Position in chronology
Tiglath-pileser III 28
Translation · reference
High confidenceDuplicate of text no. 15:3–10 (1) all kinds of precious things from the royal treasure, live sheep whose wool is dyed red-purple, flying birds of the sky whose wings are dyed blue-purple, horses, mules, oxen, and sheep and goats, camels, she-camels, together with their young, I recei[ved] (from them). (3) In my ninth palû, (the god) Aššur, my lord, encouraged me and I marched against the lands Bīt-Kapsi, Bīt-Sangi, Bīt-Urzakki, Media (lit. “land of the Medes”), Bīt-Zualzaš, Bīt-Matti, (and) Tupliyaš. I captured, plund[ered], destroyed, devastated, (and) burned with fire the cities Bīt-Ištar,…
Source: Tadmor, H. & Yamada, S. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726–722 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 1. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap1/Q003441/
Why it matters
Transliteration
mim-ma aq-ru ni-ṣir-<ti> LUGAL-ú-ti UDU.NÍTA.MEŠ bal-⸢ṭu⸣-ti ša SÍG.MEŠ-šú-nu ar-ga-man-nu ṣar-pat iṣ-ṣur AN-e mut-tap-ri-šú-ti šá a-gap-pi-šú-nu / a-na ta-kil-te ṣar-pu ANŠE.KUR.RA.MEŠ ANŠE.GÌR.NUN.NA.MEŠ GU₄.NÍTA.MEŠ ù ṣe-e-ni ANŠE.A.AB.BA.MEŠ MUNUS.ANŠE.a-na-qa-a-te a-di ANŠE.ba-ak-ka-ri-ši-⸢na am⸣-[ḫur] / i-na 9 BALA.MEŠ-ia aš-šur be-lí* ú-tak-kil-an-ni-ma a-na KUR.É-kap-si KUR.É-sa-an-gi…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Tiglath-pileser III or Shalmaneser V, edited by Hayim Tadmor & Shigeo Yamada (RINAP 1, 2011). ORACC text Q003441.
Attribution
Image: Created by Hayim Tadmor, Shigeo Yamada, Jamie Novotny, and the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) Project, 2011. Lemmatized by Jamie Novotny, 2010, for the NEH-funded RINAP Project at the University of Pennsylvania. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q003441/..
Translation excerpted from Tadmor, H. & Yamada, S. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726–722 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 1. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap1/Q003441/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.