Chapter 28

(M813) It is clear that Sin-shar-uṣur and Ummanigash had been intriguing against Sin-tabni-uṣur. There are several persons of the name Sin-shar-uṣur about this time. No less than three Eponyms bear the name after B.C. 648. The _aba mâti_, or governor of Hindana, or the _arḳû_ might be meant here. But there was a brother of Sin-tabni-uṣur, of this name, who perhaps coveted his post. Among the many unpublished texts which refer to him one may, perhaps, be found to explain the hostility. Nor is it clear which Ummanigash is meant. There was one of the three sons of Urtaku, who took refuge at the court of Ashurbânipal, when their father was murdered and dethroned by his brother, Teumman. When the Assyrian king espoused his cause, he was enabled by Assyrian troops to defeat and slay the usurper Teumman and take the throne of Elam. But he was faithless and allied himself with Shamash-shum-ukîn. He was dethroned by his cousin, Tammaritu, shortly before the fall of Shamash-shum-ukîn. That he, while at the Assyrian Court, should have slandered the governor of Ur, is quite in accordance with his character, but what was his purpose, or what he alleged, we do not know. There was another Ummanigash, brother of Urtaku; another, son of Umbadara; another, a son of Amedirra. The latter raised a rebellion against Ummanaldash, as we learn from a report by Bêl-ibnî.(899) After his usual salutations, Bêl-ibnî reports,

(M814)

When I left the Sealand, I sent five hundred soldiers, servants of my lord, the king, to the city Ṣabdânu, saying, “Hold a fort in Ṣabdânu and make raids into Elam, slay and make prisoners.” When they went against Irgidu, a city two leagues this side of Susa, they slew Ammaladin, the sheik of Iashi’ilu, his two brothers, three brothers of his father, two of his brother’s sons, Dalâ-ilu, son of Abi-iadi’, and two hundred well-born citizens of that city. They had a long journey before them. They took one hundred and fifty prisoners. The sheiks of Laḫiru and the people of Nugû’, when they saw that my raiders had extended on their farther side, were full of fear, sent word and took the oath to Mushêzib-Marduk, my sister’s son, a servant of the king, my lord, whom I had appointed over the fort, saying, “We will be servants of the King of Assyria.” When they had gathered their bowmen, as many as they had, they went with Mushêzib-Marduk, and marched into Elam.

Here follows a bad break in the narrative, but Iḳisha-aplu is named, and Bêl-ibnî promised to send on to the king whatever they captured and brought to him. The letter then resumes:

News from Elam: they say that Ummanigash, son of Amedirra, has rebelled against Ummanaldash. From the river Ḥudḫud as far as the city Ḥa’adânu they have sided with him. Ummanaldash has gathered his forces, and they are now encamped on the river opposite one another. Iḳisha-aplu, whom I have sent to the palace, has penetrated their designs. Let one question him in the palace.

(M815) Kudur, governor of Erech, who sent news of the outbreak of rebellion in the south, gives us further information about Mushêzib-Marduk, who was a favorite with the king. After a long salutation occupying nearly the whole of the obverse, with a short reference to a certain Upaḳu, the reverse side goes on:(900)

Mushêzib-Marduk, Bêl-ibnî’s sister’s son, who has come two or three times into the presence of the king, my lord, on a message from Bêl-ibnî, Bêl-ibnî has appointed him concerning it (the case in hand). The gate-keepers have told him that those soldiers are not lovers of the house of my lord. It is not good for them to cross over to our midst. They will give news of the land of the king, my lord, to Elam, and if there be a famine in Elam, they will furnish them provisions. To the king, my lord, I have sent; let the king, my lord, do what he sees fit.

(M816) The king himself writes to Bêl-ibnî(901) in a most friendly way about Mushêzib-Marduk:

Message of the king to Bêl-ibnî: I am well. May thy heart be cheered. Mushêzib-Marduk, about whom thou didst send, in the fulness of time he shall enter my presence, I will appoint the paths for his feet (_i.e._, make a way for his advancement). The holiday in Nineveh is not finished.

Mushêzib-Marduk is also mentioned by Nabû-zêr-ukîn, in a letter to the king,(902) in close connection with Shum-iddin, the governor of Dûr-ilu. It is not clear what the writer had to say of him, but farther on in the letter Bêl-ibnî is named. The same Nabû-zêr-ukîn is mentioned in a tablet of epigraphs,(903) where he is associated with Shamash-shum-ukîn, Tammaritu and Indabigash. He is there said to be son of Nabû-mushêṣi. In another letter he writes with Adadi-shum-uṣur, Nabû-shum-iddin, Ardi-Ea, and Ishtar-shum-êresh to the king,(904) but hardly anything remains except a mention of Nineveh. The same group of writers is elsewhere associated with Nabû-mushêṣi. Of another letter(905) from him to the king only the introduction is found.

(M817) Kudur, governor of Erech, was a frequent correspondent with the king. A score of letters from him to the king, or from the king to him, are preserved. They are nearly all concerned, more or less, with the events during the great rebellion. There were several others of the name, one an Elamite prince, son of Ummanaldash. The name itself may be Elamite and may point to a strong admixture of Elamite blood in Erech. The element Kudur occurs in such names as Kudur-Mabug, Kudur-Naḫunte, and Kudur-lagamar, the prototype of Chedorlaomer. There was another Kudur, son of Dakkuri, who was brought captive to Assyria with Shum-iddin. We may take as one example:(906)

To the king of countries, my lord, thy servant Kudur. May Bêl and Nabû decree peace, health, and length of days for the king, my lord, forever. Since I was in the enemy’s country the Puḳudu have made an end of the Bît-Amuḳâni, servants of my lord, the king, by their attacks. The cities which were to be held for the king, my lord, they captured. Let the servants of the king, my lord, march. They have occupied the cities, killed the men and ravished the women. Also they have attacked Ṣâbâ, the body-guard. The day they reached Bît-Amuḳâni, it is said, the attackers attacked the body-guard. I sent soldiers, saying, “Go, slay ‘Ala’ with the pike, save the garrison and take them captive.” When on the king’s canal they attacked Nabû-shar-uṣur, the colonel, he took them captive. Let the king, my lord, inquire of them, as he can. The king, my lord, knows how Bît-Amuḳâni is destroyed. The Puḳudu keep their land. The soldiers with us have not set out, and they are the attackers, and we abhor the alienation of territory. Let the king, my lord, give orders and the soldiers shall set out against the cities, where they dwell.

It seems that the men of Pekod (see Jer. i. 21, Ez. xxiii. 23) had made an attack upon Bît-Amuḳâni and nearly destroyed the country. Kudur moved into the country, but sent for explicit orders as to what he should do. He changes his subject rather abruptly at times and it is not quite clear always of whom he is speaking. The most obscure sentence is where he says that “we abhor the alienation of territory,” literally “the sin of the land.” It seems that a land sinned when it was occupied by an enemy.

Ashurbânipal was deeply attached to his faithful servant, as the following letter shows:(907)

(M818)

To the king of countries, my lord, thy servant Kudur. Erech and E-anna (the temple there) be gracious to the king of countries, my lord. Daily I pray to Ishtar of Erech and Nanâ for the health of the king, my lord’s life. Iḳîsha-aplu, the doctor, whom the king, my lord, sent to heal me, has restored me to life. The great gods of heaven and earth make themselves gracious to the king, my lord, and establish the throne of the king, my lord, in the midst of heaven forever. I was one who was dead and the king, my lord, has restored me to life. The benefits of the king, my lord, toward me are manifold. I will come to see the king, my lord. I say to myself, I will go and I will see the face of the king, my lord; then I will return and live. The chief baker made me return to Erech from the journey, saying, “A special messenger has brought a sealed despatch to thee from the palace, thou must return with me to Erech.” He sent me this order and made me return to Erech. The king, my lord, must know this.

The king had sent a doctor who had restored Kudur, when he had despaired of himself. Then he started to come and thank the king in person, but when on the road the chief baker (if that was his right title) recalled him, because a sealed despatch had reached Erech addressed to him from the king. He sends at once this letter, not having reached Erech again; at any rate, he does not refer to the contents of the despatch.

Letters About Elam And Southern Babylonia

(M819) In Elam, during the reign of Ashurbânipal, there was a protracted series of revolutions, interspersed with invasions of, or by, Assyria. The result was the utter decay of Elamite power, and after Ashurbânipal’s final reduction of the country and sack of Susa, the land was an easy prey to the Aryan invaders. From the story, as told by Ashurbânipal, the Elamites richly deserved their fate, and lest we should suspect him of undue partiality, the matter-of-fact letters of his officers give us substantial grounds for crediting his view. It seems that Urtaku, who came to the throne of Elam in B.C. 675, was always on good terms with Assyria. We have a letter from Esarhaddon to him(908) in very friendly terms. It begins:

(M820)

Letter of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, to Urtaku, King of Elam: I am well. Peace to thy gods and goddesses. There is peace in my land and with my nobles, peace be to Urtaku, King of Elam, my brother. There is peace with my sons and my daughters, peace be to thy nobles and thy land. Now what Ashur, Sin, Shamash, Bêl, Nabû, Ishtar of Nineveh, Ishtar of Arbela, the gods ... have said, I have (fully?) accomplished.

(M821) The rest is obscure by reason of lacunæ. The reverse seems to be inscribed with numerals, perhaps relating to items of presents sent. Ashurbânipal kept up the friendship, and, when a famine broke out in Elam, allowed some (M822) (M823) Elamites to take refuge in his land, and afterwards restored them to their country. He also sent grain into Elam itself. But, perhaps as consequence of having spied out the land, the Elamites contrived to make Urtaku attack Assyria. He was incited to this act by Bêl-iḳisha, prince of the Gambûlai, who inhabited the marshes about the mouth of the Uknû, or Blue River, perhaps the modern Karoon, bordering on Elam. Bêl-iḳisha rebelled against Assyria, and with his troops joined Elam. Nabû-shum-êresh, the _TIK-EN-NA_, apparently sheik of the district of Dupliash, another Assyrian subject, seems to have done the same. Marduk-shum-ibnî, the general of Urtaku, who led the invasion, was evidently not an Elamite, but perhaps a Chaldean, or renegade Babylonian. At any rate, the Elamites invaded Akkad and covered the land like grasshoppers. They laid siege to Babylon. On the approach of the Assyrian army, the invaders fled. Urtaku died. Bêl-iḳisha was killed by a wild boar. Nabû-shum-êresh was smitten with dropsy and died. “In one year the gods cut them off.” The throne of Elam fell to Teumman, a brother of Urtaku, who maintained a hostile attitude. Dunânu, son and successor of Bêl-iḳisha, joined Teumman. Ashurbânipal accordingly invaded Elam, defeated and slew Teumman, ravaged the land of Gambulû and captured Dunânu, who was taken to Nineveh and made to march in the triumphal procession, with the head of Teumman slung about his neck, and was finally tortured to death.

(M824) All the time that Shamash-shum-ukîn was king in Babylon, Ashurbânipal seems to have retained the rule over Southern Babylonia. At any rate, the governors of the cities there wrote to him as their king and lord. The above-mentioned revolt in Gambulû was a direct concern of the governor of Erech, who seems to have suffered severely. As late as the twentieth year of Ashurbânipal, Nabû-ushabshi was governor there. We have many letters from him to the king. One(909) refers to the above events:

To the king of countries, my lord, thy servant Nabû-ushabshi. Erech and E-anna (the temple of Ishtar at Erech), be gracious to the king of countries, my lord. Daily I pray to Ishtar of Erech and Nanâ for the well-being of the life of the king, my lord. The king, my lord, sent, saying, “Take troops and send against Gambulû. The gods of the king, my lord, assuredly know how, from the time that Bêl-iḳisha revolted from the hands of the king, my lord, and went to Elam, he plundered my father’s house and went about to kill my brother.”

Then comes a break, in which the fragments indicate that Nabû-ushabshi prayed daily for revenge. Then we read:

Now as the king, my lord, has sent, I will go and fulfil all his bidding. If on any ground, over there, the inhabitants of Gambulû will not obey, if it be pleasing to the king, my lord, let a messenger come and let us assemble all Akkad and we will go with him, we will win back the land and give it to the king, my lord. I have sent. Let the king, my lord, do what he will. Preserve this letter.

The last request is very unusual, but we are glad it was obeyed. Another of his letters refers to the intrigues of Pir’-Bêl, son of Bêl-eṭir. This Bêl-eṭir may be the son of Nabû-shum-êresh, who, with his brother, Nabû-nâ’id, was carried captive to Nineveh, along with Dunânu, and there made to desecrate the bones of their father. But it seems possible that we have here to do with another Bêl-eṭir, as these events seem earlier in the history. After the same introduction as before, the letter(910) reads:

Pir’-Bêl, the son of Bêl-eṭir, sometime after he and his father went, some ten years ago, to Elam, came again from Elam to Akkad, he and his father. When they came, whatever was evil against Assyria, they kept on doing in Erech. Afterwards when they went back to Elam, Bêl-eṭir, his father, died in Elam; and he in Marchesvan brought letters to me, and to Aplîa, the governor, we sent the letters on by Daru-Sharru, the body-guard.

After some broken lines:

“Now a certain servant of ... came with him to Erech.”

we read:

If he say to the king, my lord: “I have come from the land of Elam,” let not the king, my lord, believe him. From the time when in the month of Marchesvan, he brought the letters and we sent them to the king, my lord, until now, he has not returned to Elam. If the king, my lord, desire to verify these words, Idûa, a servant of Kudur, who brought him to Erech, the contents are known to him [_there are some very obscure phrases in the next two lines_], and those letters, what lies are written, let him tell the king, my lord, and as to those letters, which, in the month of Marchesvan we sent to the king, my lord, by the hands of Daru-sharru, if the king, my lord, does not understand, let the king, my lord, ask Daru-sharru, the body-guard. To the king, my lord, I have sent, let the king, my lord, be aware.

(M825) One event, very characteristic of the times, is the subject of three letters. The sanctuary of Ishtar, at Erech, was celebrated far and wide, and on one occasion the King of Elam sent gifts to it. These Nabû-ushabshi seems to have been unable to possess himself of, or to send to the king. Thus, we read:(911)

To the king of countries, my lord, thy servant, Nabû-ushabshi [_after the same introduction as before_]; the sheep of the temple and of the city Puḳudu are detained in the city Ru’ua, two shepherds of them, one belonging to the temple, and the second from Puḳudu, three white horses with harness and trappings of silver, and fittings of bronze. On the trappings were written ... which the King of Elam had sent to Ishtar of Erech. The horses, which they brought, I will now preserve. Before the king, my lord, I was afraid and in the temple I will not place them, until the shepherds bring the three horses. To the king, my lord, I have sent, and the bronze inscribed fittings, when I see them, I will send on to the king, my lord. What the king my lord will, let him do.

The king replied:(912)

To Nabû-ushabshi, concerning the horses about which thou didst send, as yet thou hast not sent them to me. I have sent Ashur-gimil-tirru, the _abarakku_, and troops with him. Whatever is good to do, that do; whether the River Ḥarru be dammed, or whether those people come, and as to the contents of the letter which thou didst send. Bêl-eṭir, Arbaia, the colonels, two hundred horses in their hands, I have sent to thee; let them stand on your side, let them do the work.

Evidently in consequence of this, we have another letter,(913) where both writer and recipient are unknown. It is much injured, and while there are a few sentences intelligible, it is not easy to say to what they refer. But on the reverse after the first six or seven lines, the words of the last letter are repeated verbatim. It is perhaps another letter from the king to Nabû-ushabshi. The governors of Laḫiru and Arbaḫa are said to be with the receiver of the letter.

IX. Miscellaneous Assyrian Letters

(M826) A very interesting group may be made up of letters concerned with omens and predictions. The Assyrian kings were firm believers in omens. They did not venture upon any great undertaking without consulting the augurs. We have numerous letters telling the king what days were propitious for certain projects which he had formed. For the most part, the whole point is obscure to us. We know neither the purpose he had, the omens relied on, nor the real grounds of the decision. Very often translation is impossible. In some cases the publication of the innumerable omen texts may give some light on the subject, but usually it is quite impossible to see how these were made to apply to the actual case. It is very like the case of Nebuchadrezzar’s dream. We are without any data to work from.

(M827) Here is an example of some interest, and more easily understood than many:(914)

To the king, my lord, thy servant Nabûa. May Nabû and Marduk be gracious to the king, my lord. On the seventh of Kislev a fox entered into the city, and fell into a well, in the grove of Ashur. They got him out, and killed him.

Whether this was a good or evil omen, or even an omen at all, we do not know. Nabûa is a very common name. There are fourteen or fifteen astrological reports which bear his name. In these he appears as an inhabitant of the city Asshur. The name occurs some forty times in the contracts, but it is clear that there were several of the name. Perhaps the scribe who appears from B.C. 668 down to post-canon times may be our writer, but, as he lived at Nineveh, that is doubtful.

(M828) Another case which is fairly intelligible is a letter of Balasi and Nabû-aḫê-erba,(915) on a question of auspicious days for a journey. It reads:

To the king, our lord, thy servants, Balasi and Nabû-aḫê-erba. Peace be to the king, our lord. May Nabû and Marduk be gracious to the king, our lord. As to Ashur-mukîn-palêa, about whom the king, our lord, has sent to us, may Ashur, Bêl, Sin, Shamash, and Adad be gracious to him. May the king, our lord, see his well-being. Things are auspicious for a journey. The second is auspicious. The fourth extremely auspicious.

We have fairly frequent references to Ashur-mukîn-palêa in a way that shows that he was delicate. From a letter of Ardi-Nabû’s we learn that the order of seniority in the family of Esarhaddon was Ashurbânipal, Shamash-shum-ukîn, Sherûa-eṭirat (a princess), Ashur-mukin-palêa, Sharru-shame-erṣiti-balâṭsu-(iḳbi). He is often named in the letters, usually as king’s son. But despite his delicate health he survived to be made high-priest of Sin at Ḥarrân, by his royal brother, and even as late as B.C. 648 his name occurs in the contracts.(916)

(M829) Balasi is a frequent writer of astrological reports, some five and twenty being preserved, besides some fifteen letters. In the latter he is associated with Nabû-aḫê-erba no less than seven times, once with Ishtar-shum-êresh also. In these cases we probably have the same person. But the name occurs often in the contracts, and there belongs to at least three different men. Nabû-aḫê-erba was the writer of some five and thirty astrological reports, besides some seven or eight letters, usually with Balasi. The name belongs to several persons named in the contracts.

(M830) Ardi-Êa was also a frequent writer to the king. Besides three or four astrological reports, he wrote nine letters to the king. He is generally associated with Adadi-shum-uṣur, Ishtar-shum-êresh, Akkullânu, or Marduk-shâkin-shum. But one letter,(917) written to Sargon II., and mentioning Merodach-Baladan II., clearly belongs to another Ardi-Êa. Most of his letters are defective. The most intelligible(918) reads thus:

To the king, my lord, thy servant Ardi-Êa. Peace be to the king, my lord. May Nabû, Marduk, Sin, Ningal, and Nusku be gracious to the king, my lord. Sin, Ningal (and other gods) shall grant health, long days, to the king, my lord. Day and night I pray for the life of the king, my lord.

(M831) The great group of writers with whom he is associated is responsible for a large number of letters. Adadi-shum-uṣur wrote some thirty-five letters and five or six astrological reports. He is especially prolix in his introduction. Here is a specimen:(919)

To the king, my lord, thy servant Adadi-shum-uṣur. Peace be to the king, my lord. May Nabû and Marduk be excessively gracious to the king, my lord. The king of gods shall decree the name of the king, my lord, to the kingdom of Assyria. Shamash and Adad, in their changeless regard to the king, my lord, have confirmed him in the kingdom of all lands. A gracious reign, settled days, years of righteousness, plenteous rains, copious floods, high prices. The gods are reverenced, the fear of God increased, the temples are flourishing. The great gods of heaven and earth are exalted in the reign of the king, my lord. Old men dance, young men sing, the women and girls are given in marriage, the bridegrooms marry wives, marriages are consummated, sons and daughters are begotten, children are born. To those that have sinned and look for death, the king, my lord, has given new life. Those that for many years (M832) were captive, thou hast freed. They that many days were sick have recovered. The hungry are satisfied. The lean grow fat. The plantations are covered with fruits. Only I and Ardi-Gula among them have our soul depressed, our heart disturbed. Lately has the king, my lord, shown love for Nineveh, to his people, to his chiefs, saying, “Bring your sons, let them stand before me.” Ardi-Gula, my son is he, let him stand with them, before the king, my lord. We with all the people will rejoice indeed, and dance for joy. My eyes are set upon the king, my lord. They that stand in the palace, all of them, love me not. There is not a friend of mine among them, to whom I might give a present, and they would receive it, and take up my cause. Let the king, my lord, take pity on his servant. Among all those people, I hope none of my slanderers may see the purpose of their hearts against me.