Position in chronology
Sennacherib 015
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) [Sennacherib], great king, [strong king, king of the world], king of Assyria, [king of the] four [quar]ters (of the world), capable [shepherd, (i 5) favorite of the] great [gods, guardian of truth] who loves justice, [renders] assistance, [goes to the aid of] the weak, (and) [strives after good deeds], (i 10) perfect man, vi[rile warrior], foremost of all [rulers], the bridle that controls the insub[missive], (and) the one who strikes enem[ies] with lightning: (i 14) The god Aššur, the great mountain, granted to me unrival[led] sovereignty [and] made [my] weapons greater than (those of)…
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/Q003489/
Why it matters
Sennacherib's own account of his sovereignty, framed as a divine mandate from Aššur — the titulary language of 'guardian of truth' and 'aid to the weak' maps the ideological vocabulary by which Assyrian kings legitimised conquest as cosmic order.
Transliteration
[mdEN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba] LUGAL GAL-ú / [LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL kiš-šá-ti] LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI1 / [LUGAL kib]-⸢rat⸣ LÍMMU-ti2 / [RE.É.UM] it-pe-šú / [mi-gir DINGIR].⸢MEŠ⸣ GAL.MEŠ / [na-ṣir kit-ti] ⸢ra⸣-ʾi-im mi-šá-ri / [e-piš] ú-sa-a-te / [a-lik tap-pu-ut] a-⸢ki-i⸣ / [sa-ḫi-ru dam-qa-a-ti] / eṭ-lum gít-ma-lum ⸢zi⸣-[ka-ru qar-du] / a-šá-red ⸢kal⸣ [mal-ki] / rap-pu la-ʾi-iṭ la ⸢ma⸣-[gi-ri] /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003489.
Attribution
Image: OIM A35257 (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P392594). 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/Q003489/.
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