Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters Part 35

To the lord of kings, my lord, thy servant Bel-ibni. May Ashur, Shamash, and Marduk decree length of days, cheer of heart, and health of body to the lord of kings, my lord. Shuma, son of Shum-iddina, son of Ga?al, sister's son to Tammaritu, fled from Elam and came to the Da??ai. From the Da??ai, when I had taken him, I made him cross over. He is ill. As soon as he has completely recovered his health, I will send him to the king, my lord. A messenger is here from Natan and the Pukudu, who are in Til-?umba, to say that they came before Nabu-bel-shumate at the city Targibati. They took an oath, by G.o.d, one with another, saying, "According to agreement we will send thee all the news we hear." And according to contract they furnished fifty oxen for money at his hands, and said to him, "Let our sheep come and among the Ubanat in the pasture let them graze among them. Thou mayest have confidence in us." Now let a messenger of the king, my lord, come and make Natan learn in his mind, that "if thou dost send anything for sale to Elam, or one sheep be allotted to pasture in Elam, I will not suffer thee to live." I have sent trustworthy reports to the king, my lord.

The incident here referred to, the reception of the fugitive Shuma, who probably on account of his illness was unable to join his uncle Tammaritu, is very similar to that related of Tammaritu himself. This King of Elam succeeded his cousin Ummanigash, whom he dethroned, but after a short reign was himself dethroned by the usurper Indabigash. He and his brothers and family and eighty-five princes of Elam, his supporters, fled by sea from Elam to the marshes at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates. There he fell sick. But Ashurbanipal sent him a friendly message, and he came before the a.s.syrian governor, and kissed the ground in token of submission. We learn that Marduk-shar-u?ur was the officer who received him, and a very mutilated letter seems to refer to it. He was probably the Rabshakeh to whom Bel-ibni wrote(892) complaining of certain slanders about him. So even the faithful servant was not entirely free from court intrigues. In another letter Bel-ibni refers to his having received and sent on to the king, Tammaritu, his brothers, family, and n.o.bles.(893)

(M808) Like Ummanigash and Indabigash, Tammaritu corresponded with Ashurbanipal. We have letters from him to the King of a.s.syria and from Ashurbanipal to him. Unfortunately these letters are very imperfect, or not yet published. He is mentioned continually in the letters. There were several of the name: (1) son of Urtaku, third brother of Teumman, (2) son of Teumman, slain with his father, (3) son of Ummanigash, King of Elam, succeeded his cousin Ummanigash, whom he dethroned, (4) son of Attamitu.

To which of these a reference is made is often hard to decide.

VII. Letters Regarding Affairs In Southern Babylonia

(M809) (M810) Another group refers to the events at Ur, in the far south of Babylonia. Sin-tabni-u?ur, son of Ningal-iddina, was governor there during the time of Shamash-shum-ukin's great rebellion. This we learn from some of the forecast tablets, published in George Smith's _a.s.surbanipal_.(894) The greater part of these tablets is unintelligible, containing a record of the omens observed, probably on inspection of the entrails of the slaughtered sacrifices. What these symptoms were cannot yet be determined. Much has been done by Boissier in his _Textes a.s.syriens relatifs au Presage_, and many articles contributed to various journals.

The omens are generally such as also occur in the tablets published by Dr.

Knudtzon in his _Gebete on den Sonnengott_, and ably discussed by him there. The tablet evidently was meant to submit these omens to some oracle that a prediction might be given on their authority. The king also usually stated his cause of anxiety and asked for guidance and direction. These forecast tablets, many of which are dated, are of the greatest service for the chronology of the period. They have been partly discussed by the present writer.(895) Thus the two, which refer to Sin-tabni-u?ur, announce that he is governor of Ur, and seem to inquire whether he can be relied upon to prove faithful. We may conclude that his appointment took place in Ab, B.C. 648.

(M811) From a letter,(896) which G. Smith(897) ascribes to Kudur, governor of Erech, we learn that he had heard from Sin-tabni-u?ur, who reports that a messenger had arrived from Shamash-shum-ukin, inciting the people to rebel against Ashurbanipal. As a result,

"the Gurunammu have rebelled against me. Re-enforce me at once."

The good Kudur sent five or six hundred archers and joined Aplia, the governor of Arrap?a, and Nurea, governor of ?ameda, and went to Ur. He was able to seize the leaders of the revolt, among them Nabu-zer-iddin. But someone had captured Sin-tabni-u?ur. Bel-ibni is named, and later Nabu-ushezib, the archer, but the text is too mutilated to make out a clear account. But it seems likely that Sin-tabni-u?ur was rescued, and being re-enforced, held out well for his master. Ashurbanipal writes to a.s.sure him of his continued confidence.(898)

(M812)

Message of the king to Sin-tabni-u?ur: It is well with me. May thy heart be cheered. Concerning Sin-shar-u?ur, what thou didst send.

How could he say evil words of thee and I hear anything of them?

Shamash perverted his heart and Ummanigash slandered thee before me and would give thee to death. Ashur, my G.o.d, withholds me. I would not willingly slay my servant, and the support of my father's house. In that case, thou wouldst perish with thy lord's house. I would not see that. He and Ummanigash have compa.s.sed thy death, but because I know thy faithfulness I have increased my favor and bestowed honor upon thee. Is it not so? For these two years thou hast not caused hostility or want to thy lord's house.

What could they say against a servant who has loved his lord's house and I believe it? And with respect to the service which thou and the a.s.syrians, thy brothers, have done, what thou sendest, all that thou hast done and the guard thou hast kept, ... which is pleasing before me [I will reward] and return thee favors to thy children's children.

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

(M814)

When I left the Sealand, I sent five hundred soldiers, servants of my lord, the king, to the city ?abdanu, saying, "Hold a fort in ?abdanu and make raids into Elam, slay and make prisoners." When they went against Irgidu, a city two leagues this side of Susa, they slew Ammaladin, the sheik of Ias.h.i.+'ilu, his two brothers, three brothers of his father, two of his brother's sons, Dala-ilu, son of Abi-iadi', and two hundred well-born citizens of that city.

They had a long journey before them. They took one hundred and fifty prisoners. The sheiks of La?iru and the people of Nugu', when they saw that my raiders had extended on their farther side, were full of fear, sent word and took the oath to Mushezib-Marduk, my sister's son, a servant of the king, my lord, whom I had appointed over the fort, saying, "We will be servants of the King of a.s.syria." When they had gathered their bowmen, as many as they had, they went with Mushezib-Marduk, and marched into Elam.

Here follows a bad break in the narrative, but I?isha-aplu is named, and Bel-ibni promised to send on to the king whatever they captured and brought to him. The letter then resumes:

News from Elam: they say that Ummanigash, son of Amedirra, has rebelled against Umma.n.a.ldash. From the river ?ud?ud as far as the city ?a'adanu they have sided with him. Umma.n.a.ldash has gathered his forces, and they are now encamped on the river opposite one another. I?isha-aplu, whom I have sent to the palace, has penetrated their designs. Let one question him in the palace.

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

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

(M816) The king himself writes to Bel-ibni(901) in a most friendly way about Mushezib-Marduk:

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

Mushezib-Marduk is also mentioned by Nabu-zer-ukin, in a letter to the king,(902) in close connection with Shum-iddin, the governor of Dur-ilu.

It is not clear what the writer had to say of him, but farther on in the letter Bel-ibni is named. The same Nabu-zer-ukin is mentioned in a tablet of epigraphs,(903) where he is a.s.sociated with Shamash-shum-ukin, Tammaritu and Indabigash. He is there said to be son of Nabu-mushe?i. In another letter he writes with Adadi-shum-u?ur, Nabu-shum-iddin, Ardi-Ea, and Ishtar-shum-eresh to the king,(904) but hardly anything remains except a mention of Nineveh. The same group of writers is elsewhere a.s.sociated with Nabu-mushe?i. Of another letter(905) from him to the king only the introduction is found.

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

To the king of countries, my lord, thy servant Kudur. May Bel and Nabu decree peace, health, and length of days for the king, my lord, forever. Since I was in the enemy's country the Pu?udu have made an end of the Bit-Amu?ani, servants of my lord, the king, by their attacks. The cities which were to be held for the king, my lord, they captured. Let the servants of the king, my lord, march.

They have occupied the cities, killed the men and ravished the women. Also they have attacked ?aba, the body-guard. The day they reached Bit-Amu?ani, it is said, the attackers attacked the body-guard. I sent soldiers, saying, "Go, slay 'Ala' with the pike, save the garrison and take them captive." When on the king's ca.n.a.l they attacked Nabu-shar-u?ur, the colonel, he took them captive. Let the king, my lord, inquire of them, as he can. The king, my lord, knows how Bit-Amu?ani is destroyed. The Pu?udu keep their land. The soldiers with us have not set out, and they are the attackers, and we abhor the alienation of territory. Let the king, my lord, give orders and the soldiers shall set out against the cities, where they dwell.

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

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

(M818)

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

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

Letters About Elam And Southern Babylonia

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

We have a letter from Esarhaddon to him(908) in very friendly terms. It begins:

(M820)

Letter of Esarhaddon, King of a.s.syria, to Urtaku, King of Elam: I am well. Peace to thy G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses. There is peace in my land and with my n.o.bles, peace be to Urtaku, King of Elam, my brother. There is peace with my sons and my daughters, peace be to thy n.o.bles and thy land. Now what Ashur, Sin, Shamash, Bel, Nabu, Ishtar of Nineveh, Ishtar of Arbela, the G.o.ds ... have said, I have (fully?) accomplished.

(M821) The rest is obscure by reason of lacunae. The reverse seems to be inscribed with numerals, perhaps relating to items of presents sent.