Position in chronology
SAA 04 148. Can Esarhaddon Leave Calah Safely? (AGS 111) [military and political]
Translation — scholar edition
SAA 4(1) Šamaš, great lord, [give me a firm positive answer to what I am asking you]! (2) [Should] Esarhaddon, [king of Assyria, strive and plan], leave the city of Calah, [and go to ...]? (4) If he goes as long as [he is away, will (any of) the magnates and governors], or (any) of the se[nior] members of the royal family, [or (any) of the junior members of the royal line], (6) or the king's eunuchs, or [the bearded (officials), the king's entourage], (7) [o]r the Aramea[ns ......], (8) [or] the adjut[ant ......] (Break) (r 2) The to[p of the] left [su]rface of the 'finger' is sp[lit ......]. (r 3) The base of the middle part is 'lo[ose' ......]. (e. 1) Marduk-šumu-[uṣur ......].
State Archives of Assyria, volume 4 — scholar edition (ORACC).
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Transliteration
dUTU EN GAL-ú [šá a-šal-lu-ka an-na GI.NA a-pal-an-ni] / mdaš-šur—ŠEŠ—SUM-⸢na⸣ [LUGAL KUR—aš-šur.KI li-iṣ-rim lik-pid-ma] / URU.ka-làḫ È-[ma a-na x x x x x lil-lik] / GIM it-tal-ku-ma a-di [x x x x lu-ú LÚ.GAL-MEŠ LÚ.NAM-MEŠ] / ú—lu i-na NUMUN—LUGAL ⸢IGI⸣-[MEŠ lu-ú i-na NUMUN—LUGAL EGIR-MEŠ] / lu-ú LÚ.SAG LUGAL lu-[ú LÚ.šá—ziq-ni LÚ.man-za-az—pa-ni LUGAL] / ⸢lu⸣-ú LÚ.aḫ-lam-[a.a x x x x x x 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 P237190.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P237190). 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/P237190/.
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