Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters Part 39

Note from Su?a to Bel-zer-ibni, my father: May Bel and Nabu decree health and wealth to my father. Now I am going without the a.s.s.

Give the a.s.s to Shamash-e?ir; let him send it. Give him the clothes (?).

Here is an interesting letter:(955)

Note from Daian-bel-u?ur to Shir?u, my lord: Every day I pray to Bel and Nabu for the health of my lord's life. Concerning the lambs, which my lord sent, Bel and Nabu know that there is a lamb from before thee. I have set the crop and fixed the stable. I have seen thy servant with the sheep; send thy servant with the lambs, and direct that one lamb from among them be offered as a gift to Nabu. I have not turned so much as one sheep into money. On the twentieth I worked [or sacrificed] for Shamash. I saw fifty-six.

From his hands I sent twenty head to my lord. The garlic which the governor received from my lord, the owners of the field, when they came, took possession of; the governor of fields sold it for money. I am deprived of the yoke of the harrow (?). As to what my lord said to me, saying, "Wherefore hast thou not sent a messenger and measured out the crop?" Forthwith (?) I will send to thee, let a messenger of thy appointing (?) take it and keep it.

Several words in this text are not found elsewhere, but very strangely we know much about the persons. Shir?u, whose other name was Marduk-na?ir-aplu, son of Iddina, was of the important commercial house of Egibi, and lived in the reign of Darius. He was a great ship-owner, and had the tolls of a certain bridge. He travelled to Elam in the fifth year of Darius. A great many of his business transactions are detailed by Dr.

Pinches.(956) Daian-bel-u?ur and his wife Nana-bel-u?ri were slaves of Shir?u, who pledged them with their six children, at one time. In the sixteenth year of Darius their master gave them as part of her dowry, to Amat-Bau, daughter of Kalba. They lived in the town of Suppatum.

The reader has now before him a few specimens of this extremely valuable but very obscure cla.s.s of literature. As time and study avail to clear up the obscurities, much more will be learned of the life and customs of these ancient peoples. Enough may have been given to stimulate research, and interest a wider circle of readers. It is the writer's hope that many may be led, even by these scattered and disjointed specimens, to undertake such studies as may render more perfect his slight contribution and rescue from oblivion the heroes of a bygone civilization.

APPENDIX

I. The Prologue And Epilogue To The Code Of ?ammurabi

The prologue and epilogue of the Code are very difficult to translate.

Often the phrases are simply stock expressions which occur in most of the royal inscriptions. The meanings of many of these have degenerated to mere t.i.tles of courtesy and their original significance is obscure. But early translators found no difficulty in guessing the most complimentary things to say, and more recent scholars in their efforts to be exact become grotesque. When an ancient king called himself a "rabid buffalo" it doubtless gave him satisfaction, but it would be very rude for us to do so. On the other hand, it is very tiresome to an English reader to read a sentence of three hundred lines in length before coming to a princ.i.p.al verb. Such a sentence, a string of epithets and participles, is here broken up into short clauses and the participles turned into finite verbs.

This is done, not because the translator is entirely ignorant of grammar, but in pity for the reader. This further necessitates turning the third person singular, in which the king speaks of himself, like a modern acceptance of an invitation to dinner, into the more simple direct narration in the first person. Anyone who wishes to compare this translation with the original will please recall that this is done for ease in understanding, not because the original was misunderstood.

A more serious difficulty is, that, as it was customary to apply the same honorific t.i.tles to both a G.o.d and the king, it is often uncertain to which the original meant to apply them. This may have been left intentionally vague. Some translators have taken on themselves to settle to which they will refer the epithet, to the G.o.d or to the king. Such translations are only interesting as a record of private opinions. They settle nothing, do not even give a presumption in favor of anything. It is more honest to leave the translation as vague as the original, when this can be done. This part of the stele is full of rare words, or what is just as bad, words which invariably occur in the same context. If a king calls himself by some strange honorific t.i.tle, it is no a.s.sistance to understanding the meaning of it that a score of successors should do the same. Of many words, all we can conjecture is that the king was honored by them. There is nothing to indicate what they really meant. In some cases "mighty" is as likely to be correct as "wise." There is no reason why we should prefer either rendering. Both can hardly be right, neither may really be. Some king may once have prided himself on being an expert potter, as a modern monarch might on being a photographer. If he called himself on a monument a "superb potter," all his successors would keep the t.i.tle, though they never made a pot in their lives. We have only to peruse the t.i.tles of modern monarchs to be sure of the fact. It is, therefore, to be hoped that no one will build any far-reaching theories upon logical deductions from the translations given here or elsewhere of such honorific t.i.tles.

Prologue To The Code Of ?ammurabi

When the most high G.o.d (Anu), king of the spirits of heaven (Anunnaki), (and) Bel, lord of heaven and earth, who settles the fates of all, allotted to Marduk, the first-born of Ea, the lord G.o.d of right, a rule over men and extolled him among the spirits of earth (Igigi), then they nominated for Babylon a name above all, they made it renowned in all quarters, and in the midst of it they founded an everlasting sovereignty, whose seat is established like heaven and earth; then did G.o.d (Anu) and Bel call me by name, ?ammurabi, the high prince, G.o.d-fearing, to exemplify justice in the land, to banish the proud and oppressor, that the great should not despoil the weak, to rise like the sun over the black-headed race (mankind) and illumine the land, to give health to all flesh.

?ammurabi the (good) shepherd, the choice of Bel, am I, the completer of plenty and abundance, the fulfiller of every purpose. For Nippur, and Durili (epithet of Nippur or part of it?), I highly adorned e-KUR (the temple of Bel there). In powerful sovereignty I restored Eridu and cleansed e-ZU-AB (temple of Ea there). By onslaughts on every side (the four quarters) I magnified the name of Babylon and rejoiced the heart of Marduk my lord. Every day I stood in e-SAG-GIL (the temple of Marduk at Babylon). Descendant of kings whom Sin had begotten, I enriched the city of Ur, and humbly adoring, was a source of abundance to e-NER-NU-GAL (the temple of Sin at Ur). A king of knowledge, instructed by Shamash the judge, I strongly established Sippara, reclothed the rear of the shrine of Aya (the consort of Shamash), and planned out e-BAB-BAR (temple of Shamash at Sippara) like a dwelling in heaven. In arms I avenged Larsa (held by the Elamite, Rim-Sin), and restored e-BAB-BAR (temple of Shamash at Larsa) for Shamash my helper. As overlord I gave fresh life to Erech, furnishing abundance of water to its people, and completed the spire of e-AN-NA (temple of Nana at Erech). I completed the glory of Anu and Ninni. As a protector of my land, I rea.s.sembled the scattered people of Nisin (recently reconquered from the Elamites) and replenished the treasury of e-GAL-MA? (temple of Nisin). As the royal potentate of the city and own brother of its G.o.d Zamama, I enlarged the palace at Kish and surrounded with splendor e-ME-TE-UR-SAG (the temple at Kish). I made secure the great shrine of Ninni. I ordered the temple of ?arsagkalama e-KI-SAL-nakiri, by whose a.s.sistance I attained my desire. I restored Kutha and increased everything at e-SID-LAM (the temple there). Like a charging bull, I bore down my enemies. Beloved of TU-TU (a name of Marduk) in my love for Borsippa, of high purpose untiring, I cared for e-ZI-DA (temple of Nabu there). As a G.o.d, king of the city, knowing and fa.r.s.eeing, I looked to the plantations of Dilbat and constructed its granaries for IB (the G.o.d of Dilbat) the powerful, the lord of the insignia, the sceptre and crown, with which he invested me. As the beloved of MA-MA (consort of IB), I set fast the bas-reliefs at Kish and renewed the holy meals for Erishtu (G.o.ddess of Kish). With foresight and power I ordered the pasturages and watering-places for Sirpurla and Girsu and arranged the extensive offerings in e-50 (the temple of "the fifty" at Sirpurla). I scattered my enemies. As the favorite of Telitim (a G.o.d), I fulfilled the oracles of ?allab and rejoiced the heart of GIS-DAR (its G.o.ddess). Grand prince, whose prayers Adad knows well, I soothed the heart of Adad, the warrior in Bit Karkara. I fastened the ornaments in e-UD-GAL-GAL (temple there). As a king who gave life to Adab, I repaired e-MA? (temple at Adab). As hero and king of the city, unrivalled combatant, I gave life to Mashkan-Shabri and poured forth abundance on SIT-LAM (temple of Nergal there). The wise, the restorer, who had conquered the whole of the rebellious, I rescued the people of Malka in trouble. I strengthened their abodes with every comfort. For Ea and DAM-GAL-NUN-NA I increased their rule and in perpetuity appointed the l.u.s.trous offerings. As a leader and king of the city, I made the settlements on the Euphrates to be populous. As client of Dagan, who begat me, I avenged the people of Mera and Tutul. As high prince, I made the face of Ninni to shine, making the l.u.s.trous meals of NIN-A-ZU secure. I reunited my people in famine by a.s.suring their allowances within Babylon in peace and security. As the shepherd of my people, a servant whose deeds were acceptable to GIS-DAR in E-UL-MASH (temple of Anunit) in the midst of Agade, noted for its wide squares, I settled the rules and set straight the Tigris. I brought back to a.s.shur the gracious colossus and settled the altar (?). As king of Nineveh I made the waters of Ninni to shine in e-DUP-DUP. High of purpose and wise in achievement for the great G.o.ds, descendant of Sumu-lail, eldest son of Sin-muballi?, long descended scion of royalty, great king, a very Shamash (or sun) of Babylon, I caused light to arise upon Sumer and Akkad. A king who commanded obedience in all the four quarters, beloved of Ninni am I.

When Marduk brought me to direct all people and commissioned me to give judgment, I laid down justice and right in the provinces, I made all flesh to prosper. Then-(_the words of the Code are the completion of the sentence. The king implies that its regulations were the outcome of this legislative decision_).

The Epilogue

The judgments of righteousness which ?ammurabi, the powerful king, settled, and caused the land to receive a sure polity and a gracious rule.

I am ?ammurabi, the superb king. Marduk gave me to shepherd the black-headed race, whom Bel had a.s.signed me. I did not forget, I did not neglect, I found for them safe pastures, I opened the way through sharp rocks, and gave them guidance. With the powerful weapon that Zamama and Ishtar granted me, by the foresight with which Ea endowed me, with the power that Marduk gave me, I cut off the enemy above and below, I lorded it over the conquered. The flesh of the land I made to rejoice. I extended the dwellings of the people in security. I left them no cause to fear. The great G.o.ds chose me and I am the shepherd that gives peace, whose club is straight; of evil and good in my city I was the director. I carried all the people of Sumer and Akkad in my bosom. By my protection, I guided in peace its brothers. By my wisdom, I provided for them. That the great should not oppress the weak, to counsel the widow and orphan, in Babylon, the city of Anu and Bel, I raised up its head (the stele's) in e-SAG-GIL (temple of Marduk there), the temple whose foundation is firm as the heaven and earth. To judge the judgment of the land, to decide the decisions of the land, to succor the injured, I wrote on my stele the precious words and placed them before my likeness, that of a righteous king. The king that is gentle, king of the city, exalted am I. My words are precious, my power has no rival. By the order of Shamash, the judge supreme, of heaven and earth, that judgment may shine in the land; by the permission of Marduk, my lord, I set up a bas-relief, to preserve my likeness in e-SAG-GIL that I love, to commemorate my name forever in grat.i.tude. The oppressed who has a suit to prosecute may come before my image, that of a righteous king, and read my inscription and understand my precious words and may my stele elucidate his case. Let him see the law he seeks and may he draw in his breath and say: "This ?ammurabi was a ruler who was to his people like the father that begot them. He obeyed the order of Marduk his lord, he followed the commands of Marduk above and below. He delighted the heart of Marduk his lord, and granted happy life to his people forever. He guided the land." Let him recite the doc.u.ment. Before Marduk, my lord, and ?arpanitum, my lady, with full heart let him draw near. The colossus and the G.o.ds that live in e-SAG-GIL, or the courts of e-SAG-GIL, let him bless every day before Marduk, my lord, and ?arpanitum, my lady.

In the future, in days to come, at any time, let the king who is in the land, guard the words of righteousness which I have written on my stele.

Let him not alter the judgment of the land which I judged nor the decisions I decided. Let him not destroy my bas-relief. If that man has wisdom and is capable of directing his land, let him attend to the words which I have written upon my stele, let him apprehend the path, the rule, the law of the land which I judged, and the decision I decided for the land, and so let him guide forward the black-headed race; let him judge their judgment and decide their decision, let him cut off from his land the proud and violent, let him rejoice the flesh of his people. ?ammurabi, the king of righteousness, to whom Shamash has granted rights, am I. My words are precious, my deeds have no rival. Above and below I am the whirlwind that scours the deep and the height. If that man has hearkened to my words which I have written on my stele and has not frustrated justice, has not altered my words, has not injured my bas-reliefs, may Shamash make lasting his sceptre; like me, as a king of righteousness, let him guide his people in justice.

But if that man does not hearken to my words which I wrote on my stele, forgets my curses, fears not the malediction of G.o.d, sets aside the judgment which I judged, alters my words and destroys my bas-reliefs, effaces my inscribed name and writes in his own name; or, for fear of these curses has charged another to do so; that man, be he king, lord, patesi, or n.o.ble, whose name is ever so renowned, may the great G.o.d (Anu), the father of G.o.ds, who named my reign, turn him back, shatter his sceptre in pieces, curse his fortunes; may Bel the lord who fixes the fates, whose command is not set aside, who extended my sovereignty, cause for him an endless revolt, an impulse to fly from his home, and set for his fortune a reign of sighs, short days, years of want, darkness that has no ray of light and a death in the sight of all men. May he decree with his heavy curse the ruin of his city, the scattering of his people, the removal of his sovereignty, the disappearance of his name and his race from the land.

May Beltu, the great mother, whose command is weighty in e-KUR, the lady who made my plans prosperous, make his words in the matter of justice and law to be hateful before Bel. May she bring about the downfall of his country, the loss of his people, the efflux of his life like water, by the order of the Bel, the king. May Ea, the grand prince, whose destiny takes premier rank, the messenger of the G.o.ds, who knows all, who has prolonged my life, distort his understanding and intellect, curse him with forgetfulness, dam up his rivers at their source. In his land may Ashnan (the deity of wheat), the life of the people, not grow. May Shamash, great judge of heaven and earth, who governs the creatures of life, the lord of help, cut off his sovereignty; judge not his judgment; carry away his path; annihilate the march of his armies; cast an evil look upon him to uproot his rule, and fix for him the loss of his land. May the evil sentence of Shamash quickly overwhelm him; deprive him of life among the living above; and below in the earth, deprive his ghost of water. May Sin, the lord of the sky, the G.o.d who creates, whose ray is splendid among the G.o.ds, deprive him of crown and throne of kinship; surround him with a great shirt of pain, a heavy penalty, that will not leave his body, and make him finish his days, month by month, through the years of his reign, in tears and sighs. May he multiply for him the burden of royalty. May he grant him as his lot a life that can only be likened to death. May Adad, lord of abundance, great bull of the sky, and the earth, my helper, withdraw the rain from the heavens, the floods from the springs; destroy his land with hunger and want; thunder in wrath over his city, and turn his land to deluge mounds. May Zamama, great warrior, first born of _e-KUR_, who goes at my right hand on the battlefield, shatter his weapon and turn for him day into night. May he place his enemy over him. May Ishtar, the lady of conflict and battle, who prospered my arms, my gracious protector, who loved my reign, in her heart of rage, her boundless fury, curse his sovereignty; turn all his mercies to curses, shatter his weapon in conflict and battle, appoint him trouble and sedition, strike down his heroes, and make the earth drink of their blood, scatter the plain with heaps of the carca.s.ses of his troops, grant them no burial; deliver himself into the hands of his enemy, cause him to be carried in chains to the enemy's land. May Nergal, the powerful one of the G.o.ds, who meets with no rival, who caused me to obtain my triumphs, burn up his people with a fever like a great fire among the reeds. With his powerful weapon may he drink him up, with his fevers crush him like a statue of clay. May Erishtu, the exalted lady of all lands, the creator-mother, carry off his son and leave him no name. May he not beget a seed of posterity among his people. May Nin-karrak, the daughter of Anu, the completer of my mercies in _e-KUR_, award him a severe malady, a grievous illness, a painful wound, which cannot be healed, of which the physician knows not the origin, which cannot be soothed by the bandage; and rack him with palsy, until she has mastered his life; may she weaken his strength. May the great G.o.ds of heaven and earth, the Anunnaki, in their a.s.sembly, who look after the halls and the courts of this e-bar-ra (temple of Shamash at Sippara, where the stele was clearly set up), curse with a bitter curse his dynasty, his land, his soldiers, his people, and his subjects. May the judgments of Bel, which in his mouth are irrevocable, curse him and quickly overcome him.

II. Chronology

The following tables make no pretence to finality. In Babylonian history no date before B.C. 747 can be considered absolutely fixed. In a.s.syrian history the Eponym Canon certainly goes back to about B.C. 893. Then scattered notices in later writers enable us to approximate to earlier dates and the varied synchronisms between a.s.syrian and Babylonian kings render the dates probable, as far back as the First Dynasty of Babylon.

There is only one fixed date before that, the period of Sargon I., which depends on a statement of Nabonidus.

The sequence of monarchs is, however, very probably correct. As knowledge increases, more names will be added to fill up the gaps, and dated doc.u.ments will give the lengths of the reigns. A discussion of the grounds for the dates cannot be given here. The reader may refer to Dr. P. Rost, in the _Mittheilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft_, 1897, No. 2, and _Orientalistische Litteratur-Zeitung_, 1900, pp. 143, 175, 212.

Radau's _Early Babylonian History_ may be consulted for the earliest dates.

In the early periods, a vertical line between two names denotes that the second was son of the former. This is often all we know, but it is useful to mark the fact, as we cannot then insert other rulers between them.

Names printed in capitals are either Sumerian or their true p.r.o.nunciation is unknown. When these capitals are in Roman type, we know that they were kings or Patesis; when they are printed in italic, we only know that they were the parents of those whose names follow. We do not then know whether they reigned or not.

For a.s.syrian chronology, see _Annals of the Kings of a.s.syria_, by Budge and King, 1902.

a.s.syria

Early Patesis, Dates Conjectural, Order Uncertain

Ushpia, Ilushuma, | Irishum, _circa_ B.C. 2100 | Ikunum, Ishme-Dagan, _circa_ B.C. 1930 | Shamshi-Adad I., _circa_ B.C. 1910 Igur-kapkapu, | Shamshi-Adad II., Bel-upa??ir (?), | Shamshi-Adad III.

Early Kings, Dates Conjectural

_circa_ B.C.

Bel-ibni, Sulili (?), Bel-kapkapu, 1700 Ashur-bel-nisheshu, 1500 Puzur-Ashur, 1470 Ashur-nadin-a?e, 1430 Ashur-uballi?, son, 1420 Bel-nirari, son, 1400 Pudi-ilu, son, 1397 Adad-nirari I., son, 1395 Shulmanu-asharid (Shalmaneser) I., son, 1380 Tukulti-Ninip I., son, 1340 Ashur-na?ir-pal I., 1330 Ashur-narara, 1300 Nabu-daian, 1295 Bel-kudur-u?ur, 1290 Ninip-apil-esharra, 1285 Ashur-dan, son, 1260 Mutakkil-Nusku, son, 1250 Ashur-resh-ishi, son, 1220 Tukulti-apil-esharra (Tiglath-pileser) I., son, 1200 Ashur-bel-kala, son, 1090 Shamshi-Adad IV., brother, 1080 Ashur-na?ir-pal II., 1050 Erba-Adad (?), Ashur-nadin-a?e, Ashur-erbi, Tukulti-apil-esharra (Tiglath-pileser) II., 950 Ashur-dan II., son, 930 Adad-nirari II., son, 911

Dates Certain From Eponym Canon

B.C.

Tukulti-Ninip II., son, 890 Ashur-na?ir-pal III., son, 884 Shulmanu-asharid (Shalmaneser) II., 859 Shamshi-Adad V., 824 Adad-nirari III., 811 Shulmanu-asharid (Shalmaneser) III., 782 Ashur-dan III., 772 Ashur-nirari II., 754 Tukulti-apil-esharra (Tiglath-pileser, Pul) III., 745 Shulmanu-asharid (Shalmaneser) IV., 726 Sharru-ukin (Sargon) II., 721 Sin-a?e-erba (Sennacherib), son, 704 Ashur-a?-iddin (Esarhaddon), son, 680 Ashur-bani-pal (Asnapper), son, 668 Ashur-etil-ilani, son, 625 Sin-shum-lishir, (?) Sin-shar-ishkun, (?) Fall of Nineveh, 607

III. Weights And Measures

I. Weights

1 shekel = 180 _e_.

1 mina = 60 shekels.

1 talent = 60 minas.

The weight of the mina may be reckoned in round numbers as 500 grams.