OLD BABYLONIAN PROPHECIES AT URUK AND KISH
Stephanie Dalley Oriental Institute, University of Oxford
Prophecy, as attested on cuneiform tablets, has been the subject of exten- sive research with the Old Testament prophets in mind, resulting in the publication of several books that gather up relevant texts.1 From Old BabylonianMaricomesawealthofmaterialwhichincludesprophecies emanating not only from Mari itself, but also from Aleppo and Tuttul among other centres. From the kingdom of Eshnunna comes the Old Babylonian oracle of Kit¯ıtum, a goddess known only from that period. From Neo-Assyrian Nineveh come prophecies mainly emanating from Ishtar of Arbela. A collection of texts found at Mari, Nineveh and Esh- nunna, published in ,2 gives the impression that central Babylo- nia was largely devoid of prophetic activity, as if prophecy were a phe- nomenon known only outside and at the edges of the core area covered by cuneiform king-lists, and not in the great cities of lower Mesopotamia; and some discussions have implied a similar limitation.3 Afew,lessbibli- cally orientated, have taken into account a brief reference in a Mari letter to a prophet of Marduk, presumably at Babylon,4 and have mentioned an unedited prophecy from Old Babylonian Uruk, and another from Old Babylonian Kish contained within a formal royal inscription. For the lat- ter two prophecies, more detailed research, presented here, shows that Inanna—Nanay of Uruk played a particularly eminent role, not only in her own city but also at Kish. This study is offered as a token of deep appreciation to Ben Foster for his wide-ranging and generous scholar- ship in Akkadian literature and history.
1 I thank Matthijs de Jong for useful comments on an early draft of this paper. 2 Nissinen ; likewise the title (but not entirely the contents) of Köckert and Nissinen . 3 E.g., Grabbe, Huffmon, and van der Toorn in Nissinen ed. ; and Nissinen . The importance of central Mesopotamian cities for prophecy was emphasised by Pongratz-Leisten : . 4 Charpin : –, and n. a. stephanie dalley
I. An Old Babylonian Prophecy at Uruk
The prophecy found at Uruk in the palace built by Sin-kaˇsid, was associ- ated with texts dated to the subsequent local ruler Rim-Anum. A copy of the cuneiform text was published with some notes by van Dijk in ,5 and a partial translation was given by Biggs, who evidently realised its importance, in .6 Rim-Anum is now known to be contempo- rary with the reign in Babylon of Samsu-iluna years to , and he would have begun his reign as a vassal of the Babylonian king, just before the great rebellion that is thought to have led to Babylon’s loss of control over the cities of southern Mesopotamia.7 Using the pub- lished copy without collation, a first attempt at an edition is given here, with an analysis of its structure, and some suggestions for interpreta- tion.8 The text is distinguishable from most Old Babylonian prophecies for being anonymous: neither the prophet nor the king is named. Whereas most contemporary prophecies relate to military and diplomatic events, to the safety of the king and to matters of succession, the readings and interpretation given here point to a different purpose: to be relieved of taxation.
re-e-ú ki-nu ˇsum-ˇsu dam-qu The faithful shepherd—his name (is) fortunate, la-ma-sà-ˇsu da-ri-tum his protecting lamassu (is) everlasting - a-na bi-tim é.an.na i-te-ru-ub has entered the temple Eanna. iˇs-tu i-na-an-na a-na pa-ni-ˇsu From now on, well-being (is) before ˇsu-ul-mu him, a-na wa-ar-ki-ˇsu ba-la-tú. (long) life (is) behind him. d iˇs-tu u4-um na-na-a i-ru-ba-am From the day that Nanaya entered ùi-naká den.zu a-bi-ˇsa and had me sit down ú-ˇse-ˇsi-ba-an-ni-ma in the doorway of the god Su’en her father um-ma ˇsi-i-ma she spoke saying: a-di ra-a-am ki-na a-ˇsa-ak-ka-nu “Until I establish a faithful shepherd ù unugki mi-ta-am ú-ba-al-la-tú. And revive dying Uruk,
5 van Dijk, : – and pl. . 6 Biggs : –. 7 Stol –. 8 Pongratz-Leisten () gave excerpts in notes. She suggests the prophecy arose fromadream,butwithoutgivingevidence.