Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 017
Translation · reference
High confidence(i' 1') [Fea]r of my royal majesty — [with which] the gods [Aššur], Bēl (Marduk), and Nabû [had endowed me — overwhelmed] the land Elam [and (then) the peopl]e of the land Elam [reb]elled again[st Indabibi] and [killed him with the sword. They placed Um]manaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III), son of Att[a-metu, on his (Indabibi’s) throne]. (i' 6') [At] that [tim]e, Duku, where destiny is d[etermined, the sea]t of the god Lugaldimmera[nki, ...] the exa[lted] gods [...] fates [...]
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/Q003716/
Why it matters
Records Elamite court violence — the killing of Indabibi and enthronement of Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III — framed as divinely ordained Assyrian dominance, linking Sargonid royal ideology directly to datable Elamite dynastic upheaval c. 655 BCE.
Transliteration
[pu-luḫ]-⸢ti LUGAL-ú-ti-ia⸣ [šá ú-za-ʾi-nu-in-ni] / [AN.ŠÁR] dEN u dAG KUR.ELAM.⸢MA⸣.[KI is-ḫu-up-ma]1 / [UN].⸢MEŠ⸣ KUR.ELAM.MA.KI ṣe-e-⸢er?⸣ [min-da-bi-bi] / [ib]-⸢bal⸣-ki-tu-ma ⸢i?⸣-[na-ru-uš i-na GIŠ.TUKUL.MEŠ] / [mum]-man-al-ta-áš DUMU mat-⸢ta⸣-[me-tu ú-še-ši-bu ina GIŠ.GU.ZA-šú] / [ina u₄]-⸢me⸣-šú DU₆.KÙ ⸢KI⸣.NAM.⸢TAR⸣.[TAR.(RE).E.NE] / [šu]-⸢bat⸣ dlugal-dìm-me-er-⸢an⸣-[ki ...] / [...] x ⸢DINGIR⸣.MEŠ ⸢ṣi-ir?⸣-[...] / [...] ⸢NAM.MEŠ⸣ [...]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003716.
Attribution
Image: BM 127994 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P237493). 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/Q003716/.
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