Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 191
Translation · reference
High confidence(o? 1) [... I know how to fo]rm a battle line (and do) comba[t. ...] I gra[sped] the ... of kingship [...]. Nobles (and) eu[nuch(s)] rejoiced [(and) they heeded the pronouncement(s) from my lips. Before the king, the father who had engendered me, I would intercede on their behalf (and)] I would [an]nul [their] sin(s). (obv.? 5) [... I regularly appo]inted governo[rs ...]. The great gods constantly looked [with pleasure upon my good deeds and, by their exalted command, I gladly sat on the thron]e of the father who had engendered me. (o? 8) [... a]nd they kissed my feet. [...] they placed in my…
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/Q007599/
Why it matters
Attests Ashurbanipal's self-presentation as royal intercessor — annulling the sins of nobles and eunuchs before his father — a rare glimpse of how Sargonid kings framed filial piety as a source of legitimate authority.
Transliteration
[...] ⸢se⸣-de-ru mit-ḫu-ṣu-⸢u⸣-[tú?] / [...] x-ib LUGAL-u-ti a-⸢ḫu?⸣-[uz?] / [...] ⸢i⸣-ri-šú NUN.⸢MEŠ? LÚ.šu⸣-[ut SAG] / [... pu]-⸢us?⸣-su-sa-ku ⸢ḫi⸣-ṭi-[šú-nu] / [... áš]-⸢tak?⸣-ka-na šak-ka-nak-[ki] / [...] ⸢it⸣-tap-la-su DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ / [... GIŠ.AŠ].⸢TI⸣ a-bi ba-ni-ia1 / [...]-⸢ma⸣ ú-na-áš-šá-qu GÌR.II-ia / [... ú]-mal-lu-u ŠU.II-u-a / [...] ir-šu-u sa-li-mu / [...] ⸢ú⸣-šak-lil / [...] x…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007599.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394556). 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/Q007599/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.