Position in chronology
Sennacherib 022
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), capable shepherd, favorite of the great gods, guardian of truth (i 5) 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: (i 10) 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. (i 15)…
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/Q003496/
Why it matters
Sennacherib's own account of his kingship frames his authority as divinely mandated by Aššur — a template for how Assyrian royal ideology fused military dominance with cosmic and moral legitimacy around 695 BCE.
Transliteration
mdEN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba LUGAL GAL-ú1 / 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 / 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 Q003496.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P370911). 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/Q003496/.
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