| Tablet of Shamash | |
|---|---|
 Tablet of Shamash | |
| Material | Limestone |
| Size | Length: 29.2 cm, Width: 17.8 cm |
| Created | 888–855 BC |
| Present location | British Museum,London. Room 55. |
| Registration | ME 91000 |
TheTablet of Shamash (also known as the Sun God Tablet or the Nabuapaliddina Tablet) is astele recovered from the ancientBabylonian city ofSippar in southernIraq in 1881; it is now a major piece in theBritish Museum's ancient Middle East collection and is a visual attestation ofBabylonian cosmology. It is dated to the reign of KingNabu-apla-iddina ca. 888 – 855BC.[1]
The tablet was discovered during excavations byHormuzd Rassam between 1878 and 1883. The tablet was found complete but broken into two large and six small pieces. By the time of KingNabopolassar, between 625 and 605 BC, it had broken into four parts and been repaired. The terracotta coffer also contained two clay impressions of the tablets presentation scene. The coffer was sealed under anasphalt temple floor. It has been suggested that the coffer also contained a second tablet as well as a third clay impression (now in the Istanbul Museum).[3][4]
It was encased in a clay cast or "squeeze" that created impressions when placed over the face of the stone and protected it. This indicates that the tablet was an item of reverence, possibly stored due to newer traditions. The tablet has serrated edges like a saw.[5] Thebas-relief on the top of the obverse (pictured) showsShamash, theSun God, beneath symbols of thesun,moon and star. Shamash is depicted in a seated position, wearing a horned headdress, holding therod-and-ring symbol in his right hand. There is another large sun disk in front of him on analtar, suspended from above by two figures. Of the three figures on the left, the central one is dressed in the same fashion as Shamash and is assumed to be the Babylonian kingNabu-apla-iddina receiving the symbols of deity.[citation needed]
The bas relief can be superimposed with two orders ofgolden rectangles.[6]
The scene contains three inscriptions.[7] The first, at the head of the tablet reads:
(1) ṣal-lam (ilu)Šamaš bêlu rabû | (1) Image of Shamash, the great Lord |
Above the sun god a second inscription describes the position of the depicted moon, sun, and star as being over against the heavenly ocean, on which the scene sits:
(1) (ilu)Sin (ilu)Šamaš u (ilu)Ištar ina pu-ut apsî | (1) Sin, Shamash and Ishtar are set over against the heavenly ocean |
The final inscription in the scene reads:
(1)agû (ilu)Šamaš | (1) Headdress of Shamash |
Thecuneiform text beneath thestele is divided into fifteen passages, blending prose, poetic and rhetorical elements in the fashion typical of Mesopotamian royal inscriptions. It tells howSippar and the Ebabbar temple of Shamash had fallen into disrepair with the loss of thestatue of the god. This cult image is temporarily replaced with the solar disk; it is further described how a new figure ofShamash was found in an eastern part of theEuphrates, from whichNabu-apla-iddina has constructed a new statue oflapis lazuli andgold to restore the cult. Similariconographic and prosaic parallels have been evidenced from Mesopotamian and laterJewish sources where the king who restores the cult is seen like a deity passing on divine symbols. The remainder of the text records the gifts of the royal grant, similar to akudurru and discusses the practices of the temple, priestly rules, dress codes and regulations.[8][9]
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