Position in chronology
Shalmaneser III 107
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Palace of Shalmaneser (III), king [of the world, king of] Assyria, son of Ashurnasirpal (II), king of the world (and) king of Assyria.
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004712/
Why it matters
Royal titulary of Shalmaneser III anchoring his legitimacy in patrilineal descent from Ashurnasirpal II — the standard opening formula through which Assyrian kings projected dynastic continuity in stone and clay.
Transliteration
É.GAL mdsál-ma-nu-MAŠ ⸢MAN⸣ [kiš-ša-ti MAN KUR] AŠ / A AŠ-PAP-A MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR AŠ
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of an Assyrian king, published in the Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online project (RIAo). Translation reproduced from the ORACC edition. ORACC text Q004712.
Attribution
Image: BM 137465 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P428596). source
Translation excerpted from Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004712/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.