Position in chronology
SAA 04 274. Should Assurbanipal, King of Assyria and Elam, Appoint NN ...? (AGS 154) [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 Assur]banipal, king of Assyria (and) king of [El]am, [appoint NN] over [......]? (4) [If he appoint]s him, [as long as he holds this position, will he instigate an insurrection and rebellion] aga[inst Assurbanipal ....]? (Break) (r 1) whether he will cause others to instigate it, plot it, [or act with evil intent against him]. (r 2) Be present [in this r]am, [place (in it) a fi]rm positive answer, [favorable designs], favorable, propitious [ome]ns by the oracular [command of your great divinity, and may I see (them)]. (r 4) [May (this query) g]o to your [great] divinity, [O Šamaš, great lord], and may an oracle be given [as an answer].
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/P238989/
Why it matters
Transliteration
[dUTU EN] GAL-[ú šá] a-šal-lu-⸢ka⸣ [an-na GI.NA a-pal-an-ni] / [mdaš-šur]—DÙ*—[A*] LUGAL KUR—aš-šur LUGAL [KUR].⸢NIM⸣.MA*.[KI] / [mx x x] ⸢a⸣-na UGU ki-[x x x x x x lip-qid] / [GIM ip-taq-du]-⸢uš⸣ a-⸢di⸣ [mál UD-MEŠ x x x x x x x] / [si-ḫu bar-tu] ⸢a-na UGU⸣ [maš-šur—DÙ—A x x x x x x x] / [x x x ú]-⸢še⸣-ep-pe-[šú] i-dab-bu-bu [ŠU.2-su a-na ḪUL-tim i-na ŠÀ-bi-šú ub-ba-lu] / [i-na ŠÀ UDU].⸢NÍTA⸣…
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 P238989.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P238989). 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/P238989/.
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