Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 002
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) The palace of Esarhaddon, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, (i 5) son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, descendant of Sargon (II), king of Assyria, the king who with the help of the gods Aššur, Sîn, Šamaš, Nabû, Marduk, Ištar of Nineveh, (and) Ištar of Arbela, (i 10) the great gods, his lords, marched from the rising sun to the setting sun and had no equal (therein); (i 14) the one who conquered the city Sidon, which is in the midst of the sea, (i 15) (and) the one who leveled all of its dwellings — I tore out its…
Source: Leichty, E. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC). RINAP 4. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap4/Q003231/
Why it matters
Esarhaddon's own account of razing Sidon — a coastal Phoenician power — ca. 677 BCE, documenting Assyrian westward expansion and the king's claim to rule 'from the rising sun to the setting sun.'
Transliteration
É.GAL mdaš-šur-ŠEŠ-SUM.NA / LUGAL GAL-ú LUGAL dan-nu / LUGAL kiš-šá-ti LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / GÌR.NÍTA KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI LUGAL KUR EME.GI₇ u URI.KI / DUMU md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / DUMU mLUGAL-GI.NA LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / LUGAL šá ina tu-kul-ti da-šur / d30 dUTU dAG dAMAR.UTU / d15 šá NINA.KI d15 šá LÍMMU-DINGIR.KI / DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ EN.MEŠ-šú / ul-tu ṣi-it dUTU-ši / a-di e-reb dUTU-ši…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003231.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P398714). source
Translation excerpted from Leichty, E. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC). RINAP 4. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap4/Q003231/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.