BABYLONIAN POEM ABOUT ERRA, THE GOD OF DISASTER: THE PROBLEM OF DATING AND IDENTIFYING HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The dating of the Erra Epic and its historical background are still variously interpreted in Assyriology. Analysis of the text as well as further details about history of Babylon can provide some additional support for W. Lambert’s hypothesis, namely: that the poem was written in the first half of the 9 th century BC while its historical background could be the raids of Sutians (Semitic-speaking tribes related to Aramaeans) in the 11 th century BC. A fragment of Simbar-Shipak’s dedicatory inscription (1025-1008) has much in common with both the poem’s content and its phraseology. This fragment of the royal inscription tells about devastating raids of Sutians and refers to the time of Adad-apla-iddina’s reign (1069-1048). This is another support for the W. Lambert’s hypothesis. The dating of the poem is a key to the text’s comprehension. It gives an opportunity to consider the piece of literature as a source of information and to estimate the historical value of the text by correlating certain historical events that are directly or indirectly reflected in it.