Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets
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MaterialClay
Size9.2 cm high, 10.5 wide
WritingAkkadian language in cuneiform script
CreatedNeo-Babylonian period (ca. 595–570 B.C.E.)
| 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 language in cuneiform 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 |
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]
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.