Position in chronology
Sargon II 089
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [To] the god Ašš[ur], the great mou[ntain], king of all the Igīgū gods and Anunnakū gods, [...] ... whose command ... rea[ches ...]; the Assyrian Enlil without whom judgment cannot be rendered, ... [...] sanctuaries be altered, (or) decisions be canceled by any other god; the important one who [...] (5) heaven (and) netherworld are constantly put in difficulty, lands and sea(s) tremble; the king of king[s, (...) the one by whom] no [oath (sworn)] is broken and the flood-tide, (who)se limits cannot be transgressed, the fierce deluge, the sickle [sword, ...] who overwhelms all the…
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/Q006570/
Why it matters
Addresses Aššur as 'the Assyrian Enlil' whose judgment is absolute and whose oath cannot be broken — anchoring Sargon II's royal authority directly in cosmic law rather than mere military conquest.
Transliteration
[a-na] da-⸢šur KUR-i⸣ GAL-e LUGAL KIŠ dNUN.GAL u da-nun-na-ki [x x x x x x x x x (x x)] / [x x] ⸢TA?⸣ x x-ti šá mì-lik-šú a-pa-a šu-tuq-qu i-kaš-[ša-du? x x x x x x (x x)]1 / ⸢dEN.LÍL⸣ áš-šu-ru-u ša e-la šá-šú šip-⸢ṭu la⸣ i-gam-ma-ru GIŠ x kit?-riš i?/mu? x [x x x x x x x (x x)] / la uš-ta-en-nu-ú eš-ret EŠ.BAR la uš-tam-sa-ku DINGIR ma-nam-ma kab-tu šá x [x x x x x x (x x)] / AN-ú KI-tum…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sargon II, edited by Grant Frame (RINAP 2, 2021). ORACC text Q006570.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393884). source
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/Q006570/.
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