Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 1010
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [... the] scattered [people] of Uruk, who caused to re[turn ...]. (2') At that time, the scattered herds of the goddesses Ištar and [Nanāya (...)], those scared away from their watering place and [having no] caretaker [(...)] I gathered, and 60,000 sheep and goats together with [...], (5′) 6,000 cows together with [their] herdsm[en (...)], a present of my grandfather Sargo[n (II) ...] which he/they had scattered with the herds, I brought back to [their] pla[ces (...)]. (8') The sons of Sāmiku, the sons of [..., the sons of] Bēl-rammēni, the sons of [..., (10′) the sons of] ..., and me,…
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/Q003382/
Why it matters
Esarhaddon claims to have restored 60,000 sheep and goats — sacred herds of Ištar and Nanāya scattered under Sargon II — to Uruk, documenting Assyrian kings' use of temple-livestock restitution as a tool of southern Babylonian legitimation.
Transliteration
[(x)] x [... UN?].⸢MEŠ⸣ UNUG.KI BIR.MEŠ ⸢mu-ter?⸣ [...] / ina u₄-⸢me⸣-šu-⸢ma bu⸣-ul BIR.MEŠ šá d15 u d[na-na-a? (...)] / šá ina maš-qat₆-ši-na gul-lu-ta-ma pa-qí-du [la i-šu-u? (...)] / ú-paḫ-ḫi-ir-ma 60-šu LIM ⸢US₅?⸣.UDU.ḪI.A a-ki-[i ...] / 6 LIM ÁB.⸢GU₄⸣.ḪI.A a-ki-i LÚ.na-⸢qi⸣-da-[ti-ši-na? (...)] / ši-⸢rik-ti⸣ a-bi <a>-bi-ia LUGAL-⸢GIN⸣ [...] / šá it-ti bu-ul is-pu-ḫu ú-ter áš-[ru-uš-šu-un…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003382.
Attribution
Image: VAT 14519 (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany) — from Uruk (mod. Warka) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P414186). 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/Q003382/.
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