Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 179
Translation · reference
High confidence(o? 1') [(When) Tammarītu’s men f]led [from the thick of battle and told him about the defeat of his troops, he fled (and)] took the r[oad to the Sealand. After him, Indabib]i, his servant, s[at on his throne]. (o? 4') [The boat of Tammarītu, the king of the land] Elam, [his] brothers, [his family, the seed of his father’s house, (and) the nobles who marc]h at his side, which the sed[iment, mud, and swamp h]eld firm (so that) [it did] n[ot have (a way)] to sai[l on: Fro]m that boat, K[i... c]arried Tamma[rītu behind him]. He had (him) trav[erse ...] the hardship(s) of the [difficult] terr[ain…
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/Q007587/
Why it matters
Records Tammarītu's flight through the Sealand marshes after military defeat and his rival Indabibi's seizure of the Elamite throne — Assyrian royal testimony to the dynastic fractures that left Elam vulnerable to Ashurbanipal's campaigns.
Transliteration
[TA MURUB₄ tam-ḫa-ri in]-⸢nab-tú⸣-[nim-ma BAD₅.BAD₅ ERIM.ḪI.A-šú]1 / [iq-bu-šú-ma in-nab-ta] ⸢iṣ⸣-ba-ta ⸢ú⸣-[ru-uḫ KUR tam-tim] / [EGIR-šú min-da-bi]-⸢bi⸣ ARAD-su ⸢ú⸣-[šib ina GIŠ.GU.ZA-šú] / [GIŠ.MÁ mtam-ma-ri-tú MAN KUR].ELAM.MA.KI ŠEŠ.⸢MEŠ⸣-[šú qin-ni-šú] / [NUMUN É AD-šú NUN.MEŠ a]-⸢lik⸣ Á.II-šú ša ši-[ik-nu] / [ṭe-ru u ru-šum-tú] ⸢iṣ⸣-ba-tú ni-qí-⸢il⸣-[pa-a] / ⸢la?⸣ [ti-šú-u ul-tu qé]-⸢reb…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007587.
Attribution
Image: BM 123400 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P422481). 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/Q007587/.
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