Summa izbu

"Summa izbu" is the ancient name for a set of ancient Mesopotamian omen writings based on teratology (the study of monstrous births). Generally most of the omens relate to the success of the region's king. These texts were written on clay tablets in the Akkadian language in cuneiform script.

The general format of these texts was a protasis-apodosis (if this, then that) format. The name "summa izbu" translates literally to "if an anomaly"; this reflects a tendency of ancient writers to refer to texts by the content of their first line.

Many copies were created by scribes throughout the ancient Near East at the peak of Mesopotamia's influence. In the ancient city of Ugarit in the Levant, a text with similar content in Ugaritic script and language has been discovered; it is known as the "Ugaritic summa izbu" because of its similarity to the original widely copied Akkadian text.

ee also

* Babylonian literature and science
* http://www.geocities.com/astrologyomens/omensbirths.htm