Position in chronology
SAA 14 122. Inner Tablet of the Preceding Text (ADD 0081)
Translation — scholar edition
SAA 14(1) 11 shekels of silver of Ištar of Nineveh belonging to Šep-Issar, at the disposal of Kulu'-Issar, at the disposal of Dayyan-Kurbail. (5) In lieu of the interest (he shall have the usufruct of) an estate of 1 hectare 5 decares of field by the seah of 10 'litres'. (7) The grazing land and the waste land are exempt. (9) Adjoining the field of Kaššudu, adjoining the field Kaššudu, adjoining the road. (11) He shall have the usufruct of the land for 3 (crop)-years and 3 (fallow)-years. (r 1) When he completes his years and places silver upon the corn-heap, he shall redeem his land. He shall pay…
State Archives of Assyria, volume 14 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Transliteration
11 GÍN-MEŠ KUG.UD ša d15 šá* ⸢NINA?⸣.KI* / ša mGÌR.2—d15 / ina IGI mku-lu-uʾ—d15 / ina IGI mda-an—kur-ba-ìl / ku-um ru-bé-e É 01 ANŠE 5(bán) A.ŠÀ / ina GIŠ.BÁN ša 10 qa / tab-ri-i ḫar-pu-tú* / za-ku-tú* ⸢šú⸣-nu / SUḪUR A.ŠÀ šá mkaš-šu-⸢du*⸣ / SUḪUR A.ŠÀ mkaš-šu-⸢di*⸣ / SUḪUR KASKAL 03* MU*.AN*-⸢MEŠ*⸣ / 03 MU.AN.NA-MEŠ KÚ / ki-ma MU-MEŠ-šú ú-sa-lim / KUG.UD ina UGU ta-ra-me i-šá-kan / A.ŠÀ-šú…
Scholarly note
Neo-Assyrian legal transaction at the royal court of Nineveh, edited by Raija Mattila (SAA 14, 2002). ORACC text P335033.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P335033). source
Translation excerpted from Mattila, R. 2002. Legal Transactions of the Royal Court of Nineveh, Part II: Assurbanipal through Sin-šarru-iškun. SAA 14. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa14/P335033/.
Related tablets
Related sources
One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.