OF THE PAST
LIBRARY
TORONTO
Shelf No..
''J&.&Mt&&
Register No,
J. D. FALCONBRIDGE, ESQUIRE, K.C.
ll>,^
/_ M" I
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. ix.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
NOTE.
Every Text here given is either now translated for the first
time, or has been specially revised by the Translator to the
date of this publication.
RECORDS OF THE PAST
BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THH:
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
PUBLISHED UNDEU THE SANCTION
OF
THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
VOL. IX.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
Multse terricolis 1 injure, crelestilms una.
LONDON :
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE i
Great Inscription in the Palace of Khorsabad ... i
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
The Bavian Inscription of Sennacherib ... ... 21
By THEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
Inscription of Merodach Baladan III 29
By the Rev. J. M. RODWKLL, M.A.
Annals of Assurbanipal 37
By the late GEORGE SMITH.
Inscriptions of the Persian Monarchs ... ... 65
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Babylonian Public Documents ... ... ... 89
By MM. OPPEKT and MF.NANT.
Inscription on the Sarcophagus of King Esmunazar 109
By Prof. Dr. JULIUS OPPERT.
Chaldean Account of the Creation ... ... ... 115
By H. Fox TALROT, F.R.S.
Ishtar and Izdubar ... ... ... ... ... 119
By H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S.
The Twelfth Izdubar Legend ... ... ... 129
By WILLIAM ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Fight between Bel and the Dragon ... ... 135
By H. Fox TAT.BOT, .F.R.S.
Accadian Poem on the Seven Evil Spirits ... ... 141
By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Fragment of an Assyrian Prayer after a Bad Dream 149
By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Lists of Further Texts, Assyrian and Egyptian ... 153
Selected by the late GEORGE SMITH, and
P. T.E PAGE RENOUF, F.R.S.L.
PREFACE.
THE present volume, which in accordance with the
plan of the " RECORDS OF THE PAST " is dedicated
to translations from the Assyrian and Babylonian,
will be found to contain several texts rendered from
these languages by additional translators. As the
work attracted European notice, it was at once per
ceived to be available for bringing into notice the
most important texts and the translations of foreign
scholars, and a considerable portion of the present
volume will be found due to them. Dr. Oppcrt,
whose early and successful researches place him in
the first rank of Assyrian scholars, has contributed no
less than three long translations, one in conjunction
with M. Menant, who was formerly associated with
him in his labours. Amongst the English translators
may be cited Mr. Boscawen, and Mr. Pinches, of the
young and rising school of Assyriology in this
country, who has each contributed translations ; and
there is in the present volume one from the late
Mr. George Smith, which he unfortunately did not
live long enough to revise. The principal historical
texts will be found comprised in the " RECORDS OF
THE PAST," and the materials supplied for those who
desire to use them, either for the purposes of general
history or a comparison with the contemporary events
of sacred or profane history. In fact they offer a new
ii PREFACE.
account of the events which took place in Western
Asia, and must be considered as the authentic narra
tive of the annals of Babylonia and Assyria, compiled
by contemporary writers under official supervision,
and not traditions collected by foreigners imperfectly
acquainted with the language of the countries whose
history they narrated. Besides the historical texts,
the mythological inscriptions reveal the subjective
portion of these early religions hitherto not known,
except by the names of a few gods who played an
important part in them. The strange and weird tales,
revealed for the first time to the modern mind, come
upon it with all the attractions of a romance and the
interest of early folklore ; for although novels or works
of imagination have not been found, the legends re
cently discovered, whatever interpretation may be
assigned to their object, have the greatest analogy
with oriental epic, and that golden thread of traditional
beginning which runs through the circle of mankind.
In this volume will be found a translation of the
Phoenician inscription on the sarcophagus of Esmun-
azar by Dr. Oppert There are amongst the extant
inscriptions a few which ought to enter into the
Records, and this is one of them, but there has always
been a difficulty about obtaining translations, partly
owing, in some instances, to the imperfections of texts.
It is to be hoped, however, that the inscription of
Dhiban will enter into the series before the work closes.
S. BIRCH.
2yd July, 1877.
GREAT INSCRIPTION
IN
THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
document of which I publish a translation
has been copied with admirable precision by
M. Botta in his Monuments de Ninive. There are
four specimens of this same text in the Assyrian
palace, which bear the title of Inscriptions of the
Halls, Nos. iv., vii., viii., and x.
There is another historical document in the palace
of Khorsabad containing more minute particulars,
and classed in a chronological order, which I trans
lated in my Dur-Sarkayan, 1870, and in the Records
of the Past, Vol. VII.
The several copies of this document have been united
in one sole text in a work which I published in com
mon with M. Menant in the Journal A siatique, 1863.
VOL. ix. 2
2 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
I published my translation of the " Great Inscrip
tions of Khorsabad," in the Annales de Philosophic
Chretienne, July and August, 1862, Tom. V. (New
Series), p. 62 ; then in my Inscriptions des Sargonides,
p. 20, 1862. The same text was inserted in the
work which I edited in communion with my friend
M. Joachim Menant, entitled La Grande Inscription
des Salles de KJwrsabad, Journal Asiatique, 1863.
Some passages have been since corrected by me in
my Dur-Sarkayan, Paris, 1870, in the great work of
M.Victor Place, and these corrections have been totally
admitted by M. Menant in a translation which he has
given in his book, Annales des Rots d Assyric, Paris,
1874, p. 1 80. As the reader may easily convince him
self in collating it with my previous attempts, this
present translation is now amended according to the
exigencies of the progressing science of Assyriology,
as it is now understood.
GREAT INSCRIPTION
OF
THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD.
1 PALACE of SARGON, the great King, the powerful King,
King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy of the gods
at Babylon, King of the Sinners and of the Accads,
favourite of the great gods.
2 The gods ASSUR, NEBO, and MERODACH have conferred
on me the royalty of the nations, and they have pro
pagated the memory of my fortunate name to the ends of
the earth. I have followed the reformed precepts of
Sippara, Nipur, Babylon, and Borsippa; I have amended
the imperfections which the men of all laws had admitted.
3 I have reunited the dominions of Kalu, Ur, Orchoe',
Erikhi, Larsa,1 Kullab, Kisik, the dwelling-place of the
god LAGUDA ; I have subdued their inhabitants. As to
the laws of Sumer2 and of the town of Harran, which had
fallen into desuetude from the most ancient times, I have
restored to fresh vigour their forgotten customs.
4 The great gods have made me happy by the constancy
1 Orchoe, the Erech of the Bible, is certainly the Warka of the present
day; Sippara, Sofeira ; Nipur, Niffar ; Larsam, Senkereh. Ur (the
Ur of the Bible) is Mugheir ; Kullab and Erikhi are unknown. (See
Expcd. en Mesopot. I. p. 255, et. seq.
2 The old empire Bal-lat-ki. The syllabaries explain this ideogram by
" Assur," but it is very awkward that in these texts, the identification with
Assur occurs nowhere. I therefore transcribe Sumer, which was the true
name of the people and the language named wrongly Accadian. The
term of Sumerian is supported by MM. Menant, Eneberg, Gelzer, Prae-
torius, Delitzsch, Olshausen, and other scholars.
2*
4 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
of their affection, they have granted me the exercise of
my sovereignty over all Kings ; they have re-established
obedience upon them all. From the day of my accession
there existed no princes who were my masters ; I have
not, in combats or battles, seen my victor. I have
crushed the territories of the rebels like straws, and I have
struck them with the plagues of the four elements. I
have opened innumerable deep and very extensive
forests, I have levelled their inequalities. I have tra
versed winding and thick valleys, which were impene
trable, like a needle, and I passed in digging tanks dug
on my way.
5 By the grace and power of the great gods, my Masters, I
have flung my arms ; by my force I have defeated my
enemies. I have ruled from latnan,1 which is in the
middle of the sea of the setting sun, to the frontiers
of Egypt and of the country of the Moschians, over
vast Phoenicia, the whole of Syria, the whole of guti
muski* of distant Media, near the country of Bikni, to the
country of Ellip, from Ras which borders upon Elam,
to the banks of the Tigris, to the tribes of Itu, Rubu,
Haril, Kaldud, Hauran, Ubul, Ruhua, of the Litai who
dwell on the borders of the Surappi and the Ukne, Gam-
bul, Khindar, and Pukud.3 I have reigned over the
suit hunters who are in the territory of latbur, in what
ever it was as far as the towns of Samhun, Bab-Dur,
Dur-Tilit, Khilikh, Pillat, Dunni-Samas, Bubi, Tell-
Khumba, which are in the dependency of Elam,4 and
1 Itamts, or Yatnan, in the Island of Crete, became afterwards the
name of the Island of Cyprus.
- For the words in italics no satisfactory translation has as yet been
found.
3 The Pekod of the Bible (Jer. i. 21 ; Ezek. xxiii. 23).
4 Which belong-s to Elam.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 5
Kar-duniyas l Upper and Lower, of the countries
of Bit-Amukkan, Bit-Dakkur, Bit-Silan, Bit-Sa'alla, which
together form Chaldea in its totality, over the country of
Bit-Iakin, which is on the sea shore, as far as the frontier
of Dilmun. I have received their tributes, I have estab
lished my Lieutenants over them as Governors, and I
have reduced them under my suzerainty.
6 This is what I did from the beginning of my reign to my
fifteenth year of reign :
I defeated KHUMBANIGAS, King of Elam, in the plains
of Kalu.
7 I besieged and occupied the town of Samaria, and took
27,280 of its inhabitants captive. I took from them 50
chariots, but left them the rest of their belongings. I
placed my Lieutenants over them \ I renewed the obliga
tion imposed upon them by one of the Kings who pre
ceded me.s
8 HANUN, King of Gaza, and SEBECH, Sultan 3 of Egypt,
allied themselves at Rapih4 to oppose me, and fight
against me ; they came before me, I put them to flight.
SEBECH yielded before my cohorts, he fled, and no one has
ever seen any trace of him since. I took with my own
hand HANUN, King of Gaza.
9 I imposed a tribute on PHARAOH, King of Egypt, SAMSIE,
Queen of Arabia, IT-AMAR, the Sabean, of gold, sweet
smelling herbs of the land, horses, and camels.
10 KIAKKU of Sinukhta had despised the god ASSUR, and
refused submission to him. I took him prisoner, and
seized his 30 chariots and 7350 of his soldiers. I gave
1 Lower Chaldea. Nearly all the names of the Elamite towns are
Semitic (see Gen. x. 22), but the Susian ones are not.
5 Tiglatpileser, whom Sargon would not acknowledge.
3 This is the word siltan, the Hebrew shilton, "power," the Arabic sultan.
4 Raphia, near the frontiers of Egypt.
6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Sinuhta, the town of his royalty, to MATTI from the
country of Tuna, I added some horses and asses to the
former tribute and appointed MATTI as Governor.
11 AMRIS of Tabal, had been placed upon the throne of
KHULLI his father; I gave to him a daughter and
I gave him Cilicia1 which had never submitted to his
ancestors. But he did not keep the treaty and sent his
ambassador to URZAHA, King of Armenia, and to MITA,
King of the Moschians, who had seized my provinces. I
transported AMRIS to Assyria, with his belongings, the
members of his ancestors' families, and the magnates of
the country, as well as 100 chariots; I established some
Assyrians, devoted to my government, in their places. I
appointed my Lieutenant Governor over them, and com
manded tributes to be levied upon them.
1 2 JAUBID of Hamath, a smith,2 was not the legitimate master
of the throne, he was an infidel and an impious man, and
he had coveted the royalty of Hamath. He incited the
towns of Arpad, Simyra, Damascus, and Samaria to rise
against me, took his precautions with each of them, and
prepared for battle. 1 counted all the troops of the god
ASSUR ; in the town of Karkar which had declared itself
for the rebel, I besieged him and his warriors, I occupied
Karkar and reduced it to ashes. I took him, himself, and
had him flayed, and I killed the chief of the rioters in
each town, and reduced them to a heap of ruins. I
recruited my forces with 200 chariots and 600 horsemen
from among the inhabitants of the country of Hamath
and added them to my empire.
13 Whilst IRANZU of Van3 lived, he was subservient and
devoted to my rule, but fate removed him. His subjects
1 Khilakku. It seems to be identical with the Sparda of Persian, the
Sepharad of Obadiah.
1 The condition of Jaubid before his accession. 3 Or Minni.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 7
placed his son AZA on the throne. URZAHA the Armenian
intrigued with the people of Mount Mildis, Zikirta, Mi-
siandi, with the nobles of Van, and enticed them to
rebellion ; they threw the body of their Master AZA on
the top of the mountains. ULLUSUN of Van, his brother,
whom they had placed on his father's throne, did homage
to URZAHA, and gave him 22 fortresses with their
garrisons. In the anger of my heart I counted all the
armies of the god ASSUR, I watched like a lion in ambush
and advanced to attack these countries. ULLUSUN of
Van saw my expedition approaching, he set out with his
troops and took up a strong position in the ravines of the
high mountains. I occupied Izirti the town of his
royalty, and the towns of Izibia and Armit, his formidable
fortresses, I reduced them to ashes. I killed all that be
longed to URZAHA the Armenian, in these high mountains.
I took with my own hand 250 royal members of his
family. I occupied 55 royal towns of which 8 were
ordinary towns and 1 1 impregnable fortresses. I reduced
them to ashes. I incorporated the 22 strong towns, that
ULLUSUN of Van had delivered to him with Assyria.
I occupied 8 strong cities of the country of Tuaya and the
districts of Tilusina of Andia; 4,200 men, with their be
longings were carried away into slavery.
14 MITATTI, of Zikirta, had secured himself against my arms ;
he and the men of his country had fled into the forests •
no trace of them was to be seen. I reduced Parda, the
town of his royalty to ashes; I occupied twenty-three
great towns in the environs, and I spoiled them. The
cities of Suandakhul and Zurzukka, of the country of
Van, took the part of MITATTI ; I occupied and pillaged
them. Then I took BAGADATTI of the Mount Mildis, and
I had him flayed. I banished DAYAUKKU and his suite
to Hamath, and I made them dwell there.
8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
15 Then ULLUSUN heard in his high mountains of my
glorious exploits ; he departed in haste like a bird, and
kissed my feet; I pardoned his innumerable misdeeds,
and I blotted out his iniquities. I granted pardon to him ;
I replaced him upon the throne of his royalty. I gave
him the two fortresses and the 22 great towns that I
had taken away from URZAHA and MITATTI. I endea
voured to restore peace to his country. I made the
image of my Majesty : I wrote on it the glory of the god
ASSUR, my Master, I erected many fac-similes of it in
Izirti, the town of his royalty.
1 6 I imposed a tribute of horses, oxen and lambs upon
IANZU, King of the river country, in Hupuskia, the
town of his power.
17 ASSURLIH, of Kar-Alla, ITTI, of Allapur, had sinned
against ASSUR and despised his power. I had ASSURLIH
flayed. I banished the men of Kar-Alla, whoever
they were, and ITTI, with his suite, I placed them in
Hamath.
1 8 I took the inhabitants of the towns of Sukkia, Bala,
Ahitikna, Pappa,1 Lallukni away from their homes ; I
made them dwell at Damascus in Syria.
19 I occupied the 6 towns of the country of Niksamma,
I took with my own hand NIRISAR, Governor of the town
of Surgadia; I added these towns to the satrapy of
Parsuas.2
20 BEL-SAR-USUR 3 was King of the town of Kisisim ; I
had him transported to Assyria with all that he pos
sessed, his treasure, the contents of his palace; I put
my Lieutenant in as Governor of the town, to which I
gave the name of Kar-Marduk. I had an image made
of my Majesty and erected it in the middle of the town.
1 It seems not to be Paphos.
2 Parthia.(P) 3 The same name as Belshazzar.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 9
I occupied 6 towns in the neighbourhood and I added
them to his government.
21 I attacked and conquered KIBABA, Prefect of the town
of Kharkhar, I took him and the inhabitants of his coun
try captive, I rebuilt this city and made the inhabitants of
the provinces, that my arm had conquered, live there. I
placed my Lieutenant as Governor over them. I named
the town Kar-Sarkin ; I established the worship of the
god ASSUR, my Master, there. I erected an image of my
Royal self. I occupied 6 towns in the environs, and added
them to his government.
22 I besieged and took the towns of Tel-Akhi-tub, Khin-
dau, Bagai, and Anzaria; I transported the inhabitants
of them to Assyria. I rebuilt them; I gave them the
names of Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin, Kar-Ben, Kar-Istar.
23 To maintain my position in Media, I have erected forti
fications in the neighbourhood of Kar-Sarkin. I occupied
34 towns in Media and annexed them to Assyria and I
levied annual tributes of horses upon them.
24 I besieged and took the town of Eristana, and the sur
rounding towns in the country of Bait-Ili ; I carried away
the spoil.
25 The countries of Agag1 and Ambanda,2 in Media, opposite
the Arabs of the East, had refused their tributes, I de
stroyed them, laid them waste, and burnt them by fire.
26 DALTA of Ellip, was subject to me, and devoted to the
worship of ASSUR ; 5 of his towns revolted and no longer
recognized his dominion. I came to his aid, I besieged
and occupied these towns, I carried the men and their
goods away into Assyria with numberless horses.
27 URZANA, of the town of Musasir, had attached himself to
URZAHA the Armenian, and had refused me his allegiance.
1 This Agag is very possibly the country of Haman the Agagite, if \ve
must not read Agaz. 2 Ambanda is perhaps the Median Kampanda,
IO RECORDS OF THE PAST.
With the multitude of my army, I covered the city of
Musasir as if it were with ravens, and he to save his
life, fled alone into the mountains.
28 I entered as a Ruler into Musasir. I seized as spoil
URZANA'S wife, sons and daughters, his money, his
treasures, all the stores of his palace whatever they were,
with 20,100 men and all that they possessed, the gods
HALDIA and BAGABARTA, his gods, and their holy vessels
in great numbers.
29 URZAHA, King of Armenia, heard of the defeat of Musa
sir and the carrying away of the god HALDIA T his god,
he cut off his life by his own hands with a dagger of his
girdle. I held a severe judgment over the whole of
Armenia. I spread over the men, who inhabit this coun
try, mourning and lamentation.
30 TARHUNAZI, of the town of Melid, sought for revenge.
He sinned against the laws of the great gods, and refused
his submission. In the anger of my heart, I crushed
like briars Melid, which was the town of his kingdom,
and the neighbouring towns. I made him, his wife, sons
and daughters, the slaves of his palace whoever they were,
with 5000 warriors, leave Tel-Garimmi ; I treated them
all as booty. I rebuilt Tel-Garimmi ; I had it entirely
occupied by some archers from the country of Kham-
manua, which my hand had conquered, and I added it to
the boundaries of this country. I put it in the hands of
my Lieutenant, and I restituted the surface of the domi
nion, as it had been in the time of GUNZINAN, the pre
ceding King.
31 TARHULAR, of Gamgum, had a son MUTTALLU, who
had murdered his father by the arms, and sat on the
1 We find in the inscriptions of Van, the god Haldi as god of the
Armenians, which proves more forcibly than ever that the syllabary of
the Armenian inscriptions is the same as the Assyrian syllabary.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. II
throne against my will, and to whom they had entrusted
their country. In the anger of my heart, I hastily marched
against the town of Markasi, with my chariots and horse
men, who followed on my steps. I treated MUTTALLU,
his son and the families of the country of Bit-Pa'alla
in its totality, as captives, and seized as booty the gold
and silver and the numberless treasures of his palace.
I reinstated the men of Gamgum and the neighbouring
tribes, and placed my Lieutenant as Governor over them ;
I treated them like the Assyrians.
32 AZURI, King of Ashdod,1 determined within himself to
render no more tributes ; he sent hostile messages against
Assyria to the neighbouring Kings. I meditated vengeance
for this, and I withdrew from him the government over
his country. I put his brother AKHIMIT on his throne.
But the people of Syria, eager for revolt, got tired of
AKHIMIT'S rule, and installed IAMAN. who like the former,
was not the legitimate master of the throne. In the
anger of my heart, I did not assemble the bulk of my army
nor divide my baggage, but I marched against Ashdod with
my warriors, who did not leave the trace of my feet.
33 IAMAN learnt from afar of the approach of my expedition ;
he fled beyond Egypt towards Libya (Meluhhi),2 and no
one ever saw any further trace of him. I besieged and
took Ashdod and the town of Gimtu-Asdudim;3 I carried
away captive I AM AN 's gods, his wife, his sons, his daugh
ters, his money and the contents of his palace, together
with the inhabitants of his country. I built these towns
anew and placed in them the men that my arm had con
quered.
1 See Isaiah xx. i.
2 Meluhhi is not Meroe, but Libya, and especially the Marmarica. The
name seems to be the Milyes of Herodotus.
3 Asdudim seems to be an Hebraic plural.
12 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
34 I placed my Lieutenant as Governor over them, and I
treated them as Assyrians. They never again became
guilty of impiety.
35 The King of Libya1 lives in the middle of the desert,
in an inaccessible place, at (a month's) journey. From
the most remote times until the renewal of the lunar
period2 his fathers had sent no ambassadors to the Kings,
my ancestors, to ask for peace and friendship and to
acknowledge the power of MERODACH. But the immense
terror inspired by my Majesty roused him, and fear
changed his intentions. In fetters of iron he threw him
(IAMAN), directed his steps towards Assyria and kissed
my feet.
36 MUTTALLU, of Commagene, a fraudulent and hostile
man, did not honour the memory of the gods, he plotted
a conspiracy, and meditated defection. He trusted upon
ARGiSTi,3 King of Armenia, an helper who did not assist
him, took upon himself the collection of the tributes' and
his part of the spoil, and refused me his submission. In
the anger of my heart, I took the road to his country with
the chariots of my power, and the horsemen who never
left the traces of my feet. MUTTALLU saw the approach
of my expedition, he withdrew his troops, and no one saw
any further trace of him. I besieged and occupied his
1 Meluhhi. This is the only passage, where small gaps occur.
2 This is one of the most important passages of the text; the period is
the Chaldsean eclipse period of 1805 years, and ended in 712 B.C. Instead
of this passage, the Stele of Larnaca, now in Berlin, has : " from the
remotest times, the beginning of Assyria, until now." The commencement
of the period, 2517 B.C., coincided very nearly with the capture of Babylon
by the Medes. This date commences the real history ; previous to this
time reigned the 86 princes during twelve lunar periods of 1805, and twelve
solarperiods of 1460 years, viz., 39,180 years. The very event may have
happened n years afterward, 2506 B.C. The deluge happened, according
to the Chaldaeans, in 41,697 B.C.
3 This royal name is still found in the Armenian texts of Van.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 13
capital and 62 large towns all together. I carried away
his wife, his sons, his daughters, his money, his treasure,
all precious things from his palace, together with the in
habitants of his country as spoil, I left none of them. I
inaugurated this town afresh ; I placed in it men from
the country of Bit-Iakin, that my arm had conquered.
I instituted my Lieutenant as Governor, and subdued
them under my rule. I previously took from them 150
chariots, 1500 horsemen, 20,000 archers, 1000 men
armed with shields and lances, and I confided the
country to my Satrap.
37 Whilst DALTA, King of Ellip lived, he was submissive
and devoted to my rule, the infirmities of age however
came and he walked on the path of death. NIBIE and
ISPABARA, the sons of his wives, claimed both the vacant
throne of his royalty, the country and the taxes, and they
fought a battle. NIBIE applied to SUTRUK-NAKHUNTI l
King of Elam to support his claims, giving to him pledges
for his alliance, and the other came as a helper. ISPA
BARA, on his side, implored me to maintain his cause, and
to encourage him, at the same time bowing down, and
humbling himself, and asking my alliance. I sent seven
of my Lieutenants with their armies to support his claims,
they put NIBIE and the army of the four rivers,2 which
had helped him, to flight, at the town of Mareobisti.
I reinstated ISPABARA on the throne; I re-established
peace in his country, and confided it to his care.
38 MERODACH-BALADAN, son of IAKIN,* King of Chaldsea,
the fallacious, the persistent in enmity, did not respect
the memory of the gods, he trusted in the sea, and in the
retreat of the marshes ; he eluded the precepts of the
1 The inscriptions of this prince are translated in the Vllth volume.
* Elam. We are now certain of this identification.
3 The same who occurs in the Ptolemaic canon (721-709)
14 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
great gods, and refused to send his tributes. He had
supported as an ally KHUMBANIGAS, King of Elam. He
had excited all the nomadic tribes of the desert against me.
He prepared himself for battle, and advanced. During
twelve years,1 against the will of the gods of Babylon, the
town of BEL which judges the gods, he had excited the
country of the Sumers and Accads, and had sent ambas
sadors to them. In honour of the god ASSUR, the
father of the gods, and of the great and august Lord
MERODACH, I roused my courage I prepared my ranks for
battle. I decreed an expedition against the Chaldeans,
an impious and riotous people. MERODACH-BALADAN
heard of the approach of my expedition, dreading the
terror of his own warriors, he fled before it, and flew in
the night time like an owl, falling back from Babylon, to
the town of Ikbibel. He assembled together the towns
possessing oracles, and the gods living in these towns
he brought to save them to Dur-Iakin, fortifying its walls.
He summoned the tribes of Gambul, Pukud, Tamun,
Ruhua, and Khindar, put them in this place, and pre
pared for battle. He calculated the extent of a plethrum2
in front of the great wall. He constructed a ditch 200
spans3 wide, and deep one fathom and a half.4 The con
duits of water, coming from the Euphrates, flowed out
into this ditch; he had cut off the course of the river,
and divided it into canals, he had surrounded the town,
the place of his revolt, with a dam, he had filled it with
water, and cut off the conduits. MERODACH-BALADAN,
with his allies and his soldiers had the insignia of his
royalty kept as in an island on the banks of the river ; he
arranged his plan of battle. I stretched my combatants
all along the river dividing them into bands ; they con-
1 From 721 to 709 B.C. * 32m9i,39 yards.
54m85>65 yards. 4 4m9-W£ feet.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 15
quered the enemies. By the blood of the rebels the
waters of these canals reddened like dyed wool. The
nomadic tribes were terrified by this disaster which sur
prised him and fled; I completely separated his allies
and the men of Marsan from him ; I filled the ranks of
the insurgents with mortal terror. He left in his tent the
insignia of his royalty, the golden ' the golden
throne, the golden parasol, the golden sceptre, the silver
chariot, the golden ornaments, and other effects of con
siderable weight; he fled alone, and disappeared like
the ruined battlements of his fortress, and I entered
into his retreat. I besieged and occupied the town of
Dur-Iakin, I took as spoil and made captive, him, his
wife, his sons, his daughters, the gold and silver and all
that he possessed, the contents of his palace, whatever it
was, with considerable booty from the town. I made
each family and every man who had withdrawn himself
from my arms, accountable for this sin. I reduced Dur-
Iakin the town of his power to ashes. I undermined
and destroyed its ancient forts. I dug up the foundation
stone;2 I made it like a thunder-stricken ruin. I allowed
the people of Sippara, Nipur, Babylon, and Borsippa,
who live in the middle of the towns to exercise their
profession, to enjoy their belongings in peace, and I have
watched upon them. I took away the possession of the
fields which from remote times had been in the hand of
the Suti Nomad, and restored them to their rightful
owners. I placed the nomadic tribes of the desert again
under my yoke, and I restored the forgotten land de
limitations which had existed during the tranquillity of
the land. I gave to each of the towns of Ur, Orchoe,
Erikhi, Larsa, Kullab, and Kisik, the dwelling of the god
LAGUDA, the god that resides in each, and I restored the
1 Unexplained. a Timin, not "cylinder."
1 6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
gods who had been taken away, to their sanctuaries. I
re-established the altered laws in full force.
39 I imposed tributes on the countries of Bet-Iakin, the
high and low part, and on the towns of Samhun, Bab-
Dur, Dur-Tilit, Bubi, Tell-Khumba, which are the
resort of Elam. I transplanted into Elam the inhabit
ants of the Commagene, in Syria, that I had attacked
with my own hand, obeying the commands of the great
gods my Masters, and I placed them on the territory of
Elam, in the town of Sakbat. NABU-PAKID-ILAN was
authorised to collect the taxes from the Elamites in order
to govern them ; I claimed as a pledge the town of Birtu.
I placed all this country in the hands of my Lieutenant at
Babylon and my Lieutenant in the country of Gambul.1
40 I returned alone to Babylon, to the sanctuaries of BEL,
the judge of the gods, in the excitement of my heart and
the splendour of my appearance ; I took the hands of the
great Lord, the august god MERODACH, and I traversed
the way to the chamber of the spoil.
41 I transported into it 154 talents, 26 mines, 10 drams of
gold russti;* 1804 talents, 20 mines of silver;3 ivory,
a great deal of copper, iron in an innumerable quantity,
some of the stone ka, alabaster, the minerals //, digili,
flattened //, sirru for witness seals, blue and purple
stuffs, cloth of berom and cotton, ebony; cedar, and
cypress wood, freshly cut from the fine forests on Mount
Amanus, in honour of BEL, ZARPANIT, NEBO, and TAS-
MIT, and the gods who inhabit the sanctuaries of the
1 Only two years after the commencement of the war.
2 12544, pd. troy 68.
3 152,227, pd. troy, 75. A royal silver drachm is nearly 35., a royal mina
£9, the state drachm and mina is the half of it. A silver talent is always
very close £270 st.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. I 7
Sumers and Accads ; all that from my accession to the
third year of my reign.1
42 UPIR, King of Dilmun who dwells at the distance of
30 parasanges2 in the midst of the sea of the rising sun
and who is established as a fish, heard of the favour that
the gods ASSUR, NEBO, and MERODACH had accorded
me ; he sent therefore his expiatory gift.
43 And the seven Kings of the country of lahnagi, of the
country of latnan (who have established and extended
their dwellings, at a distance of seven days navigation in the
midst of the sea of the setting sun, and whose name from
the most ancient ages until the renewal of the lunar period,3
none of the Kings my fathers in Assyria and Chaldaea *
had heard, had been told of my lofty achievements in
Chaldaea and Syria, and my glory, which had spread from
afar to the midst of the sea. They subdued their pride
and humbled themselves ; they presented themselves
before me at Babylon, bearing metals, gold, silver, vases,
ebony wood, and the manufactures of their country ; they
kissed my feet.
44 Whilst I endeavoured to exterminate Bet-Iakin and
reduce Aram, and render my rule more efficacious in the
country of latbur, which is beyond Elam, my Lieutenant,
the Governor of the country of Kue, attacked MITA, the
Moschian, and 3000 of his towns ; he demolished these
towns, destroyed them, burnt them with fire, and led
away many captives. And this MITA the Moschian, who
had never submitted to the Kings my predecessors and
had never changed his will, sent his envoy to me to
Sargon speaks of his third year and not of his third campaign, in
order to mark what he had already accomplished before the year 717.
2 no English miles.
3 This is the second passage where Sargon alludes to this period ending
under his reign. 4 Karduniyas.
VOL. IX. 3
1 8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the very borders of the sea of the rising sun, bearing
professions of allegiance and tributes.
45 In these days, these nations and these countries that my
hand has conquered, and that the gods ASSUR, NEBO, and
MERODACH have made bow to my feet, followed the ways
of piety. With their help I built at the feet of the musri,
following the divine will and the wish of my heart, a town
that I called Dur-Sarkin I to replace Nineveh.2 NiSROCH,3
SIN, SAMAS, NEBO, BIN, NINIP, and their great spouses,
who procreate eternally in the lofty temple of the upper
and the nether world (Aralli), blessed the splendid wonders,
the superb streets in the town of Dur-Sarkin. I reformed
the institutions which were not agreeable to their ideas.
The priests, the nisi ramki, the surmahhi supar disputed
at their learned discussions about the pre-eminence of
their divinities, and the efficacy of their sacrifices.
46 I built in the town some palaces covered with the skin
of the sea-calf,4 and of sandal wood, ebony, the wood of
mastic tree, cedar, cypress, wild pistachio nut tree, a
palace of incomparable splendour, as the seat of my
royalty. I placed their dunu upon tablets of gold, silver,
alabaster, tilpe stones, parut stones, copper, lead, iron, tin,
and khibisti made of earth. I wrote thereupon the glory
of the gods. Above, I built a platform of cedar beams.
1 Or Dur-Sarkayan. The king" passes rapidly over some other pecu
liarities which he inserts in other texts, natnely, the measures of the town,
and the ceremonies of its edification. The circuit is given as containing
3! ners (miles), i stadium, 3 canes, 2, spans, or 24,740 spans, and Botta's
measurings afford 6790 metres, 7427 yards. This statement gives for the
span, with a slight correction in the fourth decimal, om27425, 10,797
inches, and for the cubit om54S5, 21,594 inches.
2 At this time the palace of Nineveh was still in ruins. It was rebuilt by
Sennacherib.
3 This is my former transcription of the divine name which is now pro
nounced Hea. But I think sincerely that the latter is not better than the
former one.
4 This assimilation is not quite certain.
INSCRIPTION OF KHORSABAD. 19
I bordered the doors of pine and mastic wood with
bronze garnitures, and I calculated their distance. I
made a spiral staircase similar to the one in the great
temple of Syria, that is called in the Phoenician language,
Bethilanni. Between the doors I placed 8 double
lions whose weight is i ner 6 svss, 50 talents ' of first-
rate copper, made in honour of MYLITTA 2 and
their four knbur in materials from Mount Amanus ; I
placed them on nirgalli? Over them I sculptured artis
tically a crown of beast of the fields, a bird in stone of the
mountains. Towards the four celestial regions, I turned
their front. The lintels and the uprights I made in large
gypsum stone that I had taken away with my own hand,
I placed them above. I walled them in and I drew upon
me the admiration of the people of the countries.
47 From the beginning to the end, I walked worshipping
the god ASSUR, and following the custom of wise men, I
built palaces, I amassed treasures.
48 In the month of blessing, on the happy day, I invoked,
in the midst of them, ASSUR, the father of the gods, the
greatest sovereign of the gods and the Istaratf who in
habit Assyria. I presented vessels of glass, things in
chased silver, ivory, valuable jewels and immense presents,
in great quantities, and I rejoiced their heart. I ex
hibited sculptured idols, double and winged, some . . . .2
winged, some . . . .2 winged, serpents, fishes, and birds,
from unknown regions and abysses, the 2 in high
mountains, summits of the lands that I have conquered
with my own hand, for the glory of my royalty. As a
worshipper of the gods and the god ASSUR, I sacrificed
1 ioio talents, 602 hundredweights English. 2 Obscure.
3 A very difficult passage ; the name of the god Nergal does not interfere
with the object.
4 The Hebrew Astaroth, which signifies " goddesses." Compare
Judges x. 6.
3*
20 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
in their presence, with the sacrifice of white lambs, holy
holocausts of expiation, in order to withdraw the gifts that
had not been agreeable to the gods.
49 He has granted me, in his august power, a happy exist
ence, long life, and I obtained a constantly lucky reign.
I have entrusted myself to his favour.
50 The great Lord BEL-EL, the Master of the lands, inhabits
the lofty tracts ; the gods and Istardt inhabit Assyria ;
their legions remain there in pargiti, and martakni.
51 With the Chiefs of provinces, the Satraps, wise men,
Astronomers, Magnates, the Lieutenants and Governors of
Assyria, I have ruled in my palace, and administered justice.
52 I have bid them take gold, silver, gold and silver vessels,
precious stones, copper, iron, considerable products of
mountains the mines of which are rich, cloth of berom
and cotton, blue and purple cloth, amber, skins of sea-
calves, pearls, sandal-wood, ebony, horses from higher
Egypt,1 asses, mules, camels, oxen. With all these
numerous tributes I have rejoiced the heart of the gods.
53 May ASSUR, the father of the gods, bless these palaces,
by giving to his images a spontaneous splendour. May
he watch over the issue even to the remote future. May
the sculptured bull, the protector and god who imparts
perfection, dwell in day and in night time in his presence,
and never stir from this threshhold !
54 With the help of ASSUR, may the King who has built
these palaces, attain an old age, and may his offspring
multiply greatly ! May these battlements last to the most
remote future ! May he who dwells there come forth
surrounded with the greatest splendour; may he rejoice
in his corporal health, in the satisfaction of his heart
accomplish his wishes, attain his end, and may he render
his magnificence seven times more imposing !
1 It is not clear what animals are meant.
21
THE
BAVIAN INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB.
TRANSLATED BY
THEOPHILUS GOLDRIDGE PINCHES.
HTHIS Inscription, a translation of which is now
published in full for the first time, is engraved
upon a rock at Bavian, a district to the North-east of
Mosul. There are three tablets, more or less injured,
all bearing the same legend. It is of great chrono
logical value on account of the notice it contains
(line 50) of the period of 418 years intervening
between the reign of Sennacherib and that of Tiglath-
Pileser L, who reigned from B.C. 1120 to B.C. uoo.
The text itself is printed in the Cuneiform Inscriptions
of Western Asia, Vol. III., pi. xiv.
Sennacherib, the son of Sargon, and father of
Esarhaddon, began to reign " on the twelfth day of
the month Abu, in the eponymy of Pakhir-Bel, prefect
of Amida ; that is, according to our reckoning, about
the sixteenth of July, B.C. 705 ; and was assassinated
22 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
about the month Dhabitu, in the eponymy of Nabu-
akhi-eris, prefect of Samalla (December, B.C. 68 1),
having reigned about twenty-four years and four
months."1
The records of Sennacherib's reign are numerous
and very perfect. Translations of the Inscriptions on
the Bellino and Taylor cylinders, as well as the Bull
Inscription, have already appeared in these volumes.2
The Bavian Inscription gives an account of his
turning the course of the Khosr for the purpose of
irrigating the arable land around Nineveh. It then
narrates the events of his first campaign against
Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, Ummanminanu,
King of Elam, and many petty kings of the moun
tainous country West of Elam, and of the islands of
the Persian Gulf. The second expedition to Babylon
mentioned in this text, is identical with the fourth of
the Taylor Cylinder, which describes how Sennacherib
defeated the Babylonians under Suzub, who, after the
flight of Merodach-Baladan, had proclaimed himself
king, and become so powerful that Sennacherib was
obliged to go against him in person.
1 Smith's History of Assyria. 2 Records of the Past, Vols. I., VII.
BAVIAN INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB.
1 ASSUR, ANU, BEL, HEA, SIN, SAMAS, RIMMON, MARDUK,
NEBO, (NERGAL,) ISTAR, the 7 spirits, and the great gods
2 who among all the Rulers to the supremacy of the Dark
Races, lo, they raise, they proclaim the Majesty of
3 SENNACHERIB, the great King, the powerful King, the
King of multitudes, the JCing of Assyria, King of the four
regions. The Prince the establisher of them at this time.
Fixing the laws
4 from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea. To the countries
I went and the Kings of the regions I made submissive
to my yoke, and
5 they performed my pleasure. In those days when Nine
veh, that great seat (I caused to extend), its fortress and
its outer wall which in former (days)
6 (were) not made, I caused to make anew, and I remem
bered the woody places surrounding it, which (were)
without water. Murmurings ascended on high
7 from the assemblies (of) the (Princes) and its people :
Drinking water they know not, and to the rains from the
vault of heaven their eyes are directed.
8 I had drunk ; and from the midst of the cities of
Masiti, Kimbagabna, Sapparisu, Kar-Samsi-zakir, Kar-
nuri, Rimusa,
9 Khata, Dalain, Res-eni, Sulu, Duran,1 Sibaniba, Izparirra,
1 Duran or Deri, the seat of a governor whose business it was to watch
the Elamites who held the fortress of Bit-imbi, was capital of Yamutbal,
a district on the south-eastern border of Assyria, near the frontier of
Elam.
24 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
i o Gingilinis, Nampagate, Tulu and Alumtsusi, waters which
(were) against Khadabiti, sixteen rivers, I excavated ; to
the midst of
11 the river Khusur1 I fixed their course. From the coast
of the city Kisiri to (the midst of) Nineveh I excavated,
their waters
12 I let flow within it : "The opening of Sennacherib," I pro
claimed its name. (I brought?) the strength of those
waters from the midst of the country of Taz,
1 3 a difficult mountain of the frontier of Akkad, within my
country. Formerly that river the river . . . .' was called.
The boundary lines again I, by command of
1 4 ASSUR, Lord of the great, my Lord, right and left of the
mountains of the wall and foundations (fixed.) The city
Me . . .,2 Kuqqut, Bit-Urra,3
15 the cities surrounding it, to it I added. With stones of
the river ..."..." Sennacherib," I recorded
1 6 its name. Above the waters the beautiful country and
the waters before it I ex(cavated, to the midst of the river
Khusur I) fixed their course,
17 to Nineveh, the mighty stronghold, the seat of My
Majesty. From 2 its seat he had not extended
1 8 he had not turned them; below, completely . . .2 it I
(made.) I, Sennacherib, King of Assyria, first of the Kings,
who from the rising of the sun
19 to the set(ting of the sun the nations rule); the flowing
1 Still called Khosr or Khausser, it passes through the mound of
Koyounjik, and after rain becomes an impetuous torrent, capable of doing
great mischief.
2 Lacunae.
3 It was the custom of the Assyrians to give their cities very fanciful
names, thus Kar-Samsi-zakir means : "The fortress of Shamas renowned ;"
Kar-nuri, "The fortress of Light;" Res-eni, "The raising of the Eyes;"
Sulu and Tulu, "Mound" or "Ascent;" Bit-Urra, "House of bight."
The exact positions of the cities mentioned in the text are unknown, but
they were probably not far from Duran.
BAVIAN INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB. 25
waters which I had excavated, (to) Nineveh, for its sur
roundings, enclosures, vines,
20 hedges, (I fixed their course) . . .'the inhabitants of the
forest-land, all of them, to choose the rulers
21 all . . . .' and x the waters which were not
channelled, to the arid lands I abandoned (them) and I
(settled)
22 the boundaries . . .' of all in the coasts in the entrances
of the delightful places above and below. From the
midst of the city of Tarbitsi
23 to the city of the Assurites, a seat for the measuring-out
of corn and barley, (which) I caused to be exchanged
yearly . . . .'to the Kings
24 my sons who with my heart were perfect and to dis
obedience turn not . . .' those hosts going forth
25 that river I caused to excavate. The worship of ASSUR,
my great god . . / thus in the midst of those hosts, I did
not excavate that river
26 and in that year, the third month, I did not cut out its
writing . . . .' they were completed, I cut out its ditch
27 to the openings of that river. The Masmasu (and) the
Usku I (urged) and I . . .' blue stone, white stone, marble,
zadhu stone, diamonds
28 (and other) choice precious stones, brass, (pleasant)
odours, . . .' the sum of the measure of a beautiful altar
for HEA, Lord of fountains,
29 and gifts for BEL, the Lord, the great Overlooker of
rivers, the god of Lords, were poured forth, rich things to
the great gods I (offered) and
30 my (prayer) they heard and they caused to bless the
work of my hands. The gate of the river l and
an enclosure of corn for himself. It was opened and
31 I let flow in the waters of the great canal. By an
1 Lacunae.
26 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
inscription from the hands of the (builder) of its gate
... .T the hearts of the gods, I excavated (and) the
waters from
32 the river I gathered and I directed. The inscription
which to the great gods going by my side and establishing
. . .' oxen . . .'
33 sheep, gazelles, sacrifices I killed, I sacrificed. Those
men who had excavated that river, (with) costly linen
clothing I covered them,
34 . . / rings of gold, necklaces of gold I placed upon
them. In that year the sum was (paid) for that river
which I had excavated. Against UMMAN-MINANU,
35 King of Elam, and the King of Babylon, with the many
Kings of the mountains and the sea, who were their
helpers, in sight of the city of Khalule
36 I placed my line of battle. By command of ASSUR,
Lord of the great, my Lord, cutting through (their) ranks
I drove. Into their midst I went and an overthrow of
their armies
37 I made : their army I did destroy, and I marched
against their country. The great men of the King of
Elam, with NABU-ZIKIR-ISKUN, son of MERODACH-BALA-
DAN,
38 King of Gan-Dunyas, alive within the battle my hands
captured. The King of Elarn and the King of Babylon,
the overwhelming number of my strong army
39 destroyed them and in their chariots they abandoned
their people ; to save their lives (to) their country they
fled and
40 they returned not. Afterwards the King peace to
Sennacherib, King of Assyria, speedily sent and to Elam
fixed the return.
41 Terrible fear against the country of Elam (over) all of
1 Lacunae.
BAVIAN INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB. 27
them was poured, and their country they forsook, to save
their lives, like an eagle
42 a difficult mountain they (ascended), and like to a susudi
bird I turned, and their hearts for battle failing them,
the mountain pass
43 they opened not, and they did not make battle. In my
second expedition to Babylon, which I went forth to cap
ture, I saw the destruction of its power.
44 I went and like the coming of storms I poured out (my
men); like a rushing wind I swept it. The city of Niti I
besieged and by
45 fire and rebellion the hands . . . .' (one) of its people,
small and great, I did not leave, and their corpses the
streets of the city
46 filled. To save the life of the King of Babylon, himself,
his family . . . .' alive to the midst of my country I took
him.
47 The valuables of that city I destroyed. Gold, precious
stones, furniture, valuables, to the hands (of my men) I
distributed and to the place of their army they returned.
48 The gods dwelling within it, the hands of my men cap
tured them and broke (them) and (their furniture) and
valuables they brought out. RIMMON and SALA* the
gods
49 of the temples ; which MARDUK-NADIN-AKHI, King of
Akkad, in the time of TIGLATH-PILESER, King of Assyria,
had brought out and to Babylon had taken
50 for 418 years ; from Babylon I caused to come forth and
1 Lacunae.
7 In a list containing the names and titles of the gods, W. A. /., Vol.
III., pi. 67, after naming Rimmon with the usual titles of god o£ lightning,
storms, deluge of rain, etc., Rimmon and Sala are mentioned together,
with the title of gods sa sadi, "of the mountains," showing that the
Assyrian deities often changed their attributes when mentioned in con
junction with other gods.
28 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
to the temples to their places I restored them. The city
and houses
51 from its foundation to its upper chambers I destroyed,
dug up, in the fire I burnt. The fortress and outer wall,
the temples of the gods, the tower of brickwork, the
houses;1 all there was
52 I captured it and in the river Arakhti I placed. In the
stronghold of that city that multitude I shut up • and its
ashes into the water I swept away ; the fixing
53 of its foundations I destroyed and over it like a heap of
corn its (ruins) I caused to turn. In after days the ground
of that city and the houses of the gods
54 (which were) unrequired into the waters I swept it and
I made an end with power. At the mouth of the river
which I had excavated in the midst of the country of Taz,
55 6 stone tablets . . .2 an image of the great gods my
Lords I made upon them, and an image of My Majesty.
Brickwork
56 I built before them ; not attending to the works of my
hands, which within Nineveh I had done : upon them I
caused to write and
57 to the Kings my (sons) ruling the country and the
Prince afterwards who among the Kings my sons the
ruling does :
58 he shall extend the streams beyond it, he shall open
those opened waters from the environs of Nineveh (fixing)
their course.
59 The great gods all (who) on these tablets (their) name (is)
proclaimed by (the words) proceeding from its mouth,
60 turning upon (him) who (these things does) not, may
they curse him and to the lower region remove his life.
1 Iskhi, hollow places, evidently the houses of the poorer classes.
" Lacuna.
INSCRIPTION
OF
MERODACH BALADAN III.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. J. M. RODWELL, M.A.
HP HE stone upon which the following inscription is
traced was found on the Western side of the Tigris
opposite the town of Baghdad, by the late lamented
George Smith. Its date was considered by him to be
about B.C. 1340, and to have been written during, or
shortly after, the reign of Merodach Baladan, king of
Babylon, and grandson of Kuri-galzu, who ascended
the throne about B.C. 1370.
This inscription records a grant of 90 acres of land
made by the king to his officer Maraduk-zakir-iskur,
in return for certain services rendered by him ; and
upon the back of the stone is a rudely carved picture
30 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
of the deities invoked to protect the property, and to
punish any one who should remove the boundary
stone or wall.
The strong language of the curses at the end of the
third column at once remind us of the curse pro
nounced against those who remove their neighbour's
landmark, Deut. xxvii. 17, as well as of those in Psalm
cix., of which verses 16 and 17 should be com
pared with lines 32-34; verse 12 with line 36, where
the words are almost the same in each.
It is curious and suggestive, that similar precatory
curses for the protection of individuals and property
are of common occurrence in the Babylonian and
Assyrian inscriptions.
31
INSCRIPTION OF MERODACH BALADAN III.
COLUMN I.
40 enclosures of land, 90 acres,1
on the required surface, in great cubits,
a plot by the town of Dur-zizi,
along-side the river Tigris,
in the territory of Dur-Istar ;
the upper end towards the West
of the river Tigris,
the lower end toward the East,
adjoining
the house of NAZI-MARDUK,
within the town of Dur-Istar ;
the headland towards the North,
adjoining the city Ilu-Zaqari,
and the house of TUNA-!SPATE
the honourable ;
the lower end on the South,
adjoining close upon the site
of the city Dur-Istar,
and of the city Dur-Ziki,
which MERODACH BALADAN,
Lord of thrones,
Lord of Sumir and Accad,
Son of MILI-SIHU
King of the goodly land of Babylon,
Lit. sekal, said to contain about 40,000 square yards, i.e. an acre.
32 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
grandson of KURI-GALZU/
a King to whom is no like,
to MERODACH-ZAKIR-IZKUR,
as the proprietor of the territory,
this temple and land,
of the city of Idbi-mut, the perfection
of heaven and earth,
son of NABU-NADIN-AHI.
whose grandfather
Was RlMINI-MERODACH,
1 Mili-Sihu, and Merodach-Baladan the first, are names of Babylonian
kings not elsewhere recorded.
INSCRIPTION OF MERODACH BALADAN III. 33
COLUMN II.
the direct descendant
of UBALLITSU-MERODACH,
the descendant of ZICARU-SALMAN,
in accordance with the tablets of the kingdom,
of a family in the city of Adusu,
a vassal who praises
the god NEBO and the god SARU,
and praises the god of corn,
the god who begat him,
. . . .' of heaven and earth,
(in) the temple of the Sun at Borsippa,
and the upholder of the temple of Zida
in the day of dwelling therein,
and in the day of service,
in company with his Lord
MERODACH BALADAN.
(This land) is appointed
for settled days,
and months following months,
and for years
unbroken,
to that man
without interruption.
For good have I given it
like the treasure of heaven ;
as a land of acquisition have I settled it,
1 Lacuna.
VOL. IX. 4
34 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
as the result of his labours ;
causing to come forward as a witness
NlNIP-TUR-IDINA,
Governor of the territory of Dur-Istar ;
(also) NABU-NAZIR,
son of NAZI-MARDUK, a man of service,
and NABU-SANISMU,
son of ARDU-HEA,
a man of Dugab.1
1 Dugab was a king of Sape who was routed by Tiglath-Pileser the first.
It is possible, however, that the name may be that of some office.
INSCRIPTION OF MERODACH BALADAN III. 35
COLUMN III.
If a leader, not of low degree,
if a citizen
shall this plot of land
injure
or destroy,
the boundary stone
so that it shall not be conspicuous,
shall remove
this stone (here) placed ;
whether an injurious person or a brother,
whether as one who would take it all away,
whether as an evil person,
whether as an enemy
or any other person,
or the son of the owner of the land,
shall act falsely,
shall tamper with it,
into water into fire
shall cast it,
with a stone shall break it,
from the hand of MARADUK-ZAKTR-ISKUR
and from his seed
shall remove it,
whether above or below
shall break it in pieces,
may the gods ANU, BEL, HEA,
NINIP and GULA,
the Lords of this land,
36 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
and all the gods
whose memorials are made known
on this tablet,
violently make his name desolate ;
with unspeakable curse
may they curse him ;
with utter desolation
may they desolate him ;
may they gather his posterity together
for evil
and not for good ;
until the day of the departure
of his life may he come to ruin,
while the gods SHAMAS and MARDUK
rend him asunder ;
and may his name be trodden down.
37
ANNALS OF AS S U RB AN I P A L.
Continued from Vol. I.
(TEXT OF CYLINDER B.)
TRANSLATED BY
THE LATE GEORGE SMITH.
T N the texts now before the reader, the chief points
of interest are the details of the reduction of the
Phenician monarchs and the close of the Elamite
war. As is usual in these historical texts, the various
copies repeat one another and only incidentally vary
in their statements ; when, however, these variations
occur, they are frequently of importance. The annals
of all the Assyrian monarchs have very much in com
mon ; border raids and internecine revolts, treachery
and cruelty, make up the chief portions of them all.
The conduct of Assurbanipal towards his brother
Saulmugina, and the captives taken in battle, may
be compared with that of Assurnazirpal in his chief
campaigns, and not suffer by the comparison. It is
38 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
considerably to be regretted that the late learned
translator was unable to revise his present text before
his last fatal mission to Assyria ; but, on the other
hand, the Annals of Assurbanipal are perhaps the
most complete of any of those of the Assyrian kings ;
and as they have been longest before the world of
scholars are the least in need of revision.
W. R. C.
39
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL.
CYLINDER B, COLUMN I., LINES r TO 24.
1 I am ASSURBANIPAL the great King, the powerful King,
2 King of nations, King of Assyria, King of the four
regions ;
3 proceeding from the body of ESARHADDON, King of
nations, King of Assyria,
4 High Priest of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad ;
5 grandson of SENNACHERIB King of nations, King of
Assyria.
6 The great gods in their assembly a good account have
heard,
7 and attentive ears have given ;
8 and to all the inscribed tablets they caused my mind to
attend.
9 In the assembly of the mighty, the renown of my name
they magnified,
10 and enlarged (my) empire,
1 1 strength, renown, and powerful forces
1 2 they increased to me and countries disobedient
13 into my hand they gave. They strengthened me and
14 the Priests '
15 the gifts of my fingers, the gods over '
1 6 the temples of the great gods my lords '
17 . . . bi of gold l
1 8 winged figures columns '
1 Lacunae.
40 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
19 in their gates I set up, Bit T
20 Bit-mas-masu, Bit-bilat-matati, Bit . . .
21 like a great l
22 lady of life l
23 over '
VARIANT PASSAGE CYLINDER B, VARIANT FOR COLUMN L,
LINES 65 TO 77. CYLINDER A.
a my heart was bitter, and much afflicted,
b I gathered my powerful forces,
c which ASSUR and ISTAR had placed in my hands.
d For the restoration of, etc.
CYLINDER B, COLUMN II., LINE 54 TO COLUMN III.,
LINE 4.
54 I restored and favoured him. The towers
55 which over against BABEL King of Tyre
56 I had raised, I pulled down ; on sea and land
57 all his roads which I had taken I opened ;
58 his abundant tribute I received ;
59-60 peacefully I returned to Nineveh the city of my
dominion.
6 1 Kings in the midst of sea, and Kings dwelling in the
lofty mountains
62 these my mighty deeds
63 saw, and feared my power.
64 YAKINLU King of Arvad,
65 MUGALLU King of Tubal,
66 who to the Kings my fathers were not submissive,
67 submitted to my yoke.
1 Lacunae.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 41
68 The daughters proceeding from their bodies
69 and their great dowries,
70 for concubines to Nineveh
71 they brought, and kissed my feet.1
72 Over MUGALLU great horses
73 the tribute of the country the sum I fixed upon him.
74 From YAKINLU King of Arvad
75 I took away his county, AZIBAHAL
76 ABIBAHAL, and ADONIBAHAL,
77 sons of YAKINLU, dwelling in the midst of the sea,
78 from the midst of the sea arose, and
79 with their numerous presents came and
80 kissed my feet.
8 1 AZIBAHAL gladly I received,
82 and to the kingdom of Arvad I appointed
83 ABIBAHAL and AcoNiBAHAL2
84 costly clothing 3 rings 3
85 in my presence 3
86 GYGES, King of Lydia,4
87 a district which is across the sea, a remote place
88 of which the Kings my fathers had not heard speak of
its name
1 Sandasarmi, king of Cilicia, a confederate of Mugallu's, paid tribute
and rendered submission at the same time. This action terminated the
long- border war between Assyria and Asia Minor.
2 The Baalite influence of the Phenician religion is indicated by the
names of the ten sons of Yakinlu, viz., Az\l-aal, Abibaal, Adombaal,
Sapadi&aa/, Budi/'aa/, 5aa/yashub, SaaZhanan, Baalmelek, Abimelek,
and Ahimelek.
3 Lacunae.
4 All these events are narrated in Cylinder A, which was written later
than either of the other texts. From these facts, and the statement that
Miluhha (Ethiopia) revolted with Saulmugina (Cylinder A, Col. IV., 1. 35),
I judge that the revolt of Gyges and Psammitichus took place at the time
of the general rising against Assyria, in which Saulmugina, the king's
brother, was concerned. Smith's Assurlaiii-pal, p. 78.
42 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
89 the account of my grand kingdom in a dream was related
to him by ASSUR, the god my creator,
90 thus : The yoke l
91 In remembrance (of that dream) the yoke of my king
dom he had taken. The day he
92 saw the dream his messenger he sent
93 to pray for my friendship, the Cimmerians, extreme rebels,
94 who feared not my fathers and me, and took not the
yoke of my kingdom.
COLUMN III.
1 In the service of ASSUR and MERODACH my lords,
2 he took, and in fetters and chains he bound and
3 (with) his numerous presents he sent
4 to my presence (I saw the power of ASSUR his god).
5 (In my fourth) expedition to Karbat2
6 in Halehastu I went.
7 (TANDiA)3 their chief to the Kings my fathers
8 (had not been submissive to) the yoke, and the men
dwelling in Karbat
9 (constantly) were carrying off the plunder of my country.
10 (In the service) of ASSUR, BEL, NEBO,
1 1 (Karbat I beseiged), I captured, I carried off its spoil.4
12 (TANDIA) their chief
13 (alive in hand I took, and) brought to Assyria;
1 Lacuna.
2 These events probably took place in the Dodecad, B.C. 660-648.
3 Variant Tandia.
4 This was one of the least of Assurbanipal's expeditions. Some copies
claim the expedition as that of the kings, but there is no doubt, from the
statement of K 2675, and Cylinder E, that an Assyrian general com
manded. Karbat appears to have been situated on the mountains east of
the Tigris, and between Assyria and Elam.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 43
14 (the people) whom I had not carried off
15 (into the midst of) Egypt I caused to be taken.
1 6 (In my fifth expedition against) AHSERI
1 7 (King of Minni) I went.
1 8 x submit
19 * ti
20 ' Minni
21 l ASSUR
22 ' and I had made '
23 AHSERI, of the progress of (my) expedition (heard, and)
24 sent forth (his army)
25 in the middle of the night, secretly
26 to make war, they came
27 to fight my army.
28 My men of war, with them fought, and
29 accomplished their overthrow.
30 For a space of three kaspu of ground their slain filled the
wide desert.2
31 By command of ASSUR, SIN, and SHAMAS, the great gods
my lords
32 who protected me, into Minni I entered and
33 marched victoriously. In the progress of my expedition,
Aiusias
34 the fortress, Pasa . . . .z su Pusut,
35 Asdias, Urkiyamun, Uppis, Sikhua,
36 and Naziniri, eight strong cities,
37 and smaller ones which were without number,
38 to the midst of Izirtu I captured,
39 I threw down, destroyed, and in the fire I burned.
40 People, horses, asses, oxen, and sheep,
1 Lacunae.
~ "In a space of twenty miles the battle-field was cumbered with the
wrecks of the army of Ahsera, and the king- fled to Izirtu, the capital of
Minni." Smith, Hist. Assyria, p. 151.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
41 from the midst of those cities
42 I brought out, and as a spoil I counted.
43 AHSERI of the progress of my expedition heard,' and
44 abandoned Izirtu his royal city.
45 To Adrana, his castle, he fled,
46 and took refuge. Izirtu Urmiyate and
47 Uzbia his fortified cities, I surrounded,
48 the people dwelling in those cities
49 I beseiged, and their spirits I humbled, and caused to
melt away.
50 That district I took, I threw down, destroyed, and in the
fire I burned.
51 For 15 days' journey I laid waste, and the highlands
52 I conquered. In the progress of my expedition, the
cities which were near Paddiri
53 which in the time of the Kings my fathers the Mannians
had taken
54 and to their own (hands) had restored;
55 I captured. In the fire I burned and carried off their
spoil.
56 Those cities to the boundaries of Assyria I restored.
57 The district of Arsiyanis
58 which bounded Azaqanani
59 of Harsi the mountain
60 which is at the top of Kumurda in the midst of Minni
6 1 I destroyed, and in the fire I burned, Raidisadi, com
mander of their fortresses I killed,
62 I carried off his spoil.
63 The district of Eristeyana
64 I captured, its cities I destroyed,
65 and in the fire I burned ; I carried off its spoil.
66 By the shock of my army, that district I laid waste
67 I reduced the whole of his country.
68 With much plunder,
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL.
69 and numerous gifts, peacefully I returned,
70 and marched across the borders of Assyria.
71 Birua, Saruigbi,
72 Gusune, and Biruti,
73 cities near Assyria,
74 which in the time of the Kings my fathers
75 were captured by the Mannians,
76 those districts I took.
77 The Mannians from the midst I removed,
78 the horses and their instruments of war
79 I carried off to Assyria.
80 Those cities a second time I took,
8 1 and restored to the boundaries of Assyria.
82 AHSERI not fearing my power,
83 (the will) of ISHTAR delivered him into the hands of
his servants.
84 The people of his country a revolt against him made, and
85 in front of his city his attendants threw his corpse.
86 Afterwards VAALLI' his son
87 sat on his throne.
88 The power of ASSUR, SIN, SHAMAS, BEL, NEBO,
89 ISTAR of Nineveh, ISTAR of Arbela, NINIP, NUSKU,
NERGAL,
90 the great gods my lords, he saw ; and
91 submitted to my yoke.
92 To preserve his life he offered his hand,
93 and submitted to my dominion.
94 ERISINNI his eldest son,
95 to Nineveh he sent, and kissed my feet.
96 Favour I granted him, and
97 my messenger for an alliance I sent to him.
98 The daughter proceeding from his body, he sent for a
concubine.
1 Or Baali.
46 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
99 The former tribute, which in the time of the Kings my
fathers
100 they had broken off; he sent to my presence.
1 01 Thirty horses beside the former tribute, I added and
102 fixed on him. In those days also, BIRIZ-HADRI a chief
of Media
COLUMN IV.
1 SARITI and PARIZA sons of Goo1
2 a Chief of the Saka2 who had thrown off the yoke of my
dominion,
3 seventy-five of their strong cities I took, I carried off
their spoil :
4 themselves alive, in hand I took,
5 and brought to Nineveh the city of my dominion
6 ILUDARIA Tartan 3 of Lubdu,4
7 who to capture Ubbummi and Kullimmir,
8 descended and went in the night.
9 The people dwelling in Kullimmir,
10 tributaries, dependent on me ;
1 1 in the middle of the night his numerous army slew,
1 2 and there was not left anyone.
13 The head of ILUDARIA they cut off, and
14 to Nineveh before me, they brought.
15 In my sixth expedition, against URTAKI, King of Elam
1 6 I went; who the benefits of the father my begetter
disregarded,
1 7 and had not heeded the famine. When in Elam
1 Gog" (Ga-a-gi) resembles the 313 of Ezekiel.
• The Scythians. 3 Prefect.
4 The city of Lubdu, of which Iludaria was governor, revolted once
before in the reign of Shalmaneser II., B.C. 820.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 47
1 8 a drought took place, there was a famine.
19 Corn to preserve the lives of the people I sent him, and
20 took his hand. His people, who from the face of the
drought
2 1 fled, and dwelt in Assyria,
22 until the rain in his country rained, and there were
crops :
23 those people, who in my country were preserved, I sent
to him and
24 the Elamite; who his invasion, with heart ' '
25 (did not) regard his good. BELBASU the (Gambulian)1
26 (NEBO)ZIKIRESSES the Tigenna tributaries (dependent on
me)
27 (MERODACH-ZIKIR)-IBNI General of URTAKI (King of
Elam)
28 (with them) had set his face; to make war on Akkad
29 r and had gathered J Elam
30 '
31 x gathered
32 within it ' he set about fighting
33 'I was alarmed
34 'he came and
35 ;
36 concerning the men of the desert and '
37 he sent '
38 to see the King of '
39 my envoy I commanded, I sent, and
40 he went. He returned, and '
41 this was confirmed, and
42 he repeated to me,
43 thus : The Elamites like a flight of locusts,
44 overspreading Akkad cover over against Babylon
1 Lacunae. - King- of the Gambuli.
48 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
45 the camp is fixed and fortifications are raised. To the
end of
46 BEL and NEBO, my gods whom, I worshipped their
divinity
47 my men of war I gathered, and I took the march.
48 The progress of my expedition he heard, and fear over
whelmed him, and
49 he returned to his country. After him I took (the road),
his overthrow I accomplished,
50 and drove him to the frontier of his country.
5 1 URTAKI King of Elam, who had not heeded the famine :
52 in the day of his misfortune, death (desired)
53 In lamentation he beat r
54 on the level ground, his feet '
55 In that year, his life he destroyed '
56 BELBASA the Gambulian
57 who had thrown off the yoke of my dominion,
58 hiding in concealment, he passed his life.
59 NEBOZIKIRESSES the Tigenna, not keeping the covenant.
60 was overthrown by the lords strong and mighty
6 1 MARUDUK-ZIKIR-IBNI his General, his adviser,
62 who, evil caused to happen to URTAKI :3
63 MERODACH King of the gods fixed on him his great fear.
64 For one year in presence of each other,
65 they passed their lives.
66 The heart of ASSUR vengeful, let them not rest and
67 did not spare them.
68 The mighty goddess who protected me,
69 the time of his kingdom ended, and
70 the dominion of Elam passed to another.
71 Afterwards TEUMMAN like an evil spirit
7 2 sat on the throne of URTAKI ;
1 Lacunae.
8 Urtaki disgfusted with his utter defeat committed suicide.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 49
73 to slay the sons of URTAKI,
74 and the sons of UMMANALDUS
75 the brother of URTAKI, he devised evil.
76 UMMANIGAS, UMMANAPPA and TAMMARIT,
77 sons of URTAKI King of Elam
78 KUDURRU and PARU, sons of UMMANALDAS,
79 the King preceding URTAKI,
80 and sixty of the seed royal, innumerable bowmen
8 1 and children begotten in Elam ;
82 who from the face of the massacre of TEUMMAN their
uncle
83 fled, and took the yoke of my kingdom.
84 In my seventh expedition against TEUMMAN
85 King of Elam I went ;
86 who against UMMANIGAS, UMMANAPPA, and TAMMARITU,
87 sons of URTAKI, King of Elam,
88 KUDURRU and PARU, sons of
89 UMMANALDASI, brother of URTAKI,
90 King of Elam ;
91 his great men sent for the surrender of
92 these men, who had fled and
93 taken my yoke. Their surrender I did not grant him.
94 Concerning the demands, by the hand of UMBADARA
95 and NEBODANIK he sent a month.
COLUMN V.
1 In the midst of Elam he set himself to work in gathering
his army
2 I trusted to ISTAR ' who protects me.
Istar was the favourite goddess of Assurbanipal. She appeared in
a dream to a priest, as a winged figure, with a halo and a bow, which bow
Assurbanipal mentions as having been given to him.
VOL. IX. 5
50 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
3 The demand of his vile mouth I did not accede to, I did
not give him
4 those fugitives. TEUMMAN devised
5 evil ; SIN devised against him
6 omens of evil ; in the month Tammuz,1 the darkness of
the morning watch
7 he caused to retard the rising sun ; and like this also
8 three days he caused to retard ; to the end that
9 the (King) of Elam shall be destroyed, his country
10 ... .2 this she selected in her power, which changeth
not.3
1 1 In those days, before she received him,
1 2 her lips cursed, and her eyes flamed and
13 vengeance was fixed in her heart.
14 About these things which ASSUR and ISTAR
1 5 did to him, he knew not ; he gathered his army.
1 6 In the month Ab,4 the month of the luminous Sagittarius,
17 in the festival of the mighty Queen the daughter of
BEL;
1 8 to worship her greatly I sacrificed
1 9 in Arbela, the city the delight of her heart.
20 Of the invasion of the Elamite, who against the gods
came;
21 they repeated word
22 thus : TEUMMAN even saith
23 Of ISTAR, they repeated the tenor of his words,
24 thus : I will not cease until I go
25 with him (to) make war.
26 Over this threat which TEUMMAN
2 7 had spoken ; I prayed to the lofty ISTAR.
1 Tammuz (V^n), June. Month of the warrior Ninip.
2 Lacuna.
3 Cf. Malachi iii. 6, " For I am the Lord, I change not."
4 Ab (3«), July.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 51
28 I approached to her presence, I bowed under her,
29 her divinity I supplicated, and she came to save me.
30 Thus : Goddess of Arbela, I am ASSURBANIPAL King of
Assyria
31 the work of thy hands ' the father thy begetter,
32 to restore the temples of Assyria and adorn the cities of
Akkad '
33 I thy courts desire,3 I go to worship '
34 and he, TEUMMAN King of Elam, hater of the gods
'to '
35 O thou goddess of goddesses, terrible in battle, goddess
in war, Queen of the gods '
36 who in the presence of ASSUR the father thy begetter,
speakest good in !
37 loved me '
38 to make glad the heart of ASSUR, and rejoice greatly
MERODACH ' they '
39 Of TEUMMAN King of Elam
40 who to ASSUR (King of the gods)
41 the father thy begetter *
a and to MERODACH thy good brother, his divinity . . . .'
b and of me ASSURBANIPAL, who to rejoice the heart of
ASSUR and '
42 he gathered his army, and prepared for war,
43 he urges his fighting men to go to Assyria.
44 O thou archer of the gods like a weight
45 in the midst of battle throw him down and crush him ;
tear
46 1 My acceptable prayer ISTAR heard, and
47 Fear not,' she said, she caused my heart to rejoice ;
48 at the lifting up of thy hand which thou liftest, thine
eyes shall be satisfied with the judgment.
1 Lacunae.
Cf. Psalm Ixxxiv. 10, "a day in thy courts is better than a thousand."
52 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
49 I will grant favour. In the midst of the night when I
invoked her,
50 then a seer slept, and dreamed a
5 1 remarkable dream and during the night I STAR spoke to
him, and he
52 repeated it to me. Thus : ISTAR dwelling in Arbela,
53 entered, and right and left she was surrounded with
glory
54 holding a bow in her hand,
55 projecting a powerful arrow on making war,
56-57 her countenance was set. She like a mother bearing,
was in pain with thee
58 she brought thee forth. ISTAR exalted of the gods.
appointeth thee a decree.
5 9 Thus : Carry off to make spoil,
60 the place before thee set, I will come to.
6 1 Thou shalt say to her thus : The place thou goest to
62 with thee I will go. The goddess of goddesses
63 she repeateth to thee thus : Thee I will guard.
64 Then I will rest in the place of the temple of NEBO,
65 eat food, drink wine,
66 music appoint, glorify my divinity,
67 until I go, and this message shall be accomplished.
68 I will cause thee to take the desire of thy heart l
69 before thee he shall not stand, he shall not oppose thy
feet.2
70 Do not regard thy skin. In the midst of battle,
7 1 in her beneficent generosity, she guards thee, and
72 overthrows all the unsubmissive.
73 Before her, a fire is blown (strongly);
74 to capture (thy) enemies 3 to each other.
1 Cf. Psalm xxxvii. 4.
2 See another translation of this text by Fox Talbot, in Trans. Soc. Bii.
Arch., Vol. I., p. 2. 3 Lacuna.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 53
75 Against TEUMMAN King of Elam
76 who was hateful before her, she appointed
77 in the month Elul,1 the festival of ASSUR the great,
78 the month of SIN the luminary of heaven and earth, I
trusted to the power of
79 HUR the bright, and the message of ISTAR my goddess
who is unchanged;
80 I gathered my men of war, the fighting men who by
command of ASSUR, SIN and ISTAR
8 1 were arranged in order of battle.
82 Against TEUMMAN King of Elam, the road I took, and
83 directed the march. In front of me, TEUMMAN King of
Elam
84 " camp was placed. Of my royal entry,
85 in the midst of Duril he heard ; and fear took hold of
him. TEUMMAN feared, and
86 after him turned and entered into Shushan
87 3 to save his life
88 * to the people of his country
89 ~ his hand before him returned, and
90 " (he) sent to my presence.
91 The Ulai for himself he fortified
92 a before my camp
93 a MERODACH, the great gods my lords ;
94-95 who protected me: in omens of a dream, had given
a grand message.
96 In Tulliz his overthrow I accomplished ;
97 with their corpses the Ulai I choked up
98 their wives, like bows and arrows,
99 filled the vicinity of Shushan.
TOO The head of TEUMMAN King of Elam,
1 01 by command of ASSUR and MERODACH, the great gods
my lords before the assembly of (his) army (I cut off).
1 Elul (Wg), August. Month of Istar, mistress. * Lacunae.
54 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
1 02 Terror of ASSUR and ISTAR, Elam
103 overwhelmed, and they submitted to my yoke.
104 UMMANIGAS who fled and
105 took my yoke, on his throne I seated.
COLUMN VI.
1 TAMMARITU, his third brother,
2 in Hidalu to the kingdom, I appointed.
3 Chariots of war, horses and mules,
4 trained to the yoke instrument fashioned for war;
5 which in the service of ASSUR and ISHTAR, the great
gods my lords,
6 near Shushan and the Ulai, my hands captured ;
7 by command of ASSUR and the great gods my lords
8 from the midst of Elam, joyfully I brought out, and,
9 to all my army, for spoil they were given.
10 In my seventh expedition against DUNANU son of
BELBASA
1 1 to Gambuli I went ;
12 who to the King of Elam had trusted,
13 and did not submit to my yoke.
14 By my powerful attack Gambuli through its extent,
1 5 like a hailstorm I covered.
1 6 Sapibel its strong city ;
1 7 which in the midst of the waters was situated, I captured.
1 8 DUNANU and his brothers from the midst of that city,
19 alive I brought out.
20 His wife, his sons, his daughters, his concubines
2 1 male musicians and female musicians, I brought out, and
its spoil I counted.
22-23 Silver, gold, furniture, and musical instruments of his
palace, I brought out, and as spoil I counted.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 55
24 ' standing before him '
25 'I brought out, and as spoil I counted
26-27 'all there was l as spoil I counted.
28-29 MASSithe Officer of TEUMMAN (King of Elam);
30 who to aid (DANUNU)
3 1 dwelt within (Sapi)bel ;
32 alive in (hand) I took,
33 with the Officers of DUNANU '
34 That city I pulled down, destroyed (and into the waters
I turned)
35 Until none were in the midst
36 that district I laid waste.
37 The passage of people, I cut off from over it.
38 In the service of ASSUR, BEL, and NEBO, the great
gods;
39 my enemies I rested from ;
40 peacefully, I returned to Nineveh.
41 The head of TEUMMAN King of Elam,
42 round the neck of DUNANU I hung.
43-44 With the conquests of Elam and the spoil of Gambuli ;
45 which by command of ASSUR, my hands had taken ;
46 with musicians making music,
47 into Nineveh I entered with rejoicings*
48 UMBADARA and NEBODANIK,
49 great men of TEUMMAN King of Elam;
50 whom TEUMMAN by their hand sent
51 the threatening message, whom in my presence I con
fined,
52 and bound, until the fixing of my sentence:
53 the decapitated head of TEUMMAN their lord, in Nineveh
54 they saw, and another opinion took hold of them.
55 UMBADARA tore his beard,
1 Lacunae.
56 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
56 NEBODANIK with the steel sword of his girdle, pierced
through his (own) body.
57 The decapitated head of TEUMMAN, in front of the great
gate
58 situated in Nineveh ; I raised on high.
59 By the power of ASSUR and ISTAR my lords the people
reviled
60 the decapitated head of TEUMMAN King of Elam.
6 1 PALIA son of NEBOSAPAN, grandson of MERODACH
BALADAN,
62 of whom from the face of the grandfather my begetter;
63 his father had fled to Elam;
64 from UMMANIGAS (whom) in Elam I had appointed to
. the kingdom;
65 PALIA son of NEBOSAPAN
66 he took, and sent to my presence.
67 DuNANU1 and SAMGUNU
68 sons of BELBASA the Gambulian,
69 of whom their father against the Kings my fathers,
70 had made inroads ; and they
7 1 opened the work of my kingdom ;
72 within Assur and Arbela
73 to execute my judgment I brought them.
74 Of MANNUKIAHI . . . .2 DUNANU
75 and NEBONZALLI, men who were over Gambuli
76 who against my gods uttered great curses
77 in Arbela their tongues I pulled out.
78 I flayed off their skin. DUNANU in Nineveh
79 over a furnace they placed him, and
80 consumed him entirely.
1 Dunanu the Gambulian, captured in this war, was son of Belbasa, who
assisted Urtaki, and grandson of a chief also named Dunanu. It is some
times written Du-na-nu, and Bu-na-nu. Smith, Jsttirbani-pal) p. 150.
2 Lacuna.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 57
8 1 The rest of the brothers of DUNANU
82 and PALIYA I threw down ; his limbs I cut off,
83 and sent for the inspection, powerful country,
84 NABONIDAS and BELEDIR
85 sons of NABUZIKIRESSES Tigenna :
86 whose father their begetter, URTAKI brought
87 to fight with Akkad.
88 The attendants of NEBOZIKIRESSES who from the midst
of Gambuli
89 I carried to Assyria:
90 those attendants in
91 front of the great gate in the midst of Nineveh; .
92 I caused to crush his sons.
93 UMMANIGAS whom great benefits I had given him,
94 and appointed him the kingdom of Elam;
95 who the favour disregarded, and
96 did not keep the agreement and oath of the great gods.
97 From the hands of the messengers of SAULMUGINA f
COLUMN VII., LINES i TO 87.
1 my younger brother, my enemy, he received a bribe,
2 His forces with them he sent
3 to fight my army,
4 my men of war, who in Ganduniyas
5 marched, and trampled on Chaldea.
6 Against my hand into UNDASI
7 son of TEUMMAN King of Elam,
8 and ZAZAZ Chief of Billate,
' Saulmugina was made viceroy king of Babylon by Esarhaddon, who
however placed him in strict subordination to his brother Assurbanipal,
whom he was directed to address not as "brother" but as "the king" my
lord."
58 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
9 PARU Chief of Hilmu,
10 ATTAMETU Commanders of the archers,
1 1 and NESU leader of the army of Elam,
1 2 to fight with the army of Assyria,
13 UMMANIGAS sent them and
14 appointed them a decree.
15 UMMANIGAS to UNDASI, even said,
1 6 thus : Go ; against Assyria
1 7 revenge the slaying of the father thy begetter.
1 8 UNDASU, ZAZAZ, PARU
19 ATTAMITU and NESU
20 with the messengers of SAULMUGINA
2 1 my rebellious brother ; took the road, and
22 directed the march.
23 My men of war, who in Ganduniyas
24 marched, and trampled (on Chaldaea)
25 '
26 1 Elam
27 J ATTAMITU
28 ' they cut oft" and
29 (brought to) my presence
30 ' these
31 ' UMMANIGAS
32 ' he ceased and
33 l my will
34 ' (ASSUR) BEL NEBO NERGAL
35 the (great) gods (my lords) a certain judgment
36 against UMMANIGAS, appointed me.
37 TAMMARITU against him revolted, and
38 him and part of his family, he destroyed with the sword.
39 TAMMARITU who over him triumphed
40 sat on the throne of Elam.
41 Like him also, a bribe he received;
1 Lacunae.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 59
42 he did not seek alliance with my kingdom.
43 To the help of SAULMUGINA
44 my younger brother he went, and
45 to fight my army he prepared his soldiers.
46 In prayer ASSUR and ISTAR I had prayed ;
47 my supplication they received, and heard the words of
my lips.
48 His servants against him revolted, and
49 each other they destroyed, to my evil
50 INDABIGAS his servant, who the revolt
51 against him made, sat on his throne.1
52 TAMMARITU King of Elam,
53 who untruth had spoken,
54 concerning the decapitated head of TEUMMAN;
55 which he had cut off in sight of my army:
56 and his brothers his kin, the seed of his father's house,
57 with 85 Princes of Elam, marching before him;
58 who from the face of the soldiers of ASSUR and ISTAR
fled, and
[Lines 59 to 68 are lost.]
69 '
70 TAMMARITU and part (of the seed of his father's house)
7 1 in my palace I placed (them).
72 INDABIGAS who after TAMMARITU,
73 sat on the throne of Elam;
74 the power of my servants saw.
75 Whom (from the first) I had caused to march over Elam.
76 The sons of ASSUR, whom I sent
77 to aid NEBOBELZIKRI
78 the son of MERODACH BALADAN who like an earth wall
7 9 guarding his country marched with him ;
1 Indabigas was proclaimed king at Shushan, and defeated Tammaritu
while his forces were preparing for war with Assurbanipal.
2 Lacuna.
60 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
80 whom NEBOBELZIKRI by treachery
8 1 had captured, and taken with him in a boat.
82 INDABIGAS King of Elam,
83 from the house of (his) fathers sent them.
84 When (their) capture I commanded, (he sent his) good
messengers,
85 sorrowfully (from the) borders of his country.
86 By the hand of his envoy, (to make agreement) and
alliance ;
87 he sent to my presence.
CONTINUED ON CYLINDER C.
88 About NEBOBELZIKRI ' son of MERODACH BALADAN
89 tributary dependant on me;
90 who fled and went to Elam :
91 and the rest of the sons of ASSUR,
92 whom NEBOBELZIKRI by treachery,
93 had captured, and with him.
94 By the hand of his envoy to INDABIGAS
95 even I sent to him also,
96 If these men thou dost not send,
97 thus : I will march ; thy cities I will destroy;
98 the people of Shushan, Madaktu and Hidalu I will carry
off;
99 from thy royal throne I will hurl thee ; and
100 another on thy throne I will seat.
1 01 As, formerly TEUMMAN I crushed;
1 Nebobelzikri is called in some copies the son, and in others the grand
son of Merodach Baladan ; the latter is probably the most correct
relationship. He was probably the son of Nahid-maruduk, a younger
son of Merodach Baladan, who was king of Chaldea in the time of Ksar-
haddon. Smith, Assurbanipal, p. 203.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 6 1
102 I will cause to destroy thee, (this is) to thee.
103 He, his envoy before him did not come,
104 did (not) repeat to him the fixing of my will.
105 (In) the service of ASSUR, SIN, SAMAS, BEL, NEBO,
1 06 (ISTAR of) Nineveh ISTAR of Arbela, NINIP, NUSKU,
and NERGAL,
107 who march before me, and destroy my enemies;
1 08 (of the journey) of my envoy, whom to Diri I had
sent ;
109 (they) heard in Elam. The fear of my kingdom,
T 10 (which was) preserved to me by the great gods ;
in Elam overwhelmed, and
112 (and country against) INDABIGAS revolted,
113 and they destroyed him with the sword,
114 UMMANALDASI son of ATTAMITU,
115 sat on the throne.
CYLINDER B, COLUMN VII. , LINES 88 TO 101.
88 YAUTAH son of HAZAEL
89 King of Kedar, made submission to me;
90 for his gods which the father my begetter had carried off,
he prayed me, and
91 submitted to my kingdom.
92 The names of the great gods I made him swear by,
and
93 Adarsamain I restored and gave him.
94 Afterwards against my agreement he sinned, and
95 benefits did not regard, and threw off the yoke of my
dominion.
96 To seek my alliance his feet broke off, and
97 he discontinued the presents.
62 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
98 The people of Arabia with him he caused to revolt,
and
99 carried away the plunder of Syria.
100 My army which on the border of his country was
stationed,
101 I sent against him;
COLUMN VIII.
1 his overthrow they accomplished. The people of Arabia
2 all who came they destroyed with the sword,
3 the tents, the pavilions, their dwellings,
4 a fire they raised and gave to the flames.
5 Oxen, sheep, asses, camels,
6 and men they carried off without number.
7 The sweeping of all the country, through its extent
8 they collected through the whole of it.
9 Camels like sheep I distributed,
10 and caused to overflow to the people of Arabia
1 1 dwelling in my country. A camel for half a shekel in
half shekels of
1 2 silver they valued in front of the gate
13 the spoil in the sale of captives among Mho
strong
14 gathered in droves, they bartered
15 camels and men
1 6 l the Arabians who from the face of my soldiers
17 fled; NINIP the warrior destroyed.
1 8 In want (and famine) their (life) was passed and
1 9 for their food they ate the flesh of their children
20 '
21 ISTAR of Nineveh
1 Lacunae.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL. 63
22 YAUTAH misfortune happened to him, and
23 alone he fled to Nabatea,
24 ABIYATEH son of TEHERI,
25 to Nineveh came and kissed my feet
26 An agreement to make submission to me with him I
make;
27 instead of YAUTAH or any one, I appointed him to the
kingdom.
28 Gold, eyes of Pi stone guhlu camels and
29 stallion asses, tribute for every year
30 I fixed upon him.
3 1 AMMULADIN King of Kedar, who like him also
32 revolted and carried away the plunder of the Kings of
Syria;
33 in the service of ASSUR, SIN, SHAMAS, VUL, BEL, NEBO,
34 ISTAR of Nineveh the divine Queen of Kitmuri,
35 ISTAR of Arbela,1 NINIP, NERGAL, NUSKU,
36 by the power of (my) name (which) ASSUR had mag
nified,
37 KAMAZHALTA King of Moab,
38 a tributary dependant on me,
39 in the battle-field accomplished his overthrow.
40 AMMULADIN and the rest of his people,
41 who from the face of '
42 he captured in hand.
43 His hands and feet in bonds of iron he placed, and
44 to Nineveh to my presence he sent.
45 NATHAN King of Nabatea,
46 whose place is remote,
47 heard of the power of ASSUR and MERODACH, who
protect me
1 Another " Istar" is sometimes met with in the inscriptions, viz., " Istar
of Erech" (Uruk).
3 Lacuna.
64 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
48 who in times past to the Kings my fathers
49 his envoy did not send
50 and did not seek alliance with their kingdom.
5 1 Again to me his envoy for alliance
52 he sent; and kissed my feet.
53 To establish agreement and alliance, and make submission
to me,
54 he submitted to my dominion.
55 I gladly received him, and
56 before me favours on him conferred
57 taxes and tribute for every year I fixed upon him.
INSCRIPTIONS
OF THE
PERSIAN MONARCH S.
( Corpus Inscriptionum Persicarum. )
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
HP HIS paper includes the translation of all the texts
written by the Achaemenidae, except the most im
portant of all, the Behistun Inscription, of which
translations have already been given in the Records
of the Past, Vols. I. and VII.
The Persian texts have often been edited. Follow
ing the preparatory labours of Grotefend, Rask, Beer,
Jacquet, the documents have been explained by
MM. Burnouf, Lassen, Sir H. Rawlinson, Benfey,
Spiegel, Kossowicz, and myself.
The Median versions appeared afterwards in the
works of MM. Westergaard, De Saulcy, Holtzmann,
Norris, and Mordtmann, and the present translator is
preparing just now a new edition of the second kind
of trilingual documents, together with a Grammar,
Dictionary, and commentary.
VOL. ix. 6
66 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
The Assyrian translations have been examined by
MM. De Saulcy, Sir Henry Rawlinson, Schrader, and
by the author in the second volume of the Expedition
en Mesopotamia.
A great many very useful remarks have been sug
gested, especially on the Persian texts, by Holtzmann,
Hincks, Bollensen, de Lagarde, Kern, and others.
Moreover, some popular works have been issued by
several second hand writers, not from the original
Persian documents, but from modern European
translations.
Unfortunately, until the present time, a great many
passages have been entirely misunderstood. I now
present to the readers of the Records a completely
amended edition, increased by some new texts of great
importance. As my efforts have been directed not
only to one single portion of the trilingual literature,
but equally and simultaneously to all parts of them,
I have been enabled to decide with greater exactness
the sense of very important passages. Dies diem
docet : it has only been possible by uninterrupted re
search to recognise even many errors in our own
former versions, although they were generally ac
cepted, and to point out the true meanings which,
by their very simplicity will impose themselves to the
reader.
67
CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM PERSICARUM.
I. INSCRIPTIONS OF CYRUS.
1. Text of Marrhasion,1 near the tomb of Cas-
sandane, the wife of Cyrus. Persian, Median,
Assyrian.
I am CYRUS, the King, the Achsemenian.
2. Legend on Babylonian bricks. Assyrian.2
CYRUS, King of Babylon, Priest of the pyramid (E-saggatu),
and of the tower (E-zida\ son of CAMBYSES ; the mighty
Prince, I.
1 Murghab. It is impossible that Murghab was Pasargada, which was
situated on the river Cyrus, in the south-east of Persia. Persepolis is
situated on the Araxes, and on the same river is Murghab. (See Journal
Asiatique, 1872.) The monument, which some Europeans styled erroneously
"Tomb of Cyrus," is reputed by the ^Eastern inhabitants to be that of
the mother of Solomon. At any rate, it cannot possibly be any other than
a female's sepulchre.
1 have already examined this point of view in Records of the Past, Vol.
VII., p. 89.
2 This brick is, I believe, the only one existing from a Persian monarch ;
nevertheless, it is highly important. It proves that Herodotus (I. 107, 122)
is right in calling the name of Cyrus' father Cambyses, as thus was after
wards also the name of his successor. This document states equally
that the former Cambyses was not a king, but merely a private person, as
we are told by the Father of History.
The brick has been brought over to England by Loftus, and explained
by Sir H. Rawlinson j it has been published in the Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,
Vol. II, p. 148.
The end of the first line is niHt, not I' ami as the late George Smith
read it.
68 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
II. INSCRIPTIONS OF DARIUS.
COMPLEMENTARY BEHISTUN TEXT, PERSIAN.
Says DARIUS the King : This is what I did since, until to
my twelfth1 year after I became King. There is a country
named (Ah)vaza in Susiana, it became rebellious against me.
A man named (UM)MAIMA, a Susian, they made him their
Chief. Then I sent an army to Susiana ; GOBRYAS, a Per
sian, my slave, I appointed him as their Commander. Then
this GOBRYAS marched against Susiana, and fought a battle
with those rebels. Then my army captured this UMMAIMA,
and his property, and his . . . .,2 and he was led before me
(and I held him prisoner in my palace); then the land
(became mine). Afterwards in a city in Susiana, named
. . . .,3 there I hanged him on the cross.
Says DARIUS the King : Then the land was mine, and
the other lands which ORMAZD has given into my hand. I
conquered them by the grace of ORMAZD ; what was my
will thus I did to them.
Says DARIUS the King : Thou who wilt peruse this tablet,
mayest thou (have a share of the faith) and of the life.
Says DARIUS the King : Afterwards the Sacians revolted
against me ; I marched against (the Amyrgian Sacians), and
those who bear a pointed (helmet),4 and who (occupy the
northern sea), and I marched on the sea. There is a land
1 This is the only number which might be supported by the defaced text.
2 marda ; unintelligible.
3 The name is defaced. The words within parentheses replace the lacuna;
of the mutilated document.
4 This very interesting passage is an explanation of the word Tigra-
khaudu of the funeral text. It is to be read [tyaiy khaitdam~\ tigram
larantiy.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 69
named . . . .,* there we crossed the sea with a ... .;2 I
fought a battle against the Sacians, I killed the one, I
captured the other, by the grace of ORMAZD. They were
led before me, and (kept fettered in my court). Afterwards
I captured their Chief, who was named SKUNKHA, and I
killed him. There is (a fortress, named . . . .,3 there) I
appointed another Chief, as was my will. Afterwards the
land was mine.
Says DARIUS the King : 3 not ORMAZD 3
I made.
Says DARIUS the King : The man who adores ORMAZD,
(will be participator) of the life, and of . . .4
[The rest is wanting.]
1 The name is defaced. The words within parentheses replace the
lacunse of the mutilated documents.
* With a pica ; unknown word, perhaps to be read thrill, three.
3 Lacunae.
4 This last part of the Behistun text was published by Sir Henry Raw-
linson, and translated by him as by all his successors. The new version
I propose to the readers of the Records is more complete than the
previously made one. I believe to have succeeded in filling up the gaps
which rendered every line almost unintelligible.
I suppose the mention of the " twelfth year " in the du which commences
the third line; the word must be an ordinal number.
The city referred to in Susiana may be the modern Ahvaz, which has
nothing to do with Uvaza, the modern Khuz ; the name of the rebel is
completed very doubtfully (Um)maima.
The expedition against the Sacians had for its object to subdue
Skunkha, the portrait of whom is to be seen in the Behistun sculptures :
he bears a pointed bonnet (khaudam tigram), he is a Sacian Tigrakhauda.
(See below, at the Naksh-i-Rustam text.)
The sea in question seems to be the Caspian or the Aral Sea; it is
crossed by Darius, but by the peculiar means of piqa, an unknown kind
of shipping, moreover, a very doubtful word.
The text is very mutilated; every victory was closed with a prayer; it is
therefore possible that the end of the document mentioned some further
expeditions of the Persian monarch.
The text exists neither in the Median nor in the Assyrian versions; it
has therefore not been given at the end of the Median text of Behistun.
70 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
OTHER INSCRIPTIONS OF DARIUS I.
TEXTS OF PERSEPOLIS.
1. Door inscription of the palace. Persian, Median,
Assyrian.
DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the King of
the lands, the son of HYSTASPES, the Achsemenian, he has
built this palace (tacaraw).1
2. Text on the South-west corner. (I of Lassen.2)
Persian.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the King
of the lands which are numerous, the son of HYSTASPES, the
Achaemenian.
DARIUS the King says : By the grace of ORMAZD, these are
the lands which I possessed with the aid of the Persian
people ; they feared me and brought tribute to me.
Susiana3 (Uvaza), Media, Babylon, Arabia, Assyria,
1 The word tacaram is translated by the word lit, "house," in Assyrian;
it seems to signify a state-house, in opposition to the " dwelling-house,"
hadis.
* I have united in one text the two Persian documents named I and H
of Lassen. The Persian inscriptions have been resumed in the two ver
sions in a different manner; the Median, notwithstanding, allows to
suggest the opinion that there existed still a third Persian text, which may
have been lost.
3 The list of provinces indicates a state of the Persian empire posterior
to that of the Behistun inscriptions, but previous to the documents of
Naksh-i-Rustam. In the first instance, we find the curious name Huidus,
India, and the name of Gandara, the Gandarians mentioned in the Assy
rian text of Behistun, Paruparanisanna, the Paropamisus of the Greeks,
it is the modern Kandahar. The Maka, already mentioned in the Behistun
text, seem to be referred to the inhabitants of the Mekran, the Arabian
Chersonesus, extending itself opposite to the strait of Ormus.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 7 1
Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Lycia (Saparda), the lonians,
those of the continent, and those of the sea. And the
Eastern lands : Sagartia, Parthia, Sarangia, Aria (Haraivd),
Bactria, Sogdiana, Chorasmia, Sattagydia, Arachotis, India,
Gandaria, the Sacians, Maka.
DARIUS the King says : l If thou say : It may be so, I
shall not fear the Other (Ahriman). Protect the Persian
people. If the Persian people is protected (by thee, ORMAZD),
the Good Principle,2 which has always destroyed the Daemon,
will descend as Ruleress (ahura) on this house.
1 This clause has been entirely misunderstood, and nevertheless it may
be one of the most startling interest. This text affords to us the only
notion of Ahriman in the inscriptions. The name of the evil demon was
known by the Persians ; as it has been preserved in the Zend books.
Aristotle, in his lost book on The Philosophers, stated, according- to
Diog-enes Laertius (Prooem. 6), that the Zoroastrians knew two principles,
the good and the evil daemon, the first was Zeus or Oromasdes, the second
Hades or Areimanios. This must be the Persian Ahriyamaniyus, modern
Persian Ahriman. This evil daemon is named in the Persian text Aniija, "the
Other; " it is not the enemy generally spoken of, as all previous interpreters
explained it.
The last clause of text I is a prayer to Ormazd, to whom applies the
second person : hitherto it was believed to be an address to the reader.
Ormazd is implored for protection against the Duvaisaut, " the Hater,"
that is Ahriman, the Zend tlacsat, whom the good principle (Siyatis) has
destroyed. This phrase,
Ht/a siyiitis duvaisantam akhsata,
Quae virtus bona Invidentem exterminavit,
has been cruelly misunderstood, as well by the author, as by all his colla
borators.
2 The word siyatis is the Zend shaiti, the person shad, which signifies
now "good, joy," but which refers also to events, that, although a bless
ing, are not rejoicing in the beginning. The siyatis is the emanation of
Ormazd, who has given it to the man. The Assyrian version translates
the word siyatis by dumqu, "joy, blessing," and the Median one does not
render it at all, but transcribes it only, as an official religious term which
had no equivalent in the Median language. As the ancient Medes were
not Mazdaeans, the notion of the Good Principle was not represented in
their tongue.
72 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Text H.
The great ORMAZD, who is the greatest of gods, has
instated DARIUS as a King ; he has given to him the royalty.
By the grace of ORMAZD, DARIUS is King.
DARIUS the King says : This Persian land, which ORMAZD
granted to me, is noble, rich in horses and men. By the
grace of ORMAZD and of me, King DARIUS, it does not fear
from the Other (Ahriman).
DARIUS the King says : May ORMAZD bring help to me,
with all the gods. And may ORMAZD protect this land
from devastation,1 from scarcity, from lie. May the Other
not invade this country, nor devastation, nor scarcity, nor
lie.
This is the prayer2 which I address to ORMAZD with
all gods. This may ORMAZD grant to me with all gods.
The two texts, I and H, seem to form only one.
The inscription H commences at the words, "The
great Ormazd." The document is of the highest im
portance for the history of Mazdean religion, as this is
the only inscription where Ahriman, the evil spirit, is
alluded to ; he is named the Hater (duvaisant, Zend
tbaesat), or with a euphemism, the Other (Aniya}.
1 Ormazd is applied to for protection against devastation (haina),
scarcity (dusiyara), and impious lie (drauga}. These three things are
brought into the land by the " Other," and therefore the words are
repeated in the clause. Formerly aniya has been interpreted by "enemy,''
and the passage was translated, " May an enemy not invade this country,
neither devastation, nor scarcity, nor lie." But Ormazd is not requested
to repel an enemy, as it ought to be if the word aniya, other, had here or
even elsewhere in any Persian texts the sense of "enemy." Aniya
never means " enemy."
2 The word "pray" is expressed by zandiyamiy, from whence is derived
the word zandi " prayer," the origin of zend. Zoroaster brought the
Avesta (Abastii) and the Zend (Zandi), the Law and the Prayer.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 73
The two following documents which accompany
this Persian text do not furnish the same prayer.
3. Text of the same place. Median.1
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands, the King of this wide earth, the son of
HYSTASPES, the Achsemenian.
And DARIUS the King says : Over this spot I have
founded a fortress; formerly a fortress has not been founded
there. By the grace of ORMAZD, I founded this fortress.
And thus was the will of ORMAZD, with all gods, that I
founded this fortress. And I founded it, and I founded it
strong, and beautiful, and complete, as it has been my
will.
And DARIUS the King says : ORMAZD may protect me,
with all the gods, me and also this fortress, and again all
which is contained in this place. May I not see that which
the wicked man would desire.
4. Text of the same place. Assyrian.2
1 The Median text has been already translated by Westergaard, De
Saulcy, and Norris, except some passages which have been made out but
lately. As we have suggested, it is possible that a Persian text existed of
this inscription, although the Median text is placed near the Persian H
and I. May we be justified, on the contrary, to believe that the exclusive
Mazdean character of the Persian was supposed not to be fit for non-Arian
readers ? The answer could be affirmative. The last clause hitherto
unexplained, runs thus :
Hupo inne Laninc hupo appo ruh arikha ummavanra,
Id ne videam id quod homo impius meditatur.
2 The Assyrian text which accompanies the Median has been translated
formerly by De Saulcy and by myself. It does replace the enumeration of the
geographical names by four general categories, "on this side and beyond
the sea," " on this side and beyond the desert." The desert (sumamif)
seems to be the great Persian, not the Arabian one. The style of the
Assyrian text does not support the existence of a Persian equivalent docu
ment. The general sense of it is rather adapted to Semitic readers.
74 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
The great ORMAZD, who is the greatest among all the
gods, is he who created the heaven and created the earth,
who created the men, and who gave the Good Principle to
the men among all the other living creatures, and who made
DARIUS King, and gave to DARIUS the King the royalty
over this wide earth, which contains many lands, Persia
and Media, and other lands and other tongues, on the
mountains and in the plains of this side of the sea, and
on the side beyond the sea, of this side of the desert and on
the side beyond the desert.
DARIUS the King says : These are the lands who did this
and who were assembled here : Persia and Media and the
other lands and the other tongues, of the mountains and of
the plains, on this side of the sea and on the side beyond
the sea, on this side of the desert and on the side beyond
the desert. What I ordered they did. All I did, I did it
by the grace of ORMAZD. May ORMAZD protect me, with
all the gods, me and what I have made.
5. Inscription of the windows. Persian, Median,
Assyrian.
Vaulted hall made in the house of DARIUS, the King.1
1 This little text, containing some architectonic terms, is very difficult,
and the Median and Assyrian versions afford light only on some points ;
namely, the end must be translated, " in the house of King Darius." This
first word, arda^tana, is transcribed in Median, and explained by the
Assyrian kulur remit; kulur (occurring often in Sargon's inscription)
signifies " hall," and remu is the column. The word arda$tana, literally
"lofty space," is to be translated by "colonnade." The second word is in
Assyrian, galala "vaulted," and rendered in Median by an ideogram,
Har (Monogr.) inna, "of the Hars." The Persian athangaina, adjective of
athanga, may be the modern uliang "vault," "arched edifice." This
seems to me to be the most acceptable explanation of this difficult
legend.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 75
6. Funeral inscription of Darius at Naksh-i-Rustam.
Persian, Median, Assyrian.1
A great god is ORMAZD who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who made DARIUS
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor2 of many
Emperors.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where all languages are spoken, the King
of this wide earth, afar and near, the son of HYSTASPES,
the Achsemenian, Persian son of Persian, Arian 3 of Arian
offspring.
DARIUS the King says : By the grace of ORMAZD, I hold
these lands, besides Persia. I ruled over them, they brought
tribute to me, that which was ordered by me to them, that
was executed :
Media, Susiana ( Uvaza), Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana,
Chorasmia, Sarangia, Arachotis, Sattagydia, Gandaria, India,
1 The inscriptions engraved at the tomb of Darius at Naksh-i-Rustam
are of the greatest interest; unfortunately one of the large documents is
hitherto entirely unknown to us. The Persian text, copied by Westergaard,
as have been all the others, was first published by Hitzig, Benfey, Rawlinson,
and, after an unsuccessful attempt made by me in 1852, entirely restored in
1856, in the Zeitschrift of the German Oriental Society, and in my Expedition
en Mesopotamie, 1858. This my restoration has been adopted by Mr. Fox
Talbot in 1862, and in his amended translation in the fifth volume of
the Records of the Past. Since that time several corrections have been
introduced by me, and I presently lay them before the reader. The
Median text, published formerly by MM. Westergaard, De Saulcy,
Holtzmann, Mordtmann, and Norris, requires many emendations, which
will soon appear in a special work.
2 The \\ordframatriram, "emperor," is rendered in Median by another
transcribed Persian word, dcnimdattira, Persian dainimdcitaram, "the
giver of law." The word daini, Zend daena, modern den, is only preserved
in the Median transcriptions.
3 The words, " Arian offspring of Arian," are omitted in the Assyrian
text, addressed exclusively to Semitic readers.
7 6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
the Amyrgian Sacians,1 the pointed helmets bearing Sacians
(Tigrakhauda\ Babylon, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia,
Cappadocia, Lycia (Saparda), Ionia, the Sacians beyond the
(Black) Sea, the Scudra, the hair-tail bearing lonians,2 the
Put, the Kus, the Maxyans, Karka (Carthage).
DARIUS the King says : When ORMAZD saw this earth,
revolting and enemy each to another,3 then he entrusted it
to me. He made me King : I am King. By the grace of
ORMAZD, I re-instated it in its right place. That which was
ordered by me, that was done as it was my will. If thou
sayest : " How diverse are the people which DARIUS main
tained," look on the images of those who bear my throne,4
1 The list of the nations is of great importance ; it was executed after
the first expedition of Darius to the Greek nations, after B.C. 496,
for many Hellenic nations are enumerated as subdued to the Persian
power.
The Amyrgian Sacians are mentioned by Herodotus (VII. 64) ; they
are named in Persian Haumavarga (perhaps, who drink the Haoma leaves),
and the other Sacians are the Tigrakhauda, the pointed helmet bearing
Sacians. The helmet, khauda, modern Persian khitd, Zend khaoda, is
expressed by the Greek Kv'p/3a<ns (Her. 1. s.), and this very word is found
again in the Assyrian version, karbalfi for karlasti.
2 " The hair-tail bearing lonians " (takalara) are the Eretrians, and the
taka points out the Eubcean queue. The Skudra seems to be the mount
Scodrus in Thracia, and the Putiija, Kusiya are clearly the Put and Cush
of the Bible. The Macuja may be the Libyan Mashuash, and since 1847
I suggested that Karka may be translated by Carthage.
3 There is a line wanting in the Persian text; the gap is made evident
by the versions. We must read thus :
1. 32. Auramaxda yattut avaina imam bumim yauda-
Oromazes quando vidit istam terram, dimi-
1. 320. [namca viqpatasca aniyaisam hainain]
catio (erat) undique alterorum excidium ;
1. 33. pacavadim manafrubara
postea earn mihi commisit.
4 All the difficult passages of this clause have been pointed out by me
in 1856. The throne of Darius on the sculptured rock is supported by the
representatives of all the nations. The word arstis, " lance," of which one
letter is wanting, has given the clue to all the passage.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 77
and thou wilt recognise them. Then it will be evident to
thee, that the Persian man's spear reached afar, then it will
be evident to thee, that the Persian man sought war far from
his land Persia.
DARIUS the King says : All what I have done, I made
it by the grace of ORMAZD. ORMAZD brought help to me,
until I had performed the work. May ORMAZD protect me
from evil, me and my house and my land. That is what I
implore from ORMAZD, that is what ORMAZD may grant to
me.
0 man,1 the law which ORMAZD (has given), may it not
seem contemptible to thee. Do not leave the right path, do
not sin.
7. Testament of Darius at his tomb at Naksh-i-
Rustam. Persian, Median, Assyrian.
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created the great law
of ORMAZD, who has created the Good Principle, which
by the right and the customs has ruled over DARIUS the
king.
DARIUS the King says : By the grace of ORMAZD, the
work
[The rest is wanting.]
1 This last address to the reader of the text is very interesting, but has
been made out only lately. The great obstacle resulted from the three
Persian forms thacaya (read erroneously thadaya),! avarada, and qtrava.
As the two last are clearly the second persons for averadas and ftravas, the
first was also supposed to be the same form, and from thence arose
an inextricable difficulty to construct the phrase. The word thacaya is the
third person for thacayat, and the phrase runs thus :
Martiyd hyd Auramazdahaframana
O homo quse Oromazis doctrina (est)
Hauvataiy ga$ta nut thacaya pathim
ea tibi mala ne videatur; viam
tydm return ma avarada ma ctrava
rectam ne derelinquas, ne pecces.
7 8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
It is a great pity that this text, perhaps the most
important of all in respect of religion, has never been
sufficiently examined. The document is more ex
tensive than the preceding one, under which it is
engraved.
8. Detached texts over the figures at the tomb of
Darius.1
a. Over the image of Gobryas.
This is GOBRYAS, the Patischorian, the lance-bearer of
King DARIUS.
b. Over the image of Aspathines.
This is ASPATHINES, the guardian of arrows, the quiver-
bearer.
c. Over the image of the Maxyans.
These are the Maxyans.
INSCRIPTION OF MOUNT ELVEND.2
9. Inscription of Darius.
1 These texts have been copied by Tasker; they are engraved over
three images only, but it is very probable that all the sculptured figures
had once or have still explanatory legends.
The portrait of Gobryas is that of one of the seven conjurers against the
Magian ; Aspathines is mentioned by Herodotus as having been another.
In this point the Persian authority of Herodotus had misled him: but even
this confusion of Ardymanes and Aspathines proves that the Father of
History consulted authentical sources ; for Aspathines must actually have
been in great honour at Darius' court.
It is reported in the fragments of Ctesias, that the tomb of Darius was
sculptured in the life-time of the father of Darius Hystaspes, and that
this latter, and his wife, lost their lives in inspecting the sculptures of
Naksh-i-Rustam.
2 This text was first explained by Burnouf, in one of the earliest works
on Cuneiform inscriptions.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 79
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created this heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who has made DARIUS
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many
Emperors.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this great earth, afar and near, son of HYSTASPES,
Achaemenian.
INSCRIPTIONS OF SUSA.
10. Text of a column.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands, the King of this great earth, son of
HYSTASPES, Achsemenian.
11. Text of the hall.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands, the King of this great earth, son of
HYSTASPES, Achsemenian.
DARIUS the King says : By the will of ORMAZD I have
built this palace (apadanam)?
INSCRIPTIONS OF SUEZ.
12. Persian, Median, Assyrian, Egyptian.
a. Cartouch :
DARIUS.
1 The texts of Susa are very mutilated ; they have been made known
by Loft us.
The term apadanam, the Hebrew appeden, seems to indicate a special
kind of palace; we shall find it afterwards again in the Susian Artaxerxes
documents.
8o RECORDS OF THE PAST.
b. At the image of Darius.
DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the King of
the lands, the King of this wide earth, son of HYSTASPES,
Achaemenian.
c. Principal text.
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created that heaven, who
has created this earth, who has created the man, who has
given the Good Principle to the man, who has made DARIUS
King, who has committed to King DARIUS this kingdom,
great, rich in horses, rich in men.
I am DARIUS, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this great earth, afar and near, the son of HYSTASPES,
the Achsemenian.
DARIUS the King says : I am Persian, with the aid of
Persia I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal to be dug,
from the river named Pirava (Nile)1 which flows in Egypt,
until the sea which is in communication with Persia. Then
this canal was dug here as I ordered it. But I said thus :2
1 The river Pirava is the Nile, yeor in Hebrew, yauru in Assyrian, with
the Eg-yptian article pi.
2 We know by the Greek authors that Darius was prevented from his
purpose by the counsels of the Persian engineers, who were in great
anxiety about the danger of inundating Egypt. They believed, and the
modern engineers held that error also, that the level of the Mediterranean
Sea was lower than that of the Arabian Gulf. Therefore Darius ordered
to destroy the half of the canal already dug. The name of Bira is restored
from the Egyptian fragments.
The text contains clearly the claim of Darius to a conquest of Egypt.
Mudrayam agarbaijam, and not darayamiy, I hold. The expedition of
Cambyses is mentioned in the very Behistun document, but there is also
a hint of a revolt of Egypt happening after the accession of Darius. This
defection was quite unknown to us, as the Greek writers do not mention
it ; Darius may possibly have considered the repression of this rebellion as
a real conquest. See the remark to the Median text of Behistun, where
the only notice of the Egyptian revolt has been preserved, Records of the
Past, Vol. VII., p. 95.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 8 1
Now go, and destroy the half of the canal, from the town of
Bira until the sea, because thus is my will.
This curious monument, first edited by myself in the
Rapports dc V Egypte et de I'Assyrie, p. 125, has been
destroyed by the workmen of the Suez Canal. It
contained on one side the three Cuneiform inscriptions,
on the reverse a hieroglyphic text, of which some
fragments remain. But the greatest part of the Median
is lost, and the Assyrian is entirely annihilated, except
three or four letters. The Persian text has been
restored by me, according to the photographs of
casts and bits, sent over to me by Mariette-Bey, after
six months' labour.
III. INSCRIPTIONS OF XERXES.
(PERSIAN, MEDIAN, ASSYRIAN.)
TEXTS OF PERSEPOLIS.
I. Inscription D of the staircase.
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who has made XERXES
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many
Emperors.
I am XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this wide earth, afar and near, the son of King
DARIUS, the Achaemenian.
XERXES, the great King, says : By the grace of ORMAZD
I made this portal with the representations of all lands
VOL. ix. 7
82 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
)* Many other beautiful things have been made
in this Persepolis, which I made and which my father made.
All these works which look beautiful, all this we have made
it by the grace of ORMAZD.
XERXES, the great King, says : May ORMAZD protect me,
and my empire, and my work, and my father's work, may
ORMAZD protect it all.
2. Inscription of the columns (A).
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who has made XERXES
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many
Emperors.
I am XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this wide earth, the son of King DARIUS, the
Achsemenian.
XERXES, the great King, says : What I made here, and
what I made besides this, all that I made it by the grace of
ORMAZD. May ORMAZD with the gods protect me. and my
empire, and my work.
3. Inscription C.
XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, son of King
DARIUS, the Achaemenian.
4. Inscription E a. Persian, Median, Assyrian.
1 The staircase is a vi^adahyus, transcribed in both versions. It may be
a monumental entrance where all lands are represented, or merely an
entrance for all the lands, that is, a public staircase.
The texts of Xerxes are very uniform, and not very important ; the real
resulting" fact is the name of the king", Khsaylirsa, which proves to be
identical with the Ahasuerus of Holy Scripture. See the author's Com-
mentaire sur le livre d' Esther, p. 4.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 83
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who has made XERXES
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many
Emperors.
I am XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the land where many languages are spoken, the
King of this wide earth, afar and near, the son of King
DARIUS, Achaemenian.
XERXES, the great King, says : By the grace of ORMAZD
I built this dwelling (fiadis). May ORMAZD protect me with
the gods, and my empire, and my work.
5. Text E b. Exactly the same words.
6 and 7. Texts of C a and C b.
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given the Good Principle to the man, who has made XERXES
King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many
Emperors.
I am XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this wide earth, afar and near, the son of King
DARIUS, the Achsemenian.
XERXES, the great King, says : By the grace of ORMAZD
the King DARIUS, who was my father, built this dwelling.
May ORMAZD, with the gods, protect me, and my work, and
the work of my father, King ] )ARIUS : may ORMAZD protect
all that.
8. Legends of vases found in Egypt, at Susa and
84 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Halicarnassus.1 Inscription quadrilingual : Persian,
Median, Assyrian, Egyptian.
XERXES, the great King.
9. Inscription of Elvend. (Repeating, in the three
languages, the two first passages of the following
texts.)
10. Inscription of Van. Persian, Median, Assyrian.
A great god is ORMAZD, who is the greatest of gods, who
has created this earth, who has created that heaven, who has
created the man, who has given to the man the Good
Principle, who has made DARIUS King, sole King of many
Kings, sole Emperor of many Emperors.
I am XERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the lands where many languages are spoken, the
King of this wide earth, afar and near, the son of King
DARIUS, the Achsemenian.
XERXES the (great) King says : King DARIUS, my father,
has accomplished many beautiful works ; and he ordered
this stele to be cut in the rock, but he did not write an
inscription. Afterwards I ordered to write this inscription.
May ORMAZD protect me and my empire and my work.
IV. ARTAXERXES I.
Of this monarch there is only existing a fragment
of an Assyrian translation, found by Lottin de Laval.
1 This vase is now in the gold room of the British Museum.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 85
It has been edited and restored by M. de Saulcy.
It ran as follows :
A great god is ORMAZD, who created this heaven, who
created this earth, who created the man, who gave the Good
Principle to the man, who made ARTAXERXES King, sole
King of many Kings, sole Emperor of many Emperors.
I am ARTAXERXES, the great King, the King of Kings,
the King of the lands where many languages are spoken,
the King of this earth wide and near, son of King XERXES,
grandson of King DARIUS, the Achsemenian.
ARTAXERXES the King says : By the grace of ORMAZD, I
finished this palace which my father commenced. May
ORMAZD protect me, and my work, and my empire, and
my land.
V. ARTAXERXES II.
INSCRIPTIONS OF SUSA.1
I. Text of the bases of the columns, in two copies.
Persian, Median, Assyrian.
Says ARTAXERXES, the great King, the King of Kings, the
King of the land, the King of this wide earth, the son of
1 The texts of Artaxerxes Mnemon are much more important; they are
all due to Loftus' excavations at Susa. The text of the columns in two
copies is of a very high value ; it affords the only new historical statement
in all texts, except the Behistun document. We learn that the palace of
Susa was burnt under the reign of Artaxerxes I., and restored only by his
grandson. During this time, the Persian monarchs resided principally at
Babylon, and Darius II. died there.
The great importance of the Artaxerxes texts results from their giving
the genealogy of the Achaemenidse, and in confirming the statements
transmitted to us by the Greeks, which are in direct contradiction with the
traditions of the modern Persians.
86 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
King DARIUS, of King DARIUS, the son of King ARTA-
XERXES, of King ARTAXERXES the son of King XERXES, of
King XERXES the son of King DARIUS, of King DARIUS the
son of HYSTASPES, the Achsemenian.
This palace (apadanani), DARIUS, my grand-forefather,
built it. In the time of ARTAXERXES, my grandfather, it
was burnt by fire. By the grace of ORMAZD, ANAHITA and
MITHRA, I made anew this palace. May ORMAZD, ANAHITA '
and MITHRA protect me from all evil, and may they not
attack nor destroy my work.
2. Legend round a column. Persian, Median,
Assyrian.
I am ARTAXERXES, the great King, the King of Kings,
son of King DARIUS.
VI. ARTAXERXES III. OCHUS.
I. Text of Persepolis. Persian.
A great god is ORMAZD, who has created this earth, who
has created that heaven, who has created the man, who has
given to the man the Good Principle, who has made ARTA
XERXES King, sole King of many Kings, sole Emperor of
many Emperors.
Says ARTAXERXES, the great King, the King of Kings,
the King of the lands, the King of this earth : I am the son
of King ARTAXERXES, of ARTAXERXES the son of King
1 The cultus of the goddess Anahita was introduced by Artaxerxes II., as
Agathias states, according to Ctesias. Here (and in his son's inscription)
Mithra also is added for the first time.
The Persian surname of Oarses, Uvursti, called afterwards as King
Artaxerxes, Artakhsathra, was Abiyataka, " having a good memory,"
translated to Mnemon by the Greeks.
INSCRIPTIONS OF PERSIAN MONARCHS. 87
DARIUS, of DARIUS the son of King ARTAXERXES, of ARTA-
XERXES the son of King XERXES, of XERXES the son of
King DARIUS, of DARIUS the son of the named HYSTASPES,
of HYSTASPES the son of the named ARSAMES.
ARTAXERXES the King says : This vaulted colonnade1 has
been built by me.
ARTAXERXES the King says : May ORMAZD and god
MITHRA protect me, and my land, and my work.
2. Vase of Venice. Persian, Median, Assyrian,
Egyptian.2
ARTAXERXES, great King.
Perhaps appertaining to Artaxerxes L, but not to
Artaxerxes II., who never was king of Egypt
VII. INSCRIPTIONS ON CYLINDERS.3
i. Seal of Arsaces. In the British Museum.
ARSACES, by name, son of ATHIYABUSANA.
1 This text of Artaxerxes III., Ochus, is the most modern of ancient
Persian documents. It contains the genealogy from the royal author
upwards to the named Hystaspes and Arsam'es.
The vaulted colonnade, mentioned by this king, is expressed by usta-
sanam athanganam. In this text, likewise, as in his father's documents,
the Persian language is dreadfully corrupted.
2 Now in the Treasury of San Marc.
3 Three cylinders only are existing with Persian texts, the Darius
cylinder in the British Museum, the Arsaces cylinder published first by
Grotefend, and the cylinder of the former Raife collection, which I have
explained in the Melanges d'Archeologie egi/ptienne et assyrienne, Vol. I.
I ascribe it to Pharnuches, mentioned by Herodotus (VII. 88). This very
curious text contains four Persian monograms.
88 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
2. Seal of Pharnuches.
PHARNUCHES, by name, a Persian, son of TITH^EUS.
3. Seal of King Darius (trilingual) in the British
Museum.
DARIUS, great King.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
CONCERNING PRIVATE PERSONS.
EDITED BY
MM. OP PERT AND MEN ANT.
translations are taken from a French work
published by Dr. Oppert and M. Menant ;' the versions
have been revised, in some essential points, for the
Records of 'the Past, by Dr. Oppert, who holds himself
personally responsible for the exact representation of
the sense of these documents ; but on account of the
1 The title of the work is, Documents juridiques de VAssyrie et de la
Cfialdce, par J. Oppert and J. Menant, Paris, 1877.
90 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
unusual difficulty of these texts, the reader may easily
be convinced that for a long time yet, and particu
larly in details of minor importance, there will remain
room enough for a conscientious improvement of all
previous translations.
91
BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS.
I.
THE STONE OF ZA'ALEH.
This document, engraved on a small broken slab
of basalt, is dated from the first year of the reign of
Marduk-idin-akhe. It was discovered long ago in the
small mound of Za'aleh, on the left bank of the Eu
phrates, a few miles North-west of Babylon. The text
forms two columns of cursive Babylonian characters ;
the first column is extremely damaged. Though
defaced, this contract offers some interest by its
differring from other documents of the aforesaid
reign. It has been published in the first volume of
the collection of the British Museum ( W. A. I., pi. 66),
and translated for the first time by Dr. Oppert,
Expedition en Mcsopotamie, t. I. p. 253.
COLUMN I.
Covenant which in the town of Babylon, in the month
Sebat, in the first year of MARDUK-IDIN-AKHE, the mighty
King, the men of M . . ., have agreed :
The waters of the river ....,' and the waters of the
canals did not go through -
1 Lacuna. - Lacunae of several lines.
92 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
COLUMN II.
' and all the streams which exist at the mouth of
the river Salmani. Therefore, ARADSU, son of ERISNUNAK,
has agreed to (aforesaid things) for the times to come, in
giving his signature to this tablet.
BIT-KARRA-BASA, son of HEA-HABAL-IDIN, Governor of
the town of Ism ; BABILAYU, son of SIN-MUSTESIR, Chief ;
MALIK-AKH-IDINNA, son of NIGAZI, Chief of the ru-bar;*
TAB-ASAP-MARDUK, son of INA-E-SAGGATU-IRBU, a Scribe;
ZlKAR-NANA, SOn of . . .' BlN, sdbil '; N ABU-MUM ADD ID-ZIR,
a servant, sonof ZIKAR-EA, a Governor; and NABU-IDIN-AKHE,
son of NAMRI, have fixed it in the furnitures of the house.
In the town of Babylon, on the 3oth of Sebat (January),
in the first year of MARDUK-IDIN-AKHE, the mighty King.
The Masters of the Royal Seal, have granted approbation.
II.
THE PARIS MICHAUX STONE.
This monument is so called from the name of the
traveller by whom it was brought over to France in
1800. It was discovered near the Tigris, not far from
the ruins of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. It is an
ovoid basalt stone of 17 inches in height, by 24 in
circumference. The upper part is decorated with
symbolical figures spread over nearly one third of
the monument ; one of the sides is divided in two
parts. At the top the moon crescent and the sun are
represented ; in a somewhat lower place there are
1 Lacuna * Unknown dignity.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 93
four altars ; two on the right support tiaras ; the
other two are adorned with two symbolical figures.
In the middle a winged goat kneeling ; the lower part
of the animal is hidden by the image of another altar.
The second part contains two altars ; one of them
bears a sort of arrow-head which for a long time has
been taken for the symbol of the Cuneiform writing,
because it resembles the element of these characters.
On the other part there is a triangular symbol, then,
between both altars, two kneeling monsters ; only the
fore part of their body is visible. On the left behind
the altar there is to be seen a symbolical figure
preceding a downward pointed arrow. On the back
side of the monument there is a scorpion, a bird
roosting. On the ground there is a bird, on the
head of which is to be seen an unknown symbol
composed of two other monsters, one bears a bird's
head, and the other has a hideous horned face ; the
rest of the body is wrapped up in a sort of sheath ;
opposite to which a dog kneeling. The top of the
stone is bordered with an immense snake ; its tail
extends into the very inscriptions, its head touches
the head of the dog. On each side of the monument
in its lower part, there are two columns of cuneiform
texts, which contain altogether 95 lines.
This monument is now kept since 1801 in the
"Cabinet des Medailles" at Paris (No. 702). Since that
epoch it has always attracted the attention of scholars ;
it was published by M. Millin in 1802, Monuments
inedits, t. I. pi. viii., ix. Miinter first attempted to
explain the symbolical figures (Religion der Baby-
lonier, p. 102, pi. in). Sir Henry Rawlinson has also
94 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
published the inscription again, in W. A. /., Vol. I.
p. 70. The sense of this text has been fixed for the
first time, in 1856, by M. Oppert's translation in the
Bulletin A rcheologiqne de r A thencnm Frangais. After
this translation, Mr. Fox Talbot gave one in 1861,
in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.
XVIIL, p. 54-
COLUMN I.
20 hin of corn is the quantity for seeding an arura.1
The field is situated near the town of Kar-Nabu, on the
bank of the river Mekaldan, depending of the property of
KlLNAMANDU.
The field is measured as follows : ~ Three stades in length
towards the East, in the direction of the town of Bagdad ;
three stades in length towards the West, adjoining the house
of TUNAMISSAH \ i stade 50 fathoms 3 in breadth towards the
North, adjoining the property of KILNAMANDU ; i stade
50 fathoms up in the South, adjoining the property of
KILNAMANDU.
SIRUSUR, son of KILNAMANDU, gave it for all future days
1 Or the great U, namely of the field in question.
• Dr. Oppert's first translation of this passage, which is to be found in
almost all documents of this kind, has been corrected in U E talon rfe.v
mesures assyrienues, p. 42. The field of Kilnamandu was a rectangle
of i •/(, stades in breadth and 3 stades long", viz., 5^ square stades,
amounting to 19,64 hectares or 48^ English acres. The Stone of Michaux
is the only one which affords a valuation of the land.
The arura (great U) is valued at SS hectares, 207 acres in the Baby
lonian system; a hin is almost 3 litres or 5 pints and a quarter, 20 hint;
therefore, are somewhat more than 13 gallons. The fertility of the
Babylonian soil was renowned in antiquity, see Herodotus I. 193.
3 A fathom, io£ feet, is the sixtieth part of a stade, 620 feet.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 95
to DUR-SARGINAITI, his daughter, the bride1 of TAB-ASAP-
MARDUK, son of INA-E-SAGGATU-IRBU (the pretended), who
wrote this ; and TAB-ASAP-MARDUK, son of INA-E-SAGGA
TU-IRBU, who wrote this in order to perpetuate without
interruption the memory of this gift, and commemorated on
this stone the will of the great gods and the god SERAH.
COLUMN II.
Whosoever in the process of time, among the brothers,
the sons, the family, the men and women, the servants both
male and female, of the house of KILNAMANDU, either a
foreigner, or a guest, or whosoever he may be (or anyone
else), who will destroy this field, who will venture to take away
the boundary-stone, or will vindicate it : whether he con
secrate this field to a god, or earn it for his superior, or
claim it for himself, or change the extent, the surface, or
the limits, that he reaps new harvests (crops) ; or who will
say of the field with its measures, "There is no granter ;"
whether he call forth malediction and hostility on the
tablets ; or establish on it anyone other who change these
curses, in swearing : "The head is not the head ;" and in
asserting : There is no evil eye ; 2 whosoever will carry
elsewhere those tablets ; or will throw them into the waters ;
will bury them in the earth ; will hide them under stones ;
will burn them with fire, will alter what is written on them,
will confine them into a place where they might not be seen ;
that man shall be cursed :
May the gods ANU, EL, HEA, the Great Goddess, the great
gods, inflict upon him the utmost contumely, extirpate his
name, annihilate his family.
1 This word is explained in a syllabary copied by Dr. Oppert in 1855,
but which has never been published. The three signs of the ideogram
(Bit-gigunu-a) are rendered by kallatu, "a bride," and this very important
statement put the translator on the track of the right interpretation.
1 This seems to be a usual formula.
96 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
May MARDUK, the great Lord of eternity without end,
bind him in fetters which cannot be broken.
May SAM AS, the great Judge of heaven and earth, judge
his unpunished misdeeds, and surprise him in flagrant deeds.
May SIN, the brilliant (Nannar), who dwells in the sacred
heavens, clothe him in leprosy as in a garment, and give him
up to the wild beasts that wander in the outsides of the
town.
May ISTAR, the Queen of heaven and earth, carry him
off, and deliver him for avenge to the god and the king.
May NINIP, son of the zenith, son of EL the sublime, take
away his lands, funds, and limits.
May GULA, the great Queen, the wife of NINIP, infiltre
into his bowels a poison which cannot be pushed out, and
may he void blood and pus like water.1
May BIN, the great Guardian of heaven and earth, the
son of the warrior ANU, inundate his field.
May SERAH destroy his firstborn ; may he torture his
flesh, and load his feet with chains.
May NABU, the supreme Watcher, strike him with mis
fortune and ruin, and blast his happiness that he not obtain
it, in the wrath of his face.
May all the great gods whose names are recorded on this
tablet, curse him with irrevocable malediction, and scatter
his race even to the last days.
III.
CONTRACT CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF ADA.
(BRITISH MUSEUM.)
This monument is equally engraved on a black basalt
stone ; it offers the same arrangement as the stone of
1 Literally, " micturate."
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 97
Michaux. The analogous documents show that
numerous inaccuracies have been committed.
In the upper part there occur the same altars, tiaras,
birds, as well as the above-mentioned goat, dog,
scorpion, and snake. The surface of the basso-relievo
is also covered with Cuneiform writing.
The inscriptions are arranged in four columns, and
take both sides of the monument. The first column
originally finished at the 3Oth line ; it seems to have
been completed by four lines, which contain one of
the essential articles of the contract, but which evi
dently are not in their right place, and had been
actually forgotten in the original engraving.
On the margins and the basso-relievo many addi
tions and repetitions are to be read, which also prove
the engraver's carelessness or precipitation.
20 bins1 of corn are sufficient to seed an arura* a field in
the land of Zunire,3 on the bank of the river Zirzirri,
belonging to the house of ADA.
MARDUK-IDIN-AKHE, King of Babylon, has thus sentenced
according to the laws of the country of Assur. BIN-ZIR-BASA,
his Minister, has favoured MARDUK-ILUSU, son of INA-E-
SAGGATU-iRBU,4 who has written this to the King of Babylon :
I say, He has loaded me with favours, and I proclaim that
1 Twenty bins are equal to 60 litres, 131 gallons.
2 Great U, the standard agrarian measure.
3 The country is unknown, the river Zirzirri is also mentioned elsewhere.
4 This name signifies : " In the Pyramid he will increase."
VOL. IX. 8
98 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
this rating has been made according to the epha ' of the
King of Babylon.
20 hin of corn are sufficient to seed an arura, BIN-ZIR-
BASA, the Lieutenant (of the King), has invested him with
it, and (the measurer of lands) has thus measured it for the
time to come.
In the length2 above towards the North, turned to the
river Zirzirri, adjoining the house of ADA, and the field of
the house of the Satraps. In the length below, towards the
South of the river Atab-du-Istar, adjoining the house of ADA.
In breadth above towards the East, adjoining the limits of
Bit-ulbar. In breadth below towards the West, adjoining
the house of ADA.
According to the law of MARDUK-IDIN-AKHE, King ol
Babylon, servant of the gods of the City of the eternal fire,3
it was so measured by BEL-ZIR-KINI, son of ZIKAR-!STAR,
the measurer of the field.
In the town of Dindu, in the month of Tebet, on the
28th day (December) in the loth year of MARDUK-IDIN-
AKHE, King of Babylon.
In the presence of BET-ULBAR-SAKIMU, son of BAZI,
Chief of the ru-bar of the countries ;
in the presence of BABILAI, son of SIN-MUSTESIR,* Chief
of the head Rulers of the country ;
in the presence of HEA-KUDURRI-IBNI, son of ZIKAR-EA,
Governor of the provinces ;
1 The valuations of the estates are made by the quantity of corn required
to seed them, as it is the case in Rabbinical literature, where the unity is
a Beth-sea, or the surface seeded by a sea. Therefore the Epha of the king
(royal Epha) is quite in its place: the epha is varying from 32 to 36 pints.
The text itself states the royal endowment of a perhaps conquered land.
2 There is no valuation of the field. An error crept into the French
transliteration; us is not "a stade," but the word "length."
3 This is the city generally read Agade.
4 Person already mentioned in the Za'aleh Stone.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 99
in the presence of BEL-NASIR-HABAL, son of the Chief of
the rubar of the orders in the provinces ;
in the presence of TAKISA-BELIT, son of RIU-SIMTI ;
in the presence of UBALLITSU, son of KARISTIYA-
NAPASTI ;
in the presence of BEL-IDIN-AKH, son of SUTI ;
in the presence of SUKAMUNA'-IDIN, son of MILI-
HARBAT ;
in the presence of ISU-IL, son of HABLIYA ;
in the presence of BEL-AKHESU, son of MELIHARBAT ;
in the presence of NIS-BET-ULBAR, son of ULAMHALA ;
in the presence of SUMIDU, son of MARDUK-KABUYA,
Prefect of the house of ADA ;
in the presence of E-SAGGATU-BUNUYA, hazan* of the
house of ADA ;
in the presence of BABRABTATUTAI, son of SAR-BABIL-AS-
SUR-ISSI ;
in the presence of SADU-RABU-KABUYA, Judge ;
in the presence of MARDUK-NASIR, son of GAMILU.
COLUMN III.
Whoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the
sons, among the near relations, the allies of the family of the
house of ADA, would claim this land, would nourish against
it bad designs, or would suggest them ; whoever would utter
these words: "There is no giver;" who would say : "There is
no sealer ; " or whosoever will say : " I deny that there is a
master of the house of ADA, that there is a Chief in the
house of ADA; that there is a hazair of the house of ADA;
or that there is either a speculator for the house of ADA ;
1 The god Sukamanu occurs elsewhere.
The hazan seems to be a superintendent.
100 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
or a gitta1 of the house of ADA ; or a sumtalu ; or a lubattu;
or an aklu; or a kisirtu in the house of ADA ; or he will say,
The confiscation has been pronounced ; whether he say :
" This field has no measurer ;" or say : "This seal is not of a
sealer" (who has the right to ); or whoever will take posses
sion of this field ; or consecrate it to the gods ; or claim it
for himself ; or alter its surface, circumference and limits ;
or construct buildings on this land, and in the middle of
this field (that man will be cursed) :
The gods who are inscribed on this tablet, all those whose
name is commemorated herein, will curse him with irre
vocable curses.
May the gods ANU," BEL, HEA, these great gods, torment
him and overwhelm him ; that . . . .3
May MARDUK, the great Lord of eternity without limits,
fetter him with inextricable bonds.
May NEBO, the supreme minister, overthrow the surface,
circumference, and limits of his properties.
May BIN, the great Lord of heaven and earth, cause the
streams of his river to overflow4 have his progeny
circumcised, and load his feet with a heavy chain.
May SIN, who turns around heaven, envelop his body with
leprosy as in a garment.
May SAMAS, the bright Judge of heaven and earth, judge
his lawsuit, and have him seized in deed doing.
May ISTAR, the goddess of heaven and earth, deliver him
to the vengeance of the gods and of the King.
May GULA, the Sovereign Lady, the great wife of NINIP,
1 By an error, this line is omitted in the French work; the Assyrian
words are not yet understood.
2 In the text is mi. 3 Lacuna.
4 The passage is very obscure ; if Dr. Oppert's idea is correct, there is
an allusion to the detested custom of circumcision, the performance of
which was regarded as an affliction.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. IOI
infiltre into his bowels with a poison that will not leave him,
and may he void pus and blood like water.
May NINIP, the god of boundaries, filium camclas mire
cogat.1
May NERGAL, the god of arms and bows, break his
arrows.
May ZAMAL, the King of battles, prevent him in the midst
of the fray from taking a prisoner.
May TURDA, the Keeper of the images of the great
gods, walking in the right ways of the gods, besiege his door
during the night.
May ISKHARA, the goddess of the ancient customs, not
hear him in the battles.
May MALIK, the great Master of Heaven,2 whilst he sins
cause him to be slain in the act.
May all the gods that are on this stone, whose name is
commemorated, curse him with irrevocable curses.
The lines at the end of the first column read as
follows :
3 If anybody swears thus : This head is not a head . . . .3
or institutes here an outlaw or a causer of mischief, immerse
them in the waters, bury them in the earth, hide them
under a heap of stones, destroy them by fire.
On the edge of the second column :
May the gods whose image is on this table, and whose
name is invoked, curse him with irrevocable curses.
On the edge of the fourth column :
The horses 4 the Master of the house of ADA may
dispose of them after him. 30 horses, 25 buffaloes, 3 mares
1 See Lev. xx. 15. : Gar a anna.
3 In the French work, this passage has been left untranslated.
4 Lacunse.
102 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
in the fields are not inclosed in the decree of the King of
Babylon ; BIN-ZIR-BASA has ascribed it for the benefit of
MAHANITU, after MARDUK-ILUSU, son of INA-E-SAGGATU-
IRBU.
The Chief of the rubar of the house of ADA has said it
(named and pronounced) to MARDUK-ILUSU, son of the
Scribe of MARDUK-IDTN-AKHE, King of Babylon, and INA-
E-SAGGATU-IRBU, the Scribe, the field, this one has1
owner of the house of ADA, has given it for the days to
come, and has yielded it up.
A great many short inscriptions are placed over
the basso-relievos.
1. The smallest of them is placed over a kind of
lyre. It reads :
In sum, an epha and a half.
2. Entangled between the branches of an object
difficult to design and the horns of a goat, occurs a
sentence which has not been translated.
3. The word nase is written between and the altar
supporting a triangular object.
4. A legend of three lines is engraved between
the mentioned altar, and a horned animal.
So that he may not devastate the land of Zunire, nor the
dwellings which are belonging to the Governor of Zunire.
5. Under an undetermined object, opposite to the
nose of the abovementioned fantastical animal is
written a sentence composed of a perpendicular line
and four lines parallel to the circumference.
That he will not acknowledge either the kisirtu or the
1 Here are two very obscure words.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 103
tribute of this house, or the Prefect, or the hazan of the
house of ADA.
6. Below the preceding one.
Either the author of the treaty, or the hazan of the
land of Zunirie.
7. Included between the roost and the back of the
dog occurs another sentence which has not been
translated.
8. Across the symbolical figures.
[Commencement obscure.]
That he might not watch upon the streets of Bit-Ada.
9. Between the scorpion and the back of the
snake.
That he may pay the rent of the land.
10. Over the head of the snake.
That in his abode, there may not be any power, any
judge, any implorer.
IV.
CONTRACT OF HANKAS.
(BRITISH MUSEUM).
The fourth monument of the reign of Marduk-idin-
akhe is a black basalt stone of nearly the same size
and arrangement as the preceding. At the top we also
see analogous symbols disposed in a similar way. The
inscription has but two columns, and occupies but one
IO4 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
side of the monument ; on the other, the image of
the king is engraved, and near the garment of the
king, represented by the basso-relievo, the three lines
of the beginning are repeated at the end of the
document
By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has
for ever perpetuated his name.1
25 hins2 of corn are sufficient to seed an arura? in a
field lying on the bank of the river Besim, belonging to
HANKAS.
In length4 above towards the North, adjoining the
property of HANKAS ; in length below towards the South,
adjoining the property of IMBIYATI; in breadth above
towards the West, adjoining the property of HANKAS ; in
breadth below towards the East, limited by the river
Besim.
Such is what MARDUK-NASIR, Captain of the King, has
received from the hands of NIS-BEL, son of HANKAS.
He has paid the price for it. SAPIKU son of ITTI-MARDUK-
BALAT, son of ZIKAR-EA, is the measurer5 of the field.
1 See at the end.
2 These 25 hins represent 75 litres, 16 gallons and a half, for seeding- a
surface of 207 acres.
3 The great U, or arura.
4 Again in this deed no statement is given in account of the measurings.
The space is determined merely by the indication of the boundaries.
This document is also the charter of a royal donation : it is not
clear whether the below mentioned objects are the price, or if, what is
much more verisimilar, they are only the accessoria of the field.
5 Measurer is expressed by masihan.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 105
WEIGHTS OF
i Chariot with its team of horses1 TOO silver
6 Harnesses 300 „
i Ass from Phoenicia 30 „
6 Harnesses, i Ass from Phoenicia 50 ,,
i Mule 15 ,,
i Cow (pregnant) 30 „
30 Measures of corn, 60 Measures of 12 epha* 137 ,,
1 Hemicorion, 10 Shovels of 4 epha 16 ,,
2 Dogs, good 12 ,,
9 Greyhounds from the East 18 „
i Hunting dog i „
i Shepherd dog i ,,
i Dog (bloodhound3) 6 ,,
Total 6i64 (weights of) silver.
Such is what Nis-BEL, son of HANKAS, has paid
in the hands of MARDUK-NASIR, Captain of the King,
as equivalent of the price of a field of 25 bins of
(grain).
At any epoch whatever, in the days to come (or process
of time) either an aklu? or a no-servant, or a farmer, or a
husbandman, or a workman, or any other guardian who
presents himself, and who settles in the house of HANKAS,
and will endeavour to lay waste this field, will earn its
first fruits, will turn it over, will plough it (mix up the
earth), will have it put under water, who will occupy this
1 Cf. i King-s x. 29: "A chariot ... of Egypt for six hundred shekels
of silver; and a horse for one hundred and fifty.
2 It is a question here of the utensils used for measuring', viz., 30 of one
kind, and 60 of another.
3 The quality of the dogs are somewhat uncertain.
4 There is evidently a fault in the total number, 616 instead of 716.
A weight of silver may be an ol-olus, the 36oth part of a mina.
5 The akli, who were at the royal court, may have been legists.
IO6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
property by fraud or violence and will settle in its terri
tories, either in the name of the god, or in the name of the
King, or in the name of the representative of the Lord of
the country, or in the name of the representative of the
house, or in the name of any person whatever, whoever
he may be, who will give it, will earn the harvest of the
land, will say,1 " These fields are not granted as gifts by the
King;" whether he pronounce against them the holy
malediction or he swears by these words: "The head is
not the headj" and establish any one therein, in saying:
" There is no eye ; " or who will carry away this tablet, or
will throw it into the river, or will break it into pieces, or
will bury it under a heap of stones, or will burn it by fire,
or will bury it in the earth, or will hide it in a dark place,
that man (shall be cursed) :
May the god ANU, BEL, HEA, the great gods, afflict him
and curse him with maledictions which are not (retracted).
May the god SIN, the splendid in the high heaven,
envelop all his members with incurable leprosy until the
day of his death ; and expel him to the farthest limits like a
wild beast.
May SAMAS, the Judge of heaven and earth, fly before
him ; that he change into darkness the light of the day.
May ISTAR, the Sovereign, the Queen of the gods, load
him with infirmities and anguish of illness like arrows, may
she increase (day and night his pains,) so that he runs about
like a dog, in the ways of his town.
May MARDUK, the King of heaven and earth, the Lord
of the eternity without end, entangle his weapons with
bonds which cannot be broken.
May NINIP, the god of crops and boundaries, sweep
away its limits and tread upon his crops, and remove its
limit.
1 All these are formulae solennes, as in the Roman law.
BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 107
May GULA, the mother (nurse), the great Lady, infect
his bowels with a poison, and that he void pus and blood
like water.
May BIN, the supreme Guardian of heaven and earth,
inundate his field like a '
May SERAH suffocate his first-born.
May NABU, the holy minister of the gods, continually
pour over his destinies laments and curses ; and blast his
wishes.
May all the great gods whose name is invoked on this
table, devote him to vengeance and scorn, and may his
name, his race, his fruits, his offspring, before the face of
men perish wretchedly.
By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has for
ever perpetuated his name.
V.
TRANSLATION OF AN UNEDITED FRAGMENT.
(BRITISH MUSEUM.)
Five-sixths of an artaba ~ of corn sows an arura, a field
situated on the Euphrates.
adjoining wide adjoining . .
... a field in great measure ZIRBET-U-ALZU . . .
. . and for the days to come he has given this
table SIN-IDIN son of TUKLAT-HABAL-
MARDUK, Governor of the town of Nisin. BANI-MARDUK,
1 Obscure.
" The artaba was three epha, 18 hins; the mentioned quantity of 15 hins
necessary to seed this very fertile field, is only jg pints.
I08 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
son of TUKLAT MALIK-KILIM, son of TUKLAT . .
. . . Chief of AN-SALI son of ZAB-ZIB-
MALIK MALIK-HABAL-IDIN, of the town of Balaki
Chief of SIN-IDIN-HABAL May he cause
him to perish and his offering.1
1 Dr. Oppert copied this text twenty years ago ; he does not know
whether since that time any other piece of the stone has been discovered.
109
THE INSCRIPTION
ON THE
SARCOPHAGUS OF KING ESMUNAZAR,
NOW IN THE LOUVRE AT PARIS.
TRANSLATED BY
PROF. DR. JULIUS OPPERT.
PHIS splendid monument was discovered on the
2Oth of February, 1855, by M. Peretie, Chancellor of the
French consulate at Beyrut, near the ruins of Sidon,
the modern Sai'da. The Duke de Luynes bought
it, and a munificent Maecenas, he made a present
of it to the Museum of the Louvre. The noble
donor himself published also the first translation of
the Phoenician inscription in a work, entitled, Mcmoire
stir le Sarcophagc et V inscription funerairc d'Es-
munazar roi dc Sidon, par H. d' Albert de Luynes,
Paris, 1856. Since that time, perhaps some forty
110 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
different scholars have endeavoured to explain this
important text, either in voluminous works, or in short
articles in which some passages only were commented.
Among the principal writers on this sarcophagus
we must mention MM. Barges, Munck, Schlottman,
Schroder, and lately Kampf, as those who have
made considerable progress in the explanation of
the text.
The author of this present translation has himself
been the last to write upon and to explain some
difficult passages in the original text, in an article
in the Journal Asiatiquc, 1876, Vol. I.
Ill
SARCOPHAGUS OF KING ESMUNAZAR.
IN the month of BUL,J in the fourteenth year of the royalty
of King ESMUNAZAR,2 King of the two Sidons, son of King
TABNIT, King of the two Sidons, King ESMUNAZAR, King
of the two Sidons, said as follows :
I am carried away, the time of my non-existence has come,3
my spirit has disappeared, like the day, from whence I am
silent, since which I became mute.
1 The eighth month of the Phoenician year which was identical with the
Judaic. Unfortunately we know only the co-relative names of the ist, 2nd,
7th, and 8th months from the Biblical texts, and the names of two or
three other months from the Phoenician texts alone ; but the position of
these months in this year is unknown.
2 King Esmunazar must have lived in the fourth century B.C., this is
generally admitted on account of the form of the sarcophagus, which was
certainly Egyptian; there are even in the middle of it traces of hiero
glyphs which have been erased.
The King Tab nit may be the Tennes of Greek authors.
3 This is the thirtieth or fourtieth translation of this passage, each author
having proposed a version differing from all his predecessors. I do not
pretend to have said the last word about this question, but it seems to me
that this difficult passage is by no means a speech merely personal to
Esmunazar. On the contrary, it is a quotation of a hymn or of a funeral
chaunt, otherwise it would not have been repeated. If it were a historical
account referring to Esmunazar's life-time, it would have been sufficient to
state the fact once. This is the capital point, the misunderstanding of
which misled all the former translators. I divide the words thus :
.rra}*» no rroi t«o D'D on p .\iy~V i rftus
With the Masoretic punctuation it would be :
nigzalti, Id lo-ilti.
I'm mas kayyom meaz dammeti mibbo neelamti.
" Abreptus sum; venit non-tempus meum : intellectus evanuit sicut dies
ilia ex qua silui, inde a qua obmutui."
112 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
And I am lying in this coffin, and in this tomb, in the
place which I have built.
O thou (reader) remember this :' May no royal race and
no man open my funeral couch, and may they not seek
after treasures, for no one has hidden treasures here, nor
move the coffin out of my funeral couch, nor molest me in
this funeral bed, by putting another tomb over it.
Whatever a man may tell thee, do not listen to him :
For the punishment (of the violators) shall be : Every
royal race and every man, who shall open the covering of this
couch, or who shall carry away the coffin where I repose, or
who shall molest me in this couch : they shall have no funeral
couch with the Rephai'm,2 nor shall be buried in graves, nor
shall there be any son or offspring to succeed to them, and
the sacred gods shall inflict extirpation on them.
Thou whoever (thou art who wilt) be King3 (hereafter),
inspire those over whom thou wilt reign, that they may exter
minate the members of the royal race (like those men) who
will open the covering of this couch, or who will take away
1 I separate entirely from the remainder of the phrase, the letters
n» •• Dip. The last word seems to be the personal of the second person,
atta ; if it were the preposition ct, it ought to be repeated before adam
"man," which is not the case. The yu is the usual Arabic and Aramean
interjection, although it be not preserved in our Hebrew texts. The
formula "O thou," is also to be found frequently in Greek epitaphs; and
it refers to the second person, which appears in the following lines. The
usual interpretation is : " My imprecation is against all royal races and all
men;" but besides the awkward sense, it cannot stand on account of the
aforesaid omission of the second et, which would be indispensable.
2 The word Rephdim is to be found here, like in Psalm Ixxxviii. 11, with
the sense of "deceased," not " shadows of dead;" the passage seems to
exclude the notion of immortality. The same thing may be put forth on
account of the passage in the Psalms; here, as in the Phoenician passage,
the word seems to be purely a synonymous one for " dead."
3 I believe my translation to be quite acceptable, also in this passage,
I reject absolutely the interpretation of et as a preposition, and I explain it
likewise as the second person, atta mi molekh, tu quivis regnas.
SARCOPHAGUS OF KING ESMUNAZAR. 113
this coffin, and (exterminate) also the offspring of this royal
race, or of these men of the crowd.
There shall be to them no root below, nor fruit above, nor
living form under the sun.
For graced by the gods, I am carried away, the time of
my non-existence ' has come, my spirit has disappeared, like
the day, from whence I am silent, since which I became
mute.
For I, ESMUNAZAR, King of the two Sidons, son of King
TABNIT, King of the two Sidons (who was), the grandson of
King ESMUNAZAR, King of the two Sidons,
And my mother AMASTARTE, the Priestess of ASTARTE,
our mistress, the Queen, the daughter of King ESMUNAZAR,
King of the two Sidons :
It is we who have built the temple of the gods, and the
temple of ASTAROTH, on the seaside Sidon,2 and have placed
there the image of the ASTAROTH, as we are sanctifiers (of
the gods).
And it is we who have built the temple of ESMUN, and
the sanctuary3 of the Purpleshells River on the mountain,
and have placed there his image, as we are sanctifiers (of
the gods).4
And it is we who have built the temples of the gods of the
two Sidons, in the seaside Sidon, the temple of BAAL-SIDON
1 The sentence of " non-existence," which intervenes here a second time
with the same words, shows clearly that it is not personal to the buried
king.
2 The seaside Sidon, Sidon eres yam, seems to be one of the two
Sidons; the other may have been the Sidon of the mountain. Senna
cherib speaks also of the two Sidons, the great and the little one.
3 A careful inspection proves that the only one letter defaced is a waw.
We read : ina VTT ttnpl, " et penetrale fiuminis muricis in monte." The
translation, of course, is doubtful.
4 All former translations of this passage, inconsistent with the real text
of the document, must, I think, be abandoned.
VOL. IX. 9
114 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
and the temple of ASTARTE who bears the name of this
BAAL.1
May in future the Lords of the Kings2 give us Dora3 and
Japhia, the fertile corn-lands, which are in the plain of
Saron, and may they annex it to the boundary of the land,
that it may belong to the two Sidons for ever.
O thou, remember this : May no royal race and no man
open my covering, nor deface (the inscriptions of)4 my
covering, nor molest me in this funeral bed, nor carry away
the coffin, where I repose.
Otherwise, the sacred gods shall inflict extirpation on them
and shall exterminate this royal race and this man of the
crowd and their offspring for ever.
1 There is no mystical hypostasis of the Baal whatever, as some authors
suggested. All Phoenician gods were Baal, and all goddesses A starts
(Compare Jud. x. 6). As there existed a Baal of Sidon, there was also an
Astarte of Sidon, bearing the same name. That seems to be the real and
very simple meaning of the words Astarte nominis Baalis.
2 The "lords of the kings" seem not to be the kings of Persia, but
an epithet applicable to a divine king.
3 Dora and Japhia (Joppe) are both situated at the shore on the plain
of Saron.
4 The word "UM may be very probably understood as erase ; we see herein
a threat against anyone attempting to deface the inscription engraved on
this sarcophagus.
CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION.
TRANSLATED BY
H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
Cuneiform text of the First and Fifth Creation
Tablets, which are the only ones as yet found in a
tolerable state of preservation, has been published by
the late Mr. G. Smith in Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,
Vol. IV. p. 363, and also by Delitzsch in his Assyrische
Lescstiicke, plates 40 and 41. From these my transla
tion has been made.
The discovery of these tablets has greatly raised the
reputation of the ancient author Damascius, for it is
now seen that his account of the Creation was derived
from genuine Babylonian sources. He says (see
Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 318, compared with the
original), " The Babylonians speak not of One origin
of all things, for they make two original beings,
Tauthe and Apason, making Apason the husband of
Tauthe, whom they call the mother of the gods.
Their only son (eldest son ?) was Moymis. And
another race proceeded from them, namely, Dakhe
and Dakhos. And again a third race proceeded
from the same (parents), namely, Kissare and
Assoros. These had three children, Anos, Illinos,
Il6 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
and Acs. And the son of Aos and Dauke was called
Belos, who they say was the Demiurgus or fabricator
of the world."
This agrees very nearly with the Babylonian
records. Tauthe is Tamti, "the Sea" (a very com
mon word in the inscriptions), exchanging the cognate
letters U or V for M. Apason is Apzu or Apzo " the
Abyss " (which word occurs continually). Moymis
is Mummu, " Chaos," see line 4 of our tablet. Dakhe
and Dakhos are conjectured by Mr. Smith to be the
Lakhmu and Lakhamu of the tablet. This is very
likely, and is due to the carelessness of the copyists
in writing a Greek D for L, which only differ by one
stroke.
Assor agrees exactly with Assur, the great god of
the Assyrians, and Kissare is the same with the
syllable Ki prefixed, and therefore properly trans
literated by Kissur. Anos is Anu, named in line 14.
The rest of Damascius' names are broken off from
the tablet, but Ao is the god usually transliterated as
Hea. The sound of his name is doubtful ; it is
possible that Ao may be the true sound.
Most of this (regarding the testimony of Damascius)
has already been pointed out by Mr. Smith, but I
could not omit some mention of it here, as it is
so closely connected with the interpretation of the
tablet.
CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION.
THE FIRST TABLET.
1 When the upper region was not yet called heaven,
2 and the lower region was not yet called earth,
3 and the abyss of Hades had not yet opened its arms,
4 then the chaos of waters gave birth to all of them
5 and the waters were gathered into one place.
6 No men yet dwelt together : no animals yet wandered
about :
7 none of the gods had yet been born.
8 Their names were not spoken : their attributes were not
known.
9 Then the eldest of the gods
10 LAKHMU and LAKHAMU were born
11 and grew up '
12 ASSUR and KISSUR were born next
13 and lived through long periods.
14 ANU l
[The rest of this tablet is lost.]
THE FIFTH TABLET.
[This fifth tablet is very important, because it affirms clearly
in my opinion that the origin of the Sabbath was co-eval with
Creation.]
1 He constructed dwellings for the great gods.
2 He fixed up constellations, whose figures were like
animals.
3 He made the year. Into four quarters he divided it.
4 Twelve months he established, with their constellations,
three by three.
5 And for the days of the year he appointed festivals.
6 He made dwellings for the planets : for their rising and
setting.
1 Lacunae.
Il8 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
7 And that nothing should go amiss, and that the course
of none should be retarded,
8 he placed with them the dwellings of BEL and HEA.
9 He opened great gates, on every side :
10 he made strong the portals, on the left hand and on
the right.
11 In the centre he placed luminaries.
1 2 The moon he appointed to rule the night
13 and to wander through the night, until the dawn of
day.
14 Every month without fail he made holy assembly-days.
15 In the beginning of the month, at the rising of the
night,
1 6 it shot forth its horns to illuminate the heavens.
1 7 On the seventh day he appointed a holy day,
r8 and to cease from all business he commanded.
19 Then arose the sun in the horizon of neaven in (glory).
[The last word is broken off, and though there are seven more
lines, they are so broken that I cannot give a translation of them
with any confidence.
It has been known for some time that the Babylonians
observed the Sabbath with considerable strictness. On that
day the king was not allowed to take a drive in his chariot ;
various meats were forbidden to be eaten, and there were a
number of other minute restrictions. See 4 R, plate 32.
But it was not known that they believed the Sabbath to have
been ordained at the Creation. I have found, however, since
this translation of the fifth tablet was completed, that Mr. Sayce
has recently published a similar opinion. See the Academy, of
November 27th, 1875, p. 554.
This account falls short of the majesty of the Hebrew Genesis,
especially where the writer implies that the heavenly movements
might possibly go wrong, and it was therefore necessary that the
gods Bel and Hea should watch over them and guard against
such a misfortune.]
ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR:
BEING
THE SIXTH TABLET OF THE IZDUBAR SERIES.
TRANSLATED BY
H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
original text of this remarkable tablet is
lithographed in plate 48 of Vol. IV. of Inscriptions
of Western Asia, published by the British Museum.
It has been translated by myself in Trans. Soc. Bib.
Arch., Vol. V., p. 97.
The fifth Izdubar tablet appears to be mostly lost,
but the end of its story occupies the first few lines of
the sixth tablet, and therefore it is necessary briefly to
advert to it.
One of the adventures of Odysseus related by
Homer is his return to Ithaca disguised as a beggar.
Izdubar, whose wanderings recall those of Odysseus,
120 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
may have adopted some similar disguise, which he
here throws off and resumes his royal rank. I have
translated the first five lines according to their ap
parent meaning, but there is too little of the story
left to form any opinion what it was. The rest of the
tablet is entirely disconnected from it. The words
printed in parentheses are restorations, where the
original text is effaced.
There is a part of this curious tablet which deserves
particular attention, I mean the lines 14 to 19 of
Column II which relate the sad fate of a King whom
Ishtar changed into a Leopard, "and his own dogs
bit him to pieces."
We see here beyond a doubt the ancient original of
the Greek fable of Actseon and his dogs. That hero
had offended Diana, who revenged herself by chang
ing him into a stag, when his dogs, no longer knowing
their master, fell upon him and tore him to pieces.
The great celebrity of this fable may be judged of
from the circumstance that Ovid in his Metamorphoses
(III. 206) has preserved the names individually of all
the dogs, though there were no fewer than thirty-five
of them.
ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR. 121
The classical authors of Greece and Rome attribute
the fate of the king to the vengeance of Diana, but
our tablet ascribes it to the cruelty of Ishtar. This
leads to the enquiry whether Ishtar was the Eastern
name of Diana ? or had similar attributes ?
Now, the character of Ishtar was very multiform.
She was Venus, the goddess of love. She closely
resembles Diana of the Ephesians, who typified
Universal Nature, and was the great and universal
mother.
But on the other hand, Ishtar was the goddess of
war, Enyo of the Greeks, Bellona1 of the Latins, for
Assurbanipal addresses her in his prayer for succour :
"O goddess of war! lady of battles!"2 and when
Esarhaddon was attacked by his enemies at a critical
moment of his life, when his succession to the crown
of his father was in danger, he says : " Ishtar, queen
of war and battle, stood by my side. She broke their
bows. Their line of battle in her rage she destroyed." 3
1 At first sight this seems alien from the attributes of Venus, but the
Greeks of Cythera worshipped an "armed Venus," (see Pausanias iii. 23).
From this island she took her name of Cytherea.
2 Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch., Vol. I., p. 347.
3 Records of the Past, Vol. III., p. 104.
122 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
But in the tablet which we are now considering,
Ishtar appears in a totally different character, as the
Hecate of the Greeks, the queen of witchcraft, re
sembling Hecate in her funereal abode, and in the
potency of her magic drugs, equal to those of Circe
and Medea. Indeed there is the strongest resem
blance between the Ishtar of this tablet and those
most renowned enchantresses. The kettle, or caul
dron, or pot, filled with magic herbs, reminds us of
Medea, who on one occasion spent no less than nine
days and nights in collecting herbs for her cauldron,
visiting many lands for that purpose in her car drawn
by dragons (see Ovid's Metamorphoses, VII. 234).
And Circe, in Homer, loves Ulysses (as here Ishtar
does Izdubar), yet nevertheless transforms all his
companions into swine as soon as they have tasted of
her noxious viands.1 Moreover, Ishtar was the full
moon, for which reason she was called the goddess
Fifteen in Assyrian, because the month consisting of
thirty days the full moon was of course on the fifteenth
day.
These different accounts of the goddess Ishtar
1 See Odyssey, Book x.
ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR. 123
seem perplexing in their diversity: but the theory
is maintained by many scholars that all the great
goddesses of antiquity were originally one, viewed in
various lights. Their attributes, when examined, are
found in reality to melt into each other. But the
poets took care to keep them distinct, and to provide
them with separate adventures, and the priests of
various cities had likewise a great interest in in
dividualising their own deities. Thus Ishtar of Arbela
was by no means the same divinity as Ishtar of
Nineveh.
Hecate was fabled to be the daughter of Asteria,
which is merely a Greek form of the name of Ishtar,
and varies at other times to Astaroth, Astarte,
Astrateia, and Asterodia. Pausanius (III. 25) men
tions an Artemis Astrateia, whose worship was
brought to Greece from the East.
But to return to the story of Actseon, which we
thus find unexpectedly among the legends of the
East.
The persistence of popular fables is a curious sub
ject of contemplation. The Arabian Nights' Enter
tainments contain stories identical with some in
124 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Homer's Odyssey, and even in early semi-fabulous
Greek history. In Egypt has been found a story,
that of the " Doomed Prince," identical with one long
known in Europe. In fact there was much greater
literary intercommunication between distant nations
in very ancient times than is commonly supposed.
In Ovid's Metamorphoses are several stories derived
apparently from the Assyrian literature, besides that
of Pyramus and Thisbe, which he expressly states to
be a tale of Babylon.
125
ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR.
COLUMN I.
1 ' he had thrown off his tattered garments :
2 his pack of goods he had laid down from his back :
3 (he had flung off) his rags of poverty : and clothed him
self in a dress of honour :
4 (with a royal robe) he covered himself:
5 and he bound a diadem on his brow.
6 Then ISHTAR the Queen lifted up her eyes to the throne
of IZDUBAR :
7 Kiss me, IZDUBAR ! she said : for I will marry thee !
8 Let us live together, I and thou, in one place :
9 thou shalt be my husband, and I will be thy wife.
i o Thou shalt ride in a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold,
1 1 whose wheels are golden and its pole resplendent.
1 2 Shining bracelets thou shalt wear every day.
13 By our house the cedar trees in green vigour shall
grow :
14 and when thou shalt enter it
15 (suppliant) crowds shall kiss thy feet !
1 6 Kings, Lords, and Princes shall bow down before thee !
17 The tribute of hills and plains they shall bring to thee
as offerings :
1 8 thy flocks and thy herds shall all bear twins :
1 9 thy race of mules shall be magnificent :
20 thy (triumphs) in the chariot race shall be proclaimed
without ceasing,
1 Lacuna.
126 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
2 1 and among the chiefs thou shalt never have an equal !
22 (Then IZDUBAR) opened his mouth and spoke,
23 (and said) to ISHTAR the Queen :
24 (Lady ! full well) I know thee by experience !
25 Sad and funereal (is thy dwelling place :)
26 sickness and famine (surround thy path :)
2 7 (false and) treacherous is thy crown of divinity !
28 (Poor and worthless) is thy crown of royalty !
29 ' poison :
30 " (many things) I will omit,
3 1 (many deeds of cruelty) and slaughter :
3 2 (yes ! I have said it) I know thee by experience ! !
[And so on, through twelve more lines, which are greatly
broken, to the end of Column I. I have restored in parentheses
some of the fractured parts, but of course I cannot guarantee
that it is done correctly.]
1 Lacunae.
2 The meaning of all this (as appears quite plainly from the Second
Column) is that Ishtar was, like Hecate in the Greek mythology, the queen
of witchcraft, the cruel, the merciless.
ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR. 127
COLUMN II.
1 Wailings thou didst make
2 for TARZI thy husband
3 (and yet) year after year with thy cups thou didst poison
him !
4 Thou hadst a favourite and beautiful eagle :
5 thou didst strike him (with thy wand), and didst break
his wings :
6 then he stood fast in the forest, (only) fluttering his
wings.
7 Thou hadst a favourite lion, full of vigour :
8 thou didst pull out his teeth, seven at a time !
9 Thou hadst a favourite horse, renowned in war :
10 he drank a draught, and with fever thou didst poison
him !
1 1 Twice seven hours without ceasing
1 2 with burning fever and thirst thou didst poison him !
13 His mother the goddess SILILI with thy cups thou didst
poison.
14 Thou didst love the King of the land
1 5 whom continually thou didst render ill with thy drugs,
1 6 though every day he offered libations and sacrifices.
1 7 Thou didst strike him (with thy wand), and didst change
him into a leopard !
1 8 The people of his own city drove him out from it,
1 9 and his own dogs bit him to pieces !
20 Thou didst love a workman,1 a rude man of no instruc
tion,
2 1 who constantly received his daily wages from thee,
22 and every day made bright thy vessels.
This incident is evidently introduced, in contrast with the last one, the
royal lover, with the meaning that, " Thy love has been fatal to all alike :
whether high or low, rich or poor."
128 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
23 In thy pot a savoury mess thou didst boil for him,
24 (saying) Come, my servant, and eat with us on the
feast-day,
25 and give thy judgment on the goodness of our pot
herbs !
26 The workman replied to thee :
27 Why dost thou desire to destroy me?
28 Mother ! thou art not cooking ! I will not eat !
29 For I should eat food bad and accursed,
30 and the thousand unclean things thou hast poisoned it
with !
31 Thou didst hear that answer (and wert enraged)
32 Thou didst strike him (with thy wand), and didst change
him into a pillar ;
33 and didst place him in the midst of the desert !
34 I have not yet said a crowd of things; many more I
have not added !
35 Lady ! thou wouldst love me, as thou hast done the
others !
36 ISHTAR this (speech listened to)
37 and ISHTAR was enraged and (flew up) to heaven.
38 ISHTAR came into the presence of ANU (her father),
39 and into the presence of ANNATU her mother she came.
40 O my father, IZDUBAR has cast (insults upon me).
[Here ends Column II. ; and Column III. being almost entirely
destroyed, and Column IV. nearly so, this part of the story of
Ishtar remains isolated from the rest. Column V., which is well
preserved, had therefore better be treated at another time, and
as an independent subject]
I29
THE
TWELFTH IZDUBAR LEGEND.
TRANSLATED BY
WILLIAM ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
'"THIS legend, which is the last of that famous
cycle of Chaldean legends now called the Izdubar
series, relates to the state of the soul of Heabani, the
companion of Izdubar, which has been shut out of
heaven, owing to the strange circumstances of his
death.
Izdubar, who is probably to be identified with
Nimrod, seeks, by aid of a seer or witch, to raise the
soul of his lost companion, and to restore it to
heaven.
In this ancient legend, Heabani the hero, appears
to bear a close resemblance to the Greek rural deity
Pan, since he is figured as a satyr, having the body of
a man, with the legs, horns, and tail of an ox. This
figure occurs very frequently on the gems, and
may always be recognised by these characteristics.
Heabani is also represented as dwelling in a remote
VOL. IX. 10
130 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
place, three days' journey from Erech ; as living in
a cave, and associating with the cattle and creeping
things of the field.
The tablet is in a very broken state, all the upper
portion being lost.
The three columns of the obverse contain a lamen
tation and incantation, uttered over the dead Hea-
bani. In this, Izdubar appears to be assisted by a
seer, or witch, who raises the utukku, or spirit of Hea-
bani. The fourth column contains a dialogue between
the persons engaged in the incantation ; while the
fifth, is occupied with the description of the soul of a
warrior in heaven.
This legend has been previously translated by the
late Mr. George Smith, in his Chaldean Account of
Genesis, and by myself in the Transactions of the
Society of Biblical Archeology, Vol. IV., Part ii., where
the text is given.
THE TWELFTH IZDUBAR LEGEND.
COLUMN I.
[Upper portion lost.]
1 IZDUBAR '
2 when of '
3 To happiness (thou art not admitted).
4 A pure dress (thou dost not wear).
5 Like the glow l
6 With the enlightening of the good they do not o'er-
spread thee.
7 To its inheritance they do not choose thee.
8 The bow from the ground thou dost not take.
9 (Those) who with the bow thou shouldest strike gather
round thee.
i o A staff to thy hands thou dost not carry.
ii The captive abhors (curses) thee.
T 2 A support to thy feet thou dost not use.
13 An onset on earth thou dost not make.
14 Thy wife whom thou delightest in thou dost not kiss.
15 Thy wife whom thou despisest thou dost not beat.
16 Thy child whom thou delightest in thou dost not kiss.
1 7 Thy child whom thou despisest thou dost not beat.
1 8 The enfolding of the earth has taken thee.
19 O Darkness! O Darkness! Mother NiN-AZU2 Oh
Darkness !
20 Her mighty power as a garment covers thee.
1 Lacunae.
' The wife of Hea the god of the underworld, and the Trj
AT/JU.VJTTJP of the Assyrian pantheon.
132 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
COLUMN II.
[Upper portion lost.]
1 The child whom he loves he kisses.
2 The child whom he despises he beats.
3 The enfolding of the earth has taken him.
4 O Darkness ! O Darkness ! Mother NIN-AZU r Oh
Darkness !
5 Her mighty power like a cloak covers him.
6 2
7 When HEA-BANI 3 from the earth to rise 3
8 NAMTAR 4 did not take him, a fever did not take him,
the earth took him.
9 The resting place of NERGAL 5 the unconquered, did not
take him, the earth took him.
10 The place of the battle of the heroes did not strike him,
the earth took him.
1 1 When . . . .' son of NIN-SIM for his servant HEA-BANI wept
12 to the Temple of BEL 6 alone he went.
13 Father BEL TAMBUCCU 7 to the earth struck me.
14 MiKiE7 to the earth has struck me.
COLUMN III.
[Of this column there are two portions, an upper and a lower
one.]
NO. I.
i HEA-BANI 5 to rest was not admitted.
1 See col. i, note i. 2 Lacunae. 3 The companion of Izdubar.
4 A curse, magical incantation. 5 The god of war, "the great man."
6 A famous temple in Babylon.
7 Tambuccu and Mikie, were two unknown objects which caused the
death of Heabani.
TWELFTH IZDUBAR LEGEND. 133
2 NAMTAR * did not take him, the earth took him.
3 The resting place, of NERGAL 2 the unconquered, did
not take him, the earth took him.
4 The place of the battle of the heroes did not take him,
the earth took him.
5 Father BEL a decree did not take him.
6 Father SIN 3 TAMBUCCU, to (the earth struck him).
7 MIKIE (to the earth) struck him.
8 HEA-BANI to rest was not admitted.
NO. II.
1 The resting place of NERGAL (has not taken him).
2 The place of the battle of the heroes (has not) taken
him.
3 Father HEA" (spake)
4 to the warrior MARDUK his son.
5 The heroic warrior MARDUK 5
6 The divider.6 . . . .5
7 The spirit (of HEA-BANI release) . . . .5
8 To his father HEA 5
9 The warrior MARDUK spake saying 5
10 The (divider) the earth opened and 5
11 The spirit of HEA-BANI in glass7 from the earth rose.
COLUMN IV.
1 Mysterious friend, Mysterious friend,8
2 may the earth hide that she has seen. Mysterious
1 A curse, magical incantation. 2 The war god. 3 The moon.
4 The god of wisdom, who with his son Marduk performed all the
cures from magic incantations.
5 Lacunae.
6 A title of Marduk. 7 Zakiku. Comp. Heb. rvmm, Job xxviii. 17.
8 The seer or witch here appears to be a female.
134 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
3 I will not tell to the friend. I will not tell to the friend.
4 Where the earth covers that I have seen, I will tell to thee.
5 T She sits weeping.
6 l May she sit, may she weep.
7 ' Shall cause to increase, and thy heart rejoice.
8 ' Thou growest old and the worm enters.
9 ' Shall cause to increase and thy heart rejoice.
10 ' (When) to dust all things (turn).
ii ' When he has overcome2 corruption.
12 l When he has overcome2 corruption.
13 ' Thou shalt see.3
COLUMN V.
[The whole of this column is lost]
COLUMN VI.
1 On a couch reclining, and
2 pure waters he drinks,
3 who in the battle was slain she sees.
4 His father and his mother his head support,
5 his wife weeps much.
6 Those who are his friends on the ground stand round.
7 She sees and thou shalt see.
8 His spoil on the ground he does not regard.
9 Of his spoil an account he has not.
10 The captives assemble and follow food
1 1 which in the tents are eaten.
Colophon. The twelfth tablet (of the series) " The fountain
he has seen." 4
1 Lacunae. " Applies to Heabani, a form of root ^?D2 Heb.
3 Compare i Sam. xxviii. 7, 25. 4 The title of Chapter or Tablet.
135
THE
FIGHT BETWEEN BEL AND THE DRAGON,
AND THE
FLAMING SWORD WHICH TURNED EVERY WAY.
(GEN. in. 24.)
FROM A CHALDEAN TABLET.
TRANSLATED BY
H. FOX TALBOT, F. R. S.
'T'HIS is one of the most striking narratives of the
Chaldean mythology. It is found on a tablet
lithographed in Delitzsch's \wfcAssyrischeLesestucke,
pi. 44, 45. Plate 44 describes Bel arming himself for
the battle : the dragon is merely mentioned on this
plate, but does not appear upon the scene.
Plate 45 describes the battle, with much animation.
The weapons which Bel wielded were numerous and
formidable ; but by far the most curious was the
naming sword which turned every way, "to the South,
to the North, to the East, and to the West, so that
none could escape from it," which resembles so
strongly the sword of the cherubim in Genesis which
" turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of
Life," that the same celestial weapon must surely be
136 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
intended. It is here supposed to be in the hands of
Bel, the beneficent deity who, according to plate 42,
had created mankind.
Several lines at the beginning and end of each face
of the tablet are broken off, which causes some
obscurity.
The 32nd line is very obscure. The word "eleven "
is written in words at length, and very distinctly, istin
isrit (one and ten) which is the Hebrew term for
"eleven," so that there can be no doubt about the
word. But twelve is usually the sacred number, and
therefore the thought suggests itself that in this
legend something had happened to one of the twelve
nabniti, or created races, and reduced their number to
eleven. Perhaps the story ran that the angels were
at first divided into twelve tribes or races, and that
one of these joined the dragon in the rebellion, so that
" after the battle " (if that is the phrase employed by
the scribe) only eleven were to be found in heaven.
This certainly does not accord with the statement in
plate 43, but this is a different tablet, and the scribe
may have followed a different tradition, for these
minor points vary much in mythology. The transla
tion was first published by the author in Trans. Soc.
Bib. Arch., Vol. V., p. i.
137
BEL AND THE DRAGON.
FRONT.— PLATE 44.
[Line i is broken.]
2 . . . ." and with it his right hand he armed.
3 His naming sword he raised in his hand.
4 He brandished his lightnings before him.
5 A curved scymitar he carried on his body.
6 And he made a sword to destroy the dragon,
7 which turned four ways ; so that none could avoid its
rapid blows.
8 It turned to the South, to the North, to the East, and to
the West.
9 Near to his sabre he placed the bow of his father ANU.
10 He made a whirling thunderbolt, and a bolt with double
flames,2 impossible to extinguish :
1 1 and a quadruple bolt, and a septuple bolt, and a . . . l
bolt, and a bolt of crooked fire.
1 2 He took the thunderbolts which he had made, and there
were seven of them
13 to be shot at the dragon, and he put them into his quiver
behind him.
14 Then he raised his great sword, whose name was " Lord
of the Storm."
1 Lacunae. 2 Forked lightning.
138 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
15 He mounted his chariot, whose name was " Destroyer of
the Impious :"
1 6 he took his place, and lifted the four reins1 in his hand.
[The rest of this portion of the inscription is broken off.]
1 Their war-chariots had two horses.
BEL AND THE DRAGON. 139
REVERSE.— PLATE 45.
Bel now offers to the dragon to decide their quarrel
by single combat, which the dragon accepts. This
agrees with the representations of the combat on
Babylonian cylinders in Mr. Smith's Chaldean Genesis,
p. 62, etc.
1 (Why1 seekest thou thus) to irritate me with blasphemies?
2 Let thy army withdraw : let thy chiefs stand aside :
3 then I and thou (alone) we will do battle.
4 When the dragon heard this,
5 Stand back ! she said, and repeated her command.
6 Then the tempter rose watchfully on high.
7 Turning and twisting, she shifted her standing point,
8 she watched his lightnings : she provided for retreat.
9 The warrior angels sheathed their swords.
10 Then the dragon attacked the just Prince of the gods.
1 1 Strongly they joined in the trial of battle,
1 2 the King drew his sword, and dealt rapid blows,
13 then he took his whirling thunderbolt, and looked well
behind and before him :
14 and when the dragon opened her mouth to swallow him,
15 he flung the bolt into her, before she could shut her lips.
1 6 The blazing lightning poured into her inside.
1 7 He pulled out her heart ; her mouth he rent open ;
1 8 he drew his (falchion), and cut open her belly.
19 He cut into her inside and extracted her heart,
20 he took vengeance on her, and destroyed her life.
21 When he knew she was dead he boasted over her.
2 2 After that the dragon their leader was slain
23 her troops took to flight : her army was scattered abroad,
1 Several lines appear to be broken off, including the first part of line i,
which I have restored from conjecture.
140 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
24 and the angels her allies, who had come to help her,
25 retreated, grew quiet, and went away.
26 They fled from thence, fearing for their own lives,
27 and saved themselves, flying to places beyond pursuit.
28 He followed them, their weapons he broke up.
29 Broken they lay, and in great heaps they were captured.
30 A crowd of followers full of astonishment
31 its remains1 lifted up, and on their shoulders hoisted.
32 And the eleven tribes pouring in after the battle
33 in great multitudes, coming to see,
34 gazed at the monstrous serpent . . . .-
35 and 2
36 And the god BEL . . . .2
[The rest of the tablet is lost.]
1 Viz., those of the dragon. a Lacunae.
ACCADIAN POEM
ON
THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS.
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
HPHE following poem is one of the numerous bilin
gual texts, written in the original Accadian with
an interlinear Assyrian translation, which have been
brought from the library of Assur-bani-pal at Kou-
yunjik. The seven evil spirits who are mentioned in it
are elsewhere described as the seven storm-clouds or
winds whose leader seems to have been the dragon
Tiamat (" the deep ") defeated by Bel-Merodach in the
war of the gods. It was these seven storm-spirits who
were supposed to attack the moon when it was
eclipsed, as described in an Accadian poem translated
by Mr. Fox Talbot in a previous volume of Records
of the Past. Here they are regarded as the allies of
the incubus or nightmare. We may compare them
142 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
with the Maruts or storm-gods of the Rig-Veda (see
Max Miiller Rig- Vcda-Sanhita : the Sacred Hymns
of the Brahmans translated and explained, Vol. I.).
The author of the present poem seems to have been
a native of the Babylonian city of Eridu, and his
horizon was bounded by the mountains of Susiania,
over whose summits the storms raged from time to
time. A fragment of another poem relating to Eridu
is appended, which seems to celebrate a temple
similar to that recorded by Maimonides in which
the Babylonian gods gathered round the image of the
sun-god to lament the death of Tammuz.
A copy of the cuneiform text will be found in the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV. pi.
15. M. Fr. Lenormant has translated a portion of it
in La Magie chez les CJialdeens, pp. 26, 27.
143
ACCADIAN POEM
ON
THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS.
OBVERSE.
1 (In) the earth their borders were taken, and that god *
came not forth.
2 From the earth he came not forth, (and) their power was
baneful.
3 The heaven like a vault they extended and that which
had no exit they opened.2
4 Among the stars of heaven their watch they kept not,
in watching (was) their office.
5 The mighty hero 3 to heaven they exalted, and his father
he knew not.4
6 The Fire-god on high, the supreme, the first-born, the
mighty, the divider of the supreme crown of ANU !
7 The Fire-god the light that exalts him with himself he
exalts.
8 Baleful (are) those seven, destroyers.
9 For his ministers in his dwelling he chooses (them).
10 O Fire-god, those seven how were they born, how grew
they up ?
1 1 Those seven in the mountain of the sunset were born.
1 2 Those seven in the mountain of the sunrise grew up.
13 In the hollows of the earth have they their dwelling.
14 On the high-places of the earth are they proclaimed.
15 As for them in heaven and earth immense (is) their habi
tation.
1 6 Among the gods thtir couch they have not.
1 That is, the god of fire.
2 The Assyrian has, " Unto heaven that which was not seen they raised "
3 The Assyrian adds, "the firstborn supreme."
4 In the Accadian text, " they knew not."
144 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
1 7 Their name in heaven (and) earth exists not.
1 8 Seven they are : in the mountain of the sunset do they rise.
1 9 Seven they are : in the mountain of the sunrise did they
set.
20 Into the hollows of the earth do they penetrate.1
2 1 On the high places of the earth did they ascend.
22 As for them, goods they have not, in heaven and earth
they are not known.2
23 Unto MERODACH3 draw near, and this word may he say
unto thee.4
24 Of those baleful seven, as many as he sets before thee.
their might may he give thee,
25 according to the command of his blessed mouth, (he
who is) the supreme judge of ANU.
26 The Fire-god unto MERODACH draws near, and this word
he saith unto thee.
27 In the pavilion, the resting place of might, this word he
hears, and
28 to his father HEA 5 to his house he descends, and speaks :
29 O my father, the Fire-god unto the rising of the sun has
penetrated, and these secret words has uttered.
30 Learning the story of those seven, their places grant thou
to another.
31 Enlarge the ears, O son of Eridu.6
32 HEA his son MERODACH answered :
33 My son, those seven dwell in earth ;
34 those seven from the earth have issued.
1 In the Accadian, " cause the foot to dwell."
2 In the Assyrian, " learned."
3 In the Accadian text, Merodach, the mediator and protector of man
kind, is called, " Protector of the covenant."
4 That is, the Fire-god.
5 Hea, the god of the waters, was the father of Merodach, the Sun-god.
6 Eridu, the Rata of Ptolemy, was near the junction of the Euphrates
and Tigris, on the Arabian side of the river. It was one of the oldest cities
of Chaldea.
SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS. 145
REVERSE.
35 Those seven in the earth were born,
36 those seven in the earth grew up.
37 The forces of the deep for war1 have drawn near.
38 Go, my son MERODACH !
39 (for) the laurel, the baleful tree that breaks in pieces the
incubi,
40 the name whereof HEA remembers in his heart.
41 In the mighty enclosure, the girdle of Eridu which is to
be praised,
42 to roof and foundation may the fire ascend and to (work)
evil may those seven never draw near.
43 Like a broad scimitar in a broad place bid (thine) hand
rest; and
44 in circling fire by night and by day z on the (sick) man's
head may it abide.
45 At night mingle the potion and at dawn in his hand let
him raise (it).
46 In the night a precept 3 in a holy book,4 in bed, on the
sick man's head let them place.5
47 The hero (MERODACH) unto his warriors sends :
48 Let the Fire-god seize on the incubus.
49 Those baleful seven may he remove and their bodies
may he bind.
50 During the day the sickness (caused by) the incubus (let
him) overcome.
5 1 May the Fire-god bring back the mighty powers to their
foundations.
1 Literally, " warlike-expedition."
2 In the Accadian, " day (and) night."
3 Masai (mashal), as in Hebrew, " a proverb."
4 Literally, " tablet."
5 It is evident that the poem was to be used as a charm in case of
sickness. Compare the phylacteries of the Jews.
VOL. IX. 11
146 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
52 May NiN-ci-GAL1 the wife of (HEA) establish before her
the bile (of the man).
53 Burn up the sickness 2
54 May NIN-AKHA-KUDDUS seize upon his body and abide
upon his head,
55 according to the word of NIN-AKHA-KUDDU,
56 (in) the enclosure of Eridu.
57 (In) the mighty girdle of the deep and of Eridu may
she remember his return (to health).
58 In (her) great watch may she keep (away) the incubus
supreme among the gods (that is) upon his head, and in
the night may she watch him.
59 (By) night and day to the prospering hands of the Sun-
god may she entrust him. — CONCLUSION.
60 (In) Eridu a dark pine grew, in a holy place it was
planted.
6 1 Its (crown) was white crystal which towards the deep
spread.
62 The 4 of HEA (was) its pasturage in Eridu, a
canal full (of waters).
63 Its seat (was) the (central) place of this earth.5
64 Its shrine (was) the couch of mother ZicuM.6
1 Nin-ci-gal, " the Lady of the mighty country," was queen of Hades,
and identified with Gula or Bahu (the "chaos," lohu, of Gen. i. 2), "the
Lady of the House of Death."
2 In the Accadian, "the sick head (and) sick heart." Then follows a
lacuna.
3 Apparently another name of Nin-ci-gal.
4 Lacuna.
5 Compare the Greek idea of Delphi as the central oM^aXds or " navel "
of the earth.
6 Zicum or Zigara was the primaeval goddess, " the mother of Anu and
the gods."
SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS. 147
65 The ' of its holy house like a forest spread its
shade ; there (was) none who within entered not.
66 (It was the seat) of the mighty the mother, begetter of
ANU.2
67 Within it (also was) TAMMUZ.S
[Of the two next and last lines only the last word " the
universe " remains.]
For the sake of completeness a charm for averting
the attack of the seven evil spirits or storm-clouds may
be added here, though the larger part of it has already
been translated by Mr. Fox Talbot in Records of the
Past, Vol. III., p. 143. It forms part of the great col
lection of magical formulae, and is lithographed in the
Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., pi. 2,
col. v., lines 30-60.
1 Seven (are) they, seven (are) they !
2 In the channel of the deep seven (are) they !
3 (In) the radiance of heaven seven (are) they !
4 In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.
1 Lacuna.
2 That is, of Zicum.
3 Tammuz, called Du-zi, "the (only) son," in Accadian, was a form of
the Sun-god. His death through the darkness of winter caused Istar to
descend into Hades in search of him.
11*
148 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
5 Male they (are) not, female they (are) not.1
6 (In) the midst of the deep (are) their paths.
7 Wife they have not, son they have not.
8 Order (and) kindness know they not.
9 Prayer (and) supplication hear they not.
10 The cavern in the mountain they enter.
1 1 Unto HEA (are) they hostile.
1 2 ' The throne-bearers of the gods (are) they.
13 Disturbing the lily in the torrents are they set.
14 Baleful (are) they, baleful (are) they.
1 5 Seven (are) they, seven (are) they, seven twice again (are )
they.
1 6 May the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits of
earth remember.
1 The Accadian text, " Female they are not, male they are not." This
order is in accordance with the position held by the woman in Accad ; in
the Accadian Table of Laws, for instance, translated in Records of the Pas/,
Vol. III., p. 23, the denial of the father by the son is punished very
leniently in comparison with the denial of the mother.
149
FRAGMENT OF AN ASSYRIAN
PRAYER AFTER A BAD DREAM
TRANSLATED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
following fragment of a prayer after a bad
dream is here translated for the first time. It may
serve as a specimen of the numerous Assyrian
prayers which are to be found on the tablets now
in the British Museum, as well as of the import
ance attached to dreams by the Assyrians. The
tablet when complete seems to have been of con
siderable length : unfortunately only the fragment
given below has been preserved, both beginning
and end being lost. The text is lithographed
in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,
150 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Vol. IV., 66, 2. The reverse of the tablet is too far
gone for translation. Certain indications make it
probable that the inscription was translated from an
Accadian original, although the Accadian text is not
given. A bilingual Penitential Psalm included in the
present volume will show that a literature of a deeply
religious character was current among the primitive
population of Chaldea. The prayers, however,
alluded to above seem to be of purely Assyrian origin.
PRAYER AFTER A BAD DREAM.
OBVERSE.
1 May god my prayer set at rest '
2 may my Lord a return of favour (grant).
3 During the day direct towards death the things that dis
tract (me).
4 O my goddess be gracious unto me ; at some time or
other (hear my) prayer.
5 May they pardon my sin, my wickedness (and) my trans
gression.2
6 May the deity pardon ; may they be kind towards (my
entreaty).
7 My groaning may the seven winds carry away.
8 May the worm lay (it) low : may the bird to heaven
cause (it) to ascend ;
9 may a shoal of fish carry (it) away, may the river bear (it)
along ;
10 may the creeping thing of the desert be present unto
me. Or : may the flowing waters of the river drench
me.3
1 1 Enlighten me also like an image of gold.
1 2 Food (and) drink on the waters of thy destruction may I
get,
13 (though it be) heaps of worms (and) the burying4 of life.
Or : the enclosure of thine altar (and) thy homage may I
support.3
1 Lacuna.
2 Literally "opposition," from the same root as Satan.
3 These are alternative sentences, either of which might be recited by
the worshipper.
4 Or " enclosing."
152 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
14 With the worm make me to pass, and may I be forgiven
by thee.
15 Cause me to be fed, and let a favourable dream come.
1 6 May the dream I dreamed be favourable. Or : may the
dream I dreamed be confirmed.1
17 The dream I dreamed to happiness turn.
1 8 May MAKHIR2 the god of dreams on my head settle.
19 Cause me also to enter into Bit-Saggal the temple of the
gods, the temple of NIN,
20 unto MERODACH the mediator,3 unto prosperity, unto the
hands of his mighty prospering.
2 1 May thy entering be exalted ; may thy divinity be
glorious ;
22 may the men of my city make beautiful thy warlike
deeds.
[Lacuna.]
1 These are alternative sentences, either of which might be rfccited by
the worshipper.
2 Makhir is elsewhere called "the daughter of the Sun," her two
brothers being- Cittu and 'Sisik. Cittu or Cit was the name of the Sun-
god among the Cassites. Makhir may also be read Ma'sar.
3 Literally " he that shows favour."
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS FOR TRANSLATION.
ASSYRIAN.
ARRANGED BY THE LATE
GEORGE SMITH
Works on History and Chronology.
Eponym Canon (Cun. Ins., Vol. Ill, p. i).
Historical Canon (Cun. Ins., Vol. II, p. 52).
Historical.
Legends of Izdubar (texts unpublished). (Deluge Tablets.)
Creation Tablets.
Early Babylonian Dated Tablets (texts unpublished).
Brick of Samsi-vul I, ruler of Assyria (Cun. Ins., Vol. I, p. 6).
Brick of Kara-indas, king of Babylon (Trans. Soc. Bib. Ar.,
p. 68).
Inscriptions of Pudil, king of Assyria (Revue Ar., Nov., 1869).
Monolith of Maruduk-bal-idina I, king of Babylonia.
Tablet of Vul-nirari I, king of Assyria.
Small Inscriptions of Vul-nirari (various).
Inscriptions of Shalmaneser I, king of Assyria (various).
Inscriptions of Tugulti-ninip, king of Assyria (various un
published ; one Cun. Ins., Vol. Ill, p. 4).
Inscriptions of Assur-risilim, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins.,
Vol. Ill, p. 3).
Brick and Cone Inscriptions of Vul-bal-idina,king of Babylon
(various).
Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar I, king of Babylonia (un
published).
154 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Other Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser (various).
Contracts dated in the reign of Maruduk-nadin-ahi, king of
Babylon (various).
Inscriptions of Assur-bel-kala, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins.,
Vol. I, p. 6).
Inscriptions of Samsivul IV, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins.,
Vol. Ill, p. 3).
Contract dated in the reign of Simma-sihu, king of Babylon
(Layard's Ins., p. 53).
Other Inscriptions of Assur-nazir-pal (various).
Bull Inscription of Shalmaneser II (Layard's Ins., p. 12, etc.).
Inscriptions of Vul-nirari III, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins..
Vol. I. p. 35).
Fragments of Annals of Tiglath-Pileser II, king of Assyria
(various).
Fragments of Inscriptions Shalmaneser IV, king of Assyria
(various).
Inscription of the Second Year of Sargon (unpublished).
Nimrud Inscription of Sargon (Layard's Ins., p. 33).
Cylinder (Barrel) of Sargon (Cun. Ins., Vol. I, p. 36).
Prism of Sargon (unpublished).
Other Inscriptions of Sargon (various).
Tablet of Kalah Shergat.
Nebbi Yunas Tablet (Cun. Ins., Vol. I, pp. 43, 44).
Other Inscriptions of Sennacherib (various).
Portions of Cylinders C, D, and E, of Assurbanipal (Smith's
Assurbanipal).
Various Historical Tablets of Assurbanipal (Smith's Assur
banipal).
Hunting Texts of Assurbanipal.
Inscriptions of Assur-ebel-ili, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins.,Vols.
I and III).
Cylinder of Bel-zakir-iskun, king of Assyria (Cun. Ins. Vol. I,
p. 8).
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS. 155
Inscription of Nabopalassar, king of Babylonia (unpublished).
Borsippa Cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar (Cun. Ins., Vol. I,
P- 51)-
Text of Elamite Kings.
Various other texts of Nebuchadnezzar.
Tables dated in the reign of Evil Merodach, king of Babylon.
Cylinder of Nergal-shar-ezer, king of Babylon (Cun. Ins.,
Vol. I, p. 67).
Cylinders of Nabonidus, king of Babylon (Cun. Ins., Vol. I,
pp. 68, 69).
Other texts of Nabonidus (various).
Dated Tablets in reign of Cambyses (various).
Susian Brick Inscriptions.
Van Inscriptions.
Mythology and Religion (mostly unpublished}.
Hymn to the Moon God.
Hymns to Ninip.
The War of the Gods.
Incantations for removing Curses.
Prayers of Amil-urgal.
Prayer against Eclipses.
Various other Prayers.
Various Mythological Stories and Fables.
Tablets against Witchcraft.
The Lubara Legends (Chaldean Genesis).
Fables (unpublished ).
The Horse and the Ox.
Government (mostly unpublished}.
Tablet with Advice and Cautions to Kings.
Various Reports and Despatches.
Various Tablets with Laws and Reports of Law Cases.
156 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Private Life.
Further Deeds of Sale and Barter.
Further Loan Tablets.
The Egibi Tablets.
Private Letters.
Lists of Property.
Science, etc. (partly unpublished}.
Geographical Lists.
Lists of Animals and Birds (Delitzsch).
Lists of Minerals and their uses.
Lists of Wooden Objects.
Grammatical Tablets (a selection from).
Mathematical Tablets.
Astrology and Astronomy.
Further Selections from the great Chaldean Work on As
trology.
Further Selections from Astronomical and Astrological
Reports.1
A Selection of Omens from Terrestrial Objects and Events.
PHOENICIAN.
Marseilles Inscription (Judas, 1857).
The Moabite Stone (Ginsburg, 1871).
Selected Mortuary Inscriptions.
1 Selections of these only printed in Vol. I.
157
EGYPTIAN,
(Tentative List only.")
ARRANGED BY
P. LE PAGE RENOUF, F.R.S.L.
Historical Documents.
Ancient Empire :
Inscription of Tomb of Ameni (Benihassan I).
„ Tomb of Nahre-si Chnum-hotep (Beni
hassan II).
,, of Sakaya.
XVIIIth Dynasty :
Inscription of Aahmes, formerly called Pensouvan
(Louvre C, 49).
„ Thothmes I, at Karnak (Denk. Ill, 18).
„ Hat-a-su (Duemichen, Hist. Ins., 19, 20).
Inscriptions of Haremhebi.
Inscriptions of Amenophis III (Denk. Ill, 65 and
following).
Monuments of the Disk Worshippers.
XlXth Dynasty :
Triumphal Inscription of Seti I at Karnak (Denk. Ill,
126).
Sarcophagus of Seti I (Bonomi).
Dedicatory Inscription of Rameses II, at Abydos
(Maspero).
Triumphal Inscriptions (Denk. Ill, 165, etc.).
Historical Inscription at Abusimbel (187).
158 RECORDS OF THE PAST.
Great Tablet at Abusimbel (194).
Inscription of Bek-en-Chonsu (Deveria).
List of Kings :
Turin Papyrus.
Tablet of Abydos.
Tablet of Sakkarah.
Tablet of Karnak.
XXth Dynasty :
Inscription of Seti II (Duemichen, Hist. Ins., 1-5).
„ Rameses III (Rosellini, Burton, Greene.
and Duemichen, ubi supra 13-15).
XXIst Dynasty :
Tablet 4th year of Rameses IV.
Persian and Ptolemaic :
Statuette Naophore du Vatican.
Tablet of Tafnecht at Naples.
Inscription of Ptolemy son of Lagos.
Inscription of Alexander Aegos (Zeitschrift).
" Bauurkunde der Tempelanlagen von Edfu" (Due
michen).
Two Ptolemaic Tablets (Birch).
Selection of Obelisk Inscriptions.
„ Apis Tablets.
Religious or Magical Texts.
Ancient Forms of Sepulchral Offerings, etc. (Tablets of
Ancient Empire.)
The Ritual of the Dead.
Spells in Lepsius (" Aelteste Texte").
Harris Magical Papyrus.
" Horus on Crocodiles" (various texts, Leydenand elsewhere.)
Spells in Tomb of Bek-en-ren-ef.
" Metternich Tablet."
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS. 159
" Ska en sensenu;" the "Book of the Breaths of Life."
Legend of Horns (Naville).
The Rhind Papyri.
Sarcophagus of Aroeri (Bonomi).
„ Necht-en-heb.
„ TJat-hra (Louvre).
„ British Museum, 32.
Litanies of the Sun (Denk. Ill, 203).
Apis Stelae (a very large number, nearly 360).
Selection of Hymns, such as the following :
To the Nile (Denk. Ill, 175).
To Ammon (Denk. Ill, 237).
Ap-heru-mes (Berlin, in Brugsch Monumens, pi. III).
Meri ^ ( „ „ pi. IV).
To Osiris (Bibliotheque Nationale, Chabas).
Fragments of the Hymns of the Disk Worshippers.
Several in British Museum.
„ Duemichen's publications.
Great Psalm to Ammon (Leyden I, 350).
Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky days (Sallier, Chabas).
Calendars of Festivals from as Early Date as possible to
Roman Period.
Literature, Philosophy, Science, Economy.
Proverbs, Prisse Papyrus (Chabas).
Proverbs of Ani (Chabas).
" Rules of Life " (Papyrus at Boulaq, lately published by
Mariette).
Song of the Oxen (Denk. Ill, 10).
Three Amatory Songs (Goodwin).
Medical Papyrus (Berlin).
,, ,, (British Museum).
„ „ (Ebers Papyrus).
l6o LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS.
Geometrical Papyrus (British Museum).
Calendar of Astronomical Observations in Tombs of XXth
Dynasty (Renouf).
Letters on all varieties of subjects in the Sallier, Anastasi.
Leyden, and Bologna Papyri.
Letters of Amenemha (Maspero Genre Epistolaire).
Registers, etc., (Rollin and other Papyri).
Accounts (Louvre).
Receipts for making Kyphi, etc.
Catalogues of the Temple Library at Edfu.
Law and Police.
Abbott Papyrus (Spoliation of Tombs).
Report on Capture of Fugitive Slaves (Leyden I, 368.
Chabas).
Complaint against Paneba (British Museum Papyrus, Salt.
Chabas).
Petition to king Amenophis (Chabas).
Complaint against Thefts committed by certain Workmen
(Chabas).
Selected Inscriptions from the Ostraca.
Greco-Egyptian Official Complaints.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
33, BLOOMSBURY STREET, W.C.
Instituted for the investigation of the Archaeology,
History, Arts, and Chronology of Ancient and Modern
Assyria, Palestine, Egypt, Arabia, and other Biblical
Lands : the promotion of the study of the Antiquities of
those countries, and the Record of Discoveries hereafter
to be made in connexion therewith. Also for the forma
tion of a Library of Geographical and Archaeological
Works, under due regulation to be circulated among the
Members.
The Meetings are held on the first Tuesdays in the
month from November to June at 8-30 p.m.
MEMBERSHIP.
Ladies and Gentlemen desirous of becoming Members
of the Society are requested to communicate by letter with
the Secretary, Mr. W. R. COOPER, 33, Bloomsbury Street,
W.C., who will submit their names to the Council, by whom
all Candidates are nominated. The Subscription is one
guinea per annum, payable in advance, which entitles the
Member to receive all the Publications and attend all the
meetings of the Society.
There is no Entrance Fee.
VOL. ix. 12
( Original Circular, )
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.
9, CONDUIT STREET, W.,
6th May, 1873.
SIR,
I beg to inform you that it is intended shortly to
publish a Series of TRANSLATIONS OF ALL THE IMPORTANT
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN TEXTS, which exist in the various
collections of England and the Continent, and thus place
before the English Student the remains of undoubtedly THE
OLDEST AND MOST AUTHENTIC LITERATURE IN THE WORLD,
the foundation of all History, Archaeology, and Biblical
exposition, the contemporaneous records of the nations and
writers of the Bible. Nearly all the principal Translators
have offered their services for this purpose, and while each
Author will be alone responsible for his portion of the work,
the general arrangement of the materials will rest with the
President of this Society. The selection of the records
will not be confined to those bearing directly on the text of
the Bible, but embrace the entire range of Egyptian and
Assyrian history and literature. Each translation will quote
the authorities upon which it is based, or the monument
from which it is taken, and all other notes will be as few and
brief as possible, to avoid controversy and expense.
The volumes will be issued by Messrs. Bagster and Sons,
at a price to bring them within the reach of all who are
interested in such subjects.
I shall be happy to answer any communication addressed
to me upon this subject, and trust that you will promote the
best interests of Biblical Archaeology, by circulating this
notice among your friends.
I 'remain, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
W. R. COOPER.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. I.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
INSCRIPTION OF R I M MO N - N I R A R I.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF KHAMMURABI.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
MONOLITH INSCRIPTION OF SAMAS-RIMMON-
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
BELLINO'S CYLINDER OF SENNACHERIB.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
TAYLOR'S CYLINDER OF SENNACHERIB.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
ANNALS OF ASSURBANIPAL (CYLINDER A).
BY GEORGE SMITH.
BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION OF DARIUS.
BY SIR H. RAWLINSON, K.C.B., D.C.L.
BABYLONIAN EXORCISMS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
PRIVATE WILL OF SENNACHERIB.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
ASSYRIAN PRIVATE CONTRACT TABLETS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
LEGEND OF THE DESCENT OF ISHTAR.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
ASSYRIAN ASTRONOMICAL TABLETS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
ASSYRIAN CALENDAR.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
TABLES OF ASSYRIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS, ASSYRIAN AND
EGYPTIAN.
SELECTED BY GEORGE SMITH. AND P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
12*
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. II.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
INSCRIPTION OF UNA.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
INSTRUCTIONS OF A M E N E M H AT I.
BY G. MASPERO.
ANNALS OF THOTHMES III.
STATISTICAL TABLET. TABLET OF THOTHMES III. BATTLE OF MEGIDDO.
INSCRIPTION OF AMEN-EM-HEB.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
THE WARS OF RAMESES II WITH THE KHITA.
BY PROF. E. L. LUSHINGTON.
INSCRIPTION OF PIANCHI MER-AMON.
BY REV. F. C. COOK, M.A., CANON OF EXETER.
TABLET OF NEWER-HOTEP.
BY PAUL PIERRET.
TRAVELS OF AN EGYPTIAN.
BY FRANCOIS CHABAS.
THE LAMENTATIONS OF ISIS AND NEPHTHYS.
BY P. J. DE HORRACK.
HYMN TO AMEN-RA.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
THE TALE OF THE TWO BROTHERS.
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
THE TALE OF THE DOOMED PRINCE.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
EGYPTIAN CALENDAR. TABLE OF DYNASTIES.
EGYPTIAN MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS, ASSYRIAN AND
EGYPTIAN.
SELECTED BY GEORGE SMITH AND P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. III.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
EARLY HISTORY OF BABYLONIA.
BY GEORGE SMITH.
TABLET OF ANCIENT ACCADIAN LAWS.
SYNCHRONOUS HISTORY OF ASSYRIA AND
BABYLONIA.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
ANNALS OF ASSU R-N AS I R-P AL.
BY REV. J. M. RODWELL, M.A.
KURKH INSCRIPTION OF S H ALM AN ESE R.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF ESARHADDON.
SECOND INSCRIPTION OF ESARHADDON.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
AN ACCADIAN LITURGY.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
SACRED ASSYRIAN POETRY.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
BABYLONIAN CHARMS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
LIST OF FURTHER TEXTS.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. IV.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS;
HISTORICAL TEXTS:—
ANNALS OF THOTHMES III.:—
INSCRIPTION OF ANEBNI. INSCRIPTION OF AAHMES. OBELISK OF THK
LATERAN.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
OBELISK OF RAMESES II.
BY FRANCOIS CHABAS.
TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN RAMESES II. AND
THE HITTITES.
BY C. W. GOODWIN. M.A.
TABLET OF 400 YEARS.
INVASION OF EGYPT BY THE GREEKS IN
THE REIGN OF MENEPHTAH.
DIRGE OF MENEPHTAH. POSSESSED PRINCESS.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
TABLET OF AHMES.
BY PAUL PIERRET.
NEAPOLITAN STELE.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
ROSETTA STONE.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
ETHIOPIAN ANNALS:—
STELE OF THE DREAM.
BY G. MASPERO.
INSCRIPTION OF QUEEN MADSENEN.
BY PAUL~PIERRET.
STELE OF THE EXCOMMUNICATION.
BY G. MASPERO.
MYTHOLOGICAL AND ROMANTIC TEXffS:—
HYMN TO OSIRIS.
BY FRANCOIS CHABAS.
HYMN TO THE NILE.
BY REV. F. C. COOK.
FESTAL DIRGE OF THE EGYPTIANS.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
BOOK OF RESPIRATIONS.
BY P. J. DE HORRACK.
TALE OF SETNAU.
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
LIST OF FURTHER TEXTS.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. V.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
HISTORICAL TEXTS:
LEGEND OF THE INFANCY OF SARGINA I.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
INSCRIPTION OF T I GL AT H- PI L ES E R I.
BY SIR HENRY RAWLINSON, K.C.B., D.C.L., ETC.
BLACK OBELISK INSCRIPTION OF SHALMANESER II.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF T IG LATH-PI L ES E R II.
BY REV. J. M. RODWELL, M.A.
EARLY HISTORY OF BABYLONIA, PART II.
BY GEORGE SMITH.
INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
BY REV. J. M. RODWELL, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF NERIGLISSAR.
BY REV. J. M. RODWELL, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF NABONIDUS.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
INSCRIPTION OF DARIUS AT NAKSHI-RUSTAM.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
MYTHICAL TEXTS:
ACCADIAN HYMN TO ISTAR.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
WAR OF THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS AGAINST HEAVEN.
BY H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S.
TABLES OF OMENS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
LIST OF FURTHER TEXTS.
RECORDS OF THE PAST,
VOL. VI.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
SEPULCHRAL INSCRIPTION OF AMEN I.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
INSCRIPTION OF AAHMES, SON OF ABANA
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
LETTER OF PANBESA.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
ANNALS OF RAMESES III.:—
THE CONQUESTS IN ASIA.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
GREAT HARRIS PAPYRUS, PART I.
BY PROFESSOR EISENLOHR AND S. BIRCH, LL.D.
STELE OF THE CORONATION.
BY G. MASPERO.
THE INSCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNOR NES-HOR.
BY PAUL PIERRET.
STELE OF KING HORSIATEF.
BY G. MASPERO.
HYMNS TO AMEN.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
INSCRIPTION OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND.
BY EDOUARD NAVILLE.
EGYPTIAN MAGICAL TEXT.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
THE SONG OF THE HARPER.
BY LUDWIG STERN.
THE STORY OF SANEHA.
BY C. W. GOODWIN, M.A.
THE TALE OF THE GARDEN OF FLOWERS.
BY FRANCOIS CHABAS.
>
LIST OF FURTHER TEXTS.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. VII.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
INSCRIPTION OF AGU-K AK-RIM I.
BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
STANDARD INSCRIPTION OF AS HU R- A KH-B A L.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
MONOLITH OF A S H U R-A K H-B A L.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
ANNALS OF SARGON.
BY DR. J. OPPERT.
BULL INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB.
BY REV. J. M. ROD WELL, M.A.
A PRAYER AND A VISION.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
SENKEREH INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
BIRS-NIMRUD INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
SUSIAN TEXTS.
BY DR. J. OPPERT.
MEDIAN VERSION OF THE BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION.
BY DR. J. OPPERT.
THREE ASSYRIAN DEEDS.
BY DR. J. OPPERT.
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN MORAL AND POLITICAL PRECEPTS.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
THE REVOLT IN HEAVEN.
BY H. FOX TALBOT, F.R.S.
LEGEND OF THE TOWER OF BABEL.
BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
ELEVENTH TABLET OF THE IZDUBAR LEGENDS.
BY THE LATE GEORGE SMITH.
ACCADIAN PENITENTIAL PSALM.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
BABYLONIAN SAINTS' CALENDAR.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS.
RECORDS OF THE PAST.
VOL. VIII.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
CONTENTS:
FRAGMENT OF THE FIRST SALLIER PAPYRUS.
BY PROF. E. L. LUSHINGTON, LL.D., D.C.L.
ANNALS OF RAMESES III. :—
THE GREAT HARRIS PAPYRUS.
BY PROF. EISENLOHR AND S. BIRCH, LL.D.
ABSTRACT OF A CASE OF CONSPIRACY.
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
INSCRIPTION OF THE GOLD MINES AT RHEDESIEH
AND KUBAN.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
DECREE OF CANOPUS.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
THE GREAT MENDES STELE.
TRANSLATED FROM BRUGSCH-BEY.
THE LITANY OF RA.
BY EDOUARD NAVILLE.
HYMN TO RA-HARMACHIS.
BY PROF. E. L. LUSHINGTON, LL.D., D.C.L.
INSCRIPTION OF DARIUS AT EL-KHARGEH.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
THE PRAISE OF LEARNING.
BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
THE PAPYRUS OF MORAL PRECEPTS
BY M. THEOD. DEVERIA.
LISTS OF FURTHER TEXTS.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
(Messrf. Bagster's Catalogue, with Illustrated Supplement of Specimen
Pages, by Post, Free.)
ARCHAIC CLASSICS:
Published under the Sanction of tfie Society of Biblical A rchceology.
AN ELEMENTARY
GRAMMAR AND READING BOOK
OF
THE ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE:
IN THE CUNEIFORM CHARACTER ;
Containing the most complete Syllabary yet extant, and which will serve
also as a Vocabulary of both Accadian and Assyrian.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
Second Edition, Revised and Corrected. Cloth, price 7.9. 6d.
AN ELEMENTARY MANUAL
OF
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE:
WITH AN
INTERLINEARY READING BOOK :
IN THE HIEROGLYPHIC CHARACTER.
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
IN TWO PARTS :
Part I. Grammar, Cloth, 75. 6d. Part II. Reading Book. In the Press.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
SELECTED AND EDITED BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS.
Part I : Text, Transliteration, and Translation. Part II : Text and
Transliteration. Part III: Texts Dissected for Analysis. Part IV:
Determinatives; with List of Syllabic Signs, and List of Cartouches
of Egyptian Sovereigns.
Quarto, Cloth, 12s.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
FOR THE USE OF THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES*
PREPARED BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
Paper Wrapper, is.
EXERCISE SHEETS.
FIRST AND SECOND SERIES: ASSYRIAN i TO 4; EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
THIRD SERIES: EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
These Sheets have been prepared to enable the Student to test his pro
gress, by translating a short passage from some well-known Text. In
Sheet No. i of each Series, Assyriari and Egyptian, is given an interlineated
Text, with space left between the lines for the translation. The succeeding
Sheets contain another portion of Text, for translation, and also the
correct rendering of the passage given in the preceding Sheet.
On Writing Paper, 2d. each.
LECTURES
UPON
THE ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE,
AND SYLLABARY;
DELIVERED TO THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.,
Deputy Professor of Comparative Philology. Oxford.
Quarto, Cloth extra, gs. 6d.
In the Press.
INSCRIPTIONS OF ESARHADDON,
KING OF ASSYRIA, B.C. 681-668.
Translated, with Text and Commentary, for the Use of Students.
BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
AN ARCHAIC DICTIONARY:
BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND MYTHOLOGICAL:
From the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan Monuments and Papyri.
BY W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S.
Secretary to the Society of Biblical Archeology.
Cloth extra, 155.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN
LITERATURE.
THE ASSYRIAN EPONYM CANON:
Containing Translations of the Documents, and an account of the
Evidence, on the Comparative Chronology of the Assyrian and Jewish
Kingdoms, from the Death of Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar.
By the late GEORGE SMITH, of the Department of Oriental Antiquities,
British Museum. Octavo, Cloth extra. Price gs.
THE MONUMENTAL HISTORY OF EGYPT.
REDE LECTURE, delivered in the Senate House of the University of
Cambridge. By S. BIRCH, LL.D., etc. Paper Wrapper. Price is. 6d.
ANCIENT CHALDEAN MAGIC.
Translated from the French of M. FRAN£OIS LENORMANT, with Notes
and References by the English Editor. Nearly ready.
THE RESURRECTION OF ASSYRIA.
A Lecture delivered in Renfield Presbyterian Church, Glasgow. By
W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary to the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 15. 6d.
THE HEROINES OF THE PAST.
A Lecture delivered at the Working Men's Institute, Leighton Buzzard.
By W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of
Biblical Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 15. 6d.
EGYPT AND THE PENTATEUCH.
An Address to the Members of the Open Air Mission. By W. R.
COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 2s.
ORIENTAL RECORDS.— MONUMENTAL.
Confirmatory of the Old Testament Scriptures. A Collection of the
most important recent discoveries, especially in Western Asia and Egypt,
derived from the highest attainable antiquity; confirmatory and illustrative
of the statements of Holy Scripture. Illustrated. By WILLIAM HARRIS
RULE, D.D. Crown octavo, Cloth extra, 55.
ORIENTAL RECORDS.— HISTORICAL.
By WILLIAM HARRIS RULE, D.D. Crown octavo, Cloth extra, 55.
THE UTRECHT PSALTER.
The History, Art, and Palaeography, of the Manuscript commonly styled
the Utrecht Psalter. By WALTER DEFRAY BIRCH, F.R.S.L., Senior Assistant
of the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum; Honorary
Secretary to the British Archaeological Association, etc. 8vo., Cloth extra, I2s.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
FOR THE USE OF THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES.*
PREPARED BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
Paper Wrapper, is.
EXERCISE SHEETS.
FIRST AND SECOND SERIES: ASSYRIAN i TO 4; EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
THIRD SERIES: EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
These Sheets have been prepared to enable the Student to test his pro
gress, by translating" a short passage from some well-known Text. In
Sheet No. i of each Series, Assyriar and Egyptian, is given an interlineated
Text, with space left between the lines for the translation. The succeeding
Sheets contain another portion of Text, for translation, and also the
correct rendering of the passage given in the preceding Sheet.
On Writing Paper, 2d. each.
LECTURES
UPON
THE ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE,
AND SYLLABARY;
DELIVERED TO THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.,
Deputy Professor of Comparative Philology. Oxford.
Quarto, Cloth extra, gs. 6d.
In the Press.
INSCRIPTIONS OF ESARHADDON,
KING OF ASSYRIA, B.C. 681-668.
Translated, with Text and Commentary, for the Use of Students.
BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
AN ARCHAIC DICTIONARY:
BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND MYTHOLOGICAL:
From the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan Monuments and Papyri.
BY W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S.
Secretary to the Society of Biblical Archceology.
Cloth extra, 155.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN
LITERATURE.
THE ASSYRIAN EPONYM CANON:
Containing Translations of the Documents, and an account of the
Evidence, on the Comparative Chronology of the Assyrian and Jewish
Kingdoms, from the Death of Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar.
By the late GEORGE SMITH, of the Department of Oriental Antiquities,
British Museum. Octavo, Cloth extra. Price 95.
THE MONUMENTAL HISTORY OF EGYPT.
REDE LECTURE, delivered in the Senate House of the University of
Cambridge. By S. BIRCH, LL.D., etc. Paper Wrapper. Price is. 6d.
ANCIENT CHALDEAN MAGIC.
Translated from the French of M. FRA^OIS LENORMANT, with Notes
and References by the English Editor. Nearly ready.
THE RESURRECTION OF ASSYRIA.
A Lecture delivered in Renfield Presbyterian Church, Glasgow. By
W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary to the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 15. 6d.
THE HEROINES OF THE PAST.
A Lecture delivered at the Working Men's Institute, Leighton Buzzard.
By W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of
Biblical Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 15. 6d.
EGYPT AND THE PENTATEUCH.
An Address to the Members of the Open Air Mission. By W. R.
COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 2s.
ORIENTAL RECORDS.— MONUMENTAL.
Confirmatory of the Old Testament Scriptures. A Collection of the
most important recent discoveries, especially in Western Asia and Egypt,
derived from the highest attainable antiquity; confirmatory and illustrative
of the statements of Holy Scripture. Illustrated. By WILLIAM HARRIS
RULE, D.D. Crown octavo, Cloth extra, 55.
ORIENTAL RECORDS.— HISTORICAL.
By WILLIAM HARRIS RULE, D.D. Crown octavo, Cloth extra, 55.
THE UTRECHT PSALTER.
The History, Art, and Palaeography, of the Manuscript commonly styled
the Utrecht Psalter. By WALTER DEFRAY BIRCH, F.R.S.L., Senior Assistant
of the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum ; Honorary
Secretary to the British Archaeological Association, etc. 8vo., Cloth extra, 125.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
AIDS TO THE STUDY
HEBREW" SCRIPTURES
A REVISION OF THE HEBREW TEXT OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT.
Synopsis of Reading's revised from critical sources; being an attempt to
present a purer and more correct Text than the "Received" one of Van
der Hooght, by the aid of the best existing materials: with the principal
Various Readings found in MSS., ancient Versions, Jewish Books and
Writers, Parallels, Quotations, etc. By SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D. Octavo,
Cloth, price los. 6d,
THE HEADS OF HEBREW GRAMMAR.
Containing all the Principles needed by a Learner; with a Series of
Hebrew Paradigms. By S. P. TREGELLES, LL.D. Foolscap octavo, Cloth,
price 3.9.
A PRACTICAL HEBREW GRAMMAR.
The Grammar with progressive constructive Exercises to every Rule; and
a Reading Book. By Dr. J. ROBERT WOLFE. Post octavo, Cloth, price 6s.
A POCKET HEBREW-ENGLISH LEXICON.
The Lexicon contains all the Hebrew and Chaldee words in the Old
Testament Scriptures, with their meanings in English, and combining the
alphabetical with the radical arrangement of the words. Foolscap octavo,
Cloth, price 45. 6d.
THE HEXAPLAR PSALTER.
The Book of Psalms in Hebrew ; the Greek of the LXX. ; the Vulgate
Latin; Jerome's Hebrew-Latin; the English Liturgical Version; and the
English Authorised Version: in six Parallel Columns. Quarto, Cloth,
price 155.
AN INTERLINEARY HEBREW-ENGLISH PSALTER.
The Book of Psalms in Hebrew, printed so as to distinguish the servile
letters from the radical ; with a closely literal English Translation under
each word. Foolscap octavo, Cloth, price 55.
HEBREW PSALMS,
Without Points. Foolscap octavo, price is.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
AIDS TO THE STUDY
OF THE
GREEK SCRIPTURES
THE GREEK STUDENT'S MANUAL.
A Practical Guide to the Greek Testament, designed for those who have
no knowledge of the Greek language; also the New Testament, Greek
and English ; and a Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, los.
THE ANALYTICAL GREEK LEXICON TO THE
NEW TESTAMENT.
The words of the Greek Text, however inflected, are placed in alpha
betical order, analysed, and referred to their roots, which are copiously
explained : so that the precise grammatical force and English meaning of
every word in the Greek New Testament can be ascertained with very
little trouble. Quarto, Cloth, 125.
THE STUDENTS' ANALYTICAL GREEK
TESTAMENT :
Presenting at one view the Text of Scholz and a Grammatical Analysis of
the Verbs, in which every occurring inflection of Verb or Participle is
minutely described, and traced to its proper Root. With the readings
Textual and Marginal of Griesbach; and the variations of Stephens,
1550; Beza, 1598; and the Elzevir, 1633. Square i6mo., 125.
THE TWOFOLD NEW TESTAMENT.
Being a New Translation accompanying a Revised Text, in Parallel
Columns. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Quarto, Cloth, 215.
THE POLYMICRIAN GREEK TESTAMENT,
With Various Readings, Parallel References, indication of Roots, Maps,
Engraved Tables, etc. 32mo. Small pocket volume, Cloth, 3,<r. 6d.
*#* The Polymicrian Series embraces New Testaments, Common
Prayers, and Psalters, in various languages; also English and Greek
Concordances, and a Lexicon and Index.
A GRAMMAR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DIALECT.
A Treatise on the Grammar of the New Testament; embracing observa
tions on the literal interpretation of numerous passages; and an Index of
passages particularly noticed. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Crown
octavo, Cloth, 75.
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF THE
GREEK NEW TESTAMENT.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 25.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
THE CRITICAL GREEK AND ENGLISH NEW
TESTAMENT.
The Greek Text of Scholz ; with the Readings both Textual and Mar
ginal of Griesbach, and the Variations of the • Editions of Stephens, 1550;
Beza, 1598; and the Elzevir, 1633; with the English Authorised Version,
and its Marginal Renderings. i6mo., Cloth, 65. With Lexicon, 95. 6d.
An EDITION on WRITING PAPER, with ample Margins for MS.
Notes. Quarto, Cloth, 75. 6d.
THE REASON
Why all Christians should read God's written Word in Greek ; and de
monstration afforded of the ease with which an accurate knowledge thereof
may be gained by those who have not had a classical education. Octavo,
Sewed, 6d.
A SPUR AND ENCOURAGEMENT.
An incentive to the Study of the Greek Testament, with some practical
Suggestions for Learners. (Neiv and Revised Edition.) Octavo, Sewed, 6<7.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW,
Greek and English, for MS. Notes. Printed upon writing-paper, with
broad margins for Annotations. Quarto, Cloth, 15. 6d.
THE ACTS,
GREEK and ENGLISH for MS. NOTES. Small quarto, Cloth, is. 6d.
CRITICAL NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.
These Notes are mainly grammatical, but their plan embraces observa
tions on the meaning of particular terms, especially synonyms. The
arrangement of sentences is treated as a matter of material importance to
exact interpretation. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Crown octavo,
Cloth, 75.
A THIN POCKET GREEK NEW TESTAMENT.
Containing Griesbach's Various Readings ; with the Greek New Testa
ment according to Mill's edition of the Received Text. Foolscap octavo
Cloth 35. 6d.
With this edition of the New Testament may be bound up a Greek
Lexicon and Greek Concordance.
LJLS
Multai terricolis linguae, coelestibus
una.
LONDON:
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
(Messrs. Bagster's Catalogue, with Illustrated Supplement of Specimen
Pages, by Post, Free.)
ARCHAIC CLASSICS:
Published under the Sanction of the Society of Biblical A rchozology.
AN ELEMENTARY
GRAMMAR AND READING BOOK
OF
THE ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE:
IN THE CUNEIFORM CHARACTER ;
Containing the most complete Syllabary yet extant, and which will serve
also as a Vocabulary of both Accadian and Assyrian.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE/M.A.
Cloth, js. 6d.
AN ELEMENTARY MANUAL
OF
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE:
WITH AN
INTERLINEARY READING BOOK:
IN THE HIEROGLYPHIC CHARACTER.
BY P. LE PAGE RENOUF.
IN TWO PARTS:
Part I. Grammar, Cloth, 75. 6d. Part II. Reading Book. In the Press.
Nearly ready.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS.
SELECTED AND EDITED BY S. BIRCH, LL.D.
FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS.
Part I : Text, Transliteration, and Translation. Part II : Text and
Transliteration. Part III: Texts Dissected for Analysis. Part IV:
Determinatives; with List of Syllabic Signs, and List of Egyptian
Sovereigns.
18
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS.
FOR THE USE OF THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES.
PREPARED BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
Paper Wrapper, is.
EXERCISE SHEETS.
FIRST AND SECOND SERIES: ASSYRIAN i TO 4; EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
THIRD SERIES: EGYPTIAN i TO 4.
These Sheets have been prepared to enable the Student to test his pro-
§ress, by translating a short passage from some well-known Text. In
heet No. i of each Series, Assyrian and Egyptian, is given an interlineated
Text, with space left between the lines for the translation. The succeeding
Sheets contain another portion of Text, for translation, and also the
correct rendering of the passage given in the preceding Sheet.
On Writing Paper, 2d. each.
In the Press.
LECTURES
UPON
THE ASSYRIAN LANGUAGE,
AND SYLLABARY;
DELIVERED TO THE STUDENTS OF THE ARCHAIC CLASSES.
BY REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.,
Deputy Professor of Comparative Philology, Oxford.
In the Press.
INSCRIPTIONS OF ESARHADDON,
KING OF ASSYRIA, B.C. 681-668.
Translated, with Text and Commentary, for the Use of Students.
BY W. ST. CHAD BOSCAWEN.
AN ARCHAIC DICTIONARY:
BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND MYTHOLOGICAL;
From the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan Monuments and Papyri.
BY W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S.
Secretary to the Society of Biblical Archaeology.
Cloth extra, 155.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN
LITERATURE.
THE ASSYRIAN EPONYM CANON:
Containing- Translations of the Documents, and an account of the
Evidence, on the Comparative Chronology of the Assyrian and Jewish
Kingdoms, from the Death of Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar.
By the late GEORGE SMITH, of the Department of Oriental Antiquities,
British Museum. Octavo, Cloth extra. Price gs.
THE MONUMENTAL HISTORY OF EGYPT.
REDE LECTURE, delivered in the Senate House of the University of
Cambridge. By S. BIRCH, LL.D., etc. Paper Wrapper. Price is. 6d.
ANCIENT CHALDEAN MAGIC.
Translated from the French of M. FRANCOIS LENORMANT, with Notes
and References by the English Editor. Nearly ready.
THE RESURRECTION OF ASSYRIA.
A Lecture delivered in Renfield Presbyterian Church, Glasgow. By
W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary to the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price is. 6d.
THE HEROINES OF THE PAST.
A Lecture delivered at the Working Men's Institute, Leighton Buzzard.
By W. R. COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of
Biblical Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price is. 6d.
EGYPT AND THE PENTATEUCH.
An Address to the Members of the Open Air Mission. By W. R.
COOPER, F.R.A.S., M.R.A.S., Secretary of the Society of Biblical
Archaeology. Paper Wrapper. Price 2s.
THE UTRECHT PSALTER.
The History, Art, and Palaeography, of the Manuscript commonly styled
the Utrecht Psalter. By WALTER DE GRAY BIRCH, F.R.S.L., Senior
Assistant of the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum ;
Honorary Secretary to the British Archaeological Association, etc. Octavo,
Cloth extra, 125.
18*
RECORDS OF THE PAST:
BEING ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
Published under tJie Sanction of the Society of Biblical A rchceology.
Edited by S. BIRCH, LL.D.
VOLS. I. to VIII. Now Ready.
Crown octavo, Cloth. Price, each Volume, 3<y. 6d.
ASSYRIAN TEXTS
Vols. I., III., V., VII.
EGYPTIAN TEXTS
Vols. II., IV., VL, VIII.
Succeeding Volumes in preparation.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
AIDS TO THE STUDY
OF THE
HEBREW SCRIPTURES
A REVISION OF THE HEBREW TEXT OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT.
Synopsis of Readings revised from critical sources; being an attempt to
present a purer and more correct Text than the " Received " one of Van
der Hooght, by the aid of the best existing materials : with the principal
Various Readings found in MSS., ancient Versions, Jewish Books and
Writers, Parallels, Quotations, etc. By SAMUEL DAVIDSON, D.D. Octavo,
Cloth, price IDS. 6d.
THE HEADS OF HEBREW GRAMMAR.
Containing all the Principles needed by a Learner; with a Series of
Hebrew Paradigms. By S. P. TREGELLES, LL.D. Foolscap octavo, Cloth,
price 35.
A PRACTICAL HEBREW GRAMMAR.
The Grammar with progressive constructive Exercises to every Rule; and
a Reading Book. By Dr. J. ROBERT WOLFE. Post octavo, Cloth, price 65.
A POCKET HEBREW-ENGLISH LEXICON.
The Lexicon contains all the Hebrew and Chaldee words in the Old
Testament Scriptures, with their meanings in English, and combining the
alphabetical with the radical arrangement of the words. Foolscap octavo,
Cloth, price 45. 6d.
THE HEXAPLAR PSALTER.
The Book of Psalms in Hebrew ; the Greek of the LXX. ; the Vulgate
Latin ; Jerome's Hebrew-Latin ; the English Liturgical Version ; and the
English Authorised Version : in six Parallel Columns. Quarto, Cloth,
price 155.
AN INTERLINEARY HEBREW-ENGLISH PSALTER.
The Book of Psalms in Hebrew, printed so as to distinguish the servile
letters from the radical ; with a closely literal English Translation under
each word. Foolscap octavo, Cloth, price 55.
HEBREW PSALMS,
Without Points. Foolscap octavo, price \s.
LONDON : SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
HEBREW AND ENGLISH PSALMS.
The Hebrew Text is that of Van der Hooght, carefully reprinted from
the edition A.D. 1705. The English Version is the Authorised Translation
according- to the edition of A.D. 1611. Arranged in Parallel Columns.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, price 45.
THE STUDY OF THE HEBREW VOWEL POINTS.
A Series of Exercises in very large Hebrew Type, printed upon writing-
•aper, with space between the lines for the addition in manuscript of the
/bwel Points and Accents. Quarto. Nos. i and 2. Price 4^. each.
CHALDEE READING LESSONS.
The whole of the Biblical Chaldee, with a Grammatical Praxis, and an
Interlineary Translation. A series of Chaldee Paradigms. Foolscap
octavo, Cloth, price 35. 6d.
THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.
The History and Characteristics of the Hebrew Language, including
improved renderings of select passages in our Authorised Translation of
the Old Testament. By HENRY CRAIK. Crown octavo, Cloth, price 35. 6d.
PRINCIPIA HEBRAICA.
The Principles of Hebrew Grammar; an easy Introduction to the
Hebrew Language, in twenty-four large folio Tables, which contain the
Interpretation of all the Hebrew and Chaldee words, both Primitives and
Derivatives, contained in the Old Testament Scriptures. By HENRY
CRAIK. Folio, Cloth, price 105. 6d,
THE ENGLISHMAN'S HEBREW AND CHALDEE
CONCORDANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Being an attempt at a Verbal Connection between the Original and the
English Translation; with Indexes, a List of the Proper Names, and their
occurrences, etc. Third Edition. Two Volumes. Royal octavo, Cloth,
price £3 135. 6d.
THE HEBRAIST'S VADE MECUM :
A first attempt at a Complete Verbal Index to the Contents of the Hebrew
and Chaldee Scriptures. Arranged according to Grammar : the occurrences
in full. Demy octavo, price 155.
THE HEBREW PENTATEUCH.
The five Books of Moses in Hebrew, with Points. Foolscap octavo, Cloth,
price 25. 6d.
THE PROPHECY OF JOEL.
The Hebrew Text of Joel printed metrically, with a new English
Translation and Critical Notes. By the Rev. JOSEPH HUGHES, B.A.
Foolscap octavo, price 25. 6d.
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
AIDS TO THE STUDY
OF THE
GREEK SCRIPTURES
THE GREEK STUDENT'S MANUAL.
A Practical Guide to the Greek Testament, designed for those who have
no knowledge of the Greek language; also the New Testament, Greek
and English ; and a Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, ios.
THE ANALYTICAL GREEK LEXICON TO THE
NEW TESTAMENT.
The words of the Greek Text, however inflected, are placed in alpha
betical order, analysed, and referred to their roots, which are copiously
explained : so that the precise grammatical force and English meaning of
every word in the Greek New Testament can be ascertained with very
little trouble. Quarto, Cloth, 125.
THE STUDENTS' ANALYTICAL GREEK
TESTAMENT :
Presenting at one view the Text of Scholz and a Grammatical Analysis of
the Verbs, in which every occurring inflection of Verb or Participle is
minutely described, and traced to its proper Root. With the readings
Textual and Marginal of Griesbach; and the variations of Stephens,
1550; Beza, 1598; and the Elzevir, 1633. Square i6mo., 125.
THE TWOFOLD NEW TESTAMENT.
Being a New Translation accompanying a Revised Text, in Parallel
Columns. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Quarto, Cloth, 215.
THE POLYMICRIAN GREEK TESTAMENT,
With Various Readings, Parallel References, indication of Roots, Maps,
Engraved Tables, etc. 321110. Small pocket volume, Cloth, 35. 6d.
*#* The Polymicrian Series embraces New Testaments, Common
Prayers, and Psalters, in various languages; also English and Greek
Concordances, and a Lexicon and Index.
A GRAMMAR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DIALECT.
A Treatise on the Grammar of the New Testament; embracing observa
tions on the literal interpretation of numerous passages; and an Index of
passages particularly noticed. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Crown
octavo, Cloth, 75.
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF THE
GREEK NEW TESTAMENT.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 25.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
THE CRITICAL GREEK AND ENGLISH NEW
TESTAMENT.
The Greek Text of Scholz ; with the Reading's both Textual and Mar-
§inal of Griesbach, and the Variations of the Editions of Stephens, 1550;
eza, 1598; and the Elzevir, 1633; with the English Authorised Version,
and its Marginal Rendering's. i6mo., Cloth, 65. With Lexicon, 95. 6d.
An EDITION on WRITING PAPER, with ample Margins for MS.
Notes. Quarto, Cloth, 75. 6d.
THE REASON
Why all Christians should read God's written Word in Greek ; and de
monstration afforded of the ease with which an accurate knowledge thereof
may be gained by those who have not had a classical education. Octavo,
Sewed, 6d.
A SPUR AND ENCOURAGEMENT.
An incentive to the Study of the Greek Testament, with some practical
Suggestions for Learners. (New and Revised Edition.} Octavo, Sewed, 6d.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW,
Greek and English, for MS. Notes. Printed upon writing-paper, with
broad margins for Annotations. Quarto, Cloth, 15. 6d.
THE ACTS,
GREEK and ENGLISH for MS. NOTES. Small quarto, Cloth, 15. 6d.
CRITICAL NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.
These Notes are mainly grammatical, but their plan embraces observa
tions on the meaning of particular terms, especially synonyms. The
arrangement of sentences is treated as a matter of material importance to
exact interpretation. By the Rev. T. S. GREEN, M.A. Crown octavo.
Cloth, 75.
A THIN POCKET GREEK NEW TESTAMENT.
Containing Griesbach's Various Readings ; with the Greek New Testa
ment according to Mill's edition of the Received Text. Foolscap octavo,
Cloth 35. 6d.
With this edition of the New Testament may be bound up a Greek
Lexicon and Greek Concordance.
Multae terricolis linguae, coelestibus una.
LONDON:
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
SELECTIONS FROM
MESSRS. BAGSTER AND SONS'
CATALOGUE OF
BIBLICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.
BIBLIA SACRA POLYGLOTTA.
The Modern Polyglot Bible in Eight Languages. The work is hand
somely printed in Two Volumes, Crown folio, and is issued ready bound
in best morocco Roxburgh, £S. 85. ; or, bound in Cloth, ,£6. 65. ; also in
12 parts, stiff wrapper los. 6d. each.
BAGSTERS POLYGLOT BIBLES.
THE FACSIMILE SERIES.
These three Editions correspond page for page, and line for line, and are
enriched with the following supplementary aids : a detailed Chronological
Arrangement of the Old Testament Scriptures; Tables of Measures,
Weights, and Coins; Jewish Calendar; an Itinerary of the Children of
Israel from Egypt to Canaan ; Table of the Chronological Order of the
Books of the Bible; Chronological Table of the Kings and Prophets of
Judah and Israel, in Parallel Columns; a Summary View of the principal
events of the period from the close of the sacred Canon of the Old Testa
ment, until the times of the New Testament; an Account of the Jewish
and other Sects and Factions; a Table of the principal Messianic
Prophecies; a List of Passages in the Old Testament quoted or alluded to
in the New Testament; the Names, Titles, and Characters of our Lord
Jesus Christ; the Names, Characteristics, Privileges, and Glory of the
Church of God; a Chronological Harmony of the Four Evangelists, in
Parallel Columns; Coloured Maps; an engraved Chronological Chart of
History from B.C. 500 to A. D. 400; a condensed Scripture Index; and an
Alphabetical Index to the Psalms.
Another not unimportant advantage is secured by printing these Bibles
on the facsimile principle ; they not only correspond one with another, but
with the whole Polyglot series of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, and
other languages, which are all arranged on the same convenient plan.
I. THE MINIATURE POLYGLOT BIBLE, i6mo., Seconds morocco blocked,
gilt edges, gs. ; Turkey morocco plain, 125. 6rf.
II. THE MEDIUM POLYGLOT BIBLE, Foolscap octavo, Seconds morocco
blocked, gilt edges, 125.; Turkey morocco plain, stiff or limp covers, i6s.6d.
III. THE LARGE- TYPE POLYGLOT BIBLE, Octavo, Seconds morocco
blocked, gilt edges, 14*.; Turkey morocco plain, stiff or limp covers, £>\. is.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
THE LARGE PRINT FACSIMILE BIBLE
On writing paper, with broad margin for MS. notes. Quarto, Seconds
morocco, £i. 55.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. IQS.
An Edition of No. III., printed upon Royal octavo writing1 paper. Cloth,
£i. 15.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. 155.
THE TEACHERS' BIBLE.
Comprising the English Version of the Polyglot Series; Cruden's Con
cordance ; and 4,000 Questions with Answers, on the Historical books of
the Old and New Testaments. With Indexes, Maps, Tables of Weights
and Measures, and a mass of useful information to aid the Teacher, and
with 24 pages of ruled paper for MS. notes. Foolscap octavo, Seconds
morocco, 185.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. 35. 6d.
THE ILLUSTRATED POCKET BIBLE,
For the Young. Containing forty-eight Historical Pictures, with 4,000
suggestive Questions, coloured Maps, and a complete Index of Subjects.
In attractive Morocco binding, 125.
THE COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE.
In Small Pica Type. Demy 4to., Cloth, £i. 155.; Turkey morocco plain,
£2, 155. With Scotch Psalms, 2s. extra; Apocrypha, 45. extra.
In Pica Type. Royal 4to., Cloth, £2. 45.; Turkey morocco plain, gilt
leaves, ^3. 105. With Apocrypha, 45. extra; Cruden's Concordance, 55.
extra; Scotch Psalms, 2s. extra.
An Edition of the Comprehensive Bible printed on Super Royal writing
paper, with four inches of blank margin. Imperial 4to., Cloth, £2. 2s.
THE MINIATURE QUARTO BIBLE.
An Edition of the Scriptures prepared expressly for the use of those to
whom lightness, large type, and superior finish are recommendations.
It is printed upon the finest toned paper, and contains copious Critical
Notes, Parallel References, Coloured Maps, etc. This elegant volume
measures about yin. by g?in., and is not more than 2jin. in thickness.
Cloth, £i. 45.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. 145. With Cruden's Con
cordance, 55. extra; Scotch Psalms, 25. extra.
THE INVALID'S BIBLE.
The Large-Print Paragraph Bible, in separate Books. This Edition of
the Scriptures is peculiarly suitable for Invalids. Crown octavo. Twenty-
nine Volumes, Cloth extra, red edges, £2. 145.
In Four Vols. Cloth extra, red edges, £2. 25.; Turkey morocco plain,
£3. 35. ; Turkey morocco limp, ^3. 35.
THE COMMENTARY WHOLLY BIBLICAL.
An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments in the very words of
Scripture. Three Volumes, Quarto, Cloth, £2. i6s.; Half-morocco or
russia, £3. gs. • Turkey morocco plain, £4. igs.'
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
THE BIBLE,
Arranged for Family Reading- throughout the year. Quarto, Handsome
Cloth Case, £i. 45. ; Turkey morocco plain, £2. 2s. Re-issue in 12 Monthly
Parts, 2s. each ; or 4 Quarterly Parts, 6s. each.
THE TREASURY OF SCRIPTURE KNOWLEDGE.
A selection of more than 500,000 Scripture References and Parallel
Passages, methodically arranged to suit all editions of the Holy Scriptures.
With numerous illustrative Notes; a Harmony of the Four Evangelists,
Chronologically arranged; and a copious Alphabetical Index. Foolscap
octavo, Cloth, 75. 6d. ; Turkey morocco plain, 145.
Preparing for publication, an edition of the above, Demy octavo, to inter
leave with the Large-Type Polyglot Bible.
THE TREASURY BIBLE.
This is an Edition of the above, interleaved with the Medium Polyglot
Bible. Foolscap octavo, Cloth, i6s.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. 55.
THE TREASURY BIBLE FOR MS. NOTES.
The Authorised English Version, accompanied with a collection of about
500,000 selected Illustrative Passages, numerous Critical Notes, and Index
of Subjects. It is printed on fine writing paper, in the fabric of which are
waterlines, and one half of each page is left blank. Quarto, Cloth, £i.
THE BLANK-PAGED BIBLE.
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, with copious
References to Parallel and Illustrative Passages, and the alternate pages
ruled for MS. Notes. Octavo, Cloth, £,1.; Turkey morocco plain, £i. 135. 6d.
BAGSTER'S LIMP KID-LINED BIBLES.
No. I. The Miniature Polyglot Bible, £i. No. II. The Medium Polyglot
Bible, £i. 55. No. III. The Facsimile Large-Print Polyglot Bible, £i. 105.
The Facsimile Large-Print Polyglot Bible, Quarto for MS. Notes, £2. 25.
CRUDEN'S CONCORDANCE.
All the words used through the Sacred Scriptures are Alphabetically
arranged, with reference to the various places where they occur. Quarto,
Cloth, 6s. ; Octavo, Cloth, 45. 6d. • Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 45. ; ~32mo.,
Cloth, 25. 6d.
CRUDEN'S CONCORDANCE TO THE NEW
TESTAMENT.
Foolscap, 15. 4d. ; 32mo., is. 4^.
FOUR THOUSAND QUESTIONS,
Intended to open up the Scriptures to the Young. i6mo., 6d.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
CONCISE ANSWERS
To the Four Thousand Scripture Questions of the Illustrated Pocket
Bible. For the use of Parents and Teachers. Foolscap octavo, Paper
wrapper, 25. ; Cloth, 2s. 6d.
QUESTIONS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.
For the use of Schools. 2d.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
On the Historical books of the New Testament, being a Key to " Questions
on the New Testament." 6d.
HINTS ON BIBLE MARKING. (Third Edition.}
With a Prefatory Note by Mr. D. L. MOODY, and Eight Specimen Pages.
Octavo, 6d.
THE AUTOGRAPH TEXT BOOK:
Containing a Text of Scripture, and a Verse of Poetry, together with a
space for the insertion of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, under every Day
in the year. Cloth extra, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. ; Turkey morocco limp, 8s. 6d.
DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH.
A devotional Text-book for every Day in the year, Morning and Evening;
in the very words of Scripture.
Large-print edition, i6mo. Two Volumes. Extra cloth, gilt edges.
Each vol., 25. 6d. ; Bound in calf, 65.
32mo. Two Volumes. Extra cloth, gilt edges. Each vol., is. 6d. ;
Bound in calf, 45. 6d.
WORDS IN SEASON:
In Scripture Language. By HARRIET POWER, Author of "Tales Illus
trative of the Beatitudes," " Our Invalids," etc. Foolscap octavo, Paper
wrapper, 6d.
THE PSALMS,
Illustrated by suitable Scripture passages. 32mo., Roan, 25. 6d.
THE PROVERBS,
Illustrated by suitable Scripture passages. 321110., Roan, 15. 8d.
ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL,
Illustrated by suitable Scripture passages. 321110., Roan, 15. Sd.
HEBREWS,
Illustrated by suitable Scripture passages. 32mo., Roan, 15. ^d.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
ROMANS,
Illustrated by suitable Scripture passages. 321110., Roan, 15. 4^.
DIVINE PROMISES.
This is a Collection of the principal Divine Promises, Illustrated by
appropriate passages of Scripture. 32mo., Roan, 15. 4^.
PRAYERS AND DEVOTIONAL MEDITATIONS,
From the Psalms of David. By ELIHU BURRITT. Octavo, 2s.
THE LORD'S PRAYER
No Adaptation of existing Jewish Petitions. Explained by the Light of
" The day of the Lord : " in a series of Six Essays. To which are added
three more, in the form of Appendices, on the first two Prophecies, and on
the Cherubim. By the Rev. M. MARGOLIOUTH, M.A., LL.D., Ph.D., etc.
Cloth extra, js. 6d.
THE GOSPELS CONSOLIDATED.
The object of this compilation has been to consolidate the matter of the
four Gospels so as to form it into one continuous narrative ; and, at the
same time, to facilitate reference to the Gospels themselves for verification
of the text. A full Index to the Gospel History is also appended. Quarto,
Cloth, 6s.
A New and carefully Revised Index in the Press.
THE EMPHASISED NEW TESTAMENT.
Newly translated, from the Text of Tregelles, and critically emphasised
according to the logical idiom of the original by means of underscored
lines. With an Introduction and occasional Notes. By JOSEPH B.
ROTHERHAM. A New Edition in the Press.
TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF THE NEW TESTAMENT,
FOR ENGLISH BIBLE STUDENTS.
Second Edition, Revised and Corrected.
A succinct comparison of the Authorised Version of the New Testament
with the critical Texts of Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf,
Tregelles, and Alford, and the Uncial MSS. By C. E. STUART, Esq.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 55.
A MANUAL CONCORDANCE OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT. (New Edition.}
The Concordance, consists of a very copious selection of prominent
words, amounting, in some instances, to as many as ten of the principal
words of a single verse, with the context. The plan of the Concordance
includes also some interesting and valuable critical features. iSmo.,
Cloth, 25. 6d.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
DANIEL'S PROPHETIC VISIONS.
Coloured Map of the Ancient Persian and Roman Empires, with
Description. Remarks on the Visions in the Book of Daniel, with Notes
on Prophetic Interpretation in connection with Popery, and a Defence of
the Authenticity of the Book of Daniel. By S. P. TREGELLES, LL.D.
Small octavo, Cloth, 55.
THE CHRONICLE OF MAN;
Or the Genealogies in the Book of Chronicles viewed as foreshadowing
the purpose of the Ages. By F. M. FEARNLEY. With an Introductory
Preface by ANDREW JUKES. Octavo, Cloth, 95.
THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK OF JOB.
By R. F. HUTCHINSON, Esq., M.D., M.R.C.S.E., Surgeon-Major, Bengal
Army. Crown octavo, Cloth, 55.
HIDDEN LESSONS,
From the Verbal Repetitions and Varieties of the New Testament. By
J. F. B. TINLING, M.A. Author of "An Evangelist's Tour round India,''
etc. Crown octavo, Cloth, 55.
EARTH'S EARLIEST AGES,
And their Lessons for us. With a Treatise on Spiritualism. By G. H.
PEMBER, M.A. Crown octavo, Cloth, 6s.
ANSWERS TO PRAYER,
As recorded in the Old Testament Scriptures. Sewed, is.
THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW
Typographically Revised; Being the Authorised Version of the Gospel,
in which, by means of modern typography, the Sacred Text is rendered
self-explanatory. With short notes. Crown octavo, Cloth, 2s.
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS,
And its Teachings. Three Lectures delivered at the Conference Hall,
Mildmay Park. By Dr. CRANAGE. Crown octavo, is. 6d.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
A series of Pictures and Poems upon Old Testament History, with an
ample collection of Questions to assist in the Study of Scripture. The
Work contains 72 Plates, 113 Poems, and 3500 Scripture Questions.
Foolscap octavo, Extra cloth, gilt edges, Ss. 6d.
SUNDAY EVENING.
Stories from the Bible. By HARRIET POWER, Author of "Tales Illus
trative of the Beatitudes," " Our Invalids," etc. Foolscap octavo, Cloth,
25. 6d.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
WORKS BY THE REV. JOHN STEVENSON, D.D.,
HON. CANON OF CANTERBURY.
CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
Post octavo, Cloth, 55.
THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD.
An Exposition of the Twenty-third Psalm. Post octavo, Cloth, 35. 6d.
GRATITUDE.
An Exposition of the Hundred and Third Psalm. Post octavo, Cloth, 35. 6rf.
SANCTIFICATION THROUGH THE TRUTH.
Crown octavo, Cloth, 15. ; Sewed, 6d.
THE SECOND ADVENT.
Crown octavo, Cloth, 15.
PERFECT LOVE.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, is.
TENFOLD BLESSINGS BE YOURS.
32mo., Sewed, per 100, 35.
HAPPY AND BLESSED IS THE TRUE BELIEVER.
Extracted from "The Lord our Shepherd," an Exposition of Psalm xxiii.
32mo., Sewed, per 100, 35.
WORKS BY H. N. CHAMPNEY, ESQ.
Short Family Prayers, is.
Textual Commentary on the Psalms. 35.
Texts, for Family Worship, etc. 6d.
Index to the Liturgy. 6d.
Churchman's Almanack. 2d.
Handbills, for distribution, per 50, 6d.
Family Prayers for a Month. 25.
Clerical Reading- and Bible Exterior Index, is.
Heart Melodies. 6rf.
LONDON: SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS.
WORKS BY THE REV. H. P. LINTON, M.A.,
ST. PAUL'S VICARAGE, BIRKENHEAD.
THE SCRIPTURES ARRANGED,
In the Order of Time as written. Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 55.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID AND SOLOMON.
Foolscap octavo, 35.
CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT;
Or, the Footsteps of the Redeemer, as revealed in Type, in Prophecy, in
Sacrifice, and in Personal Manifestation, from the Creation to His birth.
Foolscap octavo, Cloth, 55.
MONTHLY UNION VOLUMES.
6d. each.
A CHART OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
Intended to Illustrate Prophecy. Coloured, 35. 6d.
A CHART OF MODERN HISTORY.
Giving the rise of the European Kingdoms. Coloured, 35. 6d.
MONTHLY UNION PAPER,
FOE, simultaneous Reading and Prayer. Price id.
MONTHLY UNION ENQUIRER.
Coloured wrapper, 2d.
Messrs. Bagster's Catalogue, with Illustrated Supplement of Specimen Pages,
by Post, Free.
Multse terricolis lingua:, coelestibus una.
LONDON:
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS,
15, PATERNOSTER ROW.
9 9
-^^
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11