Esarhaddon 1015

~675 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·Q003387

Translation — scholar edition

RINAP 4

High confidence

(i 1') [...] ... [...] creator of the royal crown [... diviner]s [...] ... the oil expert [...] ... difficult ... [who makes] decision(s), filled with radiance, (i 5′) [...] perfect lambs [that] had [no] black spots. He repeated to me [al]l that was in his heart. He did not impart (it) to the wise diviners, (but rather) he wrote (it) on a tablet, put (it) in an envelope, sealed (it), (and) gave (it) to them. He did not sleep all night until the giver of decisions, the lord of lords, the god Šamaš shone. (i 10′) To obtain (correct) decisions, hands were raised (praying). His favorite son…

Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 4 — scholar edition (ORACC).

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Why it matters

Attests Esarhaddon's direct, sealed communication with Šamaš — bypassing the diviner class — as the theological basis for his royal decisions, revealing how Sargonid kings legitimised authority through personal divine access.

Transliteration

[...] ⸢LÚ⸣.x x x x x (x) / [...] x x x [...] ⸢ba⸣-nu-u a-ge-e MAN-ti (x) / [...] DUMU.MEŠ ⸢LÚ⸣.[ḪAL ...]-lu-lu ABGAL šam-ni / [...] x-šu šup-šu-uq ⸢e⸣-x [KUD]-⸢is⸣ EŠ.BAR ma-li nam-ri-ri / [...] ⸢UDU⸣.SILA₄.MEŠ šuk-lu-lu-⸢ti⸣ [šá la] ⸢i-šu⸣-u ti-rik ṣu-ul-me / [mim]-⸢mu⸣-ú ina lìb-bi-šú ba-šu-⸢ú ú⸣-šá-an-⸢ni-an-ni⸣ / ⸢ul⸣ ú-pat-ti ša DUMU.MEŠ LÚ.⸢ḪAL pal⸣-ka-a ḫa-si-sún / i-na ṭup-pi iš-ṭur…

Scholarly note

Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003387.

Attribution

Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P396332). 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/Q003387/.

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