SAA 14 107. A Court Decision on Behalf of Aššur-šallim (*638-IV) (ADD 0163)

• LÚ.<sar>-tin / sartennu — A high judicial official; conventionally rendered 'prefect' in SAA 14 translations, but 'chief justice' or 'vizier' appear in older literature. The angled brackets indicate the sar sign is restored or partly damaged in the transliteration.
• mDI-mu—KAM-eš — Personal name read Šulmu-šarreš; DI-mu = šulmu ('well-being'), KAM-eš = šarreš ('the king'). The identification is standard for this corpus but the name element KAM-eš is unusual orthography.
• ⸢DI*-mu* ina* bir*⸣-tú*-šú-nu GIL-u-ni — Heavily damaged line; restoration based on standard Neo-Assyrian legal formulae 'should one reopen the lawsuit between them.' The asterisks and half-brackets indicate uncertain/damaged signs. The verb GIL (turru/šanû, 'to turn back/reopen') is conventional in such penalty clauses.
• mSUḪUŠ—dPA — Personal name; SUḪUŠ = išdu ('foundation/root'); read Ištarēnu or Išdu-Nabû depending on interpretation of SUḪUŠ logogram in this context. Uncertain whether SUḪUŠ should be read as Ištar-ēnu or Išdu-Nabû.
• mdPA-u-a — Final name in witness list; read Nabû-aya (or Nabû-ûa). The name may also be Nabûaya, a scribe's subscription. It is not entirely clear whether this is a final witness or the scribe's colophon.
• TAv* — Uncertain sign; possibly an abbreviated or defective writing of itti ('with/against'), indicating the opposing party. The asterisk flags that the sign form is irregular in the source.

Visual examination of the photograph (British Museum tablet, scale bar confirming small Neo-Assyrian case-tablet ca. 4–5 cm): The image shows a multi-face photograph of a small pillow-shaped clay tablet with an envelope or case visible in the upper portion and a rectangular inner tablet below. The upper face of the case shows dense cuneiform wedges in several lines consistent with a Neo-Assyrian legal caption; large circular seal impressions are visible on the case face, partially obscuring the text. The lower rectangular piece (inner tablet) shows tightly packed Neo-Assyrian cuneiform in approximately 13–15 lines, legible in general structure but too small at this resolution to verify individual signs with certainty. Partial signs consistent with KUG.UD (silver determinatives) and personal name signs can be detected in the middle lines. The reverse and lower edge images confirm witness formulae lines. Photo/transliteration agreement is plausible but most individual signs cannot be verified at this resolution. The text belongs to the well-documented SAA 14 corpus of Neo-Assyrian legal documents from Aššur; ADD 163 (P335114) is a standard lawsuit-resolution record. The term 'sartennu' (LÚ.sartin) has been rendered 'prefect' following standard SAA practice; some scholars prefer 'chief justice'.