Rabâ-ša-Marduk, “great are (the deeds) of Marduk”,
was a prominent physician, or ''asû'', from the city of
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, ''The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory'': Vol. 1, Part 1, Ca ...
who was posted to the
Hittite court of
Muwatalli II (c. 1295–1272 BC
short chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
) in Anatolia in the thirteenth century BC, apparently as part of a diplomatic mission of
Kassite king
Kadašman-Turgu (1281–1264 BC short chronology).
Biography
His name was uncommon.
[ Another Rabâ-ša-Marduk was governor of ]Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic language, Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq which was the location of the Ancient Near East city of Isin, occupied from the late 4th millennium Uruk period up until at ...
but this was not until the reign of Nabu-apla-iddina, around four hundred years later.
Rabâ-ša-Marduk received twelve sūtu, where a sūtu is ca. 0.27 hectares, of high quality dates for his sacrifice, in the 11th year of Nazi-Maruttaš on the 19th day of the month of ulūlu (around August 1296 BC). Four years later, he again received a crop of dates for sacrificial services rendered. Then, in 1290 BC, he was supplied a mina of tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...
for a journey to Babylon. There are a series of tablets recording rations for Rabâ-ša-Marduk excavated at Nippur of uncertain date but possibly up to Nazi-Maruttaš’ 21st year, including one provisioning another journey to Babylon.
A medical tablet originally from Babylon was found in excavations at Assur. It was probably one of the scientific and literary works looted by Tukulti-Ninurta I during his conquest of the city. It is accompanied by a colophon on lines 36 to 38, “Eighteen prescriptions for headache (lit: seizing of the temple), first tablet, from the hand of Rabiā-ša-Marduk.” Amongst the remedies it includes:
A later work, ''šumma amēlu muḫḫašu umma ukāl'', a therapeutic exorcist work known primarily from the library of Ashurbanipal
The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire, is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BCE, including texts in ...
shares much of the content and may have borrowed from it.[
His mission to the Hittite court must have taken place during the first half of Kadašman-Turgu’s reign as this was when there was an overlap with that of Muwatalli’s rule. He was accompanied by an incantation priest. His host, Muwatalli, was the only Hittite king known to have not fathered a son of the first rank (i.e. his primary wife, the Tawananna) and this may have been the reason behind the importation of foreign experts.]Ḫattušili III
Hattusili III (Hittite language, Hittite: "from Hattusa") was king of the Hittite empire (New Kingdom) –1245 BC (middle chronology) or 1267–1237 BC (short chronology timeline)., pp.xiii-xiv
Early life and family
Much of what is known about ...
about the failure to return loaned artisans, but Ḫattušili countered that the, now probably elderly, physician was free to go as he pleased.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raba-Sha-Marduk
Kassite people
Ancient physicians
History of ancient medicine
13th-century BC people