The egg of the feet? Using the Sumerogram NUNUZ in the Amarna Correspondence

The egg of the feet? Using the Sumerogram NUNUZ in the Amarna Correspondence Jan Tavernier Université catholique de Louvain ABSTRACT: This study focuses on one passage in EA 162, an Amarna letter written by the Egyptian king Amenhotep IV (1352–1336 BCE) to Aziru, the king of Amurru and one of his Syrian vassals. The text fragment contains the only attestation of the sign NUNUZ in the Amarna Correspondence and is still not entirely clear to modern scholarship. This article will attempt to clarify the issue and help to fully understand this diplomatic letter. Additionally, some thoughts on the terminology of foot parts in Sumerian and Akkadian will be presented. KEYWORDS: Amarna Letters; NUNUZ; Mesopotamian foot terminology 1. INTRODUCTION1 The Amarna Correspondence is the major historical source on the political history of the Late Bronze Age in the Levant. It consists of 349 letters (Rainey 2015: 1), aminority of which relates to business between equally ranked monarchs (of Arzawa, Assyria, Cyprus, Egypt, Babylonia, Hatti and Mittani) and the majority of which tells us more about the relations between the Egyptian pharaoh on the one hand and his Levantine vassals on the other hand. The second category is quite informative on how the Hittites gradually extended their influence over present-day Syria and Lebanon during the reign of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I(c.1353–1322 BCE). This short paper focuses on one passage in aspecific Amarna letter. More precisely, it will take acloser look at the unique attestation of the Sumerogram NUNUZ in the Amarna Correspondence. In fact, this sign appears in arather puzzling expression, despite the fact that the context itself is very clear. The sign NUNUZ is awell-known grapheme in the history of the Mesopotamian cuneiform writing system. It already appears at the very beginning of writing, i.e. in the archaic administrative and lexical texts from Uruk (Deimel 1922: 39 no.364, 69 no.798, & 70 no.813; Green— Nissen 1987: 261 no.423). From this period onwards, it was continually in use until the latest phase of cuneiform writing (Deimel 1932: 1 Abbreviations are cited from the list in the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI; https://cdli.ox.ac.uk/wiki/abbreviations_for_assyriology). OPEN ACCESS JAN TAvERNIER 41 761–763 no.394; Deimel— Gössmann 1947: 695 no.701; Salonen 1973: 334; Labat— Malbran-Labat 1994: 180–181 no.394; Borger 2004: 167 no.614). As the Mesopotamian lexical texts prove, the Sumerian lexeme nunuz has various meanings and, logically, various Akkadian equivalents. The most frequently attested meaning is ‘egg’ (Akkadian pelû, rarely palû),2 but other meanings are ‘woman’ (Emesal equivalent of Sum. MUNUS,3 Akk. sinništu; Schretter 1990: 246–247; Cavigneaux— Krebernik 1998–2001a), ‘offshoot; offspring’ (Akk. līpu4 and pirʾu/parʾu/ pirḫu)5 and ‘(egg-shaped) bead’ (Akk. erimmatu).6 The sign also appears in some plant names (e.g. gulūbutu)7 as well as in some names of recipients/beer vats (e.g. laḫtanu).8 It is one of these meanings which must be compatible with the occurrence of NUNUZ in the Amarna Correspondence. 2. NUNUZ IN THE AMARNA CORRESPONDENCE As already indicated, NUNUZ occurs only once in the Amarna Correspondence. The document where it appears is EA 162 (VAT 347),9 aletter written by the Egyptian king Amenhotep IV (1352–1336 BCE) to Aziru, the king of Amurru10 and one of his Syrian vassals. By the time this letter was written, the Egyptian king was profoundly mistrustful of Aziru, suspecting him of organising adefection to Suppiluliuma, the Hittite king. As would later become apparent, this mistrust was more than justified (cf.Rainey 2015: 20). In EA 162, the pharaoh first reprimands Aziru for his actions against Rib-Addi, the ruler of Byblos and aloyal vassal of the pharaoh (1–21). Next, he expresses his irritation at the apparent alliance between Aziru and the ruler of Qadesh, an ally of the Hittites (22–32). The letter continues with aplea to serve Egypt (33–41) and arequest for Aziru to come personally to Egypt or to send his son (42–54). The following section (54–77) talks about Aziru’s promise to deliver various enemies of the king to Hanni, an Egyptian ambassador. Amenhotep says that he has 2 E.g. NUNUZ MUŠEN = pa-lu-ú (MSL 8/2, 155, 380). 3 E.g. d nuNUNUZ-GÙN-A= dMUNUS-GÙN-A= dNIN-SIG7 (MSL 4, 5, 26). The divinity concerned is Nin-imma (Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998–2001b; Focke 1998–2001: 384). 4 E.g. NUNUZ = li-i-pu (MSL 17, 197, 67). 5 E.g. nu-nu-uzNUNUZ = pi-ir-ʾu (Idu Iiv B 5; MSL 3, 147, 296). 6 E.g. nu-nu-uzNUNUZ = e-rim-ma-a-tú (CT 11, 33 K.2772, 7). 7 E.g. ŠĒ-GÚ-NUNUZ = gu-lu-bu-ti (AfO 18, 328, 27). 8 E.g. dugNUNUZ-KISIM5xLA = laḫ-ta-nu (MSL 7, 75, 6). 9 Cf. Rainey (2015: 802–807 & 1511–1512) for the most recent edition of this text. 10 Amurru is aregion situated in what is now northwest Syria, to the south of Ugarit. Its Late Bronze Age history is quite fascinating. Originally an ally of Egypt, its king Aziru defected to the Hittite camp during the reign of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I.Alater king, Benteshina, tried to take advantage of Egypt’s military successes under Ramses II and turned away from Hittite suzerainty, but after the battle of Qadesh he was captured by the Hittites and deported to Hattusa. Later he was reinstalled as king of Amurru and afterwards remained aloyal Hittite ally (Van De Mieroop 2016: 176). OPEN ACCESS 42 CHATREŠŠAR 1/2021 sent the names of these enemies to Aziru through Hanni and that Aziru should take immediate action. Lines 64–66 of this letter go as follows: (64) ù šú-bi-la-áš-˹šú-nu˺-[ti] a-na LUGAL EN-ka (65) ù 1-en la-ate-ez-zi-ib i-na ˹lìb˺-bi-šu-nu (66) ù ŠÈRŠÈR URUDU lu-ú ša-ak-nu i-na NUNUZ GÌRmeš-šu-nu What follows are the names of some individuals who should be sent to the king, together with their sons and/or wives (67–77).11 The final paragraph of the letter (78–81) is asimple statement from the pharaoh that all is well with him. As is clear by now, NUNUZ occurs in line 66 of the text. Various authors have already translated the relevant lines, but do not always seem to be convinced of their translations. Winckler (1896: 118–119) reads UZU ‘flesh’, but remains doubtful as he mentions an alternative possibility elsewhere (1896: 118 n.1). This possibility is areading TIK, which could stand for kišadu ‘neck’, resulting in ‘the neck of the feet’, perhaps aplace above the ankles, at least according to Winckler. Alternatively, it could stand for idu, leading to atranslation ‘an Händen und Füssen’. Winckler’s final translation is “Schicke sie darum dem König, deinem Herrn. Und laß nicht einen weg von ihnen. Und Ketten aus Erz sollen sein an ihren Füssen.” Knudtzon (1915: 658–659)12 proposes areading NUNUZ, which he interprets as arendering of Akkadian erimmat, leading to his translation “So übersende sie dem König, deinem Herrn, und laß keinen unter ihnen übrig bleiben! Und Bande aus Kupfer mögen angelegt werden als Kette(n) für ihre Füße.” Mercer (1939: 524–525) accepts the reading NUNUZ and its equivalence to erimmat. He translates “Therefore send them to the king, thy Lord, and let none out of their number remain over. And let bands of copper be placed as fetter(s) on their feet.” Moran (1987: 401) has “Fais-les remettre au roi, ton seigneur, sans omettre personne. On doit mettre des entraves de cuivre àleurs chevilles.” His English translation is “Have them delivered to the king, your lord, omitting no one. Copper fetters are to be put on their ankles” (Moran 1992: 249). Giles (1997: 416) translates the lines as follows: “So send them to the king, your lord, and do not even leave out one of them. And let copper bands be placed on [?] their feet.” The Italian translation by Liverani is similar: “Consegnali al re tuo signore. Non ne omettere nessuno. Ceppi di bronzo siano messi aloro piedi” (Liverani 1998: 279–281). The most recent edition of the Amarna Letters, by Anson Rainey, presents its reader with the following translation: “So send them to the king, your lord. And don’t leave out even one from among them. May bronze fetters be put on the ankles(?) of their feet” (Rainey 2015: 807). In his commentary on this text, he confirms that nunuz gìrmeš might mean ‘ankles’ (Rainey 2015: 1512). 11 These are “Sharru with all his sons, Tûya, Lêya with all his sons, Pishiari with all his sons, the son in law of Manya with his sons, (and) with his wives, the warrior who knows sacrilege, him who always insults the foreigner, Dāshartî, Baʿluma, Nimmaḫê, the robber in the land of Amurru.” 12 As possible alternative, Knudtzon (1915: 658 n. c.) gives ZAB+ḪI, the result of splitting up the sign NUNUZ. This is, however, ameaningless reading. OPEN ACCESS JAN TAvERNIER 43 Clearly, the expression NUNUZ GÌRmeš-šu-nu must be understood as ‘their nunuzof-the-feet’. In all probability, the most likely meaning of NUNUZ in this context is ‘egg’, so afinal translation ‘their egg-of-the-feet’ or ‘their egg-shaped bead’ becomes likely. The other meanings of nunuz, i.c. ‘scion’ or ‘woman’, are less probable. Although the context does not change much if one uses ‘egg’ or ‘bead’, it would be the only attestation of an ‘egg-shaped’ bead in the Amarna Correspondence, where beads appear frequently in the lists of gifts (e.g. zi-mìn-zu turmeš na4 ZA.GÌN ‘small ziminzubeads of lapis lazuli’ in EA 13, obv. 7; na4ZA.GÌN ‘beads of lapis lazuli’ in EA 22, i35 & 37, ii 20 & 25; na4ḫi-li-bá ‘beads of ḫiliba-stone’ in EA 25, i33 & 35; [ma-ni-i]n-nu ša na4KIŠIB na4 ZA.GÌN KUR ‘[1 mani]nnu-necklace, of seal-shaped beads of lapis lazuli’ in EA 25, i38). Therefore, in the end, atranslation ‘their egg-of-the-feet’ seems the most plausible one. Four scholars, Knudtzon, Mercer, Moran and Rainey, have ventured atranslation of this expression, albeit hesitatingly. The other scholars (Giles and Liverani) subtly avoid the problem by not translating NUNUZ specifically. Knudtzon and Mercer mention atranslations “fetters,” whereas the translation proposed by Moran and Rainey is ‘ankle’. In all probability, aconnection between NUNUZ GÌR and the ankle is actually quite plausible; in fact, the ankle has two egg-shaped protrusions, each at one side of the foot (the medial and the lateral malleolus). In this sense, NUNUZ GÌRmeš ‘egg-of-the-feet’ would be apars pro toto for the ankle, for the scribe did certainly not intend to refer to the malleolus itself,13 but to the entire ankle. 3. LEXEMES FOR ‘ANKLE’ IN SUMERIAN AND AKKADIAN Aproblem with this interpretation is that Sumerian as well as Akkadian already possess some lexemes commonly translated as ‘ankle, ankle bone’. The first one is Akkadian kiṣallu (Holma 1911: 155; CAD K: 434–435; with variants kisallu, kisillu and kiṣillu), whose Sumerian equivalent is s/š/zingi.14 Their equivalence is well established, as the following example demonstrates: zi-in-gi-mu gig-ga-àm : ki-ṣal-la-a-amar-ṣa “My ankles are sore” (SBH, 43, 10’, 11’, 12’, 77, 6’–8’; cf. Cohen 1988: 189 line 41; all attestations are Hellenistic). Anice equation of both terms is also found in The Elevation of Ishtar, abilingual literary composition whose copies date from the Neo-Babylonian and Hellenistic periods. The text has: din-nin ki gištukul sàg-ga zi-in-gi ra-ra-dagin7 igi sùḫ ra-ra-ab / dMIN a-šar tam-ḫu-uṣ kak-ku udab-de-eki-ma ki-ṣal-la mé-li-li saḫ-maš-tú “Lady, where weapons clash, play with the chaos like ankles” (Tablet IVB, 9–10; Hruška 1969: 488 & 521, who, however, uses atranslation ‘astragal’). As alogogram, zingi is attested in four orthographies: SÌ-IN-GI4, ŠI-IN-GI, ZI-IN-GI and ZI-IN-GI4. The oldest two spellings appear in the Old Babylonian period. The first 13 In fact, it would be very difficult to put fetters on amalleolus. 14 See Jagersma (2010: 41–43 & 46–47) on the exact pronunciation of the Sumerian phonemes written S, Š and Z.The examples and abbreviations cited here are drawn from the Electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, second edition (http://oracc.museum. upenn.edu/epsd2/sux). OPEN ACCESS 44 CHATREŠŠAR 1/2021 is SÌ-IN-GI4, which occurs once in ascorpion incantation (VS 17, 10, 36); the second is ZI-IN-GI4, which is more frequently attested. It appears in the same scorpion incantation (VS 17, 10, 36), as well as five times in lexical texts (HAG 05,15 rev. iii 10’; Isin III, Tf. 41, rev. iv 3 [CDLI no.: P349902; OB Nippur Izi: Tab. II 434, 435 = MSL 13, 53, 466, 467; OB Nippur Ura 3, 496). The third spelling ŠI-IN-GI is nothing more than the Emesal equivalent of ZI-IN-GI. It is attested once in aNeo-Assyrian copy of Ddi: ŠI-IN-G[I] = [ZI-I]N-GI = [ki-ṣal-lu] (Ddi II 196 = MSL 4, 25, 196; Schretter 1990: 258). Finally, the last and most frequently attested spelling, ZI-IN-GI, only occurs in post-Old Babylonian texts. Middle Babylonian lexical texts, one of which was found in Ugarit and another in Emar, have it three times (Emar 6/1, 166, Msk 731086, rev. iii 32; MB Izi = MSL 13, 131, 279 [from Ugarit]; SLT, 45, rev. i1’ [from Nippur]). NeoAssyrian lexical documents also have it three times (CT 19, Pl. 30–32, K.00005, rev. ii’ 5’; CT 19, Pl. 30–32, K. 04352+, rev. ii 21; Ura 13, Seg. 1, 271). Twice it appears in NeoBabylonian lexical texts (CTMMA 2, 55, rev. ii 45b; VS 24, 4, rev. ii 21b’) and six times in Hellenistic texts (one literary text [RA 12 73–84, obv. 5] and five times in hymns/ lamentations [SBH, 43, obv. 10, 11, 12 and SBH, 77, 6’, 8’]).16 The date of the last attestation (Iraq 6 175–176, no.76, rev. ii 30’, alexical text) is not certain. Furthermore, zingi appears in one Neo-Assyrian omen text: DIŠ ZI-IN-GI 15-šú ti-ib sa-ḫal UZU IGI DIŠ ZI-IN-GI 150-šú ti-ib ki-ṣir ŠÀ DINGIR DU8-šu “If his right ankle pulsates, he will experience anger.17 If his left ankle pulsates, the anger of the god will affront him” (Kraus 1939 no.22, ii 16’–17’; Böck 2000: 270–271, lines 71–72). Not surprisingly, medical texts too contain zingi: 1) DIŠ ta-bi SA ZI-IN-GI-šú KÚM NU TUK[UTIN] DIŠ ta-bi SA ZI-IN-GI-šú KÚM TUKU ˹ḪAR˺meš-š[ú GIG]meš uUGU18-šú i-šag-gúm TI-uṭ šum4-ma GIG-su ˹GÍD˺-ma GAM “If it (that is) ablood vessel (in his feet) is pulsating, his ankles ar[e] not feverish, [he will recover]. If it (that is) ablood vessel (in his feet) is pulsating, his ankles are feverish, ˹his˺ lungs are continually [sick], and his head roars, he will get well. If his illness is prolonged, he will die” (TDP 146, 63’–65’ = DPS 14, 264’–266’; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 181 no.8.83; Scurlock 2014: 127 & 136);19 15 Cf. http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/dcclt/pager. The CDLI number of this text is P382666. 16 SBH, 43 & 77 are Hellenistic copies of the lamentation Enemani ilu “His Word is aWail, aWail!” (Cohen 1988: 186). 17 Literally “the pricking of the flesh”; not adisease, as Oppenheim (1956: 270 n.42) believes, but an expression for ‘anger’ (Borger 1957–58: 417a; Böck 2000: 271 n.820). 18 Reading UGU-šú by Geller (2005: 256; also CAD Š/1: 65, Scurlock 2014: 127). Other authors (Labat 1951: 146; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 181) have uKA-šú “and his mouth.” 19 Here this study follows the readings by Labat (1951: 146), Scurlock— Andersen (2005: 181), and Scurlock (2014: 127). Based on the tablet VAT 303+, Geller (2005: 256) reads [DIŠ ta-kap IR ZI-IN-GI-šu KÚM] TUKU ki-iṣ-[ṣa]-ta DIRI UG[U-šú i-ša]g-g[ú-um TI-uṭ šum4-ma GIG-su] ˹TAG4˺-šum-ma TIN “If there is aprickling from sweat, his ankles ar[e] not hot, he will recover. If there is aprickling from sweat, his ankles are hot, it is full of kiṣṣatadisease, and his head buzzes, he will get well. If his illness leaves him, he will recover.” OPEN ACCESS JAN TAvERNIER 45 2) DIŠ ina SAG GIG-šú IR bu-úḫ-bu-úḫ-ta TUKU-ma IR ši-iTA kìn-ṣi-šú EN ZI-IN-GI uKI-TA GÌRii-šú NU KUR-ád GIG-BI LÍL-ti U4 2.KAM U4 3.KÁM LÍL-ma DIN “If at the beginning of his illness, he has sweat and bubuʾtu-blisters and this sweat does not reach from his lower legs to the ankles and the soles of his feet, that sickness is an illness of two days. (If) he is ill for three days, he will get well” (TDP 156, 1–2 = DPS 17, 1–2; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 222 no.10.79; Scurlock 2014: 163 & 166); 3) DIŠ GIG-su KU4 ù É KIMIN ÍL IGIii-šú DUGUD ŠÀmeš-šú MÚ-ME-ḫu SAmeš-šú kìnṣa-a-šú ZI-IN-GImeš-šú MURUB4meš-šú 1-niš GU7meš-šú gišGIDRI ŠU dUTU GAR-su “If his illness enters and leaves, ditto (and when his confusional state comes over him), lifting his eyes is difficult, his insides are continually bloated and his muscles, his lower legs, his ankles and his hips all hurt him at once, the sceptre, ‘hand of Šamaš’, has been laid upon him” (TDP 160, 38–39 = DPS 17, 38–39; Scurlock 2014: 164 & 168);20 4) DIŠ ma-ʾ-du GÌRdidli-ša uZI-IN-GIdidli-šá nu-up-pu-ḫa ZAG uGÙB ZUKUM-as MAŠ-TAB-BA PEŠ-at “If they (the insides of awoman of childbearing age) are large, both her feet and both her ankles are swollen, (and) she steps to ‘right’ and ‘left’, she is pregnant with twins” (TDP 206, 71 = DPS 36, 71; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 279 no.12.110; Scurlock 2014: 247 & 251). In its syllabographic form, Akkadian kiṣallu mostly appears in lexical and medical texts. Examples from medical texts are: 1) [TA] MURUB4ii-šú giš-ši-šú EN ki-ṣal-li-šú “From his waist, his hip down to his ankle” (AMT 52, 8, 6); 2) DIŠ NA a-ḫa-šú kìn-ṣa-šú ki-ṣal-la-šú [GU7meš-šú] NA BI qé-reb DÚR-GIG “If aperson, his arms, his lower legs, (and) his ankles [hurt him], that person is in the midst of DÚR-GIG” (BAM 89, 8–9; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 253 no.11.34); 3) Iṣ-bat giš-šá kìn-ṣa ki-ṣil-la qab-la ra-pa-áš-tu ušá-šal-li gu-ub-gu-ba pu-ḫur SAmeš “(The disease maškādu) grips the hip socket, lower leg, ankle, hip, coccyx and lower back, the calf, all of the muscles” (BAM 124, iv 18–19;21 Scurlock 2014: 457 & 460); 4) DIŠ NA ki-ṣil-la-šú G[U7meš] “If aperson, his ankles are co[nstantly hurting]” (BAM 7, 24, rev. iii 4’; Geller 2005: 152–153); 5) DIŠ NA ki-ṣil-la-šú GU7-ME […] DÚR-GIG GIG “If aperson, his ankles hurt […] he is sick with DÚR-GIG” (BAM 7, 24, rev. iii 6’–7’; Geller 2005: 152–153; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 153 no.6.185); 6) Ki-ṣal-lu GAL-ma SA ina UGU ZUKUM “The ankle is large, the vein on the front is crushed” (Böck 2000, 267, line 35); 20 Note the usage of the syllabographic orthography in aparallel phrase: DIŠ … kìn-ṣa-a-šú kiṣal-la-šú 1-niš GU7-me-šú “If … his lower legs and ankles hurt him at the same time” (TDP 20, 13–14). 21 CT 23, 11, 38, avariant text, has ki-ṣal-la. OPEN ACCESS 46 CHATREŠŠAR 1/2021 7) Ina giš-ši-šú GÌR-šú uki-ṣal-li-šú KÉŠ-ma ina-eš “You tie (the knots) on his hip, his foot and his ankle and he will get well” (CT 23, 9, 12);22 8) Ki-ṣal-la-šú up-ta-na-ṭa-[ra] “His feet are continually split” (KAR 80, 5); 9) DIŠ ina ki-ṣil-li-šú ZAG GAR x[…] DIŠ ina ki-ṣil-li-šú GÙB GAR NAM x […] “If it is placed on the right ankle […]. If it is placed on the left ankle […] (Kraus 1939 no.38a, rev. 7’–8’; Böck 2000: 200–201, lines 114–115); 10) [DIŠ TA giš]-ši-šu EN pi-ṭir ki-ṣil-li-šú GU7meš-šú ḫi-ṭám NU TUKU ki-iṣ-ṣa-t[um MU-NI] “[If from] his ˹hip sockets˺ to the opening of his ankles it continually hurts him, it is of no consequence; [it is called] ˹gnawing˺” (SpTU 4, 152, 101 = DPS 33, 101; Heeßel 2000: 357; Scurlock 2014: 234 & 240); 11) [DIŠ uzu]ÚR-šú TA giš-ši-šu EN ki-ṣal-li-šú GU7-šú ZI-bi uDU-[a]kmaš-ka-d[ù MU-NI] “[If] his thigh hurts him from his hip sockets to his ankles (but) he can stand and walk, [it is called] maškādu” (TDP 140, iii 37’–38’ = DPS 33, 99; cf. also DPS 14, 170’–171’; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 257 no.11.59; Scurlock 2014: 234 & 240); 12) DIŠ TU SA ki-[ṣil-li]-šá ZAG uGÙB ZI-[bi M]AŠ-TAB-BA NU SI-SÁ PEŠ4-at DIŠ TU SA ki-ṣil-li-šá MÚD DIRImeš NITA PEŠ4-at “If the blood vessel of awoman of childbearing age ‘right’ and ‘left’ ˹ankles˺ pulsates, she is pregnant with twins who will not do well. If the blood vessel of woman of childbearing age’s ankle is continually full of blood, she is pregnant with amale” (TDP 208, 92–93 = DPS 36, 92–93; Scurlock 2014: 247 & 252). Only afew times does kiṣallu appear in texts that are not strictly medical. Firstly, it appears in some omen and physiognomic texts. Note that it is in these texts that the only instances of kiṣallu denoting abody part of an animal (i.e. asheep; no. 3) occur: 1) DIŠ LÚ ki-ṣa-il-la-šú ra-ab-bi-ia na-zi-iq DIŠ LÚ ki-ṣa-al-li-in la i-šu ni-zi-iq-tum ú-ul i-ṭe-eḫ-ḫi-šum “If aman’s ankles are large: he is aworrier. If aman lacks both ankles: worries will not affect him” (AfO 18, 64, i26–27); 2) DIŠ ki-ṣa-lum ša ˹i˺-[m]i-tim pa-al-ša-at aš-ša-at LÚ-lim a-na ḫa-ar-mu-tim uṣ-ṣi DIŠ ki-ṣa-lum ša š[u-me]-lim pa-al-ša-at na-ṣi-ir-ti lúKÚR-ka te-le-qé-e“If the right ankle is perforated, the wife of aman will leave to become aprostitute. 22 Various medical texts have variants of this phrase: 1) AMT 19, 8, 1: [… u] ki-ṣil-li-šú [KÉŠ-ma/su ina-eš] “[You tie to … and] his ankle [and he will get better]”; 2) BAM 129, i19: ina murub4’ úr u˹ki-ṣal˺-li-šú KÉŠ-su “You tie to the thigh and ankle”; 3) BAM 194, ii 4: ina ki-ṣal-li-šú KÉŠ-su “You tie to his ankle”; 4) BAM 415, 7’: (ina) … uki-ṣil-li-šú KÉŠ “You tie (it) to his ankle”; 5) CT 23, 7, 34–35: ina uzuúr-šú kìn-ṣi-šú uki-ṣal-li-[šú] KÉŠ “You tie (astring of red and white wool) around his thigh, his lower leg and his ankle”; 6) CT 23, 8, 42: ina murub4’ úr uki-ṣal-li KÉŠ “You tie to the waist, thigh and ankle”; 7) CT 23, 12, 49: […] kìn-ṣi-šú uki-ṣal-li-šú KÉŠ-su “You tie to his [ ], his lower leg and his ankle”; 8) STT 273, i18: [ina x-x-šú] uki-ṣal-li-šú KÉŠ-su “You tie to his [x] and his ankle.” OPEN ACCESS JAN TAvERNIER 47 If the left ankle is perforated, you will take your enemy’s treasure” (YOS 10, 47, 65–66); 3) DIŠ i-na ki-ṣa-lim ša [i]-mi-tim e-ṣe-em-tu wa-ta-ar-tum i-ta-ab-ši a-pil LUGAL gišGU-ZA i-ṣa-ba-at DIŠ i-na ki-ṣa-lim š[aš]u-me-lim e-ṣe-em-tu wa-ta-ar-tum i-ta-ab-ši la be-el! gišGU-ZA i-ṣa-ba-at “If asuperfluous bone has grown on the right ankle, the heir of the king will seize the throne. If asuperfluous bone has grown on the left ankle, someone with no claim will seize the throne” (YOS 10, 47, 67–68 = YOS 10, 48, 4–5);23 4) DIŠ SA ki-ṣil 15-šú ZI-ZI-šú DINGIR NU TU[KU-ši] DIŠ SA ki-ṣil GÙB-šú ZI-ZI-šú ap-lum ki-nu TUKU-š[i] “If the vein of his right ankle pulsates, [he will ha] ve no god. If the vein of his left ankle pulsates, he will have alegitimate son” (Kraus 1939 no.22, ii 12’–13’; Böck 2000: 270–271, lines 67–68);24 5) DIŠ ina ki-ṣa-a[l 15-šú …] DIŠ ina ki-ṣa-al 15[0-šú …] DINGIR-šú a-[…] DIŠ ina kiṣa-al 15 u150 GAR x […] NU ŠE-GA […] DIŠ ki-ṣa-al-la-šu DIRImeš me-si-ir N[Á DIB-su] “If it is on the [right] ankle […]. If it is on the le[ft] ankle […], his god […]. If it is on the right and left ankle […], not being heard […]. If his ankles pulsate, he [will have to stay in b]ed” (Kraus 1939 no.36, rev. v4’–9’; Böck 2000, 192–193, lines 143–146); 6) DIŠ i-na ki-ṣal-lu ZAG GAR ina ŠÀ ḪÚL GENmeš DIŠ i-na GÙB GAR ina ŠÀ ḪÚL-LA GENmeš “If it is placed on the right ankle, he will live in sadness. If it is placed on the left ankle, he will live in happiness” (CT 28 27 rev. 28–29 = Kraus 1939 no.70; Dennefeld 1914: 211; Böck 2000: 210–211, lines 97–98); 7) DIŠ ŠE ina ki-ṣal-li-šú lu šá 15 lu šá 150 ki-da-nu GAR AMAŠ DAGAL-iš DIŠ ŠE ina KIMIN qer-bi-nu GAR míKALA-GA DIB-su DIŠ ŠE ina AN-TA-nu ki-ṣal-li-šú lu šá 15 lu šá 150 15 u150 lu IGI lu (ana) EGIR lu 2 lu 3 lu 4 GAR-nu KIMIN “If akittabrumole is placed on his ankle, be it on the outer right side, be it on the outer left side, his livestock will increase. If akittabru-mole is placed on the same, on the inner side, distress will seize him. If kittabru-moles are placed to the right and the left above the ankle, be it the right one, be it the left one, be it to the front, be it to the back, be it two, three or four, the same” (Šumma kittabru 117–119; Böck 2000: 226–227). Furthermore, kiṣallu also appears in three literary texts. In LKA 72, acultic commentary on religious festivals within the cult of Ishtar-Tammuz (Ebeling 1931: 44), line rev. 12 has [e-r]e-nu bir-ka-šu gišŠENNUR ki-ṣil-la-[šu] “His knees are cedar, his ankles aplum-tree.”25 The text is talking about Tammuz (Ebeling 1931: 44–47). In KAR 307, 23 This particular text has: DIŠ i-na ki-ṣa-lum ša šu-me-lim e-ṣe-em-tu wa-ta-ar-tum it-ta-ab-ši la NUMUN-ru gišGU-ZA i-ṣa-ba-at. 24 This text fragment presents anice sequence of parts of the foot. Lines 10–11’ deal with the kabbartu, lines 12–13’ with the ankle (kiṣillu) and lines 14’–15’ with the SIG4 GÌR (libnat šēpi) ‘sole of the foot’ (Labat— Malbran-Labat 1994: 326). In all these situations, the vein of the concerned body part is pulsating. These omens are followed by two others related to the ankle (kiṣillu, but now logographically written). 25 Matsushima (1987: 170) translates ‘apple tree’, whereas AHw 1149 has ‘common medlar’. OPEN ACCESS 48 CHATREŠŠAR 1/2021 another cultic commentary (Frymer-Kensky 1983: 131 & 139), one can read gišḪAŠḪUR ki-ṣal-la-šú “His ankle is an apple” (KAR 307, 3; cf. Ebeling 1931: 31), with Bel being the god referred to. The last literary text, abalbale song, has [ki]-ṣal-la-ki gišḪAŠḪUR “Your ankles are an apple” (Sumer 13 119, rev. 6; van Dijk 1957: 67). Here the text is talking about the ankles of Tašmetu. Interestingly, the comparison of an ankle with plums and apples specifically refer to the malleoli of the ankles (due to their shape), suggesting that nicely formed malleoli were abeauty standard in Mesopotamian eyes. All this also suggests that in these texts kiṣallu refers to the malleoli. The etymology of kiṣallu is not known, though Pardee (1986: 132 n.101) mentions apossible connection with Ugaritic qṣr ‘anklebone’26 and Punic qṣrt, the meaning of which is, however, still subject to debate (cf. Hoftijzer— Jongeling 1995: 1023). Eventually, however, Pardee prefers alink between the Ugaritic and Punic lexemes on the one hand and Akkadian kursinnu on the other hand, because the Ugaritic omen text having this word refers to abody part of an animal and because lines 1–27’ of the 16th tablet of the Šumma izbu series also concern the kursinnu (Pardee 1986: 132). Other authors make the comparison between qṣr and Akk. kiṣru ‘joint’ (Capomacchia 1979: 53; Xella 1981: 203; Dietrich— Loretz 1990: 113; del Olmo Lete— Sanmartín 2003: 717; Id. 2015: 706). In any case, the advantage of aconnection between Ug. qṣr and Akk. kiṣallu or kiṣru is that both words have the same consonantal structure, with ṣ (Pardee 1986: 132 n.101), contrary to kursinnu. Kiṣallu is not the only Akkadian lexeme that might mean ‘ankle’. Another one is kabbartu, which the CAD describes as ‘apart of the foot’ (CAD K: 18–19; cf. Holma 1911: 154). Nevertheless, the same dictionary uses atranslation ‘ankle(?)’ in the examples it cites. Von Soden (AHw 415; also Böck 2000: 211) thinks of abunion (Hallux valgus), aball-shaped protrusion on the big toe, the inspiration for which probably came from the expression muruṣ kabbarti ‘disease of the kabbartu’. However, the latter expression implies that kabbartu is not the affliction itself, but abody part. Accordingly, to assume that kabbartu is apart of the foot, just like kiṣallu, is more plausible. The lexeme kabbartu is not that widespread in the Akkadian textual material. It appears mostly in the expression muruṣ kabbarti ‘illness of the kabbartu’, possibly identifiable with mycetoma (Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 78). The entire first column and almost the entire second column (lines 1–50) of BAM 124 focus on this disease: DIŠ NA GIG ka-bar-tim GIG “If aperson is sick from muruṣ kabbarti” (BAM 124 i; Goltz 1974: 15; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 79–80 nos. 3.241–253; Scurlock 2014: 443–452). Another example of this lexeme in amedical text is DIŠ NA kab-bal-ta-šu GIG SAGDU EME-DIR tur-ár SÚD ana IGI <(GIG)> MARmeš “If aperson, his kabbartu is ‘sick’ (sore), you char and grind the head of alizard. You daub it on the <sore>” (AMT 74, 1, ii 20; BAM 124, ii 47; Scurlock— Andersen 2005: 285 no.13.9; Scurlock 2014: 448 & 452). Yet contrary to kiṣallu, kabbartu is not frequently attested in medical texts, but rather appears in omen texts. Examples are 1) DIŠ ina ka-bar-ti ZAG GAR mim-mu-šu […] DIŠ ina GÙB GAR KIMIN ana IGI-šu [GEN-ak] “If there is (amole) on the right kabbartu, his possessions […]. If 26 Xella (1981: 203) translates ‘malleoli’. OPEN ACCESS