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Records of the Past, 2nd Series, Vol. III

By A. H. Sayce

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Letter from Aziru to his Father Dûdu

1. To Dûdu my lord, my father,
2. thus (speak I) Aziru thy servant;
3. at the feet of my lord I prostrate myself.

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4. Khatib has gone
5. and has answered (?) the words
6. of the king my lord publicly and well,
7. and I have rejoiced exceedingly;
8. and my country and my brothers,
9. the servants of the king my lord
10. and the servants of Dûdu my lord,
11. have rejoiced exceedingly.
12. Behold, there has gone
13. the prince 2 of the king my lord
14. unto me. From the commands
15. of my lord, my god, my Sun-god,
16. and from the commands of Dûdu
17. my lord, I do not free myself.

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18. Now, O my lord, Khatib
19. remains with me.
20. I and he 3 will go (together).
21. O my lord, the king of the land of the Hittites

22. has marched into the country of Nukhasse
23. but has not prevailed over the cities.
24. May the king of the land of the Hittites quit (them)!
25. Therefore now have (we) marched,
26. (even) I and Khatib.

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27. May the king my lord listen to
28. my words. O my lord, I am afraid
29. of the king my lord
30. and of Dûdu.
31. And now my gods
32. and my messengers also are the men
33. of Dûdu and the nobles
34. of the king my lord, and I march.

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35. And thus (speak) Dûdu
36. and the king my lord and the nobles:
37. If ever we publish anything
38. about Aziru which is not right
39. (let it be) before my gods and before my god, 1
40. and now I
41. and Khatib (are) servant(s) of the king before (him)

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42. O Dûdu, verily thou knowest (?),
43. behold, I go to thee.

Footnotes
69:1 Winckler and Abel, Mittheilungen, ii. p. 45.

69:2 Sarru, which must not be interpreted "servant" here, but "prince," like the Heb. sar. In correct Assyrian sarru is "king," malku (melech) "prince," but the writer of the letter follows the Canaanitish usage.

69:3 Sûtu, a curious derivative from sû "he," like yati "myself."

70:1 In place of the anacoluthon we may translate, "(it is) against my gods and against my god." In another letter of Aziru (No. 39), we read, "A second time (I say) to Dûdu my lord; hear the words of the kings of Nukhasse (which) they have spoken against me."