Position in chronology
Sargon II 022
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 2(1) O god Nabû, the scribe of all (the universe), who makes opposing forces agree, with regard to Sargon (II), king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, (and) king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, (5) duly look at him with your steadfast heart and direct your just countenance upon him. Grant him a long life (lit.: “distant days”) of physical well-being. Determine as his fate years of happiness. Make his reign last as long (10) as heaven and netherworld. May he continually exercise the shepherdship of all lands. May his foundation be as firm as (this) edifice (lit.: “place”) and (its) platform.
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 2 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Transliteration
dna-bi-um DUB.SAR gim-ri sa-ni-qu / mit-ḫur-ti a-na mLUGAL-GI-NA LUGAL kiš-šá-ti / LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI GÌR.NÍTA KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI LUGAL KUR EME.GI₇ / ù URI.KI ba-nu-ú ku-um-mi-ka1 / i-na ku-un lìb-bi-ka ki-niš IGI.BAR-su-ma2 / bu-ni-ka ša mi-šá-ri šu-ut-ri-ṣa / ṣe-ru-uš-šu šu-ut-lim-šu UD.MEŠ / DÙG.GA UZU.MEŠ ru-qu-ti MU.AN.NA.MEŠ / ḫu-ud lib-bi ši-i-mi ši-ma-tuš / it-ti AN-e ù er-ṣe-tim / šu-ri-ik BALA-šu li-tep-pu-uš / RE.É.UM-tú ša gi-mir / ma-ti-tan it-ti áš-ri ù ki-gal-li3 / li-ku-na tem-me-en-šu4
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sargon II, edited by Grant Frame (RINAP 2, 2021). ORACC text Q006503.
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/Q006503/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.