STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA Published by the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project of the Academy of Finland in co-operation with Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft Editor in Chief Simo Parpola Managing Editor Robert M. Whiting Editorial Committee Karlheinz Deller, Frederick Mario Fales, Sima Parpola, Nicholas Postgate, Julian Reade VOLUME IV FRONTISPIECE. Priests performing ceremony in camp (reign of Sennacherib). BM 124914. Ivan Starr (COVER: Drawing afthe same scene. ORIGINAL DRAWING I, 62.) QUERIES TO THE SUNGOD Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria DlPAlCI!':1fNlQ r~ Cl:-;(~f;;d ;STO;UQiE. MTISllG1f. EC EOGRAFiCHE HELSINKI UNIVERSITY PRESS © 1990 by The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project and The Helsinki University Press All Rights Reserved Printed in Finland Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the Research Council for the Humanities of the Academy of Finland QUERIES TO THE SUNGOD DIVINATION AND POLITICS IN SARGONID ASSYRIA Edited by IVAN STARR with Contributions by JUSSI ARO and SIMO PARPOLA Set in Times Illustrations Typography and layout by Teemu Lipasti edited by The Assyrian Royal Seal emblem drawn by Dominique Collon from original Seventh Century B.c. impressions (BM 84672 and 84677) in the British Museum JULIAN READE Typographical encoding by Laura Kataja and Raija Mattila Photocomposition by Sirpa Eskolin Paste-up by Jouni Laakso and Paavo Sahlman Helsinki University Press Vuorikatu 3 A 2, SF~OOlOO Helsinki, Finland Tel. 358-0-701 9077, Tfx. 358-0-175368 ISBN 951-570-001-9 (Whole Series, Paperback) HELSINKI UNIVERSITY PRESS ISBN 951-570-002-7 (Whole Series, Hardbound) ISBN 951-570-058-2 (Volume 4, Paperback) 1990 ISBN 951~570-059-0 (Volume 4, Hardbound) FOREWORD The basic manuscript of this volume was prepared by Professor Ivan Starr of Wayne State University, Detroit. The book has greatly benefited from Professor Starr's vast knowledge and expertise in the technical aspects of extispicy, and we appreciate his constant and ready co-operation in producing this volume. As with the other volumes of the series, the end product is the result of a collaborative effort. Many people, especially the director of the SAA project, Simo Parpola, have worked hard to enhance the quality of the final version. It is our hope that through our combined efforts we have suc ceeded in producing a reliable and useful edition of this important corpus of texts. We wish to express our appreciation to Eila Aro for making her late hus band's unfinished edition of the queries available to us during the preparation of the volume. The entire corpus presented here is in the keeping of the British Museum and we take this opportunity to thank the Trustees of the British Museum for permission to publish the texts and the associated illustrative material given in this volume. We are particularly grateful to Drs. I.L. Finkel and C.B.F. Walker of the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities for last-minute col lations and confirmation of joins as the production deadline for the volume was approaching. Our thanks are again due to the Olivetti (Finland) Corporation for compu ter hardware and software, maintenance, and advice; to the Finnish Ministry of Education for continuing printing subsidies for the volumes of the series; and finally, to the Academy of Finland for the financial support that has made this series a reality. Helsinki, January 1990 Robert M. Whiting PREFACE A new edition of the corpus of oracular queries from the reigns of Esarhad don and Assurbanipal has been long overdue since those of Knudtzon and Klauber. The late Jussi Aro planned to do so, but subsequently abandoned the project. I was able to acquire his copies of unpublished texts known to him at the time and have been able to identify additional tablets (many of them fragments) belonging to this corpus. I would like to thank the staff of the Department of Western Asiatic An tiquities for their unfailing courtesy during my numerous visits to the British Museum, first under an NEH Fellowship and subsequently for annual short visits. Professor W.O. Lambert has always been helpful and Professor Simo Par pola made numerous valuable suggestions which resulted in substantial im provements. Ulla Jeyes's book "Old Babylonian Extispicy" appeared too late for use. Detroit, December 1989 Ivan Starr Supplementary Note This volume is the largest of the series to date and makes available a major corpus of texts narrowly circumscribed by function, date, and place of origin. Its importance was recognized early in the development of cuneiform studies and has not diminished since. Since a number of people have contributed directly or indirectly to the present work, we feel it is appropriate to append a few words about the recent history and expansion of the corpus to the usual acknowledgments. The late Jussi Aro worked on an edition of the corpus for many years in the early sixties. He prepared new transliterations of all previously published texts, added to the corpus 32 new texts, five of which he was able to join to texts previously published by Knudtzon and Klauber, and spent much time at the British Museum making collations and copying the new texts. In addition, he did extensive background research in related text genres (extispicy omens, haruspex rituals and tamitu texts) as well as the chronology and historical background of the corpus, and was working on an introduction and commen tary to the texts when, in 1965, he was appointed Professor of Semitics at the University of Helsinki. Realising that the demands of this office would make it impossible to complete the edition within foreseeable time, he passed portions IX STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV fhis manuscript to a student of A.K. Grayson, who had expressed interest in ~ontinuing the work. Aro's original transliterations, copies and notes, dispersed in several folders and notebooks 10 hIS Nachlass, are at present bemg kept at the Department of Asian and African Studies, University of Helsinki, and have been at the disposal of the Project during the preparation of this volume. Extracts from Aro's notes have been included in the volume where it seemed appropriate and copies and collations originating with him have been so marked. Aro's copies eventually passed to Ivan Starr, who started working on the CONTENTS edition in the early seventies. In the course of several visits to the British Museum, he collated problematic passages, identified 41 new texts, of which 38 were copied by him, and made two joins. He was already working on a manu script for publication when, in January 1986, he was invited to publish his FOREWORD VII edition in the SAA series. The basic manuscript of the present volume, i.e. the introduction, critical apparatus and commentary, as well as the bulk of the PREFACE IX transliterations and the English translations, was subsequently submitted by Starr in the course of the following years. INTRODUCTION .. XIII Since the manuscript provided by Starr had originally been intended for The Formulary and Terminology of the Queries ." XVI publication elsewhere, it was necessary to revise it substantially to fit the SAA The Queries and the tamitu Texts...: XXIX format as set forth in the Project's Editorial Manual. This revision is the work Scholars and Diviners in the Court of the Later Sargomds . XXX of Simo Parpola. While checking the transliterations, he added to the corpus The Practice of Extispicy .. XXXVI 14 new texts, made II joins and three indirect joins, collated 49 texts, and The Exta and its Organs . XXXIX made two copies for inclusion in the volume. He further translated 76 frag The Liver and its Parts . XL mentary texts left untranslated by Starr as well as several texts identified late in The Lungs and Their Parts . XLVII the production of the volume, revised the order of the texts, and thoroughly Other Parts and Features of the Exta . L edited the translations, introduction and commentary provided by Starr, mak The Chronology and Historical Background of the Corpus. LVI ing additions of his own or from Aro's notes where necessary. The translations On the Present Edition ... LXVI of the ezibs and the closing formulas to the texts, not included in the original Notes .... LXVIII manuscript, are likewise his work. He also provided the headings for the texts Abbreviations and Symbols LXXVI and prepared the list of logograms, glossary, and indices. In the late stages of the preparation of the volume, 1.L. Finkel collated 32 TRANSLITERATIONS AND TRANSLITERATIONS pWteoxattelskn etairan cld oj ollpianrtsoe.vd i fdievde tterxatns;s lJi.tNer.a Ptioosntsg aftoe rc oslilxa tendew thlyre eid teenxttisf;i eadll ttherxetes; chCe.cBk.eFd. QuQeruieersi efsr oRme ltahtien gR etiog nA osifa EMsainrhoar dadnodn C.a..p..p..a..d..o..c. I:a. . ... ... . 3I dHgorLeLeoaflaaaea tnTntneucdhefh ntri earrnaebeao n g sytnnbdKr ciHaiwR cabhFn. aatli s.fasgi,MMlo o jigardatg.alnem ourtrFcdantnaaoia pettdlFnli ha ,eo.avb yMsaLnnye ,nsa.d r . a 1 tdn KlaeF.e dsndHaanSo dltlt t.etaiem a hssjHtrrta.reea r aa ,odMdan gt feSnysgm e .plda vlmabueo PatRwbnbsilaou.trder r enaMpr.io vstbsotf .ialelo aettanPthft ,i ic h etolmoRhao ncme,t.as oMo an mElcwnul.doae dsaiWmtncs tit torohpshcirnepo oiios tatsmp in linarp t peCgintroihl,odloi neevmJ m dc.iswNi odmtnbyare.ayirls dteerP t y cRseobaut epaisnyp,oita dejgnJSsa ra.sta vtNet.Mca ieu.csrP, preau Pr Gdt roiwtoa ni.obslBcataftyyso .. AMQUQQQQInupuuunueseeeeeapudrrrrrsoriiiiiiscreeeeeiianesssssgl c t nRCRmRRtQeiooeeeedeunllllnn eaaaa MctrttttQ iiiiieQennnnirulsgggngiue t i rea.tnttt ioooorregiy es SEEM sWa. ulg..nae..by r mddirpt iitt aPae a,a.onn nUl diPdt ril Eacathralnl\leisu p Q,Li. uS.e ecvryaitenhsti .a. . and Mannea . 11111598448132119335777 Varia ... 201 Unclassifiable . 209 Robert M. Whiting Queries from the Reign of Assurbanipal .. 233 Queries Relating to the Cult of Marduk .... 235 Military Queries. 243 Appointment and Medical Queries .... 253 x XI STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV Extispicy Reports from the Reign of Assurbanipal 259 Extispicies Concerning the Samas-sumu-ukin War. 261 Other Military Affairs . 275 Appointment of Officials . 281 Varia 293 UncIassifiable . ......................... -........... -......... --......................................•.. 301 GLOSSARY AND INDICES. 317 INTRODUCTION Logograms and Their Readings 317 Glossary. 319 Index of Names 361 Personal Names 361 Place Names. 364 God, Star, and Temple Names The corpus of tablets published here saw two major editions previously, 366 Subject Index those of J.A. Knudtzon, Assyrische Gebete an den Sonnengott 1893, and of E. 368 Index of Texts Klauber, Politisch-Religiose Texte aus der Sargonidenzeit (1913). A more re 381 By Publication Number cent survey of these materials is that of J. Aro, first presented as a paper at the 381 By Museum Number Fourteenth Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale (1965) and published in 382 Previously Unpublished Texts La divination en Mesopotamie ancienne (CRRAI 14, 1966), pp. 109-117. This 385 Joins not Contained in AGS or PRT . paper drew attention to the new materials which had come to light since the 385 List of Illustrations publication of the works of Knudtzon and Klauber, notably in the excavations 386 conducted by King (later assisted by R. Campbell Thompson) at Nineveh in COLLATIONS 1903-1905. 387 The corpus falls into two distinct groups: queries placed before the sun god COPIES Samas, and extispicy reports. The former are mostly from the reign of Esar 389 haddon; the latter, from that of his son, Assurbanipal. Each of the two groups is distinguished by its own formal characteristics, which have been discussed extensively by Knudtzon, Klauber, and Aro, so that only brief descriptions and additional remarks need be offered here. The queries in particular are distinguished by their distinct opening and closing formulas, as well as by an extensive chain of formulas beginning with the word ezib, "disregard," whose main purpose seems to have been to elimi nate any misunderstanding, untoward event, mishap, or cultic impurity caused by thought, word or deed, which might affect the outcome of the extispicy.! The tablets on which the queries were written are characterized by their large, coarse appearance, and by the equally large, coarse shape of their cuneiform writing, which usually runs broadside, across the rectangular tablets. Excep tions to this rule, such as there are, are to be found mostly among the reports from the reign of Assurbanipal. No. 320 (photo EANE p. 208) may serve as an example of a tablet written in a clear, neat Assyrian hand. The queries were placed before the god Samas, often with another clay or papyrus document containing the name of the person about whom the query was made and/or other relevant details.' Omens derived from the extispicies performed, if included at all, always follow the query, and are placed wherever there is space left on the tablet, usually on the side, or following, or in between the closing formulas. As a result, this part of the text is often written in a smaller script, sometimes perpendicular to the main body of the text. In some cases, no omens are included at all; in other cases, two and occasionally three extispicies are recorded. Relatively few of the queries are dated. In the extispicy reports, on the other hand, the query usually follows the list XII XIII INTRODUCTION STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV of omens, and is on the whole brief. In contrast to the queries, the reports generally also present a summary of the unfavorable protases after the omen section, although this practice is not always followed. Most, if not all, reports appear to have been originally dated. Both reports and queries draw their omens from the major extispicy series and compendia of the first millennium such as the Biirutu and the large compendium KAR 423. This corpus of queries and reports is unique to the later Sargonids, Esar haddon and his son, Assurbanipal, and appears to have been specifically pro duced for the needs of these two monarchs. The formal difference between the queries and the reports is possibly due to an evolution of the former into a simpler format, rather than to different traditions.' The early texts from the reign of Assurbanipal (i.e. those which can be dated between the years 668--657 B.C.) are, with the exception of no. 299, in no way different in form from those of Esarhaddon. The later ones (i.e. those which can be dated to the years 652--650 B.C.) are the much simplified "reports." The apparent hiatus is prob ably due merely to accident. The best represented eponym in the reports is Sagabbu (651 B.c.). The subject matter of these queries and reports reflects some of the most immediate or pressing concerns of the later Sargonids, such as the intentions or activities of an enemy or enemies, named or unnamed; the loyalty of serving officials or of prospective appointees to sundry offices, specified or unspeci fied, of the realm; illness in the royal family, and the like. In the case of Assurbanipal, 9ueries concerning the outcome of his struggle with his rebel lious brother, Samas-sumu-ukin, king of Babylon, and related matters, form the major topic of the reports. As a source of history, the importance of these texts is enhanced by the fact that they are free of the kind of tendentious editing which characterizes the annals and related royal records, or the self serving interests permeating the correspondence of courtiers. The diviners may have manipulated some of the results of the extispicies, but not the facts stated in the queries placed before the god of justice. All this is not to imply that queries to the gods have been unknown in Mesopotamia prior to the reigns of the later Sargonids. Far from it. Queries are attested, in fact, as early as the Old Babylonian period.' Queries to sundry gods are also embedded in the introductory formulas of Kassite extispicy reports.' There is also an unquestionable similarity in the formulary of the Sargonid queries and another divinatory genre, also consisting of queries, the tamitus, some of which, as we now know, go back to the OB period,6 and with which the Sargonid queries share numerous features in the formulary. It is clear, then, that the formulary of the Sargonid queries goes back to much older traditions. FIG. 1. Sarnas: Maltai rock carving (reign of Sennacherib). ORIGINAL DRA WING II, 26. xv XIV STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV FORMULARY AND TERMINOLOGY stipulated term ... "; for variants, see Knudt:on AGS, p. 14f. . Sf lated terms are attested not only m quenes necessitated by enemy IPt~! but also where action is initiated by the king, as in nos. 16,28,81,124, t h rea, d' .. h' h t Noteworthy is also the fact that such terms are atteste m quenes m w IC ~h~'loyalty of sundry officials of the re~lm is questi~ned (see nos. 139, 142, 144, 145, etc.; a stipulated ter~ of 90.days IS preserved m full only m no. 139). The . nificance of this fact IS that It does pomt to a specific event of unrest or Sl~ Ilion and may explain the laconic statement in the Esarhaddon Chronicle" The Formulary and Terminology of the Queries ~~a~ in the king's eleventh year (i.e. 670 B.C.) numerous office~s h~d been put to death, an event which must have left open numerous vacancies m the ranks The Opening Line of the royal officials. . . . . In some cases, when the stipulated term IS carned over mto the followmg year, this is carefully indicated i~ the formula. See, for .e xample , no. 60:2ff The Sargonid queries invariably begin with the line Samas belu raM sa ("[from this day, the ... day of this month], Shebat of [this year, to the ... day asalluka anna kina apalanni, "Samas, great lord, answer me with a firm 'yes' of Nisan of the c]oming [year], 40 days [and nights ... ]"); further 124:2ff, to what I ask you," a formula they have in common with the tamitu texts (see 125:3 263:2, and 265 r.7. Note also the formulation of no. 28:3, "twenty days below).' and dights, the passing and the coming days (included)".13 In cases when the As a haruspical terminus technicus, the expression anna apalu, "to answer days of the stipulated term were shared by two adjacent months, the latter was with a 'yes'" is already attested in the Old Babylonian period; cf., e.g., "the consistently designated as "the coming month" (cf. nos. 23 r.8; 128:2; 142:2, enemy had extispicies (teretim) made ... to which the god will not give him a r.7· and see Klauber PRT, p. xiii). . positive answer (annam la ippalusu): he will go to his destruction, (but) it is The practice of designating a specific period of time for the efflca~y of a~ favorable (for us)" (RA 33 172:37ff, a letter to Zimri-Lim, king of Mari ); "1 extispicy is known from th~ OB perio~. Sev?ral ~xa.~ples are attested m Man, had extispicies made; my extispicies were favorable, and the god answered me e.g. teretim ... arhu 30 uml u 30 museUm, 'exl!~plcles (for) a month, thirty with a firm 'yes' (ilum annam ipulanni)" (ARM 3 84:24f, see also ARM 3 days and nights", JCS 21 228 M:7ff; "extisplCies which are (vahd) to the 42:8fo. The opposite term ulla apti/u, "to answer with 'no'," is attested in an beginning of the month," ARM 13 115:9ff; "the extispicy is favorable to the unpublished omen: "If the 'path' descends on the right, and is split on the right, he who gave you a negative answer (Sa ulla ipulu[ka]), will give you a third day," ARM 3 30:9f.14 . The individual too could set for himself a specified term for the efficacy of positive answer" (BM 122657: 1f).8 his request. In two recently published OB ikribus from Tell ed-Der, dated to Occasionally, if the suggested restorations are correct,' the latter part of the the reign of Ammisaduqa, the supphant IS sethng a term of a yea; or so (360 opening line may also appear in the repetition of the query, see no. 52:4, 53:4, days to be exact, 6 susi) for the efficacy of hiS prayer to be ~ahd.15 On the and 235 rA. occurrence of a stipulated term corresponding to the adannu m the claSSical sources, see c.J. Gadd, CRRAI 14 (1966), p. 31f. The term for extispicy occurring in the adannu formula (nepeSti barilti) is also attested in the introductory formulas of late OB extispicy reports, e.g. The Stipulated Term "one lamb for nepe§ti biirim, JCS 11 91 no. 8:1, similarly JCS 2 77:8; note also "six birds for divination (nepesti biirim)," BE 6/1 118:1.16 Another, more The introductory line is followed immediately by the query, which often common term for extispicy in the late OB and Kassite reports was lipit qati,17 opens with a statement of a specified period of time (adannu) in which the and in letters from Mari, nepestu "extispicy" appears side by side with tertu event described in the query may occur and to which the efficacy of the "oracle."18 It is clear from the relevant contexts that all three terms, lipit qati, divination is limited. 10 This specified period places a time limit on the answer tertu, and nepeStu appear in apposition to each other, and should be consi to the query, which may refer to enemy action anticipated or in progress, such dered, for practical purposes, synonymous. More n~rrowly defmed, the word as an attack on Assyrian territory, a garrison, etc; or, to the Assyrian king tertu referred to the omens derived from the inspectIOn of the exta, whIle llplt himself when embarking or planning to embark on some military or diplomat qati designated the inspection of the exta itself and nepeStu was the general ic activity necessitated by enemy action. The number of days in this specified term for the ritual acts performed in the course of extispicy.19 time period varies from query to query, and was no doubt governed by such practical considerations as the occasion called for, but in the extant queries it is from 7 to 100 days (and nights); 20, 30, 40, 50 and 90 days are also attested. The fullest version of the formula is: "From this day, the ... th day of this month MN, until the ... day of MN of this year, for a period of x days and x nights, the term stipulated for the performance of the extispicy - within this XVI XVII STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV FORMULARY AND TERMINOLOGY The Query Proper and its Formulary ending in a consonant) an "overhanging" vowel, as usual in Neo-Assyrian; for example, i-,ar-ri-mu-u i-kap-pu/pi-du-u (plural) 23:6 and 43:6, but i-~ar-ri-i-mi The oracular queries are enclosed within an elaborate formulaic framework. i_kap-pi-id-di (singular) 18:5; i-kas-sa-a-da (singular) 43: 12 (cf. 44: 13), but Rarely does a q~ery proceed directly from opening to closing formula. Almost i-kas-sa-du-u (plural) 62:7.21 In precative forms, the vowel lengthening was mvanably It wmds Its way, as it were, through a maze of formulas until it usually left unexpressed in the singular (e.g., li~rim likpidma "should he strive comes to its conclusion. The theme of a query is usually stated twice, once on and plan?", passim) but not in the plural (cf. lispurma ... lillikfi, "should he the obverse and once on the reverse, and each statement is characterized by its dispatch, and should they go?" 63:2ff).22 own dlstmct formulary. In its most elaborate formulation, the query is structured as follows: The first statement of the query is, naturally enough, the more extensive and (a) RN sa inanni ... ana saparisu ti~muruma elaborate one. In its simplest form, a query may proceed directly from line 2 to (b) i!atka rabiti idfi " Its closmg formula. ("Does your great divinity know it?", etc., see below), ( c ) ki pi i!utfka rabiti Samas belu rabU u purusseka salmu followed by the cham of eZlbs; cf., for example, no. 41 :2ff, "Kastaritu, city lord (d) bel MU.MU anni RN li,rim likpidma ... of Karkassl, who wrote to Mamitiarsu, a city lord of the Medes: 'Let us act ( e ) eli i!utfka rabiti lab kima iktapduma i!tapru ... together and break away from Assyria' - Will Mamitiarsu listen to him? Will "RN who is now intent on sending ... (b) (and whom) your great divinity he comply? Will he become hostile to Esarhaddon this year?" See also ~os. 3, knows - (c) in accordance with the command of your great divinity, Samas, 10,23, and 269. (When a slipulated term is called for the query follows it as great lord, and your favorable decisions, (d) should RN strive and plan? ... (e) for example, in no. 45.) , , , Is it pleasing to your great divinity? If he, having planned, sends ... " More commonly, however, certain stereotyped key phrases embedded in the This formula was mostly used where the plans or intentions of Esarhaddon wordmg of the query serve as its opening formula, leading to an equally are the subject of the query. See, for example, nos. 28, 34, 81,108, Ill, 124, stereotyped core. Fo~ example, when referring to action to be undertaken by 137. The king is usually referred to in this formula as EN-MU.MU (see below). the kmg, a query typically begins with the precatives of the verbs saramu and These queries may refer to the sending of troops (e.g. no. 28) or an individual kaptidu (e.g., "should Esar~addon strive and plan?", 44:2,64:2: 84:2,86:2, (e.g. nos. 108, Ill). 100:2, 110:2, 149:2 and paSSim), followed by a statement of the action to be In practice, the formula need nQt include all of its parts. Parts (b) and (c) undertaken or contempl~ted. ":'here a stipulated term follows the opening lipe, alone are attested in no. 77:2ff: "The city Si~~irtu, which ... is located on the these precalives follow Immediately after, e.g. 51:4, 60:4, and passim. When border of Ellipi and (which) your great divinity knows - in accordance with enemy action or intention is referred to, the present-future of saramu and the command of your great divinity and your favorable decisions, Samas, great kapadu is used, e.g. 14:3f, "Will they strive and plan (i,arrimfi ikappidfi)? Will lord, hathe enemy captured that city?" Note also no. 88:2ff: "Sa-Nabu-su, they take the road from where they are and march on Que?" See also nos. 4 5 whom [EsarhaddonJ has now sent and who has gone, (b) whom your great 18, 43, and passim. Occasionally, the two formulas are found in the sa~~ givinity knows - (c) in accordance with the command of your great divinity, query,. e.g. 28:7 (li~rim likpidma) and 13 (i,arri[mfi ikJappidfi). This particular Samas, great lord, ansi your favorable decisions, (d) should the subject ofthis query IS concerned With an Assyrian expedition which is expected to encounter query (EN-MU.MU), Sa-NabU-su ... " enemy opposllion. The query proper abounds in other stereotyped key phrases. For instance, when dispatch of troops by Esarhaddon is referred to the phrase is commonly The Meaning of EN-MU.MU ,abe sfse emuqe mal libbasu ublu lispur, "should he ~end men, horses, (and) troops, a~ (ma~y as) he Wishes?" When the concern is the safe return of troops to Assynan soil, the phrase used is mi,ir sa mat Assur kabiisu. When As EN-MU.MU is usually said of the king, occasionally of the crown prince (e.g., no. 196), and only rarely of his highest officials (no. 88, just quoted, and no. syn~n or enemy troops are about to set out on their way, it is urha harrana ~a~~tu. When they are about to engage in battle, it is kakkf qabli tahtizi 98, both referring to the chief eunuch). EN-MU.MU is also attested in the epesu. When an enemy attack is involved, the verbs ddku, habiitu, salalu are ezibs.23 The meaning and reading of MU.MU in these contexts cannot be deter mined with absolute certainty, because it is never written syllabically. The commonl~ used._ When "t~e query is about the possible capture of a city, the verbs ~abatu, erebu, ka,sadu, as well as ina qati manfi are commonly used.20 traditional translations, such as "the person referred to in the query (der When !he fate of Assynan troops is in question, the verbs used are shu eteru genannte)" or the like, are far from certain.24 In the tamltu texts, the client is e~ebu S, and a,fi. When the subject of the query is the potential captu~e ~f ; referred to as "the owner of this (black) wool and hem (of the garment)" (EN ~1!y (especially by the enemy), the question commonly involves a tedious siG U TUG.siG ),25 and indeed, we find in Craig ABRT 81 r.l ezib sa BUL.BUL EN hstmg of all the pOSSible means, fair or foul, by which the city may be captured SIG u [TUG.sIG ... J "Disregard that NN, the owner of the wool and hem [ ... ]''' (see, e.g., nos. 43, 44, 63, .and 101). The ikribus, i.e., the rituals of the haruspex, speak of ikrib siG u TUG.sIG {uhhi (BBR 75-78 and passim). These designations may have something to do with . The first query ~s always formulated as an interrogative main clause, recog Ulzable from predicates showmg a lengthening of the final vowel or (in verbs the identification of the client. We do know that nail-marks and the hem of a garment served as marks of identification of diviners and prophets, as well as XVIII XIX FORMULARY AND TERMINOLOGY STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA IV e other group, which usually cannot be restored when in broken aclpipenatrse notnl yw thhoes peu brephoaslef oafn s oernadciunlga trh qeu leorcyk o orf a hna ierx atnisdp itchye wheasm m oafd teh.e Tghairsm weanst tcroune t e0x f t ,t ahs is often the case. Because such eZ.l bs IrI e f er to spdec'I ' f'IC ha spects t0' f tI h e 'n which they are found, they are usua y atteste In t at par ICU ar of the mantics described in the prophecy texts from Mari. In the rituals of the query I . h f h .' adnivniin)e, ra, nthde, liantdteeer dis, dneossc. ri1b4e2d aans d" t1h7e2 odwisnpelra oy fi tmhipsr efisnsgioenrnsa oilf" n(abiel-l m$uaprrkis u. bItmini qwuheicryh 0th nelyy . aTreh ee mdbeepdednedde n.I Sc ei. lloufs tthraetseed ebZylb tsh eo nfO tl ,l,eo wc. lo.nngt.eenxatsm 0p I e ts : e quenes In pressions of nail-marks side by side with, or in place of seals, are quite com 1 "Disregard that Mugallu the MelIdean [ ... ], 12.10, mon in contracts." 2: "[Disregard that in]sideBit-Hamban [ ... ]," 40:3; .. . Ownership, of course, need not be physical, it may also refer to an abstract 3. "[Disregard that In] theIr ml~:lst eIther the M[edes or :he ... ), '~'d: 2, 4. "Disregard what (happens) In beSIeging the clty,?r [In ;,"]' 63.17, concept, so that bel MU.MU may stand for bel zikir/zakiir sumi, bel sumiiti, or the like.27 The rendering adopted in the present edition ("subject of [this] 5. "Disregard that talk of removzng, a word of avertl~g ... , 76:5; " 6. "Disregard that [. .... ] to Trans-Euphrates, to the cIty Ashkelon ... , 81:14. query") takes MU.MU !Is a synonym of tamftu "query," referring to the Many ezibs in this group are too fragmentary to be intellIgIble, e.g. 65:15, invocation of the god Samas at the beginning of the query. Note that the assumed reading and meaning is actually attested in no. 43:9, in the phrase ade 87:14ff, 166:12,226:2,227:1. . . " . . zakiir sumi ili "treaty by (lit., 'invocation of the name of) a god" replacing Queries which have a stipulated term ,r;'ay begin WIth Dlsreg~rd what IS (i.e. happens) after my stipulated term. Th,s eZlb as It stands IS eVIdently the more common ade tamiti (SAA 2 2 i 15). incomplete, but seems to refer to the possibility that the occurrence exceeded the stipulated term." . ' Intermediate between these and the standard eZlbs are others whIch occur The Closing Formula of the Query Proper more than once (three to eight occurences are attested), and should be consi dered a group in its own right. They differ from the standard ezibs inthat they The query proper usually terminates in the following closing formula: are attested much less frequently than the latter, and do not occur In a stnct (a) ilutka rabiti ide order. When they occur in a query, they usually precede the standard ezibs. (b) ina salimti ina pi ilutika rabiti Sam as belu rabU qabi kun(1) Their subject-matter is not always easy to elucidate, because we are r;otfamll~ ( c ) iimiru immdra semu isemme iar with the context to which they refer. Take, for example, 81:19, eZlb sa lknb III "Does your great divinity know it? (b) Is it decreed and confirmed in a mereSti sibsat il[i u Wan], "Disregard that a votive offering requested by the favorable case, by the command of your great divinity, Samas, great lord? (c) god, anger of got d and goddess]." The query in question concerns Esarhad Will he who can see, see it? Will he who can hear, hear it?" don's expedition against Ashkelon. Does thIS e~lb refe: to a specIfIc votive The order of the elements of the formula is, however, not absolutely fixed offering of some special significance made on thIS occaSIOn, at a local shnne, and all queries did not have all the elements. For example, (a) follows (c) in perhaps, by the king? It brings to mind the episode in the Epic of Keret where no. 7 and is missing in 20:10, while (b) is missing in 57:7 and 62:13. In some that king made a vow to Asera of Tyre and SIdon on h,s way to war, one he texts (b) is complemented by an infinitive or infinitives summarizing the con apparently failed to fulfill, with dire consequences for himself, in the form of a tents of the query, e.g., "is the capture ($abtita) of that city by the enemy debilitating illness. This ezib occurs also in 199:6 and possibly in 104:4 as well decreed and confirmed ... " 43:14, cf. 44:14,63:4,88:17,139:23,141:5,142:22, as in an unpublished tamltu (IM 67692:317, cited in CAD Mil p. 22). Some 187:6 etc. what differently phrased, it occurs also in nos. 196 and 197, although not A further element, "Will Esarhaddon be troubled and angry?", and its among the ezib formulas: "Should he (viz. the crown prince Assurbanipal) opposite, "Will Esarhaddon be pleased, be happy, and rejoice," is attested in frequent [the holy places of] his [gods, providing] them with votive gift(s) and some texts where enemy action or risky military operations are referred to. the things requested by [gods and goddesses], (so that) [the wrath of god] and See, for e~ample, nos. 5, 7, 24, 59, 61, 66, III, and 115ff. Where present, it is goddess [may not befall] him and his father?" (196:lOff). This parallel suggests regularly Inserted between the query proper and element (a). that the ezib is given in an abbreviated form, and should be understood to read The string of ezibs usually immediately follows element (c). "Disregard what ( ever errors are committed while making) the votive offering requested (to soothe) the anger of the gods." Also in no. 81 there is another interesting ezib (line 15) which can be restored from 115:4 and 126:5 to read, "Disregard that an angry man, or one The Non-Standard Ezib Formulas in distress spoke angrily the words of his report." This ezib is thematically related to ezib 7 (below), where the diviner refers to imperfections in the The ezibs may be divided into two major groups: those which appear in delivery of his recital. standard form and follow a standard order in all the queries, and those which A difficult ezib occurring in two fragmentary texts, 32:6 and 115:3, can be derive from specific situations and whose wording therefore depends on the restored and interpreted with the help of an unpublished tamftu, cited by Aro, contents of the particular query in which they appear. Those ezibs which CRRAI 14 (1966) 111.29 appear in standard form can easily be restored where necessary. This is not xx XXI