Akkadian Archive
May 16, 2013
This Paper Is For The Birds
My paper “Portentous Birds Flying West: On the Mesopotamian Origin of Homeric Bird-Divination,” (JANER 13:1 [2013], 49-85) is now out. It’s available if you’d like to see it. Considering how long it has taken for this paper to see the...Read all of "This Paper Is For The Birds"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:04 AM
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May 14, 2013
Fighting Eagles
The Duluth News Tribute reports, Two adult bald eagles made an unplanned landing on the tarmac at the Duluth International Airport on Sunday. The two birds had locked talons in mid-air and couldn’t get separated before they crashed to the...Posted by Duane Smith at 4:05 PM
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April 6, 2013
The Scribal Art As Axis Mundi?
My underlying question in this post is how much of the context supporting one portion of a word's semantic range is normally carried over into another context where the word has a somewhat different meaning. Note I am talking about...Read all of "The Scribal Art As Axis Mundi? "
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:29 AM
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March 5, 2013
Help With Hurrian!
Does anyone have access to Emmanuel Laroche, Glossaire de la langue hourrite, (Études et commentaires, 93 ; Paris: Klincksieck, 1980) or Revue hittite et asianique, 34 and 35? They amount to the same thing. Supposedly, the nearest library with this...Read all of "Help With Hurrian!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:35 PM
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January 9, 2013
On Opening Eyes
I was looking for something else when I ran across an idiomatic use of Akkadian īnu, "eye," with petû, "to open." For example, e-ni-a pì-tí, “make me happy (literally, “open my eyes”); or bēlšu īnāšu ipete, “its (a field's) owner...Posted by Duane Smith at 8:03 PM
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December 22, 2012
Ancient Mesopotamia Online
Charles Jones and Charles Halton tell us that A. Leo Oppenheim’s Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization is now available free online. Written by Oppenheim in 1964 and, based largely on Oppenheim’s notes, revised by Erica Reiner in 1977,...Read all of "Ancient Mesopotamia Online"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:05 PM
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December 17, 2012
Shekels For Sticks and Stones
This post on an obscure Akkadian word on an even more obscure tablet from Ugarit is only for those with truly abnormal interests. Those with only normal abnormal interests are advised to spend your time some other way. Exactly what...Read all of "Shekels For Sticks and Stones"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:28 PM
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August 29, 2012
The Šumma Ālu Equine Omens
Finally, I have a more or less presentable draft of my on and off again work on the Šumma Ālu equine omens. You can download the Akkadian text, my normalization, translation with notes in a PDF file. If all you...Read all of "The Šumma Ālu Equine Omens"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:15 PM
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August 25, 2012
The Structure Of The Equine Omens Of Šumma Ālu
I’m cleaning up my work on the equine omens of Šumma Ālu. I’ll be posting them sometime soon. The work is based on CT 40 33-37 and a few duplicates. Following Freedman, I take these omens to be from Šumma...Read all of "The Structure Of The Equine Omens Of Šumma Ālu"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:28 PM
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August 17, 2012
The Problem With Raging Or Lethargic Horses
I’m back to messing around with the equine omens of Šumma Ālu. This work reminds me of how much I hate lacunae. Here’s every readable and nearly readable sign in CT 40 35-37(K. 3836+7211 +) obv.:51. DIŠ NUN GIŠ.GIGIR U5-ma...Read all of "The Problem With Raging Or Lethargic Horses"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:30 PM
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August 6, 2012
Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 64, Available
The latest edition of Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 64 (2012), is now available online. Unfortunately the options are subscription or JSTOR's Current Scholarship Program. Of the several abnormally interesting papers, I think Jean-Jacques Glassner’s « Droit et divination: deux manières...Read all of "Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 64, Available"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:30 PM
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July 14, 2012
Getting Two For The Price Of One
An abnormally interesting class of Akkadian omen has more than one target in its apodosis. Here’s an example from CT 40 33-34 (K. 3886+6819)11’ -12’: [DIŠ ANŠ]E iš-še-gu-ma NITÁ-šu ú lu ÙŠ-sà KÚ / LUGAL KUR-su BAL-su BA BI É-su...Read all of "Getting Two For The Price Of One"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:21 PM
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July 11, 2012
On Discredited Rulers And Earthquakes
Is there a difference? But first, our text of the day (Isaiah 8:21b): וְקִלֵּל בְּמַלְכּוֹ וּבֵאלֹהָיו, “He shall belittle (?) his king and his divine beings.” More on that later. Akkadian omens often have complex layered portents. CT 40 35-37(K....Read all of "On Discredited Rulers And Earthquakes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:44 AM
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July 8, 2012
Sometimes A Chariot Is Just A Chariot
In his abnormally helpful Lexicon Companion (I write in shorthand), Tawil, 224, notes that Hebrew מֶרְכָּבָה and Akkadian narkabtu are cognates. Of the several examples he provides to show parallel usage, I found two abnormally interesting. First he notes Micah...Read all of "Sometimes A Chariot Is Just A Chariot"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:57 AM
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July 1, 2012
Everlasting Grief, You Know, Profit
As a diversion from something else, I continue to work my way through the equine omens of Šumma Ālu. That means working my way through the chariot omens of Šumma Ālu including those that don’t mention horses or donkeys at...Read all of "Everlasting Grief, You Know, Profit"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:08 PM
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June 29, 2012
A Scorpion On A Jar From Tell es-Safi And Some Possibly Unrelated Stuff
Yesterday, Aren Maeir posted a report of his and his team’s publication of an abnormally interesting jug fragment - several nicely joined sherds – from Late Bronze Age Tell es-Safi. The jar has a depiction of a scorpion along with...Read all of "A Scorpion On A Jar From Tell es-Safi And Some Possibly Unrelated Stuff"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:51 AM
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June 24, 2012
The Case Of A Missing Line
I almost called this post “A Text Critical Laboratory” because of what we can learn from omen series about certain classes of text critical problems. Most of the omens in the first 22 lines of CT 40 35-37(K. 3836+7211+) fill...Read all of "The Case Of A Missing Line"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:23 AM
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June 23, 2012
Be Careful On That Chariot – Misfortune Could Come Of It
More as a matter of diversion than anything else, I’m back working on the equine omens from Šumma Ālu. Each of these omens is abnormally interesting and each has its own set of problems. Here’s an example from what is...Read all of "Be Careful On That Chariot – Misfortune Could Come Of It"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:35 PM
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June 4, 2012
Gilgamesh In Rap
Gilgamesh from The Canterbury Tales Remixed by Baba Brinkman is abnormal; so I like it. Listen to it. You may find it abnormally interesting. Gilgamesh by Baba Brinkman You can find the lyrics as Baba Brinkman’s website. Via Jack Sasson’s...Read all of "Gilgamesh In Rap"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:45 PM
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June 1, 2012
When A Horse Neighs
[Note, the core of what follows is speculation and not even all that learned speculation. I am far from an expert on Herodotus or Persian (or Greek) omens. For this post I have not consulted any secondary material beyond a...Read all of "When A Horse Neighs"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:36 PM
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May 27, 2012
On Hares Born To Mares And Hermaphroditic Offspring
In preparation for a mid-summer excursion Shirley and I are reading Herodotus. She’s quite a bit ahead of me. Last night she pointed out the following from 7:57:1-2. When all had passed over and were ready for the road, a...Read all of "On Hares Born To Mares And Hermaphroditic Offspring"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:54 AM
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April 19, 2012
Talking About Šumma Ālu
I’m not the only one who talks about Šumma Ālu and Šumma Izbu; so does Marie-Françoise Besnier. In fact, she will be talking about both on Thursday 26 April 2012 at Cambridge. Her topic is “Textual transmission and hypertextuality in...Read all of "Talking About Šumma Ālu"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:30 PM
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April 18, 2012
A Missing Šumma ālu Snake Tablet?
Using Freedman’s reconstruction of the tablet numbers in series Šumma ālu, tablets 22 to 26 deal with snakes and tablets 30 to 31 deal with scorpions. Nothing is known of tablets 27 to 29. Tablet 22, and not in all...Read all of "A Missing Šumma ālu Snake Tablet?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:37 PM
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April 13, 2012
Bad News For A King Or Prince
In case you are a king or a prince, I thought you might like to know the following: “If a king or a prince rides a chariot and the right wheel - the one on [his right] - collapses or...Read all of "Bad News For A King Or Prince"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:29 PM
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April 10, 2012
Syrian Digital Library of Cuneiform
Amid all the death and destruction, The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Ministry of Culture has announced the online Syrian Digital Library of Cuneiform, part of the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). The CDLI hosted website,...Read all of "Syrian Digital Library of Cuneiform"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:15 PM
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April 3, 2012
Donkeys and Horses Acting Badly
Truly abnormal readers might enjoy two equid omens from Assur. They comprise the first two readable lines of tablet VAT 10505 +, as publisjhed in Heessel’s, Divinatorische Texte I, # 6. Heessel, 27, reconstructed the tablet, including these two omens...Read all of "Donkeys and Horses Acting Badly"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:01 AM
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April 2, 2012
Free Access To ASOR Current Content
Charles Jones reports that current content from Near Eastern Archaeology, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Journal of Cuneiform Studies is available through MyJSTOR. “Current content” means the last four years. Of course, the MyJSTOR restrictions...Read all of "Free Access To ASOR Current Content"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:33 PM
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March 23, 2012
How Many Šumma Ālu Tablets Were There?
Why is any of this important? Well, on Monday afternoon at the Pacific Coast Regional meeting of the SBL, I’m going to tell those gathered that there were at least 120 tablets in series Šumma Ālu and I’d prefer not...Read all of "How Many Šumma Ālu Tablets Were There?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:48 AM
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March 15, 2012
God and Man in Akkadian and Hebrew Prayers
Anna Elise Zernecke’s Gott und Mensch in Klagegebeten aus Israel und Mesopotamien. Die Handerhebungsgebete Ištar 10 und Ištar 2 und die Klagepsalmen Ps 38 und Ps 22 im Vergleich (AOAT, 387; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2012 [or is it 2011?)) is out....Read all of "God and Man in Akkadian and Hebrew Prayers"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:10 PM
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March 7, 2012
Ominous Or Obvious
As I said I would do, I’m now slogging my way through the equid omens in Šumma Ālu. When I’m happy with the results I plan to post my complete translation along with some notes on a variety philological problems....Read all of "Ominous Or Obvious"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:15 PM
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Titles Only From Here On
February 14, 2012
“The Birds in the Iliad”
February 12, 2012
The “Doctrine Of The Terms”
February 11, 2012
A Scribal Value
February 6, 2012
The Origin Of Divination – Part 2
February 4, 2012
The Origin Of Divination – Part 1
February 2, 2012
Columbia University Tablets Online
January 29, 2012
New Images of Cuneiform Tablets
January 28, 2012
Who? Me?
January 27, 2012
In Your Mouth And In Your ????
January 25, 2012
The Semantics of Good (And Evil)
January 13, 2012
Late Babylonian – Yuck!
January 11, 2012
“Snakes, Why Did It Have To Be Snakes”
January 8, 2012
Remembering Their Lessons
January 4, 2012
If Your Teacher Asks You
January 3, 2012
And Now For Something Completely Different – Extispicy
January 1, 2012
Mating Snakes
December 27, 2011
When A Snake Is A Harbinger of Peace Or A Son
December 20, 2011
A Yowling Cat
December 19, 2011
When A Written Work Was Written
December 13, 2011
The Problem With Snakes
November 25, 2011
Latest ZA Is Out
November 14, 2011
Akkadian Cognate List
November 9, 2011
Wilfred Lambert Dead
November 7, 2011
The Alphabet And Literacy
November 6, 2011
Why Bother Tracking Down References?
November 3, 2011
On Name Calling
October 24, 2011
Gezer Preliminary Report
October 17, 2011
Yield Not To Temptation
October 10, 2011
Aḥiqar: The Wolf And The Snake
October 9, 2011
The Wren/Mosquito And The Elephant
October 8, 2011
Quick Thinking
October 7, 2011
SB Gilgamesh Score Online
October 4, 2011
Did Akkadian Omens “Speak”?
September 23, 2011
The Melammu Project
September 22, 2011
The Divine Mind Is Remote
September 15, 2011
Beyond A Merely Antiquarian Interest
August 5, 2011
I Almost Made A Giant Error
July 26, 2011
Online Collaborative Research: A Chronographic Document
July 25, 2011
Finally: Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns: An Introduction
July 21, 2011
On Reading Akkadian Prayers and Actually Reading Texts
July 16, 2011
Esarhaddon Royal Inscriptions Online
July 10, 2011
Just How Often Did This Come Up?
July 1, 2011
Akkadian Prayers and Hymns Now Almost Available
June 22, 2011
Jerusalem / Salem: One more Time
June 9, 2011
June ZA Now Available
May 27, 2011
3D Printable Tablet Replications Ready For Download
May 19, 2011
So You Think Our Political Rhetoric Is Over The Top
May 18, 2011
It’s Not Just About The Future
May 11, 2011
Dreaming Of A Flood
April 19, 2011
An Uneventful Day
April 13, 2011
CAD U/W Is Available
April 6, 2011
Theodor Gaster Beat Me To It
April 2, 2011
Which Way Are They Facing?
March 23, 2011
The Sea People As Cultural Vectors
March 17, 2011
A Week Away For Two Months Now
March 5, 2011
On Dating Mesopotamian Influence
March 2, 2011
Ebla Archives Online
February 28, 2011
Anti-Witchcraft in Ancient Mesopotamia
February 26, 2011
Quotation From The 6th Century BCE
February 21, 2011
On Openness To Foreign Influence
February 10, 2011
It’s Not Greek To Me
February 9, 2011
A Dream As Understood By Birds
February 7, 2011
A Not So Simple Request
February 3, 2011
Send Me One Eagle Auger
January 28, 2011
The Latest ZA
January 21, 2011
A Bird Dropping A Snake – Not A Good Sign
January 3, 2011
Sad News - Riekele Borger Died A Few Days Ago
December 31, 2010
Gonzalo Rubio On Assyriology
December 28, 2010
Proofreading Akkadian Prayers
November 23, 2010
A Sumerian Descriptive Grammar
November 7, 2010
A New Scholarly Society and A Few Iconic Thoughts
November 5, 2010
A Man, His Wife And A Snake
October 28, 2010
When A Snake Doesn’t Bite
October 19, 2010
An Akkadian Fragment From Egypt
August 25, 2010
My Heroic Days