Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 257
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) For the god Nergal, mightiest of the gods, most overpowering of the gods, the supreme, perfect, (and) noble sovereign of his brother(s), the one who dwells in (the temple) Ešaḫula, the lord of Sirara, his lord: (3b) Ashurbanipal, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria; son of Esarhaddon, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, (5) king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad; grandson of Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, (who was) also king of Assyria — (7b) In order to ensure his good health, he enlarged the courtyard of (the temple) Ešaḫula with baked bricks from a (ritually) pure kiln and made its processional way shine like daylight.
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/Q008346/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na dU.GUR dan-dan-nu* DINGIR.MEŠ kaš-kaš DINGIR.MEŠ šur-bu-ú gít-ma-la / mut-tal-la e-tel-lu ŠEŠ-šú a-šib é-šà-ḫúl*-la EN si-ra-ra.KI / EN-šú mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ-IBILA MAN GAL MAN dan-nu* MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR aš-šur.KI / DUMU mAN.ŠÁR-ŠEŠ-SUM.NA MAN GAL MAN dan-nu* MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR aš-šur.KI / MAN TIN.TIR.KI MAN KUR šu-me-ri ù URI.KI / DUMU DUMU md30-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-SU MAN GAL MAN dan-nu* MAN ŠÚ / MAN KUR aš-šur.KI-ma ana TIN ZI.MEŠ-šú / i-na a-gur-ru UDUN KÙ*-tim ki-sal-li / é-šà-ḫúl*-la ú-ra-bi-i-ma / tal-lak-ta-šú ki-ma u₄-me ú-nam-mir
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q008346.
Attribution
Image: Based on Grant Frame, Rulers of Babylonia: From the Second Dynasty of Isin to the End of Assyrian Domination (1157-612 BC) (RIMB 2; Toronto, 1995). Digitized, lemmatized, and updated by Alexa Bartelmus, 2015-16, for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation-funded OIMEA Project at the Historisches Seminar - Abteilung Alte Geschichte of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q008346/..
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/Q008346/.
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.