Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 073
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) On [my] fir[st campaign, I marched] to Maka[n] (Egypt) and Melu[ḫḫa (Ethiopia)]. Taharqa, the king of Egyp[t and Kush], (i 5) whose defeat Esarhaddon — king of A[ssyria, the father who had engendered me] — had brought about (and) [whose land he ruled over, forgot] the might of (the god) <Aš>š[ur, the goddess Ištar, and the great gods, my lords, and] trus[ted ...] ... [...] One or two columns completely missing One or two columns completely missing (r i' 1') [(thus) I achieved] vi[ctory. With] full [h]and(s), I returned [safel]y to Nineveh, my capital [city]. (r i' 5') (No translation possible)
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/Q003772/
Why it matters
Chronicles Ashurbanipal's first campaign against Taharqa of Egypt and Kush, picking up directly from Esarhaddon's earlier conquest and documenting Assyria's sustained military pressure on the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty.
Transliteration
ina maḫ-⸢re⸣-[e ger-ri-ia] / a-na KUR.má-⸢kan u KUR.me-luḫ⸣-[ḫa lu al-lik] / mtar-qu-u MAN KUR.mu-⸢ṣur⸣ [u KUR.ku-u-si] / ša mAN.ŠÁR-PAP-AŠ MAN KUR ⸢AN⸣.[ŠÁR.KI AD DÙ-u-a] / BAD₅.BAD₅-šú iš-⸢ku-nu?⸣ [i-be-lu KUR-su]1 / da-na-an <AN>.⸢ŠÁR⸣ [d15 u DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ EN.MEŠ-ia im-ši-ma]2 / ⸢it⸣-ta-[kil ...] / x x [...] / [áš-ta-kan] ⸢li⸣-[i-tu] / [it-ti] ⸢qa⸣-ti ma-li-⸢ti⸣ / [šal]-⸢meš⸣ a-tu-ra a-na NINA.⸢KI⸣ / [URU] EN-ti-ia / [x x] (traces)
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003772.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394844). 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/Q003772/.
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