Cuneiform texts from Babylonian tablets, &c. in ... -...
Transcript of Cuneiform texts from Babylonian tablets, &c. in ... -...
CUNEIFORM TESTS
FROM
BABYLONIAN TABLETS, &.C.,
IN THE
BRITISH &!USBUM.
P A R T XIIT.
(50 Plates.)
SOLD AT 'THE BRITISH MUSEUhI; N D dl'
LOKGMAKS S Cu., 39, I'ATEIINOSTER KO%'; BERN.&RD QUARTTCH, 1 5 , PICCADILLY;
ASI-IEI< S Co., 13, BEDFORD SI'IIE>:i", COVEKT i>AIII)EN; IIEGAN FACL, TRENCH, TKUBSER & CO., PATEI:~OS~I,:II IIOUSE, CHHI:IN~; CROSS I<OAI)
A Y D
IIEXRY FROWDF', OXFORI) IJNIVERSITY l'l:Y:SS, AhlEN CORSER,
LONDOX.
[ALL RIGIfTS "S'ESZR VED.]
I.ONI>OA :
HARIUSOY X N l l SONS,
PRINTERS IK ORDINARY 'PO HER LATE I I I J E S T V ,
ST. MAR'I.IN'S LAKE.
Part X I I J . of " Cunciforn~ l'exis from 13xbylonian Tablets. &c,," contains texts
fro111 fifty-three baked clay tablets and fragmetlts of the T<ouy~~njil< and other
collections. T h e texts are mythological legends and rnay be di\ricled into the
following classes :-
( I . ) Texts belong-ing- ~. to the Creation series stylerl by the Assyrians " ENVMA
ELISH," " Ns'hen in the height," fro111 the 'two opening words of the first
tablet of the series. The poeni describes thc birth of the gods, the battle
of the god Marduli with the monster Tiarnat, and the creatioi~ of the world
by Marduli.
(2 . ) Miscellaneo~~s Legends of the Creation. Under this heading are given a
second version of the battle with the Dragon, the test of a tablet rclerririg
to the creation of beasts, and a completely different version or the narrative
of the creation, in which no contest with a dragon is mentioned.
(3.) Legends of early Uabylonian kings. 'The legelids form a clistitlct class and
include texts relating to Sargon, king of Agade, about ]+.c. 3800: and his
son Narani-Sin, about B.C. 3750 ; Dungi! king of Ur , about u.c. 2 ~ O O ;
Libit-Ishtar, lting of Isin, about U.C. 2300; Khammurabi, king of Uabylon,
about u.c. 2 2 0 0 ; and Nebuchadnezzar I., king of BaLylon. about U.C.
1120.
In the following Plates an attempt has been lnadc to place in the hands of
students the whole of the Babylonia,n and Assyrian material preserved in the British
Museum relating to two importatlt groups of legends concerning the creation of the
world and the mythical origins and deeds of sonic of the earliest and nlost famous
kings of h2esopotamia. The true character of the texts inscribed upon the larger and
more clearly written Assyriail fragments containing the principal legend of the
Crcation was recognized by the late General Sir H. C. Rawlinson, Bart., G.C.B., as
lar back as 1865, but it was not till some ten years later that the late Mr. George
Smith published translations of a selection of them with brief relnarlts, in which he
pointed out the resemblance between certain portions of the legend and passages in
the early chapters of the Book of Genesis (see ChnZdauz Genesk, London, 1876 ;
and Transactia~zs of the Society o/ Llihl'irnl Archczoloyy, Vol. IV., 1876). Since
that time the fragments published by Mr. George Smith have been frequently
examined and commented on Ly Assyriologists, and several renderings of them have
appeared in English, French and German ; but no collected edition of the cuneiform
texts has hitherto been made. In the present work will be found copies of a
relatively large number of Creation fragments, the texts of which h a w remained
unpublished ; alnorlg those of special interest is No 38,396 (see Plate 4), which
supplies a large portion of the missing text of the Seco'nd Creation Tablet. An
important unnumbcrcd fragment of a duplicate text of the last tablet of the Creation
Serics, which w,ls ~lsed by Mr. Gcorgr S~ni th in the preparation of his published
copy referred to above, was aitcr his death lost sight of for about iwcnty-five years ;
duri~lg the re-examination of the collections, however, in the year 1900, it was
idcntificd, and i t now bears the number l<. 9267 (see Plate 28).
. . I hc legcncls of early Uabylonia~l kings given on Plates 44-50 are here
published for the first time.
The copics havc been made by Mr. L. \V. King, M.H., Assistant in the
Department.
E. A. WALLIS EUDGE.
C O N T E N T S .
I'iatca. I. The Series of Tablets called bv thc A s ~ ~ i - i a i ~ s " E r u m ELISH," describing the
Creation of thc World :-
I . Table~ I. [K. 5419c, No. 93,015 (82-7-14, 402), 81-7-27, 80, and I<. 39381
T h e first Tablet describes the time when the heavens and t l ~ c cart11 were not, and when the primeval water-gods, Apsh ancl Tiamat, alone esisted ; subscqucntly thc great gods were created, ancl ApsQ and Tiainat revolted against them. T h e Tablet ends with an ;~ccount of tile monsters which
... Tiamat created to help her in thc fight with the gods . . . . . . , . . 1-3
2. Ta6let 21. [No. 38,396, K. 4832, 79-7-8, I 78, and K. 2921.
The second Tablet records how ~Znshar scnt 4 n n to appease Tiainat, but he met with no sncccss. Whereupon Anshar appealed to his son Marduk to fight Tiamat on behalf of the gods and to slay her. Rlarduk consented to do so, and requested that the gods should he summoned tn ratify his appoiiit~ncnt
. . . ... ... as their champion . . . . . . ... ... . . , ... 4-6
3. Tablet 111 [I<. 3473 + 79-7-8, 296 -t R. 6i;, I<. 6650, No. 93,017 (88-4-19, 131% l<. 8575, I<. 8524, 83-1-18, 2116, 83-1-18, 1868, and 82-9-18, 74031.
The third Tablet tells how Anshar sent Gaga his minister to summon Lakhmu and Lakhamu and the other gods to an assembly. Tlie gods met in
Upshukkinaku, their council chamber, whcrc they feasted at a b a ~ ~ q n e t i r ~ ... ... ... ... honour of Marduk . . . . . . ... ... ... 7-13
4 . Tablet ZV. [No. 93,016 (82-9-18, 3737), K. 3437 + K. 641, K. 2, 83, Ko. 93,051, 7 9 - 7 4 251, I;. S~ZOC] .
Thc foul-th Tablct contains an account of the election of ?/Iarduk to be the champion of the gods, who conferred supreme power up011 hiin ; Marduk tested the magical powers which had been given to him by rnakiilg a garment to disappear and reappear. I-Ie then armed l~iinself for the fight and sct out in his chariot, accotnpar~ied by the winds which he had created. H e slew Tiarnat and routed her followers, and after the battle he cut her body in
... ... halves, with one of w~hicb he covered the heavens ... ... 14-21
Tablet V.-[K. 3567 + I<. 8388, I<. 8526, and K. 344gn].
T h c fifth Tablet records the creation of the stars by Marduk, thc stablishing of the year, and the appoi~itment of the Moon to dcterininc thc
... ... ... ... ... days . . . . . . , . . . . . 22-23
6. MdscrLl.lneo?~r f iu~~g?~ze~~ts.-~Ii . 14,949, K. ~ ~ , o o o b , K. 3415 + K. 396, l<. 8522 and K. 926 71.
I t is uncertain how many Tablcts, or numbered sections, the Creation Series contained. Under this section are given the t e s t s of a number of fragmel~ts which most probably helong to the Sci-ics ; thus K. S;zz and its duplicate K. 9267 arc iio doubt parts of the last Tablct of the Series, and they contain a ilumber of addresses to the god Marduk in his cliaractcr of champion of the gods and creator of the world. T h e text ends with at1 epilogue which enjoins the study of the poem aild promiscs prosperity to those who make kiiou~n to others its contents- . . . . . . ... ... ... 24-28
and S. 747.1
In this section are givcn tile texts of a nnmbcr of tablets, ivhich on insufficient cvidence havc bcen assizncrl to the Crcation Series. S. 747 secrrls to be part of an Assyl-ian Comnlc~ltary to thc last Tablet of the Series . . . 29-32
11. Other Creation 1.cgcods :-
I . Another version or the battle with the drazon. In this account the fight does not precede the creation of the world, and details are givcn as to the rlragon's size [R. 2831 ... ... . . . . , . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33-31
2. All account of the creation of the beasts of the field and cif the cattlc of the field [D.T. 411 . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . , , . ... 34
3. An account of thc creatioii of the world by blarduk and thc goddess Aruru. Thc tex t is written both in Su~merian and Bahylvnian [~2- - j~-32 , 10481 . . . 35-38
111. Legends of Early Kings :-
I . Legend of an ancient Icing of Cuthah [I<. j 4 1 S ~ and K. 56401
2. Legend of Sargon, king of ilgacle [K. 3401 + S. 2118, I<. ,4470, and h'o. 47,44g] 42-43
3. Legend of Naram-Sin, thc son o l Sargon [Sr-2-4. 2191 . . . ... . . . . , . 44
4. 1,cgcnd referring to Uungi, I;ii?g c f U r [I<. S5081 ... ... . . . . . . . . . 1 5
5. Legend referring to IAil-Ishtar , king of Isin [R. q 7 ; ] ... ... . . . . . . 45
6. Legend rcfcrring to Kharnrnurabi, kin!: o i Eahylon / R u . 9 1 5-9, z z r j , . ... 46-47
7. Legend of i\'ebuchaclnezzar I.: Icing nf llabylon [l<. 34261 . . , . . . . . . 48
X. Lcge~lds of early kings [K. 4541 and l<. 78611 . . . . . . ... . . . . . . 49-50
CREATION SERIES, TABLET I. PLATE I.
OBVERSE
REVERSE.
CREATION SERIES, TABLET I. PLATE 2$
CREATION SERIES, TABLET I. PLATE 3.
OBVERSE. K. 3938. REVERSE
N o . 93,015 [82-7-14,482.] REVERSE.
PLATE 4. CREATION SERIES, TABLET I I .
No. 38,396. OBVERSE.
REVERSE.
[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . I f . . . . . . . . J I . I p. f 1. . . . .Jixa~l~.f*d.kuiCu 1 . . . . . . l < - te- * L ' . [I] 1 . . . . . . l L . + & " A L . r. . . . . . . . . . . .G 1 .L . r . . . . . . . . . . .~ t t , f&. t m * . . . - ,"7& M* V*-, d. d.,e url.~*tCr*&t I . . . . i i p t j - ~ . k - x v ; . ti- C. - "I. . . . ~t a i& dramkduu~+, I . . . . . I ~ . ~ . ~ ~ . d . L * ~ . ' . & ' -c. . . . h & ~ I < ~ U ~ ~ k ~ L ~ ~ " a.&-- k.f- .., ..,t- .- &-c * ~ k t l i & b ~ " d d th -L + L !S&,
;t-&.S-a ,:&-~-;~n,-&,, -,L& -L &-L L+. M-. ~-mw.i,-mn.An-L Lhk-di t-d.&-&.l; &.-<L &Xer i r l r L ( L . & L C * 1 L M t ~ ~ ~ n l t l ~ [p. d ~ . i k a.k.ur-.rr' ~ t - h - h . i 4 a b d ~ - & + ; . r d ~ ~ r + - t d + f * . . re- ye%i&.t,.hdpz.ti 4,- 9. t ~ - 4.9 f ~ ~ t ~ ] , WLC~ZGS W~+%+&-L c.d.rs~-~~..:.~-~,-~~- &wa.k.k ~ f ~ t - ~ . t t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ d u ~ ~ ~ t s u r
[n,.i,]'& r , -~ . t , r&j i . i : .g-qa- t - 1** ,[oM-j, & t ~ & ~ * d $ ~~/L&LOIULCY 1L.d. l&.*- L.ir.-.arn ,W.-kWL- &-L " W -p. h e l y au+(ulL.~Wri$7&X"a , - , & . , ~ L - , - ~ , . u . ~ : . ,-;,-?;-L c , ~ . u ~ . r n , u ~ e ~ p f ~ t i r m i ~ ~ * [ . . ~.,~4"~si.k-hi-1',-t-iiiik,i.nnnu.& "[. 1 ruin&, r i r -,S dcddrd.uidtttd
g - r * ~ . l i . X" ' L . . ] . 2 c j a u - d L + ; L . ~ . ~ T ~ - ~ , w - ~ - ~ ~ - ~ . I , . I , &:L ''L .d+~id&u'f-.'+t$k.+dp r. . 1 -*-- g- d. r dr- .(i - X" 'L . . J . .irr'dU d. h- +L;
[c. &-,L T$-M?(~C~.U-&.;L~&-I,.I,I, d.&' "~L~~i~bjrM~Ll.5brr.,~cap$ & + L a p ? "
,,>L ,,. r, v-,<. 3.Va.9K. 4 \'#*.U r D+ -X k. 6. V w n i - i & f r , 1. (M-. *L:. B 6q.rtn( a*-,. 9.VL,X+.tl(c. r o V m g - , , . V - . ! q ~ . r2 .Vu.P;( . , a . O f e i d q k e t - t m + i T =
. . . . f&- . .+&qEll4-@~md:-[ . - k i W-)Y?, [ . . . I4 I J ~ P C L @ . ~ ~ J I - . Y , ~ $[.-.*.L, wLzL&z-dy,& ~ d ? + ZZ m, M'+& I j R.*Ra% i l . ! t j
.Ih, Wda, ~ d M d urau 6 +L, -4. U &Ken& *uur L+ ivlt a; iN"+e*l. 7 r t t + c d t , ; o f & t ' - t P d C ~ L ~ r - r 4 1 Z u . 2 ~ j p l t ! ' r6 ;&-m-& ? t . A ~ ' I t u h r Y . Li -,j&""'d kn%dWLsuua&Ire.
CREATION SERIES, TABLET il. PLATE 5.
OBVERSE. K. 4832. REVERSE
CREATION SERIES, TABLET 11. PLATE 6.
79-7-8,178. OBVERSE
rltll0llHN \III1,*,.II,
REVERSE.
REVERSE
CREATION SERIES, TABLET Ill. PLATE 8. r-----------------.-----------....------.-------------.-.-----..--------------.------ ' - - - - - - - - - - - ----------. !
K: 3473+79-7-8,296+R~. 615. REVERSE. (CONTINUED)
CREATION SERIES, TABLET Ill. PLATE 10.
N o . 93,017 [%B-4-19,131. OBVERSE.
CREATION SERIES, TABLET Ill. PLATE 11.
No. 93,017 [88-4-19,131. REVERSE.
CREATION SERIES, TABLET 111. P L A T E 12.
OBVERSE. K. 8575. REVERSE.
K. 8524. 83-1-18,2116:
PLATE 13.
CREATION SERIES, TABLET Ill.
82-9-18, 1403.' OBVERSE
REVERSE.
P L A T E 14. CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T IV.
No. 93,016 [82-9-18,37371. OBVERSE.
P L A T E 15. CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T IV.
No 93,016 182-9-18,37371. REVERSE
PLATE 16.
CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T IV.
K. 3437+Rm. 641. OBVERSE.
PLATE 17. CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T IV.
K. 3437+Rm. 644. OBVERSE. (CONTINUED)
P L A T E 18. CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T IV.
K. 3437+Rm. 641. REVERSE.
PLATE 19. CREATION SERIES, TABLET IV.
K. 3437+Rm. 641. I REVERSE. (CONTINUED)
PLATE 20. CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T !V.
No. 93,051. OBVERSE
REVERSE
OBVERSE.
/----l REVERSE,
PLATE 21. CREATION SERIES, TABLET IV.
K. 5 4 2 0 , c OBVERSE,
PLATE 22. CREATION SERIES, TABLET V.
K. 3567+K. 8588. OBVERSE
P L A T E 23.
CREATION SERIES, T A B L E T V.
OBVERSE. K. 8526.
REVERSE.
K. 3449, (7. OBVERSE. REVERSE.
7 1G4ij3TWfl 4 W'
P L A T E 24.
CREATION SERIES, UNNUMBERED TABLETS.
OBVERSE. OBVERSE (CONTINUED) REVERSE.
[ B R O K E N SLIKI.ACB 1
PLATE 25.
CREATION SERIES, UNNUMBERED TABLETS
K. 3445tRrn. 396. REVERSE. (CONTINUEO)
+ H H m
1 RKOlilCN SURFACE1
PLATE 26.
CREATION SERIES, UNNUMBERED TABLETS.
K. 8522. OBVERSE.
P L A T E 28.
CREATION SERIES, UNNUMBERED TABLETS.
OBVERSE.
REVERSE.
K. 3364. PLATE 29. OBVERSE.
H*-$ew
K. 3364. REVERSE.
PLATE 30 .
R. 982+80-7-18.178, OBVERSE. REVERSE.
, : # % \ , , h ., ,., ,,,.,
OBVERSE. S.747.
REVERSE.
[BROhLX 5 l i R W C f
qR@= H v ~ e q m < mMw vdmmq-vef!3 a p m * - - w
F 4 K w ~ < * m * ~ q ~ q q y ~ m & ~ H * m * m * V<QflqMWK6F+N6$! @Y H W H+-
W r D -l m 0 h3
PLATE 33.
OTHER CREATION LEGENDS.
Ra. 282.
OBVERSE.
PLATE 34.
OTHER CREATION LEGENDS. R.. 282. REVERSE.
D.T. 41.
PLATE 35. OTHER CREATION LEGENDS.
PLATE 36. OTHER CREATION LEGENDS.
PLATE 37. OTHER CREATION LEGENDS.
PLATE 38. OTHER CREATION LEGENDS.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 39.
[LEGEND OF AN ANCIENT KING OF CUTHAH.]
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 40.
[LEGEND OF AN ANCIENT KING OF CUTHAH.l
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 41.
[LEGEND OF AN ANCIENT KING OF CUTHAH.]
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 42. [LEGEND OF SARGON, KING OF AGADE.]
K. 340HS. 2118.
PLATE 44. LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS.
[LEGEND OF NARAM-SIN, THE SON OF §ARGON.]
81-24,219. OBVERSE.
REVERSE
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 45.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 46.
[MENTION OF HAMMURABI, KING OF BABYLON.]
BU 91-54,221.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 47.
[MENTION OF HAMMURABI, KING OF BABYLON.]
Bu 91-5-9,221.
REVERSE.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. P L A T E 48.
[LEGEND OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR I., KING OF BABYLON.]
K. 3426.
OBVERSE.
REVERSE.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS.
K. 4541. PLATE 49.
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. PLATE 50.
Electronic publication prepared by
Kelvin Smith LibraryCase Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
for
ETANA Core Texts http://www.etana.org/coretexts.shtml