Position in chronology
Sennacherib 074
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria: (With regard to) the white limestone that had been discovered by the will of the gods in the territory of the city Balāṭāya for the construction of my palace, I had the soldiers of enemy settlements and insubmissive troops of the mountains whom I had captured wield iron axes and picks [and] they quarried large bull colossi for the gates of my palace.
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/Q003548/
Why it matters
Transliteration
md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR aš-šur NA₄.pi-i-lu pe-ṣu-⸢ú⸣ / ša ki-i ṭè-em DINGIR-ma a-na šip-ri É.GAL-ia ina er-ṣe-⸢et⸣ / URU.ba-la-ṭa-a-a in-nam-ru ba-ḫu-la-ti da-ád-⸢me⸣ / na-ki-ri ù ERIM.MEŠ ⸢ḫur⸣-šá-a-ni la kan-šu-ti KUR-ti ⸢ŠU.II-ia⸣ / qul-me-e ù ak-kul-la-ti AN.BAR ú-⸢šá-áš-ši-šú-nu⸣-ti-[ma] / dALAD.dLAMMA.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ a-na KÁ.MEŠ É.GAL-ia ⸢ib-tu-qu⸣
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003548.
Attribution
Image: Created by A. Kirk Grayson, Jamie Novotny, and the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) Project, 2014. Lemmatized by Jamie Novotny, 2013. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q003548/..
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/Q003548/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.