The
cuneiformqut sign, (also qud, aspirated 't', unaspirated 'd') sign is found in both the 14th century BC
Amarna letters and the
Epic of Gilgamesh. It is a multi-use sign with 9 syllabic/alphabetic uses in the Epic of Gilgamesh; in the Amarna letters it is extremely common in the
prostration formula, typical first paragraph of a letter, saying typically: "7 and 7 times,I bow down" (to the Pharaoh, when addressed to the Pharaoh); a small group of Amarna letters are addressed to a different distinct personage in Egypt, under the Pharaoh.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the sign is used for many syllabic meanings, as well as two
Sumerograms, as follows:[2]
The usage numbers for the sign are as follows in the Epic:[3]has-(2), haṣ-(7), kut-(6), qud-(8), qut-(27), šel-(1), šil-(4), tar-(16), ṭar-(9), SILA-(3), for
Akkadian language "sūqu", 'street',[4]TAR-(17), exclusively for Ištar's name.
The following is Rainey's (1970)
English language, mostly sequential line-by-line translation, and sign characters, up to line 11:[6]
(1) "To the king, my lord, (2) thus (speaks)
Ayyab, (3) your servant: at (4) the feet of my lord (5) seven times (and) seven times (6) I have fallen down. I am the servant (7) of the king, my lord, ("And" omitted) (8) the dust of (i.e. beneath) (9) his two feet. (10) I have obeyed (lit.: heard) the message (11) of the king, my lord, (12) to me from (13) the hand of ...." (
Tahmassi, messenger envoy)
(1) "
a-na šarri(
LUGAL) bēli(
EN)-
ia (2)
um-ma A-ia-
ab (3) arad(ÌR)-
ka a-na! (4) šēpē(GÌR-meš) bēli(EN)-ia (5) 7-šu 7-ta-an (6) am-qut a-na-
ku arad (ÌR) (7) šarri(LUGAL) bēli(EN)-ia ("and", ù (u, 2nd prime) omitted, a large 2-sign combinatorial, (
ši+ku?, see photo)) (8) SAHAR ("dust Sumerogram") /(2nd omitted 1/2 u, "and")
a-
pa-
ru(=eperu, 'dust'(Akkadian)) (9) 2 šēpē(GÌR-meš)-
šu (10) eš(sub 15)(=iš)-
te-mé
ša-par (11) šarri(LUGAL) bēli(EN)-ia (12) a-na ia-ši i-na (13)
qa-
ti1.
A-
tah-
ma-
ia (
Tahmassi) (14) ...."
Lines 7 and 11, have the repetition, "King-Lord-mine" from Line 1 (LUGAL-EN-ia, "Šarri-Bēli-ia" for the Akkadian).
Akkadian maqātu, "to fall", "to happen"
The phrase: ...7 and 7 times, "I bow (down)".... is extremely prominent in the Amarna letters, and especially from the letters from the Canannite
city-states. The Akkadian language word is "maqātu",[7]to fall, to happen, etc., and has various spellings requiring an m, q-(or equivalent (k)), and t. One of the commonest spellings are the two cuneiform signs am-qut.
References
^Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian
Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, maqātu, to fall, to happen, p. 131.
^Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian
Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 012, p. 155.
^Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian
Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 012, p. 155.
^Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian
Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, sūqu, p. 139.
^Rainey, 1970. El Amarna Tablets, 359-379,EA 364, Ayyāb of
Ashtartu to the King, pp. 22-23.
^Rainey, 1970. EA 364, Ayyāb of
Ashtartu to the King, pp. 22-23.
^Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian
Epic of Gilgamesh, Glossary, pp. 119-145, maqātu, to fall, to happen, p. 131.