BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ANCIENT
MONUMENTS OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA
NEW SERIES
EDITED BY
A. H. SAYCE
VOL. VI
With the
present volume the New Series of the Records of the Past comes to an end. The
public seems to prefer books about the ancient inscriptions of the Oriental
world rather than translations of the inscriptions themselves, and it would
therefore be undesirable to continue to publish them. The curiosity excited by
the first attempts at the decipherment of the Egyptian and Assyrian texts
appears now to be satisfied, and even students of the Old Testament are
contented to allow questions which bear directly on Biblical history and
interpretation to be settled by the small but enthusiastic body of workers in
the fields of Egyptian and Assyrian research.
And yet an
interest in the old monuments of the civilised East is no longer confined to
the nations of the west. Egyptians, as is fitting, have begun to examine for
themselves the past records of their own country, and the last volume of the
Zeitschrift fiir Assyriologie contains a learned and valuable article by a
Japanese Assyriologist (Mr. Le Gac) on one of the oldest Sumerian texts which
the soil of Babylonia has bequeathed to us.
But
whether the public remains interested or indifferent the work of discovery goes
on. It is upon the students of the cuneiform texts more especially that new
facts are crowding year by year. In the present volume will be found
translations of a new series of cuneiform documents which reveal the existence
of an Assyrian dialect in the highlands of eastern Asia Minor in the age of the
Hebrew exodus. It is only ten years ago that the sagacity of Mr. Pinches
discovered that such documents existed at all, and it is only now that their
decipherment has become possible.
In my
Address to the Assyriological Section of the Oriental Congress of 1892 I drew
attention to the light which Assyrian research is beginning to throw even upon
later Greek history. Among the astronomical tablets of the Seleukid period
which have been copied and published by Dr. Strassmaier is one which is dated
in “ the 37th year of Antiochus and Seleucus the kings,” that is to say, in 275
B.C. In the previous year it is stated that the king collected his troops and marched
to the country of 'Sapardu, the Sepharad of Obadiah 20, which a comparison of
the account with what we learn from Greek writers would show to have
corresponded with the Bithynia and Galatia of classical geography. It seems
that Antiochus left a garrison there, in order to face the Egyptian army at the
ford of the river Rfidu. The Egyptian army, however, crossed the stream. A few
days later the mumahir, or " governor,”
of
Babylonia forwarded silver, furniture, and girls from Babylonia and Seleukia, “
the royal city,” as well as “20 elephants which the governor of Baktria (Bakh-
tar) had sent to the king,” to meet the king “ at the ford of the river.” The
royal body-guard was left in Babylonia “ from the beginning to the end of the
month.” During the same year taxes were raised in Babylon and the other cities
of the kingdom for the payment of “ the Greek loan,”1 and there was
much sickness in the country.
The first
event which marked the beginning of the new year was the return of “ the
governor of Babylonia and the royal body-guard, which had gone to 'Sapardu to
meet the king the previous year, to Seleukia, the royal city, which lies upon
the Tigris.” On the twelfth day of the month the inhabitants of Babylon were
transported to the new city of Seleukia, and the people of Babylon, Borsippa,
and Cutha provided oxen, sheep, and other things, while a royal palace was
built at Seleukia. Bricks were also made above and below Babylon in order to
build a temple, apparently in the same city. The temple was called 6-Saggil,
like the ancient temple of Bel-Merodach at Babylon, which had been destroyed by
the Persian kings. Mention is further made of “ Lumusu the brother of King
Seleucus.”
All these
facts are new, and are welcome additions to our knowledge of the history of
Macedonian Syria. Even the date of the foundation of Seleukia
1 Ana pi
zipi sa mat Yavannu. Zipi is the Talmudic ztiph.
has not
hitherto been known with certainty, much less the fact that its population was
brought from Babylon. It is clear that a determined effort was made by the new
dynasty to destroy the memory of the ancient glory and supremacy of Babylon,
and to replace it by a new capital.
Equally
unknown were the details of the war which Antiochus carried on in Asia Minor.
All we knew was that he was engaged in a struggle, first of all with Nikomedes
of Bithynia and then with the Gauls in the early part of his reign (276, 275
B.C.). It was the defeat of the Gauls in Galatia in 275 B.C. which procured for
the Syrian king the title of S6ter. Nor was the position of the Sepharad of
Obadiah accurately determined. Certain reasons existed for placing it in the
neighbourhood of the Black Sea, but it is only now that we know it must have
corresponded to the Bithynia and Galatia of the Greeks. We need, therefore, no
longer hesitate about identifying it with the Persian satrapy of Sparda
mentioned in .the Akhsemenian inscriptions. At Behistun the name of Sparda
immediately precedes that of Yaun& or Ionia, and it is described as
situated "by the sea,” while at Naksh-i-Rustem it is enumerated between
Kappadokia and Ionia. It will thus have represented central Asia Minor, more
especially the district on the western bank of the Halys.
It will be
remembered that in the texts relating to the last days of the Assyrian empire,
which I have described and partially translated in the preface to the
fourth
volume of this Series, reference is made to the 'SaparcM, or people of
'Sapardu. They seem to have united with the Medes, the Minni, and the
Kimmerians in attacking the tottering power of Nineveh, which was accordingly
assailed by a league of all the nations of the north. We are irresistibly
reminded of the description given by Ezekiel (xxxviii., xxxix.) of the army of
Gog, as well as of the northern confederacy which is called upon to punish
Babylon in the fifty- first chapter of Jeremiah. Though the prophecies in
question may belong to a later date than that of the fall of the Assyrian
empire the political situation they presuppose is the same as that which
witnessed the overthrow of Nineveh.
A
discovery made this summer by Mr, Strong goes to show that the movement of the
northern and eastern nations which brought about the destruction of the
Assyrian power had begun while Assur-bani- pal was still on the throne. In an
inscription which appears to belong to the latter part of his reign he alludes
to the successes of his army against the Manda chieftain Tuktamme, whom he
calls “the offspring of Tiamat.” So strong an expression—of which the nearest
English equivalent would be “ a limb of Satan”—proves better than any
description how formidable the predecessor of Istuvegu or Astyages must have been.
It is possible that in Tuktamme we have the original of the Hellenised
Teutamos, who, according to Ktesias, sent Memnon from Susa to the help of Priam
of Troy.
b
Greek
history, however, has not been the only gainer by the Assyriological
discoveries of the present year. A discovery has been made which rivals in
interest any that have ever taken place at any time in the history of Oriental
archaeology. Guided by the Assyriologist the excavator has put his spade into
the soil of Palestine and found the first-fruits of a Canaanitish library which
existed before Moses was born.
The name
of Kirjath-Sepher, or “ Book-town,” coupled with certain other considerations,
long ago led me to believe that libraries of cuneiform tablets, similar to
those of Assyria and Babylonia, were to be discovered in Palestine. The
discovery of the tablets of Tel el-Amarna raised this belief almost to a
certainty. Immediately after my first visit to southern Palestine in 1880 I
urged the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund to excavate some of the
tels which I had examined there, and which clearly contained the ruins of
pre-Israelitish towns. But it was not until 1890 that the Fund was able to
obtain the necessary firman, and to engage the services of Dr. Flinders Petrie
in the work of exploration. Excavations were accordingly commenced at a tel or
mound known as Tell el-Hesy, and during the short space of time Dr. Petrie was
able to devote to the work results of wide-reaching importance were obtained.
In the first place, he was able to show that Tell el-Hesy occupies the site of
the Jewish fortress of Lachish, and in the second place, to found
what may
be termed the science of Palestinian chronology. With the help of the dated
pottery he had discovered in Egypt he succeeded in arranging the ancient
pottery of Palestine in a chronological sequence, so that we can now tell at a
glance whether it belongs to the period of the Judges or of the Kings, to the
pre-Israelitish period or to the age after the Exile. Furnished with this clue,
Dr. Petrie pointed out that the lowermost portion of Tell el-Hesy represents
the ruins of a city which was destroyed by the invading Israelites.
Here then
we had found the remains of the Amorite city of Lachish, and though these
remains were covered to a great height with the debris of the subsequent cities
which rose one above the other upon the site, all that was needed for their
systematic excavation were an excavator and the necessary funds. Mr. Bliss
offered to continue Dr. Petrie’s work, and after two seasons of unremitting
labour his efforts have been crowned with success.
Admitting,
as I did, the truth of Dr. Petrie’s conclusions, I felt convinced that sooner
or later we should find a collection of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform
characters similar to those which have been found at Tel el-Amarna. Clay does
not perish, except by the hand of man, and the Tel el-Amarna tablets had shown
that an Egyptian governor resided in the Amorite city of Lachish who wrote, and
therefore must have received, cuneiform despatches on clay. His name was
Zimridi or Zimrida; and among
the Tel
el-Amarna tablets now in Berlin 1 is a letter addressed by him to
the Egyptian Pharaoh. The letters runs as follows :
“ To the
king my lord, my gods, my Sun-god, the Sun-god who is from heaven, thus
(writes) Zim- ridi, the governor of the city of Lachish. Thy servant, the dust
of thy feet, at the feet of the king my lord, the Sun-god from heaven, bows
himself seven times seven. I have very diligently listened to the words of the
messenger whom the king my lord has sent to me, and now I have despatched (a
mission) according to his message.”
In one of
the letters of Ebed-tob, King of Jerusalem, which I have translated in the
last volume of the Records of the Past (p. 70, lines 43, 44), allusion
is made to this Zimrida. It is there said that he had been murdered by the
servants of the Egyptian king.
It was
while Mr. Bliss was closing his work for the season, towards the beginning of
last June, that his first discoveries were made in the Amorite stratum in the
mound of Lachish. Egyptian beads and scarabs were brought to light which
belonged to the age of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and on one of the beads is the
name and title of Queen Teie, the wife of Amen6phis III. and the mother of
Amen6phis IV., to whom the correspondence of Tel el-Amarna was addressed. At
the same time there was also discovered a number of seal-cylinders, one of them
1 Mittheilungen aus dem orientalischen Sammhtngen, Pt.
iii. No.
123.
of
Egyptian porcelain and manufacture, others importations from Babylonia, where
they would have been made between 2000 and 1500 B.C., while others again are
rude imitations of Babylonian models which resemble similar rude imitations
found in the prehistoric tombs of Cyprus as well as in Syria. The date of the
latter has now been fixed by Mr. Bliss’s discovery.
The
interest, however, attaching to the beads and cylinders is far exceeded by the
last discovery of the season. A clay tablet was disinterred, similar in form
and size to those found at Tel el-Amarna which had been sent to Egypt from
southern Palestine. As the tablet itself was claimed by the Turkish
commissioner, impressions and squeezes of it only were sent to me. These,
however, have enabled me to make a fairly complete copy of the text. It turns
out to be one of the letters which were received at Lachish and stored up in
the archive-chamber of the city about the very time that Zimrida’s letter to
the Pharaoh was being written. The cuneiform characters used in it have the
peculiar forms to which the tablets from southern Palestine discovered at Tel
el-Amarna have now accustomed us ; the formula; and curious grammatical forms
which it employs are the same as those of the letters from the south of Canaan,
and above all, the name of the Egyptian governor of Lachish, Zimrida, is twice
mentioned in it.
Nothing
more extraordinary has ever happened in the annals of archaeology. The
discovery had
hardly
been made that a governor of Lachish named Zimrida wrote letters in the Babylonian
language and syllabary to his suzerain the Pharaoh of Egypt when the site of
Lachish was identified by Dr. Petrie, and a letter similar to those of Zimrida
was found by Mr. Bliss in which the name of Zimrida twice occurs. For more than
4000 years the broken halves of a correspondence that was carried on before the
days of the Exodus had thus been lying under the soil, the one half on the
banks of the Nile, the other half in Canaan ; and the recovery of the one from
its long- continued oblivion was followed almost immediately by the recovery of
the other.
Until the
original text of the Lachish tablet can be examined it will be impossible to
determine with certainty some of the characters on it that are either partly
obliterated or else written on the edges of the tablet. Moreover, there are
certain words in the text which appear for the first time, and of which, therefore,
the interpretation is at present doubtful. In the following translation,
therefore, which I offer of the inscription there are necessarily several
lacunae and notes of interrogation :—1
1 The
following is a transliteration of the text so far as I can make it out:—
1. [a-na ami]la raba ki-be-ma 8. ik-ta-bi-mi
Ba-al (?)... 9. D.P. DI-TAR-AN-IM a-na
■4. . a-bi D.P.
Zi-im-ri-da
3. a-na sep&-ka am-ku-nt 10. [a-]bi alu Ya-ra-mi
4. lu-u ti-i-di i-nu-ma 11. [is-]ta-par-mi
a-na ya-a-si
5. tu-sa-tu-na D.P. Ba-du (?) 12. [d id-]na-ni-mi
6. A D.P. Zi-im-ri-da 13. Ill (?) GIS KHIR ft III se-du
7. bu-wa-ri ali Cl 14. d III nam-za-ru-ta
“ To the officer
say: I, Bal (?)..., [the son of Zimrida ?] my father, prostrate myself at thy
feet. Verily thou knowest that Badu (?) and Zimrida the chiefs (?) of the city
have gone forth (?), and Dan- Hadad says to Zimrida my father: The city of
Yarami has sent to me [and] has given me 3 (?) pieces of wood and 3 slings and
3 falchions. If I remain over the country of the king and it acts against me
and there is slaughter so that I die {literally until my death), in regard to
thy . . . which I have . . . from the enemy . . ., and I have despatched
Bel(?)-banila, and . . rabi-ilu-yuma[khir] has sent his brother to this country
to [strengthen it ?].”
The
importance of this text lies rather in what it implies than in the statements
it actually contains. It is clear that Mr. Bliss is at the entrance of the
archive-chamber of the Amorite city of Lachish, and in a few months hence we
may expect to have in our hands a Canaanitish library which existed before the
Promised Land had been invaded by the tribes of Israel. Doubtless the contents
of the library will consist mainly of letters and despatches, but the tablets
found at Tel el-Amarna have taught us that they will also probably include
mythological and
15. snm-ma mi a-na-ku 22. .
. a bu (?) A us-si-ir
16. uts-ba-te-na eli raati 23. Bilu(?)-bani-la
ft
17. sa sarri u a-na ya-a-si 24. . .
ra-bi-ilu-u-ma-[khir]
18. en-ni-ip-sa-at 25. [is-ta-]
par akha-su
19. u a-di mi-u-ti RU-mi Edge : a. a-na mata an-ni-tara
20. su-ut mu-ul(?)-ka a-na [da-na-ni-sa ?]
21. sa u-sa-at is-tu KUR
even
historical texts. Who knows, then, what revelations may not be in store for
us? We are, as it were, about to dig up the sources of Genesis, and so settle
many of those burning questions which at present divide the critics of the
Pentateuch into hostile camps.
It may be
that we shall also find among the archives of Lachish comparative dictionaries
which will throw light on the ancient language or languages of Canaan. At all
events the excavations of Dr. Flinders Petrie at Tel el-Amarna last winter have
not only shown that the fcllahin spoke the truth when they declared that the
famous tablets had been found in the ruins of a building on the eastern side of
the royal palace, but they have further brought to light fragments of other
tablets, among which are veritable dictionaries. In one case the dictionary is
of Semitic Babylonian and Sumerian, and as the Sumerian words are written
phonetically as well as ideographically it would appear that Sumerian must
still have been a living tongue.1 In another case the Babylonian
words are given in explanation of words belonging to two other languages, one
of which Mr. Boscawen thinks is Old Egyptian.
When the
fragments discovered by Dr. Petrie are published the whole of the Tel el-Amarna
collection will at last be at the disposal of scholars. Even the
1 One of
the fragments explains the Babylonian ri'sapu and \di]kate, "a slaying,”
not only by the ideographs GAZ-GAZ, but also by the phonetically spelt
ga-az-ga-az.
tablets
contained in the British Museum have now been published, though the
translations and explanations proposed for them by the editors leave much to
be desired. In one instance the misinterpretation brings with it serious
historical consequences, as it implies that Edom formed part of the Egyptian
empire, whereas in reality the letter in question states explicitly that it did
not. It is therefore advisable to give a correct translation of the text. The
tablet is numbered 64.
“To
Yankhame my lord say thus : I Mut-Hadad thy servant at the feet of my lord prostrate
myself. Since Mut-Hadad has declared in thy presence that Ayab 1 has
fled, and it is certified (?) that the king of Bitilim (Bethel) has fled from
before the lyers-in- wait of the king his lord, let the king my lord live, let
the king my lord live ! If Ayab has been in this city of Bitilim for [the last]
two months, I pray thee ask Ben-enima, ask . . tadu, ask Isuya. Until after the
arrival of the god Merodach the city of Astarti (Ashtaroth-Karnaim) has been
assisted, because all the fortresses of the foreign land are hostile, namely,
the cities of Udumu (Edom), Aduri (Addar), Araru, Mestu, Magdalim (Migdol),
Khinianabi (fen han- nabi), Zarki-tsabtat, Khaini, (and) Ibilimma (Abel).
Again, after thou hadst sent a letter to me I sent
1 Aylb
probably represents the Biblical name Job. It does not mean an “ enemy ” here,
as the Editors of the British Museum volume imagine, since it is preceded by
the determinative of individuality and is not provided with the vocalic
termination of the nominative. The Beth-el mentioned is probably the famous
city of that name on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim, now Beitin.
b 2
this
(messenger) to him {i.e. Ayab) (to wait) until after thy arrival from
thy journey, and he reached the city of Bitilim and heard the news.”
It is
clear from this letter that whereas “ the plateau of Bashan,” as it is
elsewhere called, with its city of Ashtaroth (or rather Ashtoreth) Karnaim, was
subject to Egypt, Edom and its fortified towns had maintained their
independence.
If we turn
from the western limit of Babylonian influence to the eastern frontier of
Chaldsea we shall find that here too there have been archaeological gains
during the past year. Mr. de Morgan, whose appointment as Director of the Gizeh
Museum will be gratifying to all friends of science, has succeeded in taking
squeezes of the inscription of Ser-i-Pul, discovered many years ago by Sir
Henry Rawlinson, as well as in discovering and copying another inscription
near Sheikh-Khan, sixty-seven miles distant from the first. Ser-i-Pul is at the
entrance to the Pass of Holwan, leading into the ancient kingdom of Media, and
the inscription, which is in archaic Babylonian characters, is a memorial of
Anu-banini, “ the king of Lulubi.” The monument thus fixes the position of the
country of Lulubi so often referred to in the Assyrian texts.1
In a more
southerly direction Mr. Pognon, the French Consul at Bagdad, has discovered the
posi
1 The inscription is published in the Recueil de
Tj'avaux relatifs & la Philologie et a I'Archdologie tgyptiennes et
assyrienncs, xiv. i, 2 (1892), pp. 100
tion of
another country mentioned on the cuneiform monuments. This was Asnunnak or
Umlias. Mr. Pognon has found there the records of four Pat/sis or High-priests,
who once bore rule in the country and erected various buildings, three of them
being named Ibal-pel—a name which reminds us of the Amraphel of
Genesis—Ur-Nin-gis-zida, and Qul- laqu (P).1
It only
remains for me to thank my contributors for the valuable help they have rendered
me in the preparation of this series of the Records of the Past, and for the
labour they have expended in bringing an accurate knowledge of the monuments of
the ancient East within the reach of the modern reader. Two of them, alas ! are
no more. The last hours of Mr. Arthur Amiaud and Mr. George Bertin were spent
in the work to which they had devoted their lives, and almost the- last of
their contributions to science were made for the Records of the Past. To
Professor Maspero my obligations are great; not only has he freely placed the
most matured results of his Egyptological work at my disposal, he has further
assisted me by his advice and encouragement in those departments of Oriental
learning in which he is without a rival.
The new
story of the Creation from Sumerian Babylonia which has been discovered and
translated by Mr. Pinches fitly ends the series of Assyrian texts. It must form
the starting-point of fresh investigations
1 See the
MusSon for June 1892.
into the
character and origin of the Biblical narrative in the earlier chapters of
Genesis, and in connection with the story of the Creation which I have
translated in the first volume opens up unexpected points of view for the
Biblical critic.
Before
concluding, however, I have to note a misprint in the translation of another
of the many fragments of antiquity the discovery of which we owe to Mr.
Pinches. In the passage from the Babylonian Chronicle published in the last
volume (p. 107, line 5), the name “ Kadisman-Murus ” should be corrected into “
Kara-Murdas.” The misprint is obvious, and the translator and editor can only
plead as an excuse for it that “ it is human to err.1'
A. H. SAYCE.
Queen’s College, Oxford,
September
1892.
PAGE
I. Historical Inscriptions of Rameses III.
By
Professor August Eisenlohr . . i
II. The
Lists of the Places in Northern Syria
and Palestine conquered by Ramses
II. and
Ramses III. By the Editor . 19
III. Letters
from Phoenicia to the King of
Egypt in the Fifteenth Century b.c.
By the Editor ..... 46
IV. The Inscription
of Assur-b£l-kala. By
S. Arthur Strong . . . .
. 76
V. Inscriptions of Sennacherib. By Professor
Robert W. Rogers ... 80
VI. A
Prayer of Assurbanipal. By S.
Arthur
Strong ....... 102
VII. The Non-Semitic Version
of the Creation-
Story. By Theo. G.
Pinches . . 107
PAGE
VIII. The
Cuneiform Tablets of Kappadokia.
By the Editor . . . . .115
IX. The Kings of Egypt. By the Editor . 132
X. Contents of the “ Records of the Past,"
New Series . . . . . . 153
XI. Index of Proper Names in the First
Volume 156
Equivalents of the Hebrew Letters in the Transliteration of
Assyrian Names mentioned in these Volumes.
|
K |
a |
|
i |
|
3 |
t |
D |
m |
|
3 |
g |
t |
n |
|
1 |
d |
D |
's, s |
|
n |
h |
y |
e |
|
l |
u, V |
*] |
P |
|
r |
z |
r |
is |
|
n |
kh |
p |
2 |
|
D |
dh |
i |
r |
|
i |
i>y |
|
s, sh |
|
1 |
k |
n |
t |
N.B.—Those
Assyriologists who transcribe V by sh use j for D. The Assyrian e represents a
diphthong as well as > ■
In the
Introduction and Notes W. A. I. denotes The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western
Asia, in five volumes, published by the Trustees of the British Museum. Doubtful
words and expressions are followed by a note of interrogation, the preceding
words being put into italics where necessary. Lacunce are denoted by asterisks
or by the insertion of supplied words between square brackets. Words needed to
complete the sense in English, but not expressed in the original, are placed
between round brackets. The names of individuals are distinguished from those
of deities or localities by being printed in Roman type, the names of deities
and localities being in capitals.
HISTORICAL
INSCRIPTIONS OF RAMESES III.
Translated by Professor August Eisenlohr
The First
Series of the Records of the Past contained in vol. vi. and vol. viii. three
texts of the reign of Rameses III., firstly (vol. vi. 17 ff.), the address of
the god Amon Ra to the king and the names of the vanquished nations, who are
fettered with cords grasped by the hand of the god and his companion, the local
goddess of Thebes, taken from the 1st pylon of Medinet Habu (left side) ;
secondly, the great Papyrus Harris, of whose 79 leaves the five last (vol.
viii. p. 45 ff.) are of the highest importance for the age of Rameses III., as
they teach us that his father, Seti-nekht, made an end of a state of political
and religious anarchy, and that Rameses himself, after having defeated the
Daanauna, the Zakaru, the Pulsata, the Shardana, and Uashash on the sea coast,
subdued the tribes of the Bedouin and repulsed the Libyan populations on the
west side, bringing the land to a state of tranquillity and welfare : the
third article (vol. viii. p. 5 3 ff.) gave the VOL. vi B
translation,
by Mr. Le P. Renouf, of a criminal proceeding in a case of a harem conspiracy
under Rameses III.
The time
of this remarkable king, whose mummy was found at Der el-bahri, enclosed in the
coffin of Queen Nofretari, whose sarcophagus of rose granite is at the Louvre,
the broken lid at Cambridge, appeared to be fixed by the mention, in a calendar
on the southern wall at Medinet Habu, of the (heliacal) rising of the star
Sirius on the first day of the month Thoth, so giving as the date of the
calendar the year 1318 B.C. Nevertheless, if the dates of the festivals
mentioned in this calendar do not belong to the common vague year, but to the
holy or fixed year (so H. Brugsch and Dr. Mahler), and if we have, after
Dumichen, in this calendar only the exact copy of a calendar of Rameses the
Great, whose fragments are embedded in the north-eastern pylon of Medinet Habu,
no conclusion can be drawn from the mention of the rising of Sirius.
If the
fragmentary calendar of Elephantine,1 dating the rising of Sirius on
the 28th of Epiphi, really belongs to Thothmes III., giving him the date of
1470
B.C., the probably
twelfth year of Rameses III. can hardly be 1318 B.C., as there are between
these two monarchs a whole series of kings, several with high ciphers attached
to their reigns, as Amenophis III. (38 years), Rameses the Great (67 years),
and after them the above mentioned long period of internal
1 Now in the Louvre.
troubles.
The date of 1450 B.C., offered by the Assyro-Babylonian chronology for the
contemporaries and correspondents of Amenophis IV., seems just as little
compatible with 1318 for Rameses III.
Though we
do not deny that the description of the exploits of Rameses III. on stone and
papyrus is somewhat exaggerated, it is not to be doubted that in his reign
Egypt was still a powerful and formidable nation. As a proof we quote the remarkable
passage of the great Harris Papyrus (PI. ix. 1 ff.), where the king speaks of
his building a temple in the land of Kanana, to which the nations of the
Retennu came with their tributes for the gods.
As we
learn from some hieratic inscriptions at Silsileh (.Denkm. vi. 23), Rameses
III. built in the fifth year of his reign the castle and temple of Medinet
Habu, dedicated it to the god Ammon, and called it by the name of the House of
Millions of Years, in Am-uart (“ great abode ”) of Thebes. The walls of this building
he filled with pictures and inscriptions of his deeds. We shall give in the
following pages a short description of these texts, from which we select the
most important in their chronological order.
On the
eastern front of the palace, beneath two gigantic representations of the king
slaughtering his enemies before Harmakhis (right side) and Amon Ra (left side),
we see the kneeling figures of the princes of the principal foes of Rameses
III., with their arms bound behind the back ; at the right side his Asiatic
enemies—the
Kheta, the Amaro, the Zakaru, the Shardana, the Sha[su], the Tuirsha and the
Pu[lsata], all with their characteristic faces and headdresses ; and at the
left side, in symmetrical arrangement, the African nations ; Kush, [ ], the
Libu, the Tursas, the Mashuash, and the Tarau.
At the
inner side of the passage, on the left, the king, equipped with bow and quiver,
brings to the god Amon two series of fettered prisoners, who exhibit a very
strange manner of curling the hair.
Similar
representations of vanquished prisoners are inside the doorway, and at the back
of that building which some call a pavilion, others a palace.
Much
richer in representations as in inscriptions is the temple itself, which is
situated some two hundred and sixty feet behind the palace. The first pylon
exhibits at both extremities two colossal pictures: on the left (Diimichen,
Hist. Inschr. i. pi. xi. xii.) the god Amon Ra handling the shopesh with a
ram’s head, and leading six series of prisoners with their names in crenellated
shields. They are preceded by the local goddess of Thebes. On the right side
we see (Durn. loc. cit. xvi. xvii.; Denkmdler, iii. 21 o,a) similarly the god
Amon Ra Harmakhis, with the head of a hawk, handling a hawk-headed shopesh and
conducting nine series of fettered prisoners. These representations are
accompanied by texts, of which the left one has been translated by Birch,
Records of the Past, First Series, vi. pp. 19, 20. The really poetic text on
the right wing is as follows:
Spoken by Amon Ra Harmakhis :—My beloved son of my
body, lord of both lands, Usermara-mer-amon, lord of the sword over every
country, the lands of the Anu Khent lie
down slain under thy feet. I let come to thee the chiefs of the southern
countries with their tributes, their children on their backs, all fine
offerings of their country. Thou givest breath (according) to thy wish unto
them. Thou killest those whom thy heart desires. I turn my face to the North
and I charm for thee, I present to thee the red land under thy sandals, thou
crushest hundreds of thousands to corpses, thou smitest down the Harusha by thy valiant sword. I let come
to thee the countries which did ignore Egypt,
with their baskets, laden with gold, silver, genuine lapis lazuli, all
precious stones, the selection of the divine land before thy beautiful face. I
turn my face to the East and I charm for thee, I subjugate them to thee, their
totality combined in thy fist. I have collected for thee all the things of Punt, their tributes on gum of balm,
precious (and) odoriferous, all woods pleasant of scent for thy face, for thy
diadem, being on thy head. I turn my face to the West and I charm for thee, I
destroy for thee the lands of Tehennu, they
come inclined to thee, imploring, prostrated on their feet, they shout to
thee. I turn my face to the height and I charm for thee, they are hailing thee,
(even) the gods of the horizon of the heaven born at the morning. Thou
germinatest like [Osiris] ; he
brings justice. I turn my face to the earth and I charm for thee, I procure for
thee the victory over all countries, they are rejoicing for thee, (even) the
gods in the heaven ■ Hut
giving to thee his arms on a fresh great place as seat of thy face, son
of Ra, Rameses-hek-An.
Nearer to
the doorway on both sides of the pylon are smaller pictures, the king striking
the prisoners before Ptah (on the left) and before Amon Ra. Beneath is a row of
fettered prisoners, with their names on crenellated shields. Below each series
is
a rather
long stele, the left one dated in the twelfth year of Rameses III., and, as Dr.
Lepsius discovered, an imitation of the stele of Rameses II. at Abu Simbel
(Denkm. iii. 194), containing a dialogue between the god Ptah and the king. The
other stele belongs to the eleventh year. A good copy of both sides is to be
found in Diimichen, Hist. Inschr. i. pi. vii.-x., and pi. xiii.-xv.; the two
stelae are also in De Roug6, Inscriptions, ii. pi. cxxi.-cxxvi. (stele of year
xii.), and pi. cxxxi.-exxxviii. The stele of the year xi. is partly translated
by Chabas, Iitudes sur Vantiq. historique, 2eme Edition, p. 237 sq.
The contents of the stelas are mere phrases, except the conclusion of that of
the year xi., where the defeat of the army of the Libyan chief Kapur is
described, as well as the submission of himself and his son.
The back
of the first southern pylon contains texts of the eleventh year of King Rameses
III., treating of the submission of the Temhu and the Mashuash (a Libyan
tribe). The king in his chariot is shooting at his enemies (Dtim. Hist. Inschr. i. pi. 18, 19 ; De Roug6, Inscript, cxiv.-cxvii.;
Banville, Alb. phot. pi. 78). Probably the long text of the northern pylon
(Diim. loc. cit. pi. 20-27) records the events of the same year, together with
the register of the booty obtained during it. We shall translate this text
under No. III.
Between
the first and the second pylon arc two colonnades, the left one supported by
pillars, the right one by Osiris-caryatides. On the back wall of the
latter is
an illustration of the capture of the town of Amaro by the king, who is
shooting from his chariot. On the left wall of the second pylon which next
follows, the king leads three series of fettered prisoners before Amon Ra. From
the inscriptions we infer that these are the Daanauna (the Danaans) and the
Pulsata (the Philistines). The whole of the right wall of the pylon is covered
with a long inscription of the eighth year, which was cleared and first
published by Mr. Greene (Fouilles a Thebes, Paris, 1855), described by E. de
Roug£ (.Athenceiim frdfUfat's, 1855 ; Notice de quelques textes hiiroglyph.
ricemment publics par Mr. Greene'), afterwards published in Banville’s Album
photographique, pi. 76, 77, and in many other photographs, and trans-
A
lated by
Chabas, Etudes sur Fant. hist, 2nd ed. p. 246 sq. We shall give further on (No.
II.) a revised translation of this remarkable text.
The
peristyle court of the temple of Medinet Habu, which we next enter, exhibits
under its colonnade an illustration of two high festivals — the festival of
the god Khem on the northern side, and that of the god Sokar on the southern.
But besides this, the south-eastern and southern walls contain representations
of the wars against the Libyan tribes, especially the Libu themselves, the
Mashuash, etc. These representations are well given in the great works of
Champollion and Rosellini (Champ. Monuments, pi. 2o8 = Ros. Mon. reali, 138 ; Champ. 207 =
Ros. 137; Champ. 205 =Ros. 136; Champ. 2o6 = Ros.
135). Next
to these representations is the long text of 75 lines, whose translation we
give under No. I. The outward northern wall of the temple contains again
illustrations of the war of the king and of a lion hunt. In his letters from
Egypt and Nubia (Paris, 1833) Champollion has given an account of these
representations (p. 352 ff.), which we have repeated in Baedeker’s Upper Egypt,
p. 183 ff. Here also the defeat of the Mashuash and the Libu is referred to,
and also that of the Shardana and Zakaru, who entered the mouths of the Nile,
and were annihilated by the Egyptian fleet and army. The picture of this naval
combat is highly remarkable, and illustrates well the events recorded in the
inscription of the year 8, 1. 24, No. II.
Also, on
the western bank of the Nile, at Karnak are memorials of the combats of Rameses
III. Besides the scanty remains of a small temple near the sacred lake of Muth
(Z on Lepsius’s map, U in that in Baedeker’s Upper Egypt), where the land of
Tahi is mentioned and a summing up of the spoil is given, in the first court of
the great temple of Amon, at a right angle to the axis of the temple, there is
a well-preserved sanctuary, which, according to an inscription, dates from the
sixteenth year of the king. Here also the king is slaying his enemies, whom the
god conducts in crenellated shields. These representations are given in
Lepsius’s Dctikni. Abth. iii. 207.
HISTORICAL
INSCRIPTION
From the Fifth Year of Rameses III. (Hek An) in 75 Vertical Lines
As we said
above, the south-west wall and the adjoining part of the south-east wall of the
great peristyle court at Medinet Habu contain in their upper register the
representation of the festival of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, while the lower register
is filled with battle scenes and offerings of prisoners to the god Amon of
Thebes. There are recorded the Temhu and the Mashuash, then the Tehennu and the
Libu, whose cut hands and members are counted, by several thousands, by the
scribes before the king standing in his chariot. Close to this scene follows an
inscription of 75 lines, as far as the west corner; it is written retrograde,
that is to say, the characters are not turned towards the beginning, but
towards the end of the inscription.
The
inscription has been published several times, first by Burton (Excerpta
hieroglyphica, 1825-30, pi. 43-45), then by Rosellini (Monumenti reali, pi. 13
9-141), Diimichen (Historische Inschriften, ii. taf. xlvi.), De Rouge
(Inscriptions hieroglyphiques, ii. pi.
cxxxix.-cxlvii.),
lastly by H. Brugsch (Thesaurus, v. p. 1197 ff.). I myself copied the
inscription on my first journey to Egypt in 1869-70,which copy I revised
afterwards in 1885 and 1890. According to my copies I translated the text, a
part of which exists also in a fine photograph by H. Bechard. Mr. Chabas in his
Etudes sur I'antiquite historique (iere edit. 1872, p. 231 sq.; 2tae
edit. 1873, p. 227 sq., p. 254 sq.), has given a translation of the text in the
second edition only of lines 17_7 5 • the edition he translated the
whole text. He has also treated the different wars of Rameses III. in the
above-mentioned work, and in his Recherchcs sur la XIX. dynastie, 1873.
1. Year 5 under the Majesty Hor-Ra, the valiant bull,
who
enlarges Kemi,1 strong
with the scymetar,2 an excellent fighter, he kills the Tehennu,3 the king of both
countries . . .4
2. he smites the Tehennu to tombstones on their places.
The golden
hawk, lord of both scymetars, making the frontier at his ease behind his foes .
. .
3. his fear, his terror as a shield of Egypt. The king,
the
youthful lord, brilliant are his risings, like those of the moon he repeats his
birthday . . .
4. the son of Ra,
Rameses hek An,6 chief of battles from
his rising
over Egypt. Beginning with Ra, returning at her setting. Given has
the divine circle the lands. . . .
1 Egypt.
2 Shopesh in Egyptian, so ealled from its
likeness to the thigh of an ox.
3 Tehennu is a general name for the
populations to the west of Egypt, comprising the Temhu, the Mashuash, and the
Libu.
4 The ends of many of the lines are
wanting.
5 Prince of Heliopolis.
5- A
warrior, the lord with extended arm, a runner, lord of the symbols like the son
of Nut,1 he makes the
whole earth as she has been [in the time of the gods],
6. the king Usermara mer amon, son of Ra, Rameses
hek An,
chief great in love, lord of donations, his image is like Ra, on the first morning, his terror [is
fixed on the front]
7. of his diadem, established on the throne
of Ra as
king of
both lands, the country on the front and on the back in abundance, the nobles
(like) the inferior . . .
8. assembled all together in his reign, the
king of
Upper and
Lower Egypt, Usermara meri amon,
son of Ra, Rameses hek An, the
king valorous, courageous, arranging his affairs, he beholds . . .
9. his protecting fury in love is directed
towards Egypt.
With
extended arm and stretched feet he strikes each land, considering piously
plans, stipulating laws, giving . . .
10. with delight did strike his name the hearts
up to the clouds, reaches his formidable magnitude the Uu and Mer,2
acquired by his valour arrive at once . . .
ri. these,
who did not know their masters, they come stooping to implore the breath of
life which is in Egypt from Hor-Ra, the valiant bull of great
royalty, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Usermara mer amon, son of Ra, Rameses
hek An, the great wall
12. of Egypt,
protecting their limbs, his valour like
Mentu stretching down the Nine Bows,3 a holy child
in his origin, like Harmakhis he
emerges, he is contemplated like Tum when he opens his mouth with
13. the breath of the enlightened in order to
vivify both
1 Osiris. 2 Designation of the different
parts of the country.
3 The hostile nations, which are
considered to have been nine in number.
countries
by his aliments every day, the prudent son, the defender of the circle of gods,
yielded are to him the obstinate countries, boiled in their blood,
14. he does not harvest, captured (are) all his
men, with
drawn the
utensils of every kind in his country, coming in adoration
15. in order to behold the great sun of Egypt over them
selves,
embellished is the disk for them. The great sun rises,
16. she shines over the earth. The light of Egypt, which
is in the
heaven. Words: Raise oh Ra ! our
land ... we are lost
17. in . . . daily the clouds. Slaughtered has
the king of
Upper and
Lower Egypt, Usermara mer amon, son of Ra,
Rameses hek An, the countries of the plain and of the mountains, he has
eradicated (them)
18. and brought to Egypt as slaves presented wholly to
its circle
of gods. Oh satiator with food to produce abundance
19. in both countries! Numerous exultations in
this
country
without sorrow. Established has Amon his
son on his place; the whole circuit (of) the sun
20. united in his fist. The wretched Sati, the Tehennu
the
robbers, who
21. ill treated the beloved land, ransacked the
country in
decline
since the (former) kings. They outraged the gods like the people, there was
none daring to
22. oppose them since they revolted. Behold
there was
the youth
like an impetuous griffin well versed like Mehi
(Thoth) in the divine words . . .
23. they pass like a scheme (?) in . . . all
that comes
forth from
the mouth into [the land is effectuated]. His soldiers are urging, [they do]
not [retrocede]
. . . they
are
24. like bulls ready [to rush] against goats.
His cavalry
like hawks
prowling (?) against the young birds,
25. ruddy like a lion full of wild fury. His
officers
impetuous
like the god Reshpu view ten
thousands as the pupil of the eye; they were like Mentu
26. the warrior. His name terrifies the lands
and the
mountains.
The Temhu are coming rallied
together: the Libu, the Antu (?), the Mashuash caught in their country
27. the Burapa
(?), their soldiers confiding in their plans
they came
full in their hearts: We shall frustrate their designs in their body; we shall
fill our hearts with
28. outrages. Their plans were perverted,
repulsed, broken
on the
heart of the god. Interceding the chief for them, was impotent in the heart (?)
of the god.
29. The benevolent, knowing the plan. Look !
there has
made him
this god, the lord of the gods, for the great of Egypt for eternity. Through his victories he made supplicate
the nations, the chiefs (on their bodies),
30. the mighty king, his majesty intelligent
like Thoth.
Their
hearts and plans were made discernible before him. His majesty took possession
of the land Temhu with their
children . . . (the acquisition)
31. of his double sword. They applied to the
chief that
they might
retain their country. Such has not been heard since there are kings. Behold the
heart of his majesty raging with oppression . . . the valiant sword
32. attacking the hares, holding him like a keen
bull,
clutching
with the claws, kicking with the horns, shaking the mountains by his stalk . .
. the gods
33. their plans made his success. If there were
who liked
to
transgress his frontiers, his majesty was going forth against them like a flame
(which propagates) in the thick bushes . . . like birds
34. in the interior of nets, packed in bunches,
made to a
roast.
Prostrated as knocked down to the earth, the chiefs slain, a heavy defeat,
35. not to be numbered. Look! evil is done unto
them
to the
height of heaven, executed their males on the
spot, the
killed are made in piles ... on their own
36. ground by the valour of the king, vigorous
in his
limbs, the
only lord, powerful like Mentu, the
king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermara
mer arnon, son of Ra, Rameses hek An, everything he brought as spoil to Egypt, hands,
37. members not to be counted, conducted as
prisoners
fettered
in the prison. The chiefs of nations assembled to contemplate their disgrace.
The magistrates of the order of thirty
38. following the king, their arms raised, they
exult to the
heaven
with loving hearts. Amon-Ra, the
god, has fixed the victory of the prince. They are coming,
39. ambassadors of each country; their heart is
distressed,
taken off,
it is no more in their bodies. Their faces looking on the king, as on Tum,
bruised is the spine of the Temhu to
terminate. Look, his majesty made their legs
40. transgressing the frontiers of Egypt. Their leaders
are in
fear made into tribes in the battles marked on the great name of his majesty.
These who violated (the frontier)
41. were trembling. Unable was their mouth to
recollect
the shape
of Egypt. The land of Temhu, which had come, was made to run
away, the Mashuash (were)
suspended
42. in their country, eradicated their plants,
not existing at
once,
paralysed all their limbs by terror. “ Bruised are our spines, and they (are)
behind us to the land of Mera.
43. Its lord has annihilated our souls for ever
and
eternity.1'
Woe (? !) to them ! They behold their dances like their rout. Sekhet is behind them. Terror is
44. on them. We do not find a road to march on.
We
step on
water throughout. In their battles they do not combat with us fighting. There
is drawing near
45. to us the flame. We wish to withdraw
ourselves. The
flame
seizes us, there is no extinguishing for us. Their lord (is) like Set, beloved by Ra. There is heard his roaring.
46. Like a griffin he is behind us murdering
many (?).
He is
compassionate; he let us go back [out of] Egypt
for ever. Dispersed the . . . We sink
47. to the death, made to a flame into which we
enter, but
issue not.
Titi, Mashaknu, Maraiu and the chief of the Amaro
48. carried on the Mara occupied to enter Egypt through
the Libu with the flame in the front and in
the rear. There came the gods to call us to account
49. because we made encroachments on their
property, in
their
territories. We shall praise the great valour of Egypt saying : Ra has
given to it the power, the victory, there is beholden the rising like . . .
50. Like Ra
in his shining on the pious. Let us
approach
him, let us glorify him, let us touch the ground before the great sword, the
vigorous (?) of . . .
5t. the
king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermara
mer amon, the son of Ra, Rameses hek An, who has made the northern nations
trembling in their members, the Pulsata, the
Zakkara . . .
52. eradicated their country, departed their
soul consumed.
They are
emigrants to another country in the great ocean. These, who came . . .
53. Amon-ra
behind them, killing them. These who
entered
the aestuaries like birds slipped into the net, made prisoners . . .
54. their arms, their heart agitated, taken
away, it is no
more in
their bodies. Led on, their chiefs killed, stretched down they made as bound
together . . .
55. saying: He is treading on the prisoner,
holding him
fast with
his claw, the unique lord, set up over Egypt,
a true warrior, discharging without failing [his aim],
56. The extremities of the great circuit (he)
made tremble
with one
word. Where are we ? Imploring they came stopped by the fear of him. They did
not know any more their force, their limbs were paralysed.
57- The
terror of his majesty (is) over them every day, he is like a ram staying on the
meadow, who struggles with his horns ready to precipitate himself on what is
nearing to his head, a valiant warrior [with]
58. clamour, a runner, lord of the sword, he
subjugates
the whole
land. They come stooping to his impetuosity. A flourishing child, valiant like
Baal in (his fury)
59. a king fulfilling all plans, the designs do
not fail, what
he
enterprises is realised at once, the king of Upper and Lower Egvpt, Usermara, son of Ra, Rameses hek An. The lands have
seduced us knowing . . .
60. who were desirous in their hearts of the
land of
Mera. The lord, great of victories as king of both countries,
he smites down his totality; he frightens the Nine Bows, he is like a lion who
takes hold (?) of
61. the dispersed on the mountains, fearing the
distance,
his terror
is the griffin (who) extends the feet, lord of his wings (on) the water of
immensity :
62. likewise as rushes the leopard knowing his
prey, seizes
in (his)
course, destroys with his arms the bodies of the transgressors of his
frontiers, tempest beaten is the country of the Western Bow.
63. He invades with vehemence, he kills hundreds
of
thousands
on their seats from his chariot. He beholds multitudes like locusts, he beats
in turning,
64. he crushes (?) like stones. He kicks with
the horns
whoever
comes near to his sword. His millions (and) his hundreds of thousands obey
before him, his stature is like the god Mentu.
65. When he comes forth, is stooping to him
every
country at
the recollection of him, the prince pious in designs like Ptah, possessing this country in its
length with all dependencies (?),
66. very strong, of great valour, in lands and
mountains he
makes
himself lord, becoming like the dweller of Chmunu
(Thoth), the king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Usermara mer amon, son of Ra, Rameses hek An, the sweetheart of Egypt, having the defence (of) the
country in
67. the elevation of his spine. Without
contradiction a
resistant
wall, the shade of the pious. They are sitting for thee according to their
hearts, confiding in (thy) valour. Their
68. food (?) (protection ?) is the work (?) of
his arms,
saying:
The divine hawk, he beats, he grasps, he makes him become warriors in his
battles, carrying castles,
69. temples, towns, as a prey of his sword.
There are
given
offerings to the gods consisting of his preciousnesses. They are at his right
and at his left to overthrow the Nine Bows. His valiant arms they are
70. to reach it whole with. Has given him Amon his
glorious
father the countries united all together under his sandals. The king of Upper
and Lower Egypt, son of Ra, Rameses hek An. Behold now the Horus, rich in years, efflux
71. divine of Ra,
emanating from his limbs, splendid
living
effigy of the son of Isis, coming forth invested with the helm like Mentu (?) the great, a Nile, islands with their aliments for
the land of Mera ;
72. the pious and the widows having a good
place. A
king
making the justice of the lord over all, affording it every day in his
presence. Egypt, the lands (are)
in peace in his reign.
73. The land is like a couch without affliction1
of the
heart,
there may go the woman after her wish, may dress herself after her head, may
direct her foot to the places she likes, all nations are coming bending
1 Literally
“ change.'’
VOL. VI C
74. to the spirits of his majesty. Their
trihutes, their
children
on their backs. The southern as the northern (bend) to him in adoration. They
behold him like Ra on the morning.
These are
75. the deliberated designs of the victorious
king, charming
in plans
like the handsome face (Ptah), the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of both
lands, lord of the sword, Usermara mer amon, son of Ra, Rameses hek An, giving life like Ra for ever.
THE LISTS
OF THE PLACES IN NORTHERN SYRIA AND PALESTINE CONQUERED BY RAMSES II. AND
RAMSES III.
By the Editor
By way of
completing the geographical lists which have been published by Mr. Tomkins in
the last volume of the Records of the Past (New Series, vol. v. pp. 25-53), I
S*ve here the similar lists which Ramses
II. of the Nineteenth Dynasty and Ramses III.
of the Twentieth caused to be inscribed in imitation of their predecessor of
the Eighteenth. In editing the lists prepared by Mr. Tomkins I added some comparisons
from the list of Ramses III. published by Dumichen ; since doing so I have
collated Diimi- chen’s copies with the originals, and have found that they are
not in all cases correct.
The lists
of Ramses II. were engraved partly on the inside of the great pylon at Karnak,
partly on the southern wall of that temple, to the left of the text of the
treaty with the King of the Hittites. Another list of the same Pharaoh, shockingly
mutilated, has been found during the recent excavations on the exterior of the
western wall of the temple of
Luxor.
Ramses III. has also left a short list of names at Karnak, but his chief list
is to be found on the eastern face of the great pylon of the temple- palace
which he built at Medtnet Habu to commemorate his victories.
A few of
the names in the latter list were published, but incorrectly, by De Rougd
Diimichen subsequently copied all that were visible, and they appeared in his
Historische Inschriften, plates vii. xii. xiii. and xvii. Excavation has now
laid nearly all of them bare, and last winter I made copies of them, with the
help of Mr. Wilbour. The copies of Diimichen have to be emended in several
points, but they are accurate on the whole, though the new names which have to
be added to them are very numerous.
The list
given by Ramses II. on the inner side of the pylon at Karnak has been copied by
Cham- pollion and Lepsius. That on the southern wall has been published by
Brugsch Pasha (Geo graph is the Inschriften, ii., and History of Egypt, English
translation, 2nd edition, p. 67), but so inaccurately that the names in it are
not to be recognised. The names, for instance, transcribed by him in his
History of Egypt under the Pharaohs, Qa-sa-na-litha and Pa-rihi ought to be
Q-a-n-sa-l-m-a and Q-a-r-h-u. The hieroglyphics, however, are much defaced, and
owing to the heaping up of a bank of earth below them it is now easier to
decipher them than was formerly the case. I have had Mr. Wilbour’s assistance
in making them out.
The Luxor
list of Ramses II. was copied by myself in the winter of 1890-91, and I
compared my copies with the originals last winter.
According
to Dr. Mahler’s astronomical calculations the reign of Ramses II. lasted from
B.C. 1347 to 1281. The date of Ramses III. falls about seventy years later. The
principal campaign of Ramses II. against Canaan seems to have taken place in
his 8 th year; it was then, according to the texts of the Ramesseum, that he
conquered Shalam or Jerusalem, Marom or Merom, the Spring of Anamini,
Beth-Anoth (Josh. xv. 59) and Qarbu[tu], " Dapur in the land of the
Amorites/' Ashkelon, Gaba . ., Ata . ., Qamna, Damascus, Ai, L(u)za, and
Innuamu. The Karnak list of places in Palestine may, however, belong to
another campaign.
The list
of Luxor bears testimony to a campaign in the north in which Ramses II. claims
to have defeated the forces not only of Carchemish and Mitanni, but also of
Assyria. The inscription which accompanies the list refers to “ a city/' which
“ the valiant power of the Pharaoh captured in the land of Satuna.” Where this
land was situated is unknown.
On the
inner wall of the pylon at Karnak the list of countries named by the Pharaoh is
prefaced by the statement that he. had overthrown “ the Anti of Menti ” and the
“ Fenkhu.” Who the latter were is pointed out by Brugsch Pasha in his
Aegyptologic,
ii. p. 466. One of the copies of the Palestine
list of Thothmes III. is accompanied by a text which
refers to
the “ unknown peoples" included in it under the general name of Fenkhu. It
is therefore possible that those scholars have been right who have derived the
Greek name of the Phoenicians from this old Egyptian term.
The names
in the list of Ramses III. which I have copied at Medinet Habu are important to
the historian, partly because they show that the Egyptian king marched at least
as far as Hamath, though he avoided the Phoenician cities in his passage along
the sea coast; partly because they make it clear that he overran Southern Palestine.
Among other towns of which he claims the capture is Hebron and its “Spring.”
Like Ramses II., he also claims the capture of “ the district of Jerusalem.”
But his list contains no reference to the name either of Judah or of any other
Israelitish tribe, and it would therefore appear that even as late as the
reign of Ramses
III. the Israelites were not as yet firmly
established in the future territory of Judah.
The
question may be raised whether the list of Ramses III. is not copied from that
of Ramses II., and if so, whether the conquests claimed by him were really his
own. But a comparison of the two lists will set all doubts on the question at
rest. The list of Ramses III. is fuller than that of his predecessor, and
follows a more accurate geographical sequence. On the whole, moreover, the
names are more correctly written in it than they are in the lists of Ramses
II. Thus qan is written simply qa in the list
of the
earlier king, while the Egyptian name of the Dead Sea, “ the Lake of Rethpana,”
appears as “ Repana.” If there has been borrowing, it must have been in both
cases from a common source, of which no trace exists.
The system
of transliteration is that which has been adopted by Mr. Tomkins. The vowels
are represented only where they occur in the hieroglyphic original, though in
the case of certain characters, like the flying bird, the seated bird, and the
gate, the vowel a has been added within brackets to their initial
consonant—p(a), Ka)’ s(a)- The outstretched
arm is denoted by d, the symbol for “ great ” by da. It must be remembered that
r and I in ancient Egyptian are expressed by the same characters; in order
to distinguish, however, the lion from the mouth the first is represented by I,
the second by r. The determinative of “ country ” is denoted by the double
obelus (J), and the single upright line, which signifies “ one ” in the
hieroglyphics, as well as the sign of the plural, is represented by a dash (—).
Lost characters are denoted by brackets [ ].
LIST OF
COUNTRIES CONQUERED BY RAMSES
II. ENUMERATED ON THE INNER WALL OF THE PYLON
AT KARNAK
1. Arma
J. Identified by Mr. Tomkins with Orma,
south - west of Abyssinia {Recueil de Travanx relatifs d, la Philologie
et a I Archeologie kgypticnnes et assyriennes, x. i, 2). Prof.
Maspero reads Ilimmi (Recueil, viii. 1, 2).
2. Br-br-ta,
followed by the ideograph “twice.1' Bar-
barta
occurs in the list of southern countries conquered by Thothmes III. (No. 9),
and has been compared with the name of the modern Berber. This Brbrta, however,
may be the North Syrian Barbartu of Ramses III. (B. left, ii. 8).
3. Mau|, with the
determinative of walking. In the
Medinet
Habu list (No. B. right, i. 26) it follows the name of Korkha in Moab. It is
doubtful whether it represents the native name of a country or is the Egyptian
man, “road.”1
4. Aar-mu}.
Aram. Probably the Aram or Syria of
Damascus.
5. Aar[—]
|. The name of El precedes that of Aram
at Medinet
Habu. Compare the name of “ the country of Aar ” or “ El ” mentioned next to
Nii and shortly after Tunip in the North Syrian list of Thothmes III., No. 134.
In the stele of Panammu, king of Samalla, the kingdom of Yari is referred to
more than once.2
6. Ksh.
The land of Cush or Ethiopia.
7. To-Ris. “The land of the South.”
1 It must, of course, be distinguished
from the Mauft of the southern list of Thothmes III. (No. 4).
2 Aar is also the name of a country in the
southern list of Thothmes III. (No. 179).
THE LIST
OF PLACES IN PALESTINE CONQUERED BY RAMSES II. ENUMERATED ON THE SOUTHERN WALL
OF KARNAK
FIRST LIST
1. Qans(a)-almaQa-n-Salem,
“the district of Salem.”
The
position of the place in the list of Ramses III. shows that Salem or Jerusalem
is meant. Shalam is one of the cities of Palestine captured by Ramses
II., according to the texts of the Ramesseum. In
the corresponding list of Ramses III. qa is written qau. Brugsch, in his
Dictionary, gives qai as signifying “ a plateau,” from qa, “ to be high.” In
the poem of Pentaur the word is written gau(t), with the determinatives of
locality and road, and is in parallelism with matennu, “roads.”
2. Qal-p(a)a[na].
The list of Ramses III. shows that
we must
read “ the Lake of Re[th]pa[na],” the dental having been omitted by the
Egyptian scribe. As the name of the lake comes in that list between Salem and
the Jordan it must represent the Dead Sea. The dental should properly
correspond with a Hebrew (Canaanitish) samech; in thupar “ a trumpet,” however,
it represents a shin (Hebrew shophar), so that Rethpana may be a derivative
from Resheph, the Canaanitish Sun-god, who revealed himself in flames of fire.1
Compare Gen. xix. 24.
1 The name of the god, when introduced
into the Egyptian pantheon, was pronounced Reshpu. His consort seems to have
been the goddess Kadesh.
3. Aa[rd]an[a] Read
Yerdana, “the country of the
Jordan.”
The name is restored from the list of Ramses III.
4. Khir-z
J. Khilz, probably the Babylonian Khalzu,
“
fortress.”
5. Qar-hu
|. The Korkha of the Moabite Stone. See
Records of
the Past, New Series, vol. ii. p. 200.
6. [Ur]6 J. In
the list of Ramses III. the determinative
of
locality is attached to the u in both syllables to indicate its length. Perhaps
the Babylonian firft, the Moabite Ar or “City” (Numb. xxi. 28), is meant.
7. Abl— J. The Abel or “ meadow ” of a place
called
Karzak in
the list of Ramses III. Compare the Abel of the Palestine list of Thothmes III.
(No. 92).
8. QarmanaJ.
Carmel of Judah. See Records of the
Past, New
Series, vol. v. p. 50 (No. 96).
9. Qahir-ir-tabala
J. “ The upper district of Thabara.”
This must
be Debir, the old name of Kirjath-sepher, since the dental is that which
corresponds with the d of Megiddo and Damascus in the list of Thothmes III. See
the list of Ramses III., B. right, i. 16. ro. ShmashnaJ. Pronounce Shimshana, Shimshon, “the city of
the Sun-god,” called Ir-shemesh in the Old Testament (Josh. xix. 41).
11. Hadas[t]a
£ with determinative after initial ha. This
name must
be taken along with the next,
12. AarizJ,
the Hebrew erez, “country,” the Egyptian
scribe
having transposed the places of the substantive and adjective. The term means
“new lands.” It is the Hadashah of Josh. xv. 37. See the list of Ramses III.,
B. right, i. 18, 19.
SECOND
LIST
I. [R]aushqad[shut].
Rosh-Qadesh, “the headland” of Mount Carmel. See Records of the Past, New
Series, vol. v. p. 47 (No. 48).
2. I[n-]zata
J. This follows the name of Rosh-Qadesh
in the
list of Ramses III. (B. right, ii. 12).
3. [Mag]ar—Called
“the spring of the Magar” by
Ramses
III. (B. right, ii. 13). It is the Magoras or river of Beyrout, which took its
name from the Magharat or “ Caves,” past which it runs. In the Travels of a
Mohar, the sky is described as being darkened there.
4. R-h(u)zaJ, with
determinative after h(u). The name
is written
in the same way in the list of Ramses III. (B. right, ii. 8). It cannot have
been far from Gaza.
5. S(a)-aab(a)-ta
J. Written Saaba by Ramses III.
(B. right,
ii. 9), who places it next to Gaza.
6. Kaz(a)t(o) j. Gaza.
7. Qas(a)-r-Aa
J. Qa-Sala, da being followed by the
determinative.
In the list of Ramses III. (B. right, ii. 5), the name is written Qau-Salakh,
an attempt being made to represent the guttural sound of the Canaanitish ghain.
“The district of Sela” must be that about Petra (2 Kings xvii. 7 ; Isaiah xvi.
1).
8. Qauz(a)-asr—(?)
|. The lost character is doubtful, and
may be a
instead of r. In the corresponding name, however, in the list of Ramses III.
(B. right,
ii. 6), we have almost certainly r. “The
district of Zasr” or “Zasl,” between Sela and Jacob-el.
9. Iaaqb(a)al—.
The hieroglyphs neb-k, “ thy lord,”
have been
engraved over the name, in which da is followed by the determinative. The
“Jacob-el” of the list of Thothmes III. {Records of the Past, New Series, vol.
v. $^'102). In the list of Ramses III. (B. right, ii. 7) the name of Gaza
follows after two other names.
10. P(a)t(o)nak-rith }. “The
country of Akrith.” This must be the Ugarit of the Tel el-Amarna tablets.
LIST OF
PLACES CONQUERED BY RAMSES II., FROM THE WEST WALL OF LUXOR
On the
right hand side of the entrance to the great hall the cartouches are almost all
destroyed, only the final characters remaining in each. We have:—
(1). ]q(?)a J.
(2). ]za}.
(3)' M
(4). Janaul.
(6). “ Lake.”
(7). ]nth}.
(9). JURj.
(10). Jz(A)?t
(11). “ Lake.’'
(12). “Lake."
(13)- ]s(?)t
(14). ]t-
(15)- ]st.
(17). M(a)thnaJ.
Mitanni, the Aram Naharaim of Scrip
ture.
(18). Ln-r—J. To be
pronounced Lai or Lar. The
43rd name
in the list of Seti I. at Abydos.
(19). Ar-tugJ.
The 39th name in the list of Seti I.,
where it
follows the name of Tunip (now Tennib, north-west of Aleppo).
(20). Assur—J. Assyria.
The 37 th name in the list
of Seti I.
(21). B(a)r-gaJ. The 42nd
name in the list of Seti I.,
in which
it is written Barq. We may compare Barga, a district of Hamath, mentioned in
the Assyrian inscriptions. See Records of the Past, New Series, iv. p. 70, line
88.
(22). [ JntasJ.
On the
left hand side of the entrance were three lines of cartouches one above the
other. Of the first line there remain only—
(7). [Bal-]nuJ.
No. 13 in the list of Seti I.
(8). [AJqupta.
No. 28 in the list of Seti I., where it
follows
the name of Mennus.
Of the
second line we have :—
(1). [ ]qu|.
(2). [ ]ui.
(3)- [ ]z“t
(4). [ Jgal—J.
(?). “The
waters of [ ]zh."
(6). Kp[ ]uj.
(?)• B(a)[ ]J.
(8). HaaJ (or Ham).
(9). Ln-l(?)
}. See above, No. 18.
(10). R[
].
Of the
third line we have :—
(1). M(a)thnaJ. This seems
to be Mitanni.
(2). Thkh[ ]J. _
(3)- Qar-th[
]aa(?)m. This seems to contain a Semitic
Kirjath.
(4). Qad[ ]u— J.
Compare the Qadna of Seti I. (No.
9), called
Qadnaf by Amenophis III. (Lepsius, Denhndler, iii. 88).
(5). Qab(a)aa|. Probably
some Gibeah. Compare the
name of
Gaba[ ], which precedes Ashkelon, at the Ramesseum.
(6). Heraztum J. This was a
country of Pun, called
Shaztum in
the southern list of Thothmes III. (No. 6r), and Aztum in that of Ramses III.
(B. right, ii. 2).
(7). Sthbu
t. A country of Pun, mentioned with the
preceding
in the lists of Thothmes III. (No. 60) and Rainses III. (B. right, ii. 1).
(8). Utu[l]th J. A
country of Pun mentioned with the
preceding
by Thothmes III. (No. 59).
THE LISTS
OF RAMSES III. AT MEDINET HABU
A. I. On the left side of the first pylon1:—
a. (i). Tas(a)-[kh]u
J.
The names which accompany this
show it to
have been a country of Northern Syria. See below, II. south, vi. 6.
(2). AOriJ. The Aur-ma of the North Syrian list of
Thothmes
III. (No. 313).
(3). An-thak
t. The An-t[ak] of the North Syrian
list of
Thothmes (No. 193).
Below, facing
left:—
b. (1). Kar-naJ.
(2). Aatu|.
This and the preceding name form the
single
compound name Atugeren in the North Syrian list of Thothmes (No. 191).
Atu-geren or Atu-karna seems to mean “ the goddess Athe of the horn.”
(3). Tr-bus(a)—
J. The Trb of the list of Thothmes
(No. 190),
now Tereb, south-west of Aleppo. The final -s is the suffix of the nominative.
(4). Thir-na
|. The Tarnu of the list of Thothmes
(No. 260).
Facing
right:—
(1).
Hir-nam 1. The names which accompany this show that it was in Southern
Palestine. We cannot,
therefore,
identify it with Harnemmata, mentioned in the Travels of a Mohar, which seems
to have been near Kadesh on the Orontes.
(2). R-b(a)n-th
Lebanoth.
(3). Khibur—|.
Long since identified with Hebron.
(4). Aatsa-r
{.
•(5). R-zs(?)[ ]u(?)t _
(6). IhaJ.
Phonetically this name corresponds with the Hebrew Yah, the shorter form of
Yahveh.
II. On the south side1:—
FIRST LINE
(1). Ma[ ]
|. One letter has been lost in this name. •(2). P(?)R(?)[ ].
(3). Puthr[a]
J. Compare the name of Pdri or Pethor
in the
list of Thothmes (No. 280).
(4). Ts(a)-ts(a)-m(a) j.
SECOND
LINE
(1). Thr-shkhaJ.
Tharshkha, in Northern Syria.
(2). Khal-bJ. Helebi, on the Euphrates, the Khalbu
of
Thothmes
III. (No. 246).
(3). S(a)-r-meski
J. The name perhaps contains that of
the
Meshech or Moschi, the Muska of the Assyrian inscriptions.
(4). Aaim(a)r|.
Written Aimar below (fifth line, No. 4).
It is the
name of the Amorite, elsewhere written Aamar. Compare the Amar-seki of Thothmes
III. (No. 156).
THIRD LINE
(1). S(a)-ri
{. Perhaps the Sur of Thothmes III. (No.
252).
Compare the name of the river Saros.
(2). Atal—J.
Compare the Atur of Thothmes III.
(No. 221).
(3). M(a)qnas(a)—{.
The Mangnasa of Thothmes III.
(No. 186).
(4). Tar-shb(a) J. Compare
the name of Tharsh-kha
above.
(5). B(a)-ts(a)-r—. FQURTH
line
(1). Aa[ J-si
j. The ideograph of plurality follows one
lost
character.
(2). Aaman—1.
Amanus, the Khamanu of the Assyrian
inscriptions,
a spur of which was called Amman- anu. See Records of the Past, New Series,
vol. v. pp. 127 and 158.
(3). Aal-kanJ.
Compare the Alka of Thothmes III.
(No. 283).
Also Argana, a district of Hamath, mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions; see
Records of the Past, New Series, vol. iv. p. 70, line 88.
(4). Per-kats(a)—4.
The last character is doubtful,
and the
first should probably be read Pi.
(5). B(?)ubai |.
(6). Kr-naJ.
For Karna, the Atu-geren of Thothmes
III., see above.
, , FIFTH LINE
(1). Kir-uiJ.
(2). AaburtthJ.
The Abaltth of Thothmes III. (No. 206).
(3). Qubur—J.
For this see below (B. right, ii. 17).
(4). Aim(a)r—{.
The land of the Amorite, called
Amurra in
the cuneiform texts of Tel el-Amarna, north of Palestine. See above, 2nd line
(No. 4).
(5). Ul-u |. The two
vowels have the determinative of
locality
attached to them, showing that they have a long sound. They would thus
correspond with the Assyrian tiri'i, given in the lexical tablets as the
equivalent of the Hebrew ’z>, “city.” From the list which is given below it
would appear that Ur-u was in Moab. It may therefore correspond with Ar of
Moab. See the List of Ramses II. at Karnak, i. 6.
(6). Kushp(a)tu
{.
(7). K-nnu %. Probably the Kanneh
of Ezekiel xxvii.
23, called Erez Kna, “the land of Kanneh,” by
Thothmes III. (No. 139).
VOL. VI D
(8). L[ ]ur-s }. The first character is not
quite certain, and the name may be the Sarrsu of Thothmes III. (No. 317). ,
(g). Aap(a)ikha. This must be the
Aripnkha of Thothmes III. (No. 318).
SIXTH LINE
(1). Shabi}.
(2). Tsaur— }. More
probably the Thnu - zaur of
Thothmes
III. (No. 173), than his Pa-Zru or “ Plain " (No. 154).
(3). Kir-snpern
}. The last syllable should be read pin.
(4). M(a)ur-nus(a)—J.
Mul-nus is a name similar in
formation
to Mul-mal or Mul-mar (below, B. left, ii. 8), or to that of the Hittite king
Mul-sir.
(5). S(a)-mai J. Simi resembles the name of a
goddess
of
Hierapolis (the successor of Carchemish), who is called Simi by Melito of
Sardes.
(6). Tas(a)-kha J. A
comparison of the Kappadokian
local
names, Das-tarkon, Das-menda, and Das-teira, indicates that Das was a Hittite
deity.
(7). Zauri
J. The Pa-zru or “Plain” of Thothmes III.
(No. 154).
(8). Ab(a)l
An Abel or “ meadow,” of which the
A(u)balina
of Thothmes III. (No. 151) is an Aramaic plural.
(9). M(a)thna
}. Mitanni, or Aram-Naharaim, opposite
Carchemish.
(10). Kar-icam(a)sh }. Carchemish, now
Jerablus, a little to the north of the junction of the Sajur and the Euphrates.
On the
north side of the pylon, right hand1:—
(r). Punt \. The districts on either
side of the Bab el-Mandeb.2
1 Diimichen, plate xiii.
2 In the account of the expedition to Pun
given by Queen Hashepsu at Dfir el-B&hari, the country is stated to have
been "on the two sides of the Great Green Water,” which the Pyramid texts
prove to have signified the Red Sea.
(2). ApmuJ.
A region of Pun. Called Pamu by
Thothmes
III., southern list (No. 47).
(3). Asp
}. Called Aspau in the southern list of
Thothmes
III. (No. 46).
(4). Zzs(a)s
|. No. 90 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(5). HuAtJ. No. 89 in
the southern list of Thothmes
III.
(6). Tosm(a)m
J. No. 94 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(7). M(a)ari +.
On the
north side of the pylon, facing west1:—
(1). Zunu with
determinative of “foreigner.”
(2). Tab(a)t—\.
(3). Antaka
}.
(4). Zzss(a)
}. This name shows that we are still in the
south.
(5) and (6) destroyed.
(7). [A]ztum
\. Called Her-aztum by Ramses II.,
Luxor,
iii. 6.
(8). [ ]bimu
(9). Tepstum
j. No. 253 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(10). AimennuJ.
No. 254 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(11). Abs(a)-fu
}. No. 255 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(r2). Hufu J. Called Hafu by Thothmes III.
(No. 256).
(13). Afu +,
with determinative of “foreigner.” No. 257
in the
southern list of Thothmes III.
(14). Tumer(?)J.
No. 248 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(15). ShbbtJ.
No. 249 in the southern list of Thothmes
III.
(16). Duauum
}. No. 250 in the southern list of
Thothmes
III.
(r7
(18
(J9
(20
(21
(22
(23
(24
(25
(26
(27
(28
(29
(30
(3i
(32
(33
(34
(35
(36
(37
(38
(41
(42
AAshaa Called Aashu by Thothmes III. (No. 251). Zanu with the determinative of
“foreigner.” Probably identical with No. 1. Called Za by Thothmes III. (No.
252).
RT
[
[
[ ]AQ
Ahathrer J. No. 246 in the southern list of Thothmes III.
Haa}, with determinative of “foreigner.”
To-shsht|.
No. 105 in the southern list of Thothmes III.
BhstiJ.
No. 106 in the southern list of Thothmes III. B(a)[kt] J. No. 108 in the
southern list of Thothmes III.
Tas(a)-tu
No. 109 in the southern list of Thothmes III.
NhsthJ. No. 101 in the southern list of Thothmes
III.
Trerns[Q. No. 102 in the southern list of
Thothmes III.
Zsn—|. No. 103 in the southern list of Thothmes *IIL
AaaJ. Called Au by Thothmes (No. 104).1 Furi t.
Trer[ ] J.
Trer[ ]a }. destroyed.
Ath[ ]a I.
(39). (40)
destroyed.
[ ]tu J.
[
1 Most of the identifications of the names
in the southern list with the names given by Thothmes III. have already been
made by Brugsch Pasha. The names in the southern list of Thothmes III. are
given in accordance with the corrections made by Professor Maspero after a
fresh collation with the originals (Rccucil de Travaux relatifs d la
Philologie et A I'Archiotogie igyptiennes et assyrienties, vii. 2, 3,
1886).
2 Diimichen's copies cease here.
B. South side of the pylon, facing left:—
LINE I
(1). Kar-na 1.
(2). AatuJ. For these two names see above (I. b.
1, 2).
It will be
noticed that where a geographical name is divided into two, the second part of
it is given first.
(3). Tr-bus(a)—
%. The Trb of Thothmes III. See
above (I.
b. 3). The Tel el-Amarna tablets have informed us that in the languages of
Mitanni and Arzawa, as in that of Van, the nominative of nouns terminated in
-s.
(4). Thir-na }. See above (I. b. 4).
(5). An-thka|.
See above (I. a. 3).
(6). Antakn
\. This is evidently another form, perhaps
a plural,
of the preceding. In the languages of Mitanni and Arzawa, as in that of Van,
the accusative of nouns terminated in -n.
(7). TabataJ.
Compare the Abata of Thothmes III.
(No. 198).
(8). M(a)rm(a)ur—}.
The Maurmar or Mulmal of
Thothmes
III. (No. 272).
(9). Tr-khais}.
The Tarkha of Thothmes III. (No. 292),
with the
suffix (s) of the nominative.
(10). Aamestr-k
To be read Yemes-Tark, where the
second
part of the compound is the name of the Hittite god Tarku.
(11). A-r-kabr—j.
Written Rrbur below (C. ii. 4).
(12). Kagati
|. Written Kaqth below (C. ii. 5).
(13). Ts(a)-aknuJ. Zaknu.
(14). Thr-tu |. The t is
probably a mistake for the simi
larly-formed
character kh.
(t5). Mail I, with the
determinative of “foreigner.’' Read Mil or Mir.
line 11
(1).
MailJ. The name which follows indicates the relative situation of the country.
(2). Sents(a)-arna
J. The Senzar of the inscription of
Amen-em-heb
(Records of the Past, New Series, vol. iv. p. 9), which Prof. Maspero
identifies with the Thnu-zaur of the list of Thothmes III. (No. 173). In the
language of Mitanni the suffix (e)na denotes the plural.
(3). Thsupu
J. Compare the name of the Mitannian
god
Tessupas or Tessubbe, the Vannic Teisbas, who corresponded to the Assyrian
Hadad-Rimmon.
(4). Ta-s(a)-a
Perhaps to be pronounced Tusua.
(5). Thurim(a)k }.
(6). Ar-puini }.
(7). AapizaJ.
(8). Aam(a)r-dk
J. Compare the Amar-ski of Thothmes
III. (No. 156).
(9). Tuna
}. Uskhitti of Tuna, which adjoined the
country of
the Tubal or Tibareni, paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III.
(10). Nabur—J.
Or Nabul.
(11). IrpJ.
(12). Khana J.
The Khana-rabbat or “ Khana the great ”
of the
Assyrian inscriptions. Milid, the modern Malatiyeh, was its capital. The Tel
el-Amarna tablets make it probable that at the time they were written it formed
part of the kingdom of Mitanni or Aram-Naharaim.
(13). Tazum(a)
}.
(14). Thubti
}. Called Tubti below (D. ii. 18).
(15). Kaqtii
{. Called Kagati above (i. 12).
g, South
side of the pylon, facing right:—
LINE 1
(1). HirnamJ. See above (I. b. 1).
(2). R-ban-thJ. Lebanoth. See above (I. b. 1).
(3). B(a)it
(determinative of “ house ”) Aaan[t]
J. The
Beth-Anoth
of Josh. xv. 59. See the Palestine list of Thothmes III. (No. 111).
(4). Qar-bu[t
?]u The last character but one is doubt
ful. At
the Ramesseum Qarbu[tu] is combined with Baitha-Antha or Beth-Anoth (Josh. xv.
59).
(5). Karmaima
J. Karmim, the plural of the Canaanite
kerem, “
garden,” called Karman by Thothmes III. (No. 96). It is the Carmel of Judah
(Josh. xv. 55).
(6). Shbuduna
Called Shbtuna by Thothmes III. (No.
73), now
Shebtin.
(7). Mashab-ir—J.
There may be a lost character
before i.
(8). Khibur—
J. Hebron, as has long since been recog
nised.
(9). Innu,
with determinative of “water.” The famous
’Ain or
“Spring” of Hebron. See Josh. xv. 19, and compare the Palestine list of
Thothmes III. (No. 113).
(10). To-r-b(a)-na
J, “ the district of Libna.” The Libnah
of Judah
(Josh. xv. 42).
(11). Aap(a)qa
J. Aphekah, near Hebron (Josh. xv. 53).
(12). Aab(a)-khi t
(13). Makthir—
(with determinative of “ house ”)J. A
Migdol,
doubtless Migdal-gad in Judah (Josh.xv. 37).
(14). Qar-ts(a)-ak J.
(15). Qarimana
The engraver has written r like t.
Karmel of
Judah, however, must be intended, as is shown by the Karnak list of Ramses II.,
i. 8.
(16). [Q]auher-tab(a)lra
}. The engraver has omitted
the
initial character. “The upper district of Debir.” See the Karnak list of Ramses
II., i. 9.
(17). Shmashna
}. Ir-shemesh. See the Karnak list of
Ramses
II., i. 10.
(18). Hudas(a)-th
}. The first character is followed by the
determinative
of abstracts. The Hadashah or “new" country of Josh. xv. 37. See the
Karnak list of Ramses II., i. 11.
(19). Aar-ts(a)—%.
The Canaanite erets, “ land.”
(20). Qauns(a)-lm[a]}.
Qau-n-salem, “the district of
Salem” or
Jerusalem. In the Tel el-Amarna tablets Jerusalem is called Uru-'salim, and a
lexical
tablet
explains uru by the Assyrian alu, “city.” The name therefore signifies “the
city of 'Salim,” the god of peace. See Gen. xiv. 18.
(21). Qaul-thp(a)na,
with determinative of “lake.” As
the Dead
Sea is the only lake in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem and the Jordan it must
be denoted by the name, “ the lake of the district of Rethpana.” See the Karnak
list of Ramses II., i. 2.
(22). Aar-dana J. Pronounce Yerdana,
the Jordan.
(23). Khir-ts(a)
Probably to be read Khilz, the
Assyrian
Khalzu, “fortress.”
(24). Qar-hu (with
determinative of abstracts) J. The
Korkha of
the Moabite Stone. See the Karnak list of Ramses II., i. 5.
(25). U-l-u Each of
the two vowels has the determina
tive of
locality affixed. See the Karnak list of Ramses II., i. 6.
(26). Mau, with
the determinative of “walking.” See the
first
Karnak list of Ramses II., No. 3.1
line 11
1. Akata
J. Perhaps Jokthe-el in Judah (Josh. xv. 38).
2. Kar-ka }.
3. [ Jputh Perhaps Zidiputa mentioned in
Papyrus
Anastasi
I., the Zadpthl of the list of Shishak.
4. Aab(a)r— An Abel or “ Meadow.” Perhaps No.
99 in the
Palestine list of Thothmes III.
5. Qaus(a)-rakh
“The district of Sela.’' See the
Karnak
list of Ramses II., ii. 7.
6. Qauher-ts(a)-asr—J. The last
character is doubtful.
“The upper
district of Zasr (?).” In the Karnak list of Ramses II. (ii. 8), the term
“upper” is omitted.
7. Iaab(a)-al
J. After aa is the determinative of
abstracts.
A comparison with the Karnak list of Ramses II. (ii. 9), shows that the
engraver has omitted the character q, the name being Yaqbal, or Jacob-el.
1 The
remaining names in this line are still covered with rubbish.
8. R-huza J. After hu is the determinative of
abstracts.
See the
Karnak list of Ramses II., ii. 4.
9. S(a)-aab(a)—\.
Called Sabata in the Karnak list of
Ramses
II., ii. 5.
1 o. Ka-ts(a)-to X- Gaza.
11. Lsha-qadshu
J. Rosh-Qadesh, or Mount Carmel.
See the
Karnak list of Ramses II., ii. 1.
12. In-zathJ.
13. An
(determinative of “eye”) n mgar—J.
“The
spring of
the Magoras,” or River of Beyrout. See the Karnak list of Ramses II., ii. 3.
14. R-uiaair—
(determinative of “ walking ”) |. This
would read
Lui-el or Levi-el, a compound similar to Jacob-el, Joseph-el, and Jephthah-el
(Josh. xix. 27). But it is strange to find the name of Levi in the
neighbourhood of Beyrout.
15. Bur—J. “The
cistern.” The Bar or Beer (“ well ”)
of the
list of Thothmes III. (No. 50).
16. Qamatu
j.
The engraver has written q in mistake for
i in the last syllable. For Qamtu or Qamdu
see the list of Thothmes III. (No. 8). It is called “ the city of Kumidi ” in
the Tel el-Amarna tablets.
17. Qubur-aa
The determinative of abstracts follows da.
“ Qubur
the great.” See above (A. II. 5th line, 3).
18. Iha \. See above (A. I. right, 6).
19. Tur—\.
20. S(a)-n-nur
J. Shinnur. Shenir was the Amorite
name of
Mount Hermon (Deut. iii. 9). It is written 'Saniru in the Assyrian
inscriptions.
21. Man-dar—j.
22. Zab(a)b(a)J.
23. Aamata
j.
Hamath. See the list of Thothmes III.
(No. 122).
24. Zauir—J. “The
plain” of Aram, called Pa-Zru by
Thothmes
III. (No. 154). Similarly in the Tel el-Amarna tablets Bashan is named
Ziri-Basana, “ the plateau of Bashan.” ’
25. Kr-na|. See above (A. I. b. i).1
1 The
remaining names in the line are still covered with rubbish. Doubtless the name
of Atu followed.
C. On the north side of the pylon, facing
left:—
C* LINE I
1. Qautafu(?)[ ]u J.
3. Iqu[ ]u
J.
4. Manata |.
5. Qa(?)nra[ ]n t.
6. Dqur—J.
7. Is(a)n-t[u] J.
8. B(a)k[ ]. This
is probably the country of Bak men
tioned by
Ramses II. at Karnak after Mau.
(The four
next names are destroyed.') line 11
1. M(a)r-m(a)ur—}.
See above (B. south, i. 8).
2. Thr-khis J. The
engraver has written t by mistake for
kh. See
above (B. south, i. 9).
3. Aamestr-kJ.
See above (B. south, i. 10).
4. R-r-bur
{. To be corrected into Arkabr as above (B.
south, i.
11).
5. Kaqth
{. Written Kagati above (B. south, i. 12). The
variations
show that the names have been copied from different originals.
6. Ts(a)-kna \. Written Tsaknu above (B.
south, i. 13).
7. P(a)r-buJ.
8. B(a)r-b(a)[r]tu
J.
Apparently the Brbrta of Ramses
II. at Karnak (No. 2).
9 destroyed.
10. Atoka
J. Compare Anth(a)ka above (B. south, i. 5), written Atak[a]
by Thothmes III. (No. 297).
1 r destroyed.
12. [ ]aqant[a] {.
^ Facing
right:—
LINE I
1. IuaJ.
The Iua of the southern list of Thothmes III. at Karnak (No. 43).
2. Za[th]a
J. The
Zath of the southern list of Thothmes
(No. 44).
3. M(a)nzuJ.
Azemet in the list of Thothmes (No. 45).
4. AspaJ.
No. 46 in the list of Thothmes.
5. ApmuJ.
Called Pa-mu in the southern list of
Thothmes
(No. 47).
6. Punt
J. No. 48 in the
list of Thothmes.
7. AhfuJ.
No. 49 in the list of Thothmes.
8. Ammess
%. No. 50 in the list of Thothmes.
9. Menshau
J. No. 51 in the
list of Thothmes.
10. Afunh
No. 52 in the list of Thothmes.
11. NurAhuJ. No. 53 in the
list of Thothmes.
12. Mz[menn]|. No. 54 in the
list of Thothmes.
13. Ah ul] J. No. 55 in the
list of Thothmes. Identified
by
Mariette with the Greek Aualitis.
14. AAazm[J].
No. 56 in the list of Thothmes.
15. Mam[thuJ], No. 57 in the
list of Thothmes.
16. Mbutu }. No.
58
in the list of Thothmes.
17. Krk.ua
line 11
1. SthbuJ.
No. 60 in the list of Thothmes.
2. Aztum
J.
No. 61 in the list of Thothmes.
See
above (A.
north-west, 7).
3. NuhtumJ.
No. 62 in the list of Thothmes.
4. Hkha
Called Hkfuh (i.e. Hkauh) by Thothmes
(No. 63).
5. Tunt J. No. 64
in the list of Thothmes.
6. B(a)aa }. No. 65
in the list of Thothmes.
7. A(?)mst
}. No. 66 in the list of Thothmes.
8. To-toun—}.
To is repeated four times. The cor
responding
name in the list of Thothmes (No. 87) reads To-to-to-sa.
9. Tennu
Ten is followed by the ideograph of a bird
resting
against a stake. The reading shows what must be the pronunciation of the
corresponding name in the list of Thothmes (No. 88), which has been read
Thehennu by Dr. Brugsch.
10. HuAt
%. No. 89 in the list of Thothmes.
11. Zzss(a)}.
No. 90 in the list of Thothmes.
12. Tep-nukhebJ.
“ The end (of the road from) Nekheb,”
the modern
El-Qab. The place must therefore have been situated on the coast of the Red
Sea.
13. B(a)km(a)
Compare No. 92 in the list of Thothmes.
14. MasiJ. No. 93 in
the list of Thothmes.
15. To-sm(a)
J. No. 94 in the list of Thothmes.
16. KhskhtJ.
No. 95 in the list of Thothmes.
17. Kabi }.
D. East side of the pylon, right side. The
names in the first line are all destroyed. Facing left:—
line 11
1. B(a)rb(a)r
sep That is, Barbar (“ bar repeated ”).
2. Aazuna j.
3. Artokna
}. The Aartug (No. 39) of the list of Seti I.,
which
follows the name of Tunip. For the suffix -11a see above (B. ii. 2).
4. A(?)ts(a)-khazu J.
5. Shaqan With the determinative of “
foreigner.’'
6. 7, and 8 are destroyed.
9. Ta-s(a)-na
Compare B. ii. 4.
10 and 11 are destroyed.
12. [ ]ak|.
13. [ ]na |.
14. [A]bir—|. An Abel
or “Meadow.”
15
destroyed.
16. Nui[ ]m(?)|.
With the determinative of “ foreigner.’
17. Khazm(a)nWith the
determinative of “foreigner.”
18. Tueti Written
Thubti above (B. ii. 14).
I add here the fragment of a list of
places in Northern Syria conquered by Thothmes III., engraved on the eastern
wall of the second pylon at
Karnak, and published by M. Bouriant in the Recueil de Travaux relatifs
a la Philologie et a I Archeologie tgyptiennes et assyriennes, xi. 3, 4, p. 156.
LINE 1
1. Gat.
2. M(a)thn |. Mitanni.
3. Khasat.
Facing
right:—
LINE II
1. M(a)thn[Q.
2. Ln-[r t]. Lai.
No. 18 in the list of Ramses II. at
Luxor.
Facing
left:—
2. PehtmennuJ.
3. Rrbi.
LETTERS
FROM PHCENICIA TO THE KING OF EGYPT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY B.C.
Translated by the Editor
The age and character of the cuneiform tablets found at Tel
el-Amarna in Upper Egypt have been fully described in former volumes of this
series of the Records of the Past, as well as the principal results derived
from their discovery. During the past winter all doubts as to the exact spot in
which they were found have been removed by Dr. Flinders Petrie’s excavations.
These have shown that the cuneiform correspondence of the Pharaohs Amendphis
III. and Amendphis IV. was stored, not in the royal palace itself, but in a
building which adjoined it, and in which probably the scribe lived who was
versed in the language and syllabary of Babylonia. Among the objects disinterred
by Dr. Petrie is a clay cylinder, round which runs the inscription eleven times
repeated, “The seal of Tetunu, the servant of Samas-akh- iddin.” Dr. Petrie’s
discoveries show that the fellahin led me to the right place when, a year
after the
tablets had been found, they took me to a ruined building within the precincts
of the palace, the bricks of which were stamped with the name and titles of
Amenophis IV. Khu-n-Aten.
The
letters of which I here give translations for the first time have been
published in the second part of the Mittheilungen aus den orientalischcn
Saimnlungen (Berlin, 1890) by Drs. Winckler and Abel, and consist of the
correspondence sent to Khu-n-Aten from Phoenicia. The letters are peculiarly
difficult to decipher on account of the non-Assyrian forms and idioms which
they contain, and which are probably of Canaanitish origin. As Dr. Zimmern has
pointed out, we find, for instance, the first person singular of the perfect
tense formed by the suffix -ti as in Hebrew, instead of by the suffix -ku as in
the corresponding person of the Assyrian permansive. Here and there, moreover,
a Canaanitish word is given by the side of its Assyrian equivalent. These words
afford a fresh proof that Hebrew was originally “the language of Canaan.”
Though the
Phoenician letters have not the same Biblical interest as the letters from
Southern Palestine of which I have given translations in the last volume of the
Records, we may nevertheless gather from them several historical facts. They
show that at the time when the correspondence came to an end, the Egyptian
empire in Asia was breaking up. The enemies of “the heretic king”
were
beginning to threaten him in Egypt, and he was unable to reply to the pressing
requests of his Syrian governors by sending to them the troops for which they
asked. The province they administered was surrounded on all sides by its foes.
Ebed-Asherah, who seems to have been a Beduin chief, together with his sons,
had allied himself' to the Hittites, the Babylonians, and the people of
Aram-Naharaim, was overrunning the land of the Amorites, and was capturing the
Phoenician cities which lay to the west of it. Many of the kings who had been
allowed, as at Sidon, Arka, and Hazor, to exercise their royal functions by the
side of the Egyptian governors, revolted from Egypt, and Arvad sent its ships
to join the enemy. Rib-Addu, the Egyptian governor of Gebal, was already old,
and one of his letters seems to show that he was preparing to evacuate Zemar,
the centre of the Egyptian government in the inland part of Phoenicia, and
retire from the northern portion of the province. It was probably not long
before the rule of Egypt ceased to be obeyed, not only in the mountainous
interior, but also in the cities of the coast.
Among
other interesting facts contained in the letters is the mention of a Yivana or
“ Ionian,” who was in the country of Tyre, apparently employed in the service
of the Egyptian king. The name was, therefore, already known in the fifteenth
century before our era, and justifies the belief of the Egypto
logists
that in Huinivu, or Uinin as it is written in Demotic, which represents the
name of the Greeks in the bilingual inscription of the Rosetta Stone, we must
recognise the Egyptian form of the' word “ Ionian.” The name of Huinivu goes
back to early times, since in one of the pyramid texts of the Sixth Dynasty,
the Mediterranean is called “ the circle which surrounds the Huinivu.” 1
The name
of Rib-Addi, or Rib-Addu, is not very easy to explain. The second element in it
is the name of the god Hadad, but it is not clear to what root the first part
of the compound should be assigned. Probably, however, the root is rib, “ to
contend,” so that the name of the Phoenician governor is precisely parallel to
those of Jerub-baal and Merib-Baal (i Chron. viii. 34), the signification of the
compound being “ Hadad has pleaded.”
1 Erman in the Zeitschrift fur agyptische
Sprache, xxix. i. p. 39.
VOL. VI
E
LETTERS
FROM PHOENICIA TO THE KING OF EGYPT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY B.C.
42.1 Obverse
1. Rib-Addu sends
2. to his lord, the king of the world,
3. the great king, the king of the universe
(?),
4. (whom) the divine lady of Gebal 2 has known
5. alone ; to the king my lord,
6. at the feet of my lord, my Sun-god
7. seven times seven I prostrate myself.
8. This year (certain) men into the presence
9. of the king, who (is) like the god Assur 3 xo. and the Sun-god
in heaven, have come;4
11. they have reported to him : “The sons
12. of Ebed-Asherah6 according to
13. their desires have taken0 2
horses
14. of the king and chariots, and
15. the men whom he sent have given (them);
16. and the Ionian7
1 The numbers are those of the Mittheiiungen
aus dm oricntalischen Sammlungen, pt. 2.
2 Gebal, the Byblos of the Greeks, now
Jebeil, twenty miles north of Beyrut.‘ The people of Gebal are mentioned in 1
Kings v. 18 (A. V.
' *
stone-squarers ’*) and Ezek. xxvii. 9. According to Philo Byblius, the “ Divine
Lady," or goddess of Gebal, was Baaltis.
3 Expressed in ideographs, denoting “ the
god of hosts/’
4 Literally 1' are. ’ ’
5 Abdu-Asirta. In some instances the
determinative of divinity is prefixed to the name of the goddess Asherah.
6 Read la\ku\.
7 Yiv&na. The word corresponds
exactly to the Hebrew Yavan, since a Hebrew yav would become yiv in
Assyrian, and is the earliest notice we have of Ionian Greeks. The Ionian in
question probably came from Cyprus.
17. is on a mission 1 to the country
of Tyre,2
18. for eight days
19. doing this deed
20. in it.” They speak words
21. of accusation before the king,
22. the Sun-god. I am thy faithful servant,
23. and the news which (the king) knows
24. and hears have I sent
25. to the king my lord. Bitt (?)
2 6. they
(are) dogs,3 and they have [gone] ■
27. into the presence of the household troops
28. of the king, the Sun-god. I sent [messages]
29. to thy father, and he [listened]
30. to his servant, and [thy father]
31. despatched] the household
32. troops. The country was not taken.
Reverse
1. by Ebed-Asherah for [himself]:
2. it was4 the property of the
3. governors, since I fought5
4. before them against him,
5. and they (were) always
6. strong, and the Misians6
7. brought the straw (?) of barley 7
8. always; they did not despise (?)
9. the officer, since I collected horses
10. and (was) strong before them,
11. since we know that both strength and
12. existence (belong) to a strong king.
13. As yet they have not marched up (the
country)
1 Lu-kin. The signification is made clear
by No. 52, line 7, Rev.
2 Zuri.
3 "Dog” is used in these letters in
the sense of “minister’' or “ messenger." The idiom may be of Egyptian
origin, as sab. " a judge," is represented in the hieroglyphics by
the figure of a jackal or a dog.
4 Read i-ba-[sa],
5 Anazur, literally “ I defend."
6 The Misi are doubtless the Mas’u or
“infantry" of the Egyptian
texts. 7 Ser[ii].
14. since I have despatched two men,
15. messengers, to the city of Zemar,1
16. and also the leader of all the men,
17. this one (here present), to bring back
18. word to the king of each one thing
19. as much as they have heard.
20. The two men by night
21. have carried (it), and by night
22. they have brought (it) back,
23. even the messengers of the king,
24. from the presence of the dogs.2
If
25. the heart of the king, the Sun-god, at
26. [this] time they have engaged,
27. [this] year I shall dwell [in] my [city]
28 in thy heart
29. and the [horses?] . . . and the men . . .
30. The Beduin 3 are marching
31. away from the city of Zemar
32. [and] I defend the city,
Edge
r. and I
have not given it up; and the king
2. will hear the words of his servant, and
will send
3. ten men of the country of Melukhkha4 and ten men
of the
country of Egypt
4. to defend the city for the king,
5. the Sun-god, the lord of thy faithful
servant.
No. 45.
Obverse
1. Rib-Addu [sends to his lord,]
2. the great king, the king [of the universe
(?)]
1 The Zemar of Gen. x. 18, called Simyra
by Strabo; now Sumra.
2 See above, note on Obv. 26.
8 Literally
"the Plunderers."
*
Melukhkha was the "salt," desert, whieb extended between the frontier
of Egypt and the confines of Palestine. Compare the Biblical name of “the Salt
Sea," Gen. xiv. 3 ; Num. xxxiv. 12, etc.
3. (to whom) the divine lady of [Gebal has given]
4. strength ; to the king my lord,
5. at the feet of my lord, my Sun-god,
6. [seven] times seven I prostrate myself.
Still
7. the king, my lord, says : “ For
8. what reason art thou sending him
9. to me ? ” Behold me ;1 there is
no
10. governor in my service
11. from the city of Zemar, and still
12. the face of every one (is) towards me and
the two men
13. of Egypt
whom I send
14. to Pharaoh.2 There is no going
forth, there is no
15. sending to the king; there is no
16. man who will carry my letter3
17. to Pharaoh. Now these two men
18. will carry a letter to the king,
19. but I myself4 go not forth.
Always
20. am I afraid and turn my face
21. towards [the king] my lord. I send . . .
22 thy lord,
23. since he will go up (?) . . . I will send
(?)
24. on the days . . . and I send
25. to Pharaoh, and he will send
26. and will cause soldiers to come5
. . .
27. The officer has not taken Ebed-Asherah
28. along with his property according to my
orders.
29. Words of accusation do I send
30. to my lord, and thou sayest: “ Wherefore
31. dost thou send words of accusation?”
32. If thou hearest my words
33. at my mouth, I will take Aziru like . . .
34. Behold me,6 strong (is) my king !
35. Already this very year the sons of
1 Or perhaps, " I say."
2 Literally "the Great House,"
an exact translation of the Egyptian Per-aa or Pharaoh.
3 Dubii, literally "tablet."
4 Anna, which seems intended for annu,
"this (man),” but it may be the Hebrew dnndh, '' indeed."
5 Us-kara\bit\. 6 Or "Isay."
36. Ebed-Asherah the dog reckon
37. the cities of the governors of the king for
[themselves]:
38. they have smitten the cities . . .
39. of Aziru, they have not . . .
40. the king, to their cities; they have not . .
.
41. for themselves, from the city of Ze[mar],
42. the city of Ullaza,1
the city of Sawa . . .
43. their chariots, the prince . . .
44. he sends the man
45. soldiers
46. the city of Zemar
47. Aziru despatches
Reverse
1. I am [at] the gate ; the men . . .
2. to the country of Egvpt
3. and he sent
4. in their hand to me.
5. Constantly I have sent this man,
6. but I do not send [messengers] to the
king.
7. Now these two Egyptians
8. have come forth to complain to me,
9. and I cannot venture
out. If this year
10. there are no household troops, then the
provinces
11. will [fall] to the Beduin, but
12. if it is the wish of the king to save2
them
13. I will send my household troops to
14. Yankhame and to Biri, (saying):
15. “ March along with your governors ! ”
16. They have occupied the country of the Amorites;
in
quietude
17. they have marched through it. This have I
done of
myself
1 Ullaza, otherwise unknown, must have
been in the neighbourhood of Zemar, the Simyra of classical geography, and the
modern Sumra between Tripoli and Amrit, See Gen. x. 18. Sawa . . . may be connected
with the mountain of Shaua mentioned in the Travels of the Mohar, 2 Read ba-li-idh.
18. along with Yapa-Addu and along with Kha[tip].
19. And the king will send
20 all
21. the property which they have taken
22. from these men for the king.
23. Another man has not taken it for another.
24. We have been successful1 for the
king. Accordingly
25. the king will send a horse
26. to his servant, and I will defend the city
27. of the king. I have nothing at all
28. whatsoever; everything has been given away
29. to save my life; and as for
30. this messenger, the king shall send him in
all haste, and
shall
furnish
31. guards to defend
32. his faithful servant and the city,
33. and (shall furnish) men of Melukhicha along with
them
34. like the god Zi2 of thy fathers.
(The next
seven lines are too mutilated for translation)
Edge
1. A man of Yari[muta].3 At the gate I (stand). A
... I send
[to]
2. Pharaoh for the protection of the men of
the country
of Milu[kha] ; but thou dost not
3. hear; yet why is the king constantly
sending
4. men of the guard [from] the country of Milukha to
its
defence?
5. They have not [surrendered] the city to
the Beduin.
1 Literally "one has been
successful."
2 There cannot be a reference here to the
Assyrian storm-god Zu or Zi, as he was considered an enemy of the other gods,
and we must therefore regard Zi as an ideograph. In this case it will mean
"Life," the equivalent of the Egyptian 1inkk. Ankh or " Life”
was one of the titles of the Pharaoh.
3 Yarimuta phonetically resembles Jarmuth
(Josh. x. 3), but it lay on the sea coast, and was probably to the north of
Gehal.
No. 74
1. Rib-Addu says to
2. the king of the world, the great king,
3. the king of the universe (?), (to whom)
the divine Lady
4. of Gebal
has given strength ;
5. to the king my lord ; at the feet
6. of my lord, my Sun-god seven times seven I
prostrate
myself.
7. Verily let the king my lord know 1
that
8. strong is the hostility of Ebed-Asherah
9. against me. Now the city which contended
10. against me . . . he has taken.
11 Again, what about
12. [Ebed-A]sherah the dog ? And he has come
13. [against] all the cities of the king, the
Sun-god ;
14. \word\ to the king of the country of Mitana 2
15. [and] the king of the country of the Kasse3 he has
sent,4
since
16. he has . . . and has taken the country of
the king5
for
himself.
17. [And now] again he has collected
18. all the Beduin against the city of Sigata
19. and the city of Ambi,6 and has taken also
20. [the territory?] of this city, and
21. there is no place which the Beduin have not
entered.
22. [Make war?] against him; seize
2...... 3
2 4 Send
me 400
25- [men]
26 horses
(The next
five lines are too mutilated for translation.)
32. [send] the household [troop]s to look after
1 Read li-i-di.
2 The Aram-Naharaim of the Old Testament
on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, opposite Carchemish.
3 The Babylonians, who were ruled at this
time by a Kassite dynasty.
4 Supir. c
The Egyptian king.
6 This seems to be the Ammi of other
tablets, the Ummah of Josh. xix. 30. But it may be the Aup of the Egyptian
texts.
33. [the do]gs; and gratuitously
34. again there have been handed over
35. the country of the king and the city of Zemar,
36. the city of your guard,
37. to the Beduin, and thou refrainest
38. from sending the household troops
39. (and) an officer, yet (so) thou wilt destroy
40. the enemies of the king from
41. all his country, and
42. all the provinces will be attached
43. to the king. Accordingly
44. do not thou, O great lord,
45. hold aloof from
46. this message.
No. 72
r. [To]
Khayapa ....
2. Rib-Addu [speaks] thus :
3. At thy 1 feet I fall.
4. O Amon,2
the god who (is) su[preme],3
5. thou knowest thy light (is) in
6. the countenance of the king my lord, of
whom,
7. behold, thou (Khayapa) art a dog,
8. the king knows (it), and in thy own person
9. the king has sent thee
10. as a Commissioner. Wherefore
11. dost thou delay and dost not
12. speak to the king
13. that he may send
14. the household troops and
15. that they may march
16. to the city of Zemar ? What
17. (is) Ebed-Asherah, the servant,
18. the dog? yet he has taken
19. the country of the king for himself.
20. What (is) his origin?
21. yet (he is) strong among the Beduin, strong
1 Read ka.
2 Amana.
3 Tsi-[ru].
22. (is) his power, and
23. he has despatched 50 convoys
24. of horses and 200 foot-soldiers,
25. and they are stationed in the city of Sigata
26. in1 his presence. Until
27. the household troops appear
28. he will not assemble all
29. the Beduin ; yet
30. he has taken the city of Sigata
31. and the city of Ambi.
No. 60.
Obverse
1. To the king my lord, my Sun-god,
2. speaks
3. Rib-Addu thy servant thus :
4. At the feet of my lord, my Sun-god,
5. seven times seven I prostrate myself.
6. The king my lord knows
7. that Salma-salla
8. the son of Ebed-Asherah
9. has entered the city of Ullaza,
10. in order to strengthen the cities of Ardata,2
11. Yibiliya, Ambi
12. 13. (and) Sigata, all the cities, for themselves,3 r4. and the king has sent
15. a force to the city of Zemar
16. until the king shall give counsel
17. to his country in regard to
18. the sons of Ebed-Asherah
19. the servant, the dog.—The king
20. of the country of the Kassi,4 and the
king
21. of the country of Mitani 6 are strong6
22. and have taken the country of the king for
1 Read i-na.
3 I.e. himself and his brothers.
5 Aram-Naharaim.
2 Probably Arvad is meant. .4
The Babylonians.
G I read
\da\-na-?iu.
23. themselves already,1
24. and they have seized2 the cities
Reverse
i . of thy
governor, yet thou delayest
2. in granting the request3 [of]
3. thy Commissioner, and they have seized
4. the cities for themselves.
5. Now they have taken the city of Ullaza.
6. If, therefore, thou delayest
7. until they have taken the city of Zemar and
8. also have slain the Commissioner
9. and the household troops
10. which (are) in Zemar, what
11. could one do ? and I
12. could not march up
13. to Zemar
14. the city. The cities of Ambi,
15. Sigata, Ullaza
16. (and) Arvad
4 are hostile
17. tome. They have plotted,
18. even they, that they shall enter
19. the city of Zemar,
20. even these cities, (and their) ships.
21. And the sons of Ebed-Ashe[rah]
22. (are) in the field, and . . .
23 and . . .
24. [I ?] have not marched up . . .
Edge
1. . . . and the city of Gebal has acted.
2. Against the Beduin (and) against the city
of Arvad
3. I march, since its . . . has joined
4. the Beduin. .
No. 61.
Obverse
1. [Rib-]Addu [the governor]
1 Sa-\su-nu\pa.'na-nu.
3 Literally “ favour [to].
2
</[/«-]*». 4 Er-va-da.
2. [of the city of Gebal] sends to
3. [his lord], the great king, the king of
the world, the
king _
4. of the universe (?) (to whom) the divine
lady of Gebal
5. has given strength ; to the king
6. my [lord]; at the feet of [my] lord, [my]
Sun-god,
7. [seven times] seven I prostrate myself.
Verily
8. the king my lord knows1 that
very strong (is) hostility
9. against us, since they say
10. [be]fore thee : (Still) belongs
r r. the
city of
Zemar to the king ! The
king
12. knows that our fortress has fallen;
13. moreover the sons of Ebed-Asherah have
taken it,
14. and there is no one to carry the news
15. to the king. But give counsel, since r6.
thy faithful servant (am) I, and thee
17. verily do I hear. I have sent to [my] lord.
18. Prophesy (?), give counsel to the city of Zemar,
19. [which] like a bird which (is) in the midst
of a snare
20. is placed: its nest
21. is very strong;
22. and the messengers who
23. from Bit-
. . teti [have come]
24. I have sent, and into the city of Zemar
25. they have entered2 by night.
26. And Ya[pa]-Addu perpetually [lingers],
27. he does not advance with me.
28. The men . . . have arrived;
29. they have ridden and know
30. how great (is) my faithfulness .... and
31. these Commissioners of the king
32. the king has sent to me, and
33. the king has spoken to them;
34. and thou hast charged them that they should
take
35. all that the king has given to his servant :
36. but the lord knows, as well as his son, at
the present
time
37. the king has taken everything for himself.
1 Read
i-di. 2 \_E\ribti-sunu.
38. Moreover all the men who
39. had attached themselves to ... .
40 all of them
41. along with me, and ....
Obverse
1. wherefore
2. against me; nothing at all belonged to
3. them, whether (they were) two or three :
thy father
4. furnished silver and listened to
5. the words of his faithful servant, and
6. gave abundance to his servant
7. and his handmaid the city of Gebal : thou didst deter
mine
8. to be kindly towards me, and as a son
9. I was with thee, and
10. I was at rest. Then Aziru and
11. Yapa-Addu accepted the word of their king
(?)
12. in regard to me, but they did not march up
[to take]
13. anything, and they acted
14. along with me. Continually is severe
sickness1
15. upon me who fulfil all the . . justice
16. of the king from everlasting . . .
17. Moreover behold I am [thy] faithful servant
18. and sickness is upon me in consequence of
19. these words. Behold I am
20. the dust of thy feet, O king !
21. Behold thy father did not
22. entrust Aziru with [his] provinces
23. as his governor, and he was zealous [for]
24. the gods and the goddesses and the divine
mistress
25. of Gebal;
and [thou] didst sit
26. on the throne of the house of thy father,
[and]
27. to the country of the Kasi2 attached themselves3
2 8. the sons of Ebed-Asherah, and [they]
29. took the country of the king for themselves;
[together with]
1 Mari\ts\ 2
The Babylonians.
3 Yabisu\na\. This line has been omitted
by Winckler.
30. the king of the country of Mitana (were) they and the
king
31. of the country of the Kasi and the king of the
country of
the Hittites.
32. The king sent the household
33. troops (and) Yankhamu together with
34. [the men] of the king1 of the
country of Yarimuta
35. [and the] Commissioner of the city of Kumidi 2 . . .
36.... his [servant], and they took
In the Collection of Rostovich-Bey (No. 1902)
1. To [Am]an-appa my father
2. speaks
3. thus Rib-Addu thy son :
4. at the feet of my father I prostrate
myself,
5. I say (and) repeat the report
6. to thee : thou hast not marched up
7. to take me 3 from the hand
8. of Ebed-Asherah. All
9. the Beduin (are) with him,
10. and the governors have not
11. heard anything;
12. and they have sent to him,
13. and continually he (becomes) strong, and
14. thou repeatest the word(s) to me :
15. “Send thy man with me
16. to Pharaoh, for he has not obtained
17. (his) request; ” and I have sent him
18. together with a force to thee.
19. Until the household troops come forth
1 So in Sayce’s copy.
2 Kumidi must be the Kamata of Thothmes
III. at Karnak (No. 8), which is named after Tubikhi in Northern Palestine, and
shortly before Merom. It is written Qam’du by Seti I. at Qurnah, where it
precedes the name of Tyre, while Ramses III. at Medtnet Habu writes it Qam’tu,
and places it between "the Spring of the Magoras,” or river of Beyrout,
and Shinnur (Shenir) or Hermon.
8 It may
also be translated : “ they have not marched up : take me,”
20. I defend thy life and
21. I say to thee : “I have not
22. sent all (the men), [and]
23. Ebed-Ashe[rah] has not heard
24. about it. This I have done (and) have
escaped
25. from his hand.” And thou say[est]
26. to me : “ Do not depart,”
2 7. and
thou repeatest the word to me :
28. “Send a ship to
2 9. the
country of Yarimuta and there
shall come for thee
30. silver (and) cattle from it.”
31. Now the men whom thou hast given
32. to me are all fled.
33. Now give counsel1 about thyself,
if
34. thou art able, unto me. Now
35. [the king] heard that
36. I have sent my man to Pharaoh,
37. and he spoke to the man, and he stood,
38. he remained near him, and I am stricken down
39. nine times. Now firstly I have committed
40. this offence, and I have committed a second
4r. offence, which has happened to
me, when
42. after one month no household troops came,
43. and I left the city,
44. and departed and
45. saved my life in order to
46. perform the deed which I desired.
47. This thou didst not know.
48. Accordingly the country of the Amorites day
49. and night thou visitest.
50. Do not send the household troops
51. to Akzabu2
but speak to the king
52. that he enquire without delay.
No. 49.
Obverse
1. [Rib-]Hadad says [thus]
2. [to] the king of the world, the great
king,
1 Read [?ni~\!ik.
2 Probably Ekdippa, the Achzib of Josh.
xix. 29 ; Mic. i. 14 ; now Zib.
3. [the lord] of the city of Gebal :
4. to the king, [my] lord,
5. [at the feet] of my lord, [my] Sun-god,
6. [seven times seven] do I prostrate myself.
7. I say (and) I send a report
8. to the palace. My words [thou] dost not
9. [consider] and the report [thou] dost not
10. hear. Behold, the action
11. of the city of Tyre I do not fear.
12. Again I do not see the king asking
13. for his governor, even for my brother. The
king
14. does not say : “My words (are) for their
life.”
15. If the king asks,
16. then will we turn our faces 1 to
17. go down to thee. I have done
18. my utmost,2 [and] the city of Tyre
19. is before me.
20. Consequently their governor is exalted3
21. together with my sister and her sons.
22. The daughters of my brother I have sent
23. to the city of Tyre from fear of
24. Ebed-A[sherah] . . .
(The rest
of the Obverse is destroyed,.')
Reverse
4. all the countries . . .
5. If for [my] brother
6. the king [my lord] shall ask [and]
7. a return to life [shall grant him]
8. he will send to the king his [lord].
9. They do not attend to his words
10. or in any way to Anu
11. his god. But if for my brother
12. thou shalt ask and shalt say :
1 Literally " (there is) a giving of
our face.”
2 Literally ‘ ‘ power,' ’
3 I am inclined to think that the true
reading must be daku, '‘they have killed/’ instead of saku,
"exalted." In this case the translation would be : "Now {aim)
they have killed their governor/’
13. “ (As for) this city (there is) no
governor; the king
14. has asked about him,” we will not omit1
15. to do something. But we are afraid
16. if for the governor of the city of Tyre
17. the king shall not ask,
18. since great is his wealth. Like
19. an enemy am I (become). Again,
20. behold the palace of the city of Tyre,
21. there is no palace of any (other) governor
22. like this one ; like the palace
23. [of the city] of Ugarita 2 is it.
24. Exceeding great is (the) wealth
25. [of the man], all of it. The king has heard
26. [concerning] it. He has sent a servant
27. [that he may] enquire, and he has left.
28. [Here] I re[main] and
29. [send?] to the governors, and
{The next
two lines are too mutilated for translation.)
32. The Commissioner of the king . . .
33. [to] the hand of the king [of] the world.
Edge
1. . . . the king knows (and) sends.
2. They have taken [Ebed-A]sherah. His enemy
3. [is be]fore them, and before the place . .
.
4. The king has . . . them. I have not
sent(?) . . .
1 Nitebiru from ebiru, “ to pass
over.”
2 The city of Ugarita is mentioned in
another letter (No. 76, Obv. 4-6). "Since my lord has sent to his servants
from the countries of Zalukhkhi (? Melukhkhi) and from the city of Ugarite they
have marched.” Perhaps it is the Akarith of the Egyptian texts. In the poem of
Pentaur Akarith is mentioned between Anaugas (which Professor Erman has shown
to be the Nukhasse of the Tel el-Amarna tablets) and Mushanat (possibly the
Usanat of Shalmaneser II., see Records of the Past, New Series, vol. iv. p. 71,
line 93). In a later passage of the same poem it comes between Carchemish and
Qadi (the K£tis of the Kilikian plain according to Professor Maspero), Anaugas
following next. In a despatch from Yapa-Hadad to Yankhamn (Winckler, No. 128),
it is said that 11 all the districts have gone after Aziru, from
Gebal to Ugarit.”
VOL. VI
F
No. 47. Obverse
1. Rib-Hadad of the city of Geb[al]
2. to his lord the king of the world,
3. the king of the universe (?),
4. (to whom) the divine mistress of Gebal,
5. has given strength ; to
6. the king my lord; at
7. the feet of my lord, my Sun-god,
8. seven times seven I prostrate myself.
9. Since they say [to the king]:
10. He has not . . . himself!
11. now them
among
12 my fathers,
13. the men [whom] the king protects,
14. I have not [injured?] them and the property
15. of the king [in] their [charge]. And such
an one
16. (am) I. There is no possession
17. of the king in my [hands], and
18. there are no men of the guard
19. of the king in my [province]. I
20. (am) in my own territory,1
21. among the troops [of] my own [territory],
(The next
two lines are destroyed.)
24. The men of the guard,
25. the men of the king, [my property]
26. have taken away as well as the pro[perty]
27. of the king in addition to it, and
28. here am I, without
29. the guard and without
30. the property of the king for
31. myself. And Pakhura2
32. has done a great (mis)-deed
33. against me : he has sent
34. men of the country of the 'Sute3
and
1 Read
ettint. 2 The Egyptian
Pa-Hor.
8 In the Assyrian texts the 'Sute denote
the Beduin, more especially those who inhabited the eastern bank of the Tigris
and the western bank of the Euphrates. They correspond to the Sati of the
Egyptian inserip-
35. they have smitten the Serdani,1
36. and three men (out of them)
37. have not entered the country of Egypt,
38. and for many days
39. thou askest the city concerning me;
40. and thereupon
41. thou sayest: “The city has done
42. what it should not have done, acting
43. against me out of opposition ; ”
44. and the king has heard
45. 46. the words of his servant and has sent
47. men (saying) : “Do not act.”
48. [Of how] at that time
49. 50. they acted [I sent] my report
accordingly.
51. . . . my life
Edge
1. . . the men before the king . . .
2. . . hear me. Now . . .
3. . . thus I sent to [the king]
4. . . . and I will return this year (?).
No. 48.
Obverse
1. [To the king] my lord, the Sun-god of the
earth,
2. [speaks R]ib-Hadad thy servant; at the
feet [of the
kinS] . T r
3. [my lord,] the Sun-god, seven times seven
I [prostrate
myself].
4. [I] declare to the king my lord [the
messages]
5. which they have sent as follows to the
king my lord.
6. But they have not listened to my words.
tions, who
were primarily the Beduin of the Asiatic deserts east of Egypt. If Sa’ti is a
word of Egyptian origin, it would denote "archers,” but the fact that it
is identical with the Assyrian 'Snte, makes this doubtful.
1 The Shairdana or Sardinians of the
Egyptian monuments, a body of whom was incorporated in the Egyptian army. This
passage shows that they served as mercenaries under the Pharaoh at least a
century before the reign of Seti I., in whose time they have hitherto been
supposed to have made their first entrance into Egypt.
7. Now three times have there fallen upon me
these
8. misfortunes (?) and for two years (?)....
g. I have no corn : corn to
10. eat unto me there is not. What is to be
done1
11. for the men my allies? All
12. their sons, their daughters (and) their
houses2
13. have been handed over to the land of Yarimuta
14. in order to preserve their lives.3
Again
15. the king my lord hears the words
16. of his faithful servant and sends
17. corn in ships and preserves
18. his servant and (his) property,4
and he has despatched ig. 400 men (and) 30 convoys of horses
20. as a present to 'Suta,
21. and they will defend the city for thee.
22. Again since Yankhamu says :
23. “Thou hast given corn to Rib-Hadad,”
24. give [corn also] to him
25. [when] thou enterest [the city] of Tyre.
26. [Let] the corn, 30 men
2 7. [and . . convoys of horses be] his
gift [like unto] my [gift]- .
28. And this in the case of Yapa-Hadad :
2g. ... I have
taken their silver,
30. and he has collected . . . ; ask him,
31. and he will say : “ Everything (is) before
thee ;
32. may one bless thee before
33. the king my lord, and he will give
34. corn [this] year [to] the country of Yarimuta.”
35. [For] he did not give corn formerly in the
city of
Zemar,
36. [but now] he gives (it) again in the city of
Gebal
37. [for] the preservation of their [lives]
until thou hast
preserved
38. thy city. May one [bless] thee
1 If the copy is right, we must regard
sesu as a shaphel of esu, "to make."
2 That is, “households." 3 Read Zi-su-nu.
4 Rasit, if the copy is right, but
I suspect that we ought to read ali-su, " his city."
39. [before] the king my lord. The [corn?] he
will send
40. this [year], and men ....
4 1 Yapa-Hadad
....
4 2 and
thou wilt preserve ....
Reverse
1. [0 king, my] lord. There are no men in
the city :
2, 3. send men of the guard [in all] haste:
do not take
4 [at] my report tears
5. of water (are) to Yankhamu, and . .
6. he went to ... to the sons
7. of . . la in [the country of Ya]rimuta.
8. The king of the country of Ta[ri]zi marched
9. as far as the city of Zemar and came
1 a
marching as far as the city of Gebal,
and no
11. support [came to] him, and he returned
12. to his own country. Now they sent as
follows
13. to Pharaoh at my request:
1 4 they
returned
1 5 exists,
and my sons
16. the request of my servant, and he knows 17 the king;
18. [and] the king regards
19. his faithful servant; as to
20. Ebed-Ashe[rah]
21. and [they] pronounce his name in
22. [the presence] of the king, the Sun-god,
since as for the
governor
23. his heart (is) with my heart;
24. and he has destroyed Ebed-Asherah
25. out of the country of the Amorites. Again after
26. the return of thy father from
27. the city of Zidon,
after those days
28. 29. the provinces went over to the Beduin
constantly.
30, 31. I had nothing; the king did not hear the
words of
his
servant.
32. He had [not] given men to defend
33. his [city]. He1 did not assemble
all
1 Ebed-Asherah.
34. the Beduin, but he occupied the country of Tyre.
35, 36. . . And at [that] time he sent troops
37. [and] destroyed [the enemy out of]
38. [the city of Ty]re, when they marched 39............ and
I (?)
Edge
........................ 1 enters. The woman Nu . . . sent................................
2 before
Milku-sub . . The handmaid of the
divine
Mistress [of] Geb[al]
3 the
king, until the handmaid ... in ... .
4. ... in the hand of his man; [the king] my
god . . .
No. 71. Obverse
1. Rib-Had[ad, the governor of the city of
Gebal,]
2. to the king, my lord, [the great king, the
king of the
world,]
3. beneath the feet [of the king, my lord,]
4. seven times and seven times [I prostrate
myself.]
5. I send, I repeat to [the king my message,]
6. and thou dost not give attention],
7. The king, my lord, does [not] hear the words
[of his
servant],
8. though he sends [his] prophet1
9. to the house of the life of Pharaoh,2
but . . .
10. no men of the guard come marching
11. to him. Yet they see my [position]
12. that my eyes have not been given yesterday 3
13. unto me like (those of my) brother
governors.
14. And thou hast honoured me with a throne for
a habita
tion.
15. I have gone to the presence of Khamuniri,
16. and my brother is turned from me
17. in the ... of the city of Gebal
1 Itip, as in line 21. We cannot read tur-sip\ri\,
"messenger," since the syllable H is wanting.
"
Literally “great house" or "palace." The expression "house
of life " is borrowed from Egyptian. 3 Yum
timil/a.
1 8. in order to give this city
19. to the sons of Ebed-Asherah,
20. since my brother has seen that
21. my prophet has gone away
22. (and) that the men of the guard (are) with
him
23. (and) Yan-azni; and continually
24. is he committing wrong and driving me
25. from the city. The king my lord
26. does not incline to this his deed.
27. Now I have not gone up and
28. down to the lands of Egypt :1
29. I am old and sickness (is) heavy
30. upon my body, but the king
31. my lord knows that the gods of the city of Gebal
32. are strong2 and very active,3
33. and I have given robes (?) to the gods.
34. Never have I entered
35. into the presence of the king my lord;
36. but now my son, the servant of the king my
lord,
37. have I sent to the presence of the king my
lord,
38. and the king has heard the words of his
servant,
39. and the king [my] lord has given
40. the household [troop]s, and [has assisted]
41. [the city] of Gebal,4 but the
42. troops of the kingdom have not [ent]ered
Reverse
1. [into it]. I have sent [men]
2. into the midsfof it and they have marched,
3. even the household troops of the king my
lord,
4. to occupy it. Behold the son[s] of Geb[al]
5. (are) men who love me : to the midst of
the city
6. of the sons of the men of the kingdom, to
the midst of
it,
1 Upper and Lower Egypt.
2 Qabsu. This is Dr. Winckler’s reading.
My copy has qadti-na, “ (are) with us."
3 Kharzzt, the Hebrew khdrats. 4 Written Gub-ub-li-vn.
7. the household troops come forth, and they
have deter
mined
8. after a day to capture it; but
9. the city has returned to the king my lord;
10. and my lord knows that I have confidence in
him
11. since I guard the city
12. for my lord according to the direction of
my heart.
13. Moreover the king my lord has not given
14. the city to the sons of Ebed-Asherah.
15. My brother is constantly hostile to the
city
16. in order to give it to the sons of
Ebed-Asherah.
17. The king my lord has not turned from
18. the city. If very abundant
19. (are) silver (and) gold in the midst of it
for the temple
of its
gods,
20. abundant (is) the wealth ; if they take it,
21. the king my lord, as they have done, will
do
22. to his servant and will establish the city
of Puruzilim 1
23. for my habitation. Now in the presence
24. of Khamuniri I have been since
25. the city was obedient. In the city of Puruzilim
26. the sons of Ebed-Asherah were hostile, they
were
afraid
2 7. when I went to the presence of
Khamuniri.
28. As for the sons of Ebed-Asherah, since
29. they are powerful against me and there is no
prince,2
30. the words of the king (are addressed) to me
and a
command
31. to my lord : “Behold, the city of Gebal (is) a hostile
city;
32. much property of the king (is) within it,
the possessions
of the
city
33. (and) the men (which) I have given
formerly.” If the
king has
spoken to
34. all in the city (and) country that they
should go out,
there will
be none to whom 8
1 The name probably means "the city
of Iron.”
2 Sari. 3
Ana sasu.
35. the king can give orders for this work.
36. Now thy servant, my son, have I sent to
37. the presence of the king my lord, and do
thou send
him
quickly,
38. O king, together with soldiers (who) shall
march to the
city.
39. If the king my lord shall strengthen me, and
40. shall restore me to the city and to the . .
.
41. as before, for the king my lord [I will
defend the
property]
42. of the king my lord within it, and . . .
(The next
seven lines are too mutilated for translation.)
Edge
1. the household troops; and they have
captured the
men
quickly [and]
2. the city in all haste; and they have
marched to the
city . . .
3. since the words (are) before the king. The
king my
lord does
not speak
4. to the [city that] it is strong for this
difficult work . . .
5. it is not strong before him who has acted
against the
countries
[of the king],
6. the soldiers of the king my lord and the
paths (?) of the
king my
lord.
1. [Rib-Hadad sends to his] lord,
2. [the great king, the king of the world, to
whom the
divine
lady of Gebal]
3. has given strength,
4. [to the king, my lord : at the feet of the
king], my
lord,
5. my [Sun-god], seven times seven I
prostrate myself.
6. The king my lord knows that
7. strong (is) the hostility of Ebed-Asherah,
8. [of the city of Barra-] barti :1 all ray cities
9. [have gone over to] him. The city of Gebal and the
city of [Ty]re
1 o. he has excited against me, and two [messages
?]
11. [he has sent?], and he says to the
citizens :
12. “I (am) your lord! ” and the Beduin
13. have acted like the city of Ammi,
14. [and] they have done a misdeed unto [me].
15. The Barra-bartiyan
has left .... upon me;
16. [with?] him (are) the . . . tisu and the Serdanu.2
17. [And the king] does not know [that in] the
pres
ence
18. of Ebed-Asherah in the gate3 one
has done
19. this deed against me. Now
20. [here] I stay and wait in
21. my [city], I have not gone up at any time
22. [to Egypt, but] I send to Pharaoh4
23. [in order that] they may bring back word.
24 [before] the god I humble myself5
25. [for the preservation] of my life ....
(The three
following lines are hopelessly destroyed.') Reverse
1 for
two months [they were] going
2 the
household troops, and
3. ... he did not slay ....
4. my . ., and he took me ....
5. greatly, and what [could I do] against the
men ?
6. Now like a bird which is set in [the
midst]
1 As Ebed-Asherah seems to have come from
the land of the Amorites, the city of Barra-barti would have been in that
region. Perhaps the second part of the name is the Hebrew bcrith, "
covenant." Compare the name of Barbartu in the North Syrian list of Ramses
III. (C. left, ii. 8), above, p. 42.
2 For the Serdanu or Sardinians sec above,
p. 67, note 1.
3 Bib a seems a mistake for babi.
4 Bitu-rabu, “great house,” the Egyptian
Per-fta or Pharaoh,
5 Ammakh\ats\ ‘
7. of a cage,1 (is) their seat in
the midst [of the city]
(The next
three lines are too much destroyed to be intelligible.)
11. [They asked] mercy
12. [for] the preservation of their lives. Now
13. I have said to them : There have marched
14. the household troops, since slaughter
15. there has been none and they have given
quarter. If2
16. none come, (and) during 2 months thou dost
not [send]
17. the household troops, and hast not taken
18. Abed-Asherah, though he has taken two
ci[ties],
19. yet the city of Zemar and the
20. governors are (still) strong ....
1 The
Assyrian \kh-u\khari being a rare word, the Canaanitish kilubi is added to
explain it. The latter is the Hebrew kelilb (Jer. v. 27). Khukkari is one of
the many words which were borrowed by Assyrian from Sumerian, being a compound
of the Sumerian kku, “ bird," and khar, “enclosure.” It has the same form
as mu'saru, “a cylinder," which, as the native scribes inform us, is a
compound of the Sumerian mu, “ name," and 'sar, “writing.” 2 Js[sum].
THE
INSCRIPTION OF ASSUR-B^L-KALA
Translated by S. Arthur Strong
One of the most striking and interesting of the monuments of
Assyrian art, preserved in the British Museum, is the statue numbered 849. It
is a nude female figure, sadly mutilated, so much so, in fact, that little more
than the trunk remains : but the subject has been treated in a style and on a
scale which at once arrest the attention of the observer accustomed to the
draped formality and minute detail of the Assyrian craftsmen.
The back
is covered by a partly defaced inscription which is no less important
historically than the figure itself artistically, for it is the sole document
bequeathed to us by Assur-bel-Kala,1 who more than a thousand years
B.C. succeeded his father, the great Tiglath- pileser, as King of Assyria. The
text is as follows :—
Transliteration
1. ekal Assur-bel-Ka[la] . . . sar kis[sati]
. . .
2. apil Tukulti-apil-Esarra .
. . [sarru?] dan[nu] . . .
1 It is
true that the King’s name occurs on another small fragment (Layard, 73), which
probably once formed part of a votive inscription ; but in this case the
remains are too scanty to enable us to determine with certainty either the
character of the document or to whom it belonged.
3. apil Asur-ris-isi sar
kis[sati sar As[surma
4. alamgate annate ki[rib ?] .
. . alani
5. u arrute ina mukhkhitsi
akhie . . .
6. munikir sidhriia u sumiia
A[num u ?] ilani
7. Martu mikhits tsiri
imakhatsus
Translation
1. The palace of Assur-bel-Kala . . . King
of the whole
(world),
[King of Assyria],
2. son of Tiglathpileser . . . the strong
king . . .
3. son of Assur-ris-isi, King of the whole
(world), King of
the same
Assyria :—
4. These images in the midst of . . . the
cities
5. and cursings with the crushing of the side
. . .
6. Whosoever alters my writing and my name
the god
Anu and
the gods of
7. Martu with the crushing of the back shall
crush him.
It will be
seen that the text is so mutilated that whatever clue it may once have afforded
to the meaning and purpose of the statue, lies now beyond recovery. The figure
has naturally enough been called an Istar, though not a vestige of her name can
be traced. If it were possible to conclude, from the use of the plural in line
4, that our example formed one member of a series, we might perhaps detect in
it the sole surviving trace of some forgotten exploit or scheme of
Assur-bel-Kala. For we know that two centuries later Ramman-nirari III. tried
to introduce the worship of Nebo into Assyria, or rather to establish it there
in a position of privilege; and he has left us a record of his pious purposes
inscribed on two twin statues of the god. It seems, therefore,
not
improbable that in a similar way Assur-b61-Kala may have sought to found or to
promote the worship of some special patroness of his own, either in Assyria or
in the West, and that one of her effigies— unfortunately no longer
recognisable—has accidentally come down to us.
But there
is one feature of the text which stands out, as it were, in high relief from
the surrounding obscurity, and that is, the mention of the gods of Martu, or
the land of the Amorites : and though it by no means necessarily follows from
this that the statue is that of an Amoritish goddess, and the work of an
Amoritish craftsman, still, on the other hand, there is nothing to exclude the
bare possibility of such an assumption, either in the style of the figure or in
its history. But however this may be, there is one result that seems certainly
to follow from the appearance in this place of the gods of Martu, namely, that
Assur-bel-Kala had not relaxed his hold over the regions of the West, which the
prowess of his father had added to the Assyrian Empire.1
The
text—originally published in the first volume of The Cuneiform Inscriptions of
Western Asia, Plate
6, No. vi., but with so many errors as to
render it unintelligible—has been the subject of attempts at translation by
Oppert (Expedition, i. 288) and
1 [This
fact would be emphasised by the rendering I prefer to give of the 4th line,
where I divide the words differently from Mr, Strong, and would accordingly
translate : '1 these images in the [countries], cities and villages
I set up on pedestals(})." In this case the images would have been
specially intended for erection in Syria, AlamgdU seems to be a foreign
word.—Ed.]
Menant (Annales,
54). An account of the monument, with an amended edition and translation of
the text, will be found in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April
1892.1
1 I have here adopted the readings
alamgate (1. 4) and A[num] (1. 6) in preference to those given in the J. R. A.
S.
Translated by Professor Robert W. Rogers
SENNACHERIB,
in Assyrian Sin-akhi-erba, “The Moon-god has increased the brothers,” ascended
the throne of Assyria on the 12 th day of the month Ab, in the year 705 B.C.,
succeeding to all the rights and honours of the great kingdom which his father
Sargon had left. His reign continued, with many wars and frequent difficulties,
until his life was ended by assassination in 681 B.C. (2 Kings xix. 37). Of all
his campaigns against Babylon, Elam, and other places, none is so interesting
to the Biblical student as the great campaign against Phoenicia and Philistia.
This campaign is treated at considerable length and with much vividness in 2
Kings xviii. 13-xix. 36, and again in Isaiah xxxvi. i-xxxvii. 37. Sennacherib’s
own account of this campaign is presented in the great Taylor prism here done
into English, and a comparison of this account with the Old Testament story
mentioned above would seem to give the main facts about as follows, each
accouut mutually supplementing the other. The Kings of Phoenicia and Philistia,
with Hezekiah of Judah
among
them, made a coalition with the Egyptians and Ethiopians to throw off the
Assyrian yoke and deliver themselves from tribute. Hearing of this confederacy
in some way, Sennacherib speedily gathered an army, and marched by the usual
route to Syria, suddenly appearing in the northern part of the land. His coming
was so unexpected that the allies had not united their forces, and the skilful
Assyrian was able to attack them one by one. He sent one body of the army
toward Jerusalem, which met with immediate success in overcoming a number of
cities of Judah, while the King himself led the other portion of his army
towards Lachish. Heze- kiah, fearing the army which was already advancing with
victorious banners, sent ambassadors to Lachish with great gifts, and with
protestations- of his fealty to Sennacherib. Sennacherib, however, sent an army
against the chief city, desiring to take possession of the city—a plan which
did not succeed. Immediately afterwards tbe Assyrian army met the southern
allies under Tirhakah (2 Kings xix/9), and the battle, as may be read between
the lines of Sennacherib’s account, was not a decisive victory. His campaign
closed suddenly and without the usual long list of spoil—a lack which he
attempts to supply by representing that the presents sent by Hezekiah to
Lachish were sent to Nineveh.
The first
of the two inscriptions here given refers to the same campaign as that which is
described at length in the Taylor cylinder.
VOL. VI G
The Taylor
cylinder has been previously translated into English by Talbot in the Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xix. p. 135 sqq., and in the Records of the
Past, First Series, vol. i. p. 33 sqq. ; into French by Menant, Annales, p. 214
suiw. ; into German by Horning, Das sechsseitige Prisma des Sanherib in
transscribirtem Grundtext und Uebersetz- ung, Leipzig, 1878; and by Bezold,
Keilinschrift- liche Bibliothek, ii. p. 80 ff. (Cf. criticism by W. Muss Arnolt
in Hebraica, vii. p. 56 sqq.) The original is a splendidly preserved prism of
six sides, found by Colonel Taylor in 1830, and now in the British Museum. It
is published in W. A. I. vol. i. pll. 37-42, and in autograph facsimile in Abel
and Winkler’s Keilschrifttexte, Berlin, 1890, pp. 17-21.
The
translator’s thanks are due to Professor Hil- precht, who has read this
translation in manuscript, and made useful suggestions.
Inscription on a Relief
1
1. Sennacherib, the king of the world, the
king of
Assyria,
2. sat on his throne,2 and
3. the spoil of the city of Lachish
4. marched before him.
The Taylor Cylinder
1. Sennacherib, the great king, the powerful
king,
2. the king of the world, the king of Assyria, the king of
the four
zones,
3. the wise shepherd, the favourite of the
great gods,
4. the protector of justice, the lover of
righteousness,
5. he who gives help, who goes to assist the
weak,
6. who frequents the sanctuaries (?),3
the perfect hero,
7. the manful warrior, the first of all
princes,
8. the great, he who destroys the rebellious,
9. who destroys the enemies ;
10. Assur, the great
rock, a kingdom without rival
11. has granted me.
12. Over all who sit on sacred seats has he
made my arms
great,
1 On a magnificent bas-relief, now in the
British Museum, representing Sennacherib on his throne, receiving the spoil of
the city.
2 Kussi nimedi, a doubtful phrase. The
meaning of nimedi is unknown. It has been translated "lofty,"
“portable/' “dwelling-place,” etc. In Sennacherib, iii. 76, and iv. 8, below,
kussu and kussu nimedu seem to be used without distinction. Nimedu is
apparently merely an epitheton omans (so Evetts, ZA. iii. 327) with kussu,
“seat.”
3 Sakhiru damqati.
13. from the upper sea of the setting sun 1
14. unto the lower sea of the rising sun 1
15. the whole of the black headed people 2
has he thrown
beneath my
feet
16. and rebellious princes shunned battle with
me.
1 7. They
forsook their dwellings ; like a falcon
18. which dwells in the clefts,3
they fled alone to an inac
cessible
place.
19. In my first campaign I accomplished the
destruction of
Merodach-baladan
20. king of Kar-dunyash,4
together with the troops of
Elam,
21. his allies, near Kish.
22. In the midst of that battle he left his
encampment
23. and fled alone, and saved his life.
24. The chariots, horses, freight wagons, (and)
mules
25. which he left in the onset of battle, my
hands seized.
26. Into his palace I entered joyously and
27. opened his treasure-house. Gold, silver,
28. gold (and) silver utensils, costly stones of
every kind,
29. possessions and goods, without number, a
heavy spoil,
his women
of the palace,
30. valets de chambre (?), youths and
maidens,
31. all the artisans, as many as there were,
32. the portable things of his palace, I brought
forth and
33. counted as spoil. By the power of Assur, my lord,
34. 75 of his powerful cities, the fortresses of
the land of
Kaldi 6
35. and 420 smaller cities of their environs
36. I besieged, captured, and carried off their
spoil.
37. The Arabians,6
Aramaeans7 (and) Chaldeans8
of
Uruk,9
1 Lake Van and the Persian Gulf.
2 The inhabitants of Babylonia.
3 So Dr. Muss-Arnolt. 1 Babylonia.
6 In the south of Babylonia. 0 Ur-bi. i A-rn-mu.
8 Kal-du. See Records of the Past, New
Series, vol. ii. p. 164, note 5.
9 Biblical Erech (Gen. x. 10). Modern
Warka, on the left bank of the Euphrates, in Southern Babylonia.
38. Nipur,1
Kish,2 Kharsak-kalamma,2 ,Kutu,3 and
Sippara
39. together with the inhabitants of the city
who had
committed
transgression,
40. I brought forth and counted as spoil. On my
return
march,
41. the Tu’muna,
the Rikhikhu, the Yadaqqu,
42. the Ubudu,
the Kipre, the Malakhu,
43. the Gurumu,
the Ubulum, the Damunu,
44. the Gambulum,
the Khindaru, the Ru’ua,
45. the Puqudu,4
the Khamranu, the Khagaranu,
46. the Nabatu,
the Li’tau, Aramaeans
47. who were rebellious, I conquered together.
48. 208,000 people, young (and) old, male and
female,
49. (7200) 5 horses (and) mules,
(11,073) asses, (5230)
camels,
50. (80,100) cattle, (800,600) sheep,6
an immense
51. spoil, I carried away to Assyria.
52. In the course of my campaign, I received
from Nebo-
bel-shanati,
53. the prefect of the city Khararati, gold, silver,
54. tall palms (?), asses, camels, cattle
55. and sheep, a great present.
56. The men of the city Khirimme, a rebellious enemy,
57. I cast down with arms, I left not one alive,
58. their corpses I bound on stakes
S 9. and placed them round the city. That
district
60. I took anew. 1 steer, 10 rams,
61. 10 measures7 of wine, 20
measures of dates, their
first
fruits,
62. for the gods of Assyria, my lords, I established
for ever.
1 Mod. Niffer, in Southern Babylonia.
2 See Delitzsch, Paradies, pp. 218, 219.
3 Cutha in 2. Kings xvii. 24, 30. Now Tel
Ibrahim.
4 Biblical Pekod (Jeremiah 1. 21).
5 The numbers given in parentheses are not
found in the Taylor cylinder, but appear in various duplicate fragments.
6 After "sheep " in Taylor
cylinder, “ without number."
7 Imeri, i.e. " donkey-loads,” the
original meaning of the word homer.
63. In my second campaign Assur, my lord, gave
me
confidence.
64. Against the land of the CosS-ffiANS,1
and the land of
the Yasubigallai,
65. who in former times to the kings my
forefathers
66. had not submitted, I marched. Over high
wooded
mountains,
67. a rough country, I went on horseback.
68. I brought up the chariot of my feet, with ropes.
69. A steep place I climbed like a wild bull.
70. Bit-Kilamzakh, Khardishpi, Bit-Kubatti
71. his cities, powerful fortresses, I besieged
and captured.
72. Men, horses, mules, asses,
73. cattle and sheep from them
74. I brought forth, and counted as spoil; but
their small
cities,
75. without number, I destroyed, wasted, and
made like
fields;
76. the tents, their dwelling places, I burned
with fire,
77. I reduced to ashes. I made that city Bit-Kilamzakh
78. into a fortress, stronger than before
79. I made its walls; the people of the
countries,
80. the possession of my hands,2 I
made to dwell therein.
81. The people of the land of the Coss/Eans, and of the
land of Yasubigalla,
82. who had fled before my arms,
COLUMN 11
1. from the mountains I made them descend,
2. in Khardishpi
[and] Bit-Kubatti I made them
settle ;
3. in the hands of my deputy, the governor of
Arrapkha,3
4. I placed them ; a tablet I caused to be
prepared ;
1 Kasskt. They lived in the mountains on
the east of Babylonia.
2 Kishitti Icataya. Kishitii, from kashddu,
lienee something that is “ taken ” by force, later a “ possession."
3 Henee the classical name of the district
of Arrapakhitis, on the Upper Zabnow Albak,
5. the victory of my hands which
6. I had gained over them I wrote upon it and
7. I set it up in the city. I turned about1
and
8. to the land of Ellipi 2 I took
my way.
9. Before me Ispabara, their king, left his
strong cities,
10. his treasure houses, and fled
11. away. The whole of his extensive land I
wasted like
a storm-wind.
12. Marubishti [and] Akuddu cities
13. of his royal house, together with 34 small
cities of
their
environs,
14. I besieged, took, destroyed, wasted and
15. burned with fire; the inhabitants, young,
old, male
and
female,
16. horses, mules, asses, camels,
17. oxen and sheep without number I drove away
and
18. I made his land desolate, and diminished
it.
19. Sisirtu and Kummakhlum, powerful
20. cities, together with the small cities of
their environs,
21. the land of Bit-Barru, in its entire
extent,
22. from his land I separated and to the
23. land of Assyria
added. The city of Ilinzash
24. I made the capital and fortress of that
territory arid
25. changed its former name;
26. Kar-Sennacherib
I named it.
27. The people of the lands, the possession of my
hands,
I made to
dwell there.
28. In the hands of my deputy, the governor of
Kharkhar,3
29. I placed them, and widened my territory. On
my return
30. I received from the land of Media,4 far away, of
which land
1 Pa-an niri-ya u-tir-ma, lit. “I turned my
yoke."
■ [Ellipi
was the country of which Ekbatana was subsequently the centre, the Media of
classical antiquity.—Ed.]
3 [Kharkhar adjoined Ellipi on the
north-east.—Ed.]
4 Madai. [It must be remembered that the
Medes spoken of by Sennacherib did not as yet inhabit the district of which
Ekbatana subsequently became the capital. Hence the title of “ far off,”
applied to them here. —Ed. ]
31. no one of my fathers had heard the name,
32. a heavy tribute.
33. I placed them beneath the yoke of my
lordship.
34. In my third campaign I marched to the land
of the
Hittites.1
35. Eluteus,2 king of Sidon, was overcome by the fear of
the
splendour
36. of my lordship and fled far away
37. to the sea and there made his abode (?).
38. Great Sidon, Little
Sidon,
39. Bit-zitti, Sarepta,3
Makhalliba,
40. Ushu,4
Ekdippa,5 Akko,6
4r. his
powerful cities, fortresses, pastures
42. and cisterns, and his fortifications, the
power of the
arms
43. of Assur,
my lord, overcame and cast at
44. my feet. Ethobal7 upon the royal
throne
45. I placed over them and a tribute of my
lordship,
46. yearly and unchangeable, I set upon him.
47. Menahem of the city of Samsimuruna
48. Ethobal of Sidon
49. Abdili’ti of Arvad
50. Urumilki of Byblos
8
51. Mitinti of Ashdod
52. Buduilu of Beth-Ammon
53. Kammusu-nadab of Moab
54. Malik-rammu 9 of Edom,
55. all kings of the west land,
56. brought rich presents, heavy gifts with
merchandise,
1 “ The land of lhe Hittites " had
now become a generic title, signifying Syria generally. The Hittite kingdoms
at Carchemish and else
where had
now ceased to exist.
Lull. 3 Tsariptu,
4 For Ushu, see Records of the Past, New
Series, vol. v. p. 88, note 2.
5 Akzibu. 6 Now Acre. 7 Tu-ba-'-lu.
8 Gu-ub-la-ai.
See
Records of the Past, New Series, vol. iii, p, 71,
note 9. A
9 [1 should read A-rammu, the name of lhe
god being A. See my Hibbert Lectures on the Religion of the Ancient
Babylonians, p.
178.—Ed.]
57. before me, and kissed my feet.
58. And Tsidqa, the King of Ashkelon,
59. who had not submitted to my yoke, I brought
out, the
gods of
the house of his fathers,
60. himself, his wife, his sons, his daughters,
his brothers,
61. the seed of the house of his fathers, and
took them to
Assyria.
62. Sharru-ludari, the son of Rukibti, their
former king,
63. I established over the people of Ashkelon ; the giving
of
tribute,
64. a present to my lordship, I put upon him,
(and) he
bears my
yoke.
65. In the course of my campaign Beth-Dagon,
66. Joppa, Benebarqa,1
Azuru,
67. the cities of Tsidqa, which had not quickly
68. thrown themselves at my feet, I besieged, I
took, I
carried
away their spoil.
69. The governors, chiefs, and people of Ekron
70. who had cast Padi, their king according to
Assyrian
right and
oath,
71. into iron chains, and had, in hostile
manner, given
him
72. to Hezekiah of Judah—he shut him up in prison—
73. feared in their hearts. The kings of Egypt
74. called forth the archers, chariots (and)
horses of the
king of Melukhkhi,2
75. a force without number, and came
76. to their help; before the city of Eltekeh3
77. they arranged their battle array, appealing
78. to their weapons. With the help of Assur, my lord,
79. I fought with them and accomplished their
defeat.
80. The chief of the chariots and the sons of
the king of
Egypt
81. and the chief of the chariots of the king
of Melukhkhi
my hands
82. took alive in the fight. Eltekeh (and)
1 The Beni-berak of Josh. xix. 45. ,
2 See above, p. 52, note 4.
3 Altakft ; Josh. xix. 44 ; xxi. 23.
83. Timnath1 I
besieged, I took, and carried away their spoil.
COLUMN III
1. To the city of Ekron I went; the governors
2. (and) princes, who had committed a
transgression, I
killed and
3. bound their corpses on poles around the
city.
4. The inhabitants of the city, who had
committed sin
and evil
5. I counted as spoil; to the rest of them
6. who had committed no sin and wrong, who
had
7. no guilt, I spoke peace. Padi
8. their king, I brought forth from the
9. city of Jerusalem;2
upon the throne of lordship over
them
10. I placed him. The tribute of my lordship
11. I laid upon him. But Hezekiah 8
12. of Judah,
who had not submitted to my yoke,
13. I besieged 46 of his strong cities,
fortresses, and small
cities
14. of their environs, without number, (and)
15. by casting down the walls (?) and advancing
the
engines,
16. by an assault of the light-armed soldiers,
by breaches,4
by
striking and by axes (?)
17. I took them; 200,150 men, young (and) old,
male
and
female,
18. horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen
19. and sheep without number I brought out from
them,
20. I counted them as spoil. (Hezekiah) himself
I shut
up like a
caged bird in Jerusalem
21. his royal city ; the walls I fortified
1 See Gen. xxxviii. 12 ; Josh. xv. 10;
Judg. xiv. i, etc. The place is now callcd Tibneh.
2 Ursalimmu. 3 Khazaqiau.
4 Pil-ski,
"hole,” “breach.’' Professor Sayee reads Billim, and translates 1'
?no?mds” (?). See Records of the Past, New Series, vol. ii. p. 168, line 53.
The Rev. V. Schcil translates "hole." See Records of the Past, New
Series, vol. iv. p. 77, col. v. line 1. For meaning cf. IV. A. /., vol. v. 36,
line 24 sqq., where it is a syn. of shuplu.
22. against him (and) whosoever came out of the
gates of
the city,
I turned
23. back. His cities, which I had plundered, I
divided
from his
land
24. and gave them to Mitinti, king of Ashdod,
25. to Padi, king of Ekron, and to Tsil-Bal,
26. king of Gaza,
and (thus) diminished his territory.
27. To the former tribute, paid yearly,
28. I added the tribute of alliance of my
lordship and
29. laid that upon him. Hezekiah himself
30. was overwhelmed by the fear of the
brightness of my
lordship ;
31. the Arabians
and his other faithful warriors
32. whom, as a defence for Jerusalem his royal city
33. he had brought in, fell into fear.
34. With 30 talents of gold (and) 800 talents of
silver,
precious
stones,
35. gukhli daggassi (?), large lapis lazuli,
36. couches of ivory, thrones 1 of
ivory,
37. ivory, usu wood, box wood (?), of every
kind, a heavy
treasure,
38. and his daughters, his women of the palace,
39. the young men and young women, to Nineveh, the
city of my
lordship,
40. I caused to be brought after me, and he sent
his
ambassadors
41. to give tribute and to pay homage.
42. In my fourth campaign Assur my lord, gave me confi
dence.
43. I summoned my masses of troops; to the land
of Bit-
Yakin 2
44. I made them march. In the course of my
campaign
45. I accomplished at Bittutu the overthrow of
46. Shuzub, the Chaldean, who dwelt in the marsh
land.
47. He was overcome by the fear of my battle
line,
1 Kussi nimedi. See above, p. 83, note 2,
2 The capital of Merodach-baladan, in the
marshes in the south of Babylonia.
48. he lost heart, like a bird he fled alone,
49. his trace was seen no more. I turned about,
50. to the land of Bit-Yakin I took the road.
51. Merodach-baladan, whose overthrow, in the
course
52. of my first campaign, I had accomplished and
53. his power dispersed, feared the war cry of
my power
ful arms
54. and the advance of my strong battle line,
and
55. the gods who ruled his land he moved in
their shrines,
on ships
56. he embarked them; to the city of Nagittu, in the
swamps,
57. by the sea coast, he fled like a bird. His
brothers,
the seed
of his fathers,
58. whom he left by the sea, together with the
remaining
people of
this land,
59. from Bit-Yakin,
marsh and meadow land,
60. I brought them out, counted them slaves. I
returned
and
destroyed his cities ;
61. I wasted them, and made them like ploughed
land.
Upon his
confederate,
62. the king of Elam,
I poured out fury.
63. On my return march I made Asur-nadin-sum, my
first
born son,
64. the scion of my knees, sit upon the throne
of his lord
ship and
65. the broad land of Sumir and Akkad I
made subject
to him.
66. In my fifth campaign the men of Tumurri (?),
67. Sarum,
Isama, Kibsu, Khalbada,
68. Qua and
Qana, whose dwellings, like the
nest of the
eagle
69. the king of birds, were located upon the
pinnacle of
Nipur (P),1
70. the steep mountain, had not yielded to my
yoke.
71. At the foot of mount Nipur I placed my camp,
72. with my followers drawn up
1 [Mount Taurus.—Ed.]
73. and my unrelenting warriors,
74. I, like a strong wild ox, took the lead.
75. Clefts, ravines, mountain torrents,
difficult high floods
76. in a chair1 I crossed, places
impassable for the chair 77.I went down on foot, like an ibex I climbed to the
high
peaks
78. against them, wherever my knees
79. had a resting-place, I sat down on a rock;
80. waters of cold streams, for my thirst, I
drank.
81. Upon the peaks of wooded mountains I
pursued them,
82. I accomplished their destruction; their
cities I took.
COLUMN IV
1. I took away their spoil, destroyed,
wasted and burned
them with
fire.
2. I turned about and against Maniae,
3. king of the city of Ukki, in the land of Daie,2 yet
unconquered,
I took the road.
4. Into the unopened path, the steep roads
before
5. impassable mountains, before me
6. had no one of the former kings marched.
7. At the foot of Anara and Uppa, powerful
mountains,
8. I placed my camp, and I, upon my chair,3
9. with my unrelenting warriors,
10. entered, with weariness, into their narrow
passes.
11. With difficulty I climbed the peaks of the
steep
mountains.
12. Maniae saw the dust of my soldiers’
13. feet, forsook Ukku, his royal city
14. and fled far away. I besieged and took Ukku.
15. I took his spoil of all sorts, property and
possessions; r6. the treasure of his palace I brought out
17. from it and counted as spoil and 33
18. cities of the borders of his territory I
took. People,
asses,
1 Kusst, usually = "throne.”
2 [In the neighbourhood of the modern
Melasgherd, on the Murad Chai, in Western Armenia.—Ed.]
3 Kussi nimedl.
19. cattle and sheep I brought forth
20. from them. I destroyed, wasted and burned
them
with fire.
21. In my sixth campaign, the remaining
inhabitants of
Bit-Yakin
22. who had fled before my powerful arms, like
23. wild asses (and) had moved the gods, who
rule their
lands,
24. in their shrines (and) had crossed over the
great sea
25. of the setting sun and had set their homes
in Nagitu
26. of the land of Elam, (therefore) upon ships of the
Hittites 1 I crossed the sea.
27. Nagitu, Nagitu-dibina, with Kilmu,
28. Pillatu and the
land of Khupapanu, districts
29. of the land of Elam I took. The people of Bit-
Yakin, with their gods,
30. and the people of the King of Elam I took, and left
behind no
settler.
31. In ships I brought them; over to the coast
32. on this side I made them cross and take the
road to
Assyria.
33. The cities of those districts I destroyed,
wasted,
34. burned with fire and made them heaps and
plough
land.
35. On my return Shuzub, of Babylon,
36. who, through an attack on the land, had
seized
37. the lordship of Sumer and Akkad,
in open battle
38. I defeated, I took him alive with my own
hand,
39. in fetters and bands of iron I put him, and
to Assyria
40. I brought him. The king of Elam, who had helped
him
41. and marched to his aid, I overcame;
42. his power I scattered, I broke down his
army.
43. In my seventh campaign Assur, my lord, gave me
confidence.
44. To the land of Elam I marched. Bit-Khairi
1 That is, Syrians. See above, p. 88, note
1.
45. (and) Rasa,
cities of the Assyrian territory
46. which, in the reign of my fathers, the Elamites had
torn away
by force,
47. in the course of my campaign I took, and
seized their
spoil.
48. My royal warriors I took into them.
49. To the territory of Assyria I returned them and
50. gave them into the hands of the chief of Khaltsu
DUR-SAMI-IRTSITI.
51. The cities of Bubi, Dunnisamas (?), Bit-risia,
52. Bit-uklame,
Duru, Danti-Sulai,
53. Siliptu,
Bit-asusi, Karmubasa,
54. Bit-gissi, Bit-kappalani, Bit-imbia,
55. Khamanu,
Bit-arrabi, Burutu,
56. Dintu-sa-Sulai,
Dintu-
57. sa-Tur(?)bititir,
Khar(?)riaslaki, Rabai,
58. Rasu,
Akkabarina, Tilukhuri,
59. Khamranu,
Naditu, with the cities at the entrance
60. towards Bit-bunaki,
Til-khumbi, Dintu-sa-
61. Dumean,
Bit-ubia, Baltilisir,
62. Tagallisir, Sanakidati,
63. Masutu-saplitu,
Sarkhuderi, Alum-sa-tarbit,
64. Bit-akhiddina, Ilteuba, 34
powerful cities
65. and the smaller cities in their environs
66. without number, I besieged, took, and
carried off their
spoil,
67. I destroyed, wasted, and burned them with
fire.
68. With the smoke of their burning, like a dark
cloud
69. I covered the face of the broad heaven. When
Kudur-Nakhundu,
70. the Elamite,
heard of the taking of his cities, fear
71. overcame him. He made his remaining cities
fortresses.
72. He left Madakti,
his royal city, and
73. to Khaidala,
which is among the far away mountains,
74. took his way. To Madakti, his royal city,
75. I ordered the march, In the month Tebet, a
great
cold
76. set in, the heaven poured down rain,
77. rain upon rain and snow; streams and
torrents
78. from mountains I feared. I turned about and
79. took the road to Nineveh. In those days,
80. by command of Assur, my lord, Kudur-Nakhundi,
COLUMN V
1. the king of Elam did not live three months.
2. On a day not destined (for him) he died
suddenly.
3. After him Ummam-minanu, without judgment
and
intelligence,
4. his younger brother, set himself on his
throne.
5. In my eighth campaign, after Suzub had
been carried
6. and the people of Babylon, evil devils, had closed
their city
gates,
7. their heart planned the making of a
rebellion.
8. Around Suzub, the Chaldean, the wicked (?), the
base (?)
9. who has no strength (?), a vassal under
the control of
the
governor
10. of Lakhiru,
the fugitive (?), the deserter,
11. the bloodthirsty, they gathered and
12. marched into the marsh land and made a
revolt.
13. I surrounded them with an army (?) and
threatened
his life.
14. On account of terror and distress he fled
to Elam.
15. As infamy and wrong were around him
16. he hastened from Elam and entered Babvlon.
17. The Babylonians
illegitimately set him on
18. the throne and the lordship of Sumer and Akkad
entrusted
to him.
19. The treasure-house of E-saggil they opened, and the
gold and
silver
20. of Bel (and) Zarbanit,
which they brought from their
temples,
21. they gave as a bribe to Umman-minanu, the
king of
Elam, who was without
22. judgment and insight, (saying to him):
23. “Assemble thy army, gather thy forces,
24. hasten to Babylon,
help us,
25. our confidence art thou.” He, the Elamite,
26. whose cities, in the course of my former
campaign
27. against Elam
I had taken, and turned into plough
land,
28. took no thought, he received the bribe from
them and
29. assembled his soldiers and forces; his
chariots, (and)
baggage
wagons
30. he brought together, horses and mules he
placed in
spans.
31. The lands of Parsuas, Anzan, Pasiru, Ellipi,
32. Iazan, Lagabra,
Karzunu,
33. Dumuqu, Sulai, Samunu,
34. the son of Merodach-baladan, Bit-adini, Bit-amuk-
kana,
35. Bit-sillana,
Bit-salududakki, Lakhiru,
36. the Puqudu,
the Gambulum, the Khalatu, the
Ruua,
37. the Ubulum,
the Malakhu, the Rapiqu,
38. the Khindaru,
the Damunu, a great
confederation,
39. he called unto him. Their great throng took
the
40. road to Akkad
and came to Babylon.
41. Together with Suzub the Chaldean, king of Babylon,
42. they made an alliance and united their
forces,
43. like a great swarm of locusts, on the
surface of the
earth;
44. together, they came to do battle
45. against me. The dust of their feet was like
a storm
46. by which the wide heayens are covered with
47. thick clouds. Before me in the city of Khaluli,
48. on the banks of the Tigris, the line of battle was
drawn up.
49. Before me they stationed themselves, they
brandish (?)
their
arms.
50. I prayed to Assur,
Sin, Samas, Bel, Nebo, Nergal,
51. Istar
of Nineveh, Istar of Arbela, the gods of my
confidence,
52. to oyercome my powerful enemy.
53. My prayers they quickly heard, they came
54. to my help. Like a lion I raged and put on
55. my cuirass and with my helmet, sign of war,
56. I covered my head. Into my high war chariot
57. which wipes out the refractory, with the
fury of my
heart
58. I climbed quickly. The powerful bow,
59. which Assur
had entrusted to me, I seized,
60. the javelin which destroys life I seized
with my hand. 6r. Against all the troops, evil enemies,
62. oppressed (?) I roared like a lion, like Ramman I
raged.
63. At the command of Assur, the great lord, my lord,
on flank
and front
64. like the advance of a wild flood, upon the
enemy, I
fell.
65. With the confidence of Assur, and the advance of my
powerful
66. line of battle I struck their front and
brought about
67. their retreat. The hostile forces with arrow
and lance
68. I destroyed, through the mass of their
corpses I cleared
my way
(?).
69. Khumba-nudasa, chief
70. of the king of Elam, a careful champion, who ruled •jr. his troops, in whom
he had great confidence, him,
together
with his chief men,
72. whose girdle dagger was embossed with gold,
and
whose
wrists
73. were bound with double bracelets of shining
gold,
74. like fat steers, laid in chains,
75. I quickly destroyed, and accomplished their
defeat.
76. Their necks I cut off like lambs,
77. their precious lives I cut through like a
knot;
78. like a heavy rain, their trophies and arms
(?)
79. I scattered over the wide field.
80. The chargers of my chariot
8r. swam
in the masses of blood as in a river
82. crushing evil and bad,
83. blood and filth ran down its wheel.
84. With the corpses of their warriors, as with
herbs (?)
85. I filled the field. I cut off their
testicles.
column vi
r. Their
pudenda I tore from them like the seed of
2. cucumbers. I cut off their hands.
3. The bracelets (?) of gold and silver,
which were on their
arms I
took off.
4. With sharp swords I cut off their noses
(?).
5. The gold and silver girdle daggers, which
they carried,
I took
away.
6. The rest of his officers, and
Nabu-sum-iskun
7. the son of Merodach-baladan, who feared
8. my line of battle, but had gone with them,
in the midst
9. of the battle I seized them alive, with my
hands.
Their
chariots,
10. with their horses, whose drivers, in the
onset of battle,
11. had been killed, while they were left
12. and went up and down by themselves,
13. (these) I turned together. Until the fourth
hour of
the night
it went on.
14. Then I stopped their slaughter.
Umman-minanu,
15. king of Elam,
together with the king of Babylon,
the
princes
16. of Chaldea,
who had helped them, the vehemence of
my battle
line, like a bull
17. overwhelmed them. They left their tents.
18. To save their lives they trampled over the
bodies of
19. their soldiers and fled. Like young
captured birds
they lost
courage.
20. With their urine they defiled their chariots
21. and let fall their excrement. To pursue
them
22. I sent my chariots and horses after them.
23. Their fugitives, who had gone out to save
their lives
24. wherever they were overtaken, were thrown
down by
arms.
25. In those days, after I had finished the
palace adjoining the wall of
26. Nineveh for a
royal dwelling, and
27. to the astonishment of all peoples had
adorned it;
28. the side building, for keeping in order the
train,
29. for the keeping of horses, and all sorts of
things
30. which the kings, my forefathers and fathers
had built,
31. it had no foundation, its room was too
small,
32. the workmanship was not tasteful. In the
course of
time, its
base
33. had become weak, the part under ground had
given
way, and
the upper part was in ruins.
34. That palace I tore down completely.
35. A great mass of building material I took out
of the
ground.
36. The surrounding part of the city I cut off
and added
37. to it. The place of the old palace I left.
38. With earth from the river bed I filled it
up.
39. The lower ground I raised 200 tipki
40. above the level. In a favourable month
4r. on an
auspicious day I built on this foundation according to the wisdom of my heart
42. a palace ofpilux stone and
cedar wood, in the style (?)
43. of the Hittites,
and a great palace in the Assyrian
style (?)
44. which far exceeded the former in adaptation,
45. size and artistic excellence, through the
work of the
46. wise builders of my royal rule.
47. Great cedar beams from Khamanu,2
48. a snow-capped mountain, I brought hither.
49. The doors of liari wood I surrounded with a
cover
50. of gleaming bronze, and I put in the doors.
51. With white pilu1 stones, which
were found in the
52. environs of Buladai
I made great bull colossi
53. and placed them by the doors on the left and
54. right. For the equipment of the black headed
men,
for the
receiving
55. of horses, mules, calves, asses,
56. chariots, bow-strings (?), quivers,
1 See
Records of the Past, New Series, vol. i. p. 117, note 4.
2 Mount Amanus.
57. bows and arrows, every sort of tool for war,
58. the harness for horses and mules,
59. which have great power when yoked,
60. I made rooms, and greatly enlarged them.
61. I built that palace from foundation to roof
62. and finished it. My inscription
63. I brought into it. For future days,
64. whoever—among the kings, my successors,
(whom)
Assur and Istar
65. shall call to the rule over the land and
people—
66. the prince may be, if this palace
67. becomes old and ruined, who builds it anew
68. may he preserve my inscription,
69. anoint it with oil, offer sacrifices, return
it to its place;
70. then will Assur
and Istar hear his prayer.
71. Whoever alters my writing and name
72. him may Assur,
the great lord, the father of the gods,
afflict
like an enemy
73. and take sceptre and throne from him and
destroy his
rule.
74. (Dated) the month Adar of the archonate of
Bel-
imurani
75. prefect of Carchemish.
Translated by Mr. S. Arthur Strong
Tiie following text is inscribed on a tablet of clay numbered
1285 in the Kouyunjik collection of the British Museum. It is remarkable not
only as an almost perfect specimen of the later Assyrian cali- graphy, but for
containing a number of rare words and forms—a circumstance which has not made
the task of translation and explanation easier. But its chief claim upon our
interest and attention lies in the fact that the unknown author displays a
depth and delicacy of religious emotion not often reached in Assyrian
literature, and hardly surpassed even by the great masters of the emotional
style—the Hebrew psalmists. On the one hand it is distinguished from the mass
of anonymous compositions which we arc accustomed to call hymns and penitential
psalms by the absence of any traces of a magical character or purpose, while on
the other its passionate and unconventional tone forms a striking contrast to
the style usually adopted by Assyrian kings, who even when ascribing unto their
lords glory and honour never forget their own titles, but compose monotonous
variations
in strict official form upon the three themes of pride, flattery, and fear.
The text
consists of a series of confessions or appeals on the part of Assurbanipal
addressed not, as we might perhaps have expected, to Istar but to Nebo. These
the god answers at intervals in words of consolation and encouragement.
Throughout the text Assurbanipal is never called king. On the contrary, in one
of his replies Nebo reminds him of his smallness and helplessness when an
infant.
That these
confessions and complaints may have been drawn from Assurbanipal by the stress
of some political crisis is of course possible. We know of at least one such
instance in his career; but the text contains absolutely no positive data such
as would enable us to connect it with a definite event. The most that can be
said is that it cannot be later than 626 B.C.
A striking
feature of the inscription is the number of unusual verb-forms. They occur in
almost every line, and I suggest that they may be explained as a rhythmical
device of the composer.
The text
has never been published ;1 but a free translation was contributed
by Prof. Oppert to the second volume of Ledrain’s Histoire dIsrael (p. 486).
This, however, unaccompanied as it is by any explanation of the renderings
proposed, I have in most cases been unable to comprehend much less to follow.
1 It will appear with a philological
commentary in the Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of
Orientalists.
Obverse
1 I
confess to thee, Nebo, in the
assembly of
the great
gods :1
2 my
sins, my soul is not subdued :2
3 Nineveh, I make my prayer unto
thee,
warrior of
the gods, his brothers :
4 the
life of Assur-bani-pal for a long time,
hereafter:
5 I
prostrate myself at the feet of Nebo :
6 Nebo, in the whole multitude of my
sins.
7. I will cause thee to live, Assur-bani-pal,
even I, Nebo,
to
everlasting days :
8. Thy feet shall not be weary, thy hands
shall not
tremble :3
9. These thy lips shall not fail for praying
to me :
10. Thy tongue shall not be put out from thy
lips,
11. For I goodly speech will bestow upon thee:
12. I will go forward as thy head, I will make
thy body4
to go
forward in the house of E-barbar.
13. Nebo spake thus
: Thy mouth utters good things,
1 Cf. Psalm xxxi. 5 : “I will confess my
transgressions unto the Lord.”
2 Perhaps we should supply ina
pukhur> as in line 29, and translate: “Through the whole multitude of my
sins my soul is not subdued.” Cf. Psalm Ixv. 3 : 11 My misdeeds
prevail against me.”
3 Compare the words of Istar to
Assur-bani-pal {Smith’s Assur‘batii-palt p. 125) : “Thy face
shall not grow pale, thy feet shall not totter”; and Isaiah xl. 31: “They shall
run and not be weary.”
4 Ldn-kaf literally
“ thy side." The translation of the verb is doubtful owing to the
uncertainty of the phonetic value of the second character employed in writing
it. Perhaps we should read amattakhy " I will
magnify."
14. which have been offered in prayer to
Urkittu i1
15. Thy body which I made has been brought
before me
in
supplication, according to her appointment in 6-barbar:
16. The destiny which I formed has been brought
before
me in
supplication,
17. Thus:—May he have a reward in the house of
the
Queen of
the Universe !2
18. Thy life has been brought before me in
supplication
thus :—His
life do thou prolong, [even the life] of Assur-bani-pal!
19. Bowing down in his sanctuary Assur-bani-pal
made his
prayer to Nebo his lord :
20. I have given myself unto thee, Nebo, thou wilt not
forsake
me, [even] me :
21. My life in thy presence is governed, my
soul is held
in the
embrace of Beltis :3
22. I have given myself nnto thee, Nebo [thou] mighty one,
thou wilt
not forsake me, even me, in the midst of my sins.
23. There answered a breath from the presence of
Nebo
his lord
:—
24.- Fear not, Assur-bani-pal, long life will I
give unto
thee :
25. Fair winds from thy life 4 will I
appoint:
26. My mouth speaking that which is good shall
cause thy
prayer to
be heard in the assembly of the great gods.
1 Urkittu can hardly be a name or title of
Nebo, and must therefore be an independent divinity, who, so far as I can find,
appears for the first time in this passage. The phrase in line 29, “the reed of
Urkittu," is interesting when we remember that urqitu signifies “grass/'
2 My rendering of this line is only
tentative.
3 Cf. Psalm xxxvi. 9 : “With thee is the
fountain of life."
4 Perhaps we should read ina or itti
instead of ultu, “from," and translate : “I will appoint fair winds (i.e.
favourable circumstances) to be in,” or “ with thy life ” (i.e. to pervade it).
Reverse
27. Assur-bani-pal confessed his misdeeds: he
made his
prayer
unto Nebo his lord :
28. What he took at the feet of the queen of Nineveh he
did not
conceal in the assembly of the great gods :
29. That which with the reed of Urkittu is acquired he
did not
conceal1 [even] in the whole multitude of his sins :
30. In the whole multitude of my offences thou
wilt not
forsake
me, Nebo :
31. In the whole multitude of my woes thou wilt
not for
sake my
soul.
32. Small wert thou, Assur-bani-pal, when I gave
you over
to [the
care of] the Queen of Nineveh :
33. A suckling2 wert thou,
Assur-bani-pal, when I satisfied
thee on
the lap of the Queen of Nineveh :
34. The full streams of milk which into thy
mouth are
given
twain thou suckest, twain thou drawest into thy mouth :
35. Thy sins, Assur-bani-pal, like ripples 3
on the face of
water
shall they be :
36. Like sandhills (?)4 which on the
face of the earth arc
piled up
shall they be dispersed before thy feet:
37. Thou shalt stand, Assur-bani-pal, in the
presence of
the great
gods : thou shalt magnify Nebo.
1 Iluadh for ilddk, like imuat for imdt.
2 Lakfl is given in IV. A. /.
v. 23, 33-4, as a synonym of daddu, “breast/’ and tsikhru, “small.” Cf.
Isaiah Ixvi. 11-13 : “ That ye may suck, and be satisfied. Ye shall be borne
upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees, as one whom his mother
comforteth. ”
3 'Sipi, as in Arabic.
4 Burbillate. The parallelism demands some
such signification as this.
Translated by Theo. G. Pinches
In addition
to the versions of the creation-story current in ancient times in Babylonia and
Assyria, translations of which have been published in this series1
by Prof. Sayce, another version has lately come to light. This new text, unlike
the others, is written in two languages (Sumerian or Akkadian and Semitic
Babylonian), each line of the text being divided to admit of the Semitic
translation being inserted between, giving the whole the appearance of an
inscription in three columns, the middle one rather irregular and written in
smaller characters. The tablet is made of baked clay, and is small and very
beautifully written. Translations have been published by me in the New York
Independent, the Academy (29th Nov. 1890, pp. 508, 509), and (complete and
accompanied by philological notes) the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,
1891, pp. 393408. Prof. F. Hommel has also published a translation in the
Deutsche Rundschau for July 1891, pp.
1 Records of the Past, New Series, vol. i.
pp. 122 and 147.
105-114. The
tablet was found by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam at Abu-habbah (Sippara) in 1881-82, and
is numbered 82-5-22, 1048. It is a text of great importance in consequence of
its being written in two languages.
Obverse
1. Incantation: The glorious house, the
house of the
gods, in a
glorious place had not been made,
2. A plant had not been brought forth, a tree
had not
been
created,
3. A brick had not been laid, a beam had not
been
shaped,
4. A house had not been built, a city had not
been con
structed,
5. A city had not been made, the foundation
had not
been made
glorious;
6. Niffer
had not been built, E-kura had
not been con
structed ;
7. Erech had not
been built, E-ana 1 had
not been con
structed ;
8. The Abyss had not been made, Eridu 2 had not been
constructed.
9. (As for) the glorious house, the house of
the gods, its
seat had
not been made,
1 o. The whole of the lands, the sea also.3
11. When within the sea there was a stream
12. In that day Eridu
was made, E-sagila was con
structed,
13. £-[sag]ila which the
god Lugal-du-azaga had founded
within the
abyss.
1 The name of the chief temple at Erech
(the modern Warka).
2 [Now Abu-Shahrein. In the earlier days
of its history Eridu was on the shore of the Persian Gulf. The text refers to a
sort of heavenly Eridu which corresponded to the earthly one.—Ed.]
3 Or, '1 The whole of
the lands were sea ” (Napkhar mdtatu tdmtumma).
14. Babylon
was built, E-sagila 1
was completed,
15. He made the gods (and) the Anunnaki 2 together;
16. The glorious city, the seat of the joy of their
hearts,
supremely
he had proclaimed.
17. Merodach bound
together a foundation before the
waters;
18. He made dust, and poured (it) out with the
flood.
19. The gods were to be caused to sit in a seat
of joy of
heart.
20. He made mankind.
21. (Aruru
had made the seed of mankind with him).
22. He made the beasts of the field and the
living creatures
of the
desert;
23. He made the Tigris
and Euphrates, and set
(them)
in (their)
place.
24. Well proclaimed he their name.
25. Grass, the marsh-plant, the reed, and the
forest he made.
26. He made the verdure of the plain,
27. The lands, the marsh, the thicket also,
2 8. Oxen, the young of the steer, the cow
and her calf, the sheep of the fold,
29. Meadows and forests also.
30. The goat and the gazelle he set therein (?).
31. Lord Merodach
on the sea-shore raised a bank.
3 2 at
first he made not.
3 3 he
caused to be.
34. [He caused the plant to be brought forth],
he made the tree.
35 he made in (its) place.
36. [He laid the brick], he made the beams,
37. [He constructed the house], he built the
city.
38. [He built the city], he made the foundation
glorious.
39. [He built the city Niffer], he built £-kura
the
temple.
40. [He built the city Ereci-i, he built £-a]na
the temple.
41
1 The great temple of Bel-Merodach at
Babylon, which bore the same name as *' fe-sagila which Lugal-du-azaga had
founded within the Abyss/’
2 [The spirits of the earth.—Ed.]
Reverse
2
3. May thy supreme messenger, Pap-Suical, counsel the
gods;
4. Nin-akha-kudu, daughter
of Ea,
5. May she make thee glorious with a glorious
remedy;
6. May she make thee pure with pure fire.
7. With the glorious pure fountain of the
abyss purify thou
the place
of thy path !
8. By the incantation of Merodach, king of the host of
heaven and
earth,
9. May the abundance of the world descend
into thy
midst!
10. May thy command be accomplished in time to
come !
11. O E-zida, the
glorious seat, the beloved of Anu and
Istar art thou,
12. Mayest thou shine like heaven ; mayest thou
be glorious
like the
earth, mayest thou shine like the midst of heaven,
13. May [the evil spirit] dwell outside of thee
!
14. Incantation of
15. Incantation : The star the long chariot of
heaven.
The
difference between this account of the Creation and that published in vol. i.
p. 122, is very marked. It is short even to bareness, telling all it has to say
in a few words, whereas the other version extends over several closely-written
tablets, and introduces at great length the fight between Merodach and Tiamat,
or Bel and the Dragon ; the creation of the heavenly bodies, etc. etc. As Prof.
Hommel has pointed out, the principal thing in this new
account of
the Creation of the world was not merely the formation of men and animals, but
rather the founding of the first seats of civilisation in Babylonia, and, it
may be added, the assertion of their divine origin. And in this we may see why
the story is put as the introduction to an incantation ; for, judging from the
fragment of the reverse, the text seems really to have referred to the dedication-festival
or purification of the well-known temple iL-zida (now the Birs-Nimroud), and
the creation-story with which it begins probably led up to the story of the
foundation of that renowned temple.
In this
new account of the Creation the small number of the deities who took part in
the work is noteworthy. The first god mentioned is Lugal-du- azaga, “ the king
of the glorious abode,1' who is spoken of as having founded “ Eridu
within the Abyss,” the paradise of the gods. Lugal-du-azaga was probably one of
the forms of lia, the god of the sea and of wisdom. Merodach, the chief god of
the Babylonian pantheon, appears as a matter of course, and is_spoken of as
having created mankind, animals, plants, and the renowned sites wherein
Babylonian civilisation had its origin. In the creation of mankind Merodach
seems to have been aided by a goddess named Aruru, who was worshipped at
Sippara and at Aruru, twin cities of the province of Agad£ or Akkad. Aruru is
probably the same as Istar, who was worshipped at Sippara, and is possibly
identical with a goddess named Gala-Aruru, “ the
great one
(of) Aruru ” or “ Great Aruru,” who is explained as “ Istar the star/' in the
list of gods numbered K. 2109.
Among the
parallels with the Biblical account may be quoted lines 25-29 of the obverse,
where the creation of plants, lands, meadows, and forests is spoken of (cf.
Gen. i. 11, 12); and lines 22 and 28-30, which describe the creation of living
things (cf. Gen. i. 24). “ He made mankind ” (line 20) corresponds with the
words “ And God created man ” in Gen. i. 26, 27.
On the
other hand, there are some remarkable differences. There is no true description
of chaos, the making of day and night is not mentioned, nor the setting of the
heavenly bodies to give light (this may, however, have been given on a lost
portion) and to indicate the seasons. The text is also silent concerning
fishes, sea-monsters, and birds ; and the days of the creation are also absent,
as in the version translated in vol. i. It is nevertheless not impossible that
we may have, in the divine Eridu, a reflection of the garden of Eden, though
there is no mention of the placing of man therein, nor the tree of life, nor
the tree of knowledge.1 The Tigris and the Euphrates
1 Prof.
Hommel has pointed out, however, that the ideograph which denotes Eridu seems
to be a representation of a tree, and it is worthy of note that the
divine Eridu, that within the Abyss, seems to be spoken of as a tree or vine in
IV. A. /. iv. 15, rev., 11. 52, 53, where it says that " Eridu is
the dark vine, growing in a glorious place" (such is a literal translation
of the Akkadian text; the Assyrian has : '1 Eridu grew (as) a dark
vine, it was made to grow in a glorious place," the translator having
taken e, a kind of demonstrative suffix, or lengthening, for i, " to grow
”). This tree is described as being in the likeness of bright crystal or
marble, and planted in the Abyss, and the path of £la or A£ (god of the sea,
rivers,
VOL. VI I
are
mentioned—not in connection with the watering of the garden of Eden, but simply
as a record of the creation, by Merodach, of these two great waterways which
were the life of the Mesopotamian plain.
The story,
as it has come down to us, ends with the description of the building of those
cities which, at the beginning, are said not to have existed, and gives the
honour of their origination to Merodach, the principal god worshipped by the
Babylonians.
and of
deep wisdom) is said to have filled Eridu with fertility. Eridu, situated
within the Abyss, the abode of the god of wisdom, may therefore be regarded as
a type of the tree of knowledge mentioned in Gen. ii. 9.
THE
CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF KAPPADOKIA
Translated by the Editor
We
now have evidence that the cuneiform system of writing was once employed
throughout the greater part of the civilised world of the East. The Persians
under Darius formed an alphabet out of it, which became the key to the modern
decipherment of the cuneiform texts. It had originally been the invention of
the primitive Sumerian population of Chaldaea, who spoke an agglutinative
language, and from whom it was borrowed by the Semitic Babylonians and
Assyrians. In Elam it was used to express the agglutinative dialects of Shushan
and Mal-Amir, and in the ninth century before our era it was adopted by the
kings of Ararat, who reigned at Van, and whose language seems to have been
related to that of the Georgians of to-day. A seal found near Herat in 1842
shows that even as far east as Bak- tria the cuneiform characters were employed
to represent the language of the country, and the inscription of Anu-banini,
King of Lulubi, discovered by Sir Henry Rawlinson at Ser-i-pul and lately
copied by Mr. de Morgan, tells us that here also the
ancient
language of the inhabitants had been embodied in the characters of the
cuneiform script. We have learnt from the tablets of Tel el-Amarna that in the
century before the Exodus the same system of writing was the common medium of
literary intercourse among the various nations who lived between the Tigris and
the frontiers of Egypt. Among the correspondence found at Tel el-Amarna is a
long letter in the language of Mitanni, the Aram-Naharaim of Scripture, the
characters in which it is written being those of the cuneiform syllabary, and
the extent to which the syllabary was studied and known in Canaan at the time
removes our astonishment at finding that it has been used to express the
Phoenician language on two seals now in the collection of M. de Clercq.
The
cuneiform system of writing and the Assyrian language had penetrated even to
the north-west, to the neighbourhood of the modern Kaisariyeh. The discovery of
the cuneiform inscriptions of Kappa- dokia is due to the sagacity of Mr.
Pinches. In 1882 he pointed out the existence of two tablets, one in the
British Museum, the other in the Louvre, which were written in a peculiar form
of cuneiform script and apparently in an unknown language. They had been
obtained from an Armenian dealer in antiquities at Constantinople, and the
occurrence of the word ku-din-a, “ mules,’' in the one in the British Museum
made Mr. Pinches connect it with a tablet from Nineveh in which mention was
made of
the
transport of these animals from Kusa in Kappa- dokia {Proceedings of the
Society of Biblical Archmology, Nov. 1881). The following summer Prof. W. M.
Ramsay bought five more tablets of a similar character at Kaisariyeh, upon
which I published an article in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical
Archeology (Nov. 1883). As, however, I was unable to identify correctly a large
number of the characters, I was also unable to decipher the texts, and the
conclusions I drew in regard to the language of them were incorrect.
The
tablets obtained by Prof. Ramsay are now in the British Museum. Other tablets
have since been purchased by Mr. Gol£nischefif, the University of Philadelphia,
and myself, and it is now known that they are found in a place three or four
hours distant from Kaisariyeh.
Mr.
Gol6nischeff’s collection is a large one, and a comparison of his tablets one
with another has opened up the way to their decipherment. Thus he has
discovered that the character wrongly identified by Mr. Pinches and myself with
the ideograph of “ woman ” is really the ideograph which means “ in the
presence of,” and that consequently the words which follow it must be the names
of witnesses to a deed. He generously placed both his tablets and his
discoveries at my disposal three years ago, and
I was accordingly able to announce to the
Oriental Congress at Stockholm that I could translate some of the tablets, and
was further in a position to deter
mine the
age to which they belong and the nature of the dialect in which they are
written {Academy, Sept. 7, 1889, p. 157). Last winter Mr. Gol6ni- scheff
published copies of twenty-four tablets belonging to his collection, together
with a full and interesting introduction to them, and a list of the characters
found in them, under the title: “Vingt-quatre Tablettes cappadociennes de la
Collection W. Gol£ni- scheff” (St. Petersburg, 1891). In this work he has
determined the values of most of the characters, and pointed out the
signification of many words. 1 The tablets are written in an Assyrian dialect.
On the phonetic side the dialect displays the peculiarities of the Tel
el-Amarna letters from Northern Syria, changing t into d, k into g, p into b.
Like them it also employs the old Babylonian inhumation, and substitutes z for
ts. But in certain respects its phonology is peculiar, yutir, for instance,
appearing as yutair, and itur as idu&r. The vocabulary is mainly Assyrian,
but it contains some Aramaic forms, like the proper name Garia, “ the
stranger,” and the plural in -A (which, however, occurs in only two of the
tablets known to me), as well as words which we have hitherto regarded as
specifically Hebrew. Among these is aparni, “ a chariot ” or “ litter,” which
throws light on the appirydn of Canticles iii. 9 — the only passage in Semitic
literature where it has been otherwise found—and proves that the word is not of
Greek origin, as has sometimes been asserted ; ati, “ substance ” or “ pro*
perty
" ; adunu, “ lord ” ; and tirubatum, “ a pledge,” the Hebrew
’erabhtm. But besides these Semitic words, the dialect further presents us with
a considerable number of words which have no Semitic etymology, and must
therefore have been borrowed from the language of the country from which the
tablets come. That the speakers of the dialect were mixed with a foreign
population is clear from the evidence of the tablets themselves, as the epithet
garum, or “ stranger/' is often attached in them to a name which is usually
non-Semitic in character. Thus we read at the beginning of one tablet (G. No.
19): “ The mother of the stranger Ganis to the stranger Burus, Khati-zadinniat,
says.” A duplicate of a contract is also sometimes mentioned as being “ written
according to the language of the foreigner.” It would seem, accordingly, that
the tablets belong to an Assyrian colony which was established in a city of
Kappadokia in the midst of a foreign population. Here the usages and customs of
Assyria were maintained, such as the use of the Assyrian language and
syllabary, the yearly appointment of officers called limtni, or “ eponyms,”
after whom time was reckoned, and the employment of proper names, of which the
name of Assur formed an element. It was inevitable, however, that the colonists
should in course of time become affected by the foreign influences around
them, and hence it was that the purity of their pronunciation was lost, and
that their language became filled with foreign words. We know from
the
Assyrian inscriptions that colonies had been planted in the countries north of
Assyria by the Assyrian kings at an early period. Thus Assur- natsir-pal
informs us that Shalmaneser I., about 1300 B.C., had settled “Assyrian
colonists” near the sources of the Tigris,1 and that other Assyrian
colonists were established in the city of Tuskhan not far from Mount Masius.2
The age of
the Kappadokian tablets is, I believe, as early as that of the Tel el-Amarna
tablets. We find in both the same archaic formulae, and the same use of an
ideograph by the side of the phonetically- written word which it denotes. As I
have already stated, the dialect of the tablets is distinguished by the
phonetic peculiarities which belong to the letters from Northern Syria in the
Tel el-Amarna collection, and the forms of the characters are similar in the
two classes of documents. The employment of the mim- mation also points to an
early date. That Assyria was already in close relations with Khani-rabbat or
Melitene in the fifteenth century B.C. we have learnt from the Tel el-Amarna
correspondence,3 and the place where the tablets are found may
easily have been included within the kingdom of Khani-rabbat. It may be added
that one of the tablets belonging to Mr. Goldnischeff bears the impress of a
seal, upon which are figures in the Hittite style of art as well as the remains
of a Hittite character.
1 Rccords of the Past, New Series, vol.
ii. p. 145.
2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 147. See
also p. 160, note 1.
a Ibid.
vol. iii. p. 62.
The
tablets relate for the most part to the loan of money, or the deposit of
various objects in the hands of certain persons, and they contain a number of
technical terms, the meaning of which is not as yet clear. One of these terms
is khamustu, “ a fifth,” of which we also find the plural khamsatu, “ fifths.”
A “ fifth ” was generally deducted from the sum of money lent out at interest,
though who was the official to whom it was paid, and why it was paid, are
questions to which at present I can return no answer. Besides the limmu, or
yearly eponym, whose title is always written limum, we find mention of the
durdanu, in Assyrian turtanu, or “Tartan” (G. xx.
2 x) ; of a Rab-zikitum, or Chief Judge; of
a Rab- gimelti, or Chief Magistrate ; of a Rab-aladinnim; and of a Rubaum, or “
prince.”
Most of
the deities mentioned in the tablets are Assyrian. Thus we find the names of
Assur, Anu, Istar, Bel, Nebo, Nana or Nani, Samas, and Zu. Zu, indeed, who
occupies only a subordinate place in the Assyrian pantheon, seems to have been
a favourite in Kappadokia, if we may judge from the number of proper names into
which his name enters. Thus we have Ena-Zuim, “ the eye of Zu,” and Zu- galia,
“ Zu is my priest.” Another deity was Babu, “ the gate,” who appears to have
been of Aramaic origin. At all events the name is not found in the lists of the
Assyrian divinities, while, according to Damascius,1 the goddess
Babia was worshipped at 1 Uita Isidori, 76.
Damascus.
The Aramaic name Bur-Addi, corresponding to the Hebrew Ben-Hadad, occurs in
one of the tablets (G. ix. 11), and we meet also with that of Bar-'Sibala (G.
xviii. 2). Among the Semitic deities mentioned in the tablets, but not
worshipped in Assyria, is Basku, “ the serpent.” Besides the Semitic deities
there are, as might be expected, others of foreign origin. One of these is
Tarku, whom I had long since maintained to be a Hittite god ; a second is
Khati, “ the Hittite ” (?), whose name enters into that of a woman called
Khati- zadinniat.
The
introduction of Assyrian deities into Kappa- dokia explains the proper names
met with in the Greek inscriptions of Kappadokia and Kilikia, which are
obviously derived from the names of Assyrian gods. Thus we have Nanas from
Nana, Nineis from Nin, Nenaris from Nannaru. As Nineps is one of the Kilikian
names which have thus been handed down to us, it seems probable that the name
of the Assyrian god Uras, which is often represented by the two characters Nin
and ip, was really pronounced Nin-ip.
In place
of the name of a particular deity we very often have merely the word il or el,
“ god.” In fact, the simple il or el seems to recur more frequently than even
the name of Assur. We find, for instance, Iqib-il (perhaps “ Jacob is god ”) by
the side of Iqib-Istar and Egib-mekhra, Ilu-rabu (“ God is great ”), Ilu-nada
(“ God has appointed ”),
Asuma-il,1
Erada-il, Anakh-ili, Sulaba-il, Nur-ki-ili, and El-Anima (perhaps “ a god is
Anu,” like Nani- belim, “ Nana is lord ”). This preference for the simple
il—which is also written el—may be due to its substitution for the name of some
foreign divinity, but it may also indicate the existence among the colonists of
a tendency towards monotheism.
The names
of several months are mentioned in the tablets. One is Kuzallu (G. iii. 12),
which, according to a lexical tablet (W. A. I. v. 43, 14), was a name of the
month Sivan. As the great cylinder inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. is dated
in this month, its name may be regarded as a witness in favour of the early
date of the Kappadokian tablet. Another month is Kur-sarani or Akh- saranim (G.
iv. 7 ; x. 8), while a third is arkhu-sa- zarati, “the month of sowing’' (G.
vi. 12, 13), and a fourth is Iyyar-Qamarta (G. ix. 9). Here the word Qamarta
seems to be the native name of the Assyrian Iyyar or April, the whole name
signifying “ the month of the bull Qamarta.” A fifth month was that of
Napisti-Zuim, the month of “ the life of the god Zu ” (G. xi. 9).
In the
references the letter G. denotes the inscriptions published by Mr.
Gol^nischeff. As the texts are here translated for the first time, while many
of the characters have not been previously identified,
I have given my readings pretty freely in
the notes.
1 The word Asuma seems to mean "share
" in an inheritance. See note
6 on No. iv. below. But as it would also
correspond to the name of the Hamathite god Ashima (2 Kings xvii, 30), Asuma-il
may signify “Asuma is god.”
THE
CUNEIFORM TABLETS OF KAPPADOKIA
I1
One maneh
of refined2 silver Kura transferred;3 Iqib-il has (it).
He has lent (it);4 the fifth5 belongs to Bil-akh-Asur the
son of Gadidi. The month Akh-saranim, the yearly eponym being Ilu-rabu. After i
r fifths he shall pay the capital, but he has not yet paid the one shekel and a
half which he registers (as interest) each month upon the maneh. The witnesses
are Ilu-nada, Amur-Asur (and) Banaga.0
II7
Two manehs
(and) io shekels of silver Asuma-il has transferred; Zaki[m]-il has (them).
After two months he shall repay (them). And he registers8 the sum
(for interest) as 6 manehs, but he has not yet paid (anything). The manehs
(belong) to himself alone.9 Half a maneh of
1 G. No. 4.
2 Za?’uba?nt the
Assyrian tsatpu, Hebrew tsaraph.
3 Izir. Mr. Gotenischefi: reads igir. If
this is correct the root will be the same as that ofgam t
"a stranger."
4 Isdu. I suppose the word to be from the
same root as sadudt, which must signify “a loan" in G. x, where I read:
vi. siklu gaspi sadudt Asur-ta'ar abil Gimil-Istar irabbe ina ba . . u
gamarum Ili-[bani\ i-su, and translate : *' Six shekels of silver, the loan of
Asur-ta'&r, the son of Gimil-Istar, bring in interest at . . . , and
Ili-bani has (them)/' In G. 14, 34, however, isdu seems to mean “he has
taken."
5 Khamustim, The "fifth" seems
to mean an instalment of interest here.
0 The reading of this name is not certain.
7 G. No. 5. 8 Yuzakur. 9 Edi-su.
silver of
the property1 he registers on a duplicate,2 and the six
remain (?). The witnesses are Barruwa the son of Nabate, Arzana-mil(?)ku his
brother, (and) Anina.
Ill3
.
[Twenty]
manehs of silver Garia, Asa'su and Mer-esu the prince4 have given as
a pledge6 to Iqib-il. For the 20 manehs of silver Supuna his brother6
asks, and the Rab-aladinnim who is the Chief Judge7 has effected the
transfer by hand8 in the month Napisti-Zuim, the yearly eponym being
Suma. Ten manehs of silver at harvesttime9 he shall pay; 10 manehs
of silver at the second10 harvest he shall pay, and the amount,11
namely, the 20 manehs of Garia, Asa'su and Mer-esu, Supuna his brother shall
repay to the brothers; and as for the 20 manehs of silver, they shall weigh12
them, even the silver, on the head of Garia his brother. The witnesses are the
man13 who binds14 their houses and their cities, the Rab-
gimeltim15 (and) Kumri of Dinkisa.
1 Or of “ the deposit " (isati) which
he 11 holds ” (i«).
2 Gibil from qabalu. Other passages show
that it cannot mean
"beforehand." 3 G. N°- II-
4 Perhaps "princes," since in No. £. 7
manaum is the plural
"manehs.1’ 5 Urubatim.
6 Akh-su, " his brother," is
perhaps part of the proper name Supuna- akh-su.
7 Rab-zikitim, “ chief of the laws. ”
» This I
imagine to be the meaning of the phrase gatatim isdu, where gatatim seems to he
a derivative from gatu, "hand,” rather than its plural. If, however, the
latter is its true explanation, the phrase may perhaps signify "has taken
the hands.” For isdu see note 4 to No. i. above.
9 Kharibim, Heb. khorepk. 10 Saniutim.
11 Anam. The ideograph of "silver” is
added to the word to indicate
its
signification. Comp, the Hehrew on (Hos. xii. 9).
12 Or "pay,’' isakulu.
13 Nisu. 14
Raki's, used technically of hinding by contract.
15 "The
chief of rewards” or "punishments," that is, the Chief
Magistrate.
IV1
To the
daughter of [her] father say thus : My daughter is good, and as for me, we have
listened to thy letter2 which Samas-tabba’i has brought me,3
and I answer thy letter thus : I also send an answer4 as follows :
As regards the manehs, behold (they are) the interest on the property of our
seed;5 three of them for a ndsbutim are fixed; two- thirds is thy
property. I have seen Samas-tabba’i asking for a share in the inheritance,6
whom thou hast sent to me,7 saying: Behold all the inheritance !8
And iba'si have not been given. But let thy orders9 go, (for) iba'si
have not been given. To the presence of our brother take it, and he will
arrange everything. And the law of thy god10 . . . thy seat . . .
the letter do not give.
V11
To
Amur-Samas and Aladinim. To Aladinim say thus : They have numbered12
the tablet before Assur, and I and
Padu have devoted13 one maneh and a half of silver (written) on thy
tablet in ganis; u and that it never become (private) property15
they have bound16 a shekel of silver in a case (?).17 I
have given thy tablet [to Amur-]Samas ; he has taken the .... “Amur-Samas, thy
brother, (is) our
I G. No. 15. 2 Nasberta-gci.
3 Ublani. 4 Al\ta\par belam.
5 Sadu ziri-ni.
But it is also possible to read sa dugiri-ni, “which thou hast transferred
to me."
G Asuine
rasaum. Asumc must have the same root as the Assyrian usmanu, “
baggage." Compare the name of the Hamathite god Ashima (2 Kings xvii. 30).
7 Tasianabarani. 8 Rasiti.
0 Tirti, the Hebrew tor Ah. 10 Tirti ila-ga,
II G. No. 16. 12 Manu.
13 Nikkrimu, the Hebrew kharam. The word is
not met with in the Assyrian inscriptions.
14 This seems to be a word borrowed from the
language of Kappa- dolria, as it can hardly represent an Assyrian ina
ka?ii-su, “ in its establishing," *' in perpetuity. ”
15 Ana cl' nu* tisam. The ideograph nu is
written by the side of its phonetic representatives. Tisu is a derivative from isu,
“ to possess.”
lii Rak'suni,
17 Asiki ;
perhaps related to the Hebrew khashak.
brother,”—behold
the words of the tablet, which do thou give to Amur-Samas; and also thy tablet
(is) evidence3 for the silver above-mentioned,2 the
(private) property, (and) the shekel of silver belonging to thy tablet. And the
rest (?) 3 of the (private) property among the seed of my father and
among my own seed Amur-Samas shall never take; and also I add (?) to the silver
the (private) property (described) on thy tablet (and) the deed which I will
never violate.4
To Iqib-il
say thus: Isma-Asur my little one6 has lent7 the burnat,8
our property ;9 they have not brought (it) back; (and) the agur, thy
property, they have not brought back; and behold I did not give him10
(anything) in the whole of what is sentif)}1 . . . and thou
sendest to me Qama-Asur: he does not make small the eye ;13 thy
orders thou hast taught him,13 and thou hast not taken the 6 manehs
of silver which Sulaba-il gave me. One maneh of silver which (is) in the
keeping (?)14 of Sulaba-il . . .
To
Khanu[ni]-Nabim, Iqib-il and Asur-malik say thus: My father, my lord, the
master38 left17 a tablet (of legitimacy) to myself at my
birth,18 and now19 I hear a letter20 about
“the ox of a foreigner”; and I do not
I Li[wa\, as in line 25. It is the
Assyrian liu, “a papyrus-roll," "a deed.” 2 Elata.
3 'Siala ; the word occurs again
in G. 18, 6. 4
Usamrits.
5 G. No.
17. 6 Zukha.ru. See IV.
A. I. ii. 36, 53.
7 Isdu. _
.
8 The determinative shows that some kind
of clothing is intended.
9 Ati, Hebrew eth. 10 Ladin-su.
II Saiarim ; salartim occurs in
G. 13, 3. _
12 Izakhur ena. 13 Tirti-ga durda-sti. 14 Khut1 sianim.
15 G. No. 14. 16 Adumi, Hebrew adon.
17 Etarim,
Hebrew ycther. 18
Inataniti.
19 Inume, the inuma of the Tel el-Amarna
tablets.
20 Literally “a tablet.”
send1
to the city saying : At the [second ?] gate the sheep I have . . . , I have
slaughtered (?);2 [to] the city thou dost not send 3
[saying : ] say : 4 for the prey (?), O my son, thou shalt go 6
until that day 0 (whereon) one .... the master . . . . and I went to
my father until that day (whereon) I he[ar] that [letter] speaking of “ the ox
of a stranger ”; the sheep . . . and I have gone a long way7 and
[to] the midst of the [mo]untain I ascended, and thus I am; and the elders have
sent, (saying that) I should go, by the hand of Eriti. I have gone a long way
to the cities [which] thou gavest me: the tablet about the 4 oxen . . until I
shall cause (them) to be given. [And now] [af]ter travelling a long way and
bringing (them) I hear that as regards my property (which) Ganis has taken8
he will restore (it) to me.
VIII9
Eighteen
and a half shekels of refined silver Dadia the son of Nani-belim has
transferred ; Asur-malik the son of Ena-Zuim the son of Zu-galia has (them).
After five months he shall repay them, but he has not yet paid one shekel of
the same. He shall register a duplicate during the month. (Dated) the month
Kuzalli, the yearly eponym being Asur-imedi the sailor.10 The
witnesses are Ena-Asur the son of Erati (and) Garia the son of Gimil-Belim.
IX 11
Fourteen
shekels of silver Birati has transferred, Asur- rabu holds (them). They have
taken the fifth of Asur- malik and Enna-Zuim. After ten fifths he shall repay
the money; but he has not yet paid (it). He shall register a
1 A'siprim for astiprim•
2 Sakhtaku. s
To!sibir. 4 [Ki\be-ma.
5 Ana salati mart talak. 0 Adi yumem
anim.
7 [Afa\rkita, from araku. But Ihe
word may mean “ refuge."
8 Isdu. 0
G. No. 3.
10 Malakhum. 11 G. No, 6.
duplicate
according to the language of the foreigner.1 (Dated) the month of
sowing,2 the yearly eponym being Sagati-Asur. He has made the copy
the same day that he arranges the partnership.3 In his kurumeti4
he writes the sum of silver. Witnessed by Asur-rabu (and) Id(?)-sa-Asur.
X5
On two
manehs of silver, which Istar-nama has given on mortgage 0 to
Asur-rabu, they have taken half a maneh of silver as the fifth of
Asur-bel-amatim. The silver and its voucher (?)7 Erada-il has taken
;8 Ili-bani has weighed it, and Asur-rabu returns (it)9
to Ili-bani, Erada-il keeps10 it. The witnesses are Asur-malik,
Gullaba (and) ....
XI11
One maneh
of unrefined (?)12 silver, in the presence of the brother of Ganis,
Sarkhunu has transferred; Anakh- ili holds (it). They have taken the fifth of
Asur-malik the son of Zu-galia. (Dated) the month Akh-sarani. After a month he
shall repay [the money]. The witnesses are Dumana the foreigner, Dubduba, (and)
Rakima(?)-ibri. His house, his furniture13 and his gurru I inspect.14
1 Kima amat garhn gibilyuzakur. The
statement is important.
2 Arkhi sa zaratim,
3 Nada suwa LAL wa' yume-su kkaranatn
itaraiz. The ideograph lal is
added to its phonetic equivalent suwa. In the Babylonian con- tract-tablets
kharran is used in the sense of a “ partnership."
4 This word seems to mean “an
account-book” in this passage. In Assyrian kurumatu seems to mean *’ food.” ^
5 G. No. 8. 6 Khabuluni, the Hebrew khabhal,
7 Gibati, apparently the Assyrian qibati or qibiti,
from qabd, “to
speak.” 8 Blki. y Or “ gives it up ” (iduar).
10 Yubakkj Assyrianfiakhu, “to
close." 11 G. No.
10.
12 I imagine this to be the
signification of the word likki, which would f
thus
correspond to the Hebrew lakh. 13
A sat.
14 Adagal. I suspect that gurru is the
Assyrian kiru, the “garden '*
or
“plantation " attached to a house.
XII1
Thirteen
and a ner2 shekels of silver, thy share, I have given on mortgage
and Zu-takhziz has given judgment; the breast (and) head Izmetas (?) has struck
(?) saying: “ I have paid8 the 15 shekels of silver that they may
not be given back :4 I have weighed the rest,6 fifteen
shekels, for Sakima the son of my brother. The payment6 of 20
manehs, even the manehs (inscribed on) the tablet, (and) the additional sum 7
which is repeated on its enclosure, I have given.” The manehs he has taken for
thee saying: Asur has appointed
that to Mar-ki-Asur the grandson (?)8 of Asur-ki-naram and (to)
Samas-tabba’i it should be said ;9 to Mar-ki-Asur it should be said
: “The 33 manehs he has taken we have certified,10 and I, thy . . .
., have entered into the house of Abu-salim11 the son of Asur-
emuki, and Sakima .... ii- manehs of silver. The rest12 of the
silver and [gold ? belongs to] Sakima, the son of the brethren. To the place of
his sakhut we have ascended.”
XIII13
Twenty
mules for a chariot14 in good condition, 10 mules the offspring 15
of a mule in good condition, 1 o (mules) of Ku'su, linen16 in good
condition for the clothing of royalty, (and) the rest (?)17 of the
mules of the country in good condition, belonging to El-ugar, all the mules
they
1 The second tablet brought from
Kaisariyeh by Professor Ramsay and
published
by me in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology, Nov. 1883, pp.
21, 22. The transliteration there given by me will have to be corrected in many
points.
2 I have no idea what division of the
shekel is signified by the ner.
3 Etiru. 4 Ana sa la duar. 5 Akhata.
0 Literally “weighing.’’ 7 Gadum.
B tur-tur-ZI. 9
Kibi'tna.
10 Literally “we know," nidi.
11 Absalom. 12
Akhctta,
13 The British Museum tablet published by
Mr. Pinches in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology, Nov.
i88r.
14 Or “litter," aparnQ, the appiry6n of
Cant. iii. 9.
15 Nawa, perhaps Hebrew na, Arabic na'a.
« KitS. 17 'Siti,
shall
value to El-ugar, in all1 80 mules in good condition shall be valued
to El-ugar. For a receipt (?) the purchasers 2 ask him,3
and one-third of a maneh (and) five shekels in silver to El-ugar are paid.
XIV4
Four
manehs of refined silver Salsu(?) 5-tida the son of Khiti-ili has
lent6 to Tarku7-zar(?)bam; the fifth belongs to
Asur-imedi and Asur-rabu. After 4 years he shall pay 8 manehs of silver.
Karmadu (is) limmu. Sagati-sudua has taken it, namely the silver; for his ....
days Tarku-zar(?)ba shall have full possession8 of the whole, and
Salsu(?)-tida shall deliver to him the whole of it entirely, and Eratim has
taken the place 9 of Salsu(?)-tida who is absent.10
Witnessed by Lalim and Kinanim.
1 Mirtu, from amaru, " to he full.
’’
2 Literally "askers,” saelu. 3 Yusasluas.
4 A tablet in my own collection.
5 The determinative of a deity
followed by the numeral 3. This god “Three" reminds ns of the numeral 113”
which occurs in the Hittite inscriptions apparently in the sense of "
Hittite." 6
Isdu.
1 The name
Tarku is preceded by the determinative of divinity.
8 Igasudu. 9
Abit, literally “declaration.''
10 Rukum.
By the Editor
According
to Manetho (as quoted by Julius Africanus).
(The
excerpts of Africanus are known only from George the Synkellos and Eusebius,
Chron. i. 19, 20.)
Dynasty
I.—Thinites ; 8 kings
Regnal
Years.
1........... Menes.. 62
2. Athothis his son 57
3. Ivenkenes his son 31
4.. Ouenephes his son . 23
5. Ousaphaidos his son (Ousaphaes, Eus.) . . .20
6. Miebidos his son
(Niebaes, Eus.) 26
7....... Semempses his son .18
8. Bienakhes his son (Oubienthes or
Vibesthes, Eus.) . . 26
Sum........... 253
(Eus. ...
... 252) (Really . 263)
Dynasty II.—Thinites ; 9 kings
1........ Boethos (Bolchos, Eus.) -38
2. Kaiekhos (Khoos or Kekhous, Eus.) .
. • ■ 39
3. Bin6thris (Biophis, Eus.) 47
4. Tlas (unnamed by Eus.) 17
5. Sethenfe (unnamed by Eus.) ... 41
6. Khaires (unnamed by Eus.) 17
7. NepherkherSs (the 7th successor of Biophis,
Eus.) . . 25
8....... Ses&khris . 48
9. Kheneres (unnamed by Eus.) 30
Sum....... . 302
(Eus . . 297)
|
Dynasty III.—Memphites ; 9 kings |
|
|
|
Regnal
Years. |
|
1.
Nekherophes (Nekherfikhis, Eus.) . . . |
. 28 |
|
2.
Tosorthros (Sethorthos, Eus.) . . . |
• 29 |
|
3.
Tyreis (unnamed by Eus.) |
• 7 |
|
4.
Mesokhris (unnamed by Eus.) ... |
• 17 |
|
5.
Souphis (unnamed by Eus.). .... |
. 16 |
|
6.
Tosertasis (unnamed by Eus.) .... |
• 19 |
|
7. Akhes
(unnamed by Eus.) |
. 42 |
|
8.
Sephouris (unnamed by Eus.) . . . |
• 3° |
|
9.
Kerpheres (unnamed by Eus.) ... . |
. 26 |
|
Sum
...... |
214 |
|
(Eus... |
• • 197) |
|
Dynasty
IV.—Memphites ; 8 kings (Eus. |
!9) |
|
1. Soris
(unnamed by Eus.).... |
. . 29 |
|
2.
Souphis I. (3rd king of the Dynasty, Eus.) . . |
• 63 |
|
3.
Souphis II. (unnamed by Eus.) . . ■ |
. . 66 |
|
4.
Menkheres (unnamed by Eus.) . . |
■ • 63 |
|
5.
Ratoises (unnamed by Eus.) . |
• 25 |
|
6.
Bikheres (unnamed by Eus.) . . . ■ |
. 22 |
|
7.
Seberkherfe (unnamed by Eus.) . |
• 7 |
|
8.
Thamphthis (unnamed by Eus.) ■ |
• 9 |
|
Sum ...
• • |
277 |
|
(Eus.
... • |
• 448) |
|
(Really |
• • 284) |
|
Dynasty V.—Elephantines ; 9 kings |
|
|
(Eus. :
31 kings, including Othios the first, and Phiops |
the
others |
|
unnamed.) |
|
|
1.
Ouserkheres |
. . 28 |
|
2.
Sephres . • |
• • !3 |
|
3. Nepherkherfe
• • • |
. . 20 |
|
4.
Sisires . • ... . • |
• • 7 |
|
5.
KherSs • |
. . 20 |
|
|
■ • 44 |
Regnal
Years.
7. Menkheres . . .... . . 9
8. Tankheres .......... 44
9........ Ounos or Obnos 33
Sum 248
(Really 218)
Dynasty
VI.—Memphites ; 6 kings (No number in Eus.)
1. Othoes . •
2. Phios . . .
3. Methou-Souphis .
4. Phiops (lived 100 years)
5. Menthe-Souphis .
6. Nitokris . .
Sum
(So Eus. ;
really
30
53
7
94
1
12
205
197)
Dynasty VII.—70 Memphites for 70 days
(Eus. : 5
kings for 75 days, or years according to the Armenian Version.)
Dynasty VIII.—27 Memphites for 146 years
(Eus. : 5
kings for 106 years, or 9 kings according to the Armenian Version.)
DYNASTY
IX.—19 Herakleopolites for 409 years (Eus. : 4 kings for 100 years.)
1. Akhthoes . . . . . . .
Dynasty X.—19 Herakleopolites for 185 years
Dynasty
XI.—16 Thebans for 43 years, of whom AmmenemSs reigned 16 years (after the 16
Thebans according to Eus.)
End of
Manetho’s first book, the kings of the first eleven Dynasties reigning
altogether 2300 years and 70 days (really 2287 years and 70 days).
Dynasty XII.—Thebans ; 7 kings
Regnal
Years
1. Sesonkhosis son of Ammenemes 46
2. Ammanemes 38
3........ Sesostris . 48
4. Lakhares (Lamaris or Lampares, Eus.) the
builder of the
Labyrinth
......... 8
5. Ameres (unnamed by Eus.) . 8
6. Amenemes (unnamed by Eus.) .... .8
7. Skemiophris his sister (unnamed by Etts.) .... 4 (Eus. makes the total of the three last
reigns 42 years.)
Sum . .
.... 160
[Eus . 245)
Dynasty XIII.—Thebans ; 60 kings for 453 years.
Dynasty
XIV.—Xoites; 76 kings for 134 years (Eus. -. 484 years.)
Dynasty XV. —Shepherds ; 6 Phoenician strangers at Memphis for
284 years
(Eus. :
Thebans for 250 years.)
1. Saites . . • • ...
2. Bnon . • • • •
3. Pakhnan ... • •
4. Staan . . • • • •
5. Arkles ■
6. Aph6bis . • • ■ •
Sum . ...
• 19
• 44 . 61
• 5°
• 49 . 61
. 284
Dynasty
XVI.—Shepherds ; 32 kings for 582 years (Eus. : 5 Thebans for 190 years.)
Dynasty
XVII.—Shepherds; 43 kings for 151 years; and 43 Thebans for 151 years
(Eiis. :
Shepherds, Phoenician strangers, for 103 years.)
Regnal
Years.
1. Saites ... ... ... 19
2. Bnon ..... ..... 40
3. Arkles (Armenian Version) 30
4. Aphophis (Armenian Version) 14
Sum 103
Dynasty
XVIII.—Thebans ; 16 kings (Eus. ; 14 kings.)
1. Amosis . . ... 25
2. Khebros (Khebron, Eus.) . . j3
3. Amenophthis (Amenophis for 21 years, Eus.) . 24
4. Amensis (omitted by Eus.). . . 22
5. Misaphris (Miphris for 12 years, Eus.) . 13
6. Misphragmontlifisis .... 26
7. Touthmosis ... .9
8. Amen&phis (Memnon) ... 31
9. Horos (Oros, Eus.) .... • • ■ 37
10. Akherres (Akhenkherses for 16 or 12 years,
Eus.) 32
11. Ratios (omitted by Eus.) ... 6
12. Khebres (Akherres for 8 years, Eus.) . 12
13. Akherres (Kherres for 15 years, Eus.) . . 12
14. Armesses (Armais Danaos, Eus.)
. . 5
15. Ramesses (for 68 years, Eus.) .... 1
16. Amenophis (for 40 years, Eus.) . . . . 19
Sum . . .
. . 263
{Eus. 348)
(Really 287)
Dynasty
XIX.—Thebans; 7 kings (Eus. ; 5 kings.)
I.................. Seth6s (for 55 years,
Eus.) 51
v..
Rapsakcs (Rampses for 66 years, Eus.) . . .61
Regnal
Years.
3. Ammenephthes (Amenephthis for 8 years, Eits.) .
. 20
4. Harnesses (omitted by Eus.) ... 60
5. Amenemcs (for 26 years, Eus.) . • • 5
6. Thouoris or Polybos . . . 7
Sum .... .
. 209
(Eus.
..... 194)
(Really .
. .... 204)
Dynasty
XX.—Thebans; 12 kings for 135 years (Eus. : 172 or 178 years.)
Among the
12 kings were :
Nekhepsos ... .
. .19
Psammouthis
.... . . . . 13
..... . .
. . 4
Kertos . .
• 16
Rhampsis....
. ... 45
Amenses or
Amenemes ... . . 26
Okhuras
.... • • 14
Sum . .
.... 137
Dynasty
XXI.—Tanites ; 7 kings
1. Smendfe
... 26
2. Psousennes (for 41 years, Eus.) ... 46
3. Nephelkheres (Nepherkher£s, Eus.) . . -4
4. Amen6phthis ..... • • 9
5. Osokhor . . . . ... 6
6. Psinakhes ..... • -9
7. PsousennSs (for 35 years, Eus.) . . . . 14
Sum 13°
(Eus. . . ■ ■ ■ 130)
(Really 114)
Dynasty
XXII.—Bubastites ; 9 kings (Eus, : 3 kings.)
1. Sesonkhis (Sesonkh6sis, Eus.) ... . 21
2...... OsorthSn. !5
Regnal
Years.
3- 4>
5> Unnamed (omitted by Eus.) . ... 25
6... Takelothis.. 13
7. 8,9. Unnamed (omitted by Eus.) 42
Sum ...
... 120
(Eus. . .
... 44)
(Really 116)
Dynasty
XXIII.—Tanites; 4 kings (Eus. : 3 kings.)
1. Petoubates (Petoubastes for 25 years,
Eus.) .
2. Osorkho Ilerakles (Osorthon for 9 years,
Eus.)
3... Psammos
4.. Zet (omitted by Eus.)
Sum . 89
(Eus 44)
Dynasty XXIV.—One Saite
1. Bokkhoris the Wise (for 44
years, Eus.) ... 6
Dynasty XXV.—Ethiopians ; 3 kings
1. Sabakon (for 12 years, Eus.) ...... 8
2. Sebikhos his son (for 12 years, Eus.) 14
3. Tearkos (Tarakos for 20 years, Eus.) 18
Sum 40
(Eus. 44)
Dynasty
XXVI.—Saites; 9 kings (Eus. ; 1. Ammeris, the Ethiopian, for 18 or 12 years.)
Regnal
Years. Months.
1. Stephinates (Stephinathis the 2nd king, Eus.) 7 o
2. Nekhepsos (the 3rd, Eus.) .... 6 o
3. Nekhafi (for 6 years, Eus.) .... 8 o
4. Psammetikhos (for 44 or 45 years, Eus.) . 54 0
Regnal
Years. Months.
|
5.
Nekhao |
6 |
0 |
|
6.
Psammouthis (Psammouthis II. or Psammati- |
|
|
|
khos for
17 years, Eus.).... |
6 |
0 |
|
7.
Ouaphris (for 25 years, Eus.) . . . |
19 |
0 |
|
8.
Amdsis (for 42 years, Eus.) .... |
44 |
0 |
|
9.
Psammekherites (omitted by Eus.) . . |
0 |
6 |
|
Sum |
150 |
6 |
|
(Eus.
.... |
167 |
0) |
|
Dynasty
XXVII.—Persians ; 8 kings |
|
|
|
1.
Kambyses in the 5th year of his reign (for 3 |
|
|
|
years,
Eus.) ... . |
6 |
0 |
|
2.
Dareios son of Hystaspes .... |
36 |
0 |
|
3.
Xerxes |
21 |
0 |
|
4.
Artabanos (omitted by Eus.) . . . |
0 |
7 |
|
5. Artaxerxes
..... • |
41 |
0 |
|
6.
Xerxes II. . . • • |
0 |
2 |
|
7.
Sogdianos ... . • |
0 |
7 |
|
8.
Dareios son of Xerxes . . |
19 |
0 |
|
Sum . •
• |
124 |
4 |
|
(Eus. .
. ■ ■ |
120 |
4) |
Dynasty XXVIII.—One Saite
1.
Amyrtaios . • • • ■ •
Dynasty
XXIX.—Mendesians ; 4 kings (Eus.. S kings.)
1. Nepherites I. or Nekherites . . -6
2. Akhfiris . • •
■ 13
3. Psammouthes • * *
(Eus. .
Mouthis inserted here • • 1
4. Nepherites II. • •
Dynasty XXX.—Sebennytes ; 3 kings
Regnal
Years. Months.
1. Nektanebes I. (for 10 years, Eus.) . . 18 O
2. Teos 2 o
3. Nektanebes II. (for 8
years, Eus.) . . 18 o
Sum 38 O
(Eus 20 o)
Dynasty XXXI.—Persians; 3 kings
1. Okhos in his 20th year (for 6 years,
Eus.) . 2 o
2. Arses (for 4 years, Eus.) .... 3 o
3. Dareios (for 6 years, Em.) ... . 4 o
Sum . ..90
(Eus 16 o)
The
Dynasties of Manetho according to Josephus (cont. Ap. i. 14, 15, 27).
Dynasty
XV.—Hyksos or Shepherds
After the
overthrow of Timaios, the last king of the 14th Dynasty, a period of anarchy.
Regnal
Years. Months.
1..... Salatis at Memphis 13 o
2.... Beon 44 o
3.... Apalchnas 36 7
4. Ap6phis .... . . 61 o
5.... Yanias (or Annas) 50 1
6. Assis ........ 49 2
Dynasties
XVIII. and XIX.—Thebans
1. Tethm&sis ... . .25 4
2. Khebron his son . . . .13 o
3... Amendphis 1 20 7
|
|
Regnal
Years. |
Months. |
|
4■ Amesses
his sister . |
. 21 |
9 |
|
5-
Mephres . . |
. . 12 |
9 |
|
6.
Mephramouthosis . |
■ 25 |
10 |
|
7-
Thmosis . . |
• 9 |
S |
|
S.
Amenophis II. . . |
• 30 |
10 |
|
9. Oros |
. . 36 |
5 |
|
10.
Akenkhres his daughter |
. . 12 |
1 |
|
11.
Rathotis her brother . |
■ • 9 |
0 |
|
12.
Akenkheres I. . |
12 |
5 |
|
13.
Akenkheres II. |
12 |
3 |
|
14. Armais
. |
4 |
1 |
|
15.
Ramesses . |
. . . 1 |
4 |
|
16.
Armesses Miamoun . . |
. 60 |
2 |
|
17.
Amenophis III. . . |
• • 19 |
6 |
|
18.
Sethosis Aiguptos and Ramesses (or Hermeus) |
|
|
|
Danaos
.... |
• • 59 |
0 |
|
19.
Rhampses his son . |
. 66 |
0 |
|
20.
Amenophis his son . . |
. . ? |
|
|
21.
Sethos Ramesses his son . |
. . . ? |
|
[The
statements of Josephus are confused, and the order ought to be : is, IS, 19
(identical with 16), 20 (identical with 17).]
According to the Monuments.1
Dynasty I.
Abydos.
2. Teta
3. Atota
4. Ata
5. Hesep (or
Sapti)
6. Merba
7. Semen-
Ptah (?)
8. Kabeh
Saqqarah.
Turin Papyrus. Meni Atet
Merbaipen
Kabeliu (Behuka)
Manetho.
Menes Athothis Kenkenes Ouenephes I. Ousaphaidos
Miebidos
Semempses
Bienekhes
1 Kings
whose place is uncertain are not mentioned in the following list.
Abydos.
I. Butau 2.. Kakau
3. Bainuteru
4. Utnas
5. Send1
6. ...
7. Tata I.
2.
3'
7. ...
8. Shepseskaf
9. ...
Khufuf
Ra-tatf
Ivhafra
Men-ka-Ra
Dynasty II.
Saqqarah. Turin Papyrus.
Kakau ...
Bainuter ...
Utnas ...
Send Aakar
Nefer-ka-Ra Sekeri Nefer-ka
Tefa
Bubui
Nefer - ka Seker, [4?] 8 years 3 months 4 days Hu - tefa, [3 ? ] o
yrs. 8 m. 4 d. Bubu, 27 years 2 months 1 day
Dynasty III.
1. Neb-ka
2. Ser-bes
3. Tata II.
4. Set-es
5. ...
6. Nefer-ka-Ra
7. ...
8. ...
9. Snefru
10. ...
Ser
Ser-Tcta
Neb-ka-Ra
Huni
Dynasty IV.
Khufu (Kheops) Ra-tatf
Khafra (Khephren)
Manetho.
Boethos
Kaiekhos
Binothris
Tlas
Sethenes
IChaires
Nepherkheres
Sesokhris
Kheneres
Neb-ka, 19
years Sera, 19 years 1 month Ser-Teta
Hu[ni]
Snefru
Nekherophes
Tosorthros
Tureis
Mesokhris
S&uphis
Tosertasis
Akhes
Sephouris
Kerpheres
Soris
Souphis I.
Souphis
II.
Menkheres
Ratoises
Bikheres
Seberkheres
Thamphthis
i The
inscription of Sheri, the prophet of Send—the oldest dated monument we possess
—makes Per-ab-sen the successor of Send.
9
10.
Abydos.
Userkaf
Sahu-Ra
Keka
Nefer-f-Ra
Dynasty V.
Saqqarah. Turin Papyrus.
Sahu-Ra
Nefer-ar-ka-Ra
Shepses-ka-Ra
Kha-nefer-Ra
Manetho.
Ouserkheres
Sephres
Ra - n - user (An) Men-kau-Hor
Tat-ka-Ra
Unas
Men-ka-Hor
Tat-ka-Ra
Unas
Nepherkheres
Sisires Kheres
ii years
Rathoures
Men-ka-Hor,
8 Menkheres years
Tat, 28
years Tankheres
Unas, 30
years Ounos
Teta
User-ka-Ra
Meri-Ra (Pepi I.) Mer-en-Ra (Sokar-m-saf
I.)
Nefer-ka-Ra (Pepi II.) (Mer - en - Ra Sokar-m- saf II.)
Dynasty
VI.
Teta ... 6years2ldays Othoes
Pepi
(Meri-Ra) ... 20 years Phios
20 years 4
years
Methousou-
phis
••• 9 (4)
years Phiops
Mer-en-Ra,
1 year Menthe - Sou- 1 month phis
Nitokris
1. Nit-aker (a queen)
2. Nefer-ka, 2 yrs.
1 m. 1 day
3. Nefrus, 4 yrs. 2 m.
I day
4. Ab-en-Ral., 2 yrs.
1 m. 1 day
5- -
6. Ab-en-Ra II.
7. Hanti
8. Pest-sat-en- Sopd
9. Paitasu
10. Serhlinib (according to Lauth)
Dynasties
VII., VIII., IX., X.
Turin
Papyrus. ... 6 years
|
|
Abydos. |
|
I. |
Mer-em-Ra Zaf-em-Saf |
|
2. |
Nuter-ka-Ra |
|
3- |
Men-ka-Ra |
|
4. |
Nefer-ka-Ra |
|
5- |
|
|
6. |
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9- |
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
[Nefer-ka-Ra
?] |
|
13- |
Nefer-ka-Ra
Nebi |
|
14. |
Tat-ka-Ra
Shema |
|
IS- |
Nefer-ka-Ra
Khnotu |
|
16. |
Men-en-Hor |
|
17. |
Snefer-ka |
|
18. |
Ra-n-ka |
|
19- |
Nefer-ka-Ra
Terel |
|
20. |
Nefer-ka-Hor |
|
21. |
Nefer-ka-Ra Pepi-seneb |
|
22. |
Snefer-ka-Ra
Annu |
|
23- |
[Nefer-]kau-Ra
I. |
|
24. |
Nefer-kau-Ra
II. |
|
25- |
Nefer-kau-Hor |
|
26. |
Nefer-ar-ka-Ra |
Nefer-ka-Ra Khrati Se . . .
Ur . . .
Set . . .
Ha . . .
[Nefer-ka ?-]Ra [Nefer-ka ?-]Ra [Tat-ka ?-]Ra [Nefer-ka ?-]Ra
(And j
others destroyed.1) (Sum of years of the 10th Dynasty: 355 years
10days)
Dynasty
XI.—According to Lieblein and Petrie
Karnak. Other Monuments.
User-n-Ra
Neb-nem-Ra
Ana
Antef I. Seshes-Hor-ap-maa-Ra Antuf Aa
Mentu-hetep
I. J Neb-hetep Mentu-hetep I.
I Queen
Khnum-nefer-het Mentu-hetep I.
1 An
inscription I have discovered at Sehel shows that one of these was Nefer-
hepu-Ra. Mr. Griffith has made it clear that Ka-meri-Ra, mentioned in a tomb Lt
Assiout, was a king of the 10th Dynasty.
Karnak. Other Monuments.
Antef II. Uah Ankh [Ter ?-]seshes-ap-maa-Ra Antef Aa
(his son)
Antef III. Seshes-herher-maa-Ra Antef (brother)
Nuter-nefer Neb-taui-Ra Mentu-hetep II.
Antef IV. Nub-kheper-Ra Antauf (more than 50 years)
C Neb-kher-Ra
Mentu-hetep III. (more than 46 Ra-neb years)
(, Queen
Aah Antef V. (son)
S-ankh-ka-Ra S-ankh-ka-Ra1
Monuments.
1. Amen-em-hat I. alone (20
years)
With
Usertesen I. (10 years)
2. Usertesen I. Kheper-ka-Ra
alone (32
years)
With
Amen-em-hat (3 years)
3. Amen-em-hat II. Nub-Kau-
Ra alone
(29 years)
With
Usertesen II. (6 years)
4. Usertesen II. ICha-kheper-
Ra (13
years)
5. Usertesen III. Kha-kau-
Ra (26
years)
6. Amen-em-hat III. Ra-n-
Mat (42 years)
7. Amen - em - hat IV. Ma -
khru-Ra
8. Sebek-nefiru-Ra (a queen)
Mauetho.
Ammenemes
Sesonkhosis
Ammanemes
... 19 years Sesostris
... 3 years Lakhares
... Ammeres
Ma-khru-Ra, 9 years Ammenemes
3 months 17 days
Sebek-nefru-Ra, 3 years Skemiophris
10 months 24 days
(Sum of
years of 12th Dynasty : 213 years 1 month 17 days.)
Dynasty XII.
Turin
Papyrus. S-hetep-ab-Ra
... 48
years
J The
Turin Papyrus gives the last four reigns of the Dynasty as follows ... 9 years
... 8 years Neb-khru-Ra, 51 years User-Ra, 12 years (Sum of years of nth
Dynasty: 243 years.)
Dynasty
XIII.—According to the Turin Papyrus (Brugsch)
|
I. |
Sebek-hetep I. Ra-khu-taui (son |
33- |
Mer-sekhem-Ra
Anran, |
|
|
of
Sebek-nefru-Ra), 1 year |
|
3 years
1 month |
|
|
3 months
24 days |
34- |
Sut-ka-Ra
Ura, 5 years |
|
2. |
Sekhera-ka-Ra,
6 years |
|
. .
months 8 days |
|
3- |
Ra Amen-em-hat I. |
35- |
Anemen .
. ro |
|
4- |
S-hetep-ab-Ra
I. |
36-46.
Destroyed |
|
|
5- |
Aufni, 2
years |
47.
Mer-kheper-Ra |
|
|
6. |
S-ankh-ab-Ra,
1 year |
48.
Mer-ka-[Ra] |
|
|
7- |
S-men-ka-Ra |
49-53.
Destroyed |
|
|
8. |
S-hetep-ab-Ra
II. |
54- |
. . .
mes |
|
9- |
. . .
ka-Ra |
55- |
Ra . . .
mat Aba |
|
10, |
11.
Destroyed |
56. |
. . .
Uben-Ra I. |
|
12. |
Netem-ab-Ra |
57-60.
Destroyed |
|
|
13- |
Ra
Sebek-hetep II. |
61. |
Nahasi-[Ra] |
|
14. |
Ran-[sen]eb |
62. |
Kha-khru-Ra |
|
>5- |
Autu-ab-Ra
I. |
63- |
Neb-f-autu-Ra,
2 years 5 |
|
16. |
Setef .
. . Ra |
|
months
15 days |
|
17- |
Ra Sekhem-khu-taui (Se- |
64. |
S-heb-Ra,
3 years |
|
|
bek-hetep
III.) |
65- |
Mer-tefa-Ra,
3 years |
|
18. |
Ra-user
. . |
66. |
Sut-ka-Ra |
|
19- |
S-menkh-ka-Ra
Mermesha |
67. |
Neb-tefa-Ra |
|
20. |
. .
ka-Ra |
68. |
Uben-Ra
II. |
|
21. |
. . user-ser |
69. |
70.
Destroyed |
|
22. |
Ra
Sekhem - [khu - tani] (Sebek - |
7i- |
. . .
tefa-Ra |
|
|
hetep
IV.) |
72. |
. . .
Uben-Ra III. |
|
23- |
Kha-seshesh-Ra
Nefer-hetep son |
73- |
Autu-ab-Ra
II. |
|
|
of
Ha-ankh-f |
74- |
Har-ab-Ra |
|
24. |
Ra-si-Hathor |
75- |
Neb-sen-Ra |
|
25. |
Kha-nefer-Ra
(Sebek-hetep V.) |
76-79.
Destroyed |
|
|
26. |
(?
Kha-ka-Ra) |
80.
S-kheper-n-Ra |
|
|
27. |
Kha-ankh-Ra
(Sebek-hetep VI.) |
81. |
Tat-khru-Ra |
|
28. |
Kha-hetep-Ra
(Sebek-hetep VII.), |
82.
S-ankh-[ka-]Ra |
|
|
|
4 years
8 months 29 days |
83.
Nefer-tum-Ra |
|
|
29. |
Uah-Ra
Aa-ab, 10 years 8 months |
84.
Sekhem . . . Ra |
|
|
|
28 days |
85. Ka .
. . Ra |
|
|
3°- |
Mer-nefer-Ra
Ai, 23 years 8 months |
86. |
Nefer-ab-Ra |
|
|
18 days |
87. Ra-a
. . . |
|
|
Si- |
Mer-hetep-Ra,
2 years 2 months |
88. |
Ra-kha .
. ., 2 years |
|
|
9 days |
89. |
Nut-ka-Ra,
2 years |
|
32. |
S-ankh-nef-Ra
Utu, 3 years 2 |
90. |
S-men .
. . Ra |
|
|
months |
91- |
III.
Destroyed |
112. Ra-sekhem ... 116. Ra-neb-ari
113. Ra-sekhem . . 117. Ra-neh-aten
114. Ra-sekhem-us . . 118. Ra-s-ment . . .
115. Ra-sesen . . ng. Ra-user-aten
120. Ka-sekhem . . .
From 30 to
40 more names an destroyed.
[Dynasty
XIII.—According to the Tablet of Karnak
|
I. |
. . . ka |
6. |
Kha-seshesh-Ra |
|
z. |
Sut-n-Ra |
7- |
Kha-nefer-Ra |
|
3- |
S-ankh-ab-Ra |
8. |
Kha-ka-Ra |
|
4- |
Ra-sekhem-khu-taui |
9. |
Kha-ankh-Ra |
|
5- |
Ra-sekhem-sut-taui |
10. |
Kha-hetep-Ra] |
|
|
Dynasty XIV.— |
-According |
to the Turin Papyrus |
|
1. |
|
10. |
Hor . .
. |
|
2. |
Ab-nu |
11. |
. . ka |
|
3- |
Setep-n-mau |
12. |
|
|
4- |
Pan-n-set-setep |
13- |
. .
Ilapi . . . |
|
5- |
Pah-as(?) |
14. |
.
ka-Mentu(?) |
|
6. |
Ser-hem-t |
iS- |
. . .
ka-beh-nu . |
|
7. |
Af . . . |
16. |
. . ., 3
years |
|
8. |
Seti . .
. |
17- |
. .
kheti |
|
9- |
Nun . .
. |
18. |
. . .
n-neb-erget |
The
remaining names are destroyed.
Dynasties
XV. and XVI.
1 (Set)
Shalati (Salatis) Khaian
User-nub-Ra (Yanias?)
2. Bnan (Bnon) Apepi I. Ra-aa-user (geometrical
papyrus
written in his 33r^ year) Apepi II. Ra-aa-ab-taui
Dynasty
XVII.
Skenen-Ra
Taa I. (contemporary with Apepi II.)
Skenen-Ra Taa II. Aa Skenen-Ra Taa III. Ken
Uat-kheper-Ra
Kames and his wife Aah-hetep
Dynasty XVIII.
Manetho.
1. Neb-pehuti-Ra Aahmes (more than 22 years)
Amosis
and wife
Nefert-ari-Aahmes
2. Ser-ka-Ra Amen-hetepl. (20 years 7
months); Amenophis I.
his mother
at first regent
3. Aa-kheper-ka-Ra Tehuti-mes I. and
wife ...
Aahmes
Meri-Amen
4. Aa-kheper-n-Ra Tehuti-mes II. (more
than 9 ...
years) and
wife (sister) Hashepsu Ma-ka-Ra
5. Khnum Amen Hashepsu Ma-ka-Ra,
queen, 16 Amensis
years
6. Ra-men-kheper Tehuti-mes III., 57 years 11
Misaphris
months 1
day (B.C. 1503, March 20th-i449,
Feb. 14th)
7. Aa-khepru-Ra Amen-hetep II. Misphragmuthosis
8. Men-khepru-Ra Tehuti-mes IV. and wife Mut-
Touthmosis
em-ua
9. Neb-ma-Ra Amen-hetep III. (more than
35 Amenophis II.
years) and
wife Teie
10. Nefer-khepru-Ra Amen-hetep IV.
Khu-n-
Horos
Aten1
(more than'12 years), and wife Nefri-Thi
11. Sa’a-nekht and wife Mori-Aten Akherres
12. Tut - ankh - Amen Khepru-neb-Ra
and wife Rathotis
Ankh-nes-Amen
13. Aten-Ra-nefer-nefru-mer-Aten ?
14. Ai Kheper-khepru-ar-ma-Ra and wife
Thi ?
(probably
reigned only south of Girgeh)
15. Hor-em-hib Mi-Amen Ser-khepru-Ra (more
Armais
than 3
years)
Dynasty XIX.
1. Men-pehuti-Ra Ramessu I. (more than 2
years) Ramesses
2. Ma-mcn-Ra Seti I. Mer-n-Ptah I. and wife
Sethos
Tua
3. User-ma-Ra Setep-n-Ra
Ramessu II. Mi- Rampses
Amen (B.C. 1348-1281 2)
4. Mer-n-Ptah II.
Hetep-hi-maBa-n-Ra Mi-Amen Ammenephthes
5. User-khepru-Ra Seti II.
Mer-n-Ptah III. Sethos
Ramesses
6. Amen-mesu Hik-An Mer-kha-Ra
Setep-n-Ra Amenemes
7. Khu-n-Ra Setep-n-Ra
Mer-n-Ptah IV. Si-Pthah Thuoris
and wife
Ta-user
1 Called
Khuri(ya) in one of the Tel el-Amama letters. Hence the Horos of Manetho.
3 The date has been fixed astronomically
by Dr. Mahler.
Dynasty XX.
1. Set-nekht Merer Mi-Amen (recovered the
kingdom from the
Phoenician
Arisu)
2. Ramessu III. Hik-An (more than 32 years)
3. Ramessu IV. Hik-Ma Mi-Amen
4. Ramessu V. Amen-hi-khepesh-f
Mi-Amen / 5. Ramessu
Meri-Tum (in Northern Egypt)
I 5. Ramessu VI. Neb-ma-Ra Mi-Amen Amen-hi-khepesh-f
6. Ramessu VII. At-Amen
User-ma-Ra Mi-Amen
7. Ramessu VIII. Set-hi-khepesh-f
Mi-Amen User-ma-Ra Khu-n-
Amen
8. Ramessu IX. Si-Pthah
Se-kha-n-Ra Mi-Amen
9. Ramessu X. Nefer-ka-Ra Mi-Amen Setep-n-Ra
(more than 10
years)
10. Ramessu XI. User-ma-Ra Mi-Amen Setep-n-Ra
11. Ramessu XII. Men-ma-Ra Mi-Amun
Setep-n-Pthah Khamus
(more than
27 years)
12. Ramessu XIII. Amen-hi-khepesh-f Kheper-ma-Ra Setep-n-Ra
Dynasty XXI.—Illegitimate
1. Hir-Hor Si-Amen, High-priest of Amen at
Thebes, and wife Notem-
Mut
2. Piankhi, High-priest, and wife Tent-Amen
3. Pinetem I., High-priest, and wife Hontaui
4. Pinetem II., King, and wife Ma-ka-Ra
5. Men-kheper-Ra and wife Isis-em-Kheb
6. Pinetem III. (his son)
Dynasty
XXI.—Legitimate
1. Nes-Bindidi Mi-Amen1
2. P-seb-kha-n I. Mi-Amen
Aa-kheper-Ra Setep
n-Amen
3. [Nefer-ka-Ra]
4. [Amen-apt ?]
6. Pinetem
7. Pi-seb-kha-n II. Mi-Amen
Manetho. Smendes - Psousennes
Nephelkheres
Amenophthis
Osokhor
Psinakhes
Psousennes
1 See
Records of the Past, New Series, v. pp. 17-24.
Dynasty XXII.
1. Shashank I. Mi-Amen
Hat-kheper-Ra Setep-n-Ra
(more than
21 years)
2. Usarkon I. Mi-Amen Sekhem-kheper-Ra
(married
daughter
of Pi-seb-kha-n)
3. Takelet I. Mi-Amen Si-Ast
Hat-Ra Setep-n-Amen
4. Usarkon II. Mi-Amen Si-East User-ma-Ra
(more
than 23
years)
5. Shashank II. Mi-Amen
Sekhem-kheper-Ra
6. Takelet II. Mi-Amen Si-Ast Hat-kheper-Ra
(more
than 15
years)
7. Shashank III. Mi-Amen Si-Bast
User-ma-Ra (52
years)
8. Pimai Mi-Amen User-ma-Ra
Setep-n-Amen
9. Shashank IV. Aa-kheper-Ra (more than 37
years)
Manetho.
Sesonkhis
Osorthon
Takelothis
Dynasty
XXIII.
1. Se-her-ab-Ra Petu-si-Bast
2. Usarkon III. Mi-Amen
Aa-kheper-Ra Setep-n-
Amen
P-si-Mut User-Ra Setep-n-Ptah
Petoubastes
Osorkho
Psamtnos
Zet
Interregnum
Egypt
divided between seyeral princes, including Tef- nekht (Tnephakhtos), father of
Bak-n-ran-f. It is overrun by Piankhi the Ethiopian, while Usarkon III. reigns
at Bubastis. The son and successor of Piankhi is Mi-Amen- Nut.
Dynasty
XXIV. Bak-n-ran-f Uah-ka-Ra (more than 6 years)
Manetho.
Bolckhoris
Dynasty
XXV.
Shabaka
Nefer-ka-Ra, son of Kashet, defeated by Sabakon
Sargon B.C. 720 (more than 12 years)
Shabataka
Tat-ka-Ra Sebikhos
Taharka
Nefcr-tum-khu-Ra (Tirhakah), 26 years Tearkos
Interregnum
The
Assyrian conquest and division of Egypt into 20 satrapies b.c. 672-660. Taharka
and his successor Rud- Amen (Assyrian Urdamanu) make vain efforts to recover
it. In Manetho the period is represented by Stephinates (Setep-n-Nit),
Nekhepsos and Nekhao, the latter of whom is called in the Assyrian inscriptions
Niku, the father of Psammetikhos, and vassal-king of Memphis and Sais.
1. Psamtik I. Uah-ab-Ra and wife
Mehet-Usekh, Psammetikhos
B.C.
664-610
2. Nekau Nem-ab-Ra and wife Mi-Mut Nit-aker,
Nekhao
B.C.
610-594
3. Psamtik II. Nefer-ab-Ra and wife Nit-aker,
B.C. Psammouthis
594-589
4. Uah-ab-Ra Haa-ab-Ra and wife Aah-hetep,
Ouaphris
B.C.
5S9-570
5. Aah-mes Si-Nit Khnnm-ab-Ra and wife Thent-
Amosis
kheta,
B.C. 570-526
6. Psamtik III. Ankh-ka-n-Ra, B.C. 526-525 Psammekherites
Dynasty
XXVI.
Manetho.
Dynasty
XXVII.
1. ICambathet Sem-taui
Mestu-Ra, B.C. 52S'SI9
2. Ntariush I. Settu-Ra, B.C. 521-485
3. Ivhabbash Senen Tanen
Setep-n-Ptah, B.C. 485
4. Khsherish, B.C. 484
Kambyses
Dareios I.
9. Ntariush Mi-Amen-Ra
6. Artakhsharsha, B.C. 465-425
7. •••
8.
Xerxes I.
Artabanos Artaxerxes Xerxes II. Sogdianos Dareios II.
Dynasty
XXVIII.
Amen-ar-t-rut1
(more than 6 years), B.C. 415 Amyrtaios
1 So
Wiedemann.
Dynasty
XXIX.
1. Nef-a-rutl. Ba-n-Ra Mi-nuteru (more than
4 years)
2. Hakori Ra-Khnum-ma
Setep-n-Khnum, 13 years
3. P-si-Mut Usir-Ptah-setep-n-Ra, 1 year
4. Hor-neb-kha, I year
5. Nef-a-rut II., 1 year
Dynasty XXX.
1. Nekht-Hor-hib Ra-snetem-ab
Setep-n-Anher, son
of
Nef-a-rut I., 9 years
2. Tihu, 1 year
3. Nekht-neb-f Ra-kheper-ka 18 years
Nepherites
I. Akhoris Psammouthes Mouthes Nepherites II.
Nektanebes I. Teos
Nektanebes II.
Volume I
. PAGE
1. The Dynastic Tablets and Chronicles of
the Babylonians.
By the
Editor 1
2. The Inscriptions of Telloh. By Arthur
Amiaud ... 42
3. Sin-Gashid’s Endowment of the Temple
E-Ana. By Theo.
G. Pinches
78
4. An Erechite’s Lament. By Theo. G. Pinches
... 84 5- Inscription of Tiglath-Pileser I., King of Assyria. By the
Editor... 86
6. The Assyrian Story of the Creation. By the
Editor . .122
7. The Babylonian Story of the Creation
according to the Tradi
tion of
Cutha. By the Editor 147
8. Babylonian Lawsuits and Judgments. By
Prof. J. Oppert . 154 ■
9. Inscription of Menuas, King of Ararat, in
the Yannic
Language.
By the Editor 163
10. The Ancient Hebrew Inscription of Siloam.
By the Editor 168
Volume II
1. Inscription of Uni (of the Sixth
Dynasty). By Prof. Maspero 1
2. The Adventures of Sinuhit (of the Twelfth
Dynasty). By
Prof.
Maspero 11
3. The Legend of the Expulsion of the Hyksos.
By Prof.
Maspero 37
4. The Stele of Thothmes IV. (of the
Eighteenth Dynasty). By
D. Mallet 45
5. Tablets of Tel el-Amarna relating to
Palestine in the century
before the
Exodus. By the Editor 57
6. The Inscriptions of Telloh. By Arthur Amiaud . 72
7. The Assyrian Chronological Canon. By the Editor
. no
8. The Standard Inscription of
Assur-natsir-pal. By the Editor 128
PAGE
9. Specimens of Assyrian Correspondence. By
Theo. G.
Pinches .
. . . . . . . . .178
10. Akkadian Hymn to the Setting Sun. By G. Bertin . 190
11. The Moabite Stone. By A. Neubauer .... 194
12. Table of the Egyptian Dynasties . . . 204
13. List of Kings of Assyria .... . . 205
14. Egyptian Calendar . .... . 208
Volume III
1. The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep ; the oldest
book in the world.
By
Philippe Virey ........ 1
2. The Daughter of the Prince of Bakhtan and
the Spirit that
possessed
her. By Prof. Maspero .... 36
3. Hymn to the Nile. By Paul Guieysse .... 46
4. Letters to Egypt from Babylonia, Assyria,
and Syria, in the
fifteenth
century B.C. By the Editor • • • - 55
5. Ancient Babylonian Agricultural Precepts.
By G. Bertin . 91
6. The India House Inscription of
Nebuchadrezzar the Great.
By the
Rev. C. J. Ball .... .102
7. Contract-Tablets relating to Belshazzar.
By the Editor . 124
Volume IV
1. The Official Life of an Egyptian Officer,
from the Tomb of
Amen-em-heb
at Thebes. By Philippe Virey . . . 1
2. Hymn to Osiris on the Stele of Amon-em-ha.
By D. Mallet 14
3. The Synchronous History of Assyria and
Babylonia. By the
Editor.. 24
4. Inscriptions of Shalmaneser II. (on the
Black Obelisk, the
Kurkh
Monolith, and the Gates of Balawat). By the Rev.
Dr. Scheil . 36
5. A Votive Inscription of Assur-natsir-pal.
By S. Arthur Strong 80
6. Inscription of Rimmon-nirari III. By S.
Arthur Strong . 86
7. Votive inscriptions. By S. Arthur Strong
.... 90 —8. Babylonian Contract-Tablets with Historical References. By
Theo. G.
Pinches 96
9. The Dedication of three Babylonians to the
Service of the Sun-
god at
Sippara. By the Editor 109
10. The great Inscription of Argistis on the
Rock of Van. By
the Editor 114
11. Monolith Inscription of Argistis, King of
Van. By the Editor 134
Volume V
_ PAGE
1. The Stele of Kuban. By Philippe Virey
. . . 1
2. A Stele of King Smendes (Twenty-first
Dynasty). By Prof.
Maspero 17
3- The
Lists of the Places in Northern Syria and Palestine conquered by Thothmes III.
By the Rev. H. G. Tomkins . 25
4. Correspondence between Palestine and Egypt
in the fifteenth
century
B.C. By the Editor 54
5. Text of Ammisatana, King of Babylon, from
about 2115 to
2090 B.C.
By Theo. G. Pinches 102
6. An Early Tablet of the Babylonian
Chronicle. By Theo. G.
Pinches 106
7. The Nimrud Inscription of Tiglath-Pileser
III. By S. Arthur
Strong... 115
8. The Oracle of Istar of Arbela. By Theo. G.
Pinches . .129
9. Three Documents relating to the Sons of
Nebuchadrczzar. By
the Editor 141
10. The Inscriptions relating to the Rise of
Cyrus and his Conquest
of
Babylonia. By the Editor 144
Volume VI
1. Historical Inscriptions of Rameses III.
By Prof. August
Eisenlohr ........ 1
2. The Lists of the Places in Northern Syria
and Palestine con
quered by
Ramses II. and Ramses III. By the Editor . 19
3. Letters from Phoenicia to the King of
Egypt in the fifteenth
century
B.C. By the Editor 46
4. The Inscription of Assur-Bel-kala. By S.
Arthur Strong . 76
5. Inscriptions of Sennacherib. By Prof.
Robert W. Rogers . 80
6. A Prayer of Assurbanipal. By S. Arthur
Strong . .102
7. The Non-Semitic Version of the
Creation-Story. By Theo.
G. Pinches
......... 107
8. The Cuneiform Tablets of Kappadokia. By
the Editor . 115
9. The Kings of Egypt. By the Editor . . . .
.132
10. Contents of the “ Records of
the Past,” New Series . 153
11. Index of Proper Names in the First Volume
. . .156
INDEX
OF PROPER NAMES IN THE FIRST VOLUME
c.—country;
d.—deity; ;«. = man; mt.=mountain ; river; =town ; te. = temple;
tv.=woman.
A
Abaeni (c.), 106
Abar-’shini
(^.), 106
Abullat
(/.), 56; ii. 81
Accad (<:.), 38, 40
Adaeni (c.), 106
Adaus (c.), 102
Adhuma (mt.), 103
Adhurgini (c.), 106
Akhi-nuri (m.), 155, 160
Akkil
(t.), 68
A-Kurgal
(m.), 50
Alamun (mt.), 104
Albaya (c.), 106
Alzi (c.), 94, 167
Amadana
(<:.), 105
Amanus
(*»/.), 55; ii. 79
Ammaus
(£.), 102
Amnanum
(c.), 80
Andiabe
(c.), 106
Anitru(ff^.),
102
An-sar
(d.), 124, 127, 133, 141
Anshan (c.),
54; ii. 82
Anu (d.),
57, 116, 133, 146
Aos (d,),
124
Apas6n (d.), 124
Apirak (t.), 41
Ararat (c.), 166
Arazigi (/.), 113
Arirgi (mt.), 104
Armayans, 109
Arsanias(n), 103, 106
Aruma (mt.), 98, 102
Arzanibiu (mt.), 102
Assoros(^.), 124 Assur-bani-pal (m.), 31, 144 Assur-bil-kala (m.), 87
Assur-da'an (m.), 116, 117 Assur-nadin-suma (m.), 25 Assur-ris-ilim (m.), 116
Asur (d.), 92, 114 A’saniu (?nt.), 103 Aya (mt.), 101 Azutabgis (mt.), 101
B
Babbar (d.), ii. 86 Bab-dhuna (c.), 38 Ba-nini (d.), 149 Barachiel (m.),
155, 157, 160 Barsip (mt.), ii. 82 Bau (d.), 46, 58-60, 62, 68; i 73, 77, 94
Bazza (c.), 29 Bel the elder (d.), 114 Bel, land of, 93, 116 Bel-ibni (m.), 25
Bel-rimanni (m.), 156, 160 Beth-lehem (t.), 124 Biainas (c.), 166 Bisri (mt.),
109 Bit-Amukann (t.), 23 Bit-Burna (c.), 26 Bit-Khamri (te.), 118, 1x9
Bit-kharsag-kurkurra (te.), 93 Borsippa, 22, 45
C
Carchemish (t.), 109 Cutha (£), 147, 152
D
Daria (c.), 103
Darius (m.), 31 Dayaeni (c.), 106, 108 Dungi («.), 45, 48, 52 ; ii. 108
Dun-Shagana (d.), 48, 58, 68 ; ii. 77. 86
Dnn-sir(?)-anna (d.), 59, 73, 74 Dur-ili (/.), 24, 29 Dur-Sargon (/.),
29 Duzi-abzu (d.), 56, 58, 75; ii. 86
DH
DHUSPAS {(.), 164, 166
E
Ea (d.), 57 ; ii. 106 E-adda (te.), 69, 70 E-Ana (te.), 80; ii. 87, 88
E-an[na]-du (m.), 67 E-Babara (te.), 25, 29 E-ghud (te,), 64 ; ii. 90, 100
Egibi (m.), 158, 161 Egypt (c.), 29, 30 E-kankal (te.), 80, 82 Elam (c.), 37,
54 ; ii. 79, 82 Elama (mt.), 105 Elamuni (mt.), 110 Elkhis (mt.), 105 Ellilla
(d.), 37, 68 ; li. 73, etc. Elula(ff^.), 105 E-Martu
(te.), ii. 82 E-me-ghush-gal-an-ki (te.), ii. 104 E-melam-kurra (te.), 70
En-anna-tnmma (m.), 49, 51, 74 E-NinnCl (te.), 61, 69, 76; ii. 75
76, 79 En-ki (d.), ii. 73 Entena
(m.), 46. 49> 51. 73 Enzite (c.), 103 Epis-el (m.), 162 Erech
(t.), 26, 27, 28, 44, 80, 85 Eridu (t.), 27, 56, 60, 76
Esar-haddon (m.), 28 E-sarra (te.), 142
E-sil-sirsirra (te.), ii. 93, 93, 102, 103
E-ud-nia-Ninii-ki-tag (te.), ii. 105 E-Ulbar (te.), 85 E-Zida (te.), 80,
142
G
GagA («>.), 155, 158, 161 Gal-alira (d.), 48, 58, 68 ; ii. 77, 86
Gatumdug (d.), 43, 58, 65, 73 ; ii.
77. 97
Ghaghura (mt.), 56; ii. 81
Ghala-lararaa (m.), ii. 108
Gibil (d.), 58
Gihon
(r.), 171
Gimirra or
Goraer, 29
Girsu-ki (t.),
43, 47; ii. 75, 88, 92
Gishgalla-ki
(t.), 43, 75
Gubin (c,), 47, 53 ; ii. 82, 91
Gudea (m.), 45, 49, 51 ; ii. 75, etc.
Gundu'(c.),
29
Gurruda
(r.), 56; ii. 82
Gu'si
(d.), 28
H
HARRAN
(t.), 113 Hezekiah (m.), 171 Hinnom, valley of, 174 Hittites, 99, 109, 112,
113, 164, 165, 167
I
Ibla (m.),
ii. 80 Idadu (?».), 60 Idin& (m.), 161 Idni (mt.), 101 Igi-ginna (m.), 50
Illinos (d.), 124 Ina-ili-ya-allak (m.), 121 Ishkun-Sin (t.), 54 Ishum (d.), 58
Isme-Dagon (m.), 116, 119 Ispuinis (m.), 166 Istar (d.), 92, 114 I'sua (c.),
103
I Itti-Marduk-baladh (m.), 157, 161
K
KAGAL-ADDA
(c,), ii, 8r Kali-anteru
(m,), 97 Kasiyara (mt.), 95 KaskA (*:.), 99 Kassite (c.), 13, 16 Kastubila
(m.), 39 Kazalla (£.), 39 Kili-anteru (m.), 97 Ki-mash (c.), 56 ; ii. 81 Kingu
(d.), 135, 139, 141 Kinunir (£.), 56, 77; ii. 86 Kipsuna (c.), 111 Kirbitum
(t.), 31 Kirini (t.), 106 Ki-sar (d.), 124, 133 Kissar6 (d.), 124 Kizra (mt.),
105 Kti-anna (d.), 59, 61, 77 Kudur (m.), 26
Kudur-Nankhundi (m.), 10, 82 Kuli-barzini (c.), 106 Kummukh (£.), 95, 100
Kuri-galzu (m.), 9
KH
Khabur (r.), 113 Khaldis (d.), 166 Khallusu (m.), 25 Khalule (t.), 27
Khammuragas or Khammurabi (m),
10, etc.
Khamranu (^.), 22 Khani-rabbat (c.), 108 Khararatum (r.), 24 Kharia
(£.), 101 Kharu’sa (mt.), 110 Khastarae (mt.), 105 Khattukhi (m.), 97 Khilmi
(c.), 25 Khime (c.), 104 Khimua (c.), 106 Khirikhi (mt.), 104 Khirimma
(<r.), 24 Khubur (c.), 134 Khumma-khaldasu (m.), 27, 28 Khunu’sa (c.), 111
Khupapanu (r.), 25
Q
Qidari (£.), 106 Qudasu (10.), 1 $6, 158, 160 Qumani (c.), no, 111
Qurkhi (^.), 96, 99, 101, 104 Quti (£•,), 116
L
Lakhmu, Lakhama (d.), 124, 133, 134. 145 Lakhos (d.), 124 Larak, Larrak
(t.), 24, 56 Lugal-banda (d.), 80 Lukani (m.), 52 ; ii. 108 Lnkhi (c.), 104
Lullumi (c.), xi6 Lutipris (m.), 163
M
Madga (c.),
56 ; ii. 82 Maganna (c.), 41, 47, 53, 55, 65 ;
75. 83,
88, 91, 100 Martu (the land of the '1 Amorites ”), 55 ; ii. 80, 81
Me-dadu (m.), 150 Mediterranean, 57 Me-dudu (m.), 150 Me-lili (w.), 149
Melugbgha
(c.), 47, 53, 55 ; ii. 81, 82, 91
Melukh (or
Melughgha), 29 Me-man-gab (m.), 150 Me-man-pakh (m.), 150 Me-man-takh (m.), 150
Memphis (t.), 30 Menanu (m.), 27 Menua (mt.), 56 ; ii. 80 Menuas (m.), 164
Me-rara (m.), 150 Merodach (d.), 136 Merodaeh-baladan (m.), 23
Merodach-nadin-akhe (m.), 9, 17, 87
Me-ruru (m.), 150 Mildis (c.), 98 Mili-adruni (mt.), 105 Milidia (t.),
108 Minni (c.), 166
Nuban&si (*».), 105 Nubta (w.), 155, 160
O
Mit&ni (c.), 113 Mitsir&a (m.), 80 Muramu (d.), 128, 133
Murattas (c.), 103 Musezib (m.), 161 Musezib-Merodach (m.), 26 Muska, Meshech
(c.), 94, 99 Mu’sri (c.), 109 Mutaggil- Nusku (m.), 116
N
Nabonassar (m.), 18, 22 Nabonidos (»».), 160, 162 Nagitum (<?.), 25
Nahid-Merodach (m.), 142 Nairi (c.), 106, 119 Name (r.), 96
Nammaghani (m.), 46, 51 ; ii. 107 Naram-Sin (m,), 5, 41 Nazabia
(c.), 106 Nebo-baladhsu-iqbi (m.), 80 Nebo-nadin-akhi (m.) 160
Nebuchadrezzar (m.), 157, 160 Ner (m.), 148
Nergal-akhe*iddin (in.), 162 Nergal-yusezib (;».), 26 Nerra
(</.), 248 Nimme (<?.), 106 Nimni (c.), 104
Nina. (d.), 57, 64; ii. 77, 89, 105 Nin-4gal id.), 59, 75 ; ii. 73
Nina-ki (t), 43, 45 Nin-an-dagal-lci (t,), 94 Nin-dara (<£), 57, 76 ;
ii. 77 Nin gharsag (d.), 57, 76 ; ii. 75 Nin-girsu (</.), 48, 57, 60, 62 ;
ii.
73 . ..
Nin-gish-zida (d.), 58, 77 ; 11. 77, 86, 87 Nin-gul (d.), 80, 82
Nini-ghalghin (d.)t 50, 64 Nin-mar-ki (d.), 58, 77 ; ii. 86
Ninni (d.), 46, 58; ii. 86 Nin-sar (d.), $9, 70 Nin-shagh (dJ), 59, 69
Nin-tu (d.), 59 ; ii. 76 Nipur (£), 26, 28, 54 Nirba (d.), 59 Nirib (<:.),
99 Nituk (c.)t 47, 52 ; ii. 91
Ophel (mt.), 170 P
Paiteri (c.), 106 Panari (mt), 97 Pasagga (a?.), 58 ; ii. 86 Pellatum (c.),
25 Persian Gulf, 57 Phoenicia (*:.), 37, 38 Pilaqini (c.), 106 Pul (/;*.), 5,
18, 88 Purukuzzi (c.)t 94, 99
R
Rabbiku (t.), 22 Rasi (c.), 26
Rimmon
(d.), 92, 104, 114, ri6 Ris-Rimmon (in.) 41 Ruriz& (<:.), 30
S
Sabarahin
(t), 23 Sada-halis (in.), 166 Sadi-anteru (m.), 97 Sagasalti-Buryas (/«.), 9
Sakhisara (*«/. ), 105 Samas-mudammiq (m.) 156 Samas-Rimmon (m.), 117, 118, 120
Sapazza (*:.), 22 Saradaus (c.), 103 Sar-baba (d.), 134 Sar-duris I. (m.), 163
Sargon (in.), 7, 23, 37 Sarrabanu (c.), 24 Saul-suma-yukina (m.), 31 Selgu
(mt), 102 Sennacherib (m.), 24 Seresse or Serise (c.), 96 Sesi (mt), 105
Shalmaneser III., 18, 23 Shalman-garradu (m.), 121 Shamalum or Shamanum (*:.),
56 ;
ii. 80
Shidlamta-6na
(d.), 59 Shirpurla-ki (/.), 43; ii. 73 Shuhites (c.), 109 Sidon (t.), 29 Siloam
(c.), 168 Sin (^.), 57, 92 Sin-gashid (m.), 80 Sinibirni (c.), 106 Sippara
(/.), 25, 29 Sirabeli (mt.), 305 Sizu (mt.), 102 Subari, Snbarti (c.), 99, 100
Suira (mt.), 102 Siilianzi (mi.), 105 Sulim (d.), 152 Surisilis (/.), 166
Snruria (c.), 106 Susalla (mt.), 55 ; ii. 80 Sutmk-nankhundu (m.), 24
'S
'Saraus (^.), 102 'Sarupin-'siusuni (m.), 97 'Sieni (m.), 108 'Si'su (c.),
29
'Su-edin
(to be read 'Suri, or North Syria), 40 'Sugi (c.), 104 'Sukhi (c.), 109
T
Tala (mt.), 110 Tarkha-nabe (mt.), 105 Tarkhi-gamas (/.), 166 Tarkhuna
(mt.), 105 Tavthd (d.), 124
Tiamat (d.), 124, 127, 133, 134, 137 sq., 149 Tidanum (mt.), 55; ii. 81
Tiglath-pileser I., 86 sq. Tiglath-pileser 111., 22 Til-Barsip (/.), 55
Tilla (mt.), 56; ii. 79 Tirka-khuli (mt.), 105 Tuali (c.), 106 Tubal (c.),
94 Tunubu (^.), 106
U
Ubera (mt.), 105 Ugina (r.), 106 Uiram (*.), 106 Umman-nigas (m.), 22
Unzamuni (<r.), 106 Ur (/.), 30 Uras (d.), 92
Uras-pileser (m.), 116, 117 Ur-Bau (m.), 46, 51, 75; ii. 73,
74 ,
Ur-Ellilla (m.), ii. 74 Ur-nina (m.), 50, 64 Ur-nin-girsu (m.), 51 ; ii.
106 Urrakhinas (A), 97 Ur'su-ki (/.), 56 ; ii. 80 Urtagu (m.)t
30
Uru-azagga (t.), 13, 43, 76 ; ii. 91, 92, 94, 107 Ura-kagina (m.), 45, 49,
50, 68 Uru-ki (d.), 59 Urnniii (c.), 99 Ura'su (mt.), 102 U'su (/.), 103 Uzula
(c.), r06
V
Van, lake of, 112, 163 Z
Zab (r.), 103, 112 Zamama (d.), 150 Zamama-nadin (m.), 161 Zion (mt.), 173
Zira-kina-esir (m.), 28