Position in chronology
Sennacherib 094
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, had the (inner) wall and outer wall of Nineveh built anew and raised as high as mountain(s).
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/Q003568/
Why it matters
Attests Sennacherib's monumental rebuilding of Nineveh's double circuit of walls, the physical infrastructure that transformed the city into the definitive capital of the late Assyrian empire.
Transliteration
md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU MAN GAL-u MAN dan-nu MAN ŠÚ / MAN KUR aš-šur BÀD u šal-ḫu-u ša NINA.KI / eš-šiš ú-še-piš-ma u-zaq-qir ḫur-šá-niš
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003568.
Attribution
Image: BM 090371 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P427984). 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/Q003568/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.