Back to school: ...or not to go

One mistake could have immense consequences. Just beneath and adjacent to the previous statement is the following:

“The enemy will seize a fortified city.” CT 06, pl. 01-03, Bu 1889-04-26, 238, obverse line 1

If the king (Fig. 1) had asked the gods whether he could take the fortified city or that his enemy will take the fortified city, it was of crucial importance that the inspector could discern these two areas. It would be a disaster if they attributed the abnormality on the liver to the wrong area, and said to the king that the gods have given him permission to attack and take the city, while in fact the enemy would take the fortified city. You can imagine what the king’s reaction would have been if he realized the mistake…

Besides military operations, the king was occupied with other matters, also mentioned on the tablet. Read on to find out more...