Basic Metadata
- NaBuCCo ID
- 1134
- Museum No.
- BM 41399
- CDLI P-Identifier
- Place of issue
- Babylon city
- Type and Content
- Purchases
- Archive
- Egibi/Nūr-Sîn
- Dossier
- None
- Period
- NB
- Year BCE
- 559
- Editio princeps
- Wunsch 2000
Content
- Paraphrase
- Purchase of land. Transfer of silver to the Esagila as compensatory payment.
The tablet records the purchase of agricultural land; the text has been divided into paragraphs, marked on the tablet by a line drawn at the end of each one (and indicated below in the paraphrase by LINE).
A purchases 24 Kor (324000 m2) of agricultural land (zēru) from the four brothers B1, B2, B3 and B4. The land is located in the open country (eqel ṣēri), and it consists partly of cultivated date garden (kirû gišimmarē zaqpi) and partly of cultivated as well as newly cleared land (mērešu u taptû) above and below the New Canal in from of the Enlil Gate, in the district (pīhatu) of Babylon. LINE
Its upper side in the West borders on (the property of) C1, C2, C3 and C4 and its lowers side in the East on (the property of) D. Its upper front in the North borders on the royal domain (eqel pīhat šarri) and its lower front on the dam of the hanšus (makallû ša hanšānē). LINE
2 kor (27000 m2) of this land is planted with big date palms whose value (šuqultu) corresponds to 9 minas of silver, i.e. 1 shekel of silver for each 6 2/3 gar (50 m2); 1;4.1.4 Kor (25050 m2) is planted with young date palms (tālāni) whose value (šuqultu) corresponds to 2 minas and 47 shekels of silver, i.e. 1 shekel of silver for each 20 GAR (150 m2). The remaining 20;0.4.2 Kor (271950 m2) is cultivated as well as newly cleared land (mērešu u taptû) whose value (šuqultu) corresponds to 10 minas and 4 1/3 shekels of silver, i.e. 1 shekel of silver for each 60 GAR (450 m2). A declares the equivalent for this land together with the sellers B1, B2, B3 and B4 (A itti B mahīra nabû) to be 21 minas and 51 1/3 shekels of silver for its total price, plus 28 2/3 shekels of silver as additional price (kî atar). LINE
In total, the four brothers have received 22 minas and 20 shekels of silver in pieces (šibirtu), corresponding to the total price for this field. The parties agree that in future times there will be no claims or suits against each other, not even between members of their families – otherwise, any future claimant (pāqirānu) will have to repay twelvefold the silver he received. B1, B2, B3 and B4, then, hand over this silver to the Esagila as compensatory payment (šullundu): they were in fact in debt for oxen that were part of Marduk’s property (makkūru). Names of 8 witnesses (the šākin-ṭēmi of Babylon and 7 judges) and of 4 scribes. The tablet shows multiple fingernail and seal impressions.
A = Nabû-ahhē-iddin; B1= Marduk-šākin-šumi/Marduk-ēṭir//Ēṭiru; B2 = Iqīša-Marduk/Marduk-ēṭir//Ēṭiru; B3 = Nabû-bān-ahi/Marduk-ēṭir//Ēṭiru; B4 = Nabû-ēṭir-napšāti/Marduk-ēṭir//Ēṭiru; C1 = Silīm-Bēl/Arad-Nergal//Ibni-ilu; C2 = Marduk-šumu-uṣur/Iddinnunu/Bēl-ēṭiru; C3 = Nabû-aplu-iddin/Marduk-šarrani//Itinnu; C4 = Kalbāya/Zākiru//Bēl-ēṭiru; D = Nabû-ēreš/Šulāya//Sîn-nādin-šumi - Transliteration
- None
- Babylonian Date (year-month-day):
- Ner. yy-XI-dd
further information
- Imported (Person, Date)
- Kathleen Abraham 15/04/2017
- Legacy NaBuCCo ID
- 7221