Position in chronology
Sargon II 064
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [... (As for) the citizens of (the cities) Sippar], N[ippur, Babylon, and Borsippa who through no fault of their own had been held captive in it (Dūr-Yakīn), I put an end to their imprisonment and let them see the light (of day). (With regard to) their fields, which long ag]o, whi[le the land was in disorder, the Sutians had taken away and appropriated for their own], I stru[ck down (those) Sutians, the people] of the steppe, with the sword. [I (re)assigned to them (the citizens) their territories, (whose boundaries) had been forgotten (and) fallen into disuse during the troubled period…
Source: Frame, G. 2021. The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, King of Assyria (721–705 BC). RINAP 2. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap2/Q006545/
Why it matters
Transliteration
[... DUMU.MEŠ ZIMBIR].⸢KI? NIBRU?⸣.[KI KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI u bár-sipa.KI ša i-na la an-ni-šú-nu i-na qer-bi-šú ka-mu-ú ṣi-bit-ta-šú-nu a-bu-ut-ma ú-kal-lim-šú-nu-ti nu-ru] / [A.ŠÀ.MEŠ-šú-nu ša ul-tu u₄-me ul]-⸢lu⸣-ti i-⸢na⸣ [i-ši-ti ma-a-ti LÚ.su-ti-i e-ki-mu-ú-ma ra-ma-nu-uš-šú-un ú-ter-ru] / [LÚ.su-ti-i ERIM].⸢MEŠ? EDIN i-na GIŠ.TUKUL ú-šam⸣-[qit ki-sur-ri-šú-nu ma-šu-ú-ti ša ina di-li-iḫ KUR…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sargon II, edited by Grant Frame (RINAP 2, 2021). ORACC text Q006545.
Attribution
Image: Created by Grant Frame and the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) Project, 2019. Adapted for RINAP Online by Joshua Jeffers and Jamie Novotny and lemmatized by Giulia Lentini, Nathan Morello, and Jamie Novotny, 2019, for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation-funded OIMEA Project at the Historisches Seminar - Abteilung Alte Geschichte of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0..
Translation excerpted from Frame, G. 2021. The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, King of Assyria (721–705 BC). RINAP 2. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap2/Q006545/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.