Position in chronology
Aššur-dan II 4
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) To the god Aššur, the father of the great gods, his lord: Aššur-dān (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Tiglath-pileser (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Aššur-rēša-iši (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of the god Aššur, [son of Aššur-ra]bi (II), [(who was) also] appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of the god Aššur. (6) [I dedicated (this) for my life] so that my days might be long, [my years be many], (and for) the well-being of my seed [(and) my land].
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/Q006016/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na daš-šur a-bu DINGIR.MEŠ GAL-te ⸢EN⸣-šú / mdaš-šur-KAL-an GAR-an dBAD ŠID daš-šur / DUMU [m]⸢GIŠ⸣.tukul-ti-IBILA-é-šár-ra GAR-⸢an⸣ dBAD ŠID aš-šur / ⸢DUMU aš⸣-šur-SAG-i-ši GAR-an d⸢BAD⸣ ŠID daš-šur / [DUMU daš-šur]-⸢GAL⸣ GAR-an dBAD ŠID daš-šur-[ma] / [ana TI ZI.MEŠ-a] GÍD UD.MEŠ-⸢ia?⸣ / [šúm-ud MU.MEŠ-ia] ⸢SILIM⸣ [NUMUN]-⸢ia⸣ / [(u) KUR-ia (...)] DINGIR x [...]
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 Q006016.
Attribution
Image: Based on A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC I (1114-859 BC) (RIMA 2), Toronto, 1991. Adapted by Jamie Novotny (2015-16) and lemmatized and updated by Nathan Morello (2016-17) for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation-funded OIMEA Project at the Historisches Seminar - Abteilung Alte Geschichte of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/riao/Q006016/..
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/Q006016/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.