Position in chronology
SAA 04 009. Will Mugallu or Iškallu Attack Chief Eunuch Ša-Nabu-šu? (AGS 057) [military and political]
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Šamaš, great lord, [give me a firm positive answer] to what I am as[king you]! (2) Ša-Nabû-šû, the chief eunu[ch of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria], who [has gone] with [eunuchs (and) m]agnate[s, the army of Esarhaddon], ki[ng of Assyria, against ......] (5) (Break) (7) [If] he goes and [sets up c]am[p ......], (8) will either [Mugallu w]ith his troops, [or ......], or Iškallû the Tabalean [......], or any other [enemy], either in daytime [or at night] strive and plan, (9) [mount an attack agai]nst [......] Ša-Nabû-šû and his [army], and ki[ll and plunder (them)]? (Break) (r 1) (... whether)…
Source: Starr, I. 1990. Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria. SAA 4. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa04/P238964/
Why it matters
Transliteration
dUTU EN GAL-ú šá a-šal-[lu-ka an-na GI.NA a-pal-an-ni] / mšá—dAG—[šu]-ú LÚ.GAL—LÚ.⸢SAG⸣ [šá mAN.ŠÁR—ŠEŠ—SUM-na LUGAL KUR—AN.ŠÁR] / šá TA [LÚ.SAG-MEŠ] ⸢LÚ⸣.GAL-[MEŠ e-mu-qi šá mAN.ŠÁR—ŠEŠ—SUM-na] / ⸢LUGAL*⸣ [KUR—AN.ŠÁR ana UGU x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] / [x]+⸢x⸣ [x x x x x] ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] / [x x x] ⸢x x x⸣ [x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x] / DU-MEŠ-ku…
Scholarly note
Extispicy query addressed to Šamaš, the sungod and patron of divination, edited by Ivan Starr (SAA 4, 1990). The king asks the deity to render a yes/no verdict on a political or military question. ORACC text P238964.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P238964). source
Translation excerpted from Starr, I. 1990. Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria. SAA 4. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa04/P238964/.
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