Auction Date:2012 Nov 16 @ 10:00 (UTC-6 : CST/MDT)
Location:P.O. Box 714, Erie, Colorado, 80516, United States
Ancient city of Babylon, (630-562 BC), 85 kilometers south of Bagdad, Iraq. An incredibly detailed administrative or commercial tablet, written dated during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II in 556 BC. Cuneiform receipt with over 35 lines of script in crisp detail translated as follows:
Cuneiform Tablet dating to Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon year 25 = 579 BC
Concerning Rental Taxes from lands of the Eanna Temple in Uruk
The tablet is c. 80% preserved, missing the obv. lower left one-sixth = rev. upper left., a piece off the rev. right side, and a few areas of surface damage.
The text records the decision of the senior administrators of the Eanna Temple in Uruk regarding the (rental) taxes that an individual is required to produce from various land holdings of the temple for the year. The officials themselves take responsibility for some part of the tax. The agreement concludes with a list of seven witnesses and the scribe, the name of the city Uruk, and the date. Though most of the text is preserved, much of it is taken with enumeration of field names and the names of witnesses, while much of the section containing the main substance of the agreement is missing, thus the most of the rental terms are unknown.
The business of the Eanna Temple and the Lady-of-Uruk (Ishtar) in the Neo-Babylonian period are well-documented by many other tablets, and research into this large group of tablets by a specialist will likely produce some related texts.
On the lower edge of the tablet is a faded ink inscription in English, written in an old fashioned hand:
“40th year of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon” and “565 BC.” This is curious, as the tablet is very clearly written “year 25” (which would be 579 BC). Perhaps the description was mixed up with that of another tablet. In any event, the handwriting indicates that this tablet derives from a very old collection.
Nergal-tesi-etir, son of Zabida, stated thus to Ninurta-shar-usur, the qipu-official of the Eanna Temple, Marduk-belshunu, the chief administrator (satammu) of the Eanna Temple, (and) Nabu-ahhe-uballit, the official secretary (tupsarru “scribe”) of the Eanna Temple:
The land holdings of the (temple of) the Lady-of-Uruk (that is):
the irrigation district Angillum
the irrigation district Qatnu (of the) town Lasutu
the irrigation district …
as far as the irrigation district of (Til)-hurasi (erasure)
the Harru canal of Gubba (in the) town Kar-Eanna
the New Canal (in) the irrigation district Mahallu
the Harru Canal Shalammu (in) the town Shanapu
the irrigation district Asuritu
the irrigation district Nasira(?)
the irrigation district Birata (of) the town Bit-Diraa (and) Bit-sha…sha, the threshing place of [the Lady-of-Uruk]
The land holdings of Bit-Amukanu which the cultivating farmers and the … farmers… [as much as ?] there is, I will deliver from month XII, year 25 of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, yearly the full amount 9 1/3 kor of barley from the Eanna Temple to the Lady-of-Uruk.
Ninurta-shar-usur, the qipu-official of the Eanna Temple, Marduk-belshunu, the chief administrator of the Eanna Temple, and Nabu-ahhe-bullit, the official secretary of the Eanna Temple, heard him (his statemnet). The land holdings of [ … of] the Lady-of-Uruk as far as the irrigation district Qatnu (of) the town Lasutu which is opposite […], … he delivered. … yearly […] plows in […] he will deliver. He will deliver from his rent. He will deliver […] cattle of the palace. He will deliver his […] while [the qipu-offcial], the chief administrator, and the offcial secretary of the temple will assume responsibility for (?) […] . He will deliver various […]. …
(Witnesses)
[… son of] Bulut, offspring of BA…
Nabu-ah-[…] son of Marduk-zer-ipush, offspring of Ah-ibni
Nergal_ah-[…] son of Aqara, offspring of Bel-[…]
Gimillu son of Zeria, offspring of Shigua
Nadin son of Uruash-shum-usur, offspring of Bel-etir
Balassu son of Shuba, offspring Naba
Nergal-usallim son of Babia, descendant of Zannea, the herd supervisor
Scribe: Nabu-nadin-shumi, son of Zilla. (In) Uruk. Month XII, day 20, year 25 of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.
Provenance: Ex-Reverand Dr. Garner Scott Odell through descent, given to his father, a Presbyterian Minister, in the late 1920s/early 1930s by an Archeologist member of his congregation in Elmira New York.
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Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| CO |
2.9% |
Colorado State Sales Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
18% |
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