Monday, June 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Nineveh and Neo-Assyrian Texts
Neo-Assyrian court, Nineveh, Kalhu, and Ashurbanipal-library texts: reports, rituals, medicine, prophecy, fables, Ahikar, and scholarly tablets.
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Texts
I Wander the SteppeA prophetic oracle from Ishtar of Arbela to Assurbanipal, spoken through a female prophet c. 670 BCE — the goddess wanders the steppe, crosses rivers and seas, and advocates before the divine assembly for her king's life.The Brewer's NamburbiA Neo-Assyrian apotropaic ritual from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh — Tablet 135 of the Namburbi series. Two incantations and three ritual procedures to restore custom to a brewer's house when trade has failed, invoking Ishtar, Nanaya, and Gazbaya through sympathetic magic, dust from fourteen thresholds, and an erotic attraction spell.The Cow of SinA Neo-Assyrian birth incantation compendium from Ashurbanipal's library — the mythological narrative of the Cow of Sîn struggling in labor, her cries reaching heaven, followed by fifteen medical remedies for women in difficult childbirth and a plant-pulling ritual invoking the plant of life.The Fable Collection (VAT 8807)A Neo-Assyrian compendium of animal fables from Nimrud (716 BCE) — the pig, the fox, the ant, the mongoose, the gnat and the elephant, the horse and the mule. Predates Aesop by two centuries.The Foundation RitualA Neo-Assyrian ritual for laying the foundations of a temple, including offerings, reed-bundle dedications to the four winds, an incantation to Enmesharra Lord of the Underworld, and the burial of a gold-crowned figurine of the king beneath the foundation wall. From Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh.The Lipšur LitanyA Neo-Assyrian lipšur litany from the library of the exorcist Ninurta-muballissu — the entire known world, mountain by mountain and river by river, invoked to release a sufferer from sin and illness.The Love Song at the CrossingA Neo-Assyrian love lyric from the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, preserving a lover's vision of the beloved at the ferry-crossing of Kar-Bel-Matati.The March to HalmanTwo oracular questions (tamitu) to Shamash and Adad from Neo-Assyrian Nineveh. The first asks whether a man will survive the year; the second charts a military march from the gate of Padni through ravines, mountain passes, and the fortress of Shulgi to the enemy land of Halman, asking whether the army will arrive safely and the Lullubean enemy will not strike. First freely available English translation.The Purification of the KingA bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian purification incantation from the Bit Rimki ritual series. Ashurbanipal's library, Nineveh, 7th century BCE.The Remedies for the BladderPrescriptions for urinary and bladder disorders from the Nineveh Medical Compendium. The oldest systematic medical literature on Earth.The Report of BalasiA Neo-Assyrian astronomical report from the court scholar Balasi to the king, interpreting celestial omens concerning Mars, Saturn, the Moon, and the Raven. Seventh century BCE.The Restoring of FavorA Neo-Assyrian anti-witchcraft ritual to Ishtar from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. A hand-raising penitential prayer against sorcery, gossip, and the evil tongue — for a man whose words have been twisted and whose god, king, and court have been turned hostile by witchcraft.The Signs Upon the SeerOmens from the Behavior of the Seer — a Neo-Assyrian meta-omen tablet from Nineveh. The seer's own body during divination becomes the omen: trembling during the oil reading, sneezing during the oracular query, sitting when he should stand. The reverse preserves flour-in-water omens (lecanomancy). The reader is the read. First freely available English translation.The Spoken WordAn Akkadian physiognomic omen text from the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. Tablet 1 of the Kataduggû — part of the Alamdimmû body-reading series. A system of paradoxical speech-omens revealing an ancient Mesopotamian psychology of self-declaration: the one who says 'Let me die!' will not die; the one who says 'Let me live!' will not live.The Story of AhikarThe oldest surviving wisdom tale in world literature — the story of a vizier betrayed by his nephew, rescued by his own good name, and vindicated through proverbs and cunning. From Aramaic and Syriac sources.The Sufferer's MonologueA Neo-Assyrian first-person suffering monologue from Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh. Illness, exile, and rescue by the king of the Kassites. K.2599, Kuyunjik collection.The Trial of the FoxA Mesopotamian debate poem in which the Fox stands trial before Shamash, the sun-god of justice, accused of wickedness — and the Lion pronounces sentence.