoy,... r?7tu, was sold for only sixteen shekels, in
no. 315, a girl, 3 rutu, for only nine shekels. The case of the girl,
AND DOCUMENTS. 523
5 /7////, in no. 3 1 7, who fetched half a niina, is perhaps differenl.
In A.D.B. p. 81, I argued that if the figures denoted terms of
service to the corvee^ the longer the slave still had to serve, the less
would be the value. In some cases the buyer may have been in a
position to claim exemption for his slaves, and so could afford a
full price. These considerations might serve to explain the few
cases we have, but certainty can hardly be obtained till we get a
fresh context. For further details of this interesting question I must
refer to A. D. B. passiffi.
The deeds of sale exhibit no further peculiarities in formula.
We must therefore conclude that riitu simply denotes an accidental
quality which might affect the appearance and value of a slave, but
did not affect his status otherwise.
764. In order not to have to return to nos. 783, 906, and 1099
again, we may add a few further remarks on them here.
No. 783. A fragment, contract shaped. Red.
For Bel-ilai compare the Eponym, B.C. 770, saknu of Arapha,
III. R. I, III. 48, the name of a sdbu^ on no. 877, rev. 8; and a
specimen name, App. 3, i. 8. The form BE-AN-a-a occurs as the
name of a witness, Ep. a, on no. 22 ; the form AN-EN-AN-a-a as
the name of a witness of Kilrai, on no. 500; of a witness, probably,
on no. 606. Of course, Bel-ilani is possible, see § 690. Bel-ilani-
sar-usur is the name of a witness, Ep. F, on no. 23 ; but would be
too long for this place. The name in line 6 may have been Minu-
ahti-ana-ili, 'How have I sinned against God?' see § 503. The name
Unzahu-Tas may be compared with Unzahu-Asur, in no. 312,
see § 534. The second part of the name does not seem to be
Urkittu ; but Tasmetum is not certain. If it really is not a name,
perhaps instead of un^ we have the number ' four ' at the beginning.
Then we could read za-hu-ur-ti^ which may be the true reading of
satnuriu : as HAR can be read hur. That would upset my deriva-
tion of samurtu. Against it is the fact that lower down the scribe
writes samurtu \ but zahurti might be plural. If we had even the
numbers complete, we might settle the doubt. For Dannu-ili
compare the names in § 753.
No. 906. A fragment. Brown to black.
For Nergal-sallim, see § 577.
No. 1099. Complete. Drab.
This list of captives from Ktie shews the system of deportation
in full operation. The scribe's totals are correct for the males, but
5^4 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
he is wrong in his addition of the daughters. The total should be
131 not 121. Even with his own figures he gives a wrong total of
977, instead of 976.
Abstracts of nos. 310 — 317.
765. No. 310. Now that K 1492 and K 1505 are joined we
have a nearly complete tablet. It is much rubbed in places and very
difficult to make out. Dark brown to black.
Adadi-ahi-iddin sells Nergal-danan, Marti, Mar-aplu-
iddin(?) and perhaps two others, in all three (or five?)
souls, his slaves, to Mannu-ki-Alla, for three minas of
silver, according to the standard of Gada(?) Samerati.
Dated, the 3rd of some month, B.C. 669. Perhaps seven-
teen witnesses.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, {F,, F„ F„ F,), F, B.
In line i, of TAK ov^^ the last two verticals and the upper slant
wedge are visible. Of PAF at the end only a horizontal line is left,
AS has quite disappeared. In line 2, Ml is restored. Perhaps in
place of a, the scribe wrote e, or Jii twice over. In line 3, the SAL
is not clear, perhaps we should read TIS AN there, which would
make the first slave a male. For amelu may be SAL, but I think
not. The AZAG might be Istar, but I now think the next sign
was GLM. The amelu AZAG-DLM is read kudiminu, Li. W. B.
p. 318, a. This would suit a male best. The first slave was there-
fore, I think, 'Nergal-danan, a goldsmith.' In line 4, the SAL is
nearly certain, Marti was therefore probably his wife. The next
SAL is very doubtful. Even a sign of division may be thought of.
The scribe hardly meant to spell 'daughter,' ma-dr-a-. The name
Mar-aplu-iddin should be a male name. But of course it may be
Marati, or something else. If a son, then the SAL before it is
certainly wrong. The 3 rutu, in line 5, seems to be all. If, in line
3, there were two names, then we should have at least four souls, not
three, in line 6. The three seems certain.
In line 6, after Zl-MES may be il-ki-u, or almost anything. Of
course, in my restoration of the seller's name here, I meant AN-IM^
not AN-LiL, as I gave. In line 7, SAL before Mannu-ki-Alla is
uncertain. The verbs are masculine, which does not prove much,
as female buyers are often construed with masculine predicates.
In the next line SAL-su seemed to make the buyer ' wife of the
AND DOCUMENTS. 525
Rabshakch.' But wc could read '^ rnksu of ibc Rabsliakch,' only
tbcn line 8 sbould bave begun witb aniclu. In line 9, tbe scribe
omitted MA of MA-NA. 'I'be name of tbe city, wbose standard
mina was used, is difficult to make out ; because of tbe damaged
state of the second sign. I read kak^ or dd^ but I now think it was
z//, dr. If so, tbe name was Gar-samerati ; tbe last part is certain.
A by-name of Damascus was Gar-imerisu ; is this a play on our
name ? Names beginning witb Gar are rare, Gargamis of course,
and Gar-dikanni (named by Asurnasirpal, in i. R. 23, 3, 4, compare
I. R. 19, 78; and no. 499, 2) occur to us at once. That the Gar
was separable is seen from tbe occurrence of Dikana, as a city name,
on no. 472 ; and of Dikannai, on K 3374. Hence we may suppose
Gar to be a Western relative of Kar, so often used in Assyrian place
names. Whether samerdti could answer to imeresu I do not know.
I must confess my inability to read line 11. At first sight we
seem to have urkiu once more, perhaps as a guarantee for the slaves
sold ; but then we should expect a name before it. What ra-ri
could be here I do not know. The nise seems clear, and asiki also.
The latter is puzzling, issiki, isiki, for i/teki, from lahi seems
possible, but asiki is strange. Why should a first person occur
here ? Perhaps asiki was the scribe's way of writing isiki. In line
13, the whole of a and part of tu are broken out. The scribe put in
a zip after dr. He wrote zarzippiiti, compare zarzippu, in no. 175.
In Hne 14, part of ru and the whole of di are broken out. In
line 15, all before sd is restored. In line 16, read hi-u for sd SI.
All before sd is gone. In line 18, all before hi-u is restored. In
line I, of the lower Q(lgQ, pa-nu- seems to be there, what it means
I do not know, perhaps a part of dinu\ In the next line, I restored
i-za before ku. In Hne i, of reverse, all before Alan is restored. In
line 2, lu-u is restored ; in line 3, ma is restored. Tbe scribe wrote
u after LUH. In Hne 5, he put a division mark after Nintla. At
the end of line 9, for su read te. At the beginning of line 1 2, I can
see a trace of ina before dinusu. In line 13, bi is restored, the
trace before nu looks like ^, there may have been be before that, so
that we should have be-e-nii for the usual bennu. At the end of line
14 are faint traces of MES.
How the scribe got bis ' five ' witnesses in line 1 6 I do not know.
Either 5 or 4 is certain. Either figure disagrees with the three
names given. In line 17, I can read no more than I give, but these
signs are useless as they stand. On the left-hand edge, in the first
526 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
line, only ilai is left, but as my first copy gives the name in full, I
think it may have been there, when first I saw the tablet. In line 3,
ilu at the end is now gone.
For Adadi-ahi-iddin, see § 655 ; for Nabu-nadin-ahe, see § 470 ;
for Sulmu-sarri, see § 517; for Mannu-ki-Ninda, see § 474; for
Adadi-nasir, see § 518; for Tatti, see § 705; for the Eponym,
Samas-kasid-aibi, see § 507 ; for Arbailai, see §§ 408 and 479.
Nergal-danan is only found here. Marti is the only example of
the name. Mar-aplu-iddin is only found here. Clearly the 3 riitu
only applies to him. Mannu-ki-AUa is only found here. In line 18,
the first name ended in gai. Puhi or Buhi only occurs here. The
next name may be Seru-abu-usur, compare the compounds of Seru
in the Harran Census. Dadi seems to have been the name of the
witness at the end of line 2 of the left-hand edge. It was the name
of a witness and aba^ on no. 389 ; of a neighbour, Ep. i/^, on no. 351;
of an irrisu^ 'with his people,' in Dilr-Nana, on no. 742 ; and occurs
in the letters K 606, 12989; 80-7-19, 24; 83-1-18, 67 ; in the two
last, with Arbailai. Dadia, which would also be possible here,
occurs in later Babylonian texts, .S". A. V. 1793. I am not able to
restore any other names at present. Isdi-ili may not be complete.
§ 766. No. 311. Nearly complete. Red.
Nabil-bel-usur, slave of Adadi-rimani, sells a girl, Ahat-
abisa, his maid, 4 rutu, to Abdunu, son of Kukullani,
for two shekels and a half of silver. Dated, the 14th of
Arahsamna, Ep. S. Twenty-one witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C\ D\ S,, S, (F, F,), F.
The date is quoted, Fp. Can. p. 99.
Extracts are given S. A. V. 8698 and Aeg. Zeits. 1872, p. 112.
In line 7, the doubtful characters on the edge appear to be A TJS
Ku-ku-ul-la-a-ni or apil Kukullani. The scribe evidently became
confused about line 12 onwards. He has jumbled up his sentences.
In line 13, he wrote i-za-kn-za-pa-ni, or i-za-ku-a-pa-ni, for izakiipani.
In line 14, I have omitted u after ///. In line 2 of reverse dmu
dab dim is repeated by the scribe in error. In line 5, he wrote
ubtanafmt for the usual ubta^uni. On the left-hand edge the second
name was .^a-ru-ri-sa-nt, in line i ; and in line 3, the second name
is Pu-sa-di-dir-u-a, or Puhadi-dirda.
For Nabfl-bcl-usur, see § 665 ; Adadi-rimani, § 754; Ahat-abisa,
§491; Kukullani, §510; Nargi, and Takilati, §409; Asur-nadin-
ahi, § ^>85 ; Mukalil-mitu, § 698; Dihai, and RimClt-ilani, §409;
AND DOCUMENTS. 527
Sin-na'id, § 475; UlAlai, § 505; l^alat-cres, § 662; Lflku, §409;
Marduk-erba, §749; Urdu, §556; Ardi-Istar, §474; Ukin-abOa,
§ 494; Dilil-Istar, § 572.
Abdilnu is the name of a witness, rakbu sai'ri^ B.C. 671, on no.
41 ; of an irrisu sold, on no. 429. Pamd is only found here,
compare perhaps the Phoenician '•^D, N. E. p. 351 b. Ilu-ziram
only occurs here, it may be read Ilu-napisti-iram. Ilu-abi-erba only
occurs here. Erba-ahe was the name of a witness of Kabal hurasi,
B.C. 734, on no. 415 ; of a witness, kcpu of Kar-Samas, B.C. 682, on
iio- 363 \ of a seller, on no. 419 ; and is named on no. 841. Kisir-
Istar was the name of a witness, salhi of the rab BI-LUL^ p..c. 676,
on no. 330; of a seller, on no. 489; and occurs in no. 1076, and
Bu. 91—5-9, 218. Sarurisanu or Sarurisanu is only found here.
The next name ends in aiu^ which is difficult to restore. Sinki,
better than Eski, only occurs here; compare Sinki-Istar, §482.
Puhadi-dirua, or Pusadi-dirua, only occurs here. Ardi-Allai is a
specimen name, App. 3, xi. 8. It is remarkable that no. 4 has no
less than five names in common with this.
767. No. 312. A fragment out of the middle of the tablet.
Brown.
Ilia-Au sells his maid Ummi-Mar', 3 rutu Idnsa, to Akul-
lanu the rdb kisir of the Crown Prince, for half a mina and
four shekels of silver. Date lost. Nine witnesses left.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, S, (F„ F,\ B.
In line i, the first character was very like TUR, not TAK as I
give. It may be amelu. Hence what I give as line i probably came
in a line above, and here was either the office of the seller or the
name of his father. In line 3, the TUR may be /, written over
another character ; the name then would be Ummi'. But it would
be a rare spelling. In line 9, the second character, of course, is ;/?/,
not PAP; but the scribe seems to have written PAP. In line 10,
there was not room for all I give, but it is not easy to say exactly
what was there. Several lines are lost before the reverse goes on.
In line i, of reverse, only the lower half of each character is visible ;
at the end after ta may have been ' . In line 7, after rdb kisir I have
omitted sa before apil sarri. In line 1 2, instead of apil sarri may
be sa 7Jtdti. In place of hi read belit, Briinnow, no. 7336. In
line 14, at the end of the line read DAM-KAR : there are traces
of a7nelu before that, and Halli was not all the name, ia, or a, is
possible as an ending. In line 15, the name began with Ba,
528 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
The name Ilia-Au only occurs here, it must mean ' My god is
Au,' unless we read Au as Mar-Addi or something of the sort.
Ilia-abi occurs on K 2564; and Ili-Adadi, written AN-AN-IM^ was
a ruler of Suna, i. R. 19, 78. If my reading of the slave name is
right, it may be Ummi-mari', a compound like Ahat-abisa ; compare
Ummi-abia, a specimen female name, App. 7, vi. 3. AkuUanu was
the name of a writer to the king in K 1109, 11 68; 83-1-18, 63, 205;
compare Akkullanu, § 572. Mannu-ki-Nabu was the name of a
witness, B.C. 695, on no. 31 ; of a witness and mtitir pfiti^ B.C. 688,
on no. 400 ; of a witness and rab kisir, Ep. F, on no. 361.
For Sarru-emurani, see § 514; Unzahu-Asur, § 534; Isdi-Nabd,
§521; Nabu-utarris, §573; Arbailai, §408 and 479; Adi, §583;
Halli..., § 712.
768. No. 313. A mere strip off the right-hand side. Drab to black.
Here some men sell Babi..., (someone) 4 riitu, to Mar-
sarri-ilai, an official of Is..., for one mina (of silver). Date
and witnesses lost.
Ac, C, C\ D\ S„ S, (F,).
In line 6, of reverse, the scribe seems to have written the sign
for 10, over that for i. It may be that Babi... had his office named
also in line i, then the 4 r?ifu would refer to him : in line 8 there is
mention of only one slave as sold. For the name compare Babiramu,
§ 753j who was an irrisu. I know of no other name that would be
written Ba-bi- — Mar-sarri-ilai, only occurs here, compare Apil-
sarri-ilai, § 50c. Names beginning with Is... are only compounds of
Isbu, see § 490 ; and Isputu, see § 664.
No. 314. Has lost the left-hand edge, and most of reverse.
Dark brown.
Silli-Asur sells Nergal-ahu-usur, his son, ...nUti to Erba-
ilu, for eighteen shekels of silver. Date lost. Perhaps nine
witnesses.
Pk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S„ S, (7^,)-
In line 9, read /ci for h'. On the reverse, there was another line
between lines 6 and 7 and again between lines 7 and 8.
ror Silli-Asur, see § 719 ; for l^>ba-i]u, § 544.
Nergal-ahu-usur was the name of a witness and rab kansd sa
hal... li.c. 698, on no. 328 ; of a principal, Ep. T, on no. 618; of a
buyer, on no. 413; of a neighbour, on no. 648; of a witness, on
no. 507. 'I'he form AN-U-GUR-SIS-J^AP occurs in later Baby-
lonian texts S. A. V. 6323. 'I'he traces of the witnesses' names do
AND DOCUMENTS. 529
not lend themselves to restoration. The endings -ahi\ -mcu^ -sAr-
usur, hrs might be variously restored. Ruradidi ends like the
name in line 4, see § 698.
No. 315. Upper and lower edges lost. Red.
Some men sell NabCl-ramat, their maid, 3 riitu^ to the
lady Urkit-iS^meani, for nine shekels (of silver). Dated,
the 2nd of Sabatu, B.C. 667. Traces of five witnesses.
Ac, C, C , /v , Oj, 02 • • • •
In line 4, I have inserted e after a?nclc wrongly. In line 7, read
tii for tu. In line 9, the scribe wrote i-Jta before 7?iafa?ia, not AS.
In line 4, of reverse, at end read NI-GAB for aba. In line 5, the
scribe wrote a second a after Nabua, making the name read NabOai.
In line 7, the scribe wrote the Eponym's name Gab-ba-ru, not
Gab-bar-ru. Dr Bezold, Cata. p. 1884, gave the name correctly, as
did my first copy. In line 8, after Dur I have omitted the vertical
determinative before Sin-ahe-erba.
Nabil-ramat occurs only here. For Urkit-ismeani, see § 707.
Note the use of mdrtu for ' girl ' in line 6. The name Ninip-taklak
seems certain, but is only found here. Nabuai, if intended here, also
occurs as the name of two witnesses, one a rakbu sa sepa^ B.C. 686,
on no. 612. For Gabbaru, as Eponym, see § 667.
§ 769. No. 316. A flake from the obverse. Dark brown.
Marduk-rimani sells a slave, with his son Samas-ilai,
perhaps 4 rutu, Usia, another son, 3 rutu, another son ....
Istar, batiisu, a daughter Bassi, (in all 5) souls, slaves of
his, to Milki-ntlri, the saki'i of the Queen, for two minas
of (silver). Date and witnesses lost.
Ac.
The scribe has written a vian too many in the seller's name, in
line 7. Marduk-rimani was the name of the Eponym of B.C. 780, a
rab BI-LUL, in. R. i, in. 38. It was the name of a witness,
B.C. 670, on no. 331. In the form AN-AMAR-UD-rimmi^ it
occurs in K. 10911; Rm. 71. The form ASARU-MUL-HT-
rwiani was the name of a seller, B.C. 688, on. no. 400. AN-KU-
riviani \^2i's> the name of Ep. a, see §427. A form AN-RID-rhncini
is a variant in iii. R. i, iii. 38. AN-AMAR-UD-rimni occurs in
K. 1897. For Marduk-rimani, perhaps king of Babylon, in the
time of Samsi-Adadi, see Dr Reiser, in M. V.A.G. 1898, 6, 14 f.
It seems clear that the slave's name was a short one. For
Samas-ilai, see § 560 ; for Usia, § 704. The name of the third son
J. III. 34
530 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
may have been Ardi-Istar ; there is not room for much to the left,
in Hne 3. Bassi is new, compare Basi on no. 811, 3: and the
masculine name Basi, on no. 782, B.C. 661 ; named also K. 174.
For BasHa, Basuai, see § 548. Ba'sa was the name of a chief, in
Bit Ammana, in. R. 8, 95. For Milki-nClri, see § 513.
No. 317. All except the right of reverse is preserved. Drab.
The lady Dalia sells the girl Ana-addalati, her daughter,
5 rutu, to Ahi-dalli, the SAL-SAB ekalli, for a half mina of
silver. Dated, the i 2th of Sabatu, B.C. 686. Probably one
or two witnesses.
Fk, D, Ac, C, C, D\ S„ S, (F,).
The tablet is referred to by G. Smith, Assyria7i Discoveries, P- 417-
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 90, under the mark T. 156.
The old Guide described it, p. 179, No. 66.
The female names Dalia and Ana-addalati are found only here.
For the buyer Ahi-dalli see § 707. The name in line 5 of reverse is
not complete. For Sin-ahe-erba as Eponym, see § 504.
EXCHANGE OF SLAVES
§ 770. One of the few examples of barter, referred to in § 313,
is placed next. It is, of course, as much a sale as the preceding
sales, only the price is not paid in money. It has its value, like
no. 252, because the replacement of the price, by a slave taken in
exchange, helps to fix the construction of the sentences. The word
for exchange being sapiisu, H. W. B. p. 638 b, the words ana sapusi
ina libbi amilti tadcini, take the place of the usual aniilti taddm, and
in place of the price, the name of the slave taken in exchange is
inserted, with the epithet sapiisu.
No. 318. Complete. Brown.
NabO-ahu-usur and Ahtlnu, two sons of Nargi, with Ahi-
nOri son of Sili, in all are the three owners of the man
exchanged for the woman given over. Their servant Istar-
dClr-kali, Kakkullanu, the rab kisir, has made a bargain and
for Tuliha, his maid, as an exchange, has acquired him
from the said parties. Dated, the 20th of Aaru, Ep. A.
Eleven witnesses.
Pk, Z>, Ac, 6*1, S^ (F,).
The date is quoted, Ep. Can. p. 97.
AND DOCUMENTS. 53 1
An extract is given, S. A. V. 7914.
The old Ciuidc described it, p. 175, no. 46.
Dr Bezold, Lit. p. 148, A. 3, calls it a Kaufvertrag, iiber den
Vcrkauf V071 Sdav€7i^ but compare p. 152, note 3.
The text was published in. R. 46, no. 3, and repeated C. I. S.
p. 27 f.
Transliterations and translations were given by Oppert, Doc. Jur.
p. 210 and C. I. S. I. c.
III. R. already recognised it as a case of barter.
In line 10 before ^SYand reverse, line 2, before mdrcsu, read TA
for SA; iii. R. and C. I. S. gave the sign correctly. In line i, of the
lower edge, iii. R. and C. I. S. omit the ni ^Sx^x pa. The scribe did
not finish the sign, he wrote the two horizontals, but omitted the two
verticals. In reverse, line 9, the last legible sign is ?^, not mat as
III. R. and C. I. S. gave. In line 13, iii. R. and C. I. S. give
Samas-iksur, for my Samas-ikbi. It is not easy to be sure which
is right.
The absence of the word ilakki in line 1 2 is of no importance, as
its place is taken by //////, with the same sense.
For Nabd-abu-usur, see § 520; for Ahunu, § 544; for Nargi,
§ 409 ; for Ahi-nuri, § 518 ; for Sili, § 752 \ for Kakkullanu, § 510 ;
for Asur-killani, § 691 ; for Likipu, §657; Balasi, § 521 ; for Zizi,
§ 476; for Idi, § 583; for Hirisai, § 746; for Sumai, § 729; for
Sin-sar-usur, witness and Eponym, § 476.
Istar-dur-kali was also the name of a sa sake., devised, Ep. S, on
no. 619. Tuliha is found only here, compare the names in § 668.
The witness, in line 12, of reverse, is best read Salmfite, the name
was also borne by an irrtsu, 'with his people,' in Bel-ikbi, on no. 742.
Samas-iksur, in line 13, is possible but has no parallel; Samas-
ikbi occurs on no. 434. Ilu-gabri occurs only here and in the Harran
Census.
The Aramaic docket gives ^p"n...nn, that is to say, 'the sale of
Istar-diir-kali.'
771. No. 319. A fragment. Dark red.
Some men sell their slave, who in line 7 is called a
son, to Summa-ilani, for fifty minas of bronze. Date gone,
traces of two witnesses.
Ac, C, C, D\ S,, S, {F,\ F.
In line i, before sunu are traces which suit ardu. Hence, as
in other cases, mam in line 7 may mean 'a boy.' In line 5, I have
34—2
532 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
given the wrong amelu, and again in line i of reverse. From line 4
of reverse onwards the writing is very indistinct. In line 6, before
' two minas of silver,' the signs are perhaps wrongly restored. At
the beginning of the line ubtd'{ini might be expected, and I think
I can see traces of ni at the end.
For Summa-ilani, see § 467. I can make nothing of the other
traces of names. Nos. 320, 322, 323 have already been taken
in § 757-8.
ASSIGNMENT OF SLAVE AS COMPOSITION
FOR MANSLAUGHTER.
772. No. 321. A piece out of the middle. Nearly black.
Owing to the fragmentary state of the document, an abstract
is difficult to construct. The case seems to have been this. Atar-
kamu, the aba^ had caused the death of Samaku, whose son Samas-
ukin-ahi had therefore the power to exact vengeance. The text
gives no clue as to the manner of Samaku's death. Atar-kamu was
called before some judge, perhaps before Asurbanipal, the king
himself, acting as Sartenu, or Chief Justice. He was condemned
to hand over a slave Sahis, his maid (his daughter, according to
line 3), with her family, or property, to the son. He would thus
purge his guilt. This must be done ina eli kaburi. No date is
preserved, but there are traces of four or more witnesses.
I have already called attention to the unique nature of this
document, in the preface to Vol. I. p. xv. Mr T. G. Pinches in
his review in J. R. A. S. 1898, p. 896, summarises the context
much as I did, only he takes the words, tna eli kaburi sa Samaku
idiikusu^ to mean that the avengers shall kill the manslayer ' upon
the grave of Samaku.' I took ina eli kaburi sa Sa7?idku to mean
* by the time of the burying of Samaku.' Although the interment
of the body probably took place almost at once, the funeral rites
may not have been completed until satisfaction had been given :
and so I thought that the funeral might have been fixed as the limit
of time within which the satisfaction must be rendered. But the
satisfaction may have been given 'upon the grave,' in order that
the spirit might be aware of it. I was also inclined to seek for
another meaning tlian 'grave' for kaburu, because kabru, kalnruy
AND DOCUMIiNTS. 533
are used in tliat sense. The exact significance of the clause,
however, may be cleared up by the recognition of some other
reference to burial customs. If, as the Nippur explorations seem
to shew, the Babylonians adopted some sort of cremation as their
method of disposing of the dead, this process might well be post-
poned long enough to admit of the satisfaction being paid, before
the actual interment. Professor Zimmern, G. G. A. 1899, p. 251,
seems to be of the opinion that no. 618 is a similar text. I am not
aware of the reasons for this view, so must be content with calling
attention to it.
The text contains several obscurities. In line i, the first sign
may be a trace of u. The word uma means 'now.' The form
ittatrus^ iv. 2, of tardsu, may mean ' he gave direction,' but the
form IV. 2 seems to demand a passive meaning. Further it is
difficult to see how otherwise to connect the word with the rest of
the text. But it is possible that the scribe wrote ittaprus, from
pardsu, 'to decide.' If so, this may be to record the judgment.
In that case we should expect the following sentence to be a
subordinate clause. Then the verb in line 5 should be idhii. But
we may suppose idafi to be used, as in a quotation, ' he shall give. '
In either case we should expect ma to begin line 2. There,
however, nothing but SAL appears to be lost, indicating that Sahis
is a female name. It is not likely that amtu is part of the name, but
her title as 'maid.' Whether line 3 means that she was actually the
daughter of Atarkamu, or only his ' slave girl,' is difficult to decide.
The arrangement of the sentence, from line 4 onwards, is rather
difficult to follow. We should expect ana before the name of the
recipient in line 4. But the scribe did not give it. But it can
hardly be but that Atarkamu, the aba, was to give the girl to
Samas-ukin-ahi. The girl was to be accompanied by the imria, or
IM-RI-A, which seems to mean 'family,' at any rate in some
connections. But it may be that the sense here is something like
' property,' unless we are to suppose that Sahis had children. The
nominative to ida7i I take to be Atarkamu, the aba, and then as he
gives the slave kihn dCmie, ' in lieu of blood,' we must credit him with
being the offender. Then in line 6, we read dame imasi, 'he shall
purge the blood,' that is, ' wash away its guilt.' A parallel to these
phrases may be found in no. 806, line 3, where we see that 'ten
homers of land in Niramai had been paid by the servants of the
bel pahdti of Sime, kum dd?nc.' Hence blood-guiltiness might be
534 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
purged by a fine, which could be paid in slaves, or land, perhaps
also in money.
For in the next line here we read, summa amiltu la idin ana eli
kaburi sa Saindku idukusu^ ' if he do not give the woman, upon the
grave of Samaku they shall kill him.' But, if this settlement of the
quarrel was not accepted by the disputants, and respected, then a
penalty must be paid by the offender to the treasury of Asur and
Samas. This penalty is set, by line lo, at ten minas of silver.
Hence we might conclude that ten minas of silver would have been
accepted originally as blood money. But this is not certain ; for in
other contracts we find that the penalty attached to breach of
contract was neither the equivalent of the value of the loss nor any
constant multiple of it. Further, we do not find that this penalty
was to be paid to the son of the slain man, but to the treasury of the
gods. With this agrees what we find in no. 806, where the land
paid by the servants of the bel pahdti, kiim ddnie^ seems to be in the
possession of a temple.
The verb idnkusu^ ' they shall kill him,' seems to be plural. This
may be taken as impersonal, in the sense that any of the relatives of
the slain man may slay the slayer ; or it may point to the public
officials of the state. I am not aware of any definite reference to
ministers of justice, or police, in Assyria; but the existence of judges,
and the Sartenu, or Chief Justice, almost implies something of the
sort. Still, in Babylonia, see Kohler-Peiser, A. B. Z., passim^ men
took a good deal into their own hands, for example, arresting and
imprisoning an offender, in their own house.
In this case, no doubt, the clause, in lines 10 onwards, defined
the next of kin, who would be held responsible, but unfortunately
this information has now perished. The mention of Asurbanipal, as
king, in line 2 of the reverse, serves to fix the reign ; and in line 3,
the traces strongly suggest that to the titles, ' king of Assyria,' and
sar kissdti^ was added avielu sartaiu. If so, we may consider that
the king himself gave judgment in the case.
The witnesses shew the importance of the case. The titles of
the first two are difficult to read. The first sign TUR is certain in
each case. But then there seems to be su, followed by two small
verticals, and a pair of small verticals one above the other. Hence
mcir kdtdte may be meant. But I know of no parallel to that, and I
suspect that DAN^dJ^ written over and upon a previous TA. Then
the scribe must have meant to write lurtdnu, and altered to Turtdn.
AND DOCUMENTS. 535
If so, botli these witnesses were Tartans, and appropriately follow the
king. One was Tartan of the king's son. That speaks against mar
kdtdte in the sense of * agent ' ; for what call could the ' agent ' of the
Crown Prince have to witness the transaction ?
It is unfortunate that so little of the tablet is left to guide us.
We cannot add any information from any other sources. Samas-
ukin-ahi or Samas-kenis-usur is the name of a witness, B.C. 692, on
no. 324. Samaku only occurs elsewhere as the name of a witness,
on no. 598. Atarkamu and Sahis are to be found only here. The
former is Aramaic in form. Adalal is the name of a witness and
Tartan, B.C. 642, on no. 586; of a witness, Ep. D, on no. 622;
occurs in the Harran Census, and in the form Adallal, as a specimen
name, App. i, xii. 27. Adadi-babau is a name not found elsewhere,
and appears to be Aramaic. For Sarru-ilai, see § 472. The other
traces do not seem to be any help. Perhaps for ri we should
read hu.
773. No. 733. Lower portion, about half. Red.
This tablet enumerates a number of female slaves, each assigned
to one man, for a sum of money. These sums are such that we must
suppose them full prices, not the hire of the girls.
The traces in line i are not easy to complete. Above line i, are
traces of two more lines, in one we may conjecture MA-NA, in the
other SI. In line 3, Bel is quite as likely as Kin, the name may
therefore be Bel-abua. This was the name of the Eponym, b.c. 842,
III. R. I, II. 23, compare 11. R. 68, no. 2, 30. The name is borne by
a witness, Ep. i/^, on no. 35 1 ; occurs in the Harran Census, and as a
specimen name, App. i, v. 21. The traces of the sum before kaspu^
in line 4, are very uncertain.
The first fully legible entry, lines 5 and 6, reads /-// SAL ina
SI Bel-ahesu ma libbi \ MA-NA KU BABBAR, or istaiit amiltu
ina pant Bel-ahesu ina libbi J mane kaspi, i.e. 'one woman in
possession of Bel-ahesu for half a mina of silver.' Taking this
sentence as the model, we see that in all probability, the first entry
read also 'one woman in possession of Ilu for half a mina of
silver.' The next entry probably was ' one woman in the possession
of Bel-abtia for one-third mina and three shekels of silver.' Then in
line 7 onwards we read, ' one woman in the possession of Bani for
half a mina of silver; one woman in the possession of Ki for
half a mina of silver; one woman in the possession of Abu for
one third (of a mina) of silver ; two souls in the possession of
536 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Bel-ib(ni ?) for one mina and a half of silver ; one woman in the
possession of Kundai, for silver.'
Here then we have four women reckoned worth half a mina of
silver each, one worth twenty-three shekels, one worth twenty shekels,
and two other slaves, perhaps a man and wife, together worth a mina
and a half. The phrase ina pdni, literally, 'in the presence of,' denotes
'possession.' It may have been read ana pdfti, in the sense of
'assigned to,' 'delivered to.' In all probability we have here a list
of the proceeds of a slave sale ; or perhaps an inventory of slaves
allotted with an estimate of their values.
For Ukin-abua see § 494 ; for Bel-ahesu, § 687 ; for Bani, § 467 ;
for Bel-ibni, § 505. I know of no other occurrence of Kundai.
774. No. 763. The right-hand edge and lower portion are
gone. Drab.
This is clearly a list of captive slaves, unfortunately badly preserved.
In line i, it is impossible to be certain of the signs, but perhaps we
have amclu laba : in the next line sa ana A , 'which to
A , lidinu 'let them (or him) give.' Then follows a list of proper
names. Against some of these the scribe has put a mark, exactly
like the sign ^,5". As the ideogram HA- A, i.e. haldku or some
derivative, probably halka^ occurs in line 10, I expect the scribe
' ticked off,' such as had fled or perished by the way. The names
seem foreign, Pudi is a frequent element, Huru also. They may
therefore be Egyptian. In line 8, the scribe gives a total ' one
woman,' the rest is lost. Then he adds the name of another male,
who seems to have perished. He adds yet another male name ;
and, in line 11, seems to reckon, 'one woman, four men.' That
agrees well with the preceding items. He gives three more male
names, and after several lines missing, one more female name. After
that he has a total. I think he wrote 4 amclu US , probably
meaning ispare^ 'weavers.' Then he wrote SAL upon amelu,
producing the indistinct sign before US. But I am not at all sure
which was the first written sign. Still the position after a female
name suggests that there were 'four women weavers.^ Then comes
a total over all, of ' nine sdbe^ eight (women probably).' He makes a
grand total of seventeen only. Hence one figure is given wrongly.
I now think the second figure was eight, but it is hidden by silica.
The list goes on with some articles of furniture. I think, then, we
have a note of a share of booty from some expedition, allotted to the
person whose name, in line 2, begins with A.
AND DOCUMENTS. 537
These articles are ' two irsi\ two pashWc^ two arnc^ two (/.y//) TV//,
two , one hasinci^ one , one {isu) , two ' The Hst is
badly damaged. The sign for irsu was followed by another sign,
making up a fuller ideogram. These 'beds,' or 'cushions,' are
therefore not defined completely. The next article was indicated
by the sign {ox passuru, 'dish.' The second sign is an error. The
article armi is often mentioned in other lists of furniture, but at
present I see no clue to its meaning. The isu NA^ may be really
isu LA^ the name of some sort of vessel. Whether hasina here is an
article, or whether the scribe has gone back to proper names, is not
clear. For Hasina we might compare Belit-hasina, in § 760. If this
is a proper name, then also, in line 11, we may have another, and
line 12 may give a total 'two.'
Unsatisfactory as the list is, the proper names are of great
interest. The first name Usihansa is curious and may not be
complete. The name may really end m Samas and be Usiha-Samas.
The female name Ummat-ha- , is also without any parallel, at
present known to me. There is trace of a sign after ha. Hartibu
seems to be the same as the name {<2mn, which occurs on an
ostrakon from Elephantina, C. I. S. p. 140, B. line 3; which De
Vogiie thinks is neither Aramaic nor Egyptian. Piidi-Hiiru is
discussed in § 503. The compounds there read Piidi might, of
course, be read Bod. The many Aramaic names into which i^n
enters as an element, may make us hesitate to identify the second
element of the name with the Egyptian Horus. As Horus appears
in Aramaic as -iHj I think it would not appear in Assyrian as Huru.
In fact, Asurbanipal's scribes in v. R. i, 98 give Har-siaesu as the
name of the king of Sabntiti in Egypt. This name is identified by
SteindorfT, B. A. S. i, p. 350, with the Egyptian Hr-si'-'is-(t), the
Greek 'Apo-t^o-t?, ' Horus son of Isis,' a frequent name in Saitic times.
Compare Harsisu, the name of a witness, on no. 590. This inclines
me to think that Horus appears in cuneiform transcription as Har,
not as Huru\ Here, in line 9, we have the name Huru, if it be
complete. It may be followed by anielu^ or by DU., or the name
may be Hiiru-milki. The next name seems to be Sumasse, for which
I know no parallel.
A name like Pildi-Mani again raises the Egyptian question. Was
1 But Har can also be read Hur ; and the name Pisan-Huru, borne by the
king of Nathu, in Egypt, Greek •^e.vvpL'i, found in K 8537, v. R. i, 92 is considered
to be a compound of Horus ; see Steindorff, B. A. S. l. p. 347.
538 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
Mani, the god M-rjv, or Amen, or the Assyrian Manu of in. R. 66, 2 c ?
Here the possibility of reading Bod for Ptidi renders more information
desirable. The next name Ptidi-Seri seems to point to the god Seru,
known from the Harran Census. The next name seems meant for
Kurarate, or Kirarate. As Kic may be read Dur, we may compare
Dararate, in § 471, and read perhaps Durrarate. The end of a name
-su, occurs in the first line of reverse. A name like Unsardi ,
which is probably incomplete, is quite unknown to me. Whether
Hasina could mean ' Protection,' or something similar, is rendered
doubtful, by the nationality of the slaves here being so doubtful.
On these names see the correspondence in T/ie Expository Times^
X. pp. 423, 475, 526.
775. No. 759. The upper edge and left-hand upper corner are
gone. Drab.
Although this cannot be in any sense a contract, or remotely
connected with one, it is apparently concerned with captives. The
first few lines are defective and consequently their sense is obscure.
In the first line seems to have been a name, perhaps larapa, who was
a rab kisir of the land of Arbai. The scribe seems to have written
ma in place of pa. The female name Samsi seems to be the nomi-
native to the verb tabbal. But what that means here is not clear to
me, nor what the first name agrees with. Can it be a report that
Samsi had slain, or captured, rama?. One is irresistibly reminded
of Samsi, Queen of Arabia. Was Arabia meant by Arbai ? On the
other hand we could take tabbal sa Samsi together, if we only knew
what verb to supply. A fresh sentence seems to begin in line 7 ;
from that point onwards we read ' to the land Arbai, larapa the rab
kisir, Hataranu the rab kisir, Ganabu and Tamranu, in all four scibi'
ana HA-A' Here we may take HA-A as ihliku, 'fled.' But atia
would remain hung up without an object. Can the scribe have
meant that they fled to Samsi? Then he goes on to say that
' Hataranu carried off sixty-one, and larapa sixty-three, in all one
hundred and twenty-four white camels.' Here the verb of which
only tesiru is left, may have been ustesiru, and may be for the
usual ustesiru. But naturally one cannot be sure.
This is properly a report, and it is difficult to see why Dr Peiser
wished to see it included in the collection. It is of interest, however,
for the proi)er names. Whether we should think of the Samsi of
Tiglath Pileser Ill's time, or whether this is quite another person I
am not prepared to say. Samsi was also Queen of Arabia in Sargon's
AND DOCUMENTS. 539
time, sec Annals 97, J^r. 27, in Wiiicklcr's Sargon; c(3mi)arc iii. R. 10,
no. 2, 19. Now Arbai, in Sargon, Afinals 95, means the Arabs, rukuti
asibut madhari \ compare iii. R. 8, 94, and Rm. 77.
larapa is known to me only from this text, but is clearly Aramaic,
Hebrew or Arabic ; compare SxD"!'* and the many names formed
from NDI, in N. E. p. 369. The names are Nabataean and Palmyrene,
which agrees well with the idea of Arabians. Hataranu occurs only
here, but compare the city Hataru, placed by Asurnasirpal in Kirhi,
I. R. 18, 59. The name Ganabu recals the Palmyrene N3iJ- I know
no other parallel. Tamranu occurs only in this place, but we may
compare the city name Tamar, in in. R. 10, no. 3, 8 b, if that name
be complete.
In line i, read/« for ma. In line 4, two characters seem lost on
the left. Hence iabbal may be the end of ubal. Perhaps then
larapa ' brought ' the tribute of Arabia from Samsi. Between lines
6 and 7 may have been a line written, now covered in silica, which
may be ii-ba-la^ but Winckler also omitted the line. In line i, of
reverse, several characters may have been written. In line 5, the
scribe either wrote pasuti^ or made // very like pa.
The text has already been published, Winckler, Sml. p. 62.
776. No. 772. Piece of the left-hand upper corner. Red.
This is a list of men, some of whom are evidently peasants, each
of whom is accompanied by a family, so many 'souls.' From its
style it might well be a part of one of the schedules ; but, as yet,
I have not succeeded in finding its join. There is not much to
remark about the text.
The first person was an irrisu^ with ' four souls ' ; the name of
the next ended in /, with ' four souls ' ; the name of the next ends
in ni^ he was a 'gardener.' The next name Bel-balat, or Bel-uballit,
is common enough. The form here, EN-TI-LA, was the name
of a neighbour, B.C. 717, on no. 391; of the son of Bel-ahi-iddin,
on no. 880 \ occurs on no. 394 ; and as a specimen name, App. 3,
I. 21. That Bel-balat is a possible reading seems shewn by the
form EN-ba-lat, the name of the Eponym, B.C. 816, in. R. i, in. 9.
The name EN-ba... of the lender, on no. 114, might be restored
in other ways. On the other hand AN-EN-u-bal-lit is named in
K 13106; and AN-EN-DIN-it is found in K 1950, 8671; 83-1-18,
no; and in later Babylonian texts, S. A. V. 809. Bel-balat had
with him 'two souls.' The next named, Sasil, had seven souls; his
name is discussed in § 486. Mannu-aki-ahe, see § 660, has no figure
540 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
preserved for his name. The next name is only partly preserved,
only -ipse is left, and amelu, part of his title.
It is clear that this might be a list of slaves sold, as in our
no. 275.
No. 776. Piece out of the middle. Brown colour. About
8 lines to the inch.
This clearly contained the end of the formula of a slave sale.
In line i, we have traces of esrdte ; in line 2, of [ana) belisu (utdr) :
in line 3, dhiisu. In line i of the reverse, we have {sib)tu bini ana ;
and, in line 2, sartu, being part of clause B. Hence slaves were
part of the property sold. Then came the list of witnesses, of whose
names only -ri and -ku are left.
No. 811. Piece of lower side, of a small contract-shaped tablet.
No join is possible. Brown.
This is part of a list of persons in the peasant rank, very likely
slaves. The traces of the first line are not easily restored. Then
we read, ' Ahi-iddin, one son, one wife, in all (three) ; the woman
Basi, three sons, in all (four) ; the woman Sagibe, one son, in all
two ; the woman Eziptu, the woman Sihati, the woman Isittu,
PaniTstar-lamur, Ahu-lamur, a nddin akli ; Mannu-lu-napisti, an
irrisu ; Bani a gardener.' There is no clue to the purpose of
the list.
For Ahi-iddin, see § 572; for Basi, §768; for Sagibe, compare
the names in § 465 ; for Eziptu, compare Ezipata, in § 707 ; for
Sihati, compare Siha, in § 760. Isittu seems intended for a feminine
of Isdu. For Pani-Istar-lamur see § 475 ; for Ahu-lamur, § 680 ; for
Bani, § 467. Mannu-lu-napistu is found only here, compare Mannu-
lu-sulmu, in § 578.
777. No. 826. Nearly complete. Brown.
This list is almost exactly like no. 811. It begins, oddly enough,
with 'two sons' of a man Atta.... Then came 'the ^ife of Abi-
lamur, Badi, Istar-babi-ilai ; Ikbi-Istar, his wife, three daughters of
his ; Kurdi-Istar, a nddin akli^ his three sons, his wife, and probably
two daughters batusu^ in all seventeen souls, who fear not God.'
These arc not necessarily slaves, but the style of enumeration
suggests that they arc t(j be sold, or deported. The last clause
opens a wide field for speculation.
The name Atta... might be completed in different ways. Abi-
lamur is also a specimen name, App. i, x. 5. Badi occurs only
here, but compare the female name Badia, in § 704. Bada is found
AND DOCUMENTS. 54I
in K 684, 1226, 1 88 1, 8409. I^or Istar-babu-ilai, sec § 554. I know
of no other occurrence of Ikbi-lstar. Vor Ivurdi-Istar, see § 554.
No. 870. Portion of right-hand edge. Red.
This might well be part of a similar list to the last. The name
Bel-Harran-sar-usur seems the only complete name, see § 687.
Rimani is not to be restored easily. What name could give the
traces sa-al-la is hard to decide. In line 5, we seem to have saduni^
doubtless the end of a name. Then the signs / TUR-UD... suggest,
'one son baiiisu.^ It is possible that this tablet is part of a schedule,
but if batusu was intended that is very unlikely.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
PRICES OF SLAVES.
In all comparisons of prices, it is essential to bear in mind that
the quality of the commodity may vary. Thus a female slave might
be sold for as much as 90 shekels, or as little as 2 J shekels. The
true average price of a slave girl does not, however, lie midway
between these figures. A glance at the table will shew both to be
exceptional prices. No doubt, in each case, special reasons existed.
Sometimes the document allows us to see something of tliese special
reasons. A man would naturally demand more for his daughter, or
his sister, than for a mere slave girl ; even if he sold her to become
such. On the other hand, he could not expect much for an ordinary
slave girl, sold to be wife to another man's slave, if he had already
pledged her manual labour to a third party. Such exceptional prices
must be left out of account altogether ; they do not necessarily
compensate one another in estimates of average value, unless
occurring in sufficient numbers. Even then they must be laid
aside, if we have a large number of cases, varying within narrow
limits, about a mean value that may be taken to represent the
ordinary price of an ordinary article. )
I. Single male slave. \
{a) in shekels, royal standard.
No. 172, a sibirru KU siprdt, 90 shekels.
No. \i)(), di red imere, 90/ „
{/>) in .shekels, Carchcmish standard. j
No. 174, 60 „
No. 175, 120
No. 182, 60^+ „
ASSYRIAN DEEDS AND DOCUMENTS.
543
No.
183,
60 shekels
No.
201, a son,
120 ,,
No.
203,
60
(<■) in shekels, standard
unnamed.
No.
173,
130
No.
178,
20 ,,
No.
i79»
30
No.
184,
30
No.
186,
30
No.
197, a man from Tabal,
67 „
No.
198,
32
No.
200, a saki^,
30
No.
3^3,
60
No.
314,
16
No.
642, an I'spar
h'rmi,
90
(^) in minas of bronze.
No.
176,
50 n
No.
180,
100 ,,
No.
181,
50 »
No.
i99»
50 ,,
The cases where there is doubt about the price are excluded.
Here we see that a skilled artisan, a sibirru siprdt^ a 'cloth
worker,' or ' dyer ' ; an ispar bir77ii^ a ' weaver ' or ' spinner ' of
variegated wool ; a herdsman or ' driver of asses,' would fetch as
much as ninety shekels. A son sold for as much as one hundred
and twenty shekels, Carchemish money. There is no clue to the
high price in no. 175. The other four cases give an average price
of sixty shekels, Carchemish standard. In no. 173, we have an
abnormally high price ; a man from Tabal fetched sixty-seven shekels ;
one man in the riitu class fetched sixty and another only sixteen
shekels. One slave sold for thirty-three, another for twenty shekels.
But four are priced at exactly thirty shekels. Hence it looks as if a
Carchemish shekel was only worth half as much as the unnamed
standard.
Whether the difference in weights applied to bronze we do not
know ; but three cases out of four shew the value of a slave to be
fifty minas. Hence we may conjecture fifty minas of bronze to be
worth half a common mina of silver or one mina of silver Carchemish.
That gives a ratio of bronze to silver as i : 100.
544 ASSYRIAN DEEDS
11. Single female slave.
(a) in shekels, Carchemish standard.
No.
208,
a sister.
30 shekels,
No.
217,
90
J,
No.
222,
60
J5
(<^) in shekels, i
standard unnamed.
No.
207,
90
5J
No.
209,
35
55
No.
211,
30
55
No.
213,
90
55
No.
214,
34
55
No.
215,
9
55
No.
216,
60
55
No.
220,
34
55
No.
224,
30
55
No.
227,
30
55
No.
307,
wife for
a
son.
16
55
No.
308,
wife for
a
slave.
30
55
No.
309,
wife for
a
slave.
30
55
No.
711,
wife for
a
slave,
30
55
No.
311,
rutu^
4
55
No.
312,
jj
34
55
No.
317,
5J
30
55
No.
86,
pledge,
30
55
(c) in minas of bronze.
No.
218,
60
55
Here we see that in eight cases the price of a female slave for
ordinary purposes, wife for a slave, housemaid, etc., was thirty
ordinary shekels ; in three cases thirty-four, and once thirty-five.
One of the class {a) is the same value, if we take a Carchemish mina
to be worth half as much. But we have a wide range of prices : in
three cases ninety shekels was given, and sixty shekels in no. 216.
In no. 208, the thirty shekels Carchemish seems on a level with the
sixteen shekels in no. 307. The prices, two and a half shekels, and
nine shekels, are curiously low. It is clear that there was greater
variability in women slaves than among the males. But an average
price was thirty shekels, or a half mina.
AND DOCUMENTS.
545
The single bronze price was not out of the way here ; sixty in
place of fifty minas, the average for a male slave.
III. Several slaves together.
M = male, F = female.
(a) in shekels, royal standard.
No.
241,
9M,
8F,
5^o»
average 30 shekels
No.
242,
I M,
iF,
60,
30
No.
243.
2 M,
I F, males skilled,
180,
60
No.
284,
I M,
I F, (his mother)
90,
45
(If) in shekels,
Carchemish standard.
No.
230,
7M,
3F,
540,
54
No.
231,
3M,
4F,
120,
17
No.
234,
2 M,
iF,
180,
60
No.
236,
I M,
iF,
60,
30
No.
240,
5 M,
2F,
600,
» 85 „
No.
245,
3F,
120,
40
No.
249.
2 M,
one skilled.
90,
45
No.
253.
II M,
9F,
600,
30 »
No.
257,
2F,
120,
60
No.
258,
4M,
I F, one skilled,
180,
36
No.
270,
3M,
2F,
300,
60
No.
271,
3M,
2F,
300.
„ 60
(c) in shekels
unnamed standard.
No.
229,
3M,
4F,
180,
» 25 »
No.
232,
2 M,
iF,
240,
» 80 „
No.
233.
3F,
6S,
23
No.
235»
I M,
2 F, man skilled,
60,
20
No.
237.
I M,
iF,
60,
» 30 „
No.
246,
7M,
6F,
210,
» 16 „
No.
251,
2 M,
30,
15 »
No.
261,
9M,
II F,
360,
,, 18 „
No.
267,
2F,
50,
25 „
No.
278,
3M,
50,
17 »
No.
293.
I M,
iF,
120,
60
(d) in shekels
merchant standard.
No.
244,
2 M,
2F,
180,
45
No.
254,
2 M,
I F,
30.
10
J. III.
35
74,
J)
15
i8o,
jj
25
1 80,
5>
30
546 ASSYRIAN DEEDS AND DOCUMENTS.
{e) in shekels, standard of Gar-samerate.
No. 310, I M, 2 F, 180, average 60 shekels.
(/) in minas of bronze.
No. 330, 3 M, 2 F,
No. 248, 2 M, 5 F,
No. 259, 2 M, 4 F,
Here we cannot rely on uniformity of quality. But if we use the
value of thirty shekels for an ordinary slave, sixty for a skilled artisan,
then we shall get a close approximation. Thus, in no. 284, we may
assume that the man was skilled and worth sixty shekels and the
woman only the ordinary thirty. No. 249 gives sixty shekels for a
gardener and thirty for his brother, who may have been a child. In
the Carchemish standard, nos. 234, 257, 270, 271, work out on the
basis of sixty shekels an ordinary adult slave. With this agree
nos. 241, 242, giving thirty shekels on the royal standard. When
we take a blind average over all, we get forty-five shekels in
Carchemish and twenty-four in the ordinary standard. The value of
the royal mina is clearly the same as the ordinary mina. One value
for the merchant's standard is the same as for the Carchemish
standard, but the other case suggests a very low-price slave. The
mina of Gar-samerate is evidently the same as that of Carchemish.
In the bronze prices, the ratio of silver to bronze seems to be
about 50 : I unless these are reckoned in the old heavy mina, when
we should get as before, a ratio 100 : i. But in these mixed sales,
all that we can do is to check former results by a general closeness
of agreement.
The case of barter, in no. 252, exchanges three male slaves for
one fine horse, which would make the value of the horse about three
minas in the Carchemish standard. In the days of king Solomon we
are told that an Egyptian horse fetched one hundred and fifty shekels
of silver. Allowing for the possibility that this was also three minas,
the permanence of prices is certainly remarkable.
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES.
I. MALES.
The black figures indicate the sections, the plain figures the pages.
Aa-ahe 408, 37, 177, 515
Aa-ahe-erba 37
Aa-ahe-sallim 37
Aa-amme 754, 506
Aa-'da' 421
Aa-enu 452
Aa-turi 653, 383, 401, 412
Aa-iddin 562, 250
Aa-imanni 730, 480
Aa-kamaru 429
Aa-metunu 476, 1 09, no
Abagu 661, 407
Aba-ilu 418
Abalukunu 58
'Abakame 492
Abati 418
Abba-Aguni 661, 407
Abda' 512, 34, 182, 510
Abda 512, 34, 107, 182, 435
Abda-bani 34
Abdaia 512, 183
Abda-ili 34
Abdunu 766, 34, 526, 527
Abdi 512, 34, 183, 441, 475
Abdia 512, 34, 183, 406
Abdi-Azuzi 749, 34, 498
Abdi-Bel 690, 34, 435
Abdi-Himuni 34
Abdi-idri 422, 34, 49
Abdi-ikrisu 34
Abdi-ili 34
Abdi-Kububi 34
Abdi-li'iti 34
Abdi-limufe) 34, 218, 241
Abdi-milkuti 34
Abdi-milki 34
Abdi-Samsi 406, 34
Abdi-Sihar 475
Abdi-Sihur 725, 34, 475
Abdi-Simur 475
Abdi-rama 34
Abdi-sarri 34
Abu-erba 105
Abu-ul-idi 494, 153, 219, 281
Abu-ulla 219
Abu-lamassi 264, 265
Abu-larim 737, 66, roo, 486
Abu-lisir 486
Abunu 579, 284
Abu-salam 443
Abia-ahia 718, 466, 467
Abi-danu 480, 119
Abi-duri 672, 415
Abi-ummi 554, 218, 238, 467
Abikta-iddin 491
Abi'-ilu 743, 491
Abi-ilia 743, 491
Abi-ikamu 719, 468
Abi-lamur 777, 540
Abilu 743, 491
Abilure 556, 218, 241
Abi-lisir 129
Abi-salam 703
Abi-kamu 719, 468
Abi-ramu 479, 674, 1x7, 416
Abit-papahi 267
Abkallipi 572, 268
Ablugnu 58
35—2
548
INDEX.
Absa 504
Abtiruni-el 118
Aga 745, 493
Agaburu 534, 2 21
Agbar 221
Agbur 221
Agiai 745, 493
Aginu 745, 493
Adadi-abu-usur 762, 518
Adadi-ahe-iddin 470
Adadi-ahu-usur 494, 153
Adadi-ahi-iddin 653, 401, 470, 524
Adadi-aplu-usur 195
Adadi-aplu-iddin 517, 193, 195, 252
Adadi-asarid 401
Adadi-babau 772, 535
Adadi-bel-usur 562, 250, 251
Adadi-bel-lisir 401
Adadi-bi'di 251
Adadi-danan 517, 195
Adadi-emurinni 491, 143
Adadi-uballit 161, 203
Adadi-iddin 438
Adadi-idri 49
Adadi-ilai 521, 141, 201, 202
Adadi-kasir 736, 485
Adadi-musesi 731, 481
Adadi-milki 491, 143
Adadi-nagi 413
Adadi-na'id 752, 501
Adadi-nasir 518, 196, 423
Adadi-natan 688, 433
Adadi-nirari 235, 333, 342, 475
Adadi-pa-usur 485
Adadi-kassun 652, 397, 398, 400
Adadi-raba 475, 109, 417, 489
Adadi-rahimu 740, 488
Adadi-rapa 475, 109
Adadi-rimani 754, 381, 41 1, 506, 526
Adadi-risua 578, 281, 282
Adadi-sallim 711, 458
Adadi-sa-na'id 451
Adadi-sar-usur 711, 277, 458, 486
Adadi-sum-usur 696, 405, 440
Adadi-.sum-iddin(a) 508, 175, 176, 178
Adadi-taka 706, 450
Adadi-taklak 736, 484
Adalal 772, 535
Adallal 535
Adanha-ilu 668, 413
Adar-ili 45, 198, 202
Adda 706, 450
Addai 383
Addaia 706, 450
Addu 706, 450
Addi-idri 422, 49
Adu' 583, 287, 402
Aduna-iz 408, 36, 37, 55
Aduna-izi 408, 37, 55, 238
Adunu-apla-iddin 55
Adunu-ba'li 554, 238
Adunu-mat-usnr 554, 37, 238
Adunu-nadin-aplu 554, 37, 238
Aduni-ba'al 554, 37
Aduni-tu (?) 383
Adiini-turi 554, 37, 55, 238, 401
Aduni-iha 554, 37, 55, 218, 237, 238
Adi 583, 287, 421, 471
Adru 198
Adria 45, 198
Adri-ile 198
Adseki 95, 129
Au-ba'di 52, iii, 251
Au-bani iii
Au-bi'di 118
Au-ianu 1 1 1
Au-iddin 549, iii, 234
Au-idri 582, 11 r, 286
Au-ilai 476, in
Au-killani 559, in, 245, 246
Ausi' 476, III
Aza 469
Azi-ilu 573, 273
Azilu 273
Ahallili 502
Ahallisu 752, 502
Ahalsusu 502
Ahassuri 237
Ahar-dise 514
Aheia 88, 434
Ahe-ilai 207
Ahesa 479
Ahua 580, 285, 493
Ahii-Aa 285
Ahu-amur 680, 420
Ahua-l)ani 745, 494
Ahu-al)U 475, 108
Ahua-crl)a 508, 37, 177, 400
AhCiai 580, 284, 285
AhCia-ibni 494
INDEX.
549
Ahua-lamur 474, 106
Ahu-dlik-mahri 399
Ahiia-lini 106
Ahu-anuii 680, 420
Ahuasu 159, 177, 397, 398, 432, 515
Ahu-aplu-ibni 494
Ahuasi 105
Ahu-bani 468
Ahu-basate 472, 49, 99
Ahu-baste 472, 49, 99
Ahu-duri 470, 93, 94
Ahu-erba 177, 417
Ahu-eres 114
Ahu-ukinka 717, 466
Ahu-ukur 572, 263, 264, 266
Ahu-tab 722, 473
Ahu-Iau 658, 44
Ahu-iddin 267
Ahu-ilai 153, 458
Ahu-imme 208
Ahu-kinu 452
Ahu-latnassi 467, 86, 263, 265
Ahu-lamur 680, 741, 420, 540
Ahu-lamma 762, 518
Ahu-lamsi 486
Ahu-larim 100, 341
Ahu-li' 523, 205
Ahu-li 54, 205, 207, 411, 442
Ahu-li'te 663, 409, 419
Ahu-mamate 736, 485
Ahu-mukinka 466
Ahu-nadbi 715, 464
Ahunu 544, 210, 232, 530
Ahu-nuri 518, 197
Ahuni 544, 44, 45, 231
Ahuni 231
Ahu-Samsi 417
Ahusu 508, 59, 177, 417
Ahusi 508, 177, 416
Ahusina 399
Ahutusu-lisir 177
Ahutsu 417
Ahi-abu(a) 108, 207
Ahi-abi 108
Ahi-bastu 472, 49, 99
Ahi-bastu 49, 191
Ahi-duri 138, 205
Ahi-erba 175, 176
Ahi-eres 477, 114
Ahi-umme 108
Ahi-iabal)a 477, 1 13
Ahi-Iau 404, 405
Ahi-ianiiiu 477, 1 14
Ahi-iakaniu 723, 1 14, 473, 478
Alii-iakar 1 14
Ahi-iddin 672, 267, 540
Ahi-ilai 711, 458
Ahi-immai 108
Ahi-imme 108, 208
Ahi-ikamu 723, 473
Ahi-milki 657, 402, 403
Ahi-Nana 210
Ahi-nuri 197, 467, 501, 530
Ahi-ramu 709, 455
Ahi-rame 456
Aia-duri 503, 166
Ai-suri 503, 166
Ai-rimmu 503, 166
Akakua 65
Akal-usur 208
Akbar 221, 408, 463
Akbaru 534, 221, 473
Akbarutu 473
Akbur 221
Akburu 534, 221
Akubatila 164
Akullanu 767, 180, 527, 528
AkkuUanu 571, 263, 266, 509
Akru 572, 267
Akriturlasimu 265
Alahha-ilu (?) 413
Alahhanna (?) 413
Alahha-Samas (?) 413
Alla-hazzi 472
Al-Nashu-milki 43
Al-Si'-milki 43
Amar-Istar 265
Amar-yum-ili 48
Ambana 510, 511
Ambaris 460
Amel-Ea 503
Ameki 753, 505
Amur-dise 760, 511, 512, 514
Amiate'(u) 704, 448
Ammai 687, 429
Amma-ba'li 687, 429
Ammaia 687, 429
Amma-ladin 687, 429
Ammaskiri 708, 453
Ammeba'la 429
550
INDEX.
Amme-ba'li 429
Amme'ta' 687, 429, 448
Ammu-ladi 429
Ammizaduga 333
Ammi-pa'li 429
Amst 576, 280
Amramu 81
Andaranu 465, 79
Anu-sarru 441
Ani-iddin 265
AN-KI-LU (?) 168
Anki-qiba 200
An-mehunai 506
Asu 678, 418, 454
Asi 418
Assur-lubalit 265
Assi 678, 418
Astananu 561, 250
Astakiimi 250
Apil-aplia 236
Apil-sarri-bel-ahe 500, 162
Apil-sarri-ilai 500, 162, 528
Aplai 518, 197, 253, 266
Aplaia 236
Aplua 507, 508
Aplu-uknu 58
Aplu-usur 486, 119, 138, 201
Aplu-sezibani 705, 450
Aplia 518, 57, 71, 72, 93, 197, 287,
421
Aka 711, 458, 504
Akaba, 502, 164, 504
Akaljbi-ili 164, 413
Akabi-ilu 502, 164, 407, 504
Akbar 221, 383, 408
Akburu 422
Akubu 164
Akru 572, 267
Akri 286
Arakai 691, 436
Arbai 473, 100, 10 1, 481, 538
Arbailai 408, 479, 37, 116, 117, 158,
189, 201, 388, 457, 482
Arbaili-bel-iddin 438, 60
Argistis 458
Arda 448
Ardai 407, 35
Ardu-muscsi 457
Ardi-Aa 407, 35, 488
Ardi-ah(j.su 716, 465
Ardiai 739, 35, 488
Ardi-Allai 766, 527
Ardi-arda 167
Ardia-arkia 504, 44, 166, 167
Ardi-Asur 492, 104, I47
Ardi-Banitu 406, 30, 34
Ardi-Belit 534, 767, 197, 220, 421, 422
Ardi-Gula 745, 494
Ardi-Ea 752, 503
Ardi-Istar 474, 35, 44, 47, 77, 78, 79,
103, 104, 134, 138, 147, 149, 231,
246, 401, 446, 447, 448, 450, 488,
494» 497. 511. 512, 514, 530
Ardi-Marduk 44
Ardi-Nabu 487, 45, 133, 181, 517, 518
Ardi-Nana 491, 143, 147
Ardi-Ninip 660, 406
Ardi-Sin 717, 466
Ardi-Samas 749, 498
Arzizu(i) 556, 218, 241, 265, 267
Arhu-Istar 66
Arihi 159
Arika' 691, 436
Arkat-ilani-damiktu 691, 436
Arrabi 377
Arrakute 436
Artalanu 107
Asaridu 368
Asate 745, 494
Asur-abu-usur 705, 450
Asur-ahesu-eres 732, 482
Asur-ahi-iddin 717, 466
Asur-aplu-iddin 757, 509
Asur-aplu-lisii- 267
Asur-baltu-nisesu 121
Asur-bani 721, 233, 47 1
Asur-bel-usur 526, 208, 209, 462
Asur-bel-iLani 739, 488
Asur-bel-kala J95
Asur-gamilia 168
Asur-garua 164
Asur-garua-niri 502, 165
ASur-gimil-tirri 575, 277
Asur-damik 732, 482
Asur-daninaiii 541, 229, 492
A-sur-danin-sani 537, 217, 227
Asur-diir-usur 491, 144, 475, 500
Asur-e(ir 472, 99
Asur-ctinini 482, 124
ASur-etirni 482, 124
INDEX.
551
Asur-epus 233, 471
Asur-crcs 71
Asur-etil-ildni 272, t^t,^, 542
Asur-uballit 122
Asur-udannin-aplu 273
Asur-usur 188
Asur-usabsi 60
Asur-hablani 436
Asur-ibni 546, 233
Asur-ilai 500, 162, 480
Asur-ittia 61
Asur-killani 691, 436
Asur-li' 558, 197, 245
Asur-li 245
Asur-li'ani 558, 245
Asur-mat-utakkin 691, 435, 436
Asur-mat-utarris 436
Asur-mat-taris 436
Asur-mudammik 482
Asur-mukin(u) 754, 506
Asur-musallim 762, 516, 518
Asur-musallimsunu 283
Asur-mutakkil-sarri 40
Asur-mutakkin 491, 143
Asur-mutarrisu 143
Asur-mitu-uballit 268
Asur-naballit 572, 265, 268
Asur-nadin-ahe 481, 123
Asur-nadin-ahi 685, 424, 516
Asur-nadin-aplu 721, 471
Asur-nadin-aplusu 471
Asur-nadin-sum 422
Asur-na'id 65, 415
Asur-napisti-iram(mu) 557, 243
Asur-nasir 482, 124, 188, 409, 419
Asur-natkil 572, 268, 516
Asur-kassun(u) 762, 518
Asur-katsLi 762, 193, 518
Asur-re'usunu 558, 245
Asur-res-isi 492, 68, 138, 144, 146
Asur-rimani 139
Asur-sallim 478, 575, 118, 174, 245,
25i> 275' 276, 458, 486
Asur-sallim-ahe 481, 122, 489
Asur-sallimsunu 577, 283
Asur-salmis-amur 66
Asur-sar-usur 505, 171
Asur-sum-ukin 687, 754, 429, 474, 506
Asur-sum-usur 708, 453
Asur-sum-utakkin 143
Asur-sum-utarris 143
Asur-silim-amur 65
Asur-taklak 612, 183
Asire 285
Assuiai 481, 122
Astamasli 562, 250
Ata 287
Ata 583, 287
Atazuri 427
Ata-idri 701, 442
Atalu-sumia 467, 468
Ata-lu-sumia 468
Ata-siiri 554, 238
Atarai 754, 500, 510
Atar-ham 418
Atar-hamu 678, 383, 418
Atar-ilani 518, 197
Atar-ili 518, 197
Atar-suru(i) 554, 218, 237, 238, 251
Atar-kamu 772, 460, 532, 533, 535
Atar-tazi 239
Atgi-iht 470, 49, 95, 163
Ate' 583, 287, 407
Atu 583, 287, 407
Atu-ehu 661, 407
Ati 583, 287
Atinni, 661, 408 ^'
Atri-ili 198 ^
Atta'-idri 661, 408
Atta-imme 661, 408
Atta-inni 408
Atta'ni 408
Ba'al-imme 505
Babai 753, 505
Babali 755, 507
Babua 505
Babu-ilai 544, 160
Babilai 498, 160, 163, 465, 506
Bab-ili-bel-nurai 476
Babi-ramu 573, 505, 528
Babli 54
Baggu-basu 58
Bagdada(i) 719, 469
Bagdapi 235
Bagdatti 719, 469
Bada 777, 540
Badi 777, 540
Bau-ahi-iddin 544, 232
Bau-eres 198
552
INDEX.
Bau-ilai 232, 241
Bau-sapi 210
Bahai 122
Bahi 481, 122
Bahianu 532, 20, 44, 57, 58, 214, 216,
217, 218, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231,
232, 233, 234, 239, 250, 251, 253,
384, 440, 405
Batudanu 518, 196
Baiadi-ilu 62
Bakilia 733, 483
Balat-eres 662, 408
Balatia 43
Balatsu 741, 489
Balai 548, 234, 505
Bala-imme 753, 505
Balasu(u) 521, 49, 203, 221, 489
Balasi(i) 521, 203, 249, 516
Bamba 579, 284
Bamu 579, 284
Bamma 579, 284
Banai 727, 148, 273, 477
Banba 579, 284
Bani 467, 88, 434, 449, 535, 540
Bania 473
Bani-Aa 273
Bani-ahe 203
Baniai 573, 477
Bani-Ai 210
Banitu 578, 283
Banitum-eres 406, 35
Banitum-lukin 406, 35
Banitum-tuklat 406, 35
Ba'sa 530
Basua 548, 218, 234, 530
Basuai 548, 234, 530
BasLisu 658, 404
Basi 768, 530, 540
Bappu see Pappu
Barahu 727, 475, 476
Barahu-ilu 114
Barua 460
Barzake 741, 489
Barzia 678, 4 1 9
Barzikdtu 741, 489
Bariki 85
liarku-rimani 53
Bar-lamur 510
Barrijk 85
Barruku 61, 85
Barrukku 467, 61, 85, 116, 485
Barsai 163
Basadu 44
Batiti 524, 208
Bel-abua 773, 535
Bel-abu-usur 558, 245, 475, 481
Bel-ahe 474, 106, 207, 276
Bel-ahesu 687, 128, 140, 407, 425,
426, 427, 429, 535
Bel-ahu-usur 526, 210
Bel-ahi-iddin 684, 163, 273, 423, 539
Bel-amat-lisir 481
Belanu 505
Bel-aplu-iddin(a) 711, 458, 479, 480
Bel-asaridu 50, 51
Bel-balat 776, 188, 423, 539
Bel-busu-etir 201
Bel-da'an 482
Bel-dan 732, 154, 482
Bel-danan 494, 150, 154, 482
Bel-duri 558, 133, 243, 244, 510
Bel-etilli 733, 483
Bel-etir 579, 259, 283
Bel-etira 284
Bel-emurani 540, 126, 228, 404
Bel-eres 474, 47, 77, 103, 105, 118,
119, 184, 198, 508
Bel-uballit 776, 539
Bel-ubbuti-ukin 506, 173
Bel-ukin 505, 169, 170
Bel-utakkin 702, 443
Bel-utarris 442, 443
Bel-zer 284
Bel-zer-iddin 743, 491
Bel-Harran-abu-usur 558, 245
Bel-Harran-ahu-usur 690, 434
Bel-Harran-balat 685, 424
Bel-Harran-duri 701, 207, 442
Bel-IIarran-ittia 712, 459
Bel-IIarran-hasis 662, 409
Bel-IIarran-cunucci 446
Bel-IIarran-kusurani 746, 495
Bel-Harran-sadua 553, 198, 236, 281
Bel-liarran-sar-usur 687, 300, 430,
541
Bcl-Harran-taklak 704, 327, 446, 447,
448, 467
Bcl-ibni 505, 171, 399, 417, 536
Bcl-iddin(a) 661, 407, 429
Bel-iz 56
INDEX.
553
Bel-ilai 764, 521, 523
licl-ilaiii 690, 434, 523
Bcl-ildni-sar-usur 764, 523
Bel-ilani-sitir (?) 433
Bol-ili-niilki 711, 44S, 45^
Bel-ishu-ulanis 659, 406
Belit-usala 685, 424
Bel-ilti 461
Bel-ittia 745, 493
Belka-lisir 731, 481
Bel-kassar-usur 428
Bel-kia 493
Bel-killani 690, 433, 434
Bel-kitti 281
Bel-lamur 720, 45, 470
Bel-lasin 118
Bel-lubalat 45, 62
Bel-ludari 657, 30, 403
Bel-li' 712, 461
Bel-lisir 736, 56, 58, 59; 217, 485
Bel-Malik 53
Bel-mu-essis 265
Bel-mustesir 485
Bel-na'di 246
Bel-na'id 559, 143
Bel-nasir 712, 45, 460, 501
Bel-natan 63
Bel-niiri 704, 448, 486
Bel-sad-ilu 63
Bel-pa-lisir 481
Bel-kata 41
Bel-ristan 50
Bel-sadua 553, 236
Bel-sa-iksur 139
Bel-sallim 420
Bel-sar-ahesu 502, 165
Bel-sar-usur 508, 175, 176, i77' 4^2
Bel-sar-ibni 526, 210, 273, 499
Bel-sar-ikbi 526
Bel-sarrani 132
Bel-su 553, 236
Bel-sum-eres 572, 265, 267
Bel-sum-ibni 473, 102
Bel-sum-iddin 760, 275, 513, 515
Belsunu 677, 418
Belt! 272
Bel-taklak 711, 458
Ben-Hadad-idri 286
Buba 753, 505
Bubu 753, 505
BubCia 763, 505
Bubutu 667, 403
Buda 691, 436
Budu, Budi see Putu, I'liti
Buhl 526
Bulut 659, 197, 405
Bululu 405
BuluU(u) 659, 405
Bulla 714, 462
Bultaia 714, 462
Bultia 463
BuUiit 40s
Bullutu 659, 405
Busi-ilani 246
Burkai 762, 518
Biba 753, 505
Bibati 139
Bibbua 505
Bibe-halusu 753, 505
Bibi 753, 505
Bibia 753, 505
Bibi-lagamur 753, 505
Bidada 417, 46
Bihi 481, 122
Bilai 690, 435
Billu 118
Bin-dikiri 709, 456
Bin-kitni 275
Bin-mi 275
Bir-amma 554, 239
Bir-Atar 554, 239
Bir-Dadda 553, 235, 239
Bir-Iama 553, 239
Bir-Samas 554, 237, 239
Birtai 276
Bi'su 504, 168
Bitati 486, 208
Gabbar 412
Gabbaru 667, 131, 412, 529
Gabbarru 412, 529
Gabbu-Adadi 579, 45, 283, 284
Gabbu-amur 484, 127, 435, 436
Gabbu-eres 199
Gabbu-ilani 487, 133, 158, 225
Gabbu-ilani-eres 487, 133, 489, 490
Gabbu-ina-kata-ili 559, 246
Gabbu-kata-ili 559, 245, 246, 276
Gabbi 538, 227
Gabe 181, 227
554
INDEX.
Gabu 217, 218, 227
Gabia 227
Gabri 721, 470, 471
Gabri-ilu 721, 471
Gaga 161
Gagu 161
Gagi 498, 161
Gada' 492
Gada 744, 492
Gadi' 492
Gadia 744, 492
Gadi-ilu 744, 492
Galul 231
Galulu 544, 231
Gallul 231
Ganabu 775, 538, 539
Gargamesai 750, 499
Guggu 1 6 1
Gugu 498, 160, 161, 193
Gugua 160
Gugi 498, 66, 160
Gula-zer-eres 680, 421
Gula-zer-ibni 727, 477
Gura' 523, 206
Gurrai 206
Gusanu 473, 103
Gidda 435, 436
Gilgamis 168
Gimil-ili 41, 42
Ginai 680, 420
Ginnai 680, 420
(jir-zapunu 554, 47
Girhai 677, 417
Giri-zabuni 237
Giri-.sapvmu 238
Giritu 406, 34
Giritte 406, 34
Girittu 406, 30, 34
Girsapunu 238, 285
Girte 406, 34, 70
Girtu 406, 34, 218
Dabi 79, 494
Dabia 494
Dabibi 486
Dagana-milki 437
Dagan-bcl-usur 692, 437
Dagan-bcl-nasir 437
Dagan-milki 692, 437, 454
Dada 572, 95, 269
Dadai 572, 95, 269, 441, 477
Daddi 95
Dadi 765, 34, 95, 526
Dadia 765, 95, 526
Daiadi-ilu 61
Daian-Adadi 192
Daian-Kurban 487, 131, 132, 217,
229
Da'in-Adadi 479
Da'in-aplu 479
Dakide 751, 383, 500
Dak{k)uri 80, 203
Daltai 422
Damik-eni-sar 64
Damka-rigmati-sarri 64
Damki-ili 507
Dana 474, 105
Danai 474, 106, no
Danaia 474, 105
Dananu 480, 118, 121, 232
Danan-ili 742, 490
Danan(i)-Nergal 489, 490
Danan-Ninip 742, 490
Dandaru 548, 218, 234
Danna 474, 105
Dannai 416, 474, 46, 105, 196, 198,
406, 449, 473
Dannaia 416, 474, 105, 193
Dannu-ilu 520
Dannu-Nergal 747, 496, 504
Dannu-karsi 753, 504
Dannu-sarri 753, 504
Dannia 46
Danni-ili 753, 504
Dakali-Marduk 751, 500
Dararate 471, 98, 538
Darurate 471, 98
Dari-abua 693, 437
Dari-Ecl 465, 473, 79, 100, loi
Dari-sarru 667, 412
Du 459
Diia 711, x66, 459
Dugul 434
Dugul-ili 404
Dugul-ixini-ili 658, 404, 434
Dudu 702, 443
Dudua 702, 443
Du'uzai loi
Dili 711, 408, 459
Dulat-ili 404
INDEX.
555
Dumat-ili 404
Dumuka 44
Diimukai 49
Dumki-ilani 755, 507
Dunanu 98
Dunalan 404
Dunuzu 677, 281
Dur-Adadi 518
Duraua 99
Dur-Asur 737, 486
Dur-belia 672, 415
Dur-maki-lstar 341
Dur-kali 71
Durrarate 774, 538
Didi 470, 71, 95, 98, 99
Dihai 409, 37, 38, 479, 516
Dilil-Istar 572, 86, 166, 263, 266
Dina 501, 163
Dinanu 457
Disai 36
Disi 748, 496, 514
Ditaki 744, 493
Ditara 729, 479
Ditaru 729, 479
Eabani i68
A
Ea-kudurri-ibni 503
Ebed-Istar 446
Egiba 168
Egibi 164, 423, 461
Edu-usur 514, 187
Edu-nasir 188
Edu-sallim 480, 117, 118, 119, 139,
174, 245, 246, 276
Ezipata 707, 452, 540
Ehia 466, 80, 82
Etir-ilu 580, 285
El-ittiya 200
Emur-Istar 572, 106, 265, 267
Eni-ili 715, 463
Esaggil-bi'di 471
Esaggil-saduni 195
Erba-Adadi 504, 65, 166, 167, 174,
430
Erba-ahe 766, 527
Erba-ilani 544, 231
Erba-ilu 544, 231, 528
Erba-Istar 716, 465
Eresu 553, 236
Eres-ilu 743, 491
Eridai 481, 122
Erihi 756, 508
Elk it i 281
Eski 482, 527
Eski-Istar 124
Esrai loi
Uaite' 239
Uasar 190
Uassurme 460
Uarbis 515, 190
Uarzaun 515, 191
Uari 500, 163, 191
Uarmeri 515, 190, 193
Ubar 191
Ubara-Tutu 515, 190
Ubarbisi 515, 190
Ubaru 190
Ubarru 515, 191
Ubbuku 475, 77, 107
Ubuku 475, 107, 208
Ubukku(i) 107, 205, 208
Ubuku 475, 107
Ubuiaki 559, 246
Ubraki 246
Ugbaru 221
Ugun'u 264
Ugine 95
Uddanu 422
Uzna' 482
Uznanu 732, 482
Ukin-abua 494, 153
Ukin-abia 494, 150, 153
Ukin-ahi 717, 466
Ukin-zer 690, 153, 434
UlCdai 505, 52, 67, 68, loi, 169, 170,
448, 463, 482, 516
Ummahaldasu 269
Ummanaldas 505
Unagi 668, 413
Unzahu-Asur 534, 523
Unzahu-UR 523
Unzarhu 534, 182, 220
Unzarhu-Asur 534, 220
Unzarhu- Istar 534, 220
Unzarhu-Tasmetum 519
Unzarhi-Istar 534, 219, 220
Unzerhu see Unzarhu
Unkia 441
Unsardi 774, 538
556
INDEX.
Unke 741, 441, 489
Unki-Istar 441
Usanani 706, 451
Usuna 706, 451
Usi' 704, 383, 446, 447, 448
Usia 704, 448, 529
Upahhiri-Iau 475, 107
Upaka-ana-Arbaili 694, 438
Upiiku see Ubuku
Uppuku see Ubbuku
Usa 720, 469
Usihansa 774, 537
Usiha-Samas (?) 537
Ukubu 163, 164
Ukubutu 164
Ukur-Adadi 409, 40
tJkur-ahe 409, 40
Ukkur-ahe 40
Urai 733, 383, 482, 483
Urda 556, 239, 240
Urdai 218
Urdu(i) 556, 240, 241, 481, 498
Urdi 556, 2 40
Uria 466, 80, 82, 483
Urriha 107
Usani-ilu 659, 406
Uttama 204
Zabai 753, 505
Zabanu 439
Zabda 491, 143
Zabdanu 98
Zabdu 439
Zabdi' 143
Zabdi 491, 141, 143, 441
Zabdia 491, 143
Zabina 65
Zabina 79
Zabinai 64
Zabinu 465, 53, 79, 271, 474
Zadu' 403
Zaza 476, 112
Zazai 476, 36, 1 12
Zazaia 476, 36, 1 1 2
Zazaku 476, 36, 112, 499
Zazc 1 1 2
Zazi 476, 40, 112, 463
Zakuru(i) 658, 44, 404
Zakir 502
Zaklru(i) 752, 501, 502
Zamama-ahu-usur 692, 437
Zamama-erba 682, 422
Zamama-eres 731, 481
Zanasana 740, 488
Zanzanu 488
Zapanu 573, 270, 381
Zakiru(i) 502
Zakirru 502
Zaruti 515, 66, 161, 193
Zezi 113
Zer-ukin 487, 63, 133, 245, \i\
Zeruti 68, 221
Zer-ibnu(i) 731, 481
Zer-Istar 480, 118, 120, 204
Zer-kitti-ukin 676, 417
Zer-kitti-lisir 676, 417
Zer-lisir 102, 218
Zer-napisti-lisir 210
Zerkuru 491, 143
Zer-Samas 204
Zubi-sidki 410, 43
Zunbu 681, 421, 422
Zibdi 439
Zize 112
Zizi 476, 112
Zizia 727, 477
Zilt 490
Zitai 762, 429, 518
Hababa 677, 418
Habahum 677, 418
Haba-namru 677, 418
Habani 677, 418
Habasu 472, 99, 100, 10 1
Habasite 472, 98, 99, 191
Habaste 99
Habastu 472, 99
Habasti 99
Habasti 472, 49, 99
Ilabban 677, 418
Ilabildu 400
Ilagabba (?) 435
Iladasa 747, 496
Iladc-lipusu loi
Iladi' 685, loi, 424
Iladia 685, 424
Iladilani 246
Haza'-ilu 708, 452, 454
Ilazanu 708, 58, 453
Hazian 91
INDEX.
557
Hazianu 468, 91, 514
Ilazi-ilu 514
Haianu 41-2
Ilakkubu 661, 407
I.Ialabaia 58
Ilalahhiai 728, 477
Hala-iddi 509
Haldi-ahu-usur 714, 463
Ilaldi-ilai 714, 463
Haldi-etir 717, 466
Ilaldi-rimani 733, 483
Hale-abu 563, 251, 460
Halua 712, 460
Halzupi (?) 71
Halzuti 71
Hali-ilu 712, 460
Halimusu 712, 460
Halla-alla' 712, 460, 502
Halla-ba 712, 58, 460
Hallu 712, 460, 502
Halli 712, 460, 527
Hallia 460, 527
Halli-arraka 752, 460, 502
Halmanu 733, 483
Halmusu 754, 506
Halpai 463
Hamatutu 525, 218, 221, 222, 225
Hamba 435
Hambaku 687, 430
Hambusu 99
Hambi 690, 435
Hammai 690, 435
Hammu-rabi 268
Hamnanu 706, 450
Hamnunu 706, 383, 450
Han-ahu-lisir, 433
Hanahusi 688, 433
Hananu 160
Hanasu 440
Handasani 513, 184, 198
Handapi 513, 185, 235
Handu 513, 185, 468
Handi 513, 185, 503
Hanedu 383
Hanunu 67
Hantusu 468
Hani 576, 259, 277, 278
Haninai 692, 437
Haninaia 692, 437
Hanni 63, 280
Ilapildu 653, 400
Hasina 774, 537, 538
Hara-Zaza 495
Ilara-sarru 471, 98, 495
Harasa 746, 495
Hare 471, 98
Hari-sarru 471, 98
Harsiaesu 774, 537
Harsisu 774, 537
Harranai 54
Harrusu 746, 495
Har-sarru 476, 98
Hartibu 774, 537
Hasba 760, 515
Hata 412
Hatai 660, 406, 412
Hataranu 775, 538, 539
Hatpimunu 63
Hubabai 67
Hubani 468
Hubasate 472, 99
Hubasate 472, 49, 99, 191
Huda 719, 468
Hudadi 469
Hudai 719, loi, 468, 471, 472
Hudapi 550, 218, 235
Hudi-sarrutsu 473, loi
Huzanu 58
Huzina 577, 281
Hull 712, 460
Hulli 712, 142, 460
Humamate 705, 450, cf. Ahu-mamate
Humbaba 168
Hunzude 185
Hum 774, 537
Huru-milki 537
Hilani-Asur 712, 460
Hilia 712, 460, 486
Hili-Istar 712, 460
Hilisi 486
Himari 660, 406
Hinumu 745, 493
Hipit-Istar (?) 442, 62
Hirisai 746, 495
Tabuni 727, 475, 476
Tabusu 757, 509
Tabi 745, 79, 494
Tabia 745, 79, 494
Tab-na'id 494
558
INDEX.
Tab-sil(li)-Esarra 751, 500
Tab-sil(li)-Istar 751, 500
Tab-sil(li)-Marduk 751, 461, 501
Tab-ruhiti 466, 80, 82
Tab-rigimatu-Adadi 479, 64, 96, 97
Tab-sar 663, 409
Tab-sar-Arbaili 663, 409
Tab-sar-Asur 663, 409
Tab-sar-ili 663, 410
Tab-sar-Istar 474, 106, 410
Tab-sar-Nabu 663, 409
Tab-sar-Sin 663, 410
Tab-sar-sarri 663, 410
Tab-SI 690, 435
Tebetai 521, 64, loi, 153, 202, 219,
220, 400, 424, 463, 511
Tusu(i) 472, 98, 99
Turi 653, 401, 416
Turi-baltu 653, 401
Tihai see Dihai
laai 481, 122
la-ake 49
lada 680, 420
lada' 680, 420
ladadu 66
lada-ukin (?) 66
lada-ilu 680, 420
ladan 420
ladanu 680, 420
ladi' 680, 420
ladi-ilu 680, 420
lazini 181
lahutu 516, 193, 195, 196, 252
lahiri 455
la-isi 535, 218, 225
lakinlu 166, 403
lakite 95
lamani 482, 124, 438
lamanni 124
lamannu 482, 124, 454, 455
laminta 454
lanuku 751, 383, 500
lasumunu 268
larama (?) 538
larapa 775, 538, 539
late 466, 82
latna 124
Iljai 284
'Iba-kaine 492
Ibassi-ilu 573, 272
Ibbutu 422
IB-ukin 733, 483
Ibni-Aa 273
Ibni-ahe 75
Ibni-ahua 88
Idate 487
Idate-Bel-alaka 738, 277, 486, 487
Iddin-ahe 473, 57, 102
Iddina-ahe 473, 102
Iddina-ahi 102
Iddinai 486
Iddina-Istar 729, 479
Iddina-sarru 501
Iddinia 341
Iddini-ahe loi
Idi 421
Idi 583, 287
Idinai 737, 486
Idria 45, 198
Ikli 742, 489, 490
Iksur-ilu 488
Ila 719, 468
Ilu-abi-erba 766, 527
Ilu-amar 543, 230
Ilu-amarra 543, 230
Ilu-bab-essis 118
Ilu-baLatsu-ikbi 508, 178
llu-bani 466
Ilu-banitu 739, 283, 487, 488
Ilu-banitum 488
Ilu-bulutsu-ikbi 508, 178
Ilu-bi'di 52, 118, 251
Ilu-GAB-E 746, 495
Ilu-gabri 770, 531
Ilu-daiansunu 436
Ilu-daninani 492
Ilu-dini-emur 458
Ilu-eres 668, 412, 413
Ilu-udanani 275, 515
llu-udaninani 574, 275, 515
Ilu-udanni 275
Ilu-ukalani 515
llu-ukallani 574, 515
Ilu-usur 130
Iki-ziram (?) 527
Ilu-liazzi 722, 472, 514
Ilu-IIarran-Sadu 133
Ilu-luli-usur 475
Ilu-iada' 680, 420
INDEX.
559
Ilu-iadinu 680, 421
Ilu-ibni 717, 466
llu-immc 574, ao8, 275
Ilu-itda 620, 200
Iluka-aplu-usur 716, 465
Iluka-asarid 716, 465
Iluka-Ia 716, 465
Iluka-nasir 716, 465
Ilu-kea 200, 201
Ilu-kenis-usur 517, 195
Ilu-kia 2cx>
Ilu-lamur 114
Ilu-larim 114
Ilu-li' 741, 489
Ilu-liphur 743, 491
Ilu-marim-lisir 471
Ilu-mehunai 506
Ilu-mukiii-ahi 193, 195, 196, 252, 486
Ilu-nadin-aplu 515, 189, 191
Ilu-na'di 52
Ilu-na'id 709, 456
Ilu-napisti-iram(mu) 766, 527
Ilu-nasir 486, 130
Ilu-natan 461
Ilu-natanu 713, 461
Ilu-pa-usur 465, 485
Ilu-pania-usur 716, 465
Ilu-pia-usur 465
Ilu-pi-lisir 485
Ilu-pi-nasir 485
Ilu-pisi 736, 485
Ilu-rimani 509, 179
Ilu-saduni 700, 442
Ilu-sallim 503
Ilu-sallim-ahi 473, 103
Ilu-sar-usur 96, 97
Ilu-tabani 755, 507
Ilu-tari 706, 450
Ilu-taribi 450
Ili-Adadi 767, 528
Ilia-abi 767, 528
Ilia-Au 767, 527, 528
Illu 493, 149
Illugnu 58
Illu-uknu 435, 58, 149
Ilkisu 575, 277
Iltappa 480, 119
Imanu 709, 454
Imani-ilu 481, 122, 499
Im-ankhi 451
Imanna 455
Imannu 383, 454, 455
Imbuia 469, 93
Imbu-pania 469, 93
Imbi 469, 93
Immanu 709, 141, 455
Immani 141, 455
Immani-ASur 481, 122
Immerum 366
Imsaibaii 451
Imsai 709, 53, 383, 451
Ina-esi-etir 272
Ina-esi-eres 105
Inba 469, 93
Indabigas 207
Indu 54
Indibi 100
Ine-Sin 464
Inibi-Asur 469, 76, 92, 93
Isabai 124
Isanai 482, 124, 125, 488
Iskame 473, 103
Ispala 466, 80, 82
Ispu 141, 153
Istar-dairat 266
Istar-naidat 265
Isbu 490, 141
Isbutu 490, 141, 248, 284, 410
Ispu 141
Isputu 664, 410, 528
Ispu-lisir 490, 141
Isputu 141
licbi-ilu 749, 498
Ikbi-Istar 777, 54O, 541
Ikubu 164
Ikisu 736, 484, 485
Ikisa-aplu 500, 163
Ikisai 163
Iksur-ilu 739, 488
Irisu-ilani 553, 236
Isdi-ahe 554, 231
Isdi-ahesu 474, 77, 103, 104, 105, 231
Isdi-Asur 491, 141, 142, 147, 420
Isdi-Belit 760, 287, 513, 515
Isdi-Daian 475, 107
Isdi-Diri 107, 109
Isdi-Harran 523, 107, 205, 206, 250
Isdi 509
Isdi-ili 526
Isdi-Istar 476, 73, 11 1, 516
56o
INDEX.
Isdi-ekurri 687, 429
Isdi-Nabu 521, 37, 201
Isdi-na'id 757, 509
Isdi-Nusku 725, 474
Isid-ikurri 428
Isidsunu 657, 403
Ismanni-Adadi 397, 398
Istanbu 702, 444
Istar-Arbaili 503
Istar-babi-ahi-iddin 544, 120, 232
Istar-babi-erba 707, 47, 452
Istar-babi-eres 480, 118, 119
Istar-babi-ilai 544, 120, 232, 540
Istar-babi-sapi 480, 119
Istar-babi-satar 480, 119
Istar-belti 487, 133
Istar-dur-usur 444
Istar-duri 470, 486, 54, 95, 128, 266,
268
Istar-dur-kali 770, 530, 531
Istar-di'nini 508, 509
Istar-erba 493 (?), 149
Istar-ilai 762, 519
Istar-maslallate 492, 147
Istar-mukinia 659, 406
Istar-mitu-uballit 487, 133
Istar-na'id 572, 265, 267
Istar-na'idat 265, 267
Istar-nasir-duri 701, 442
Istar-paia 572, 268
Istar-SAR 572, 268
Istar-sum-eres 720, 149, 470
Istar-sum-iddin 468, 87, 90, 147, 268
Istar-tazi 554, 218, 237, 238
Istar-tariba 47, 149
Istar-taribi 493, 149, 417
Istu-Adadi-ahutu 563, 251, 252
Ibtu-Adadi-aninu 488, 139
Lstu-Adadi-anni 139
Lstu-Adadi-ninu 139
Itu'ai 143, 266, 401, 420, 436
lUabsi-ilu 272
Itti-Marduk-balatu 203
Kabar-ili 579, 284, 285
Kabti 573, 273
Kabti-Bel 52
Kabti-ilani 666, 53, 57, 217, 402, 403
Kabti-ilani-Marduk 403
Kadalanu 449
Kadamu 48
Kakulanu 180, 515
Kakullanu 180
Kakusi 749, 498
Kakustu 107, 498
Kaki 126
Kakkullanu 510, 170, 180, 435, 456,
516, 517, 519, 530
Kakkia 40
Kal-amur 690, 436
Kal-eres 519, 199
Kalhai 738, 487
Kamabani 677, 383, 417, 418
Kamasilu 284
Kandalanu 705, 448, 449
Kandilanu 79
Kanunu 36, 281, 282, 283
Kanuni 578, 281, 282, 283
Kaninu 36
Kannunai 407, 36, 283
Kasarin 85, 454, 455
Kassa-atar 554, 239
Kassu-ai 519, 199
Kassu-na'id 519, 199
Kapar-ili 284
Karhai 504
Karmeuni 760, 394, 513, 515
Kasudu 133
Kassadai 487, 133
Kassudu 487, 131, 132
Kassu-ukin 132
Kassu-nadin-ahe 487, 133
Kenis-usur 466
Kudur 423, 505
Kukulanu 180
Kukullanu(i) 18 r, 526
Kulu'-Istar 487, 131, 132, 158
Kulu-ka(tar?) 496, 158
KulkCda 181
Kulkulanu 181
Kundai 773, 536
Kusai 687, 36, 428, 429
Kusisi 705, 449, 450
Kurarate 774, 538
Kurbasli 191
Kurubi 218
Kuruku 702, 444
Kurtallai 41
Khaian-dur 447
Kidin-1301 512, 182
1
INDEX.
561
Kidin-Ka 612, 182
Kidinu 182
Kidiiita 182
Kidin-ilu 182
Kidin-Marduk 612, 182, 210
Kikinnani 710, 457
Kilaku 744, 493
Kilamsi 662, 218, 235
Kilansi 662, 235
Killanisi 662, 235
Kimama 668, 218, 245
Kin-abua 772, 535
Kin-ahi 466
Kinti-Bel 52
Kisir-Asur 405, 29, 30, 33, 34, 53, 67,
128, 171, 180, 215, 241, 243, 253,
425, 426, 427, 454, 458
Kisirin 455
Kisir-Istar 766, 527
Kisir-Nabu 687, 430
Kisir-Sarri 709, 454, 455
Kikimanu 456, 457
Kirarate 774, 538
Kiribitu-Asur 737, 486
Kiribtu 737, 486
Kiribti 737, 486
Kirimzu 716, 463
Kitai 716, 465
Kitinu 677, 35, 281
Labnai 46
Laduke 666, 383, 402, 403
Lahe-ili 668, 413
La'iti-Asur 168
La'iti-ili 759, 162, 511
Lake 460
Lakipu 267
Lalikni-ilu 275
Lamassi-Papsukal 666, 239
Lamassi-Bel 555, 217, 239
Lamur-Istar 265, 267
Lakip 267
Lakipu 572, 46, 265, 267, 403, 420
Latagi-ana-ili 470, 95
Latasni-ilu 275
Lategi-ana-Istar 470, 95, 175, 176
Lategi-Istar 470, 95, 163
Lategi-Nana 400
La-tubas-ana-ili 480, 20, 120, 150
La-tubasani 121
J. III.
La-tubdsani-Adadi 480, 120, 482
La-tubasani-ilu 480, iiH, 120, 168,216,
217, 228, 229, 275
La-tubasani-Istar 480, 120
Latugi-Nana 470, 95
Lu-ahc 406
Lu-ahua 406
Lu-balat 480, 118, 119, 488
Lu-ballit 119
Ludime 125
Ludimu 125, 126
Luzibbalat 118
Lukimama 558, 218, 245
Lulabbir-sarrutsu 181
Luhai-'Atht 413
Lulgi 40
Luku 409, 37, 40, 452, 453, 454
Lusakin 486, 128, 129, 415, 474
Lusulme 125
Lu-sulmu 125
Lute 681, 286
Lute'u 286
LutCi 681, 286
Likimmai 601, 163
Likkime 501, 163
Likkit-Mali 451
Lipgi 40, 53
Liphuru 675, 417
Liphur-ilu 675, 417
Likibu(e) 403, 510
Likipu 657, 403
Littu 493
Mazaranu 234
Mazarnu 234
Mazamie (e) 648, 232, 234
Mah-lara(?) 504, 505
Malgagir (?) 280
Malizazi 45
Malik-Samas 453
Maliktu 708, 453
Malik-yum 453
Malkutu 708, 453, 486
Mame (ei) 556, 218, 241
Manani 433
Manzazu-ul-idi 281
Manzanie 234
Manzarile 234
Manzarnie 232, 234, 477
Manzusu 439
36
562
INDEX.
Manzutsu 439
Manistusu 513
Mankia 452
Man-ki-sarri •220
Mannu-ahe 660, 406
Mannu-aki-ahe 660, 406, 539
Mannu-aki-Arbaili 186
Mannu-dik-alak 341
Mannu-zir-iie 234
Mannu-zir-ne 232, 234
Mannu-iari 442
Mannu-ka-ahe 660, 98, 406
Mannu-ki-Adadi 473, 102, 115, 248,
400, 441, 482
Mannu-ki-ahe 473, 70, 98, 473
Mannu-ki-ahi 471, 61, 98
Mannu-ki-ali 415
Mannu-ki-Alla 524, 526
Mannu-ki-Arbaili 413, 44, 62, 63, 139,
166, 167, 217, 239, 240, 253, 259,
283, 404, 405, 430, 431, 495
Mannu-ki-Asur 409, 39, 65
Mannu-ki-Asur-li' 409, 39
Mannu-ki-Assur 409, 39, 171, 172, 175
Mannu-ki-ITarran 701, 412, 442
Mannu-ki-Iada 66
Mannu-ki-Ia-li' 66
Mannu-ki-IIi 283
Mannu-ki-Ili-rabu 68
Mannu-ki-imme 208
Mannu-ki-Istar 492, 147
Mannu-ki-Istar-li' 492, 147
Mannu-kima-ahe 471, 98
Mannu-kima-Asur 409, 39, 65
Mannu-kim-Adadi-rabu 698, 441
Mannu-kim-Arbaili 239, 430, 431
Mannu-kim-Lstar 147
Mannu-kim-.sabe 692, 437
Mannu-ki-Nabu 767, 528
Mannu-ki-nuri 78, 93, 94
Mannu-ki-Ninua 474, 106, 204, 467,
503
Mannu-ki-Ninip 490, 140, 429
Mannu-ki-sabe 603, 166, 437, 459
Mannu-ki-Kabu 68
Mannu-ki-sarri 634, 220
Mannu-lii-Asur 66
Maniiu-lu-napistu 776, 540
Mannu-lu-sulmu 678, 283, 540
Mannu-li(m)me 729, 479
Massun 191
Mar-Adad 235
Mar-aplu-iddin 765, 524, 526
Mar-bi'di 560, 250, 251, 494
Mardu 486, 129
Mardua 486, 129
Marduk 519, 198, 481
Marduka 519, 199
Marduk-abu-usur 507, 175
Marduk-ahe-erba 179
Marduk-ahi-erba 745, 493
Marduk-aplu-iddin 93, 524, 526
Mardukate 519, 199
Marduk-bel-usur 478, 115
Marduk- danan 480, 119, 120
Marduk-danani 519, 200
Marduk-erba 749, 47, 240, 498
Marduk-eres 577, 210, 280
Marduku 486, 129, 199
Marduk-zer-ibni 722, 367, 473
Marduk-hutnu 721, 471
Marduk-mat-usur 500, 162
Marduk-nadin-ahe 366
Marduk-nadin-ahi 503
Marduk-iimani 427, 768, 53, 457, 529
Marduk-sapik-zer 367
Marduk-sar-usur 510, 181, 191, 227, 402
Marduk-sum-usur 513, 184, 185
Marduk-sum-ibni 272
Marduk-sum-iddin 710, 457
Marduk-sum-ikisa 133
Mardi' 129
Mardi 486, 129, 456
Mari' 746, 235, 494
Mari-iddi 549, 235, 494
Mari-larim 472, 100
Mari-li 506
Mar-larim 472, 100
Mar-larimnie 472, 100
Mar-Samsi 749, 498
Mar-sete' 746, 383, 494
Mar-suri 494
Mar- Raman 235
Mar-sarri-ilai 768, 528
Masmas-sar-usur 190
Maiskaru 516, 189, 191
Massai 163
Matallai 506
Matalli 409, 38, 506
Matanai 38
INDEX.
563
Matan-Ba'al 409, 38
Matan-Bi'il 409, 38
Matur-sanni-Bin 482
Mati'ilu 409, 38
Matilai 409, 38, 41, 489
Matinu-Ba'li 38
Mattallai 409, 38, 41
Mehsa 626, 208
Meli-zaza 45
Meli-sihu 45
Menahimu 163, 164
Mesu 673, 272
Mesa 601, 163
Metunu 476, 1 10
Mudabirai 655, 43, 403, 488
Mudammik-Asur 739, 488
Mudubirai 739, 403, 488
Mudi-Bel 38
Muzurai 722, 473, 492
Mukin-abia 153
Mukinat-Istar 41 1, 508, 509
Mukinu 411
Mukinu-Asur 665, 410, 41 1, 414
Mulubsu 203
Mumar-ilu 757, 508, 509
Mumi-Assur 145
Munabidu 167
Munabitu 167
Munepus-ilu 559, 246
Munipis-ilu 559, 246
Munnabitu 514, 167
Musalamu(e) 579, 284, 410
Musurai 722, 468, 472, 473
Musuri 722, 473
Mukallil-mitu 698, 44 1
Mukuru 702, 443
Mura 746, 383, 482, 494, 495
Musallim 150
Musallim-Adadi 409, 39, 40, 416
Musallim-Asur 572, 197, 266
Musallim-Ilu 61
Musallim-lstar 481, 121, 408, 470, 508
Musallim-Marduk 493, i so
Musallim- Sam as 121
Musallim-sarru 195
Musezib(u) 480, 117, 119
Musezib-Marduk 652, 396, 397, 398,
399
Musezib-Nabu 475
Musetik-ahe 660, 406
Musktnu-ilu 476, loS
Mutakkil-Marduk 606, 169, 170, 516
Mutallu 711, 458
Mutakkin-Asur 146, 147
Mutarris-ASur 492, 144, 146, 147
Milka 82
Milkai 613, 185
Milkaia 185
Milki 613, 186
Milki 513, 82, 185
Milkia 464, 75, 80, 8r, 82
Milki- Ai 186
Milkiai 513, 82
Milki-asapa 513, 82, 186
Milki- Asur 513, 185
Milki-ba(ba) 513, 186
Milki-erba 513, 186
Milki-uri 513, 82, 186, 383
Milki-Ia 186
Milki-idri 513, 82, 186
Milki-ilu 513, 82, 185
Milki-iram 186
Milki-Istar 513, 185
Milki-larim 613, 82, 186
Milki-mudammik 613, 186
Milki-nuri 613, 82, 186, 202, 454,
499. 529
Milki-ramu 513, 82, 186
Minahimu 502, 164, 466
Minu-ahti-ana-ili 503, 165, 523
Minuhdi-ana-ili 164
Minhimmu 164
Minihimmu 164
Misu 272
Mir- Malik 208
Mitatti, 469
Mitunu 1 10, 404
Nabas-sum-ilani 50
Nabua 486, 64, 125, 129, 130, 160,
217, 228, 423, 430, 478, 529
Nabu-ahe-ei-es 526, 209
Nabu-ahe-iddin 499, 96, 161, 221, 281,
282
Nabu-ahe-sallim 206
Nabu-ahu-eres 526, 209
Nabu-ahu-usur 520, 51, 200, 231, 530
Nabu-ahu-iddin 534, 220, 463, 473
Nabu-ahi-iddin 96, 221, 281, 282, 473
Nabuai 768, 529
36—2
564
INDEX.
Nabu-aplu-iddinfa) 492, 147, 148, 228,
273» 458, 509
Nabu-asarid 655, 61, 82, 147, 401
Nabu-balatsu 710, 457
Nabii-balatsu-ikbi 506, 171, 173, 457,
497
Nabu-ballit 457
Nabu-banunni 752, 502
Nabu-bani 752, 502
Nabu-bani-ahe 752, 45, 502
Nabu-bani-ahesu 752, 502
Nabu-bani-ahi 752, 502
Nabu-bani-aplu 752, 502
Nabu-bel-usur 665, 51, 98, 406, 410,
411, 478, 510, 526
Nabu-belia 130
Nabu-bel-iddin 660, 407
Nabu-bel-ilani 524, 208
Nabu-bel-sumate 269
Nabii-bel-sunu 197
Nabu-belya 64
Nabii-bullit 456, 457
Nabu-bila-ai 430
Nabu-dala 497
Nabii-damik-ilani 433
Nabu-danan 468, 91
Nabu-daninani 481, 91, 121, 123
NabCi-dumuk-ilani 119
Nabu-dumki-ilani 480, 433
Nabu-dur-beli 659, 247
NabCi-dur-usur 661, 408, 459
Nabu-duri 534, 214, 219, 220, 247
Nabu-dur-kusur 702, 444
Nabu-dur-kala(i) 688, 432
Nabu-dini-epus 547, 233
Nabu-etir 573, 109, 272, 467, 487
NabCi-etirani 468, 91
Nabu-erba 467, 87, 90, 268, 397, 398,
448, 480
Nabu-erba-ahe 515, 37, 189, 191
Nabii-erba-ahcsu 635, 226
Nah>u-erba-ahi 636, 226
Nalju-erbani 636, 226
Nabu-erbasunu 226
Nabu-eres 435
Nabu-upahhir 672, 415, 499
Nabu-usabsi 731
Nabu-usallim 465, Ho, 468
Nabu-usalliin-ahe 606
Nabu-usallimsunu 663
Nabu-usezib 471, 97, 489
Nabu-usezibani 482, 124
Nabu-utarris 573, 270, 271
Nabu-utirri 376, 377
Nabu-zer-iddin(a) 467, 87, 437, 444,
477
Nabu-zer-kenis-lisir 496, 158, 263, 264
Nabu-zer-lisir 470
Nabu-zer-munazziz 158
Nabu-zer-napisti-lisir 283
Nabu-zukup-kenis 133, 470
Nabii-hakabi 164, 407
Nabu-husani 460
Nabu-iali 654, 402, 474, 500
Nabu-ili'ani 50
Nabu-ilmadani 50
Nabu-isbu-utarris 406
Nabu-ikbi 492, 144, 146
Nabu-ikisa 485
Nabii-ikisani 736, 485
Nabii-irihani 748, 497
Nabu-kasir 500, 163, 273, 423
Nabu-kasir 512, 183
Nabu-kudur-usur 543, 36, 230, 367
Nabii-kusurani 497
Nabu-kibsi 66
Nabu-killani 573, 273
Nabu-kippik 702, 444
Nabu-ladi 429
Nabu-la-tamhirani 185
Nabu-la-tubasani 185
Nabu-la-tusarani 613, 185
Nabu-li' 573, 142, 273, 423
Nabu-li'ani 705, 449
Nabu-magir 191
NabCi-madid-napsat 56
Nabu-mudammik 727, 476
Nabu-mukin 419
Nabu-mukin-zer 463
Nabu-mukin-mati 463
Nabu-niunazziz 42, 264
Nabu-musallim 719, 467, 468
Nabu-musezib 667, 412
Nalni-nadin-ahc 470, 94, 171, 183, 199,
397. 398
Na])U-nadin-ahi 470, 77, 90, 94
Nabu-nd'id 491, 143, 144, 401, 450,
463. 505
Nalnl-nakil 203
NabCi-nammir 672, 415
INDEX.
565
NabA-nasaka 622, 205
NabiVnasir 683, iii, 115,, 160, 196, 422
Nabu-natanu 377
Nabu-mlr-nammir 640, 20, 216, 217,
228, 229
Nabu-sakin 174
NabvVsakip 492, 147
Nabu-salim 469, 93
NabCi-ram-napisti 612, 56, 86, 183
Nabu-rein-ilani 733, 483
Nabu-res-isi 710, 457 •
Nabii-rihitum-usur 760, 514
Nabu-rihtu-usur 760, 54, 105, 203, 281,
511, 512, 514
Nabu-rihtu-ilani 702, 443
Nabu-rimani 466, 52, 81, 92
Nabu-sabsi 731, 481
Nabu-sadiini 614, 188
Nabu-saknu 506, 173, 174
Nabu-salim-ahe 173
Nabu-sallim 465, 80
Nabu-sallim-ahe 171, 172, 173
Nabu-sallim-sunu 94, 397, 398, 400
Nabu-sar-ahesu 475, 108, 165
Nabu-sar-usur 523, 132, 206, 217, 223,
263, 264, 266, 269, 326, 405, 438
Nabu-sar-ilani 471, 96, 97
Nabu-sarrani 477, 91, 114
Nabu-sezib 49, 97, 488, 506
Nabu-sezibani 124
Nabu-sullim-ahe 173
Nabu-sum-eres 283
Nabu-sum-ukin 678, 419
Nabu-sum-usur 468, 90, 114, 127, 484
Nabu-sum-iddin 467, 56, 86, 87, 140,
"ZiS' 443» 474' 484
Nabu-sum-iskun 725, 474, 475
Nabu-sum-kenis-lisir 42
Nabu-sum-lisir 465, 79, 456
Nabu-taklak 522, 60, 205
Nabu-taris 270
Nabu-tuklatua 767, 509
Nabu-tursani 672, 52, 73, 268
Nabute 81
Nabutu 81, 510
Nabuti 466, 81, 499
Nabuttu 466, 81
Nabu-yuballitani 265
Nabi-sikki 753, 505
Nabi-ramu 505
Nabnitu 515
Nadbanu(i) 86, 491
Nadbi-Iau 709, 456, 464
Nadi' 481, 123
Nadi 481, 123
Nadin-apil-ili 660, 250
Nadin-Bel 508
Nadinu 52
Nadin-seim 213
Nadni-ahi 102
Nazi-Maruttas 366
Naharau 483, 127
Nahid-Marduk 283
Nahiri 485, 127
Nahti-huruansini 515
Na'id-Adadi 467, 87
Na'id-ilu 504, 167, 462
Na'id-Istar 492, 147, 401
Na'id-Marduk 578, 283
Nalbas-sami-li' 128
Nani 678, 419
Nania 678, 419
Naphar-ilu 675, 417
Napte 80, 82
Nasir-Aa 285
Nasir-abu 108
Nasir-Iau 404
Nasir-lamassi 264
Nasir-mamate 736, 485
Nasir-Ninip 396, 397, 399
Narage 409, 40, 53
Nargi 409, 30, 34, 40, 53, 133, 146,
200, 231, 243, 244, 432, 530
Nasuh-aplu-iskun 97
Nasuh-dilini 497
Nasuh-iababa 43
Nashu-aali 54, 500
Nashu-manani 433
Natan 413, 414, 489
Natanu 668, 413
Natanu-Iama 668, 414
Natannu 413
Natunu 668, 413
Natini 668, 414
Nergal-abu-usur 492, 147
Nergal-ahu-usur 768, 528
Nergal-asarid 488, 139, 217, 229
Nergal-bani 405
Nergal-bel-mati 409
Nergal-danan 765, 524, 526
566
INDEX.
Nergal-etir 681, 421
Nergal-eres no
Nergal-usallim 577, 280
Nergal-ibni 659, 405
Nergal-iddin(a) 577, 281, 482
Nergal-ilai 60, 415, 450
Nergal-ilu 450
Nergal-nasir 724, 48, 146, 421, 474
Nergal-sallim 280
Nergal-puhur-Iisir 169, 170
Nergal-kardu 487, 133
Nergal-sallim 521
Nergal-sar-usur 515, 37, 56, 6^, 190,
192, 477, 479, 480
Nergal-sum-usur 659, 406
Nergal-tuklatua 757, 508, 509
Nergi 53
Nuhsai 36
Nunua 698, 419
Nunia 698, 419
Nusku-bel-usur 243
Nusku-emurani 160
Nusku-usur 116
Nusku-iddiii 159
Nusku-ilai 513, 186, 187 «
Nusku-nasir 477, 116
Nur 480, 121
Nur-Adadi 366
Nurai 719, 467, 468
Nuranu 513, 186, 439, 449
Nurzu 481
Nur-li' 731, 481
Nur-Sin 197
Nur-Samas 580, 36, 285, 521
Niku 124
Nimedu 486
Nine 678, 419
Ninea 678, 419
Ninuai 508, 58, 175, 176, 177, 387,
410, 438, 471, 472, 474, 475, 481
Nini 678, 419
Ninip-abua 207
Ninip-ahu-usur 505, 41, 169, 170
Ninip-ahi-id(lin(a) 747, 41, 496
Ninip-aplu-i(ldin(a) 197
Ninip-erba 685, 424
Ninip-eres iio
Ninip-ukin 287
Nini[)-i(ldin(a) 577, 132, 281
Ninip-ilai 747, 496
Ninip-kibsi-usur 707, 452
Ninip-mat-usur 508, 178
Ninip-na'id 705, 449, 450
Ninip-napi' 249
Ninip-sar-usur 191
Ninip-takkilani 53
Ninip-taklak 768, 529
Ninnu 191
Nik-ilani 672, 128, 415
Nik-ili 672, 415
Nirgi 409, 40
Saad 655, 402, 403
Sab'ai 752, 501
Sagabbu 80
Sagibu 465, 80
Sagibi 465, 80, 488
Sagibi-sarri 80
Sagillai 721, 471
Sagil-bi'di 721, 251, 471
Saglu 468, 91
Saeru 560, 248, 491, 510
Sailu{i) 560, 247, 248
Sairu 560, 248
Saka' 86
Saka-ilu 53
Sakan 53, 61, 86
Sakanu 467, 85, 86, 480
Sakan-dada 86
Sakannu 86, 191
Sa'kap 284
Sakap 248
Sakayan 53
Sakkan 86
Saklu 91
Sala-balit-ahunu 266
Salamame 513, 186
Salamanu 513, 186
Salama-sarri 513, 186
Salamu 513, 186
Salsali 416
Sama' 712, 459, 460
Samaka 460
Samaku 712, 460, 532, 534, 535
Samas-sabit 518
Samgine 95
Same' 712, 460
Sa'mu 712, 460
Samuna-aplu-iddin 572, 268
Samunu-iatCini 572, 268
INDEX.
567
Samunu-yatuni 265
Samnu-ha 672, 268
Samnu-hiina 672, 268
Saiiisi' 447
Samsi-Adadi 194
Sanan 92
Sananu 469, 92
Sangu-Istar 270
Sangi 704, 448
Sandu-uani 163, 416
Sasai 486, 129
Sasu 486, 128, 423, 539
Sasi 486, 98, 128, 143
Sasia 486, 129
Sapu 526, 210
Sapiku 526, 182, 210, 232
Sasiitu 682, 422
Sakamanu 159
Sara-ilu 43
Saran 43
Sarani 411, 43
Sarda-urri 749, 498
Sardiiri 749, 498
Sar-uarri 498
Se-han 498
Se-iate 748, 497
Se-ime 748, 497
Se-saka 674, 416
Se-seki 674, 416
Seru 749, 498
Su-dala 497
Su-u 430
Suka 126
Sukai 474, 484, 57, 126, 433
Sukuai 484, 106, 126
Sukkai 45, 126
Sukkuai 106, 126
Sula 754, 506
Sulai 754, 506
Sulumai 67
Sulia 754, 506
Sumai 474, 106
Summu-elani 50
Sunba 421
Susu 486, 128, 240
Susi 486, 128
Susia 486, 128
Sukai 484, 126, 433
Sura 106, 499
Sural 106
Si'aali 440, 500
Si'-aiali 697, 500
Si'-akabi 164
Si'-banik 473, 100, loi
Si'-gal) 735, 484
Si'-gabbari 735, 484
Si'-dala 667, 412, 497
Si'-duri 704, 447, 448
Si'-dilini 497
Si'-zabadi 695, 439
Si'-hutni 706, 451
Si'-tiiri 653, 401
Si'-imme 525, 208, 494
Si'-ma'di 704, 446, 448, 450, 494
Si'-manani 433
Si'-napi' 250
Si'-natan 457
Si'-miri 488, 138, 488
Si'-saka 95
Si'-parakka-(usur) 743, 491
Si'-katar 701, 442
Si'-kitri 43
Sigaba 704, 383, 446, 447, 448
Sikinanu 517, 195
Silu(i) 752, 197, 501
Sill 752, 501, 530
Silim-Adadi 577, 150, 280, 507, 511
Silim-Asur 420, 47, 64, 66, 134, 136,
138, 139, 144. 15O' 165, 184, 205,
208, 250, 253, 284, 412, 444, 507
Silim-Bel 150
Silim-ilu(i) 477, 113, 150, 507
Silim-Istar 150
Silim-lisir 150
Silim-Si 150
Silim-Samas 477, 113, 150
Silim-sarri 150, 195
Simadi 447
Sinatan 711, 458, 483
Sin-abu-usur 711, 458
Sin-ahe-erba 504, 168
Sin-ahu-usur 674, 416
Sin-ahu-iddin(a) 548, 234, 477
Sin-alik-pani 720, 469
Sin-asarid 467, 86, 443
Sin-bel-usur 696, 439
Sin-uballit 544, 164
Sin-utakkin 743, 491
Sin-zakappi 719, 468
Sin-zakip 719, 468
568
INDEX.
Sin-zer-ibni 50
Sin-zir-bani 50
Sin-iddin(a) 481, 122
Sin-iddina-ahe 198
Sin-ilai 668, 178, 413
Sinik-Istar 124, 180
Sin-ittia 466
Sin-kia 381
Sin-musallim 107
Sin-nadina-ahe 198
Sin-nadin-ahe 518, 198
Sin-nadin-ahi 518, 198, 483
Sin-nadin-apli (?) 734, 483, 484
Sin-na'id 475, 52, 109, 283, 416
Sin-nasir 749, 498
Sin-sasu 751, 500
Sin-sasu-usur 500
Sinki 766, 153, 527
Sinki-Istar 482, 124, 527
Sin-rimani 652, 397, 398, 399
Sin-rimni 652, 67, 399
Sin-sar-ahesu 67
Sin-sar-uzur iii
Sin-sar-usur 476, 59, iii, 217, 229,
423. 427
Sin-sar-ilani 733, 483
Sin-sar-iskun 148, 203, 267, 399
Sin-sum-iddina 674, 416
Sin-tabni-usur 81, 448
Sisi 486, 129
Siparanu 476, in, 122, 493
Sipparanu 493
Sipranu iii
Sitirkanu 727, 383, 476
Sitirna 727, 476
Paddu-ili 554, 238
Padi 554, 218, 237, 238
Pa'e 754, 505
Pa'i 754, 505
Pamu 766, 527
Panammu 213
Pan-Asur-amur 66
Pani-Asur-lamur 109
Pani-Istar-lamur 475, 108, 540
Pani-Nabu-lamur 109
Pani-Nabu-tcme 171
Papa 465
Pappa 465
Pappai 716, 464
Pappatum 716, 464
Pappu 716, 40, 464
Pappu-usur 716, 287, 465
Paka-ana 739, 487, 488
Paka-ana-Arbaili 693, 438, 488
Pakaha 709, 456
Paruhi 281
Parutu 577, 281
Parutanu 572, 241, 263, 267
Parsi 481, 122
Parsidu 420
Past 280
Puda' 418
Pudu-Piati 165
Pudi-Ba'al 503, 166
Pudi-Huru 503, 166, 537
Pudi-Ilu 503, 166
Pudi-Mani 503, 166, 537
Pudi-Sahai 503, 166
Pudi-Seri 503, 166, 538
Puzur-Bel 503
Puhadi-dirua (?) 523, 527
PuM 765, 524, 526
Putu-Bisti 760, 515
Putu-Ilu 166
Putu-Paiti 503, 165, 515
Putu-Piati 503, 165
Putum-hesu 760, 515
Puturanu 760, 515
Puti-Ba'al 166
Puti-Huru 166
Puti-Ili 166
Puti-Mau 266
Puti-Mani 166
Puti-Sahai 166
Puti-Seru 166
Pulu 747, 496
Pulhu-usezib 493
Pulhu-sezib 745, 493
Pusadi-dirua 766, 526, 527
Pilakku-supinune (?) 466, 82, 239, 240
Pilakkia 466, 80, 82, 240
Pisanisi 506, 174
Pisinisi 506, 174
Pirliu 727, 477
Pirhia 727, 477, 490
Pirliia-dalali 489, 490
Pirliiai 727, 477
Pirtama 204
Pisan-I.Iiiru 774, 537
INDEX.
569
Sabai 763, 5,05
Sabaiu 763, 505
Sabanu 696, 186, 271, 439, 449
Sabbami 271, 439
Sabdanu 640, 98, 148, 228
Sabdi see Zabdi
Sabutanu 640, 228, 229
Sabinu 54
Sabitanu 228
Sab-Samas 285
Sabtanu 20, 216, 217, 218
Sadu' 665, 402, 403
Saibdanu 228
Saidu 673, 273
Sala-ilu 700, 442, 516
Salai-ilu 700, 442
Saliai 700, 442, 516
Salla 700, 442, 516
Saliai 700, 442, 493
Salmu-ahe 675, 275, 276, 277, 440
Salmu-sar-ikbi 467, 75, 82, 83, 133,
1 40, 276
Salmute 770, 531
Sana-sana 488
Sansanu 740, 488
Sansuru 52, 109
Sasanu 105, 488
Sapanu 673, 270, 271
Sasa, Sasai see Zaza, Zazai
Sarurisanu 527
Sululu-luhhia 557, 243
Sumasse 774, 537
Susa 715, 460
Silia 760, 511, 513, 515. 54°
Sihu 760, 515
Sila 509, 179
Silai 509, 49
Silla 179
Sillai 100, 162, 179, 493
Sil(li)-Asur 719, 327, 329, 468, 486,
Sil(li)-Bel 493, 50, 149, 150, 462
Sil(li)-Istar 150
Sil(li)-Marduk 493, 149
Sil(li)-Sin 684, 423
Sirkinuba 107
Sirkinubasis 108
Ka 719, 468
Kata-Asur-asbat 486, 128
Kvl 714, 463
Kua 714, 147, 463
Kuai 714, 463
Kuda 493
Kudda 493
Kuddia 493
Kudditu-Asur 744, 493
Kuia 714, 463
Kuni-Huru 506, 174
Kurbu-usur 583, 286, 287
Kuibu-ilu 49}, 153
Kurduka 466
Kurdi 486, 48, 139
Kurdi-Adadi 496, 79, 158, 272
Kurdi-ilu 509
Kurdi-Istar 544, 232, 540
Kurdi-Nergal 767, 509
Kurdi-Samsi 40
Kurdi-sarri 409, 39
Kurubi 557, 241, 243
Kibi-ilani 53
Kibit-Adadi 661, 250
Kibit-Asur 92
Kibit-Istar 653, 92, 250, 400
Kibit-Nashu 250
Kibit-Ninip 92
Kilti 197
Kinai 170
Kisari 48
Kisu 485
Kisur-ilani 53
Kitenu 475, 109
Kitibe 52
Kitinu 475, 109
Kitri 48
Radimu 746, 495
Ra'u 752, 63, 501
Rahima 414
Rahime 4I4
Rahime-ilu 416
Rahimu 668, 414, 495
Rahimu-sarri 668, 414
Raksali 674, 416
Raman-ibni 475, 741, 109, 489, 507
Raman-mi 275
Raman-nadin-apli 475, 741, 109, 489
Raman-raba 475, 741, 109, 489
Raman-rapa 272
Ramatia 672, 415
570
INDEX.
Rameti 672, 415
Ramman-bel-epus 450
Rapa 557, 241, 242
Rapai 218
Rapaia 557, 242
Rapi' 557, 242
Remutu 493
Rukipti 158
Rusa 469
Ruradidi 698, 441, 529
Ribai 524, 208
Ribate 653, 44, 400, 401
Riza 559, 246
Riza-ubala 246
Rizina 281
Rihate 693, 438
Rihetu 438
Rihime-sarru 711, 458
Rim-ana-ili 120, 434
Rimani 511, 182
Rimani-Adadi 467, 45, 47, 48, 61, 75,
76, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 98, 189,
190, 193, 201, 202, 286, 387, 388,
3965 3985 399» 402, 410, 414, 420,
422, 457, 458, 469, 479, 480, 486,
489, 509, 510
Rimani- Asur 719, 468
Rimani-Bel 734, 484
Rimani-Ilu 473, 103, 120, 235, 236,
433
Rimani-Istar 582, 286
Rimani-Marduk 484
Rim-Asar 427
Rimua 553, 236
Rimut 493
Rimut-Bau 560, 248
Rimut-Bel 468, 91
Rimute 493
Rimutu 745, 493
Rimut-ilani 409, 37, 38, 48, 67
Rimul-ilu (i) 409, 38, 204, 235
Rlmut-Istar 47, 157
Rimutli-ilu(i) 38, 217, 229
Rim-Istar 204
Rimmut-ilani 38
Rimli-ili 38
Risai 706, 450, 504
J<itti-I.slar 271
Sa-Asur-dubbu 763, 503
Sadu- Malik 38
Sadu-nadin-ahi 245
Saduni 442
Sahpimau 663, 409, 513, 515
Sa-IB-ua 712, 460
Sa-Istar-dubbu 715, 464
Sakilia 491, 143
Sakiru 464
Sala-belit-sunu 95, 268
Sa-la-belsunu 572, 266, 268
Sala-beltisunu 572, 266, 268
Sala-ilai 60
Sala-ili 60
Sa-la-masa-ikbi 403
Salama-sa-ikbi 657, 403
Sala-masa-ikbi 403
Salame 438, 60
Salimdu 401
Salim-ukin 401
Sama' 707, 452, 460
Sa-Marduk-zakup 94
Samas-aali 751, 500
Samas-abua 482, 126, 420, 425, 427
Samas-abu-usur 663, 217, 409, 419
Samas-ahe-sallim 45, 63
Samas-ahu-usur 465, 547, 80, 217, 233
Samas-ahi-iddin(a) 465, 662, 79, 409
Samas-bani-aplu 494, 151, 153
Samas-bel-usur 472, 100
Samas-bel-iddin 472, 100
Samas-bullitani 105
Samas-daninani 432
Samas-daru 493, 149, 432
Samas-erba 661, 407, 486
Samas-ukin-ahi 772, 460, 532, 533,
V 535
Samas-upahhir(i) 476, 112, 178
Samas-zer-iddin(a) 736, 485
Samas-ibni 494, 150, 151, 153
Samas-iddin(a) 715, 464
Samas-ilai 660, 247, 248, 410, 412,
529^
Samas-immc 721, 208, 470, 471
Samas-ikbi 492, 147, 463
Samas-iksur 531
Samas-ka.si(l-ail)i 507, 175, 414
Samas-kcnis-usur 772, 535
.^amas-killani 726, 475
Samas-li' 767, 508, 509
Samas-musczib 457
INDEX.
571
Samas-na'id 53, 146
Samas-nakilganima 5 1 6
Samas-napisti-iddin 676, 180
Sanias-nasir 622, 204, 205, 207, 231
Samas-natkil 761, 516
Samas-niiri 608, 178
Samas-sullulusu r68
Samas-si 122
Sarnas-re'Cia 687, 429
Samas-sallam 141
Samas-sallini 490, 141
Samas-sar-usur 467, 84, 191, 480
Samas-sezib 710, 404, 457
Samas-sum-ukin 87, 243, 269, 374,
V 449
Samas-sum-usur 668, 243
Samas-sum-iddin(a) 736, 485
Samas-taklak 480, 120, 205
Samas-tegi 600, 163
Sa-mudammik-zer 203
Samma' 452
Samsi-Adad 457, 529
Sa-Nabu-su 478, 115
Sa-Nabu-su 478, 115, 423
Sangu-Istar 408, 36, 37, 54, 55, 270,
271
Sa-pi-Bel 197
Sakilia 143
Sar-Asur 563, 236, 451
Sar-uarri 749, 498
Sar-usur 286
Sarurisanu 766, 526, 527
Sar-Asur 553, 236, 451
Sar-Istar 482, 124
Sar-Nergal 688, 433
Sar-nuri 226
Sarrani 707, 451
Sarru-emurani 514, 67, 188, 220
Sarru-ukin-ahi 720, 470
Sarru-zer-ukin 557, 243
Sarru-ibni 705, 449, 480
Sarru-ilai 472, 99
Sarru-ikbi 492, 147, 230
Sarru-ittia 707, 452
Sarru-kenis-usur 470
Sarru-kinu 476
Sarru-ludari 496, 158, 159, 177, 402
Sarru-mukin 486, 487
Sarru-mukin-ahi 470
Sarru-na'id 492, 48, 49, 146, 287, 474
Sarru-nflri 477, 114, 226
Sarru-re'fta 707, 452
Sarru-sum-ukin 667, 243, 277, 449
^asi 690, 435
Sasmai 657, 241
Sesu 399
Sepa-Adadi 44, 66, 465
Sepa-Asur 524, 62, 131, 208, 465
Sepai 465
Sepa-Istar 487, 132
Sepa-Samas 575, 277
Sepa-sarri 275, 277
Sepit-Istar 62
Ser-dala 497
Seru-abu-usur 765, 526
Seru-ilai 178
Ser-ilai 488, 138, 178, 413
Ser-manani 433
Suzubu 399
Suisai 448
Sulum-sarri 195
Sulman 744, 195, 492
Sulmanu 492
Sulmanu-imme 748, 208, 497
Sulmu-ahe 470, 94, 236, 276, 281, 468
Sulmu-ahesu 577, 281
Sulmu-ahi 687, 429
Sulmu-ahi 428, 429
Sulmu-Asur 492, 147, 180
Sulmu-Asur-amur 66
Sulmu-Assur 147
Sulmu-Bel 706, 40, 450, 464
Sulmu-Bel-lamur 705, 449
Sulmu-Bel-lasme 503, 66, 127, 166,
, 397. 398
Sulmu-eres 562, 251, 275, 277
Sulmu-usur 429
Sulmu-ilu 42
Sulmu-iskun 505, 171
Sulmu-Istar 468, 91
Sulmu-na'id 677, 282
Sulmu-sarri 517, 40, 195, 420
Suma 728, 478
Sumai 728, 197, 478, 482
Sum-ukin 687, 163, 429
Sum-lisir 756, 508
Summa-Adadi 217, 423
Summa-ilani 467, 6r, 84, 182, 208,
213, 253, 265, 268, 387, 417, 437,
442, 454> 459> 467* 51O' 531
572
INDEX.
Summa-ili 472, loo
Summa-Nabu 341
Summa- Raman 232, 233
Summa-tazib 400
Summa-tasezib 652, 397, 398, 400
Summu-ilani 50, sr, 58, 456, 459, 467,
Summu-ili 472, 47, 100
Susisi 705, 450
Suriha-ilai 79
Silim-iddin 491
Silteba 762, 518
Siltiba-Istar 762,
^ 517. 518
Simanu 738, 487
143, 170, 424, 516,
Tabalai 474, 48, ro6, 430
Taballua 474, 75, 88, 106
Tabali 474, 106
Tabbalai 474, 106
Tablai 106
Tabli 106
Tabnea 272
Tabni 572, 81, 265, 268
Tabnia 448
Tabni-Aa 273
Tabni- Istar 693, 437
Tagali 748, 497
Taela 163
Takali 497
Taka-sarri 470, 95
Takilate 409, 40, 497
Takil-sarru 497
Takkallum 497
Ta'la 600, 163
Tala 479
Tallai 41
Tamdi-ilu 49
Tamranu 775, 538, 539
Tamtama 204
Takiini 525, 95, 218, 221, 225
Tarditu-Asur 744, 493
Tarhu-ismanni 485, 127
Tarhu-lara 458
Tarhu-nazi 384, 515
Tarhundapi 678, 418
Tarhu-simi 127
Tariba-Istar 1 10
Taribi-Istar 476, 109, 465
Tarnugam 105
Tatai 705, 450
Tatu 705, 450
Tati 705, 449
Tatti 450
Tebis 543, 230
Temenai see Dihai, 479, 516
Tui 728, 477
Tukiinu-Asur 147
Tukiinu-eres 475, 108
Tuii 674, 416
Tursu-Asur 475, 68, 108, 147
Tursu-eres 475, 70, 77, 107, 108
Tursu-Istar 475, 77, 107, 108
Turri 416
Tiurame 485, 127
Tillai-kanun 466, 80, 82
Tillanu 505
Tiri 744, 491, 492
Titi 705, 450
INDEX.
573
II. FEMALE NAMES.
Abu-ralu 466
Abia-ahia 718, 466, 467
Abi-daiali 761, 516
Abi-ha'ili 696, 439
AbMihia 689, 432
Abi-lirim 486
Abi-rahi 1 26, 466
Abi-rami 718, 77, 113, 117
Adadi-dalli 433
Addati 463, 74, 78, 80, 443
Adraht 484, 126, 467
Ahat-abisa 491, 108, 141, 142,526, 528
Ahati-immai 728, 108, 477
Ahati(su)-tabat 473
Ahu-dali 451, 452
Ahu-dalli 452
Ahi-dalali 433
Ahi-dalli 707, 104, 433, 530
Ahi-silli 104
Akbara 715, 463
Amat-Bel 126
Amat-Su'la 244
Amat-Sadua 484, 126
Amti-Bel 126
Ana-(ad)dalati 767, 530
Akbarai 384, 463
Arbail-asir(at) 429
Arbail-asirat 427
Arbail{i)-sarrat 490, 140, 425, 426, 429
Arbil-sarre 429
Gabia 711, 457
Gaga 498, 161
Gagai 161
Gadia 384
Gula-kasdu 166, 167
Gula-nmat 762, 133, 516, 517, 518
Dalia 769, 530
Danni-ili 753, 504
Dimtu 751, 500
Eziptu 776, 540
Eski-Istar 124
Etiilit-Arbaili 75, 88
Ummat-ha 774, 537
Ummi' (?) 527
Ummi-abia 767, 528
Umnii-mah' 767, 527, 528
Upitum (?) 455
Ukubutu 502, 154, 442
Urkit-ilai 707, 451
Urkit-ismeani 707, 451, 529
Urkittu-abu-usur 707, 451
Urkittu-duri 707, 452
Urkittu-le'at 707, 452
Urkittu-rimat 707, 452
Zakutu 113
Zarpi (?) 431
Babai 753, 504
Badia 704, 446, 447, 448, 54O
Bau-iali 751, 500
Banitum-bel-usri 409, 35
Bassi 768, 529, 530
Basi 768, 530
Barsippaitu 717, 465
Belit-dur-usur 702, 444
Belit-ummi 725, 475
Belit-hasina 760, 511, 513, 514
Belit-ittia 482, 123, 124
Belit-kia 124
Bilikutu 688, 45, 430, 431
Bisa 457
Hazala 728, 477
Halmusu 384
Hambusu 708, 384, 452, 453
Handi 753, 503
Hasalai 384, 477
Huda 728, 477
Hude-sa-libbi (?) 440
Hudi-sariutsu 100
lakira 467
lakar-ahe 718, 466, 467
Ilu-banitu(m) 739, 487
Indibi 471, 100
Isittu 776, 540
574
INDEX.
Istar-dur-usur 444
Istar-di'nini 757, 508, 509
Istar-hasina 514
Istar-napsir 759, 510
Istar-rimeni 691, 435
Karitti-Arbaili 75
Lamassi 555, 116, 239
Late' 695, 439
Mannu-ki-Alla 765, 524
Markihita 478
Marti 765, 524, 526
Matitu 168
Me'sa 704, 446, 447, 448
Me'sai 384
Mukinat-Istar 665, 41 1, 508, 509
Mima-abusa 142
Misatum 376, 377
Nabu-raniat 768, 529
Nakia 113
Nana-ibassi 693, 437
Nergal-danan (?) 765, 524
Nubta 82
Nur-ekalH 75, 80, 82
Nihti-esarau 760, 513, 515
Nihti-sarau 760, 5 1 1
Sagibe 776, 540
Sahis 772, 532, 533, 535
Samsi 775, 538
Sudala 748, 497
Sinki-Istar 480, 123, 124
Pirhia-dalali 489
Sali-Beltu 761, 515, 516
Salintu see Sali-Beltu
Sarpi 45, 430, 431
Sumuitu 496, 158, 159
Sihati 776, 540
Ramti 341
Same-tabani 437
Sarikte 123
Sulmu-na'id 578, 281, 282
Talpu 464, 465
Tuliha 770, 530, 531
INDEX OF PLACE NAMES.
A denotes that the place is called alu in the original.
M
N
P
S
V
,, ,, ,, ,, J)l(ltU ,, ,,
ndru is prefixed to the name.
amelu is prefixed, meaning a tribe or people.
"sddu is prefixed ; but in many cases this may
denote a country, vidtii.
ahi 'se is prefixed.
Abnu pulisu A 179
Adani M 435
Adizani A 112
Adini A 232
Adinnu A 268
Ahu hauar A 130
Ahi Zuhina A 496
Airan A 226
Akkad A 164
Alahina A 203
Alihi A 266, 284, 402
Amedi A 115, 511
Amma A 429
Amkaruna A 238
Anat A 53, 285
Anatu A 530, 53, 285, 341
Andaria A 79
Anduli A 124
Asihi A 163, 250, 275, 408, 414, 493
Apsu A 207
Appina A 505
Akaba A 164
Arabha, Arapha, Arbaha A 61, 128,
206, 323, 411, 420, 478, 523
Arana M 226
Arbai P 538, 539
Arbailu, Arbela A 9, 131, 272, 273,
340, 511; Nineveh gate of 95, loi,
127
Arbu A (?) 10 1
Argazu A 214, 236
Ardizi A 163
Arzizu A 556, 241, 287
Aribi P no
Armai P 427
Arpadda A 112
Assur, Asshur A 39, 74, 83, 114, 122,
129, 199, 343, 384, 432, 459, 501;
Assyria M 333, 335, 417
Assurai P 441
Atnana M 122
Babilu (i) A 80
Bab Sapi A 182
Bagdaddi A 719, 469
Bahai V 481, 122
Bahi M (S?) 481, 122
Bahia (?) 58
Bamatai P 558, 171, 244, 245
Bamatu (e) A 243, 245
Basre A 235, 494
Baruhu A 477, 113, 114
Barhaza A 113
Barhazia M 113
Barhalza (i) A M 408, 477, 37, 115,
116, 144, 159, 189, 195, 227, 271,
38 J, 439» 505
Barhalsu M 129
Barsippa A 485
Bel-ahe A 100, 10 1
576
INDEX.
Bel-ikbi A 471, 96, 252, 531
Berahaiate A 479, 96
Burammu A 419
Bilai P 690, 435
Bit Ada M 366
Bit Adadi-eres M 108, 170
Bit Adini M 113, 435
Bit Amukkani M 210, 434
Bit Amniana M 166, 530
Bit Ardi-Bau M 408
Bit Burutas M 460
Bit Dagan M 116, 232
Bit Dakkuri M 153
Bit Eki, Temple, 207
Bit Urbiru A 267
Bit Zamani M 207, 429
Bit Hurabi A 572, 106, 267
Bit Hurapi A 267
Bit Kidmiiri, Temple, 105, 495
Bit Likbiru A 108, 124, 128, 130
Bit Ramannu A 96
Bit Sa'alli M 502
Gagaia M 161
Gambulu (i) M 98, 113, 269, 453
Gargamis A 525
Gar Dikanni A 765, 525
Gar Imerisu A 765, 525
Gar Samerate A 765, 524, 525
Guzana A M 39
Gurgum M 127, 458
Gurrai P 523, 206
Gimirrai P 58, 206
Gingibir M 450
Dadi-ualla A 81
Dakkuru (i) P 80
Dana A 476, no, 184
Dana N no
Danaia V 476, 1 10
Dananu M 476, no
Dania A 476, 1 10
Danna V 476, 1 10
Dannai A 476, 45, 82, no, 133, 186,
449' 496. 519
Dannaia M 170
Dannani A 476, 109, no
Daralai P 164, 49H, 502
Darali A 248
Dari-Bel A loi
Darraska A 95
Du'ua A 122, 215, 216, 506
Dur-Bel A 341
Dur-Ea A 341
Dur-ili 166, 374, 397, 398, 421
Dur-Nana A 471, 96, 129, 203, 526
Dur-Sin-ahe-erba A 412, 529
Dur-Rimte A 103
Dur-Sarrukin, Dur-Sargon A 34, 56,
86, 102, 159, 214, 230, 248, 408,
4n, 412, 420
Dihnunna, or Parnunna 181, 236, 408
Dikana A 525
Dikannai P 525
Dikukina A M 690, 434, 435
Dikukinai 435
Diri 166
Elpiati 221
E-MAS-MAS, Temple, 339
Esarra, Temple, 339
Umildis A 469
Unki A 237
Urartu M 458, 498
Urbi P 269
Usimerai A 170
Zaban N 123
Zabina A 489
Zame M 500
Zamri M 241
Zermera A 407
Zirkirtu M 469
Hadatha A 225
Hadatta A 535, 225
Hadatti A 535, 222, 225
Iladduah A 225
Hadelh A 225
Haduah A 222
Ilaurina A 192, 280
Ilalahhai A M 728, 478
Halza M n.s
llalzidipha A 668, 413
llalzi-luha A 413
Halha A 478
Ilalman A M 483
ilalsu 104, 273, 419
Hamani V 1 10
INDEX.
577
Handata A 133
Handuala(c) A 636, ■221, 72^,
Hasai M V 760, 511, 512
Hasu M 760, 512, 513
Harudu A 477
Haiidu A 477, 1 13
Harite M 477, 113
Harran A 203, 271, 341, 491, 492
Hata A 488, 134, 138, 139, 406
Halai A 47, 134
Hataru A 776, 539
Hathariba A 124
Hatpina A 416
Hatpiti A 416
Hattai P 138
Hattu M 138
Hatti P 58
Hubaba A 105, 185, 197, 287
Hubabai A 33, iii '
Hudaddi A 469
HI-GI-Bel (?) A 652, 397, 400
Hindana A in, 418, 460
Hindara A 243
Hirana A 690, 88, 102, 343, 435
Hirutu A 477, 113
Tab-Bel A 94
la' M 481, 122
lada'i A 182
laudi M 213, 237, 238, 239
laia M 481, 122
lamanu M 124
laranu A 535, 226
latburu M 119
Ikkalu P 269
Ilu-sale A 207, 424
Isana A no, 125, 277, 488
Irbuai A 84
Irinnih A 96, 267, 284
Itu'ai P 420, 422
Kakzi A 53, 153, 158
Kalzi A 337, 341
Kalah^ A 573, 45, 90, in, 134, 154,
ELalha 158, 168, 209, 215, 272,
Kalhu [ 281, 341, 347, 381, 417,
Kalhi j 430, 431, 450, 471
Kannu' A ? 36
Kar-Au A 478, 117, 118, 121
Kar-Alla A 245
Kar-Asur A 118
Kar-Asur-ahi-iddin see Kar-Esarhaddon
Kar-Bclit A 44, 118, 231
Kar-Dunias M n8, 148, 195, 475
Kar-enabis A 285, 419
Kar-Esarhaddon A 183
Kar-husite A 208
Kar-Istar A 118
Kar-Kassi A 118
Kar-Nabu A 118
Kar-Nergal A 118
Kar-Nina A 118
Kar-Ninip A 118
Kar-Sin A 118
Kar-Samas A 118, 197, 527
Kaspi A 108, 186
Katkanu A 104
Kullani(a) A 234, 237, 449, 476,
477
Kulumanai P 408
Kumuh ^
T' ■ 1 I M, A, 54, 84, 100, 187,
Kummuh J- ' \-
KummuhhiJ ^'^^^ ^^8
Kusai P 195
Kurai A 201, 267, 523
Kurban A 487, 206, 281, 474 see also
Kurban
Kipsuna A 466
Kisirtu M 79
Kirhi M 539
Kirruri M 112, 209, 417
Kis A 287
Kisesim A 177
Labna V no
Labnai A no
Labnani A no
Lahiru (a, i) A 79, 97, in, 114, 150,
197, 198, 374. 493' 507
Lake (1) M 273, 468
Lakipu V 420
Luh-barbari A 668, 413
Luhu'atu P 668, 413
Luhuti M 668, 413
Luhu M 668, 413
Lukummai A 97, 464
Lullumu(e) M 188
Lihuatai P 668
Likimmai P 163
J. III.
37
578
INDEX.
Maganuba A 230, 408
Maganisi A 126, 214, 218, 219, 220
Madai M 161
Madbar(u) M 225, 403
Mazamua M 197
Mazara A 234
Mannai P 269, 469
Mannusuate A 232
Mansuate A 118, 121, 232
Massauat A 232
Makutti M 191
Maribe-uarri A 109, 163, 416, 498
Markasa{i) A 121, 206, 223, 270, 437
Markasa A 127
Mas M 225
Me Turnat N 420
Musanai P 476
Nadi' A 123
Nasibina A 105, 128, 277, 402, 474,
496
Narkabate A 84, 267
Nathu 537
Neribi A 207
Nuhuttai A 458
Nuni A 133, 462
Nuniba A 40
Nina A 456
NinCia, Nineveh A 104, 106, 131, 198,
205, 259, 270, 339, 359, 397, 439,
525
Niramai A 532
Niribi A 54, 207
Nistun A 505
Sab'ai P 501
Saba'ai M 762, 501
Sabahani A 206
Saeru A 248
Sahi M 161
Sakamanu V 159
Sakimme A 108
Sama'al A 238, 239, 280
Samalla A 209, 210
SamarVja A 323
Sapc
Sapi
Sapia
Sapiai
Sugi M 413
A 626, 210
Suhu M 113
Suna A 528
Supuru editi A 507, 167, 174, 175,
166
Siautu A 515
Sillu A 236
Sime A 338, 411, 532
Singara AM 114, 197
Sippara A 11 1
Padanu A 421
Parnunna see Dihnunna
Partukka M 488
Puramu A 498
Purattu(i) N 258
Pirhinete A (?) 218
Pisapti'a A 515
Sabnuti A 537
Saidi A 238
Sallai M 275
Salli M 455
Sela A 487
Subat(e) A 746, 495
Subutu(e) A 495
Subitu(e) A 495
Sumu (?) 159
Supitu(e) A 746, 102, 126, 495
Surri A 236
Simera A 102
Simir A 98
Si'nu A 159, 515
Kabal ali 474, 77, 104, 451, 452, 463
Kabal Asur 424
Kabal hurasi 583, 104, 128, 527
Kabal Ninua 474, 79, 103, 104, 415
Kanun(u) A 36, 82
Karti-haldi A 232
Kudaru A 462
Kue M 91, 123, 181, 229, 383, 519,
523
Kummuh see Kummuh
Kupalaseme (?) A 471
Kupalabu (?) A 96
Kupalate (?) A 96
Kurai A 105, 177, 201, 267
Kurl)an(u) A 132, 206
Kurubi A 567, 105, 119, 173, 203, 243,
407' 450
INDEX.
579
KutS, Kuta A 2IO
Kidri M 479
Rasappa A 96, 115, 183, 195, 196,
228, 253
Rimusa(i) A 75, 80, 82
Sabiri edi A 612, 263, 266
§adi Ualla A 80, 81
Sadi Samalla A 80, 81
Sa Zabinu(i) A 489
Sa Zabinai A 741, 489
Samas-nasir A 622, 205, 420
^apt A 434
Sa Sabinai A 109
Sa sillai ^
Sa-sillai V A 53, 82, 171, 285
Sa Sillai J
^u' M 236
Su'i M 94
Sura A 476, 109, 1 10
SCiria A 476, no
Siana M 238
Sid(d)i-asika A 667, 241, 243
Tabal M 142, 383, 417, 418, 460, 543
Takku A 98
Takpulisu A 244
Tamar A 776, 539
Tarbuseba(i) A 731, 479, 480
Tarbuse A 731, 479
Tarbisi A 731, 192, 458, 480
Tarim-Dagan A 273
Tealdu (Temen-aldu ?} A 248
Tezi (Temen-napisti) A 53
Tumme M 103
Tursana A 98, 406
Tushan A 153, 486, 503
Til-bari A 481, 122
Til Bit bari A 123
Til(l)e A 39, 183, 403
Til Nahiri A 485, 127, 215
Til Ninip A 481, in, 122
Tinu A 170
BaiSa 251
AaSos 95
Za/3/3aios 43
la55aiov 421
Koa 463
Koai 463
Ko7] 463
KoiJas 463
MaXaxoL^os 453
Mtju 538
MoTaXrji 458
Na/SoveSSos 144
GREEK NAMES.
Ne<ra 433
Ilero/Sao-^is 515
TleTo^acrTTjs 515
IleTov^aaTis 515
Paat'ou 501
2ae5ei 403
^oadov 403
XdXa 272
Xlv^rjpos 153
<ir€pvpis 537
ficTTJC 448
Baric 85
Baricas 85
Baricis 85
Barka 85
LATIN NAMES.
Girsakon 86
Sakoniaton 86
37—2
58o
INDEX.
BIBLICAL CLASSICAL, AND MODERN NAMES.
Adonai 55
Adonia 237
Adonibezek 37
Adonikam 37
Adoniram 37, 3'23
Adonizedek 37
Albagh 478
Aleppo 483
Alkusch 478
'Amk 237
Amram 81
Arabia 239, 538
Armenia 39, 469
Ashdod 124, 403
Askalon 158
Assyria 39, 177, 195, 202, 211, 324,
373. 378, 380, 420, 422, 431. 478,
489. 503. 509' 534
Baal 268, 334
Baasha 168
Babylon 133, 138, 144, i53' ^68, 171,
191, 192, 228, 243, 283, 373, 374,
399, 422, 431, 432, 449, 457' 496,
503. 5^9' 534
Barak 85
Bavian 138
Beer-laharoi 413
Benhadad 235
Calah 272, 384
Cambyses 419
Carchemish 209, 228
Cilicia 127, 345
Cuthah 146, 232
Dalaiah 497
Damascus 200, 453, 494, 5'25
David 95
Delaiah 497
Dido 95
Egypt 159' '90' 537
Ehi 82
Ekron 238
Elam 108, 422
Elephantina 537
Erech 115, 179, 399, 4^3' 479
Esther 154, 156
Euphrates 53, 225
Gaza 150
Gebal 186
Gog 161
Gyges 161
Hadadezer 49
Halach 478
Halachene 478
Hamath 464, 477
Hazael 238
Hezekiah 238
Holwan 483
Hoshea iii, 446
Immanuel 122
Ionia 124
Israel 324, 456
Ivah 122
Jacob 164, 407
Javan 124
Joshua 419
Judaea 237, 431
Kaaba 155
Kara-Su 237
Kouyunjik 269
Lehi 413
Lydia 160
Magog 161
Malchi 186
Malchi-el 186
Malchi-jah 186
Malchiram 186
Manaen 433
Marwa 155
Mekka 154
Melchior 82
Melech 186
INDEX.
S8i
MeiKihcni 164, 467
Merodach 198
Mesopotamia 400
Moab 1 86
Mordecai 1 99
Nadab 456
Nahor 127
Necho 124
Nimroud 272
Nineveh 8, 9, 18, 21, 24, 45, 53, 55,
75, 79, 98, 104, III, 114, 127, 130,
155, 158, 168, 171, 172, 181, 198,
200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207,
237, 258, 263, 266,
287, 326, 338, 339,
354' 374. 384. 387.
43I' 452, 458, 466,
214, 219,
233
267, 271,
272,
340, 342,
343.
392. 4".
417.
511. 513.
514
Nippur 533
Nun 419
rediah 238
Pekah 486
Purini 154
Rabsaris 223
Rabshakeh 223, 269, 498, 525
Rome 431
Safa 154
Samaria 108, 164
Samson 413
Shareser 286
Sherif Khan 480
Solomon 546
Tel-Abta 300
Toi 477
Tyre 236, 268
Uriah 82
Zobah 495
KINGS OF ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.
Ashurbanipal, Asur-bdni-apli, Sardanapalus, B.C. 668 — 626; 34, 83, 87, 124, 150,
159, 161, 166, 181, 193, 202, 206, 207, 243, 269, 278, 284, 335, 341, 420,422,
469, 480, 489, 500, 505, 509, 532, 534, 537
Ashurnatsirpal, Asur-ndsir-apli, B.C. 884 — 860; 58, 79, no, 122, 123, 167, 228,
232, 241, 273, 285, 287, 357, 413, 429, 435, 455, 458, 468, 505, 525
Esarhaddon, Asur-ahi-iddin, B.C. 681 — 669; 77, 80, 88, 96, 98, 113, 117, 142,
209, 268, 272, 278, 284, 334, 389, 410, 416, 422, 438, 466, 480, 512
Merodach Baladan I, Marduk-apli-iddina, B.C. 1220 circ. ; 197
Merodach Baladan II, B.C. 721 — 710; 168, 283, 374
Nabonidus, N'abil-na' id, B.C. 555 — 538 ; 144, 377
Nebuchadrezzar II, Nabii-kudur-usur, B.C. 604 — 561 ; 36, 230, 367
Nabopolassar, NabHt-aplu-usur, B.C. 625 — 605 ; 255
Sargon II, Sarrukin, B.C. 722 — 705 ; 39, 40, 63, no, 119, 122, 124, 142, 177, 188,
243, 245, 266, 272, 273, 458, 460, 469, 476, 500, 5or, 503, 538, 539
St.nndiChQxih, ' Sin-ahe-erba, B.C. 705 — 681; 40, 157, 168, 171, 195, 200, 206, 220,
233. 234, 266, 272, 273, 326, 399, 408, 422, 455, 474, 476, 477, 480, 500
Shalmaneser I, Sulmdjiu-asarid, B.C. 1350 circ. ; 272
Shalmaneser II, B.C. 860 — 824 ; 154, 194, 483
Shalmaneser III, B.C. 782 — 772 ; 232
Shalmaneser IV, B.C. 727 — 722 ; 170
Tiglath Pileser I, Tukulti-apil- Esarra, B.C. iioo circ. ; no
Tiglath Pileser III, B.C. 745—727 ; 63, no, 121, 123, 156, 186, 326, 229, 338, 403,
434. 435. 456, 460, 469, 496, 498, 501, 502, 512, 538
582
INDEX.
DIVINITIES.
Aa 38, 251
Adadi 156, 162, 268, 333, 337, 341, 489
,, of Dur Bel 341
,, of Anatu 341
„ of Kalzi 341
Adon 55
Adunu 55
Au III, 118, 235
Azuzi 498
Ahu 466
Ai III, 251
Allala 476
Amen 538
Anu 368
Apil ill 251
Apil sarri 162
Asur 9, 68, 107,
270, 271, 275,
339' 344, 423,
Asratu 340
Atar 198, 239
108, 121, 156, 250,
333, 334, 335, 338,
509, 534
Babu 119, 161
Bau 119, 120
Banitu(m) 35
Bast 99
Barku (?) 53
Beir (?) 333
Bel 197, 333, 334. 335, 342, 368, 423,
439, 485
Belanu 343
Belat Arbaili 340
Belit 92, 270, 339
„ of Nineveh 339
„ seri 340
Bilatu seri 340, 345
Bis(i) 190
Bir Addi 235
Gugu 161
Quia 476
EN-LIL 333
,, Assuru 342
Urkittu 523
Zaza 45, 495
Zarpanitu 368
Haldi 384
Horus 538
Hum 538
la III
lau III
lasumu 268
IB 483
'Iba 492
Iz(i) (?) 55
Isis 538
Istar 89, 149, 340, 344, 359, 381, 397
,, Arbaili 9, 48, 63, 64, 65, 67, 70,
116, 131, 144, 197, 338, 340
Istar Assuritu 333, 340
,, Babi 120, 452
,, of Nineveh 9, 62, 131 (?), 141,
338, 339, 340, 354 ^
Kama 418
Kassu 133
Magarida 478
Malchi 186
Malik 38, 53, 251
Malkatu 251
Manu 538
Mar 100, 494
Mar Raman 235
Marduk 276, 334, 367
Masti 250
Melech 186
Meri 100, 190
Milkartu 268
Nabii 90, 121, 155, 181, 215, 240,
334, 335, 336, 338, 342, 353, 1^1*
368, 419, 508
Nana 419
Nannar 366
Nashu 43, 54, 97
Nergal 190, 333, 342, 345, 409, 492
Nina 419
INDEX.
583
Ninip 142, 272, 318, 324, ii,^y 338, Sedek 43
340, 347. 483. 486
Si', So 43, 150, 416
Sibitti 333
Sin ii^, 341, 346, 469, 497
,, of Diir Sargon 341
„ of Ilarran 341, 344, 345, 497
Paiti, Piati 166
Sa 495
Salmu 84, 376
Sapunu 238
Rabu 485
Raman, Ramman 109, 341, 450, 4H9
Sala 268
Samas 39, 80, 115, 270, 271, 333, 334,
335. 338. 339' 342, 534
Sarru 39, 146
Seru 524
Suriha 79
Tasmetu{m) 523
Tillanu (?) 343
NORTH SEMITIC WORDS AND NAMES.
^"pnnx
502
"l3a^<
221
P«
357
m3N
54' 249,
PN
^38
10{^i<31N
37
^nnx
37
oijDnN
37
K^ttK>i1K
37
n^N
413
Tn^-pK
472
Nn^DN
358
Nn^DK
454
Nnrox
453
KvnDK
495
D'OK
390, 448
ejDX
141
"IDS
199
-|D'?3-)N
429
STIX
448
IK^N
454
"lDE^•s
60
mt^t<
340
ntJ^N
386, 517
449
2 222, 223, 226, 454
U2
505
la
251
«1U
251
bKn>3
251
n^n
63
3py^n
164
-|1K^'?2
166
nyn
251
Ns^yn
168
"12
222,
225,
226
T^:i
85
>i:-i2
224
P13
85
K^DtJ'-in
239
Nni
492
"pN-iJ
492
n:i
492
nj
492
sna
492
X233
539
fc^n
95
n'pyiT
95
n:i
429,
447.
449' 453. 472. 478,
488, 49
•5' 531
584
INDEX.
^pll 531
Vt^in 447. 448
) 222
"ini 242
xmr 143
n3T 143
nnr 224
pT 54
N^nt 79
naiT 43
n 54> 63, 219, 222, 226, 447, 453
K^3n
nnn
iin
D:n
pvn
in
nn
N3mn
99. 453
99
453
222
537
454
460
460
502
463
463
486
486
222
440
222, 226
537
98
537
IID 401
f-i^ 421
hivn^ 421
yn> 421
in> 238
]hii)n^ 238
^V3in^ 238
"l'?Din^ 23^
na* 224
bsD-i^ 539
CJ'ltJ'^^ 201
n^D 272
p:D 36
«DDD 31, 54
^ 63, 467
D^b 222, 223
D^ 226
npS 453
HDHD
DHJD
pD
"ID
«nnpno
>tJ'D
358
208
453
186
222, 226
222, 226
63
467
454
433
433
448
473
219, 220
494» 251
100
100
478
100
280
m3j 219
chm^: 80
pioj 226
"i^'iDnj 222
^:: 419
N^JJ 4^9
NDJ 433
NtJ^J 6, 10
"IK^J 187
PD 86
|13-lD 476
K"13y 34
S313y 34
nay 34
|Dm3V 34
nay 34
o^Diny 34
"inc^i3y 475
nry 238
ny 273
Nio^y 241
"i33y 221
^y 54, 219, 226
Dy 238
\1DV 81
hi<2pV 164
n:n"»y 133. 517
"inti'y 8
nyiny 238
npyiny 164
"iit:^iny ^38
nc 238
mD 22
*DQ 527
^DB 465
ns 166
INDEX.
5
P1^*
43
dSv
84
nyv 403
|DV
238
Dnp
63
ic^p
220
D-iom
223
^y-i
501
ND1
243,
539
NHD-I
243
*D-|
243
^n:K^
80, <
+48
S:k^
91, .
^7I
"iiK^
166,
238
n^t^
166
ID^SnK^
515
-ins^ 475
nya^ 403
"lyK^
224,
260
xnyK^
219
pyK^
212,
222, 224, 2:
[5, 226
ny^vc'
422
S'5tJ'
454
p-)K^
476
NVD^n
495
n^n 492
HDnn
137
585
586
INDEX.
ASSYRIAN WORDS AND PHRASES.
abalu 167, 167, 172
aganu 357
agaru 175
ade sa sarri 334, 335
adi 279
adi mahiri 256
adi mithar 209
adi nisesu 445
adi rube 11, 27
adi summa 358
adru 45, 198, 214, 215
aharu 350
atru 242
akalu 9, 93, 256
akalu 37, 93, 119
aladu 190
alu se loi, no
alpu ardu 97
amaru 176
amat sarrutu 385
amelu 318
amelu ardu 445
amiltu 389, 426
amittu 358
ammar 357
ammu 295
amtu 389, 426
ana 31
ana gimirtisa 320
ana esrate 347
ana ume asati 304
ana umi 32
ana la ene 367
ana mithar 24, 59, 198, 209
ana pani 16
ana puhi n, 12, 17, 20, 32, 36, 144,
188, 214
ana sabarti 93
annu 295, 316, 318, 327
asu 79
asi (A-SI?) 356
apalu, apil 254, 298
akrabu 89
ardu 373
ardu-sarrGtu 385
ardi 35
arisutu 146
arkat ume 32
arsu 96, 97
asabu 115
assatu 386, 389
atan nari 345
atru 241, 336
egirtu 449
ederu 242
eteru 242
elu 309
elit ursi 358
emedu 259
eseku 295
epesu 294
esedu 27, 212
esidu 223
esepu 27
erebu 90, 118
eresu 97, 135
erinu 346
esru 347
ubala(u) 167, 169, 246, 424
ubbalu 255
ubta'u 311
ugaru 104
uturu 348
uknu 359
uludu 190
uma 533
umu 32
um eburi 254
umu sa 32
unzarhu 220
upis(si) 293, f.
uppusat 294
utappis 294
usa 94
ilru 152
urku 173, 513
urki'u(ti) 176
use.sa(i) 97, 1 1
169, 390
uSerab 90, 97
115, 121, 140, 164,
INDEX.
587
idu
idi btti ia'nu 149
iddisu 175
idru 45, 198
ili' 125
iiku 294, 324
imria 533
ina 10, 31
ina arkat {ime 304
ina birtisunu 137
ina eli 78, 89
ina umi 32
ina urkis 303
ina kume 128
ina libbi 45, 295
ina libbi ume 32
ina matema 303
ina pani 5, 9, 15, 262
ina pani karabu 262
ina puhi 9
ina kani 157
ina kakkadi ili essi 9, 72, 175, 342
ina sane purisu 154
ina sepa ili 336
ina tarsi 123
isibi 152
ispinu 152
ippinnima 137, 417
isdu 35
iskaru 9, 60
iskubitu 194
istu pani 5, 16
ittasa(u) 6, 11, 182
itti
itti ahames 260
itti rube 27
ittisi 6, 10, n
babu 103
bagaru 365
ba'u 311
balzu 254
bamatu 244
banu 392
bastu 99
bastu 99
batusu 521
batuku 159
batku 1 60
belu, bel 289
bel dtni 265, 333, 334
bel ilki 323, 324
bel pahati 21, 321, 323
bel kala(te) 160, 214, 327
bennu 259, 260, 391 — 5
bubutu 403
buhi 19
buti 19
buru 215
burku 336
bid 137, 176
biltu 335
bitu 451
bit essi 41
gablu 104
garu 175. 313. 314. 359
gungulipu 194
gurpu 325
gusuru 151
ginu 9, 69, 339
dababu 260, 3 1 1
dadu 95
daianu 258
dalu 497
dananu 200, 521
dannu 326
dannitu 449
denu 301
denu dababu 261
denu emidu 258, 259
denu sarri 335
duppu 107, 449
dupsikku 324
dibbi 311
dinu 258, 259
disu 514
zazakku (amelu) 461
zakaru 194
zaku 1 1 4, 131, 299
zamaru 520
zakapu 305, 308
zarapu 295, 297
zibu 224
habalu 27, 513
habu(l)lu 27, 255
hazanu 258, 322
588
INDEX.
haitu 276
halaku 89, 94, 176
halsu 209
haradu 172
harbute 131
harranu
harrana itura 279
hatnu 346
hubullu 27, 149, 255
husabu 10 I
hibsu 359
temu
tern sarri 335
kalu 37
kallu 256
kanu I 69
kaspu 349
kaspu tadin 16
kapsu 172
kasaru 220
kasir 79
karabu 314
karabhi, karaphi no, 135, 148
kararu 155
karsu 236
kasadu 133
kasaru i 83
kubsu 469
kudimmu 524
kumu, kum 97
kum dame 533
kum habulli 73
kum kaspi 73
kum kunukkisu supursu iskun 5
kum rube 27, 73, 140
kunukku 5, 289
kurubu 262
kurmate 89
kutallu, kutal 282
ki
kt mahiri 24, 132
klnu 349
kipatu 313
kisati 182, 183
kisir (of land) 104, 326
kisru 8, 325, 326
kisirtu 8, 70, 71
la 22
la kittu 160
labanu 152
labiru 41
lahu 413, 432
lami 519
laku 5, 254, 294, 297, 298
lakatu 358
lassu 302
libinu 152
lisanu 358
ma'da(u) 125, 157, 182
mazuktum 358
maharu 24
mahu 172, 198
mahiru
mahira epus 294
mahirtu 104
mamanu 328
mandattu 375-7
manzazu 255
manmanu 328
mannu
mannu sa 92, 125, 302
masu 533
mashate 232
massartu 255
makarutu 242
maru 413, 475
martu 426, 513
maskanu 74, 256
maslallu 147
memenu 328
merisu no, 135
mukinnu 179
mumar 509
mumunu 328
musibtum 395
murbakanu 344
murnisku 344
mutu 389
mulutu 144, 146, 320
mutlr p{iti 325
muttaggisu 276
milku 186
miminu 328
mimmanu 328
mimmu
mimmu itti mimma 260
INDEX.
589
niinumu 378
milu 89, 94, 103
niilliaris 2^
nahalkatu 310
nabalkattanu 368
nadanu 22, 32
nakabu 152
nasahu 91
napistu
napsate 445
nasu 6, 17, 214
nasu 6, 17, 214
naspartu 78, 327
nuhatimmu 166
nis 333
nisu, nise 445
saklu 91
sasu 129
sapu 210
saruru 395
sarru 395
sartu 125, 258, 393-5, 513, 514
sartenu 258
sukallu 258
sinnistu 389
sisserit, sisserit 31
sisu 129
sippu 152
pahatu 20, 214
pahu 18, 214
pataru 125, 140, 295, 440
palahu 140
pakadu 401
pakaru 365
pakiranu 367
paraku 92, 305, 306, 308
paru 2 40
parsu 519
passuru 537
puhu 2), 32
puti 19
puru 154, 336
purimu 201
putu
put etir nasu 5, 257
pilakku 240
pikittu 401
sabatu 151, 172, 256
sabit dannat suatu 290
sabit duppi 290
sabu, sabe 455, 513, 519
samadu 172, 385
samara 520
sarapu 439
sarip tahse iii, 122, 439
supru, supur 5, 289
sibtu 27, 255, 259, 391-5
sibit pi 513
sibit sibti 254
sibtum 395
simdu, sindu 9
simdat sarri 9, 335, 336, 356
simittu 9
siptu 27
kabu 310, 313
kablu 104
kasaru 220
kakkadu 7, 51, 230, 256, 274
ina kakkadi ili essi 9
karabu 159, 262, 314, 325
kastu (of land) 324
kastu ezzitu 347
kata 9, 214
kata (amelu) 327
kata sibti 513, 514
katatu 214
kepu 144, 320
kurbu 309, 313, 325
kurrubu 314
rabu 23, 26, 33, 118
rab alani 326
rab biti 309
rab hansa 324
rab kisir 326
ragamu 365
rakasu 344, 345, 346, 466
rakasu 466
rakbu 428
ramu 93, 172
rasu 256
re'u
re'u issurate 80
rebutu 23
restu 32
rubu II, 25, 27
590
INDEX.
rutu 519, 522
rigmatu 97
rigmu 97
rikke tabute 340, 346
sa 5, 9, 15, 118, 258
sa arhi 32
sa sepa 39
sabaru 74
sabartu 74 — 78
sabirtu 78
sabru 77 — 78
sataru 466
sakalu 37
sakanu 9, 23, 74, 256
sakintu 274
saknu 9, 144, 320, 321
sakil esidi 37
salamu 92, 167, 254
salu 142, 164
salhu 101
salsu 327
sanu 194, 214, 326
sanis 244
saparu 78
sapiru 324, 327
sapirtu 327
sapusu 530
sarapu 346
se'u 213
se zer 97, 157
se nusahi 91, 131
se sibsu 91, 131
se tarame 91, 131
semu 127
sulu 345, 347
sumu tamu 333
summa, summu 11, 22
summa la iddan 11
susanutu 385
sibirtu 74, 78
siknu 9
sipru 74
tabriu 131, 215, 216
tadanu 292, 426
talpitu 151
tamahu 152
tasi (TA-SI?) 271
taku 95
tarabbi 26
tarbasu 215
tarasu 533
taru 347
tegu 163
tuaru 300
tulu 453
tibnu 91, 131, 215
tillit (isu) loi, 157
INDEX.
591
IDEOGRAMS.
A = aplu 148
A-AB-BA = gammalu 194
AB-BA = ibilu 194
AD = abu 153
AN-AK = Nabu 146
AN-AMAR-UD = Marduk 181
(AN)-AS = Asur 144
AN-BAR-BAR = Nergal 190
(AN)-U = Adadi 195
AN-UD = Samas
(AN)-UGUR = Nergal 192
AN-ZI = merisu (?) 136
AN-HAR = Mahir
AN-HI = Asur 144
(AN)-IM = Adadi 195 (?)
AN-KU==Marduk 53, 185
AN-MA = Nalbas sami
(NA)-NU = Salmu 84
AN-SIS-GA'L = Nergal 192
AN-PA = Nabu 146
AN-RI = Istar 150
AN-RID = Marduk 181
AN-SU=:Marduk 149
(AN)-SI-DU = N6rgal 192
(AN)-XV=Iitar 149, 163
AN-XX = Samas (MAN) 146
(AN)-XXX = Sin 198
AS = edu 118
AS = nadanu 148
BAD = duru 144
BAD-MES 277, 278
BAL = nabalkatu 310
BAT-GID-DA = kepu 144
BE = mitu 89
GA = tulu 520
GAB-MES = taberat 147
GAL = rabu 26, 33
GAM-MAL = gammalu 194
GAR = sakanu 26
GE = siklu 31
GlD-DA = araku 436
GIG-BA, GIG-BI 213
GIL = paraku 308
GI-MES sa la kisir 358
GIR-NUN-NA 213, 240
GIR-TAP 89
GIS-BAR 136, 144, 187, 237
DAN=dananu 200
= dannu 521
DUL-DUL = paharu 112
DI = danu 436
DI-TAR = danu 479
E = kabu 146
U = duru 245
UB-LA = paharu 112
UD-SU = paisu 447, 469, 520
UR = basu 120
ZU=idu 153
ZI-KU = laku 362
HA-A = halaku 87, 176
HAR = suatu 299, 300
HAR-RU-AN 279
TU=siklu 31
I = nadu 144
IM-TUK = nadu 144
KA = rigmu, rigmatu 97
= pu (?) 465
KA-GA = kabu 173
KAD = rihtu 443
KAK = gabbu 134, 436
= kal 436
KA-KA = dababu 301, 361
592
INDEX.
KA-KA-MES 311
KA-SAR = kisir 193
KU-BABBAR = kaspu 31
KUR-SU' 236
LAL = matu 62
= takanu 143, 147
= tarasu 52, 67, 108, 143, 147
LU 196
LUGAL = sarru 181
LID-AL 189
LID-NIGIN T89
MU = nadanu 148
= sattu 144
= sumu
Nu=ia 153
NUN=sillu 150
NI-GAB = atu K. B. vi. p. 391
NIGIN = paharu 112
NINA = Ninua 177
SE = nadanu 22, 26, 32
SU=erebu 109, 149
SI = asaru 150
SIK=:damaku 119
SIS = ahu
= nasaru 1 8 1
PAP = ahu 161
= nasaru 144
P AT = kurummatu 151
SA 520
SAB = paharu 112
rab MU-GI 223
SA (amelu) 79
SAK-MES 8
SA-MES bit ili 9
si GIG 213
St IN-NU=tibnu 131
SE PAT 212
si KI-KUD {TAR) = esidu 144, 148
SI-LAL = amaru 127
SI-2-MES = ina birtisunu 137
SI-PIR = damaku 433
TU = erebu 160
TUR-US = aplu 148
TI = balatu 173
=:laku 298
TI-LA = balatu 119
TIN = balatu 173
X-LAL-II = 8 144
SUBJECT INDEX.
Acknowledgements of debt 4, 18, 214
formula 6
amplifications 7
Acquisition clause 296
Acquittance 247
Administrative allowances 20
Advances of goods 2
cattle 189-193, 201
sheep 196-201
corn 210-240
oil 3, 208
wine 3, 204-208
their purpose 2
money see Money
Advocates 285
god as 285, 333, 518
Agency 9, 184, 214, 215, 236, 264, 266,
327
Agreement to repay 2
Ague 394
Amounts of loans 253
penalties 337
Aramaic dockets 54, 63, 80, 133, 218,
219, 222, 225, 226, 240, 249, 429,
447» 449» 453' 454' 467* 47^, 476,
478, 488, 495, 517, 531
Army, quota to 323, 324, 326
Assignments of property
in lieu of capital debt 2, 73-130
in lieu of interest 2, 130
Attestation of deed 289
Attorney 266
Babylonian usages 374
early 27, 35, 74, 253, 365-7, 391
later 17, 23, 35, 74, 89, 138, 149,
253, 280
Bail 282
Bankers 254
J. III.
Bankers, order to 4
Barley 213, 220, 223
Barter 473, 531
Blood money 338, 534
Board see Keep
Bond, formula 6
amplification 7
Boundaries of estate 96
Borrow, verb to 6
Borrower, identity of 5
mark of 5
Bow of bronze to Ninip 347
land 324
Breach of contract see Penalties
trust, punished 277 f.
Bread 9
Bronze money 7
Burial 532
Buyer's copy of deed 296
representatives 331
sons, brothers, grandsons,
nephews, successors, 331
Camels 193
Capital 8
Captain of fifty 324
Carat weight 242
Carriage of goods 204
Case tablets 3
Cast of interior 250
Cattle lent 189-193, 201
Chamberlain 328
Charters 366
Clan rights over landed estate 321, 366
Classification, principles i, 37, 55, 73,
248, 262, 388, 508
Classification, justification in native
opinion 3
Cloak pledged 128
38
594
INDEX.
Closure clause 297-300
Code of laws 335
Coins 8
Colour of tablets 28
Commission 21, 327
Compensation, for breach of contract
347
tenfold price 347
twelvefold price 348
for robbery 259
Composition for manslaughter 532
Contingent possession 2
Contract for copper 125
silver 261
straw 215, 241
Corn dealer, an Assyrian 217
Corn loans, or advances 210-240
peculiar shape of tablets 210
suspended on sack or vessel 210
heart-shaped 211
for seed 212, 213
for keep of harvesters 212
for keep of soldiers 220
a7ta piVii 19, 214
dates of 2 1 2
duration of 223
rate of interest on 216
free of interest for seven months
216, 229
and a cow 243
Corvee 324
Courtyard, of house 214
temple
Crook, shepherd's 278
Crown Prince 34, 162, j8o, 181, 422,
455, 459' 497
Crown, party to suit 285, 334
lends corn
seller 353
buyer 422
Culpable negligence punished 277 f.
Customary of temple 9
Damages 259
Date for repayment 7
omitted 36
Dates of I'^ponyms \, yu., M 217
Daughter sold 383, 441, 511, 529, 530
Dedication by fire 346
of children to gods 341
Deeds of sale 288-372
shape of tablet 288
kept ready drawn 288
formula of 3, 289-362
preamble 289-293
exhibition of title 289
consent to sell 289
tribe, clan, family 289
specification of grant 291, 293
transfer 292, 294
statement of price 295
duplicates 290
closure of bargain 297-300
stipulations against 300-332
breach of contract
Divine sanctions 332-335
appeal to king 334
penalties 336—359
nullity of suit 360 — 363
Defect, undisclosed 394
Delay to produce slave 283, 290
repay loan
Deportation of captives 523
Deposits 255
slave to work off loan 3
with contingent possession 77
Deputy 326, 327
Designation of property 291
Deterrent amount of interest 23, 216
rates 23
penalties 336
Devotion of child to a god 324, 340,
34I' 345
Disease demons 394
Divine sanction 332
Double-humped dromedary 194
Drafts of deed 288, 290
Duplicates 3, 4, 36, 51, 55, 133, 139,
193, 480
Earnest money 297
Endowments of land 9
Envelopes for letters and bonds 3, 54
Eponyms see Post Canon Asurbanipal
500
Exchanges of slaves 520-532
, slave's for horse 474
Fallow land 1 10
INDEX.
595
Family ties respected 445
rights over landed estate 317,
rights of parents over children
426, 513
rights of brother over sister
4.^1. 5' 3
rights of family over members
318
constitution of family 385,
445
Farms 101, 106
Fever 392, 394
Fines 259, 260
payable to gods 338
Food 254
Forfeits to temple treasury ^^6
Formula of deeds of sale 3
preamble 289-293
body of deed 293-363
early deeds 365
Fourfold mention of seller 316
Fowls 213
Furniture 537
Futurity, terms for 303, 304
Genealogy of Sennacherib 168
Gods invoked to avenge wrong 271,
276, 285, 518
owners of money advanced 9,
254. 340
deduced from proper names 34,
35» 37, 45. 53, 55, 79, 84, 86,
III, 133, 161, 166, 190
Governor of a province mortgages es-
tate in Nineveh 75
Guarantee 256
against loss of slave 75, 76,
89, 90
Guilt, purgation of 533
Harvest, date of 212
Heart-shaped tablets 3
Hire 8
House mortgaged 149
Human sacrifices 346
Hundred, division of land 325
Inner tablets 3
Inscribed bowls 357, 466
Interest 216, 347
names for 27
charged per month 13, 23, 216
rates 13
one fourth 23
one third 24
one eighth 24
early rates 254
later rates 254, 255
reason for high rates 13
a deterrent 20, 2 16
as damages 27
a penalty 22
not charged on ana p{ihi
loans 219
not charged if repayment
prompt 7
amount stated instead of rate
24
compound interest 254
profit of pledge set off against
73
on corn loans 24, 216
Istar heads 8, 179, 340
Judges 258
award damages 259
Judgement on debtor 286 f.
Keep of harvesters 212
workmen 2
King named
as judge 335, 534
yoke of 335
earthly representative of gods
333
avenger of wrong 334
Lady governors of cities and provinces
117, 274
Lady of the Palace 428
Land, 'bow' tenure 324
Landed estate subject to family clan
or tribe claims 361
state claims 361
Landlord's obligations to tenant 19, 21,
211
non-resident 321
Law courts, recourse to 262
Law suit barred 301
596
INDEX.
Legal decisions 51, 52, 150, 171, 258-
287
Legal precedents 335
Lenders, mark of
list of principal 253
Levy, the 323, 324
Life, term of assignment 73
Loans of money
simple 4-73
duration fixed 45, 46, 49, 61,
73
date 20
purpose 19, 55, 69, 212
without interest 20, 74, 211
without security 13
of corn 211
usual duration 13
repaid after harvest 211
ana p-Cihi 17
on security 73-255
rare in early times 255
Local cults 336-338
liabilities 321
Magnates 326
Major domo of Carchemish 322
Management expenses 214
Manumission of slaves 217
Market rate 24, 59, 198, 209
place 214
Master of the Horse 86
Mayor of city 322
Menagerie 195
Messengers 328
Metayer system [9, 211
Mint 9
Money really used 16
Money loans or advances 2-122
why taken first 2
simple loans 2, 4
elements of simplicity 2
style of tablet 5
statement of amount 5, 7
date for repayment 7
owned by gods 9
loans on security 2
Mortgages see Pledges, Security
Municipal officers 326
Nailmarks in place of seals 5, 290
Names
Ahu in proper names 317
Aramaic 34, 43, 80, 81, 82, 95,
98, 100, 163, 164, 166, 186, 201,
251, 421, 429, 433, 439, 448. 463»
468, 471, 478, 494, 497, 498, 501,
535» 537» 539
Canaanite 37, 186, 238, 448
Elamite 108, i6i, 250
Harran 34, 43, 54, 82, loi, 106,
107, 150, 163, 164, 186, 200, 442,
448, 455' 461. 47I' 472> 479' 484.
497» 509» 51 1' 512, 526, 538
Hebrew 37, 43, 81, 95, iii, 122,
164, 168, 186, 238, 433, 448, 456,
497. 505
Mesopotamian 34, 43
Nabataean 143, 453, 492, 539
Neopunic 165, 239, 460
Palmyrene 43, 85, 91, 95, 143, 164,
239, 419, 433, 471, 495. 539
Phoenician 37, 55, 86, 99, 238,
453' 503' 515. 527
Punic 85, 473, 475, 498
Cilician 458, 463
Egyptian 99, 166, 440, 515, 537
Day names loi
Lall names 282, 419, 450, 465
Month names loi
Polyandry evidenced 142, 239
compounded of Adon 37, 55, 238
Au III, 118
abdti 34
ardu 34 f.
isdu 35
piitu 156
Nature of transaction fixed by preamble
291
Negotiable bonds 18
Nineteenth of the month 517
Nineveh
Quarters of the city 326
Esarhaddon's kisru 48
Sennacherib's kisru, eHu 326, 455
Goldsmiths' quarter 287
Potters' quarter
Washermen's quarter 514
North Syria 345
Notary 518
held deed 290
INDEX.
597
Notary's fee 290, 477
Notation for clauses of formula of deeds
of sale ,^64.
Note of hand 17
Numbers, fractional 23, 24
Oaths 332, 334
Official claims on estate 91, 320
interference for seller 319-328
maintenance 21
Oil advanced 208
Omission of clauses, implied but not
expressed 7, 11, 51, 55
Ordeal 356, 358
Owner 10
Palace slaves 374, 380
Partnership 78, 318
Penalty clauses 2, 508
for delay in repayment 22, 23
for breach of contract 332,
336 f.
relation to purchase money 336
chiefly deterrent 370
fine payable to god 336-338
white horses to god 343
animals called murbakdni 344
amount of tin to governor 355
draft from inscribed bowl 356
dedication of child to a god 345
tongue to be torn out 358
bow of bronze to Ninip 347
compensation to injured party
368
to buyer 347
forfeit to injured party 351
forfeit of lapis lazuli 358
denial of legal action 360
failure of legal process 363
Phonetic prefixes 26, no
suffixes 26
Plaintiff 325, 334
Pleas in court 260
for revision of contract 310, 313
Pledges 73-119
profit set off against interest 73
Police 534
Possession 15, 16
Post Canon Eponyms 30, 34, 45, 84,
94, 107, 202
Posthumous son 15,3
Preamble of di-ed 80, 289
Price, of corn 1H4
statement of 295
of slaves 542-546
Priest-eunuch 264
Profit, on security set off against interest
256
Provisions 326
Purchaser, where to look for 296
Purim Festival 154-7
Reapers 55, 223, 226
Receipt 3, 216
Receiver 16
Redemption of mortgage 92, 93, 140
Relation of penalty to price 369
Renewal of loan 2
Rent day, autumn 36
Repayment of loan 3, 20, 216
after harvest 23
Repudiation barred 300, 301
Restitution 280
Resurrection 268
Return of purchase 355
Revenue 224
from slave 375
Reverse, duplicate of obverse 116
Rice 212
Sales, see Deeds of sale, Slave sales,
of com(?) 231, 237, 239, 243
Sanction by oath 366
Scorpion bite 89
Scribe's errors 33, 69, 70, 167, 204,
402, 418
Seals 5, 18, 289
who sealed? 289
Seed, corn for 3, 212
Seller, identity 281
designation 295
where to look for 296
heirs and representatives 315
sons 315, 316
brothers 316, 317
sisters 317
nephews 317
grandsons 317
'his people ' 318
Sellers 292
598
INDEX.
Serfdom see under Slavery
Settlement of claim for slave 281
Shape of tablets 3, 5, 73, 115, it6
Sheep, lost by head shepherd 278, 279
farmed out 196-201
Shops 214
Short loans, without interest 254
Signatures 49
Silver 7
Slavery, scope of term 373
mild character 431
status carried no disgrace 379
sources of, captives 383
born slaves 383
freemen reduced 383
children sold 383
Family of slave 385-6, 445
father named 380
children of slaves 445, 446
polygamy 386
preponderance of sons 387
girls in service 387
children of slave girl by
freeman free 382
married slaves lived out
378
Number of slaves
in the documents 387
in one household 387
Freedom of slaves,
by adoption 382
manumission 384
Renaming of slaves 383
Slaves as factors 374, 375
Rights of slave,
acted as witness 380
bought and sold, 381
held property 374, 381
held slaves 381
might redeem fellow-slave
318
State rights over slave population
320, 385
Master's care of slave 381-2
Hire of slaves 382
Apprenticeship 382
Cost of keep 382
Slaves pledged 75, 76, 77
Slave 'marks' 519, 523
Prices of slaves 384, 542, 544
Serfs, glebae adscripti 378
captives became rather serfs
than slaves 384
had private property beside
their holding as serfs 381
Industrial slaves 378
Slave sales 374-544
Features peculiar to 389-395
Division of deeds into groups
388
Single male slave 374-424
Single female slave 425-444
Woman for wife 51 [-519
Rutu slaves 519-530
Lists of slaves 522, 535
Son sold by father 383
Daughter sold by parent
426, 441, 442
Sister sold by brother 431
Wife sold(?) 431
Cash paid in advance 391
Delivery delayed 390
Defect or sickness 394, 395
Blemishes 391
invalidated sale, within a
certain time 391
Son sold 383, 413, 421, 528, 531
pledged 77
Specification of property 293
of slaves 389-90
State claims on land 361
on slaves 315, 320, 321
Stipulations against litigation 300
Straw contract 241
Strawyard 215
Surety 165
Swearing in officials 334
Syrian desert 225
Tables
Penalties in relation to prices
336
Prices of slaves 542-546
Tablets
shapes, size, etc. 3, 28
colour 28
shape varied with purpose 3
broken on repayment of loan 18
Temples as i>anks 254
Tenant's claims on landlord 19
INDEX.
599
Tenfold compensation 347
Theft, sentence upon 265, 270
1 i" 355
Tithe 347
Town gods 337, 338-343
Trades or occupations
goldsmith 104, 435
leather-worker 439
shepherds 277
surveyor of land 291
turban maker 469
washermen 105, 514
weavers 8r
Transfer, how indicated 5, 16
Transliterations, conventional 31
for technical terms 29
Twelvefold compensation 348
Usury, no law against 28
Ve-Adar 476
Verbal ending /ini 307 f.
Vine loi, 157
Wages 28, 254, 326
White horses, offered to gods 92, 339,
341. 343
Wild asses (?) 201
Wine lent 204-208
Witnesses
never seal documents 289
slaves as 380, 381
Woman
acts for master in his absence
281, 282
Working expenses
advances for 2
by whom incurred 2
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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