RECORDS OF THE PAST

BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF EGYPT AND
WESTERN ASIA

EDITED BY A. H. SAYCE

PREFACE	v
I. THE STELE OF KUBAN. By PHILIPPE VIREY.	1
II. A STELE OF KING SMENDES. (Twenty-first Dynasty.) By Professor MASPERO	17
III. THE LISTS OF THE PLACES IN NORTHERN SYRIA AND PALESTINE CONQUERED BY THOTHMES III. By the Rev. H. G. TOMKINS	25
IV. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PALESTINE AND EGYPT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY B.C. By the EDITOR	54
V. TEXT OF AMMISATANA, KING OF BABYLON FROM ABOUT 2115 TO 2OQO B.C. By THEO. G. PINCHES	102
VI. AN EARLY TABLET OF THE BABYLONIAN CHRONICLE. By THEO. G. PINCHES.	106
VII. THE NIMRUD INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH- PILESER III. By S. ARTHUR STRONG.	115
VIII. THE ORACLE OF ISTAR OF ARBELA. By THEO. G. PINCHES.	129
IX. THREE DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE SONS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR. By the EDITOR.	141
X. THE INSCRIPTIONS RELATING TO THE RISE OF CYRUS AND HIS CONQUEST OF BABYLONIA. By the EDITOR.	144

I HAVE again to deplore the death of one of my colleagues, Mr. G. Bertin, whose contributions to Assyriology had secured for him a foremost place in the small band of Assyrian scholars. Like M. Amiaud, he had especially devoted himself to the study of Sumerian, in which, therefore, his loss will be particularly felt. His valuable contribution to the third volume of the present series of Records of the Past on the precepts of early Sumerian agriculture was one of the last literary works upon which he was engaged.

The tablets discovered at Tel el-Amarna naturally continue to absorb a large part of the attention both of Assyriologists and of Egyptologists, so far, at least, as they have been published, since the collection contained in the British Museum is still, at the moment of my writing this, inaccessible to scholars. Repeated examination of the originals is clearing up doubtful points in the text and correcting the readings of the first copyists. Thus, as will be seen from the translations I give in this volume, the important passage referring to the deity worshipped at Jeru- {p.vi} salem which occurs in one of the letters of Ebed-tob, and which I have quoted in my preface to the last volume of the series, must be amended in more than one respect (see p. 72, line 16, and note 9). In another tablet published in the Mittheilungen aus den orientalischen Sammlungen, II. No. 39, the Rev. Dr. Scheil has pointed out that mention is twice made of "the Yaudu." In the Assyrian inscriptions of a later period the name of the Jews is written in the same manner, and the question accordingly presents itself whether the "Yaudu" of Tel el-Amarna can be identified with the descendants of Judah. The mutilated letter, however, in which the name is found is shown, both by its phonology and by the references it contains, to have been despatched from Syria, or at all events from the northern part of Palestine, where it is difficult to account for the presence of Jews. So far as the shattered condition of the tablet permits we may translate it as follows: "Thou hast made me stand in front of the great gate, and thou art my lord, and let my lord listen to the servants of his servant. Send Aziru thy servant into the places (for which) thou didst not commission (?) him, and let him defend the provinces of the king my lord. A second time (I say) to Dudu my lord: Hear the words of the kings of the country of Nukhasse (which) they have spoken unto me: Thy father with gold .... the king of Egypt, and ..... the end of his levy from Egypt and all the provinces and the soldiers of the Yaudu ... {p.vii} [thus] they have spoken ..... [send therefore] Aziru from Egypt, and now I will remove (?) the Yaudu from the country of [Tu]nip." Tunip was the modern Tennib, north-west of Aleppo, while Nukh-asse lay between Aleppo and Hamath. How any body of soldiers with the name of Yaudu could be found in this region is a puzzle.

Two inscriptions, however, discovered by German explorers, may hereafter help to throw light on the question. The more important of the two, now at Berlin, was found near Sinjerli, a little to the north east of the Gulf of Antioch. It is a monument erected by Bar-tsor in honour of his father Panammu, king of Samahla, who is mentioned among the tributaries of Tiglath-pileser III. The inscription, which is in Aramaean letters, refers to "Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria," the names both of Tiglath-pileser and of Assyria being written as they are in the Old Testament. The language of the inscription is to a certain extent Aramaic, but to a much greater extent Hebrew, and thus presents a philological problem of the highest interest, for the solution of which we must look to Prof. Sachau and his colleagues at Berlin. In any case it points to Hebrew influence in the extreme north of Syria as far back as the eighth century before our era.

The past year has added to our knowledge of Babylonian history and chronology. In the Academy of 5th September 1891 Mr. Pinches gives an account of the historical results of the American excavations {p.viii} at Niffer, the ancient Nipur. Not only have contemporaneous inscriptions of Sargon of Accad and his son Naram-Sin (3800 BC) been found there, but also texts of another king of the same age called Erimus. It seems probable that the name of a fourth king, Garde, belonging to the same period, has also been discovered.

Objects inscribed with the names of certain kings of the Kassite dynasty, one of which is new, have also been disinterred. Two of the names are written phonetically, and read Kadas-man-Turgu and Kadasman-Urbe, which, as Mr. Pinches points out, must signify "my trust is the god Turgu" and "my trust is Bel." This settles the reading of the name which I have given as Kara-Urus in the first volume of this series (p. 16), and which must accordingly be corrected into Kadas-man-Urbe, and it further shows that the identification of the latter with Kudur-Bel, the father of Sagasalti-Buryas, must be given up. Moreover, Mr. Pinches is clearly right in regarding Gandis, the founder of the Kassite dynasty, as identical with Gaddas, a prince who styles himself "king of Sumer and Accad," and "king of Babylon" (Babylonian and Oriental Record, I. 4).

The important fragments of the Babylonian Chronicle recently discovered by Mr. Pinches and translated by him in this volume, throw fresh light on the date to which the Kassite dynasty must be referred. We now know that Rimmon-suma-natsir, or Rimmon-nadin-akhi (for the name may be read {p.ix} either way), the 32nd king of the Kassite dynasty, drove the Assyrian conqueror, Tiglath-Uras, out of Babylon, and that the seven years reign of the latter has been omitted by the patriotic compiler of the list of Babylonian kings. Now Sennacherib tells us that when he conquered Babylon he recovered a seal of Tiglath-Uras which had been there for 600 years. The seal seems to have been made to commemorate the conquest of Babylonia by the Assyrian monarch, since the inscription upon it describes it as "the property of the land of Kar-Dunis," or Chaldea.¹ Sennacherib sacked Babylon 691 BC, and consequently the seal would have been engraved by order of Tiglath-Uras in 1291 BC. The Assyrian domination would have lasted till 1284 BC, which would accordingly be the first year of Rimmon-suma-natsir, and the Kassite dynasty would have come to an end in 1222 BC.

My conjecture, therefore, that the Babylonian
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1 The account of the seal given by Sennacherib is as follows (W. A. I., iii. 4, No. 2): "[The seal] of Tiglath-Uras, king of multitudes, the son of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; the property of the country of Kar-Du(nis). Whoever buries my writing (and) my name, may Assur (and) Rimmon destroy his name (and) his land. This seal accompanied the king from Assyria to Accad. I, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, after 600 years captured Babylon, and brought (it) out (and) carried (it) away from the treasure of Babylon. Whoever makes the seal legible (?) [ensures?] the preservation of my life. Tiglath-Uras, king of multitudes, the son of Shalman, king of Assyria; the property of the country of Kar-Dunis. Whoever buries [my writing and my name], may Assur and Rimmon [destroy] his name [and his land]. Whoever makes the seal legible (?) [ensures?] the preservation of my life. (This is) what (was) on the seal of crystal." Iktadin, "accompanied," has the same root as kidimt, a synonym of talmutu, "companionship." I read doubtfully SA PUR-RA PUR-RA GAR, "whoever makes (the seal) intelligible" or "legible." For the Sumerian PUR-RA in the sense of "interpreting" see W. A. I. , ii. 32, 67 ; iv. 16, 9.

{p.x} princes who were contemporary with the Assyrian kings, Tiglath-pileser I and his son, belonged to the dynasty of Isin, is disproved, and we shall have to look for them among the kings of the Babylonian dynasty which succeeded the "Elamite" of unknown name (Records of the Past, New Series, I. p. 17). According to Sennacherib, the defeat of Tiglath-pileser I by the Babylonians took place 418 years before his own conquest of Babylon, and consequently 1109 BC. On the other hand, the "Second Dynastic Tablet" counts 120 years from the commencement of the reign of Rimmon-suma-natsir to the death of the "Elamite" usurper, which would bring us to 1102 BC. It is therefore evident that the compiler of it has included the seven years rule of the Assyrians in Babylon in the reign of Rimmon-suma-natsir, and that therefore the Kassite dynasty must have ended, not in 1222 BC, but in 1229 BC. The round number of 600 years given by Sennacherib for the length of time during which the seal of Tiglath-Uras remained in Babylon is seven years in excess, the error having been occasioned by the omission of the reign of Tiglath-Uras in the official lists of the Babylonian kings.

Between the date thus obtained and that given by Alexander Polyhistor from Berossos for the be ginning of the Assyrian dynasty at Babylon there is a difference of eleven years. We learn from the extract preserved in the Armenian Chronicle of Eusebios that after a short period of Assyrian {p.xi} domination in Babylonia, symbolised by the name of Semiramis, a dynasty of 45 kings governed the country for 526 years, and was followed by Nabo-nassar in 747 BC. The Assyrian domination consequently would have ended in 1273 BC, so that according to this calculation the conquest of Tiglath-Uras took place in 1280 BC. It is plain that we must read 536 for 526.¹

The Kassite dynasty will have begun in 1806 BC, that of Uru-azagga (or Tello) in 2174 BC, and that of Babylon in 2468 BC. The reign of Khammurabi will therefore have extended from 2356 BC. to 2301, and the raid of the Elamite Kudur-Nankhundi with Babylonia in 2285 BC will have happened in the reign of his son and successor. But too much confidence must not be placed in the earlier dates given in the dynastic tablets. The reigns of the kings are suspiciously long, and the same number of regnal years recurs with almost impossible frequency. Moreover, it is not till we come to the Kassite dynasty that any notice is taken of months as well as of years. I am therefore inclined to believe that the reign of Khammurabi must be placed about
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1 The six "Arab" kings mentioned by George the Synkellos are evidently the first six kings of the dynasty of Isin, though the regnal years attached to their names are wide of the truth. The Third dynasty of Berossos (as reported by Alexander Polyhistor) is the First dynasty of Babylon of the cuneiform tablets, the Fourth and Fifth dynasties representing the dynasties of Uru-azagga and the Kassites down to the conquest of Babylon by Tiglath-Uras. But the Greek writer has not divided his dynasties in the same way as the compiler of the tablets, and it has long been recognised that the number of years they are severally said to have ruled is impossible. The number of kings (58) belonging to the two dynasties of the Greek writer corresponds with the number of kings in the three first dynasties of the cuneiform record.

{p.xii} seventy years later than the date assigned to it in the dynastic tablets, and to abide by the conclusions I arrived at in the first volume of this series, pp. 10, 11. Further discoveries can alone settle the matter. The length of time during which Babylonia was governed by Kassite kings must have left a deep impression upon the population. Accordingly, we find that in the Tel el-Amarna tablets the Babylonians are called the Kassi, or people of Kas, a name which appears in the Old Testament as Cush. The Babylonian conquests in Palestine and the profound influence they long exerted there, as revealed to us by the letters of Tel el-Amarna, at last show light on the personality and origin of Nimrod. The Hebrew or Canaanitish proverb which is quoted in Genesis in reference to him shows that he must have been a familiar figure in Canaanitish tradition, and the fact that he was the son of Cush which has, of course, nothing to do with Cush or Ethiopia indicates his Kassite origin.¹ The seat of Kassite supremacy was in Babylon and the adjoining cities; it never seems to have been very strong in Sumer or Shinar; and we can therefore understand how it could be said of Nimrod that "the beginning of his kingdom" was "Babel and Erech and Accad," Calneh or Kulunu being the only town in Sumer over which he claimed rule. Moreover, it was during the Kassite period of Babylonian history that the kingdom of
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1 It may be noted that, according to George the Synkellos, the Chaldeans made war against the Phoenicians in the year of the world 3945, that is 1556 BC.

{p.xiii} Assyria was founded, thus explaining the statement of Genesis, that the kingdom of Nimrod, which began in northern Babylonia, was continued in Assyria; as well as the passage in Micah (v. 6), where the parallelism proves that Assyria and "the land of Nimrod" are synonymous terms.

That Nimrod is to be identified with the hero of the great Chaldean Epic has been exploded by the discovery made by Mr. Pinches of the true pronunciation of the latter's name. This was Gilgames, a name which, as I pointed out in the Academy (8th November 1890), is found in Ælian (Hist. Anim. xii. 21) under the form of Gilgamos. Gilgamos was the grandson of the Babylonian king Sakkhoras, or Seuekhoros, who, in consequence of a prophecy that he should die by the hand of his grandson, imprisoned his daughter in a lofty tower. The daughter, however, contrived to marry a man of plebeian rank, and though the child which was born to them was thrown from the tower, he was saved by an eagle which caught him in mid-air, so that he survived to fulfil the prophecy. In the Gilgamos of the Babylonian legend we thus have the prototype of the Greek Perseus, the double, in so many respects, of Herakles. To pass from legendary to historical times, Dr. Oppert has made a discovery which explains the reason of the harsh measures adopted by Xerxes towards the Babylonians, and his destruction of the great temple of Bel. One of the contract-tablets published by Dr. Strassmaier is dated in the first {p.xiv} year of an otherwise unknown king of Babylon, Samas-erba. The witnesses whose names are attached to the contract show that it belongs to the reign of Xerxes, and consequently that the Babylonians must have taken the opportunity of the disastrous expedition of Xerxes to Greece to rise in revolt against their Persian masters and establish once more a king of their own. The return of Xerxes to the East brought with it the punishment of the Babylonian rebels.

A. H. SAYCE.

QUEEN S COLLEGE, OXFORD,
25th September 1891.

EQUIVALENTS OF THE HEBREW LETTERS IN THE TRANSLITERATION
OF ASSYRIAN NAMES MENTIONED IN THESE VOLUMES

N.B. Those Assyriologists who transcribe ש by sh use s for ס. The Assyrian e represents a diphthong as well as ע.

In the Introductions and Notes W. A. I. denotes The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, in five volumes, published by the Trustees of the British Museum.

THIS monument, discovered by Prisse d'Avennes in the Nubian village of Kuban, opposite Dakkeh (the ancient Pselchis), was removed by Count de Saint-Ferriol to the chateau of Uriage near Grenoble; a cast of it exists in the Museum of the Louvre. It consists of a semicircle in which offerings are represented, below which is a long text of 38 horizontal lines; the first half of the last 15 lines has been destroyed. The text has been published by Prisse d'Avennes (Monuments Egyptiens, pl. xxi.), and after him, but only as far as line 25, by Chabas (Les Inscriptions des mines d'or), and by Reinisch (Chrestomathie, pl. x.). It has been translated or studied by Birch (Archeaologia, xxxiv., and Records of the Past, 1st series, viii. p. 67); by Chabas (Les Inscriptions des mines d'or); by Brugsch (History of Egypt, Eng. edit., II. p. 80), Lauth (Sitzungsberichte der k. bayer Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Miinchen, 1871, II. p. 198), Erman (Egypten, pp. 617-619), Maspero {p.2} (Lectures historiques, pp. 47-49), and Schiaparelli (La Catena orientale de l'Egitto, pp. 86-87).

The stele of Kuban states that the working of the mines of El-Etbaye having been interrupted by want of water, King Rameses II remedied the evil by excavating a well. The fact is not very important in itself, and it seems at first as if the glorification of Rameses, which constitutes a principal part of the text, might have been reserved for a more worthy occasion. But we must not forget that the king, as son of the Sun, was the incarnation of divinity in the world of mortals. The action of the deity must be glorified in its humblest as well as in its most exalted manifestations. By introducing water into the desert, the union of which with heat brings about the reproduction of living things, Rameses carried life where it did not previously exist, and thus acted like the Creator. This explanation justifies the pompousness of the language about a matter so trivial, and at the same time enables us to understand the character of the offerings represented in the semi-circular part of the monument.

This part, surmounted by the winged solar disk, "the inhabitant of Hud, the great god who gives life and prosperity," is divided into a northern and southern side by a vertical line, where the following words are found, starting immediately from the winged disk, in order to communicate its gifts to the reigning king: "Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra. It is {p.3} said: I grant thee the gift of all life, continuance and prosperity; of all health; of all strength; of all power, of all power (sic), as the eternal Sun."

From the two sides of the cartouche of Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra¹ rise two serpents crowned with the white and red crowns, and representing the goddesses of the south and north. They hold suspended the symbol of life which they transmit from the disk and royal cartouche to the figures of Ammon the generator and Horus.

On the side of the goddess of the south, Ammon the generator, crowned with the white crown, stands on a support which represents the ma or symbol of truth, reality, and realisation,² and is in connection with his neck, transmitting by its influence to him the power of realising or producing. Above him are the words: "Ammon the generator in the bosom of the [arid]³ mountain, beloved of Ammon the generator, renovating [god], master of heaven." Behind him is an altar in the form of a door out of which grow flourishing persea-trees (?) We are reminded of what happened after the death of the bull in the story of the Two Brothers.⁴ But here, in place of the two fertilising drops of blood, we have two cups of wine
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1 Placed immediately under the disk; see 5 lines above.
2 Objects became real when touched by the fair visage of the goddess Ma. See my Tombeau de Rekhmara, p. 149, note 2.
3 Perhaps there is here an allusion to the fecundity which the introduction of the water must have brought to the desert.
4 Papyrus d Orbiney, pl. xvi. 11. 8-10; pl. xvii. 1. "He (the bull) let fall two drops of blood ... the one on one side of the great gate of Pharaoh, and the other on the other side, and they grew into two great persea-trees."

{p.4} offered by the king, which are to carry life to the desert. "Presentation," says the text, "of two vases of wine to father Ammon the generator in the bosom of the [and] mountain." Rameses II stands making the offering, crowned with the helmet out of which the uraeus issues. Behind his helmet hang two strings by which the winged disk with the end of its wing "communicates all life behind him (in his neck) as the eternal Sun."

Above the king, who holds the two vases of fertilising liquid, are the words: "[The work of] life [is performed] by the beautiful god¹ Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra, son of Ra, Rameses beloved of Ammon, giving life (by means of the fertilising liquid)." Thus on the side of the goddess with the white crown we see the principle of humidity brought by precisely that one of the agents of fertilisation which the king is about to create in the desert by means of a well. To continue the work of life heat is now required; this action will be represented to us on the side of Horus and of the goddess with the red crown.

Rameses II continues to stand, crowned as on the other side. As on the other side also, the winged disk with the end of its other wing "communicates all life behind him as the eternal Sun." The inscription placed above the king tells us that here we have "the beautiful god, Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra,
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1 Ankh-nuter-nofer. The sign ankh, which is not reproduced in all the publications of the text, is very visible on the cast in the Museum of the Louvre. I attribute to it a verbal sense ("performs life").

{p.5} Rameses beloved of Ammon, who vivifies like the Sun"¹ that is to say, as I have just stated, by the action of heat. Hence it is no longer the generous liquid, the agent of fertilisation, but the flaming incense which the king presents, with the legend: "Burning incense² to father Horus, lord of Boki,³ he gives life." The offering is made to Horus, crowned with the pshent, and holding in the right hand the symbol of life which the goddess with the red crown transfers to him, and in the left hand the sceptre of prosperity. It is he, says the legend, "who gives all life and prosperity, all enlargement of heart." "I grant thee," he says to Rameses, "length of years as king." While presenting the incense he "repeats thrice⁴: Horus, lord of Bok[i]!" And the god answers him: "I give thee all foreign lands beneath thy sandals." There is here a double meaning.
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1 Ti ankh Ra ma, "giving life like the Sun."
2 "Making incense." To burn incense after a libation was to prepare for the reproduction of that which has lived. See my Tombeau de Rekh-mara, p. 84, note 4; p. 90, 1. 12; p. 92, note 6, etc.
3 Identified by Brugsch with Aboccis, must be placed, according to Chabas, between Primis and the Second Cataract. There is here a sort of play on words, Bok being the name of the hawk, the attribute of Horus.
4 The operations of incensing, in order to prepare for a reproduction or a birth, are constantly repeated three times. The flame is made to ascend thrice on the altar, in order to prepare for the resurrection of Rekhmara (Tombeau de Rekhmara, p. 92), just as when Cyrene, desiring to revivify the bees of Aristasus, begins by invoking the humid principle:

This flame which rises and falls represents life which unceasingly mounts to heaven and redescends upon the earth. I have studied this question more in detail in Quelques observations sur episode d'Aristae, pp. 21-23.

The word set or test, which signifies "foreign countries," means also "the mountain" or "desert," in opposition to to-r ter-f, "the entire plain" or valley of the Nile, together with the Delta. The desert mountain is the domain of Set, the god of annihilation and sterility. The king representing Horus or the good principle, takes possession of this "foreign land" by introducing into it the water which brings life, and Horus assures to him the conquest of it.

We now reach the text in horizontal lines which contains the historical portion of the inscription.

1. The year 3, the first [month] of the winter, the 4th day, under the majesty of the HORUS sun, the powerful bull, beloved of MA, lord of the diadems of the south and of the north, the protector of EGYPT, the restrainer of the foreign lands, the golden HORUS,¹ rich in renovations, the very powerful king of the south and of the north, Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra, son of RA, Ramses beloved of AMMON, the revivifier for ever and ever, beloved of AMMON-RA, lord of NES-TAUI,² prince of THEBES,
2. rising on the seat of the HORUS of the living,³ like the Father Sun,⁴ every day, beautiful god, lord of the land of the south, dwelling in HUD, mottled with plumes⁵ the beautiful silvery hawk,⁶ covering EGYPT with his wing and overshadowing⁷ the rekhit like a strong and powerful rampart,⁸ [he] who has issued forth
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1 The king is compared with the Sun, burning like gold, who renews himself every day and renews the creation.
2 "The thrones of the two lands" (?), one of the names of Thebes.
3 The Horus of the living or of mortals is the king himself, likened to the rising sun.
4 The Sun is called "father" because his beneficent heat gives life to nature by producing vegetation.
5 The inhabitant of Hud is the solar disk with its feathered wings.
6 The sun shines like silver-gilt and soars like a hawk above the mountains of the valley of the Nile.
7 I suppose the shadow which relieves us at certain hours after the solar heat is itself considered a benefit of the sun, the solar disk being held to produce it by covering with its wings (see note 5) the space it wishes to protect.
8 Literally "which is (n for enti) strong and powerful."

3. from the loins,¹ ready to make use of his power to enlarge his frontiers. It is the might of MONTH which colours his flesh.² HORUS and SET have rejoiced in heaven the day of his birth.³ The gods [declare]: "It is our blood⁴ which is in him!" The
4. goddesses [declare]: "He has issued forth from us to exercise the sovereignty of RA!" AMMON declares: "It is I who have made him, to put (the goddess) MA in his place."⁵ The earth is assured at the same time that the heaven is tranquillised, at the same time that the divine essence is satisfied by his coming.⁶ Mighty bull against the vile Kusu,⁷ the wild beast⁸
5. who howls⁹ against the land of the NEGROES; his feet are crushing the PETTI,¹⁰ while his horn strikes the midst of them. His wishes rule in KHENT-HAN-NEFER,¹¹ his fear wins the country of KARI; his name revolves among
6. all lands, because of his exploits accomplished by his two hands. The gold of the mountain¹² comes
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1 That is, who possessed his strength from his birth. The king enlarges his dominions by fertilising the desert and increasing the domain of life.
2 Literally "one has given colour to his flesh with the valour (valorous blood) of Month."
3 That is, his birthday has been a day of universal joy; moreover, the creation of a well in the desert conveys the benefits of the king to the domain of Set.
4 Literally "the gods are in [saying]: It is our seed in him."
5 That is, to assure the work of creation by the realisation (Ma) of existence notwithstanding the agents of destruction. Cf. the introduction.
6 Or perhaps "his action"; literally "his turn," "time" (Latin -vices).
7 Ethiopia.
8 The parallelism makes me believe, like Birch and Chabas, that kaha here signifies a fantastic monster like a griffon.
9 For this expression see M. Guieysse in the Recueil de Travaux relatifs a la philologie et a l'archaeologie egyptienne et assyrienne (1888), x. pp. 64-66.
10 General name of the barbarians of the desert, whether Bedouin or others.
11 The northern part of Nubia betweeen the First and Second Cataracts.
12 There is a double meaning in this phrase. It properly signifies the working of the gold mines of Nubia (of which the district of Aboccis).

{p.9} forth at his name, in his character of Father HORUS, lord of the region of Boki.¹ The plain of EGYPT with the barbarous countries² [forms his] kingdom, in his character of HORUS, as well as all the Asiatic region and the region of BUHEN;³ king of the south and the north, Ra-usor-ma Sotpenra,
7. the legitimate son of RA,⁴ lord of the risings (of the sun),⁵ Rameses Meiamun, vivifier for ever and ever, in [his] character of the Father Sun,⁶ every day. Now his majesty was at MEMPHIS,⁷ performing his devotions to the divine fathers, all (of them), of the south and the north, in order that⁸ they might give unto him strength, valour, great duration of multitudes
8. in the matter of renovations.⁹ At that time¹⁰ behold his majesty seated on the silver-gilt throne, lifting above the crown the double feather,¹¹ in order to examine the countries from whence gold is brought, (and) to consider the project of excavating
9. wells on the waterless roads, having learned¹² that there was gold in abundance in the region of AKITA; formed part) in the name of the king; and the king is here called Father Horus because he is held to produce gold by virtue of his name. But allusion is also made to the appearance of Horus or the rising sun, whose brilliance gilds the summits of the eastern mountains, the domain of the hawk or Boki.
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1 Cf. the preceding note and note 3, p. 5.
2 The mountain regions in contradistinction to the plain of Egypt, including the Libyan and Arabian deserts and the oases. The other regions of Asia and Africa are named separately.
3 A region of Nubia, denoting the countries south of Egypt.
4 Literally "son of Ra, of his loins."
5 Allusion is made to the creative power of Pharaoh, owing to the connection between sunrise and birth.
6 See above, p. 7, note 4; Horus is the rising sun.
7 Literally "Behold his majesty at Memphis."
8 Ma, "so that." Ma, "thus" has here the value of the Latin "ita ut."
9 Renovations or renewals of days, existence, etc., assure stability in the creation by repairing losses.
10 Literally "one of these days being."
11 See note 5, p. 8. The god or king when he lifts up the double feather, the emblem of realisation, prepares himself to produce or create.
12 Literally "after having learned to know that while there is."

{p.10} [but that] it being¹ entirely without water, complaints had come from
10. the workmen² who wash the gold as regards the place which had been assigned³ to them; seeing that those who had to come there⁴ die of thirst on the road, together with the asses which precede them, not finding⁵ enough to
11. drink, in ascending [or] descending with their water-skins.⁶ Consequently no gold is brought from this region, owing to the want of water. His Majesty said to the chamberlain, who was beside him: Summon the great men who are in our presence;⁷ [that]
12. his Majesty may deliberate with them about this region. As for me, I will accomplish the designs proposed.⁸ They⁹ passed over the spot before the beautiful god,¹⁰ their hands adoring him whom he represented,¹¹ with acclamations and prostrations before his beautiful face. The likeness of this region was described to them to [allow] them [to]
13. deliberate with the master¹² about the plan of making a well on the road to it. They said to his Majesty:¹³ Thou who art¹⁴ as RA (the Sun), in all that thou doest, that which pleases thy heart shall happen.¹⁵ If thou desirest the plan in the night, the earth becoming light it is realised at once.¹⁶ We who have
_______
1 Kher, "being."
2 Kari, "porters."
3 Literally "been made."
4 Literally "being that those who are to arrive towards (this place)."
5 Literally "not being found for them their requirement for drinking."
6 The distance was too great to allow of a sufficient amount of water being taken in skins, without being supplemented by water on the road.
7 In the neighbourhood of the royal residence.
8 Literally "in advance."
9 The great men.
10 The king.
11 N-ka-f, "of his double," the divinity of whom the king was the incarnation.
12 The king, literally "the chief."
13 Khet-f hon-f, face to his Majesty.
14 Literally "being thou as Ra."
15 "Is to happen."
16 Like the sun, conceived in the night to be born in the morning.

14. to consider the abundance of¹ thy marvellous acts since thy promotion as king of the two lands,² we have not heard, we have not seen that [anything] comparable³ has been produced. All that issues forth from thy mouth is as the words of HAR-MAKHIS.⁴ Thy tongue weighs, thy lips measure,
15. according to the exact weight of THOTH.⁵ What is there that thou knowest not, and who can discharge it like thyself?⁶ Does the plain bear a place which thou seest not,⁷ [and] there is no mountain whither thou dost not penetrate.⁸ It has come to thine ears
16. that it was thy turn⁹ to administer¹⁰ this earth. Thou [hadst] formed [thy] plans when thou wast in the egg,¹¹ and in all the conditions of infancy¹² (thou wert) hereditary prince.¹³ Thou hast declared unto thyself the needs of the two lands when thou wast a child wearing the lock of hair. No monument¹⁴ has been brought to a happy conclusion which has not been made by thee;
17. no mission has produced a result without thy consent.¹⁵ Thou has exercised the supreme command of the army,¹⁶ when thou wast a young lad of ten years.
________
1 "In the matter of."
2 The north and the south.
3 Literally "be that was production comparable to them" (thy acts).
4 Horus whose action extends to the two extremities of the horizon.
5 Thoth handled the balance in which the actions of the dead were weighed before Osiris, the weight he used being Truth.
6 Literally "accomplish that (to know everything) like thyself."
7 The king is like the Sun, which sees everything it illuminates, that is the whole world.
8 Literally "thou hast not performed the act of penetrating it." The plain represents Egypt, the mountain the countries of the foreigner.
9 Literally "thy turn has passed to thine ears that (kher) thou art administrator."
10 Each king administers the world, the domain of God, in his turn as aden or vicegerent.
11 Before birth.
12 When at the breast, when cutting the teeth, when beginning to walk, and when beginning to speak. Not a single moment of the royal existence has been lost to Egypt.
13 First son.
14 Or durable work.
15 Mkhemt-k, or perhaps "without thy knowledge."
16 Literally "thou madest the superior mouth of the soldiers."

No works can be fulfilled¹ but by thy hand which causes the creative action. If thou sayest to the water: Come upon the mountain! the [celestial] ocean² will issue forth
18. at once after thy word; because thou art RA (the Sun) incarnate, Khepra in his production of reality.³ Thou art the living image on the earth of thy father TUM⁴ of HELIOPOLIS; substantiality is in thy mouth; intelligence is in thy heart; the place of thy tongue is the temple of Truth,⁵ and divinity sits between thy lips. Thy words produce [existence]⁶ every day,
19. (and) thy thought is accomplished by the mediation of⁷ PTAH, the creator of works; as thou art the eternal,⁸ it is done according to thy designs, and all thy words are heard, O sovereign, our master. These things being said about the region of AKITA,⁹ the prince of the vile KUSH
20. said in regard to it,¹⁰ in the presence of his Majesty: Such is its condition, without water since the time of the god.¹¹ As one dies therein of thirst, it was
______
1 Literally "all the works are to produce (a result) by thy hand causing creation."
2 The Egyptians attributed to all waters a common source, the celestial ocean. It is thus that a curl of hair of the daughter of the gods, thrown into the river of the sky, reached the earth by descending the current and perfumed the waves of the Nile, in the capital itself of Egypt (Papyrus d Orbiney, pll. x-xi). I have examined this question in my Observations sur l'Episode d l'Aristde, pp. 18-21.
3 This phrase states clearly that the king creates by his word, that the creative power comes from the sun, of whom the king is the incarnation, and that the effect of this power is to produce actually and truly what has no existence, to bring reality out of nothingness.
4 Form of the Sun, who has accomplished his work.
5 Truth makes true that which has not as yet existence; the king therefore cannot deceive himself; when he has said a thing it comes into existence by the creative power of the word.
6 Zetu-k hir kheper, "thy words are in (the process of) realising themselves."
7 M sen r Ptah, "in passing by Ptah."
8 Literally "as thou art for enduring."
9 Literally "being the region of Akita these things said upon it."
10 The region of Akita.
11 Ra. See line 23.

{p.13} the ambition of all the kings of old to make there a well; success did not attend them.¹ Thus,
21. King Seti I² did accordingly; he caused a well to be sunk 120 cubits in depth. In his time it was abandoned on the road, and the water did not flow from it. [But] if thou thyself sayest to thy father the NILE,³
22. the father of the gods: "Cause the water to rise on the mountain," he will act conformably to thy complete word, and conformably to thy complete designs, which are formed before us without our hearing them uttered aloud, because thy fathers, all the gods, love thee more than any king
23. who has existed since the god RA. His Majesty said to these great men: "True, true (is) all that you say and sound (?). No water has been extracted from this earth since the time of the god, as you say. It is I who will make here a well to give water for ever, as
24. a well according to the order of father AMUN-RA, master of Nes-taui, and the HORUS-masters of NUBIA;⁴ so that they shall be satisfied in their desires when I give the indications ....
25. [these great men set themselves]⁵ to adore their master, to bow to⁶ the ground, to throw themselves on their stomachs before [the king], and to raise acclamations to the height of heaven. His Majesty said to the master of the royal writings:⁷ ["At once let there be]
26. [given this mission⁸ to the prince of the vile KUSH:
______
1 Literally "their success did not produce itself."
2 Men-ma-Ra.
3 The ocean or humid element is, with the sun or heat, the essential agent of creation; like the sun, therefore, it has the title of "father."
4 To-qens.
5 We may supply something like un an uru apen, "these great men were" or "set themselves."
6 Literally "to smell."
7 Zet an hon-f (n) mer suten skha. Only n is effaced; mer is clear in the cast.
8 The beginnings of the last 13 lines are lost. With the help chiefly of other passages in the inscription, and of passages in the inscriptions of Radesieh relating to the same subject, I have conjecturally supplied a text

{p.14} cause a well to be excavated at once halfway¹] along the road towards the valley of AKITA. Cause a month to become a day.² [This order] being conveyed
27. [by the master of the royal writings to the prince of the vile KUSH, conformably to the word of the beautiful god, the order being in writing made³] conformable (and) presented to him, behold he sets himself to assemble persons
28. [to sink the well. Now a certain number of days afterwards, his Majesty said in his thought: What]⁴ is this then that the prince has done? Is it that the water
29. [which is in the heavens has heard me? Is it that the water rises on the mountain as I have ordered? Is it that the road is practicable]⁵ towards the region of AKITA? No deed like (unto it) has happened since the (time of) the kings of old.
30. [There is abundance of water in immense quantities, like the source of the cataracts of ELEPHANTINE. It rejoins the river; it causes]⁶ the fish of its basins to make signs (?) to the fish of the DELTA (Antehu Atehu) to rejoice (?) in it; through the creation
31. [marvellous of his Majesty. The barks make evolutions on the water which is on the mountain⁷] as they
______
which would exactly occupy the vacant spaces. The conjectural text, the exactitude of which is of course not guaranteed, is inserted between brackets.
1 [Hir-tot r aput-tu n suten sa n Kush khasi r zet asi ammd shetu uat n khnumt m peseshf] n uat.
2 "Cause the day to produce a month." Perform in a day the work of a month.
3 Au kab tu [nen an mer suten skhau r pa suten sa n Kush khasi ma nti m zet n miter nofer au utti m skhau] ma rait.
4 R [shetiu khnumt kher ar m khet haru kennu hir sa nen un an hon-f hir zet m hati-f nima]u tar si na aru.
5 An au pa mu [nti m Duaut hir sotem na an au muper hir tep-tu ma utu na an au un ta] uat r test Akita.
6 [Au bah n set r adt urt ma tpih nu korti Abu khnum-f n atur tu-f] remu.]
7 M kemam [n buuaut n hon-f dnkh uza senb au uaa hir skatenu hir mu nti m tuu] ma hem hi mdu.

{p.15} ply on the inundation. One arrived with a writing from the prince of the vile KUSH [to
32. say to his Majesty: As thou hast thyself said to thy father the NILE, the father of the gods; Cause the water to rise on the mountain, so is done]¹ that which thy Majesty has said with his own mouth. The water has risen there 120 cubits, being 4 cubits with them² in depth
33. ³ abroad, according to the plan which God⁴ has made, refreshing his heart in thy desires. No similar work
34. [has been achieved since the time of the god. There are bright pastures for the wandering shepherd; the king has amplified the land,⁵ being valiant; the region of A]KITA⁶......⁷ rejoice with great joy; those (men) who are afar
35. [set themselves to shout, to raise cries to the height of heaven, to adore their master, to bow down to the ground, to throw themselves on their stomachs in the presence of]⁸ the sovereign to whom the water in the sky is obedient, who has brought the water on the [mountain]
36. ⁹ from the prince to announce that which he had done: It is good to hear (?)
_______
1 R zet hon-f ankh uza senb ma zet-k zes-k n tef-k Hapi atef nuteru ammo, bes mu hir tep test kheper zett n hon-k.
2 Am sen (?).
3 I do not understand this passage sufficiently to risk a restoration. Perhaps the sense is: [the water of the well produces a stream which spreads] abroad.
4 Of whom the king was the incarnation on the earth.
5 The fertile earth amplified at the expense of the desert. See above.
6 An sop art inati zer rek Nuter khu aatetu n sau, skeb usekh to suten m per a test Akita.
7 The translation is uncertain. Perhaps the region of Negroes, perhaps the region of Tahonu is referred to.
8 Na unuauu [n retu hir hannu hir skebu r qa pe hir duau neb-sen hir sen-to rta hir khat m bah ti] pa hiq.
9 I can offer no further restorations of the text. More than three-fifths of the last lines has disappeared. We may imagine here something like: [His Majesty answered him who had come to him] from the prince.

37 ¹ have been accomplished the good and just plans called
38 ² this well the well of Ramses-Meiamun the valiant
______
1 We may supply [It is good to hear how] have been accomplished.
2 We may suppose this to mean: His Majesty ordered this well to be called the well of Rameses, etc.

KING SMENDES, the founder of the twenty-first Tanite Dynasty, has long eluded the researches of the Egyptologists. It is only three years ago that M. Daressy, assistant-conservator of the Museum of Cairo, had the good fortune to discover a monument belonging to him. He at once published the text and a translation of it under the title of "Les Carrieres de Gebelein et le roi Smendes," in the Recueil de Travaux relatifs a la Philologie et a l'Archeologie egyptiennes et assyriennes; x. pp. 133-138.

It was at Dababieh, opposite to Gebelein, some miles above Thebes, and on the right bank of the Nile, that he made the discovery. Quarries exist there of considerable size and of very hard limestone, which is as serviceable to the sculptor as to the builder; some of the quarries are open to the sky, others consist of large chambers excavated in the rock. In one place, on a column of the rock which has been left at the entrance of the quarry, is a {p.18} tablet in which Seti I declares that he had sent workmen to the city of Hathor, that is to say, to Gebelein, in order to extract the stone in large quantities for "the temple of Millions of Years of Menmari (otherwise, of himself), which is on the west of Thebes." This temple is that of Qurnah, and the inscription thus allows us to determine the spot from which a portion of the materials used in its construction had been brought. The quarry continued to be worked in Graeco-Roman times, as is proved by the graffiti copied in it by A. H. Sayce, and published by him under the title of "Inscriptions grecques d'egypte," in the Revue des Etudes Grecques, iv. pp. 46-48.¹

In the quarry situated about 30 yards to the south of that in which the tablet of Seti is found, the inscription of Smendes is engraved in beautifully formed characters on a large stele. The stele occupies the northern face of a column at the entrance of the quarry. About a third of the text at the commencement and about half of it towards the end has been destroyed by searchers for treasure. What remains is similar in appearance to the stele of Shishak I and Auputi at Gebel-Silsileh. Above the stele the solar disk expands its wings, flanked on the right by a vertical band which contains the
_______
1 [The Greek graffiti are four in number. One of them is dated in the reign of Antoninus Severus Caracalla, another in the "first year" of the joint reign of Elagabalus and Alexander Severus (AD 221), a third in the "11th year" of Alexander Severus (A.D. 332). The latter is dedicated to "Priotos, the greatest god, and Oregebthis and Isis Resakemis and the greatest gods with them." ED.]

{p.19} words: "The good god, master of the two worlds, master of all action, Uzkhopirri Sotpuniri, son of the Sun, master of diadems, Nsbindidi Miamun." The band on the left, which has disappeared, probably contained the same legend.

Under the winged disk is a double scene of adoration. On the right the king Nsbindidi Miamun makes an offering to Amonra, "the god from whom is derived the Ennead of the two Egypts, the god who was at the moment of creation," as well as to Khonsu the master of Truth. On the left the offering was made to Amon the lord of Karnak, and to a divinity now destroyed, who was probably Mut.

The inscription comprises 17 lines written from right to left. The two first contain the full protocol of the king, which it is needless to translate here; the important part of the text begins in the third line.

3. Now his majesty being in the city of HAIKUPHTAH,¹ his august residence, victorious and strong as RA, [in order to perform his devotion to PHTAH]
4. the master of ANKHTOM,² to SOKHIT, the great beloved one of PTAH, [to TUMU-KHOPRI], to MONTU, and to the circle of nine gods who reside in HAIT-SARU,³ while his majesty was seated in his audience-chamber [a messenger came to declare before]
5. his majesty: "It is the arm of southern⁴ water, situated on the border of the APIT of the South,⁵ dug by king Thothmes III, which proceeds [to ruin, for it is being drained away, and]
6. forming a great torrent which deeply channels (the ground) as far as the great opisthodoma of the temple extends to the back [of the building."⁶ His majesty said]
________
1 The sacred name of Memphis, from which the name of Egypt (Greek Aiguptos) is probably derived.
2 "Life of the two Egypts," the name of the quarter of Memphis in which the principal temples of the city were situated.
3 "The castle of the prince," the most ancient temple of Ra at Heliopolis, considered as having been the castle (half) or residence of Ra, when he was king of Egypt at the beginning of time.
4 I read Asinti in place of Anti given by M. Daressy; a confusion between the signs ris and a is very easy.
5 Thebes, on the eastern side of the Nile.
6 The word hu seems to me connected with the Coptic hioi, hoi "canalis," "rivus." The phrase is literally "Being in the condition of a great torrent which cuts (aquhu) greatly behind it (m-[sa-]f)." The word Sautu ait, with the determinative of "house," is a compound of sautu, "wall," and the adjective da. Hence the rendering "opisthodoma."

7. to them: "These words which you utter before me, there has been nothing in my time which has happened like them without my being informed of them [and without my having]
8. remedied the mischief which they describe.¹ If then this arm of water which nourishes the quarter² during the (proper) season of the year [has done this mischief, it has happened]
9. without my knowledge, and all this has taken place apart from the sovereign." His majesty then caused [workmen to be summoned]
10. (and) with them 3000 men selected from the serfs of his majesty,³ and his majesty gave commandment before them that they should hasten to the [country of the south, to look for a quarry in the]
11. mountain.⁴ Now the workmen of his majesty, from among those who are always at his feet,⁵ despatched a number of [persons who knew the country, in order to]
12. examine [the mountain. Now no one had] worked in this quarry since the time of long-past generations, until the present period of ANITI.⁶ [So they remained there, and restored?]
13. the chapel of the goddess Monit, the lady of ZORITI;⁷ then they executed that command which his majesty had established [about replacing those whom the work had]
14. worn out in the limbs, each month. When the orders
_______
1 Literally "[not] reconstructing that violence."
2 Literally "which pays tribute during the season of the year to the quarter."
3 The word translated "serfs" is rohuu, of which Dr. Bergmann (Recueil, T. x. p. 57, note 2) and myself have already given examples (etudes egyptiennes, II. pp. 82 sqq. ) I think it can be defined more closely than we have done, and shown to signify the "king's men," from whom compulsory labour was exacted in all departments of agricultural service, tillage, irrigation, cleaning out canals, etc.
4 We must read [khd]sit.
5 That is, who are always at his disposal.
6 "The two mountains." The present name of the locality, Gebelein, is the Arabic translation of the Egyptian word.
7 The ancient name of the town of Taud, 8 miles south of Luxor.

{p.22} of the king arrived urging the prosecution of the works which he had commanded [the people of the country assembled without limitation]
15. of number, even the infants on the breast of their mother ran to cut [the stone for the buildings of his majesty. Never]
16. had anything happened like it in the time of (our) ancestors. Then his majesty came in his turn, like THOTH [who benefits by his acts, and gave rewards to the workmen]
17. for their cleverness, by way of recompense for their energy and courage, lifting himself up on the throne of the HORUS [of the living, even he king Nsbindidi who gives life like RA for ever].

The lacunae at the end of each line have not allowed me to translate all parts of this remarkable document with an equal amount of certainty. I have filled them up in the simplest manner I could, and have tried rather to find a probable meaning than to restore the context in its entirety; but I believe I have sufficiently grasped the sense of the narrative to make it clear to the reader. King Smendes was at Memphis when the events recorded took place; he occupied himself with matters which concerned Thebes, and gave orders to open a quarry at Gebelein. His power therefore extended over the whole of Egypt, or at all events from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean. There is nothing in the inscription which permits us to determine whether he was identical or not with the Hrihor Siamon of the Theban monuments; for my own part I am inclined to separate them, without, how- {p.23} ever, having as yet any definitive evidence on the subject.

The matter about which the inscription treats relates to the restoration of the buildings of the temple of Amon at Thebes. It seems that the piece of water and the canal made by Thothmes III, to which there seems to be a reference in the mutilated stele of that prince which is now in the museum of Gizeh,¹ were partly destroyed; the water had drained off from them and excavated a channel in the soil which extended from the front to the back of the principal edifice, thus endangering the safety of the latter. The king declares that he is constantly occupied in remedying all the disasters which have happened in his time, and that he will be able to remedy this fresh one. The measures which he takes to ensure the rapid execution of the work are very interesting; unfortunately the lacunae do not allow us to learn them all. I think I can see that he employed compulsory labour by means of relays of men changed each month, in which all the population of the districts around Gebelein had to take part. The passage in which it is said that "even the infants on the breast of their mother ran to cut [the stone]," is less hyperbolical than we should be tempted to believe. Even to-day, when a corvee has been ordered for the repair of a canal, the women who are employed in carrying the earth in baskets come with their children at the breast,
_______
1 It has been published by Mariette: Karnak, pl. 12.

{p.24} and since the suckling of infants is prolonged to a late period in Egypt, infants (nekhinu) may be seen playing and babbling in groups by the side of the labourers.

The stele, intended to commemorate the opening of the quarry, is silent on the works which were undertaken at Thebes. But the restoration took place and must have left traces behind it. It would perhaps be useful to make excavations in the neighbourhood of the lake of Thothmes III. We should have a chance of discovering there, it may be, an inscription which will complete the text of Dababieh, it may be a cartouche which will allow us to determine indubitably what parts of the building were attacked by the water and subsequently consolidated by king Nsbindidi or Smendes.

THE LISTS OF THE PLACES IN NORTHERN SYRIA AND PALESTINE CONQUERED
BY THOTHMES III
BY THE REV. H. G. TOMKINS

THE following are the lists of the places in Northern Syria and Palestine conquered by Thothmes III of the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty, and engraved on the walls of his temple at Karnak, as given in Mariette's Karnak (plates 20, 21, 25, 26) and in his Listes Geographiques, etc. (1875), and described in his Itineraire de la Haute Egypte. The identifications proposed for the names contained in them embody the results of many years study and consultation with Prof. Sayce, Prof. Maspero, and other scholars. Some of the identifications go back to Mariette, others are due to Maspero, Brugsch, Lenormant, Conder, and Noldeke. Since Mariette and Brugsch first worked at them our knowledge of the equivalences between the sounds of the ancient Egyptian language and of the Semitic dialects has become more exact. The first copies of the names, moreover, have been corrected and recorrected. A considerable proportion of the identifications proposed {p.26} in the following pages may therefore be regarded as definitively acquired by science.

The copies of the names originally made for Mariette by Vassalli have been since revised by Mr. Golenischeff in the Zeitschrift fur Aegyptische Sprache, 1882, pp. 145 sq. and by Prof. Maspero in the Recueil de Travaux relatifs a la Philologie et a Archeologie egyptiennes et assyriennes, vii. 2, 3, 1886, pp. 94 et seq. Last winter the Palestine list was further collated with the original by Mr. Wilbour and Prof. Sayce, who have found, among other things, that the third name ought to be Kh(a)zai, and not "Khaai," as was previously read.

In examining the North Syrian list I have derived great assistance from Key's Memoire sur le Nord de la Syrie (1873), and Carte de la Montague des Ansaries, Burton and Drake's Unexplored Syria (1872), Neubauer's Geographie du Talmud (1868), Sachau's Reise in Syrien und Mesopotamien (1883), and the Carte du Liban of the French War Office (1862). For the Palestine list reference should be made to Prof. Maspero's "Names of the List of Thothmes III which may be assigned to Judaea," in the Transactions of the Victoria Institute for 1888 (vol. xxii.), and his List of Galilee, Trans. of Victoria Institute for 1886 (vol. xx.)

The names amount in all to 355, the last five of which are destroyed. The first 119 are described as belonging to "the Upper Rutennu," which, an analysis of them shows, must denote Palestine. But {p.27} a careful study of them also shows that in order to increase the number of the Pharaoh s conquests and fill the surface of the wall, the same name or names have been sometimes repeated, while at other times such descriptive terms as " the country," "the meadow," "the tilled land," or "the spring," have been reckoned as separate geographical titles. The lists seem to have been compiled from the memoranda made by the scribes who accompanied the king on his military expeditions; this will account for the repetition of the same name under slightly different forms.

The discovery of the Tel el-Amarna tablets has informed us that in the age of the Eighteenth Dynasty the Babylonian language and system of writing were known and used throughout Western Asia. This raises the presumption that some at least of the names in the lists were originally written in cuneiform, a presumption which is confirmed by an analysis of no. 284 in the North Syrian list.¹ There is no need of drawing attention to the light shed by the names not only upon the early geography of Syria and Palestine, but also upon the history and languages of the Hittites and the Canaanites.

The lists are engraved in more than one place. They occupy the wall of the southern pylon built by Thothmes III at Karnak, and also the northern wall at the western end of the temple.

In transliterating the names the vowels have been
_______
1 [No. 110 in the Palestine list seems conclusively to point to the same fact. ED.]

{p.28} represented only where they occur in the hieroglyphic original, the outstretched arm being denoted by a. Variant spellings are given in many cases, and it must be remembered that r and l in ancient Egyptian are expressed by the same characters. The determinative of "country" is denoted by the double obelus (‡), and the single upright line which signifies "one" in the hieroglyphics, as well as the sign of the plural, is represented by a dash (―). Lost characters are represented by brackets [ ].

Sachau's Reise are referred to as "Sachau," Porter's Syria and Palestine (1875) as "Porter," and the geographical references in the Palestine list are to the great map of the Palestine Exploration Fund.¹

It will be understood that I give the suggested identifications with different degrees of reserve. Many are ascertained with certainty. It would be impossible within our limits to define the shades of probability in others. And of course I am only giving my contribution as the result of many years of study, but with no assumption of authority.

It is right to mention that I have from time to time communicated the results of these studies to the Society of Biblical Archaeology in 1883, 1885, and 1887; and also at the Bath meeting of the British Association in two papers, since published in the Babylonian and Oriental Record, vol. iii.
_____
1 [In my own references "D" means Dumichen's Historische Inschriften, and "W" the edition of the Tel el-Amarna tablets in the Berlin Museum, published by Winckler and Abel: Mittheilungen aus der orientalischen Sammlungen, parts 1-3. ED.]

120. PILTA-U (plural). Perhaps this may be the ancient coast-town, Paltos, now Balden, some distance north of Aradus.
121. AI ‡, or A-IA ‡. Kefr Aya, south of Homs, may be this locality, unless it refers to the coast land, Heb. i.
122. AMATU‡. The district of Hamath. Assyrian Amatu.
123. [ ]R-THU‡. Artu, Brugsch, Geog. Inschr., ii. 35, pi. xix. 104. Now, 1 think, Arada, south-east of Tokat (124). See Sachau, 459.
124. THUKA. Tokat, east of Trmanin (125).
125. TR-MAN-NA. Trmanin, north-east of Dana. Comp. Tr-b, No. 190.
126. R-GABA. Now Rehab, east of Trmanin. Comp. Rugia of the Middle Ages, now Riha.
127. TUNIPA. An important place, identified by Noldeke with Tennib or Tinnab, south of Ezzaz. The Dunip of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, in danger from the Hittites. A Hittite town in the time of Rameses II.
128. Erased, except a at the end.
129. Erased.
130. ZAR-BU‡. Zirbe, or Zerbi, south-west of Aleppo.
131. SHPKHASHA. Perhaps es-Safikh, between Aleppo and Riha (see Sachau, 102); with suffix sha, as in No. 143.
132. NII, or NIIA‡. An important city, described by Thothmes III as situated in Nahrina (Mitanni), on or near the Euphrates. Perhaps the Ninus Vetus {p.30} of Ammianus Marcellinus. See Lenormant, Origines de l'Histoire, iii. pp. 316, etc.
133. Erased.
134. AR―‡. Assyrian Ara, mentioned with Khasu. Tell Ar near the district of el-Khass. See Sachau, 454.
135. Z-PIZ-R. I think, after much speculation, that this name is now represented by Safirieh, south-east of Tell Ar (or Ara), and near the salt lake es-Sabakha. The second z-sign may be an error of the sculptor or of the scribe.
136. ZK-AR―. Compare Nos. 197 and 271.
137. Z-N-RT. May be pronounced Zlt.
138. AANAMA. Ghanama, in the Sajur valley (Sachau, 159).
139. AR-Z-KNA. This is exactly the eretz Kanneh of Ezek. xxvii. 23, mentioned with Kharran and Eden. I think it was west of the Belikh river. [Comp. the country of Kannu at Medinet Habu, D. xii. v. 7. ED.]
140. KHAL-KAKHI. The reading of the last syllable appears uncertain. Perhaps Khalkitis, east of Euphrates. Comp. No. 174.
141. ZUR-SU‡. Compare "Zarsu, a mountain of silver," mentioned in an old Babylonian geographical list. (W. A. I., ii. 51. No. 1.)
142. L-LTI ‡. This seems to be the Lalati of Shalmaneser II, east of Euphrates, in the district of Bit-Adini (the Eden of Ezek. xxvii; see above, No. 139).
143. SA-R-QA-SHA. The Assyrian Sirqi, viz. Kirkesion on Euphrates, now Kerkesieh. The terminal suffix sh is still retained from the classic form. Compare No. 131 above.
144. Erased.
145. UANAI. Perhaps el-Awene, with a tel, north-east of Kerkesieh (No. 143), on the Khabur river. But it may be el Aouani, south of Kala at em Medik.
146. AAUNFL―. This name corresponds with Kefr Anfil, 20 miles to the north of el Aouani, and west of Ma'aret en-No'aman.

147. IATAKHAB.
148. AUNIAUQA. This appears to be the fortified place Anaugas, one of the three great fortresses taken by Thothmes III in his 34th year. The Annucas in Mesopotamia, mentioned by Procopius as rebuilt magnificently by Justinian, "beyond Kirkesion." This name and situation point to Anka, where there are ruins, on the western bank, some 60 miles (apparently) below Kerkesieh.
149. [ ]ZNA. Comp. No. 215.
150. SAQ-KH(?)I.
151. AUB-R-RINA. Like Nahrina, an Aramaic plural. Perhaps "the meadows" (Heb. abet).
152. ZAN RI-UNSU. May be read Zaliunsu.
153. SU-QA‡. Comp. Nos. 204, 259.
154. PAZ-RU. The Pa is the Egyptian article, zru being the Assyrian zeru, "plain," as in Zar-basana, "the field of Bashan," the Ziri-Basana of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. The place may be er-Zar, Der on Euphrates. "The official name of Der on Euphrates, with its large district, is still Zor" (Sachau, 263).
155. SATKHBG‡. Evidently contains the name of the supreme Hittite god Sutekh. For the second part of the compound compare Suki-bki (No. 259), and the names of the Hittite towns Ma-bog and Dabigu.
156. AMAR-SKI. Here we have the name of the Amorite, read elsewhere Amar and Amaur. [Comp. the names of the countries Sirme-ski and Aimar at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 2. 3, 5., 5. 4. ED.]
157. KHAL-LSA (perhaps Khalasa). The name seems identical with the present Khalessa, west of Mem-bidj.
158. NNUR-MAN-ZA. Notice the discerpible suffix -za. Cf. the modern names Mardib and Mardib-za, north of Ma'arret-en-No'aman, in illustration.
159. SHAIUR-N'THA. Surunu is mentioned with places in the Bit-adini district by Shalmaneser II. (Records of {p.32} the Past, New Series, iv. 62), but Saurana (almost the Egyptian name) is a place some distance to the east of Ezzaz.
160. MAIR-RKHNASA. Comp. No. 177. Identified by Lenormant with the Urrakhinas of Tiglath-pileser I. in the land of Qurkhi. [Mairrekh-nas or Murrekh-na seems to be the same as Murrukhe, the name given by the king of Mitanni to his kingdom in his letter to the Egyptian king. ED.]
161. Z-GRL―. Comp. Nos. 197, 271. In the Travels of the Mohar mention is made of the country of Degar-al, "Degar of God," on the road to Hamath. Degar would be an Aramaic form of Zegar.
162. Erased, except det. of a town.
163. QA―N R-TU (read QARETU). Perhaps Karat, west of Ezzaz.
164. TA-RIZA‡. Perhaps Teridja, north of Ezzaz.
165. Erased.
166. AN-RIZ―. Read Ariz, apparently the Heb. erets, "country." Comp. No. 319. Perhaps to be read with the next name.
167. AAR-SA―. Comp. Nos. 213, 236.
168. KH-Z-L-ZAU, or KHAL-ZAU. The name occurs in the time of Ramses II, KH-LIZ. See Brugsch, Geog. Ins., ii. 74, pl. xxiii. 253.
169. AR-NIR―. Arinara on the Euphrates, above Balis (Lenormant).
170. KHATAAIIA. Cf. No. 279. Compare Khatia in a record of Tiglath-pileser II. (Wo lag das Paradies?, 301), and Hethin, north of Aleppo. [Apparently means "Hittite." ED.]
171. Erased.
172. A[ ]UR-ZNA.
173. THNU-ZAUR―. Possibly this may now be Tezar, a ruined place east of Edlip (Sachau, 102). Maspero compares "the country of Sonzar" mentioned by Amonemheb. [Cf. "the country of Zaur" at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 6, 2; also No. 154. ED.]
174. KAKHA‡. Comp. No. 140.

176. KHAZA[ ]. This may be completed as Khazazu (Assyrian), the modern Ezzaz, a very important place in ancient history, a little north of Tunip (Tinnab) and to the north-east of Arpad (Tel-Erfad) and Aleppo.
177. M―R-R-KHNA‡. Compare No. 160. Possibly the present Murkan, north-east of Ezzaz.
178. Erased, except det.‡
179. TUL[ ]A[ ] | or perhaps DUR[ ]A[ ]‡.
180. ZARI[ ].
181. SA[ ].
182. Erased.
183. Erased.
184. ANAUBENU―(plural). Comp. Anau-gas, Anau-tasenu.
185. KHATUMA. Possibly Katma, north of Menesie. The name occurs in the Travels of the Mohar, as that of a place near Aleppo.
186. MANGNASA―. Perhaps Menesie, south-east of Ezzaz. [The name is written Maqnasa‡ at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 3, 3 ED.]
187. TPKN-NA. Perhaps Doukena, south-east of Ezzaz.
188. THUTHNAU (plural). Tutun, east of Killis.
189. NIR-B‡. Nirab, south-east of Aleppo. [The name is written Nariba in a Tel el-Amarna tablet given in this volume, xviii. 3I.¹ ED.]
190. TR-B|. Tereb, south-west of Aleppo. [Called Trbusa by Ramses III. at Medinet Habu, who places it between Atu (No. 191) and Thirna (No. 260). ED.]
191. ATUGRN―. Dukarnun, north-east of Aleppo. [Divided into two countries, Kama and Atu, at Medinet Habu (D. vii. 1, 2; xii. 4, 6). The name is plainly compounded with that of the goddess Atha, Kama being probably geren, "horn," as in the name of Ashtoreth-Karnaim. ED.]
_______
1 [Nariba is associated with the Hittites, as Niriba is in the Vannic inscription of Argistis on the rock of Van, where Argistis states that he overran it on his way to Malatiyeh. See Records of the Past, New Series, IV. p. 134, line 13. ED.]

192. ElAl[ ].
193. AN-T[ ].
194. SA-[ ].
195. SHAMABU [det. of plant names]. The determinative implies that Shamabu or Shambu signifies some species of plant. Comp. No. 227.
196. NlSHAPA, Or NlASHPA.
197. AZ-KR―, or "the district of Z-KR ." Comp. Nos. 136, 271.
198. ABATA.
199. ZIR-SA. Comp. No. 141.
200. AAUTIR. [Compare the country of Atar at Medinet Habu, where it precedes Maqnasa (No. 186); D. xii. 3, 2. ED.]
201. NATUB.
202. ZTAR-ST. Comp. Nos. 216, 223. A seal at Aleppo bore the name in Phoenician letters, Melek-satar (G. Smith, Assyrian Discoveries , p. 426).
203. AITUA. This name and the next may be perhaps referred to the Itu'a and Sukkia mentioned by Sargon in his Khorsabad inscription: Itu'a, an Aramaean people, and Sukkia a town of uncertain position, but connected in the narrative with Pappa. Compare No. 253.
204. SUKAUA. Comp. Nos. 153, 259.
205. TUAUB. Perhaps Kefr Tob, north of Hamah. Kafar-Tab (Muqaddasi). Tuab of the Talmud, apparently (Geog. du Talmud, 398). Comp. No. 262.
206. ABA-L-TTH. Perhaps to be read Abiloth, "meadows."
[At Medinet Habu the country of Abal is named between Aauri and Mitanni (see No. 208), D. xii. 6, 8. ED.]
207. SHAIRNAKAI. Sarnuca, on east of Euphrates, opposite to Barbalissus.
208. AAUR-MA. Urma gigantos (Maspero), the present Urum, west of Euphrates, above Birejik. Identical with No. 313. [At Medinet Habu the country of Aauri is named just before that of Mathna or Mitanni; D. xii. 6, 7, vii. 2. ED.]

209. [‡TNAI. Perhaps Batnse, between Kharran and the Euphrates. Paddan; and apparently the name lingers at Tel Feddan.
210. [‡TNATA.
211. SHAIANAUR-GN'NA.
212. KAINAB‡. Cannaba, between Edessa and the Euphrates. Compare the Kinabu of Assurnazirpal.
213. AL-S‡. See No. 236. The country is called Alashiya in the Tel el-Amarna tablets, placed by Maspero in the northern part of Coele-Syria (Recueil, x. p. 210).
214. ANAU-TNA. Anadon, north-west of Aleppo.
215. AZ-NA. Possibly ed-Djineh, west-south-west of Aleppo. Comp. No. 344.
216. ZA-TARSTA. Perhaps Der Seta, north of Edlip, west of ed-Djineh, and not far from Der el-Benat. See NO. 202.
217. TUL-BNTA, or DUR-BNTA. Prof. Maspero proposes to identify this with Der el-Benat, the Castrum Puellarum of Eastern Latin Chronicles, a fortified village nearly midway between Aleppo and Antioch. The real derivation is doubtless from Banit, the creating goddess. Compare Dur-ummu-banit, built in Babylonia by Khammurabi. This is a very good identification. Clearly the Dh-r-b-n-th of Geog. du Talmud, 418.
218. MAUTI. Lenormant proposed Mut-Kinu of Shalmaneser II. But I think it may be a shortened form of the Yari-muta of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, which I believe to be Armuthia, south of Killis. Compare No. 318.
219. NAAPI.
220. AKHMRUR―, or AKHMAAUL. This may be Akhmul, modern Akhmil, east of Tennib (Tunipa, No. 127).
221. ATUR―. "The country of Ya'turu " (writes Lenomant), "one of the districts of Patin." This would agree with the region in question.
222. KARTAMRUT. The former element I have always taken as equivalent to Qiriath. Prof. Maspero agrees in this view, and divides the name accord- {p.36} ingly, making the latter part "Amrouti." I find Marata, west of Tennib, in Rey's map of North Syria, and, some distance north of Marat, or Marata, curiously enough is marked Karat. Here we seem to have both parts separate.
223. ASITA, or "district of Sita." Compare Nos. 202, 216.
224. TANIRS.
225. EIANU. "Ianu the great" was one of the important triad of fortresses taken by Thothmes III, the others being Anaugas (see No. 148) and Harankal. These were all, as I believe, commanding positions on the Euphrates. This place I take to be the modern Einyah, west of the river, south of ed-Der (see No. 154). The name is also written with the determinative of "water."
226. AT-BANA or AT-BANTI. This seems to involve the name of Atha the goddess. It seems to be the ancient Dabana on the Belikh, modern Dahabanieh. See No. 191. If the reading At-banti is right, we seem to have the name of the goddess conjoined with the title of ban(t)tt't "creatress."
227. ASHAMB. "Asimu of the cuneiform documents," says Lenormant, "on the west bank of the Euphrates." This is evidently the Yasimah on Euphrates which Dr. Neubauer proposes to identify with Yasinia of the Talmud (Geog. du Talmud, 293). Comp. No. 195.
228. ATAKAR. Idicara, on the west bank of the Euphrates, between Anatho (Anah) and Is (Hit). [The name of the goddess Atha seems to be contained in it: cf. No. 191. ED.]
229. TA-ZT. Perhaps Zaitha, east of Euphrates, 20 miles south of Kirkesion (see No. 143). [The corrected copy of the Treaty between Rameses II and the Hittites, made by M. Bouriant, seems to show that Zaiath or Zai was the Hittite word for "country"; see Recueil) xiii. p. 160. ED.]
230. ARTNU. Cf. No. 260.
231. TAAKMR-[ ]. Cf. No. 261.

232. AABATA. Obtin, south of Sarmeda (see No. 234). Cf. No. 198.
233. AR-[ ]. Possibly Armenas, south-west of Sarmeda.
234. SARMATA, Sarmeda, west of Aleppo.
235. AN-ZQAB.
236. AL-SA‡. Now known to be the Alashiya of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. See No. 213.
237. AL-TA, or the "district of Rta." Perhaps Alatis, near Sura, on Euphrates, on the western side.
238. ATAU (plural), or the "district of Tau." Perhaps Athis, west of Alatis.
239. Erased.
240. KHN [ ]A[ ].
241. 242, 243. Erased.
244. A[ ].
245. Erased.
246. KHAL-BU. Khelebi, on west of Euphrates, Assyr. Bit-Khalupe. [Called the country of Khalb by Ramses III at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 2, 2. ED.]
247. FARIUA. Lenormant identified this very well with Paripa, west of Euphrates, south of the Sajur.
248. SSBN‡. Sazabe of the Assyrian annals: a fortified town of the kings of Karkemish.
249. KTASHA[ ]. A sanctuary (Kadesh). Prof. Sayce suggests Diancz fanum at Zelebi, opposite to Khelebi, No. 246.
250. 251. Erased.
252. SUR‡. Sur, west of Euphrates, capital of the Shukhites in Bit-Khalupe. Lenormant adopts this. Modern Suriyeh. [Called the country of Siri at Medinet Habu, where it precedes Atar (No. 200); D. xii. 3, 1. ED.]
253. PAPAA.
254. NUZ-NA.
255. Z-MAUKA. Es-Semmuga, south-east of Aleppo (see Sachau, 114).
256. [ ]ANAI.
257. KN'ASKHU. Perhaps Khan Shekhun, north of Hamah, or possibly es-Shikha, west of Hamah.

258. Erased.
259. SUKIBAKI. Comp. Nos. 153 and 155.
260. TARNU. Perhaps Kefr Torin, west of Hamah. [Called "the country of Thirna" at Medinet Habu by Rameses III, who places it after Trbusa (No. 190); D. vii. 4. ED.]
261. KAMRU [def.] Prof. Maspero suggests to me that the determinative ("house") shows this to be a Hittite word for "house" or "fortress," perhaps "temple." There is a place Kammara, south-west of Aleppo (Sachau).
262. ATUBA , or "district of Tuba." Comp. No. 201.
263. ATHINI. Assyrian Atini, north of Hamath. Atin is a place west-south-west of Ma'arat en-No aman (Unexplored Syria, ii. 208).
264. KARSHAUA. Cf. No. 282.
265. L-TA-MA.
266. [ ]THN-Z . Perhaps Teftanaz, south-west of Aleppo.
267 to 269. Erased.
270. KAR-KAMASHA. Carchemish, Assyrian Gargamis, now Jerablus, on the west bank of the Euphrates, a little north of its junction with the Sajur. [At Medinet Habu the name of Karkamash follows immediately that of Mathna or Mitanni; D. xii. 6, 10. ED.]
271. ZAZ-QAR , or ZAZ-QAA. See Nos. 136, 161, 197.
272. MAUR-MAR―. Cf. Hittite personal name Maur-sir. [Also Maul-nusa or Maur-nusa at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 6, 4. ED.]
273. SATA[ ].
274 to 278. Erased.
279. KHAITU. Cf. No. 170. Possibly Ghadi, west of the Sajur (Sachau.) [Evidently "the Hittite." ED.]
280. PDRI‡. Pethor (as suggested by Brugsch), the Pitru of the Assyrian records. A Hittite name (says Shalmaneser II.) The same name as Pteria, now Boghaz-keui, a great Hittite capital in Cappadocia.
281. ATLITNU (plural). The name suggests Tultan, north east of Aleppo. But it must be Thilati Comum, east of Euphrates, and not far from Ledjah (No. 283).

282. MASHAUA. The "land of Shaua" is mentioned in the Mohar's Travels, in the neighbourhood of Aleppo.
283. AN L-KA, or perhaps AN'AKA. Assyrian Alligu, east of Euphrates, modern Ledjah, below Karkemish. [Comp. the country of Alkan at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 4, 3. ED.]
284. NPIRIIURIU. I think this must have been a place called by Thothmes III. Neferu-ra (riya), after his favourite daughter, and transliterated from a cuneiform document. See Proc. S. Bib. Arch., xi. 78.
285. NAKDINA. Assyrian Nuqudina mentioned with Khazu (? Jebel Hass) and Ara (? Tel Ara). See No. 134.
286. ATT A MA.
287. ABR-NNU. Aboron, below Anatho. But compare the name of the Afrin river, the Assyrian Apre.
288. AIR-N L. Perhaps Airan north of Birejik.
289. AIR-N L. (Identical with 288.)
290. ANNAUI. If the chick u is written by mistake for the duckling z it will be Annazi, west of the salt lake es-Sabakha.
291. TAKNU. Perhaps Tel Tokan, south of the marsh el-Matkh.
292. TALKH, or DARKHA. Perhaps Tell Abu-Deriha, near the salt lake es-Sabakha (Sachau, 113). Maspero proposes Dolikhe in Komagene, north of Aintab. [I should read Tarkha, and compare the name of the Hittite god in the Assyrian forms, Tarkhu-lara, Tarkhu-nazi. ED.]
293. AAUR-NA. I think this is Tel Aran.
294. R-MAN'AI. This seems to involve the name Ram-manu (the god Rimmon). There is a place called Bel Ramun near Aleppo. Rimmon was the god of Aleppo.
295. Erased.
296. PAPA[ ]. Perhaps Paphara (Ptolemy, v. 15, 13).
297. ATAK[ ]. [The Anthak of Medinet Habu, named after Aauri (No. 208), D. vii. 3. ED.]

298. AR-SHA[ ].
299. MARI[ ].
306. IBR―. Comp. No. 287, and the name of the river Afrin.
307. QAR-MATIA. Khan Karamata, on the descent from the Beilan Pass to the Umq plain; "ruins of a great town of antiquity" near. (Sachau, 464.)
308. AMAIQ-U (J)lurat). Doubtless, as Major Conder proposes, the Umq plain, near Antioch. "Amyces Campus" "the corn-store of all Syria " Sachau. Ameuk Keui is near the lake of Antioch.
309. KAZAL―. The mountain Kizil Dagh, or Kizil Kaia, in Amanus, seems to preserve this name.
310. AAUMAIA. Perhaps this name survives in Amfguli [= lake] on the way from Antioch to Aleppo; or is it possibly Imma, Imm?
311. KHAL-BU‡. Aleppo (Haleb), still the head-quarters of a very extensive province, as in the days of Thothmes III. It had a Sutekh (god Set) of its own in the treaty of Rameses II. The Assyrian form of the name is Khalvan.
312. PI-AUN-R. It should be read Pi-aur, and I think the name is identical with Pieria, the mountain district north-west of Antioch.
313. AAURMA. The plain of Antioch (see No. 308) is called "sometimes the Umq of Uerem" (Ainsworth, Researches in Assyria, etc., p. 299). But perhaps the name is Arima, a name given by the Greek geographers to the Cilician Taurus (see Perrot, Rev. des Deux Mondes, 1886, p. 330). Comp. No. 208.
314. SAMALUA. I have seen in this the Samalla land of the Assyrians, the Hittite mountain region north of Patina. This would suit exactly. [Comp. Sama[l]i at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 6, 5. ED.]
315. AAKAMA. Akma Dagh, the mountain range north of Pieria (No. 312).
316. PUR-TH‡. Heb. P-rath. Assyrian Purattu, the Euphrates. There was still a district of Euphratesia {p.41} in later times. There is a place called el-Burat, south of Jerablus (Karkemish), east of Euphrates.
317. SAR-R-SU. Saresu was an important place in the treaty with Rameses II, with a Sutekh of its own. It must be the present Sarisat or Sresat, with ruins, west of the Euphrates and opposite to el-Burat. (Sachau.)
318. ARIPNKHA. Have we here the Assyrian ati, "city"? [This name seems identical with that of the country A[ri]pakha at Medinet Habu; D. xii. 5, 8. ED.]
319. ARIZ. Oriza, between Euphrates and Palmyra. See No. 166. [Probably intended for the Semitic erets, "country." ED.]
320. PUQIU.
321. [ ]U.
322. THINNUR―. Cf. Thannurium in Mesopotamia, near the upper course of the Khabur (Procopius, p. 57).
323. ZARNASA. Tsauran, east of Ezzaz.
324. NUR-NASA. Kefr Nuran, south-west of Aleppo.
325 to 332. Erased.
333. IURIMA‡. Urim, west of Aleppo. There are two places of the same name on the way to Keftin (Porter, 578), and another near Riha (Baedeker, 563), all in the same ancient district.
334. SIN[ ].
335. TH[ ].
336. A[ ].
337. SHARR[ ]. Perhaps Shara, east of Turmanin, west of Aleppo.
338. THITHUPA. Tetif, north-east of Aleppo.
339. A[ ].
340. Erased.
341. Z[ ].
342. Z-R-KHU[ ].
343. SHUSA-RNU (plural). Cf. the name Sisaurana at the head of the Khabur (in Babelon's map).
344. AZAN-NIU. Perhaps Atshan, south-east of Ma aret en No aman (Unexplored Syria, ii. 201, 205).
345. ABSHATNA.

346. AMAHUR , or perhaps AMAPUR.
347. TAMAQUR. Cf. the name of the city Ta-Makhir with the determinative of "sky," and of the country Pa-Maqar with the same determinative (Chabas, Etudes, 26. ed. p. 216, xix. p. 110.) It would appear that Makhir or Maqar signified "heaven."
348. R-TEP‡. (dh Aramean = ts Hebrew) Rezeph (2 Kings xix. 12; Isaiah xxxvii. 12), as proposed by Lenormant. Assyrian Ratsapa. The Arzapi of the Tel el-Amarna tablets (Academy, 1889, 47, Sayce). Modern Rsafa (Sachau). [At Medinet Habu, Rthp is mentioned just before Math[n]a or Mitanni; D. xvii. ED.]
349. MAURIQA. This must surely be Murik, north-north east of Hamah, with "two tells, one conspicuous" (Unexplored Syria, ii. 170). 35. A[ ].
The last five names which follow are erased.

P.S. Prof. Erman compares Anaugas (No. 148) with the Nukhasse of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. See Records of the Past, New Series, iii. p. 68.

1. KADSHU. Kadesh on the Orontes, where it flows into the Lake of Horns, still called the lake of Kadesh. A sacred city of the Amorites, conquered by the Hittites about BC 1400.
2. MAGTI. Megiddo, usually identified with Lejjun. The name remains at Khurbet em-Mujedd'a.
3. KHZAI. [Mr. Wilbour and myself found that this is the reading of the name, previously miscopied Khaai: see Academy, Feb. 28, 1891. It is the Khazi of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, an important city in the hill-country south of Megiddo. It seems to be the Gaza of 1 Chr. vii. 28, near Shechem. ED.]
4. KITSUNA‡. [The Kuddasuna or Quddasuna of the Telel-Amarna tablets; W. iii. 170. ED.]
5. ANSHIU, ANSHU, "Spring of Shiu." Perhaps Ain es Sih, west of Carmel.
6. DBKHU. [The Tubikhu of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, in the north of Palestine; see Academy, Feb. 21, 1891. ED.]
7. BMI. There was a town (in Upper Galilee?) called Baimah; Geog. du Talmud, 236. [The name is omitted in the temple-list. ED.]
8. Q-MATA. Compare the country of Qamadu in Upper Ruten; Brugsch, Geog. Inschr., ii. 40. [Omitted in the list on the south pylon. ED.]
9. TUTINA. Probably Dothan, now Tel Dothan; but possibly Khurbet Umm Tuteh.

10. LBANA. Perhaps Lebbuna, 6 miles west of Khurbet Umm Tuteh, as Maspero proposes.
11. QRTNEZNAU (determinative and plural). Kiryath-Nitstsan, "the town of flowers." Perhaps Kartah of Zebulun (Josh. xxi. 34), as suggested by Maspero.
12. MAR-MA‡. Merom, modern Meiron.
13. TMESQU. Damascus, Dimasqi in Assyrian.
14. ATAR―. Perhaps et-Tireh, 2 miles east-south-east of Tell Ashterah.
15. AUBIL―. An Abel or "meadow," probably Abila of the Decapolis. The name is spelt Aubil in the Talmud.
16. HEMTU. Perhaps Khurbet Hamateh, about 12 miles east of Gerasa. But generally taken for Hammath of Galilee at Tiberias.
17. AQIDU‡. Cf. the Qadu of the allies in Megiddo and Beit Qad, 6 miles west of Mujedd'a, and Kefr Qud, 8 miles further west.
18. SHMANAU (plural and determinative of roads). Read Sh'mana. Perhaps Tell es-Semen, 1 mile south east of Tireh. It is possible that Simeon is intended. The Shimron of Josh. xi, 1, xix, 15, should be read probably Simeon, as the Septuagint gives Symoon, and the place is the Simonias of Josephus and the Simonia of the Talmud, the modern Semunieh, 16 miles fram Khurbet Madin (the Madon of Josh. xi, 1).
19. BARTU. Some Beeroth or "wells," possibly Biar es-Sebil close to Lubieh, 2 miles south of Khurbet Madin. Maspero compares the Berotha near Kadesh of Galilee, where according to Josephus (Antiq. v. 1, 18), the battle with the Canaanites at the waters of Merom was fought.
20. MAZNA [also written Manza]. Conder proposes to see in this the Canaanite equivalent of an Aramaic Madon (Josh. x. 1.)
21. SA-RNA. Sarona, west of Sea of Galilee, 6 miles south of Khurbet Madin; the Sharon of Isaiah xxxiii. 9. [Cf. Sharon, east of the Jordan (1 Chr. v. 16). ED.]

22. TUBI‡. Taiyibeh, 7 miles south of Sarona, according to Conder and Maspero. [Cf. "the land of Tob," east of the Jordan (Judg. xi. 5). ED.]
23. BAZNA‡ [also written Banza].
24. AMASHN[ ], also written Aashna.
25. MASAKH, "the place of unction." Meskhah 3½ miles south-west of Sarona. [Probably the Musikhuna of the Tel el-Amarna tablets (W. iii. 130). ED.]
26. QAANAU, QAANU. Khurbet Kana, u miles north-north-west of Meskhah. [The Qanu of the Tel el-Amarna tablets (W. iii. 133). ED.]
27. ARNA‡. [Also written ARN (plural), r being cut over the d. A very important place in the campaign against the Canaanites at Megiddo. The "defile of Arna" seems to be the Wady Arrian, 1 mile south of Umm el-Fahm. Maspero reads Aluna, the Hebrew elyon, "high."
28. ASTR-TU. Ashteroth Karnaim (to be corrected into Ashtoreth-Qarnaim) Gen. xiv. 5, now Tell Ashtarah, east of the Jordan in Batansea.
29. ANAURPAA. Read Anau-Repa, probably "On of the Giant," belonging to the Rephaim or "Giants" of Gen. xiv. 5. Maspero proposes "Raphon, Raphana, Arpha of the Decapolis, the present Er-Rafeh."
30. MAQATA‡. Mukatta, 5 miles north of Abil. Maspero identifies it with the Makhed of the First Book of Maccabees.
31. L-IUSA. Laish, the later Dan (Judg. xviii. 7), now Tel el-Qadi.
32. HUZAR―. The Biblical Hazor (Josh. xi. 1, Judg. iv. 2). [Called Khazura in the Tel el-Amarna tablets; W. iii. 99. ED.]
33. PAHIL―. Pella, east of the Jordan, the Pakhal of the Talmud; Geog. du Talmud, p. 274. Now Tubakat Fahil. The name also occurs in the conquests of Ramses II.
34. KNNR-TU. The Biblical Chinnereth (Josh. xix. 35, etc.)

35. SHMANA. Cf. No. 18. This seems to be the name of Simeon again.
36. ATMM. Perhaps Khurbet Admah, south-west of the Sea of Galilee. Mariette has identified it with the Adamah of Naphtali (Josh. xix. 36).
37. QASUNA. Identified by Maspero with the Kishon. Compare Khurbet Qeisun near Huleh, and Kishion near Shunem in Josh. xix. 20.
38. SHNAM. Shunem, now Solam, north of Jezreel.
39. MASHAL‡. [The reading Ashal is incorrect.] The Misheal of Josh. xix. 26, a name compounded with el, "god."
40. AKS-AP‡. [The determinative of "city," hitherto read, is incorrect]. Identified by Maspero with Achshaph in Asher (Josh. xix. 25).
41. KBASUAN, KBASUMAN. Probably the Gaba of Josephus (Bell. Jud., ii. 18, i), now Jeba.
42. TAAANAK. Taanach (Judg. v. 19), now Taanuk, 19 miles south-east of Jeba.
43. IBL-AAMU or IBL-A (with determinative of water). Ibleam (Josh. xvii. n, written Bileam in 1 Chr. vi. 70).
44. KNTUASNA. Read Gantu-Asna, "the Gath " or "wine press of Asna." Maspero points out that Asna is the name of a man, as in Ezra ii. 50. Perhaps En-gannim, Josh. xix. 21, the Ginaea of Josephus, now Jenin.¹ See Nos. 63, 96.
45. RTU-AR-QA, Riu-MAR-QA.² Maspero first proposed el-Arraqeh, 6 miles west of Jenin, but has since suggested Ludd, a little to the north of Lejjun.
46. AINA. The "spring." Compare Khurbet Anin, near el-Arraqeh.
47. AAK|. Also mentioned by Ramses II after Alashiya and before the countries of Zarmaith and Pahil (No. 33). Akku in Assyrian, Accho in Hebrew (Judg. i. 31), now Acre.
______
1 [The name of [Gim]ti-asna is found in one of the Tel el-Amarna tablets; W. III. 44. See Academy, Feb. 21, 1891. ED.]
2 [Both spellings occur at Karnak. ED.]

48. RSHQADSH. Maspero reads Rosh-Qodshu, "the sacred headland" of Carmel.
49. KALIMNA. Calamon or Carmel. See No. 96.
50. BAR . Beer, "well." Perhaps Khurbet el-Biar, or possibly el-Bireh, south-west of Khurbet Admah.
51. SHMASHATUMA. Shemesh-Aduma. The name occurs in the campaigns of Amenhotep II. Perhaps Khurbet-Shemsin, 7 miles south-west of Khurbet el-Biar, or Khurbet Admah, 8 miles east of No. 52. Cf. No. 36. Maspero compares Adamah; Josh, xix. 36. [Rather Beth-Shemesh, which belonged to Issachar, like Anaharath, Josh. xix. 22. ED.]
52. ANUKHR-TU. The Anaharath of Josh. xix. 19.
53. APL (with determinative). Ophel, now el-Fuleh, according to Conder.
54. APL (with determinative). El-Afuleh, 1 mile west of el-Fuleh, according to Conder. [I should read Apr in both cases, and identify with Haphraim, "the two Haphars," of Josh. xix. 19. ED.]
55. KH-SHBU. [The Khasabu of the Tel el-Amarna tablets; W. iii. 160. ED.]
56. TASUL-T. [The Tusulti of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. Possibly in Josh. xix. 18 we should read Tesulloth instead of Chesulloth. ED.]
57. NQBU. The Nekeb of Galilee, Josh. xix. 33, as Conder and Maspero. Now Khurbet Seiyadeh.
58. ASHUSHKHN. [The first part of the name of Ashu-shekhn reminds us of Issachar. ED.]
59. L-NAMA. Maspero compares Tell en-Na am near Khurbet Seiyadeh.
60. IR-ZA|. Khurbet Yerzeh, 11 miles south-south-west of Mujedd a, already identified by Brandes (in 1870). Cf. the Talmudic Tel-Arza; Geog. du Talmud, p. 280. [It is called Yurza in the Tel el-Amarna tablets. ED.]
61. MAKHSA. This is probably the Hebrew makhaseh, "a refuge."
62. IPU. Read Yapu. Joppa, now Jaffa. [Called Yapu in the Tel el-Amarna tablets. ED.]

63. KNTU|. "The country of Gath," in Assyrian Gimti. See Nos. 44, 70, and 93.
64. LUTHN. Doubtless Lydda, now Ludd; as Marietta.
65. AUANAU. Ono, now Kefr Ana; as Mariette.
66. APUQN. Perhaps the Wadi Fukin, 7½ miles east of Khurbet Shuweikeh.
67. SUQA. Written Shauqa in Shishak's List. Socoh, Josh. xv. 35, now Khurbet Shuweikeh.
68. IHMA. El-Kheimeh, about 10 miles west-north-west of Shuweikeh.
69. KHBAZANA‡.
70. KNTHU. Gath. See No. 63.
71. MAKTAL―. Migdal-gad (Josh. xv. 37), now el-Mejdel.
72. APTHN. Probably Khurbet el-Fatuneh.
73. SHBTUNA. Now Shebtin.
74. TIA‡. Also TIAI. Now the Jebel et-Teyi.
75. NAUN (with determinative). The name Nun haunts the district north and west of the Jebel et-Teyi. Within 3 or 4 miles are Jefa Nun, Neby Nfln, a sacred place to the east of Yanun, and 12 miles further west the reputed tomb of Nun the father of Joshua. Maspero suggests Khurbet-Nina.
76. HUDITA. Compare the Benjamite city Hadid ; Ezra ii. 33. The modern Haditheh, 5 miles west of Khurbet Shebtin (No. 73).
77. HAR (with determinative of locality). The Har or "Mountain" of Ephraim, between Kefr Haris and Haditheh, where it descends to the plain.
78. ISHPAL―. Joseph-el. Comp. El-iasaph of the tribe of Gad, Numb. i. 14; of Levi, Numb. iii. 24. Also Josiph-iah, Ezra viii. 10, and Ba al-yashupu, the name of an Arvadite prince in the Assyrian inscriptions of Assur-bani-pal. The local name of the valley Jiphthah-el, Josh. xix. 27, like Jabneel, shows how such terms are attached to places. See Groff in the Revue egyptologique, 1885, p. 95. Our Joseph-el may linger in Yasuf, anciently called Yusepheh, and known as Yasuf in the Samaritan "Book of Joshua." See Geog. du Talmud, p. 90.

79. RGAZA, RAGAZA.
80. KR-R‡. Perhaps Dar Jerir, 9½ miles south-south east of Yasuf. [The determinative of "country" makes me read Galil, and identify the district either with the Geliloth of the Philistines, Josh. xiii. 2, Joel iii. 4, or with the Geliloth of the Jordan, west of Jerusalem, Josh. xxii. 10, 11. ED.]
81. HAR (with determinative of locality) AL―.¹ "Mountain of God," as Brugsch; see No. 77. [This ought to be Jerusalem, called "the mount of the Lord" in Gen. xxii. 14. The geographical names which follow indicate the position of Har-al, and the Tel el-Amarna tablets have informed us that Jerusalem was already an important stronghold, and was in subjection to Egypt. In Ezek. xliii. 15 there is a play upon har-el (rendered "altar") and Ariel, which, according to Isaiah xxix. 1, 2, was a name of Jerusalem. ED.]
82. R-BAU‡. Identified by Maspero with the Rabbah of Judah, Josh. xv. 60, [the Rubute of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, from which we learn that it formed part of the territory of Urusalim or Jerusalem. ED.]
83. N(U)MANA.² Some place of the worship of Tammuz, probably Deir Na-aman, 10 miles west of Khurbet Rab'a.
84. NAMANA. The same name as the preceding with a slightly different spelling. Maspero compares Arak-Na aman, opposite Deir Na-aman.
85. MAR-MAM. The plural of Merom (Maspero). Reading Malmam, perhaps Khurbet Umm el-Hemam, about 1 mile south of Deir Na aman.
86. ANI (with determinatives of "fountain" and "country.") The "Spring." Comp. Ain in Simeon, Josh. xix. 7. Perhaps Khurbet Kefr Ana, 4½ miles south-east of Aqir.
_______
1 [In the second list Har is followed by the owl (m), which is shown to have been engraved erroneously for the hawk (Hor) by the upright line attached to it. ED.]
2 [This is the reading of the original. ED,]

87. R-HBU. Rehob. Perhaps Khurbet Rahab, near Khurbet el-Hai. Maspero makes it the Rehoboth of Isaac, now er-Ruhaibeh.
88. AQAR―. Ekron, Amqarruna in Assyrian, now Aqir.
89. HIKR-IM. A Semitic plural, which I think must be the name of the Hagarites. We are told that the list includes "all the unknown peoples of the frontiers of the Sati." But cf. Ain el-Hejeri, south-west of Hebron.
90. AUBAL―. An "Abel," perhaps Abel-Shittim, near Jericho.
91. AUTAR-AA‡. "The country of Autar the great." Is this to distinguish it from No. 15? Perhaps Khur bet Atturah, 4½ miles north-east of Jerusalem. Maspero identifies it with "the great country of Adr" in Shishak's List (No. 98), and agrees with Mariette in identifying it with Adoraim, now Dura, west of Hebron.
92. AUBAL (with determinative of locality). Perhaps Abel-Mizraim, identified by Jerome with Beth-Hogla, now Ain Hajla, between Jericho and the Jordan.
93. KNTHAU (with determinative of plain or district). "The district of Oath," see No. 63.
94. MAQRPUT. I hold with Maspero that this is the Hebrew megraphoth, "clods," or dug-up ground. Comp. the present Makarfet el-Qattum, which is crossed by the Pilgrim Road on the way from the great ford of Hajla to Jerusalem.
95. AINA. "The spring." Josephus places Aina above Jericho. Probably the Ain es-Sultan, supposed to mark the site of the first Jericho.
96. KAR-MAN. Perhaps Calamon near Jericho, or the southern Carmel.¹ [The Tel el-Amarna tablets settle the question in favour of the second identification. In Nos. 92-96 I see a Semitic memorandum:
__________
1 [In the Tel el-Amarna letters (W. 104, 199) mention is made of Gimti-Kirmil or Guti-Kirmil, i.e. Gath-Carmel. This explains the Knthau or Gnthau of the List (No. 93). ED.]

{p.51} "The meadow-land of the Gittites; the tillage and spring of Carmel," which have been turned into the names of five different localities by the vanity of the Egyptian scribe. ED.]
97. BATIA. Beth-ia. In 1881 I suggested that the divine name Yah is involved in this local name. Cf. Hanania (No. 97 in Shishak's List).
98. TAPUN. Perhaps the Taphon of 1 Macc. ix. 50, in Judaea. It may also be the Taphnos mentioned by Eusebius as near Adasa (Geog. du Talmud, p. 99). Comp. Tibna, 4½ miles south-west of Khurbet Abu Adas, which is 7 miles west-south-west of Jerusalem.
99. AUBIL (with determinative of locality). Another Abel, but I know not where.
100. IRTU. Perhaps Yireh. [Can Irtu be the Jordan, with t for d, as in the Amorite letters of Tel el-Amarna? ED.]
101. HAR-KAR‡. Can this name contain any reference to the Horites of Bethlehem (1 Chr. ii. 19, 46, 50)?
102. YAQBAL―.¹ Jacob-el. See Groff, Revue egyptologique 1885, and No. 78. Comp. Iqbala, 6 miles west of Jerusalem.
103. AQPUTO.
104. QAZIR―. Identified by Maspero with Gezer, now Tel-Jezer, called Gazri in the Tel el-Amarna tablets.
105. RBATU. Perhaps Khurbet Rubba, as Conder, or Khurbet er-Rabiyeh, 8 miles west of Hebron. [Probably a repetition of No. 82, the Rubute of the Tel el-Amarna tablets, the Rabbah of the Old Testament. ED.]
106. MAQR-TU. May the place be Ma arath (Josh. xv. .59)?
107. AMQU. The Hebrew Emeq, or "Vale" of Hebron (Gen. xxxvii. 14).
108. SARTA. Siret el-Bella'a, 2 miles north of Hebron. From the distance (20 stadia from Hebron) given
______
1 [In the second copy of the list the owl (m) seems to have been erroneously written for the eagle (a), but since the latter part of the name is destroyed it is possible that the last letter was not r or l. ED.]

{p.52} by Josephus (Ant., vii. 1, 5), I think this the site of the bor has-Sirah, "well of Sirah" (2 Sam. iii. 26), rather than Ain Sareh, which is only 8 stadia distant, and bor would be a "cistern" rather than a "spring."
109. BARTTU. Beeroth, as No. 19. The name Wady el-Biar occurs twice to the north of Hebron, once on the road from Jerusalem to Beersheba, and once on the northern road.
110. BATHSHAL―. The same name occurs on a sphinx at Qurneh, and the "country of Bath-shal" is mentioned by Seti I. In the Mohar's Travels reference is made to "the country of Baita-sha-al" in connection with Kirjath-el, apparently to the north of Megiddo. Comp. Khurbet Beit Shar, 61 miles north of Hebron. There was a northern Beth-Shari, Geog. du Talmud, p. 264, which reminds us of the name of Sarai. [The name is the Egyptian spelling of the Assyrian Bit-sa-ili, the equivalent of the Hebrew Beth-el. It seems, there fore, to have been copied from some cuneiform memorandum or despatch, like the tablets of Tel el-Amarna. Possibly the great sanctuary of Hebron was the Beth-el or "House of God" that was meant. ED.]
111. BATANTA, BATENTA. In two of the lists we have Beth-Anath, in the third Beth-Banit. Beth-Anath is mentioned by Seti I. Anat was the consort of the Babylonian god Anu, and Banit would be the Babylonian word "Creatress." The Beth-Anoth of Josh. xv. 59 seems to be the modern Beit Ainun, and we have the plural Anathoth at Anata. Perhaps Beth-Banit is Beit el-Ban, 9 miles west of Hebron.
112. KHL-QTU. I think this must be a Khelqath, as in Josh. xxi. 31, 2 Sam. ii. 16 (Helkath-hazzurim). Maspero proposes Helkath-hazzurim near Gibeah (identified by Tyrwhitt Drake with the Wady el-Askar, north of el-Jib).

113. AN (determinative of a spring) QNA (determinative of water). Ain el-Qana, 1 mile north-west of Hebron, and formerly supplying it with water.
114. QBAU. Gibeah. Jeb'a, 10 miles north of Hebron, may be "Gibeah of Judah." Maspero proposes el-Jib.
115. ZERR―. Perhaps Khurbet Sirreh. Maspero proposes the Zererath of Judg. vii. 22, but this is too far north. [I should read Zill and identify with the Zilu of the Tel el-Amarna tablets (No. 104), the Zelah of Josh, xviii. 28, 2 Sam. xxi. 14, near Jerusalem. ED.]
116. ZAFTA. Either Zephata in the south desert or more probably the vale of Zephatha at Maresha (2 Chr. xiv. 10). Comp. Khurbet Umrn el-Asfeh, 3 or 4 miles south of Khurbet Yukin.
117. BR-QNA. Perhaps the name of "the Kenite " (Josh. xv. 57) is involved in this.
118. HUMl‡.
119. AKTOMES.¹
________
1 [I have not been able to verify the readings of the last few names. ED.]

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PALESTINE AND EGYPT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY BC
TRANSLATED BY THE EDITOR

THE authorities of the Royal Museum of Berlin have laid scholars under an obligation by their speedy publication of all the cuneiform tablets found in the ruins of Tel el-Amarna which are now at Berlin. Their action contrasts favourably with that of our own British Museum, which has for three years with held the tablets in its possession even from the sight of students. The three parts of the Mittheilungen aus der orientalischen Sammhingen, in which the tablets are published, together form a work worthy of the Museum that has issued it. Drs. Winckler and Abel, to whom the copying and editing of the texts have been entrusted, have performed their task with marvellous accuracy and skill, which can be fully appreciated only by those who have themselves attempted to copy the extremely difficult inscriptions of Tel el-Amarna. The new and complicated forms of the characters and the injuries undergone by many of the tablets make the work of a copyist {p.55} peculiarly hard. To the texts now at Berlin Dr. Winckler has added those copied by him in the Cairo Museum, as well as a few others belonging to M. Gotenischeff, Prof. Maspero, and the Rev. Ch. Murch. When those belonging to the British Museum are also given to the public, all that remains of the Tel el-Amarna collection will be in the hands of philologists and historians; until they are published our knowledge of the collection will not only be incomplete, but doubtless at times misleading.

The translations which follow are those of letters from Palestine, more especially Southern Palestine, which are all contained in the third part of the Mittheilungen aus der orientalise/hen Sammlungen (Berlin, Spemann, 1890). They must be received with the indulgence due to the first translations of ancient texts. The language of the letters is full of forms and expressions which are new to the Assyriologist; the large number of tablets, however, which we can compare with one another, has thrown light upon many of these, and explained words and idioms which would otherwise have been obscure. Some of the texts have been translated by M. Delattre in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Dec. 1890, March and April 1891.

Most of the letters which I have translated, if not all of them, seem to have been written towards the close of the reign of Amenophis IV, "the Heretic King," when the Egyptian empire which had been built up by the great monarchs of the Eighteenth {p.56} Dynasty was beginning to fall to pieces. One group of them, of which the letter of the Governor of Bashan (No. xxiii) is an example, relates to a general levy of the governors and vassal princes of Palestine and Syria. Some common danger threatened the empire, and the subject states of Asia were called upon to hold themselves ready to join the household troops of Egypt with their own forces. Other letters show that all parts of Palestine were in that disturbed condition which usually precedes the fall of the central authority. Enemies were attacking it from without, and the petty princes were fighting among themselves within. The tributary priest-king of Jerusalem charges Malchiel and Su-yardata with robbing him of a portion of his territory; Su-yardata retaliates by bringing a counter-accusation against him. Complaints are lodged against a certain Lab'ai, the seat of whose government was in Mount Ephraim, from whence he intrigued against Megiddo in the north and Gezer and Jerusalem in the south; and Lab'ai sends an abject letter to the Egyptian king in order to prove his innocence.

The correspondence shows that Canaan was in much the same political condition as India is at present under British rule. Many of the cities were under Egyptian governors, but in other cases the native prince had been allowed to retain his title and a certain amount of power. He was, however, required to pay tribute, to admit an Egyptian garrison within the walls of his city, and to receive from {p.57} time to time the visits of a specially appointed Commissioner, who bore the title of "Gate-keeper," and corresponded to the "Resident" of a protected state in India. At times a governor existed by the side of the native king, whose power, therefore, must have been merely nominal. Such was the case, for example, at Sidon (Nos. xvi, xvii). Even where it was not the case, the territory of the capital city was called "the country of the King" of Egypt, and Egyptian khazanute, or "governors," were imposed upon the towns within it. The authority of the native king, moreover, depended on the pleasure of the Egyptian sovereign. Ebed-tob of Jerusalem boasts that, unlike other princes in the province, he alone derived his royal office from the oracle of a god.

The letter of the Governor of Ziri-Basani ("the plateau of Bashan") proves that Mr. Tomkins was right in holding that the list of the conquered towns of Canaan given by Thothmes III at Karnak included the eastern side of the Jordan. The mention of the city of Zaphon (see No. xiii, note on line 4) points in the same direction.

The Egyptian troops in Palestine consisted of the tsabi matsarti, or "soldiers of the garrison," who were stationed in the subject cities, and of the tsabibitate, "the soldiers of the palace," or household troops, who answered to our Guards, and were attached to the person of the Egyptian governor. Besides these there were the tsabi'saruti, "the soldiers {p.58} of the kingdom," who seem to have been foreign auxiliaries; and at times also the amili khabbati, "the plunderers," or Beduin, who were in the pay of the Egyptian government. The vassal princes were required to furnish soldiers, horses, and chariots when ordered to do so; in times of necessity, however, it was to Egypt that the representatives of the "Great King" appealed for military help.

In the period to which the correspondence belongs Syria and the north of Palestine, at all events in the neighbourhood of Sidon and Tyre, were threatened by the Hittites; while Central Palestine, from Hazor to Gezer, was exposed to the attacks of the Khabbati, or "plunderers." These can hardly be any other than the Beduin, who still infest the plain of Sharon, and were called Shasu, or "plunderers," by the Egyptians. Southern Palestine, the eastern portion of which constituted the territory of Uru'salim or Jerusalem, was in danger from the Khabiri, whose name occurs frequently in the letters of Ebed-tob. From one of these (No. 1, line 36) it would appear that their leader was Elimelech. Jerusalem and the district which depended on it were so seriously menaced by them as to make Ebed-tob declare again and again that if assistance were not at once sent to him the province would be lost to Egypt. There is no record that an answer was returned to these urgent requests, and it therefore seems probable that the letters of Ebed-tob were among the last which Amenophis IV. received. If so, and if the Egyptian {p.59} king died shortly afterwards, we may feel certain that no succours were despatched to the hard-pressed province. The death of Amenophis IV was the signal for the outbreak of civil and religious war and the withdrawal of the Egyptian garrisons from Asia. The Khabiri would have been permitted to continue their victorious career, and, it may be, to capture the strong fortress of Jerusalem itself.

The name of the Khabiri has been identified with that of the Hebrews; but the political circumstances presupposed by the letters of Ebed-tob do not agree with those which accompanied the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan. Moreover, the word Khabiri is Assyrian, and signifies "confederates," from the same root as that which has given Heber, "the confederate," and Hebron, "the confederacy," in Hebrew. It corresponds to the name of the Kabyles in Algeria, Kabyle being the Arabic Jabail, or "confederates." Now it is a curious fact that Ebed-tob nowhere makes any allusion to the famous sanctuary of Hebron, although his letters show that his territory extended westward to Rabbah and Keilah, and southward to Carmel, and that consequently Hebron ought to have been included within it. The most probable explanation of the fact is that the sanctuary was in the hands of others. We know from the Old Testament that the original name of the city in which the sanctuary stood was Kirjath-Arba, while the name of Hebron, "the confederacy," must have been given to it in con- {p.60} sequence of its having been a meeting-place of certain confederated tribes. Who these tribes were we learn from the Biblical records. They were Hittites and Amorites, with a sprinkling of the older Canaanitish population of the land.

In these confederated tribes, therefore, the later representatives of the confederacy of which we read in Gen. xiv. 13, I see the Khabiri of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. Their centre was the great sanctuary of Kirjath-Arba, and it was from behind its fortified walls that they sallied forth to attack the officers of the Egyptian king. Ebed-tob's despairing cries for help show us how formidable they had become. That my view of their character is correct, and that the withdrawal of the Egyptian troops from Palestine enabled them to conquer both Jerusalem and its territory, is indicated by a passage in the book of Ezekiel (xvi. 2, 45). Here we read of Jerusalem that her "father was an Amorite and" her "mother an Hittite." The letters of Ebed-tob, whose name is Canaanite, and who uses Canaanite words, like anuki, " I," lead us to infer that it was not until after his time that the Amorite and Hittite possessed themselves of the place. When the Israelites entered Canaan a century after the age of Ebed-tob they found Jerusalem a stronghold of the Jebusite tribe of Amorites. It had ceased for a while to be Jerusalem, and had become Jebus, the "Jebusite" city.

The despatches of Ebed-tob tell us for the first {p.61} time how ancient the name of Jerusalem was, and also what was its meaning. It was the seat of the worship and oracle of the god Salim, whose temple stood on "the mountain" of Moriah. An Assyrian tablet (W. A. I., ii. 2, 393; iii. 70, 100) informs us that the word uru was the equivalent of the Assyrian alu, "city," and since the name of Jerusalem is written Uru-salim in cuneiform, it is evident that it must signify "the city of the god Salim." Salim is the Hebrew shalom, and denoted the "god of Peace." The deity, therefore, under whose protection Jerusalem grew up was one in whose temple feuds and rivalries were laid aside, and the neighbouring peoples met in unity and peace. As Ebed-tob informs us, the king of Jerusalem was appointed by an oracle of the god, and was thus a priest rather than a king. In Assyria the priests of the god Assur preceded the kings of the city of Assur; and Dr. Glaser has lately shown that the same was also the case in Southern Arabia, in the kingdom of Saba. But whereas in Assyria and Saba the priests eventually became kings, this did not happen in Jerusalem, where the ruler remained royal priest or priest-king, down to the time, at any rate, of Ebed-tob. He was priest of Salim rather than king of Uru-Salim. An unexpected light is thus thrown on the person and position of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is called king of Salem instead of Jerusalem; the reason is now obvious. He was priest of El Elyon, "the Most High God," and king only in virtue of his {p.62} priestly office. It is also now clear why the father of Melchizedek is not named. Ebed-tob states that his authority was not based on the right of inheritance; he had been called to exercise it by a divine voice. The state over which he presided was in reality a theocracy.

The letters of Ebed-tob further show why it was that Melchizedek went forth to bless Abram in the name of his god after the defeat of the Babylonian army. His god was Salim, the god of Peace; Abram's victory had delivered Palestine from the invader and restored it again to peace. On the other hand, the sacred character of the priest-king of Jerusalem must have been acknowledged throughout the neighbouring district, and to him accordingly the victorious Hebrew paid the customary tithes.

The oracle of the god Salim quoted by Ebed-tob is interesting upon two accounts. On the one hand it shows that the Jewish prophets were not the first to extend the range of their prophetic vision to foreign nations. In so far as the people of Babylonia and Aram-Naharaim had an influence upon Canaanitish politics, their future fortunes were a matter of concern to the Canaanitish deity. On the other hand, the oracle proves that Babylonian conquest had made itself felt as far as Southern Palestine. Incidentally, therefore, the historical character of Chedorlaomer's campaign is thus indicated, as well as the tradition recorded by the Egyptian historian Manetho, that the Hyksos, after their expulsion from {p.63} Egypt, fortified Jerusalem against the Assyrians, as the Babylonians were called by the Greeks. The fact that the oracle also mentions Nahrima or Aram-Naharaim supports the account of the oppression of Israel by the king of that country shortly after the Israelitish occupation of Canaan. It shows that the conquests of Naharaim had already threatened that part of Palestine in which Judah afterwards established itself.

The name of Melchizedek is curiously illustrated by a passage in one of the tablets (No. vi, line 32). Ebed-tob here employs the Canaanite word tsaduq, "just," which does not occur in Assyrian, the latter language having substituted the root esiru for tsadaq. Since Sydyk was a Phoenician divinity, it is possible that the god of Jerusalem was worshipped under the title of Tsedeq, or "Righteousness"; so that the names of the two kings of Jerusalem mentioned in the Old Testament would have meant "Tsedeq is king," "Tsedeq is lord."

However this may be, the light thrown by the letters of Ebed-tob on Melchizedek's title of "king of Salem" casts further light on the title applied by Isaiah (ix. 6) to the coming Saviour, the "Prince of Peace." Isaiah was a student of the history of his city and country, and elsewhere he shows himself acquainted with its past records. Sar shalom; "the Prince of Peace," is, word for word, the Assyrian sar Salim, or "King of Salem." The correspondence cannot be an accidental one; the Saviour who {p.64} should restore Judah would not only bring peace with him, but would also be, in a higher and more spiritual sense, the successor of Melchizedek. It may be that the title of "the Mighty God" is a reference to the old title of the god of Jerusalem as "the mighty king."

The Egyptian monarch is frequently addressed as "my gods" in the plural. He not only represented the divine hierarchy, but he was also in a measure its incarnation. But the title is not, like that of "Sun-god," of Egyptian origin. It must therefore be Canaanite, and is of interest as pointing to the Canaanite origin of the use in Hebrew of the plural Elohim) "gods," in a singular sense. The language of the Israelites had thus prepared them for applying to their God a plural noun. He was "God of gods," and in Him all their attributes and essences were comprehended.

The letters from Palestine establish the fact that reading and writing were widely known and practised in the country at the close of the fifteenth century before our era. But the writing was that of Babylonia, thus proving the deep impression which had been made by Babylonian culture upon Western Asia. It is difficult to account for the impression except upon the hypothesis of Babylonian conquest. The hypothesis is confirmed by the number of places in Palestine which took their names from Babylonian deities. Rimmon, the Babylonian Ramman, Anah and Anath, the Babylonian Anu and Anat, Nebo, {p.65} and even Sin are all found in Palestine or the countries immediately adjoining. How easy was their introduction is shown by the letter of Ebed-tob, in which he identifies the god of Jerusalem with the Babylonian Uras. Uras was the form of the Sun-god who was specially worshipped at Nipur, and his identification with Salim proves that the latter also was regarded as possessing a solar character.

P.S. Since these translations were in type, Dr. Zimmern has been kind enough to send me an advance-sheet of a paper entitled "Die Keilschriftbriefe aus Jerusalem," to be published in the Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, in which he has translated, with transcription and notes, the letters of Ebed-tob, numbered 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106, in the edition of Drs. Winckler and Abel. He has also collated the published text with the originals. References to Dr. Zimmern's paper will be found in my notes.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PALESTINE AND EGYPT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY BC
I. THE LETTERS OF THE GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM TO THE EGYPTIAN KING

1. To the king my lord speak
2. thus: (I) Ebed-tob² thy servant,
3. at the feet of my lord the king,
4. seven times seven prostrate myself.
5. What have I done³ against the king my lord?
6. They have slandered myself, laying wait for (me)
7. in the presence of the king, the lord, saying: Ebed-tob
8. has revolted from the king his lord.
9. Behold, neither my father
10. nor my mother have exalted me
11. in this place;
12. the prophecy of the mighty king⁴
13. has caused me to enter the house of my father.
14. Why should I have committed
15. a sin against the king the lord?
16. With the king my lord (is) life.
________
1 The numbers in parentheses are those of the Mittheilungen aus der Orientalischen Sammlungen, Part III.
2 Abdu-dhabba. The writer has misread the first character of the word, DHAB-AZ, which has the phonetic value of khi, and has substituted for it a character which has the value of khe.
3 Zimmern has acutely explained ipsati as a first person singular.
4 Issrippu, "a prophecy," from the same root as asipu, "a prophet." The "mighty king" will be the god Salim, whose sanctuary stood on Mount Moriah. Dr. Zimmern's earlier reading of "prophecy" is preferable to his present reading "arm" (suru'u).

17. I say to the Commissioner¹ of the king [my] lord:
18. Why dost thou love
19. the Confederates,² and the governors
20. thou hatest? and constantly
21. I am sending to the presence of the king my lord
22. to say (that) the countries of the king my lord
23. are being destroyed. Constantly
24. I am sending to the king my lord,
25. and let the king my lord consider,
26. since the king my lord has established
27. the guard³ who have taken
28. the fortresses. [Let] Yikhbil-Khamu⁴ [be sent].

33. .... the guard.
34. May the king send help⁵ to his country.
35. [May he send troops] to his country which protects
36. [the fortresses of the king the lord, all of them, since Elimelech⁶
37. is destroying all the country of the king,
38. and may the king the lord send help to his country.
39. I say: I have gone down
40. along with the king my lord, and I have not seen
41. the tears of the king my lord; but hostility
42. is strong against me, yet I have not taken
43. anything whatever⁷ from the king my lord;
44. and may the king incline towards my face;
45. may he despatch⁸ the guard [to me],
46. and may he appoint a Commissioner,⁹ and I shall not see the tear[s]
47. of the king my lord, since the king [my] lord
48. shall live when the Commissioner has departed.
49. I say: the countries of the king [my lord] are being destroyed;
________
1 Assyrian rabitsu. In one of the letters (129, 21) it is explained by khazani, "governor."
2 Khabiri, or "Hebronites."
3 Literally "men of the guard."
4 See 105, rev., p. 71.
5 [Lus]ken, the Heb. sakan.
6 Ili-milku.
7 Dr. Zimmern reads: "I have not been able to go down (eraba)."
8 Or "leave."
9 Likup, whence gipu, "a Commissioner."

50. (yet) thou dost not listen to me.
51. All the governors are destroyed;
52. no governor remains to the king the lord.
53. May the king turn his face to the men,
54. and may he send auxiliaries,¹ even the troops
55. of the king my lord. No countries remain unto the king:
56. the Confederates have wasted all the countries of the king.
57. If auxiliaries come
58. this year, the countries of the king the lord will be preserved;²
59. but if no auxiliaries come
60. the countries of the king my lord are destroyed,
61. [To] the secretary of the king my lord Ebed-tob [speaks]
62. [thus: a] report³ of (my) words
63. thou layest⁴ before the king my lord: there are destroyed
64. [by] the enemy the countries of the king my lord

1. To the king my lord, [my] Sun-god [speak]
2. thus: (I) Ebed-tob thy servant
3. at the feet of the king my lord seven times
4. seven prostrate myself.
5. Behold: the king my lord has established
6. his name at the rising of the sun
7. and the setting of the sun. Slanders
8. they have uttered against me.
9. Behold: I (am) not a governor,
10. a vassal (?), to the king my lord.
11. Behold: I (am) the ally⁵ of the king,
12. and I have paid the tribute of the king, even I.
13. Neither my father nor
_______
1 Tsabi idati,
2 Literally, "if there are troops this year, the countries of the king the lord exist."
3 Literally "a causing to enter," [se]rib.
4 Literally "thou recountest."
5 Rukhi, Heb. re'a.

14. my mother, (but) the oracle¹ of the mighty king,
15. established [me] in the house of [my] father.
16. ..........
17. There have come to me 13 [women (?)]
18. as a present, (and) 10 slaves.
19. Suta² the Commissioner of the king has come
20. tome: 21 women-slaves
21. (and) 20 male prisoners have been given
22. [in]to the hands of Suta as a gift for the king my lord
23. as the king has ordained for his country.
24. The country of the king is being destroyed, all of it.
25. Hostilities are carried on against me
26. as far as the mountains of SEIR,³ and the city of GATH-KARMEL.⁴
27. (There is) peace to all the (other) governors,
28. but war against myself
29. is raised (?),⁵ since I see the men
30. and I do not see the tears of the king
31. my lord because war
32. has been raised against me.
33. "While (there is) a ship in the midst of the sea"
34. this (is) the oracle of the mighty king
35. "the conquests shall continue of the country of NAKHRIMA⁶
36. and the country of BABYLONIA."⁷ And now
__________
1 Zurukh, which, as was first seen by Dr. Zimmern, must be connected with tsarakhu, "to cry out." That "the mighty king" is a deity is shown by line 34. The Egyptian monarch was called "the great king" (sarru rabu), not "the mighty king" (sarru dannu),
2 Probably the Egyptian Seti.
3 Seri. They subsequently formed the frontier between Judah and Dan (Josh. xv. 10).
4 Guti-Kirmil, called Gimti-Kirmil in No. 199. In the list of Palestinian towns given by Thothmes III we read (Nos. 93, 94, 95, 96): Gantau, Maqerput, Aina, Kirman, or the "land of the Gittites," the "Tillage," and "Spring" of Karmel. The Karmel meant was that in Judah, south of Hebron (Josh. xv. 55; 1 Sam. xxv. 2, 5).
5 Dr. Zimmern reads epsati, "I have made."
6 The Aram-Naharaim of the Old Testament. Cf. Judges iii. 8-10.
7 Kasim. Babylonia was now under a Kassite dynasty. Dr. Zimmern now translates: The arm of the mighty king shall conquer the countries of Naharaim and Babylonia.

37. the fortresses of the king
38. the Confederates¹ are capturing.
39. Not a single governor remains
40. (among them) to the king my lord; all are destroyed.
41. Behold: Turbazu thy soldier²
42. in the great gate of the city of ZIL;³ [has fallen].
43. Behold: Zimrida of LACHISH
44. the servants (who) belonged to the king⁴ have slain.
45. Yaptikh-Addu⁵ thy soldier
46. [on] the pavement⁶ of the city of Ziufr they have murdered
47 as far as his city (?).
48. [May] the king [my lord] send help [to his country].
49. [May] the king turn his face to [the men].
50. [May] he despatch troops to [his] country.
51. [Behold] if no troops come
52. this year, utterly destroyed will be
53. all the countries of the king my lord.
54. They do not tell to the face of the king my lord
55. that the country of the king my lord is destroyed,
56. and all the governors are destroyed,
57. if no troops come
58. this year. May the king send
59. a Commissioner, and let him come to me,
60. even to me, with allies and we
61. will die with the king [our] lord.
62. [To] the secretary of the king my lord
63. [say:] (I) Ebed-tob [thy] servant, at [thy] feet
64. [prostrate myself.] Let a report of [my] words
65. be laid before the king [my] lord.
66. The servant of thy [justice (?)] am I.
_______
1 Khabiri.
2 Dik-te.
3 Apparently the Zelah of Josh, xviii. 28, 2 Sam. xxi. 14.
4 Or "(who) acted against the king."
5 Jephthah-Hadad in Hebrew. Compare the names of Jephthah-el (Josh. xix. 27) and Jephthah.
6 The original has "gate" according to Dr. Zimmern.

1. To the king my lord [speak]
2. thus: (I) Ebed-tob thy servant,
3. at the feet of my lord ....
4. seven times seven [prostrate myself].
5. Behold: Malchiel¹ does not separate himself
6. from the sons of Lab'ai² and
7. the sons of Arzai to demand
8. the country of the king for themselves.
9. As for the governor who does this deed,
10. why does not the king question him?
11. Behold: Malchiel and Tagi³
12. are they who have done this,
13. since they have taken the city⁴ of RUBUTE⁵

1. The commencement is destroyed
2. There is no royal guard.
3. May the king live eternally!
4. May Puru⁶ go down to him!
5. He has departed in front of me;
6. he is in the city of GAZA;⁷
7. and let the king send unto him⁸
8. the guard to defend the country.
9. All the country of the king is revolted;
10. direct Yikhbil-Khamu [to come],
_______
1 Milkilim.
2 The Heb. lab'hi, "a lion." The termination of the name seems to be the same as that of Sarai.
3 Tagi was the father-in-law of Malchiel according to one of the tablets, V. (No. 199). Tagi is a name difficult to explain. I read Urgi, the Semitic Oreg, in No. 199, but the German scholars read Tagi throughout.
4 We must read mi'alu instead of the si'la of the copy.
5 Rubute is the Rabbah of Josh. xv. 60.
6 Called Pa-uru in 103, 45, p. 75.
7 Khazati.
8 According to Dr. Zimmern a line has been omitted here in the published copy: "and let the king despatch 50 men, the guard," etc.

{p.72} and let him consider the country of the king [my lord]. To the secretary of the king [my lord speak] thus: (I) Ebed-tob [thy] servant [fall at thy feet]. "Let a report] of (my) words be laid "before the] king. Abundance of life [be unto] thee, thy servant (am) I.

1. [To] the king my lord
2. speak thus:
3. (I) Ebed-tob thy servant, at the feet
4. of the king my lord seven times seven prostrate myself.
5. [The king knows the deed] which they have done,
6. even Malchiel¹ and Su-ardatum,
7. against the country of the king my lord,
8. marshalling (?)² the forces of the city of GEZER,³
9. the forces of the city of GATH,⁴
10. and the forces of the city of KEILAH.⁵
11. They have occupied the country of the city of RABBAH.⁶
12. The country of the king has gone over
13. to the Confederates.⁷
14. And now at this moment
15. the city of the mountain of JERUSALEM,⁸
16. the city of the temple of the god URAS, (whose) name (there is) SALIM,⁹
17. the city of the king, is separated from¹⁰
_______
1 Milkilu.
2 The word can be read either mukhiru or mudhiru,
3 Gazri.
4 Gimti.
5 Qilti; now Kila. See 1 Sam. xxiii. 2-13, Josh. xv. 44.
6 Rubute.
7 Khabiri. Perhaps we should translate: "the country of the city of Kabbah, which opens the country of the king to the Confederates."
8 Uru'salim.
9 The god of peace, the Assyrian Sulman or Solomon. Dr. Winckler's reading, Salim, is preferable to mine, Mar-ruv, as I was wrong in dividing the character into two. Dr. Zimmern reads Sumu-sa, "whose name is Bit-Uras."
10 Literally "breaks off from." Rabbah, on the frontier of the district of Jerusalem, having been occupied by the rivals of Ebed-tob, Jerusalem itself now adjoined their territory. Zimmern's translation, "has revolted," will not suit the following word, [a]-sar, "place" or "locality."

18. the locality of the men of the city of KEILAH.
19. May the king listen to Ebed-tob thy servant,
20. and may he despatch troops,
21. and may he restore the country of the king to the king.
22. But if no troops arrive,
23. the country of the king is gone over¹ to the men,
24. even the Confederates.
25. This deed (is) the [deed]
26. [of Su-ardatum and] Malchi[el]
27. ....

1. And now as to the city of JERUSALEM,²
2. if this country remains
3. to the king, why (is it) that
4. the city of GAZA³ is fixed on for (the government of) the king?
5. Behold: the country of the city of GATH-CARMEL⁴
6. to Tagi and the men of the city of GATH⁵
7. has fallen away. He is in BIT-SANI⁶
8. and we have effected that
9. Lab'ai
10. and his country should give ....
11. to the men of the district of the Confederates.⁷
12. Malchiel⁸ has sent to Tagi
13. and takes⁹ (his) sons latunu¹⁰
___________
1 Literally "separates itself to."
2 Uru'salim.
3 Khazati.
4 Gimti-Kirmil. See above, p. 69, note 4.
5 Guti.
6 Beth-Sannah, which is possibly the Kirjath-Sannah (or Kirjath-Sepher) of Josh. xv. 49.
7 Khabiri. We might possibly, though not probably, translate, "We have acted so that they have given Lab'ai and the country of Su ... to the country of the Confederates."
8 Milkilim.
9 ITSAB-AV.
10 Perhaps equivalent to lidhi, "hostages."

14. He has granted all their requests
15. to the men of KEILAH,
16. and we have delivered the city of JERUSA[LEM].
17. The guard whom thou hast left
18. in it Khapi¹ the son of Miyariya
19. has assembled (?). Addalim² has remained
20. in his house in the city of GAZA
21. .... the men ..... to the country of EGYPT.

1. [To] the king my lord [speak]
2. [thus:] (I), Ebed-tob [thy] servant, [at the feet]
3. [of the king] my lord seven [times seven prostrate my self.]
4. [Behold] the king the words .....

11. To [the city of .....] I caused to go down. May [the king] consider
12. all the countries which excite³ hostility against me,
13. and may the king send help to his country.
14. Behold: the country of the city of GEZER, the country of the city of ASHKELON⁴
15. and the city of LA[CHISH] have given as their peace-offerings
16. food (and) oil and whatsoever the fortress desires;
17. and may the king send help to his troops;
18. may he despatch troops against the men
19. who have committed sin against the king my lord.
20. If there come this year
21. troops, then there will remain (both) provinces
22. [and] governors to the king my lord;
________
1 Apis. Miya-Ria seems to be the Egyptian Meri-Ra, of whom Hapi (the father of Amen-hotep, the erector of the colossus of Memnon) was a son. Amen-hotep (Aman-khatbi) is mentioned in two letters from Palestine.
2 Hadad-el.
3 Talimu.
4 Asqaluna.

23. [but] if no troops arrive, there will remain no
24. [province]s or governors to the king [my lord].
25. Behold: this country of the city of JERUSALEM
26. neither my father nor my mother
27. have given to me: it (was) an oracle [of the mighty king]
28. that gave (it) to me, even to me.
29. Behold: it is Malchiel
30. and it is the sons of Lab'ai
31. who have given the country of the king to the Confederates.¹
32. Behold: the king my lord is just² towards me.
33. As to the BABYLONIANS,³ let the king ask
34. the Commissioners how very strong (is) the temple.
35. And they have committed (?) a very grievous sin.
36. I have seized (?) their weapons⁴ and .....
37. [I] occupy the walls, the roofs, [and the ....]
38. ... they have sent in the country of ...
39. the ..... march up (?) along with ....
40. [to] the servants let [the king] speak .....
41. to them; thou hast delivered (?)
42. the provinces into the hands of the city of ASH[KELON].
43. Let the king demand of them
44. abundance of food, abundance of oil, abundance of wine,
45. until Pauru,⁵ the Commissioner of the king, comes up
46. to the country of the city of JERUSALEM to deliver
47. Adai along with the guard (and) the allies (?)
48. Let the king consider the ... of the king;
49. [let him] speak to me; let Adai
50. deliver me. Thou wilt not desert it,
51. even this [city], sending to me the guard
52. [and] sending the Commissioner of the king. Thy grace
______
1 Khabiri.
2 Tsaduq. The word is Canaanite and not Assyrian. We are reminded of the fact that the name of the king of Salem in the time of Abram was Melchi-zedek.
3 Kasi.
4 Or "property."
5 The Egyptian Pa-ur, whose grave has been found at Thebes.

53. [is] to send [them]. To the king [my lord]
54. ... black¹ prisoners
55. [and] ... men I have despatched. The roads of the king
56. [I have made(?)] in the plain² (and) the mountains.
57. Let the king my lord consider the city of AJALON.³
58. I am not able to direct a road
59. to the king my lord according to thy instructions.
60. Behold: the king has established his name
61. in the country of JERUSALEM for ever,
62. and he cannot forsake
63. the districts of the city of JERUSALEM.
64. To the secretary of the king my lord
65. speak thus: (I), Ebed-tob thy servant,
66. fall at (thy) feet. Thy servant (am) I.⁴
67. A report of (my) words thou hast laid
68. before the king my lord.
69. The vassal of the king (am) I.
70. Abundance of life (be) unto thee!
71. And thou hast performed deeds (which) I cannot enumerate
72. against the men of the land of Cush.⁵
73. ...mana (is) not thy executioner.
74. ... the men of the country of the BABYLONIANS⁶ ....
75. ... [into] the midst of my house. May the king [take heed (?)]
76. to strengthen⁷ [it] .....
77. [seven] times seven .....
78. ... my lord to me.
_______
1 Dr. Zimmern reads "5000."
2 Kikar, the Heb. kikkar, translated "plain" in Gen. xiii. 10, etc. "The Kikkar" occupied the site of what was afterwards the Dead Sea.
3 Yaluna, written Ayaluna in another tablet.
4 Anuki, the Canaanite form, Heb. anochi, instead of the Assyrian anaku.
5 Kasi.
6 Kasi.
7 Dr. Zimmern reads sasu[nu], "them."

1. To the king my lord,
2. my god[s], my Sun-god,
3. speak
4. thus: (I), Su-yardata
5. thy servant, the dust of thy feet,
6. at the [feet] of the king my lord,
7. my gods, my Sun-god,
8. seven times [seven] prostrate myself.
9. The king [my lord] directed me
10. to make war
11. in the city of KEILAH:
12. war was made:
13. a complaint against me
14. is raised. My city
15. against myself
16. rose upon me.
17. Ebed-tob sends
18. to the men of the city of KEILAH;
19. he sends silver, and
20. they marched against my rear.
21. And the king my lord knows
22. that Ebed-tob
23. has taken my city
24. from my hand. About this
25. let the king my lord enquire
26. whether he has taken a man
27. or an ox
28. or an ass from
29. him and his jurisdiction.
30. It is Lab'ai
31. (in) alliance (?) who has taken
32. the cities. And
33. now Lab'ai
34. ..... Ebed-tob, and
35. ... he has taken the cities.
36. .... the king knows. To his servant
37. let him grant power, for I did not know

38. they had done anything until
39. he had multiplied (?) commands to his servant.

1. To the king my lord and my Sun-god
2. (speak) thus: (I) Lab'ai thy servant
3. and the dust of thy feet,
4. at the feet of the king my lord
5. and my Sun-god seven times seven
6. prostrate myself. I have heard the words
7. which the king has sent to me,
8. and here (am) I, and
9. the king apportions his country
10. unto me. I say: I am a righteous servant
11. of the king, and I have not sinned,
12. and I have not offended, and
13. I do not withhold my tribute,
14. and I do not refuse
15. the request to turn back my liers-in-wait²
16. Now the food of my stomach
17. they have taken away, and yet I do not
18. complain, O king, my lord.
19. My second offence
20. is that³
21. of entering
22. the city of GEZER;⁴
23. but I say
24. expressly
25. they had taken, O king,
26. my property and the property
27. of Malchiel. How
28. can I know the doings
29. of Malchiel in regard to
30. this or myself?
31. The king has sent to Bin-sumya;
32. he does not know that
________
1 Literally one.
2 Rabizi.
3 Literally "is my offence that of entering."
4 Gazri.

33. Bin-sumya along with
34. the Beduin
35. had marched,
36. and has given a city and property
37. in it to my father,
38. (saying) this: that if
39. the king sends for my wife
40. I shall withhold her, but
41. if to myself
42. the king sends,
43. I must pay a bar of copper
44. in a large bowl and
45. (conclude) a treaty,¹ since they have not
46. performed the message of the king.

1. To the king my lord,
2. my [god]s, my Sun-god,
3. speak
4. thus: (I) Malchiel thy servant,
5. the dust of thy feet,
6. at the feet of the king my lord,
7. my gods, my Sun-god,
8. seven times seven prostrate myself.
9. Word has been sent
10. by the king my lord, my gods,
11. my Sun-god, to me.
12. Now is health enjoyed²
13. by the king my lord,
14. the Sun-god (who rises) from heaven
15. and verily knows
16. the king my lord, my gods,
17. my Sun-god, that
18. this (is) the place³
________
1 Or "(take) an oath."
2 Isu siru-su; literally "he has his flesh."
3 Sasi asar; but M. Delattre may be right in reading salitn asar, the place is secure."

1. To the king my lord,
2. my gods, my Sun-god,
3. speak
4. thus: (I) Malchiel thy servant,
5. the dust of thy feet,
6. at the feet of the king my lord,
7. my gods, my Sun-god,
8. seven times seven prostrate myself.
9. The king my lord knows
10. that strong
11. (is) hostility against me
12. and against Su-yardata;
13. and the king my lord
14. has taken his country¹
15. from the hand
16. of the Beduin.
17. If the king my lord
18. does not despatch
19. chariots
20. to capture the enemy .....
21. they will slay [his] servants,
22. and
23. [let] questions be put ......
24. [by the king] my lord [to]
25. Yankhama his servant
26. to ... him
27. in his [city (?)]

1. To the king my lord
2. and my Sun-god speak
__________
1 The syntax hardly allows the translation, "one has taken from the king my lord his country."

3. thus: (I) Biridi
4. the servant of the jurisdiction¹
5. of the king, at the feet of the king
6. my lord and my Sun-god
7. seven times seven
8. prostrate myself. Let it be known
9. to the king my lord that
10. since the entrance of the soldiers of the palace
11. Lab'ai has carried on
12. hostilities against me,
13. and we have not gone up
14. against the cattle,²
15. and we have not gone up
16. out of the exit of the great gate which I have opened,³
17. through fear of Lab'ai,
18. since he learned
19. that the city of AVETI⁴ had [received (?)]
20. the soldiers of the palace.
21. And now
22. he has set [his] face
23. to take
24. the city of MEGIDDO;⁵
25. but let the king strengthen [and]
26. rescue
27. his city in order that
28. .....
29. Lab'ai may not take it.
30. If he causes the city to revolt⁶
31. from (its) allegiance
_______
1 Or, "justice." In another tablet (No. 114) Biridi is called "the man of the city of Megiddo."
2 This is expressed by words belonging to three different languages the Accadian ka-sigga, the Assyrian kazira (for qatsira), and the Canaantte maqani (in Hebrew miqneh).
3 Literally "excavated," akhri. But perhaps Dr. Zimmern is right in reading sakhri, and regarding it as a Canaanite gloss (Heb. shaar) on the Assyrian abulla, "gate."
4 Possibly Hivite. We may read Ameti and compare the Hemtu of the list of Thothmes III (No. 16), which is usually identified with Hammath of Galilee at Tiberias.
5 Magid[di].
6 Read [us-]amrad.

32. .....
33. it falls this year, but verily
34. let the king give
35. two men of the guard
36. to protect his city
37. ......
38. lest Lab'ai capture it. If
39. there come not first
40. the two (men), at
41. (the time when) Lab'ai
42. marches up,¹ the city of MEGIDDO
43. he will smite.

1. To the king [my lord]
2. and my Sun-god, [speak]
3. thus: (I) Biridi
4. the servant of the jurisdiction [of the king],
5. at the feet of the king [my] lord,
6. my Sun-god, my gods,
7. seven times seven prostrate myself.
8. I² have heard the words
9. of the king my lord, my Sun-god;
10. and now they defend
11. the city of MEGIDDO,³
12. the city of the king my lord.
13. On the day when ....
14. ... they defend
15. from the places
16. among the chariot[s], and
17. they defend the chariots
18. of the king my lord.
19. And now [there has arisen]
20. hostility on the part of the men ....
21. in the lower country. May the king my lord
[send help (?)]
22. to his country.
_______
1 Read i-te-la.
2 Literally "one."
3 Makida.

1. To the king my lord,
2. my gods, my Sun-god,
3. speak
4. thus: (I) the woman Uras-mu (?)¹
5. thy handmaid, at the feet of the ki
6. my lord, my gods, my Sun-god,
7. seven times seven prostrate myself.
8. The king my lord knows
9. that hostilities
10. are carried on in
11. the country, and all
12. the country of the king my lord
13. is exposed to the Beduin;²
14. and the king my lord knows
15. about his country, and
16. the king my lord knows that
17. .....
18. the Beduin have sent
19. to the city of AJALON³
20. and to the city of ZORAH,⁴
21. and to-day no longer
22. [resist (?)] the two sons
23. of Malchiel, and
24. the king my lord knows
25. about this matter.

1. To the king my lord speak
2. thus: (I) Addu-itlu thy servant,
3. at the feet of the king my lord seven times seven prostrate myself.
4. The king my lord knows that
________
1 Or, Nin-ur-zikari (?). In another letter (No. 138) this lady refers to "the city of Zapuna " as having been threatened by the Beduin. Zapuna seems to be Zaphon on the east side of the Jordan (Josh. xiii. 27).
2 Literally "plunderers" (khabbati).
3 Ayaluna.
4 Zarkha; see Josh. xv. 33 and Judges xiii. 25.

5. there have turned to the son of the rebel,¹ my enemy,
6. the two sons of Lab'ai; they have marched before him
7. to devastate the country of the king my lord.
8. Behind has [followed (?)] his father,
9. and the king my lord knows that
10. many (?) of the soldiers have been [turned] against me
11. by the two sons of Lab'ai. Why,
12. they ask, has the king thy lord given (to) Su-ila-giti,
13. [even to] him, the city
14. which Lab'ai our father has taken?
15. And thus they have spoken,
16. (even) the two sons of Lab'ai. Against me they have excited
17. war among the men of the country of GINA, besides smiting
18. the AVANU.² And if thou dost not make war,
19. the war will be justified,³ and they will escape.
20. The god of the king [my] lord has rescued me.
21. As to the exciting of war among the [men of the country] of GINA,
22. the servants of the king my lord, [they have] entered
23. the presence of the king my lord, and verily
24. have addressed (?) one of his princes,⁴ Namya-itsa,
25. and he has replied to them.
26. [Let him march (?)] against the two sons of Lab'ai
27. and the rebel against the king, he
28. and his soldier,⁵ together with my[self] ..... O king my lord!
29. ......
30. ... against the two sons of Lab'ai
31. ... the city (?)
32. ... the man .....
33. ... at his entrance .....
34. ... the going forth .....
35. Mal[chiel] against the entrance of the two sons of Lab[ap]
_______
1 Literally "man of sin."
2 Probably "the men of On," or Beth-On that is Beth-el.
3 Literally "established."
4 Rabbuti, "great men."
5 Dikte.

36. after ...
37. ... the going [down]
38. of ... Lab[ap]
39. and thus they have said [even the two sons of Lab[ai]:
40. We¹ have made war like our father
41. in (the time of) the king thy lord, when he was appointed
42. over the city of SUNASU² and over the city of BURQA³
43. and over the city of KHARABU, and he
44. removed the hostile, ....
45. and took the city of GATH-RIMMON,⁴
46. and he opened the [path (?)] of the king thy lord.
47. And the god of the king my lord has passed by me and has [rescued] me
48. as regards the exciting
49. of war in (the time of) the king my lord. (To) the king my lord
50. I and my brothers went down
51. at that time; he listened to me,
52. and the messengers of Malchiel did not ..... ⁵
53. from before the two sons of Lab'ai
54. on that day to devastate
55. the country of the king. He smote [the enemy],
56. and there was no war any longer
57. against me. (To) the king my lord [I]
58. went down, and an enemy had said:
59. the king my lord has listened.

1. To the king my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
2, 3. speak thus: (I) Su (?) -yarzana the man of the city of KHAZI,⁶
_____
1 Literally "one."
2 The reading is more probably Sunama or Shunem.
3 Bene-beraq (Josh. xix. 45).
4 Giti-Rimuna (Josh. xix. 45).
5 Inammusu or inammu-su. The meaning of the word is quite unknown to me.
6 Written Kh-z-a-i in the list of Thothmes III, at Karnak, where it comes at the head of the list (No. 3), after the names of Kadesh and Megiddo. In the published copies of the list the name has been falsely read Khaai.

4. thy servant, the dust beneath the feet
5. of the king my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
6. ... at the feet
7. [of the king] my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
8. [seven times] seven prostrate myself.
9. [Behold] the king my lord [knows]
10. [that] .... zan .... has made [war]
11. ..... the man of the city of TUSULTI¹
12. against [me (?)] .... the king my lord [knows]
13. that the Beduin [have excited]
14. war against me and have [attacked]
15. the fortress of the king my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
16. and the Beduin have captured
17. the city of MAKHZI ... TL, the city [of the king] my lord,
18. and have plundered [it] and have set it
19. on fire; and against
20. Aman-[khatbi]² the Beduin have gone down,
21. and the Beduin have captured a city,
22. even the city of GI[LU], the city of the king my lord,
23. and have plundered it and have set it
24. on fire, but the house of Bel-garib, the man of the house (?),
25. has survived out of [the city] of GILU.
26. 27. And to the presence of Aman-khatbi the Beduin have gone down.
28. And the Beduin capture
29. [the city of] .... AK ....,³ the city of
_________
1 This is the Tasult of the list of Thothmes III at Karnak (No. 56). It is there associated with Kheshbu, the Khasabu of one of the Tel el-Amarna tablets (No. 160), as well as with Anukhertu, the Anaharath of Josh. xix. 19, and Shemesh-Atum, which seems to be the Beth-Shemesh Josh. xix. 22. Tusulti was accordingly in what was afterwards the district of Issachar, and the ha-Chesulloth of Josh. xix. 18 may be a corrupt reading for ha-Tesulloth.
2 The Egyptian Amen-hotep. The spelling of the name in the cuneiform confirms Prof. Maspero's transliteration of the Egyptian word by Hotpu. The latter is represented in other Tel el-Amarna tablets by Khatib; see Records of the Past, New Series, vol. III. pp. 68, 69.
3 The traces of the characters seem to represent Magda-ili or Migdol. Cf. the Migdal-el of Josh. xix. 38.

30. the king my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
31. and they plunder it and set [it]
32. on fire; [but the house]
33. [of ....] survives
34. out of the city of MIGDOL¹;
35. and against Ama[n-kh]atbi
36. the Beduin have gone down,
37. and the city of USTE(?)RU ... [the city] of the king my lord
38. the Beduin have captured, and they plunder (it),
39. and they have set it on [fire. And to]
40. 41. the presence of Aman-khatbi the Beduin have gone down.
42. And behold: the Beduin
43. [have cap]tured the city of KHAZI, the city
44. of the king my lord, and we have made
45. [war against] the Beduin, [and]
46. smite [them], and [we have brought]
47. 50 Beduin to the presence² of [Aman-]khatbi,
48. and we have tak[en] ..... labasumi
49. the Beduin [before] Aman-khatbi,
50. and [we have taken from]³ him the chariots from
51. the [Beduin, and] my .... thy servants,
52. to [the presence] of Aman-khatbi, and
53. my [soldiers] have gone [down] to Aman-khatbi.
54. [As for] the Beduin and the SARI
55. [let] the king [my] lord question them.
56. ... with thee the Beduin
57. .... they have captured the fortress of the king my lord
58. and have [set] (it) on fire.
59. And ..... (to) give
60. the Beduin . . . their ... to ...
61. and ... to the Beduin.
62. Behold: Aman-khatbi the man of
63. [the king] ........
_______
1 We must read Ma-ag-[da]-li instead of Ma-ti ... li.
2 Ana'mu[khi].
3 Perhaps [nekim]mi.

64. the king my lord has ....
65. from ... he does not conquer. Let the king
66. my lord ask Aman-khatbi.

1. To the king my lord, my gods, the Sun-god,
2. (say) thus: (I) Abi-sarru thy servant,
3. (fall) seven (times) seven at the feet of the king my lord.
4. The king my lord has sent
5. Sirtasibku,¹ who is
6. with me; I have given
7. to the king my lord
8. (4)00 ...... and
9. may the king my lord turn
10. his face to his servant,
11. and may he give the city of Uzu²
12. to his servant: abundance of food³ and water
13. 14. may the king my lord give for his support,⁴ and a footman⁵
15, 16. to defend his city; and let me go down
17. and see⁶ the face of the king my lord
18, 19. with my face before the face of the king my lord,
20, 21. as when the king my lord appointed me
22. to defend his city.
23. And I have sent to the king my lord
24. saying that on the day of the coming
25. of Ilgi, king of the city of SIDON,
26. my footman, let the king lift up
27. his face to his servant
28, 29. and let him appoint (his servant) his Commissioner, and
_______
1 Or Sirtameku.
2 The U'su of the Assyrian inscriptions, the Hosah of Josh. xix. 29, near Tyre.
3 Akuili.
4 Site; literally "drinking."
5 Literally "a man of the foot." Line 26 shows that it must mean "vassal."
6 The two verbs are in the third person, the nominative being "his servant."

30. let him give the city of Uzu
31, 32. for water¹ to his servant, in order that he may get
33. trees for the fortress thou buildest
34. against Titi, since
35. he has made war (and)
36. 37. has not returned to allegiance.
38. There is no ... thou buildest,
39. when he ravaged the country of the king,
40. even the king of the city of SIDON.
41. The king of the city of HAZOR²
42. has left his city (?) and is remaining
43. with the Beduin. Let the king know,
44. against (his) footman they (have formed) evil plans and
45. he (the king of HAZOR) has surrendered the country of the king to the Beduin.
46. Let the king question his Commissioner who (is) in [his] country.

1, 2. To the king my lord, my gods, my Sun-god, my king, my lord,
3, 4. speak thus: (I) Zimriddi
5. the governor of the city of SIDON
6. at the feet of my lord, my gods, my king
7. who is my lord, at the feet of my lord,
8. my gods, my Sun-god, my king, my lord,
9. seven times seven prostrate myself.
10. Verily the king my lord knows that
11. the queen of the city of SIDON (is) the handmaid³
12. of the king my lord who has given her into my hand,
13. and that I have heard the words
14. of the king my lord that he would send to his servant,
15. and my heart rejoiced, and
16. my head was exalted and my eyes were enlightened
_______
1 That is to say, "to supply him with water." Abisarru seems to have been the vassal-king of insular Tyre.
2 Khazura, the Razor of Josh. xi. 10, Judg. iv. 2.
3 M. Delattre has misread the first and last words of this line, which are belat and amati, not salmat and sallatti.

17. and my ears¹ heard²
18. the words of the king my lord; and the king knows
19. 20. that I have sent in front the soldiers of the palace of the king my lord;
21. I have sent everything as the king my lord commanded.
22. And the king my lord knows that
23. hostility is very strong against me:
24. all the [fortresse]s which the king gave
25. into [my hand] have committed the offence (of revolt);
26. and the men ... the sons also the king has given
27. into [my hand], and the commander who marches
28. at the head of the soldiers of the palace of the king
29. against these fortresses which have revolted
30. to the Beduin;
31. 32. and he has restored them to my hand, and he goes up and down³ to
33, 34. the king my lord like his fathers before him.

1. [To] the king the lord, my Sun-god, thus (speaks)
2. the city of GEBAL,⁴ thy handmaid, thus:
3. (I) Ilu-rabi-khur⁵ thy servant
4. [at] the feet of my lord seven times seven prostrate myself.
5. The king my lord has not been troubled⁶
6. by the city of GEBAL, his handmaid,
7. the city of the king from everlasting.
8. With a view to what has the king looked (?)
9. upon Aziru? and they have done
10. according to his wishes. Behold: Aziru has smitten Adon⁷the king of the country of ARKA,⁸
_______
1 Uzna-ya. D. Winckler, however, reads this as khinaya, a Canaanite gloss on the Assyrian eni, "eyes."
2 Literally "(were) in hearing."
3 Iliyarad.
4 Gubla.
5 The name perhaps means "A great god is Horus."
6 Ika, the Heb. kahah.
7 Aduna.
8 Irqata, the Arkite of Gen. x. 17.

11. (he has also smitten) the country of AMMIYA¹
12. and the king of the country of ARVAD,²
13. and he has smitten the officer and taken³
14. their cities for himself,
15. (and) the city of ZEMAR for himself.
16. (Of) the cities of the king (there is) one alone, the city of GEBAL,
17. on the side⁴ of the king
18. who looks on. Behold: the city of ZEMAR⁵
19. [they have] smitten. The city of ULLAZA Palasa⁶
20. 21. has destroyed.⁷ Behold: Aziru has committed wrong
22, 23. [by] entering it. Against Sarnu⁸
24, 25. .... Itakama has directed the men ....
26, 27. [and] he has smitten all the countries of AM,⁹ the countries of the king,
28. and now he has directed
29. his men against the villages¹⁰ of the countries
30. of AM, and round about (?) it he has destroyed
31. his enemies, the king of the country of the HITTTES¹¹
32. and the king of the country of NARIBA,¹²
33. and¹³

1. [To] the man of the city of AMURRA¹⁴ (say) thus:
2. The king thy lord [speaks] thus: The man of the city of GEBAL
______
I Compare the Ummah of Josh. xix. 30.
2 Ardata.
3 Literally "great man."
4 Izzilat.
5 Tsumura, Simyra, the "Zemarite" of Gen. x. 18.
6 Does this mean "the Philistine?"
7 Sabir.
8 Perhaps "the prince," Heb. seren (Judg. xvi. 30.)
9 Possibly the Ammiya of line 11.
10 Avat, Heb. khavoth.
11 Khatta.
12 The Nireb of the North Syrian list of Thothmes III. at Karnak (No. 189), now Nerab, south-east of Aleppo.
13 The scribe has broken off here, leaving his letter unfinished.
14 The Amorites on the north side of Palestine. The forms of the characters are the same as those in the two letters written in the unknown language of Arzapi (Nos. 10 and 238). Perhaps therefore we may infer that Tarkundaraus of Arzapi was an Amorite.

{p.92} art thou] who has banished his brother in the gate saying]: Take me and let me enter my city; hearken] and I will give thee all this plentiful wealth as much as I have] with me: he is perpetually speaking (thus) to thee.
7. [Behold] thou shalt send to the king thy lord
8. [say]ing: Thy servant (am) I like all the former governors
9. who (have been) in all his¹ cities; but thou hast done wrong
10. ... like a governor who his brother in the gate
11. has banished from his abode.
12. And in the city of SIDON² he lives, and thou hast given him
13. to the governors according to thy report;
14. may he make known³ the sedition of the men.
15. If thou (art) a servant of the king in verity,
16. why dost thou not eat his stomach before thy king,
17. saying: This governor has spoken to me saying:
18. Take me to thyself and let me enter my abode.
19. And if thou hadst acted faithfully, (why) also remain unaccomplished
20. all the words which I despatched? In regard to them the king has returned answer thus:
21. Fetter him, since there is nothing at all (done) that I have desired.
22. And moreover one has heard that thou hast made a league with a certain one; drink⁴
23. food (and) house you have shared with one another, and why
_______
1 That is, the king.
2 Zituna. In the language of the letter d becomes t and t becomes d.
3 Or "come to know."
4 We must read sukitta.

24. hast thou done so¹ perpetually? why hast thou made a league
25. with the man for what the man has brought down with him? but if
26. thou hadst acted faithfully and observed thy instructions and his instructions
27. thou wouldst not have lifted up thyself against the words which thou performedst formerly.
28. What has happened² to thee among them?
29. And thou (art) not on the side of the king thy lord.
30. These .... against them
31. to the middle of the fire, to burn (?) thy property³ and furniture⁴
32. and whatsoever thou lovest exceedingly.
33. But if thou performest service to the king thy lord,
34. what is there that the king will not perform for thee, even for thee?
35. If in regard to anything thou wishest to do evil,⁵
36. and if thou purposest evil (and) words
37. of hostility in thy heart and among the governors (?)
38. of the king, thou shalt die along with all thy family.
39. But perform service to the king thy lord and thou shalt live,
40. and thou shalt know that the king (will) not (be) niggardly
41. to the country of CANAAN⁶ when he comes down.
42. And when I sent saying: Let the king my lord send me
43. an ambassador by sea⁷ this year, and let me go up
________
1 Kina, Heb. ken.
2 Inni[pi]sakku.
3 Uda.
4 Galu for kalu, Heb. khai.
5 Limiitti.
6 Kinakhkhi.
7 Mubir, literally "a (sea-)traverser."

44. in the second year to the presence of the king my [lord],
45. I had no child or son .....

1. And now the king thy lord has left thee
2. a living ambassador this year according as he has spoken:
3. Go thyself, or send thy son,
4. and thou shalt see the king who gives life to all the world
5. at his appearance; but thou dost not go, saying:
6. Let him send an ambassador this year immediately;
7. to go to the presence of the king thy lord never
8. has thy son directed his way; to the king thy lord according to thy ...
9. never may he go.
10. And moreover the king thy lord has heard that I sent to the king
11. saying: Let the king my lord send to me Khanni
12. the messenger of the king a second time,
13. and let me bring the enemies of the king to his hands.
14. Now (Khanni) has gone to thee according as he has spoken,
15. and do thou bring them and do not leave one
16. among them. Moreover the king thy lord has made you bring
17. the names of the enemies of the king in a letter²
18. to himself. Khanni (is) the messenger of the king,
19. and do thou bring them to the king thy lord,
20. and do not leave one among them.
21 . And let fetters of bronze be placed upon their feet.
22. See the men whom thou shalt bring to the king thy lord,
23. (namely) Sarru with all his children,
24. Tuya,³
_______
1 Iqbd.
2 Literally "in the middle of a tablet."
3 Compare the name of Toi, king of Hamath (2 Sam. viii. 9).

25. Leya with all his children,
26. Pisyari¹ with all his children,
27. the son-in-law of Manya with all his children,
28. together with his wives,
29. the PAMAKHIAN who has wickedly erred
30. himself and has published a manifesto,²
31. Da-sarti, Paluma,
32. Nimmakhe the KHAPADIAN³ in the country of the AMORITES.⁴
33. And verily thou knowest that the prosperity⁵ of the king (is) like the Sun-god
34. in heaven; his men (and) his chariots are numerous
35. in the upper earth and in the lower earth;⁶ (from) the rising of the Sun
36. to the setting of the Sun is profound peace.

1. To the king my lord
2. the Sun-god from heaven
3. thus (speaks) Zatatna the citizen of AKKU⁷
4. thy servant, the servant of the king, and
5. the dust of his feet, the ground
6. whereon he treads; at the feet
7. of the king my lord the Sun-god from
8. heaven seven times seven
9. do I bow down, and glorious
10. and supreme (is he).
_________
1 The name may also be read Yisyari.
2 Para ildana's; compare the Hebrew baer, "make plain (upon the tablets)," Hab. ii. 2. The Assyrian sa su, whence ildands for island's, signifies "to declare."
3 Khapadu, probably for Khabatu, "Plunderer" or Bedouin.
4 Amurri, not Akharri, "the West," as the name would be read in an Assyrian inscription of later date. Elsewhere in the letter the second character has the value of mur not khar.
5 Literally "peace," salim, used like the Hebrew shalom.
6 Apparently a reference to the title of the Pharaoh as the "lord of the two worlds," or Upper and Lower Egypt.
7 The Accho of Judg. i. 31, now Acre.

11. The king my lord has heard
12. the words of his servant [how] Zirdam-yasda
13. has revolted from [the king].
14. Namya-itsa [remains]
15. along with Suta [the Commissioner]¹
16. of the king in the city of AK[KU].
17. He says nothing at all
18. to him that thou hast caused (the lady) to come forth.
19. The soldiers of the king my lord are
20. with her in the city of MEGIDDO.
21. I say nothing at all to him,
22. and he has marched towards me.
23. And moreover
24. Suta has sent
25. to me that she has given
26. Zirdam-yasda
27. to Namya-itsa, but he does not
28. approve of the gift of him.
29. Behold: the city of AKKU
30. (is) like the city of MiGDOL²
31. in EGYPT, and
32. the king [my lord] does not ....
33. ... and they have descended (?)
34. ... against me, and indeed
35. the king my lord [has] sent
36. his commissioner and may he come.

1. To the king
2. my lord
3. speaks
4. thus Namya-itsa
5. thy servant, the dust
6. of thy feet, and
7. the ground whereon thou treadest,
_________
1 For Suta, see No. 11. line 19.
2 Magda-ili. See Exod. xiv. 2, Numb, xxxiii. 7, Jer. xliv. 1, etc.

8. the seat whereon thou sittest,
9. the footstool
10. of thy feet.
11. At the feet of the king my lord,
12. the Sun-god,
13. the herald of the morning,
14. seven times unto
15. seven times I prostrate myself
16. My lord (is) the Sun-god
17. in heaven, and
18. like the risings of the Sun-gods¹
19. from heaven everlastingly
20. thou enlightenest the servants
21. of the goings forth of the words
22. from thy flesh,
23. even the mouth of their lord.
24. Now I along with
25. my soldiers and my chariots
26. [and] with my brothers
27. and with my Beduin
28. and with
29. my SUTE²
30. (am) before the soldiers of the palace
31. at the place whereof
32. the king my lord has spoken.

1. To the king the Sun-god, my lord,
2. thus (speaks) Ebed-Asherah³
______
1 The plural must be noticed.
2 These are probably the Satiu or "Archers" of the Egyptian texts. In No. 47 (line 34), Rib-Addu says: "I have done a mighty deed all by myself; I have despatched the men of the country of Sute, and they have smitten the"Serdani," a name which reminds us of that of the Egyptian Shardaina.
3 Asratum or Asherah is preceded by the determinative of divinity, showing that the word, mistranslated "grove" in the Authorised Version of the Old Testament, was the name of a goddess as well as of her symbol.

3. thy servant, the dust of [thy] feet;
4. at the feet of the king my lord
5. seven times seven I prostrate myself.
6. Behold I (am) the servant of the king, and
7. the dog¹ of his house and
8. the country of AMURRI,² all of it.
9. For the king my lord I guard it.
10. I say, I repeat, to Pakhanate
11. my Commissioner, take
12. the soldiers of the kingdom to guard
13. the people of the king. Now the words
14. of the king does the king know; the soldiers of [A]MURRI
15. have ..... the country of A[MURRI]
16. to destroy (?) it from ....
17. my city, and ....
18. [for] the king [my] lord ....
19. [I] guard it ...
20. [Pa]khanate [my Commissioner]
21. the king [my lord] asks
22. if I have not defended
23. the cities of SIMYRA³ and ULLAZA,
24. since my Commissioner
25. (is) in the presence of the life of the king, the Sun-god;
26. and I the crops of the fields
27. of the city of SIMYRA and all
28. the provinces for the king my Sun-god,
29. my lord, defend;
30. and let the king my lord come down;
31. 32. and Pakhanate my Commissioner has made a stronghold (?) in it.
________
1 Elsewhere in these letters "dog" is equivalent to "minister." The fact may throw light on the name of "Caleb the dog," the ancestor of the most important Israelitish tribe in southern Palestine.
2 The Amorites. We cannot read A-khar-ri "the West," the later Assyrian name of Palestine, since the second character elsewhere in this letter has the value of mur and not of khar. See above, p. 95, note 4.
3 Tsumuri, the Zemar of Gen. x. 18.

1. To the king, my lord,
2. speaks
3. thus Artama-Samas,
4. the citizen of ZIRI-BASANI,¹
5. thy servant; at the feet
6. of the king my lord
7. seven times unto seven
8. times I prostrate myself.
9. Now
10. to me
11 . thou hast sent
12. to come
13. before the soldiers of the palace,
14. and lo, I (am)
15. the dog of the king, but
16. they have not marched.
17. Now I (am)
18. with my soldiers
19. and my chariots
20. before the soldiers
21. of the palace
22. at the place
23. 24. (which) the king my lord appoints.

1. To the king my lord
2. thus (speaks) Hadad-pu(?)-ya, and thus (speaks)
3. Bilti-ilu: At the feet of our lord I prostrate myself.
4. Unto my lord may there (be) peace;
________
1 "The field of Bashan." The name explains that of Zar-Basana mentioned in the Egyptian texts, as the home of Ben-Merzana, the son of "lu the elder," who assumed the Egyptian name of Ra-mes-per-Ra and became "prime Minister" in the first year of Meneptah (Mariette: Abydos, p. 421).

5. and the salutation (?): from his countries
6. (is) ever the peace of my lord.
7. O my lord, if there is anything which
8. thou dost not establish in thy heart,
9. do not vex thy heart,
10. O my lord, when thou relinquishest (it);
11. but take their forces, humble (their) station,
12. when on the spot
13. they do not receive² thee.
14. Verily the soldiers of the land of the HITTITES
15. have captured Lupakku;
16. the cities of the country of AM also from
17. Ben-Hadad³ they have taken,
18. and let our lord consider (it).
19. Verily we have heard as follows:
20. Zitana
21. has marched
22. and 9 foot-soldiers
23. with him who have marched;
24. and we have not received word,
25. if they are in safety
26. and have reached
27. the country of NUKHASSE;
28. and I Bilti-ilu
29. send to him
30. that their forces
31. we will take, and my messenger
32. speedily unto thee
33. I send, in order that he may return
________
1 Annamu, perhaps to be rendered "spontaneously," the Heb. khinnam, like annama in the Synchronous History (Records of the Past, New Series, IV. p. 27).
2 Yumakhkheru.
3 Bin-Addu.

34. word to thee whether it be so
35. or not.
36. To Bin-ili¹ and Ebed-Ip²
37. to Bin-Ana and Bin-ziddi³
38. Amur-Hadad (speaks) thus:
39. Unto you may there (be) peace;
40. do not vex your hearts
41. even at what you do not establish in your hearts;
42. and the salutation (?) from your house
43. (is) ever peace; and to Anati⁴
44. give a greeting of peace.
______
1 Or Rab-ili.
2 It is impossible to say with what Canaanite deity the god Ip was identified.
3 Or Rab-ziddi.
4 The Anath of the Old Testament.

TEXT OF AMMISATANA, KING OF BABYLON FROM ABOUT 2115 TO 2090 BC
TRANSLATED BY THEO. G. PINCHES

THIS text is written on a small broken tablet of unbaked clay, in archaic characters. Unfortunately, however, the end of the obverse and the beginning of the reverse are wanting, and many of the lines are exceedingly imperfect. The text is nevertheless of the first importance, not only on account of the historical information it gives, but also for the Akkadian language. As it is recorded in the colophon that it is "from Bel-usallim," written in late Babylonian, it is clear that it is a copy made about 550 BC, probably from a stone slab. The number is 80-11-12, 185.

1. Ammi-sa[tana]
2. the powerful king,
3. king of BABYLON,
4. king of KES,
5. king of SUMER [and AKKAD],

6. king of the vast (?)
7. land of PHOENICIA am I;
8. descendant
9. of Sumu-la-ilu (or Sumulan),
10. eldest son
11. of Abesu am I,
12. obedient (?) [to?] BEL,
13. the seat (?)....

1. his (?)....
2. . [in] a seat of gladness .....
3. he has made him sit
5. his stronghold.
6. MERODACH
7. has disclosed him (as) a man of power
8. let be confirmed in heaven and earth,
9. his name.
10. From Bel-usallim
11. son of ...-bi, the incantor.¹
_________
1 The following is a transcription of the original text:

OBVERSE	REVERSE
1. Am-mi-sa-[ta-na]	1. ..... bi
2. lugal esig[ga]	2. -ki-tur alal-la.
3. lugal Ka-dingir-ra ki	3... ne-ni-dur-ru-
4. lugal Kel ki	4. .......
5. lugal Ki-en-gi ki Ura	5. Mada'ga (?)
6. lugal da-ga-[la?]	6. D. P. Silik-lu-sara
7. mada Mar-tu-(ki)-me[-en]	7. lu ni-a ne-in-bur-ru-da-a
8. (khi-bi-es-su) sa-pal[-pal]	8. imi-ki-a gha-ra-ab-ga-ga
9. Su-mu-la-ilu[-gi?]	9. mu-bi
10. du ur-sag-	10. Sa'Bel-u-sa-al-li-im
11. A-bi-e-su-a-me-en	11. abil ..... bi (?) D. P. a-si-pu
12. se-[ga?] ... P.P. En-lil-la
13. ki-[tur?] J ...,

The importance of this text lies in the statement that this king Ammi-satana, descendant of Sumula-ilu or Sumulan (2317-2282 BC), the second of the Dynasty of Babylon,¹ son of Abesu² (2140-2115 BC) the eighth of the same dynasty, was not only king of Babylon, Kes (Hymer), Sumer, and Akkad, but of Phoenicia (Martu) as well. This is probably the first indication that the sway of the Babylonian kings of that early period extended so far, and would explain (as Prof. Sayce has pointed out to me) how it was that Babylonian became the language of diplomacy throughout Western Asia.

In this text Ammi-satana traces his descent from Sumula-ilu or Sumulan, the second king of the dynasty, without mentioning any of the intermediate rulers (six in number), of whom Khammu-rabi, a most renowned king, was one. The reason why he does not mention the first of the dynasty, Sumu-abi, as his ancestor, probably lies in the fact that (as indicated by the Babylonian canon) he was not descended from him,³ though belonging to the same family.

It is worthy of note that the names of the kings (eleven in number) of this dynasty are Semitic, all but two or three being of foreign form, though some seem to be expressed in the Akkadian style. The
_______
1 See vol. I. p. 13.
2 Called Ebisum in the canon (vol. I. p. 13).
3 The words "son of the same" (i.e. of Sumu-abi, the first king of the dynasty) are not placed against the name Sumula-ilu or Sumulan. See P. S. B. A. for Dec. 1880, p. 21, and Schrader, Die Keilinschriftliche Babylonische Konigsliste, col. i. 1. 2 of the Anlage.

{p.105} dynasty to which Ammi-satana belonged is called by the Babylonians "the dynasty of Babylon," but, notwithstanding this, they may easily have been of foreign origin perhaps Arabian.

In line 8 there was in Bel-usallim's original a mutilated part at the beginning of the line. This he has indicated in the usual way, by inserting khibi'essu or khibessu, "a recent break," or "defaced." The following word, however, is clear, it is sa-pal-[lal], generally transcribed lib-pal-pal. This group is equivalent to binbinu, "grandson," "descendant," and seems to be a genuine Akkadian word. If this be so, the forms of the Assyrian names Assur-natsir-pal, Assur-bani-pal, etc., are even more incorrect than was formerly supposed, for it takes away the justification for reading the Assyrian for "son" as pal. The correct forms are Assur-natsir-apli, Assur-bani-apli, etc., for that aplu (apli, apla) could ever become pal in the mouth of an Assyrian is an impossibility.

THE text, of which a translation is here for the first time given, is inscribed on a large tablet of unbaked clay, originally about eight inches square. The upper part, however, has now, to the extent of nearly two-thirds, completely disappeared, as well as a portion of the right-hand columns, many of the lines being incomplete in consequence. On the whole, probably less than one-third of the text remains. The writing is, in general, clear, though it is not in the best style. Portions of the surface preserved have also suffered severely in the course of the twenty-three centuries or thereabouts that have passed since the inscription was written.

Judging from the wording and arrangement of the text, it would seem that a copy of the series fell, about 630 BC or earlier, into the hands of the Assyrians, who probably compiled from it the series known as "The Synchronous History of Assyria and Babylonia," leaving out, however, every reference which might be considered damaging to the reputa- {p.107} tion of the Assyrian arms, or too laudatory to the Babylonians.

1. who (?) ....
2. king of KAR-DUNIAS and ....
3. made [covenants] between themselves, and fixed their common boundary
4. he prepared (?) and made and restored to its place
5. [Kadisman-Mur]us son of Kar-indas, son of Muballi-dhat-Serua
6. daughter of Assur-uballidh king of ASSYRIA, who dispersed the broad Suxi,
7. sent from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun,¹ and there was not a lord. In their passage
8. BIRATU² in the midst of the land of SARSAR³ banded together, advanced to the boundary (?) and
9. were strengthened for the watch. The people in their midst he settled comfortably. Afterwards
10. men of KASSI revolted against him and killed him, Su-zigas, a KASSITE
11. a plebeian, they raised to the dominion over them. Assur-uballidh
12. [king] of ASSYRIA, to revenge Kara-Murdas, his daughter's son,
13. went [to] KAR-DUNIAS. Su-zigas, the KASSITE
14. Kara-Murdas on the throne ....

With this may be compared Prof. Sayce's translation of the Assyrian "Synchronous History" in vol.
_______
1 That is, "sent from east to west."
2 Literally "the city Biratu" (di Biratu). Birdtu, however, is the plural of birtu, "fortress," so that a kind of confederacy of strongholds is probably meant. The verb (ukatstsir) is singular.
3 [According to W. A. I. , ii. 51, 19, it was either Syria or a part of Syria. ED.] The group is equivalent to Akharri, generally translated "Phoenicia."

{p.108} iv. p. 27. It simply mentions the killing of Kara-Murdas,¹ son of Muballidhat-Serua, by the Kassites, and the raising of Su-zigas, there called Nazi-bugas, to the throne of Babylonia. Evidently it was Kadisman-Murus who "dispersed the broad Suti," and who did not find "a lord" from "the rising to the setting sun," hence the omission of these lines in the "Synchronous History." We see from this part of the text that the military system of the Babylonians was very like that of the Assyrians, for they, too, transported conquered nations from place to place, and made them "keep watch"² with their new fellow-subjects.

1. .....
2. furniture (?)....
3. over them [he set ?] and a cry they (?)....
4. the enemy took (?) him, they became estranged (from) each other ....
5. He caused [them] to be slain, the whole of them; a soul he did not leave, and ....
6. He ... life, (as) a great sea by their blood the land of TAM[TIM?] [was covered?]
7. An agreement (?) he sent forth. His soldiers we honoured, we proclaimed. Famine (?)....
8. The soldiers rested, they collected (?) the extensive property of the enemy ....
9. He caused to be brought up for the feast (?).³ He returned, and with the advantage ....
10. we did not know, and Durri-galzu like all the men of ba[ttle?] ....
________
1 This is probably a mistake of the scribe for Karaindas ( = Kar-indas).
2 See line 7, and compare col. iii, line 6.
3 Or, "he caused to be raised to heaps" (ana gurune useli).

11. Among the soldiers we had not our rival. Again the countries (?)....
12. We took, we held (?) thy place, and we brought away our friend (?)....
13. we caused to be captured, thy hands returned them and placed (?)....
14. them and a letter (?) thou ....

3. ......
4. 1000 horses .... he gave (?) them ....
5. who took the language and brought offspring ....
6. I caused the watch to be kept, I completed the time ....
7. The return of your road. Silver, gold, precious stones ....
8. I brought, a quantity (?) of gold and silver [I dedicated] to MERODACH my lord
9. BABYLON and BORSIPPA then I added to my country
10. Khurba-tila, king of ELAM [sent] to Durri-galzu
11. thus: "Come, I and thou, at Dt>R-DuNGi, [battle?]
12. together will make." Durri-galzu heard and ....
13. to ELAM to capture it he went, and Khu[rba-tila]
14. king of ELAM, at DUR-DUNGi, battle against th[em made, his men]
15. before him revolted, and Durri-galzu [accomplished] his defeat. [Khurba-tila],
16. king of ELAM, his hands captured. The whole of ELAM ....
17. a portion among his portions Khurba-tila, king of ELAM ....
18. then set. The king, Durri-galzu, when [he heard?] these things,
19. with the kings of all the lands, tribute ....
20. against Rammanu-nirari, king of ASSYRIA, to capture [him, went].

21. In the city SUGAGA, which is upon the river ZALZALLAT, [he fought with him],
22. he killed his soldiers, his great men he ....
23. Nazi-Murudas, son of ....
24. king of ASSYRIA ....

The long account of what seems to have occurred in the land of Tamtim (?) (the coast of the Persian Gulf, if this be correctly read) is omitted in the "Synchronous History," and it is a great pity that the text is so mutilated here, for the Babylonian narrative was not a mere outline of what took place, but a circumstantial history, probably quoted from the account of some trustworthy eye-witness, and seemingly not without literary merit. A letter of Durri-galzu, of the nature of a royal proclamation, referring to his successes, is there quoted. That this also refers to the events in Babylonia may be gathered from the fact that Durri-galzu says he added Babylon and Borsippa to his country (Babtliic Barsip cli tseri-ia lu-usadkdhir) these cities not having, seemingly, accepted his rule on account of his having been set on the throne by Assyria (see vol. iv. p. 28). The account of Khurba-tila's challenge to Durri-galzu, and of its disastrous results to the former, are also omitted in the "Synchronous History."
_______
1 As satdru means "to write," and is only used in the Kal with this meaning, I take this phrase to mean that Durri-galzu caused Babylon and Borsippa to be written down as part of his dominions.

1. kings ...
2. he placed before NINIP .....
3. ... [Tukulti]-Ninip¹ returned to BABYLON and
4. ... approached (?), the fortress of BABYLON he captured, the BABYLONIAN(S) with the sword
5. [he caused to be slain], the property of ESAGGIL and BABYLON, the .... of the great lord, MARDUK
6. in his hand (?) he gathered and caused to be taken to ASSYRIA. The policy of his prefects
7. in KAR-DUNIAS he settled. Seven years Tukulti-Ninip KAR-DUNIAS
8. governed. Afterwards the great men of AKKAD (and) of KAR-DUNIAS revolted against him and
9. Rammanu-nadin-akhi² on the throne of his father they set. Tukulti-Ninip, who BABYLON to evil
10. had brought, Assur-natsir-apli, his son, and the great men of ASSYRIA, revolted against him, and
11. [from] his throne they threw him, and in KAR-TUKULTI-NINIP, in the house,³ they shut him up, and killed him with the sword.
12. [For] 5 years, until (the time of) Tukulti-Assur-Bel, he was dwelling in ASSYRIA. In the time of Tukulti-Assur-Bel to
13. BABYLON he went.
14. ... Bel-nadin-sum,⁴ the king, came also Kidin-Khutru to the king of ELAM
15. ... his hand, at NIFFER his people he gathered, DUR-ILI and A-TIM-GAL-KALAMA
________
1 [Or Tiglath-Uras: Records of the Past, New Series, II. p. 206. ED.]
2 [I have transcribed this name Rimmon-suma-natsir, Records of the Past, New Series, I. p. 16, II. p. 207. The succession of the Assyrian kings seems to have been: (1) Tiglath-Uras, (2) Assur-natsir-pal, (3) Tiglath-Assur-Bel (?), (4) Assur-narara, (5) Nebo-dan. ED.]
3 Palace.
4 [The last king of the Kassite dynasty; Records of the Past, New Series, I. p. 16. ED.]

16. .... its people they spoiled, drove away, and Bel- nadin-sum, the king, [renounced?] his dominion.
17. .... Rammanu-sarra-iddina¹ returned, and Kidin-Khutru to AKKAD in his second advance (?)
18. he removed (?), ISIN he entered, the TIGRIS all
19. at MARAD the overthrow of the numerous people evilly
20. him and on the oxen a claim
21. took and caused to be removed to a distance. The waste places (?)
22. him also.
23. ruled
24. him

This portion, so little creditable to Assyria, is entirely omitted in the "Synchronous History" (see vol. iv. p. 32). It is, however, a most interesting narrative, and one cannot help wondering how it is that the Assyrian who "edited" the record in his own country has not at least mentioned Tukulti-Ninip's seven years rule in Babylon. Was it that this paragraph got destroyed? or that Tukulti-Ninip had such a bad name among his own countrymen that they would not mention his glories? Evidently he was not a model ruler, and "the policy of his prefects" (kharran² saknuti-su) was probably not all
________
1 Or, Rammanu-sum-iddina. [Probably the second king of the dynasty of Isin: Records of the Past, New Series, vol. 1. p. 17. ED.]
2 Kharran really means "road," but it is also used for "conduct," "business." In the infinitive the phrase would be sakdnu sa kharrani, "to fix, of a road," and it is of common occurrence, in various forms, in the later business documents, with the meaning of "to decide a course of action."

{p.113} that could have been wished, hence the revolt in Akkad and Kar-Dunias (Babylonia). Whatever may have been his faults, however, they cannot justify Assur-natsir-apli, his son, for the part that he took against him indeed, as the chief personage in the kingdom after the king, he was probably leader of the revolt, and would be therefore directly responsible for his father's murder; and it is not surprising that this ruler, who must, during his reign, have been renowned for his cruelties, began his public career as a parricide. From line 12 onwards the sense is doubtful in consequence of the mutilation of the record, but it would seem that the person referred to as dwelling in Assyria and going to Babylon was Tukulti-Ninip. In line 14 the upright wedge meaning "to" is probably a mistake of the scribe, unless we are to read Kidin-Khutrudis, in which case lines 14-17 might be rendered as follows: "[In the .... year?] of Bel-nadin-sum, the king, came also Kidin-Khutru(dis), king of Elam [he filled?] his hand (with spoil), he gathered his soldiers at Niffer, [he captured?] Dur-ili and fe-tim-gal-kalama, they spoiled and drove away its (Dur-ili's) people, and Bel-nadin-sum abdicated." " ... Rammanu-sarra-iddina returned, and Kidin-Khut-ru(dis), in his second advance (?), [captured?] Akkad," etc. These paragraphs, likewise, do not occur in the "Synchronous History," so that we have no help as to the translation. If, as is to be hoped, a duplicate of this important text comes to light, doubtless all {p.114} the passages now obscure will be cleared up. Mutilated, however, as the record unfortunately is, it must be taken as a welcome and interesting addition to our knowledge of Babylonian history during a very important period.

THE following inscription contains the annals of the king, who since the discovery¹ of a second Tiglath-pileser among the predecessors of Assurnatsirpal is known as Tiglath-pileser III. His real name appears to have been Pul, or Pulu; and that he was the rightful heir to the throne, or even of royal blood, is by no means certain. He never calls him self the son of Assurnirari, the king his predecessor, or indeed makes any allusion to his father a reticence unusual in an Assyrian king, and in later times his monuments were to a large extent defaced by Esarhaddon. But these facts do not necessarily imply more than that he was only a younger son of the royal house. On ascending the throne (745 BC) he took the name of the great conqueror of the first Assyrian epoch, whose exploits he was destined to rival, and this circumstance has led the Biblical compiler into the mistake of supposing that there were two kings, Pul and Tiglath-
_________
1 Pinches, Guide to the Nimroud Central Saloon, p. 9.

{p.116} pileser. Nevertheless the fact of their identity is now completely established.

The operations of his first campaign (in 745) were directed against the (partly nomadic) Aramaeans and Chaldeans of the province of Babylon, who were constantly threatening the stability of the Assyrian power on the southern borders of the empire. Babylon itself he appears to have left undisturbed; but Sippara and Niffer, besides other towns of less importance, were taken. The power of the Aramaeans was broken, and their territory placed under the control of an Assyrian governor, while the priests of Babylon, Borsippa and Kutha, sent presents to the conqueror in token of submission. In the following year he moved eastward across the river Zab, invaded the little-known territory of the "mighty Medes," and pushed his conquests as far as Bikni, "the mount of the rising sun."

His attention was now directed to the course of events in the west. At Arpad, in Syria, whither he had moved, he found himself confronted by a powerful coalition, at the head of which was Sarduris, king of Urardhi, or Ararat. Tiglath-pileser lost no time in attacking the allies, upon whom he inflicted a signal defeat at Kummukhi (Komagene); but mean while, during his absence from Arpad, this town had become the centre of a hostile league, which included the king of Hamath and, as it appears, Azariah, king of Judah. Accordingly Tiglath-pileser advanced upon Arpad, which after a siege of three years was taken {p.117} (in 740). Hamath soon shared the same fate. These successes produced an immediate effect throughout the whole district. Eighteen kings sent tribute to Tiglath-pileser, among them Rezin of Damascus, Hiram of Tyre, and Menahem of Samaria.

During the next three years (737-735) the east and north-east again became the theatre of the conqueror's exploits. After an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the stronghold of Sarduris on lake Van, he directed his march along the southern shore of the Caspian sea, and penetrated into the recesses of Media. At this point, owing to the obscurity of the geographical names in the inscriptions, it becomes impossible to determine with accuracy the extent and direction of the king s further advance. But one thing appears to be certain, and that is that the Assyrian arms were carried eastward by Tiglath-pileser far beyond the limits reached by any of his predecessors. Some scholars have even supposed that he made his way into the valley of the Indus, and that to Tiglath-pileser belongs the glory of the conquests associated long afterwards in popular tradition with the great name of Semiramis.

Leaving these remote fields of conquest and adventure, the king again turned westward. Ahaz, king of Judah, menaced by Rezin of Damascus and Pekah of Israel, had appealed to Assyria for help. Tiglath-pileser advanced first against Rezin. A battle was fought, and the king of Damascus was {p.118} driven to take refuge in his capital, where Tiglath-pileser blockaded him, as he tells us, "like a bird in a cage." He then turned his arms against Israel; but here he seems to have left the capital unmolested, and to have contented himself with overrunning and devastating the surrounding country, parts of which were annexed to Assyria. Gaza and Ashkelon, strongholds of the Philistines, were next attacked and taken, and the power of the conqueror made itself felt even among the Arabian tribes on the borders of Egypt, some of whom voluntarily submitted, and retained their independence, while others were incorporated with the empire.

Meanwhile Pekah of Israel had been murdered; but the difficulty of the situation was peacefully solved by Tiglath-pileser, who either promoted the murderer Hosea to the vacant throne, or, at any rate, confirmed him in the possession of it. Whether the expedition against Tabal and Tyre was under taken at this time (732) or somewhat later is uncertain. Conducted, however, not by the king in person, but by his general, it was completely successful, and from Tyre in particular the enormous sum of 150 talents was taken as tribute.

The king, having now finally established his supremacy over the vast regions of the west and north-west, felt himself free to consolidate and extend the conquests of his first campaign. So in the year 731 he marched against the sacred city of Babylon itself. Here he seems to have met with no resistance, {p.119} and, in the same way, Sippara, Niffer, Borsippa, and other towns of importance submitted. Lastly, having subdued the Puqudu and other Aramaean and Chaldean tribes within the limits or on the borders of Babylonia, he could justly style himself king of Sumer and Akkad.

The closing years of his reign appear to have been peaceful occupied, not improbably, by the building operations of which we have a fragmentary account in our inscription. He was succeeded in 727 by Shalmaneser IV.

The inscription here translated is on a tablet of clay brought from Nimrud, and now (K375i) in the British Museum. Much of it has been defaced, and the conquests of the king are enumerated on a geographical plan, not in chronological order. It is published in W. A. I., ii. 67, and has been several times translated into English by George Smith (Discoveries, 256 ff.), into French by Menant (Annales, 140 suivv.) and Eneberg (Journal Asiatique, vi. 441 suivv.), and into German by Schrader (Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, ii. 8 ff.).

1. The palace of Tiglath-pileser, the great king, the mighty king, king of the whole (world), king of Assyria, king of BABYLON, king of SUMER and ACCAD, king of the four regions,
2. the mighty one, the warrior, who with the help of like a flood overspread (them), and as smoke reckoned (them),
3. the king who at the command of ASSUR, SAMAS, and MERODACH the great gods from the sea¹ of BIT-YAKIN to BIKNI of the rising of the sun,
4. and the sea of the setting of the sun to MUTSRI,² from the west to the east the countries ruled, and exercised kingship over them.
5. From the beginning of my kingship to seventeen years of my reign. The peoples of ITUA, RUBUA, KHAMARANI, LUKHIJATU, KHARIBU, RUBB), RAPIQU, KHIRANU, RABILU,³
6. NATSIRU, GULUSU, NABATU, RAKHIQU, KA ...., RUMMULUTU,⁴ ADILIE, KIPRIE, UBUDU, GURUMU, BAGDADU, KHINDIRU,
7. DAMUNU, DUNANU, NILQU, RADIE, DA ..., UBULU, KARMA, AMBATU, RUA, QABIA, LI TAU, MARUSU,
8. AMATU, KHAGARANU,⁵ the cities of DUR-KURIGALZI,
_______
1 Lit. "the bitter river," at the head of the Persian Gulf.
2 Egypt.
3 It is possible that this name should be read Rabian.
4 The last syllable of this word is -tu, not -su, as printed in W. A. I. , ii. 67, 6.
5 The Hagarenes.

{p.121} ADI ..., BIRTU¹ of SARRAGITI, BIRTU of LAB-BANAT, BIRTU of KAR-BEL-MATATI,
9. the ARUMU,² all of them, who (are) on the banks of the rivers TIGRIS, EUPHRATES, and SURAPPI, to the midst of the river UKNIE, which (is) over against the lower sea, I subdued, with slaughter³ of them I slaughtered, their spoil I spoiled.
10. The ARUMU, as many as there were, to the territory of ASSYRIA I added them, and my generals as governors over them I set. Upon TUL-KAMRI, which they call the city KHUMUT,
11. a city I built; KAR-ASSUR its name I called; people of the countries, the spoil of my hands, in the midst I placed. In SIPPARA, NIFFER, BABYLON, BORSIPPA, KUTHA, KIS, DILBAT and ERECH, cities without equals,
12. splendid sacrifices to BEL, ZIRBANIT, NEBO, TASMIT, NERGAL, LAZ, the great gods, my lords, I offered, and they loved my priesthood. Broad KAR-DUNIAS⁴ to its whole extent I ruled, and
13. exercised kingship over it. The PUQUDU⁵ as it were (with) a net I struck down, with slaughter of them I slaughtered, much spoil of them I spoiled. These PUQUDU (and) the city of LAKHIRU, which⁶ (looks) towards the midst of the city of KHILIMMU,
14. (and) the city of PILLUTU, which is on the side of ELAM, to the territory of ASSYRIA I added, and in the hands of my general, the governor of ARRAPKHA I allotted. The KALDUDU, as many as there were, I carried away, and
_______
1 Or "the fortress."
2 The Aramaeans.
3 Dikta is here taken closely with the verb aduk as a sort of cognate accusative. Schrader and others, on the contrary, translate it as the direct object, "fighting men," "warriors."
4 Babylonia.
5 The Pekod of Jer. 1. 21.
6 I read sa'idi biri ina Khilimmu, taking biri as a preposition. Cf. Nebuchadnezzar, EIH. viii, 52, ina blrisunu, "between them." Schrader (Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, ii. 13) takes birina as some (unexplained) part of a town, and renders "which is on the side of the birina of the town Khilimmu."

15. in the midst of ASSYRIA I settled. KALDU¹ to its (whole) extent like dust I trod it down. Nabu-usabsi, son of Silani, his warriors² close to SARRA-PANU his city I slew,
16. and himself in front of the great gate of his city on a stake I lifted up, and I reduced his country to subjection. SARRAPANU by means of a wall and battering engines I captured. 55,000 people together with their goods,
17. his spoil, his stuff, his possessions, his wife, his sons, his daughters, and his gods I carried off. That city together with the cities which (are in) its neighbour hood I destroyed, I laid waste, with fire I burned, and to mounds and ruins I reduced.
18. The city of TARBATSU (and) the city of YAPALLU I captured. 30,000 people together with their goods, their stuff, their possessions and their gods [I carried off. Those cities] together with the cities which (are in) their neighbourhood
19. like a ruin of the deluge I destroyed. Zaqiru son of Sa'alli against the ordinances of the great gods sinned, and with his mouth. Him together with his great men with (my) hands I seized;
20. bonds of iron I put upon them, and to ASSYRIA I took (them). The people of BIT-SA'ALLI were afraid, and the city of DUR .... for their stronghold they took.
21. That city by siege and storm I took, and as earth³ I reckoned. 50,400 people together with their goods, their spoil, their stuff, their possessions, his wife, his sons, his daughters, and his gods I carried off.
22. The city of AMLILATU I captured. The people together with their goods, its spoil, its stuff, its pos-
________
1 The Chaldeans of classical antiquity.
2 Here it seems as if dikta must refer to an object other than Nabuusabsi. See also lines 23, 33.
3 Or, literally "on the earth," that is "I threw to the ground," "levelled with the ground."

{p.123} sessions I carried off. BIT-SA'ALLI to its (whole) extent like a deluge I overspread, and I laid waste its homesteads.
23. Those countries to the territory of ASSYRIA I added. Ukin-zir¹ son of AMUKKAN in SAPIE the city of his kingship I besieged him; his fighting men in numbers in front of his great gate I slew.
24. The groves of palms, which (were) outside his wall, I cut down, and I did not leave one. His date-palms, which (are) the growth of the country I destroyed, and his enclosures I broke down, and filled up the interiors. All his cities
25. I destroyed, I laid waste, with fire I burned. BIT-SILANI, BIT-AMUKKANI, and BIT-SA'ALLI to their (whole) extent like a ruin of the deluge I destroyed; to mounds and ruins I reduced.
26. The tribute of Balas'u² son of Dakkuri, (and of) Nadin of LARAK,³ silver, gold, precious stones, I received. Merodachbaladan son of Yakin, king of the sea,⁴ who (in the time of) the kings my fathers into the presence of none (of them) had come, and
27. kissed their feet, fear of the majesty of ASSUR my lord cast him down, and to SAPIA, into my presence, he came, and kissed my feet. Gold, the dust of his country, in abundance,
28. implements of gold, necklaces of gold, precious stones, the produce of the sea, beams of wood particoloured garments, perfumes in abundance of all kinds, oxen, sheep, as his tribute I received.
29. The countries of NAMRI, BIT-SANGIBUTI, BIT-KHAMBAN, SUMURZU,⁵ BARRUA, BIT-ZUALZAS, BIT-MATTI, the city of NIQU, which (is in) the country of UMLIYAS, the countries of BIT-TARANZAI, PARS'UA, BIT-ZATTI,
_______
1 The Khinziros of the Greek writers.
2 This name corresponds to the classical Belesys.
3 For this value of the characters, see e.g. Strassmaier, AV. p. 586. Schrader (1. c. p. 15) is undecided between the renderings Ut-ut and Tam-tam. Larak seems to be the Larankha of Berossos, now Senkereh.
4 The country at the head of the Persian Gulf.
5 It is possible that the right reading is Sukharzu.

30. BlT-ABDADANI, BlT-KAP'SI, EL-SANGI, BlT-URZAKKI, BIT-ISTAR, the city of ZAKRUTI¹ the countries of GIZINIKISSI, NISSA,² the cities of TSIBUR, URIMZAN, the countries of RA'USAN,
31. .... [NI-]PARIA, BUZTUZ, ARIARMI, BURRUMU-SARR-ANI-ITSTSURU, SAK'SUKNI, ARAQUTTU, K.ARZIPRA, GUKINNANA, BIT-SAKBAT, SILKHAZI,
32. which men call the stronghold of the BABYLONIAN, RUADI, BIT-DUR, USQAQQANA, SIKRA the land of gold, districts of remote (?) MEDIA, to their whole extent like dust I overwhelmed, and
33. their fighting men in numbers I slew. 60,500 people, together with (their) goods, their horses, their mules, their humped oxen, their oxen, their sheep, without number I carried off.
34. Their cities I destroyed, I laid waste, and with fire I burned; to mounds and ruins I reduced. The countries of NAMRI, BIT-SANGIBUTI, BIT-KHAMBAN, SUMURZU, BIT-BARRUA, BIT-ZUALZAS,
35. BIT-MATTI, NIQQU, which (is in) UMLIYAS, BIT-TARAN-ZAI, PAR'SUA, BIT-ZATTI, BIT-ABDADANI, BIT-KAP'SI, BIT-SANGI, BIT-URZAKKI, the cities of BIT-!STAR,
36. (and) ZAKRUTI of remote (?) MEDIA, to the territory of ASSYRIA I added. The cities which (were) in them anew I built; the worship of ASSUR my lord in the midst I established; people from the countries the conquests of my hands therein I settled;
37. my generals as governors over them I appointed; an image of my kingship in TIKRAKKI, the cities of BIT-ISTAR (and) TSIBUR, the countries of ARIARMI, BURRUMU-SARRANI-ITSTSURU,
38. SILKHAZI, which men call the stronghold of the BABYLONIAN, I set up. The tribute of MEDIA (and) ELLIPAI,³ and the chiefs of the cities of the mountains, all of them, as far as BIKNI,
________
1 The Asagartiya of the Persian cuneiform texts (Behistun ii. 79, iv. 20), the Sagartians of classical geography in the Zagros mountains.
2 The Nissea of classical geography.
3 Ellip was the district of which Ekbatana was subsequently the capital.

39. horses, mules, humped oxen, oxen,¹ and sheep .... the might (and) the majesty of ASSUR my lord, which in the mountains, all of them ....
40. ... (of) ASSUR my lord cast him down, and to DUR-TIGLATH-PILESER, the city which .... into my presence he came, (and) kissed [my feet]
41. .... mules, oxen, and sheep, weapons ....
42. ... my [general] ASSURDANINANI to the land of the mighty MEDES, (the land) of the rising sun
43. ... the land of KIRKHU in its totality I captured; to the territory of ASSYRIA I added ....
44. ... of my kingship therein I placed; the worship of ASSUR my lord therein I established ....
45. ... the people of [ARARAT² Sulumal of the country of the MELIDDIANS,³ Tarkhu-[lara of the GAN-GUMIANS] ....
46. ... Kustaspi of the country of the KOMAGENIANS to capture (and) plunder .....
47. .... the countries of KISTAN and KHALPI districts of ...
48. ...assunu (?) the river SINZI, the canal like nabasi ....
49. ... I seized them in the midst of ...
50. .... royal beds ....
51. ...
52. ... which into my presence .....
53. ... the cities of the TEMANIANS,⁴ the SABEANS,⁵ the KHAIAPPIANS, the BADANIANS .....
54. ... whom no one knows, and whose seat is distant, the majesty of my Lordship ....
55. .... camels, she-camels, perfumes in abundance of all kinds, (as) their tribute like one to ...
56. Idibi'ili as a watch over (against) EGYPT I appointed. In the countries all of them, which ....
_________
1 Omitted in W. A. I., ii. 67, followed by Schrader; but plainly to be traced in the original.
2 Urjardhai.
3 Melid, the modern Malatiyeh in eastern Kappadokia.
4 The Teman of the Old Testament.
5 Sab'ai, the Sheba of the Old Testament.

57. The tribute of Kustaspi of the KOMAGENIANS, Urik (of) the QUANS,¹ Sibittibi'il (of) GEBAL .....
58. Enilu (of) HAMATH, Panammu (of) the SAMLIANS,² Tarkhulara (of) the GAMGUMIANS, Sulumal (of) the MELIDDIANS ....
59. Uas-surme (of) TUBAL, Uskhitti (of) the TUNIANS, Urpalla (of) the TUKHANIANS, Tukhamme (of) the ISTUNDIANS ......
60. [MA]TANBI'IL (of) ARVAD, Sanipu (of) BIT-AMMON, Salamanu (Solomon) (of) the MOABITES .....
61. Mitinti (of) ASHKELON, Jehoahaz (of) JUDAH,³ Qaus-melech (of) EDOM,⁴ Muz ......
62. Hanon (of) GAZA, gold, silver, lead, iron, abar, parti-coloured clothing, garments, the dress of their country, purple ....
63. ... the produce of sea (and) land, the spoil of their country, the treasure of royalty, horses, mules, the team of a yoke .....
64. Uas-surme (of) TABAL, the things of ASSYRIA sought to rival, and into my presence did not come; my general the Rab-[sak] .....
65. [Kh]ulli, the son of an unknown person,⁵ on the throne of his royalty I seated. 10 talents of gold, 1000 talents of silver, 2000 horses ....
66. my general, the .Rab-shakeh, to TYRE I sent. Of Mietenna of TYRE 150 talents of gold ....
67. with the sense, the cunning, the penetrating thought, which the chief of the gods, the prince NUDIMMUT gave (me), a palace of cedar ....
68. and an entrance-hall after the fashion of a palace of the HITTITES for my majesty in CALAH I built ....
69. An amount of earth higher than the former palaces of my fathers from the bed of the TIGRIS I caused to raise .....
________
1 On the northern shore of the Gulf of Antioch.
2 Samahla lay to the north-east of the Gulf of Antioch, its capital being now represented by the mounds of Sinjirli.
3 Yaukhazi of the Yaudai.
4 Qaus-malaka of the Udumai.
5 Lit. "the son of no one."
6 The god Ea. Schrader reads Nukimmut.

70. All the men of (my) army, (such as were) cunning, skilfully I employed, and .....
71. 20 great cubits below the rushing¹ water stout squared stone like the mass of a mountain I piled, and .... the left .....
72. their terraces I laid out, and their foundations I fixed, and I raised their spires. Half a gar, two-thirds of a cubit the house ... I devised, and .....
73. On the north side in front I placed their gates, with ivory, ztili-wood, box-wood, palm-wood, box-wood (?) .... juniper.
74. The tribute of the kings of the HITTITES, the princes of ARAM² and KALDI, whom by the pre-eminence of my strength I had subdued to my feet ... I stored (therein).
75. 5½ gar, four cubits sheer from the depth of the water their fabric I enclosed, and more than the palaces of (all) lands I enlarged .... their work.
76. (With) beams of cedar, well grown, which like the fragrance of the wood of KHASURRI³ for (their) perfume (are) good, the produce of KHAMANA,⁴ LEBANON and AMMANANA,
77. I roofed them, and made them fast. To show forth ornament .... stones, the work of burkulluti, I made, and (therewith) I furnished the gate.
78. Doors of cedar (and) cypress, in pairs, the entering in of which is blissful, whose fragrance breathes upon the heart,
79. with a rim of bronze and shining metal I bound, and in the gates I fixed. Lions, bulls, (winged) bulls, formed with exceeding cunning, skilfully fashioned,
80. the entrances I caused to hold, and for wonderment I set up; thresholds (looking) towards the sun, of paruti-stone, at their base I laid down, and I made glorious the entrance.
______
1 Literally "strong," i.e. "strong-flowing."
2 Atime.
3 Khasur was the name of one of the spurs of Mount Amanus; see W. A. I., ii. 51. 4.
4 Amanus at the head of the Gulf of Antioch.

81. An image too I made to keep guard¹ over the great gods; with creatures of sea and land I surrounded him; with terror I invested (him).
82. With a railing (?) of gold, silver, and copper for their completion I surrounded them, and I made their forms to shine.
83. For the dwelling of my royalty its² buildings I raised; precious stones, the work ... I placed within it.
84. The palaces "Pleasure," "holding abundance," "king's graciousness," "making their builder grow old," for their names I called.
85. The gates "Righteousness," "ordering the judgment of the princes of the four regions," "preserving the tribute of mountains and seas,"
86. "Causing the fullness of the lands to enter into the presence of the king their lord," I named the names of their gates.
________
1 Reading u'tsalam abni matsar sut Hi rabati. Schrader (1. c. p. 24) gives u'tsalam abnima zarsdt (?) Hi rabtiti; but the difficulty here is to explain zarstit, upon which, so far as I can see, Strassmaier (A. V. No. 2912), cited by Schrader, throws no light whatever.
2 I. e. the buildings of the palace.

[In the above translation a comma before a vowel or consonant other than s, as in Samahla, line 58, represents h, ED.]

AT the beginning of Esarhaddon's reign, he warred, as shown by his annals, in a district called Khani-galbat, on the Upper Euphrates. As the record is mutilated, it is not known against whom he fought, but it is generally supposed that it was against the troops of his two brothers, Adrammelech (Assur-munik or Assur-mulik) and Sharezer, who, after having slain their father, had escaped into Armenia, and now came (as is conjectured) to dispossess their younger brother of the throne of Assyria, on which, during their absence, the people had seated him. At this time, evidently to encourage the young king in his difficult task of winning to himself and consolidating the kingdom, the following addresses, purporting to be the utterances of his favourite goddess, Istar of Arbela, Goddess of War, by the mouths of the various people whose names are attached to them, were sent to him. Esarhaddon describes the success which attended his arms as follows: {p.130} Pulukhti ilani rabiiti beli-ia y'skhup-sunutima tib takhazi-ia danni emuru-ma emit makhkhur. Istar belit qabli takhazi rdimat sanguti-ia idda taziz-ma midpanat-sunu tasbir; takhaza-sunu raksu tapdhur-ma ina pukhri-sunu iqbii umma: Annu saram.¹"The fear of the great gods, my lords, overwhelmed them, and they saw the onrush of my powerful attack, and inclined to retreat. Istar, lady of war (and) battle, lover of my priesthood, stood by my side, and broke their bows; she opened out their close battle(-formation), and in their assembly they cried out thus: This is our king."

Judging from this, Adrammelech and Sharezer must have fled with a considerable force of Assyrian soldiers, who, when they saw the battle going against them, at once acknowledged Esarhaddon's claim. Esarhaddon's reverence for Istar of Arbela, Goddess of Battle, is borne witness to from the fact that he gives her the principal honour of the defeat of his enemies, really due, however (judging from Esarhaddon's words), to an error in generalship, namely, an open instead of a close formation.

A translation of the Oracle was given by me in the first series of the Records of the Past, vol. xi, thirteen years ago. The text has since then been thoroughly revised, and is now published in the 4th vol. of the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, pi. 6 1 in the new edition and 68 in the old. Partly
________
1 W. A. I., iii. pl. 15, col. i., lines 20-25.

{p.131} in consequence of this revision, and partly in consequence of the advance made in the translation of Assyrian texts, the rendering here given is much improved. The Rev. A. Delattre, S. J., has also translated and commented on the greater part of the inscription.

With regard to the text itself, it is to be noted that it is written on a large clay tablet, of which about two-thirds are preserved, the lost portion being the upper part of the obverse and the lower part of the reverse. There are three columns on each side. Each of the eight pronouncements of the oracle is followed by a ruled line, after which comes the name of the person by whom it was uttered. A second ruled line follows, and then comes the text of the next utterance of the oracle. The first and the last utterances are by men, the others by women, probably priests and priestesses or votaries of Istar. Five of the oracle-utterers (three women and two men) are of the city of Arbela; one, a woman, is of the city Darakhuya,¹ "in the mountains"; another, also a woman, is of the city of Assur; and a third is conjectured by the Rev. A. Delattre to be a slave of the king.² The language of each utterance is very similar, notwithstanding that the text was composed by eight different persons. It probably contains archaisms
_______
1 Or Dara-akhft-ya, a name meaning, according to its form (but perhaps only a folk-etymology), "(May) my brother live long."
2 See p. 139, note.

{p.132} and poetic words or phrases, though it shows also many of the peculiarities of the despatch and letter-style.

The only unmistakable reference to a warlike expedition is the mention of the crossing of the river, in Column IV.¹ With the usual obscurity of oracle-utterances, however, the name of the river is not given. The first utterance, on the other hand, is, perhaps, a little better, for in lines 19-21² we have the following sentence:

Now, although there is no determinative prefix before ukaa, showing it to be the name of a country (or people), we may nevertheless take it as being such, and as indicating the nation or tribe called the Ukaa or Ukkaa, a people against whom Sargon and Sennacherib fought, and who seem to have inhabited a part of Armenia. It is also noteworthy that the oracle containing this reference is placed first. The omission of the determinative prefix may be regarded as not altogether unintentional, for had Esarhaddon been unsuccessful in Armenia, the oracle-utterer would have defended himself by saying that the word in question was not the name of the well-
_______
1 See p. 137. The Tigris is probably intended.
2 Page 134.

{p.133} known nation of the Ukaa, but something entirely different Fortunately, though, for Esarhaddon (and also, probably, for Istar-la-tasiat), he was more fortunate than Croesus and Pyrrhus.

The Pythia Mimma-abi-sa is not improbably the same as the woman of that name mentioned in one of Sennacherib's letters to his father Sargon,¹ referring to the situation at that time among the Ukkaa and Armenia in general.
________
1 See the New York Independent for August 22, 1889, p. 15.

1. strong
2. vast
3. his strong ....
4. ..........
5. ... [Esarhjaddon king of countries
6. fear [not],
7. the lord, the spirit¹ who speaks to thee
8. I speak to him, I have not concealed (it).
9. Thine enemies
10. like the rains (or floods) of Sivan
11. before thy feet are constantly running away.
12. The great lady am I
13. I am ISTAR of ARBELA
14. who thine enemies
15. before thy feet have put to flight.²
16. Where are my words
17. which I speak to thee?
18. Thou hast not relied upon (them).
19. I am ISTAR of ARBELA,
20. Thine enemies, the UKKIANS
21. I give to thee. I am
22. ISTAR of ARBELA,
23. in thy van, (and)
24. by thy side
25. I go. Fear not.
26. Thou art in the midst of the officers.³
27. I am in the midst of my host.
28. I advance, I rest.
______
1 Literally "the wind."
2 Literally "turned."
3 Or, "princes," (mugi; see vol. ii. p. 182, line 6, and footnote).

29. From the mouth of Istar-la-tasiat
30. a son of ARBELA.
31. King of ASSYRIA, fear not!
32. The enemy of ASSYRIA
33. as a sacrifice I give.
34. Thy heroism,
35. thy ....
36. thy .....
37. The great [lady] am I
38. [I am ISTAR of] ARBELA
39 his heart
40 his ....

I. ....
2. .....
3. I have not heard ....
4. with the bolt ....
5. with the ....
6. the enemy afterwards .....
7. I do not ....
8. I have trusted to thee rest (?) not
9. From the mouth of Sinqi-sa-amur,
10. a daughter of ARBELA.
11. I have been exalted (?) by Esarhaddon
12. my exalted (?) king (of) ARBELA.
13. From the mouth of Remute-allate,
14. Of the City DARAKHYA¹
15. which is within the mountains.
________
1 Or Dara-akhft-ya.

16. Fear not, Esarhaddon,
17. I, BEL, with thee
18. will speak.
19. The beams of thy heart
20. will I guard¹ like to thy mother
21. thou hast caused me to have pain.
22. Sixty great gods with me
23. are joined they will guard thee
24. the Moongod on thy right, the Sungod on thy left,
25. the sixty great gods around thee
26. stand they have made the centre of the stronghold firm.
27. Upon mankind trust not,²
28. turn thine eyes
29. to me, look on me.
30. I am ISTAR of ARBELA,
31. ASSUR is pleased (?) with thee
32. I will strengthen (?) thy youth.
33. Fear not. Glorify me.
34. Is not the enemy submissive
35. who has given (tribute) to thee?
36. I have spoken:
37. let the later things be as the earlier.
38. I am NEBO, lord of the making of tablets,
39. glorify me.
40. From the mouth of Baya, a child of the city of ARBELA.

10. I ....
11. I turn (?)
12. I am the god
_______
1 Apparently meaning, "I will give thee courage."
2 Compare Psalm cxlvi. 3, "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man." See also Psalm cxviii. 8.

13. From the mouth of Sa-* [a daughter]
14. of the city of ASSUR.
15. I am ISTAR of [ARBELA].
16. O Esarhaddon, king of AS[SYRIA],
17. in ASSUR, NINEVEH,
18. CALAH, (and) ARBELA,
19. long days,
20. extended years,
21. to Esarhaddon my king
22. will I give.
23. 24. Thy great protection (?) am I,
25, 26. thy defending guide (?) am I,
27. who long days,
28. extended years,
29. 30. (and) thy throne beneath the great heavens, have established.
31. In a habitation (?) of gold
32. in the midst of heaven I will guard (thee).
33. The light of the diamond
34. before Esarhaddon king of ASSYRIA,
35. I will cause to shine,
36. like the diadem of my head
37. I will guard him.
38. Fear not, O king,
39. I have spoken to thee,
40. I have not neglected (?) [thee].

1. I have trusted (?) [thee]
2. I will not mistrust (?) [thee].
3. The river in safety
4. I will cause thee to cross
5. 6. O Esarhaddon, faithful son, child of BELTIS
7. the girded (?), the strong (?),
8. with my hands

9. thine enemies
10. I will put an end to
11. O Esarhaddon, king of ASSYRIA,
12. cup which is full of sweet drink (?)
13. casket (?) which is full of shekels
14. Esarhaddon, in the city ASSUR
15. long days (and)
16. extended years
17.1 will give to thee.
18. Esarhaddon, in the midst of ARBELA
19. thy defending shield am I
20. O Esarhaddon, faithful son,
21. child of BELTIS
22, 23. (with) wise (?) intelligence (?)
24. I will exalt [thee and]
25. constantly¹
26. with [thy] companions²
27. in the great heavens
28. I will commune with thee.
29. On thy right
30. the strong shall destroy
31. On [thy] left
32. I will cause fire [to burn?].
33. The kingdom over
34. enduring (?)
35. over

1. From before him.
2. He shall not receive
3. the many things
4. pleasant
5. which they will speak
6. before his feet
7. I will cut them off.
_______
1 Or "greatly."
2 Literally "force."

8. Thou, even thou
9. art king of kings
10. From the mouth of Istar-bela-daini,
11. the choice¹ (?) of the king
12. I am the lady of ARBELA.
13. To the mother of the king:
14. As thou hast supplicated me
15. everything from the right (and)
16. from the left
17. in thy lap thou shalt place.
18. What is mine,
19. the offspring of my heart,
20. (in) the desert thou causedst to lie down.
21. Now, O king, fear not
22. the kingdom is strong,
23. the power is strong also.
24. From the mouth of Mimma-abi-sa,
25. a daughter of ARBELA.
26. Peace to Esarhaddon, king of ASSYRIA.
27. O ISTAR of ARBELA,
28. unto the desert thou broughtest (him) forth.
29. Peace to her little one
30. to the midst of the city she has sent (him);
31. to the
32. which
33. the man

1. ...
2. [ARB]ELA
_____
1 Selutu, not an ordinary feminine attributive noun, but an abstract.

3. good
4. of ARBELA
5. his hand
6. thou hast filled (or, ye have filled).
7. The former word
8. which I spoke to thee
9. thou hast not relied on;
10. Now
11. on the later one
12. rely and
13. glorify me.
14. When the day
15. dawns bright,
16. may pure (sacrifices)
17. be completed.
18. In my presence glorify me.
19. The torn things
20. [from] the midst of my palace (temple)
21. [thou] shalt send forth,
22. pure food thou shalt eat,
23. pure waters
24. thou shalt drink,
25. in the midst of thy palace
26. thou shalt be pure;
27. thy son, thy son's son,
28. the kingdom
29. by the blessing of NERGAL
30. shall rule.
31. From the mouth of La-dagil-ili,
32. a son of ARBELA.

THE three documents of which translations follow are included among the Babylonian "Contract-tablets," now in the British Museum, copies of which have been published by Dr. Strassmaier. They will be found in his Babylonische Texte, vi; Inschriften von Nabuchodonosor, Nos. 372, 382, and 393. Their interest lies in the references they make to two of the sons of Nebuchadrezzar, Merodach-suma-utsur ("O Merodach, defend the name") and Merodach-nadin-akhi ("Merodach has given a brother"). They show us, moreover, that the members of the royal family were not exempt from the obligation of paying the tithe or esrti to the Babylonian temples; while the second (No. 382) throws light on Babylonian law so far as it related to slaves. The document, however, is very difficult to translate, as our knowledge of the legal terms used by the Babylonians is still defective. The "battle" to which allusion is made is quite unknown.

Bit-Uri, "the house of light," was the great temple of the Sun-god at Sippara. Its Sumerian name seems to have been E-Babbara.

I. [One sheep], the tithe [of Merodach-]suma-utsur [the son] of the king, Zubuduru the secretary¹ of Merodach-suma-utsur the son of the king has paid to BIT-URI.² One sheep (has been received) in BIT-Um in the presence of Samas-nadin,³ the 7th [day] of the month Adar, the 4oth year⁴ [of Nebuch]adrezzar [the king of BABY]LON.
II. Kina the son of Nadinu has not withdrawn (from his agreement)⁵ in regard to the 62 gur of dates, which (he gave) in return for half a maneh of silver⁶ belonging to Sin-abil-sarri-utsur the son of Pa'siya the slave of Merodach-nadin-akhi the son of the king whom in the battle he gave to Tabnea the son of Merodach-sakin-sumi the son of Dabibi. Ardiya the son of Gimillu the son of Epis-ili and Nebo-khidhu-me-su the slave of Tabnea, the agents of Tabnea, have transferred the duty of paying Kina the son of Nadinu with the money to Sin-abil-sarri-utsur the son of Pa'siya on behalf of Tabnea. Kina has preferred no claim against Ardiya and Nebo-khidhu-me-su. Kina has paid the 62 gur of dates valued at half a maneh of silver. Sin-abil-sarri-utsur, who represents Tabnea, assumes the engagement⁷ to pay the half maneh of silver as well as the
_______
1 Or "messenger," "agent."
2 The temple of the Sun-god at Sippara.
3 Presumably the priest of the Sun-god.
4 BC 665-4.
5 Ul'ituruma.
6 4:155, according to Dr. Oppert's calculation.
7 Uiltim, connected with the Hebrew alah, "oath."

{p.143} engagement entered into by Ardiya, and satisfies the claim of Ardiya (accordingly). Witnessed by Samasdamiq the son of Tabik-ziri the son of the superintendent of the court-yard, Niqudu the son of Merodach-suma-epis the son of Epis-ili (and) the priest Bel-yusallim; BABYLON, the 8th day of the second Elul, the 4ist year of Nebuchadrezzar king of BABYLON.
III. Twenty-five shekels of silver,¹ the tithe of Merodach-nadin-akhi, the son of the king, by the hands of Samas-yukin-akhi and Aqabi-ili,² he has given to BIT-URI, the 14th day of Iyyar, the 42d year of Nebuchadrezzar king of BABYLON.
______
1 3:155 according to Dr. Oppert's calculation.
2 Perhaps corresponding to a Hebrew Jacob-el.

THE INSCRIPTIONS RELATING TO THE RISE OF CYRUS AND HIS CONQUEST OF BABYLONIA
TRANSLATED BY THE EDITOR

THE three texts of which translations follow are of the highest importance for the history of the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Empire of Cyrus. They cast a new and revolutionary light on the character and nationality of Cyrus, as well as on his conquest of Babylon. Cyrus and his ancestors are shown in them to have been kings of Anzan or Ansan, not of Persia, he and his son Cambyses, so far from being Zoroastrian iconoclasts, conform to the worship and ritual of Babylonia, and Babylon surrenders to the invader "without fighting," instead of undergoing the horrors of a siege.

All three texts were first discovered by Mr. Pinches. The Cylinder inscription of Cyrus was first published, with translation and commentary, by Sir Henry Rawlinson in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, xii. I (1880). Subsequent translations of it have appeared by M. Halevy in the Revue des Etudes juives. No. 1; by myself in Fresh {p.145} Light from the Ancient Monuments; by Prof. Hommel in his Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte, pp. 787 seq.; and by Prof. Schrader in the Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, iii. 2 (1890). The original text is printed in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, v. pl. 35, and again by Abel & Winckler in their Keilschrifttexte, pp. 44 sq. The Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus was published, with transliteration, translation, and notes by Mr. Pinches in the Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vii. I (1880), and subsequently translated by myself in Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, and by Prof. Schrader in the Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, iii. 2 (1890). The cuneiform text has been printed in a revised form by Dr. Winckler in his Untersuchungen zur altorientalischen Geschichte (1889), No. 5. Of the Cylinder inscription of Nabonidos, discovered by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam at Abu Habba or Sippara, more than one copy exists. One of these is in the British Museum, the other at Berlin. The text, restored by means of duplicates, has been published in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, v. pl. 64, and again, according to the Berlin copy, in Abel and Winckler's Keilschrifttexte, pp. 40-43. A translation of it has been made by Latrille, together with a commentary, in the Zeitschrift fur Keilschriftforschung, ii., and Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, i. ( 1885-6), and also by Dr. Peiser in the Keilinscriftliche Bibliothek, iii. 2 (1890).

Apart from lacunae, the Annalistic Tablet and the Cylinder inscription of Nabonidos offer few {p.146} difficulties to the translator. The Cylinder inscription of Cyrus is more difficult. This is mainly due to the mutilated character of the text, but it is also in some measure owing to our imperfect acquaintance with the rules of Assyro-Babylonian syntax. It is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to determine where a sentence ends or begins, and a double translation of the passage consequently becomes possible. Moreover, the construction of the sentences more than once reminds us of the language of the later Hebrew prophets, and is open to the same amount of disputable interpretation. The inscription, in fact, is one of the most Hebraistic of those which have come from Babylonia or Assyria, and in one important particular twice adopts an usage which is Hebraic and not Assyrian. This is the employment of malku instead of sarru in the sense of "king." Elsewhere in Assyrian and Babylonian literature malku signifies the prince who is subordinate to the sarru or "king," whereas in Hebrew it is the sar who is the subordinate prince, the melech who is the supreme king.

One of the first facts which strike us in reading the texts is, that Cyrus and his immediate predecessors were kings of Ansan, a name which is also written Anzan in the older Assyrian inscriptions. It is not until the ninth year of Nabonidos (BC 546) that Cyrus receives the title of king of Persia. The occupation of that country must, therefore, have followed closely on the conquest of Astyages.

Attempts have been made by writers who were not Assyriologists to identify Ansan with the district of Pasargada, the early capital of Persia. But the cuneiform inscriptions leave little doubt as to the approximate position of the locality. Ansan was a country as well as a city, and, as in the case of Assyria, the country must have taken its name from the city which was its primitive capital. We first hear of it in the Sumerian inscriptions of Telloh. Gudea tells us that he had conquered "Ansan in the country of Elam" (Records of the Past, New Series, ii. p. 82). Ansan was accordingly situated in Elam, and it was probably at no great distance from the Babylonian frontier. Dr. Winckler¹ has pointed out that another Babylonian prince, Mutabil, the viceroy of Dur-ilu, also claims to have "broken the head of the army of Ansan." As Dur-ilu lay on the Elamite frontier, we are again referred to Elam for the site of Ansan. The question is placed beyond dispute, however, by a lexical tablet, in which explanations are given of obscure words and phrases in certain astrological texts (W. A. I., ii. 47, 18). Here we are told that Ansan was the equivalent of the Semitic Elamti or Elam. Elam, "the highlands," was the name given by the Assyro-Babylonian Samites to the mountainous region on the east of Babylonia, which constituted the ancient kingdom of Elam, with its capital Susa. Consequently the city of Ansan must not only have been situated in Elam, but the country
______
1 Untersuchungen, p. 116.

{p.148} of Ansan must have approximately corresponded to the country which constituted the kingdom of Elam.

This conclusion is verified by the inscriptions of the native kings of Susa. In these each calls himself gik sunkik D. P. Anzan anin Susinak, "the lord of the kingdom of Anzan, the Susian king." Dr. Winckler maintains indeed that in this title the word Anzan is an appellative, meaning "district," rather than a proper name; but the supposition is founded on the erroneous belief that the word is not preceded by the determinative of locality. As a matter of fact, wherever Susinak or Susunqa'y "the Susian" is preceded by the determinative, Anzan is preceded by it too; it is only where it is not attached to Susunqa that it is also not written before Anzan. Anzan and Susunqa, therefore, stand upon precisely the same footing, and since every one allows that Susun or Susa was a proper name, Anzan must have been a proper name as well. The title is found, not only in the inscriptions left by the Elamite kings in the ruins of Susa, but also on their bricks which have been found at Bushire, on the Persian Gulf; it would, therefore, seem that the country designated by the name extended from Susa in the north as far as the shores of the sea.

A passage in the annals of Sennacherib bears similar testimony. Here we read (Taylor's Cylinder) v. 25-39): "As for him, the Elamite, whose cities I had captured and reduced to ruins in the course {p.149} of my former expedition against Elam, his heart was not intelligent. He accepted the bribe (of the Babylonians), and collected his army (and) his camp; he prepared chariots (and) wagons; he harnessed horses and mules to his yokes. The countries of Par'suas, Anzan, Pasiru, and Ellipi; the tribes of Yazan, Lagabra, and Khargunu; the cities of Dummuqu, Sula, and Samsamna; the son of Merodach-baladan; the countries of Bit-Adin, Bit-Amukkan, Sillan, and Sala; the cities of Larrak and Lakhiru; the tribes of Pekod, Gambul, Khalat, Ruhua, Ubul, Malakh, Rapiqu, Khindaru, and Damunu, a great confederacy, he summoned around him." In the parallel passage of the Memorial Tablet (44-46) the list is given more briefly: "Behind the king of Elam, the countries of Par'suas, Anzan, and Ellipi, all the land of the Kaldi and all the Aramaeans, a great confederacy, he summoned around him, as well as the king of Babylon."

As the king of Elam was at the head of the confederacy, the country over which he ruled must be one of those included in the list. It could not have been Pasiru, the situation of which is unknown, since this is not even mentioned in the duplicate account, nor was it either Par'suas, the classical Persis, or Ellipi, which corresponded to the Media of later days. Nothing remains, therefore, but to identify Elam with Anzan, as is done by the writer of the lexical tablet mentioned above. The position occupied by Anzan in the list, between Ellipi and {p.150} Par'suas, agrees exactly with that of the kingdom of Elam.

Ansan, written in the Elamite fashion with the Elamite phonetic value sa for the character du, is furthermore alluded to in the astrological tablets (W. A. I., iii. 60-67, 68). Reference is twice made to "the king of Ansan and Subarti." Now the name of Subarti (or more exactly Suwarti) represented the district of Northern Mesopotamia known as Mitanni to its inhabitants and Aram-Naharaim to the Old Testament. The conquest of this district by the king of Ansan can be explained only by the western conquests of Elam, of which we have a record in the I4th chapter of Genesis. We are thus again brought back to the kingdom of Elam grown out of the amalgamation of two independent principalities, one of which had its seat at Susun or Susa, "the ancient" city, the other at Anzan.¹

Already, as long ago as 1880, Sir Henry Rawlinson indicated the true situation of Anzan, and pointed out that the name survived into the middle ages. There is a notice of Assan in a very early and learned Arabic writer, Ibn-el-Nadim, who had unusually good means of information as to genuine Persian traditions. This writer ascribes the invention of Persian writing to Jamshid, the son of Vivenghan (who, with the Zoroastrians, was the Eponym of the
_______
1 In an old geographical list Ansan is conjoined with the nomad tribes of the Markhasi and Khamar, the name of Elam following subsequently; see my article, "La Situation geographique d'Anzan," in the Mustfon, v. 4 (1886).

{p.151} Persian race), and adds that he, Jamshid, dwelt at Assan, one of the districts of Tuster (modern Shuster). Kitab-el-Fihrist, p. 12, l. 22." Shuster or Tuster represents the site of the ancient Susa. The city of Anzan must probably be looked for to the south west of Shuster, in the neighbourhood of the river Karun.¹

The genealogy of Cyrus agrees with that given by Herodotos. His great-grandfather, Teispes, was also the great-grandfather of Hystaspes, the father of Darius. Assuming with Sir Henry Rawlinson that Teispes was the son of Akhsemenes, we must explain the statement of Darius at Behistun that "eight of his ancestors had been kings before him in two lines, he himself being the ninth,"² by supposing that Ariaramnes the son of Teispes "remained in Persis when his father Teispes pushed on to Ansan; and that he and his son Arsames may thus have been kings in that province, though the next descendant, Hystaspes, lost all independent power on the rise of Cyrus the Great."³ No objection can be taken to this view on the ground that "the title of king is not attached to the names of Ariaramnes and Arsames at Behistun, since the very same objection might be taken in regard to Teispes and Akhae-
_______
1 Sir Henry Rawlinson places it in the plain of Ram-Hormuz. Here, at a spot called Kal at Araban, Sir A. H. Layard heard of the existence of ancient inscriptions.
2 Spiegel's translation of the Persian text is, "Eight of my family were formerly kings, I am the ninth, in two branches are we kings."
3 See the table of Persian kings, Records of the Past, New Series, iii. p. 130.

{p.152} menes, both of whom were undoubtedly independent monarchs."¹

The fact that Cyrus and his predecessors were kings of Anzan and not of Persis throws light, not only on the elevation of Susa to the rank of a capital of the Persian Empire, but also on the polytheistic tendencies of Cyrus and his successor Cambyses. The first monotheistic Zoroastrian who sat on the throne of the empire was Darius Hystaspis. Cyrus had been brought up among the monuments and traditions of ancient Elamite polytheism, and at the very outset of his career Nabonidos had recognised in him the "little servant" of Merodach. It is quite possible that his mother and grandmother were of Elamite or Babylonian origin. His Cylinder inscription, as well as the Annalistic Tablet, shows how anxious he was to be regarded as the legitimate successor of the Babylonian kings.

I have already explained who the Manda were in the Preface to the third volume of the New Series of Records of the Past, and suggested that they represent the Nod of Genesis iv. 1 6, perhaps also the Lud of Genesis x. 22. Dr. Winckler, following M. Delattre, would identify them with the Skyths of the Greek writers, who descended on the kingdom of Kyaxares, saved Nineveh for a time from its enemies, and carried fire and sword across Western Asia as far as the shores of Palestine. In any case it is a surprise to find that the well-known figure of
______
1 Rawlinson in the R. A. S., xii. i. pp. 74, 75.

{p.153} Astyages, or more correctly Astyigas, as the name is written by Ktesias, does not belong to Median history at all. The belief that he was king of Media is due to the confusion made by the Greek historians, or the sources from which they borrowed, between the Babylonian words Mada, "Medes," and Manda, "nomads." The confusion was assisted by the fact that the Medes actually bordered on the country which formed the centre of the power of Astyages. We are told by Sargon that Bit-ili, which seems to be the Assyrian form of the name of Bagistana or Behistun, belonged to the Medes, and was on the frontier of the land of Ellipi. Ellipi was the district in which Ekbatana was afterwards founded and the kingdom of the Manda had its seat. We last hear of Ellipi in the time of Sennacherib; between then and the age of Cyrus it must have fallen into the hands of the Manda. The stories of the relation between Astyages and Cyrus found in the classical writers, and based on the belief that Astyages was a Median monarch, are thus shown to be worthless. On the other hand, the statement of Ktesias is confirmed that Cyrus, so far from being the grandson of Astyages, was the son of a Mardian bandit. The Mardians, called Amardians by Strabo (xi. p. 761), inhabited the range of mountains which separated Persepolis from the Persian Gulf, and extended northward as far as the neighbourhood of Susa.

Perhaps the most startling revelation that has {p.154} been made to us by the inscriptions of Cyrus is, that there was no siege of Babylon, and that the siege assigned to his reign by the historians of Greece and Rome was really the siege which took place in the reign of Darius. The siege has been antedated, and the king of Anzan whom a portion of the Babylonian priests and people welcomed as an avenger of their gods has been transformed into the later Zoroastrian ruler of the Persian Empire.

The inscriptions make it clear that Nabonidos had offended a considerable number of his subjects by his efforts to centralise their worship at Babylon. He thus laid himself open to the same charge as that which was brought against Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 22). Religious centralisation implied political centralisation as well, and was a further carrying out of the policy of transplantation which had caused the Assyrian and Babylonian kings to transport the populations of the countries they conquered to distant regions of the world. It is probable that Cyrus had received help in his attempt on Babylonia from some of the disaffected exiles who had been planted there, and among whom were the Jews. His experience had thus taught him the danger of the policy; and, accordingly, one of his first acts after the conquest of Nabonidos was to reverse it. The exiles, with the images of their gods, were restored to their old homes; a source of internal disaffection was thus removed, while the gratitude of the liberated captives made them trustworthy guardians of the frontiers of the empire.

The chronology of the reign of Cyrus has been in great measure cleared up by the Annalistic Tablet; the Cylinder inscription of Nabonidos, on its side, has further furnished us with valuable chronological information relative to the early history of Babylonia. It is from it that we know the date to which the Babylonian historians of the time of Nabonidos referred Sargon of Accad and his son Naram-Sin. The remains of the Babylonian annals which have been preserved, and which have been translated in the first volume of the New Series of Records of the Past, have shown us that the Babylonian antiquaries were in possession of a fairly accurate chronological register, and that we may consequently accept their statements in regard to dates without much misgiving. Equally important is the statement that Sagasalti-buryas, the son of Kudur-Bel, reigned 800 years before the time of Nabonidos. The statement is verified by the fragment of the Babylonian Chronicle published for the first time in this volume by Mr. Pinches. Dr. Oppert may be right in identifying the two princes with the mutilated names of the 25th and 27th kings of the Kassite dynasty given in the Dynastic Tablet, which is translated in the first volume of this series (p. 16). The date of Khammurabi and of the first dynasty of Babylon is thus thrown back by a full century beyond that which I have assigned to it and dated BC 2468-2174. Babylonian history must be considered to begin with the year 2500 BC.

In the inscriptions Babylon receives four names, which have accordingly been indicated at the foot of the page. The four names are E-KI, DlN-TIR-Kl, KA-DIMIRRA-KI, and SU-ANNA-KI, where KI is the Accadian affix of locality. The first name probably signifies "the place of the water," or "the canal"; the second means "the place of the life of the tree"; the third "the Gate of God"; and the fourth "the place of the mound (?) of Anu." In the Cylinder of Cyrus KA-DIMIRRA is also written KA-DIMIRRA-MES, "the Gate of the gods," the Semitic translation being in each case Bab-ili. SU-ANNA was properly only the particular quarter of Babylon in which the great temple of E-Saggil was situated, and seems to have lain on the opposite side of the river to that occupied by the quarter called Te or Teva. Hence it is specially the sacred name of Babylon, and is used when the gods are referred to. In the age of Nabonidos and Cyrus, the names E and DIN-TIR, or rather their Semitic equivalent, Babilu, were used indifferently, though possibly they originally denoted two separate villages, from the amalgamation of which Babylon subsequently arose. In a lexical tablet DIN-TIR is punningly interpreted "the seat of life"; the true signification, however, is "life of the tree," which may either allude to some legend of a sacred tree or to the palm-groves which flourished on its site. KA-DIMIRRA or Babilu, Babel, was the most general designation under which the city was known, and came to prevail to the exclusion of all {p.157} others. But there are passages in the inscriptions which show that in the sixth century before our era it was synonymous with E and DlN-TlR. In fact, it is probable that the distinction between the three names was at that time preserved only in writing.

THE INSCRIPTIONS RELATING TO THE RISE OF CYRUS AND HIS CONQUEST OF BABYLONIA

THE ANNALISTIC TABLET OF CYRUS OBVERSE

COLUMN I

1. ... his prophet he ...
2. his ... the king¹ carried away,
3. [the spoil (?)] of their country he brought to BABYLON²
4. .....
5. his ... he had destroyed (?) and did not carry away.
6. ... their family, all that there was,
7. ... he left (?). The king collected his army, and Khume
8. .....
9. in the month Tebet in the country of HAMATH³ he remained.
10. ... [in the month] Ab, the mountain of AMMANANU,⁴ a mountain
11 .... tall (?) reeds as many as exist
12. ... their shafts (?) to the midst of BABYLON⁵
13. [he brought. The mountain (?)] he left and survived. In the month Kisleu the king his army
14. [collected, and marched to] the sea; and Nebo-makhrib-akhi
15. .... the sea of the country of SYRIA⁶ to
_____
1 Nabonidos.
2 E.
3 Khamatu.
4 Probably the Amanus.
5 E.
6 MAR-TU, "the west. "

16. ....dummu¹ were placed
17. ... and the numerous soldiers
18. ... the great [gate (?)]² of the city of SUNDINI³
19. ... his warrior
20. .... soldiers .....⁴

1. He gathered [his forces] and against Cyrus⁵ the king of ANSAN⁶ Is[tuvegu]⁷ marched, and .....
2. The army of Istuvegu revolted against him and seized [him] with the hands; to Cyrus they delivered him].
3. Cyrus (marched) against the country of AGAMTANU,⁸ the royal city. Silver, gold, goods (and) chattels, [the spoil]
4. of the country of AGAMTANU they carried away, and to the country of ANSAN he brought. The goods (and) chattels were deposited in [ANSAN].⁹
5. The 7th year the king¹⁰ (was) in TEVA¹¹; the king's son,¹² the nobles, and his soldiers (were) in the country of AKKAD.¹³ [The king in the month Nisan]
6. did not go to BABYLON.¹⁴ NEBO did not go to BABYLON;¹⁵ BEL came not forth; the [new year's] festival [took place ]¹⁶;
_______
1 Perhaps [ina mat U-]dummu, "in the country of Edom."
2 See col. ii. 8.
3 Or Rukdini. See col. ii. line 8.
4 Lacuna.
5 Kuras.
6 For Ansan or Anzan see the introduction.
7 The Astyages of the Greek writers.
8 The Ekbatana of the Greeks, now Ramadan.
9 The conquest of Astyages accordingly took place BC 549.
10 Nabonidos.
11 A quarter of Babylon on the western bank of the Euphrates.
12 Probably Bil-sarra-utsur or Belshazzar.
13 Northern Babylonia, in the vicinity of Sippara.
14 E; the older part of Babylon on the eastern bank of the river.
15 KA-DIMIRRA or Bab-ili.
16 Bard, as Pinches. The next sentence shows that we must not read badhil, "ceased."

7. sacrifices in E-SAGGIL and E-ZIDA¹ (to) the gods of BABYLON² and BORSIPPA as [peace-offerings]
8. they offered. The priest inspected the painted work (?) of the temple.
9. the 8th year.³
10. The 9th year Nabonidos the king (was in) TEVA. The king's son, the nobles and the soldiers (were) in the country of AKKAD. The king in the month Nisan to BABYLON⁴
11. did not go. NEBO did not go to BABYLON;⁵ BEL came not forth; the new year's festival took place.
12. Sacrifices in E-SAGGIL and E-ZIDA (to) the gods of (BABYLON)⁶ and BORSIPPA as peace-offerings they offered.
13. The 5th day of the month Nisan the mother of the king who was in the fortress of the camp (on) the EUPHRATES above SIPPARA
14. died. The king's son and his soldiers mourned⁷ for 3 days. There was lamentation. In the month Sivan in the country of AKKAD
15. there was lamentation over the mother of the king. In the month Nisan Cyrus king of the country of PERSIA⁸ collected his army, and
16. below the city of ARBELA crossed the TIGRIS and in the month Iyyar [marched] against the country of the SUTE.⁹
17. Its king he slew; his goods he took. He ascended the country.¹⁰ [He departed again]
_______
1 The two great temples of Babylon and its suburb Borsippa.
2 DlN-TIR.
3 BC 548.
4 DlN-TIR.
5 KA-DIMIRRA (Bab-ili).
6 Omitted by the scribe.
7 Suduru, shaphel passive of adaru.
8 Par'su. Cyrus here appears for the first time as king of Persia instead of Ansan. He must therefore have obtained possession of Persia between BC 549 and 546. See lines 1, 4.
9 The text has mat'su. The Sute denoted primarily the nomad Arabs, the Arabes Skenitae, who, according to Strabo, inhabited the district below Assyria between the Euphrates and the Tigris. They corresponded to the Sati of the Egyptian monuments and the Bedouin of to-day.
10 Literally "an ascent of himself he caused to ascend there."

18. after his ascent, and a king existed there (again).
19. The 10th year the king (was) in TEVA; the king's son, the nobles and his soldiers (were) in the country of AKKAD; the king in the month [Nisan did not go to BABYLON.]
20. NEBO did not go to BABYLON¹; BEL came not forth. The new year's festival took place. Sacrifices in E-[SAGGIL and E-ZIDA]
21. (to) the gods of BABYLON² and BORSIPPA as peace-offerings they offered. On the 21st day of the month Sivan .....
22. of the country of ELAM, in the country of AKKAD ..... a governor in the city of ERECH ....
23. The 11th year the king was in TEVA; the king's son, the nobles and his soldiers (were) in the country of AKKAD; [in the month Nisan the king did not go to BABYLON.]
24. [In the month] Elul the king did not come forth to BEL. The new year's festival took place. Sacrifices [in E-SAGGIL and E-ZIDA]
25. [as peace-offerings] were offered [to the gods of] BABYLON³ [and BORSIPPA]

1. ... The river T[IGRIS] .....
2. ... [in] the month Adar ISTAR of ERECH .....
3. ... the gods of the country of PERSIA]⁴ ....
4. ... the gods (?)...
5. ... NEBO to go forth from BORSIPPA ...
6. ... [in the month]⁵ Tebet the king entered TUR-KALAMA .....
______
1 E.
2 DlN-TlR.
3 E.
4 Par[su], as Pinches; but Schrader may be right in reading tam[tini], "the sea," i.e. the Persian Gulf.]
5 So Schrader.

7. ... and the lower sea¹ revolted .....
8. .... BEL came forth; the new year s festival as a peace-offering was kept; in the month .....
9. ... [LUGAL-BANDA and] the [other gods] of MARAD, ZAMAMA and the (other) gods of Kis,² BELTIS and the (other) gods
10. of KHARSAK-KALAMA³ entered BABYLON; at the end of the month Elul the gods of the country of AKKAD
11. which (are) above the sky and below the sky entered BABYLON;⁴ the gods of BORSIPPA, KUTHA,⁵
12. and SIPPARA did not enter. In the month Tammuz⁶ when Cyrus in the city of RUTU⁷ on the banks
13. of the river NIZALLAT had delivered battle against the soldiers of AKKAD, when the men of AKKAD had delivered (battle),⁸ the men of AKKAD
14. raised a revolt: (some) persons were slain. (On) the 14th day (of the month) SIPPARA was taken without fighting;
15. Nabonidos fled. (On) the 16th day Gobryas,⁹ the governor of the country of GUTIUM¹⁰ and the soldiers of Cyrus without fighting.
16. entered BABYLON.¹¹ Afterwards Nabonidos was captured when he had been caught¹² in BABYLON.¹³ At the end of the month Tammuz the swordsmen¹⁴
17. of the country of GUTIUM guarded¹⁵ the gates of E-
________
1 The population at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates.
2 Now El-Hymar, east of Hillah or Babylon.
3 "The mountain of the world," in Sumerian, the name of a temple adjoining Kis.
4 DIN-TIR.
5 Now Tell Ibrahim, east of Babylon. See 2 Kings xvii. 24, 30.
6 June.
7 The reading of the name of the city is doubtful; it may also be read Kusu and Ukhkhu. With Rutu the Rata of Ptolemy must be compared.
8 This sentence has been partially erased by the scribe.
9 Ugbaru.
10 The antiquarian name of the Kurdish mountains east and north-east of Assyria, which originally included Assyria itself as well as the mountain of Nizir, on which the ark of the Chaldaean Noah rested.
11 E.
12 Literally "bound."
13 E.
14 Or, "javelin-throwers," TUK-KU-ME, in Semitic Kabibi.
15 Yu sakhkhiru.

{p.163} SAGGIL; a cessation of nothing in SAGGIL and the other temples
18. took place,¹ but no special festival² was observed. The 3rd day of the month Marches van Cyrus entered BABYLON.
19. Dissensions (?)³ before him were allayed. Peace to the city did Cyrus establish; peace to all the province Of) BABYLON⁴
20. did Gobryas his governor⁵ proclaim. Governors in BABYLON⁶ he⁷ appointed.
21. From the month Chisleu to the month Adar⁸ the gods of the country of AKKAD whom Nabonidos had transferred to BABYLON⁹
22. returned to their own cities. The 11th day of the month Marchesvan¹⁰ during the night Gobryas (was) on the bank of the ...
23. The wife of the king¹¹ died. From the 27th day of Adar to the 3d day of Nisan [there was] lamentation in the [country] of AKKAD.
24. All the people smote their heads. The 4th day Kambyses [the son of Cyrus]
25. conducted the burial¹² at the temple of the Sceptre of the World.¹³ The man of the temple of the Sceptre of NEBO, who the sceptre [of the god in the temple (?)]
26. [of the god (?)] upbears,¹⁴ in an Elamite robe¹⁵ to[ok] the hands of NEBO ......
27..... free-will offerings¹⁶ in [full] the son of the king¹⁷ to 10 times [the usual amount offered].
_______
I I.e. the services went on as before.
2 Simanu, "an appointed feast."
3 Kharini, perhaps to be connected with the Aramaic khiryanci, "quarrel."
4 DlN-TlR.
5 Gobryas must therefore have been transferred from his governorship of Kurdistan to the post which in the book of Daniel is said to have been held by Daniel.
6 E.
7 More probably Cyrus than Gobryas.
8 November to February.
9 E.
10 October.
11 Nabonidos. The earlier reading of the text, according to which the king himself died, proves to be wrong, and consequently there is no contradiction between the inscription and the statement of Berossos that Nabonidos was made governor of Karmania by Cyrus,
12 Kibira.
13 E-gistar-kalama in Sumerian.
14 Issu.
15 Ku'lubus KUR NUM-MA-KI.
16 Nindabi.
17 Kambyses.

28. [The image (?)] of Nebo he confined to E-SAGGIL.¹ Victims before BEL to 10 times [the usual amount he sacrificed.]

Only the terminations of the concluding lines of this column are preserved:

(a) the lord; (b) the BABYLONIANS; (c) the temples he presented (?); (d) [he] establishes: during the month he demolishes the gate (?); (e) the temple of ANU of ERECH; (f) [the god] who issues forth [from] the house of Chaos; (g) life (?); (h) in BABYLON² ...;(i) BABYLON³ he ...

1. his ....
2. ... [the lord of the four] zones
3. ... the mighty shepherd⁴ the thoughtful one (?) [who] is established for the government of his country
4. ... rulers⁵ he has established over them;
5. the rulers of E-SAGGIL he has [appointed]⁶ ... for UR and the rest of the cities
6. he⁷ commanded what did not adorn them ... daily did he plan; and the costly duty⁸
7. of the daily sacrifice did he cause to cease ... he had established within the city the worship of MERODACH the king of the gods; in (?) ... his hand
8. hostility to his city had planned;⁹ daily [his] hand .... his [people?] in unquiet submission had destroyed all of them.
______
1 The temple of Nebo was properly E-Zida in Borsippa, but Nebo also had a shrine called E-Zida in the great temple of Bel-Merodach in Babylon, E-Saggil.
2 E.
3 DIN-TIR.
4 Rium.
5 Or "rule,"[tam]sili.
6 Ite[mid].
7 Nabonidos seems to be now referred to.
8 Sip[ri].
9 [ltte-]nibbu[b-]l.

9. At their complaining BEL (the lord) of the gods was mightily wrathful, and [the men deserted?] their entrenchment. The gods who dwelt among them left their habitations
10. in wrath when they were made to enter BABYLON.¹ MERODACH in ... journeyed to all peoples wherever they are found,²
11. and the men of SUMER and ACCAD who are like his own body³ did he visit ... he granted pardon to all peoples,⁴ even all of them; he rejoiced (and) fed the[m];
12. he appointed also a prince⁵ who should guide aright⁶ the wish of the heart which his hand upholds,⁷ even Cyrus the king of the city of ANSAN; he has proclaimed⁸ his title; for the sovereignty of all the world does he commemorate his name.⁹
13. The country of QUTI¹⁰ (and) all the people of the MANDA¹¹ he has subjected to his¹² feet; the men of the black heads¹³ he has caused his hand to conquer.
14. In justice and righteousness has he governed them. MERODACH the great lord, the restorer of his people, beheld with joy the deeds of his vicegerent¹⁴ who was righteous in hand and heart.
15. To his city of BABYLON¹⁵ he summoned his march; he bade him also take the road to BABYLON;
16 like a friend and a comrade he went at his side^.16. The weapons of his vast army, whose number, like the
_______
I SU-ANNA.
2 Literally "whose seat has been founded."
3 I.e. whom he loves as himself. Compare Gen. i. 26, 27.
4 Literally "countries."
5 Malki, the Hebrew melech.
6 Literally "of righteousness."
7 Or "whose hand he upholds."
8 Literally "prophesied," ittabi from naba.
9 Or "he has proclaimed his name for sovereignty; all men every where commemorate his name." Compare Isaiah xlv. 4.
10 Kurdistan, called Gutium in the older texts.
11 "The nomads," the land of Nod of Genesis. Istuvegu or Astyages was king of the Manda. See Preface to volume iii. of this series.
12 I.e. the feet of Cyrus.
13 The Babylonians. In the Accado-Sumerian hymns it is the epithet given to the non-Semitic population of Chaldea.
14 NIN-SU.
15 KA-DIMIRRA-MES (Bab-ili).
16 DIN-TIR.

{p.166} waters of a river, could not be known, were marshalled in order, and it spread itself at his side.
17. Without fighting and battle (MERODACH) caused him to enter into BABYLON;¹ his city of BABYLON² he spared; in a hiding-place³ Nabonidos the king, who revered him not, did he give into his hand.
18. The men of BABYLON,⁴ all of them, (and) the whole of SUMER and ACCAD, the nobles and the high-priest, bowed themselves beneath him; they kissed his feet; they rejoiced at his sovereignty; their faces shone.
19. The lord (MERODACH) who through trust therein⁵ raises the dead to life, who benefits all men in difficulty and fear, has in goodness drawn nigh to him, has made strong his name.
20. I (am) Cyrus⁶ the king of multitudes, the great king, the powerful king, the king of BABYLON,⁷ the king of SUMER and ACCAD, the king of the four zones,
21. the son of Kambyses,⁸ the great king, the king of the city of ANSAN; the grandson of Cyrus the great king, the king of the city of ANSAN; the great grandson of Teispes,⁹ the great king, the king of the city of ANSAN;
22. of the ancient seed-royal,¹⁰ whose rule BEL and NEBO love, whose sovereignty they desire according to the goodness of their hearts. At that time I entered into¹¹ BABYLON¹² in peace.
23. With joy and gladness in the palace of the princes¹³ I founded the seat of dominion. MERODACH the great lord enlarged my heart; the son[s] of BABYLON¹⁴ and ... on that day I appointed his ministers (?).
24. My vast army spread itself peacefully in the midst of
_________
1 SU-ANNA.
2 KA-DIMIRRA-MES (Bab-ili).
3 Literally "(a place) difficult of access."
4 DIN-TIR.
5 I.e. through trust in the power of Merodach.
6 Kuras.
7 DIN-TIR.
8 Kambuziya.
9 Sispis.
10 Literally "the everlasting seed of the kingdom."
11 A[na kirib].
12 DIN-TIR.
13 Malki.
14 DIN-TIR.

{p.167} BABYLON;¹ throughout [SUMER and] ACCAD I permitted no gainsayer.
25. BABYLON² and all its cities in peace I governed. The sons of BABYLON,³ [and .... gave me?] the fullness of [their] [hearts], and my yoke they bore,⁴ and their lives, their seat,
26. (and) their ruins I restored.⁵ I delivered their prisoners.⁶ For my work .... MERODACH the great lord, the ...., established a decree;
27. unto me, Cyrus, the king, his worshipper, and Kambyses (my) son, the offspring of my heart, [and to] all my people
28. he graciously drew nigh, and in peace before them we duly .... All the king(s) who inhabit the high places
29. of all regions from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea,⁷ the inhabitants of the in[lands], the kings of SYRIA, (and) the inhabitants of tents, all of them
30. brought their rich tribute and in BABYLON⁸ kissed my feet. From [the city of] ... to the cities of ASSUR⁹ and ISTAR-SUMELI (?),¹⁰
31. (and) ACCAD,¹¹ the land of UMLIAS,¹² the cities of ZAMBAN, ME-TURNUT,¹³ (and) DUR-ILI,¹⁴ was far as the frontier of Qim,¹⁵ the cities [which lie upon] the TIGRIS, whose seats had been established from of old,
32. I restored the gods who dwelt within them to their places and I founded (for them) a seat that should
______
1 DlN-TIR.
2 KA-DIMIRRA (Bab-ili). Literally "the midst of Babylon," if the copy is correct.
3 DIN-TIR.
4 La si for lu-assi.
5 Literally I gave rest unto.
6 Sarba, Aramaic sareb, "to decline."
7 From Lake Van in Armenia to the Persian Gulf.
8 SU-ANNA.
9 The ancient capital of Assyria, now Kalah Sherghat.
10 The second character in the name of the city is doubtful. Arbela is probably intended.
11 Near Sippara.
12 On the frontier of Elam.
13 "The waters of the Tornadotos," which flows into the Tigris from the east a little below Baghdad.
14 Near Umlias.
15 Kurdistan.

{p.168} be long-enduring; all their peoples I collected and restored their habitations.
33. And the gods of SUMER and ACCAD whom Nabonidos, to the anger of (MERODACH) the lord of the gods, had brought into BABYLON¹ by the command of MERODACH the great lord, in peace
34. in their sanctuaries I settled in seats according to (their) hearts.² May all the gods whom I have brought into their own cities
35. intercede daily before BEL and NEBO that my days be long,³ may they pronounce blessings upon me,⁴ and may they say to MERODACH my lord: Let Cyrus the king, thy worshipper, and Kambyses his son,
36. [accomplish the desire?] of their heart; [let them enjoy length ?] of days ... I have settled [the peoples] of all countries in a place of rest.⁵

Only the ends of the final 9 lines which follow are preserved. In line 37 mention is made of the birds and other offerings presented by Cyrus to the temples of the Babylonian deities.

1. I (am) Nabonidos, the great king, the powerful king,
2. the king of multitudes, the king of BABYLON,⁶ the king of the four zones,⁷
3. the nourisher of E-SAGGIL and E-ZIDA,
4. whom SIN and NERGAL in the womb of [his] mother
5. have destined to the destiny of sovereignty,
6. the son of Nebo-baladhsu-iqbi, the wise prince, the worshipper [of the great gods], (am) I.
_______
1 Su-ANNA.
2 Literally "a seat of the goodness of the heart."
3 Literally "speak daily before Bel and Nebo of the lengthening of my days."
4 Literally "may they record the word of my prosperity."
5 So that they shall not be transported again.
6 DIN-TIR.
7 I.e. of the world.

7. E-KHULKHUL, the temple of the MOON-GOD which is in the city of KHARRAN,¹
8. within which since days remote SIN the great lord
9. has founded the habitation of his heart's delight,
10. at this city and temple his heart was enraged, and
11. he caused the people of the MANDA to come, and they destroyed this temple, and
12. caused it to go into ruin. In my firmly established reign
13. BEL the great lord in (his) love of my sovereignty
14. has granted peace to this city and temple, has accorded pardon.
15. At the beginning of my long-lasting reign a dream was revealed to me²
16. by MERODACH the great lord and SIN the light of heaven and earth;
17. they stood on either side (of me); MERODACH spoke with me;
18. "O Nabonidos, king of BABYLON,³ with the horses of thy chariot
19. bring bricks, build E-KHULKHUL, and let SIN the great lord
20. establish his seat within it."
21. Reverently I spoke to the lord of the gods MERODACH:
22. "This temple which thou orderest to be built
23. the people of the MANDA surround it and noisome are their forces."
24. MERODACH again spake with me: "The people of the MANDA of whom thou speakest,
25. they, their land and the kings who march beside them⁴ exist no more."
26. In the third year when it came
27. he caused him⁵ to come, and Cyrus the king of ANZAN, his little servant,
28. with his small army overthrew the widespread people of the MANDA;
29. Istuvegu⁶ the king of the people of the MANDA he
________
1 The Haran of the Old Testament, Gen. xi. 31.
2 Literally "Merodach and Sin caused me to behold a dream."
3 DIN-TIR.
4 I.e. their allies.
5 Cyrus.
6 Astyagcs.

{p.170} captured and brought him a prisoner to his own country.¹
30. (Such was) the word of the great lord MERODACH and of SIN the light of heaven and earth,
31. whose promises change not. Unto their supreme promises
32. I attended reverently; I prostrated myself, I made prostrations, and my face was troubled;
33. no turning or withdrawal of my side did I make.² Moreover I caused
34. my widespread armies to come from the land of GAZA³
35. on the frontier of EGYPT,⁴
36. (from) the Upper Sea beyond the Euphrates⁵ as far as the Lower Sea,⁶
37. kings, princes, priests, and my widespread peoples,
38. whom SIN, SAMAS and ISTAR my lords have entrusted to me,
39. in order that they might build -KHULKHUL the temple of SIN my lord who marches beside me,
40. which (is) in the city of KHARRAN, which Assur-bani-pal⁷ king of ASSYRIA
41. the son of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, a prince who went before me
42. had built. In the month of peace, on an auspicious day which SAMAS and RIMMON had made known in a dream,
43. through the wisdom of EA and MERODACH, with oracles,⁸
44. by the art of the god LABAN⁹ the lord of foundations and brickwork,
______
1 It is possible that the words of Merodach are intended to extend as far as the end of line 29. In this case we must translate: "In the third year when it shall arrive I will cause them to come, and Cyrus, the king of Anzan, their little servant, with his small army shall overthrow the wide spread people of the Manda; Istuvega the king of the people of the Manda he shall capture and bring him a prisoner to his own country."
2 Ladda for lu adda. Nabonidos means that he lay on the ground without moving.
3 Khazzati.
4 Mitsir.
5 The Black Sea must be meant in this passage.
6 The Persian Gulf.
7 Written Assur-ban-abli.
8 Or "bands of prophets," asiputu.
9 According to W. A. I., iii. b. 6, Laban was one of the deities whose image stood in the temple of Anu and Rimmon at Assur.

1. with silver, gold, precious stones, the products of the forest,
2. spices (and) cedarwood, with joy and gladness
3. [on] the foundation-stone of Assur-bani-pal king of ASSYRIA,
4. who had discovered¹ the foundation-stone of Shalmaneser son of Assur-natsir-pal,²
5. I laid its foundation and made firm its bricks. With beer,³ wine, oil (and) honey
6. I smote its wall and drenched its divan.
7. More than the kings my fathers did I strengthen its structure, [and]
8. made its plan ornate. This temple from its foundation-stone
9. to its coping I constructed anew and completed its plan.
10. Vast beams of cedar, the growth of Mount AMANUS
11. I laid above it; doors of cedar
12. whose scent is sweet I hung in its gates.
13. I covered its brickwork with silver (and) gold, and made (it) shine like the sun.
14. A wild bull of white Zakhalu stone, the gorer of my foes,
15. I set up as a guardian in its sanctuary.
16. Two LAKHMU deities⁴ of electrum (?),⁵ the sweeper(s) away of my enemies,
17. I erected in the eastern gate⁶ on the right hand and on the left.
18. The hand of SIN and NINGAL, NUSKU and SA-DARA-NUNNA,
19. my lords, (who came) from BABYLON,⁷ the city of my sovereignty,
_________
1 Literally "seen."
2 Shalmaneser II, BC 858-823.
3 Made from dates.
4 Lakhmu and Lakhamu were the earliest of the gods according to the Babylonian 'Epic of the Creation;' Records of the Past, New Series, , p. 133.
5 So Delitzsch, who compares with esmant the Hebrew khashmal.
6 Literally "the gate of the sun-rise."
7 SU-ANNA.

20. I took, and with joy and gladness
21. a habitation such as my heart desires I established within it.
22. Strong white sheep as offerings I sacrificed before them, and
23. presented my gifts. E-KHULKHUL I filled with first-fruits,¹ and
24. as for the city of KHARRAN to its uttermost border
25. I caused its glory to shine like the new moon.²
26. O SIN, king of the gods of heaven and earth, who all the while
27. the city and the land remained unrestored had not returned to his place,
28. when thou enterest E-KHULKHUL the temple of the seat of thy fullness,
29. may blessings upon this city and temple be upon thy lip,
30. may the gods who dwell in heaven and earth
31. approach the temple of SIN the father who has begotten them!
32. As for me, Nabonidos, king of BABYLON,³ the completer of this temple,
33. may SIN the king of the gods of heaven and earth at the lifting-up of his prospering eyes
34. regard me with delight, and month by month at dawn and sunset
35. may he bless my endeavours!⁴ May he lengthen my days,
36. may he extend my years, may he firmly establish my reign;
37. may he conquer my foes, may he overthrow my enemies,
38. may he sweep away my opponents! May NINGAL the mother of the great gods
39. speak as my mother⁵ in the presence of SIN her⁶ chosen one!
________
1 Restum, the Hebrew reshith.
2 As Haran was dedicated to the Moon-god Sin, the simile is taken from the moon, and not, as usual, from the sun.
3 DIN-TIR.
4 Ittatu, plural of ittu, "substance," Heb. eth.
5 Or, as Latrille, utter bright words.
6 "His" literally.

40. May SAMAS and ISTAR the bright offspring of her¹ heart
41. utter words of blessing unto SIN the father who has begotten them!
42. May NUZKU the supreme angel² listen to my prayer, and
43. receive the petition! The inscription containing the name
44. of Assur-bani-pal I discovered and
45. did not change; with oil I anointed (it); sheep I sacrificed;
46. with my own inscription I placed (it) and restored (it) to its place.
47. For SAMAS the judge of heaven and earth
48. BIT-URI³ his temple, which (is) in SIPPARA,
49. which Nebuchadrezzar a former king had built and
50. had searched for its ancient foundation-stone (but) had not discovered (it),
51. this temple he built, but after 45 years
52. the wall of this temple had fallen in, I prostrated myself, I bowed down,
53. I made prostrations and my face was troubled,
54. until I had brought the god SAMAS out of the midst of it
55. (and) settled (him) in another temple. I threw down this temple, and
56. sought for its ancient foundation-stone, and 18 cubits deep
57. I excavated the ground, and the foundation-cylinder of Naram-Sin the son of Sargon
58. which for 3,200 years none of the kings who went before me had seen,
59. SAMAS the great lord of BIT-URI, the temple-seat which his heart loves,
60. showed unto me. As for me, in the month Tisri, in a month of peace, on a fortunate day
61. which SAMAS and RIMMON had made known to me in a dream,
_______
1 "His" literally.
2 He was the "angel" or "messenger" of Bel-Merodach.
3 "The house of light," called E-Babara in Accadian.

62. with silver, gold, precious stones, the products of the forest,
63. spices (and) cedar, with joy and gladness,
64. above the foundation-stone of Naram-Sin the son of Sargon,
65. so that there was not a span s length of difference in size,¹ I laid its brickwork.

1. I caused 5,000 strong cedars to be brought for its roof.
2. Lofty doors of cedar, posts and hinges
3. I hung in its gates.
4. BIT-URI as well as E-IDIB-AZAGGA² its tower
5. I built anew, and completed its design.
6. The hand of SAMAS my lord I took, and with joy and gladness
7. placed (him) within it in a seat such as my heart desires.
8. The inscription with the name of Naram-Sin the son of Sargon I saw, and
9. did not change. I anointed (it) with oil. I sacrificed sheep.
10. Together with my own inscription I placed (it) and restored (it) to its place.
11. O SAMAS, great lord of heaven and earth, light of the gods his fathers,
12. offspring of the heart of SIN and NIN-GAL,
13. when thou enterest BIT-URI thy favourite temple,
14. when thou dwellest in thy everlasting shrine,
15. (for) me, Nabonidos king of BABYLON³ the prince who nourishes thee,
16. who benefits thy heart, who builds thy supreme dwelling-place,
17. regard with joy my prospering works, and
18. daily at dawn and sunset in heaven and earth
19. bless my endeavours, accept my entreaty,
_______
1 Literally "it did not project by a span, or be deficient by a span."
2 "The house of the oracle of the Prophet-god."
3 DIN-TIR.

20. be favourable to my prayer; the abiding sceptre and falchion¹
21. which thou hast given my hand to hold may I carry for ever and ever!
22. For ANUNIT the mistress of battle, the bearer of the bow and quiver,
23. who fulfils the command of BEL her² father,
24. who sweeps away the foe, who destroys the wicked,
25. who marches before the gods,
26. who at sun-rise and sun-set has blessed my endeavours,
27. E-RU-BAR³ her temple which (is) in SIPPARA OF ANUNIT,⁴ which for 800 years
28. since the time of Sagasalti-buryas king of BABYLON⁵
29. the son of Kudur-Bel,⁶ the king, no one had built,
30. its old foundation-stone⁷ I excavated and beheld; I examined, and
31. upon the foundation-stone of Sagasalti-buryas the son of Kudur-Bel
32. I laid its foundation and made firm its brickwork.
33. This temple I built anew, I completed its design.
34. ANUNIT the mistress of battle, who fulfils the command of BEL her⁸ father,
35. who sweeps away the foe, who destroys the wicked,
36. who marches before the gods, I placed in her seat.
37. The daily sacrifice and free-will offerings⁹ more than beforetime did I multiply, and
38. established before her. Do thou, O ANUNIT, mighty mistress,
39. when thou enterest this temple with joy,
40. regard with joy my prospering work, and
_______
1 Khadhdhi u sibirri. Khadhdhu is properly the "pen of the scribe," so that the expression is a close parallel to that in Gen. xlix. 10.
2 Literally "his."
3 "The house of the ark of the oracle."
4 Sepharvaim, the "two Sipparas," consisted of two towns, Sippara of Samas, dedicated to the Sun-god (now Abu-Habba), and Sippara of Anunit.
5 DIN-TIE.
6 Probably, as Dr. Oppert supposes, the Kara ... or Kudur ... of the Second Dynastic Tablet; Records of the Past, New Series, i. p. 16.
7 Or foundation-cylinder, the written clay cylinder serving as a foundation-stone in the Babylonian temples.
8 Literally "his."
9 Nindalt, Hebrew nedhdbhah.

41. month by month at sun-rise and sun-set
42. pray SIN the father who has begotten thee that he may bless (me).¹
43. Whoever thou (art) whom SIN and SAMAS shall call to the sovereignty, and
44. in whose reign this house shall decay and be built anew,
45. let him discover the inscription containing my name and change (it) not,
46. let him anoint (it) with oil, let him sacrifice sheep,
47. let him put (it) along with the inscription containing his own name and restore (it) to its place.
48. May SAMAS and ANUNIT hear his prayer,
49. May they be favourable to his wish, may they walk at his side,
50. May they overthrow his enemies, and daily to SIN
51. the father who has begotten them may they invoke blessings upon him!
______
1 Literally "bring a blessing before Sin."

א	a, '	ל	l
ב	b	מ	m
ג	g	נ	n
ד	d	ס	's, s
ה	h	ע	e
ו	u, v	פ	p
ז	z	צ	ts
ח	kh	ק	q
ט	dh	ר	r
י	i, y	ש	s, sh
ך	k	ת	th