Jehoiachin's rations tablets date from the 6th century BC and describe the oil rations set aside for a royal captive identified with Jeconiah, king of Judah.[2][3] Tablets from the royal archives of Nebuchadnezzar II, emperor of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, were unearthed in the ruins of Babylon that contain food rations paid to captives and craftsmen who lived in and around the city. On one of the tablets,『Ya’u-kīnu, king of the land of Yahudu』is mentioned along with his five sons listed as royal princes.[4]
| Jehoiachin's Rations Tablet[1] | |
|---|---|
Tablet listing ration for King Jehoiachin and his sons, captives in Babylon
| |
| Material | Clay |
| Size | 9.2 cm high, 10.5 wide |
| Writing | Akkadian languageincuneiform script |
| Created | Neo-Babylonian period (ca. 595–570 B.C.E.) |
| Discovered | within 1899 to 1917, near the Ishtar Gate |
| Present location | Museum of the Ancient Near East, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, room 6 |
| Identification | VAT 16378 |
The tablets were excavated from Babylon during 1899–1917 by Robert Koldewey and were stored in a barrel-vaulted underground building consisting of rows of rooms near the Ishtar Gate.
The tablets' text states:
Babylon 28122: "...t[o] Ia-'-u-kin, king..."
Babylon 28178: "10 (sila of oil) to ...Ia-'-kin, king of Ia[...] 21/2 sila to [...so]ns of the king of Ia-a-hu-du"
Babylon 28186: "10 (sila) to Ia-ku-u-ki-nu, the son of the king of Ia-ku-du, 21/2 sila for the 5 sons of the king of Ia-ku-du"
Another tablet reads:
11/2 sila (oil) for three carpenters from Arvad, 1/2 apiece,
111/2 sila for eight woodworkers from Byblos, . . .
31/2 sila for seven Greek craftsman, 1/2 sila apiece,
1/2 sila to the carpenter, Nabuetir
10 sila to Ia-ku-u-ki-nu, the king of Judah’s son,
21/2 sila for the five sons of the Judean king.
Asila is a Babylonian unit of capacity equivalent to approximately 800 mL (1.7 US pints).[5]
Ya'u-kīnu, king of the land of Yahudu