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626, added to the royal library at Nineveh, his contribltion
of tabletls included many series of documents
which related exclusively to the astrology of the i
ancient Babylonians, who in turn had borrowed it
with modifications from the Sumerian invaders of the
country. Among these must be mentioned the Series
which was cormmonly called The Day of Bel," and
which was declared by the learned of the time to have
been written in the time of the great Sargon I, king
of Agade, c. 3800 B.c. With such ancient works as
these to guide them, the profession of deducing omens i
from daily events reached such a pitch of importance j
in the last Assyrian Empire, that a system of making
periodical reports came into being, and by these the \ I
king was informed of all occurrences in the heavens
and on the earth, and the results of astrological studies
in respect to future events. The heads of the
astrological profession were men of high rank and
position, and their office was hereditary (see Diod., II,
29). Under the chief astrologer were a number of
officials who on certain occasions together addressed
the king; thus Rammanu-suma-usur, Nabu-musisi and
Istar-suma-iris write together (see K. 5470); Rammnuiuma-usur
and Marduk-sakin-sumi write together (see :
KK. Io87, 1197); Rammanu-suma-usur, Arad-la,
Istar-surna-iris and Akkulanu write together (see K.
1428) Istar-suma-iris, Rammanu-suma-usur and
Marduk-akin-sumi write together (see K. 527) and
Balast and Nabu-ahi-iriba write together (see KK
565, 569). Among other duties, it was the duty of :
INTRODUCTION.
xvii
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the astrologers to write both omen reports and letters,
and certain letters mention, incidentally, facts which
we should hardly expect to find in this class of
document. Thus the writer of K. I67 excuses himself
from setting out on a journey because the day is not
favourable; the writer of K. 551 tells the story of how
a fox made its way into the Royal Park of the city of
Assur and took refuge in a lake, but was afterwards
caught and killed; and the writer of Rm. 73 tells the
king that he believes the twentieth, twenty-second
and twenty-fifth days to be lucky' for entering into
contracts.
The variety of the information contained in these
reports is best gathered from the fact that they were
sent from cities so far removed from each-other as
Assur in the north and Erech in the south, and it can
(only be assumed that they were dispatched by runners
or men mounted "on swifr horses:. As reports also
come from Dilbat, Kutha, Nippur and Borsippa, all
cities of ancient foundation, the king was probably
well acquainted with the general course of events in
his empire.
Of the documents printed in this book all but
three are astrological; they are written on rectangular
clay tablets varying in size from I- by 4 inch to
33 by 2-, and they generally bear the sender's name.
They contain quotations from ancient astrological
works concerning the omens, but it is interesting to
note that, although the ijsissima verba were preserved,
the interpretations were based upon more modern
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