Ilya Yakubovich

Citatio: Valerii Ivanov and Ilya Yakubovich (Hrsg.), hethiter.net/: CTH 765.9.A (INTR 2025-08-01)


CTH 765.9.A

Two Hittite conjurations with Luwian foreign words

introductio



Short description

Both conjurations aim at protecting a “human child”. The first conjuration lists evil creatures that are burned and then extinguished. The second one lists horrible things that the evil-doer must see and experience.

Texts

Manuscript AKUB 35.145Bo 3226Ḫattuša

History of publication

The text was published in transliteration in Starke F. 1985a: 230–232 as a pregnancy spell. The second conjuration is also published with comments in Beckman G. 1983b: 194–199.

Tablet characteristics

This is a one-column tablet judging by its preserved width. The right edge is partially preserved. The double paragraph line separates the two conjurations on the reverse of the tablet.

Palaeography and handwriting

New Script

Linguistic characteristics

The conjurations on both the obverse and reverse feature several Luwian foreign words.

Text transmission

The tablet was found in Ḫattuša, its precise find spot is unknown.

Intertextuality

The second conjuration finds a very close parallel in the text attributed to Pittei (KUB 44.4+ rev.). Moreover, the spells of the second conjuration referring to seeing terrible things can be compared with the parallel Luwian spells in CTH 766.2.1.

General information

The first conjuration of the collection tablet is directed at the ḫuišti-demons, while the second one mentions a human perpetrator who attends to bewitch the human child. There is a theoretical possibility that the colophon at the beginning of the reverse belongs to jet another conjuration, but this hypothesis cannot be proven.

Overview of contents

Section 1ID=1Spells mentioning the evil spirits burning
Section 2ID=2Different types of fuel are introduced
Section 3ID=3Spells for extinguishing different types of fuel
Section 4ID=4Spells for extinguishing evil spirits and divine attributes
Section 5ID=5Colophon
Section 6ID=6Extended curses against an evil human being wishing to harm a child
Section 7ID=7Colophon
Editio ultima: 2025-08-01