Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 051
Translation · reference
High confidence(iii 1) (No translation possible) (iv 1) [the great gods were truly created in Ešarra, the temple of their progenitor], and they grew beautiful in figure. I sumptuously adorned the[ir] features [with red ṣāriru-gold, the creation of Mount Arallu (and) an ore from] its mountain. [I adorned] their necks [and cover]ed their chests [with magnificent ornaments (and) precious jewelry, (iv 5) all that the great lord, the god Marduk, had in mind (and) that the queen, the goddess] Zarpanītu, [wa]nted. They fashioned [images of their great divinity more] artfully [than before (and) greatly adorned…
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/Q003280/
Why it matters
Esarhaddon records refurbishing divine statues in Ešarra with Arallu gold and jewels approved by Marduk and Zarpanītu — concrete evidence of how Assyrian kings staged ritual renewal of cult images to legitimise royal piety.
Transliteration
x [...]1 / x [...] / x [...] / x [...] / ⸢uš⸣-[...] / šá ⸢ú?⸣-[...] / ⸢ina?⸣ [...] / ⸢e-ši⸣-[...] / ⸢ša⸣ [...] / 2 a-bu-x [...] / 2 x [...] / NA₄.x [...] / x [...] / [DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ qé-reb é-šár-ra É za-ri-šú-nu ke-niš im-ma-al-du]-⸢ma⸣ iš-⸢mu⸣-ḫu ⸢gat⸣-tu (erasure?) / [ina ṣa-ri-ri ru-uš-še-e nab-nit a-ra-al-li e-per] ⸢KUR⸣-i-šú ú-šar-ri-ḫa ⸢nab-nit-su⸣-[un] / [ti-iq-ni MAḪ.MEŠ šu-kut-tu…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003280.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P395744). 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/Q003280/.
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