Position in chronology
SAA 19 136. My Messages Do not Reach the King (CTN 5 p. 53)
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Your servant Nabû-balassu-iqb[i]: I would gladly die [for] the king, my lord! May Nabû and [Ma]rduk bless the king, my lord! Say to the king, my lord: (5) I am (hereby) sending my tablet to greet the king, my lord. The king, my lord, said: "Your messenger and your [re]port are co[nce]aled from me. Why do I send you a m[essag]e, but you do not send me [a repl]y?" (12) I do [regular]ly send my lett[er] to the king of king[s], but somebody has not all[owed m]y messenger[s g]o quickly to the [k]in[g but] sends them away. (r 1) Eve[r] since a letter of the king has [c]ome to me I have [w]ritten a reply to it and sent it to the king. (But) if somebody does not forward it, the king should not blame his servant!
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P393654/
Why it matters
Transliteration
⸢ARAD⸣-ka md.AG—⸢TIN-su⸣—iq-⸢bi⸣ [a-na] / di-na-an ⸢LUGAL⸣ be-⸢lí-ia lul-lik⸣ / d.AG u [d]⸢AMAR⸣.UTU a-⸢na⸣ LUGAL be-lí-ía ⸢lik⸣-ru-bu / um-ma-⸢a a⸣-na LUGAL be-lí-ia-⸢a-ma⸣ / ṭup-pi a-na ⸢šul⸣-mi ⸢LUGAL⸣ / be-lí-ia al-⸢ta⸣-par ⸢LUGAL⸣ be-lí / ⸢iq-bi-ma⸣ um-ma LÚv.A—KIN-ka / ⸢ù ṭè⸣-en-⸢ga⸣ ul-tu pa-ni-ia / ⸢pe⸣-[es]-⸢nu um⸣-ma mi-nam-ma / ⸢ši-pir-ti⸣ a-šap-pa-rak-kám-ma / ⸢gab-ri⸣ la…
Scholarly note
Royal correspondence from Kalḫu (Nimrud) under Tiglath-pileser III or Sargon II, edited by Mikko Luukko (SAA 19, 2012). ORACC text P393654.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Kalhu (mod. Nimrud) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393654). source
Translation excerpted from Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P393654/.
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