Chapter 00 · 1400 – 1077 BCE
Middle Assyrian
Aššur's first imperial expansion.
~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 1004
“(1') [...] previously [built, ...], Aššur-rēša-iši (I) [built (it) i]n its entirety. [...] beams of cedar beam [...]. (7'b) May a future [rule]r re[store] its dilapidated section(s) [...]. The gods Anu (and) Adad [will (then) listen to his] pra[yers].”
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/Q005916/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 1005
In plain English
Only the closing threat of this inscription remains readable. It says, in effect: whoever tampers with my inscription or my name — may the gods curse him furiously with a terrible curse. Everything before this warning, presumably the king's titles and an account of his building work, is lost, and the lines themselves are badly broken, with only scattered words surviving.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(obverse/body — only the final curse formula survives) [...] ... [...] [... (whoever) alters my inscription and] my [na]me [...] [... with a] grievous [curse], angri[ly (...)] [(...)] may (the gods) cur[se him ...]”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 1006
In plain English
What survives here is the opening boast of a royal monument: the king calls himself the strong one, a valiant and heroic prince, the man who forced his enemies to bow at his feet, king of the whole inhabited world. The text then begins to name his father — 'son of Aššur-...' — before breaking off. Everything else, including whatever deed or building project the inscription commemorated, is lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(obverse, fragmentary) [... the stro]ng? [one], valiant prince, foremost ... [...] [who ...] made [bow down at] his [feet], king of all the inhab[ited world ...] [(...)] son of Aššur-[...] (remainder lost)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 11
“(1') [(As for) the temple of the god Aššur, which Ušpia ... had previously built and] (when) it became dilapidated [Erišum (I) ... built (it and when) 159 years had passed and] it had (again) become dilapidated, Šamšī-[Adad (I) ... built (it and) 580 years (passed), then Shalmaneser (I)] built (it), (and) 132 [years (passed), then Aššur]-rēša-iši (I), vice-regent of [(the god) Aššur, built (it) ...]. (6'b) [May] a futur[e rule]r [...]”
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/Q005909/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 12
“(1) [Aššur-rēša-iši (I), vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Mutakk]il-Nusku, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of [Aššur-dān (I), (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur]. (2) (As for) the shrine of (the god) Aššur my lord, which [...] had previously built, had become dilapidated, [...]”
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/Q005910/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 13
“(1) [Aššur-rēša-iši (I)], strong [king], king of the world, king of [Assyria, son of Mutakkil-Nusku, king of the world, king of Assyria, son of] Aššur-dān (I), [(who was) also] king of the world (and) king of [Assyria]. (3) He bu[ilt ...] ... [...].”
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/Q005911/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 14
“(1) [Aššur-rēša]-iši (I), strong king, king of [the world, king of Assyria, son of Mutakkil-Nusku, strong king, king of] the world, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-dān (I), [(who was) also strong king, king of the world (and) king of Assyria, (builder) of the] courtyard of the palace ... [...].”
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/Q005912/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Aššur-reša-iši I 2001
“(1) Monument of Aššur-šumu-aṣbat, the governor of the city Aššur, the chief ... of Aššur-rēša-iši (I) — the king of Assyria — the son of Rēš-Aššur, (who was) also the governor of the city Aššur.”
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/Q005920/
Read the full tablet entry