Position in chronology
SAA 13 155. They Should Start the Work before the Sacrifices Begin (ABL 0976)
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) The king, my lord, should give an order to Dari-šarru, Ašš[ur-...], Urdu-Ea, Kiṣir-Aššur, and [NN]. We should go, and [they] should [sta]rt the work before the performance of the sacrifices of the [Inner City] is upon us. (7) The king, my lord, knows that if they [have not started it], the people will get gl[oomy] the very first day. (r 1) How do I know it? It is what Nabû-[... sa]id to me, so this time we shall do as it is appropriate to do. (r 4) As soon as we have [...] something, we shall vi[sit] the work and wr[ite].
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/P334654/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na mdà-ri—LUGAL a-na maš-⸢šur⸣—[x x x x] / a-na mARAD—d60 a-na mki-ṣir—aš-šur a-na [mx x x] / LUGAL be-li ṭè-e-mu liš-⸢kun⸣ [o] / ni-il-lik Á.2-šú-nu ina UGU dul-li ⸢liš⸣-[ku-nu] / a-di na-saḫ UDU.SISKUR.SISKUR-MEŠ ša URU.[ŠÀ—URU] / la i-kaš-šá-da-nin-[ni o] / LUGAL be-li ú-da ki-ma Á.2-šú-nu [x x] / UD-mu 01-en UN-MEŠ ú-ta-⸢ad⸣-[du-ru] / ⸢ina* ŠÀ*⸣ mì-nim? ú-⸢da⸣-šú-u šá m⸢dAG*—x⸣+[x x x] /…
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 P334654.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P334654). 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/P334654/.
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