Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 013
Written in modern English
Ashurbanipal identifies himself: great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters — shaped by the hands of the god Aššur and the goddess Mullissu, chosen by Sîn, Šamaš, and Adad, beloved of Marduk and Zarpanītu, and favored by Nabû and Tašmētu. He calls himself a pious prince, a capable governor, a true shepherd over a widespread population, one who prays without ceasing. The inscription then describes him as someone who exalts the praises of Aššur, Mullissu, and Bēl for everlasting days — but the text breaks off there.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5(i 1) I, Ashurbanipal, great king, [strong king], king of the world, king of Assyria, king of [the four quarters (of the world)], creation of the hands of (the god) Aššur (and) the goddess Mullissu; one who was chose[n by the gods Sîn, Šamaš, (and) Adad]; beloved of the god Marduk (and) the goddess Z[arpanītu]; (i 5) favorite of the god Nabû (and) [the goddess Ta]šmēt[u]; pious prince, [ca]pable govern[or], true shepherd, leade[r of a] widespre[ad population], one who prays piously [without ceas]ing; who (i 10) extols for [everlas]ting days the praise(s) of the gods Aššur, Mull[issu, Bēl…
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Why it matters
Preserves Ashurbanipal's own account of his divine mandate, naming seven patron deities across Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons — evidence of deliberate theological synthesis at the height of Sargonid imperial ideology.
Transliteration
a-na-ku mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ-IBILA LUGAL GAL [LUGAL dan-nu] / LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR AN.ŠÁR.KI LUGAL [kib-rat LÍMMU-tim] / bi-nu-ut ŠU.II AN.ŠÁR dNIN.LÍL ni-⸢bit⸣ [d30 dUTU dIŠKUR]1 / na-ram dAMAR.UTU d⸢zar⸣-[pa-ni-tum] / mi-gir dAG [d]⸢taš⸣-me-⸢tum⸣ / NUN na-aʾ-du GÌR.⸢NÍTA⸣ [it]-pe-⸢šu⸣ / LÚ.SIPA ki-i-nu mut-tar-ru-[u UN.MEŠ] ⸢DAGAL.MEŠ⸣ / mut-⸢nen⸣-nu-ú [la mu-up?]-⸢par?-ku-u?⸣ / ša ta-nit-ti AN.ŠÁR…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003712.
Attribution
Image: VAT 17108 (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany) — from Bābili (mod. Babylon) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P347208). 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/Q003712/.
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