Position in chronology
Aššur-bel-kala 08
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [A]ššur-bēl-kala, great king, king of [the world, ..., king of] all four quarters (of the world), loved one of (the god) Aššur, [... son of Tiglath]-pileser (I), [..., son of Aššur]-rēša-īši (I) [...]. (7) [By the command of] the gods Aššur, Anu [...] (r 1') (Too broken for translation) (r 4') [...] Ulūlu (VI), fifth day, eponymy [of ...].
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q005989/
Translation · AI engine
read from photoAshur-bel-kala, great king, king of the universe, [king of Aššur …], [king] of all the four quarters, the beloved of Aššur …[…], […] … his […] …[…], […] … […] great […], [son of Tiglath-pileser] […], [son of Aššur]-nāṣir-apli […], [by the command of] Aššur (and) Anu […], […] … […], […] …[…], […] as much as the heart … […], […] month of Elul, 5th day, eponym [year of …]
6 uncertain terms ↓
- na-mad aš-šur — Tentatively 'beloved of Aššur'; na-mad could be nā'id ('exalted/praising') or nā'du ('cherished'); reading uncertain due to damage.
- [DUMU mGIŠ.tukul-ti]-IBILA-é-šar-ra — Restored as 'son of Tiglath-pileser [I]' (Tukultī-apil-Ešarra); the beginning of the sign group is broken and the restoration follows standard Ashur-bel-kala titulary in RIMA 2.
- [DUMU ma-šur]-SAG-i-ši — Restored as 'son of Aššur-nāṣir-apli [I]'; partially broken; Aššur-rēša-iši is another possibility but genealogical context supports Aššur-nāṣir-apli I.
- [i-na si-qir?] d[aš?]-šur? a-nu? — Tentatively 'by the command of Aššur (and) Anu'; si-qir ('command/word') is a formulaic element in Assyrian royal inscriptions; both divine names are heavily restored.
- am-mar lìb-be — 'As much as the heart desires' or 'to the full extent of (my) heart's desire'; a stock phrase in Assyrian royal building/votive inscriptions; partially preserved.
- ITI.KIN UD.5.KÁM li-[mu ...] — Month Elul (sixth month), 5th day, eponym year; the limmu name is broken and cannot be restored from the available text alone.
Reasoning ↓
Visual examination of the photograph (BM 122628, accession 1930-5-8, 17): the obverse (top image) shows roughly 8–9 lines of cuneiform wedges impressed in reddish-brown clay. The surface is heavily eroded and chipped, especially along the lower left and lower edges, creating substantial lacunae. The upper two lines are the most legible: one can tentatively discern sign clusters consistent with a royal name and LUGAL-sequences in lines 1–2, broadly agreeing with the transliteration. Lines 3–7 are progressively more damaged and the individual wedges are very indistinct at this resolution. The reverse (third image) shows only a few faint impressions in the upper register and scattered traces lower down, consistent with the transliteration's later, sparser lines. The left and right edge fragments (flanking the obverse) show diagonal wedge impressions but are too narrow and eroded to read independently. The transliteration identifies this as a royal inscription of Ashur-bel-kala (Aššur-bēl-kala), son of Tiglath-pileser I and grandson of Aššur-nāṣir-apli I, consistent with the titulary 'king of the four quarters' (šar kibrāt erbetti) standard for this king; see RIMA 2 A.0.89 texts. The month ITI.KIN (Elul) and the limmu eponym date formula in the final line are characteristic of Assyrian administrative and commemorative practice. Several lines remain irrecoverable from both photo and transliteration.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-11/v3-conventions · May 11, 2026 · 3264 in / 1116 out tokens
Why it matters
Attests Aššur-bēl-kala's titulature and genealogy — anchoring his reign within the Tiglath-pileser I dynasty — though heavy damage leaves his specific deeds and the presiding eponym unrecoverable.
Transliteration
[mdaš]-⸢šur⸣-EN-ka-la ⸢LUGAL GAL LUGAL⸣ [KIŠ ...] / [LUGAL] ⸢kúl⸣-lat kib-rat 4-i na-mad aš-šur x [...] / [...] x [...]-⸢ni⸣-šu gi-x [...] / [...] x ⸢tu?⸣ ik gal [...] / [DUMU mGIŠ.tukul-ti]-⸢IBILA⸣-é-šar-ra [...] / [DUMU ma-šur]-SAG-⸢i-ši⸣ [...] / [i-na si-qir?] ⸢d?⸣[aš?]-⸢šur?⸣ a-⸢nu?⸣ [...] / [...] x [...] / [...] x-mi-ra [...] / [...] ⸢am⸣-mar lìb-be x [...] / [...] ITI.KIN UD.5.KÁM ⸢li⸣-[mu ...]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of an Assyrian king, published in the Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online project (RIAo). Translation reproduced from the ORACC edition. ORACC text Q005989.
Attribution
Image: BM 122628 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P422412). source
Translation excerpted from Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q005989/.
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