Position in chronology
Sennacherib 145
Translation · reference
High confidence(i' 1) [I myself pra]yed [to the deities Aššur, Sîn, Šamaš, Bēl, Nabû, Nergal, Ištar of Nineveh, (and) Ištar of Arbela, the gods wh]o support [me, for victory over (my) strong enemy] and [they immediately heeded my prayers (and) cam]e to my aid. (i' 4) [...] I raged up [like a] ferocious [...], and (then) [put on armor] (and) placed [a helmet suitable for] combat on my head. [In] my [ange]r, I rode quickly [in my exalted battle chariot, which lays enemies low]. I took in my hand [the mighty bow that the god Aššur had granted to me] (and) [I g]rasped in m[y] hand [an arrow that cuts off life].…
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/Q003950/
Why it matters
Attests Sennacherib's invocation of eight named deities before battle, illustrating how Neo-Assyrian royal ideology wove divine sanction into the very grammar of military command.
Transliteration
[dINANNA ša NINA.KI dINANNA ša URU.LÍMMU-DINGIR DINGIR.MEŠ] ⸢ti⸣-ik-li-[ia]1 / [a-na ka-šá-di LÚ.KÚR dan-ni am]-⸢ḫur⸣-šú-nu-ti-ma / [su-pe-e-a ur-ru-ḫi-iš iš-mu-ú il-li]-ku re-ṣu-ti / [...] x šu-zu-zu an-na-an-dir-ma2 / [at-tal-bi-šá si-ri-ia-am ḫu-li-ia-am si-mat] ṣi-il-te a-pi-ra ra-šu-ú-a / [i-na GIŠ.GIGIR MÈ-ia ṣir-ti sa-pi-na-at za-ʾi-i-ri i-na ug-gat lìb]-⸢bi⸣-ia ar-ta-kab ḫa-an-ṭiš /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003950.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P336287). 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/Q003950/.
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