Position in chronology
SAA 13 065. A Report on Young Girls at the Temple (ABL 0494)
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) To the king, my lord: your servant, Urdu-Nabû. Good health to the king, my lord. May [Aššur, Sin], Šamaš, Bel, Zarpanitu, Nabû, Tašmetu, Ištar of Nineveh, and Ištar of Arbela — these great gods who love your kingship — allow the king, my lord, to live 100 years. May they grant the king, my lord, the satisfaction of old age, extreme old age. (r 1) On the 7th, I saw some beautiful young girls in the temple. One was the granddaughter of Qannasusi. I have sent (word) and had the home inspected. (r 9) The name of the other one is Urkittu-reminni; [sh]e is the daughter of [N]N, a bodyguard. I saw her on the royal road. I have sent (word) and had (her) home inspected. (r 15) [...] ... [...] ...
Source: Cole, S.W. & Machinist, P. 1998. Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. SAA 13. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa13/P334341/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na LUGAL EN-ia / ARAD-ka mARAD—dPA / lu DI-mu a-na LUGAL EN-ia / [aš-šur d30] dUTU dEN / dzar-pa-ni-tum dAG / dtaš-me-tum d15 šá NINA.KI / d15 šá URU.arba-ìl DINGIR-MEŠ / an-nu-u-te GAL-MEŠ / ra-ʾi-i-mu-te LUGAL-ti-ka / 01 me MU.AN.NA-MEŠ a-na LUGAL EN-ia / lu-bal-li-ṭu / ši-bu-tu lit-tu-tu / a-na LUGAL EN-ia / lu-šab-bi-ú / UD 07-KÁM ina É—DINGIR / MÍ.qa-al-lal-a-te / dam-qa-a-te / i-ba-áš-ši…
Scholarly note
Letter from a temple priest or ritual official to Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal, edited by Steven Cole & Peter Machinist (SAA 13, 1998). ORACC text P334341.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P334341). source
Translation excerpted from Cole, S.W. & Machinist, P. 1998. Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. SAA 13. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa13/P334341/.
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