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The Akitu Chronicle (ABC 16) is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylon. It deals with the war between the Babylonian king Šamaš-šuma-ukin and his brother Aššurbanipal, king of Assyria. Its name is derived from the fact that the author shows a special interest in the celebration of the Akitu festival.
The text of the Akitu Chronicle is preserved on a table, BM 86379 (original registration number unknown), which measures 45 mm wide and 62 mm long. It is well preserved, there being a small piece missing from the upper right-hand corner and a few surface flaws.
(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)
(gods in blue…..mixed-breed kings in teal)
Translation
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1 For eight years under Sennacherib, |
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2 for twelve years under Esarhaddon, |
3 twenty years altogether, Bêl stayed in Baltil (Aššur) |
4 and the Akitu festival did not take place. |
5 The accession year of Šamaš-šuma-ukin [2] (668/667): In the month Ajaru |
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6 Bêl (Marduk) and the gods of Akkad went out from Baltil (Aššur) and |
7 on the twenty-fourth [1] day of the month Ajaru, they entered Babylon. |
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9 The sixteenth year of Šamaš-šuma-ukin (652/651): From the month Ajaru until the month Tebêtu |
10 the major-domo conscripted troops in Akkad. |
11 On the nineteenth day of the month Tebêtu hostilities began between Assyria and Akkad. |
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12 The king withdrew before the enemy into Babylon. |
13 On the twenty-seventh day of Addaru the armies of Assyria and Akkad |
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14 did battle in Hiritu. The army of Akkad |
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15 retreated from the battlefield and a major defeat was inflicted upon it. |
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16 However, there were still hostilities and warfare continued. |
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17 The seventeenth year (651/650): There were insurrections in Assyria and Akkad. |
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18 Nabû did not come from Borsippa for the precession of Bêl |
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19 and Bêl did not come out. |
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20 The eighteenth year (650/649): Nabû did not come from Borsippa for the precession of Bêl |
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21 and Bêl did not come out. |
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22 The nineteenth year (649/648): Nabû did not come and Bêl did not come out. |
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23 The twentieth year (648/647): Nabû did not come and Bêl did not come out. |
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24 After Kandalanu [2], in the accession year of Nabopolassar (626-625),[3] |
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26 There were hostilities and warfare continued. |
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27 Nabû did not come and Bêl(Marduk) did not come out. Nabû did not come and Bel did not come out. |
Note 1:
Lines 1-8 are identical to ABC 14, lines 34-40, but the date is different.
Note 2:
King of Babylonia (647-627), possibly identical to Aššurbanipal.
Note 3:
In this year, two Assyrian officials named Sin-šumlišir and Sin-šar-iškun ruled Babylon. They were expelled by Nabopolassar.