SOME NED-ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS .-ROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY'

Veysel DONBAZ - Istanbul

The six tablets published here l arc from the south-eastern part of Turkcy . Three of them were excavated on mound Girnavaz during two successive campaigns, in 1984 and 19862 . They belong to the archives of a man called Istar-nadin-ahhe, most likely a wealthy inhabitant of the ancient town, who purchased orchards and fields in the area. The fourth document, SaT. 146, said to originate from ~ariza (near Mardin), perhaps may also stem from Girnavaz, if the occurrence of the personal name Dur-ahhe (also attested in Gir. 84/84, 28) in line 15 is not a pure coincidence3

• That the three texts from Girnavaz, 84/84, 84J85, and 86/23, belong together is clear since they feature numerous identical persons4

:

lStar-nadin-ahhe Rcmuti

84184, 12, rev. 7; 86123, 4, [3; 84/84, rev. 11, son of Urad-IStar in 86123, 23;

'j This article was originally planned to be published in the journal AnalOlica, and the original manuscript was extensively edited for this purpose by Prof. K.R. Veenhof. Later, when it became apparent that appearance in Anato/ica would be delayed beyond what was originally intended, the idea was dropped in favour of the present solution. I am most grateful to Prof. Veenhof for his editorial efforts as well as for his kindness in letting the article appear in the SAA Bulletin, where it doubtless more properly belongs. I) I would like to thank Dr. Hayat Erkanal for entrusting me with the publication oflhe texts, two of which were unearthed during the 1984 season (Gir. 84184, 84/85) and one (Gir. 86123) in 1986 ill the same spot. The texts Sariza 146, 7&1294 and 751157·2 are stray finds from the vicinity of Mardin, now housed in the museum there.

2) In 1985 no excavation was carried out. ~; For names beginning with Dur· , see APN pp. 7lf. and ARU p. 413.

I am grateful to Drs. M. Jas (Amsterdam) for contributing the "Index of Personal Names" and for suggestions on the reading or interpretation of a few names and words. indicated by (J) in the remarks on the texts.

4

Mannu-ki-Arba' il Bcbc'elBibi Bc l-na'id , son of Ninurta-tWr Hampute, son of Urad-G ula Abu-sa lam , son of Ahu-imrue Han~i , son of (A)hi-abinu

VEYSEL DONBAZ ISAAB llIi

84/84,4, rev. 14; 86123, 24; 84/84 , 27; son of Iddi na-ahhc in 86/23, 21' ; 86123, 28; as bel-hija(i in 84184 , rev. 18; 84/84 , 1,2; 84185, 8; 84184,3; 86123, 29; 86123,31'; note (A)hi-abinu himself in 84/85, 7', but Han$i son of Kittir-sarri in 84/84, 5-6;

lana-ahhe 84/84, rev. 29; 84/85, 9'. The other NA texts , Gir.781294 , provenance unknown (Mardin?), and 75/152-2,

from Erzen, near Mardin, are stray finds, which do not link up with the G irnavaz texts, but arc published here since they originate from the same region and arc also of Nco-Assyrian times.

As for the dates of the texts, Gir. 84/84 is from the eponymy of Adad-remanni , a post-cano nica l eponym dated (0·630 and 631 B .C. by Falkner (AfO 1711954-6J, pp. 101 , 108f., 11 9 fn. 59). Gir. 86/23, whose eponymidating is not preserved, must date from about the same period, since the purchase r in both texts is the same man, IStar-nadin­ahhe , who is enlarging his property by buying fields and orchards around G irnavaz. The eponymy of Gir. 84/85 is not preserved , but the occurrence of some persons also appearing in 84/84 and 86123 indicates that it has to be dated to the same period . ~ar. 146, a record of a verdict, is dated to the eponymy of Marduk-~arru-usu r, to whom Falkner assigns one of the years 636 or 639 S .c. We cannot make out whether he was identica l to Ashurbanipal's general , dated to 639 B.C., o r to the governor of Que, dated 636 S .c.s. A possible connect ion between ~ar. 1 46 and the documents from Girnavaz, fro m Htar·nfid in·ahhe's archives, has been suggested above . but we must mention that in $ar.146, 15, Du r- ahhe himself acts as witness, while in GiL 84/84, 28, a son of Dur-ahhe appears as such. If both Dur-ahbes are identical, $ar. 146 wo uld be SO lll cwhal earlier. Text 78/294 is dated to the eponymy of Bcl·sadO' a, which I take as an abbrevia· tio n of Bcl-Harran -bel·~adii' a, who was eponym in 650 B.C. and governor of Kar· A~~ur-ahu- i ddina near T yrus6

• The text he nce also dales from the reign of Ashur­banipal.

As for the geographical background of the Girnavaz texts we call attention to the info rmation provided by 84184 and 86123. The fie ld bought in 86123 is adjaccnt to another (ield and a brook or wadi (liahallu , line 2'), whi le 84/84 , 11 mentions that the

j) See M . Falkner. AfO 17(1954-6), pp. 112 and lIB.

6} RIA 2. p. 446 equates the name to B!I-Harran-~adfl'a. The same limmu occurs in the unpublished text A. 1880,.7; lim-mil. IEN-KUR-u-a. The equation has to be accepted with some caution in view of YBC 11893, 32: nlA PIN UD.2.KAM lim-mil. IEN.KASKAL KI_D1NGlR? (courtesy W.W. Hallo) .

1988\ SOME NEO_ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY 5

d bought is adjacent to a major watercourse (naru dannu) and to the "royal road" orcha~ x (0) It is likely that the brook is to be identified with Nahal ~ag <;ag, which (harran ~arr .

t the foot of the Girnavaz mound. The "royal road" of course must be the floWS ,a highway which connects Nasibina (Nusaybin) and Guzana (Tell Halaf)

7, and Assynan . ... . d'

tWO tributaries of the Habur fiver west ofNusayhln, where Glrnavaz IS SItuate .

crosses .., II d G G

o 84/84 10 suggests that Glfnavaz (10 the Turkish orthography; also spe e cr If. , Nawwas) is to be identified to ancient Nabul(aJu), which suits the topographical indi-

o <Joust mentioned On TA VO map BIll , 7 (by Khaled Nashef), square AlS, we see cation., . a town identified as "Nusaybin I Ger Nawwas {Nabula]" , correctly located , but where the problem of the identification of Nusaybin raises problems9

. Classical Nisibis is situated at a distance of some 4 to 5 kms from Tell Ger Nawwas, but the location of Assyrian Nasibina is not clear because of intensive occupation during later periods. It seems prematute to identify the site of ancient Nasibina with Ger Nawwas.

A NA toponym uRuNa_bu_ur is mentioned in ADD 447, 9, and this raises the possibility that Nabur is identical to Nabul (with the llr interchange frequent in Hur­rian). Going a step further we may even propose the following identification: Nawalalu := Naw/bar = Nabur/J(a/u) , which would make our Nabul identical to one of the cities ruled by the famous Ti~ataJ ofUrki~ and Nawar10

, and to Na-wa-Iu mentioned in ARMT 23 , 446,65' (ref. Professor Deller) as the town from which some Hanaeans arrived in Mari, a town which also occurs in ARMT 4,42, 16 as Na-wa-la. In addition to the references quoted by Kessler and Nashef, Nabula occurs in the unpublished text A. 3211 :::: Ass_ 14842z, line 14 , in connection with types of bread and wooden utensils : 11 KilMIN (:::: 1 GISpa_as_ru) sa Na-bu-la 11

• This combination reminds me of VAS 19, 7, 9-10: 97 NINDA MES GAL-tu sa mil-hi 10sa URU Du-a-ra, "7 big loaves of milhu-bread of the city of Du 'aTa" (a town in the vicinity of Diir-Katlimmu)'2 _ The words seem to refer to a special , local type of bread, perhaps a specialty of the area. If the parallel is correct ,

7) Cf, Karlheinz Kessler. Ulllcrsuchungcn zur hiSIQrische Topographie Nord·MesopOlamiens (TAVO Beihefte 26, 1980). pp. 234-235, maps VII-VITI_ :; Karlheinz Kessler, Nawala und Nabula, AfO 26 (1978/9) , p. 103a_ 101 See Rep.ceogr. 5 (1982), p. 200f. with map and TAVO B III 7,

See Kessler, Op.cil., fn. 8. I ii A 3111 d 'IG" I MES 2 MES 3 - . fea s: pa -tls-ru sa NINDA -nj I3 hu-ru·hu-ru 412 sa pi·; ka-sa-a-Ie slO kaJ.Ju sa NINDAME~ ( ) 12\ GIS d" . 13 ... pa- s·ru ~a pu-nu-gl 1 KIMIN so ha-su-a-e 14(1 KIJMIN sa Na-bu -Ia 15[1 KIMIN 51a ta·lla/_fe \6[1 KIMIN 10 l]a-M-pi-a-re, "x span of wooden pasru-objects for (making) breads, 13 Im'- 'Ihuru·b d 12 k 10 od bo f 0 ' . rea s, cup ea es, wo en- wls or makmg breads ( .. . ) (12) 1 wooden pasru-object for ~alan~ cake , ~ilto for fw1u-bread, ditto ofNabula, [ditto 1 of/for rahalre-soup? (d, also A. 786: 93 qa Zl.DA llfo lU a-na . la-ha-aJ-le) (16) ditto of/for raspiiire" .

On the mam road to Nasibina-Qatnu and Kahat , ef. Rep.Ceogr. 5 p 83, and TAVO Beihefte 26, PP o Dt ~ mo '

6 VEYSEL DONBAZ lSAAB 1111

A . 3211 , 14 in the same way would refer to a town Nabula rather than to an ambiguous item whose identity is unknown .

84184 , feV . 5 mentions [K1URBarhalza , " the province of Barhalza" . We also know the city Barh alzi, whose governor , Assur-di1ru-u~ur , was eponym during the year 652 S .c. (RIA 2, p. 428) . BeckingD suggests a location of Barhalza no rth or north-west of Nineveh , but in view of the new reference this location shou ld be reconside red. The penalty clause in Gir . 86123, 17 mentions " the god Adad who dwells in the city of Urakka" , which may have been modern Kemaliye near Girnavazl4

, Similarly 75/152-2 (undated) mentions "Ninurta who dwells in Ehiman (or : E tinis)" IS , presumably a town in the regio n where the tablet was found , the area of ErzeniErlan. In Gi r. 78/294 , finall y, in rev. 2' , a witness is qualified as "from the town o f Asih(i)", a Lown twice attested thusfar (Parpola , NAT, p. 40; in ADD 742 and in a document from Tell HalaflGuzana). Another reference is in Kayseri 711155-2, a NA document of sale of fields, found at Egrikoy nea r Ye§il Hisar , Kayseri (unp .).

The texts published here show tha t Assyrians had settled in the area at the foot of the Kasiari mountains. In addition to these texts mention should be made of seven rock reliefs with badl'y damaged A ssyrian inscriptio ns, belonging to Sennachcrib , on the slopes o f the Cudi mountains in the Kasiari region (Tfir-Abdin) , a lready known I!>. The exact location of t~csc rock inscriptions is to the east and north-east of modern Ciz· re 17•IS •

13) l EO L 27 ( 1981·82), p. 83, in connection with his publica tion of the table t Fl. 12. from Geze r. I take the opportunity to mention that the Istanbul tablet archiVes comprise also a third cuneiform tablet from P~lcst ine , Fi. 16, w~ic~ reads: i'Iu"! .ma ina SA. bi UD .IO. KAM 2l ... l Ia ITINE IU .G U R'WII.Ji J'[ ... 1 LUG U4 IA 'II · PA PMt:;~ 4 (UJ ]A .BA LUGAL URuME~ .

14) See for Urakka. Kessler, Op .cil .. (note 7) , pp. 221ff., where it is equated with Tell.Amtlda. IS) All towns qual ifi ed as the dwelling of a cen ain god (d!ib GN) are impon ant towns; cf. the listing in 8 . Menzel, AT n, T 195 ("penally clauses"): EhimanlEfjni ~ may now be added to that list . The ollly o ther occurrence o f this town thusfar is in ~he letter TeL 9, 68, I I (A O 45(6), where it seems to belong to the province of Halziadbar (de·ni !a LUEN.NAM 1O.<a KURHu!.zi.ud.bar lIilla muhhi uRuE.HI . ~'l AN.a . a 12m a·u LOIRMES.ill 13ut. ,u.li .n;) .

LbJ See l. Borker. Klahn, A f/vorderasiatische Bilds/elen Lmd Verg!eichbure Fe/srelie[s, I .II (1982), noS. ;~'185. See now also E .P. Rosser, Die lleLLussyrisclle" Fe/srelie[s in der Turkei, Munchen 1987. pp. 87. 110.

See J .N. Postgale, RIA 5, p. 487 and Kh . Nashef, R~p . Gto8" 5, pp. 1651. . 87.1 00. lSI I have quoted only a few relevant passages in the ca . 500 NA documents of the Istanbul tablel archives. A few NA texts erroneous ly have been registered with a Babylon tablet signature; B 71 (Ass. 9966a, Ph. 1737·38), from Asb. year 9 (d. Nassouhi, MAOG 311·2, p. 23), B 96 (ASSUf Ph . 1611-12) and B l !O (Assur Ph. 2049) . both NA sale documents.

,"'I SOME NEO-ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS FROM GIRNAYAZ AND VICINITY 7

I. Gir. 84/84 . . . Found at G irnavaz near Mardtn dunng the excavations of 1984 by H . E rkanal. Upper

right edge and lower part missing; 7 x 4,5 x 2 em.

Obverse 1 NA'KISIB 'Ha-um-p,,-[,e] 2 A'IR-dGlu-lal 3 NA'KISIB 'AD-Isa-Iam] 4 NA'KISIB lMan-nu-ki- dfarba-lI) 5 NA<K,Sm IHa-all-~i-r(,

6 PAP 3 AMES 'Kit-tirTMAN' 7 EN GlSSAR SUM-an

Two stamp-seal impressions

8 [GISjSAR f a GIStil_litj za-am-ru

9 Iflo LUM~-e OIl - IIII - le

10 f ino uRJuNa_bllJ GAB.DJ ISi-ho-a-a

\I IGAB.DII fD dan-n" GAB .DI KASKAL.MAN \2 \a-pli.!-rna IdlS_SUM_PApMES 13 lina SA 1 ma-na 20 G]jN KU .BABBAR x x

(remainder of obv. and beginning o f rev. broke n away)

Reverse l' I 2' I

] x I ] Jba? la -at r LUGAL-'

3' (LUNU .GrSSARj'MAN_lu_dii_ri 4' i/R fa Jd IIM-a-bal_!i( L"3.U, 5' lfd LUGAR KJ URBar-hal_za fu -Li la GISSAR

6' Iba-/at LOJlra-za-Iti-sti la E ek-kaf LO sli-u 7' , 'doJS-SUM_PApMES TA * IGI LOMES_e S' an-nll_Ii ip-Ia-(ar

9' mSU . U D .4 .KAM 11In-mu '(O-rem-a-n; 10' lo r IdMAS-KAR-ir LOA.BA lJ ' 101 'Re-mu-/l' UJA.BA

8 VEYSEL DONBAZ

12' IGI ' dpA-ZU1.ci Lll A.BA 13' lOt 'EN -cdk-lu-su UJA.BA 14' IGI1Man-lw-ka-DINGIR A 'Ka-bar-DINGIR 15' EN hi-ia-li sa 30 GIN KU .BABBAR 16' IGI1dPA_SU M_PApMES EN hi-ia-(i

17' sa 112 ma-na 8 GiN KU.BABBAR 18' 10 1 ' EN- l EN hi-ia-r; 19' sa 12 GiN KU.BABBAR PAP 1 ma-na 20 GIN

20' IG I 'Sa-ku-hu IGI 'x - [ 21 ' I Gl'Hal-mu-~u { ? I 22' A IAH-zj·i[a-nu] 23' IG I 'EN-NUMUN A 'KA.DIINGlR-a-a] 24' 10 1 IAn-da-ra-a?-lnu] 25' u )600 sa URU [Na-bul(?)]

26' IGI 'MU-G IN A [ 27' [ ...... ] x s,,' -allGI 'Bi-bi-e 28' [ ..... . ] A 'BAD_PApMES

29' [ ...... J IGl 'la_na_PApM E[']

30' [ ...... 1]G l 'MU-G IN 31' [ .. .. .. ] x GIN' sa NA'KISlB-su-n" 32' [ . ..... AJ.BA ,a-bit 1M

Translation

ISAAB 1111

(Obv. I) Seal of Hampute(?) son of Urad-G( uJa} , seal of Abu-[salam 1. seal of Mannu­kJ.{Arba'il], seal of Han~i - in a113 sons of Kit(t)ir(i)-sarri , owner of the orchard being

sold.

(8) The orchard with vine and fruits , belonging to these men, [lpcated in the city] of Nabulu , adjacent to Sihaia, adjacent to the main river, adjacent to the roya l road , IStar-nadin-ahhe [bougJht it for [1 mina 20 sheJkels of sil ver (rest lost) (Rev. 2') ... without(?) the king.

(Rev . 3') [The gardener] Sarru-Iu-diiri, [a depe ndent of] Adad-uballit , third man (on the chariot) of tlte governor of Barhalza , that man does not have usufruct of a garden nor of a house [without] hi s mayor's [approval] : IStar-nadi n-ahhe has redeemed the above mentioned man from these men .

1988\ SO ME NE().ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS FROM G IRNAVAZ AND VICINIT Y 9

v 9') The month Du' tizu , the fourth day , the eponymy of Adad-remanni . (:.e n~ssed by Ninurta-ctir, the scribe; by Remuti, the scribe; by Nabu-Ie' uti, the scribe ; ~ l~elu- takIUssu , the scribe ; by Mannu-ka-~Ii , so n of Kabar: ili , carrier_ of 30 ,: heke ls.o{ YI r' by Nabu-nad in-ahhe carrier of 112 mma 8 shekels of silver; by Belu-na Id , carner u~, '. .

f 12 shekels of silver. Total: 1 mlOa 20 shekels. Witnessed by Sakuhu. by I ..... ], by ~almusu [ ...• by .. . J son of AHziia[nu ... ]t by Bel -zeri, son of B[abil aia], by Andaranu, I .. . I, the hera ld of the city of INabulu (?)J, by Sumu-ukin son ~f 1 ... J, Iby .:. I, by Bebe'e { ... J son of Our-ahhe , [by ... ], by Hifl a-ahhe [ .. . ] ~umu -uklO [ ... ] of their seals. [ ... I the scribe who wrote the tablet.

Remarks Obv.6' ; ek-kat ; from akiUu, "to eat" , in the sense of "to have the usufruct of" (a

fie ld , etc .; see CAD A l l , pp. 252b-253a)? 9': For Adad-remann i see also BaM 15(1984) , p .23] , with an improved reading of

another Adad-remanni da te. IO': Ni nu rta-ctir , fo r this name see APN p.175a ( -~[irafln i) .

14': Both Mannu-ka-iJi (sec A PN p.124b for other names start ing with IMan-nu­ka-) and [Kabar-i/i (A PN p. l09b) are Aramaic names.

15'; hi-ia-(i == hijii(i or hi'ii(i (also in 16' and 18', and G ir. 86/23, 25), is the infinitive of ha(U, "to weigh o ut , to pay" (CA D H p. 161). This clause reminds o ne of NA EN KO .BABBA R na-se-elna-s;-;, "the one who carrieslbrings the sil ver" in a transaction which is used in Gi r. 86123, 30'. The men in questio n (Man nu- ka- il i, Nabu-nadin-ahhe , Belu-na' id , and Mannu-ki-Arba'il) probably were Btar-nadin-ahhC's debtors.

21': IHuJ-mu-su is to be considered complete , despite the break which follows immediately ; cf. [Ha-mu-su NAL K 48, 2 and 322 , 18; Fales, CCENA , 2, 1I , 5'; A R U 375, 26 ; IHal-mu-si CTN2, 43, 1, 7; IHa-fj-mu-si BM 103393 = Postgate, FNAD 40A , 2 ; eTN 2, 91,5. We may restore IGI plus another witness fo llowing the name.

22' : A H-zi-ila-"u] fo r Ha-zi-;[a-nu ] (1)? 27': In fac t, the sign looks mo re like SU R, as copied (hence: Sur-Moe ?). Cf. for

IBi-bi_e NA LK 15,373, 35 a nd CTN3, 33 , 20 ; also IBi-bi-iNA L K 152, I and CTN2 , 5, 14; AfO Beih . 6,101, 4; Gi r. 86/23, 27; B. 110,6.1 2 (Ass. 11 393 dd 11 , un p.) .

2. Gir. 84/85

Agrea t portion of the tablct is gone , o nly the reverse and parl of left edge arc preserved ' 5 x 4 x 1.2 cm. '

Reverse I ' I tu-a-ru J 2' de-en-lnu DUG4 .OUG4 la-al-IuJ

10 VEYSEL DONBAZ

3' man-n!~ sa ina u[r-kis ina ma-le-ma ina UGU e-ger-teldan-ne-te} 4' an-ni-te e-p[ar-ri·ku-u-ni As-sur dUTU] 5' dEN dAG dBe_[leI_NINA lu-u EN de-ni-su] 6' a-de-e sa LUGAL [ina SUIl-su lu-ba-i-u] 7' IGI 1Ha-za-DlNGIR DUMU I ] 8' IGI1Hi-AD-nu [ I 9' IGI IHa-am-pu-te D[UMU IIR_dGu_la]

10' IGl1Ia_na_PApM[ES I 1\' IG I IAk-ki-[ 12' IIGI 1d]IO-DlNGIR-a-[a ]

(remainder of reverse broken away)

Lelt Edge 1 (I URUO]U6-ab-na-a-a IGI IZa-ha-!u-[ ru]

2 [ f x sa NA'KlSIB' -[fu-nu]

Translation

\SAAB 1\11

(1') [ . .. there is no] withdrawal or litigation. Whoever in the fu[ture , at any time), infringes upon this (deed], may A~sur, Samas, Bel , Nabu, Be[let-Ninua1 be his oppo­nents. The oath in (the name of) the king should be asked from him .

(6') Witnessed by Baza'il , son of[ .. . ], by (A)hi-abinu , [son of ... ], by Bampute , s[on of Urad-G ula], by Hina-ah[he ... ] ... , by Akki-[ ... ], [by] Adad-il" .... r ... ] ... (L.E. 1)[ .. . Ti]l-abnaia, by Zaha~u!u , [ ... ] of their seal ( . .. ].

Remarks 1' : de-en-[nul as in ADD 434, ARU 54, 21, 23, against the usual de-e-nu or de-nu. 3' : The unusual an-ni-te requires an unusual restoration in 2' : "Whoever in the

future , at any time , infringes upon this deed"; the noun must be feminine, hence only egertu and dannatu are possible.

5': See Delier , AIO 32(1985), pp. 43 and 49. 6' : Haza 'il, see APN pp. 87-88 (Arabic and Aramaic). 7': lHi- AD-nu , see Gir . 86/23 , 31' , bUl here the father of Han~i. Reading as

(A)hi-abinu by F.M. Fales. 8': Restored after Gir. 84/84, 1-2. 10'; IAk_ki ... , see APN pp. 19b/20a for . possible readings. L.E.l': IAb-na_a_a is not excluded , but the vertical wedge probably is part of a

broken sign in front of AB, hence (' URUDjU6_ab_na_a_a = ITil-abnaia would be a possible restoration . See for IZa-ha-rll-[fll] ARU 357,22 (NALK 98). Our reference seems to be the second for this name.

"'J SOME NEQ·ASSYRIA.N CONTRACTS fROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY II

3 Oir. 86123 The third NA sale contract found at the Girnavaz mound. The upper right part is missing

and several lines are broken; 6 x 5.5 x 2.3 em.

J' ' tihi A·ISA Ia ] 2' - (ihi na-hal-lli ]

3' Ia ad·ri I ] 4' u-piJ-ma IIS{rar-SUM-PApMES} 5' TA' IGI 'PAP-ila-DO] 6' ina SA 14 GIN KO.BABBAR if-Iqej 7' kas-pu gam-mur ta-din A.SA 111 -[a-11I]

. I " d r ., 8' za-rlp aq-qe u-a-'1I e-e- fill 9' DUG4 .DUG4 la-as-.M marl-flU .M ina ur-kiS

10' It ma-re-rna GIL-u-ni II' lu-u IPAP-ia-DO Ill-II DUMUMES.SU 12' It/-u DUMU,D UMUM ES·SU 13' DUG4 .DUG4 TA- 'IStar-SUM_PApMES 14' DUMUMES,sll DUMU.DUMUMES·.M IS' ub-ta- 'u-u-ni 16' to rna-na KO.BABBAR 1 ma-na KO .G I 17' ina b!~r-ki dIM a-sib URu1l_rak _ka 18' GAR-an kas-pu a-na IOMES_te 19' a-na ENMES'!ll u-ta-fa

20' ina de-ni-su. DUG4 .DUG4 fa i-laq-qe 21' de-ell-sLl Dl.KUD la i-!am-mu-u

22' IGI 'NUMUN- 15 A IHa·am-bi-i 23' IGI IRem-u-te A IIR_J5 LOA .BA 24' IGI [Man-l1u-ki-arba-il A 'Ab-da_a 25' EN hi-a-(i sa KU.BABBA R 26' IGI 'Sa/-mu-,e A 'DINGIR-AS 27' IG I1Bi-bi- i A ISUM_na_PApMES,

28' IG I 'EN-I A "MAS-SUR 29' IG I lAD-sa-lam A 'PAP-im-me

30' PAP 4 EN na-l i-e Ia KO .BABBAR 31' IGI [Ha-an-#-i A lHi-AD_n[u] 32' IGI SU-15 r x X- ME So

33' IGI 'U-[

12 VEYSEL DON ilAZ (SAAB lIIl

Translation (1 ') ... adjacenllo the field I of .,' ), adjacent to the brook I of ... J, of the threshing-noor of I ... J. The ownership has been set up and Btar-nadi n-ahhe from Ahi-ya\rim} in exchange for 14 shekels of si lver [bought]. (7') The price is paid in full , that fie ld is acquired by purchase , there is no withdrawal o r litigation . (9') Whoever in the future, at any lime, may contravene, either Ahi -yarlm , or his sons, or his grandsons . whoever litiga tes and seeks a lawsuit against IStar-nadin-ahhe, his sons, his grandsons, shaH place ten minas of silve r (and) one mina of gold in the lap of Adad who dwells in the tOwn of Ura kka , and shall have to re turn the purchase price te nfold to the owner. (20') In his lawsuit he may plead, bu t he will not succeed, the judges will not liste n to his case .

(22') Wi tnessed by Zeru-ISlar, son of Hambi, by RemOte , son of Urad-lSlar, the scribe, by Mannu-ki-Arba'il, son of Abdaia , the one who brings the silver. (26') Witnessed by Salmitte , son of Ili-idd in , by Bibi'i, son of Iddina-ahhe, by Bcl-na' id , son of Ninu rta­et ir , by Abu-salam, son of Ahu-imme , in all four bringers of the silver. (31 ') Wi tnessed by Hansi, son o f Ahi -abinu , by (E)riba-IStar son of [ . .. ], by Adad?-[ ... ].

Remarks 5', I I': 'PAP-ia-DO = Ahuia-ibni is problematic , but can be compared with

'pA P-DO = Ahi-ibni, in ~ar. 146, 18 (father o f IStar-sumu-iddin). [Alternat ively , one may read 'PAP-ia-rim, an Aramaic name from the root *rwlym, "to be high , exalted" (Ed.)).

26': For Sal-mil-ie , cf. S. Dailey, Iraq 48(1986), pp.96f. (J). 28': Ni nurta-ct ir (J).

4. Sariza 146

Found accidentally on ~ariza mound in the vicinity of Mardin; 6 x 3.3 x 1. 8 cm.

I NA4KISIB [Mi -II 11-lam-Ji A fMu_me_[ x (- x)] 2 de-e-ml fa ISU.SI-fa-i 3 TA * 'Mi-nu-lam-fi ina UGU ANSE .N fTA-.M 4 sa ilia URU .SE Ta-tll -u ina UG U KO.BAB BAR

(four round stamp sea l impressions) 5 sa J Si-i"-qi- 15 sa [Bu-sa-a-a 6 de-e-ntl ig-ru-u-"i 7 f um-ma IBa_a_si DUMU 8 [Am-ha-a IMan-nu-kiF U? DAR'.'"l 9 A ' I-DINGIR 'PA P-DUT kan

10 LU*GAL u-rat-Ie iq -fiTbi' -<u>

19881 SOME NEO-ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS FROM G IRNAVAZ AND VICINITY

-a IMi-lIu -/am-li KU .BABBA R j-[t]a-as-ha II rna S - d' I k ' - <-12 IMj_nu_lam-li AN E.NlTA a- I to - a·-tu-,)u

13 a-na 'SU.SI-sa-i SUM-na Id -

14 ITINE UD.26.KAM lim-mu SU-MAN-PAP 15 IGI IBAD-PApM ES IG l ld PA-rem-a-ni

16 IGI "PA-PAP-AS , MES A 'T k . 17 IGIIMan-nu-TI '-x I I ~ - u-u-a-m

18 IGI '15-MU-AS A PAP-DU 19 IGI "Sa-maS-MU-PAP

13

Translation (1) Seal of Minu-Iamsi, son of Mume ... The lawsuit which Uban-crbi initiated ag~ inst Minu-lamsi because of his don key (found) in the farm ofTato. (and) because of the silver of Sinqi-Btar and Busaia. (7) Should Basi , son of Qarha , Mannu-ki-Htar, son of Na' id-ili , (and) Ahi-illikl. a1

] , the overseer of the team horses , say: (1 t )"Minu-Iamsi has taken the sil ver and credit", then Minu-Iamsi has to give the donkey and its cart to UbflO-erbL (14) Month Ab(u) , day 26, eponym Marduk-sarru-u~ur. (15) Witnessed by Dur-ahhe, by Nabu-re manni , by Nabu-ahu-idd in, by Mannu-baIiH­ahhe?, son of Takuani , by lStar-sumu-idd in , son of Ahi-ibni, by Samas-sumu-u~ur.

Rcmarks L Minu-Iamsi, "Wha t/why should I forget? ", see APN p.138b (Minu-Iansi). T he

female name perhaps could be avoided by read ing the PN ISal-mlt-ME-1 x (-x)]? 2: Th is name is rendered Ubiill-sa-na 'da(? in A H w p.1398b, but this interpretation

is rather quest ionable. I would prefer Uban-erbi, "(born with only) four fingers", but nole also a name like ' IM-SA-i in ZA 73(1983), p. 236 no. 5:4' (J).

4: ITa_tu_[u} see ARU 158,40. 5: Sinqi-gtar , compare APN, p. 201a, and RA 67( 1978) , p. 19t; for Busaia see

IBu-u_sa_a, AfO Beih . 6, lOS, 3 (from Guzana). 7: IBa-a-si , see A PN, p. 53a. 8: For 'Am-ha-a perhaps better read IQar-ha-a , see e.g. NALK 131, 35: 247, 4,

~48,6; STT 407,2'; 8M 103394, envelope 16 1 tablet 16, Postgate, FNAD p. 21; see also Qar-ra-ha-a S.U.51/36, 22' (AnSI 7[1957] , p. 139).

. 9: IPAP-DU_kla] = Ahi- illika, " my bro ther has come". See for syllabic spe lli ngs In~crchangi ng with ISES-OU-ka, Nuzi Personal Names , p. lOa. This name is often misread in cditions of NA texts.

I I ; i-I tJa-as-ha , perfect of Tlasiihu , a techn ical te rm of banki ng. "to take out a loan".

d 12: For adi talkatu.fu , "with his carl, wago n", see Delle r-Finkel , ZA 74(1984), p. 85

a 14.

14: Mard u k-sa rru-u~u r was governor of Que see Falkner AfO 17( 1954-6) P lOa-b. ' " .

\4 VEYSEL OONBAZ [SAAB 1111

15: The last three signs of the first name look like Tl.QA"·lIEs. Perhaps a reading

Mannu-balal-ahhe (PA p ?MES) may be considered . 17: Ta-ku-u-a-lli = Anatoli an Takuwa (J)?

S. G ir. 781294 Provenance unknown; Mardin? 4.3 x 4.5 x 2.1 em.

Obverse I NA. KlSIB 'to_id_r; 2 A 'Id-ri-a-ni 3 EN GEME ta-do-a-,, ;

(seal im pressions) 4 {Si-irJ-da-o-n u NU?.lG I 5 ( n ru-r)u GEME-SII <so> II O-id-ri

6 [It.pis-ma] 'Sa-gi-bi-i 7 ( ] x x

(the remainder of obverse b roken away)

Reverse \ ' IG I IlO- lid-ril IG lIBa-di-i IA].BA 2' TA $ ~A URuA _Il!sih lZa-bi-nu 3' IG IIPA P-la-rim TA" URU " " 4' IG I IRa-hi-me-U.U LOOAM .GA R 5' ITIZIZ UO .26.KAM 6' lim-mu IEN-K U R-u-a 7' IG I < 1> Si-sa-tu IG I ' r MAN-PAP-AS ......

Left Edge 1 IIG11 IEN-MAN-PA P

T ranslation (O bv. I) Seal of Adad-idri son of Idiranu , owner of the slave be ing sold. (4) Sidd{lIlu , blind'-', [her height x hal fJ -cubits, a slave-girl belonging to Adad-idri , Sagibi bought ... (Rev. I' ) Witness: Adad-[id riJ ; witness: Badi , the scribe from the town Asihi-Zabinu; witness: Ahi- \arim from the (same) town; wit ness: Rahime-dadd i the merchant. (5') Month Sabatu, day 26, eponym Bel-sadu'a. Witness: Sisatu ; witness: Sarru-ahu-idd in ; witness: Bel-Sarru-u$ur.

1988\ SOME NED-ASSYRIAN CQNTRAcrs FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY 15

Remarks Obv.L (H)adad-idri, sec APN, p. 8a. 2: Idri'anu is not known , but see 'Id-ra-flu, APN, p_ 108a. 4: Read ing and interpretation of the last two signs suggested by J.A.Brinkman ,

Zikir Sumim, p.5 fn. 27. Line 5 suggests [x ru-fJu "x spans of height" , so she must be a

child . 7: There is not much to read , but one expects a mention of the price and its

payment, e .g. ina libbi x GiN ~?rpi i/qe kaspu gammur tadil1, cf. A .~51 -2694 (A~s . 1 mOg-f, Ph. 2648) , 4-7: [ . .. j GEME-su 5 [up-pijs-ma 'Sa-mi-di ' ina [SA-bji I 112 GIN KU.BABBAR 7kas-pu gam-mur ta-din; A. 346 (Ass. 11770b, Ph. 2648) 6-9: 5 ... PN 6ul-pi~t-ma 'As-fur-[ .. . } 7il1a sA-hi 33 GtN MES KU.BABBAR 8i1_qe kas-pu gam-mur [ta-din r SAL za-ar-pat la-qe-at; A.2691 (Ass . 1I770c Ph. 2648) 8-11: 7 .•• PN 8up-piJ-ma ISa-mi-di 9jna SA-bi 20+ x G IN MES KU. BABBA R lOoy AlGI LO MES afl-flu-li 11 il-[qe] kas-pu [gamj-mur [taj-din .

Rev. 1': 'Ba-di-i, d. NALK200,3. 2' : The GN is difficult to read ; URU A-sih or URU A-sfhi is possible and the name then

could be equated with URU A-si-hi in Parpola , NA T, p. 40 with the references AfO Beih. 6,69 , 8 (from Guzanarrell Halaf) and ADD 742 (=CCENA 24), 19. The same toponym URuA_si_hi also occurs in Kayseri 711155-2 (unpubl.).

3': 'PAP-la-rim, see APN, p. 17a, NALK 388, 9. 4': lRa?-hi-me-U .U, a very common Aramaic name, see AfO Beih. 6, 111,16; ND

2305,35 (Iraq 16, p . 5Ia) ; cf. also ARU 349,11 (variant -mu-) .

5': The limmll is also attested in A. 1880 (Ass . 14671n) 6-8: 6 mKIN UD.l.KAM 7Um-mu IEN-KUR-u-a 8IGI 'Man·nu-ki-NINA Kl. See fn. 9.

7': Since Sarru-ahu-iddina is not attested, one may emend to Sin-ahu-iddin attes-ted in APN p. 198a. '

6. G;r. 75/157-2

From ErzeniErzanlArzaniya in the vicinity of Mardin; 5.2 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm . Left part is gone, beginning broken away

Obverse

I' [EN SAjICta' -[da-nij (blank sea l space)

2' ['j x (x) NIN-su 3' ! J A '()-sli-al1-ni 4' I J x-a 3 ru-tu S' [uJ-pis-ma IMan-~IlI-ki- l0 6' [TA IGII 'GIN-i

16 VEYSEL DQNBAZ

7' lina sA n ma-nla KO .BABBAR ina SA-birl'l' 8' [kas-pu gam-muIr ta-din 9' ISAL ;u-a-te] za-ar-pat T l

10' [w-a-ru del-e-nu DUG 4 ·DUG4 la-as-su (remainder of the Obverse broken away)

Reverse I ' I " . mafl1F flil sa' ina ur-kii 2' [i-za-qu-pa]-ni i-qa-bu-u-ni , ' 3' [mo-a SAL a-pa(-for 1 rna-na KU}.BABBAR I rna-na KU.Gl 4' [ina bur-ki dM IAS a-sib URU E-hi-man S' [GAR-an kas]-pu ana IOMES ana ENMES_SU GUR 6' lina de-ni-Sllt DUG4 .DUG4 NU TIT qt, 7' IIGI dAMAR.jUTU-URU,-e; 8' llGI I ". J-sur UJGAL.rakME~ 9' IIGI ' ... KAj-DINGIR-a-a LUGAL !O

10' riGI I ... 1 x-AD LUha-za-nu

1\' IIGI 'GEjME-mar 12' [IGI I . . . }-DI? Llr pa-hi-te'

(remainder of the Reverse broken away)

Translation ISeal of PN" son of PN,1

[SAAB 1111

(Obv. I') lowner of the woman] being sold. [ ..... 1 his siste r, { .... ] son of Usanni, [her height} 3 half cubits, Mannu-ki-Adad bought (from] Keni [for n mina(s)] of silve r he bought? (The price is paid1 in fu ll ; (that woman1 is acquired by purchase. There is no [withdrawal] or litiga tion [ ... ). (Rev. 1 ' ) [Whoever] in the fut ure (stands] up and decla res: h\l will redeem the womanJ", shall [place 10 minas of silJ ver (and) 1 mina of gold lin the lap of Ni]nurta who dwells in the city of Ehiman ; the purchase-price will return tenfold to the owner. li n hi sca Jse he may plead , but he will not succeed. (Witness: MarJduk-eres , [witness ...... 1sur. the overseer of the raksU/e, [witness ... Ba]biHiia , chief of ten , Iwitness ..... J x-abu the mayor, [witness ... AJmat-lStar . (witness ... ] ... the provincial governor.

Remarks Obv. 3' : ct. to-!a-an-ni-DINGIR in ZA 73 (1983), 239 no.7 , rev . 4. Rev . 4' ; uRuE_hi_man is also attested in TeL 9, 68, 11. 8': Perhaps LUOAL rakMES = LDGAL ra.ksl1ti (Ed.).

1988J SOME NEO·ASSYRIAN CONTRACTS FROM GlRNAVAZ AND VICINITY

Abda Abu-saltim Adad·jdri Adad-ilii'a Adad-remanni Adad-ubal/if Ahu'a-ibni Ahu·iIlikfa"t1 Ahu·imme Ahu·larim AHziianu Akki [ [AmJat-lStar Andariinu 8abi/aia Badi Basi Be[·na'id Bel-!adu'a Bel·!arru-u~ur Bel·laklussu Be/-zer; Bib(

Bibil$urbe BUsiiia Dur-ahhi (E)riba-/flar Hafmusu Hambi Hampule HaTtff HaZa-if

INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES

Gir. 86123: 24' Gir. 84/84: 3, Gir. 86123: 29' Gir. 78/294: 1,5, rev. l' Gir. 84185: II ' Gir. 84/84 : rev. 9' Gir. 84/84: rev. 4' Gir. 86/23: 5', I I'; ~ar. 146: 18 ~ar. 146: 9 Gir. 86123: 29' Gir. 781294: rev . 3' Gir. 84/84: rev . 22' Gir. 84/85 : 10' Gir. 751157·2: rev. II ' Gir. 84/84: rev. 24 ' Gir. 84/84: rev. 23'; Gir. 75/157·2: rev. 9' Gir. 781294: rev. I ' ~ar. 146: 7 Gir. 84/84: rev . 18'; Gir. 86123: 28' Gir. 78/294: rev. 6' Gir. 781294: rev. 8' Gir. 84/84: rev. 13' Gi r. 84/84: rev. 23' Gir. 86123: 27' Gir. 84/84: rev. 27' ~ar. 146: 5 Gir. 84/84: rev. 28'; ~ar. 146: 15 Gir. 86123: 32' Gir. 84/84: rev. 21 ' Gir. 86123: 22' Gir. 84/84: 1; Gir. 84185: 8' Gir. 84/84: 5; Gir. 86123: 31' Gir. 84/85: 6'

17

18

Hi·AD(abi)-lIu l tina-ahhi Jddina-ahht IdriilrlU Ifu-iddina lStar-nadin-ahhe lStar-1utnu-iddin Kabar-ilu Keni Killir-Daddi Mall 11 u -bafti( -ahht(?) Mannu-ka-ilu Mannu-kf-Adad Mannu-kf-Arba'il Mannu-ki-lStar? [ Mar]duk-eres Marduk-sarru-U!/ur Minu-Iam.si fMIl-mel

Nabu-ahu-iddina Nabu-midin-ahhe Nabu-/e'(jti Nabl1-remanni Na Jid-j/u Ninurla-eff, Qarhli Rahime-Daddi Remtiti Sagibi Sakulzu Sinqi-l!tar Sisatu Sa/mute fSiddllnu Sihaia Samas-swnu-usur Sarru-ahu-iddi~ Sarru-lu-diiri SU.SI-!a-i Takllwani r Tir -abnaia

VEYSEL DONBAZ

Gir. 84185: 7' ; Gir. 86123: 31" Gir. 84/84: rev . 29'; Gir. 84185: 94 Gir. 86123: 27' Gir. 781294: 2 Gir. 86/23: 26' Gir. 84/84: 12, rev. 7' ; Gir. 86123: 4', 13' ~a r. 146: 18 Gir. 84/84: rev. 14' Gir. 75/157-2: 6' Gir. 84/84: 6 ~ar. 146: 17 Gir. 84/84: rev. 14' Gir. 75/157-2: 5' Gir. 86123: 24' Gir. 84184: 4; ~ar. 146: 8 Gir. 75/157-2: rev . 7' ~ar. 146: 14 ~ar. 146: 1, 3, 11 , 12 ~ar. 146: 1 ~ar. 146: 16 Gir. 84/84: rev. 16' Gir. 84/84: rev . 12' Sar. 146: 15 ~ar. 146: 9 Gir . 84/84: rev. 10'; Gir. 86123: 28' ~ar . 146: 8 Gir. 781294: rev . 4' Gir. 84/84: rev. 11 ' ; Gir. 86123: 23' Gir. 78/294: 6 . Gir. 84/84: rev . 20' ~ar. 146: 5 Gir. 7&'294: rev . 7' Gir. 86123: 26' Gir. 781294 .. 4 Gir. 84/84: 10 ~ar. 146: 19 Gir. 781294: rcv. 7' Gir. 84/84: rev. 3' ~ar. 146: 2, 13 ~ar. 146: 17 Gir. 84/85: I.e . 1

{SAAB nr

19881

Urad-Gula Urad-War Ufanni Zabinu ZahO(u(U

Zir-!Star Ziru-ukfn J x_su1·al J SUR J x-AD

SOME NED-ASSYRIAN CONTRACfS FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY

Oir. 84/84: 2 OiL 86123: 23' Oir . 75/157-2: 3' Gir. 781294: rev. 2' Oir. 84/85: I. e. [' Oir . 86/23: 22' Gir. 84/84: rev. 26' ,30' Gir. 84/84: rev. 27' Gir. 75/ 157-2: rev . 8' Gir. 75/157-2: rev. 10'

19

20 VEYSEL OONBAZ !SAAB 1111

Gir. 84/84, Obverse

Gir. 84184, Left Edge Fig. 1

(9881 SOME NEO-ASSYRIAN COl'ITRACTS FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY 21

Gir. 84184. Reverse

Fig . 2

22 VEYSEL DONBAZ \SAAB llll

L.Ed.

Gir. 84185

Fig.

,"'I SOME NEO-ASSYRIAN CONTRAC1'S FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICiNITY 23

Gir. 86123

Fig. 4

24 VEYSEL DONBAZ ISAAB 111\

~ariza 146

Fig. 5

,9881 SOME NEQ·ASSYRJAN CONTRACJ'S FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY 25

Ob\,.

Rev.

Gir. 781294

Fig. 6

vEYsEL DONBA2. {SA.AR Ull

Rev.

Obv.

Gi r. 75/157-2

Fig. 7

1988J SOt>.IE NFO. ASSYR IAN CONTRACTS FROM G1RNAVAZ AND VICINITY

27

I'LATE I

Gir. 8418-4. Obv. Gir. 84/8-4 , Rev.

Gir. lUIS..! . Right t~dge

Gir. 84/84 , Upper Edge Gir. 8..!/1'I-I. Left Edge

28 VEYSEL DONBAZ jSA \U 111

PLATE II

Gir. s.u85, Left Edgt'

Gir. 84/85. RHI'I'S('-

$ar. 146, RighI Edgt·

~:tr. '''6, Upper Edge ~ar. 146. Edge

.9881 SOMF ,,"'1:0·ASSYRIAN COl\'TRACfS FROM GIRNAVAZ AND VICINITY 29

PLATE III

Gir. 86/23. ReH,' rst'

Gir. 86/23, Edge

Cir. 86J23. Ob\'crse

30 VEYSEL DONBA Z ISAAR II I 1988]

PLATE IV

Gir. 781294 , Obversc Gi r. 78/294, Reverse

-- .

Gir. 78/294. Lcft(' Edge

Gir. 751157·2. Obn~rS4' Gir. 75/157·2, Rcn' fS4' Gir. 751157·2 Ren' rse. Hi!tht "~dge