K. 1282.
Obverse.
- 1. From Dibbara ....
- 2. the gods all of them ....
- 3. the angels and spirits all ....
- 4. Dibbara his mouth opened and ....
- 5. a voice also the whole of you ....
- 6. I also in the first sin ....
- 7. in heart I cried out and ....
- 8. like a flock of sheep may ....
- 9. without the planting of boundaries against ...
- 10. like the spoiling of the country steadfast and ..
- 11. in the mouth of the high noble ....
- 12. and the place ....
- Fifteen lines much broken here.
- 28. .... the land of Accad its strength ....
- 29. May one slay seven like ....
- 30. his cities to ruins and mounds thou dost reduce ....
- 31. his great spoil thou dost spoil, to the midst of ....
- 32. the gods of the country .... thou removest afar off ....
- 33. the god Ner and the God Serakh thou directedst ....
- 34. the countries their productions, the sea thou ..
- 35. its interior they destroyed ....
- Four mutilated lines here.
Reverse.
- 1. For years untold the glory of the great lord the god ....
- 2. When Dibbara had cried out and to sweep the countries ....
- 3. had set his face
- 4. Itak his adviser had quieted him and stayed ...
- 5. gathering together his forces to the glorious one of the gods, Merodach the son of (Hea).
- 6. In the hour of night he sent him, and when in the year ....
- 7. Not any one ....
- 8. .... and sent not down against ....
- 9. his .... also Dibbara received before ....
- 10. .... Itak who goes before him, the illustrious god ....
- 11. are all of them laid with him.
- 12. Any one who speaks of the warrior Dibbara
- 13. and that song shall glorify, in his place thou wilt keep (his) canals,
- 14. .... never may he fall (?) ....
- 15. the heavens have caused the borders of (his) regions to increase.
- 16. Whoever the glory of my heroism shall recount,
- 17. an adversary never may he have.
- 18. The musician who shall sing, shall not die by the chastisement;
- 19. higher than king and prince may that man ascend.
- 20. The tablet writer who studies it (and) flees from the hostile, shall be great in the land.
- 21. If in the places of the people, the established place, my name they proclaim,
- 22. their ears I open.
- 23. In the house, the place where their goods are placed, if I Dibbara am angry
- 24. may the seven gods turn him aside,
- 25. may the chastising sword not touch him whose face thou establishest.
- 26. That song for ever may they establish and may they fix the part ....
- 27. may all the world hear, and glorify my heroism;
- 28. may the men of all nations see, and exalt my name.
- Fifth tablet of the exploits of the god (Dibbara).
Here we see a picture of Oriental feeling with reference to natural phenomenon or disaster to mankind. It is supposed that some deity or angel stands with a sword over the devoted people and sweeps them into eternity.
The first fragment shows the anger of Anu at the sin of some doomed race, and his command to Dibbara to take his weapon, slay the people, and desolate the land like the god Ner. This god Ner was one of the mythical kings of Babylon who reigned after the flood, and is mentioned as having a terrible name and being with Etana a dweller in Hades. The allusion to him in this passage seems to imply that he was believed to have once rescued Babylon from a hostile attack.
The next fragment exhibits the goddess of Karrak as healing the illness of some of the people, 4,102 being mentioned as struck with disease.
In the next and largest fragment the story becomes a little more connected; it commences with a description of preparation for battle, and goes on through speeches and actions to describe the course of Dibbara and his plague that he inflicts upon Babylon, and its besiegers where he spares neither chief nor slave, and enters even the palace. It would seem that the sin of the Babylonians arose from the chief priest or governor of the city arming the troops and sending them out to plunder the enemy. For this the plague is sent, and its progress is graphically described. Merodach the special protector of Babylon at last interferes, and the god of pestilence is checked in his course. The next city visited belongs to Samas, being either Larsa, or Sippara, and then the plague reaches Erech. The character of this city is described, the worship of Venus, with her handmaids Samkhati and Kharimati, or “Joy” and “Seduction,” the priests and ceremonies, and the progress of the plague over the place. Then the great god the deity of Duran comes forward and pleads for his city, calling to mind its uprightness and justice, and praying for its exemption from the plague.