ARM 04, 026 (P338788)

Letter tablet excavated in Mari (mod. Tell Hariri), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in National Museum of Syria, Damascus, Syria

Cite

Lineart

Museum Collection(s)

National Museum of Syria, Damascus, Syria

Museum Number

NMSD —

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Mari (mod. Tell Hariri)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Letter

Language(s)

Akkadian

Measurements

Text

tablet
obverse
1. [a]-na ia-as2-ma-ah-{d}[iszkur]
ts: ana yasmaḫ-addu
en: To Yasmaḫ-Addu
2. qi2#-bi2-[ma]
ts: qibima
en: speak!
3. um-ma isz-me-{d}da-gan a-hu-ka-a-ma
ts: umma išme-dagan aḫukama
en: Thus Išme-Dagan, your brother:
4. ki-ma qa-du-um s,a#-bi#-im a-na ne2-e'2-ra-ri-im
ts: kīma qadum ṣābim ana ne’rārim
en: Since with the troops to aid
5. a-na re-esz sa-mu-{d}iszkur ku-ul-lim
ts: ana reš samu-addu kullim
en: and support Samu-Addu
6. a-na ka-ra-na-a{ki} al-li-kam
ts: ana karanaya allikam
en: to Karanaya I went,
7. wu-di i-na pa-ni-tim-ma
ts: wuddi ina panītimma
en: certainly earlier
8. asz-pu-ra-kum
ts: ašpurakkum
en: I wrote to you;
9. _lu2_ esz3-nun-na{ki} qa-du-um ga-ma-ar-ti s,a-bi-szu
ts: awīl ešnunna qadum gamarti ṣābišu
en: the man of Ešnunna with the ensemble of his troops,
10. qa-du-um _giri3-se3-ga-mesz_
ts: qadum girseqqî
en: together with administrative staff
11. u3 be-el du-um-qi2
ts: u bēl dumqī
en: and notables,
12. ip#-hu-ur-ma i-na u2-pe2{ki}
ts: ipḫurma ina upe
en: gathered, and in Opis
13. [wa]-szi-ib-ma
ts: wašibma
en: sat, and
14. [u3 a-na] _lu2_ babila{ki}
ts: u ana awīl bābilim
en: further to the man of Babylon
15. [a-na it]-ti-szu ne-en-mu-di-im
ts: ana ittišu nenmudim
en: to meet up with him
16. [i-na ma]-an-ki-si{ki}
ts: ina mankisi
en: in Mankisi
17. [...]-x-e-em
ts: ...-em
en: ...
reverse
1. isz#-ta-ap-pa-ar-ma
ts: ištapparma
en: kept writing, but
2. _lu2#_ babila{ki}
ts: awīl bābilim
en: the man of Babylon
3. u2-ul im-gu-ru-ma
ts: ul imgurma
en: did not agree, and
4. qa-du _lu2_ babila{ki} la im#-gu#-ru-szu
ts: qadu awīl bābilim la imgurušu
en: although the man of Babylon did not agree,
5. i-na la bu-usz-ti-szu it-be2-em-ma
ts: ina la būštišu itbêmma
en: in his shamelessness he rose up against me, and
6. a-na ma-asz-ku-ul#-li#-ia{ki} il-li-kam-ma
ts: ana maškulliya illikamma
en: to Maškulliya he went, and
7. i-na ma-asz-ku#-ul-li-ia{ki}
ts: ina maškulliya
en: in Maškulliya
8. a-na _i7_ he-re-e-em qa-as-su isz-ku-un
ts: ana nārim herêm qassu iškun
en: to waterway dredging his hand set.
9. a-lum ma-asz-ku-li-ia{ki}
ts: ālum maškulliya
en: The city Maškulliya
10. e-le-nu-um bad3-i-pi2-iq-{d}iszkur{ki}
ts: elēnum dūr-ipiq-addu
en: above Dūr-ipiq-Addu
11. i-na _a-sza3_ be2-ra-am sza-ki-in
ts: ina eqlim bēram šakin
en: at a distance of a double-hour set.
12. ki-ma a-na ma-asz-ku-li-ia{ki} u2-qe2-ri-ba-am
ts: kīma ana maškulliya uqerribam
en: As I Maškulliya approached,
13. {disz}sa-mu-{d}iszkur isz-pu-ra-am-ma qa-du-um s,a-bi-im
ts: samu-addu išpuramma qadum ṣābim
en: Samu-Addu wrote and with troops
14. a-na a-lim at-ta-ha-ra-am a-na a-lim ak-szu-dam-ma
ts: ana alim attaḫaram ana alim akšudamma
en: to the city I hastened, in the city arrived, and
15. [ki]-ma a-wa-tum ni-i'2-da u3 _lu2_ esz3-nun-na{ki}
ts: kīma awātum ni’dā u awīl ešnunna
en: since matters were remarkable, the man of Ešnunna
16. [a]-na gu-ul-lu-lim pa-ni-szu
ts: ana gullulim pānīšu
en: to do evil his face
17. isz-ku-nu-szu a-na li-bi ma-ti-szu
ts: iškunušu ana libbi mātišu
en: had set, to the heart of the land
18. [i]-tu-ru sa-mu-{d}iszkur isz-pu-ra-am-ma
ts: itūru samu-addu išpuramma
en: returned; Samu-Addu wrote me, and
19. [a]-na s,a-bi-im sza it-ti-ia il-li-kam
ts: ana ṣābim ša ittiya illikam
en: to the troops who with me came,
20. [t,e4]-ma#-am sza t,a3-ra-di-im
ts: ṭēmam ša ṭarādim
en: report of dispatch,
left
column 1
1. [a-na s,e]-er sa-mu-{d}iszkur
ts: ana ṣēr samu-addu
en: to Samu-Addu
2. [asz-pu-ur] u3 sza-pi2-il-ti s,a-bi-im
ts: ašpur u šapilti ṣābim
en: I sent; further, the remainder of the troops
3. [sza i-na] li-bi ma-a-tim isz7-ta-ah-hu
ts: ša ina libbi mātim ištaḫḫu
en: who in the heart of the land had dispersed;
column 2
1. u3 [...]
ts: u ...
en: further, ...
2. at-[...]
ts: at-...
en: I ...,
3. mi-im#-[ma li-ib-ba-ka la i-na-hi-id]
ts: mimma libbaka lā inaḫḫid
en: you need not be at all anxious.

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Consult word list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Text content

Genre(s)	Letter
Language(s)	Akkadian

Chronology

Period	Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Dates Referenced
Accounting Period

Record

CDLI number	P338788
LOD URI	https://cdli.network/entity/P338788

Physical information

Artifact type	Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s)	Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience	Mari (mod. Tell Hariri)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s)	National Museum of Syria, Damascus, Syria
Museum Number	NMSD —
Accession Number

External resources

External Resource	Identifiers
Archives Babyloniennes (ARCHIBAB)	8573

References

primary: ARM 4, 26

[Dossin1951ARM4] Dossin, Georges. 1951. Lettres. Archives Royales de Mari 4. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner.
history: LAPO 17, p. 132 no. 534

[Durand1998LAPO17] Durand, Jean-Marie. 1998. Les Documents Épistolaires Du Palais de Mari. Tome II. Littératures Anciennes Du Proche-Orient 17. Paris: Les Éditions du CERF.

Revisions and credits

Created	Creator	Type	Authors	Project	Reviewer	Status
2024-08-09 at 10:52:08	Firth, Richard	Artifact metadata, Other metadata	Firth, Richard		Firth, Richard	Approved
2023-10-11 at 12:41:16	Rattenborg, Rune	Artifact metadata	Charpin, Dominique; Rattenborg, Rune	Archives Babyloniennes	Rattenborg, Rune	Approved
2014-05-30 at 11:10:22	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2014-05-30 at 11:06:45	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2014-05-30 at 11:04:53	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2014-05-26 at 21:02:13	Englund, Robert K.	Transliteration	Englund, Robert K.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved
2006-09-22 at 00:00:00	CDLI, CDLI	Artifact metadata	Ajango, Kelsey M.; Ben-Marzouk, Nadia; Guerra, Dylan; Price, Jason R.; Reynolds, Kathryn R.; Washburn, Jody E.		CDLI, CDLI	Approved

Cite this Artifact

“ARM 04, 026 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 9, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P338788.

ARM 04, 026 artifact entry (No. P338788). (2024, August 9). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P338788 (Original work published 2006)

ARM 04, 026 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P338788 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).

@misc{2024ARM,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {aug 9},
	title = {ARM 04, 026 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P338788},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P338788},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/8/9/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P338788
LB  - CDLI:P338788
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - ARM 04, 026 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P338788
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“ARM 04, 026 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 9, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P338788.

ARM 04, 026 artifact entry (No. P338788). (2024, August 9). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P338788 (Original work published 2006)

ARM 04, 026 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P338788 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).

@misc{2024ARM,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {aug 9},
	title = {ARM 04, 026 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P338788},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P338788},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/8/9/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P338788
LB  - CDLI:P338788
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - ARM 04, 026 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P338788
ER  -