Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

SAA 10 242. A Sick King (ABL 0348) [from exorcists]

~670 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·P334226

Translation · reference

High confidence
(1) To the kin[g, my lor]d: your servant Marduk-šakin-šumi. Good health to the king, my lord! May Nabû and Marduk bless the king, my lord! (5) As to what the king, my lord, said: "My arms and legs are without strength!" and "I cannot open my eyes; I am scratched and lie prostrate"— (10) (all) that is because this fever has lingered inside the very bones. It is not serious — Aššur, Šamaš, Bel and Nabû will provide health. (r 3) (Break) (r 6) His illness will depart — he will be just fine. True, they should wait and eat (only) what is appropriate.

Source: Parpola, S. 1993. Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars. SAA 10. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa10/P334226/

Why it matters

Transliteration

a-na ⸢LUGAL be⸣-[lí-ia] / ARAD-ka mdAMAR.UTU—⸢GAR*⸣—MU / lu-u DI-mu a-na LUGAL EN-ía / dPA u dAMAR.UTU a-na LUGAL EN-ía / lik-ru-bu ša LUGAL be-lí / iq-bu-ni ma-a a-ḫi-ia / še-pi-ia la-mu-qa-a-a / ù ma-a IGI.2-ia la a-pat-ti / ma-a mar-ṭak kar-rak / ina ŠÀ ša ḫu-un-ṭu / šu-ú ina ŠÀ eṣ-ma-a-ti / ú-kil-lu-u-ni / ina ŠÀ-bi šu-ú / la-áš-šú ḫi-ṭu / aš-šur dUTU dEN dPA / DI-mu i-šak-ku-nu / e* ⸢x x x…

Scholarly note

Letter from a scholar (astrologer, exorcist, physician, lamentation-priest) to Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal, edited by Simo Parpola (SAA 10, 1993). ORACC text P334226.

Attribution

Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) ? — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P334226). source
Translation excerpted from Parpola, S. 1993. Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars. SAA 10. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa10/P334226/.

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