Position in chronology
Sennacherib 002
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [Sennacherib, great king], strong king, king of Assyria, unrivalled king, pious shepherd who reveres the [great] god[s, guardian of truth who loves justi]ce, renders assistance, goes to the aid of the weak, (and) strives after good [deeds, perfect man, virile warrior], foremost of all rulers, the bridle that controls the insubmissive, (and) the one who strikes [enemies] with lightning: (4) [The god Aššur, the great mountain], granted to me [unrivalled sovereignty] and made [my weapons] greater than (those of) all who sit on (royal) [da]ises. (5) [At the beginning of my kingship], I…
Source: Grayson, A.K. & Novotny, J. 2012–2014. The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC). RINAP 3. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap3/Q003476/
Why it matters
A royal annals inscription of Sennacherib (~695 BCE) that opens with the king's full titulary and theological mandate from Aššur, attesting the standard Neo-Assyrian idiom by which military campaigns were framed as divine commission.
Transliteration
[mdEN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba LUGAL GAL] LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI LUGAL la šá-na-an RE.É.UM mut-nen-nu-ú pa-liḫ DINGIR.[MEŠ GAL.MEŠ] / [na-ṣir kit-ti ra-ʾi-im mi-šá]-⸢ri⸣ e-piš ú-sa-a-ti a-lik tap-pu-ut a-ki-i sa-ḫi-ru dam-[qa-a-ti] / [eṭ-lu gít-ma-lum zi-ka-ru qar-du] a-šá-red kal ma-al-ki ⸢rap⸣-pu la-ʾi-⸢iṭ⸣ la ma-gi-ri mu-⸢šab⸣-ri-⸢qu⸣ [za-ma-a-ni] / [daš-šur KUR-ú GAL-ú LUGAL-ut la…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003476.
Attribution
Image: BM 134458 (+) BM 123412 + BM 134482 + frag. (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P424935). source
Translation excerpted from Grayson, A.K. & Novotny, J. 2012–2014. The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC). RINAP 3. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap3/Q003476/.
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