Chapter 06 · 1600 – 1155 BCE
Middle Babylonian
The Kassite kings, international diplomacy.
~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 1
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili, strong king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī and grandson of Aššur-uballiṭ I, built a new temple to the god Šamaš so that the harvests of his land would flourish. The site he chose had once been Šamaš's sacred high place, where the decisions of the land were handed down, but it had fallen into ruin — a mound of dirt surrounded by squatters' makeshift shrines that ordinary people had moved into and occupied. Arik-dīn-ili tore all of that down and laid the foundations of the new temple. The inscription breaks off there.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Arik-dīn-ili, strong king, king of Assyria, the one who built the temple of the god Šamaš — the exalted shrine — for posterity, son of Enlil-nārārī, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-uballiṭ (I), (who was) also king of Assyria. (14) When I planned to build that temple so that the harvest of my land might prosper, at the sanctuary of the god Šamaš, the high place where the decisions of the land had been previously made, but now it was becoming a mound of dirt and around it the “shrines” of the people, which they had taken and settled in, I destroyed (that sanctuary). I laid its foundation(s)…”
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/Q005730/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 2
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili identifies himself as legitimate ruler, strong king, king of Assyria, and builder of the temple of Šamaš — the exalted shrine. He then delivers a curse: any ruler who erases his name or removes this inscription will face the wrath of Šamaš, who will overthrow that ruler's kingship and bring famine upon his land.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Arik-dīn-ili, legitimate ruler, strong king, king of Assyria, builder of the temple of the god Šamaš — the exalted shrine. (5) (As for) whoever erases my inscribed name or removes my inscription, may the god Šamaš, my lord, overthrow his kingship and afflict his land with famine.”
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/Q005731/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 3
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili, vice-regent of Aššur, names his father Enlil-nārārī and his grandfather Aššur-uballiṭ I, both likewise vice-regents of Aššur. The inscription records building work carried out for his own life and the well-being of his city, describing construction from the foundations up to the crenellations, though several lines are too damaged to read. The text breaks off at a clause about what should be done when the structure falls into disrepair and old age — the rest is lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) [Arik-dīn-ili, vice-regent of the god Aššur], son of [En]lil-[nārārī, vice-regent of] the god Aššur, [son of] Aššur-[uballiṭ (I)], (who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur. (7) [For his life and the well]-being of his city: [...] ... [... from] its [foundations to] its [crenellations]. (12b) When [... becomes dilapidated and] old”
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/Q005732/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 4
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili, vice-regent of the god Aššur and son of Enlil-nārārī — who was also vice-regent of Aššur — and grandson of Aššur-uballiṭ I, likewise vice-regent of Aššur, built something from its foundations to its crenellations. The middle section is too damaged to identify what was built, and the final surviving lines, which apparently referred to Arik-dīn-ili in the first person, are almost entirely lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) [Ar]ik-dīn-[ili, vice-regent of the god Aššur], son of Enlil-nārārī, vice-regent [of the god Aššur], son of Aššur-uballiṭ (I), [(who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur]. (4) [...] ... [... b]uilt fr]om [its] foundation[s to its crenellations]. (6b) [...] my [...]”
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/Q005733/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 5
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili, vice-regent of the god Aššur and son of Enlil-nārārī — who was likewise vice-regent of Aššur, and grandson of Aššur-uballiṭ I, also vice-regent of Aššur — begins a statement here, but the remainder is almost entirely lost; the few surviving signs indicate that something had fallen into disrepair before the text breaks off completely.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) [Ar]ik-dīn-i[li, vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of E]nlil-nārārī, [vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Ašš]ur-uball[iṭ (I), (who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur]. (4) [...], it had become dila[pidated and ...]”
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/Q005734/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 6
In plain English
Arik-dīn-ili identifies himself as vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Enlil-nārārī — also vice-regent of Aššur — and grandson of Aššur-uballiṭ I, who likewise held that title.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) [Ar]ik-dīn-[ili, vice-regent of the god A]ššur, [son of Enlil-nārārī, vice-regent of] the god Aššur, [son of Aššur-uballiṭ (I), (who was) also vice-regent of the god 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/Q005735/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 7
In plain English
This is the palace of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, king of Assyria, and grandson of Aššur-uballiṭ I, king of Assyria.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-uballiṭ (I), 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/Q005736/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Arik-din-ili 8
In plain English
Several lines are missing at the start. What remains records that Arik-dīn-ili brought back 100 sheep and 100 oxen to his city, Aššur. Around the same time — though much of this passage is lost — 7,000 storage-containers were assembled on someone's orders, and a large battering-ram was built. Arik-dīn-ili then presented a gift to the goddess Ištar for his own life, the surrounding lines too damaged to read in full. Later, he seized the harvest of a man named Esini, killed Esini himself, and captured 33 chariots along with their crews. He then led away further chariot forces — the exact count is lost — and moved against the city of Arnuna in the land of Nigimḫi, described as a fortress; what he did there is broken off.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1') [...] ... he brought [...], 100 of their sheep, 100 of their oxen [...] to (his) city, Aššur. (4'b) At that time, [...] ... 7,000 storage-containers, in their mouths/by their command, in front of [...] ... a large battering-ram, he made. Arik-dīn-ili [...] … he gave his gift to the goddess Ištar [... for] his life [...]. (9') [...] powerful, Arik-dīn-ili carried off the harvest of Esini [...]. He killed Esini, 33 chariots of ... [...] with the .... Arik-dīn-ili led in [...] ... of his chariots. The chariots [... the city Ar]nuna of the land Nigimḫi, the fortress of the land ... [...] he…”
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/Q005737/
Read the full tablet entry