Position in chronology
SAA 04 068. Fragment Similar to No. 66 (PRT 023) [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) [Will] the governors, magnates, [soldiers, horses, and army of] Esar[haddon, king of Assyria, in Bit-Kari] (Break) (r 1) [Be present in this ram, place (in it) a firm positive answer, favorable designs, fav]orable, propi[tious omens by the oracular command of] your great [divin]ity, [and may I see (them)]. (r 3) [May (this query) go] to your [great] divinity, O Šamaš, great lord, [and may an oracle be given as an answer]. (r 5) The middle of the 'station' is split: not good. [......]. (r 6) The lower part is elevated and is dark [......]. (r 7) The breas[t-b]one is thick. The coils [of the colon ......].
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/P240321/
Why it matters
Transliteration
dUTU EN GAL-ú šá a-⸢šal⸣-[lu-ka an-na GI.NA a-pal-an-ni] / LÚ.EN.NAM-MEŠ LÚ.GAL-[MEŠ ERIM-MEŠ ANŠE.KUR.RA-MEŠ e-mu-qu] / [šá] mdaš-šur—⸢ŠEŠ⸣—[SUM-na LUGAL KUR—aš-šur.KI šá ina É—ka-a-ri] / [UZU-MEŠ ta-mit SIG₅]-MEŠ SILIM-[MEŠ šá SILIM-tim] / [šá KA DINGIR]-⸢ti⸣-ka GAL-ti [šuk-nam-ma lu-mur] / ⸢UGU⸣ DINGIR-ti-⸢ka⸣ [GAL-ti] / dUTU EN GAL-[ú lil-lik-ma KIN li-tap-pal] / BE ⸢MURUB₄⸣ NA DU₈ ul ba-ni [x x x x] / BE KI.TA-tum DU-ik u MI [x x x x] / BE GAG.⸢ZAG⸣.GA e-bi ŠÀ.[NIGIN x x]
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 P240321.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P240321). 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/P240321/.
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