Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 045
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) [I], Esarhaddon, [knowledgeable], intelligent, expert, cautious, [...] ... who performs the work of [...], foremost one, [who is assiduous towar]ds the shrines [...] ... [...] god(dess) [...] god(dess) [...] (ii 1) (No translation possible) (iii 1') ... [...] to [...] and [...] hand of the god(dess) [...] (iii 5′) purification priests, [...] lamentation priests, ... [...] praise of [his] hero[ism ...] singers with ly[re(s) ...] all of my troops [...] (iii 10′) ... [...] in the quay ... [...] for one league [...] pu[re] sheep [...] morning repast [...] (iii 15′) the god Nabû, son of…
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/Q003274/
Why it matters
Preserves fragments of Esarhaddon's self-presentation as a ritually assiduous king — purification priests, lamentation singers, and cultic offerings at a quayside — illuminating how Assyrian royal ideology fused military and temple-cult legitimacy.
Transliteration
[a-na-ku m]AN.ŠÁR-⸢ŠEŠ-SUM.NA⸣ / [mu-du-u] ḫa-as-su it-pe-šu ⸢pit-qu⸣-du / [...]-⸢šá⸣-ti ⸢e⸣-piš šip-ri ⸢ša⸣ [x (x)] ⸢a?-šá?-red?⸣ / [muš-te-eʾ]-ú eš-⸢re-e-ti⸣ [...] x / [...]-⸢ú-a⸣ [...] / [...] d[...] / [...] ⸢d⸣[...] / iš-ta-[...] / i-na ⸢lìb⸣-[bi ...] / si-kip-[ti ...] / ú-x [...] / at-[...] / mx [...] / a-⸢na⸣ [...] / ⸢ù⸣ [...] / qa-at ⸢d⸣[...] / ⸢LÚ⸣.i-šip-⸢pí⸣ [...] / LÚ.GALA.MEŠ ⸢i⸣-[...]…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003274.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P397334). 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/Q003274/.
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