Position in chronology
Tiglath-pileser III 41
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [I destroyed the cities Sarrabānu] (and) Dūr-[Balīḫāya, their large cities, (making them) like a mound of ruins. I brought all of their people t]o Assyria. (2'b) [I entered Babylon (and) offered pure sacrifices before the god Marduk, my lord]. (3') [I exercised authority over] Karduniaš (Babylonia), [...], (and) firmly established [tribute (and) pay]ment [on the chieftains of Chaldea]. (4'b) I annex[ed] to Assyria the lands Bīt-Ḫam[ban], Sumurzu, [Bīt-Barrūa (Bīt-Barrû)], Bīt-Zualzaš, (and) Bīt-Matti, [the city Niqqu of] the land [Tup]liy[aš], the lands Bīt-Taranzāya, Parsua, (and)…
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/Q003454/
Why it matters
Transliteration
⸢URU⸣.BÀD-⸢d⸣[KASKAL.KUR-a-a URU.MEŠ-šú-nu GAL.MEŠ GIM DU₆ ú-ab-bit pu-ḫur UN.MEŠ-šú-nu]1 / [a]-na KUR aš-šur [ú-ra-a a-na KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI KU₄-ub UDU.SISKUR.MEŠ KÙ.MEŠ a-na pa-an dAMAR.UTU EN-ia aq-qi] / [KUR].kár-dun-ia-⸢áš⸣ [a-bél ... UGU LÚ.ra-aʾ-sa-a-ni šá KUR.kal-di GUN]2 / [ma]-da-⸢at-tú⸣ ú-kin KUR.É-⸢ḫa-am⸣-[ban KUR].⸢su-mur-zu⸣ [KUR.É-ba-ar-ru-a] / [KUR].É-zu-al-za-áš [KUR].É-⸢ma-at-ti⸣…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Tiglath-pileser III or Shalmaneser V, edited by Hayim Tadmor & Shigeo Yamada (RINAP 1, 2011). ORACC text Q003454.
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/Q003454/..
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/Q003454/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.