Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 038
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [...] submis[sive ...] (5′) ... [...] governor of Babylon, [...] judicious prince, ... [...] reverent king, [...] chosen in the month [...] ... his land [...] (Traces of ca. 13–14 lines) (1'') [...] ... full, thin [...] ... [...] the god Sîn, they were paying constant attention [... the goddess] Ningal (and) the god Nusku, in the midst of the land. (5′′) [...] will establish good things [... what] is required by the great gods [... the god] Nannar [...] set straight; [...] organization of their rites (10′′) [...] goddesses [... he] fixed [...] ... (15′′) [...] divination [...] their ...…
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/Q003267/
Why it matters
Attests Esarhaddon's restoration of Babylonian lunar cult — Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, and Nannar named together — linking Assyrian royal authority to the reorganisation of divine rites after Sennacherib's destruction of Babylon.
Transliteration
[...] ⸢kan⸣-[šú? ...] / [...]-nu x [...] / [...] x (x) [...]1 / [...] x (x) [...] / (traces) [...] / ⸢GÌR⸣.NÍTA KÁ.DINGIR.RA.⸢KI⸣ [...] / ⸢NUN⸣ mun-tal-ku ⸢iḫ⸣-[...] / ⸢LUGAL⸣ šaḫ-tu x [...] / ⸢ina ni⸣-iš IGI.II ina ⸢ITI⸣.[...] / [x (x)]-ši-ir KUR-su [...]2 / [...] x [...]-dan ma-lu raq-qu / [...] (x) x-iš-šu x (x) x-šú / [...] ⸢d⸣30 pu-tuq-qu ba-šá-a GEŠTU.II-šú-un / [... d]⸢nin⸣-gal dnusku…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003267.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394821). 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/Q003267/.
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