Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 229
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) [I, A]shurbanipal, great king, [strong king, ki]ng of the world, king of Assyria, [king of the] four [quarters (of the world), governor of Baby]lon, (i 5) [king of the land of Sumer and] Akkad; [offspring of Esarh]addon, [king of the world, king of A]ssyria; [descendant of Sennach]erib, [king of the world, king of A]ssyria — (i 10) [...] the god Nergal [...] my [...]s [... From my childhood until] I became an [a]dult [...] me (and) they [gra]nted me [a broad mind (and) (i 15) allo]wed my [m]ind [to l]ea[rn all of the scriba]l arts. They made the mention of [m]y na[me] greater (and) made…
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/Q007637/
Why it matters
Claims Ashurbanipal personally mastered 'all of the scribal arts' — a rare royal self-presentation as literate scholar that underlies his systematic collection of texts at Nineveh.
Transliteration
[a-na-ku m]⸢AN⸣.ŠÁR-DÙ-A LUGAL GAL / [LUGAL dan-nu] ⸢LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL⸣ KUR AN.ŠÁR.KI / [LUGAL kib-rat] LÍMMU-tim / [GÌR.NÍTA KÁ.DINGIR].⸢RA⸣.KI1 / [LUGAL KUR EME.GI₇ u] ⸢URI⸣.KI / [ṣi-it lìb-bi mAN.ŠÁR]-⸢PAP⸣-AŠ / [LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR] ⸢AN⸣.ŠÁR.KI / [ŠÀ.BAL.BAL md30-PAP].⸢MEŠ⸣-SU / [LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR] ⸢AN⸣.ŠÁR.KI / [...] ⸢d⸣U.⸢GUR⸣ / [...].⸢MEŠ-ia⸣ / [ul-tu ṣe-ḫer-ia a-di] ⸢ra⸣-bé-ia /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007637.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394795). 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/Q007637/.
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