Position in chronology
Sennacherib 003
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of Assyria, unrivalled king, pious shepherd who reveres the great gods, guardian of truth who loves justice, 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) daises. (5) At the beginning of my kingship, I brought about the defeat…
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/Q003477/
Why it matters
One of Sennacherib's earliest royal inscriptions, this text records his accession-era military campaigns and the full titulary — pious shepherd, guardian of truth, virile warrior — through which Assyrian kings performed legitimate sovereignty before god and subject alike.
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.MEŠ1 / 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 šá-na-an ú-šat-li-ma-an-ni-ma…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003477.
Attribution
Image: BM 123428 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P422509). 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/Q003477/.
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