Position in chronology
Tiglath-pileser III 51
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [Palace of Tiglath-pil]eser (III), great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters (of the world); [valiant man who, with the hel]p of (the god) Aššur, his lord, smashed like pots all who were unsubmissive to him, swept over (them) like the Deluge, (and) considered (them) as (mere) ghosts; [the king who] marched about [at the command of the gods Aššur], Šamaš, and Marduk, the great gods, and exercised authority over lands from the Bitter Sea of Bīt-Yakīn, as far as Mount Bikni in the east, [up to the Sea of…
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/Q003464/
Why it matters
Claims dominion from the Persian Gulf to Mount Damāvand, mapping the farthest eastern reach Tiglath-pileser III asserted over the Neo-Assyrian empire at its mid-8th-century territorial peak.
Transliteration
[É.GAL mtukul-ti-A]-⸢é⸣-šár-ra LUGAL GAL-u LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL KIŠ LUGAL KUR aš-šur LUGAL KÁ.DINGIR.KI LUGAL KUR šu-me-ri u URI.KI LUGAL kib-rat LÍMMU-ti1 / [GURUŠ qar-du ša ina tu-kul]-⸢ti⸣ aš-šur EN-šú kul-lat la ma-gi-ri-šu GIM ḫaṣ-bat-ti ú-daq-qi-qu a-bu-biš is-pu-nu-ma zi-qi-qiš im-nu-u / [LUGAL šá ina zi-kir aš-šur d]⸢šá⸣-maš u dAMAR.UTU DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ DU.MEŠ-ma ul-tu ÍD.mar-ra-ti ša…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Tiglath-pileser III or Shalmaneser V, edited by Hayim Tadmor & Shigeo Yamada (RINAP 1, 2011). ORACC text Q003464.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Kalhu (mod. Nimrud) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P424463). source
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/Q003464/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.