Chapter 23

In the length[6] above toward the North, turned to the river Zirzirri, adjoining the house of Ada, and the field of the house of the Satraps. In the length below, toward the South of the river Atab-du-Istar, adjoining the house of Ada. In breadth above toward the East, adjoining the limits of Bit-ulbar. In breadth below toward the West, adjoining the house of Ada.

According to the law of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, servant of the gods of the City of the eternal fire,[7] it was so measured by Bel-zir-kini, son of Zikar-Istar, the measurer of the field.

In the town of Dindu, in the month of Tebet, on the 28th day (December) in the 10th year of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon.

In the presence of Bet-ulbar-sakimu, son of Bazi, Chief of the _ru-bar_ of the countries;

in the presence of Babilai, son of Sin-mustesir,[8] Chief of the head Rulers of the country;

in the presence of Hea-Kudurri-ibni, son of Zikar-Ea, Governor of the provinces;

in the presence of Bel-nasir-habal, son of the Chief of the _rubar_ of the orders in the provinces;

in the presence of Takisa-belit, son of Riu-simti;

in the presence of Uballitsu, son of Karistiya-napasti;

in the presence of Bel-idin-akh, son of Suti;

in the presence of Sukamuna[9]-idin, son of Meliharbat;

in the presence of Isu-il, son of Habliya;

in the presence of Bel-akhesu, son of Meliharbat;

in the presence of Nis-bet-ulbar, son of Ulamhala;

in the presence of Sumidu, son of Marduk-kabuya, Prefect of the house of Ada;

in the presence of E-saggatu-bunuya, _hazan_[10] of the house of Ada;

in the presence of Babrabtatutai, son of Sar-Babil-Assurissi;

in the presence of Sadu-rabu-kabuya, Judge;

in the presence of Marduk-nasir, son of Gamilu.

Whoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the sons, among the near relations, the allies of the family of the house of Ada, would claim this land, would nourish against it bad designs, or would suggest them; whoever would utter these words, "There is no giver," who would say, "There is no sealer," or whosoever will say, "I deny that there is a master of the house of Ada, that there is a Chief in the house of Ada; that there is a _hazan_ of the house of Ada; or that there is either a speculator for the house of Ada; or a _gitta_[11] of the house of Ada; or a _sumtalu_; or a _lubattu_; or an _aklu_; or a _kisirtu_ in the house of Ada;" or he will say, "The confiscation has been pronounced;" whether he say: "This field has no measurer," or say, "This seal is not of a sealer" (who has the right to); or whoever will take possession of this field; or consecrate it to the gods; or claim it for himself; or alter its surface, circumference and limits; or construct buildings on this land, and in the middle of this field (that man will be cursed):

The gods who are inscribed on this tablet, all those whose name is commemorated herein, will curse him with irrevocable curses.

May the gods Anu,[12] Bel, Hea, these great gods, torment him and overwhelm him; that ...[13]

May Marduk, the great Lord of eternity without limits, fetter him with inextricable bonds.

May Nebo, the supreme minister, overthrow the surface, circumference, and limits of his properties.

May Bin, the great Lord of heaven and earth, cause the streams of his river to overflow[14] ... have his progeny circumcised, and load his feet with a heavy chain.

May Sin, who turns around heaven, envelop his body with leprosy as in a garment.

May Samas, the bright Judge of heaven and earth, judge his lawsuit, and have him seized in deed doing.

May Istar, the goddess of heaven and earth, deliver him to the vengeance of the gods and of the King.

May Gula, the Sovereign Lady, the great wife of Ninip, infilter into his bowels with a poison that will not leave him, and may he void pus and blood like water.

May Ninip, the god of boundaries, _filium camelas inire cogat_.[15]

May Nergal, the god of arms and bows, break his arrows.

May Zamal, the King of battles, prevent him in the midst of the fray from taking a prisoner.

May Turda, the Keeper of the images of the great gods, walking in the right ways of the gods, besiege his door during the night.

May Iskhara, the goddess of the ancient customs, not hear him in the battles.

May Malik, the great Master of Heaven,[16] while he sins cause him to be slain in the act.

May all the gods that are on this stone, whose name is commemorated, curse him with irrevocable curses.

(The lines at the end of the first column read as follows:)

[17]If anybody swears thus: This head is not a head ...[17] or institutes here an outlaw or a causer of mischief, immerse them in the waters, bury them in the earth, hide them under a heap of stones, destroy them by fire.

(On the edge of the second column:)

May the gods whose image is on this table, and whose name is invoked, curse him with irrevocable curses.

(On the edge of the fourth column:)

The horses ...[18] the Master of the house of Ada may dispose of them after him. 30 horses, 25 buffaloes, 3 mares in the fields are not inclosed in the decree of the King of Babylon; Bin-zir-basa has ascribed it for the benefit of Mahanitu, after Marduk-ilusu, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu.

The Chief of the _rubar_ of the house of Ada has said it (named and pronounced) to Marduk-ilusu, son of the Scribe of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, and Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, the Scribe, the field, this one has[19] ... owner of the house of Ada, has given it for the days to come, and has yielded it up.

(A great many short inscriptions are placed over the basso-relievos.

1. The smallest of them is placed over a kind of lyre. It reads:

In sum, an epha and a half.

2. Entangled between the branches of an object difficult to design and the horns of a goat, occurs a sentence which has not been translated.

3. The word "_nase_" is written between and the altar supporting a triangular object.

4. A legend of three lines is engraved between the mentioned altar, and a horned animal.)

So that he may not devastate the land of Zunire, nor the dwellings which are belonging to the Governor of Zunire.

5. Under an undetermined object, opposite to the nose of the above-mentioned fantastical animal is written a sentence composed of a perpendicular line and four lines parallel to the circumference.)

That he will not acknowledge either the _kisirtu_ or the tribute of this house, or the Prefect, or the _hazan_ of the house of Ada.

6. Below the preceding one.

Either the author of the treaty, or the _hazan_ of the land of Zunire.

7. Included between the roost and the back of the dog occurs another sentence which has not been translated.

8. Across the symbolical figures [commencement obscure]:

That he might not watch upon the streets of Bit-Ada.

9. Between the scorpion and the back of the snake.

That he may pay the rent of the land.

10. Over the head of the snake.

That in his abode, there may not be any power, any judge, any implorer.

[Footnote 1: Twenty hins are equal to 60 litres, 13-1/4 gallons.]

[Footnote 2: Great U, the standard agrarian measure.]

[Footnote 3: The country is unknown; the river Zirzirri is also mentioned elsewhere.]

[Footnote 4: This name signifies, "In the Pyramid he will increase."]

[Footnote 5: The valuations of the estates are made by the quantity of corn required to seed them, as it is the case in rabbinical literature, where the unity is a beth-sea, or the surface seeded by a sea. Therefore the epha of the king (royal epha) is quite in its place: the epha is varying from 32 to 36 pints.

The text itself states the royal endowment of a perhaps conquered land.]

[Footnote 6: There is no valuation of the field. An error crept into the French transliteration; "us" is not "a stade," but the word "length."]

[Footnote 7: This is the city generally read "Agade."]

[Footnote 8: Person already mentioned in the Za-aleh Stone.]

[Footnote 9: The god Sukamanu occurs elsewhere.]

[Footnote 10: The "hazan" seems to be a superintendent.]

[Footnote 11: By an error, this line is omitted in the French work; the Assyrian words are not yet understood.]

[Footnote 12: In the text is nu.]

[Footnote 13: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 14: The passage is very obscure; if Dr. Oppert's idea is correct, there is an allusion to the detested custom of circumcision, the performance of which was regarded as an affliction.]

[Footnote 15: See Lev. xx. 15.]

[Footnote 16: "Gara anna."]

[Footnote 17: In the French work, this passage has been left untranslated.]

[Footnote 18: Lacunæ.]

[Footnote 19: Here are two very obscure words.]

CONTRACT OF HANKAS

(The fourth monument of the reign of Marduk-idin-akhe is a black basalt stone of nearly the same size and arrangement as the preceding. At the top we also see analogous symbols disposed in a similar way. The inscription has but two colums, and occupies but one side of the monument; on the other, the image of the King is engraved, and near the garment of the King, represented by the basso-relievo, the three lines of the beginning are repeated at the end of the document.)

By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever perpetuated his name.[1]

25 hins[2] of corn are sufficient to seed an arura,[3] in a field lying on the bank of the river Besim, belonging to Hankas.

In length[4] above toward the North, adjoining the property of Hankas; in length below toward the South, adjoining the property of Imbiyati; in breadth above toward the West, adjoining the property of Hankas; in breadth below toward the East, limited by the river Besim.

Such is what Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, has received from the hands of Nis-Bel, son of Hankas. He has paid the price for it. Sapiku son of Itti-Marduk-balat, son of Zikar-Ea, is the measurer[5] of the field.

Weights of 1 Chariot with its team of horses[6] 100 silver 6 Harnesses 300 " 1 Ass from Phoenicia 30 " 6 Harnesses, 1 Ass from Phoenicia 50 " Weights of 1 Mule 15 silver 1 Cow (pregnant) 30 " 30 Measures of corn, 60 Measures of 12 epha[7] 137 " 1 Hemicorion, 10 Shovels of 4 epha 16 " 2 Dogs, good 12 " 9 Greyhounds from the East 18 " 1 Hunting dog 1 " 1 Shepherd dog 1 " 1 Dog (bloodhound[8]) 6 " Total 616[9] (weights of) silver.

Such is what Nis-Bel, son of Hankas, has paid in the hands of Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, as equivalent of the price of a field of 25 hins of (grain).

At any epoch whatever, in the days to come (or process of time) either an _aklu,[10]_ or a no-servant, or a farmer, or a husbandman, or a workman, or any other guardian who presents himself, and who settles in the house of Hankas, and will endeavor to lay waste this field, will earn its first-fruits, will turn it over, will plough it (mix up the earth), will have it put under water, who will occupy this property by fraud or violence and will settle in its territories, either in the name of the god, or in the name of the King, or in the name of the representative of the Lord of the country, or in the name of the representative of the house, or in the name of any person whatever, whoever he may be, who will give it, will earn the harvest of the land, will say,[11] "These fields are not granted as gifts by the King"; whether he pronounce against them the holy malediction or he swears by these words, "The head is not the head"; and establish anyone therein, in saying, "There is no eye"; or who will carry away this tablet, or will throw it into the river, or will break it into pieces, or will bury it under a heap of stones, or will burn it by fire, or will bury it in the earth, or will hide it in a dark place, that man (shall be cursed):

May the god Anu, Bel, Hea, the great gods, afflict him and curse him with maledictions which are not (retracted).

May the god Sin, the splendid in the high heaven, envelop all his members with incurable leprosy until the day of his death; and expel him to the farthest limits like a wild beast.

May Samas, the Judge of heaven and earth, fly before him; that he change into darkness the light of the day.

May Istar, the Sovereign, the Queen of the gods, load him with infirmities and anguish of illness like arrows, may she increase (day and night his pains,) so that he runs about like a dog, in the ways of his town.

May Marduk, the King of heaven and earth, the Lord of the eternity without end, entangle his weapons with bonds which cannot be broken.

May Ninip, the god of crops and boundaries, sweep away its limits and tread upon his crops, and remove its limit.

May Gula, the mother (nurse), the great Lady, infect his bowels with a poison, and that he void pus and blood like water.

May Bin, the supreme Guardian of heaven and earth, inundate his field like a ...[12]

May Serah suffocate his first-born.

May Nabu, the holy minister of the gods, continually pour over his destinies laments and curses; and blast his wishes.

May all the great gods whose name is invoked on this table, devote him to vengeance and scorn, and may his name, his race, his fruits, his offspring, before the face of men perish wretchedly.

By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever perpetuated his name.

[Footnote 1: See at the end.]

[Footnote 2: These 25 hins represent 75 litres, 16 gallons and a half, for seeding a surface of 207 acres.]

[Footnote 3: The great U, or arura.]

[Footnote 4: Again in this deed no statement is given in account of the measurings. The space is determined merely by the indication of the boundaries.

This document is also the charter of a royal donation: it is not clear whether the below-mentioned objects are the price, or if, what is much more verisimilar, they are only the accessoria of the field.]

[Footnote 5: Measurer is expressed by "masi-han."]

[Footnote 6: Cf. I Kings x. 29: "A chariot ... of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver; and a horse for 150."]

[Footnote 7: It is a question here of the utensils used for measuring, viz., thirty of one kind, and sixty of another.]

[Footnote 8: The quality of the dogs is somewhat uncertain.]

[Footnote 9: There is evidently a fault in the total number, 616 instead of 716.

A weight of silver may be an obolus, the 360th part of a mina.]

[Footnote 10: The "akli," who were at the royal court, may have been legists.]

[Footnote 11: All these are formulæ solennes, as in the Roman law.]

[Footnote 12: Obscure.]

TRANSLATION OF AN UNEDITED FRAGMENT

Five-sixths of an _artaba_[1] of corn sows an _arura_, a field situated on the Euphrates.

....adjoining ... wide ... adjoining ... a field in great measure ... Zirbet-u-Alzu ... and for the days to come he has given ... this table ... sin-idin ... son of Tuklat-habal-Marduk, Governor of the town of Nisin. Bani-Marduk, son of Tuklat ... Malik-kilim, son of Tuklat ... Chief of ... An-sali ... son of Zab-zib-malik ... Malik-habal-idin, of the town of Balaki ... Chief of Sin-idin-habal ... May he cause him to perish ... and his offering.[2]

[Footnote 1: The artaba was 3 epha, 18 hins; the mentioned quantity of 15 hins necessary to seed this very fertile field is only 79 pints.]

[Footnote 2: Dr. Oppert copied this text twenty years ago; he does not know whether since that time any other piece of the stone has been discovered.]

GREAT INSCRIPTION IN THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD

TRANSLATED BY DR. JULIUS OPPERT

The document of which I publish a translation has been copied with admirable precision by M. Botta in his "_Monuments de Ninive_" There are four specimens of this same text in the Assyrian palace, which bear the title of Inscriptions of the Halls, Nos. iv, vii, viii, and x.

There is another historical document in the palace of Khorsabad containing more minute particulars, and classed in a chronological order, which I translated in my "_Dur-Sar-kayan_," 1870, and in the "Records of the Past," Vol. VII.

The several copies of this document have been united in one sole text in a work which I published in common with M. Ménant in the "_Journal Asiatique_," 1863.

I published my translation of the "Great Inscriptions of Khorsabad," in the "_Annales de Philosophie Chrétienne_," July and August, 1862, tom. V (New Series), p. 62; then in my "_Inscriptions des Sargonides_," p. 20 (1862). The same text was inserted in the work which I edited in communion with my friend M. Joachim Ménant, entitled "_La Grande Inscription des Salles de Khorsabad_," "_Journal Asiatique_," 1863. Some passages have been since corrected by me in my "_Dur-Sarkayan_," Paris, 1870, in the great work of M. Victor Place, and these corrections have been totally admitted by M. Ménant in a translation which he has given in his book, "_Annales des Rois d'Assyrie_," Paris, 1874, p. 180. As the reader may easily convince himself in collating it with my previous attempts, this present translation is now amended according to the exigencies of the progressing science of Assyriology, as it is now understood.

GREAT INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD

1 Palace of Sargon, the great King, the powerful King, King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy of the gods at Babylon, King of the Sumers and of the Accads, favorite of the great gods.

2 The gods Assur, Nebo, and Merodach have conferred on me the royalty of the nations, and they have propagated the memory of my fortunate name to the ends of the earth. I have followed the reformed precepts of Sippara, Nipur, Babylon, and Borsippa; I have amended the imperfections which the men of all laws had admitted.

3 I have reunited the dominions of Kalu, Ur, Orchoé, Erikhi, Larsa,[1] Kullab, Kisik, the dwelling-place of the god Laguda; I have subdued their inhabitants. As to the laws of Sumer[2] and of the town of Harran, which had fallen into desuetude from the most ancient times, I have restored to fresh vigor their forgotten customs.

4 The great gods have made me happy by the constancy of their affection, they have granted me the exercise of my sovereignty over all kings; they have re-established obedience upon them all. From the day of my accession there existed no princes who were my masters; I have not, in combats or battles, seen my victor. I have crushed the territories of the rebels like straws, and I have struck them with the plagues of the four elements. I have opened innumerable deep and very extensive forests, I have levelled their inequalities. I have traversed winding and thick valleys, which were impenetrable, like a needle, and I passed in digging tanks dug on my way.

5 By the grace and power of the great gods, my Masters, I have flung my arms; by my force I have defeated my enemies. I have ruled from Iatnan,[3] which is in the middle of the sea of the setting sun, to the frontiers of Egypt and of the country of the Moschians, over vast Phoenicia, the whole of Syria, the whole of _guti muski_[4] of distant Media, near the country of Bikni, to the country of Ellip, from Ras which borders upon Elam, to the banks of the Tigris, to the tribes of Itu, Rubu, Haril, Kaldud, Hauran, Ubul, Ruhua, of the Litaï who dwell on the borders of the Surappi and the Ukne, Gambul, Khindar, and Pukud.[5] I have reigned over the _suti_ hunters who are in the territory of Iatbur, in whatever it was as far as the towns of Samhun, Bab-Dur, Dur-Tilit, Khilikh, Pillat, Dunni-Samas, Bubi, Tell-Khumba, which are in the dependency of Elam,[6] and Kar-duniyas[7] Upper and Lower, of the countries of Bit-Amukkan, Bit-Dakkur, Bit-Silan, Bit-Sa'alla, which together form Chaldea in its totality, over the country of Bit-Iakin, which is on the sea-shore, as far as the frontier of Dilmun. I have received their tributes, I have established my Lieutenants over them as Governors, and I have reduced them under my suzerainty.

6 This is what I did from the beginning of my reign to my fifteenth year of reign: I defeated Khumbanigas, King of Elam, in the plains of Kalu.

7 I besieged and occupied the town of Samaria, and took 27,280 of its inhabitants captive. I took from them 50 chariots, but left them the rest of their belongings. I placed my Lieutenants over them; I renewed the obligation imposed upon them by one of the Kings who preceded me.[8]

8 Hanun, King of Gaza, and Sebech, Sultan[9] of Egypt, allied themselves at Rapih[10] to oppose me, and fight against me; they came before me, I put them to flight. Sebech yielded before my cohorts, he fled, and no one has ever seen any trace of him since. I took with my own hand Hanun, King of Gaza.

9 I imposed a tribute on Pharaoh, King of Egypt; Samsie, Queen of Arabia; It-amar, the Sabean, of gold, sweet smelling herbs of the land, horses, and camels.

10 Kiakku of Sinukhta had despised the god Assur, and refused submission to him. I took him prisoner, and seized his 30 chariots and 7,350 of his soldiers. I gave Sinuhta, the town of his royalty, to Matti from the country of Tuna, I added some horses and asses to the former tribute and appointed Matti as Governor.

11 Amris of Tabal, had been placed upon the throne of Khulli his father; I gave to him a daughter and I gave him Cilicia[10] which had never submitted to his ancestors. But he did not keep the treaty and sent his ambassador to Urzaha, King of Armenia, and to Mita, King of the Moschians, who had seized my provinces. I transported Amris to Assyria, with his belongings, the members of his ancestors' families, and the magnates of the country, as well as 100 chariots; I established some Assyrians, devoted to my government, in their places. I appointed my Lieutenant Governor over them, and commanded tributes to be levied upon them.

12 Jaubid of Hamath, a smith,[12] was not the legitimate master of the throne, he was an infidel and an impious man, and he had coveted the royalty of Hamath. He incited the towns of Arpad, Simyra, Damascus, and Samaria to rise against me, took his precautions with each of them, and prepared for battle. I counted all the troops of the god Assur; in the town of Karkar which had declared itself for the rebel, I besieged him and his warriors, I occupied Karkar and reduced it to ashes. I took him, himself, and had him flayed, and I killed the chief of the rioters in each town, and reduced them to a heap of ruins. I recruited my forces with 200 chariots and 600 horsemen from among the inhabitants of the country of Hamath and added them to my empire.