Chapter 07 · 911 – 609 BCE

Neo-Assyrian

Empire, library, terror, scholarship.

Illustration: Scholars examining clay tablets in an Assyrian archive at Nineveh
An archive at Nineveh, around 650 BCE.

~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 095

“(1) Palace [of Ashurnasirpal (II)], king of the world, king of Assyria, son of Tukultī-Ninurta (II), king of Assyria, son of Adad-nārārī (II), (who was) also king of [Assyria]: I slew wild bulls on the Euphrates River.”

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/Q004549/

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~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 097

“(1) Payment of Kudurru of the land [Sūḫu].”

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/Q004551/

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~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 098

“(1) To the god Enlil, king of destinies and designs, the one who makes the mountains shake, the who dwells in the Bīt-Kidmuri, the great lord, my lord: Ashurnasirpal (II), vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Tukultī-Ninurta (II), (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur: I dedicated (this) for my life so that my days might be long, my years be many, (for) the well-being of my seed (and) 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/Q004552/

Read the full tablet entry

~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 099

Dedicates an offering to Šarrat-Kidmuri, a goddess attested almost exclusively in Assyrian royal contexts, confirming her role in Ashurnasirpal II's dynastic piety alongside the better-known cult of Aššur.

“(1) To the goddess Šarrat-Kidmuri, the great lady, his lady: Ashurnasirpal (II), vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Tukultī-Ninurta (II), (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur: I dedicated (this) for my life so that my days might be long, my years be many, (for) the well-being of my seed (and) 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/Q004553/

Read the full tablet entry

~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 100

Dedicatory inscription to Ea records Ashurnasirpal II consecrating a stone object for divine protection of his reign, throne, and lineage — a concrete illustration of how Neo-Assyrian kings negotiated power through temple patronage.

“(1) [To the god Ea, ...] who decrees the destinies of the lands [...] wise, whose decision is unalterable [..., the great lord, my lord]: (3a) [Ashurnasirpal (II), king of Assyria, son of Tuku]ltī-Ninurta (II), king of Assyria: (4) [I] dedicated (this) stone ḫaltappû [...] for [my] life [so that my days might be long, my years be many, (for) the well-being of] my [seed] (and) my land, (for) the safekeeping of [my] vice-regal throne, [..., for the s]corching of [my enemies], fo[r the destruction of] my dangerous foes, (and) [to make the rulers who oppose me bow down at my feet].”

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/Q004554/

Read the full tablet entry

~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 1001

One of the surviving manuscript witnesses to an Ashurnasirpal II inscription that names Tukulti-Ninurta II, anchoring the commemorative text within the tradition of Assyrian royal self-presentation at Kalḫu.

“(1') [... T]ukulti-[Ninurta (II) ...] (2') [...] I reached. [...] the city [...] (3') [...]. I wrote out my commemorative inscription(s) (and) [...] (4') [... to] their [pl]aces [...].”

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/Q004593/

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~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 1002

“(1') [...] ... [...] with [my commemorative inscription(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/Q004594/

Read the full tablet entry

~875 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Ashurnasirpal II 1003

One of the composite manuscript witnesses preserving Ashurnasirpal II's building activity, attesting the ritual language Assyrian kings used to legitimize monumental construction through divine sanction.

“(1') [...], rea[ched its foundation pit, … deco]rated (it) [...]. (3'b) [...] wro[te thereon …] with”

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/Q004595/

Read the full tablet entry