6. son of Esarhaddon, king of hosts, king of Assyria,
7. grandson of Sennacherib, king of hosts, king of Assyria,
8. for the life of his souls, length of his days, [and] well-being
of his posterity,
9. to make permanent the foundation of his royal throne, to hear
his supplications,
10. to receive his petitions, to deliver into his hands the rebellious.
11. The wisdom of Ea, the precious priesthood, the leadership,
12. what is composed for the contentment of the heart of the great
gods,
13. I wrote upon tablets, I collated, I revised
14. literally according to all the tablets of the lands of Ashur
and Akkad,
15. and I placed in the Library of E-Zida, the temple of Nebo my lord,
which is in Nineveh.
16. O Nebo, lord of the hosts of heaven and of earth, look upon that
Library joyfully for years (i.e., for ever).
17. Of Ashur-bani-pal, the chief, the worshipper of thy divinity,
daily the reward of the offering--
18. his life decree, so that he may exalt thy great godhead.


The tablets from both Libraries when unbroken vary in size from 15
inches by 8 5/8 inches to 1 inch by 7/8 inch, and they are usually
about 1 inch thick. In shape they are rectangular, the obverse being
flat and tile reverse slightly convex. Contract tablets, letter tablets
and "case" tablets are very much smaller, and resemble small pillows in
shape. The principal subjects dealt with in the tablets are history,
annalistic or summaries, letters, despatches, reports, oracles,
prayers, contracts, deeds of sale of land, produce, cattle, slaves,