Position in chronology
SAA 02 014. Esarhaddon’s Treaty Inscription (JCS 39 158)
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) [...] I asked ... Belet-ili, "Why?" ... [...] (i 2) [...]...... exceedingly before [......] (i 3) [... goo]dness with all my strength [......] (i 4) [...] the seven planets of the sky which [...] the oath of the king, (i 5) will curse [...] and not return [to his side]. (i 6) [I obeyed] the divinity of Belet-ili, [trusting] in her holy command. (i 7) At that time, when that treaty was imp[osed] and it was said: "The king my lord has imposed an oath on all [the lands]", Prince Marduk heard it, and turned [his attention to] Assyria to help (it) establish world dominion. (i 11) [He took…
Source: Parpola, S. & Watanabe, K. 1988. Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths. SAA 2. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa02/P336216/
Why it matters
Transliteration
[x x] ⸢d⸣be-lit—DINGIR-ME ⸢eš*⸣-ra-ti mìn-si a-šá-lu šá a-⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x] / [x x] ra ú? tú ⸢x x x-nu⸣-ti dan-niš ma-ḫar [x x x x x x] / [ṭu]-ub-ti ina gi-mir ⸢x⸣ [Á].KAL-a.a šu ⸢x⸣+[x x x x x x x] / [x x]+⸢x⸣ 07 MUL.UDU.IDIM-MEŠ AN-e šá a-na ma-mit ⸢LUGAL⸣ [x x x x x x] / [x x]+⸢x⸣-tú* i-ra-ru-ma la i-tur-[ru Á.2-MEŠ-šú-un] / [x]+⸢x⸣-ši-ti DINGIR-ti be-lit—DINGIR-ME ina a-mat pi-i-šú el-lit…
Scholarly note
Neo-Assyrian treaty or loyalty oath, edited by Simo Parpola & Kazuko Watanabe (SAA 2, 1988). Binding agreement invoking divine sanction. ORACC text P336216.
Attribution
Image: Adapted from Simo Parpola and Kazuko Watanabe, Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths (State Archives of Assyria, 2), 1988. Lemmatised by Mikko Luukko, 2016, as part of the research programme of the Alexander von Humboldt Chair in the Ancient History of the Near and Middle East at LMU Munich (Karen Radner, Humboldt Professorship 2015). The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/saao/P336216/..
Translation excerpted from Parpola, S. & Watanabe, K. 1988. Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths. SAA 2. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa02/P336216/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.