Position in chronology
SAA 04 086. Fragment Similar to No. 84 (AGS 093) [military and political]
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Šamaš, great lord, [give me a firm positive answer] to what I am [asking] you! (2) Should Esarhaddon, king of [Assyria], strive and plan, (3) [and take the road to ... with an ar]my, a[s he wishes]? (Break) (r 1) [Be present in this ram, place] (in it) a firm positive answer, [favorable designs, favorable, propitious omen]s by the oracular command of [your great] divinity, [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 4) The 'station,' 'path,' 'well-being,' and 'base of the throne' are present. (r 5) The lower part is elevated. The middle part [......]. (r 6) The breast-bone is thick. The c[oils of the colon ......]. (r 7) The heart of the r[am is normal. ......]
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/P237209/
Why it matters
Transliteration
dUTU EN GAL-ú šá a-[šal-lu-ka an-na GI.NA a-pal-an-ni] / mdaš-šur—ŠEŠ—SUM-na LUGAL ⸢KUR⸣—[aš-šur.KI li-iṣ-rim lik-pid-ma] / [a-di e-mu]-qu ⸢mál⸣ [ŠÀ-ba-šú ub-lu ur-ḫa KASKAL] / [GUB-za]-⸢am-ma⸣ an-nam ⸢GI⸣.[NA GIŠ.ḪUR-MEŠ SILIM-MEŠ 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]…
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 P237209.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P237209). 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/P237209/.
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