Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 217
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [I removed] šē[dus (and) lamassus], as [many protectors o]f the temple [as there were. I ri]pped out the rag[i]ng wild bulls that adorned gate[ways]. I [had the sanctua]ries of the land Elam utterly [destroyed (and)] I counted its [god]s (and) its goddesses as ghos[ts]. (5´) (As for) their secret groves, [into] which no outsider has (ever) gaze[d] (or) set foot within their borders, my battle troops e[ntered] inside them, saw the[i]r secrets, (and) burned (them) with fi[re]. (8') [I destr]oyed (and) demolished [the to]mbs of their earlier and [l]ater kings, (men) who had not revered the…
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/Q007625/
Why it matters
Ashurbanipal's account of sacking Elam (~646 BCE): the deliberate destruction of temples, secret groves, and royal tombs attests the ideological use of sacral desecration as a weapon of imperial subjugation.
Transliteration
[ad-ka-a] ⸢dALAD⸣.[MEŠ dLAMMA.MEŠ EN.NUN.MEŠ šu]-⸢ut É.KUR ma⸣-[la ba-šú-u] / [ú-na]-⸢as⸣-si-ḫa AM.⸢MEŠ⸣ na-ad-⸢ru⸣-ti si-mat ⸢KÁ⸣.[MEŠ-ni] / [eš]-⸢re⸣-e-ti KUR.e-⸢lam⸣-ti a-⸢di⸣ la ba-še-e ⸢ú⸣-[šal-pit] / [DINGIR].⸢MEŠ⸣-šú d15.MEŠ-šú am-na-a a-na za-qí-[qí] / [GIŠ].TIR.MEŠ-šú-nu ⸢pa⸣-az-ra-a-ti šá ⸢mám⸣-ma a-ḫu-u la ú-šar-[ru ina lìb-bi] / ⸢la⸣ i-kab-ba-su i-ta-ši-in ⸢LÚ⸣.ERIM.MEŠ MÈ-ia…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007625.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P395572). 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/Q007625/.
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