ETCSLtranslation : t.2.4.3.1 ETCSL homepage

Amar-Suena and Enki's temple (Amar-Suena A)

Segment A

(The sequence of Segment A (UET 8 33 + U 5307) and Segments B-E (UET 8 32, UET 6/3 487) is far from certain; they may well belong to separate compositions. However, C follows B and E follows D.)

1-8. …… protective deity ……. Amar-Suena …… his heart. He who …… the temple with an axe ……. Amar-Suena …… the abzu shrine. …… built with gold, and decorated with lapis lazuli. He applied himself to building the temple; King Amar-Suena applied himself to building the temple. The people turned against the king, and the foreign countries …….

9-25. In the first year the temple remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Amar-Suena …… the divine powers of kingship. In the second year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Amar-Suena …… his royal garments for mourning clothes. In the third year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Amar-Suena could not interpret (?) the temple's ominous sign among (?) the birch trees. In the fourth year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Although he had been advised (?) by a sage, he could not realise the plans of the temple. In the fifth year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. The abzu shrine has been …… by force. In the sixth year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. He was searching for the divine plan of the temple, but could not find it. In the seventh year it remained in ruins, and he did not restore it. Enki spoke to him about the temple, the temple that did not exist. In the eighth year, he applied himself to building the temple. By the ninth year, King Amar-Suena built the E-uduna of the wise lord (?) like …….

26-32. Then the lord, the great lord Enki, destroyed (?) the site of his own temple.
2 lines fragmentary Father Enki …… Eridug ……. …… his minister ……
1 line fragmentary
unknown no. of lines missing

Segment B

(= UET 8 32 obverse)

1-4.
1 line fragmentary The guardian (?) of the spacious land ……. As Enki lifted his gaze ……. Having left the temple …… in the abzu.

5-9. At that time mankind was not ……. Far-reaching wisdom, wise words were not …….
1 line unclear
To grieve and to do evil was good (?). Amar-Suena …… to build the temple of Enlil.
unknown no. of lines missing

Segment C

(= UET 8 32 reverse)

1-6. Lord ……. When he performed extispicy regarding the building of Enki's temple, the omen did not mention anything about the building of the temple, so he did not start it. To establish a lasting fame for himself, the king ……; to establish a lasting fame for himself, Amar-Suena ……. …… the temple of Enki …….
unknown no. of lines missing

Segment D

(= UET 6/3 487 obverse; this fragment might belong to the same tablet as UET 8 32, in which case it would preserve the beginning and the end of the tablet)

1-2. Lord, wise prince ……
1 line fragmentary
unknown no. of lines missing

Segment E

(= UET 6/3 487 reverse)

1-2. He who ……. King Amar-Suena has not been assigned a fate from (?) it.



Revision history

18.v.2000: GZ, editor: adapting translation
28.ix.2000: JAB, editor: proofreading
03.x.2000: GC, editor: SGML tagging
08.xii.2000: ER, editor: proofreading SGML
26.x.2000: ER, editor: web publication
01.vi.2003: GC/JE, editor/technical developer: XML/TEI conversion

ETCSL homepage

© Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 The ETCSL project, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford
Updated 2006-12-19 by JE

University of Oxford