Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 207
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [...] ... [... de]scendant of Sennac[herib, k]ing of [Assyria; descendant of Sargo]n (II), king of [Assyria] — after the g[reat] gods [commanded] me [to ex]ercise rul[ers]h[ip] wit[h ...] (and) entrus[ted me with] the governing of the lands (and) the subjugating of enemies, kings of the east and west came and kissed [my feet]. (6') Taharqa, without (the consent of) the gods, made a serious attempt to take away Egypt for [...]. He scorned the [m]ight of (the god) Aššur, my lord, and trusted in [his] own strength. The harsh [d]eeds that the father who had engendered me had performed…
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/Q007615/
Why it matters
Preserves Ashurbanipal's justification for the Assyrian campaigns into Egypt, framing Taharqa's seizure of the Nile Delta as impious defiance of Aššur — a rare royal-inscription account of the 660s BCE Assyro-Egyptian conflict.
Transliteration
[x x] x x [...] / ⸢ŠÀ⸣.BAL.BAL md30-⸢PAP⸣.[MEŠ-SU] ⸢LUGAL⸣ KUR [aš-šur.KI ŠÀ.BAL.BAL mLUGAL-GI].⸢NA⸣ MAN KUR [aš-šur.KI] / ul-tu DINGIR.MEŠ ⸢GAL⸣.[MEŠ e?]-peš ⸢mal⸣-[ku]-⸢ú?⸣-[ti iq-bu-u?]-⸢in⸣-ni ⸢ina?⸣ [...]1 / KUR.KUR a-na šá-pa-⸢ri na⸣-ki-⸢ri a⸣-na kun-nu-ši ú-mal-⸢lu⸣-[ú ŠU.II-u-a] / LUGAL.MEŠ ⸢ṣi-it⸣ dUTU-ši u e-reb ⸢d⸣UTU-ši il-lik-ú-nim-ma ⸢ú⸣-na-áš-ši-⸢qu⸣ [GÌR.II-ia] / mtar-qu-ú ba-lu…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007615.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393800). 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/Q007615/.
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