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Arslan Tash amulets

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Talisman excavated in Syria
Arslan Tash amulet

The Arslan Tash amulets are Assyrian talismans found at Arslan Tash (Turkish: Arslan Taş, literally "Lion Stone") in northwest Syria, the site of ancient Hadatu. They are to be distinguished from larger finds such as the Arslan Tash reliefs. The inscriptions on the tablets are known as KAI 27.

Discovery

In 1933, Robert du Mesnil du Buisson purchased from a peasant two inscribed limestone plaques "Arslan Tash 1" ("AT1") and the smaller "Arslan Tash 2" ("AT2") which are now in the Museum of Aleppo. His drawings and photographs of AT1 were published in 1939. Count du Mesnil du Buisson made gypsum casts of the tablets, though these are now lost.

Description

Since the small rectangular plaque had a hole in one end it was identified as an amulet. On the obverse is a lamassu (a winged lion with a human head, a talismanic figure) standing over a she-wolf with a scorpion's tail (a demonic figure) devouring a male or female figure. On the reverse is a marching god with late-Assyrian headgear carrying an axe instead of the expected lightning bolt.

The limestone plaque "AT1" includes incantations meant to deter demons from entering the household, and then appeals to such deities as Assur, Baal, Horon, and to Heaven and Earth.

Nevertheless, rather than 'Assur', some scholars interpret the inscription as referring to the female deity Asherah.

"Although other scholars like T. Caster (1942) proposed reading the first god-name as Asur rather than Asherah, Cross and Saley (1970:46) support the "Asherah" reading..."

Mesnil du Buisson and Caquot published AT2 in 1971. It shows a male demon, "m-z-h". It measures 53 by 33 mm. and contains short inscriptions on both sides that are written in the same language and script as the first amulet.

The two tablets were dated to the 7th century BC and they call upon the sons of Im to protect the amulet wearers from the male stragglers (Lamassu) and the female fliers (Lilith).

Translations

Working from du Mesnil du Buisson's photographs, and in some cases casts, the text on the plaque "AT1" was translated from the Phoenician by Dupont-Sommer (1939), Albright (1939), Gaster (1942) (1947) Torczyner (1947), Cross and Saley (1970), Texidor (1971), Caquot (1973), and Röllig (1974).

The text includes a broken word lly- which with the addition of -t could possibly be analogous to the Hebrew Lilith, or ll wyn "night and day".

AT1

Per Sperling.

(1) LḤŠT Lʿ(P)Tʾ ʾLT Incantation against the Fl(ye)rs: Conjuration of
(2) SSM BN PDR Sasom, son of Pidar,
(3) Šʾ ʾLT Pronounce the conjuration,
(4) WLḤNQT ʾ- and to the Stranglers, s-
(5) -MR BT ʾBʾ -ay, "(The) house I enter,
(6) BL TBʾN "you shall not enter.
(7) WḤṢR ʾDRK "The court I tread,
(8) BL TDRKN K- "you shall not tread.
(9) -RT LN ʾLT "Eternal covenants were made for us
(10) ʿLM ʾŠR KRT "Aššur made them with
(11) LN WKL BN ʾLM "u, as did every divinity
(12) WRB DR KL QDŠN "and great one, (the) council of all o holy ones.
(13) BʾLT ŠMM WʾRṢ ʿ- "By the conjuration of (the) Heavens and the Earth, for-
(14) -(D) ʿLM BʾLT BʿL "-ever, by the conjuration of Baal,
(15) (ZB)L ʾRṢ, BʾL(T) "(princ)e of the Earth, by the conjurat(ion)
(16) (ʾ)ŠT ḤWRN ʾŠ TM PY "of Hauron's (w)ife, whose Word is true,
(17) WŠBʿ ṢRTY WŠM- "and her seven rivals too, and the ei-
(18) -NH ʾŠT BʿL Q(D)Š "-ght wi of Ho(l)y Baal!"

Though Sperling ends his transcription at line 18, Häberl notes that the AT1 inscription continued for several more lines, which he transcribed as:

(19) LʿPTʾ BḤDR ḤŠK "To the Fliers in the dark chamber,
(20) ʾBR PʿM PʿM LL Z "pass by immediately this night!
(21) ...(B)BTY ḤṢ(T) HLK "...(in) his house, destro(yer), go!
(22) M(Nʿ)T LPY "I have de(nied access) to the opening of
(23) PTḤ- "this doorway of h-
(24) -Y Wʾ- "-is, and lig-
(25) -WR L- "-ht to the
(26) -MZZT YṢʾ ŠMŠ "doorpost. The Sun is rising;
(27) (K)SSM "(like) a moth,
(28) ḤLP WLD(R) "vanish, and forever
(29) ʿP "fly!"

AT2

Per Belnap:

(1) LḤŠT LMZH BʿL Incantation against the Splatterers: Baal
(2) ʾŠR MRKBTY WRBʿN harnessed his chariot, and "Great Eye"
(3) ʾTY ʾLŠYY (Y)Ṣ with him, ʾL ŠYY (we)nt out,
(4) (K)ʾŠ BŠDH WGLʿN (like) fire in the field, and "Round Eye" was
(5) BŠDH ʾY ʾL- in the field. Where is ʾL
(6) -ŠYY QRŠ ŠYY, (the) devourer/crusher?
(7) NʿLT MNʿL I bolted the bolt!
(8) BRḤ ʿYN Flee, Eye!
(9) BDD BRʾŠ MGMR Retreat from the head of the accomplisher of
(10) BNT BRʾŠ ḤLM KY understanding, from the head of the dreamer! For
(11) HLMT ʿN BTM ʿNY YT- whenever I strike the eye, in the destruction of the eye, destro-
(12) -M ʿ(YN) NM -yed are the two e(yes).
(13) MNTY KMGLT My incantations correspond to the scroll.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the amulets AT1 and AT2 has been questioned, particularly by J. Teixidor and P. Amiet (1983), who examined the originals in the National Museum of Aleppo. However Jacobus van Dijk (1992) defends the tablets as genuine. Dennis Pardee (1998) leaves the matter open to question.

See also

References

  1. Syria 75–76 Edmond Pottier, René Dussaud, Gaston Migeon – 1998 "En tout cas, ce paysan les a vendus "pour un faible prix" au Comte du Mesnil du Buisson lors de sa visite du site"
  2. Robert du Mesnil du Boisson, "Une tablette magique de la région du moyen Euphrate", in Mélanges syriens offerts a monsieur René Dussaud par ses amis et ses élèves 1, Paris, 1939, 421–34
  3. Letter from Prof. Caquot to van Dijk, dated 13 October 1989
  4. Brown, W. (2019, February 26). Arslan Tash Amulet. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Arslan_Tash_Amulet/
  5. Willett, E.A.R. 1999. Women and household shrines in ancient Israel. PhD dissertation, University of Arizona, p. 354
  6. Willett, E.A.R. 1999. Women and household shrines in ancient Israel. PhD dissertation, University of Arizona, p. 367
  7. López-Ruiz, Carolina (4 January 2022). Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean. Harvard University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-674-26995-8.
  8. Verheyden, Joseph (21 November 2012). The Figure of Solomon in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Tradition: King, Sage and Architect. BRILL. p. 116. ISBN 978-90-04-24232-6.
  9. A. Dupont-Sommer: "L'Inscription de l'amulette d'Arslan Tash" in RHR, Paris, 1939,
  10. BASOR 1939
  11. T. H. Gaster: "A Canaanitic Magical Text" in OR, Rome, 1942, Vol. XI, p. 41ff 4.
  12. Gaster "The Magical Inscription from Arslan Tash," JNES 6 (1947), pp. 186–188;
  13. H. Torczyner, "A Hebrew Incantation Against Night Demons from Biblical Times," JNES 6 (1947) on JSTOR
  14. Frank Moore Cross, Jr. and Richard J. Saley, "Phoenician Incantations on a Plaque of the Seventh Century b.c. from Arslan Tash in Upper Syria", BASOR 197 (1970), 42–9.
  15. J. Teixidor, Syria 48 (1971), 472–4.
  16. A. Caquot, "Observations sur la Premiere Tablette Magique d'Arslan Tash", JANES 5 (1973), 45–51.
  17. W. Röllig: "Die Amulette von Arslan Tash" in Neue Ephemeris für Semitische Epigraphik. Wiesbaden, 1974
  18. Manfred Hutter, Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religiosität 2004
  19. Guy Bunnens,J. D. Hawkins,I. Leirens A new Luwian stele and the cult of the storm-god at Til Barsib-Masuwari
  20. SPERLING, S. DAVID. “An Arslan Tash Incantation: Interpretations and Implications.” Hebrew Union College Annual, vol. 53, 1982, pp. 1–10. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23507623. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
  21. Häberl, Charles. "Arslan Taş Amulet No. 1 (AT1)." (2013) DOI 10.17613/a8je-cs13
  22. Hardy, H.H.; Lam, J.; Reymond, E.D. (2022). 'Like 'Ilu Are You Wise': Studies in Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures in Honor of Dennis G. Pardee. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization. Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-1-61491-076-3. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  23. J. Texidor, 'Les tablettes d'Arslan Tash au Musee d'Alep', Aula Orientalis 1(1983), pp. 105–8 (106).
  24. P. Amiet, 'Observations sur les "Tabletter Magiques" d'Arslan Tash', Aula Orientalis 1(1983), p. 109
  25. van Dijk pdf
  26. Oscar White Muscarella The lie became great: the forgery of ancient Near Eastern cultures 2000 Page 181 "In their most recent publication by J. van Dijk, "The Authenticity of the Arslan Tash Amulets," Iraq, LIV, 1992: pp. 65–68, they are claimed as authentic"
  27. D. Pardee, Les documents d' Arslan Tash : authentiques ou faux?, Syria 75 (1998) pp. 15–54
  28. Judit M. Blair De-demonising the Old Testament 2009 Page 27 "On a seventh or eighth century BCE limestone plaque, discovered at Arslan Tash, Syria, we have an incantation to expel child-killing demons ... Torczyner argues that the incantation is directed against the demons of darkness in general"
  29. Yitsḥaḳ Avishur Phoenician inscriptions and the Bible: select inscriptions 2000

Literature

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