Position in chronology
SAA 04 030. Will Army of Assyria Retake Dur-Illil? (AGS 019) [military and political]
Translation — scholar edition
SAA 4(1) [Šamaš, great lord], give me a fi[rm positive answer to what I am asking you]! (2) [Dur-Illil, a fortress of Esarhaddo]n, king of Assyria, located on the border [of Mannea, which the Manneans captured] and took possession of — (4) should [NN together with men, hors]es, and an army, as (great as) he wishes, go [to capture that city, Dur-Il]lil and (will they), (6) be it by means of [war, or by means of friendliness and peace]ful negotiations, [or by means of a tunnel or breach, or by means of] hunger, (8) or through lack [of soldiers in the city], or by means of ramps, [or by ...]..., o[r…
State Archives of Assyria, volume 4 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Transliteration
[dUTU EN GAL-ú šá a-šal-lu-ka an-na GI].NA a-pal-an-ni / [URU.BÀD—dEN.LÍL bir-tu šá mdaš-šur—ŠEŠ—SUM]-⸢na⸣ LUGAL KUR—aš-šur.KI šá i-na UGU ta-ḫu-mu / [šá KUR.man-na-a.a na-du-ma LÚ.man-na-a.a DIB-MEŠ]-ma a-na šá ram-ni-šú-un ú-tir-ru-uš / [x x x x x x a-di ERIM-MEŠ ANŠE.KUR].⸢RA⸣-MEŠ e-mu-qu ma-al ŠÀ-ba-šú ub-lu / [a-na ṣa-ba-a-ta URU šá-a-šú URU.BÀD—d]⸢EN⸣.LÍL lil-li-ku lu-ú ina DÙ-eš /…
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 P237224.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P237224). 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/P237224/.
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