Position in chronology
Aššur-reša-iši I 02
About this tablet
A foundation-deposit inscription of Aššur-reša-iši I, king of Assyria around 1132–1115 BCE, written on a clay prism buried inside the fabric of a wall at Nineveh — found, as the excavator's label on the reverse confirms, wedged between bricks and a stone course. The text follows the rigid formula of Middle Assyrian royal building inscriptions: the king first declares his divine titles and lineage (grandson of Aššur-dān I), then turns to describe the building work, here focusing on the great gate of Ištar's temple courtyard, a gate flanked by lion-figures and illuminated by a ceremonial torch or lamp-stand. The surviving fragment breaks off just as the king is about to describe what he actually built or restored, which is typical of this fragmentary tradition. It is one of the very few preserved records of this short-reigning king.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Aššur-reša-iši — viceroy of Bel, priest of Aššur, appointed by Anu, Bel, and Ea (the great gods) to rule Assyria justly and serve as their priest — powerful king, king of the world, king of Assyria: son of Mutakkil-Nusku, priest of Aššur; grandson of Aššur-dān, also priest of Aššur. He undertook work on the great gate of Ištar's temple in Nineveh — his lady's temple — the lion-flanked gate opening onto the main courtyard, lit by a great torch, standing on the plaza that Aššur-dān had originally built. What he did there, and any further account of the restoration, is lost: the clay fragment breaks off at that point.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engineAššur-reša-iši, appointee of [Bel], priest of Aššur — whom Anu, [Bel], and [Ea], the great gods, called to govern Assyria, his lord, justly, and named as his priest — strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, son of Mutakkil-Nusku, priest of Aššur; son of Aššur-dān, priest of Aššur — when the shining [torch/lamp] of the great gate, at whose front [stands] a lion, [opening onto] the great courtyard of the temple of Ištar of Nineveh, my lady, [that gate standing] in the plaza which, in the time of Aššur-dān, had been built … [text of this fragment breaks off]
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Engine notes
read from photo6 uncertain terms ↓
- šá-ak-ni dAB ŠID — šākin Nabû šangû — 'appointee of Nabû, priest (of Aššur)'; šākin can also be rendered 'governor' or 'steward' but in priestly/royal context 'appointee' is conventional.
- na-mé-ru šá KÁ GAL-te — nāmeru ša bāb rabīte — 'bright (feature/doorway) of the great gate'; nāmeru literally 'bright/luminous thing' — possibly a specific architectural element (lintel, façade panel, or threshold); exact referent debated.
- SAG UR.MAḪ — rēš nēši — 'head of the lion'; likely a lion-colossal or lion-threshold architectural feature flanking the gate; could refer to a specific topographic or cultic marker.
- KISAL.MAḪ — kisal rabû — 'great courtyard'; reading confirmed by standard Neo-Assyrian temple terminology, but the sign group is partially abraded in the transliteration (brackets on KISAL).
- i-na ri-be — ina rebīti — 'in the street / street-quarter / open plaza'; rebītu can mean the broad street, square, or quarter of a city depending on context.
- mu-tàk-kil-dnusku — Mutakkil-Nusku — father of Aššur-reša-iši I; the name means 'trusting in (the god) Nusku'; spelling with tàk confirms the Assyrian phonological form.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a curved ceramic or fired-clay fragment (British Museum reg. 122684, excavated 1930, found between bricks and a stone course at the NW wall). The inscribed face (top view) carries a single curved band of cuneiform running along the lower rim of what appears to be a circular clay disc or cone. Wedge impressions are visible but the resolution and curvature of the object make individual sign verification difficult beyond confirming the presence of multiple groups of wedge-clusters consistent with Akkadian royal titulary. The back bears a modern excavation note in English. Layer 2 relies on the provided transliteration: the text is a standard Neo-Assyrian royal building inscription formula for Aššur-reša-iši I (c. 1133–1116 BCE), naming his priestly titles, divine patrons (Anu, Enlil, Ea), his genealogy through Mutakkil-Nusku and Aššur-dān I, and contextualizing a construction or restoration at the Ištar temple of Nineveh. The titulary 'šar māt Aššur' is rendered 'king of the land of Aššur' and 'šar kiššati' as 'king of the universe' per convention. The text breaks off at the building description, consistent with the fragmentary state of the object. Cross-check: the curved inscription band on the obverse photo is consistent with a single line (or compressed multi-line) inscription on a clay cone or disc foundation object, matching the abbreviated nature of the transliteration; individual signs cannot be verified at this resolution.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-11/v3-conventions · May 11, 2026 · 3299 in / 1081 out tokens
Why it matters
Records Aššur-rēša-iši I's construction at the Ištar temple in Nineveh, situating this reign within the architectural patronage that defined Middle Assyrian kingship's claim to divine favour from Anu, Enlil, and Ea.
Transliteration
maš-šur-SAG-i-ši šá-ak-ni dAB ŠID aš-šur šá ⸢d⸣a-nu dBAD u dDIŠ DINGIR.MEŠ ⸢GAL.MEŠ⸣ / ana šu-te-šur KUR aš-šur EN-su ib-bu-⸢ú (u⸣) ŠÙD ⸢SANGA⸣-su MAN KALA MAN KIŠ MAN KUR aš-šur / A mu-tàk-kil-dnusku ŠID aš-šur A aš-šur-dan ŠID aš-šur-ma e-nu-ma na-mé-ru šá KÁ GAL-te / šá SAG UR.MAḪ šá ki⸢KISAL⸣.MAḪ šá É [d]⸢iš₈⸣-tár šá URU.⸢NINA NIN⸣-ia / i-na ri-be šá i-⸢na⸣ tar-ṣi maš-šur-dan ba-nu-⸢ú⸣…
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 Q005900.
Attribution
Image: BM 122684 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P422457). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware).
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