Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 087
Written in modern English
Tammarītu, described as even more arrogant than Ummanigaš, seized the throne of Elam and, just like his predecessor, took bribes from Šamaš-šuma-ukīn and ignored Ashurbanipal's royal dignity — then marched to support Šamaš-šuma-ukīn, Ashurbanipal's treacherous brother, against Ashurbanipal's own forces. The inscription then mentions prayers Ashurbanipal had directed to the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar, but the line breaks off before any outcome is recorded. Everything that follows is lost: one column is almost certainly missing entirely, a second column may also be gone, and the remainder of the passage is blank or destroyed beyond recovery.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5Completely missing (ii 1) Tammarītu, who [was] (even) more [insolent than Ummanigaš, sat on the throne of the land Elam]. (ii 2) Just like him (Ummanigaš), he (Tammarītu) accepted bribes fro[m the hands of Šamaš-šuma-ukīn, did not enquire about the well-being of my royal majesty, (and) went] to the aid of Šamaš-šu[ma-ukīn, (my) unfaithful brother, (ii 5) to figh]t [with my] troops. [As a result of the supplications that I had addressed to (the god) Aššur and the goddess Ištar], (ii 6) (No translation possible) One column possibly completely missing One column possibly completely missing Blank Completely missing
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Why it matters
Charges the Elamite king Tammarītu with accepting bribes from the rebel Šamaš-šuma-ukīn: direct Assyrian royal testimony on the diplomacy that nearly split the empire in the 650s BCE.
Transliteration
mtam-ma-ri-tu ⸢šá⸣ e-⸢li⸣ [mum-man-i-gaš ek-ṣu ú-šib ina GIŠ.GU.ZA KUR.ELAM.MA.KI]1 / ki-ma šá-a-šu-ma ul-⸢tu⸣ [ŠU.II mdGIŠ.NU₁₁-MU-GI.NA] / ṭa-ʾa-a-tu im-ḫur [ul iš-al šu-lum LUGAL-ti-ia] / ⸢a-na⸣ kit-ri mdGIŠ.NU₁₁-⸢MU⸣-[GI.NA ŠEŠ la ke-e-nu il-lik-am-ma] / [a-na mit-ḫu]-⸢ṣi⸣ ERIM.ḪI.A-[ia ina su-up-pe-e ša AN.ŠÁR u d15] / [...] (x) x [...] / [...] (traces) [...] / [...] (traces) [...] / [...] (traces) [...] / [...] (traces) [...] / [...] (traces) [...]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003786.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P398860). 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/Q003786/.
Related tablets
Related sources
One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
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.