SAA 17 023. Let the King Come and Restore the Privileges of Babylon (CT 54 066)[via saao/saa17]


Obverse
oo	beginning broken away	(Beginning destroyed)
o 1'1'	a-[x x x x x x x x x x x x]
o 2'2'	⸢du⸣-[x x x x x x x x x x x x]
o 3'3'	TIN.⸢TIR⸣.[KI x x x x x x x x x x]	(3) Baby[lon ...]
o 4'4'	ù [x x x x x x x x x x x]	(4) and [...]
o 5'5'	na-sa-aḫ [x x x x x x x x x]	(5) uprooting [...]
o 6'6'	pa-an šá LUGAL [x x x x x x x x x]	(6) the presence of the king [...]
o 7'7'	LUGAL a-na É [x x x x x x x x x]	(7) the king to the house [...]
o 8'8'	ANŠE.KUR.[RA-MEŠ x x x x x x x]	(8) hor[ses ...]
o 9'9'	LÚ.GAL-⸢MEŠ⸣ [x x x x x x x x x]	(9) the magnate[s ...]
o 10'10'	a-na pi-i [x x x x x x x x x]	(10) in accordance with [...]
o 11'11'	[x]+⸢x x x x⸣ [x x x x x x x x x]	(11) [...] ... [...]
o 12'12'	⸢a⸣-ḫi a-⸢na⸣ [x x x x x x x x]+⸢x⸣ x [x x]	(12) my energy to [...] ... [...]
o 13'13'	[x]+⸢x⸣-ka [x x x x x x] ana ku-tal it-⸢te⸣-[eḫ-su]	(13) your [...] backed off [......]
o 14'14'	⸢GISKIM-MEŠ⸣ [x x x x]-lak KUR-šú UD-mu a-ga-a	(14) there have been [si]gns, his land today
o 15'15'	[x] TIN.⸢TIR⸣.[KI x x x x]-ḫa-ri gab-bi	(15) [...] Babylo[n ...] all [...]
o 16'16'	[x]+⸢x x⸣+[x x x x]-⸢pi⸣ a-ga-a šá iš-šak-nu	(16) [...] these [...] which were set(tled)
o 17'17'	[x x x x x x x x] le-mun	(17) [...] is evil
o 18'18'	[x x x x]-mi um-ma a-na LUGAL be-lí-ía lu-še-bi-la	(18) [...] saying, "Let me send (it) to the king, my lord. If my report is not convenient for the king, let me send what is agreeable to the king."
o 19'19'	[ki-i] ⸢ṭè⸣-e-ma pa-an LUGAL ul i-maḫ-ḫar
o 20'20'	[a-ki] šá pa-an LUGAL maḫ-ru lu-še-bi-la
o 21'21'	[a-ki]-i niš^?-mu^?-ú LÚ.GAL-MEŠ šá LUGAL a-na LUGAL be-lí-ía	(21) As we have heard, the magnates of the king are telling the king, my lord, that he should not go to Babylon. Tiglath-Pileser (III) [and Shalmane]ser (V), who went (there), [...ed — what] would he take?
o 22'22'	[i]-⸢qab⸣-bu-ú um-ma a-na TIN.TIR.KI
Bottom
b.e. 23'b.e. 23'	[o] la il-lak
b.e. 24'24'	[o] ^m⸢GIŠ.TUKUL-ti⸣—DUMU.UŠ—É.ŠÁR.RA
b.e. 25'25'	[ù ^mDI-ma-nu—SAG].KAL šá il-li-ku
b.e. 26'26'	[x x x x x] liš^?-ši
Reverse
r 1r 1	[x x x x a-na] ⸢mi⸣-ni-i ki-i tal-la-ku	(r 1) [Wh]y [...]? If you come, (as) [a king who] disposes of the leftovers (of the gods), [who] restores peace (and) [...] to Esaggil (and) Babylon, establishes a pact of protection [and] concludes it with the inhabitants of Babylon, [who reple]nishes [the trea]suries of Esaggil and Ezida — Bel and Nabû will grant (you) a long life, good health and happiness.
r 22	[a-na LUGAL šá šit]-⸢tu⸣-ti i-šu-ú
r 33	[x x] ⸢É.SAG⸣.ÍL TIN.TIR.KI šá šá-lam
r 44	[x x].KI ip-pu-šú ki-di-nu i-kàṣ-ṣa-ru
r 55	[ù it]-ti DUMU-MEŠ—TIN.TIR.KI ú-šal-la-mu
r 66	[ù NÍG].GA É.SAG.ÍL u É.ZI.DA
r 77	[i-kàṣ]-ṣa-ru ^dEN u [d].⸢AG⸣ UD-mu ár-ku-ti
r 88	[ṭu-bi UZU]-MEŠ ṭu-bi ŠÀ-bi i-šar-ra-ku	(r 8) But king [Merodach-B]aladan and his son Zakiru have [lived in ...] Babylon [..., the first for x yea]rs and the second for 36 year[s. N]othing in [...].
r 99	[ù ^m^dAMAR.UTU]—⸢DUMU⸣.UŠ—SUM-na LUGAL u ^mza-ki-ru DUMU-šú
r 1010	[01-en x MU.AN].⸢NA⸣-MEŠ ù šá-nu-ú 36 MU.AN.NA-[MEŠ]
r 1111	[x x x x x x] TIN.TIR.KI i-[x x x]
r 1212	[x x]+⸢x⸣ mim-ma i-⸢na x x x⸣ [x DINGIR-MEŠ šá]	(r 12) [May the gods of the king], my [lo]rd, kn[ow that ...] the earlier kings verily [did establish] (our) privileges.
r 1313	[LUGAL be]-lí-ía lu-ú i-du-[ú ki-i x x x]
r 1414	[x x] LUGAL-MEŠ maḫ-ru-ti [x x x x x x]
r 1515	[x x] ki-di-nu-ti la [x x x x x x]
r 1616	d.EN u ^dAG 30 MU.AN.⸢NA⸣-[MEŠ x x x x]	(r 16) May Bel and Nabû [give you] 30 year[s of ...] (and) 40 years of supremacy!
r 1717	40 MU.AN.NA-MEŠ kiš-šú-[tu x x x x x]
r 1818	a-na pi-i DINGIR-su-nu pal-⸢ḫa⸣-[ku^? x x x x x x]	(r 18) Accordingly, [I fe]ar their divinity [...]
r 1919	a-na ^mla-an-še-e LÚ.[x x x x x x x]	(r 19) for Lanšê, the [...]
r 2020	ul iš-šú-ú [x] ù [x x x x x x x x]	(r 20) they did not raise. [...] and [...]
r 2121	en-⸢na⸣ [x x x x x x x x x x x x]	(r 21) Now [...]
	rest broken away	(Break)
Edge
e. 1e. 1	[x x x x x x x x x x] il-la-a	(e. 1) [...] climbs up.

Adapted from Manfried Dietrich, The Neo-Babylonian Correspondence of Sargon and Sennacherib (State Archives of Assyria, 17), 2003. Lemmatised by Mikko Luukko, 2009-11, as part of the AHRC-funded research project “Mechanisms of Communication in an Ancient Empire: The Correspondence between the King of Assyria and his Magnates in the 8th Century BC” (AH/F016581/1; University College London) directed by Karen Radner. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/saao/P238347/.