Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 082
Written in modern English
The opening lines are too damaged to read. What survives picks up mid-account: five Elamite kings — Ummanigaš, Ummanppi, Tammarītu, Kudurru, and Parrû, sons of Urtaku and of Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš II) — ruled the land of Elam until they abandoned it, leaving rather than fight. With the support of the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar, the Assyrian king then moved into the interior of Elam. The final line is too broken to read.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5(1') (No translation possible) (4') [...] of Nineveh, [h]is kingsh[ip ... (5´) ... Ummanigaš, Umman]appi, Tammarītu, K[udurru (and) Parrû ... sons of Urt]aku (and) Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš II), the king[s ... the land El]am, who [...] to fight with the weapons of [...] they left and (thus) abandon[ed ... insi]de Elam [... (10´) ... with the suppor]t of (the god) Aššur and the goddess [Ištar ...] (11') (No translation possible)
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Why it matters
Names five Elamite kings — Ummanigaš, Ummanappi, Tammarītu, Kudurru, and Parrû — abandoned their thrones rather than face Assyrian arms, supplying a rare royal-inscription checklist of the dynastic chaos that consumed Elam after 653 BCE.
Transliteration
[...] x (x) [...] / [...] x x x x [...] / [...] x x x x x [...] / [...] x ⸢ša⸣ NINA.⸢KI LUGAL⸣-[us]-⸢su⸣ [...] / [... mum-man-i-gaš mum-man]-⸢ap-pi⸣ mta-am-ma-ri-⸢it⸣-tu m⸢ku⸣-[dúr-ru ...] / [... DUMU.MEŠ mur]-⸢ta⸣-ku mum-man-al-da-a-še ⸢LUGAL⸣.[MEŠ ...] / [... KUR.e]-⸢lam⸣-ti ša a-na mit-ḫu-uṣ ⸢GIŠ.TUKUL.MEŠ⸣ [...] / [...] x ⸢e⸣-zi-bu-ma ú-maš-ši-[ru ...] / [... qé]-⸢reb⸣ KUR.e-⸢lam-ti⸣ [...] / [... ina tukul]-⸢ti⸣ AN.ŠÁR ⸢d⸣[15? ...] / [...] x US x [...] / [...] ḪU x [...] / [...] x (x) [...]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003781.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P396483). 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/Q003781/.
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.