Position in chronology
Sennacherib 157
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) You [will write] as follows upon the small seal-shaped pearl that [...]: (3) Palace of Sennacherib, king of As[syria]: I had a stone that I carri[ed here from the city] Gala[...] I was having (it) inc[ised in] my [presence]. (6) Whoev[er] era[ses my inscribed name (or) places] (it) in the servi[ce of a god] or (another) pe[rson, may the deities Aš]šur, Sîn, (and) Šamaš [make] his name (and) his seed [disappear]. (r 1) Palace of Sennacherib, ki[ng of Assyria]: I had a stone that I carried here from the city Gala[...] I was having (it) inc[ised] in my presence. (r 4) Whoever e[rases] my…
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/Q003962/
Why it matters
Prescribes the curse formula to be engraved on a small bead-seal, invoking Aššur, Sîn, and Šamaš against anyone who erases Sennacherib's name — direct evidence that Assyrian royal identity was stamped onto personal ornaments, not only monumental stone.
Transliteration
ina UGU NA₄.KIŠIB qàl NA₄ GIŠGAL ša [...] / ki-i an-ni-i ta-[šaṭ-ṭar?] / ⸢KUR⸣ md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU ⸢LUGAL⸣ KUR aš-[šur.KI] / ⸢NA₄ ša⸣ [TA ŠÀ URU].ga-⸢la⸣-[x-(x)] / ⸢áš⸣-šá-[an-ni ina IGI]-⸢ia⸣ ú-šap-[ṭar] / ⸢man-nu⸣ [ša MU šaṭ-ru] i-pa-[(áš)-ši-ṭu] / ⸢a-na⸣ dul-⸢li⸣ [šá DINGIR] ù ⸢LÚ⸣-[ti DÙ-šú] / [daš]-šur d30 dUTU ⸢MU⸣-šú NUMUN-šú [lu-ḫal-li-qu] / ⸢É⸣.GAL md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU ⸢LUGAL⸣ [KUR aš-šur.KI] /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003962.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P426163). 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/Q003962/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.