Chapter 00 · 1400 – 1077 BCE

Middle Assyrian

Aššur's first imperial expansion.

~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Aššur-uballiṭ I 7

“(1) Belonging to the palace of Aššur-uballiṭ (I), the overseer.”

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/Q005725/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Eriba-Adad II 1

Preserves the titulary of Erība-Adad II, attesting the full fourfold royal ideology — king of the world, Assyria, and the four quarters — at the dawn of the Middle Assyrian imperial self-conception.

In plain English

Erība-Adad II styles himself king of the world, strong king, king of Assyria, ruler of all four quarters of the earth — the man singled out by the god Aššur, taken by the hand by Ninurta and picked out by the gaze of Enlil. He is the brave warrior who breaks the insubmissive and scatters the enemy's ranks, a mighty pillar of strength. When he attacks in force, the text says, the whole world is thrown into anguish, the mountains themselves convulse in labour, and his fierce enemies — here the text breaks off and the rest is lost.

AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.

“Erība-Adad (II), king of the world, [strong king, king of Assyria], king of all the four quarters, chosen [of the god Aššur, the pure(?) priest], the holy one, the one to whom the god Ninurta has stretched out his hand, [(the king) selected by] the eyes of the god Enlil, valiant young man, [the one who subdues] the insubmissive, the one who scatters [the (enemy) contingents, the arrogant one], the strong gišginû-support(?) which/of ... [...], the fierce ones, at whose [strong] belligerent attack the quarters (of the world) are put in dire distress, [and writhe] the mountains, and the fierce [enemies of his ...] (Here the transliteration breaks off; the tablet continues but is not preserved/supplied.)”

Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · medium confidence

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Eriba-Adad II 2

One of the few surviving inscriptions of Eriba-Adad II, attesting his place in the Tiglath-pileser I dynastic line and the standard titulary — 'king of the world, king of Assyria' — used to legitimise Middle Assyrian royal power.

“(1) [Erība-Adad (II)], king of the world, king of Assyria, son of [Aššur-bēl-kala, king of the world, king of Assyria, son of Tiglath-pileser (I)], (who was) also [king of the universe (and) king of] Assyria, the valiant man [... the encircler of the] insubmissive who defeats [his enemies ..., at whose strong belligerent attack the quarters (of the world)] are in dire [distress, ...] ... [...]”

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/Q005999/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Eriba-Adad II 3

“(1) Monument of Erība-Adad (II), king of the world.”

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/Q006000/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ninurta-apil-Ekur 1

“(1) Ninurta-apil-Ekur, king of the world, [vice-regent of the god Aššu]r, chosen of the gods Enlil and Ninurta, son of Ili-pada.”

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/Q005893/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ninurta-apil-Ekur 2

“(1) Pendant of Ninurta-apil-Ekur, chosen of the gods Enlil and Ninurta, king of the world, king of Assyria. (As for) the one who destroys my inscribed name, [...].”

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/Q005894/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 01

“(1) Shalmaneser (I), appointee of the god Enlil, holy vice-regent of the god Aššur, appointee of the gods, ruler, favorite of the goddess Ištar, the one who keeps rituals and offerings pure, the one who makes abundant the presentation offerings for all of the gods, founder of holy cult centers, builder of Eḫursagkurkurra — the shrine of the gods (and) mountain of the lands — astonishing great dragon, shepherd of all of the settlements, the one whose conduct is abundantly pleasing to (the god) Aššur, valiant hero, capable in battles, crusher of enemies, the one who makes the noise of battle…”

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/Q005789/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 02

“(1) Shalmaneser (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Adad-nārārī (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Arik-dīn-ili, (who was) also appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of the god Aššur; founder of holy cult centers, builder of Ekur — the shrine of the gods (and) the dwelling of the god Nunnamnir. (5b) At that time, (as for) Eḫursagkurkurra, the ancient temple, which Ušpia, my ancestor, the vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, had previously built, (and which when) it became dilapidated, Erišum (I), my ancestor, the…”

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/Q005790/

Read the full tablet entry