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Fragments of Historical Texts from Nimrud—II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Ebbe E. Knudsen
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Extract

The present paper is intended as a continuation of a previous article and a report of work done on a number of small fragments, most if not all fragments of prisms, found during the excavations at Nimrud in the years 1955–1957. The majority of these fragments are inscribed with parts of the Annals of Ashurbanipal. The text of two fragments, ND. 5414 and ND. 5416, was identified as part of the Annals of Sennacherib. Only two fragments, ND. 5537 and ND. 6205 E, remain unidentified, though there can be little doubt that they belong together with the Ashurbanipal texts. In several cases one or more fragments join other fragments. After the division of the texts between London and Baghdad it is often impossible to check new joins resulting from study of the texts. The exact character of a join will be indicated in the catalogue of the fragments which will be given below. A concordance listing the correspondence between the standard versions of the Annals and the texts published here will be added for reference. Copies of the texts are presented on Plates XIV–XXIX (these follow the approximate order of the excavation numbers given below).

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , Spring 1967 , pp. 49 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1968

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References

1 The following publication of historical prism inscriptions from Nimrud forms a natural continuation of Wiseman's, D. J. article, “Fragments of Historical Texts from Nimrud,” Iraq 26 (1964), pp. 118–124, Pl. XXVIfGoogle Scholar. Originally most of these texts must have been lodged in NT. 12, the tablet room of Ezida opposite the Nabu sanctuary; see the plan in Mallowan, M. E. L., N & R Pl. 194, p. 252Google Scholar. Fragments found in H & L in the same area were no doubt also debris from the same wing of the building.

2 The excavation numbers of these and other fragments were already listed by Wiseman p. 123. A few differences between the two lists are caused by the fact that some joins mentioned in the earlier list are theoretical joins.

3 Prism B is quoted from the edition by Piepkorn, A. C., Historical Prism Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, I, Assyriologhal Studies No. 5 (Chicago 1933), pp. 19–93Google Scholar.

4 Prism C is quoted from the edition by Bauer, T., Das Inschriftenwerk Assurbanipals II, Assyriologiscbe Bibliothek N.F. 2 (Leipzig 1933), pp. 13–24Google Scholar.

5 Prism T is quoted from Thompson, R. Campbell, The Prisms of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal (London 1931), PP. 29–36Google Scholar.

6 Here to be read as a genitive musukkanni. This is shown by the form of the following apposition iṣṣi darê lit. ‘the durable wood’, cf. also G.A.G. 136 h.

7 For the reading iṣ-ṣi da-re-e instead of gišṣi-da-re-e, first suggested by Landsberger, B. in Z.A. 35 NF 1 (1924), p. 217 n.2Google Scholar. see Borger, R., Die Inschriften Asarhaddons, A.f.O. Beiheft 9 (Graz 1956), p. 84Google Scholar.

8 Restored from Prism T i 48.

9 “(A bed) as a couch of honour for Bel and [My Lady]”. For the meaning of taknû, a substantive derived from the verb kunnû, see Schott, A., Z.A. 42 NF 8 (1934), pp. 125ffGoogle Scholar. Test restored from T i 49 and Piepkorn p. 5 i 49, the same passage in broken context also in Thompson, R. Campbell, A.A.A. 20 (1933), pp. 82, 47Google Scholar.

10 “(For) celebrating the wedding, for making love”. For ruāmu ‘charm, attractiveness’, see Held, M., J.C.S. 15 (1961), 14fGoogle Scholar. and cf. the correction 16 (1962), 37. Text restored from T i 50 and Piepkorn p. 5 i 50, cf. also Bauer p. 20 No. 6.

11 For the reading of this divine name with initial Z instead of ṣ, compare the Old Aramaic transcription Zrpnt in Donner, H., A.f.O. 18 (1958), 390Google Scholar, 8 = Donner, H.-Röllig, W., Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften I (Wiesbaden 1962), No. 222 A 8Google Scholar. There is also internal Akkadian evidence for a reading with at least for the time of the Assyrian Empire, compare the writing dNUMUN.DÙ-ti i.e. zēr-bānīti in Borger p. 84, 37. The name of the goddess is explained as ša kima šumišama bānât zēri “who according to her very name creates progeny” quoted in C.A.D. Ṣ 112 s.v. ṣarpānītu. Most probably these variant writings are due to theological speculation or popular etymology. Cases of neutralization (syncretism) of b and p in the Assyrian dialect may have been responsible for the creation of this etymology, cf. Ungnad-Matouš, , Grammatik des Akkadischen (4th ed., München 1964), § 17 cGoogle Scholar.

12 Borger, R., Babylonisch-assyrische Lesestücke II (Roma 1963), p. 85Google ScholarPubMed.

13 Prism A is quoted from the edition by Streck, M., Assurbanipal und die letzten assyrischen Könige, V.A.B. 7/2, pp. 2–91Google Scholar.

14 Cf. the variant mp[a-x-]a-u in Bauer I, Tf. 7 C ii 93.

15 For an Egyptian name of this form, see Ranke, H., Die ägyptischen Personennamen I (Glückstadt 1935), p. 117 No. 14Google Scholar. Later Ranke II, p. 355a, 117, 14 favoured a reading with wr ‘chief, prince’ instead of sr ‘nobleman.’ In hieratic writing the words wr and sr are written with different though very similar signs, cf. Gardiner, A., Egyptian Grammar (3rd ed., 1957), p. 444Google Scholar Sign List A 19 and 21. So the name occurring in this text may be rather a nickname for the prince whose official name appears in the parallel passage in Prism A i 94.

16 C × 28 and A vii 124 (var. -te) as against B viii 31.

17 C × 34 U]Š-ti, B viii 37 re-du-ti.

18 “Who was hostile towards the land of Amurru (?)”, cf. C × 37 ik-k]i-ru as against B viii 39 ša ki-ma šá-a-šú ik-[ki-ru] “who like him was hostile”.

19 Restored from B viii 40. C × 38 has kur]MAR. TLki.

20 Restored from B viii 43 and C × 43.

21 Cf. van Dijk, J., J.C.S. 19 (1965), p. 14Google Scholar and Oppenheim, A. L., Iraq 17 (1955), p. 78fGoogle Scholar. The Esarhaddon text quoted by Oppenheim p. 78 n. 31 has now been edited by Borger 1956, p. 12.

22 ND. 5541 is the unpublished prism fragment mentioned by Oates, D., Iraq 19 (1957), p. 36 n. 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar. I am indebted to Professor J. Læssøe for lending me his transliteration of part of the text.

23 Prism F is quoted from the edition by Aynard, J.-M., Le prisme du Louvre AO 19.939, Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études fasc. 309 (Paris 1957)Google Scholar. What is now Prism F was considered by Bauer to represent two versions, termed by him AA and F. The abbreviation AA refers to the edition in Bauer, pp. 3–8.

24 Beginning of 5527.

25 A v 5 5 omits -’u-.

26 Beginning of 5529. Right half of column according to this text.

27 Beginning of 4378 B col. i.

28 4378 B.

29 4378 B, 5527. 5527 ends.

30 5529.

31 Traces in 4378 B and 5529. 5529 ends.

32 Beginning of 5533 col. ii. Right half of column according to 4378 B.

33 A vi 126 adds dadad.

34 A vi 128 adds dnusku.

35 5533 ends.

36 B viii 74 omits.

37 5541 šá uruNINA.

38 5541 omits this line.

39 B viii 78 ana aḫrât ūmē ēzib. C × 83 a-na[

40 Between 22 and 23 the parallel texts add a few lines mentioning the buildings whose reconstruction they commemorate.

41 A × mf. and F vi 65f. ( = AA vii 31f. in Bauer's edition) add abīja ab abīja zēru dārû ša šarrūti. C × 91 šume Aššur-aḫ-iddina abīja. The Nimrud text follows the B version.

42 A × 115, AA vii 36 (F vi 69), C × 95 kima.

43 C × 98 šume A. abīja. A × 116, F vi 70 abīja ab abīja. B omits.

44 A × 117, C × 99, F vi 71 add itti musarîsu lā išakkanu. B viii 93 itti musarê šiṭir šumišu lā išakkanu.

45 C × 100, AAvii 39 (= F vi 72) omit.

46 T vi 48 and variant to B viii 94 ša.

47 T omits this line.