Two Kassite Votive Inscriptions

The first of the two inscriptions published here was inscribed, in Sumerian, on the back of a terra-cotta dog 1 by one Ninurta-resiiu, gatammU 2 of the E-u-gal under King Nazi-MaruttaA. The second was inscribed, in Akkadian, by the same gentleman at a later stage in his career-he was then ne-s'akkcu 3 of Enlil-, on a clay quadrangular prism.4 The dog, dedicated to Gula, is poorly preserved but enough to show it to be of the same type as the clay dog from Sippar published by Scheil, Une saison de fouilles a Sippar p. 91 fig. 15. It may indeed come from Sippar too: Ninurta-resudiu's other inscription, the clay prism, belongs to a collection registered as coming from Abil Habba. The prism is dedicated to Adad whose three-pronged thunderbolt is represented on the top and twice on one side (A). On side D, in the blank space between lines 29 and 30, there is a deep depression apparently made by a thumb. In the prism inscription, the author gives only his name and title and the name of his father, uD-Delebat.6 In the dog inscription, however, the father's title is given as neaksacu of Enlil, the son being only satammu of the E-u-gal. Also named are an ancestor, Enlil-ban1, rabdnum (i. e., ' mayor ')7 of KUR. TI; 8 and an even remoter ancestor, Amilatum, sandabakku 9 of Nippur. Enlil-bmn! is undoubtedly the same official who is mentioned on a clay lcudurru 10 as the nisakkcu of Enlil under Kuri-Galzu I. As such, he was certainly also s'andabakku of Nippur in the early part of the latter's reign, as aptly suggested by K. Balkan.1 That in addition (or before) he was rabdnum of KUR.TI, as Dfir-Kuri-Galzu was known before its 'foundation' by Kuri-Galzu I,12 is chronologically consistent. Enlil-binl's successor, both as sandabakku of Nippur and nesakku of Enlil, Ninurta-nddin-abJh, was still in office under Burna-BuryaA II.18 It is quite likely that he was Enlil-bdnl's son or at least a member of the family. He was succeeded by his son, Enlil-kidinni, whose tenure covered the three following reigns.14 Under Nazi-Marutta?, however, the situation was obviously different: the offices of s'andabakku and nerSaakku were held by different persons, the former by Nazi-Enlil,15 the latter by UD-Delebat whose son, Ninurta-reisuu, seems also to have been only a neasakku. The sandabakkcu Ninurta-apla-iddina 16 may well have been his contemporary.17

Ancestor · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Genealogy · Inscribed figure · Prism · Sumerian · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies

• Fraud, Forgery, and Fiction

  Susanne Paulu, Susanne Paulus•Journal of Cuneiform Studies•2018

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