Position in chronology
Sennacherib 016
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), (i 5) capable shepherd, favorite of the great gods, [guar]dian of truth who loves justice, renders assistance, goes to the aid of the weak, (i 10) (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: (i 15) The god Aššur, the great mountain, granted to me unrivalled sovereignty and made my weapons greater than (those of) all who sit on (royal)…
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/Q003490/
Why it matters
Sennacherib's royal titulary in full ceremonial register — 'guardian of truth,' 'virile warrior,' 'bridle of the insubmissive' — shows how Assyrian kings wove divine mandate and martial prowess into a single ideological formula around 695 BCE.
Transliteration
[md]EN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba1 / ⸢LUGAL⸣ GAL-⸢ú⸣ LUGAL dan-nu / ⸢LUGAL⸣ kiš-šá-ti LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / ⸢LUGAL⸣ kib-rat LÍMMU-tim / ⸢RE⸣.É.UM it-pe-šu / ⸢mi⸣-gir 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-lum gít-ma-lum zi-ka-ru qar-du / a-šá-red kal mal-ki / rap-pu la-ʾi-iṭ la ma-gi-ri / mu-šab-ri-qu za-ma-a-ni /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003490.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393946). 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/Q003490/.
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