Obverse.
- 1. Ca ....
- 2. This is the work (literally from the mouth) of .
—–———–———–———– - 3. “a khus ba a ri ....
- 4. the god .... tsu bu nu” .... [Accadian.]
- 5. This is the work of Nupatuv ....
—–———–———–———– - 6. “The mighty lady, the winged one, Nigirra,” or “Bel” ....
- 7. “He restored Til-enni,” or “Life.”
- 8. “May Merodach the great lord firmly defend.” [Semitic.]
- 9. This is the work of Basa-Gula, the scribe ...
—–———–———–———– - 10. “The king of the sphere in their front,” or “the lord” .... [Acc.]
- 11. This is the work of En-me-duga ....
—–———–———–———– - 12. .... “head, thy lustre” .... [Acc.]
- 13. This is the work of Elum ....
—–———–———–———– - 14. .... ci bat ....
Reverse.
- 1. ....
- 2. (This is the work of ....) ragas, the scribe,
the man (of a non-existent tablet).
—–———–———–———– - 3. ..... “the gods” [Acc.]. This is the work
of ....
—–———–———–———– - 4. .... “the bull of Bit-Esir (the firmament),” or “The great fortress of the royal crown” ....[Acc.]
- 5. This is the work of Cus-dib the son of....
—–———–———–———– - 6. .... nun-na [Acc.]. This is the work of
Elum-ban-cudur, the son of Khumetis, the scribe, the man of
(a non-existent) tablet.
—–———–———–———– - 7. .... “the paggalti which over heaven are placed” [Sem.].
- 8. (This) is the work of Gimil-Gula, the son of
Il-khigal the scribe, the man of a non-existent tablet.
—–———–———–———– - 9. “The day of calling, the long day at the dawning
of light” (?) [Acc.]. This is the work of Ekur
(Esiru), the son of Nunna-tur.
—–———–———–———– - 10. The hero Izdubar. This is the work of Sin-lici-unnini
the scribe ....
—–———–———–———– - 11. The hero Etana. This is the work of Nis-Sin
the scribe ....
—–———–———–———– - 12. The hero the Fox. This is the work of Kak-Merodach
the son of Eri-Turnunna, the man of a non-existent
tablet.
—–———–———–———– - 13. (The hero) ’Sidu. This is the work of ’Sidu-labiri
the prince, the man of a non-existent tablet.
—–———–———–———– - 14. .... a tu gab [Acc.]. This is the work of
Lig-Dimir the scribe, the man (of a non-existent
tablet).
—–———–———–———–
What is meant by the phrase “the man of a non-existent tablet,” I do not know. Possibly it signifies that the autograph of the author no longer existed at the time the list was drawn up. “The Bull of the firmament” was a legend which was probably connected with the second month of the year, originally, it would seem, the first, which like the zodiacal sign after which it was named, was called the month of “the directing bull.”
Future excavations will doubtless bring to light some of the poems mentioned in the list and not previously known. I have myself lately come across two fragments (S 802 and S 316) which belong to legends hitherto unknown, but they are too short to be worth translating. What curious revelations, however, we may yet expect from the cuneiform records may be judged from a small and well preserved tablet recently brought to England, which contains a catalogue of the gardens belonging to Merodach-Baladan, the contemporary of Hezekiah, and grouped according to the districts in which they were situated. Merodach-Baladan must have been fond of horticulture, since the catalogue contains the names of no less than sixty-seven seed-gardens, besides six other pleasure-grounds. Many of them were named from the localities in whose neighbourhood they were, but others bore such significant titles as “the forest of reeds,” “the small enclosure,” or “the garden of the waters of the city.” As the tablet was copied by a scribe named Merodach-sum-iddin, probably in the time of Nebuchadnezzar or his successors, it is evident that some of the contents of the library of Babylon escaped the destruction brought upon that city by Sennacherib in B.C. 692.
I may add that since the greater part of this edition has been in type, I have found myself able to explain the name of the hero which in default of the true transcription has been provisionally read Izdubar. The name is composed of three ideographs, the first of which is the determinative prefix of wood, while the two latter are rendered saptu saplitu, “the lower lip,” in Semitic Assyrian. Now M. Lenormant has shown that Izdubar was originally the Accadian Fire-god, and Mr. Boscawen has pointed out that the fire-stick was once used in Babylonia; it is therefore evident that the three ideographs composing the name represent the lower piece of wood, with a lip or groove in it, which formed the most important part of the primitive fire-machine. I believe the Accadian pronunciation of the name will turn out to be Kibirra.
A. H. Sayce.
May 21st, 1880.
