Position in chronology
SAA 04 298. Fragment Referring to the Troops(?) of Assurbanipal [military and political]
Translation · reference
High confidence(Beginning destroyed) (1) The base of the middle part is [...]. (2) The left side of the lung is normal [...]. (3) The breast-bone is thick [...]. (4) The coils of the colon are 14 in number [...]. (5) The heart of the ram is normal [...]. (r 1) It is said: "When [the ...] of Assurbani[pal], king of As[syria] (Rest destroyed)
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/P239133/
Why it matters
Transliteration
BE MURUB₄-⸢tum⸣ SUḪUŠ-⸢sà⸣ [x x] / BE 150 MUR šá-lim [o] / BE GAG.ZAG.GA e-⸢bi⸣ / ŠÀ.NIGIN 14 ⸢x⸣+[x x] / BE ŠÀ UDU.NÍTA šá-⸢lim⸣ [o] / ma-a ki-i ⸢x⸣+[x x x] / šá mAN.ŠÁR—DÙ—[A] / LUGAL KUR—AN.[ŠÁR.KI]
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 P239133.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P239133). 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/P239133/.
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