Near Eastern - Cylinder Seal with Standing Figures and Inscriptions - Walters 42699 - Side A

The

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

bad, bat, be, etc. sign is a common multi-use sign in the mid 14th-century BC Amarna letters, and the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...

''. In the Epic it also has 5

sumerogram A Sumerogram is the use of a Sumerian cuneiform character or group of characters as an ideogram or logogram rather than a syllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such as Akkadian or Hittite. Sumerograms are n ...

uses (capital letter ( majuscule)). From

Giorgio Buccellati Giorgio Buccellati is an Italian archaeologist, best known for having discovered the ancient city of Urkesh (modern Tell Mozan), capital of the Hurrians, in Syria. Current position Buccellati is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Near ...

(Buccellati 1979) 'comparative graphemic analysis' (about 360 cuneiform signs, nos. 1 through no. 598E), of 5 categories of letters, the usage numbers of the ''bad'' sign are as follows: Old Babylonian Royal letters (71), OB non-Royal letters (392), Mari letters (2108), Amarna letters (334), Ugarit letters (39). The following linguistic elements are used for the ''bad'' sign in the 12 chapter (Tablets I-Tablet XII) ''Epic of Gilgamesh'': :bad (not in Epic) :bat :be :mid :mit :sun :til :ziz sumerograms: :BE :IDIM :TIL :ÚŠ :ZIZ The following usage numbers for the linguistic elements of sign ''bad'' in the Epic are as follows: ''bad'', (0 times), ''bat'', (61), ''be'', (16), ''mid'', (7), ''mit'', (8), ''sun'', (1), ''til'', (11), ''ziz'', (8), ''BE'', (2), ''IDIM'', (2), ''TIL'', (1), ''ÚŠ'', (2), ''ZIZ'', (1). Instead of a large horizontal, as seen in the (digitized form, but one type of "bad") , the sign is seen in the Amarna letters as composed of two opposite facing (triangles), the wedges. It can be seen her

Amarna letter EA 153 Amarna letter EA 153, titled ''Ships on Hold,'' is a short-length clay tablet letter from Abimilku of the island (at Amarna letters time) of city-state Tyre. EA 153 is approximately tall x wide, (actually 3 1/16 x 2 1/16 inches), and has a ...

-(lines 153:4, 11), for ''"King-Lord-mine"'', "

LUGAL Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state coul ...

, Be- li- ia", or Be- lí- ia", where "bēlu" is

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

for "lord".

Literature examples

Amarna letters

Tablet official letter-AO 7093-P5280232-gradient

The

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

letters to the Pharaoh often reference the King (Pharaoh), as: ''"King, Lord-mine"'', where king is represented by

LUGAL (king Sumerogram) Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' " 𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state coul ...

, for

Akkadian language Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218-280 is an extinct East Semitic language th ...

''šarru''-(sometimes LUGAL-ri, represented as "ŠÁR-ri", for king, ŠÁR=LUGAL). For the reverse of EA 362,

Rib-Hadda Rib-Hadda (also rendered Rib-Addi, Rib-Addu, Rib-Adda) was king of Byblos during the mid fourteenth century BCE. He is the author of some sixty of the Amarna letters all to Akhenaten. His name is Akkadian in form and may invoke the Northwest Semi ...

to Pharaoh (plus lines 66–69 on

clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets ( Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a sty ...

side), cuneiform sign ''be'' is used for ''"lord"'', Akkadian "bēlu". In EA 362, ''be'' is only used for the spelling of "lord". The entire topic of EA 362 is developed on the reverse side, (starting halfway on obverse). The listing of ''be'' uses, 10-times, on the reverse (and side lines of 66–69), are as follows: For "King, Lord-mine" (and partials): :(line 32)--LUGAL :(39)--LUGAL be-li- ia :(40)--be-li :(42)--be-li :(46)--LUGAL :(48)--LUGAL be-li line 51 :(51)-- ù be-li i- di i- nu- ma line 51 :"And..Lord know, ..now ("now at this time")..." :"And..Lord know, ..

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

"now at this time"..." (a

segue A segue (; ) is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next. The term is derived from Italian ''segue'', which literally means "follows". In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next ...

to the letter's ending!) :(53)--be-li- ia :(60)--LUGAL be-li- ia :(64)--LUGAL be-li- ia :(65)--LUGAL :(66)--LUGAL be-li :(68)--LUGAL be-li- ia Besides be in EA 362, bat is used on the letter's obverse (two adjacent lines).

Form of BAD used in other signs

The BAD/BAT sign has been used in other signs: * With a Gesh2 sign going through it 𒐕: for the Neo-Assyrian Cuneiform sign in Sumerian called MUŠEN, Akkadian: iṣṣūrum meaning bird, and giving the sound of ḪU. * 𒑙 as numeric value 2: A double BAD (also called double BAT, double ESHE3, or double UŠ2) * 𒀫 AMAR (unicode 1202B) meaning calf or Mar (the Akkadian word for "son") This sign is the base for many derivatives. * 𒍘 UŠUM_X (unicode u+12358) * 𒍙 UTUKI, in the suffix, again with a Gesh2 sign going through it. * 𒆰 KUL * 𒉄 NAGAR * 𒑧, 𒑨 Elamite numerical 40 and 50 * Inside various letters like 𒄓, 𒄰, 𒇀

External links

Use of be, for Akkadian "Lord", specifically "King, Lord-mine".
(

, lines 153:4, 11)

References

* Buccellati, Giorgio. ''Comparative Graphemic Analysis of Old Babylonian and Western Akkadian'', from ''Ugarit-Forschungen 8'', (Neukirchen-Vluyen). * Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ) * Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian

'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives of Assyria State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages.(softcover, )-(Volume 1) *

Rainey Rainey is a name of British-Irish origin. People with the surname * Bobby Rainey (born 1987), American National Football League player * Chuck Rainey (born 1940), American bassist * David "Puck" Rainey (born 1968), American reality TV personalit ...

, 1970. ''El Amarna Tablets, 359-379,'' Anson F. Rainey, (AOAT 8, ''Alter Orient Altes Testament 8'', Kevelaer and Neukirchen -Vluyen), 1970, 107 pages. File:Near Eastern - Cylinder Seal with Standing Figures and Inscriptions - Walters 42699 - Impression.jpg, Impression of

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

(Walters 42699), showing bad sign in line no. 1, 3rd sign. (reads from top-down-to-bottom) Cuneiform signs Akkadian language - three letter syllables