The translation of -ḫi in the list of sheep donors from Bastam in Iran National Museum Collection

Urartians ruled over the regions around the three lakes Van, Urmia and Sevan for about three centuries from ca. 900 to 600 B.C. Urartian inscriptions have been discovered in Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan), and northern Iraq. Studies of the Urartian language demonstrate its relationship to the Hurrian language. Different suffixes were used in the Urartian language to determine the role of words, including -ḫi, the meaning of which is difficult to reconstruct. Some functions of -ḫi are connected to patronyms, affiliation adjectives, along with the names of cities and countries, and the genitive form. Melikišvili, Salvini, and Wilhelm first identified this suffix in the Urartian language. Of course, there are more suffixes in the Urartian language to show the affiliation and genitive form. A damaged and broken tablet discovered at Bastam, Iran, and currently in the National Museum of Iran, carries an inscription that contains the names of persons offering sheep. On this tablet, -ḫi is written following the word “one”. It is a challenging form as -ḫi has not been discovered written in this method before. The remaining of the inscription with four damaged lines is written in the Urartian cuneiform. This article discusses the different roles of -ḫi and proposes a translation of “of” for this inscription. This suffix is usually attached to a name and this inscription is the first example of -ḫi being attached to a numeral.