Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 189
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [...] of the land Elam [... the lan]d Elam [...] against h[im ...] ... their gate(s) (5) [... deva]stating the settlements [...] against my troops [...] I marched about triumphantly [inside the land El]am [... the as]sembly of his troops [... that I] had conquered, I (now) plundered it. [..., who]m I/they placed on his throne, [...] (and) he took refuge (there). (12) [..., ki]ng of the four quarters (of the world), [(...) the deities ..., Ninurt]a, Nergal, and Nusku [...] his weapons. (15) [... a] profit[le]ss [decision ... the go]ds who support me [...] went [...] did [n]ot escape. (r 1) [...] ... [... for f]uture days. Blank
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/Q007597/
Why it matters
A fragmentary Sargonid royal inscription recording a campaign against Elam — one of several RINAP 5 witnesses that, read together, reconstruct Ashurbanipal's systematic dismantling of Elamite power in the mid-seventh century BCE.
Transliteration
[...] ša KUR.ELAM.MA.⸢KI⸣ / [...] ⸢KUR⸣.ELAM.MA.KI / [...] ⸢a⸣-na EDIN-⸢uš⸣-[šú] / [...] x x KÁ-šú-un / [... ú]-⸢šaḫ?⸣-ra-bu da-ád-me-ni / [... a]-⸢na⸣ EDIN ERIM.ḪI.A-ia / [... qé-reb KUR].⸢ELAM⸣.MA.KI at-tal-la-ku šal-ṭi-iš / [...] ⸢UKKIN⸣ ERIM.ḪI.A-šú / [...] ⸢ak⸣-šu-du áš-lu-la šal-lat-su / [...] ⸢šá?⸣ ú-še-ši-bu ina GIŠ.GU.ZA-šú / [...] ⸢e⸣-ḫu-uz mar-qí-tu / [...] ⸢LUGAL⸣ kib-rat LÍMMU-tim /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007597.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P395566). 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/Q007597/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.