Basic Metadata
- NaBuCCo ID
- 3902
- Museum No.
- YBC 09085
- Primary Publication
- YOS 3 200
- Place of issue
- No place
- Archive
- Eanna temple
- Period
- Neo-Babylonian
- Babylonian Date (year-month-day):
- Nbk. yy-mm-dd
- Inferred date
- Nbk II 4-19 = 601-585 BCE (based on prosopography, see dubsar 3: 378)
Digeanna
- Van Driel Files
- 11 a
- Text Form
- Letter order (...)
- Transaction Type
- not applicable
- Second-order accounting
- True
- Domain (Eanna)
- Agriculture
- Format of the tablet
- portrait
Navico
- Theme
- Labour, tasks & work organisation
- Mobility & freedom of movement
- Role
- respondent/counterclaimant
- Action/Activity
- agricultural work activity
- (legal) claim
- misbehaviour/misconduct
- unskilled labor
- Participation Status
- active
- Designation Status
- oblate/male
Content
- Paraphrase
Letter of Balāssu and Marduk-[…] to Nabû-aḫḫē-iddin (/Nergal-ušallim//Nūr-Sîn, High Priest, šatammu) (NAI), “their lord”, complaining about what happened to the fields they had been planting with data palms and alu-trees for the temple for 13 years, with some dates already sprouting. Oblates (širku) descended upon the fields and divided them into plots amongst them. The senders complained to Bēl-ušallim (BU), the scribe (ṭupšarru), that the king gave him land (for distribution) in a distant irrigation district (tamirtu), not their land, to which BU answered evasively in the assembly (puḫru) of the oblates (širku), stating that he was only there to inspect the land after a land exchange. Although many Urukeans testified against the oblates, this did not lead to immediate results. BU redirected the senders to NAI. The men who took over the land cut down firewood in it and drove the senders away. They opened the gate behind which the alû-wood of the temple was and used it up completely. After a small break, the senders quote someone telling them that should they obtain pertinent documents, they should address the king about this. The senders request a messenger from the recipient as soon as Bēl-aḫḫē-iddin, Nabû-ibni and Innin-šumu-ibni talk about the situation to check what they have done. The senders also state that Nabû-šumu-ēreš/Nādin-aḫi, a carpenter, talked about the situation with many people and now, they are all agitated with regard to the work, including the senders. The senders urgently request that Marduk-ēreš be sent to them.
- Legacy Paraphrase
Letter.
Complaint about temple-serfs who forcefully took land from the writer.
A1 and A2 write to B (known as the temple administrator of Eanna) about problems they are having with temple-serfs (širku), who divided up (zâzu) temple owned land that A1 and A2 had been cultivating for 13 years, took it over (ekēmu) and threw them out (elû Š, wr. ul-te-lu-na-šú). A1 and A2 lodged a complaint against the temple-serfs but were told they should turn to B in the matter, and they are now awaiting his instructions.
The writers mention 6 additional individuals in their letter (C1–6) as well as the king.
Additional keywords: Dilmun-dates (asnû), fresh dates (uhinnu), alu-trees, willows? (hi?-[l]e?-pu)
A1= Balāssu; A2= Marduk-[…]; B= Nabû-ahhē-iddin (known as the temple administrator of Eanna); C1= Bēl-ušallim, scribe (ṭupšarru); C2= Bēl-ahhē-iddin; C3= Nabû-ibni; C4= Innin-šumu-ibni; C5= Nabû-šumu-ēreš/Iddin-ahi, carpenter (nagāru); C6= Marduk-ēreš;
Further Information
- Type and Content
- Correspondence
- last updated by
- Martina Schmidl, Oct. 22, 2026, 7:30 a.m.
- Imported (Person, Date)
- Yuval Levavi, Kathleen Abraham (10/09/2023)
- Mentioned in the following publication(s)
- dubsar 3
- Ebeling 1930-1934 (NBrU)
- Ragen 2006