Chapter 06 · 1600 – 1155 BCE
Middle Babylonian
The Kassite kings, international diplomacy.
~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Puzur-Aššur III 6add
“(1) Puzur-Aššur (III), vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Aššur-nārārī (I), (who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur, (5) for his life and the well-being of his city, built the great wall and t[he g]ates of the New City, from the great [wall] of the Inner City up t[o the river in its entirety], from its foundations t[o its cres]t. Moreover, I deposited my clay cone. (10b) [(When) a] future [ruler] builds [that] wall when it becomes dilapidated, the gods Aššur [and] Adad will (then) listen to his prayers. May he return my clay cone to its place.”
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/Q007686/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Puzur-Aššur III 7add (formerly Enlil-naṣir I 1001)
“(1') for [his] life [and the well-being of] his city, he (Puzur-Aššur III) built the [great] wal[l and the gates] of the New City, fro[m the great wall] of the Inner City [up to the river in its entirety], from its foun[dations to its crest]. Moreover, I deposited [my clay cone]. (7'b) [(When) a future ruler builds that] wall when it becomes dilapidated, the gods Aššur and [Adad will (then) listen to] hi[s pr]ayers. [...]”
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/Q005703/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Puzur-Aššur III 8add
“(1) Puzur-Aššur (III), vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Aššur-nārārī (I), (who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur, (5) for his life and the well-being of his city, built the city Ḫabuba, (which) is on the banks of the Lower Zab, from its foundations to its crest. I deposited my foundation documents and my monumental inscriptions (therein). (9) (When) a future ruler builds that city when it becomes dilapidated, the gods Aššur and Adad will (then) listen to his prayers. May he return foundation documents and my monumental inscriptions to their places.”
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/Q007688/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad III 1
“(1) [Palace of Šamšī]-Adad (III), son of I[šme-Dagān (II) ...].”
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/Q005682/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad III 1001
“(i' 1) (No translation possible) (ii' 2) … the ziggurats, which Šamšī-Adad (I), the vice-regent of the god Aššur, the son of Ilā-[kab]kabī, had previously built, become dilapidated and I renovated their summits. Moreover, I deposited ...”
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/Q005683/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad III 1003
“(1) [Šamšī-Adad (III)/Aššur-nārārī (I)], vice-regent of the god [Aššur, son of] Išme-D[agān (II), (who was) also] vice-regent of the god [Aššur]. (5) ... [...] ... [...] wall of the land [...]”
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/Q005685/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad III 2
“(1) Šamšī-Adad (III), vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Išme-Dagān (II), built the ... [of] the New City for his life and the well-being of his city.”
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/Q006658/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad IV 1
Documents Šamšī-Adad IV's restoration of the Assyrian Ištar temple at Aššur, anchoring the reign's chronology to a specific eponymy date and establishing the dynastic continuity he claimed from Tiglath-pileser I.
In plain English
Šamši-Adad IV, strong king, king of the universe and of Assyria, son of Tiglath-pileser I and grandson of Aššur-rēša-iši I, both likewise kings of Assyria, states that the gate-tower of the temple of Ištar of Assur, his lady — a structure built by one of his predecessors — had come to need work, and that he restored the whole of it. He had stone monuments and inscribed clay cones made and set inside the building as a record. The text closes with a date: the eighth day of a month whose name is lost, in the year of the eponym officer, evidently the king himself. Several short passages are broken and have been restored from parallel copies.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Šamši-Adad (IV), strong king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Tiglath-pileser (I), king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Aššur-rēša-iši (I), who was also king of the universe (and) king of Assyria: At that time, (as for) the tower-house [of the temple of the goddess Ištar] Aššurītu, my lady, which a ruler who preceded me [had built ... ] — I repaired [it] in its entirety. I inscribed stone [stelae and(?)] clay cones and [deposited] them within it. [Month ...,] the 8th day, eponymy of [Šamši-Adad, king of] Assyria.”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry