Position in chronology
SAA 04 338. Fragment of a Report (PRT 123) [unclassifiable]
Translation · reference
High confidence(Beginning destroyed) (1) [If the 'paths' are two], and the rig[ht 'path' lies] on the left 'path': [The prince's wea]pons will prevail over his enemy's weapons. (3) [If the 'well-being'] appears [like] a crescent at the side of the gall bladder: you will penetrate [your enemy's country in] campaigns. (Break) (r 1) [...] Bel-[...] (r 2) [...]... [...] (r 3) [...]-reṣuwa, reporter. (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/P238941/
Why it matters
Transliteration
[BE GÍR 02-ma GÍR] ⸢15⸣ UGU GÍR ⸢150⸣ [GAR] / [NUN GIŠ].⸢TUKUL⸣-MEŠ-šú UGU GIŠ.TUKUL KÚR-šú ŠEŠ-MEŠ / [BE SILIM GIM] UD.SAR ana Á ZÉ it-tab-ši / [KUR KÚR-ka ina] KASKAL-MEŠ TU-ú / [x x x x x] du [x x x x] / [x x x x x] mdEN—⸢x⸣+[x x x] / [x x x] ⸢x⸣ [x x]+⸢x x⸣+[x] ⸢x x⸣ [x] / [mdx]—⸢Á⸣.DAḪ-u-a EN—ṭè-me / [x x x x] ⸢x⸣-nu / [x x x x]+⸢x⸣ MAN ⸢x 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 P238941.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P238941). 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/P238941/.
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