Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 016
Written in modern English
That same year, Urtaku's life came to an end and he died. Bēl-iqīša, a Gambulian who had thrown off allegiance to Ashurbanipal, died from a mouse bite. Someone else — the text is too damaged here to read clearly — suffered from dropsy, described as 'full water.' Urtaku's kingship was overthrown, his dynasty stripped away, and a different ruler was installed over Elam. After that, Teumman, described as the very image of a gallû-demon, took Urtaku's throne and immediately began looking for ways to kill Urtaku's children.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5(i' 1') [In that y]ea[r, his (Urtaku’s) life came to an end (and) he passed away]. (i' 2') [(As for) Bēl-iqī]ša, a Gambul[ian who had cast off the yoke of my lordship], he l[aid down (his) life through the bit]e of a mouse. (i' 3'b) [... suffered from dro]psy, (that is) “fu[ll] water.” [...] (i' 5') They overthrew his [kingshi]p (and) [took away his dynasty]. Th[ey] made [somebody else] as[sume domin]ion over the land Elam. (i' 7') [Afterwards], Teumman, the (very) image of a gallû-demon, sat on the [throne of Urtaku. He constantly sou]ght out ev[i]l (ways) [to] kill the children of Urtaku…
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Why it matters
Chronicles the chaotic succession crisis in Elam after Urtaku's death — rival claimants dying of mouse-bite and dropsy before the demon-like Teumman seized the throne — framing Assyrian intervention as cosmic necessity.
Transliteration
[ina MU].AN.⸢NA⸣-[šú na-piš-ta-šú iq-ti il-lik nam-mu-ši-šú] / [mEN-BA]-šá KUR.gam-bu-⸢la⸣-[a-a šá iṣ-lu-u GIŠ.ŠUDUN EN-ti-ia] / [ina ni]-⸢šik⸣ PÉŠ ⸢iš⸣-[ta-kan na-piš-tú ...] / [iš-ši a-ga]-nu?-ti?-la? me?-e? ⸢ma?⸣-[lu-u-ti ...] / [LUGAL]-⸢us⸣-su iš-ki-pu [BALA-šú e-ki-mu] / [be]-⸢lut?⸣ KUR.ELAM.⸢MA⸣.KI ú-šal-[qu-u šá-nam-ma] / [ar-ka] m?te-um-man ḫi-ri-iṣ GAL₅.LÁ ú?-šib? ina ⸢GIŠ?⸣.[GU.ZA…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003715.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P451782). 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/Q003715/.
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