Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 002
Written in modern English
Ashurbanipal identifies himself: great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters of the earth. He was fashioned by Aššur and Mullissu, guided by Ea and Bēlet-ilī, chosen by Sîn, Šamaš, and Adad, beloved of Marduk and Zarpanītu, and called upon by Nabû, Tašmētu, and Nanāya. He is wise, capable, true shepherd, and favorite of the great gods — and the son of Esarhaddon, great king, strong king, king of the world. The inscription breaks off there.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5(i 1) [I, Ashurbanip]al, great king, [strong king, k]ing of the world, king of Assyria, [kin]g of the four qu[art]ers (of the world), [the cr]eation of (the god) Aššur and the goddess Mullissu, the one to whom the god Ea and the goddess Bēlet-ilī have stretched out (their) hands, one who was chosen by the gods Sîn, Šamaš, (and) Adad, beloved of the god Marduk (and) the goddess Zarpanītu, the one required by the deities Nabû, Tašmētu, (and) N[anāya], wise (and) capa[ble], (i 10) true shepherd, favorite of the [great] g[ods]; son of Esarhaddon, [great king], strong king, kin[g of the world,…
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Why it matters
Lists nine deities who legitimise Ashurbanipal's rule, each sponsoring a different royal quality — a snapshot of the theological machinery the Neo-Assyrian court used to underwrite imperial authority.
Transliteration
[a-na-ku mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ]-⸢IBILA⸣ LUGAL GAL / [LUGAL dan-nu] ⸢LUGAL⸣ ŠÚ LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / ⸢LUGAL kib-rat⸣ LÍMMU-tim / ⸢bi⸣-nu-ut AN.⸢ŠÁR u⸣ dNIN.LÍL / ⸢ti⸣-ri-iṣ ŠU.II dé-a u DINGIR.MAḪ / ni-bit d30 dUTU ⸢d⸣IŠKUR / na-ram dAMAR.UTU dzar-pa-⸢ni-tum⸣ / ḫi-ši-iḫ-ti dAG dPAPNUN d⸢na?⸣-[na-a?] / ḫa-as-su le-⸢ʾu⸣-[u] / SIPA ke-e-nu mi-gir ⸢DINGIR⸣.[MEŠ GAL.MEŠ?] / DUMU maš-šur-PAP-SUM.⸢NA⸣ [LUGAL GAL] /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003701.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394094). source
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/Q003701/.
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