(i 1) I am Hadad-ḥappī (Adad-guppi), mother of Nabonidus — king of Babylon — the one who reveres the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Sadarnunna, my gods, whose divinity I have constantly sought out since my childhood. Because in the sixteenth year of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, the god Sîn, king of the gods, became angry with his city and his temple (and) went up to heaven, the city and the people (living) inside it fell into ruins.

(i 10) On account of the fact that I have constantly sought out the sanctuaries of the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Sadarnunna, worshipping their great divinity, I grasped the hem of the god Sîn, king of the gods, and constantly sought out his great divinity, night and day. Daily, without ceasing, I was the one who reveres the deities Sîn, Šamaš, Ištar, and Adad, as long as I was alive, in heaven and (on) earth.

(i 15b) All of my good things that they (the gods of Ḫarrān) had given me, I gave them (back) day and night, month and year. I grasped the hem of the god Sîn, king of the gods, and my eyes were on him night and day. In prayer and (with) expressions of humility (lit. “stroking the nose”), I knelt down before them, saying: “May your return to your city happen so that the people, the black-headed, revere your great divinity.”

(i 21b) To appease the heart(s) of my god (Sîn) and my goddess (Ningal), I did not allow a garment of fine wool, jewelry of silver or gold, new clothing, aromatics (perfume), and aromatic oil to touch (lit. “come near”) my body, (but) dressed myself in a torn garment; my muṣû-garment was (made of) sackcloth.

(i 25b) I sung their praise(s). Praise for my city(-god) and my goddess was placed in my heart and (therefore) I (continued) to serve them. I did not leave behind any of my good things and I brought (all of it) into their presence.

(i 29) From the twentieth year of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, (during) which I was born, until the forty-second year of Ashurbanipal, the third year of Aššur-etel-ilāni, his son, the twenty-first year of Nabopolassar, the forty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar (II), the second year of Amēl-Marduk, (and) the fourth year of Neriglissar, after (these) ninety-five years, (when) the god Sîn, king of the gods of heaven and earth, the sanctuaries of whose great divinity I constantly sought out, looked with pleasure upon my good deeds and (then) heeded my prayers (and) accepted my request(s), (when) the wrath of his heart was appeased, and (when) he became reconciled towards Eḫulḫul, the temple of the god Sîn which is inside the city Ḫarrān, the residence of his happiness —

(i 39b) (at that time,) the god Sîn, king of the gods, looked upon me and called Nabonidus, (my) only son, my own offspring, to be king and placed the kingship of the lands of Sumer and Akkad (and of) all of the lands from the border(s) of Egypt (and) the Upper to the Lower Sea in his hands.

(i 44b) I raised up my hands to the god Sîn, king of the gods, and, reverently, [...] through prayer(s) [..., my own of]fsp[ring, ..., (saying)]: “You called him (Nabonidus) to be king and mentioned (him) by his name. By the command of your great divinity, may the great gods march at his side (and) cut down his enemies. Do not forget Eḫulḫul. Carry out its perfect cultic rites fully.”

(ii 5) When his hands were placed in my dream, the god Sîn, king of the gods, said to me, saying: “The return of the gods is your responsibility. I will place (responsibility for my) residence in Ḫarrān into the hands of Nabonidus, your son. He will (re)build Eḫulḫul and complete its construction. He will make the city Ḫarrān more perfect than before and he will return (it) to its place. He will take the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Sadarnunna by the hand and will have (them) enter Eḫulḫul.”

(ii 11b) I was attentive to the word(s) that the god Sîn, king of the gods, had spoken to me and I personally saw (these things happen).

(ii 13) Nabonidus, (my) only son, my own offspring, carried out the forgotten cultic rites of the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Sadarnunna to perfection. He built Eḫulḫul anew and completed its construction. He made the city Ḫarrān more perfect than before and returned (it) to its place. He took the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Sadarnunna by the hand, (leading them out) of Šuanna (Babylon), the city of his royal majesty, and had (them) reside inside in the city Ḫarrān, in Eḫulḫul, the residence of their happiness, during joyous celebrations.

(ii 21b) That which from the (distant) past the god Sîn, king of the gods, had not done nor given to anyone: out of (his) love for me, I who revered his divinity and grasped his hem, the god Sîn, king of the gods, elevated me (lit. “raised up my head”) and (then) he established a good reputation for me in the land (and) added long days (and) years of happiness to my (life). From the time of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, until the ninth year of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, (my) son, my own offspring, he (Sîn) kept me alive for 104 good years on account of the reverence that the god Sîn, king of the gods, had placed in my heart.

(ii 29b) (As for) me, my eyesight was (still) sharp (lit. “bright”), my hearing/mental faculties was/were (still) surpassing, my hands and feet were (still) intact, my words were (still) well-chosen, food and drink were (still) agreeable to me, my body was (still) healthy, and my spirit was (still) joyful. I saw my children’s children’s children’s children alive up to the fourth generation and (therefore) I attained a very old age. You, Sîn, king of the gods, looked at me with favor and made my days long.

(ii 35b) I entrusted Nabonidus, king of Babylon, my son, to the god Sîn, my lord. For his entire life, he will not sin against you. Entrust to him the good šēdu (and) the good lamassu that you had entrusted to me and who had helped me reach a very old age and save him from sinning (lit. “the hand of sin”) against your great divinity so that he reveres your great divinity.

(ii 40b) During the twenty-one years of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, the forty-three years of Nebuchadnezzar (II), son of Nabopolassar, and the four years of Neriglissar, king of Babylon, (when) th(ose three kings) exercised kingship, I whole heartedly revered them (the gods of Ḫarrān) for sixty-eight years, (continued to) serve them, [and] pressed Nabonidus, (my) son, my own offspring, into the service of Nebuchadnezzar (II), son of Nabopolassar, and Neriglissar, king of Babylon. He served them day and night and constantly did what was pleasing to them.

(ii 49) He (Sîn) established my excellent name before them. Like a daughter, their own offspring, they elevated me (lit. “raised up my head”). Afterwards, fate carried them off. Not one of their descendants and not one of [their] people or their eunuchs, whom they had made richer in possessions and property when they elevated th[em] (lit. “raised up [their] heads”), set out incense(-offerings) for th[em].

(ii 56b) (But as for) me, monthly, without ceasing, (and dressed) in my (most) beautiful garments, I presented them with oxen, fattened sheep, bread, beer, wine, oil, honey, and fruit(s) of the orchard, all of this, as a funerary offering and I made an abundance of strewn offerings (with) a sweet scent permanent for them (and) placed (them) before them (forever after).

(iii 5) During the ninth year of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, fate carried her off, and Nabonidus, king of Bab[ylon], (her) son, her own offspring, the beloved of his mother, prepared her corpse for burial, [... (her)] with a beautiful garment, bright linen, an ālu-ornament of gold, bright ..., good quality stone(s), a choice stone, precious stone(s), [...], an[ointed] her corpse with aromatic oil, [and] placed (it) in a secluded place.

(iii 16b) He (Nabonidus) slaughte[red] oxen and fattened sheep. In her presence, he gathered the people of Babylon and Borsippa, rul[ers] who reside in remote mountains, [nobles] and governors from [the border(s) of] Egypt (and) the Upp[er] Sea to the Lower Sea, and (then) he [made (them) rise up, and ...] lamentations and [...]. Th[ey] wept bitterly [and] uttered their laments. For seven da[ys] and seven nights, they let (their) lou[d cries] sound forth shrilly. [Their] garme[nts] were covered [with dust].

(iii 29b) When the seventh day [arrived, the pe]ople of the land shaved off all of (their) ha[ir] and [...] their [ga]rments ... They pla[ced their] ... and their jewelry [and] entered into [...]. With food, [...], filtered oil, he (Nabonidus) heaped [up ...]. He poured aromatic oil onto the[ir] head(s), made [their he]arts rejoice, and ma[de] their [f]aces [light up]. He made them take the road (back) to their (own) [land(s) and] they retur[ned] to their places.

(iii 43b) [Whoever] you are, whether king or rul[er ...] ..., night and d[ay], revere the great divinity of the god Sîn, ki[ng of the gods], lord of the gods of heaven and e[arth], the deities Šamaš, Adad, and Ištar, lord(s) [of heaven and] earth, who ... [... (and) who re]side in Esagil and E[ḫulḫul, p]ray to them in heaven and [(on) earth] and [...] the pro[noun]cement(s) of the god Sîn ... [...] ... [...] your seed [...] ... [...]