Position in chronology
Sîn-šarru-iškun 08
Translation · reference
High confidence(i' 1') [conceiv]ed [in] my [heart to (re)buil]d [t]hat [temple] and [want]ed (to carry it out). [According to] its [original pla]n, [on] its [form]er [sit]e, [in a favorable month, (on) an au]spicious [day, according to the craft of the incantation pri]est, [... I fille]d in its [foundat]ion [with limesto]ne and [made (it) as high] as [a mount]ain. [I built (and) complet]ed (it) [from] its [foundation(s) to] its [crenellations. ...] (ii' 1') [I] offered [prime quality prize bulls (and) f]atten[ed fat-t]ai[led sheep] as pu[re] food offe[rings] befo[re] the god Nabû (and) the goddess [Tašmētu, my] lords, and (thus) I lavis[hly provided (for them) [insi]de (that) temp[le. The god Na]bû (and) the goddess Taš[mētu loo]ke[d with pleasure upon my good deed]s [and]
Source: Novotny, J. & Jeffers, J. 2018–. The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 5. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003869/
Why it matters
Transliteration
[ba?-ne?]-e / [É] ⸢šu⸣-a-tú / [ina lìb-bi]-ia / [ib-ba]-⸢ši⸣-ma / [ka-bat-ti] ⸢ub⸣-la / [ina GIŠ].⸢ḪUR⸣-šú / [la-bir-tú ina MAŠ].⸢KÁN⸣-šú / [maḫ-ri]-ti / [ina ITI DÙG.GA u₄-me] ⸢še⸣-me-e / [ina ši-pir ka-kù-gal-lu]-te*? (over erasure) / [...] KA / [ina NA₄.pi-i]-li / [tem-me]-⸢en⸣-ši / [uš-mal]-⸢li?⸣-ma / [ú-zaq-qir ḫur]-⸢šá⸣-niš / [ul-tu UŠ₈]-šú / [a-di gaba-dib-bi]-šú / [ar-ṣip ú-šak]-⸢lil⸣ /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003869.
Attribution
Image: Created by Jamie Novotny and Joshua Jeffers, 2015-22. Lemmatized by Jamie Novotny, 2018, 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/rinap/Q003869/..
Translation excerpted from Novotny, J. & Jeffers, J. 2018–. The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 5. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003869/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.