The “Rough Draft” of a Neo-Babylonian Accounting Document

From the Banks of the Euphrates

List of Contributors

Lis Brack-BernsenJohn P. BrittonLeo DepuydtBenjamin R. FosterKaren Polinger FosterJens HøyrupHermann HungerToke Lindegaard KnudsenJessica LevaiSarah C. MelvilleDuncan J. MelvilleMarie PassananteElizabeth E. PayneDavid PingreeKim PlofkerErica ReinerEleanor RobsonFrancesca RochbergMicah RossJohn M. SteeleRonald WallenfellsChristopher WalkerClemency Williams

From the Banks of the Euphrates

Studies in Honor of Alice Louise Slotsky

Edited by Micah Ross

Eisenbrauns, Inc. · Winona Lake, Indiana

v

Qu’est-ce qu’un fleuve sans sa source?Qu’est-ce qu’un peuple sans son passe?

Victor Hugo,Les Pyrenees

vi

Contents

1 KUR – When the Old Moon Can Be Seen a Day Later 1

2 Remarks on Strassmaier Cambyses 400 7

3 Ancient Chronology’s Alpha 35

4 Assyriology and English Literature 51

5 The Eyes of Nefertiti 83

6 What Ever Became of Mesopotamian Mathematics? 99

7 House Omens in Mesopotamia and India 121

8 Anat for Nephthys 135

9 The Diffusion of Military Technology 145

10 Two Ivory Carvings from Hierakonpolis 169

11 A Neo-Babylonian Accounting Document 181

12 Sexagesimal Numbers in Indian Arithmetic 193

13 In Praise of the Just 205

14 The Long Career of a Favorite Figure 209

15 A Short History of the Waters of the Firmament 225

16 All’s DUR That Ends Twr 243

17 A Commentary Text to Enuma Anu Enlil 14 253

18 A New Stone Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II 263

19 Some Details on the Transmission of Astral Omens 293

vii

The “Rough Draft” of a Neo-BabylonianAccounting Document

Elizabeth E. Payne

Yale University

Among the hundreds of texts from the Eanna archive recording thework of craftsmen,1 YBC 9030 stands out as unusual.2 It is offeredto Alice Slotsky on this occasion since its contents deal with two ofher favorite subjects: accounting and fashion. The text was writtenwithin a grid neatly incised on the surface of the tablet. On the obverse,the grid contains three columns, on the reverse four. The contents ofthe tablet are made up of two parts: text and numerals. The formerwas carefully written and exhibits several abbreviations; while the lattercan be characterized by its large, almost haphazard, style and frequenterasures.3

1. The Eanna archive, consisting of roughly 8,000 cuneiform tablets, comes fromthe goddess Ishtar’s Eanna temple in the southern Mesopotamian city of Uruk. Whiletablets coming from this archive are from the late eighth century b.c. through theearly fifth century b.c., the majority of the archive dates to the years between 626–520b.c. Texts concerning the work of craftsmen, especially metal and textile workers,account for approximately twenty percent of the archive and a thorough analysis ofthis material is the topic of the author’s dissertation. Many issues raised in thisdiscussion will be addressed more fully in this larger work.

2. While this tablet is unusual, it is not unique; another unpublished text in theYale holdings (NCBT 701) is written in the same style. In that instance, the textrecords personal names and units of capacity.

I would like to thank the curators of the Yale Babylonian Collection, BenjaminR. Foster and Ulla Kasten, for permission to publish this text; for permission to citeunpublished tablets in their collections, these individuals again receive my thanks,as do the Special Collections, Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries. Finally, Iwould like to thank Michael Jursa for making several helpful suggestions after readinga draft of this article.

3. At the end of this article is appended a brief explanation of the styles used inproviding patronymics and giving dates. Abbreviations used can also be found there.

181

182 Elizabeth E. Payne

Figure 11.1: Upper Edge and Obverse of YBC 9030 (undated)

A Neo-Babylonian Accounting Document 183

Transliteration4

u.e Inun.me

1 2 3obv. �babbar�-u �tuglu-bar� sa tugmas gal

(eras.) 10 �dgasan� sa unugki

(eras.) 1 (tal.) �43�I (eras.) 50 �8�

5 (eras.)

(eras.) 40 (eras.)tugnıg.ıb.lame galme ki.min turme tugmasme turme

II 4.me

35 (eras.) 81 34

ge6? sıgh

˘e.me.da gish

˘ab sıgh

˘e.me.da sa in-za- tugmi-ih

˘-s.u sa

1 (tal.) h˘u-re-e-tu sıgza.gın.kur.ra

III 5/6 ma 47 (eras.) 17

�xx� 36 (eras.) 40 (eras.)

�gu-h˘al-s.a-a-tu� �tuglu-bar sa dgasan 1 �tuglu-bar sa?

sa gish˘ab sa sag� d?

me?.me?�IV 8

40 4 2

tuglu-bar sa tugnıg.ıb.lame sa dah˘- sıgh

˘e.me.da gish

˘ab

V digi.du �la�-ma-a-tu sa ta-�h˘ap�-su

2 6 3 (tal.) 20

VI gu-h˘al-s.a-a-�tu� tugmi-ih

˘-s.u sa h

˘as-

h˘u-re-�e�-tu

lo.e. sa sıgh˘e sa �in�-za 26 50

21 (eras.) 18

4. The following abbreviations have been used in the transliteration: (tal.) =(talent(s)), (eras.) = (erasure).


Figure 11.2: Lower Edge and Reverse of YBC 9030 (undated)


Transliteration

lo. e. Is. il-la-a

con’t.

1 2 3 4rev. babbar-u tuglu-bar sa tugmas galme tugnıg.ıb.lame

6 (tal.; eras.) dgasan sa 22 gal

VII (eras.) 6 unugki (eras.) 2.me

36 20 4 16 (eras.)

tugnıg.ıb.la tur sıgh˘e.me.da sa tugmi-ih

˘-s.u gu-h

˘al-s.a-a-tu

VIII in-za sa gish˘ab sa gish

˘ab

24 30

(eras.) 4

51 (eras.) 22 (eras.) 20 20 30

�tugmi-ih˘-s.u 1? tuglu-bar tugmas turme sıgh

˘e.me.�da�

za?.gın?� [sa] dgasan sa [sa? gish˘ab?]

IX �8� sag �16�[(+x)] 1 (tal.) [(+x)]

40? (eras.)

(eras.) 3 �2� [(+x)]

gu-h˘al-s.a-a-tu �tuglu-bar sa sıgh

˘e.me.da sa h

˘a-at-h

˘u-re-�e-tu�

X sa �in-za� digi.du� 10

10 3

(eras.) 1 30

38 20

XI

1/3 5 gın �t.u�-man-nu

sa ina tuglu-barme sa dme.me

XII


Translation

“(Account of) Apkallu:1 2 3

I 11 (talents) 55 8 lubaru-garments 43 large s. ibtu-(mina) 40 (shekels) of the Lady of Uruk garmentswhite (woven cloth)

II 435 large sashes 81 ditto small 34 small s. ibtu-(h˘us.annu) garments

III dark (textiles): 1 47 (mina) 36 17 (mina) 40(talent) 5/6 mina x (shekels) red wool (shekels) wovenshekels? red wool dyed with cloth (made) ofdyed with h

˘uratu inzah

˘uretu purple wool

IV 8 (mina) 40 4 lubaru-garments 2? lubaru-garments(shekels) cording of Beltu-sa-Res of Gula?

(guh˘als.u) dyed with

h˘uratu

V 2 lubaru-garments 6 sashes of 3 (talents) 20of dIGI.DU Ah

˘lamayıtu (mina) red wool

dyed with h˘uratu

for feltVI 21 (mina) 18 26 (mina) 50

(shekels) cording (shekels) woven(made) of red wool cloth (made) ofdyed with apple-colored woolinzah

˘uratu

(Account of) S. illaya:1 2 3 4

VII 6 (talents) 4 lubaru- 22 large 216 large«6?!» 36 garments of s. ibtu- sashes(mina) 20 the Lady of garments(shekels) Urukwhite (wovencloth)

VIII 51 small 24 (mina) 22 30 (talents) 4 (mina) 30sashes (shekels) red 20 (mina) 20 (shekels)

wool dyed (shekels) cording dyedwith woven cloth with h

˘uratu

inzah˘uretu dyed with

h˘uratu


IX 8 (mina) 43? 2? (+) lubaru- 16 (+) small 1 (talent) (+)(shekels) garments of s. ibtu- red woolwoven cloth Beltu-sa-Res garments [dyed withof purple h

˘uratu?]

wool?

X 10 (talents) 1 lubaru- 10 (talents) 338 (mina) 20 garment of (mina) 30(shekels) dIGI.DU (shekels) redcording dyed wool dyedwith with h

˘ath˘uru

inzah˘uretu

XI 25 shekels t.ummanu-linen, which is from thethe clothing of Gula.”

XII

Commentary5

Of the garments mentioned here, the lubaru- and s. ibtu-garments remaindifficult to translate. They appear frequently among the wardrobes of thegods and goddesses of Eanna and were generally made of woven, white wooland could be accented with sashes, headdresses, and other apparel, often ofbrightly colored fabrics. Neither garment was decorated with the golden se-quins discussed by Oppenheim.6

Brief comment should also be made concerning the terminology for col-ors and dyes used in this text.7 In addition to the undyed, or white, wool(pes. u, babbar-u), red wool (tabbaru, sıgh

˘e.me.da) of various types appears,

and in each instance, the dye used for attaining that color is specified. Thedyes mentioned are h

˘uratu (gish

˘ab)—‘(dyer’s) madder’ obtained from the root

of the Rubia tinctorum plant;8 inzah˘uretu (syll.)—a dye obtained from the

“insects living on the kermes oak,” (Coccus ilicis);9 and h˘ath˘uru (syll.)—a

dye used to create a red color, identification unknown.10 Traditionally, alink between this dye and the h

˘ash

˘uru ‘apple-colored’ wool has been sug-

gested.11 The use of this dye to make a red wool, however, indicates thateither no link existed, or, more likely, that the h

˘ash

˘uru-wool was of a red-

5. Excerpted lines of this text are quoted in Paul-Alain Beaulieu, The Pantheonof Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian Period, Cuneiform Monographs, vol. 23 (Leiden:Brill, 2003), 21, 155, 220, 277 284, and 309.

6. A. Leo Oppenheim, “The Golden Garments of the Gods,” JNES 8 (1949):172–93.

7. The most thorough discussion of colors in Mesopotamia continues to be B.Landsberger, “Uber Farben im Sumerisch-Akkadischen,” JCS 21 (1967): 139–73.

8. M. Stol, “Leder(industrie),” in RlA 6 (1980–1983): 527–43, esp. 534–35; W.H. van Soldt, “Fabrics and Dyes at Ugarit,” UF 22 (1990): 321–57, esp. 347.

9. van Soldt, “Fabrics and Dyes,” 346.10. See also UCP 9/2, 85, no. 12, lines 4–5 where h

˘ath˘uru-dye is used to make

tabarru-wool (4. . . 1 ma.na sıgta-bar-ri 5sa h˘a !(=h

˘as)-at-h

˘u-re-e-ti).

11. See, for example, CAD, s.v. h˘ath˘uru and AHw, s.v. h

˘ath˘uretu.


dish hue rather than the yellow-green generally suggested.12 The presenceof these two terms, juxtaposed as they are, in these two accounts that areotherwise nearly identical argues strongly in favor of a connection betweenthe terms and a revised understanding of the term “apple-colored.” Greentextiles, when they appear in the archive, are described as h

˘as.artu ‘(yellow)-

green’,13 so h˘ash

˘uru need not be called upon to fill that roll. Finally, purple

wool (takiltu, sıgza.gın.kur.ra) is mentioned; the specific substance used tomake the purple wool found in the texts of the Eanna archive cannot bestated with certainty at this time. The two most likely possibilities are ei-ther the dye obtained from mollusks of either the Purpura or Murex genus14

or the dye obtained from the leaves of the woad plant (Isatis tinctoria).15

III.1: The correct interpretation of the mi-sign is uncertain. Neithera phonetic value of /mi/ nor a numeric value of ‘14 (talents)’is expected in this context. Reading the sign as ge6 ‘dark’, incontrast to the white cloth mentioned earlier in the text seemsthe most likely solution.

IV.3: This reading is suggested by Beaulieu, Pantheon, 277.

V.1; X.2: For a discussion of the god digi.du, see Ibid., 282.

V.3: For the meaning of taph˘apsu ‘felt’, see J.N. Postgate, “Assyrian

Felt,” in Donum Natalicum Studi in onore di Claudio Saporettiin occasione del suo 60o compleanno, eds. P. Negri-Scafa andP. Gentili. (Rome: Borgia Editore, 2000), 213–17.

VII.1: The interpretation of the numbers in this case is not entirelyclear.

IX.1–2: The restoration of the broken text in these two cases is basedon the presence of purple woven cloth in the account of Apkalluand its absence in the account of S. illaya, and the presence ofan indisputable initial vertical wedge at the beginning of caseIV.1. While the nuance of this wedge is uncertain, its presencehere is at least possible. The abbreviated spelling is in keepingwith other spellings found elsewhere in the text.

12. See, for example, CAD, s.v. h˘ash

˘uru; H. Waetzoldt, “Kleidung,” in RlA 6

(1980–83): 18–31, esp. 20; Landsberger, “Uber Farben,” 172.13. This term is rare in the Eanna corpus but is attested in UCP 9/2, 103, no. 41,

line 1, (1 ma.na sıgh˘a-s.a-as-ti).

14. van Soldt, “Fabrics and Dyes,” 345–46; Landsberger, “Uber Farben,” 162–63;Stuart Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles: Dyes, Fibres, Painted Bark, Batik,Starch-resist, Discharge, Tie-dye, Further Sources for Research (Cambridge, Mas-sachusetts: M.I.T. Press, 1969), 24.

15. Robinson, History of Dyed Textiles, 26–27.


Discussion

The text records, on either side, the account of a weaver, providing detailsconcerning the amount of wool issued to each of the two men (that is, theweight of the raw materials) and the number of garments received from them(that is, the total finished products). The context for these transactions canbe found within what Oppenheim called “the care and feeding of the gods;”16

the cult statues of the Eanna temple were elaborately attired; and this tablet,like so many others, documents the bureaucratic oversight employed by thetemple in maintaining them.

Neither of the individuals mentioned in this text is included among theweavers in Kummel’s prosopography of the archive,17 but both were certainlyactive as such. Apkallu / Nadnaya // Isparu appears in few administrativedocuments, and only once with the title isparu, ‘weaver’,18 but he certainlyhad at least a brief career during the years Nbn 8–10 (548–546 b.c.).19 Twoadditional texts, however, suggest that his career began as early as Nbk 26(579 b.c.).20 If this is the case he had a lengthy, but not unprecedented,career of thirty-three years.21 S. illaya / Nadinu // Isparu appears in numerousadministrative texts and had a career spanning almost twenty years (Nbk 42- Nbn 10; 563–546 b.c.).22 While not partners, these men had a workingrelationship, for in the few texts where Apkallu appears as a weaver, he usuallyappears together with S. illaya. There was also a familial relationship betweenthem as both men were members of the Isparu family. The precise nature ofthis relationship is, however, unclear. Kummel reconstructed the family treein part, and Apkallu appears therein.23 S. illaya, however, is more difficult to

16. A. Leo Oppenheim, “The Care and Feeding of the Gods,” in AncientMesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, rev. ed. by Erica Reiner (Chicagoand London: University of Chicago Press, 1977), 183–98.

17. Hans Martin Kummel, Familie, Beruf und Amt im spatbabylonischen Uruk:prosopographische Untersuchungen zu Berufsgruppen des 6. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.in Uruk (Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1979). A revised prosopography and studyof the management of the various craft industries will comprise part of the author’sdissertation.

18. PTS 2100 (Nbn 8 I 10).19. PTS 3424 (Nbn 8 I 7) and NBC 4934 (Nbn 10 VII? 6+), respectively.20. These texts are OECT 10, 315 (Nbk 26 – –) in which Apkallu received silver

for dye and NCBT 758 (Nbk 42 XIIb 3) in which Apkallu transported purple woolfrom Babylon to Eanna.

21. For a brief overview of life expectancies and active years of service, see MichaelJursa, Neo-Babylonian Legal and Administrative Documents: Typology, Contentsand Archive, Guides to the Mesopotamian Textual Record, vol. 1 (Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2005), 56. For a more detailed study, see Erlend Gehlken, “Childhood andYouth, Work and Old Age in Babylonia – A Statistical Analysis,” in Approachingthe Babylonian Economy: Proceedings of the START Project Symposium Held inVienna, 1–3 July, 2004, eds. Heather D. Baker and Michael Jursa. Veroffentlichun-gen zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte Babyloniens im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr., vol. 2, AOAT330 (Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2005), 89–120.

22. NCBT 758 (Nbk 42 XIIb 3) and NBC 4934 (Nbn 10, VII? 6+), respectively.23. Kummel, Familie, Beruf und Amt, 131.


place within the family. His father, Nadinu, was probably also a weaver, buttwo possibilities exist within the Isparu family. Nadinu / Nadnaya appears as aweaver in one text dated to Nbk 30 (575 b.c.).24 If this is S. illaya’s father, thenApkallu would be S. illaya’s uncle. Alternatively, S. illaya’s father could havebeen the weaver Nadinu / Nergal-nas.ir who appears several times betweenNbk 21 – Nbk 26 (584–579 b.c.).25 The relationship of these individualswithin the larger family structure cannot be determined at this time, and ifthis is S. illaya’s filiation, then his relationship to Apkallu remains unknown.

Since the sums involved are significant, this record must represent a sub-stantial length of time, with Apkallu’s account being roughly twice the size ofS. illaya’s account. Given the degree of similarity between the garment typeslisted in both accounts, it seems likely that the text represents a tally of thosegarments produced for a specific purpose, such as their work quota or obliga-tion toward a specific ceremony, over a set period of time.

The tablet was written in the following sequence: first the grid was incised,then the text was written, and finally, the numerals were added during whichmany corrections were made. At least this final step was likely done “onsite,” either in the workshop of each man or at the site where accountingdocuments were stored. The text as it survives today was certainly not a“finished product;” its contents would have been transferred to either a waxboard or another clay tablet to which would have been added the informationwe lack here (transaction verbs and date, most importantly). This text was the“rough draft” on which the numbers were tallied, and it offers some insightinto one technique used in creating the written record that survives to ustoday.

***All texts cited from collections at Yale have been collated and improved

readings are marked with an asterisk (*). Dates are given in the followingformat: king’s name, year (“0a” indicates an accession year), month (Romannumeral, “b” indicates an intercalary month), and day (for example, Nbk 14IV 23). Patronymics are given as follows: PN1 / PN2 // PN3 means “PN1,son of PN2, of the PN3 family.”

Abbreviations used are as follows: AHw – Akkadisches Handworterbuch,vols. 1–3, (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965-1981); AOAT – Alter Orient undAltes Testament; BIN 1 – Clarence Elwood Keiser, Letters and Contracts fromErech Written in the Neo-Babylonian Period, Babylonian Inscriptions in theCollection of James Buchanan Nies, vol. 1 (New Haven and London: Yale Uni-versity Press, 1917); CAD – The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Instituteof the University of Chicago, (Chicago: Oriental Institure 1956-present); JCS– Journal of Cuneiform Studies; JNES – Journal of Near Eastern Studies;NBC – Texts from the Nies Babylonian Collection (Yale); Nbk – Nebuchad-nezzar II (604–562 b.c.); Nbn – Nabonidus (555–539 b.c.); NCBT – Textsfrom the Newell Collection of Babylonian Tablets (Yale); OECT 10 – Gilbert

24. BIN 1, 146 (Nbk 30* VIII 17*).25. YOS 17, 112 (Nbk 21 V 29) and YBC 9368 (Nbk 26 I 13), respectively.


J. P. McEwan, Late Babylonian Texts in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Edi-tions of Cuneiform Texts, vol. 10 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984); PTS –Texts from the Princeton Theological Seminary; RlA – Reallexicon der As-syriologie; UCP 9 – Henry Frederick Lutz, Neo-Babylonian AdministrativeDocuments from Erech, Parts I and II, University of California Publicationsin Semitic Philology, vol. 9, no. 1 (Berkeley: University of California Press,1927); UF – Ugarit-Forschungen; YBC – Texts from the Yale BabylonianCollection; YOS 17 – David B. Weisberg, Texts from the Time of Nebuchad-nezzar. Yale Oriental Series – Babylonian Texts, vol. 17 (New Haven andLondon: Yale University Press, 1980).


ReferencesBeaulieu, Paul-Alain. The Pantheon of Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian Period.

Cuneiform Monographs, vol. 23. Leiden: Brill, 2003.Gehlken, Erlend. “Childhood and Youth, Work and Old Age in Babylonia –

A Statistical Analysis.” In Approaching the Babylonian Economy:Proceedings of the START Project Symposium Held in Vienna, 1–3July, 2004, 89–120. Edited by Heather D. Baker and Michael Jursa.Veroffentlichungen zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte Babyloniens im 1. Jahr-tausend v. Chr., vol. 2, AOAT 330. Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2005.

Jursa, Michael. Neo-Babylonian Legal and Administrative Documents: Typol-ogy, Contents and Archive. Guides to the Mesopotamian TextualRecord, vol. 1. Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2005.

Keiser, Clarence Elwood. Letters and Contracts from Erech Written in theNeo-Babylonian Period. Babylonian Inscriptions in the Collection ofJames B. Nies, vol. 1. New Haven and London: Yale University Press,1917.

Kummel, Hans Martin. Familie, Beruf und Amt im spatbabylonischen Uruk:prosopographische Untersuchungen zu Berufsgruppen des 6. Jahr-hunderts v. Chr. in Uruk. Abhandlungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 20. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1979.

Landsberger, B. “Uber Farben im Sumerisch-Akkadischen.” JCS 21 (1967):139–173.

Lutz, Henry Frederick. Neo-Babylonian Administrative Documents from Erech,Parts I and II. University of California Publications in Semitic Philol-ogy, vol. 9, no. 1. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1927.

McEwan, Gilbert J. P. Late Babylonian Texts in the Ashmolean Museum.Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts, vol. 10. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1984.

Oppenheim, Leo. “The Golden Garments of the Gods.” JNES 8 (1949):172–193.

———. “The Care and Feeding of the Gods.” In Ancient Mesopotamia:Portrait of a Dead Civilization, 183–98. Revised edition by EricaReiner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.

Postgate, J. N. “Assyrian Felt.” In Donum Natalicum Studi in onore diClaudio Saporetti in occasione del suo 60o compleanno, 213–17. Editedby P. Negri-Scafa and P. Gentili. Rome: Borgia Editore, 2000.

Robinson, Stuart. A History of Dyed Textiles: Dyes, Fibres, Painted Bark,Batik, Starch-resist, Discharge, Tie-dye, Further Sources for Research.Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press, 1969.

Stol, M. “Leder(industrie).” In RlA 6. 1980–1983: 527–43van Soldt, W. H. “Fabrics and Dyes at Ugarit.” UF 22 (1990): 321–57.Weisberg, David B. Texts from the Time of Nebuchadnezzar. Yale Oriental

Series – Babylonian Texts, vol. 17. New Haven and London: YaleUniversity Press, 1980.