BE 17/1, 039 (P260033)

Letter tablet excavated in Nippur (mod. Nuffar), dated to the Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC) period and now kept in Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Museum Collection(s)

Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Museum Number

CBS 03661

Period

Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)

Provenience

Nippur (mod. Nuffar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Letter (Letter from U-bar-rum to My Lord"; 17x15x3(u.e.) lines; 5x8.4x2.3 cm")

Language(s)

-

Measurements

-

Text

tablet
obverse
1. _ARAD_-ka {disz}u-bar-ru3 a-na di-na-an be-[li2]-ia# <lul-lik>
 en: Your servant Ubāru: <I shall go> as my lord's substitute!
2. um-ma-a a-na be-li2-ia-a-ma
 en: The following (say) to my lord:
3. a-na _a-sza3_ u3 _lu2-{gesz}apin_ sza be-li2-ia
 en: Regarding the fields and the errēšu farmers of my lord:
4. szu-ul-mu i-na pu-ut _a-sza3-mesz_ [...]
 en: everything is in best order. On the head side/small side of the fields ...
5. sza _tukul_-kul-ti-_e2_-kur{ki} sza be-[li2-ia]
 en: of Tukultī-Ekur, which my lord
6. isz-pu-ra ik-te-di-ir [...]
 en: had written to me (to do), he has established a border ...
7. u3 _erin2-hi-a_ sza _ensi2-mesz_ u? szu#-[ta]-pe?#-e
 en: and the ṣābu workers of the iššakku farmers and the šutāpu workmen have neglected their work
8. isz-tu4 _i7 tukul_-kul-ti-_e2_-kur{ki}
 en: from the Tukultī-Ekur canal
9. a-di u2-ga-re-e sza ta-mi-ir-ti
 en: up to the ugāru land (intended for farming) in the irrigated territories (belonging to the city)
10. ha-am-ri sza i-na mi-li ma-ha-ri-i
 en: of the Ḫamru irrigation districts, which the water in the previous seasonal flooding
11. mu-u2 is,-ba-tu-ma ip-ti-nu-ma
 en: had seized, then became firm there, and
12. iz-zi-zu ih-ta-tu-ni u3 har-bu
 en: then stood there. Furthermore the ḫarbu fields
13. sza {disz}bu-ur-ru-ti sza i-na
 en: of Burrutu, which are in
14. ta-mi-ir-ti ha-am-ri
 en: the irrigated territories (of to the city) of Ḫamru,
15. za-ku dul{ul}-la ul i-pu-usz
 en: are exempted from levies. He does not need to fulfil the dullu work duty.
16. mu-u2 ma-ha-ru-u2-tu4 at#-tu#-szu
 en: His own previous water
17. u3 _erin2-hi-a_ sza be-li2-ia dul#?-[la ...]
 en: and the ṣābu workers of my lord the d[ullu work duty? …]
reverse
1. _u4#-2(u)?#-kam?#_ [...]-tu#-ma#
 en: (of ?) the 20th day (?) ... they are ...
2. a#-na# um#-mi# u2-bi?#-ri#? sza# be#-[li2? ...]
 en: .Regarding my mother (?) she became hungry (?). That which (?) [my lord ?] ...
3. [...]-i#-ib# DU#
 en: ...
4. [...] sza _bad3_-{d}en-lil2-_mesz{ki}_
 en: ... of Dūr-Enlilē
5. [sza] mi#-ik#-ri# mi#-ik#-ru#-ma#?
 en: [Regarding] the irrigation; the irrigation
6. [...] li-isz-pu-ra-am#-ma
 en: ... he may send to me and
7. _dumu# {disz}su#_-{d#}x [... {disz}]e#-t,i5#-ra
 en: the son (?) of Erība(?)- ..., Et,iru
8. te-du#? i#-[...] le-mi-ta
 en: you know (?) (and) he ... disobedient (f)
9. li-sza#-x [...]
 en: (s)he shall ...
10. um-ma-a a-na [be]-li i-ma#-as,#? [...]
 en: The following to my lord: It is (too) less ...
11. _dumu-mesz_ [...] i-[...]
 en: the sons ... they/he ...
12. [...]
 en:
13. [...]
 en:
14. [...]
 en:
15. [...]
 en:
16. [...]
 en:
17. [...]
 en:
18. [...] lu-pa-ad
 en: I shall put in fetters
top
11. [...] _e2_
 en: ... house
12. sza be-li2 isz-pu-ra a-na be-li2-[ia]
 en: ... that, which my lord had written to me (to do), I have to my lord
13. usz-te-bi-la
 en: let it be brought (i.e. to my lord).

Text content

Genre(s) Letter (Letter from U-bar-rum to My Lord"; 17x15x3(u.e.) lines; 5x8.4x2.3 cm")
Language(s)

Chronology

Period Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)
Accounting Period

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P260033

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation
rev badly damaged

Provenance

Provenience Nippur (mod. Nuffar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Museum Number CBS 03661
Accession Number

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
Penn Museum (Penn) 578827
Electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) CBS.3661

References

  • primary: BE 17/1,, 039

    [Radau1908BE17/1] Radau, Hugo. 1908. Letters to the Cassite Kings from the Temple Archives of Nippur. Babylonian Expedition 17/1.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-01-19 at 10:20:17 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Földi, Zsombor J.; Jiménez, Enrique; Pagé-Perron, Émilie Electronic Babylonian Library Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2019-04-02 at 09:07:40 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI Approved View
2019-04-02 at 08:51:24 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI Approved View
2019-04-02 at 08:44:19 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI Approved View
2017-12-19 at 02:39:21 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI Approved View
2017-11-08 at 22:57:33 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI Approved View
2005-04-25 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact metadata Englund, Robert K.; Fitzgerald, Madeleine; Foxvog, Daniel A.; Frayne, Douglas R.; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô Penn Museum CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“BE 17/1, 039 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). February 1, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P260033.
BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry (No. P260033). (2023, February 1). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P260033 (Original work published 2005)
BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P260033 (Accessed: May 17, 2026).
@misc{2023BE,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-17]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {feb 1},
	title = {BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P260033},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P260033},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/2/1/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P260033
LB  - CDLI:P260033
M1  - 2026/5/17/
TI  - BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P260033
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“BE 17/1, 039 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). February 1, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P260033.
BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry (No. P260033). (2023, February 1). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P260033 (Original work published 2005)
BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P260033 (Accessed: May 17, 2026).
@misc{2023BE,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-05-17]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {feb 1},
	title = {BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P260033},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P260033},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/2/1/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P260033
LB  - CDLI:P260033
M1  - 2026/5/17/
TI  - BE 17/1, 039 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P260033
ER  -
This website uses essential cookies that are necessary for it to work properly. These cookies are enabled by default.