Position in chronology
Sennacherib 004
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, 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) On my first campaign, I brought about the…
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/Q003478/
Why it matters
One of Sennacherib's campaign annals, preserving his titulary and the theological claim that Aššur personally granted him unrivalled sovereignty — a template for legitimising Assyrian imperial conquest.
Transliteration
mdEN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba LUGAL GAL-ú LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL kiš-šá-ti 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…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003478.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P370908). 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/Q003478/.
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