[18] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 24 Cases of more than three births at one time are extremely rare. A case of quintuplets in Groningen in the year 1897 is vouched for by Prof. Döderlein of Munich and one was reported in the newspapers recently as occurring in the United States. A case of sextuplets is noted by Vasalli in the Boll. Med. della Svizzera Italiana, 1894, Nos. 3 and 4. This seems to be the highest mark, though Pliny, Hist. Nat. VII 3, on the authority of Trogus records that a woman in Egypt gave birth to seven infants at one time; Lycosthenes, Prodigiorum ac. Ostentorum Chronicon (Basel 1557) p. 284 reports the same number born in the days of Algemundus, King of the Lombards. [19] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 3. [20] E. g. Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 45 (K. 12050); XXVIII Pl. 42, 20. [21] In the same way we have hundreds of _official_ reports of occurences and observed phenomena in the heavens with the interpretations taken from the astrological texts; and we also have a large number of official reports of the same character dealing with the results of the inspection of the liver of a sacrificial animal, killed and inspected at a given time for the purpose of obtaining an answer to a question put. These reports are made in all cases to the rulers, which thus stamps them as official. See copious examples in Jastrow, _Religion_, II 227-271; 275-319 (Liver texts); 458-542; 578-584; 613-616; 639-652; 656-673; 688-692 (Astrological Texts). [22] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 28. [23] The first omen is taken from Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 26, 11; the second from ib. line 10. [24] The omens were always supposed to bear on events of a public import; hence the reports may always be assumed to be addressed to the reigning king, even when this is not expressly stated. [25] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 45. [26] From other sources (cf. Jastrow, _Religion_ II 467, 3) we know that Nergal-eṭir flourished during the reign of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (705-668 B. C.). [27] Cun. Texts XXXVII Pl. 30. [28] The text from which this omen is quoted is found. Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 48, 2-4. [29] See examples in Jastrow, _Religion_ II 227-244 (Sargon and Naram-Sin omens); 333 and 392 (murder of a ruler Urumu); 555, (invasion of Babylonia by Hittites); see also 226, 3; 843, 7 and articles by the writer in Zeitschr. f. Assyr. XXI 277-282 and Revue Sémitique XVII 87-96. [30] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 6; also Boissier, _Documents Assyriens_ 185 (the first publication of this text, the importance of which was recognized by Boissier) and Thompson, _Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon_ (London 1900) Nr. 276. [31] I. e. A child of the harem--not the legitimate heir. [32] Les plus anciennes Dynasties connues de Sumer-Accad. Comptes Rendus de l'Acad. des Inscript. et Belles-Lettres 1911, 606-621.