Tablet 9 of the Ziqiqu Series
A Neo-Assyrian tablet from the library of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (7th century BCE), containing dream omens from the ninth tablet of the Ziqiqu — the canonical Mesopotamian dream interpretation series. Where BM.46594 (the previous tablet in this archive) concerns what the dreamer sees and receives, this tablet concerns where the dreamer goes: through the city gate, up to heaven, down to the Land of No Return, across to Egypt and the Hittite lands, into the houses of various professionals, and through the landscapes of field, steppe, marsh, and sea.
The central paradox: ascending to heaven in a dream means short days (early death), while descending to the Land of No Return — the Mesopotamian underworld — means long days (long life). The dream-world operates by inversion. What terrifies the waking mind is auspicious in sleep. The dreamer who visits death will live; the dreamer who visits heaven will die.
The tablet is approximately 40% damaged. The obverse (columns 1-2) preserves the cosmic journey omens at the top but is broken below. The reverse (columns 3-4) preserves the landscape and profession omens in column 4 almost intact, while column 3 (the foreign lands) retains only the protases (the dream-conditions), with all apodoses (the interpretations) broken away.
The Cosmic Journeys
If a man in his dream enters the gate of his city — a place before him is established. He will achieve his desire.
If he exits the gate of his city — a place before him is established. He will achieve his desire.
If he ascends to heaven — his days will be short.
If he descends to the earth — his days will be long.
If he descends to the Land of No Return — his days will be long.
If to the roof [...] it is decreed [...]
If to a house [...]
If to a house [...]
If to a house [...]
If to a house [...]
[remainder of column 1 broken]
The Quay and the Cities
If to the quay [...]
If he goes to Karkaraka [...]
[column 2 almost entirely broken]
The Foreign Lands
If to a land [...]
If to that land [...]
If to the land of Egypt [...]
If to the land of Ilip [...]
If he goes to the land of Hatti [...]
If he goes to the land of Hatti [...] and Hat[ti ...]
If he goes toward the sunrise [...]
If he goes toward the sunset [...]
If to the house of his family [...]
If to the temple [...]
If to a house [...]
[remainder of column 3 broken]
The Houses of Professionals
[...] [...]
If to the house of a man [...]
If he goes to the house of a gardener [...]
If he goes to the house of a brewer [...]
If to the house of a sailor — for life [...]
If he goes to the house of a farmer — the spoken word [...]
If he goes to the house of a joyful man — misery of days he will experience.
The Landscapes
If he goes to an orchard — his release a god will speak.
If he goes to a vegetable garden — his toil he will mourn.
Alternatively: he will get out from a fortress.
If he goes to a burning meadow — misery of days he will experience.
If he goes to a cultivated field — he will get out from a fortress.
If he goes to the open steppe — he will be afraid.
If he goes to an ox pen — divine rescue will come upon him.
If he goes to a sheep pen — he will walk in splendor.
If he goes to a goat pen — divine mercy will come upon him.
If he goes to a reed marsh — he will gather reeds and bind them.
Alternatively: in a severe illness [...]
If he goes to a vineyard — sesame, wool [...]
If he goes to the sea — that which was lost [...]
Alternatively: that which was scattered he will gather.
The Named Lands
If he goes to Aran — his guilt will be released.
If he goes to Yamutbal — he will experience sorrow.
If he goes to Tubliyash — divine absolution will exist.
Catchline (pointing to Tablet 10): "If he lies on the right side and sees a dream — terrified..."
Colophon
Tablet 9 of the Series Ziqiqu. Palace of Ashurbanipal, King of the World, King of Assyria.
Good Works Translation from Akkadian (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform transliteration) by Yumei of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. Translated independently from the ATF transliteration in the Electronic Babylonian Literature corpus (eBL, LMU Munich), CC BY 4.0. No reference English translation was consulted — none exists in freely available form for this tablet.
The final three omens employ a characteristic Mesopotamian hermeneutic: phonetic wordplay between place names and abstract nouns. Aran (a geographic name) puns on aranu (guilt/penalty); the dream-journey to a place becomes a journey toward or away from the concept its name evokes.
This is the second tablet of the Ziqiqu series in the archive. BM.46594 (Life 193) covers celestial, temple, oath, and sexual dream omens. This tablet (K.2582) covers journey dreams — the dreamer as traveler through cosmic and earthly geography.
First freely available English translation. Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Tablet 9 of the Ziqiqu (K.2582)
Akkadian cuneiform transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature corpus (eBL, LMU Munich). Neo-Assyrian period, Library of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh. Museum number K.2582. CC BY 4.0.
@obverse
@column 1
1'. DIŠ NA ina MAŠ\u2082.GE\u2086-šu\u2082 KA\u2082.GAL URU-šu\u2082 KU\u2084 KI IGI-MEŠ-šu\u2082 GAR-n[u AŠ\u2082-su KUR]
2'. DIŠ KA\u2082.GAL URU E\u2083 KI IGI-šu\u2082 GAR-nu AŠ\u2082-s[u KUR]
3'. DIŠ ana AN-e E\u2081\u2081 U\u2084-MEŠ-šu\u2082 LUGUD\u2082-MEŠ
4'. DIŠ ana KI-ti\u2083 E\u2081\u2081 U\u2084-MEŠ-šu\u2082 GID\u2082-MEŠ
5'. DIŠ ana KUR.NU.GI\u2084.[A E\u2081\u2081 U\u2084-ME]Š-šu\u2082 GID\u2082-MEŠ
6'. DIŠ ana U[R\u2083? ...] ši-i-ma
7'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 [...]
8'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 [...]
9'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 [...]
10'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 [...]
11'. DIŠ x [...]
@column 2
1'. DIŠ ana kar?-x [...]
2'. DIŠ ana kar-ka-ra-ka?{ki} GI[N ...]
3'. x [...]
@reverse
@column 3
1'. DIŠ ana KUR [...]
2'. DIŠ ana KUR BI-x [...]
3'. DIŠ ana KUR me-eṣ-r[i ...]
4'. DIŠ ana KUR i-lip{k[i} ...]
5'. DIŠ ana KUR hat-ti{ki} GI[N ...]
6'. DIŠ ana KUR hat-ti{ki} GIN x [...]
7'. u hat-[...]
8'. DIŠ ana {d}UTU.E\u2083 GIN [...]
9'. DIŠ ana {d}UTU.ŠU\u2082.A GI[N ...]
10'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 ki-im-ti-šu [...]
11'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 EŠ\u2083.DA[M ...]
12'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 x [...]
13'. DIŠ ana [...]
@column 4
1'. [...] x [...]
2'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 LU\u2082 x [...]
3'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 {lu\u2082}NU.KIR[I\u2086 GIN ...]
4'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 {lu\u2082}sa-bi-e GI[N ...]
5'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 {lu\u2082}MA\u2082.LAH\u2084 a-na zi-[...]
6'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 {lu\u2082}ENGAR GIN DUG\u2084.GA x [...]
7'. DIŠ ana E\u2082 {lu\u2082}ha-de-e GIN i-dir-ti U\u2084-MEŠ [IGI-mar]
8'. DIŠ ana {giš}KIRI\u2086 GIN uš-šur-šu i-qab-bi
9'. DIŠ ana mu-sa-re-e GIN ma-na-ah-ta-šu\u2082 i-lam-man
10'. ina BAD\u2084 uṣ-ṣa-[a]
11'. DIŠ ana ab-ri na-pa-hi GIN i-dir-ti U\u2084-ME IGI-mar
12'. DIŠ ana A.ŠA\u2083 e-re-ši GIN ina BAD\u2084 E\u2083
13'. DIŠ ana ba-ar EDIN GIN i-ad-di[r]
14'. DIŠ ana su-pur GU\u2084-MEŠ GIN šu-zu-ub DINGIR id-du-š[u\u2082]
15'. [DIŠ] ana su-pur UDU-MEŠ GIN nam-riš DU.DU-[ak]
16'. DIŠ ana su-pur UD\u2085-MEŠ GIN ARHUŠ DINGIR id-du-[šu\u2082]
17'. DIŠ ana GI.AMBAR GIN GI-MEŠ ih-su-up-ma ir-ku-u[s]
18'. ina GIG dan-nim [...]
19'. DIŠ ana KUR GEŠTIN GIN ŠE.GIŠ.I\u2083 SIG\u2082-HI.A [...]
20'. DIŠ ana tam-di GIN ša\u2082 ana ZAH\u2082 x [...]
21'. ša\u2082 u\u2082-sa-ap-pi-hu NIGIN-[ar]
22'. DIŠ ana a\u2082-ra-an{ki} GIN a-ra-an-šu\u2082 D[U\u2088]
23'. DIŠ ana ia-mut-ba-li{ki} GIN ŠA\u2083.HUL IGI-mar
24'. DIŠ ana tub-li-ia-aš\u2082{ki} GIN nap-šur DINGIR GAL\u2082
@catchline
25'. DIŠ ana 15 ṣa-lil-ma MAŠ.GE\u2086 iṭ-ṭul par-da-at
@colophon
26'. DUB.9.KAM\u2082 EŠ\u2082.GAR\u2083 {d}zi-qi\u2082-qu
27'. KUR {m}AN.ŠAR\u2082-DU\u2083-A
28'. MAN ŠU\u2082 MAN KUR AN.ŠAR\u2082{ki}
Source Colophon
ATF transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature Project (eBL), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen. Fragment ID: K.2582 (British Museum). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The original tablet is part of the K (Kouyunjik) collection from Nineveh, excavated by Austen Henry Layard and Hormuzd Rassam in the mid-19th century.
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